Highway Trap
Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek were hauling raid gear into the van.
Kim Jun brought the Thunder Brain Sword and carefully set it down inside the van. Since he'd crafted a wooden scabbard to fit its shape, it looked far more presentable than when it had been wrapped in cloth.
"Let's move. We leave in fifteen minutes."
Go Cheolmin called out. They needed to depart early to arrive with time to spare.
A familiar engine roar echoed from the parking lot.
Go Cheolmin spotted the Hummer that had just shut off. Choi Min-su was walking toward him.
"Senior."
"Today, right?"
"Yes."
"I know how this might sound, but I think it's best if you hear it."
"Should I be scared?"
Go Cheolmin said with a chuckle. Choi Min-su clapped him on the shoulder.
"Not scared, but you should stay alert. Maeng Gyu-pil. You know him?"
Go Cheolmin nodded calmly.
"Of course."
He recalled an unpleasant memory. Years ago, a petty argument with Maeng Gyu-pil had escalated into a fight, leaving his entire left arm badly burned.
He'd spent some time in the hospital, but it wasn't a severe injury.
"Maeng Gyu-pil is a client of the Yeon Family estate master."
"First I've heard of it."
"That's not the point. The guy's targeting Kim Jun. Even if the family head approves, he says he can't accept a carrier as a disciple. As you know, Maeng Gyu-pil is on a whole different level from No In-tae. He's the type who thinks killing people is no big deal."
"You're not saying I should pull Kim Jun from the raid, are you? I can't, and he wouldn't listen anyway."
Go Cheolmin vividly remembered Kim Jun's words.
'If you want me out of the raid, I'll leave the guild.'
Choi Min-su said,
"I figured as much. I'm just telling you to be aware and prepare."
With that, Choi Min-su walked over to the Pink Team.
Yoo Min-jeong, Choi Muhyun, Skyla, Yeom Sang-taek, and Kim Jun were waiting, having seen him. They'd already loaded most of the gear into the van.
Choi Min-su extended a hand to Yoo Min-jeong.
"Good luck."
"Yes."
Through their clasped palms, Yoo Min-jeong felt a small, round object.
Suddenly whispering, Choi Min-su said,
"I don't know why you'd need this for an F-rank dungeon, but since a friend's daughter asked, I'm lending it. You know what happens if you lose it, right? Even I could get kicked out of the real Cheonhondan."
"Got it."
Yoo Min-jeong whispered back.
Without so much as a glance at Kim Jun or Choi Muhyun, Choi Min-su shared a brief word with Go Cheolmin, then drove off in his Hummer.
Yoo Min-jeong's face lit up brighter than usual.
Their raid plan had one missing piece: a Legio, the item that pointed to the gate inside the dungeon.
She'd asked Choi Min-su just in case, and got it right before departure.
Go Cheolmin checked his watch.
"Let's go."
Not just the Pink Team, but guild doctor O Won-jin and carrier Kang Jin-gu—for emergencies—boarded the van.
Moments later, the van pulled out of the parking lot.
Yi Myeong-cheol wiped his sweat-soaked brow with a damp handkerchief.
His breath reeked of acetone.
He wanted to pull off the highway into a rest stop, park the dump truck, rush to the bathroom, and vomit up his churning guts. But if he did, his wife—who only had eyes for him—and his starry-eyed pretty daughter would live far poorer and more miserably than now.
Pancreatic cancer.
Surgery was impossible. At best, half a year.
He wanted to leave enough money for his family to keep their home, but a truck driver who'd barely scraped by all these years had no way.
That's when the devil approached with temptation.
Yi Myeong-cheol seized the devil's hand. For his family. Only for his family.
He got 100 million won.
Finish the job, get 300 million more.
Then, a text came.
Gripping the wheel with one hand, Yi Myeong-cheol checked his phone. Car model, license plate. The vehicle he had to crash the dump truck into.
His hands shook.
'I have to do it. No matter what.'
Yi Myeong-cheol accelerated.
"Feeling off?"
Kim Jun suddenly asked from the passenger seat.
Go Cheolmin, driving, felt a jolt but played it cool and glanced at him.
"Why? You look sick?"
Even as he said it, worry crept in.
He knew how perceptive Kim Jun was. Had he already sensed the dungeon sickness? That night Kim Jun came home to learn footwork, had he noticed something?
"You're taking pills."
"Vitamins."
"Ah."
Kim Jun nodded with a sly grin.
"When did you start noticing that? You worry too much about useless stuff. Not tired?"
Go Cheolmin built a verbal wall.
"That's just how I am."
Kim Jun pouted and looked out the window.
Paddy fields stretched beyond the speeding car. Mountains still green, rice turning golden.
A dump truck appeared in the side mirror.
Kim Jun eyed it closely. A faint unease. Something off, but he couldn't pinpoint why.
