The Flower Field of Blood
"You think there'll be monsters at the entrance?"
I told Lee Daeman what I'd been thinking — that once we stepped into the dungeon, monsters would be waiting around the gate. He seemed to mull it over for a moment after hearing me out. Even the densest Awoken, with that much experience under his belt, could still be called a veteran. I could only hope he'd read the intent behind my words.
Let's try trusting him for once. If I'd gone that far, he wouldn't drag us in with him anymore. Or at least he'd go in first, check the situation, then come back out and call for us.
"Hmm. I'll go in first. You two follow ten seconds later."
Oh, for fuck's sake, this idiot. Did he not hear that someone's arm got severed? We're not Awoken, you bastard.
"I'm sorry, but we really won't be any help at all."
"I know. But that depends on how you use it. Just do what I tell you. Then you won't have to say things like that."
What the hell is this guy trying to pull? Is he seriously planning to use us as meat shields? How the hell are we supposed to help?
"I'm going first, then. Follow right after me! Don't run."
Did that bastard read my mind? The reporters lined up behind us were getting on my nerves so badly I could die. If we bolted now, it'd be plastered all over the internet. They might even make us write resignation letters for shaming the company.
We're no different from ordinary people, but the press and everyone else look at us through tinted glasses. Employees of support companies like me get treated like people who have to charge into dungeons no matter how dangerous, just because we hold the qualification to enter. We're not soldiers. If we were even half as strong as the Awoken, it wouldn't feel so unfair.
Right now it felt like standing at a crossroads between pride and honor on one side, and our lives on the other. People were watching us from behind. Senior and I both needed to get through that gate fast…
"Hey!! The results are in!"
A voice like a savior's rang out. That gave us an excuse to buy some time.
"W-what's the matter, sir?"
The one who came running toward us was a middle-aged civil servant. He burst out of the building clutching something in his hand — it looked like a tablet PC.
"This way for a moment. This isn't information we can announce yet… Ah, this should be far enough. Actually, the fingerprint analysis results just came in. The owner of the severed arm has been identified as Hunter Lee Minho of Shinbaram Co. For more precision we'll need the blood DNA test results…"
Hearing that made me even less willing to go inside. Senior next to me looked just as despairing — same thought, probably. An Awoken was dead. The fact that only a single arm had come flying out through the gate meant he'd died right at the gate's nose. No one would want to go to a place like that… no one could.
"Sir."
"I'm the Hwaseong Gate administrator."
"Then, Administrator. When exactly is the rescue team arriving?"
"Well, as it happens, a Saturated Dungeon just appeared in Gyeongju, so all personnel have been diverted there. Even if we request, it's difficult. For an E-rank dungeon, they told us to handle it ourselves using our connections… Still, I've put in cooperation requests with a few major corporations. Diamond Guild in particular said they'd dispatch a rescue team…"
Military rescue teams can't come? We're screwed. Even if Diamond Guild put together their own rescue team, it'd take at least an hour to get here. The fact that only Lee Daeman from that company had shown up alone meant the rescue team hadn't prepared to deploy in advance.
Of all times for a Saturated Dungeon to appear. For the nation, the absolute top priority was stopping Saturated Dungeons. A Saturated Dungeon meant exactly that — a dungeon at saturation. Gates that went undiscovered for long periods without being cleared. Or cases where monsters that had over-proliferated inside went berserk and reverse-raided through the gate.
This was also called a gate reverse flow. Korea had seen about three similar cases in the past and succeeded in exterminating all the monsters. Compared to other countries, we'd handled it relatively well. Even so, major cities had been destroyed and there had been numerous casualties. "Handled well" was only relative to other nations — just self-consolation from an incompetent government that failed to discover the gates in advance.
The paradox of a nation with narrow territory but extremely high population density. Conversely, nations with vast territories discovered far too many Saturated Dungeons. Among those countries, a few with extremely small populations — especially few Awoken — were suffering greatly. That's why South Korea had dispatched Awoken to those nations and made a tidy profit from it. Currently, major corporations had taken over that work, running international Awoken dispatch businesses.
"Haa…"
I just sighed in utter despair. Senior was watching my face carefully. It looked like he was hoping I'd be the first to declare I wouldn't go into the dungeon.
"What are you doing? Get in already!"
While we were still gauging each other, Lee Daeman's voice suddenly rang out. Both Senior and I jumped. My heart was pounding.
"W-we're going in."
This idiot Senior, scared of Lee Daeman, had already answered. Camera flashes started going off behind us again. In this situation, Senior and I were a shared fate either way. In the end, we had no choice but to set foot into the gate.
Damn it all. Still, seeing that Lee Daeman had come back out of the dungeon unharmed meant the monsters near the entrance had already been cleared or had disappeared. Senior and I kept deferring who would go first, crawling forward at a turtle's pace as we entered the gate.
We arrived inside the gate. The E-rank dungeon known as the Sand Garden — a place where terrain covered entirely in sand stretched out, almost like a desert.
This is it?
There wasn't a grain of sand anywhere in sight. It was all flower fields. A thick floral fragrance mixed with a reeking stench of blood. I nearly gagged. I looked down at my feet, but the dense petals, stems, and leaves made it impossible to see the dirt floor. I almost doubted whether this was even the dungeon I knew. Had the information I remembered been wrong?
