The Silent Sea (1)
The moment we arrived on Ulleung Island, a colossal fortress rose into view.
It was the hunter and hero base charged with safeguarding Korea's East Sea.
The hunters stood with their arms crossed, faces twisted in open displeasure. The heroes tried to talk them around, but their words scattered like echoes, vanishing into nothing.
"You expect us to believe that?"
A hunter from the Silent Sea was locked in a heated argument with someone from the Hero Association.
"So let me get this straight. You're saying there are two hundred thirty-two marine dungeons of D-Class or below hidden out here, fifty-five C-Class, twenty-nine B-Class, fifteen A-Class, and S-Class and higher mixed in — over three hundred in total?"
"Yes. That's the count if you include the ones whose ranks haven't been identified yet."
"The Hero Association may be incompetent, but do you take us for complete idiots? If dungeons of that scale were sitting in the East Sea, somebody would have noticed. A few fishing boats and trade ships going missing doesn't add up to this."
"I believe they're operating as a collective. Hiding themselves."
"They?"
"Yes. The implication is that the dungeons are connected to one another."
"Ha! Unbelievable. Spare me the third-rate novel plot. You're mobilizing this many people without a shred of real evidence. You've lost your mind."
The guild master of the Silent Sea strode out. The masters of the other guilds filed after him.
"Hah. They won't hear a word of it."
The heroes let out frustrated sighs.
"I confirmed more than twenty marine dungeons with my own two eyes. If even those break at the same time, the monsters that pour out will slaughter people on a massive scale."
"Then we hit them first."
"Do you really think the dungeons formed an alliance?"
"Not an alliance. A hierarchy. We've seen it happen more than once."
I stepped in among them and looked down at the map.
The sheer number of dungeons was staggering. If they all broke at once, catastrophe was a certainty.
Eye of Truth
A handful of dungeons that looked like key points were sifted out from the rest. Their movements, their currents, their operations — all of it laid itself bare before my eyes.
I opened an operations log and began writing, one item at a time.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.
As I put my findings down on paper, several of the heroes leaned in to read.
"If they all move as one, then there is almost certainly a spy among humanity. They'll use that person to divide us and pull the movements they want out of us."
Scratch. Scratch.
I took a board marker and started organizing what was written on the whiteboard, striking what didn't belong and adding what did.
"Ohh!"
"Now that actually makes sense!"
"It's only speculation, but it's far too detailed — and far too plausible — to dismiss."
"We should definitely investigate along those lines."
One of them stepped up beside me.
She was a tough-looking woman with fiery red hair and a gaze that could have set the room alight. A black leather jacket and matching pants, a white tank top clinging for dear life to a chest that looked ready to burst it at the seams.
"Well now. That's some impressive deduction. So who are you, exactly, and why are you in this briefing?"
"I'm a medical officer. I just finished a battle and arrived at the fortress."
"A battle? Wait — are you the one who killed the Carapace General with his bare hands?"
"That's me."
"Wow! I saw the footage. You were incredible. I'm Cheon Yu-ha, Crimson Flame Wolf, twelfth in the hero rankings. Diamond-rank Hero. Pleasure to meet you."
Her hair rippled like living flame. She was clearly an esper whose power was so immense even she could barely contain it.
"Lee Seonghun. I run the Golden Cock Clinic in Gangnam."
"Ah! The Golden Cock! You're the Romeo from the Boyle University play, aren't you?"
"I am."
The room around us erupted into whispers.
"Holy shit — he knocked up the American president's granddaughter."
"I heard he impregnates hundreds of women a week."
"They're putting up a phallic statue in front of the Four Great Gates, apparently."
"A healer who can fight like that? That's just broken."
I took Cheon Yu-ha's hand and shook it.
"The hunters seem to have a lot of grievances."
"They do. They don't like our operation. The Silent Sea and the other guilds that work primarily at sea — this is their backyard. Being told there are over a hundred hidden dungeons in their own waters is a blow to their pride."
I knew perfectly well that pride had nothing to do with it.
The mid-sized guilds clustered around the Silent Sea had almost certainly already betrayed humanity.
"Leave them to operate on their own. We should look at the critical points first."
"We absolutely need their help on the water."
"The top-tier guilds aren't moving?"
"The top-tier guilds think this whole operation is absurd. And they don't want to pick a fight with a rising guild like the Silent Sea. The projection is that the Silent Sea will break into the top twenty within three years. They're a guild with a future."
