The Factory of Slaughter
The entire group passed through the entrance, boarded a mining cart, and raced along the rails deep underground.
Below them stretched an abyss so profound it was impossible to see the bottom.
It felt as if they were descending into an underground kingdom.
The walls illuminated by yellow lamps looked like they had been slathered with thick, discolored cream that had aged for decades.
The hunters’ voices—and even their breathing—echoed loudly through the space.
‘Whoa, my heart’s racing.’
Kim Hwang-je felt his own heartbeat thundering in his chest.
The dream he had longed for was finally unfolding.
The hunters around him were engaged in serious conversation as well. Seeing a dungeon this enormous was a first for all of them, Kim Hwang-je included.
What could possibly exist in that deep, unfathomable world?
The mining cart sped along the rails and finally reached the bottom.
The depth was so extreme that the layered strata were clearly visible, while the light from the surface far above had almost completely vanished.
Only misty droplets of water rising from somewhere dripped down slowly.
‘It really is a dungeon. Hunting the monsters between dungeons like this…’
Forming parties, hunting together, and collecting items and gold.
That was the kind of conversation he had wanted to have.
‘Be careful. From here on, the passages are narrow and full of traps. Stay close to me while I disarm them and protect me from any surprise attacks.’
‘Don’t worry. Just trust me. No matter who comes, I’ll block them all.’
‘Hehe, Emperor. You really live up to your name—those broad shoulders are so reliable…’
‘Haha. It’s nothing. Once we clear the dungeon, how about we grab a cocktail together? My treat.’
Kim Hwang-je proudly showing off shoulders forged through years of manual labor.
Standing in narrow, precarious passages, holding back waves of monsters while waiting for her to finish disarming traps.
But reality was…
“Alright everyone, trainees, please step off and gather over here. This is the third production line.”
“What the hell is this…”
The place the manager guided them to looked exactly like an airport terminal.
Inside the gleaming facility, passages branched out in every direction, and load rails were installed across the floor.
“It’s a factory.”
The large corporations had turned their dungeons into highly efficient, low-cost, thoroughly industrialized facilities.
It looked as if they had crammed a semiconductor plant straight into a dungeon.
Yet everyone was pressing their faces against the glass windows as they walked, and the screams echoing from beyond never stopped for even a single second.
Romance?
No. This was a slaughterhouse.
“Kieeeeeek!”
“Kyauuuuuk!”
The space was so vast it was impossible to measure, and the only sounds echoing through the endless chamber were the cries of monsters.
“Ah, look over there!”
At one hunter’s gesture, the others rushed over to watch.
Down below, monsters were sprinting along a path.
They were corpse flowers, each brandishing multiple writhing tentacles.
Pipelines snaking across the ceiling sprayed gas toward the charging monsters.
A powerful herbicide designed for plants.
The red petals turned black with spots and died in mere seconds.
Soon the monsters vanished, spewing out items and harvestable materials from their bodies.
“Ah, can you see clearly? Once the hunt is complete, D-class team members enter to collect the items.”
D-class team members.
Wasn’t that an incredibly cruel name?
In any case, people wearing hazmat suits jumped into small electric vehicles and raced down the passage.
“Fifteen seconds until the next wave! Let’s move!”
They swept up every item, loaded them onto the back of the electric cart, and dashed back through the open door.
Once again, monsters resembling corpse flowers poured out from the far side.
Gas sprayed once more.
Another team rushed in, scraped up all the items, and returned.
“Wow… I’m seriously jealous.”
“Right…”
Many hunters who had followed Kim Hwang-je promising to play the role of “scavengers” muttered among themselves.
The leaves, fine hairs, and even the cores dropped by the ‘corpse flowers’ were all quite valuable.
Watching them collect everything so easily, it was impossible not to feel envious.
“If they’re doing it like this, how are we supposed to keep up…”
It felt as if all their hard work had been invalidated.
“After managing dungeons for over a decade, we’ve built facilities that are practically fully automated. What do you think?”
“Think? Who cares what we think…”
The hunters grumbled.
The dungeons they usually explored were at best C-class or lower—practically scrap—and such facilities were beyond their wildest dreams.
The dungeons themselves were shoddy, and they lacked the capital to build anything like this.
Only large corporations could install such systems in “long-lasting dungeons.”
