People Who Know Their Place
The group entered the dungeon. A wave of nausea washed over them as they stepped into the Arboretum Nest, where only a cold silence lingered.
“The boss doesn’t seem to be dead yet. Let’s strike first before that guy clears the nest.”
Their goal was obvious: kill the Awakened Nam Juyeon who had entered moments earlier. Murder inside a dungeon left no evidence. Since the environment reset periodically, it was the perfect place to commit the act.
Yet the subordinates looked doubtful.
“Uh, Boss Jaeman…”
“What.”
“That guy… he’s an S-class Awakened.”
“So what.”
When Hwang Jaeman frowned, one subordinate spoke carefully.
“He commands two 4★ disasters. Even Director Taemin only has three 3★ ones. How are we supposed to beat a monster like that?”
“You saw that video last time, didn’t you? He stopped the Gwangjin-gu incident with just one disaster. The guy’s insane.”
That seemed to be the signal. The others chimed in one after another.
“Shut up.”
Hwang Jaeman wasn’t listening anymore.
“I don’t care if he has two 4★ disasters or if he’s S-class. So what, does being S-class mean bullets won’t work on him?”
“…N-no, but…”
“Besides, he’s just some clueless kid from peaceful Seoul. Time to teach him how things work in lawless territory. We’ve already buried a few people, haven’t we?”
“…Ugh.”
Hwang Jaeman had committed murder more than once to solidify his power and steal disasters from others. He believed this killing would be just another peaceful hunt.
Until, that is, he saw the woman with dark blue hair floating in the sky.
“A woman?”
“Can disasters take human form?”
“…It’s not impossible, I guess…”
Hwang Jaeman narrowed his eyes and read the text above her head.
5★ Storm of the North Sea
“…Huh?”
He rubbed his eyes, but the five stars remained. A chill ran down his spine like ice water poured over his brain. His heart dropped.
Crackle!
“Aaaaargh!”
A bolt of lightning from the sky incinerated the subordinate standing right beside him. The stench of burning flesh filled his nostrils.
“Sh-shit! Run!”
Hwang Jaeman bolted, his men scrambling after him.
5★ Storm of the North Sea Mirien casts the skill 「Black Thunder Spear」.
“Guh!”
Another subordinate was impaled by a massive spear of lightning and rolled across the ground. His teeth chattered. She was serious. She was genuinely trying to kill everything in sight.
Hwang Jaeman pushed himself harder. Every time he glanced back, another man vanished.
“Kuh!”
He summoned his disasters as bait. He thought they would buy him time, but they were wiped out in under ten seconds. Now only his own body remained.
He sprinted to the dungeon exit, only to find—
5★ Scorched Saint Selene is watching you.
A wedge sword pierced his chest before he could even blink. The last thing Hwang Jaeman saw before death was the burned woman looking down at him with cold eyes.
*
“Shit! Bring those bastards back here!”
Jeon Tae-min, leader of the Daejeon Clan, only learned what had happened thirty minutes after Hwang Jaeman’s group left. He had thought their expressions looked suspicious, but he never imagined they would actually plot to stab Nam Juyeon in the back.
Jeon Tae-min flew into a rage and ordered them brought back, but too much time had already passed.
“Damn it, that bastard went and did something I never even told him to do…”
While he fretted anxiously, a subordinate came running with a report.
“Nam Juyeon has returned.”
“What about Hwang Jaeman and his men?”
“They’re not here.”
Suspicion turned to unease…
“Here.”
When Nam Juyeon arrived and tossed a bundle of passage permits onto the desk, unease became terror. Six permits in total. Hwang Jaeman’s and those of his subordinates.
“It was self-defense.”
Nam Juyeon spoke as if it were nothing.
“You… killed them?”
“Do I really need to explain exactly how? That’s a nasty hobby.”
“…W-where are the bodies?”
Without realizing it, Jeon Tae-min had begun using honorifics. Nam Juyeon shrugged at the groveling man.
“Don’t worry. I gave them a proper burial.”
Only then did Jeon Tae-min notice the smell of smoke clinging to him. He collapsed into his chair and clasped his hands together in prayer.
