Lee Myung-won played the video.
The screen went pitch black before soon revealing the inside of a dimly lit detention room. Rusted ceiling and walls, a bed and toilet set to one side, and Jin Ha-yoon sitting in a chair. It was from a surveillance camera’s perspective.
I was just about to turn to Lee Myung-won, wondering what was so concerning about this, when I suddenly widened my eyes in shock—Jin Ha-yoon slowly rose to his feet.
It was only natural to be startled; this was the man who hadn’t responded to any method until now, yet he was moving.
“This is…”
Then, a large gate appeared before Jin Ha-yoon.
I was certain of its nature. It was the same gate Kang Si-hoo had used to transport Hel.
Jin Ha-yoon stood still for a moment, then stepped through the gate. It shut right after he passed through.
It all happened in an instant. People rushed in belatedly and scoured the detention room, but there was no trace of Jin Ha-yoon anywhere.
“And we’ve confirmed a signal from the GPS that was attached to him.”
Lee Myung-won launched an app that resembled a map and showed it to me. It was a tracking feature. I followed his finger across the screen and looked at the location where the signal had been detected…
I muttered, dumbfounded.
“Russia?”
“Not just anywhere in Russia.”
Lee Myung-won adjusted his glasses as he spoke. His gaze alone told me how grave this situation was.
“It’s the exact same location the Guildmaster traveled to.”
“Wait… seriously? Guildmaster Park Gil-seon?”
“And we can’t get in touch with the Guildmaster at the moment.”
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Wasn’t that human Park Gil-seon Sekhmet’s contractor…?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Wait, Dionysus. You know them?]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Of course I do… We even had drinks together not too long ago…]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Sekhmet was fond of wine, after all…]
Not even remotely interested in that kind of TMI.
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Want me to get in touch for you, Ga-hyeon?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Seriously?]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: If you say you love me, I’ll do it…]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Go screw yourself.]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Sigh… I love you too.]
This guy’s a total pervert.
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What the hell are you two doing?]
[CH. Private / Horseback Herald: I just don’t get kids these days.]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Huh, can’t get through to them…]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Looks like the contractor’s in danger…]
“We’re still trying to make contact, but… something just happened in Jeju Island as well.”
Lee Myung-won moved the screen to point at Jeju.
“Jeju?”
“A massive fissure was detected there. Its size…”
“S-Class?”
“That seems to be the case.”
Hermóðr’s words about his brother creating a dungeon came to mind. Could this be Baldr’s doing?
“We’ll have to postpone the investigation you requested, Mr. Choi Ga-hyeon. We need to head there immediately. The Association has issued a request for support.”
“Of all times…”
“There’s no choice, Mr. Choi. An S-Class dungeon is like a ticking time bomb. If we don’t contain it right away, it could explode at any moment. Furthermore…”
Lee Myung-won said as he brought over his phone.
“It’s suspected to be a scenario-type dungeon.”
An S-Class scenario dungeon.
I had no choice but to agree with Lee Myung-won. We stood and immediately departed for the Hansung Guild. Thanks to a Hunter there with a teleportation skill, we quickly traveled to Jeju Island.
Compared to the mainland, Jeju’s weather was relatively mild, yet the cold was no joke. As I shrank against the sharp wind that felt like it was slicing my face, Baek Tae-beom stepped beside me to block the gusts.
“Are you really cold?”
“I’m fine. I can manage.”
Had I worn even slightly lighter clothes, I’d probably be a frozen corpse by now. I was about to crack a joke but thought better of it.
Yellow police tape was strung across the area, and a guild member guided us toward the entrance. There were many people who seemed to be from the Association, including Lim Chang-joo.
She approached us as soon as she saw us. Seeing how bundled up she was against the cold gave me an odd sense of camaraderie. With every step, our feet sank into the snow all the way to our ankles.
“Mr. Choi Ga-hyeon, it’s been a while. Thank you for what you did last time.”
She gave a polite nod.
“Thanks to you, we uncovered the spy and cleaned up our internal affairs smoothly. I promise to repay this debt.”
“No need for that.”
Just then, a woman investigating the dungeon entrance called out to Lim Chang-joo. She was one of the Hunters using their skills for preliminary dungeon analysis—determining what kind of traits the dungeon had.
I’d heard the Association had officially started recruiting people like her. It was a strange feeling, seeing how different the future had become after the past had changed.
But what she said next was unexpected.
“There appears to be a party limit.”
“A limit?”
“Yes. It seems five people is the maximum.”
At that moment, a man suddenly popped up in front of us.
He had bright yellow hair, a face dotted with freckles, and a mischievous smile. From the Association, it seemed.
I blinked in surprise at the unfamiliar face, and he greeted us with a bright grin.
“Hello! Hunter Choi Ga-hyeon, Hunter Baek Tae-beom, Hunter Lee Myung-won! I’m Gye Tae-in, a Hunter with the Association!”
Frozen by the man’s sudden self-introduction, I wasn’t sure how to react.
Next to me, Baek Tae-beom said in a low voice,
“So?”
“It’s an absolute honor to meet all of you! Especially you, Hunter Baek Tae-beom! You’re basically my idol! Could I get your autograph?”
