Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: How the Rank 1 Hero Saves the World
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As soon as I selected the option, a white light flashed, and a message appeared.
- Player, Wandering Pilgrim, you have been designated as a special management target. A 'Main Quest' will now be generated.
- Main Quest: Collect the Seeds of Fate to alter destiny.
- Reward: Restoration of the destroyed world
- Sub-quests will be generated as needed by the System Administrator.
- Successfully completing the sub-quests will prompt the 'System Administrator' to assist Player, 'Wandering Pilgrim,' with the Main Quest.
All my fatigue vanished in an instant. No, it felt more like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.
I'd expected a quest like "clear a specific dungeon." I'd assumed the System was trying to use me to fix its errors.
But this was completely unexpected.
"Why the hell does the reward mention a destroyed world...?"
The vision I'd seen after clearing that spontaneous Dungeon Break in Gangnam lingered no matter how hard I tried to forget it. Every detail was etched perfectly in my memory.
Tartarus, a destroyed world, it had said.
Until now, I'd kept open the possibility that it was just a hallucination the System had shown me. But seeing it listed as a quest reward like this...
I'd tried not to imagine the worst, but shoving it right in my face like this made me sense the System's malice.
'...Calm down.'
I steadied my breathing and glared at the message.
Regardless of my agitation, the content was undeniably unfriendly.
"So, you're saying if I complete the quests you demand, you'll restore Tartarus? How exactly? And was it really destroyed in the first place?"
- Rewards are granted upon quest completion. Try faithfully completing the sub-quests!
I'd just tested it out by talking to the System message since there was no downside, but surprisingly, it actually replied.
I startled and glanced around.
Every time the System had responded like this before, some weird error like a Dungeon Break or overload had occurred.
But even after waiting ten minutes, nothing happened.
"So now I don't have to worry about a Dungeon Break popping up every time I check a message?"
- Player, 'Wandering Pilgrim's stabilization process has been completed.
- Friction between Player, 'Wandering Pilgrim,' and Server: Republic of Korea has been stabilized.
It even answered that question.
Was this what being a special management target meant? Being able to get real-time responses from the System was definitely a privilege.
At least now, Dungeon Breaks wouldn't happen because of me.
That was a relief, at least.
With nothing holding me back, I unleashed all the questions I'd been saving up.
"What's the System's real goal? Why the hell did you send me back here? What happened in Tartarus? How do I get back? You stabilized things, so why haven't you restored my stats properly?"
But after that one helpful reply, the System went completely silent on all these questions.
Infuriating.
"...What's a Seed of Fate?"
- Quest details must be discovered by the player through quest progression.
Damn it.
I clicked my tongue.
"And when do these sub-quests show up?"
- Sub-quests will be generated as needed by the System Administrator.
It seemed the System had decided to only answer about the current quest and its reward.
I sank onto the sofa, lost in thought.
This felt... off in so many ways.
But since the System had offered restoration of a destroyed world as the reward, that had to be it. The System never lied about rewards, so I just needed to complete those sub-quests.
...As if I'd swallow that so easily.
I stared piercingly at the Main Quest entry.
Tartarus destroyed? And now suddenly restoration as a reward?
A carrot instead of a stick? It felt completely different from the System I'd dealt with so far, which set off alarm bells.
The quest itself made no sense to me either.
Seeds of Fate? Collect them to change destiny? What?
More than anything, after getting screwed by the System so many times, I doubted it was even possible.
The System had backstabbed me plenty after dangling a quest—like that time it made me drop the boss's head only to reveal a prerequisite quest later.
After mulling it over, I reached a conclusion.
'Still, I have no other options.'
I didn't even know how I'd gone from Korea to Tartarus and back.
If the System was handing out quests and rewards, tackling them was the most efficient path.
But I couldn't just trust the System blindly.
At the very least, I wanted confirmation from another source that this quest was feasible.
Problem was, no one had that kind of info.
If this were Tartarus, I'd head to the Mage Tower to check for precedents of others receiving similar quests.
But in Korea, dungeons had only been around for five years, so research on the System was probably still limited.
So I had to figure it out solo?
I sighed with nothing to show for it.
Then, a thought struck me.
...No 'people'?
* * *
Two days later.
At exactly 10 a.m., a black car pulled up to my apartment entrance, and I felt a slight relief.
It was a normal vehicle.
"Hello, Hunter Kang Ye-na."
Choi Min-hyuk stepped out and greeted me.
I returned the greeting.
"Yes, hello. Sorry for suddenly changing the raid schedule again today."
The dungeon I was raiding today was located in Surisan Provincial Park.
It was farther from my place than I'd thought, so I'd been grateful when Choi Min-hyuk offered to drive. I didn't have great transport options.
"Ah... no, it's fine. Anyway, hop in."
As I buckled into the passenger seat, Choi Min-hyuk oddly lingered outside instead of getting in right away.
What was that about?
Before I could get out and ask, he climbed in.
He pulled a thick binder of documents from his briefcase and handed it to me as soon as he sat in the driver's seat.
Very businesslike.
"These are the raid data for today's Ta-56 dungeon. It should help if you review them."
Appreciated.
I flipped open the documents and skimmed them.
Ta-56 Dungeon Raid Report - 23rd Run
Author: Yang Tae-won
Raiders: Yang Tae-won, Kim Hee-won, Lee Young-hoon, Choi Seok-won
Raid Time: 26 hours 34 minutes
Clear Condition: Defeat 30 B-Rank monsters inside the dungeon
Raid Summary: Plant-type monsters called 'Devil's Colony' are B-Rank, making the clear condition easy, but they're scattered far apart, so conserving stamina during travel is key.