“Please, spare my life. I didn’t order this. I know my place… Why would I send men to kill someone who commands great disasters…?”
“Actor, he’s not lying.”
A voice suddenly spoke from behind him. Jeon Tae-min couldn’t turn around. An icy hand had already settled on the back of his neck.
“So, Actor. What do we do? Kill him?”
“It’s fine. He didn’t order it.”
Jeon Tae-min felt his heart race with relief. It seemed this Awakened named Nam Juyeon had no intention of killing him.
“Thank you. I will never forget this mercy for the rest of my life.”
“You’d better. If Actor were still the same as before, he would’ve split you in half and chewed your guts. Especially since Actor loves hearts?”
“…Mirien, I don’t remember doing that.”
“It was an example. Just an example.”
Jeon Tae-min had heard the name Actor before, but he didn’t ask. He didn’t even wonder. Asking too many questions would cost him his life.
“So.”
Once the conversation with Mirien ended, Nam Juyeon sat on the edge of the desk and looked down at him. The young man who had seemed gentle at first meeting now looked completely different. The slightly tense mouth and furrowed brow made it clear he didn’t see Jeon Tae-min as an equal.
“Your name was Jeon Tae-min, right? I have a job for you.”
“W-what is it? I’ll do anything I can!”
Jeon Tae-min quickly dropped to his knees, ready to listen. Nam Juyeon gave a bitter smile, apparently pleased by the sight.
“First, gather every resource your clan has and synthesize 4★ equipment. What I want is an Elixir. Contact me the moment it’s made. Here’s the number.”
4★ equipment. To Jeon Tae-min, who had never even seen a 4★ disaster, it sounded like thunder from a clear sky. But he had no choice but to agree. When he nodded vigorously, Nam Juyeon raised a second finger.
“And second. If you find anything that looks like this, contact me immediately.”
4☆ Fragment of the Broken Crown
“U-understood! I’ll send the men out to search right away!”
“Good. And report anything that happens in the provinces immediately.”
“Y-yes!”
From what he heard, this man intended to turn the Daejeon Clan into his own colony. Humiliating as it was, it was better to live on his knees than die standing. Jeon Tae-min forced a smile and nodded.
“Ah, and just so you know—if you try anything stupid, you understand the consequences?”
Nam Juyeon picked up one of the blood-stained passage permits scattered on the desk. Hwang Jaeman’s name was clearly written on it.
“O-of course not!”
“Good.”
Only then did Nam Juyeon—rather, Actor—nod in satisfaction and leave the room.
“Goodbye.”
At the same time, the soft touch on his neck disappeared.
“Huu, huuuh…”
Jeon Tae-min remained seated for a while, trying to calm his pounding heart.
“…Ah.”
His lower body was wet.
*
“That was an excellent negotiation.”
Selene, who had been waiting outside, smiled at me. Whether it counted as negotiation or outright extortion was debatable, but I decided to take the compliment.
“So you didn’t clear the dungeon because you planned to subjugate this group from the start. I am impressed by your foresight, my lord.”
I couldn’t tell how much of it was genuine. Still, it was better to accept it gracefully.
“No need to destroy the Daejeon Clan. It might raise unnecessary suspicion. Better to use them as a workshop instead.”
After all, Daejeon was practically the center of South Korea. If anything happened on the peninsula, this place would become a strategic point. On top of that, I could get Elixirs for Selene.
“So where are we going now?”
Mirien, who had been playing with a folding chair in the lobby, asked curiously.
Disasters Owned: 90/90
“Well, no need to clear any more dungeons.”
After wiping out the intruders and taking all their disasters, my original goal had already been achieved. I turned my head north.
“For now… let’s head back to Seoul.”
The next Rift Eruption would come soon. Starting from the fifth eruption, 4★ disasters could appear with low probability, so I needed to prepare thoroughly. Above all, I had realized that Asteria, the Queen Who Devoured the Stars, was hostile toward me, so I needed a countermeasure for that as well.
We headed straight for Seoul, and the moment we arrived, we were met with shocking news.
Director Yu Junseo of the Management Bureau had succeeded in synthesizing a 4★ disaster. He really did have incredible luck.