The truck overtook others and pulled alongside the van.
Kim Jun glimpsed the driver's face—pale as a ghost, sickly. And glancing at the van far too often.
'Should I tell Master the truck's weird?'
As he pondered while watching the truck, it suddenly rammed the van's side.
Bang!
The van lurched, losing balance and skidding sideways.
Choi Muhyun and Go Cheolmin urgently drew mana. A white barrier enveloped the interior.
The van veered off the lane and rolled.
The windshield shattered, glass flying. Protected by the barrier from cuts, but each roll flung their bodies up and down.
The van crossed the median into oncoming traffic. Gear from the trunk scattered across the road.
Honk!
A tour bus barely grazed past.
Upside down, Kim Jun locked eyes for a split second with a passenger on the bus.
The bus braked hard; a sedan rear-ended it. Then an SUV hit the sedan, followed by another car.
The wrecked van slammed into the guardrail on the highway's edge and finally stopped.
"Everyone okay?"
Go Cheolmin asked.
"Yeah."
Choi Muhyun replied, just turning to check the back.
Kim Jun forced a smile; Yeom Sang-taek breathed heavily, face pale. Skyla scanned outside the broken window; Yoo Min-jeong tended to the guild doctor and Kang Jin-gu.
Fortunately, only minor scrapes.
"Muhyun, your reactions are getting sharp."
Go Cheolmin clapped Choi Muhyun's shoulder.
"This much is basic."
Kim Jun climbed out through the broken window and surveyed the scene.
Speechless.
Overturned bus, crumpled sedans, smoking SUV—dozens of cars tangled in the pileup, paralyzing the road.
Then—boom! A massive explosion rocked the ground.
Kim Jun stared across the median. The dump truck engulfed in flames, belching black smoke. The driver who'd caused this nightmare thrashed inside, unable to escape.
Go Cheolmin vaulted the median toward the truck.
Kim Jun followed.
Reaching the truck in a flash, Go Cheolmin leaped onto the cab roof—leaping nearly seven meters over flames. People gasped as he landed.
Kim Jun landed beside him with a Mokhonbo Tan step.
"Go back."
Go Cheolmin shouted.
"This isn't just a traffic accident."
"What?"
"Strong fire mana inside. Definitely Pyrodium."
Go Cheolmin grasped the implication.
"Save the driver, and we'll know what happened."
Go Cheolmin shattered the windshield with Mokhonbo and entered the cab.
Kim Jun was right.
Red vines coiled around the driver's legs, melting his jeans and skin with acidic ooze.
Go Cheolmin yanked the driver out in one pull.
Kim Jun's eyes widened at the legs.
"Master?"
"Truck's about to blow. Let's go."
"Yes."
Kim Jun grabbed the driver's arm. Go Cheolmin hefted the snake-like vine-wrapped legs. They both executed Mokhonbo Tan, landing safely beyond the flames.
Instantly, fire consumed the dump truck in a massive blast.
Go Cheolmin rolled up his sleeve and glanced at Kim Jun.
"Stay back. This guy's dangerous."
"Magic Creeper, right?"
"Yeah."
Go Cheolmin glared at the writhing vines.
He knew how to kill it. The issue: do it flawlessly, in one go. People everywhere. Miss, and it'd burrow into a new host.
Assessing the vines, Go Cheolmin thrust his hand into the leg.
The driver writhed in agony. Kim Jun rushed over and pinned him.
Go Cheolmin looked at Kim Jun.
Kim Jun knelt on the driver's shoulder, gripping his arms, staring back intently.
Go Cheolmin tried extracting the buried bulb, but midway vines snapped. It burrowed deeper.
"...Damn."
"I'll do it."
"What?"
"That's carrier work. Just tell me what to do."
After Go Cheolmin's instructions, Kim Jun reached in, probing with his senses.
He found the bulb up near the thigh.
Thrusting his hand in, Kim Jun seized it. Vines burrowing between muscles resisted. Like fishing, he eased, then yanked it out.
The extracted bulb had bug-like compound eyes.
Go Cheolmin crushed it underfoot; the vines went limp.
"So this is a Magic Creeper."
Kim Jun poked the bulb curiously. He'd seen photos online, but never the real thing.
Magic Creepers were mutated vines from contamination, linked to dungeon cores—exact cause still under study.
Sirens grew closer. Police responding to reports.
Ambulances too.
"Let's go."
Go Cheolmin turned.
They crossed back to the van.
Yoo Min-jeong and the team were aiding crash victims. Guild doctor O Won-jin had the first-aid kit out for triage; Kang Jin-gu assisted.
Soon, police and rescuers took over.
Go Cheolmin checked his watch and called the Pink Team leader.
"Yoo Min-jeong, gather the team and head to the dungeon. Leave this to me."
"Got it."
Yoo Min-jeong rallied her team.