Chapter 76: Rebirth in the Forgotten Dungeon
At the Hunter Bureau located in Seoul's Jongno-gu, Secretary Chief Shim Won-seop, who had been handling internal cleanup under Division Chief Ham Ik-hyeon's orders, was receiving an emergency report from Im Heon-tae, who had gone to strike Wolfsrein Headquarters.
"What? Wiped out? You said just a bit ago that it was basically done?"
"Yes, sir. We'd practically devoured them already."
"And then?"
"When we were cleaning up the last stragglers, some freak suddenly showed up—"
"Some freak? What the hell are you talking about? Explain properly."
"Well... I don't really know either. This guy with no clear identity just appeared out of nowhere and butchered our forces in seconds."
Shim Won-seop stared at him in disbelief. "You got taken out by one guy?"
"Yes, sir."
"You idiots! Three platoons from the 1st Combat Unit got done in by a single bastard?"
Under his scolding, Im Heon-tae continued with a hint of grievance. "That guy wasn't any ordinary hunter we know of. His attack techniques, his movements—I've never seen anyone that fast or strong in my life. If I had to guess, he had skills on par with a division leader."
Shim Won-seop spat out in utter disbelief. "Division leader level? No way in hell. According to our intel, all the S-rank hunters had formed their own unit and left the guild. And they've been fish food for ages by now. Even if any survived, swimming back from that distance is impossible. What did he look like? One of ours?"
"Never seen him before. And he used some bizarre technique to hide his body. That's what caused the heavy casualties early on. Invisible enemy—you can't fight what you can't see."
"A body-hiding technique? Tell me more."
At his question, Im Heon-tae detailed everything that had happened in the battle.
Shim Won-seop's face twisted in confusion after hearing the explanation. "How the hell is that possible? You're not making this up to dodge responsibility for failing the mission, are you?"
"No way, sir. I saw it with my own two eyes."
"An invisible opponent... Did you try hitting him with status magic? You know, debuffs."
"No. No time for that. It all happened so fast. By the time he showed himself, we had fewer than ten survivors left."
"I see. So that's how it went."
"What now, sir?"
"What do you mean, what now? We go back. The chief thinks Wolfsrein is already in our hands. Can't back out now. Even if we explain, we gotta secure it first. Looks like I'll have to go myself. Contact HQ and have one platoon from the magic combat unit on standby."
"Isn't that risky? If he hides from the start, casualties could pile up. We need to see him to bind or whatever."
"What a pathetic fool. Haven't you ever caught an S-rank using Hide? Blanket the area with sustained AoE magic, and no trick works—they're exposed. No need for status effects even."
"R-right. I didn't think of that."
The hunters who had portaled over with Taemin emerged in front of a mid-level hunting ground in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do—the farthest spot from headquarters.
Around the portal lay two mutilated corpses that looked like sentries, cold and gruesome. The female one's condition was too horrific to describe.
"Those sons of bitches."
"How could they be this brutal..."
Leaving the seething hunters behind, HR Chief Kim Hwan approached Taemin and Sin Dong-hyun.
"We've come this far. What's the plan? As you can see, nowhere's safe."
Sin Dong-hyun spoke first. "A bit further and we're in Suwon. No mention of it yet, so how about linking up with the Red Knight Guild? Base there, rally the regional guilds—no matter how bold they are, they won't move recklessly."
Taemin shook his head at the suggestion. "Too hasty. Pulling in the Hunter Bureau and outside forces means Suwon’s likely bought off already. Even if not, with the capital region and Incheon allied with Hwarang, it might already be cleaned up. We need solid intel first."
After pondering their words, the HR chief finally spoke. "I agree with Assistant Manager Park Taemin. Moving blind is a disaster waiting to happen. Problem is, we've got no shelter right now. Where do we hide all these people? Mountains seemed safer than the city, but as you know, no spot in the capital can house this many comfortably. Portals get spotted fast. Regions are safer, but without coordinates, we'd have to walk—and marching this crowd would tip them off."
None of them had considered this before, so the three fell silent, racking their brains.
Then, an idea struck Taemin. "How about this? Use a dungeon."
"A dungeon? How?"
"Set up base in one nobody visits. Low-grade—no, Beginner Dungeon would be perfect. As you know, no one's hunting there anymore. No new awakeners in years—it's empty. Even when I was freelance, it was always deserted. No one would think to look."
"Oh, brilliant. Beginner Dungeons have been ghost towns forever. And this is outskirts, not Seoul. Alright, like the management chief said, head there. Maps out—find the nearest Beginner Dungeon. Needs to be far from other portals."
Sin Dong-hyun and Park Taemin activated their maps to scout.
Soon, Sin Dong-hyun found one. "Beginner Dungeon over that valley. No other portals nearby—perfect."
"Then that's our spot. You lead. Round everyone up."
At the HR chief's order, Sin Dong-hyun and Park Taemin gathered the mourning hunters.
"We're heading to a Beginner Dungeon. Stick close, no stragglers."
Sin Dong-hyun took point, the hunters following.
About two hours later, they reached the opposite mountain and entered the portal.
"Been too long."
"How many years? Two? Three?"
The nostalgic hunters lingered at the entrance, taking in the Beginner Dungeon's interior.
Meanwhile, Taemin and HR Chief Kim Hwan discussed sites nearby.
"Where's best? It's been so long, my memory's fuzzy."
"Doesn't matter much, but for safety, far from the entrance. Head straight—past Death's Lake, set up behind it."
"Ah, Death's Lake. The snake-infested one? Man, haven't heard that name in ages. Let's move."
The hunters trekked onward to Death's Lake, resting there before a full strategy meeting.
The chief attendees: HR Chief Kim Hwan, Management Chief Taemin, surviving department deputies, and A-rank hunters.
"Temporary base secured. Now, next steps. What should we prioritize? Speak up."
Hunters chimed in one by one.
"Figure out why this happened first. Taking over the Hunter Bureau with outside help? That's treason."
"I agree with Assistant Manager Park Taemin. Identify Hwarang's allies and their reach—that's priority one."
Kim Hwan nodded, then asked, "And after?"
"Revenge, obviously?"
"Revenge? With just us?"
"Link with regional guilds untouched by Hwarang—plenty possible."
"Hm. If you ran a mid-tier regional guild, would you side with Hwarang, holding half Korea's power, or us nobodies? Unless they got hit too, they'd pick the winners. Some might even surrender proactively."
"So we just sit and watch? Hundreds of comrades dead."
"I mean plan properly, execute step by step. Think long-term—very long. If I'm right, those HQ hunters used Mirror Image to infiltrate. Our faces are blown. Means no foothold in Seoul-Gyeonggi. Objectively, revenge in years? Impossible unless we all hit S-rank—no dungeon for that, and they'll widen the gap. Worst case, we hide forever."
The hunters couldn't argue—reality was brutal.
Taemin interjected. "Before that, secure food. Fine for a day or two, but long-term? Essential."
"True. Can't eat monsters."
The meeting dragged on, boiling down to three tasks: food, long-term housing, department restructuring and role assignments.
Senior-most HR Chief Kim Hwan became chief of staff; strongest fighter Park Taemin, combat commander.
Sin Dong-hyun got strategy team lead; Kim Yoon-jin promoted to combat support chief.
Yoo Hyuk, third-highest level, attack captain; his A-rank followers formed 1st Assault Unit.
Admin departments merged into Integrated Management; Yoon Ji-young and Kim Hana assigned there.
Thus, Wolfsrein was reborn in the Beginner Dungeon.