EP4. Cursed Dungeon
“Unexpectedly.”
“What do you mean?”
The man’s eyes scanned Jae-jun up and down.
The initial cold glare had softened somewhat.
“I thought you’d be dead if you didn’t die.”
Clank!
As they entered through the lower entrance of the arena, cheers unlike those from outside echoed in.
“Whoa!
“The newbie’s impressive!”
“Not bad at all!”
“He’s on a winning streak!”
What the hell are these people?
As Jae-jun wondered, the man beckoned him to follow and walked toward the opposite side of the passage.
There was a small space like an office.
Jae-jun followed the man inside.
“Alright.
Now explain.”
“Sure.
But first, something to do.”
The man opened a shabby box in the corner of the room and brought something over.
“Take this first.”
It was a round wooden plaque.
Engraved in the center was a single dagger.
“What’s this?”
“Your rank badge.
Rewards in the arena vary by rank.”
“Where do the rewards come from?”
“Inventory.
Today’s reward will be sent soon too.”
Jae-jun was inwardly surprised but tried not to show it.
The fact that he used the term “inventory” meant the man definitely knew the true nature of the system.
“Now, let me introduce myself.
My name is Lucifer.
The god of this team.”
“...Pardon?”
“Did you just say god?”
“Yes.
A fallen god, though.
You were half-demon yourself, so you must know about me well enough.”
Jae-jun was so shocked he clamped his mouth shut.
The demon’s soul was currently fused with his own.
It had integrated so well that even he was confused whether he was human or demon.
Yet this man in front of him—no, Lucifer—had recognized it at a glance.
“Lucifer as in the one I know?”
“Correct.”
Jae-jun’s eyes rippled with shock.
Lucifer, the Demon King seated at the throne of Pride among the Seven Demon Kings.
Who would ever imagine that Demon King Lucifer was here in the form of this old man?
“Why are you here?”
He couldn’t bring himself to say, without leading an army of countless demons?
“Betrayed by the other Demon Kings.
Because I didn’t side with their plans.”
“So you ended up like this?”
Lucifer grinned.
His wrinkled face twisted grotesquely.
“This body is just one fragment of my soul, split into seven pieces.”
Jae-jun nodded.
Of course.
It made no sense for Lucifer, who once held a seat among the Seven Demon Kings and even eyed the throne of the gods, to be in such a state.
Right now, he barely feels like an F-rank hunter.
But as Jae-jun scanned Lucifer, a strange thought struck him.
If what Lucifer said was true, why was he revealing all this to him?
There was no way to communicate it, but what if Jae-jun told the other Demon Kings?
Wary suspicion bubbled up in Jae-jun’s heart toward Lucifer.
Oblivious or not, Lucifer continued expressionlessly.
“First, let me explain this arena.”
It was exactly what Jae-jun wanted to hear.
“This place is where imprisoned gods like me gamble on survival.
A coliseum for gods, a prison and trash bin to dispose of weakened gods.”
“Imprisoned gods?”
“Yes.
Imprisoned gods each select gladiators and bring them to the arena.
The gladiators fight those of other gods.
The god of the last gladiator standing regains their divine authority and escapes imprisonment.”
“...So I was brought here as your gladiator?”
Lucifer nodded.
“Correct.
You should have come much sooner.”
Jae-jun understood what Lucifer meant.
Originally, human Jae-jun should have grown strong using the The Gamer ability and arrived at the arena.
But Jae-jun had spent a year unable to level up due to his combat phobia.
As Lucifer’s expectations faded, the demon appeared.
It contracted with Jae-jun, got absorbed, and entered his body.
For Lucifer, it was a new opportunity.
The system window prevented Jae-jun’s soul from being fully absorbed by the demon.
Instead, it made the demon’s soul absorbed by the human Jae-jun’s soul.
That way, he could bring a human gladiator to the arena as desired.
And as he grew stronger with The Gamer, the human soul absorbed the demon soul, becoming even more dominant.
“...”
It was a story Jae-jun could hardly believe.
“Then this system is your creation too?”
“Yes.
Made by another fragment of my soul.
I shaped it into the most suitable form for humans. How was it?”
“....”
Help Lucifer Gather All Seven Soul Fragments!
📍 Description: Lucifer was exiled and attacked by the other Demon Kings for refusing the invasion of the human world. Find Lucifer's seven soul fragments and protect the human world from the Demon Kings.
