CH 12

After the anomalous event known as the dimensional rift, some places were turned into breeding grounds for monsters due to delayed initial containment and response.

Dungeon!

It wasn’t a funny joke, but rather something that crewell, who is known as a perverted hallucinator of the underworld, uses to call his warehouse that he raised high.

Literally meaning a kind of dungeon that appears in various games or stories.

The place came to be called by that name because it was a natural progression that followed when monsters began to emerge.

Top guilds and skilled personals attempted to restore some of the areas, but it was not an easy task.

There were several reasons for this, but the most decisive factor was the underground monsters, who lived their lives beneath the surface.

If it were on the surface or in the sky, it would be a different story, but catching creatures that swim underground is a daunting task even for seasoned veterans.

There were attempts to clear out the monsters with bombing, and some areas were successfully resolved. However, many areas that could not handle the underground monsters were lost again.

It was a world where the corpses of monsters were valuable.

Dungeons eventually became a gathering place for hunters and skilled individuals and gradually transformed into specialized hunting grounds.

Instead of forcing the recovery of the land, the government concluded that it was better to maintain the current state.

Mount Bukhansan National Park!

It was once one of the beloved mountain-climbing destinations in Seoul, and it was also one of the areas that turned into a dungeon.

And,

It was also the training ground for the Hunter Department of Haneul University, including Lim Seon-hee.

“While this area can be considered a safe zone, you shouldn’t let your guard down. Low-level monsters occasionally appear, and if you’re not careful, it can be really dangerous.”

While listening to the professor in charge of the training, Lim Seon-hee kept her eyes scanning the surroundings.

It was because she kept seeing strange and hard-to-understand sights.

“Humans?”

As the professor had mentioned, it was a safe zone but also a dangerous area. Nevertheless, there were people who appeared to be ordinary showing up here and there.

Their appearance made her think of homeless people in shabby clothing, but the important thing was not their social status but why they were in this dangerous area.

She wanted to ask them about it, but she recalled the professor’s warning not to ask unnecessary questions in such a place, so she focused on observing quietly.

However, the people with shabby clothes still caught her eye, making it hard to concentrate.

Suddenly, she thought of the homeless man, Mr. Baron, who had been cheering her on during her training.

‘I wonder how he’s doing,’ she thought.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Mr. Baron’s voice echoed in her ears like a spell.

[Bikini, bikini, bikini]

She had kept them just in case, but now she wondered if she really needed to wear them.

At that moment, her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

ΔΔΔ

A sigh escaped from Baron’s lips.

“Ah~! On days like this, I feel like hunting down some monsters and letting off some steam.”

But he suppressed his urge and set out on a long journey.

“Is that Bukhansan?”

Baron sighed again as he looked at the sign for the national park ahead.

“Even if I haven’t teached much, a disciple is still a disciple. Sigh…”

Although it was a practice under the protection of experts in a safe zone, it will be a real battle that took place in a dangerous area called a dungeon.

“Why would someone risk their life like that? Ugh! They should study hard and get a desk job instead.”

Shaking his head, he licked his lips and looked to the side.

“Isn’t this area supposed to be a safe zone?”

He spotted a monster lurking in the distance.

It was one of those creatures commonly known as goblins, which appeared in low-level rifts and were a primary target for student training, according to what was known.

He had a rifle in one hand, found somewhere, and it was a K-2, a favorite of the Korean army.

It was funny that he held it by the barrel, not the handle, and he was charging towards him swinging the handle like an ax.

“Right. When have you ever used something like that? Sigh…”

Baron shook his head and lightly dodged the attack, then kicked the gun away with his foot, and lunged forward to stab the goblin’s throat with his extended toes.

As there was enough distance to retreat, the goblin’s eyes briefly showed a hint of a mocking smile, knowing the attack could not reach him.

Puff!

With a sound that seemed almost like a lie, the goblin’s neck sunk in and its pupils bulged as if they were about to pop out. Then, within moments, it collapsed in a pool of blood and froth.

“Heh! This is the power of the Mercenary King’s toe wind. Don’t be arrogant and mock anyone, you bastard.”

