Chapter 7
I’m translating the full chapter now and formatting the system messages into styled HTML blocks as required. After that I’ll do a quick consistency pass to make sure the title, paragraphs, and special blocks are all in the right places.CHAPTER_TITLE: Quest (1)
“Ugh. Two rounds of the announcement broadcast would give me PTSD I don’t even have.”
After muttering to himself, Im Du-ho got off at the bus stop.
- Du-ho nim. Please turn off your phone.
Right. That’s right.
Only then did he pull his phone from his pocket and power it off.
“Thanks.”
- Heheh, I merely did what had to be done!
A smile spread across Du-ho’s lips.
The fact that there was someone at his side in this unfamiliar place made him feel strangely at ease.
And then…
Before long, his mouth fell open.
What met his eyes was a gigantic sinkhole, five hundred meters across.
The unfathomable abyss looked like the mark of some god driving a colossal spear into the earth.
My God…
“So this is the Abyss.”
The place he had only ever heard about in rumors, humanity’s new object of awe and land of opportunity. The Abyss—called both calamity and blessing—was now carved clearly into his pupils.
Centered around the Abyss, the skyscrapers of the Five Great Hunter Families rose in a perfect ring, like ancient megaliths.
Entranced, Du-ho moved toward the edge of the Abyss. The jagged black bedrock jutted upward, exuding a bizarre and oppressive presence.
Can I touch it?
When he looked around, Isto spoke up.
- Why, of course!
- Who would dare stop Du-ho nim? It’s not like it’ll wear down or anything.
It should be fine, right?
- Absolutely.
Only then did he reach out toward the black rock.
Huh?
The black stone beneath his palm was icy cold, like frozen metal. But soon a hot current seeped deep into his hand, and a strange sensation rose as if an unknown energy were flowing through his veins.
- That’s because mana is flowing through the rock bed.
“So that’s why ordinary people aren’t allowed anywhere near it.”
- Exactly. If they got mana poisoning, it could kill them.
In other words, if he hadn’t turned off his phone just now, it would already have been wrecked by mana interference.
As he was patting his chest and lifting his head, a sign caught his eye.
Warning: Do not stare into the abyss for long periods of time.
…Why?
Told not to do something, and people only wanted to do it more.
Before he knew it, Du-ho’s eyes drifted toward the center of the Abyss.
It was no mere sinkhole.
The vast chasm writhed like some living organism drawing breath.
And then—
Within the pitch-black void, dreamlike landscapes flickered in and out like mirages.
The shadow of a massive tree piercing the sky.
An indistinct cluster of lights, faintly glittering like the starlight of the night heavens.
Unreal scenes, as though he were glimpsing a dream from the dawn of time, flashed past.
Just as his consciousness was slowly sinking into the darkness—
Thud───!
A heavy blow hit him from behind.
W-What?
Snapped awake, Du-ho jerked around in alarm.
A heavily armed hunter stood there.
“You trying to die?”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you see the warning sign? Staring into the abyss like that.”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize to me. Just be more careful from now on.”
After the middle-aged hunter moved off, Du-ho scratched his head, baffled.
- Du-ho nim! Du-ho nim!
Isto’s urgent voice rang in his mind.
What now?
- I kept calling you, but you didn’t answer. Are you okay now?
You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. I just looked at the abyss for a second.
- That’s not true. You stood there for a full ten minutes.
…Ten minutes?
Du-ho’s eyes shook wide.
He was sure he had only looked for a few seconds.
But reality was different.
A chill crawled down his spine.
If that man hadn’t shaken me awake… things could’ve gone badly.
Then Isto began explaining the Abyss.
- You have to meet the conditions set by the Abyss on the first floor before you can go down to the second.
Conditions?
- Yep. And from the second floor on, you don’t even have to come here in person—you can enter the Abyss from anywhere.
I see.
- But what’s strange is…
Isto trailed off, then continued.
- I don’t get why the hunters here still come all the way to this place to enter through the gate. Could it be… this place uses a different system?
We’ll know once we go in.
- Heheh, right!
At that moment, a status window suddenly sprang up before Du-ho.
The Cheongcheon Clan has abandoned the conquest of the 82nd floor.
“!?”
Startled, Du-ho staggered back, and the people around him began to stir.
