Why So Peaceful?
"…Why is it so peaceful?"
The last hunter to enter the Yeongdeungpo Dungeon muttered under their breath.
"No monsters in sight at the moment. No people either."
Lee Gayeon summed up the situation.
The scenery inside the dungeon was utterly ordinary. It was some unknown village, but it didn't seem like anywhere on Earth. In fact, it was clearly a virtual-type dungeon—a space that didn't exist in reality and had been arbitrarily created by the dungeon itself.
The snow-covered village facilities had a slightly worn and desolate feel, but they were still fully equipped. The houses clustered together had cracks in their walls. They didn't look like traces of destruction; rather, they seemed to have naturally cracked over time from age. And crucially, there were no signs of the kind of monster-induced damage everyone always saw upon entering a dungeon.
"First, we find the people."
They didn't know the exact number of people sucked into the Yeongdeungpo District Dungeon, but since it had appeared right in the middle of a busy intersection, there were reports of entire cars being pulled in. At least ten cars. And at least twenty pedestrians on the sidewalks. Normally, clearing the monsters would close the dungeon without the hassle of rescuing people—they'd just get ejected. But these folks had never seen the monsters in an S-rank dungeon.
Instead of charging straight for the monsters and risking madness, it was better to find the civilians first and hear any eyewitness accounts.
Light Wave
A wave of white light swept the area. Baek Yena closed her eyes, then opened them and reported.
"No people within 100 meters."
"We advance while keeping watch ahead. Rear guard! Stay vigilant on all sides!"
"Yes!"
"Man… I never thought I'd get dragged into an S-rank dungeon of all places…."
Ji Sein, walking ahead with her staff, muttered in a gloomy voice.
"No matter how I think about it, this is impossible…."
Light Wave
Ignoring Ji Sein's words, Baek Yena cast the skill again—and abruptly halted.
"Baek Yena, what is it?"
Lee Gayeon turned to check. Baek Yena's face had gone deathly pale. Even so, as the highest-ranked hunter here, she refused to turn around, not wanting to signal her tension to the others.
"Damn it, what the hell is this, what the hell…."
Her hands trembling, Baek Yena finally looked at Lee Gayeon and continued in a shaky voice.
"I don't know what it is, but I've never felt this kind of aura before? And yet…."
"Baek Yena, stay calm. Team, halt."
Lee Gayeon stopped and gripped Baek Yena's shoulders with both hands. Baek Yena, shaking like a broken machine, slowly continued.
"It's not life force I'm sensing…."
A completely unfamiliar sensation she'd never felt before in her life.
"It's the opposite. There's something here that's devouring life."
She'd never felt anything like this while detecting monsters before. Not once. But this….
Baek Yena shuddered violently. Instinctual revulsion. Instinctual fear.
"Check your mental strength stat."
"Ah."
Baek Yena opened her status window.
"Mental strength's down by at least 10."
"If detection alone drains 10 mental strength, direct contact will drain even more."
Lee Gayeon glanced at the hunters behind her, who hadn't heard yet. Telling them now would just cause more panic. Calming Baek Yena came first.
"Scared?"
Baek Yena stared at Lee Gayeon and slowly shook her head.
"I trust the captain."
She knew Lee Gayeon would never let her mental strength hit zero. Not with her around. It had always been that way.
"Good. If there's a monster, we take it down."
Baek Yena turned back to the front. Did time even exist in this dungeon? The sun was setting, painting the sky orange.
"Let's go. Straight ahead."
"Hunter! Save us, please, save us!"
"It's Baek Yena! The legendary 100km runner!"
"You can save us, right?"
A village with no residents. In a faded yellow brick house, a few people had gathered. They looked like civilians pulled into the dungeon.
The house was too cramped, so Lee Gayeon left most hunters outside on standby and brought in only the few famous enough to reassure the survivors.
"Seven survivors found."
Lee Gayeon murmured.
"We're from Neverending Guild and Guam Guild alliance. Is everyone here—all seven of you?"
"There are seven here, but…."
