So I couldn’t understand this situation at all.
“All five of us have to move together?”
“Well, we had to split up the teams…”
I understood the idea—dividing the party to patrol different areas—but why these five, of all combinations? It made sense for me and Lee Myung-won to be grouped, but why were Oh Kwon-hyuk, Yoo Jin-woo, and Kim Yong-tae also in this party?
Yoo Jin-woo’s gang, who had been watching me closely, seemed to realize that Baek Tae-beom wasn’t by my side. They were visibly getting cockier.
“What? You scared?”
“How about you shut up?”
“Guess it’s hard when your sword-swinging sidekick’s not here, huh? Hm?”
My insides boiled with rage. I didn’t know why Oh Kwon-hyuk was dragging these guys around, but it was clear that something had gone off-course since I had altered the progression early on.
But still—he was bringing along those two clowns? I glanced up at Oh Kwon-hyuk, who was already looking back at me. Our eyes met.
Oh Kwon-hyuk subtly stepped between me and the other two, cutting them off.
What the hell’s this guy thinking? I resisted the urge to rip Oh Kwon-hyuk’s head open and peek inside his brain. Instead, I turned to Lee Myung-won.
“Fine, let’s head in.”
“All right.”
Lee Myung-won looked uneasy, but led the way inside.
[You have entered a dungeon that has been opened.]
[Dungeon: ??? ???]
[??????
Reward: ???
This is an unidentifiable dungeon.]
[Entered Channel #4ww01. Current Spectators: 4]
[Since the number of spectators in the channel has reached four or more, Constellation Communication Net is now available.]
The window filled with question marks sent a chill down my spine. The others might not think much of it, but a field-type dungeon appearing like this was in a whole different league.
It was akin to game difficulty levels. In early zones, the system held players’ hands—clearly explaining how to play, providing direction markers, and pinpointing quest locations. It prevented beginners from getting stuck.
But in high-level zones? You had to learn by trial and error.
In The Apocalypse Chronicles of Another World, dungeons like this were called “The Road to the Underworld.”
Where you either killed—or died.
“What’s with all these question marks?”
Lee Myung-won stared at the window in disbelief, but my thoughts were elsewhere.
Something was off about the number of people in the Constellation Communication Net.
There should only be three—me, Apollo, and Oh Kwon-hyuk’s Constellation. So why were there four? Was there someone else with a Constellation in the other team that went ahead?
As if on cue, a message popped up immediately.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: I told you to be careful, and now you’re clinging to each other like besties?
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Why would you say that in a public channel?!
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Then where should I say it? Whisper it in your ear?
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: What if that guy’s Constellation is listening?!
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Let him hear it.
Apollo’s tone oozed contempt.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: He’s a fucking bastard anyway.
But aside from the two of us, no one else said a word in the channel. Oh Kwon-hyuk didn’t react either, silently following behind Lee Myung-won.
As we descended the stairs into the underground, the space that opened up before us resembled a jungle. Slippery cliffs coated in green algae, massive tree roots, weird dangling mushrooms, and an abundance of strange ferns surrounded us.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: Something smells rotten.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: The stench of decaying insects! The scent of plague incarnate!
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: I shall drive them all away with my glorious melody!
[Constellation ‘One More Dazzling Than the Sun’ plays the lyre.]
Suddenly, a beautiful tune rang out like background music.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Are you high or something? Did you run into Dionysus or what?
Even without Apollo’s theatrics, I could already tell this place was dangerous. But that wasn’t the issue right now.
“What is that sound?”
“…Beats me.”
Ding-dong, ding-dong. The music was unnecessarily well played. I didn’t know much about instruments, but even I could tell the performance was top-notch.
“Is that really what matters right now? We need to move forward, but these plants are in the way…”
Yoo Jin-woo clicked his tongue, prompting a sharp response from Lee Myung-won.
“Just push through them. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Still, they look kind of sharp…”
Lee Myung-won ignored him and started walking again. I followed, Oh Kwon-hyuk close behind me.
Having this two-meter-tall giant looming just behind me was more than intimidating. It made me miss Baek Tae-beom.