🎁 Reward: Lucifer's Authority
⚠️ Failure: Fall of the Human World
Insane!
“What guarantee is there that the other Demon Kings will attack the human world?”
“The invasion has already begun.
Gates are multiplying rapidly, and low-rank demons from the demon world have long infiltrated the human realm.”
Lucifer pointed at Jae-jun’s finger.
“That ring you’re wearing is the ring of Mammon, the Demon King of Greed.
You know whose subordinate its owner was, right?”
Jae-jun looked down at his ring and finally realized.
He had become a pawn in an enormous battle.
“Right now, my team has only three gladiators left.
Most of them are on the verge of death.
But you’ve given me hope.”
A fierce glint pierced through Lucifer’s wrinkled eyes toward Jae-jun.
“Grow strong!
Become the last one standing in this god’s arena.
And claim divine authority!”
Jae-jun’s heart pounded uncontrollably.
His mouth went dry, and he swallowed hard.
Gulp.
“...Can I really be that last one?”
“Impossible now, but with the system’s help and soul fragments, yes.
I’ll help you obtain the soul fragments.”
Arena time completed.
Exiting the arena shortly.
“Time’s up.
First, I’ll tell you where to get a soul fragment.
And...
Watch out for the other Demon Kings’ minions.
They haven’t figured out your identity yet, but they’ll notice something’s off soon.”
With Lucifer’s words, darkness fell once more.
When Jae-jun opened his eyes again, he was back home.
...What the hell was that?
◈ Basic defensive equipment set.
Despite the system alerts, Jae-jun sat there blankly.
What he’d heard from Lucifer in the arena was that shocking.
First, about his own existence.
He’d naturally thought of himself as a demon, but the human Jae-jun’s soul held greater weight.
Then am I human? Or demon?
His head grew complicated.
And he was told to gather Lucifer’s split soul fragments.
If Lucifer was telling the truth, it was something he had to do to stop the Demon Kings’ invasion.
But could he trust Lucifer completely?
Whew.
More thinking would just give him a headache.
Item usage conditions have changed.
Check the Cursed Key information.
Jae-jun pulled the Cursed Key from his inventory.
Key to enter the Cursed Dungeon.
The Cursed Dungeon is located deep within the Gosu Cave.
This part was the same as before.
But below it, the exact location of the Cursed Dungeon was now specified.
Gosu Cave, huh.
But first, he needed to clear his head.
The sunrise over the West Sea was a blindingly beautiful sight.
Kang Kyung-jin, from the 2nd Marine Division stationed at the frontline Gyodongdo in Incheon, was smoking a cigarette while watching the morning sun rise, as usual.
“Ahh, this is why I smoke.”
“Sergeant Kang, smoking on an empty stomach gives you headaches, sir.”
“That’s the flavor, kid.”
His discharge date was just around the corner—what did it matter?
The thought of leaving this godforsaken countryside already had him itching to go.
Kang Kyung-jin buried his cigarette butt in the sand and scanned the North Korean side.
Monsters big and small swarmed the coastline endlessly.
“Look at those things.
Crawling all over. Sigh.”
“They’ve been like that for days, haven’t they, sir?”
“Yeah, those sea-hating bastards pull this crap every morning.”
Unlike South Korea, where initial defenses held strong, North Korea had lost everything but Pyongyang to monsters during the gate break.
So the frontline now guarded against monsters instead of North Korean troops.
Fortunately, the monsters hated seawater and didn’t cross over.
“Oh yeah.
Sergeant, didn’t you say you have a relative who’s a super high-rank hunter?”
“Damn, where’d you hear that?
My cousin’s a pretty big-shot hunter, yeah.”
“Really?
Can you tell me about him?”
“What’s to tell.”
Kang Kyung-jin pulled out another cigarette.
One last one before heading in.
But then,
Casually glancing at the North again, Kang Kyung-jin froze at the sight.
Plop.
He was so startled he didn’t even notice the cigarette fall from his lips.
“What’s wrong, sir?”
“...Hey, what the hell is that?”
Where his finger pointed, monsters swarmed.
But that wasn’t what Kang Kyung-jin was seeing.
“Fuck.
What is that thing?”
Behind the monsters loomed a colossal gate.
And the monsters clustered in front of it as if guarding it.