Depths of the Demon King's Castle

The interior of the castle was exactly as Park Taemin had imagined. It resembled the count's castle from some vampire movie he'd seen once, with nearly identical architecture. The various frames and oil portraits hanging on the passage walls created an eerie atmosphere.

As he took in the structures, another wave of curiosity washed over Taemin. Who the hell had built all this? Ever since he'd started venturing in and out of dungeons, he hadn't been able to shake the question.

Why? Who? How?

Plains, mountains, jungles, forests—those could be chalked up to nature. But this? These were man-made constructions infused with civilized technology and engineering that nature could never produce.

On Earth, humans were the only ones capable of such feats. So, had humans built this? But that didn't hold up either—there were technological limitations. Modern science hadn't advanced to the point of creating portals.

Just look at the multi-portals used by mages. They were essentially warp gates, something straight out of sci-fi flicks, utterly unrealistic.

And even more absurd were the awakening abilities bestowed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠upon humans now. Ordinary people conjuring fire and light from their bodies. Healing torn wounds in an instant, reattaching broken limbs overnight and restoring them to perfect condition.

The real kicker? Pump up your stats, and your strength becomes inhuman, your stamina endless, your reflexes putting Olympians to shame.

Taking all that into account, even after hundreds—no, thousands of years, no technology could make this possible.

Are people right? Is it really aliens? No matter how I think about it, it doesn't make sense.

Shaking his head, he walked down the passage. Deeper inside, a central hall the size of a gymnasium appeared, filled with decorative items illuminated by torches that caught his eye.

At the far end of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hall's center stood a staircase. Without hesitation, Taemin began climbing it.

Reaching the second floor, he found another vast corridor the size of a gymnasium, lined on both sides with dozens of doors.

"Doesn't seem like anything's here... But what's with all these rooms? No way something's inside, right?"

Finding nothing in the corridor, he stopped in front of the first door. With a tense heart, he turned the handle.

Click.

"Huh? Locked?"

He tried again, but the door didn't budge, firmly secured. The same went for the others—second, third, across the hall—all locked tight.

What the hell? Nothing special after all.

Muttering to himself, Taemin headed toward the next staircase at the end of the corridor.

How far had he walked? About midway, using the entrance and stairs as markers, when a strange sound reached his ears.

Ziiing!

Startled by the sudden noise, Taemin halted and scanned his surroundings. Then he spotted it—something off.

The doors, which had been tightly shut moments ago, were now slightly ajar. Every single one of the dozens of doors had opened exactly two handspans, without a millimeter of variance.

"Well, look at that? Creepy vibe like this ain't my thing."

The heavy silence planted seeds of fear in his heart. Of course, with his S-rank power, Taemin had no reason to fear mere monsters.

This was an intangible dread, the primal fear buried in every human soul.

Feels like ghosts are gonna pop out any second.

Forcing it down, he stepped forward. After about ten paces—

Kreeeak.

With a creaking groan, the doors lining both sides swung wide open, unleashing unknown creatures into the corridor.

In that instant, he activated his skill. Sixteen blades of Killing Intent erupted around him.

The blades shot toward the swarming foes, unleashing indiscriminate slaughter. Meanwhile, Taemin assessed the situation, channeling Arrainba as he deployed Heart's Eye.

The monsters were Ghosts—bat-like undead with semi-transparent bodies. Low defense, but packing high attack power and speed. Individually unremarkable, but in groups, they unleashed devastating combat prowess.

Especially their terrifying 240 movement speed, a nightmare for visiting hunters.

But that applied to average hunters. To Taemin, with his absolute speed, they were harmless.

Identifying them, he dove into battle, carving through the Ghosts.

Sixteen orbiting blades and his blistering attack speed wove unpredictable strikes. His absurd power felled dozens like autumn leaves.

Notifications overlapped like a wave assault, relentlessly chiming in his ears.

Yet the monster numbers didn't dwindle—they kept pouring from the rooms.

Taemin loved it.

At this quantity and speed, it's way better than the Sea of Chaos. Good call coming here.

Praying the horde never ended, he gleefully hacked away. Gradually gaining breathing room, he even lowered his arms to sightsee.

Anyone witnessing this would faint. Who could solo the first wave section of an upper dungeon with such leisure?

But Taemin had untapped skills aplenty. One-shotters like Ambush and Assassination. Untried crowd control like the defense-shredding, blinding Chaos Trap.

Not to mention his sole defense, Duplicate, or the vision-blocking smokescreen.

Plenty of margin.

Time passed, and the swarm thinned. No more spilling from rooms, just a dozen clinging attackers left.

Soon even they vanished, leaving the corridor spotless—no corpses, no debris.

Staring at it, Taemin muttered softly.

"These guys don't even leave bodies—nice and clean. Alright, let's see the haul. Hmm... 2.8 billion. Roughly three thousand, huh."

Checking his status window, Taemin crossed his arms in satisfaction at the unexpectedly massive gains.

Bring the guild here, and they'd level up fast.

After the guild's fall, intel on the Demon King's Castle had been scarce. This windfall lifted his spirits.

At this rate and pace, even a party of dozens could grow quickly. Once everyone hit A-rank, they could hunt worry-free. He'd carry them that far; after, they'd snowball on their own.

Perfect. Next floor?

Excitement bubbling, Taemin ascended to the third floor.

Glancing around, he muttered.

"No rooms here."

Unlike the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠second floor, this was open hall space, dotted—not densely—with new monsters. His eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Let's see what you punks are..."

Scanning with Heart's Eye, Taemin's eyes sharpened. Higher stats than expected. And the EXP? Leagues above before.

"This is the main force, huh? Lookin' pretty legit."

Gripping his sword tighter, he eyed the Phantom Knights. They evoked medieval knights, bulky in armor but otherwise human-sized. Their swords and stances screamed competence.

Still no match for me. Time's short—gotta clear to the fourth fast. All at once.

Plan set, he unleashed Arrainba and dashed forward, drawing aggro without attacking.

Taunting back and forth, he pulled the Phantom Knights in pursuit—from 5 o'clock, circling to 7 o'clock.

Herding them centrally, he sprang the Chaos Trap.

The trap triggered, binding over a hundred clustered knights in place.

Grinning at the immobilized foes, Taemin smirked.

This skill's straight-up broken.

Momentarily satisfied, he unleashed hell. With halved defense, they were no tougher than the Ghosts.

Each swing lopped heads like wheat. Clearing the hundred-plus took 180 seconds, including trap reset.

A monstrous record.

"300 million in three minutes? Solid spot. Feels like the hunts are getting easier. Like I'm some novel's munchkin protagonist."

Amazed at his own prowess, Taemin eyed the stairs to the fourth.

"That's the fourth he mentioned... Wonder what's waiting."

Pausing silently before the stairs, he checked his watch and muttered.

"Eh, I'll find out when I get there. Still got time."