Chapter 1
Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: A Dungeon in the Attic
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Several years ago, monsters began vanishing from this continent.
At first, everyone thought they were simply disappearing, but investigations revealed otherwise.
The missing monsters had all moved to another dimension.
Dimensional travel.
It was a long-cherished dream for mages like me.
I had no idea why this was happening to the monsters.
But since it aided my research, the reason no longer mattered.
"The coordinates are set... and the mana connection is perfect!"
Standing atop the magic circle I'd spent years perfecting, I spread my arms toward the ceiling.
Being able to use this dungeon, known as the Great Labyrinth, was a stroke of great luck.
With its mana, crossing dimensions should be a breeze.
"Let's go!"
With a spirited shout, I activated the magic circle. The surroundings bathed in blue light.
It was the same phenomenon seen just before monsters flew to another dimension.
Convinced my research was correct, I squeezed my eyes shut.
When I opened them again, I was sure I'd be in another dimension.
But as time passed, silence reigned.
Feeling a chill wind brush my sleeve, I cautiously opened my eyes.
My restored vision revealed not the dungeon, but an empty plain.
What that meant...
It didn't take long to realize.
"No way... Did the dungeon itself cross dimensions?!"
At the same moment.
The mage wasn't the only one bewildered.
Hunter Kang Jin-hyuk, returning home and opening the attic door, was just as dumbfounded—if not more.
"What the hell is this?"
A labyrinth straight out of a movie.
Anyone would be shocked to find one in their home attic.
* * *
The early morning air was frigid.
It was mid-October, still too early to call it winter.
Yet the dawn, cooled after sunset, was chilly enough to produce white breath.
Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul. The First Gymnasium.
A long line of people stretched in front, undeterred by the cold.
They had queued since the crack of dawn just to see their favorite celebrity.
Kang Jin-hyuk moved between vendor booths, hauling water jugs for the event.
On his way to the truck, he spotted the massive line in front of the gymnasium.
He paused, admiring it inwardly.
He lived day-to-day without goals.
How enviable to be so passionate about something.
Someone tapped the shoulder of the momentarily stopped Kang Jin-hyuk.
Turning, he saw his part-time senior.
"What're you spacing out for?"
"Just for a second..."
"Hurry up. We're not even halfway done."
"Got it."
As the senior climbed into the truck loaded with water jugs, Kang Jin-hyuk slid into the passenger seat.
The senior, bored in the starting truck, glanced at Kang Jin-hyuk.
Searching for a topic, he noticed Kang Jin-hyuk's short-sleeved shirt.
"Aren't you cold in this weather?"
"I'm a hunter, remember? Hunters handle heat and cold well."
"Does that apply to D-rankers too?"
"Luckily, yeah. Saved on heating bills."
"Nice, I'm jealous."
A brief lull led to awkward silence.
Unable to stand it, the senior tossed out a random question.
"Why's a hunter doing part-time gigs like this?"
"...Why do you think? No money."
The senior realized too late it was rude.
His awkward laugh and attempt to end the talk couldn't undo it.
Instead, he tried something encouraging.
"If only the guilds eased up on their monopolies, right?"
"Yeah, like those bastards would."
The prime monster zones were monopolized by top guilds.
They wouldn't yield even monsters appearing elsewhere, so no chance now.
Powerless D-rank hunters like Kang Jin-hyuk had no paths to hunt, so they sought other jobs or gigs like this.
Kang Jin-hyuk sighed softly.
"Lately, they've been clamping down harder. Can't make a living."
"Why? Trouble between guilds?"
Kang Jin-hyuk eyed the curious senior in confusion.
How could he not know?
"Heard the news?"
"What news?"
"A month ago, some psycho started targeting and killing hunters from major guilds. Crazy concept, right?"
Hearing the explanation, the senior chuckled dismissively.
"So the big shots can't catch one killer and are lashing out elsewhere?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
They claimed it was to hunt the culprit, but that was a flimsy excuse.