Large groups are hard to manage. Kept the team minimal, referencing the 21st raid.
Bringing crafter Lee Young-hoon Hunter with Holy Water production skill was effective, but insufficient quantity led to lowest-stamina member Kim Hee-won Hunter collapsing midway.
Completed the condition solo and exited.
Dungeon entry point is a desert; swamp appears 10 km east. Too vast and lifeless, no need for further exploration.
I tried to focus, but this was unavoidable.
I looked up at Choi Min-hyuk.
"Do I... have to write reports by hand like this?"
Indeed, the reports were all handwritten, astonishingly.
Even after ten years in Tartarus cut off from modern civilization, I'd type reports if asked now.
Handwriting them? Forget restrictions—I'd bolt to another guild.
Sensing my resolve, Choi Min-hyuk hurriedly clarified.
"No! Don't misunderstand. It's Yang Tae-won Hunter's stubbornness. We'd digitize everything for convenience, of course."
"R-right? You scared me."
I flipped through the pages. But... every single one was handwritten.
"By the way, it seems like no one but Yang Tae-won Hunter raids this dungeon."
About 40 raid records, all handwritten.
"Yes... It's a dungeon with unique traits, so it's impossible without him."
Hmm, I see.
I skimmed a few more pages.
The content was similar.
Up to the 23rd run, they'd mapped the environment in detail, but after that, it focused solely on periodic raids to prevent saturation.
These reports... were more entertaining than expected.
Raid 28th Run.
Found fruit on a tree in the swamp and collected some. Discovered it shows a System name.
'Swamp Fruit.' Can be refined into deadly poison. Submitting sample.
Raid 29th Run. No anomalies. Weather: clear.
Could not collect more Swamp Fruit as all had been harvested by dungeon monsters.
Raid 31st Run. No anomalies. Weather: rain.
No Swamp Fruit again.
Raid 33rd Run.
Entered with Lee Woo-yeon Hunter, who harvested the Swamp Fruit. Recommend confiscation. 5 km radius scorched. Submitting new map.
It started as proper reports but devolved into elementary school diary entries.
And Lee Woo-yeon showed up here too. That guy was everywhere.
This was obviously a false report—claiming no fruit when he'd pocketed it himself. They must've fought so fiercely after spotting him that the terrain changed.
Having read it all, I was genuinely impressed.
"It's even more haphazard than I thought."
"Hahaha, that's the world for you..."
Choi Min-hyuk let out a dry laugh.
I agreed, honestly. Human society rolled along in such bizarre ways.
"Still, you've managed to keep the saturation from overflowing so far."
Dungeons like this, with slight variations, usually didn't hit critical saturation if raided once every few months.
The System's balance patches were sly like that.
Silence stretched until Choi Min-hyuk finally broke it.
"But may I ask why you chose this dungeon, even changing the schedule right up to the deadline?"
Fair question from his perspective.
I'd originally been slated for a dungeon near Seoul Station, but yesterday I'd abruptly requested a change.
Specifically to this one in Surisan Provincial Park.
"No particular reason."
Of course there was, but nothing to tell him.
"Ah, I see."
Conversation died.
Choi Min-hyuk drove in silence, stopping at a cafe midway to buy coffee and hand it to me.
The iced Americano was brutally bitter.
I forced it down while poring over the diary-like... no, reports.
They only got wilder.
Yang Tae-won Hunter—I kinda wanted to meet him. If he tangled with Lee Woo-yeon, he had to be tough. Wonder who won.
Soon, the car reached the destination. Thankfully, no need to hike to the summit.
It stopped near a massive boulder.
A familiar diamond-shaped portal glyph hovered over the "Mundeung Rock" sign.
Choi Min-hyuk got out and gave quick instructions.
"I'll head back now, but take a taxi when you leave. We'll cover the cost."
"Yes, thank you. You've worked hard."
He bowed and sped off like he was fleeing.
Ice-cold attitude.
I wasn't oblivious; I knew he found me uncomfortable, so I didn't hold him.
It wasn't uncommon.
System levels and stats didn't absolutely dictate combat, but vast power gaps alone could overwhelm.
I'd felt it myself before getting strong.
He'd been bolder on the phone, but face-to-face was another story.
Even in the hospital, he'd seemed gutsy for a civilian... Maybe an off day.
I ignored it and eyed the dungeon.
Suddenly, I noticed my heart pounding anxiously.
Hand to chest—racing.
Nervous? Scared?
Maybe.
It wasn't entering the dungeon that frightened me.
What scared me was if the scene inside didn't match my expectations...
No, cut the weak talk.
Too early to despair over no leads falling into my lap.
And I had some confidence.
'It'll be fine. It has to be.'
I'd dug through the raid data Choi Min-hyuk sent yesterday, all day, to find this dungeon.
Initially skeptical of the details, but Yang Tae-won's reports built my hopes.
The terrain, raid summaries, monster names—they all rang familiar.
The world beyond this dungeon might be one I already knew.
- Would you like to enter the dungeon?
I took one last deep breath.
If my hunch was right, this was walking to my death.
But even a sliver of hope was worth hell itself.
Selecting entry, the familiar pull swept through me like being sucked in.
My vision shifted instantly.
Before me stretched a barren plain.
Lifeless dry earth under a red sky.
Seeing the eerie moon in that crimson heaven made my heart slam.
The scene matched my expectations perfectly—and red error-like messages flooded in.
- Warning! You have entered the Demon Realm.
- Warning! Risk of corruption by demonic energy. Item use recommended.