Dungeon Mutation
The next morning.
In front of Gate E-17 on the outskirts of Gapyeong.
It was only half past eight, yet people already thronged the area. I pulled my hoodie low over my face and walked toward the gate entrance.
Choi Jae-hyuk had arrived ahead of me. Blond hair, tanned skin, and a solid build that made him look tall. His face was pure average thug. The woman standing beside him was—
Kim Ha-eun.
Black hair, porcelain-white skin, poured into a tight combat suit that left every curve on full display. I licked my lips at the deep cleavage that still showed clearly through the fabric.
Still looking delicious as ever.
Choi Jae-hyuk spotted me and came over.
"You here?"
I gave a light nod.
Kim Ha-eun flicked a glance my way, snorted, and turned her face aside. That look like she was staring at a bug hadn't changed one bit.
This bitch is exactly the same.
There was always at least one of her type among D-rank and higher hunters. F-ranks and E-ranks were insects or pack mules to them—the kind who ranked people even among fellow awakeners.
Choi Jae-hyuk crossed his arms.
"Eight of us today. You just haul the bags in the back. Monsters show up, you get the hell out of the way."
"Got it."
While answering I quickly scanned the rest of the party. A few faces were familiar—two D-rank dealers and a mage who often ran with Choi Jae-hyuk's fixed group. The others were complete strangers. Among them a woman in priest robes caught my eye.
Oh, she looks tasty too.
Unfortunately she was clinging affectionately to a guy who was clearly her boyfriend.
"Oh right. We're hitting a D-rank dungeon today. That okay?"
"No problem."
Kim Ha-eun snorted under her breath beside him.
"An E-rank itching to die. Oppa, do we really have to drag this useless dead weight along?"
She made no effort to hide her disgust, raking me up and down with her eyes.
"Hey, Ha-eun. We still need one porter so the rest of us can take it easy. You know Seo-jun's toughness and stamina are first-rate."
Choi Jae-hyuk smirked and clapped my shoulder. It sounded like praise. In reality it meant I made a perfect meat shield when things went south.
"Ugh, whatever. This is so annoying. I don't even want to breathe the same air as a stinking E-rank."
Kim Ha-eun turned away with a look of pure revulsion. Same vulgar temper as always. But it no longer irritated me the way it used to. Imagining those arrogant eyes shattering under my feet sent a pleasant shiver through me.
Yeah. Bark all you want.
I smirked inwardly while my gaze slid over the firm curve of her ass beneath the combat suit.
"Everyone ready? We're going in. Seo-jun, stay dead last and hang onto the bags. Don't get cocky and die for nothing."
At Choi Jae-hyuk's order the eight of us threw ourselves into the blue membrane of the D-rank gate.
My vision rippled. The cold of a cave wrapped around my entire body.
Choi Jae-hyuk hadn't bothered telling me a single thing about the dungeon, so I had no idea what monsters we'd face. One look around at the black moss plastered to the walls and the rotting stench that stabbed my nose was enough to guess.
Undead.
The scattered bones on the cave floor didn't look ordinary either.
"Hey, Lee Seo-jun. Quit spacing out and hold the damn lantern properly."
At Choi Jae-hyuk's scolding I raised the lantern without a word.
They were still relaxed because we were near the entrance. Kim Ha-eun wrinkled her nose and stepped carefully, as if terrified the filthy walls might brush her clothes.
"Oppa, it's so damp and smelly. Let's clear it fast and get out."
"Hang on a little, Ha-eun. We need to make good money here today so I can buy you that bag you wanted."
Still whipped by Kim Ha-eun, huh.
Then a clattering rose from the darkness. Yellow eyes flared, and skeleton warriors emerged—more than ten of them at a glance.
"Everyone ready!"
Choi Jae-hyuk tightened his grip on his shield and shouted with total confidence. Kim Ha-eun drew her dagger as well.
"Just a bunch of bones. Oppa, wipe them out already. The air in here is disgusting."
The party immediately engaged the charging skeletons. True to their D-rank status, ordinary skeletons were smashed with ease.
I moved over to the ones they'd finished off, picking up the dropped magic stones while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Hmm. Something's off.
The mana density felt far too thick for a D-rank dungeon—way beyond the gap from E-rank. This was my first D-rank, so I couldn't be certain the difference was normally this large.
The real problem is that the density keeps climbing, little by little.
And just now, when Choi Jae-hyuk's party killed the skeletons, I felt it spike hard all at once—as if the monsters' deaths were a catalyst activating the dungeon's mana.
No matter how I look at it, this feels like the signs of a Dungeon Mutation.
I wasn't certain. I'd only ever seen Dungeon Mutations on the news; I'd never felt the actual waves in person.
This is bad.
If it really was a mutation, revenge suddenly stopped mattering. Once it began, the entrance sealed and the monsters inside became absurdly strong.