The killer was just a pretext to crush rivals.
They had no real intent to catch him.
They figured only idiots and weaklings fell to such a guy.
And they firmly believed it wouldn't happen to them.
"The more I hear, the crazier they sound."
"Tell me about it."
If he'd known hunter life was like this, he'd have sought other jobs sooner.
Kang Jin-hyuk pitied himself for dreaming of success as a hunter, stuck in place for over three years.
Normally, this much hardship would bring some lucky break.
Why hasn't good fortune come my way yet?
When will opportunity knock?
Lost in such thoughts, screams pierced Kang Jin-hyuk's ears.
Not one person's, but many.
The senior heard too and paled.
"Hey, the concert's not starting for a while, right?"
"You call that the issue?"
Those weren't joyful shrieks.
They were terrified pleas for life.
In a place like this, such screams meant terrorism or a monster appearance. One or the other.
Either way, a huge chance for Kang Jin-hyuk.
"Finally!"
It happened right where he was working.
At a time when others slept.
Heroes are born in crises, they say.
Kang Jin-hyuk felt it was his turn.
From his worn-out cheap inventory—brought just in case—he pulled an aluminum bat.
"Senior, you run."
"What about you? You're going there?"
"Obviously."
"Alone?"
"Easier to earn solo."
More hunters meant more competition.
Better to hunt alone.
"Want help? I've been working out; I can handle some heavy lifting."
Kang Jin-hyuk gave a hollow laugh.
"Monsters can't be killed by non-hunters, you know."
It wasn't about strength.
Monsters emitted a special field blocking normal attacks and conventional weapons.
Only stat-enhanced hunters could pierce it.
"Don't do anything stupid. Just evacuate."
Kang Jin-hyuk dashed toward the screams without hesitation.
Spotting the attacking monsters as expected, he grinned unwittingly.
So many—even low-level ones would mean a year's living without money worries.
"Awesome!"
Charging forward eagerly, but before reaching them, an uncle blocked his path.
Recognizing him as the agency boss who hired him, Kang Jin-hyuk stopped.
He couldn't fathom why.
"What are you doing?"
"Can't you see? Blocking you."
"No, why?"
Pondering, Kang Jin-hyuk thought he was stopping a civilian.
He pulled out his wallet, flashing his hunter license.
"I'm a hunter. I can take them. Move."
"That's why you can't go. This spot's already claimed."
"Claimed?"
"Yeah, monsters here belong to 'Titan'."
Kang Jin-hyuk was stunned.
He knew many firms contracted with big guilds.
But this far-reaching?
He truly felt the intensifying control of major guilds.
"I already called Titan. Just keep doing your gig."
"What nonsense! I spotted them first and got here quickest!"
"Don't be stubborn. Forget who Titan is? Top-five guild in Korea."
"So what?! Move!"
Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't just stand by twiddling thumbs.
He'd been chosen as a hunter, gained stats.
Registered at the association, got licensed.
Fully prepped and qualified to hunt.
What was missing that he couldn't claim even one?
He shoved the blocking boss aside.
Even as a mere D-rank, he could handle a civilian physically.
"Oof!"
As the obstacle fell on his butt, Kang Jin-hyuk tried rushing the monsters.
But he couldn't advance a step.
A hand from behind gripped his shoulder firmly.
"Huh?"
The hand yanked him back.
Like slamming into a fierce wave.
Kang Jin-hyuk flew backward without resistance, crashing and rolling on the ground.
"Urk!"
The yanker spoke coldly to the fallen man.
"Don't try spooning in. Get lost."
Looking up, Kang Jin-hyuk saw a crowd of hunters gathered.
All in black jackets, shoulders bearing the same emblem.
He knew it symbolized the major guild 'Titan'.
"You're the ones spooning! I got here first!"
"So? This is our turf."
"Where's that rule?!"
"No legal force, sure. Same for you."
"What?"
"'First come, first served' is just your claim. Association ever set that rule?"
