The Unconquerable Dungeon
The first anomaly that occurred after they entered the dungeon was something Jeong-Hoon could not sense at all.
Yet the others had come to a halt with strangely subtle expressions on their faces, so he realized at once that something had happened.
“Is there some kind of problem?”
“It isn’t anything bad. Just……”
Butler Ju, about to answer Jeong-Hoon’s question, first looked around carefully to confirm whether the sensation he felt was real.
“Hunter Han Si-Eun, did you also feel your abilities growing stronger?”
“Yes. It’s very subtle, but something definitely feels different.”
“Really? I just feel completely at ease right now.”
When So-Hyeon spoke up with a smile in response to Si-Eun, Jeong-Hoon simply shrugged.
“So I wouldn’t know since I’m a Non-Awakened, but everyone’s powers got stronger? That’s good news, then.”
A dungeon was a danger zone where anything could happen. The fact that their allies’ abilities had increased was welcome news, so Jeong-Hoon merely nodded.
“Chairman Lee, that’s not it. A sudden surge in superpowers can actually make them harder to control.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. For me the pain’s eased up a lot so it’s comfortable, but usually even a subtle power increase creates differences in handling……”
“Is there anyone here who can’t adjust to that subtle difference?”
Just as So-Hyeon was about to launch into an explanation, Jeong-Hoon cut her off and asked the question right back.
“Uh, well……”
“Surely you don’t always clear dungeons in perfect condition, do you?”
A subtle rise in power. Because the sudden lessening of her pain had made movement so much easier, So-Hyeon had momentarily forgotten something important: whether one was Awakened or Non-Awakened, differences in condition according to one’s physical state always existed.
“Isn’t that the case?”
“Correct, Chairman. As sharp as ever.”
Butler Ju praised Jeong-Hoon’s keen insight, but Jeong-Hoon did not preen; instead he shook his head.
“If anything, the real problem is that this is a dungeon where sudden power increases—phenomena completely unknown to the world—are occurring, isn’t it?”
With a serious expression, Jeong-Hoon assessed the dungeon’s danger level as if he himself were an Awakened. Watching him, So-Hyeon and Si-Eun both felt that he might not be merely a genius businessman after all.
The deeper they pushed into the dungeon, the more everyone’s wariness gradually melted away.
When they had first entered a dungeon that had remained uncleared for so long and then encountered the sudden power-boost anomaly, their vigilance had spiked to its peak. Yet no matter how far they advanced there was no combat, not even a single unexpected incident—only endless forward progress. Naturally, their caution began to fade of its own accord.
“Haven’t we been inside for quite a while now?”
“It’s almost been two hours.”
Feeling his legs start to ache, Jeong-Hoon voiced the question, and Butler Ju, who had been leading the way, glanced back. The Awakened showed not the slightest sign of fatigue, but the Non-Awakened Jeong-Hoon needed rest. That was precisely why dungeon raids were always led by Awakened. No amount of training could close the gap in stamina enough to keep pace with them.
“We’ve walked this far and it’s still just a corridor. Is this place really a hideout?”
Two hours in and still not a single space that looked livable—nothing but tunnel. Only a madman would turn a place like this into a hideout, so Jeong-Hoon shook his head.
“We confirmed they moved here, so this has to be the place. Still, even I didn’t expect this.”
No one had imagined that a dungeon consisting of nothing but corridors would be used as a hideout, and everyone shook their heads in agreement.
“Maybe that’s exactly why they chose it as a hideout?”
While the others were lost in thought, weighing the hideout’s usefulness, Si-Eun suddenly spoke up, drawing every gaze to her.
“We’ve been walking for two hours and the corridor still has no end in sight. Most people would assume there’s nothing here and just turn back, wouldn’t they?”
“Yeah, that makes sense. In that case there’s no real need to install any security system either.”
“A booby trap would only make it look more suspicious. Si-Eun’s pretty sharp. As expected of an S-class hunter!”
