The Labor Correction Sentence
Kim Hwang-je sat once again in a quiet forest, summoning a chair, a table, and a cup of some nameless tea.
The chair and table had been taken from a corner of the royal castle, so they were a bit dusty, but that was fine. The nameless tea gave off a fragrant aroma.
He opened his status window and browsed through the various [Reading Materials] listed there.
Report List
NEW Today's Royal Castle Report: Advisory Council Meeting [Document]
NEW Undersea Prison Reconnaissance: Bahu [Video]
NEW The Purpose of Howling: Baekju [Document]
NEW Crack Tome Reinforcement Strategy: Gemini [Video]
NEW Mysterious Creature Exchange Current Status: Curator [Video]
Hmm. There’s a lot to read, but the most important one right now is the Undersea Prison reconnaissance report.
Kim Hwang-je tapped on it.
Bahu’s face appeared, along with his recorded voice memo.
“...Captured a prisoner. ...The bastard was half-mad with terror of the Demon King. ...He begged me to kill him instead, saying he couldn’t speak...”
Kim Hwang-je leaned back deeply in his chair.
In the video, Bahu—wearing his golden mask—growled in a low, gloomy voice.
It didn’t feel like a live call. It was more like he was reading a pre-recorded message.
Bahu was writing something in what looked like a ship’s log.
“...It took a long time. But in the end, the bastard chose an easy death. According to him... there are 320 orcs, 800 goblins, 20 trolls, 120 gnolls... and 20 Dullahan belonging to Demon King Izukaya, plus their boss, the Master Dullahan... If we charge in head-on... and throw my subordinates at them... the casualties will be enormous...”
“That’s for His Majesty to decide. If he wants you to fight and die, then fight and die. Assuming you can even die, that is.”
“......”
Huh? Is that the supervisor lady’s voice?
And with that, the video ended.
“Did you hear that? The enemy forces are quite substantial. Do you have any information on them?”
“Hmm. They’re handling all sorts of different monsters. But they’re all rather insignificant creatures.”
Kim Hwang-je had once read a special feature in a magazine called Monster Autopsy!
It was a video that literally split monsters open for comparison.
From what he remembered, trolls and gnolls were much larger and more dangerous than orcs.
Especially high-level trolls—they were notoriously difficult to kill, to the point where people complained about how much of a hassle they were.
“Even though trolls and gnolls are all huge?”
“They’re nothing more than ordinary humanoid monsters, aren’t they? It’s hard for them to overcome the inherent weaknesses of their species. The only thing worth being cautious about would be the Dullahan.”
I see.
Kim Hwang-je recalled the final days of the duchy that Benedict had shown him.
It had been a hellish battlefield where heavily armored giants tore across the earth, spider-like creatures with eight legs and six arms charged forward—three arms wielding weapons while the other three hurled spells—and four-headed monsters rolled along on wheels.
It was the stuff of mythic warfare.
So from his perspective, ordinary humanoid monsters might as well have been insects.
Yet he was still being told to watch out for Dullahan?
“What exactly is a Dullahan?”
“They are undead monsters created by corrupting loyal knights. Naturally, they retain all the abilities they possessed in life. They use their own severed heads as shields and swing long greatswords to slaughter the enemies of the demon race.”
“I think I’ve heard the name before. In that case, we’ll need to plan our strategy in detail.”
Benedict assisted Kim Hwang-je.
He showed him an internal map that hopefully hadn’t changed much and explained how to deploy the forces from the royal castle.
* * *
While Kim Hwang-je was in the middle of reviewing their strategy, the sound of car engines echoed across a quiet road.
He looked up and peered down the ridge. Several vehicles were racing along a cracked, poorly maintained road.
One car that appeared to belong to Seo Jun-seo, two gas tankers, one regular trailer, and a luxury bus that looked like it could belong to an overseas soccer team.
The trailers couldn’t climb the mountain, so they parked in an open lot at the base of the ridge. About forty men and women poured out of the bus.
Following Seo Jun-seo’s guidance, they climbed the mountain and finally came face to face with Kim Hwang-je.
“Are you Kim Hwang-je?”
A man wearing pitch-black armor extended his hand.
Kim Hwang-je shook it.
“Yeah. I’m Kim Hwang-je.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jo Jong-hyun, the raid leader for this operation. My grandfather is the one who wrote that article about Granny Jo Chun-ja. We can drop the formalities, right?”
You already did.
Kim Hwang-je thought quietly.
Why is everyone in this family like this?
Still, they were around the same age, so Kim Hwang-je grinned and matched his casual tone.
“Sure. So you’re that family’s grandson. Then are all these people your relatives?”
