Hospital (3)
Static crackled... Zzzt...
The leader of An Young Pharmaceuticals' Exploration C-Team, Jangwi, panted raggedly as he scanned his surroundings.
His tactical visor was already half-destroyed, spewing nothing but noise, and beyond the cracked display, he could see his fallen teammates.
Just moments ago, they'd been boldly aiming their energy rifles. Now, only three remained.
"Th-this... what the hell happened...!"
They'd been decked out in top-of-the-line gear that would make even seasoned solvers drool. But Jangwi hadn't realized that in a dungeon—this bizarre space—such tools of civilization were utterly powerless.
He inhaled the acrid stench of disinfectant and thought back.
They'd run countless simulations for dungeon entry, a flawless pre-briefing, and grueling tactical training.
So why... why had they failed so miserably?
This was a rift space born from some mad hospital director's horrific experiments long ago. A twisted dungeon crawling with mutated test subjects. Endless wards stacked infinitely toward the sky.
The only escape was finding the hidden "emergency exit." But collapsing so helplessly at the mere entrance to the first floor meant pressing on was suicide.
At this rate, Jangwi and his team would rot namelessly in this labyrinth— just another statistic among the city's countless daily disappearances.
In that moment, Jangwi realized his plight was no different from those lowlife solvers he'd mocked.
The same pathetic end as the bottom-feeders he'd despised for throwing their lives away.
Despair crushed him.
The first-floor lobby looked exactly like a waiting room. Thousands of chairs jutted out like barnacles, patients slumped in them like corpses, waiting their turn. But any hint of movement, and they swarmed like a pack.
Just like now.
"......Here... hospital......"
"...With... me..."
Horribly deformed patients crawled toward Jangwi. Crude approximations of humans— all the more repulsive for it.
"...Keeh, eeeek......"
"......Kill... me..."
"Stay back! Stay the fuck back, you monsters!!"
Jangwi's trembling finger squeezed the energy rifle's trigger.
Keeeng—!
A high-output particle beam slammed into the patient in front, blindingly bright. But the thing just writhed, unscathed.
"What the fu—!"
Jangwi cursed, his mind racing.
It defied physics. This rifle could melt alloy armor plating. Of course, questioning physical laws in another realm was folly. He'd forgotten even that basic truth in his desperation.
"...Time... for medicine......"
Finally, from the horde of patients emerged something even larger and more grotesque.
A figure in a bloodstained nurse uniform, towering perhaps three meters, its fingers replaced by dozens of rusty surgical saws like something out of a classic slasher flick.
"This is insane...!"
Keeeng, keeeng!
One terrified teammate unleashed a barrage. Blinding beams shredded the nurse, but it merely tilted its head. Untouched by any physical damage, it pressed forward.
"......Can't... discharge... yet......!"
Closing the distance, the nurse aberration whipped out an arm like a lash.
Kwazig—!
One swing.
The teammate in cutting-edge reinforced suit burst like overripe fruit. Armor that could shrug off a direct antitank missile round shattered.
Blood and flesh sprayed across the white marble floor, and the surrounding patients lunged like starved hyenas, slurping up the gruesome remnants.
A sight no sane mind could witness.
Completely broken by the madness, Jangwi collapsed and scrambled backward.
"Please... spare me! Anyone! I can't die like this!"
The hundreds of aberrations, having licked the flesh clean, turned toward Jangwi and the remaining team.
Jangwi sensed death and squeezed his eyes shut.
Then.
"Hey, mister. Giving up already?"
A cold yet clear voice rang out from behind.
Fire Wall
The incantation followed. Jangwi's eyes flew open in shock.
Whoosh!
A wall of flames divided the exploration team from the aberrations.
Snapped back by the heat, Jangwi spotted two figures approaching from behind. A girl who looked about seventeen, innocent-faced. And a burly Black middle-aged man with arms crossed.
The very scum he'd scorned earlier.
A Grimoire hovered over the girl's hand, emanating faint purple mana.
"A m-mage...! You're a mage...! You... you're...!"
As Jangwi stammered, the Black man adjusted his sunglasses and clicked his tongue.
"Told ya. Guys who strut on gear and cash get wrecked first in dungeons."
The girl—no, the mage—stopped in front of Jangwi.
"What now? Help you guys or not..."
She smiled sweetly. Memories of mocking her flashed through Jangwi's mind like a montage.
Utterly cringe in hindsight. But now wasn't the time to care. To survive, cling to the strong.
"Help us... please! I was wrong earlier! Credits—take as many as you want! I'll talk to my company for bonuses too...!"
"Nah, before that."
She shook her head, gazing up at the warped ceiling.
"We need a guide. Your team's drone—case is busted, but the functions look fine. Should pull a zone map, right?"
