If a dungeon isn’t cleared within the time limit, the monsters escape and wreak havoc on the real world. The number of casualties continues to climb, and with Awakened Beings and dungeons having only recently appeared, the government is virtually powerless.
No matter how enticing the conditions offered, no one was reckless enough to join forces with the government when their homes had just been destroyed and their families were in danger.
What’s more, people had suddenly gained powers that transcended human limits—there was no way they’d obediently fall in line. And into that gap, illegal Hunters began to creep.
They hadn’t yet earned the title of “illegal Hunters,” but they were steadily growing their influence, eventually going so far as to traffic in the corpses of Awakened Beings without hesitation. The name of the guild they would establish was Red Apple. How do I know this in such detail? Because they’re the faction that will go head-to-head with the protagonist, Kang Si-hoo.
[Awakened: Kim Yong-tae]
[Awakened: Yoo Jin-woo]
I saw glowing letters hovering above their heads. These must be visible to me because I’m a Constellation.
‘I wonder if I can check their stats or something?’
[Displaying opponent information.]
[Awakened Yoo Jin-woo]
[Title: Awakened
Status: Cannot be confirmed
Contracted Constellation: None
Coins Owned: Cannot be confirmed
Skills: [Sinister Scheme]
This Awakened Being has no contracted Constellation.]
‘What kind of skill name is “Sinister Scheme”?’
Sounds like the kind of thing you’d use to stab someone in the back.
“Listen up. Even if there’s one more person, he doesn’t look strong anyway, so we proceed as planned.”
Baek Tae-beom glanced at me now and then, but I ignored him and kept my eyes on the building they were pointing at.
“You’ve heard the government manages all the dungeons, right? But right now, they’re swamped. They don’t have the resources to deal with every little thing like this. That’s why we’re sneaking in, grabbing some items, and getting out. Got it?”
“Like I said before, we’ll split the loot 70-30. Same with the Coins we get as a reward.”
‘So you’re just gonna rob us to our face, huh, you scamming bastards.’ My lips twitched with the urge to say something, but instead, I sent a Message to Baek Tae-beom.
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Knows of Destruction,’ tells Baek Tae-beom that he wants to smash those bastards in the head one by one.]
Baek Tae-beom still looked awkward about the floating window in front of him. You could tell by how visibly stiff he was.
“Um, I have a question.”
“What?”
“How do you know this place is a dungeon?”
I raised my hand like a kid in class. Yoo Jin-woo’s face twitched. He looked torn between laughing and getting angry.
But questions like these were necessary—not for me, but for Baek Tae-beom.
If he was going to get scammed anyway, he might as well get some useful info out of it.
“I mean, it looks like a totally normal building.”
“That’s… because we have a radar.”
“Radar?”
Baek Tae-beom asked with a puzzled expression, and next to him, Kim Yong-tae sighed and pulled something from his coat. It looked like a compass, about half the size of a phone, with something pulsing on its screen.
“It’s a radar you can buy from the Shop for 2,000 Coins. It can detect rifts where dungeons are about to form. It’s kinda expensive, but—”
“Shut up and move already. How long are you gonna yap in front of the entrance?”
Yoo Jin-woo smacked the back of Kim Yong-tae’s head in irritation.
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Knows of Destruction,’ urges Baek Tae-beom to buy that thing because it looks super useful.]
[The Constellation, ‘One Who Knows of Destruction,’ tells Baek Tae-beom that this is exactly why he should always pay attention to his surroundings.]
That was a dungeon detection radar available for purchase at the Shop. It was a cheap item, so it probably could only detect low-tier dungeons, but if you shelled out real money, it could find higher-tier ones—namely, field-type dungeons rather than scenario ones.
Depending on the radar’s grade, it might only detect open dungeons or even pick up on unrevealed rifts. The functions varied with the price.
‘Baek Tae-beom, you have to buy that thing later.’
Baek Tae-beom awkwardly scanned the area again, clearly unsure of how to act.
Anyway, what they were saying was that the government didn’t have the capacity to monitor these small fry operations, so they were going to exploit blind spots to clear the dungeon.
With things so out of control, the government was pushing to establish an Association and bring as many Hunters under its wing as possible. In response, some Hunters would eventually create their own independent guilds—but at this point in time, that was still a bit down the road.
The moment we stepped into the building, a strange sensation wrapped around my body. Just like the moment before getting into the elevator, the floor seemed to vibrate as something invisible brushed past. At the same time, a window popped up in front of my eyes.
[You have entered an opened dungeon.]
[Dungeon: Invasion of the Crimson Mist]
[Escape from the crimson mist within the time limit.
Reward: 15,000 Coins]
[Penalty for Failure: Death
Time Limit: 13 hours and 50 minutes]
“The reward is 15,000 Coins?”
“That’s a total jackpot, isn’t it?!”
Watching Yoo Jin-woo and Kim Yong-tae get excited left a sour feeling in my chest. Typically, the greater the reward, the higher the difficulty—which meant a higher chance of death.