“Yep. All siblings and cousins. By the way, that gold crown looks pretty nice. Never thought anyone would steal it from my grandfather’s hands.”
Jo Jong-hyun licked his lips.
Kim Hwang-je looked at the group of hunters glaring at him with cold eyes.
They might have been rude, but they carried themselves with real presence.
Every one of them was decked out in high-grade items. It was obvious they were an expensive, elite hunter team.
From weapons to armor, accessories, rings, and necklaces—everything was flashy.
They had probably consumed plenty of growth-type items as well.
Of course, none of them looked as impressive as Kim Hwang-je in his crown and cloak.
Jo Jong-hyun spoke.
“Finished clearing the dungeon?”
“Clearing?”
“I’m asking if you reset it.”
This bastard…?
“Ah, yeah. I did.”
But Kim Hwang-je held back.
There was no point getting angry at people who were about to walk straight into hell.
“I see. Since this is the first day, we’ll limit exploration time to eight hours. But as promised, we’ll carry out the powerful sterilization process and explore the calamity-class area. Any objections?”
What? Are they doing laundry or something?
Seo Jun-seo approached and whispered to Kim Hwang-je.
“It’s the process of pumping in toxic gas to wipe out the monsters.”
“Then why is he asking me?”
Kim Hwang-je whispered back.
“The number of times a dungeon can be reset is limited. Strong sterilization shortens the effective period.”
So he’s asking if it’s okay to extract a lot at once.
But Jo Jong-hyun frowned.
“Enough. I can hear you perfectly, so just ask me directly.”
Kim Hwang-je smiled brightly.
His guilt had lessened considerably.
“Sorry. I’m not used to this kind of thing. Since I already reset it… let’s see, it should open in about an hour?”
“Hmph. I like how straightforward you are.”
He gave orders to his subordinates.
“Jun-ho, Min-ju. Pull up the tubes and prepare to insert them into the gate. Confirm the dungeon’s depth.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Cheol-man. Ju-kyung. Lead the men and prepare the command center.”
“Yes!”
The members of the Woo Geom Dang scattered in every direction.
Supporters dragged long pipes connected to the gas tankers all the way to the front of the cave.
Hunters and staff installed probing equipment around the cave and fired lasers to measure its depth.
“It’s really deep.”
“Look at this. Mana is gushing up from below. This fragile structure is only being held together by mana. Truly impressive.”
“Good thing it formed underground. If it had appeared on the surface, it would’ve been a disaster.”
Others were busy setting up a large tent.
Inside the massive tent, they built a command center. With large screens and military laptops, it only took them an hour to get everything running.
Soon, hunters and supporters were seated throughout the command center, beginning their familiar tasks.
“Gas equipment is all green.”
“Ambient mana pressure density… 15.48 ppx.”
“Otherworld conversion index. 14.78%.”
Kim Hwang-je stood inside the command center with his arms crossed, watching the complex graphs on the screens.
He could understand “ambient… mana density…” but had no idea what the rest meant.
Exactly the right time to use my secret technique.
Time to cast Silent Observer.
Just as he was about to sneak in a yawn, someone spoke up.
“Detecting reactions from otherworld lifeform tissue samples below… There’s an enormous amount! I can’t believe this much was washed out of the dungeon…”
Did they already scout the bottom of the cave?
The massive pile of bones he had received from the innkeeper lady seemed to be proving useful after all.
They looked tasty. I should order some grilled whole later.
Ah, I haven’t eaten anything. I’m starving.
Kim Hwang-je swallowed hard.
But the others were watching the footage with serious expressions.
“This is a flood-type dungeon, the kind usually only found in remote areas of America. The yield is going to be massive.”
“It’s packed with bones and symbolic items. Those bones aren’t from undead corpses. They’re the remains of things that were eaten. Must be some seriously big monsters!”
Jo Jong-hyun slammed his hand down on the table with a loud smack.
He looked at Kim Hwang-je.
“How long did you think you could monopolize a dungeon like this? It was a smart choice to share it with us now. If you’re going to split the profits anyway, you might as well stick with the strong ones.”
His grinning face was so obnoxiously smug that Kim Hwang-je could only stare at him blankly.
“Let’s grab a drink at the club later. I heard you made two trillion? That should be enough for you to treat us, right?”
He raised two fingers and mimed tilting back a glass.
So he’s telling me to buy him drinks?
How can a human being be this shameless?
“Forget it. Just do your job. Are we really on such good terms that we’d laugh and drink together?”
Kim Hwang-je bared his teeth and growled.
Ah, pretending to act like this when I never do it normally is nerve-wracking.
Of course, it was all an act.
“Puhuhu, fine. Just wait and see.”
