The Fastest Way Isn't Always Forward
The interior of the massive cavernous dungeon squeezed the breath right out of my lungs the moment we stepped inside — a wall of searing heat hit us head-on.
A lake of blood-red lava churned across the floor, radiating furnace-like warmth, while a faint yet suffocating red miasma hung in the air, sharp enough to pierce the lungs.
Even with proper gear, other parties would struggle to last long in here.
Of course, my team and I barely felt a thing thanks to our suits — but there was no question this dungeon ranked high on the danger scale.
Then again, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
They all but confirmed it, didn't they? A [Concept] magic stone inside the Hydra believed to dwell in this dungeon.
Back on my first exploration, when I'd picked up the [Foresight] and [Petrification] stones with relative ease, their value had felt almost trivial. But in truth, [Concept] magic stones were worth an astronomical sum.
And it made sense.
This was a substance that physically manifested abstract concepts themselves.
Something that transcended the laws of physics — no different from a fragment of a god.
And this one was presumed to belong to a nine-headed Hydra, which meant the concept encased within would almost certainly be something monumental — [Regeneration], [Bifurcation], perhaps even [Propagation].
That was why, dangerous as this place was, countless corporations were charging in with their eyes blazing.
But still...
The exploration difficulty here is higher than anywhere I've ever entered.
That was my first thought upon setting foot inside. It wasn't simply the heat or the toxicity.
Kuguuuung.
The lava-carpeted floor was collapsing and reforming by the second, the terrain shifting like a living thing. Forget maps or navigation — even scanning drones couldn't keep up with a maze that rewrote itself in real time.
"Um... Deputy Manager? Didn't we get something for this from [Midas]?"
Choi Min-woo, who had been watching in silence, pointed up at the sky. Floating at the tip of his finger, hunters from [Ohsung] and Cheka rode propulsion drones, gliding serenely above the lava sea.
"You mean the rideable drones?"
"...Yes."
"Well, they didn't seem necessary."
Certainly, being able to simply fly over this lava floor would have been far more convenient — but it came with conditions attached.
Flying meant greater exposure to the toxic gas. No matter how much equipment we'd brought, our usable time would only shrink. And the sheer bulk of the gear itself carried its own drawbacks.
So I hadn't bothered bringing one.
There was a simpler reason, too.
I was confident.
I wasn't just anyone — I was me.
Reading paths in a dungeon. Seeing through its structure. Reaching the objective by the safest possible route. In those things, there was no one I couldn't beat.
Of course, to Choi Min-woo right now, I wasn't Kim Doyoon — I was Corporate Slave Life, so I couldn't exactly explain it all step by step.
Instead, I answered with a smile beneath the mask.
"Where's the fun in flying there, hm?"
"...I'm sorry?"
Choi Min-woo pressed a hand to his forehead, looking dizzy. He was probably thinking something along the lines of Is this guy actually insane?
But I pressed on, undeterred.
"It didn't look that hard, so I passed. Min-woo, your résumé says wire action is one of your specialties. If we're really in a hurry, you could always move that way."
"...Well, technically, yes."
"Alright, let's gooo~!"
Just then, Kim Pildu's voice cut in from beside us, practically bubbling over.
"Alright, folks! The other parties are zipping around on state-of-the-art hover drones right now! But us? This [Midas] party? Where's the entertainment in that? We're going full Real Variety X-TREME MODE — two legs and pure grit, straight ahead! Deputy Manager, lead the way!"
Kim Pildu thrust a thumbs-up at the camera and hollered with all the bravado he had.
Come to think of it, this guy wasn't exactly sane either.
Among the crowd of hunters already soaring off on their drones, only Choi Min-woo stood staring down at the lava beneath his feet with anxious eyes.
Are we actually going to make it there in one piece...?
His expression was pure resignation. But I just watched him with a soft smile.
After all, in the dozens — hundreds — of dungeons where Min-woo had thought exactly that, I had never once let him get hurt or lose his way.
Meanwhile, in [The Salon], the VIP-only space of the black market.
