Chapter 3
Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Rat Hole Dungeon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have entered the F-grade dungeon <Rat Hole>.] [Remove the World Tree's branch to clear the dungeon.] A light start.
The lowest-grade dungeon.
"Hm."
The scent of home.
The dungeon's backdrop was Kyle's hometown, 'Thea'.
Even if it was now a fabricated other dimension.
'Gotta visit the real hometown sometime later.'
There are two kinds of gates.
Gates leading to 'dungeons'.
And 'passages' leading to the real Thea.
This was the former.
'Visit my friends' hometowns too.'
It was a promise from his past life that he couldn't keep.
They had agreed to tour each other's hometowns after the war ended.
'Tch, if only it weren't for this vocal cord nodule.'
He walked along, lost in trivial thoughts.
Leisurely steps.
Yet the area crawled with rat monsters.
Squeak.
Squeak squeak.
Dozens of cat-sized rats.
An overwhelming number that no solo awakener could handle.
Even a D-rank would struggle.
Still, Kang Hyun remained relaxed.
He pulled down his black mask.
Loosened his itchy throat.
"Ahem. Hm. Ah— ah—."
The wary rats lunged all at once.
"【Stop】"
Kiiing—
The rats froze.
He cracked open a bottle of water.
Sipped as he took in the sight, replenishing moisture.
Ah, that alien sensation from the frozen scenery.
'Man, I missed this.'
He put the mask back on.
He'd chosen this place on purpose.
Like Heroes' Square, weak mobs in hordes.
The stronger the opponent, the more mana Words of Command consumed.
But in a place like this?
His current piddling mana was more than enough.
'But this one use nearly drained it all.'
So weak, this body of mine.
'If my mana grows faster, I could try 'that' too.'
That.
The ultimate Word of Command.
Just thinking about it made his throat itch.
'Wasn't that one sealed?'
After the World Tree sealed his Words of Command.
He'd realized it at the moment of death.
'Let's see, just once...'
Would it work with this much mana?
He stared at a random tree, cleared his throat.
"Die... *cough*, *cough*!"
Mana shortage, as expected.
His throat locked up.
The strain on his vocal cords.
'Ah, no!'
Throat damage!
Hydrate!
He panicked and chugged the water.
Gulp gulp.
The bottle emptied in seconds.
"Khaak!"
Mana needs to grow a bit more first.
'Lost ten years off my life. Gotta use it carefully. Can't wreck my throat.'
Still, it should be soon.
The conditions were tricky, but it wasn't a high-cost Word.
He tossed the empty bottle.
Drew his short sword.
A handout from his awakener registration.
'Cutting throats one by one is such a chore.'
A strategy other awakeners couldn't dream of.
As he approached with sword in hand, the rats rolled their eyes up at him.
Utterly helpless, resistance frozen.
Sensing their fate, they trembled.
Stab—
Only after the blade pierced their throats did they slump.
After slaughtering all the rats, magic stones littered the path behind him.
The rat corpses just vanished, huh.
Magic stones were awakeners' main income.
These are that expensive?
Hardly bigger than a pinky nail.
F-grade dungeon, maybe?
Still, he picked them all up.
'Gotta pay off that debt...'
The bankrupt academy and mountain of debt.
How did Hero Kyle end up like this...?
Tears blurred his vision.
After slitting the throats of dozens of rats.
The dungeon's deepest point.
A black something sat there alone.
A bamboo shoot-sized tree branch.
'World Tree root.'
The driving force of dimensional invasions.
The dungeon's core, in other words.
He slashed it mercilessly.
Slice—
'Clear notification now, grab rewards, and done?'
Simple, just as researched.
But a different message window appeared before him.
Unlike what he'd known beforehand.
Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [You have cleared the dungeon.] [Evaluating clear grade.] Ding!