“The Cheongcheon Clan gave up again…”
“What on earth is on the 82nd floor…?”
“There are only three months left. Is this really okay?”
“What are the other hunter families even doing!”
The crowd’s anxiety and shouted voices made the air feel heavy.
Thanks to that, Du-ho realized a few things.
The Abyss was a system that announced itself to every Awakened person.
And even clan-level organizations could be brought to their knees by the brutality of the lower floors.
Most of all…
In three months, Seoul might be swallowed by the Abyss.
Drawing in a sharp breath, Du-ho muttered to himself, “As always, one of the hunter families will probably handle it. I should just focus on my own business.”
- Going my own way—very nice indeed!
“That’s not what I meant.”
- Hm?
“I mean it’s not a problem I can solve by worrying about it.”
- Isn’t that the same thing?
At last, Du-ho let out a sigh and decided he might as well go into the Abyss.
Then—
First entry into the Abyss detected.
Welcome, Im Du-ho.
A cold system voice brushed past his ears.
At the same time, his vision…
Was blindingly.
…washed white.
* * *
Whoa…
So I just have to think about it and I can enter?
With a hand over his chest, Du-ho looked around.
A dim forest.
He raised his head.
Massive trees beyond imagination completely blocked out the sky.
Wind slipped between the branches and rustled the leaves.
Each time it did, the smell of the forest tickled his nose.
The air was so fresh it almost felt impossible.
The first floor of the Abyss was like a living primeval forest.
This is completely different from a Rift.
- That’s right. A Rift is just a byproduct of the Abyss overflowing with mana and seeping into reality. The ecosystem itself doesn’t get transferred over intact.
Isto’s voice echoed by his ear.
The fear that had been building in him seemed to settle a little.
Then, all at once—
Gah!!
A status window flashed in front of him.
◈ Eliminate 50 Ratkin (0/50)
Reward: Permission to enter the 2nd floor
Time Limit: None
Du-ho scanned the text while taking a deep breath.
“Fifty Ratkin…?”
- Hmm. That’s soft stuff, hamda.
“What did you say?”
Swish.
The air rippled, and Isto appeared.
- I’m Isto, hamda. Fifty Ratkin isn’t even a warm-up.
Remembering what had happened in the Rift, Du-ho nodded without realizing it.
That’s true enough.
The LED eyes curved as if smiling.
- Du-ho nim should just do things the way we planned in the Garage. I’ll handle things here.
It was a reassuring thing to hear.
“Then, let’s go in….”
Before Du-ho could finish, a new notification window popped up.
◈ Collect amorphous alloy (0/3)
Condition: Mechromancer detection ability
Time Limit: None
Reward: The Legacy of the Forgotten Technician
If refused: Hidden quests tied to class traits blocked 4 times
※ If accepted, this will link to the main quest.
Accept / Refuse
…Amorphous alloy?
Du-ho’s eyes widened.
“It’s called metallic glass because the atomic arrangement is disordered. Its strength and corrosion resistance are top-tier, and it can absorb impact without breaking.”
- Exactly. And its mana conductivity is dozens of times higher than ordinary metals.
“It’d be great for mana circuits or sensor materials.”
Isto’s LED eyes went round.
- Du-ho nim knows this stuff too?!
“Hah, you know quite a bit yourself, huh? If I actually got my hands on the real thing… I’d want to try applying it to you.”
Ohhh, oh!
- Then would I become an transcendent body?
The two of them grinned at each other.
The quest content was so compelling it left no room for anything else.
Then Du-ho spotted a phrase that nagged at him.
“I still don’t get how this links to the main quest.”
- Can’t go wrong if you go for it, hamda.
“Where do you keep learning lines like that?”
- From the internet, imda.
Snorting, Du-ho accepted the hidden quest.
Then—
Huh!!!
W-What is this?!
It was absurd enough that fifty had become one thousand.
But one hour?
“No, why would I die if I fail!”
His mind went blank.
No matter how strong Isto was, a thousand in one hour seemed impossible.
And then there was the Queen Ratkin, who sounded like a monster just from the name.
“What’s a Queen Ratkin? Is it stronger than a King Ratkin?”
- Hmm~ The Queen Ratkin is the pinnacle of this world, hamda. Well, it just keeps giving birth forever.