A large screen was broadcasting Kim Pildu's internet stream live. Watching it were the now-casually-familiar trio: Na Hee-ra, Managing Director of [Midas]; Park Sangwoo of [Dokkaebi]; and Chief Choi of the Hunter Administration Bureau.
"My, my... I can understand anyone else being here, but shouldn't a Bureau man avoid places like this? You are a public servant, after all."
At Park Sangwoo's teasing, Chief Choi gave a dry chuckle and raised his wine glass.
"Today I'm not here as a Hunter Administration Bureau man — I'm here as 'Choi Sung-hoon, Hunter.' I even used a vacation day."
"Bureau folks really are the sneakiest in the business, I'll give you that~"
Park Sangwoo joked, shaking his head. Chief Choi turned his gaze to the lava zone on the screen and asked:
"So... I assume none of you are simply here to watch. If this expedition succeeds, a [Concept] magic stone might hit the auction block. Have any of you placed your bets, so to speak?"
As he probed, subtly revealing his purpose, Na Hee-ra smiled with easy confidence.
"Bets, you say... Do you really not know the answer, Chief Choi?"
He froze for a beat, then narrowed his eyes.
"You don't mean... the party streaming right now? Even if they're [Midas]-affiliated."
"Of course I mean that party~. Why else would we lend them our employee and even the [Midas] advisory title?"
Chief Choi's brow furrowed. After all, he had a rough picture of the party's personnel files.
"Kim Pildu... not a single noteworthy thing in his combat data. For a hidden card, that's a rather weak hand. And Choi Min-woo there was the youngest on an [Ark] exploration team. That leaves the masked one... Corporate Slave Life, was it? I've seen him perform impressively lately, but this is hardly a battlefield built for a solo act."
...As someone within the Hunter Administration Bureau who knew his true identity, Chief Choi acknowledged that his recent feats were staggering compared to his track record. But he simply couldn't bring himself to believe his skill was that exceptional.
He tilted his head, puzzled.
"Sharp eyes. You did your homework, I see."
The pointed remark made him wince — but only briefly. Na Hee-ra continued, almost wistful.
"Kim Pildu... yes. He may be a hunter, but in combat, in a place like this? He's barely apprentice level. He's little more than a pack mule."
"Then...?"
"But as a camera man, there's no one better."
Chief Choi was struck speechless, utterly dumbfounded.
What is she trying to say?
So... the two of them, just the two of them, were going to shove aside every rival party — complete with executive-level hunters — and take down the Hydra?
Is she drunk?
But then Na Hee-ra's lucid eyes gleamed over the rim of her wine glass.
"What do you think my actions here signify?"
She swirled the glass and went on.
"It's simple. Because I judged them sufficient. Unless he needs it, there is nothing to add and nothing to remove. Only a camera that will never break, no matter the circumstances. That one thing is enough."
At those words, Chief Choi thought to himself:
'Show business, show business, they said... but is this woman out of her mind?'
The Hydra at the heart of [Hydra's Ruin] was monstrous in size, and by all estimates could only be felled by severing all nine of its heads at once — an impregnable fortress of a monster.
Even parties packed with executive-grade hunters were putting their clear rate under thirty percent. And she was betting on a team with, in effect, one or two combat personnel?
"However much you love a show, your judgment has clouded over."
Na Hee-ra didn't answer.
Instead, Park Sangwoo, who had been quietly watching the screen, spoke up.
"Is that so, Chief Choi? My money's on them, too."
Chief Choi shot him an incredulous look. Ha...
He already knew the record — [Crystal Cave], [The Stilled World], [Tomb of Blade Winds].
But a hunter's results were always shaped by matchups, luck, and countless variables.
And accounting for that, this place was the worst possible fit for Corporate Slave Life — formidable, yes, but with a limited attack range and a narrow toolkit.
And yet, for some reason, Park Sangwoo's eyes burned with conviction.
'Is there something I don't know?'
His frown lasted only a moment.
Park Sangwoo quietly pointed at the screen.
"Look. With barely any equipment, who's already arrived first? That'd be the Corporate Slave Life party, wouldn't it?"
On the screen — no drone, no specialized transport — the Corporate Slave Life party had, at some point, overtaken the lead group.
"...!"
