The Mechanical Ant Nest
html, body { margin:0; padding:0; }
Sergeant: Baek Jaesung 26
The principle behind monsters spawning in dungeons has yet to be uncovered. Theories abound in staggering variety, with opinions so divided that no single one holds as orthodoxy. But they all share one solitary commonality: monsters emerge through means other than reproduction.
Monsters spawning in dungeons is termed "regen." The single most critical condition for completely clearing an open dungeon is that your hunting speed must surpass the regen rate.
To fully conquer an open dungeon, you have to drive the monster population inside down to a set threshold or below. If regen outpaces hunting, the dungeon endures—or worse, expands.
That trait makes open dungeons a nightmare when the monsters' base is concealed.
Exterminating pests at home? Just swatting the cockroaches you see won't cut it. You've got to root out and wipe every hidden nest for the job to be done.
In a rough-hewn tunnel of raw, exposed earth—like a half-dug construction shaft or mine adit—the company commander laid out the situation with a grave expression.
"Up to now, most of the monsters we've run into were holed up here. Big numbers, all kinds of types."
"Could be this underground's the Urban Warfare monsters' regen zone."
Han Seungjin spoke up, and the commander nodded. Same thought I'd had.
"Explains why the numbers didn't budge no matter how hard we farmed. The surface ones were just the tip."
Couldn't make a dent with a hideout dug into this dank underground. Rina ran her hand along a wall that looked ready to crumble.
"This underground passage. Think the monsters dug it?"
Definitely too sloppy for human work. Less a safe thoroughfare, more a supply haul route?
Hwang Cheolmin nodded like he bought it.
"Spot on. Kinda looks like an ant nest, don't it?"
"Ant nest?"
Rina cocked her head, so Hwang jabbed a finger toward the tunnel's distant end, stretching out forever.
"You know those cross-sections in science mags? Ants tunnel straight down like this for their colony. Multiple chambers for different shit—larva rooms, food stores, whatever."
Took me back to elementary school. Some kid hauled in an ant farm for summer break homework—a massive plastic bin packed with dirt, thousands of ants wriggling around.
He'd poured his soul into it, but some asshole left the entrance open. Half the colony bolted.
Girls freaking out, screaming as ants invaded their clothes and bags. Damtaengi's near-faint face? Burned in my memory.
"Might not be all the monsters up ahead. These passages could lace the whole underground of Ben Aivies. Ants dig vast, deep nests, after all."
Han Seungjin nodded like it tracked.
"Makes sense. That shoddy workmanship screams monster. They've been widening lower tunnels, bloating the dungeon size. No wonder we couldn't contain the spread."
The surface was just a sliver of this colossal dungeon. Hunt all you want up top—without killing the source, the erosion rolls on.
The company commander finally chimed in on our speculation.
"Alright. To nail a full clear, we've gotta handle this underground somehow. Obvious why they're digging: to swell the dungeon."
Creep up from below, claim the surface. Smart play, for monsters.
"Shouldn't we loop in the other companies?"
Rina's take. No clue how vast this subterranean web ran, but by our guess, at least the footprint of the overrun surface.
No way we soloed this. Whole 1st Landing Battalion and peacekeepers would need to pile in.
"Damn right. Link up with 4th Company tomorrow."
No comms gear works inside dungeons. Well, the kind that does costs a fucking fortune. Even the military skimps.
So the battalion sets rally points and dates pre-entry. Urgent intel? Trek their zones one by one.
"For now, scrub what we can."
We all nodded. Every extra kill sped the clear.
"Moving out. Everyone, sound off quiet and tail me."
Commander took point. Tunnel dead-straight for about 10 meters, then a left jog.
Screeeeech!Screeeeech!
Rounding the bend sharpened that familiar rusty scrap grind. Another 5 meters straight, spilling into a massive cavern.
Screeeeech! Screeeeech! Screeeeech! Screeeeech!
Scrap Golem actuators ramping louder. Sound alone screamed a horde hunkered in that cave.
"Tight squeeze. Over here."
Commander flattened against the passage. Barely one-man wide—had to prone for rear sightlines.
Screeeeech! Screeeeech! Screeeeech! Screeeeech!
The connected cavern dwarfed the shelter we'd trashed earlier. Supermarket chains smashed together scale.
"Huge."
Filling that vast void: a staggering mechanical legion. Knowing each was scrap-tier fodder didn't blunt the sheer intimidation.
Screeeeech! Screeeeech!
Up front, Scrap Golems. Rough count? Five hundred-plus.
Arrayed in perfect order, they inched forward amid the grating rasp of corroded plates. Straight out of a conveyor nightmare—factory widgets on the line.
Spot on. These chump golems were mere cogs in the dungeon's production machine. The scrap horde funneled out one tunnel wall.
Tailing them: Spider Golems. Junk-metal arachnids amped the menace. Unlike the walkers, they skittered sideways up the walls.
Big holes punched for 'em. They filed through one by one, shipped like inventory.
"Whoa... total factory vibes."
Rina gawked at the procession.
"Could be the regen zone right here. Spawns flood out through the ant tunnels across all Ben Aivies."
Hwang on fire today. That canned ham laced or what?
"If Cheolmin's right, taking this spot pushes us closer to full clear."
Dungeons with fixed regen zones? Cakewalks. Problem is, most ain't.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Behind the spiders, Cannon Golems rolled. They peeled into the scrap route. Then motorbike golems, automobile golems, the works.
"What's that guy?"
Rina flagged an outlier in the golem throng. Humanoid bot, scrap-golem sized but sleek steel skin—no rust. Echoed the Giant Golem the commander scrapped, but downsized. Same red-glow cyclops eye, though.
Prowled the ranks, bathing golems in its facial beam. Then halted amid some Cannon Golems.
Beep!
Eye flared searchlight crimson. Mana surge hit like a truck.
BOOM!
A marching cannon golem shattered to bits. Bot shrugged it off, resumed scanning with red indifference.
Wreckage powdered to dust, gap seamlessly filled. Factory churned on flawless.
"......Looks like a quality checker."
Rina breathed, watching hushed.
"The overseer here?"
Commander bought Han Seungjin's line.
"Checks out. That eye-laser earlier? Heavy mana vibe."
Minimum Giant Golem tier. Named monster potential, even.
Named Monster
An exceptional monster individual called by a unique identifier rather than its species name. Ranks a step above boss monsters; requires utmost caution to hunt.
"This horde size, plus that hazard...... Yeah, call for backup."
Commander muttered; we nodded. Heroics for merits could land you a posthumous two-rank bump. Numbers always demand caution.
Vroooom!
Sudden high-rev whine split the air. Beehive drone zipped from a spider passage.
"New breed."
Rina murmured. Orb with rotor wings—like a drone ball. Pristine as the manager, leagues beyond the rustbuckets.
Vroooom!
It buzzed the cavern airspace. Then odd beeps erupted.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Shit just hit the fan, huh?"
Hwang nailing it again. Usually full of dumbass takes.
ZZZzing!
Manager's gaze snapped our way. Searchlight lanced out like an ambush.