C-Rank Dungeon: The First Storm
With every step, the view opened wider. The grassland sloped gently upward into clear hills. The sun hung above the ridge, and seeing daylight inside a dungeon felt strangely out of place. I paused to look up at the sky.
“The sun really is shining in here.”
Baek Sorin shaded her eyes as she gazed at it.
“There’s airflow inside the dungeon. From C-rank and above, it develops its own closed ecosystem—temperature, wind, even air pressure.”
“Does it rain too?”
“It does. Clouds gather, humidity rises at night. Sometimes it even snows.”
A long ridge stretched into the distance. Covering that much ground in just two days and three nights felt daunting.
“Team Leader, are we really walking the entire area?”
“Up to C-rank, foot patrol is standard.”
“If needed, we can use the Hyunmu bikes. Anything beyond that brings in vehicles.”
“From B-rank onward, SUVs become the norm—mana-stone powered models with reinforced tires. Things like the Blue Dragon SUV or White Tiger Ranger.”
“What about other countries?”
“Europe and the Mongolian regions operate a little differently from us.”
“Horses are rare here, but they have plenty. Wide plains make grazing easy.”
“They don’t use just any horse, though. Only those trained to handle mana become combat mounts. Lower maintenance, easier to manage.”
“Do they enter stampede zones too?”
“Up to C-rank, vehicles have a lot of restrictions. From B-rank, they combine vehicles and combat mounts. Equipped mounts can handle some terrain the SUVs can’t, so they run them in tandem.”
“Still, their defense is low, so they’re not used for breakthrough missions. Mostly scouting, movement, and flanking.”
“Mobility sounds decent, at least.”
“Fast, yes. But actual fighting still falls to the riders. The mounts are support only.”
Several fallen orc corpses came into view as we walked—traces of Hyunmu Team 3’s earlier work. Crude wooden spears, axes, and shields reinforced with metal scraps lay scattered around them.
“They fought with these? There’s no blacksmith here.”
“Some orcs are crafters. When one group makes tools, others copy them. C-rank and above aren’t just monster packs—they’re small societies.”
“Societies…”
“Then they’re not so different from us.”
“They are different.”
“We don’t live in dungeons.”
“So why do monsters live in them?”
“Nothing’s been confirmed yet. Most researchers believe dungeons aren’t newly created spaces but fragments of existing ecosystems severed by dimensional collisions. The creatures left inside are like interdimensional natives.”
“In A-rank and higher dungeons, you sometimes find traces of civilization—books, jewelry, pottery. Most of it can’t be read or understood, so it’s left alone, but research continues. Someday we’ll know.”
A series of heavy crashes echoed from the forest ahead. Through the gaps, an orc horde slammed straight into Hyunmu Team 3’s front line. Shields buckled with a screech of metal. Behind them, flashes of lightning and fire rained down as the ranged support hammered the orcs’ heads. Team Leader Jang Tae-wook held the center with his shield locked in place while Park Jung-ho slipped along the flank, carving through orcs in rapid succession. The line bent but didn’t break, even as the numbers kept the pressure constant.
“There are so many orcs. Shouldn’t we help?”
“Hyunmu Team 3 has the front.”
The crashes came again, louder. Orcs crashed into the shield wall; the ring of metal carried far. Support fire flashed from the rear.
Then the left-side brush exploded. Thick branches snapped as twelve orcs burst from the trees and charged straight at us.
“Team Leader, about twelve incoming—fast.”
“Investigation team, form up. Combat ready.”
As the orcs filled our view, Kang Doyun’s voice rang out first.
“Gravity Increase.”
The front four orcs dropped to their knees, momentum carrying them forward.
“Reverse.”
All four were hurled upward, suspended for a heartbeat before plummeting.
“Increase.”
They hit the ground like stones, four bodies going still at once.
Yoo Mira raised her hand. Four fireballs streaked out and struck the next four orcs, flames blooming across their chests. A searing beam followed, slicing through another four and leaving charred corpses in its wake.
“Oppa, two on the right!”
Baek Sorin swept her hand sideways. A thin whirlwind blade spun out, severing arms and legs in an instant. Both orcs collapsed.
I flung both daggers. They spun and buried themselves in the last two skulls. The bodies dropped together.
Two more orcs leapt from behind. Kang Doyun spoke again.
“Power Sphere.”
Two blue orbs shot forward and slammed into their torsos. Electricity raced through their bodies; smoke rose as both staggered and fell.
Silence settled. Hyunmu Team 3, having finished their own fight, glanced our way, saw we were already done, and turned back to looting with faintly exasperated looks.
We began collecting mana stones as well. Oh Jaehoon powered up the scanner and moved among the corpses while the others gathered samples.
“Six reactions… ah, seven. All clustered.”
“All right, Byun Jihoon Bot—auto-harvest mode engaged.”
Oh Jaehoon grinned at me.
“The bot still needs me to control it.”
I lifted the daggers with telekinesis, pried the mana stones free, and floated them into my pack one by one.
“Seven stones secured. Good haul today.”
“Mana-stone luck is with us. But the days we gather this many usually mean we fought a lot too.”
“Jaehoon! If you keep saying things like that, what happens when the monsters actually show up?”
“Exactly! Oppa, your mouth is the problem sometimes.”
“Huh? Sorin, it’s not that bad! Nothing’s gone wrong so far!”
“No, Oppa! This is a C-rank dungeon! The rank is completely different!”
“All right, chatter ends here. We’re moving toward the valley. Need to secure a campsite before sunset.”