Jeong-Hoon picked up Si-Eun’s reasoning and So-Hyeon chimed in with agreement. A sense of accomplishment was rising in Jeong-Hoon when he suddenly felt a strange dissonance and looked back at Butler Ju and the other vassals.
“……You already figured that out, didn’t you?”
“Whatever do you mean, sir?”
“The reason this corridor is so long.”
Sensing the proud looks the three of them were giving him, Jeong-Hoon asked Butler Ju directly. Butler Ju, Ko Yu-Yeon, and Woo Do-Il hastily averted their eyes and pretended not to hear. That reaction alone was enough confirmation; Jeong-Hoon could only shake his head in resignation.
“Well, of course those three would have already guessed.”
Hunter rank wasn’t strictly necessary for this kind of deduction, yet they had two SS-class and one SSS-class among them. They could have finished the reasoning from nothing more than the ambient sensations around them. They might even already know the secret of this long-abandoned, never-cleared dungeon.
“Everything is for the Gaju’s sake.”
At the words “for your sake,” Jeong-Hoon wondered what any of this had to do with his growth as Gaju—until he glanced at Si-Eun and So-Hyeon chatting together and nodded. The vassals were deliberately not stepping in to solve everything themselves; they were treating this time as precious time for him to spend with So-Hyeon, and showing him that consideration.
“Shall we get moving again? How much longer is this corridor?”
“About another thirty minutes should do it.”
Jeong-Hoon dusted himself off and stood as he asked. Butler Ju fixed him with an intent stare as he answered.
“Thirty minutes at my walking pace, right?”
Catching the unspoken meaning in that look, Jeong-Hoon shook his head while replying, and Butler Ju once again wore a proud little smile.
When they finally reached the end of the corridor, what Jeong-Hoon saw was an enormous boulder.
“This is it?”
They had come all the way to the end of the passage only to find a massive rock blocking the way. Jeong-Hoon’s face fell with disappointment, but Butler Ju shook his head and stepped forward.
“Surely not. This is simply something placed here to seal the passage.”
With a casual shrug Butler Ju gave the boulder a light push; it slid aside with almost comical ease. Emerging from the cleared passage, Jeong-Hoon found himself looking into a cavern furnished with beds, emergency rations, and everyday necessities, and he nodded. This was definitely the hideout.
“You didn’t just set up some flimsy fake, did you?”
Jeong-Hoon grumbled while staring at the boulder, but So-Hyeon had already walked over and was knocking on it.
“Chairman Lee, this is real rock.”
“You were curious too, Noona?”
“Of course I was. Just shoving a boulder this size out of the way…… Director Ju, don’t tell me you’re S-class?”
“Um, Noona, saying that is actually rude!”
“Huh? What do you mean, rude? Wait—don’t tell me!”
At the mention of S-class, the genuine S-class Si-Eun shook her head in protest. So-Hyeon read something in her expression.
“For real? Seriously?”
“He’s far stronger than I am. Not just Director Ju—Attorney Ko Yu-Yeon and Director Woo Do-Il as well.”
So-Hyeon, who had only vaguely known the three were Awakened, went blank for a moment at Si-Eun’s words. Since an S-class like Si-Eun herself was saying they were stronger, their being at least S-class was guaranteed. And if calling them S-class was considered rude, there was only one conclusion she could reach.
“SS-class?!”
Faced with So-Hyeon’s shock, Butler Ju and the other two simply nodded in answer and quietly took up positions as if guarding Jeong-Hoon. Their gazes were fixed on yet another corridor that led deeper into the dungeon.
“Something’s there.”
At the sudden shift in demeanor everyone instantly swung their muzzles toward the direction the three were watching. The change in posture was lightning-fast, yet no one panicked. Only the Non-Awakened Jeong-Hoon’s reaction lagged by a hair. Dungeons could produce emergencies at any moment, so tension was mandatory. Their swift response now proved that even while joking around they had all maintained a proper level of alertness.