"Then we move separately, like I said."
Tap.
I planted a finger on an uninhabited island on the map. A small rocky islet about five hours by boat from here.
"Something smells wrong about this place. Most of the major traffic patterns overlap right here. If we move on our own, we should be able to find something. It'll get the top-tier guilds' attention, too."
"On our own?"
"Yes. The quieter we are, the more it'll catch the enemy off guard. There are definitely traitors inside this fortress."
"Traitors? What kind of betrayal?"
"The kind of bastards who've given up being human."
"Hmm. You mean they're using dungeons illegally? That's not unheard of, but the scale of this one is enormous. Over three hundred illegal dungeons, including S-Class. There isn't a single guild in the country that could digest an operation of that size."
"Then how about this?"
I set my hand on her shoulder.
Cheon Yu-ha shivered faintly at my touch. I leaned in toward her ear and whispered, as if sharing a secret.
"Try thinking about it backwards. What if the guilds didn't swallow the dungeons… what if the dungeons swallowed the guilds?"
"Eek…♡!"
Cheon Yu-ha startled, every fine hair on her body standing on end.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Don't blow in my ear. I'm a little sensitive there."
Ah. I'd accidentally brushed a erogenous zone.
"Anyway — the dungeons swallowed the guilds. That would mean the main body is on the dungeon side. It's not unheard of, but it's so rare I can barely believe it myself."
She flicked at her ear, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
Tap.
I put my finger down on another spot on the map. One of the enemy's essential hubs, according to the Eye of Truth.
"We'll confirm it when we get there. And I happen to have a very powerful friend."
"A powerful friend? You mean that blind High Elf swordswoman?"
This woman — I'd given her every hint in the book, and she still had no idea about Operation Selectio.
If even the highest-ranked hero here didn't know, then Interpol's operation was something I would have to carry out alone.
"Yes. She's an extraordinary master. While hundreds of dungeons were appearing, those things were working themselves to the bone at something. Let's find out exactly what."
"We'll sit down and have a proper meeting among ourselves."
"Before that, let's rest for a few days. The fighting wore me out."
"Take all the time you need. I've got work piled up myself."
Dawn, three days later.
We woke early.
Sqeeeeeze.
Inside the fortress quarters, at an hour when the sun had barely begun to show its face, Nam Eun-bi was already up — bright-eyed, soaked in the happiness of a well-loved female. She could rise this early and still look completely unfatigued.
She freed her enormous breasts, stood in front of the table, and began to squeeze.
Sqeeeeeeelch!
"Hngh♡"
Nam Eun-bi milked herself, and when her eyes met mine she broke into a bashful, crinkling smile.
"Seonghun, I'll squeeze you a fresh cup every morning, just like you asked."
I wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted the clear glass.
Gulp. Gulp.
Thick, fresh breast milk slid down my throat and announced the start of the morning to every cell in my body.
"Ahh, that's good. I've never had milk this fresh. Fancy flavors can't touch it — plain is still the best."
"Would you like another glass?"
"Please."
"Nnh! Haaaaah."
She fondled her breasts and squeezed out more milk. I couldn't hold back any longer. I took the other breast into my mouth and sucked.
Slurrrp!
Those breasts were enormous. I had operated on them myself — elastic, beautifully streamlined, a work of art.
Slurrrrp!
"Ahah! Aah! If you suck that hard— nngh!"
Splat!
Fluid spilled from her pussy. I stroked her sex slowly with my fingers.
Gush! Gush!
Her milk overflowed the cup, but our lovemaking showed no sign of ending.
Slurp!
"Hngh-ah!"
Eun-bi crouched down and took my cock into her mouth.
"Gimme milk too…"
The words came out mashed around my shaft as she begged me for it.
"Here. Drink up!"
"Yesh! Gimme! Slurrrp!"
"Nngh!"
"Aaahp!"
Nam Eun-bi worked my cock with her mouth like a cow in heat, chewing and rolling it as if she were ruminating. Her wet tongue and the fierce, hot breath pouring over my shaft felt like she was trying to cook it through.
"Nngh! Drink your milk!"
"I'll dwink it all!"
Gush! Gush!
Her throat bobbed as my thick milk was swallowed down and absorbed into her body. I kneaded the breasts of my personal dairy girl and pushed my cock into her.
Squelch.