We set off again. The sun slid westward and clouds gathered. Descending into the valley brought a thick, damp scent; the wind picked up.
“See that flat ground below the cliff?”
“Sheltered from the wind and close to water. Looks good.”
Hyunmu Team went down first; we followed. Once on the flat, tents rose, wood was chopped, water fetched—everyone moved with practiced ease.
“They’re really organized.”
“This is their daily routine. Combat teams live by it.”
“We should learn it too. C-rank is basically camping.”
“Camping… I didn’t expect that word to sound so exhausting.”
“Eat, sleep, fight. That’s the dungeon.”
Soft laughter rippled through the group. A campfire crackled as a light rain began to fall, droplets catching the firelight. Soup simmered over the flames while Hyunmu Team patrolled the perimeter. We sorted supplies and rations.
“Hard to believe this is a dungeon.”
Baek Sorin looked up at the sky.
“Sunset, rain… it’s just another world.”
“It is.”
“From C-rank, the internal cycle is complete. Temperature, pressure, humidity all fluctuate.”
“So this rain is part of that?”
“Probably.”
“If the cycle becomes irregular, it could be a precursor to a stampede.”
The rain thickened. Hyunmu’s patrol passed by at steady intervals. Inside the tent I powered on my terminal. The entrance sensor data fluctuated: 6.4… 6.7… back to 6.5.
“Team Leader.”
“The entrance readings are wavering a little.”
“How much?”
“Not much, but they spike and drop suddenly.”
“Could be airflow.”
Yoo Mira glanced at the sky.
“We’ll check again once the rain stops.”
The rain hammered the tent fabric. Lightning split the sky, briefly illuminating the entire dungeon. Wind slammed into us; the ground trembled. My fingertips tingled—telekinesis reacting on its own, pushing the air outward.
“Wait.”
Yoo Mira reactivated the sensor. The graph shot upward.
7.1… 7.4… 7.8
The ground heaved. A dull impact thundered in the distance; mud and rain exploded skyward.
“Everyone out!”
Yoo Mira’s shout came just as the tent flap was thrown open. Outside, Hyunmu Team was already moving. The sky had turned a lurid red—not light, but raw mana reaction bleeding across the clouds. The dungeon sky flickered unstably. Team Leader Jang Tae-wook’s voice cut through the rain.
“Full perimeter alert!”
My terminal lit up on its own, jagged waveforms racing across the screen. Wind direction kept shifting; the flickering overhead grew worse. Readings spiked and crashed in rapid succession. Rain volume and wind speed fluctuated together. This wasn’t normal weather variation. The numbers kept climbing.
Why would a stabilized dungeon behave like this…
Wind howled. Rain lashed sideways. The sky churned. The campfire died in an instant; tents were ripped from their stakes and flung aside. Yoo Mira’s voice trembled with tension.
“Something’s wrong with this dungeon.”
I tightened my gear straps and checked the contents of my pack—daggers, mana-stone bombs, recovery potions—making sure everything was in order.
“Investigation team, hold position.”
“Minimize noise. No mana use.”
Hyunmu Team formed a defensive ring around us, Jang Tae-wook taking the left while we covered the right. Our tent sat on level ground below the slope, stakes driven deep, ropes doubled. Fabric flapped and whispered in the wind. I took a sip from my canteen; cold water slid down my throat. I wiped mud from my fingertips and let a thread of telekinesis flow outward, testing the air.
Lightning flashed again. The wind veered sharply; the rain paused for a heartbeat. Then Jang Tae-wook’s shout rang out.
“Hyunmu Team 3, movement detected one hundred fifty meters left front! Visual contact—confirm approach!”
“How many?” Yoo Mira asked, scanning the right.
“More than twenty!”
At almost the same moment, another sound rose from the right ridge—grass flattening, dirt spraying.
“Movement on the right too.”
Oh Jaehoon called out, voice low.
“Ten or more. Moving slower.”
“Hyunmu takes the left. We handle the right.”
“Understood.”
Our voices rose with tension. We moved into position. With the rain stopped, the air felt unnaturally still. Every footstep splashed loudly. Bushes rustled; heavy breathing came from the left, claws scraping stone from the right.
“Left confirmed! Iron Bears!”
Hyunmu Team’s cry echoed.
“Metallic hide specimens—over five meters!”
Lightning cracked. Beneath it, massive shapes emerged—black fur streaked with metallic sheen, shoulders and arms clanging like iron on iron. Red eyes reflected the flash; their breathing was a low rumble that shook the ground. A deep, resonant roar followed.
“Right confirmed. Night Wolf pack—twelve or more, full speed.”
Lightning flashed again. Black silhouettes raced toward us, eyes glowing with brief blue fire, white breath steaming, claws screeching across rock. Their howls rolled through the valley.
“Investigation team, combat ready!”
I raised my mana blade. My heartbeat stayed surprisingly steady. Rain had ceased; water droplets fell one by one from the grass tips. Red eyes multiplied in the distance—ten, twenty, more. The ground vibrated beneath us as hooves and paws churned the mud.
“Everyone, hold position!”
Yoo Mira’s command was short and sharp.
Iron Bears massed on the left, Night Wolves on the right, both advancing like walls. The earth trembled; mud quivered underfoot. My body tensed on instinct.
Damn it… we’re investigators, not hunters.
Why is there so much fighting?
I gripped the blade tighter. Crimson light flickered at the edge of vision as the beasts charged as one.
This time, there would be no avoiding the fight.