It might have been awkward, but Jo Jong-hyun laughed and nodded.
In terms of position, he was the one taking, and Kim Hwang-je was the one being taken from.
But Jo Jong-hyun was completely excited by the incredible dungeon that had fallen into his lap.
This density, this mana. Everything is top grade. Once we pump in the gas it’ll be confirmed, but even just today’s haul should easily exceed five billion.
Five billion in daily revenue.
It couldn’t compare to the Middle Eastern oil fields that pulled in six to seven hundred billion won per day, but the real prize was the calamity-class monster inside.
If this guy’s promise is true and there really is a calamity-class here… it’ll be a gold mine…
Was his heart beating too fast?
His face seemed slightly flushed.
He put on his helmet to hide his reddened face.
With this, I’ll rise to the center of the Garak Clan! No one can stop my success…!
He looked around and declared,
“Alright, we’ll proceed according to the unidentified dungeon exploration protocol. Before anyone enters, insert the pipes and begin spraying the poison gas.”
The field team brought over long pipes and pushed them down into the passage below.
The thick pipeline twisted and tangled like a forest as it descended into the pitch-black depths of the cave.
And then—the magic circle Kim Hwang-je had installed activated!
…What?!
Kim Hwang-je flinched.
Because he had set up a warp magic circle in the dungeon’s basement,
the pipeline was warping straight into his stomach.
His insides squirmed and trembled.
Ughhh…!
Kim Hwang-je broke out in a cold sweat and quietly scooted backward.
Heh heh. Look at that bastard’s face turning pale because his stuff is getting taken.
Jo Jong-hyun sneered at him and checked the weapon at his waist.
“Inserted into the gate?”
“Confirmed loss of signal at the tube’s tip! It has entered the dungeon!”
“Inject the gas!”
“Gas, injecting!”
The pressure pump’s engine spewed black smoke.
Vrrrrrrrrrrr!
Kim Hwang-je had already moved the entrance of the pipe appearing in his stomach into the trade window.
Every bit of gas that came out vanished into the trade window.
But the sensation remained.
Kim Hwang-je sat there, shivering violently.
It felt like sitting in a dentist’s chair while cold air was blasted into his teeth.
No matter how much his body was made of portals, he could not get used to the feeling of icy gas pouring into his insides!
Jo Jong-hyun glanced back at Kim Hwang-je, whose face had grown deathly pale.
He truly looked like a sick man.
Hmph. He must be pretty upset…
But Jo Jong-hyun was used to this kind of plunder.
And to that kind of expression.
However, Kim Hwang-je was on the verge of losing his mind from the bubbling, boiling sensation of gas inside his stomach.
He kept moving it to the trade window over and over, barely managing to endure it.
It felt like he was right on the edge of explosive diarrhea…!
He couldn’t hold on any longer…
“Done. All gas inserted. Let’s head in.”
Is it finally over?
Kim Hwang-je lifted his head.
Jo Jong-hyun said,
“Did your stomach hurt that badly? Don’t worry too much… We’ll enjoy every corner thoroughly. Why don’t you go rest? Hm?”
Kim Hwang-je frowned and stood up.
“I’m fine. I need to see you enter the dungeon.”
“Hmph… Do as you please.”
He gave a mocking smile at Kim Hwang-je’s pale face.
The hunters busily checked their parachute bags and emergency teleportation scrolls before heading toward the cave.
Soon, all the hunters had entered the cave.
They descended deep inside using parachutes.
Kim Hwang-je landed on the ground alongside them.
They were exclaiming in surprise at the items scattered everywhere.
“Good. Mage. Where’s the door?”
Jo Jong-hyun searched around and asked.
Kim Hwang-je answered.
“Before that, I have one last thing to say. You all agree to explore this space, correct?”
“What an obvious question!”
There were rules to Labor Correction (Lv. 3).
It could only be used on enemies who had been incapacitated, or on those who agreed to cooperate.
And right now, every single one of them had agreed to cooperate with Kim Hwang-je.
“…So you all agree. Understood.”
Jo Jong-hyun tried to walk past Kim Hwang-je and head deeper inside.
But suddenly, the inside of the cave grew even darker.
“What?”
Even the lamps were swallowed by the darkness.
Shadows closed in around them.
Kim Hwang-je smiled faintly.
“I hereby sentence you to labor correction.”
Labor Correction (Lv. 3) Activated
Target: Woo Geom Dang Raid Team (42 people)
Status: All targets have agreed to cooperate
Result: Immediate transfer to the 218 Prison
“Wha—?!”
“Huh?”
The hunters struggled desperately to escape, but the shadows swallowed them at terrifying speed.