The Cursed Fortress Erupts
It feels strangely uncomfortable. I wondered if it was because of my habit from my past life of always supporting others from behind, but that didn’t seem to be it. Watching everyone else fight so hard while I just stood there observing made my conscience prick at me.
Tang, taang! I mechanically pulled the trigger and thought, This isn’t the time for me to show off. Haah.
My position is a bit awkward. If a fresh newbie like me suddenly acts like a battle-hardened veteran, it’ll look extremely suspicious. That could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings from Captain Im’s group and the Defense Strategy Department. For example, they might suspect me of being an unregistered Awakened who’s committed crimes.
“Hey! Block that side! It’s heading for Eun-seong!”
“Hut! I’m sorry!”
Captain Im’s group was running around in a frenzy, terrified that I might get even a single scratch. I told them not to follow me. Our Republic of Korea soldiers really work tirelessly day and night. All this trouble because of one rookie.
I sincerely saluted their efforts in my heart and absorbed the ether from the monsters they fed me.
“Are you all right?”
“Of course.”
“Your marksmanship is excellent. Very calm.”
Captain Im smiled faintly. He seemed quite pleased with the way I raised my gun and checked the remaining rounds in the magazine.
“You’re too kind. I feel bad that you’re going through so much trouble because of me.”
“It’s only what we’re supposed to do. Though it would have been better if you had completed formal training before entering actual combat.”
“I’m sorry. I was in a hurry.”
“No, I’m the one who spoke out of turn. Please don’t dwell on it and focus only on growing stronger. We’ll do our best to assist you.”
Then Choi Yoo-ra spoke with clear displeasure.
“Look at these babysitters showing up.”
“Why, jealous?”
“Jealous of what? If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to accept any sitting service.”
Choi Yoo-ra snorted. I addressed her carefully.
“Um, Hunter Choi Yoo-ra?”
“What?”
Captain Im spoke cautiously.
“I believe you also graduated from the Special Operations School and received help from senior hunters for about three months.”
“W-when did I ever—”
Choi Yoo-ra flinched in surprise and glared.
“Do you have proof? Huh? Do you have proof?!”
“Major Park Dae-woo. One of my seniors was the instructor in charge of you. I don’t know if you remember, but during a dungeon raid you accidentally attacked Major Park—”
“……”
Choi Yoo-ra clamped her mouth shut. So much for being too embarrassed to accept sitting service. I’m not an idiot—I’d already figured out it was just bravado. Choi Yoo-ra had been a promising talent from the moment she awakened, and as a high-value dealer she was more than qualified to receive sitting support from the Defense Strategy Department. Her rapid growth to 4-star hunter was probably proof of that. She had advanced at a pace far beyond average.
“What? What are you looking at?”
Choi Yoo-ra glared at me for no reason.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Then why are you staring?”
“Can’t I look?”
“No, you can’t.”
“It’s fine. That can happen.”
“What can?”
“I understand.”
“What the hell do you understand? Huh? What exactly do you think you understand?”
“Just~”
I grinned, and Choi Yoo-ra trembled with rage. She knows she’s embarrassed, doesn’t she? Still, it’s understandable. Hunters are allowed to put on a little bravado now and then.
“Let’s move.”
“E-Eun-seong! It’s dangerous! We’ll take the lead!”
When I brushed past Choi Yoo-ra and moved ahead, Captain Im’s group scrambled after me in panic.
We crossed the plains dyed in deep sunset and arrived before a massive fortress. The distant gate stood wide open.
“Eun-seong, from here on it’s truly dangerous. You must be extremely careful. Never let your guard down.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
When we reached the bridge crossing the moat, Captain Im gave me another earnest warning. Choi Yoo-ra was no exception.
“Of all places, he had to pick somewhere like this. What a pain-in-the-ass client. I’m this close to just ditching him.”
Choi Yoo-ra shot me a sideways glance.
“Hahaha……”
I scratched the back of my head, feeling a little guilty. I understood their reactions. Once we crossed the bridge and passed through the gate, true hell would unfold. Monsters of every kind would pour out in waves so thick that even a decent raid party would have to fight nonstop for nearly two hours. Of course, if the party had a mage it would be different—they could wipe out dozens or even hundreds of monsters with a single wide-area spell.
“I’ll do my best to be careful.”
I deliberately put on a slightly tense expression and followed behind Choi Yoo-ra and Captain Im’s group when something felt off.
This feels ominous.
Why do bad premonitions always come true?
Rumble rumble rumble!
The world shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Goooooo!
The ether density thickened until it became hard to breathe.
“Ah, shit.”
The curse slipped out on its own. Everyone else reacted the same way.
“Ha.”
“This is bullshit.”
Captain Im’s subordinates shuddered.
“What day is it today?”
Even Choi Yoo-ra grumbled with a deeply furrowed brow.
