Chapter 37: In the Gloomy Stone Chamber Strewn with Monster Corpses

In the dim stone chamber littered with monster corpses, a woman sat on the floor catching her breath. Her name was Do Min-ah, a senior hunter on the cusp of level 300.

She'd been forced into this survival event due to guild policy, and she was livid about it. Her long-planned vacation had been ruined because of this.

"We're not even gonna rank anyway. Ugh. All for that damn prestige. As if we could afford a proper castle."

Prestige. Guild prestige was the star reward from survival events. It was used to buy buildings and facilities in territory wars, national sieges, or World War events. It also factored into rankings, respawn limits, and guild systems overall—stuff only major guilds really needed.

Even if a small guild slaved away to scrape enough for one castle, it'd just become fodder for passing big guilds. Unless you were at least a generalist-level guild, you'd end up with a single minor outpost in some backwater—hardly any real help.

In short, grinding prestige was pointless for mid-to-small guilds.

"Ahh, speaking of which, that cute guy from yesterday was so fresh-faced. Wonder if he'll text... With my looks, he better..."

Do Min-ah gazed at her phone, reminiscing about the mixer, snapping selfies while waiting for the next stage. She was just about to apply a filter when—

BAM!

"Mommy?!"

The sudden explosion made her drop her phone as she whipped around, scanning wildly.

"What was that?"

Her eyes wide, she stared blankly before tilting her head and reaching for her dropped phone.

That's when it hit again.

BAM! BAM!

"Wh-what?!"

She leaped to her feet, instinctively drawing her sword. This was no mere noise—she knew it.

Do Min-ah focused her hearing, turning toward the sound. Nothing there, of course. Just a stone wall.

But on closer look, something was off. The wall was trembling slightly, debris trickling down.

"Not an earthquake... What the hell is this creepy shit?"

Facing this bizarre phenomenon for the first time, she tensed, waiting for the booms to stop.

She stared intently for a moment—then

RUMBLE.

The wall crumbled, a massive hole tearing open. Do Min-ah gripped her sword tighter in shock as something enormous began emerging from the breach.

"Wh-what is that? That th-thing..."

What slithered out was a type of monster(?) she'd never seen in her life. Massive steel arms and legs, towering height that forced her to crane her neck, an overwhelming presence.

Overpowered by the sight, Do Min-ah nearly blacked out for a second. Then she spotted something weird: right in the monster's center, what looked like a human face.

A human?

Right then, the monster's brutish arm swung up into the air. Panicking, flames erupted from Do Min-ah's sword. She lunged instinctively, slashing at its lower body.

CLANG-!

"Kyaa!"

She was flung back, tumbling. Scrambling up, she unleashed a barrage of skills and strikes—but soon realized this thing was way out of her league.

Its defense was insanely high.

This can't be real. No way!

As Do Min-ah panicked, Taejeong—who'd taken the hits—was equally stunned. He hadn't expected a sudden ambush.

Luckily, the mech's durability held—no damage. Her ultimate skills were still on cooldown, which helped.

If her aura skill had been ready, his legs might be scrap now.

"Hey. Let's talk this out, okay...?"

Taejeong extended both arms, trying to calm her—a gesture of no hostility. But it only terrified her more.

"Get away!"

Fueled by fear, Do Min-ah bolted. Taejeong yelled after her.

"Hey!"

His shout was loud, but panic-deafened, she heard only a monster's roar.

As she fled, Taejeong hesitated. He'd never considered this scenario—what now?

But not for long.

"Sigh."

He picked up the sword she'd flung away and gave chase.

THUD! THUD THUD! THUD!

The earth-shaking mech was pure terror—at least to Do Min-ah. Glancing back at the pursuing machine monster, her face drained of color.

She popped a speed potion and skill in succession, sprinting full-tilt.

As the gap widened, Taejeong floored the boosters. Distance closed in a blink; she screamed.

"Kyaa!"

She tripped, rolling. Sitting up, she stared at the approaching mech.

Where the hell did this come from?

Trembling in fear, she watched it extend a hand.

"N-no."

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grotesquely huge hand loomed—doom. But just as it seemed she'd be crushed—

BAM! BAM!

Two blasts, and the monster rocketed away, ass-flames blazing across to the far side.

Do Min-ah gawked, dumbfounded. Then she noticed her sword on the ground before her.

"This..."

* * *

VROOOM! VRRT VRRT!

After that absurd encounter, Taejeong crossed to the next room and resumed hunting, muttering to himself.

"Not all rooms empty, huh?"

He realized it late, but others being in connected spaces wasn't surprising. He'd been hitting empties, so it hadn't crossed his mind.

"They really made this thing weird. Thousands doing this somewhere in this massive place, oblivious to each other. No wonder that girl freaked. Right, Gerard?"

"Not that?"

"My appearance? What's wrong with me?"

Taejeong nodded, somewhat convinced by Gerard's explanation. It made sense—even he had gawked at first.

"Still, she saw me clear as day and attacked anyway. Looked pretty high-level to me."

He figured her level was solid. The room's monster corpses and her ambush speed screamed senior hunter.

Tanking all her direct hits unscathed meant the mech's defense was even tougher than expected.

"Hey Gerard, what if this thing breaks? Resummon?"

A sudden thought. What happened if the mech got wrecked? As a skill, not gear, it intrigued him.

"Two hours? Can't use it at all?"

"Huh. Two hours. That's rough."

A skill lockdown was a hunter's nightmare—fatal in a pinch.

"Gotta fight smarter. Can't just rely on it being tough."

Hunting continued. Difficulty ramped with stages: more mobs, higher levels. But nothing withstood Vulcan fire yet—not raw power, but insane fire rate turned anything in range to mince.

No exceptions.

Dominating, Taejeong noted the end approaching.

"Ten minutes? Last one?"

This room seemed final for him. Not tough—just 13,000 kills needed.

Perfect for Mechanic. Full firepower cleared it in 8 minutes.

"Whew. Finally over. Thought about squeezing in 128 if time, but... this ain't bad."

Stage 127. Even to a noob like him, insane. Plus 43 levels—huge growth win.

All stages done, he waited proudly.

Timer hit zero; rankings dropped.

"Hah. Look at that gap."

Stunned by the dominance, a flurry of alerts hit.