That wasn't the only thing I couldn't confirm here. No matter which way I looked, there was no sign of humans. I'd heard three Awoken teams had entered this dungeon — so why was no one visible? At the very least, temporary lodging tents should have been visible. That would be normal. Had they set them up deeper in? Or had everyone already died…
"No time to stand around. Glasses. You take my left rear. You take the right. Don't take your eyes off the monster detection radar for even a second. That fucking monster bastard is definitely hiding somewhere nearby."
Senior gripped the radar tightly, flustered by Lee Daeman's orders. I, on the other hand, realized the moment I heard him that a shitty situation was unfolding. Still nearby? He hadn't taken care of it? Lee Daeman seemed to have already encountered the enemy. Which at least meant the monster side was weaker than Lee Daeman — that's why it had fled. Suddenly thinking that the man in front of me held my life in his hands didn't leave me feeling particularly great.
There was another problem. If the monster was intelligent — and if it realized that Senior and I were tofu-bodied weaklings with zero power — it would definitely attack us first. I swung the radar this way and that, desperate not to die. I had to discover even the slightest trace of the monster first. That was the only defense I could take right now to survive.
"Mr. Lee Daeman, did you see it? Please share some information. Its form, size, speed, anything."
"I didn't get a good look either. I just blocked the flying attack with my shield and cut the stem. It's a plant-type monster. Meaning it could be hiding anywhere in this flower field. Since I didn't see the main body, I've got nothing more to say."
A plant-type enemy. The flower field spread before our eyes wasn't a simple flower field. Giant flowers of plants I'd never seen in my life rose to waist height — even chest height — covering the entire area. What if, similar to the one that attacked Lee Daeman, the monster's stems snaked between these plants and stabbed me from outside my field of vision?
Gulp. My breathing grew short with tension. I have to live. I'd only just started to feel like life was worth living — I couldn't die like this. Fuck. I really shouldn't have come in.
"Shh."
Lee Daeman, walking ahead, stopped. He held his breath and activated his hearing. Those enviable Awoken bastards could use the mana in their bodies to enhance their hearing, vision, and smell. I'd heard it only doubled a human's at best, but still — you couldn't freely talk behind their backs near those guys. But that ability was our lifeline right now.
Even though this was an E-rank dungeon, given the series of events, the monster's strength would far exceed E-rank difficulty. Could Lee Daeman handle it alone? Would B-rank mana be enough?
While I was lost in thought, Lee Daeman seemed to have found something — he put full force into the hands gripping his sword and shield.
"If you want to live, hide well behind me."
Senior and I just nodded our heads over and over without answering. I turned the radar in the direction Lee Daeman was heading.
"Huh? Thirty meters ahead!"
"I know already!"
He kicked off the ground and shot forward. I'd seen videos of high-rank Awoken on the internet, but seeing it in person — the speed was truly incredible. Like a hero out of a movie or anime. The petals and leaves scattering from the recoil made for perfect staging.
"Whoa… cool."
"Snap out of it, Kang Junghyeok! We might die here."
"I know, Senior."
I took in the sight of the man called Lee Daeman with both eyes, determined not to miss even a fraction of his movements. When I was a kid, I'd dreamed of growing up to become an Awoken, sweeping away monsters, watching videos every day and swinging broken tree branches around.
When Lee Daeman cut down the giant flowers that looked no different from the surrounding ones with his sword, a piercing scream rang out and the hidden monster revealed itself. As expected, it took the form of a giant plant. It was big enough to swallow a person in a single leaf — I couldn't understand how something that size had been hiding. The stems branching out in multiple directions moved as if alive. Those stems seemed to be its main means of attack.
Clang—
Lee Daeman lightly blocked the stem attack with his shield forward. The sound of metal clashing rang out.
"You know who I am and you're still acting up?"
Lee Daeman was talking plenty well all by himself. That running mouth of his almost seemed like the source of his power. But he was strong, no question. The monster was nowhere near a match for Lee Daeman. When he swung his sword, the deep green stems were cut down without resistance. Judging by the metallic sounds every time sword met stem, they shouldn't have been that easy to cut.
"You're right, Junghyeok. That guy's seriously insanely strong."
Senior Kim was impressed too. He'd only dealt with rookie Awoken like me, so he probably rarely got to see something like this. Lee Daeman's combat scene, with the flower petals in the background, was more spectacular than anything — so fast it was hard to follow, and powerful.
"I'm jealous. Of the Awoken."
"You too? I've felt that way forever. Strength is strength, women lining up after them, making good money. Nothing they lack."
"Senior, if you could become an Awoken right this second, what would you do?"
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Just tell me. If a god appeared and said he'd awaken you, what would you do?"
"Is that even a question? I'd lick that god's asshole or his toes, whatever."
Hearing that answer, I thought the ability I'd gotten wasn't so bad either. I was jealous of the Awoken, but I'd gotten this mysterious, incomprehensible ability myself. Time to stop envying others. Just focus on getting out of here alive.
While our pointless conversation continued, Lee Daeman seemed to have finished off the monster. Covered head to toe in plant sap and pollen, he kept sneezing as he approached us. Only then could I finally feel relieved that we'd survived.
But that was a stupid delusion. Who ever said there was only one enemy?
"You stupid bastards! Run!"
Lee Daeman shouted at us. Only then did Senior and I realize sounds were coming from behind us.