“Hey, is this what you call ‘mutual prosperity’? Did you bring us here just to brag about your facilities?”
A man wearing battered, worn-out armor stepped forward and protested to the manager.
The manager nodded.
“Hmm, it seems you lack vision. Very well. Everyone, does this place look like a dungeon to you?”
“What? If it’s not a dungeon, how could monsters be regenerating…”
Only then did the murmuring crowd fall silent.
An ominous premonition swept over them.
And Kim Hwang-je instinctively felt a chilling intuition as well.
Monsters regenerating on ‘Earth,’ which was not a dungeon?
Was something like that even possible…?
The manager turned to the hunters following him.
“That’s correct. With this item, we can control the concentration of otherworld energy in the air. Allow me to introduce it with confidence. The Regen Canister.”
◈ Dramatically increases otherworld concentration in the atmosphere
◈ Forces monster regeneration
◈ Distributed to hunters for resource monopolization
He lifted a canister resembling a gas mask filter up for everyone to see.
“It operates by spraying into the air and is a magical chemical that dramatically raises the concentration of otherworld energy in the atmosphere.”
“…You called us here to sell us medicine? Unbelievable. I can’t believe I actually trusted your talk about mutual prosperity. I really am getting old.”
An elderly hunter spoke up.
The manager grinned.
“So, are you not going to buy one?”
“Ahem.”
The older hunter shut his mouth.
“If your dying dungeons have more monsters than this place, then you won’t need it.”
But that was impossible.
Not a single person who had entered here could even imagine that this place wasn’t a dungeon.
Soon, greed filled the hunters’ eyes.
“This is bad.”
Some hunters whispered beside Kim Hwang-je.
“If something like that hits the market, just not having one will put us at a disadvantage in the competition.”
“Even in monster hunting, it’s the Red Queen’s dilemma…”
“They’re not seriously going to auction it off, are they?”
“So the real goal wasn’t mutual prosperity—it was selling the drug. They must be advertising like this all across the country.”
But Kim Hwang-je’s thoughts were different.
He raised his hand.
“What happens if that thing is taken outside?”
Kim Hwang-je’s voice was ice-cold.
The atmosphere instantly froze as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over everyone.
“Don’t worry. We store it very safely.”
“Safe? Radiation can at least be decontaminated. But what about that? Can it be reversed?”
Ignoring the growing murmurs, the manager lifted the Regen Canister again.
“So. Are you not going to use it?”
Same sales pitch.
“I won’t.”
Even without such a thing, he had a kingdom.
But if that object was mishandled even slightly, it would pollute and contaminate the entire world.
Such a thing must never be allowed to happen.
Kim Hwang-je felt a chill run down his spine at the ominous premonition.
“You may do as you wish, Your Majesty Kim Hwang-je. For now, I will guide the other hunters to the ‘real’ dungeon they desire.”
The manager subtly stepped back.
Kim Hwang-je observed the eyes around him.
Everyone looked like they were dying of curiosity about the real dungeon.
If they could fill even the entrance with monsters, how many would appear deeper inside?
“Isn’t this what you all enjoy? Real hunting, right? As you know, filming is not permitted inside the ‘real dungeon,’ so please understand.”
He smiled meaningfully and strode inside.
The place he led the hunters to was a massive door.
On the entrance, the words Guji Peak were engraved in metal.
‘That spirit guy still hasn’t shown up?’
Where the hell did he go?
Shouldn’t he have appeared by now?
The manager stepped forward and opened the door.
Beyond the basement door stretched green hills, a pristine forest, and vast mountain peaks.
“No matter how many times I see it, it’s still amazing.”
“It’s a grassland-type dungeon.”
The hunters followed the manager into the meadow.
Kim Hwang-je entered as well.
When he looked up, he saw staggeringly tall trees whose dense, intertwined branches completely covered the sky.
Between the branches hung fruit-like objects that emitted light, casting gentle beams down onto the grassland.
“How is it? Beautiful, isn’t it? This is the entrance area of the tower. It is a safe zone. That’s why there are no dedicated hunting facilities here.”
The manager said.
The hunters were so captivated by the breathtaking sight that they could barely breathe.
“So this is an A-class dungeon…”
“The dungeons we’ve seen before look like nothing but piles of shit compared to this…”
The overwhelming scenery had completely overwhelmed the hunters.
This place truly did not feel like Earth.
