The Poison Gas Operation
Kim Hwang-je hurled every captive he had subdued with Labor Correction straight into the sky above the royal castle.
Mages waiting on standby knocked the falling hunters unconscious and tossed them straight into prison cells.
Once that task was finished, Kim Hwang-je instantly teleported back to the drill ship.
“You have arrived, sire!”
Kim Hwang-je appeared on the deck of the drill ship.
The bandits who had been standing vigilant guard bowed their heads in greeting.
Kim Hwang-je shouted in a commanding tone.
“Lower the drill! Begin the operation!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
He immediately leaped into the sea.
Splash!
Since the drill ship had been moved to the coastal waters, it only took moments for Kim Hwang-je to reach the seabed.
Beneath the shimmering surface light, the drill drew closer to his stomach.
Small fish darted away in every direction while clouds of sand billowed up.
Vrrrrrr!
The drill began to spin, churning up bubbles.
“Ugh, urgh, ack! Gah!”
As the drill slowly pierced his abdomen, Kim Hwang-je let out a strangled scream.
He spoke to Benedict, who was already in a running stance.
“Go! Sir Benedict!”
“Endure, my Emperor!”
Benedict clung to the drill pipe like a man grabbing a helicopter ladder and vanished into the other world. His main body remained inside the necklace; only his spiritual form had gone through.
“That way!”
Whooooosh—
The color of the swirling water changed.
Instead of the bright sea of the East Sea, the drill pipe descended into dark, violent currents.
Below it lay a single gray wall—the prison facility sunk into the seabed.
Finally, the drill made contact with the outer wall of the underwater prison.
Vrrrrrrk!
The drill ship was no mere tool that dug through earth with a metal bit.
It was a device that mixed powerful chemical agents with mud and fired the resulting slurry.
The drill burrowed into the wall’s cracks and sprayed the chemically kneaded mud.
Crunch—!
Bubble bubble…!
The prison wall could not withstand it for long. It slowly shattered, opening a path.
Mud gushed violently through the broken gap and scattered everywhere.
“Excellent! Though this facility is contaminated, with my authority I can still control a portion of it.”
Benedict stood atop the crumbling wall, forming hand seals as he chanted.
“Awaken, O legacy of ours. Show your loyalty once more!”
At Benedict’s words, intense bubbles erupted from the shattered wall.
An energy membrane formed over the breached hole, stopping any air from leaking out.
“This sector is secured! You may extract the machinery without fear of flooding!”
Benedict’s voice echoed from the necklace resting on Kim Hwang-je’s chest at the bottom of the East Sea.
At the same time, Kim Hwang-je’s cloak fluttered beneath the water.
The words 218 Prison were faintly engraved in gray across the cloak.
“Perfect…! Raise the pipe!”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I shall relay the order!”
A nearby fisherman riding a scallop shot upward toward the surface.
Your Majesty.
You are the first Earthling to make contact with an imperial legacy.
Bonus for first discovery: Emperor’s Dignity score has increased by 10 points!
* Current Dignity score is 111 points.
* The facility has verified your access rights!
* You may now view footage of the Ancient Facility: 218 Prison under Imperial Administration using World Observation!
* Your current control over the Ancient Facility: 218 Prison under Imperial Administration is 28%.
“Let’s take a look.”
Kim Hwang-je immediately used World Observation to inspect the prison’s interior.
The facility, so ancient it resembled an abandoned arboretum, contained people trapped inside perfectly isolated orbs.
“What the hell is that?”
“They are magic orbs, sire. A separate isolation spell renders them completely independent from the external environment.”
The fisherman answered after checking the status window.
Kim Hwang-je was satisfied.
Good. No problem using gas, then.
He scanned every corner and finally discovered an old man and a small child held deep inside.
“Oh… Is that old fellow Labanus?”
An elderly man who looked like he had stepped out of an ancient Chinese painting sat there.
He had a long white beard and long white eyebrows.
He sat in perfect meditation deep within the dark prison.
Even in this situation he remained utterly unshaken and serene, proof that he was indeed a profoundly learned and outstanding teacher.
“Aigoo, even a little kid…”
Beside him, a black-haired child lay sprawled on the floor, face covered in tears. It seemed the child had been captured along with the old man.
I need to rescue them quickly.
Kim Hwang-je continued scanning the facility like a security camera and discovered an enormous swarm of monsters rushing toward the breach.
They were carrying wooden barrels filled with sticky jelly-like creatures meant to seal the broken wall.
“Y-Your Majesty. Can Sir Holy Knight handle them alone? Should I go in and fight?”
The fisherman asked anxiously while watching the status window.
“Don’t even think about it. If you go in there you’re finished. I’ll show you something good instead…!”
Kim Hwang-je released the poison gas from the Woo Geom Dang that had been sitting in the trade window.