"Th-that's..."
"Trade?"
"..."
"If not... good luck surviving on your own."
As she turned, Jangwi screamed and grabbed at her. No choice.
"I'll do it! Anything you say!"
She smiled satisfied, raising her right hand.
"...!"
Jangwi flinched. A massive silver revolver gleamed in her grip.
Mystical engravings on the barrel, mana sparks crackling along it. The muzzle aimed square at his forehead.
"There... good."
A chill raced down Jangwi's spine.
Wasn't she gonna save them? Did he screw up somehow?
Sensing death, he blurted desperately.
"Wait...! Wait! I'll do anything... please! Sorry! My bad! Take everything—just spare my life...!"
"For real?"
Still, the trigger pulled.
Bang—!
Jangwi squeezed his eyes shut.
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"......Huh?"
He wasn't dead.
"...Gasp...!"
Peeking, Jangwi saw spherical shields enveloping him and his team. Blue electricity crackling over them.
The girl burst out laughing at his dumbstruck face.
"Ah, hahahahaha!! You're hilarious. Why so scared? Just cast a shield spell."
"..."
Jangwi hung his head.
Crumpled reinforced suits like wadded paper. Blood and flesh staining the pristine white marble floor.
I sighed at the sprawled An Young Pharma explorers.
Good grief. Retiring this many already?
I'd figured these arrogant pricks were worth their gear value before entering the Abandoned Hospital Dungeon. But they were way more incompetent and fragile than expected. Sending greenhorns like this into a rift space? What kind of company is An Young Pharma?
The swagger from mocking me as a newbie was gone; team leader Jangwi just stared at the floor miserably.
Moments ago, I'd shielded the group via Revolver Opus, reinforcing the ritual with lightning.
Guess the gun shape spooked him. Was it that scary? Okay, maybe I meant to troll a bit.
"Alright, everyone up. Time to move."
I waved lazily, hauling Jangwi and his team to their feet.
Mouthy weaklings or not, their data and supplies would come in handy.
Zero adjusted his sunglasses, eyeing me disapprovingly.
"You're too soft, kid. Draggin' deadweight that can't clear floor one'll just slow us down."
"Mister, more porters the better. And that guy... probably has terrain data."
I pointed at Jangwi; Zero tsked and looked away.
This hospital's space warped—structure shifted slightly each entry. That's why they brought the drone: to map the tangled layout.
I planned to use it.
"......Give... me......"
"......Surgery... not done...... yet......"
Crack—crack—!
Meanwhile, patient aberrations swarmed like dogs, hammering the lightning shield wildly. The high voltage paralyzed them on contact, but endless numbers wore at the surface, cracks spiderwebbing.
Time to clean house.
"Okay... everyone, hold tight. No freaking out."
Why shield them early? Protection from aberrations, sure—but also from the backlash of my spell.
I incanted.
A taboo I could scarcely draw on normally. But its power was devastating: Outer Sea magic.
Outer Sea Calamity
First Form
⟨ Azure Sea ⟩
Shaaa—
Writhing shadows spread from my feet. Instantly, the entire first-floor lobby plunged into abyssal depths.
And then.
Kwajik—!
From every shadow-corroded surface—floor, ceiling, walls—Outer Sea tentacles erupted explosively.
"Kieeeek—!"
A tidal wave of tentacles swept the area. Aberrations impaled screamed shrilly as they died.
Same logic as the sewer tentacle beast last time.
This other dimension was detached from reality, thick with yin from twisted beings. No issue unleashing Outer Sea Calamity at max output.
Thud.
I closed the Grimoire; the tentacles vanished back into shadow.
Magic dispelled, the floor oozed with the aberrations' viscous remnants.
Scanning around, I saw Jangwi and his team utterly shell-shocked.
Can't blame 'em—watching monsters that wrecked them get pulverized by a lone girl.
"......You... wh-what the hell are you...?"
Jangwi stammered, voice shaking.
"Like that changes anything."
Then Zero, who'd been quiet, cut in.
"Hold up. Everyone quiet. It's coming... the first-floor boss."
Zeeeeeng—!
The lobby speakers howled like feedback, high-pitched whine echoing. A ghostly, eerie announcement followed.
Zero's tone grew grave.
"The first-floor director. Pissed all its patients and nurses croaked... Shit. Mage, you got this?"
"Why not?"
Unless it was Miya-tier, no sweat. Especially since Zero knew this hospital well. Within my capabilities.
Rumble rumble—
Space shuddered violently; the exam room door across the way wrenched open.
A doctor's grotesque form oozed out, soft-bodied.
I met its gaze and incanted.
Outer Sea Calamity
Second Form
⟨ Abyssal Void ⟩