That was when my arm brushed against Ryu Su-gyeong's chest. She had been standing beside me the entire time, as invisible as a ghost. In all the times we had had sex, I had never once made contact with her.
"Sorry."
"……Don't apologize."
"Alright."
She opened her unseeing eyes and watched us with careful, lingering attention. Her pupils were empty. There was no soul in them, no vitality — only the chill of a frost wind. Her gaze was pointed this way, but there was no chance she could actually see.
Why open eyes that couldn't see, just to look at us?
Maybe she simply wanted to look at me.
I wanted to hold her, too. But every time the thought rose, the Eye of Truth stopped me. A woman who had been a virgin for five hundred years could inflict a fatal wound on me with the slightest mistake. She would have to open her own sex of her own will before I could take her safely into my arms.
"Want a glass? This is incredibly good. Slurp!"
Drip.
"Hah—!"
Ryu Su-gyeong stared at me, dazed.
"No."
Then she closed her eyes again, demure as always, and went into the bathroom.
"Nngh! Eun-bi! I'm coming!"
"Yeees! Haaang! Fill my womb with your sperm, Seonghun!"
"Aaaah!"
"Hah… hah… hah…"
I sank quietly to the floor and used Eun-bi's enormous breasts as a pillow, sucking on a nipple, savoring my morning milk.
Slurp~ slurp!
"Hah… hah—! Mmm. Mmmm."
Clear water ran in a steady trickle from between Eun-bi's legs.
Ryu Su-gyeong closed the bathroom door.
In her hand was something she had purchased for the first time in her life.
Earphones.
For a woman whose ears were more precious than her eyes, she had never once bought anything so harmful to her hearing.
She opened her phone — a device designed so that even the disabled could use it — stripped off her pants, and pressed a button.
Hngh! Haaaaah!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Inside were the sounds of Seonghun and Eun-bi having sex. A collection of recordings she had been secretly gathering all this time.
"Mmm."
She fitted the earphones into her ears and began to move her hand, slowly.
"Nngh!"
Born from the World Tree, she had gone five hundred years without masturbating even once. She had rubbed her sex against a scabbard a few times while sleeping beside Seonghun, but that had been a game too embarrassing to even call masturbation.
"Hah! Nnh!"
Splat!
She had only given her clitoris the lightest pinch, and already the tide came out of her.
Haaaah! Seonghun! I think I'm going to come!
"Haaaah! Seonghun! I think I'm going to come!"
She echoed Eun-bi's words from the recording exactly, rubbing and rolling her clit. Her elf pussy was already slick and dripping, filling the bathroom with a lewd scent.
I'm coming! I love you!
"I love you too. Nnh♡"
Ryu Su-gyeong talked to herself as she masturbated alone. She did not put a finger inside her hole. A foolish little wish — she wanted to offer her virginity to Seonghun.
"Hhk!"
While she worked her clitoris, there was one thing she did not know.
The earphones she had bought were wireless. Wireless earphones required charging. Her recording was booming through the entire bathroom and spilling outside.
Louder still were her own moans — but Su-gyeong did not have enough experience with masturbation to think of a thing like that.
It was an utterly adorable mistake that still makes me smile whenever I recall it.
"Shh."
I soothed Eun-bi, whose eyes had gone wide with shock.
"Want to give me some milk?"
"Yes."
I sucked at Eun-bi's breast while I listened to Ryu Su-gyeong masturbate.
The fruit's starting to ripen. Before long, she'll open herself to me of her own accord.
Just a little more patience, and I would be able to pluck that fruit. I savored Eun-bi's milk in silence, waiting for the day Ryu Su-gyeong would come to me herself — a love that had already climbed over a martial artist's pride and her own inferiority.
To think such a fierce sense of chastity would be the very thing standing in the way of her love. She would never dream of it. But that only made the virginity all the more impossible to let slip. Heh heh heh.
I closed my eyes and licked Eun-bi's pussy.
"Hah—! Haaaaaang♡"
I tasted Eun-bi's sex and imagined I was licking Su-gyeong's.
"I love you!!"
Inside the bathroom, Ryu Su-gyeong had lost all reason. She cried it out at the top of her lungs.
"Me too."
I pictured Su-gyeong touching herself and kept licking between Eun-bi's legs.
"Ahang♡"
"Hnnn…"
Slurp! Sluuurrp!
With nothing but a single door between us, we each came as if the three of us were in bed together.