A young man trailed off. A sturdy twenty-something with a solid build. When civilians got sucked into dungeons, guys like him usually became the group's anchor.
"There were more on the way here… but they're probably dead now…."
"Did you see the monsters?"
"Th-that thing…!"
The man's face suddenly turned ashen. Everyone reacted the same way. Definitely some kind of mental-affecting monster.
Lee Gayeon asked.
"Are monsters nearby right now?"
"We ran as far as we could, but they'll come… Definitely, they'll come… They're tracking people…."
"What did they look like? If 'they,' does that mean there were a lot?"
"I-I don't know… I can't remember… Maybe five of them…."
"I remember. There were six."
Lee Gayeon turned. An elementary school girl with her hair tied on both sides spoke clearly.
'People?'
Why were they both using the word for counting humans when referring to monsters?
Puzzled, Lee Gayeon asked.
"What did the monsters look like?"
The others seemed to take mental damage just thinking about them, but this girl appeared the least affected. Kids her age usually died first when pulled in….
The girl answered firmly.
"They were humans."
"What?"
The hunters in the house exchanged confused looks. And understandably so—humanoid monsters had never officially appeared even once.
'Not a rumor after all. It was true.'
The people slumped on the floor, exhausted, all nodded in agreement with the girl.
"They were pitch black all over. Even the whites of their eyes were black. And they talk to each other."
If they could communicate among themselves and think like humans, that might explain why this was an S-rank dungeon.
"A ton of people died. Just going near them makes your body rot and you die."
"Can you tell me more?"
Lee Gayeon knelt to meet the girl's eyes. For some reason, those clear eyes reminded her of Seoya.
"Black energy comes from them. The ground they walk on turns black and trees die. People who stand on that ground die too. Touch the black energy, and the touched part turns black first, then you die."
Baek Yena and Lee Gayeon exchanged glances.
"Baek Yena, that aura you felt—the opposite of life force…."
"Yeah, probably."
According to the girl, the S-rank monsters carried black energy that corrupted people. They looked human-like, and just approaching caused massive damage.
"How many people died?"
Lee Gayeon took the girl's hand gently. She knew it was a tough question for a kid, but the adults didn't look reliable. Maybe the child's innocence kept her from grasping how unreal this was.
"I don't know. More than five."
"I see. Did you see anyone in cars?"
"Oh, the cars are mostly all blackened."
"Thanks for telling us. What's your name, kiddo?"
"Jeong Seoyeon."
"Right, Seoyeon. Were you alone when you got here? With your parents or friends?"
For some reason reminded of Seoya, Lee Gayeon spoke even more carefully.
"I was going to cram school."
"Not scared, Seoyeon?"
"It's okay. Mom and Dad will come save me."
So matter-of-fact, yet so innocent. Lee Gayeon suddenly thought this girl and Seoya were alike. They trusted people. And they took hope for granted.
'And now, it's my job to live up to that hope.'
Lee Gayeon left the house where the survivors were gathered, her face resolute.
"We push with ranged combat as much as possible."
This S-rank dungeon had felt like too much from the start. Non-hunters might not understand hunters risking their lives selflessly to save people.
'Do people grow fearless when they become hunters, or do the fearless ones become hunters?'
Either way, none of the hunters in this dungeon would run from the monsters.
Lee Gayeon addressed the lined-up hunters.
"Whatever you imagine, S-rank monsters are worse. Just approaching drains mental strength and corrupts the body. Even poison-resistant hunters might not handle S-rank ones, so keep maximum distance in combat."
Light Wave
Baek Yena cast the skill once more—and suddenly stiffened.
In a tense voice, she said,
"…They're coming."
"Guild master, shouldn't we move to an open area? To secure distance for the fight."
"Good point. Park Haejun, take a few rear guards and escort the survivors."
Lee Gayeon took a slow deep breath and looked at the many hunters before her. It wasn't just Neverending Guild today. Guam Guild's selected hunters were mixed in, and their guild master had handed her command.
She had to judge right.
"Yeongdeungpo team! All units, move out!"
"Yes!"