Baek Tae-beom seemed to grasp that immediately, his expression darkening.
[You have entered Channel #70jj5. Current spectators: 1]
The building was four stories tall, but the moment we stepped inside, everything changed. The ceiling stretched up into an unfathomable height, and a spiraling staircase twisted endlessly from floor to ceiling. At the same time, something like crimson mist began to seep up from below.
After a brief moment of hesitation, we all bolted toward the stairs at the same time.
I had no prior knowledge about this dungeon. In the original work, it was only briefly mentioned in one of Baek Tae-beom’s flashbacks. Still, it was obvious something was off.
That much was clear from the corpses that appeared in our line of sight with every step we climbed.
Most likely, the reason there was still time left on the clock was because others had entered the dungeon before us.
“Shit, get out of the way…!”
Yoo Jin-woo growled and kicked aside one of the dried-up corpses as he hurried up the stairs. The crimson mist was slowly rising from below, but its pace wasn’t fast enough to force us into a sprint. Still, Baek Tae-beom noticeably paled every time he saw another body.
In his hand was a sword—the same one I had hastily purchased from the Shop and given to him earlier.
[Sword for the Meek E]
[The blade is chipped, but it still resembles a proper sword. Using it grants a new skill. (Cannot be used more than once.)]
As I glanced at the sword, Baek Tae-beom looked over at me and spoke.
“In the elevator… it suddenly dropped from the sky.”
“That sword?”
“Yeah. I mean, this ‘Constellation’ or whatever suddenly said they were sponsoring me, and then… this sword appeared. Thanks to that, I was able to save Ga-hyeon-ssi.”
“Do you think it’s usable?”
“I’m not really sure… but it seems like it is.”
Baek Tae-beom nodded.
Well, I already knew his future. In time, Baek Tae-beom would become an Awakened Being whose primary weapon was the sword, which must be why I instinctively chose one for him. I just naturally assumed a sword would suit him.
“It’s like… I suddenly got this power from somewhere. It sounds kind of stupid when I say it out loud, though.”
“Not stupid at all. Honestly, I feel safer just having you next to me, Tae-beom-ssi.”
I kept talking as I climbed the stairs. The first reason I was buttering up someone who might very well bring about the end of the world was to raise my own chances of survival by clinging to him. The second reason was that Baek Tae-beom had already formed a contract with me.
I didn’t know how to cancel the contract unilaterally, and I wasn’t even sure it was possible in the first place. More importantly, if the contract were to be severed, I had no idea how Baek Tae-beom might react, so I couldn’t make any rash moves.
“Thank you. I still don’t really understand what a Constellation is… but it feels like it’s really trying to help me. Just like Ga-hyeon-ssi.”
And now he’s already getting emotionally attached to the Constellation. If I suddenly broke the contract, who knows what he’d think?
Also, why am I being brought into this?
“Just like me?”
“I don’t know how you suddenly showed up, but… you’re here to help me, right?”
“…Ah, well, yeah.”
Baek Tae-beom smiled brightly and stepped a little closer to me. For a moment, his beautiful golden eyes seemed to resemble those of a raptor—was that just my imagination?
“Is that some kind of skill of yours, Ga-hyeon-ssi?”
“It’s… something like that.”
“That makes me happy. Knowing you came to help me. But honestly, I don’t think these guys are that bad. They seem pretty kind.”
That’s just wishful thinking on your part. Anyone could tell these guys were far from decent. Never mind the rough looks—just look at that skill name, Sinister Scheme.
[Your Contractor expresses affection.]
Don’t express affection!!
“What are you two whispering about over there?”
“Just talking about how far we might have to go before we reach the top.”
“Phew… yeah. Doesn’t it feel like the stairs go on forever?”
Kim Yong-tae wiped the sweat from his brow and muttered in confusion. The ceiling was still blocked, and the stairs spiraled upward endlessly. We thought we were halfway there, but it still felt like a long way to go.
That’s when I felt it—that sense of wrongness—and stopped in my tracks.
“Hold on a second…”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t something weird?”
I looked down at the corpse beneath my feet. It looked like someone who had collapsed mid-climb, dried out, lying face-up on the steps.
And I had definitely seen that corpse earlier.
Wasn’t that the same body Yoo Jin-woo had kicked aside before?
Not just me—everyone’s faces turned pale. Especially Yoo Jin-woo, who screeched in alarm and furiously kicked the body, sending it tumbling down the stairs.
I saw it fall, no doubt about it…
“What the—huh?!”
With a heavy thud, the same corpse suddenly fell from above and landed right behind Yoo Jin-woo. He yelped in panic and clung to the stair railing. Baek Tae-beom took a step back, breathing sharply.
“Don’t tell me… this thing just loops endlessly…?”
Kim Yong-tae muttered in a hollow voice. No one denied the possibility.
“Wait, then what about the mist coming up from below?”
I pointed beyond the railing, and all eyes followed. The crimson mist was now climbing much faster than before, steadily devouring the staircase from below.