The monsters had been about to block the entrance when they suddenly stopped at the sight of the scroll that appeared.
At the same time, Kim Hwang-je felt an extremely strange sensation and began to tremble.
“Uh… uhhhh?”
This… this feeling…?
Rrrrrumble—!
Oh my god.
It was exactly the sensation right before letting out a ten-year-old fart.
The vivid memory of wetting himself in a childhood dream came rushing back.
Kim Hwang-je’s face flushed bright red.
“Ugh… Damn it! Get away!”
“Pardon?”
“I said get away! Go on reconnaissance!”
But once the release had begun, it wrapped around every part of his intestines and then erupted like the roar of an enraged colossal dragon.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
Bwooooooooo—!
“Y-Your… Majesty… something… good…?”
No, that’s not what I meant…
But no sound came out of his mouth.
The fisherman’s face turned deathly pale as he shouted.
“This humble one shall begin reconnaissance!”
Clinging desperately to the hope of survival, the fisherman fled atop his spotted ray.
Kim Hwang-je closed his eyes, feeling as if he had given up on everything.
He couldn’t even speak.
“…”
But the effect was tremendous.
Hisssssssss—!
From the scroll floating before the monsters, Powerful Sterilizing Gas poured out.
He wasn’t sure why it was called sterilizing, but regardless, this poison gas was the pinnacle of human intellect.
It was a weapon of mass destruction.
And of course, it was especially effective against living monsters.
Moreover, because it had been inside Kim Hwang-je’s body, it had been strengthened!
“Guruk? Fragrant… smell…”
“Guruk guruk. Makes me hungry. Go get some bread…? Bleeeegh!”
At first it smelled like delicious almonds.
Orcs, gnolls, and goblins sniffed eagerly, enjoying the scent—until they suddenly vomited blood from every orifice and died.
It had been modified to smell appetizing to monsters., just like cockroach bait!
“Huh? The idiots say it smells good, so why are they—? Huh? Grrrrk!”
The troll’s skin seemed as hard as stone and unaffected at first, but it suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Kim Hwang-je watched with his mouth agape.
Ah, so this is what they mean by doing whatever it takes to deal with things inside a dungeon.
Humans…
The most cruel beasts in the universe.
Life Link (Lv.1)
Alarm 999+!
All stats rising!
“Ah… damn it. Even though this is happening, I don’t feel happy at all…”
Kim Hwang-je watched the gas swirling and rising around his body.
It wasn’t poison gas, but the mental damage was similar.
Clink clink—
Not only that, but gold coins were also piling up around him.
Before long, the seabed around the prone Kim Hwang-je was completely covered in gold coins.
He now lay atop a thick bed of gold at the bottom of the sea.
“Sob sob… I’m sorry, Mom and Dad…”
With a drill still embedded in his stomach, Kim Hwang-je watched the scene through World Observation and closed his eyes.
Then he slapped his own cheeks with all his strength.
“That’s enough. Giving up makes it easier. Now go in! Hunters!”
Kim Hwang-je sent the Woo Geom Dang hunters, fully equipped with reinforced suits and gas masks, straight into the center of the poison gas.
Since that place was now his territory, he could freely use teleportation spells.
The shame is yours to bear now!
I hope you faithfully carry out your roles on the front line.
Then Kim Hwang-je pulled the drill back into his body and moved it to the rear side of the prison.
Crash!
Cho Jong-hyun, who had fallen to the floor, sprang up in shock.
The other hunters around him did the same.
They had been unconscious and suddenly awakened, their hands trembling.
“Ugh! My head hurts…!”
What was the last thing he remembered?
Was Kim Hwang-je’s shadow real? Or just an illusion caused by the dungeon’s darkness?
After that… it felt like they had fallen from the sky…
“Get a grip! This is a gas zone! Check your gear!”
Cho Jong-hyun shouted.
They first confirmed their own equipment.
NBC-resistant reinforced suits. Everything was intact.
“Report!”
“Team 1, all clear…”
“Up to Team 8, all clear!”
Five people per team, eight teams total—forty hunters.
Cho Jong-hyun let out a sigh of relief and looked around.
Thick gas filled the air, and an enormous number of monsters lay slaughtered.
Okay, so far everything looks normal?
“The recording devices are disabled. This really is a dungeon.”
Cho Jong-hyun tapped the camera attached to his reinforced suit.
The moment they entered another world like a dungeon, all recording equipment became inoperable.
That was why it was called a lawless zone, an open sea.
“Do any of you remember what happened just before??”
At that moment, a large status window appeared before them.
Welcome to the Legendary Dungeon!
“Legendary dungeon!”
“Legendary?!”
“It says legendary!”
“As expected… only something of that caliber would make sense!”
Cho Jong-hyun’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
Of course, this was not actually a legendary dungeon.
This window was the same one that appeared when Kim Hwang-je gave orders to Bahu.