“Something is coming. Two of them. Humans. They’re in an extremely weakened state, so just keep your muzzles trained—no need for suppressive fire.”
Following Butler Ju’s instructions, everyone stayed ready to fire at any second. From deeper in the corridor two emaciated men came staggering out.
“Khh…… H-help me……”
Their voices were nothing but raw scrapes of metal, throats completely gone. They managed only a few more steps before collapsing in heaps.
“Doctor, check them.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Woo Do-Il was the director of Myeongil Hospital and the world’s foremost specialist in treating hunters. He was the perfect person for the job, so Jeong-Hoon named him. Approaching the two skeletal figures, Woo Do-Il raised a hand from which a faint light rose. The light wrapped once around both men before being reabsorbed into his palm. He nodded and turned back.
“Hm. I believe I understand what this place is.”
“Did…… something come out of those people?”
“Their life force has been drained.”
At the words “life force,” every gaze snapped toward So-Hyeon. Their powers had risen upon entering the dungeon, and now they had found people whose life force had been sucked away. The symptoms were far too similar to Hunter’s Disease for anyone to look elsewhere.
“I don’t mind, so go ahead and say it.”
Sensing that everyone was watching her reaction, So-Hyeon spoke calmly. Woo Do-Il nodded.
“This is not a dungeon. It is a buffer zone created by the collapse of a barrier. That is why abilities are strengthened here—and why life force is absorbed.”
“Explain in more detail.”
“This is Lumen’s classified information. Are you certain?”
“……I authorize it.”
It was family secrecy that Jeong-Hoon had deliberately avoided until now, yet it was information necessary to resolve the present situation. He therefore spoke with deliberate authority and demanded the facts.
“As you know, monsters have existed in this world since ancient times. The myths and legends recorded throughout history are the evidence. Yet at some point those monsters vanished from the world. More precisely, they were isolated—sealed away—into another place.”
Knowing that Jeong-Hoon understood nothing of this, Woo Do-Il began from the very basics. Listening, Jeong-Hoon slowly began to grasp what his family had truly been doing all along. They were the ones who knew the truth of monsters still hidden from the world, and who had guarded the seals.
“That seal is maintained by a kind of barrier. A massive shock to the barrier caused monsters to reappear in the world. Yet it was only a great shock, not a full collapse, so the barrier has been trying to return to its original state.”
“So while the barrier is trying to restore itself, it’s absorbing people’s life force?”
Si-Eun nodded in understanding as she asked. Woo Do-Il readily agreed.
“Exactly so. The power increase is also because this is a point of barrier collapse; the seals placed on people themselves are loosening.”
“W-wait a second, Director! Seals on people too? Not just monsters?”
So-Hyeon was stunned by the word “seals,” but the vassals, Woo Do-Il included, simply nodded in confirmation.
“Awakening itself is merely humans becoming able to do what they were originally capable of. In other words, Awakened are simply those with a bit more talent who unlocked their abilities a little earlier than others.”
As Woo Do-Il hesitated over how much further to reveal—another layer of classified information—Butler Ju stepped in and took over the explanation. Woo Do-Il and Ko Yu-Yeon looked shocked, yet Butler Ju’s attitude made it clear that the Gaju’s permission was all the authorization he needed.
“It is fortunate that the Chairman entered this place. Restoring the barrier is something only the Chairman can do, is it not?”
Butler Ju spoke as if Jeong-Hoon had known all along. Jeong-Hoon shook his head hard from side to side.
“What are you talking about? I’m a Non-Awakened.”
“Given how far things have come, you may drop the act. The fact that the Chairman is the sole being in this world capable of restoring and maintaining the barrier—these two ladies will take that secret with them to their graves.”
Butler Ju quietly released a wave of presence that subtly pressured So-Hyeon and Si-Eun. Jeong-Hoon, however, could not bring himself to care about that. The revelation that he—who had always believed himself to be nothing more than a Non-Awakened—was capable of such a thing struck him with considerable force.