Dungeon Revolution (1)
Dungeon Revolution (1)
Early morning. Even before the sun had risen, I woke up out of habit ingrained in my body, did a light wash-up, left the mansion, and ran a lap around the city.
There was a track inside the mansion where I could jog lightly, but running was best on the wide boulevards after all.
Some early risers gave me weird looks, and a passing guard stopped me briefly for an inspection.
After finishing my morning jog and returning to the mansion drenched in sweat, I perked up my ears to the singing coming from the backyard.
A sound I wouldn't have heard if it weren't for the time when the morning sun lifted the dark curtain, with dew and birds singing.
Unknowingly, my feet carried me to the backyard. There, Ga-hee, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, was belting out a song.
"─♬."
Listening to that singing, I thought, yeah, an idol trainee is still an idol trainee. I could also see how she managed to get a job at a bar so quickly after falling into this world.
She was Muse. Prometheus delivering song to this backward Otherworld, and also a Siren who mesmerized and destroyed all who heard her.
"......."
In the middle of singing passionately, she noticed the uninvited guest and stopped. Moments later, our eyes met. Ga-hee glanced at me briefly and then went inside the mansion without a word.
Even after moving to this mansion because of the verbal abuse she got from me, she still kept her distance from me.
Seeing her unilaterally showing hostility made me sometimes think maybe I should apologize first.
'Why should I?'
But my petty pride wouldn't allow it. Unless someone's pride broke first, we'd keep running on parallel lines.
"What the hell is this......."
"Amazing."
"Yeah......."
A week after hunting the Dungeon Ruler, we checked our savings dwindling and came to the Dungeon to make some money.
And we were shocked by the long line stretching in front of the Dungeon.
"Get in line! Line up!"
"No cutting!"
"Hey, you there, mister, you cut, didn't you? Hand over your Guild Card."
At the Dungeon entrance, annoyed adventurers were lining up, waiting their turn.
Adventurers who hadn't lined up yet were huddled under temporary tents set up near the Dungeon, chatting about something.
"Warrior! Anyone need a strong warrior!"
"I'm a 1st dan martial artist from Ho-beop-gwan! I have proof!"
"A genius beginner magic master on standby at all times......."
'What the heck?'
In a nice way, they were like job-seeking fresh grads hawking their value at a job fair; in a bad way, it was like a flea market.
In Deokgu-style terms, they were like players in an MMORPG recruiting party members.
Of course, this was a sight we hadn't seen until recently. I had no idea what changes had happened in the last few days to cause this.
"Anyway...... shall we go in?"
I headed to the Dungeon entrance with the kids. I ignored the line completely. Sure enough, the moment the manager saw us, he rushed over.
"Hold on! You can't cut in line. Please submit your Guild Card."
"Yes, here."
At the manager's words, I handed over my Guild Card. The silver-plated high-rank adventurer card.
The manager who saw the card snapped to attention and bowed his head.
"You're a high-rank adventurer? My apologies. Right this way."
"Ah, yes."
He guided us straight inside the Dungeon. Maybe because this was rare, the adventurers in line stared at us.
Their eyes weren't filled with envy or jealousy. Quite the opposite. Admiration, awe, envy-like emotions.
The manager escorted us all the way to the direct elevator to the 10th floor. The two soldiers guarding the elevator checked our adventurer cards and let us through immediately.
The elevator came and went pretty fast, so we got up to the 10th floor without waiting.
Unlike the 1st floor packed with no room to step, the 10th floor was somewhat sparse. Still, people were visible here and there.
Seoyun, confirming no one was around, asked me with an amazed look.
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That they'd let us go right through."
"Didn't know?"
"What?"
"I said I didn't know."
I'm not an omniscient god, and I didn't even know the Dungeon had changed like this—how would I know how they'd react?
I just had confidence. Confidence that no matter what we did, they couldn't harm us.
Seoyun made a dumbfounded face at my words.
"You know, what percentage of adventurers do you think have even experienced one level-up?"
"Hmm...... maybe fifty percent?"
"One percent."
"......One percent?"
At my words, Seoyun did some mental math. Top one percent was no joke in any field.
"No, why? The Dungeon makes money easily."
"That's exactly the problem—because it makes money too easily."
"Why's that a problem?"
"Remember when we first went up to the 2nd floor? Whether catching Goblins or King Turtles, it was one-shot kills either way, so profits actually dropped."
"I remember. That's when we realized the 3rd floor was optimal for making money."
"Han-young's the weird one; that's actually the norm."
