The King of Weapons

Seoul, South Korea.

Inside the strategic conference room of the South Korea Awakener Management Bureau, every senior official, up to and including the director himself, sat gathered in heavy silence.

"So, what you're saying is that a Special Dungeon is about to open."

"That is correct, Director," replied Team Leader Shin Dongha in a crisp, disciplined cadence. "While there is a slight margin of error, we estimate the rift will manifest within three to five days."

Shin Dongha was an A-rank detection-type Awakened. Though he couldn't match the strategic S-rank powerhouses stationed in China or the United Kingdom, his accuracy was peerless within domestic borders. He could reliably pinpoint the expected time window, geographical zone, and core theme of an unopened rift well before it breached reality. And on top of that—

"Right... It has ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been three months, hasn't it?" Director Ko Jinhyuk murmured, rubbing his temples. "We did receive reports that normal gate occurrences have slowed to a crawl over the past week."

He had already suspected as much. A sharp, unnatural drop in local gate activity was the telltale harbinger of a Special Dungeon. Over the last few days, incident reports confirming that exact phenomenon had piled up across his desk by the dozen.

"A Special Dungeon, of all things..." Ko Jinhyuk sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose China will be running wild with joy once again."

They weren't called 'Special' just for show; these instances differed fundamentally from ordinary rifts. In simple terms, they were battlegrounds engineered for international competition. Their spawn cycle? Exactly once per quarter.

"Securing the buff this time around... is out of the question again, isn't it?"

The greatest draw of a Special Dungeon was the territory-wide blessing bestowed upon the victor's homeland. For three entire months, every registered hunter in the winning nation enjoyed an across-the-board enhancement to their growth and capabilities. The buff was so absurdly potent that certain hunters had even renounced their citizenships and emigrated just to bathe in its effects.

"My apologies, Director, but with our current domestic roster, an upset is virtually impossible," Shin Dongha answered frankly.

Of course it was. Ko Jinhyuk hadn't dared to harbor false hopes in the first place. Just as it had played out for the past three years, the Chinese coalition would almost certainly seize first place. The statistical probability of their victory hovered above ninety-eight percent.

At least up until last year, there had been a glimmer of hope. South Korea had possessed a lone trump card back then—Lee Mungi, the nation's sole S-rank Awakened. But now...

"Unless we could somehow enlist that anonymous climber everyone calls 'EX-jwa,' we simply have no viable cards ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to play," Shin Dongha added quietly.

"Hah... And that's pure fantasy, isn't it?"

Well, to be fair, having that phantom on their side would certainly tip the scales. A Special Dungeon dynamically adjusted its trial difficulty based on the level of the entering Awakened. China's top ranker, Luo Qin? No matter how peerless he fancied himself, the dungeon would throw Level 67-grade monstrosities at his throat. If an unranked prodigy like EX-jwa entered, their speedrun time could easily eclipse Luo Qin's.

The problem was, none of that mattered.

"The guy hasn't shown a single hair on his head," Ko Jinhyuk muttered sourly.

To find someone, they needed an Awakened registration on file. But this ghost had never set foot near a government registry office. Worse still—

"Didn't your department report that he doesn't run standard dungeons at all?"

"Yes, sir. We've monitored gate surveillance round the clock, but there hasn't been a single dungeon clear log linked to EX-jwa's signature."

"Good grief..."

If the fellow ran regular dungeons, they'd at least have an audit trail. Time stamps, magic stone deposits, mana signatures—anything to track him down. But EX-jwa? There wasn't a trace. The only evidence of his existence was the string of impossible EX evaluations stamped into the global records of the Tower of Despair.

In short, the guy likely had zero interest in public dungeons.

"Then again, the hunter community has never been short on eccentrics," Ko Jinhyuk observed.

Though maybe calling him just an 'eccentric' was an understatement.

As the head of South Korea's Awakened Management Bureau, Ko Jinhyuk had long since retired from active field duty, but he had spent decades dealing with every flavor of Awakened under the sun. He could read their psych profiles at a glance.

Odds are, he's swimming in obscene personal wealth. Someone who doesn't need the money from selling magic stones, treating the planetary tower like a casual weekend hobby.

That would explain why he hadn't bothered to register for a hunter license. And in Ko Jinhyuk's experience, those were the hardest people to persuade. How were you supposed to negotiate with someone who didn't want a single thing you could offer?

"Well... nothing we can do about it," Ko Jinhyuk concluded with a bitter grimace. "Looks like we'll be sitting on our hands sucking our thumbs again this quarter."

Meanwhile, after spending hours scouring the Awakened forums, Kim Haun leaned back in his computer chair and summarized his findings.

"So... unlike regular dungeons, this is a speedrun trial where countries compete for the fastest clear time?"

The Awakened world was truly vast. For years, Haun's cherished dream had been to awaken. His main pastime had been living vicariously through hunter web forums, reading combat breakdowns and dungeon logs, yet—

"How does new stuff keep popping out of the woodwork? The more you learn about this world, the weirder it gets."

This Special Dungeon business was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no exception. Come to think of it, he recalled skimming a post about it once. People had raved that the national buff awarded to the winning country was completely miraculous, claiming the entire world felt different once you had it active. But back then, it had felt like news from another planet. The headlines always declared China the winner anyway, so he hadn't paid it any mind.

So this was why regular gates vanished, huh?

Scanning through recent forum posts, it seemed the wider community had caught on to the pattern as well.

"Ah, no wonder," Haun muttered, clicking his tongue. "That explains why the dungeon lists were totally barren lately."