✨ PERFECT CLEAR! ✨ Perfect Clear! (Solo) An incredible achievement! You have perfectly thwarted the World Tree's invasion! Due to your feat, a 'Blessing' descends upon the surrounding area! Everyone will praise your achievement! "Huh?"
What the hell?
No one mentioned a message like this.
A moment later.
Cracks spread through space, and the world shattered with a crash.
Dungeon cleared.
The pre-gate scenery.
Aden was right there.
"Eh? You're out already?"
191 on Aden's phone.
The awakener emergency support hotline.
Good thing she hadn't called yet.
"Put that away, kid. I cleared the dungeon."
"Pardon? You just went in? Do dungeons just naturally collapse like that?"
Solo clears were absolutely impossible.
She'd looked it up on her phone in the meantime.
"I thought Teacher was a goner and was about to report it urgently."
"Appreciate the sentiment."
But solo clear impossible?
Wasn't that hard.
Are these kids' standards that low nowadays?
Then.
Light surged from the gate's spot, spreading wide across the sky.
"Whoa? What's that?"
"Ah, must be that."
"What is it?"
"A Blessing. Said it sprinkles around for a good clear."
"Blessing? No way."
She knew what a Blessing was.
"Blessings only trigger on Perfect Clears."
"Yeah. Right. That's it."
"But I heard it's insanely hard."
"Yeah. Right. That's it."
"Ugh, even if you say no."
She's always doubted people's words.
"It's not casual—it's a 100km radius. If it activates, all of Seoul—"
Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [One brave soul has achieved 'Perfect Clear! (Solo)' in an F-grade dungeon, perfectly thwarting the World Tree's invasion!] [To honor his feat, a 'Blessing' descends upon the area. Everyone, celebrate!] The message appeared before his eyes.
Aden stared into space too.
Same notification for her.
"...Huh?"
"Yeah. Message popped up."
Just as Aden said.
But pulling this much aggro seemed unnecessary.
100km radius, was it?
Unnecessarily flashy.
'Well, compared to Heroes' Square, this is tame.'
They'll think a decent newbie showed up.
Should quiet down soon.
Still, time to leave.
Then.
Ding!
✨ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! ✨ [You have achieved the first 'Perfect Clear! (Solo)' in a dungeon.] [An unprecedented feat in history!] [Issuing achievement reward.] 'Oh?'
Achievement reward?
First time hearing about this.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Issuing '---Grade Random Box'!] [A reward with no prior precedent unlocked.] [Verification complete. Temporarily unlocking.] [Would you like to open the '---Grade Random Box'?] Random box?
What is this? Not a game.
"Yes."
They offered, might as well see what it is.
A holographic box appeared before him.
But mosaiced over.
Feels like something that shouldn't come out did.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Opening '---Grade Random Box'.] Flashy sound effects as the box opened.
Ding!
🎁 REWARD! 🎁 [Issuing trait 'Inventory'!] Good stuff?
Usage instructions flooded his mind instantly.
The pouch of magic stones in his palm.
Thinking of storing it made the pouch vanish.
Whoosh—
[Inventory] - Magic Stone Pouch Inventory was an intangible subspace.
Size roughly one container.
His body trembled.
'Jackpot!'
Subspace!
He couldn't contain his surging excitement.
Even Kyle, the pinnacle of Words of Command, couldn't manifest it.
Still in the realm of fantasy despite modern magic engineering advances.
That treasure, subspace!
'No medium item needed either. Purely intangible.'
If his past-life hero comrades saw this?
A brawl would ensue, everyone spouting nonsense.
Too good for a scrawny guy like you!
Fits a noble saintess like me perfectly!
The strongest should have it!
Of course, he'd flatten them all and claim it for Kyle.
Anyway!
'This treasure, in my hands!'
Kuha!
System forever!
Free growth for the win!
'Do other awakeners get stuff like this?'
This is straight-up broken.
'If we'd had the system back then...!'
He'd have been way stronger.
Even beat the World Tree!
Grievance welled up.
"Hey, check this out! This clear reward is just... whew."