I said that and went up to the 11th floor. To an area not under my dominion, where the Dungeon's supernatural phenomena applied.
Soon, the dark curtain enclosed us. A darkness so familiar it felt peaceful descended.
"After long-term hunting to build skill...... even if they go up to the 2nd or 3rd floor, profits don't rise—they just crawl along the floor."
In that sense, the 2nd floor was pretty vicious. King Turtles with shells way tougher than Goblins showed up.
In the time to hunt one King Turtle on the 2nd floor, you could hunt five or six Goblins.
Skip the 2nd floor? Same deal if you go to the 3rd without proper growth. Hunting just gets harder and harder.
"So, the guys who make it up to the 10th floor aren't there for money."
"......Then why do they go up?"
"They're adventurers seeking dreams."
I used to not get why adventurers hoarded and hid level-up info, but after leveling up myself, I totally understood.
Hide the info or not, people who level up will level up. Guys chasing a few gold coins will never make it up.
The only ones climbing up are adventurers hungry for dreams and challenges, not petty cash.
"Of course, innate talent or background affects the time it takes...... but basically, level-up adventurers are conquerors who keep tackling the Dungeon. Unlike the other adventurers filling the floors below up to the 10th."
"So...... unlike other adventurers rushing in just for money, we're people conquering the Dungeon, so the guild treats us well, right?"
"You get it."
Saying that, I drew my sword. Kung kung. The 11th floor's nightmare approaches. A massive bear. A bear with red fur rises to its feet.
"Who'd wanna fight a monster like this."
I grip the sword. Swords aren't made to fight beasts like this in the first place. So I've never learned how to wield a sword to hunt animals.
What's needed now isn't swordsmanship. Against a beast moving on instinct, it's pure wisdom or brute strength.
"Huuu......."
I exhale. Steam pours from every sweat pore in my body. Like a thermal power plant, I generate scorching heat inside.
Heat is energy. Energy is vitality, and it becomes the brute force to overwhelm the monster.
"Grrraaah!"
The Scarlet Bear stands on two legs, puffing itself up. Instinctive behavior to intimidate the opponent.
Of course, that instinctive action has tons of openings. Especially for a beast with overconfidence in its physique.
The heat generated inside transfers straight to the sword. In an instant, the sword glows red-hot.
In this darkness, the glowing red sword draws major attention. Even a mindless beast feels it.
The Scarlet Bear senses something off and swings its arm, but the strike falling from above is way too late.
Fire Dragon Flash.
One dragon slices through the beast's underbelly. No blood flows from the split skin.
Moments later, a magic stone clinks down where the Scarlet Bear fell. As I was momentarily entranced by my cool pose, Seoyun, who'd been watching, threw in a comment.
"Crusty."
"......What?"
"Unnecessarily drags on, and what's with Fire Dragon Flash? For kids?"
"No, did I even say it out loud......?"
As I fiddled with my mouth in embarrassment, another Scarlet Bear appeared. But shame slowed my reaction.
"Like this."
Seoyun didn't miss the opening. With a light gesture, a massive rectangular ice block drops. The Scarlet Bear gets crushed under the overwhelming mass and slams into the ground.
Then, atop the pinned beast's head, a 1-ton ice spear slams down on its skull at high speed.
Kung, kung. After a few head smashes like that, it dies and vanishes, leaving only the magic stone.
Way faster and more efficient than my method.
"Like this."
She said that and looked at me like I was pathetic. I memorized that face. Since she'd used her ability like this, she'd definitely invite me to her room tonight.
I vowed to get revenge then.
The Dungeon's changes shook up a lot. Mages holed up in back rooms poring over magic books started moving, and Rangers who'd only shone in forests and armies picked up bows and headed to the Dungeon.
Paradoxically, the Dungeon became even safer. The old Dungeon was a merciless, lawless dark ecosystem.
Once you entered, no one saw you until you exited; constant darkness shrouded everything, and you never knew when a monster might pop out from it...... perfect spot for crimes, right?
But what's the Dungeon like now? Adventurers everywhere you go. Clear lines of sight prevent ambushes, and with so many eyes, no worry about party members stabbing you and running.
If the old Dungeon valued credit and trust, now it values skill.
Hidden masters who avoided Dungeons without reliable comrades started showing up one by one, and even no-name farmers fresh from the countryside easily find parties and throw themselves into the Dungeon.
Like how the Industrial Revolution destroyed jobs for countless laborers and created them at the same time.
The Dungeon Revolution did the same.