Surveillance Eyes and the Scoop of the Century
Rookie: Baek Jaesung 39
A massive tentacle whipped down mercilessly, smashing into the ground.
Jaesung could track its trajectory. Fortunately, the women in his party were off its path. If it had been aimed at their lives, he would've pushed himself to block it, Life Vessel or no Life Vessel.
Krunch!
A dull thud echoed around them—not the brutal roar of earth shattering, but the unmistakable sound of something alive being crushed. The scream that followed confirmed it.
“Minjun-ah!”
It was Kim Seonuk's wail. Crimson blood oozed from the spot where the tentacle had slammed down. Even without lightning, a monster's full-force tentacle was deadly. An unenhanced human body would be flattened like a cheap rice cake.
That Hwang Minjun prick was the one eyeing Rina. Good fucking riddance.
Jaesung felt a smug satisfaction deep inside. Ogling his women with lecherous eyes? He could forgive that a hundred times over—any guy would covet beauties like them.
But daring to overreach beyond his station? That was an unforgivable sin. The guy had blatantly hit on Rina, and she'd quietly confided her discomfort to Jaesung. Her man's death brought him pure glee.
The monster's tentacle kept thrashing. Jang Hana grabbed the sobbing Kim Seonuk.
“Seonuk-ssi! We need to run first!”
“Minjun-ah! Fuck!”
The group fled as far from the lake as they could. Mourning a comrade could wait until they survived.
Only after putting over 10 meters between them and the lake could they catch their breath. The massive tentacle couldn't reach this far.
Freed from immediate danger, the death sank in. Kim Seonuk, who'd watched Hwang Minjun turn into pulp right before his eyes, couldn't hold it in and puked up his guts. The healer cursed his own powerlessness while despairing over his first taste of a teammate's death.
“Urgh! Bleeech!”
“Seonuk-ah...”
Jang Hana gazed at him with pity. Overwhelmed by the mental shock, Kim Seonuk fainted. Lee Minhyuk and Kim Seyoung, the dealer and other member of his party, stood pale-faced and silent.
Teammates dying in dungeons wasn't all that rare. Any dungeon hunter had likely witnessed it once or twice. Jaesung himself had seen Koh Yohan—Jisu's brother and his academy classmate—die.
By that measure, Kim Seonuk's party had been incredibly lucky never to lose anyone until now. But luck like that couldn't last forever.
To them, Hwang Minjun had been the party's cheerful vanguard, the mood maker, the spark that livened up dull raids. That's why his death hit them even harder.
“No idea what to say.”
Jaesung broke the silence. The mood was rock bottom, but they couldn't just stand around.
Thankfully, distancing themselves from the lake stopped the tentacle attacks. Still, they had to move to find the exit.
“Once Seonuk comes to... we search for the way out.”
Everyone nodded at Jang Hana's words. Kim Seonuk woke after about 10 minutes, looking like death warmed over. Dark circles under his eyes made him seem like he'd smeared on smoky makeup.
Jaesung's group scarfed down a dungeon-style breakfast and set off. They picked a direction first.
“Huh? Something's flying over.”
Rina looked up at the sky. Sure enough, something hurtled toward them through the air. Dungeon rules: assume monster.
Jisu's hand went to the hilt of the sword at her waist. She squinted at the incoming object.
“Looks like a bat? Evil Bat variant?”
“Doesn't seem like Evil Bats live here. Maybe it came from that cave room?”
Evil Bats dwelled in caves. It didn't fit this frozen tundra's dense forest. It flew right up to them but didn't attack.
A pint-sized body with bat wings—a flying monster. But as an Evil Bat variant? Something felt off.
For starters, it had only one eye, taking up most of its round body. No visible legs either. It looked like a tennis ball with bat wings slapped on—and it hovered without even flapping.
“These guys again.”
Jaesung eyed the fluttering-winged bats in the air. Sujin tilted her head.
“Again?”
“Popped up in the last cave room too. Didn't attack us. Actually, I saw 'em outside before that.”
“Outside!? For real?”
It wasn't just seeing them—he'd fed them too. Pretending to dig in his backpack, Jaesung pulled a jelly donut from his inventory.
“These fuckers love these.”
“A monster eating donuts...?”
Jaesung opened the donut box, and the bats' single eyes locked on. They hesitated, then swooped down toward him.
“See?”