Even though that guy was tall, he never felt threatening. He was more like a big puppy than anything else.
Up ahead, Lee Myung-won calmly explained our objective.
“Our mission is simple: exploration. We’re to observe the dungeon for anything unusual and avoid touching anything unnecessary.”
“You mentioned earlier that you had a bad feeling, right?”
“Yes. This dungeon used to be a scenario-type. But right after someone cleared it, it transformed into this field-type dungeon. That’s unprecedented, so the patrol needed reinforcement.”
“Because who knows what kind of monster might show up.”
I scanned the surroundings. Maybe that off feeling came from this—the deeper we went, the more scrap metal fragments peeked out from between the foliage, gear-like protrusions clinging to the cliffs.
It looked like the field-type dungeon had swallowed up the scenario-type dungeon post-clear. Rare, but not impossible. Still, this was the first time it had happened in South Korea.
Which meant… maybe this was the dungeon where Oh Kwon-hyuk had acquired that skill.
A stray cogwheel clipped my toe, and I stumbled. A large hand caught my shoulder.
“……”
I instinctively slapped the hand away—saying nothing.
I could feel him staring into my back, but I didn’t dare turn around.
‘Why the hell is Oh Kwon-hyuk helping me now? He picked a fight the first time we met.’
It felt weird calling him “that bastard” when he was the same age as Lee Myung-won—about ten years older than me—but that didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed.
“Shh.”
Lee Myung-won crouched down and whispered.
I instinctively raised my staff and fell silent. Movement rustled from the brush ahead.
Faces with wide, grotesque grins emerged. Fanged mouths wrapped in green vines. Huge, blackened bodies reeking of burnt flesh. They looked like panthers—but off.
Their molten, crimson eyes were just human enough to be horrifying.
But Lee Myung-won’s warning was wasted. Behind us, Kim Yong-tae and Yoo Jin-woo shouted:
“Ack! Panthers—mo, monsters!”
“They’re freakin’ beasts!”
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: I know what this is.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: This is what they call a ‘choke-on-sweet-potatoes segment,’ right?
No time to respond. One monster lunged—I ducked and swung hard, striking it in the belly with my staff.
Yelp! A sharp cry rang out. Chaos erupted.
Golden arrows rained from above—Lee Myung-won’s skill. One pierced straight through the beast lunging at my leg. I smashed its head and yanked Yoo Jin-woo, still screaming, by the collar and flung him down.
“Aaaack!”
“Shut up for once!”
What really caught my eye was Oh Kwon-hyuk’s fighting style.
He grabbed a monster by the scruff mid-charge, tightened his grip, and activated his skill.
His arms turned pitch-black—darkness bleeding into the monster until it crumbled to ash.
A chill ran down my spine watching it happen.
‘If Oh Kwon-hyuk had used that skill on me just now…’
He tossed the monster aside and turned toward me with wild, animal eyes.
I flinched and stumbled back.
He dashed forward, snatched a charging panther by the neck, and slammed it down.
“Watch your surroundings.”
His voice didn’t sound human. It rumbled—like a beast.
Before I could reply, a message appeared:
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: You should’ve killed him.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Right then and there.
Even if I didn’t want to admit it, I knew who “he” meant.
It was me.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: What the hell did you just say to our boy?
Our boy? Since when was I his boy?
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Not human. Not a Constellation.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: An abomination.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Should’ve died.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Must be guided—to death.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: This one’s a whole-ass edgelord, huh.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: Where are you even learning to talk like that?!
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: And seriously, what the hell’s your problem with me?
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: You’re a distortion of life.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Who are you?
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: What are you? Reveal yourself.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: If not…
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Then come to death—with me.
‘Why are all these Constellations such a damn mess?’
Instead of answering, I sent a single syllable.
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Knows of Destruction]: ㅗ
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: What does that mean?
[CH.#4ww01 / One Who Guides the Dead]: Speak plainly.
[CH.#4ww01 / One More Dazzling Than the Sun]: This guy’s seriously unhinged.