Excitedly calling Aden, he paused.
Aden was trembling.
Mouth agape.
Eyes wide as saucers.
Alternating between the floating message and him.
"H-how... Perfect, for real...?"
What's with her?
"...You okay?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Aden couldn't believe the reality before her eyes.
She needed a moment to process it.
'Perfect Clear, which has only happened twice in history...'
It happened right in front of her.
Teacher entered the gate.
The dungeon cleared in an instant.
Teacher said a Blessing would descend.
And it actually did.
Above all, the system kindly stated it.
[Perfect Clear! (Solo)].
'Solo. Cleared alone.'
No doubt.
Her magic teacher.
The man Kang Hyun, who awakened today.
Perfectly cleared a dungeon.
"..."
Once she'd thought it through, Aden sprang into action.
Kang Hyun flinched.
"Wh-what? What're you doing?"
She knelt without hesitation.
"Master."
"Huh?"
"From now on, I'll serve you as Master."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Awakener Management Headquarters, Republic of Korea.
Section Chief Choi Young-ho prodded his subordinates.
"Still no leads on the S-rank Word of Command user?"
"Well, we can't use CCTV, so the investigation's hit a snag..."
"Keep reports short and simple."
Choi's head snapped around sharply, staring down his subordinate.
"Basic principle of efficient public service."
"Yes. Nothing yet."
"I see."
Fuu.
He removed his angular horn-rimmed glasses and let out a deep sigh.
Deep enough to sink into the floor.
"We need to find them ASAP."
If another country snatched them?
Probably get fired on the spot.
Not just any— an S-rank.
Successor to Hero Kyle, no less!
"S-so, what're they saying upstairs?"
"Turn the peninsula upside down if you have to and find them."
"That's it?"
"As if. Got chewed out for not spotting talent like this sooner."
"Harsh."
An S-rank drops from the sky outta nowhere.
How were they supposed to scout that in advance—
"No!"
"Wha— you scared me."
"Public service demands zero disruptions in national operations!"
"Ah, here we go..."
"This is our department's oversight, including mine! Let this be a lesson...!"
The lecture began.
So engrossed, he ignored his surroundings.
The subordinate grabbed vending machine coffee.
About 10 minutes later, back at his desk.
"...Thus, with responsibility for state affairs, we must commit with greater integrity!"
"Yes. Well heard."
"Glad my words helped!"
Sip.
The coffee was sweet.
"But how do you scout something like that ahead? I'd believe they just awakened that day."
"Impossible."
"Just saying, ha ha."
Choi adjusted his horn-rimmed glasses.
"Anyway, we need to find that S-rank Word user fast. If they go overseas again, it'll be a disaster!"
Especially America.
Poaching awakeners wasn't a one-off.
Mecca of hero stories.
A nation dead serious about idolizing them.
Uncle Sam-level funding too.
"Plus, who knows how Thea will react this time."
"Yeah."
Successor to Kyle, after all.
"ASAP..."
Choi trailed off.
His subordinate's expression was off.
"What's up?"
Staring into space, frozen.
Face like he'd seen something unbelievable.
"Blessing...?"
"Pardon? What?"
"Uh... Chief. Does the system ever glitch?"
"Efficient communication! Restate per the five W's and one H!"
"N-no..."
Then, commotion in the hallway.
Thud thud!
Someone running.
Door burst open.
"Senior?"
The section chief from next door rushed in, panting.
Unlike Choi, an awakener himself.
Choi adjusted his glasses.
"Senior! Running in the halls undermines civil servant dignity—"
"Hey, hey! Young-ho, you see it? Wait, you're not awakened."
"Hm?"
"A Blessing just dropped on Seoul!"
Blessing?
What?
Why Seoul?
Took a sec to process.
"Per the five W's—"
"Fuck, Perfect Clear! Third in Earth history! Just popped!"
"...Pardon?"
Choi forgot protocol, blankly repeating.