Chapter 4 - Bukhansan (2)
Bukhansan (2)
‘I’m sure of it…’
Lee Jeon-seok rapidly tapped on the keyboard.
Soon, an image appeared on the monitor.
Bukhansan.
A tourist attraction fairly well known even overseas.
According to Lee Jeon-seok’s memories, a dungeon rampage would occur here in three days.
Normally, clearing a dungeon without a license was illegal.
‘But it’s different if it’s a rampaging dungeon.’
Ordinary civilians accidentally caught in a dungeon rampage.
They awaken inside, clear the dungeon—
Who could blame them?
It would be more appropriate to hand them a commendation instead.
‘Alright. I’ll go to Bukhansan in three days.’
Lee Jeon-seok made his plan while looking at the calendar.
And three days later.
Deep in the night, just past midnight.
Lee Jeon-seok quietly left the house.
He left a note on the dining table in the living room.
He had told them the day before that he would go to Bukhansan, but just in case.
Thus, Lee Jeon-seok boarded a late-night bus and headed for Bukhansan.
※ ※ ※
Climbing a mountain is exhausting.
But it comes with a thrill.
The sense of conquest upon reaching the top.
The clean air that cannot be felt in the city, and the scenery visible only from the summit.
It wasn’t surprising that many people became addicted to it and traveled all over the country climbing mountains.
For a brief moment, Lee Jeon-seok understood their feelings.
The sky gradually brightening as if colors were fading.
The sunrise rising beyond the ridgeline.
Mountain ranges piercing through the clouds here and there.
It was a landscape worthy of being called spectacular.
“Phew…”
Lee Jeon-seok steadied his ragged breathing and wiped away the beads of sweat.
Perhaps because he lacked proper equipment—
It was far more exhausting than expected.
He couldn’t even remember how many times he had stopped to rest.
Even though he was Awakened, he was still only level 1.
Stats of just 10.
In terms of physical ability, a newly Awakened hunter wasn’t much different from an ordinary person.
‘…There’s still time.’
Lee Jeon-seok checked his wristwatch.
Maybe because he had climbed at a leisurely pace—
There were about 30 minutes left until 8 o’clock.
He sat on a rock to rest.
The area was crowded with hikers.
Dozens of people gathered in this narrow space to watch the sunrise—it felt suffocating to Lee Jeon-seok.
But regardless of that, the sunrise beyond the ridge was beautiful.
“….”
Lee Jeon-seok silently watched it.
A cold wind brushed past his cheeks.
Soon, disaster would strike this place.
No one knew.
No one could know.
The science of this era hadn’t advanced that far yet.
‘Even if I told them to run, they’d just think I was crazy.’
So Lee Jeon-seok simply kept checking his watch.
The hour and minute hands moved silently.
Time passed mercilessly.
Before he knew it, it was 8 o’clock.
Lee Jeon-seok brushed off his pants and stood up.
He pulled a dagger from his chest and gripped it.
Two minutes passed…
[A dungeon gate has appeared!]
At the center of Baegundae.
Light exploded among the people.
“What is it? What’s happening?”
“Why is there suddenly light…?”
“Ugh, I can’t see!”
People murmured in confusion.
The light soon converged into a single point.
The mass of light formed a massive crack.
The entrance to a dungeon—commonly called a gate.
But this wasn’t an ordinary gate.
It gradually expanded, beginning to envelop the entirety of Baegundae.
[The dungeon is rampaging!]
“A dungeon… rampage?”
“What is this situation all of a sudden—?!”
Chaos spread everywhere.
“Ahhh!!”
“R-run! Everyone, run!”
“Kyaaah—?!”
People began fleeing all at once.
But this was the peak of a towering mountain.
Paths were limited, and running was nearly impossible.
One misstep could mean falling off a cliff.
In fact, some already had.
The scene was nothing short of pandemonium.
Evacuation stalled.
[Entering ‘Blackened Prison’.]
People were swept into the dungeon rampage.
Only Lee Jeon-seok remained calm, quietly accepting the darkness that swallowed him whole.
※ ※ ※
—
Blackened Prison
Grade: C
Description: An underground prison where ghouls are confined. In the place where everything is frozen, only lifeless blood flows. Mortals, face the mad Ghoul King.
This dungeon is in a rampage state. Escape is impossible until the boss monster is defeated.
—
‘A prison (獄), huh…’
Lee Jeon-seok stared at the system message.
The description itself was identical to before his regression.
The dungeon’s environment was the same as well.
A dark underground space.
Iron bars everywhere.
A sight reminiscent of a prison.
Looking closer, everything was frozen in places.
A damp, chilling aura lay thick like fog, and icicles formed on the ceiling, falling and shattering on the floor.
It felt like ghosts might appear at any moment.
But instead of ghosts, a zombie with a rotting body revealed itself.
A monster commonly called a ghoul.
“Grrrhh…”
Decayed flesh fell off in chunks.
Dried blood patched torn skin.
A grotesque appearance beyond words.
[Ghoul Lv. 32]
Above its head,
the system appeared.
Level 32.
An overwhelming difference compared to Lee Jeon-seok.
‘But level isn’t everything.’
Lee Jeon-seok gripped the dagger in a reverse hold.
Ghouls were undead.
Walking corpses.
Because of that, unlike other undead, their durability was particularly weak.
Weak enough to be killed with an ordinary dagger.
The problem was that a single bite could be fatal…
‘Then I just won’t get bitten.’
Lee Jeon-seok kicked off the ground.
The ghoul creaked as it turned its head.
It had noticed him late.
But it was already too late.
Its movements were as sluggish as its reaction.
Thud—.
The dagger pierced its head.