The speaker, Titan's vice-guild master Ahn Do-yoon, meant simply:
If it's not law, might makes right.
That was his point.
"What illogical bullshit...!"
Kang Jin-hyuk sprang up.
Seeing Titan hunters hunting monsters, he snapped.
"Enough, you greedy bastards!"
Swept by emotion, he charged Ahn Do-yoon bat in hand.
If they took all monsters, at least smack that smug face.
But he got hit instead.
A punch to the left cheek—too fast to see—sent him tumbling again.
The familiar asphalt scraped his skin mercilessly.
"What a trashy guy, charging like that."
Tsking in disgust, Ahn Do-yoon ordered a nearby hunter.
"If he rushes again, beat him and chase off."
"Got it."
Hearing it all from the ground, Kang Jin-hyuk clenched his fists.
He knew rationally.
Titan took only B-rank and above.
A D-rank couldn't stand against them. Common sense.
Today, he learned it bodily.
He now knew a D-rank hunter's place.
Bodily knowledge killed any further urge to fight.
The boss, witnessing all, helped him up.
"Told you to go, kid."
The boss brushed dirt off Kang Jin-hyuk's clothes, offering consolation.
But no words reached him now.
He'd thought this was his big chance.
All his struggles led here.
Yet he hit reality's wall.
Some hunters earned merits slaying monsters.
Others like him hauled jugs for scraps.
With dreams shattered, Kang Jin-hyuk moved mechanically.
He ignored the senior's questions about what happened.
Silently focusing on his allowed tasks.
"Damn it...!"
This moment, he rooted for the killer targeting big guilds.
Wrong as it was, a D-rank's only vent for injustice was such twisted curses.
* * *
Some time later.
Titan's pros subdued the monsters swiftly.
Great news for concert prep folks.
Kang Jin-hyuk got his pay safely.
But he felt no joy.
The deposit: mere tens of thousands won.
One monster would've made it pocket change.
Pathetic, a hunter reduced to gigs with monsters right there.
No choice, though.
Today's events confirmed it.
This was D-rank reality.
To escape injustice, bow to a big guild.
But that required at least 30 million won in tribute.
Kang Jin-hyuk's savings: just today's pay.
Month-to-month rent strained him.
Amassing 30 million? Impossible, even with loans.
"I'm heading out first."
Ignoring the senior's drink invite, he went straight home.
He craved drowning sorrows, but couldn't.
Another gig in two hours.
No time for booze.
Plus, he wanted solitude.
"Fuck..."
Entering home, a sigh-like curse escaped.
Staggering in, Kang Jin-hyuk sprawled starfish on the floor.
Surveying the 12-pyeong rundown house, he sighed.
Too big for solo living.
Gigs barely covered rent.
Yet he clung, hoping vaguely for success someday.
But today crushed that hope.
No backing, no capital—a D-rank couldn't succeed.
"Better move out this month."
To a fitting place.
Quit hunter life, save slowly, find a job. Realistic.
"Hoo..."
Resolved, but unwanted, mood sank deeper.
As frustration swelled.
Thud! Something fell from the attic.
"What, what?"
Box toppled?
Kang Jin-hyuk bolted up, flung open the attic door.
"Huh...?"
The sight inside left him speechless.
Stone walls like a game/movie labyrinth, intricately tangled.
No clue why in his attic.
Approaching for a closer look, he startled at a sudden goblin.
"Aaah!"
Shock toppled him butt-first, crashing into attic junk with clatters.
Yet the goblin ignored him, continuing its path.
Succeeding goblins did too.
Over ten, none glanced his way.
"No way... They can't see me?"
Outside visible inside, but not vice versa, apparently.
Cautiously extending a hand toward the labyrinth, it slipped in smoothly.
No resistance.
Withdrawing, Kang Jin-hyuk laughed hollowly.
Labyrinth and monsters inside.
He knew what it meant.
"A dungeon... A dungeon's appeared in my attic?"