He then nonchalantly pulled out his big toe from his tattered and holey shoe, looking more pitiful than intimidating.

“They usually hunt in packs.”

After glancing around for a moment, Baron shrugged. It seemed that, for now, the safety zone was indeed a safety zone, as there were no signs of any more goblin groups.

It seems like someone who separated from their group has been pushed this far.

“Let’s see.”

He examined the K-2 rifle, which was lying on the ground, and then surveyed the area. He soon scrunched up his face in disappointment.

“Looks like a real mess. I wonder how roughly these goblins have been handling it. It’s beyond repair now; I’ll be lucky if I can sell it as scrap metal.”

Throwing it away, he began to walk towards Bukhansan mountain.

After raiding crewell’s warehouse, there was no reason to be disappointed with the scrap metal value.

“What’s the point of coming to such a dangerous place?”

As he was shaking his head, there was one person who came to mind.

“Come to think of it, the old man said he would settle down around here. I wonder if he’s still alive?”

With the thought of seeing a familiar face while he was at it, he moved on.

ΔΔΔ

The third team leader of the North Wind Guild’s attack division, Choi Il-kwon, was no longer around. The reason was that the conflict with the guild leader had deepened to the point where he had thrown in his resignation.

“He wasn’t like that before. He used to be the kind of guy who said he would reform the association because it was acting like Johnson’s dog, but now he thinks he’s better than everyone else and wants to replace the kids. Sigh…”

However, since Choi Il-kwon was one of the founding members of the guild, he still had a close relationship with the guild leader. That’s why he felt even more sorry for the guild leader.

Of course, because of those relationships, he’s been dragging out conflicts all this time, but now that he has left the guild, it’s all in the past.

“By the way, don’t we need to start a guild?”

As Jang geon asked, he looked around. His colleagues who followed him out of the guild were quite capable, but unfortunately, with their numbers they couldn’t form a guild on their own.

‘Well… we could force it, but it wouldn’t be enough.’

Unfortunately, they lacked the talent for operating a guild afterward. In that sense, they had tried to recruit the leader of the 5th team of the guild, but it was another disappointment.

‘He’s still looking for that damn album. Tsk…’

It was assumed that he wouldn’t leave the guild until he achieved his goal.

With a brief sigh, he looked at Jang geon and spoke.

“Don’t be naive and be vigilant. Although it’s still in the outskirts of Bukhansan, there might be some troublesome people coming out soon. We need to be prepared and respond properly to avoid wasting bullets.”

Leaving the guild didn’t mean they were just idling around.

They formed separate teams with their colleagues and went hunting, but they had to pay a toll fee since they weren’t going through the guild.

“Since we need to make our share of profit, we won’t have time to rest today. Stay on high alert and keep moving,” he said.

Although he wanted to delve deeper, their party’s inability to surpass the C-rank meant they were limited to moving along the border.

How far had they come?

After a brief silence, Jang geon spoke up and asked a question.

“Is that true?”

“What?”

“That they’re planning to breach the ceasefire line.”

“…How did you find out about that?”

“Well, I was the deputy leader of the third team.”

It was clear that he had his sources.

“Ugh…what’s the point of bringing that up?”

“Everyone who needs to know probably already does. And it’s not something that can stay hidden for long with the severity of the situation. So please, tell us. Is it true?”

The rest of the team had already perked up and were listening intently.

“Yeah. That’s why dungeons are teeming with hunters these days.”

Each guild was sending their members to dungeons and rift zones to prepare, building their combat skills.

“Wow…they’re really going to challenge the ceasefire line. I heard that place is a real nightmare.”

As the largest, widest, and most formidable dungeon area, the Devil’s Cave on the ceasefire line had become a thorn in the side for both North and South Korea.

It was the site of the first Level 5 Rift to open on the Korean Peninsula, and if there was one problem, it was the fact that the number of Rifts in that area was more than just one or two.

Currently, most dungeons were housing several high-level rifts as time went by, but the ceasefire line dungeon was a cave that had several high-level rifts from the very beginning.