“Isn't this dangerous!?”
Rina's voice bristled with hackles raised. But the bats showed zero aggression—seemed friendly toward Jaesung, even.
He cracked open the box, and they rolled belly-up before him, acting all cutesy. The rest of the group stared in bewilderment.
This thing... looks just like a Surveillance Eye.
Jaesung thought of his trusty item. The big-eyed monster blinking innocently was pretty damn cute.
“Won't it be dangerous?”
Jisu asked worriedly. Jaesung braced himself—who knew when it might strike?—and held out a donut.
The bats approached meekly, snatching the treat with the legs under their baseball-sized bodies.
“Whoa! It's like a puppy. A dungeon with monsters like this?”
Monsters were inherently aggressive. Even non-aggressive ones weren't friendly to humans. Taming attempts had failed since ancient times, aggression being the biggest hurdle.
“The penguin-like ones too—this place has a lot of chill monsters.”
Jisu glanced around. Rina bitterly eyed the frozen lake.
“Scary ones too.”
The bats sidled up to Jaesung's group. Sujin and Yeonji watched in fascination as they rubbed against them, working hard for more donuts with cute antics.
“Eek! This is wild! Total puppy vibes.”
“It won't just explode outta nowhere... right?”
The sudden cute monsters lifted the gloomy mood a bit.
“Can we take 'em with us?”
Jisu asked innocently. Jaesung shook his head.
“Taking monsters out of the dungeon's illegal. You know that. They'd get smoked the second they stepped outside.”
“Aww! Such a shame!”
After scarfing two donuts, the bat blinked its huge eyes at Jaesung and circled him like a real pet. Its gaze softened even more.
“Feels like it's saying thanks.”
“Monsters like these might actually be tamable.”
Jaesung scratched his head.
Oh Hanseong was a social affairs reporter for the Taepyeong Ilbo. One of the few hunters at the paper. Sounded weird, but major outlets all had a hunter reporter or two.
Their beat? Dungeon coverage. Not entering—interviewing dungeon hunters or gathering intel around gates.
Hunter meant anyone awakened with abilities registered at the association. Dungeon hunter: those who'd passed the exam for dungeon access.
Idiots doubling as dungeon hunters and reporters? Rare worldwide.
Korea, dungeon central, had more. Guys like Oh Hanseong hung around famous gates, scooping rumors.
Civilians couldn't get close, so decent merit. And with Level House blowing up, workload exploded. He'd pulled overtime for a week straight.
“Yaaawn... So sleepy.”
Body aching, but mood flying high. Recent Level House mutation: entrance sealed, explorers trapped inside.
Taepyeong Ilbo broke it first. Oh Hanseong's exclusive. Worth the red bean bun diet and all-nighters.
His scoop turned the association into hell. Plenty there wanted him dead.
Guilt over profiting off others' misery? Long gone. Dozens of dungeon hunters possibly dying? Just another story.
His mind was on the next big one. Over ten reporters camped nearby thought the same.
Only bummer: that 'Beauty Harem Party' is inside. Hope the girls make it—anyone but them.
Precedents said survival odds sucked. As a reporter, he knew.
“Shower time? Itching all over. Bathhouse nearby...”
Even hunters accumulated fatigue from a week of all-nighters. Then, something caught his eye.
“Huh!? What the hell?”
Other reporters gasped too. A video projection appeared on the wall of a small warehouse leading to Level House—like a massive ad screen.
“What is it?”
Oh Hanseong snapped photos on reflex. The video showed an average-looking guy—not handsome, not ugly. Hunter gear and big backpack confirmed it.
He realized who: leader of the hot 'Beauty Harem Party,' Baek Jaesung. 9-rank party, every member model-level gorgeous. Reporters like him knew the deets.
“Isn't that Koh Jisu?”
Others clocked it too. Video showed Sujin, Yeonji, Rina next—all Level House explorers.
Oh Hanseong knew: live from inside the dungeon. Why? Questions swirled, but scooping it mattered more.
Click! Click! Click!
Shutter frenzy. He stomped in frustration—duplicate shots killed exclusivity. Fresh off the Level House first-report fame, he craved a better angle.
Wait! What if...
Genius idea. He dialed the editor direct.
“Editor! Our paper's Youtube live stream, right? Got a massive scoop. Prep a broadcast!”
He grinned ear-to-ear. This would make history.