In other words, it was like a queen ant.
Then…
“You’re not telling me there are dozens of King Ratkins guarding her, are you?”
Please say no.
- Ohhh~ Correct, hamda.
Oh, my head.
Du-ho clutched at it.
“…This is really not okay.”
- Ahh~ Are humans supposed to get scared just because there are lots of ants?
“Hey, what kind of ant is that big?”
In the direction Du-ho pointed, there was a Ratkin wielding an axe.
Chik-chik-chik─!
Having spotted them, the Ratkin spasmed and charged.
Tap, tap. Slap!
Isto strode forward and casually backhanded it across the face.
Crack. Thud….
The Ratkin, its head turned a full circle, rolled onto the ground.
- As you can see, like this.
Right…
Isto’s strength couldn’t be denied.
But.
“That means I have to wander through this huge forest for an hour!”
It was a reasonable complaint.
The forest was so vast the end couldn’t be seen.
Just looking at it, it seemed like an hour would pass in no time if they had to roam around searching for Ratkin.
- No need to search for them.
“Huh?”
Then Isto stretched his neck long and—
Keeeeeeeeek─!! Chiiiiik!! Kik-kik-kik!!!
He mimicked the Ratkin’s cry at full volume.
“What are you doing?!”
As Du-ho stared in total incomprehension at Isto’s bizarre behavior, something astonishing happened around him.
Chik! Chiiik! Keeeik!!
From deep within the forest, Ratkin roars rang out from all directions. There were far more of them than in the Rift, an overwhelming chorus of shrieks.
Du-ho got goosebumps.
My God….
Isto’s LED eyes narrowed in what looked like a grin.
- That’s the sound they make when they’re fighting for rank among themselves, hamda. So I copied it.
“Rank fight?”
- Yep. The whole pack is coming to check the challenger. They’ll all be here soon.
Rrrrrrummmble──!!
A tremendous tremor began to roll across the ground.
Far off between the enormous trees, a black tide of Ratkin was surging toward them.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
At the sight, Du-ho nearly lost his breath.
Whiiiir─
Isto rolled his shoulders once.
Crunch, crunch!
He pulled a mana stone from his pocket and crunched it down.
And then…
- Du-ho nim should go into the Garage. I’ll clean this up here.
“…You really okay?”
Thud.
With a push, Isto shoved the terrified Du-ho into the Garage. Then he gave a thumbs-up.
- Hasta la vista. Hehe~.
The moment he said it, Isto extended his arm.
BOOM!
In an instant, dozens of Ratkin were blown to pieces, and the stench of blood spread through the air.
* * *
Du-ho stood there blankly inside the Garage.
Before long, a strange, uncanny noise seeped into his ears.
[Gyeonggyeonggyeonggyeonggyeong…]
As if the system had broken, only the syllable “gyeong” repeated endlessly.
[Relelelelelele…]
Then “re” drilled into his ears.
Just as Du-ho frowned in confusion—
Experience gained.
Experience gained.
Experience gained.
Experience gained.
Experience gained.
Effect:Level up!
Notifications exploded like fireworks.
Apparently Isto was mowing down dozens of Ratkin in the forest in an instant.
But Du-ho’s hand groped at empty air.
He had something to do, that much was clear, but he couldn’t quite get a grip on it.
He muttered inwardly, I came in thinking this was simple…
“What the hell is going on?”
- Du-ho nim, don’t you worry. I’m perfectly fine. Du-ho nim just needs to follow the plan.
At Isto’s calm words, Du-ho exhaled deeply.
He forced his wavering nerves back into place.
Then he looked up at the ceiling.
An android hanging from the old mounting frame was rolling its eyes down at him.
Sure enough…
“Electronics work inside the Garage.”
Normally, every electronic circuit should have already been burnt out. Yet the android was moving its eyes.
Even though they were inside the Abyss, not even a Rift!
Whirr—!
Du-ho immediately pulled the android down and laid it on the workbench.
He rolled up his sleeves.
“First… let’s fix your waist.”
All the while, in his ears there were still the ceaseless sounds of—
[Level up!]
[Experience gained.]
[Level…]
The fact that Isto was outside, spilling blood and fighting, helped steady Du-ho’s mind.
And…
The Garage felt like a tiny workshop isolated in the middle of a battlefield.