Even Baek Tae-beom looked flustered at this point. It had been a while since I’d seen that expression on him. While he seemed unsure whether to actually sign or not, I opened Gye Tae-in’s status window.
‘Information overview.’
[Retrieving subject information]
[Gye Tae-in of the Fivefold]
[Title: The Fivefold, Cryptic, White Sun
Grade: A
Status: Cannot be verified.
Contracted Constellation: None
Held Coins: Cannot be verified.
Possessed Skills: [I Won’t Let You Off!] [Watch My Nimble Moves!] [Taste My Bullets!], etc.
An Awakened with no contracted Constellation.]
I briefly wondered why someone with this level of skill and such a distinctive personality hadn’t appeared in <The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World>. Then I immediately understood.
He died early.
Just as Baek Tae-beom was clearly debating whether or not to sign, Lim Chang-joo came running up and yanked Gye Tae-in by the ear.
“Ow, sunbae!”
“Sorry about that. He’s someone I personally brought along. He’s full of youthful energy, so he can be a handful.”
Lee Myung-won chuckled.
“That’s to be expected at his age. It’s refreshing, honestly. We’ve got plenty of loose cannons on our side, too.”
He then shot a subtle glance at Baek Tae-beom, who raised his brow with a clearly displeased look.
“Excuse me…”
“Sunbae! Does this mean I get to enter the dungeon with you guys?”
Gye Tae-in cut off whatever Baek Tae-beom was about to say, speaking with uncontainable enthusiasm. Lim Chang-joo replied after a moment’s thought.
“That was the plan when I brought you along…”
“I can totally handle it!”
“This is an S-Class dungeon. You could die. Not to mention, you’re still in the middle of training for unexpected scenarios…”
“I’m ready for anything!”
No, he really wasn’t. He was clearly just saying whatever came to mind, all giddy after meeting his idol Baek Tae-beom. Lim Chang-joo must have known that, too. He sighed and turned to us.
“Will this be okay with you all?”
“I don’t see why not. I assume you brought him because he’s highly capable.”
Lee Myung-won answered, and Gye Tae-in responded with a gleeful, “It’s an honor!”
“Then I suppose we’ll proceed as is. Are you all ready?”
“Hope it’s warm inside.”
I nodded as I said it.
The entrance was a small door, just barely big enough that Baek Tae-beom had to duck to pass through. We opened it and stepped in.
And then— A brilliant white light engulfed our vision.
[CH. Private / Horseback Herald: Oh no.]
[CH. Private / Horseback Herald: This is bad! It’s a trap!]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: What?!]
As Hermóðr’s shout rang in my ears, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.
[Dungeon opening in progress. Please proceed with caution. …Dungeon opening complete!]
[Dungeon: <White Room>]
[Objective: Kill at least one living being within the time limit.
Estimated Rank: S
Reward: None
Failure Penalty: Death
Time Limit: 30 minutes]
[You have entered Channel #31lkk0. Current viewers: 8]
“Kill at least one living being within the time limit.”
The moment I saw that sentence, my entire body stiffened. And I wasn’t the only one. There had never been a scenario-type dungeon this absurd. No matter how difficult a dungeon was, the norm was to guide the players through its trials.
But now, it demanded that we kill a living being? With no explanation whatsoever?
A blindingly white room devoid of anything else.
No other life forms except us.
I exhaled slowly. Then I heard a ragged breath.
Was that me?
No.
Lee Myung-won, Baek Tae-beom, and Lim Chang-joo were all seasoned Hunters who had survived countless dungeons. Even in a situation like this, they wouldn’t panic or act rashly. They were the kind who believed there had to be another solution.
But what if you were a rookie Hunter experiencing something like this for the first time?
“This… this is seriously insane,” Lee Myung-won said grimly.
“A dungeon where you have to kill something to escape… with no reward at all.”
“We should probably take a closer look around,” I said.
Gye Tae-in stood there, his head bowed, eyes dark, completely at a loss. It was only natural. Not panicking in a situation like this would’ve been far stranger.
Baek Tae-beom ran his hand along the wall and tapped the floor, then frowned.
“There aren’t any mechanisms.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nothing, hyung. This dungeon’s just plain cruel. It’s clearly designed to screw over whoever enters.”
I kept glancing at Gye Tae-in, eyeing him closely.
“Really? No way out?”
“Breaking the door we came through might be our best shot.”
“I agree,” said Lim Chang-joo.
The Hunters then poured their skills into the entrance door. But it didn’t take a single scratch. It didn’t budge an inch. A sense of dread began to rise. I instinctively took a few steps back.
Baek Tae-beom dragged his blade across the door with a skrrrk, making a harsh noise.
“Goddamn it.”
And then it happened.
Something hard pressed against the back of my head.
It was trembling—just slightly. I swallowed on instinct. Baek Tae-beom turned toward me with wide, alarmed eyes.
Lim Chang-joo spoke, voice calm.
“Hunter Gye Tae-in.”
“I-I’m sorry… But…”
A frightened voice trembled behind me. I could feel him shaking violently.
“You were planning to kill me anyway… weren’t you?”
Gye Tae-in had a gun pressed to the back of my head spoke with a voice full of fear.