Since Kim Hwang-je was currently determined to mess with them as much as possible, he manipulated the command window as if he were a eunuch serving an emperor.
“So this is the kind of fun a eunuch can have.”
Regardless, they were currently in Labor Correction status, so Kim Hwang-je could send them any messages he wanted.
Thanks to that, what had happened to them moments ago no longer mattered at all.
“It’s a legendary dungeon. Stay alert and check your escape scrolls.”
Each team leader inspected their squads and reported back.
“All checks complete. No issues!”
“Good. We will safely enter and assess the interior. Teams 1 through 4 take point, Teams 5 through 7 cover the center, and Team 8 watches the rear. Move out!”
They moved through the facility that resembled an overgrown ancient arboretum and encountered an enormous number of monsters killed by the poison gas.
Most of the orcs and goblins had countless blisters all over their bodies and foam around their mouths.
The gnolls had no foam but were covered in blisters, while the trolls had only foamed at the mouth.
“Most of them have been neatly cleaned up. Since the majority are humanoids that breathe through lungs, the reagent worked perfectly…”
Cho Jong-hyun said as he lifted the giant head of a dead troll.
“Even trolls? Do these creatures have no resistance to phosgene?”
Of course they didn’t.
These were probably the first trolls in history to ever be exposed to phosgene gas.
They were different from the monsters in Earth’s dungeons.
Ordinary poison gas was useless against a troll’s bark-like skin.
But once this phosgene gas entered the lungs, it reacted with moisture to become hydrochloric acid…
Even a monster that could recover endlessly would eventually run out of oxygen in its blood. No matter how many times it healed, its lungs would melt and it would die of suffocation.
“Indeed. The chemical reactivity is excellent. It feels a bit wasteful, though. Their resistance seems very low… Should we just confirm the species and head back up?”
“Don’t expect to fill your stomach with the first bite. Taking it step by step will still be highly profitable. Collect samples mainly from the intact corpses. We’ll head up, run analysis, then reset and re-enter.”
“As expected of the captain. Always choosing the safest route.”
Huh?
This won’t do.
Is it because they’re ranked number one that they’re in no hurry?
Damn it!
Kim Hwang-je immediately began typing into the notification window.
Having watched countless recreated videos on DuTube, he inserted the most plausible possible message in front of them.
S-Class Special Event Triggered!
Triggered by the first-ever mass slaughter of most monsters inside the dungeon!
Immediately purify the Dungeon of Evil by eliminating all remaining monsters.
Monsters remaining in dungeon: 40 entities.
Purification reward: Raise any desired skill level by 2.
HINT: If multiple people create sufficient commotion together, monsters will gather faster.
The hunters who saw the message exploded into chaos.
“Captain! Did you see this? It’s a skill level-up quest!”
“It probably isn’t repeatable, right?”
“Captain, you’re not thinking of giving this chance to another team, are you?”
“It’s S-class!”
“We have to clear it right now to get the reward!”
Cho Jong-hyun stood with arms crossed, a contemplative look on his face.
Could they raid it all at once and take down the boss?
But his subordinates kept making noise.
“It looks like most of the humanoids—orcs, gnolls, trolls—have already been taken care of. The remaining forty are probably also humanoid monsters, right?”
“With our current equipment we should be able to hunt them. Trying it doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”
“That’s right. The disaster-grade monster is probably in the boss room. If we clean up the forty ourselves and then release more gas, it might be possible. Captain, if the event triggers, you’ll give us a bonus, right?”
“Who mentioned a bonus?”
Everyone fell silent.
But Cho Jong-hyun’s laughter rang through the comms.
“Hahaha… The guy who brought up the bonus made me change my mind. We can’t just ignore an opportunity like this. If we succeed, our team will solidify its overwhelming number-one position inside Woo Geom Dang.”
“Exactly, Captain!”
“Good. I will report this as an on-site decision. Any objections?”
“None!”
The atmosphere was like they were throwing a festival.
In other words, they were going to ignore the higher-ups at the Ga Group and swallow the reward based on field judgment.
After all, for hunters who knew how difficult it was to raise even a single skill level, there could be no sweeter quest than this.
Even Kim Hwang-je, who had written it himself, was impressed.
“Create a commotion. Prepare decoy fireworks and launch them in every direction!”
“Yes sir!”
They launched fireworks in all directions and detonated them.
And the result…
…was the terrifying roar of a Dullahan Master that had been wandering the far end of the corridor.
“Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
Kim Hwang-je swallowed hard as he watched through World Observation.
The hunters screamed.
“Damn it, it’s an undead?!”
“Why is there an undead in a humanoid dungeon?!”
Furious corpses came charging, carrying their own severed heads at their waists!
“Now! Send all forces to the rear!”
Kim Hwang-je immediately gave the order to Bahu.
Since the main force had taken the bait, it was time to rescue Labanus!