A precise strike aimed at the left eye.
“Grr—!”
Perhaps because it was already a corpse, it felt no pain.
The ghoul opened its mouth regardless.
At that moment—
Fwoosh—.
Lee Jeon-seok activated trait ignition.
Dark red flames bloomed from his hand.
They flowed along the dagger and violently burned the ghoul’s brain.
One of the undead’s weaknesses.
Fire.
“Grrrrraaaah—!”
Flames burst out from its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.
Fire spread over its entire head, incinerating the creature.
After some time—
When Lee Jeon-seok pulled the dagger out, the ghoul collapsed limply.
Its head was charred black, unmoving.
Crunch—.
Lee Jeon-seok crushed its head under his foot.
Immediately after—
[You have slain a Ghoul!]
A system message appeared.
“Hm?”
Something felt off.
[Congratulations!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up…]
An unusually large number of messages appeared.
Checking his status window, he was now level 8.
A total increase of 7 levels at once.
Well, it made sense.
He was level 1 and had killed a level 32 monster.
‘Not bad.’
The experience was quite generous.
Before taking the Hunter Exam, he could raise his level as much as possible here.
‘And there’s something I want to test, too…’
Saving people in this dungeon.
Would good karma increase?
It had increased when he killed villains.
So what about killing monsters or saving people?
He wanted to confirm whether good karma increased in various situations.
‘I killed a ghoul, but it didn’t increase.’
That meant it didn’t count as karma.
Then what if he completely cleared the dungeon?
‘Whether big or small, something should change.’
Lee Jeon-seok operated the status window.
[You have used 7 stat points.]
[Agility increased by 5.]
[Vitality increased by 2.]
He invested his points into Agility and Vitality.
The most important stats for his combat style.
He wanted to raise Strength as well, but distributing stats carelessly could lead to a “ruined build,” as commonly said in games.
‘For now, focus on Agility and Vitality.’
Lee Jeon-seok dismissed the status window.
That was when—
“Kyahhh!!”
A sharp scream rang out.
A person. A young woman’s voice.
Judging by the sound, it was nearby.
Lee Jeon-seok immediately kicked off the ground.
He sprinted through the dark, damp underground prison.
Beyond the maze-like corridors—
“G-get away!”
“Grrr!”
He saw a woman confronting a ghoul.
A woman around his age.
Her straight hair was tangled and soaked with blood.
Judging by her clothes, she seemed to be one of the hikers.
The ghoul opened its maw toward her.
A hopeless situation—no scream even came out.
The woman shut her eyes in terror.
But something was strange.
The pain didn’t come.
“Huh…?”
She hesitantly opened her eyes.
The side of the ghoul’s head—
A small knife was embedded there.
“Duck.”
A voice followed.
Someone rushed in and grabbed the knife—the dagger.
Lee Jeon-seok.
He ignited the ghoul’s head with flames.
Perhaps because of the sudden blaze—
“Kyah—?!”
The woman instinctively ducked.
In that moment—
Slash—.
Lee Jeon-seok pulled the dagger out and severed the weakened, burned neck, completely ending the creature.
[You have slain a Ghoul!]
[Congratulations!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
This time, he gained 3 levels.
But that wasn’t all.
[Good karma has increased by 10.]
Good karma had risen.
Only 10—a small amount.
Extremely low compared to when he stopped the department store terror attack.
Perhaps because the scale of the incident was much smaller.
But that was enough.
He had confirmed that saving people increased good karma.
Then there was only one thing left for Lee Jeon-seok to do.
Save everyone trapped in this dungeon.
“Are you okay?”
Lee Jeon-seok extended his hand to the woman.
She finally regained her senses.
Grabbing his hand, she hurriedly stood up.
“Ah—y-yes! Th-thank you…!”
Perhaps she was still shaken.
She couldn’t quite meet Lee Jeon-seok’s eyes.
He didn’t care.
He was already used to reactions like this.
Since the time he became a blood-crazed monster.
People had always looked at him as if they were seeing a ghost.
“H-huh… are you… a Hunter…?”
The woman asked quietly.
Lee Jeon-seok nodded vaguely.
He wasn’t a hunter yet, but—
‘It’s a pain to explain.’
Lee Jeon-seok wasn’t particularly good at explaining things.
Or rather, he found it bothersome.
Instead, he asked her a question.
“Did you see anyone else?”
“Ah… y-yes! I did! We got separated while running…”
Lee Jeon-seok cut her off and asked again.
“Where were they?”
※ ※ ※
A king was a being that knew no fear.
He had been born a ruler from the beginning.
He placed everything beneath himself.
He believed nothing surpassed him.
But at this very moment, the king felt fear.
The number of his kin was decreasing one by one.
Creatures that could kill a human effortlessly.
Even without intelligence or reason, their power was not to be underestimated.
And yet, such kin were being slaughtered helplessly.
“Grr…”
Though he could not speak, he understood.
Something was coming.
Something utterly terrifying.
Clack…
The king’s teeth chattered.
Dried blood dripped like sweat.
“GRAAAHH!!”
The king roared in fear.
He issued commands to all his kin.
Protect this place—his domain.
Eliminate the intruder thoroughly.
But it was meaningless.
Soon, the door to the domain opened, and someone walked in.
“You live in a truly filthy way.”
A man’s emotionless voice.
Dry, desolate pupils.
Eyes that looked as if they were staring at death itself.
No vitality—only an overwhelming sense of otherness.
“Guh…”
The king shrank back.
Though he had been born to subjugate death itself—
The moment he met the man’s gaze, the king lowered his head.
It was an instinctive reaction.
“…What is that?”
A death beyond death stood there.