He had thought it was bizarre. Conventional wisdom held that Awakened never had to worry about running out of dungeons to grind. Yet every time he had scanned his spatial senses over the neighborhood, there wasn't a single gate in sight. He had even seriously contemplated whether he needed to move to a different district. Turns out, there was no need to pack his bags after all.

Haun scrolled down to the next comment thread.

Haun stroked his chin as he read the comments. A closely guarded state secret, was it?

"Well, now..."

A translucent holographic window floated right before his eyes.

Not only could he see the dungeon's name, but the exact countdown down to the very second was laid out cleanly before him. As for the physical location? Who cared? With his Rift Opening skill, he could simply tear open a gateway directly into the instance from anywhere on the planet. Which meant he was fully eligible to participate whenever he felt like it.

A sudden prickle of curiosity struck him. Besides the national buff, was there anything else up for grabs? Like a payout of five thousand magic stones or something?

He scrolled down further.

Haun's eyes widened at the screen.

"Oh ho..."

Gear worth tens of millions, maybe even billions of won? Now that sounded appetizing.

While the Special Dungeon had piqued his interest, it wasn't scheduled to open for another four days, so he shelved the thought for later. Right now, testing his newly acquired skill took top priority.

"Let's see... where should I head to make a proper splash?"

He considered his options, then shook his head. Since this was his very first dungeon expedition, playing it safe was the smart move.

Wait. Is it safe to open this inside my living room?

Before panic could set in, space split with a faint hiss.

Swoooosh.

"Phew..." Haun let out a breath of relief.

The system was remarkably considerate. The dimensional rift manifested in a tidy, door-sized oval, perfectly scaled to the dimensions of his apartment without chipping a single millimeter off his ceiling or wallpaper. This was leagues better than having to trek out into the wilderness. He could commute to dungeons straight from his living room couch. Pure profit.

"Alright, let's see what a real dungeon looks like."

Stepping forward with anticipation, he crossed the threshold.

Haun surveyed his new surroundings, unimpressed.

"What the heck? This feels barely any different from the Tower of Despair..."

Instead of an endless open meadow, it looked like the interior of an earthen burrow, but the chamber itself was surprisingly cramped for a dungeon. And right on cue—

Boing!

A translucent green blob jiggled as it bounced off the ground.

"Seriously, this is just Floor 1 all over again."

Then again, it was an F-rank dungeon. Higher-tier dungeons were bound to look radically different; he had seen video footage online of sprawling subterranean labyrinths and majestic crystal caverns. The only tangible difference here was the complete absence of a designated safe zone.

Boing! Boing!

"Whoa there... Living up to your name, aren't you? Look at you charging in the second you spot me."

Still, Haun had long since graduated from being intimidated by oversized jelly puddles. He was a Level 6 Awakened now, and an unprecedented climber who had swept every floor with an EX evaluation to boot. Mobs like these didn't even warrant breaking a sweat.

Haun raised his palm and channeled his power.

KABOOOOOOOM!

"Aaaah!" Haun pumped his fist into the air. "Now this is what I'm talking about!"

Twenty magic stones in ten seconds flat? At current exchange rates, that was ten thousand won per second! Better yet, unlike the Tower of Despair with its one-floor-per-level progression gate, public dungeons had zero entry limits.

"This is incredible."

A wicked grin spread across his face. Brace yourselves, dungeons. Every single rift that pops up in my vision today is getting wiped off the map!

His grand dream of obliterating every dungeon in sight lasted all of twenty minutes. To state the conclusion bluntly: ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠complete failure.

Why?

The moment he fired his fourth Energy Bolt, the dreaded red warning flashed across his vision once again.

"Phew..." Haun slumped against his chair, panting.

Thinking about it rationally, it made sense. His mana stat had only progressed from F-rank to D-rank. While he had gained some rudimentary control over the flow, he still couldn't compress the spell down to the compact size ordinary hunters used. Every shot came out looking like a tactical nuke.

"So four Energy Bolts is my absolute ceiling right now, huh?"

Because he had vaporized everything in a single blast until now, he had never realized his operational limit. Fortunately, when he had consumed the root hair of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower earlier, an additional effect had taken hold.

Thanks to that passive buff, his reserves would replenish after a short rest. Even so, this meant endless blitz runs were off the table for now.

Hmm. Can't be helped, Haun thought, rubbing his chin. When you hit a wall, you use a cheat code.

"Ran three E-ranks and one F-rank to pull in two hundred stones... plus the two hundred left over from yesterday, that makes four hundred."

That was more than enough to buy a brand-new skill from the Arcana Market. And rather than another spell that guzzled mana like water, a weapon-based combat skill seemed ideal. Swords, spears, bows—physical masteries were classic for a reason.

The real question is, which weapon should I pick?

"Since antiquity, the pinnacle of all weaponry has ever been the bow."

Excuse me?

"Bah! The bow is a coward's toy, meant for skulking in the rear! The true and only answer is the sword! Why else would it be crowned the King of Ten Thousand Weapons?"

Haun blinked in sheer bewilderment. Wait... who on earth are you old men?

Before he could open his mouth, an ethereal chime echoed in his mind.

Wait, supreme Transcendents?!

Haun's jaw nearly hit the floor. That meant they were godlike dimensional powerhouses, beings whose strength defied mortal comprehension! Come to think of it, could they even be considered human anymore?

The broad-shouldered warrior with fiery eyes let out a booming laugh, his presence radiating an aura that seemed to cleave the very air around him.

"To think I would encounter an unascended mortal in this sacred domain! A hearty meeting to you, lad! I am Cheok Jun-gyeong, a martial general of Goryeo!"

Beside him, the stately veteran archer stroked his long white beard and inclined his head with dignified grace.

"And this humble veteran answers to the name of Huang Zhong."