A terrain where flowing lava reshaped the floor in real time and the very ground slid away. An atmosphere thick with toxic fumes and heat, hostile to endurance itself.
...And yet, for our party, it posed far less difficulty than expected.
"Whoa... what even is this? This is seriously amazing."
As long as they stayed near my suit, the miasma and heat had no effect — no consumables required.
So the floor's collapsing and the terrain's shifting in real time — but the overall framework isn't changing.
My vision was already reading a different world.
Just as it had in the white-drowned [Crystal Cave], a green grid shimmered over the gray-washed landscape.
The flow rate and direction of the lava, like lines of operating code. The shifting concentrations of toxic gas. And beyond all that — the strange, wondrous sense of space that reached even through the walls, beyond ordinary sight.
All of it combined inside my brain, sketching a single path.
In gaming terms, it was as if I'd turned on a map hack.
The great chamber where the Hydra should be... that way.
Of course, this wasn't possible simply because I could see those things.
Ten years as an operator had honed it — seeing more than anyone, issuing orders, analyzing terrain, making predictions bordering on foresight.
Because I'd reached the level of seeing causality itself, that's why the information and the ability fuse into this.
Whoosh—!
Just then, drone-riding hunters streaked overhead at blistering speed. Rankers bounded across the air as well, planting their mana against empty space.
Choi Min-woo asked anxiously.
"...We seem awfully slow compared to everyone else. Is that all right, Deputy Manager?"
But I simply shook my head.
"You've heard the saying — the more you hurry, the farther you get from your destination, haven't you?"
This was an unexplored dungeon. Rushing blindly when we didn't even know exactly where our target lay held no real merit.
If anything, we'd be likelier to fall into a trap or burn our strength in the wrong place entirely.
The other parties could afford to brute-force it, flush with equipment and manpower.
It meant nothing, in the end.
"The best move in this situation isn't speed. It's finding the exact path. That's more than enough."
And in that very moment, the precise route crystallized in my mind.
I pointed at an enormous boulder at our feet — freshly torn from the ground, drifting on the lava's surface, about to slide free.
"Let's ride that."
"...I beg your pardon?"
Choi Min-woo doubted his own ears.
Climb onto a rock floating on a sea of boiling lava?
But then he saw me and Kim Pildu hop on without a moment's hesitation.
"Hurry up. You'll miss it."
"Uw... aaaaah!"
Min-woo scrambled aboard with a scream.
Then I grinned and whispered to him.
"Min-woo. If it feels like we're sinking, use your wire to keep us from going under. That's your job."
"Ugh... uuuuh..."
Watching his expression curdle in real time reminded me of teasing him back in my operator days, and laughter bubbled up inside me.
Meanwhile, our boulder rode the lava current and slipped smoothly into a side channel.
"WHOOOAA! Folks! This is what you call a natural raft! LAVA RAFTING! This is insane, INSANE!"
Even in the middle of all this, Kim Pildu shoved the camera into everyone's faces and howled.
With the chat exploding, we carved through the dungeon like a jungle riverboat — a surprisingly dynamic ride.
...Granted, this was only possible because the [Elemental Stone] worked into my suit affected the area around it, too.
It was a sensation I'd never seen or felt in a dungeon before, and even I found it refreshing.
But the path was exact.
"Min-woo. Use the wire — switch us to the right-hand current."
Where a wall seemed to block the way, the lava had bored a passage through it. In the maze-like caverns, we rode the accelerating currents and blasted through in no time.
While others strained to avoid banging into the suffocating low ceilings or wandered lost, hunting for a path through the poison haze —
We simply surrendered our bodies to the lava's flow, and chose.
How many minutes passed like that?
Kugugugung.
A tremendous tremor, and the view suddenly opened wide.
A vast chamber, large enough to swallow several football fields.
And at its center, a massive shadow crouched, nine heads bowed.
The Hydra's nest.
"W-we're... here?"
Choi Min-woo murmured, dazed.
Before us stretched an immensely satisfying sight.
Astonishing as it was — the first to arrive was our party.
I glanced at the flood of comments and smiled behind the mask.
"See? Fast isn't the same as first."
There was no one else around.