There was a reason why they hadn’t been hastily dealt with so far.

At least a single digit number of them were easily exceeded in the known findings alone, and it was a place where lower-level rifts and monsters were having a field day.

“Since the power has increased and more things have been prepared than before, it seems that the Association or Union has come to the conclusion that they should try to make a move.”

The Association of Ability Users!

The Hunter’s Union!

During normal times, they may be at odds with each other, but they are the driving force behind the world of ability users.

If these two major powers were to join forces, it was thought that even the Devil’s Cave hunt would not be an impossible task.

If there is a problem, it was that,

‘the lower-level guys would end up dying. Tsk…’

After sighing in regret, I soon realized I was getting too deep in thought and shook my head to clear my musings.

Although it was a border area, it was still a dungeon and the territory of monsters. In battle, distractions could be a matter of life or death.

“Focus!”

He raised his voice and took a firm step forward. His team members jumped at his sudden shout and followed behind him.

ΔΔΔ

Black Lion Guild leader Park Man-ho raised an eyebrow upon hearing unexpected news.

“So that beggar went to the Bukhansan dungeon?”

Due to the movements of Kim Jung-hoon’s close aides, he was also focusing on his own subordinates, but so far no solid information had come out.

The reason why the leader of White Tiger Guild was interested was still unknown.

However, if he was considering the upcoming attack on the ceasefire line, he no longer had the luxury of paying attention to anything else.

As a result, a quick decision had to be made.

“Send out the order to start the operation.”

Instead of wasting time looking around here and there, he planned to face it directly and confirm it.

“For now, we’ll capture him alive and verify.”

Of course, as much as the leader of White Tiger was interested, he planned to move elite agents to ensure a thorough and certain operation without being careless.

Due to the fact that it was a dungeon in Bukhansan, it was no different from the Black Lion’s territory, so it was not so difficult to hide the movements of the elite.

“Even if we have to kill him, it doesn’t matter.”

It will be a pity that he couldn’t figure out White Tiger guild’s curiosity, but destroying their interests would be a game of its own.

With a short order, he once again focused on his work.

ΔΔΔ

It’s a well-known fact among those who are familiar that the Black Lion guild is interested in the White Tiger guild.

Naturally, the parties involved couldn’t help but notice, and for that reason, it was also true that Kim Jung-hoon constantly felt the gaze of the Black Lion.

He wasn’t the type to show everything he had, so he also observed and paid attention to his opponents as a matter of course, and thanks to that, he was able to grasp various pieces of information.

“Hmm… Did they move after all?”

He knew very well who the Black Lion had been paying attention to lately. He couldn’t not know.

He had tried to hide his movement from Park Man-ho by sending his direct subordinates but because of his persistence his secret movements were still known by him.

It was better this way.

“I wonder…”

He planned to take this opportunity to investigate the mysterious man who seemed to have fallen from the sky.

Although it was true that the target was benefactor of his niece, Baek Hwa-seon, but there were undoubtedly suspicious aspects.

Moreover, since it was such an unusual name, investigating it revealed that the majority of those with that name were already classified as deceased, and even among the few living faces, there were many differences in appearance with entirely different age groups when compared.

He also obtained photos of some of the deceased individuals but since they were from a long time ago, it was difficult to make a clear judgement.

In the end, he concluded that the probability of his stated identity being false was high.

In fact, there was a bit of a trap here.

[Body change!]

And it happened three times.

Although some of his old appearance remained, it was difficult to recognize him clearly only with blurry old proof photos.

Of course, he didn’t reveal this fact, and they had collected information and make judgments based only on the truth that was revealed at the moment.

“He even destroyed a team of Ashen Wolves…”

He believed that the elites of White Tiger had enough skill to save him from the worst-case scenario.

“Still, just in case, aren’t his direct subordinates moving separately?”

“Anyway, a benefactor is a benefactor. We have to avoid the worst-case scenario.”

Due to his unique position, It had become a form that relied on the help of others, but as the leader of the giant organization called White Tiger, he considered this kind of action to be natural.

“Mt. Bukhan…”

He whispered the place where the incident would soon take place.