It was far too vast to be called a mere dungeon, and between the trees that soared into the sky, misty clouds even drifted by.
Countless birds were chirping. This was, quite literally, a living world.
But Kim Hwang-je was trembling at something no one else could see.
[Alarm]
[You have entered an ancient imperial facility.]
[Checking access rights to the ancient imperial facility.]
[Access rights confirmed. ? Emperor Kim Hwang-je]
[Ancient Facility ? New Moon Tower — ‘The Tower That Watches the Forest’]
‘What? This isn’t Guji Peak?’
Kim Hwang-je opened the Quest Window and read the text.
There, the following lines were clearly written.
Find the Lost Elves. (Unexplored)
📍 Collect the Root of Gardriel. (0/1)
📍 Plant the Root of Gardriel on Earth. (0/1)
📍 (Additional Quest) Explore the ancient secrets within the New Moon Tower and obtain the ‘Fragmented Memory’ regarding the Eunuch.
Ah. So that’s why he said it wasn’t ‘Shirayen’?
If the New Moon Tower located inside Shirayen Forest was here…
That meant the other world and Earth were connected in this manner!
Kim Hwang-je drew in a sharp breath.
This was incredible…
‘The ancient imperial facilities are the dungeons!’
Perhaps all the countless dungeons connected to Earth were actually ‘facilities’ of the ancient empire!
“Alright! Everyone, let’s move quickly. This is our facility, so please do not enter any unauthorized areas. It’s dangerous.”
The manager looked at Kim Hwang-je and spoke with a mocking smile.
But Kim Hwang-je had no attention to spare for the manager.
‘Let’s see… access rights…’
He checked the Emperor’s Cloak.
Cham Yo Je Ma Je Gan Seo Ak.
After forming the contract with Benedict, he had gained the authority to access ancient imperial facilities as emperor.
Kim Hwang-je cast the silence spell once more and spoke to Benedict.
“Sir Benedict. This place is called the New Moon Tower.”
Benedict, in his two-headed chibi form, looked around from atop Kim Hwang-je’s crown.
A faint glow continuously radiated from his entire body.
“I can feel vitality. The moment I set foot on this land, strength surges within me. The magical veins the empire prepared for me are still pulsing inside this facility.”
“Is that so?”
He didn’t understand the exact principle, but the fact that the facility was at least partially operational was good news.
“By the way, what exactly is this place?”
“The New Moon Tower is an ancient surveillance facility built by the empire to monitor the elves who were defeated in war.”
“I heard from that tin golem. The elves lost, right?”
The leader who shouted something like ‘Bradacadabra’ had been defeated by the imperial emperor.
Was it literally a war between fascists and imperialists?
“Correct. The elves who once ruled all the forests of the world fell, and the forests were turned into puppet states under imperial governors. Many elves were enslaved and sold across the empire.”
“Hmmm…”
The empire really hadn’t been kind to other races.
“However, even after the empire’s fall, the forests may have remained.”
“If that’s the case…”
“Indeed. If you reach the Moonstone at the top, you may be able to view records from the ancient empire.”
“For now, I’ll try accessing the facility.”
Kim Hwang-je manipulated the status window.
On it appeared [Control] and [Map].
He could see every facility from the first to the fifth floor of the massive New Moon Tower clearly, and he could also operate them.
However, after years of Gaya Group’s interference, bizarre equipment had been messily attached all over the facility.
‘Jo Chun-ki must be here somewhere.’
On the map, Kim Hwang-je discovered the [Guji Altar] prepared at the top of the tower.
If he broke through that altar and ascended, the [Moonstone] would be there.
The manager, who had been leading the hunters, spoke.
“This marks the end of the safe zone. In celebration of today’s [Day of Mutual Prosperity], we will grant you twenty-four hours of free hunting. And here—please take these.”
He distributed Regen Canisters to the hunters.
The hunters accepted them and carefully stored them away.
“If you check the guidebook, you’ll see the areas where the Regen Canister works best. The teams that hunt in those locations will obtain the most loot.”
He pointed toward the blue forest.
“Oh, and of course, if you get too greedy, we will not provide rescue. You understand what I mean, yes?”
Hunters affiliated with Gaya Group stretched their bodies around the manager.
It wasn’t hard to figure out.
The true nature of this ‘mutual prosperity’ was a battle royale.