"Choi Jae-hyuk. Something's wrong with the dungeon."
I could have just run alone without warning them, but that wouldn't have felt like revenge.
"What? Hey, Lee Seo-jun. You scared and talking shit?"
"Oppa, just ignore him. Looks like walking into a D-rank dungeon made him piss himself."
"Haha, Ha-eun. Seo-jun's still a hunter, don't be too rough. Seo-jun, if you're scared go huddle in that corner and watch the bags. We'll clean everything up."
The instant Choi Jae-hyuk swaggered and readjusted his shield, skeleton knights—one tier higher than the warriors—stepped out of the dark.
And that wasn't all. Skeleton mages followed right behind them.
"Uh...? Why are these already showing up?"
Choi Jae-hyuk's confident face hardened in a heartbeat.
Skeleton knights and mages were mid-boss level for a D-rank dungeon, or creatures that only appeared in the deep floors. Yet here they were pouring out in droves right by the entrance.
I looked at them and knew for sure.
"It's a Dungeon Mutation, you idiot."
The words left my mouth as I sprinted for the entrance. I'd given them the warning; that was all the duty I owed. Shame I wouldn't get to fuck Kim Ha-eun, but whether that loose cunt lived or died wasn't my problem.
When I bolted, Choi Jae-hyuk's party finally realized something was wrong. They abandoned any thought of fighting and scrambled after me.
"Hey, Lee Seo-jun! Fuck, is it really a Dungeon Mutation?"
"How the fuck should I know, asshole! If you've got eyes, look for yourself!"
"But this bastard's tone's been pissing me off since earlier!"
I ignored him and ran full out. The entrance was close; I thought I'd reach it in seconds. That hope lasted only a moment.
The color changed.
Faintly, the blue membrane of the dungeon entrance had turned yellow.
Yellow means C-rank.
At the same time the gate's rippling twisted grotesquely and began to harden like setting cement.
Complete seal. The mutated dungeon had closed its entrance to trap and digest the invaders.
KWA-RUMBLE!
Before I could even stretch out my hand, the entrance became a massive wall of rock.
"We're fucked."
A few seconds faster and I could have gotten out.
Choi Jae-hyuk's group staggered to a halt behind me, gasping. Kim Ha-eun was already out of her mind, clawing at the rock wall hard enough to snap her nails.
"No! Open it! Open it! Oppa, why is this happening? Why won't it open?!"
"...It's sealed. The mutation really happened."
Choi Jae-hyuk's voice shook like a leaf. Only then did he grasp how bad it was; he sank to the floor and stared blankly at the ceiling.
The mana density around us had thickened beyond any comparison to before. At the same time an ominous yin energy rose from the floor like a sticky swamp, coiling around my ankles.
I turned and looked at the party.
Kim Ha-eun sat on the ground bawling. Choi Jae-hyuk tried to grip his sword with trembling hands. The rest of the party had fallen into full panic.
"Hey, Choi Jae-hyuk! What the hell are we supposed to do?!"
"Fuck, you said it was a safe dungeon today!!"
Sharp accusations poured from the others. The same people who had been sucking up to Choi Jae-hyuk moments ago now looked ready to jump him with veins bulging in their necks.
"Hey, Lee Seo-jun! You knew earlier! Why didn't you say it more clearly!"
Choi Jae-hyuk suddenly swung the blame toward me.
"Yeah! Because of you we couldn't get out! Take responsibility!"
Kim Ha-eun piled on, reaching to grab my collar.
I slapped her hand aside with casual ease and swept cold eyes over all of them. The porter act was finished.
"Shut your mouths. If you don't want to die."
The chill mana laced through my voice made them flinch and step back. Their reactions no longer mattered.
Creak, creak—.
From beyond the darkness came the sound of dozens of skeleton knights and mages forming ranks. And in their center, radiating overwhelming yin energy, a headless knight slowly revealed itself.
"...Du-Durahan?"
Choi Jae-hyuk's scream-mixed voice echoed through the cave.
A boss-level monster of C-rank dungeons.
Even I tensed the moment I saw the Durahan.
If it gets dangerous I can just escape into a fictional world.
On the other hand, this was a perfect chance to test how far I could go against something like that.
I first snatched the shield from Choi Jae-hyuk's hands and the best longsword among the party members.
"Hey, Lee Seo-jun! You crazy?! Why are you taking that!"
Choi Jae-hyuk screamed himself hoarse, but I didn't bother answering. Instead I jammed his shield into the ground and slowly ran my fingers along the blade of the sword I'd taken.
Both pieces of gear were better and more expensive than anything I owned.
Whoosh—!
Black flames coiled like a snake along the blade and blazed to life, transforming the ordinary sword into a black treasured blade.
"You... you... what the hell are you? What is that flame?!"
"Shut up and stay behind me. Get in my way and I'll kill you first."
Without looking back I walked slowly toward the skeletons and the Durahan.