The phenomenon happening right now was called a Mutation. A Mutation referred to a dormant dungeon—like the fixed gates in Techno Mart—suddenly going berserk. When a dungeon mutated, entry became restricted and its difficulty skyrocketed. If the dungeon wasn’t cleared within the time limit, the gate would open, spatial transference would occur, and a monster outbreak would follow. The resulting outbreaks were truly terrifying; in severe cases they could completely raze an entire region.
So what happens to hunters who are already inside when a mutation occurs?
This.
Flash!
With a burst of light, I felt my body being transported to another space. Yet the scenery before my eyes remained exactly the same. Choi Yoo-ra and Captain Im’s group were still there. But this place was clearly different from the dungeon we had been in moments ago.
The notification window proved it.
The dungeon we had been in was the 3-star Cursed Fortress NO.331721.
This one was different.
“We’re fucked.”
Choi Yoo-ra summed up our situation in a single word.
She was right. We were completely screwed. The dungeon that had originally been 3-star had instantly jumped to 4-star difficulty. Other hunters from different dungeons would have been brought here too, so couldn’t we just team up? Since when was the world that beautiful? Inside a dungeon, the only person you can trust is yourself. Even allies in the same raid party have to be doubted and doubted again—that’s how this world works. So why would we trust random strangers we meet here?
“Let’s just pray the people who showed up are sane.”
Choi Yoo-ra sneered. She had a point. I didn’t know how many other parties had been raiding the Cursed Fortress, but the best we could hope for was that they were competent and level-headed. The more idiots or malicious groups like the Wreckers there were, the more complicated things would become.
“Going straight through the front is too dangerous, so let’s take a detour……”
Choi Yoo-ra was speaking with her back to the fortress when I pointed over her shoulder.
“Uh, uh-oh?”
“Kyaaaaaaaak!”
“Keheheheheh!”
“Kyaaaaaaaak!”
Every kind of monster was charging straight at us. Normally nothing happens until you pass through the gate, but the fact that they were coming out to greet us meant they must have been really happy to see us.
“Everyone, this way!”
I sprinted straight forward—directly toward the monsters.
“You crazy bastard!”
Choi Yoo-ra’s curse rang out behind me.
It wasn’t only Choi Yoo-ra who swore at my sudden action.
“What are you doing?! Stop him!”
“This fucking bastard!”
“You goddamn lunatic!”
At Captain Im’s shout, his subordinates chased after me. Choi Yoo-ra’s iron chain was faster than any of them.
Chrrrrrrrrrr!
Ugh!
I hurriedly rolled to dodge the chain and shouted at them.
“Come this way! Quickly!”
“What kind of bullshit is that, you crazy bastard?! You want to die? Huh? If you want to die, go die by yourself!”
At first glance, Choi Yoo-ra was right. Charging toward the monsters didn’t make sense. But it did. You don’t have to pass through the main gate to enter the fortress. And you don’t have to kill every single monster to clear the dungeon either.
“I know the way!”
“Y-you know the way?”
“Running away will just get us surrounded! We’ll all die! You know that! Follow me! Hurry!”
Wait—do I even need to convince them? Can’t I just show them?
I drew the Search Card from my deck and poured ether into it.
Shhhhh!
A green line appeared on the ground. It stretched in the direction the monsters were coming from, then veered off the bridge and disappeared beneath the surface of the moat.
“I’m going first!”
I ran along the green line. I hadn’t actually needed the Search Card since I already knew the secret passage, but this was the only way to get Choi Yoo-ra and Captain Im’s group to move. A rookie’s words wouldn’t carry an ounce of credibility.
“You! If anything happens to you, you’re dead!”
“You said the same thing last time!”
I leapt into the moat without hesitation.
Splash!
Choi Yoo-ra and Captain Im’s group jumped in after me.
Splash, splash, splash, splash!
The monsters followed us into the water. An underwater chase began. We swam rapidly using breath-holding techniques and shook off the pursuit. Both Choi Yoo-ra and Captain Im’s group were highly skilled swimmers—Special Operations School didn’t exist for nothing. They taught all kinds of survival skills and military knowledge for situations exactly like this.
This way.
Since we were underwater, I used hand signals to lead the group. My destination was the sewer connected to the fortress basement.
Clang!
The iron bars blocking the sewer didn’t budge at all.
Clang!
I tried to cut them with the Full Moon Card, but because we were underwater and I couldn’t build up speed, it didn’t even leave a scratch.
Tap, tap. Choi Yoo-ra nudged me aside as if telling me to move.
Shrrrk!
She wrapped her chain around the bars. We all pulled together like a tug-of-war, but the bars still didn’t move. Meanwhile, the monsters were getting closer and closer. It was fortunate they weren’t good swimmers—otherwise we would have been surrounded and wiped out long ago.
Is there no other way?
At this rate we’d become monster food…… No, fish food first, then monster food.
Think. There has to be some method…… Huh?
One card slipped out of the deck on its own and flowed into my hand.