#23 I Need to Uncover Its Identity.
The flight of those pitch-black objects that began in the skies over Cheorwon stretched all the way to southern Pocheon.
Papapapapap!
Riding atop Furball, Choi Kang-ho turned his gaze to the apple-sized creatures wriggling on the ground here and there.
They resembled bees in appearance, but their size was the problem. Six pairs of wings buzzed with a high-pitched zeeeeng, zeeeng. Their heads featured two bulging eyes and a beak lined with sharp teeth. Their bodies were striped in black and yellow.
"Hold up, Furball."
Krreung!
Furball came to a stop. Kang-ho activated his Beast Master eye on one of the monsters flailing on the ground.
'A new species.'
Kang-ho was no longer surprised by new monsters. The issue was the faint demonic energy emanating from this Battle Bee.
More than that...
'These little guys have higher attack and defense ranks than expected.'
A monster's stats were usually proportional to its size. For apple-sized ones to have such ranks was quite dangerous.
Appearance-wise, they were bees. Kang-ho recalled monsters similar to bees. Bee-like species always teetered on the edge between disaster and safe types.
The relatively harmless ones like Flower Bees were docile by nature and never attacked people. They were diligent workers, flitting between flowers to gather nectar.
But Killer Bees were classified as disaster species. They attacked first and asked questions never, with their brutal carnivorous nature making humans fair game.
Kang-ho expanded the Battle Bee's owned skills.
Blind Obedience – This beast offers absolute obedience to its master.
Group Action – This beast becomes far stronger in groups.
"......"
Suddenly, Kang-ho noticed Seol-a's eyes sparkling.
'Mine?'
"Hm?"
'You giving it to me?'
Seol-a stared at Kang-ho, then gulped. As Kang-ho tilted his head and picked up the Battle Bee...
Wajak!
Seol-a chomped down on it.
"......"
Soon, shaaaak— the Battle Bee's demonic energy was absorbed into Seol-a.
With the Battle Bee still in her mouth, Seol-a stood still, then shook her head wildly side to side. The Battle Bee flapped desperately in resistance, stabbing its striped stinger into Seol-a's scruff.
Wajik!
The stinger bent in half. It couldn't pierce Seol-a's tough hide.
Seol-a tilted her head at the Battle Bee, then snuggled back into Kang-ho's arms.
Kang-ho sighed, observing the poison leaking from the broken stinger. He dabbed a bit and tasted it. A sharp tingle spread through his body.
'Paralysis poison.'
It numbed nerves—low lethality alone, but deadly against groups.
He spat it out and remounted Furball.
"Let's follow them, Furball."
Tatatatatat!
After racing along for a while, Kang-ho sensed faint demonic energies from all directions. So subtle that only someone of his level could detect them.
Aee-aeng— Ae-eng— Eng—
Battle Bees buzzed everywhere. But they kept a safe distance, flying in eerie curved patterns, not daring to approach Kang-ho.
This was Pocheon's wild mountains. Fortunately, nearby settlements were sparse.
'Diet...'
Kang-ho observed the Battle Bees. They gnawed grass, tore whole trees. And there—monster corpses.
Omnivores. The most dangerous type. They devastated nature, and when food ran out, they'd swarm human areas.
"......"
Kang-ho spotted a shimmering gate ahead. Normal gates rippled blue, but this one glowed red.
Only one case for that.
'A massive gate.'
A raid-grade gate.
Battle Bees shuttled in and out nonstop, carrying food, foraging relentlessly.
'How long?'
Judging by the surroundings, a day or two. Resources were depleting fast—trees toppled bare-rooted, grasslands razed.
Kang-ho released his mana.
'Predatory Instinct.'
One of the Beast Master's innate abilities spread outward. Lesser beasts would cower under its pressure.
Umjjeul!
Battle Bees froze mid-forage, staring at Kang-ho. Terrified by his mana, they gathered and fled into the gate.
Kang-ho approached slowly. Northern Cheorwon hadn't seen a raid since the Amon Drake 15 years ago.
"Remember that one, Furball? We struggled back then, huh?"
Krreung!
Furball nodded. A week of nonstop battle was grueling.
Raid-grade meant good rewards—but that wasn't the point here.
Shaaak—
Kang-ho, Furball, and Seol-a vanished into the raid-grade gate.
* * *
Shaaak—
Inside the dungeon, Kang-ho glanced around.
'Big.'
Much larger than the Amon Drake dungeon.
Zeeeeeeeng—
Swarm of bees everywhere. The atmosphere was dim and humid. The trees and landscape felt alien.
As Kang-ho entered, the swarm went on high alert.
Zeeeeng—
They clustered, emitting a terrifying buzz: ae-eng, ae-eng.
Kang-ho eyed them warily as he surveyed the dungeon—trees, grass, ecosystem.
A massive dungeon was its own independent world.
Ahead: sheer cliffs with a colossal hive built into them. Each cell Furball-sized; the whole thing immense.
Even Kang-ho, rarely fazed, was taken aback.
Zeeeng— Zeeeeeeeng—
Detecting the intruder, black bees poured from the hive. Different from Battle Bees.
Zeeeeeeeng!
Three times larger, they charged Kang-ho.
He swung his palm casually—
Ppakjik!
The bee slammed into the ground, belly-up, buzzing ae-eng ae-eng.
'D-rank attack.'
Impressive. These were likely the "warriors" of the bee legion.
And now a legion of King Battle Bees surged at Kang-ho.
Quaaaeaeng!
Like black mist forming arrows, they flew at him.
And—
Wadeuduk!
Furball's gaping maw shredded the arrow formation. He crunched dozens in seconds, then tilted his head.
Krreung?
Nang!
Seol-a, not to be outdone, opened wide—but they were too big for her.
Shaaaaak—
Absorbing ambient demonic energy, Seol-a entered combat stance: ears perked, tail rigid.
Krreung!
Furball watched her fondly, then bounced around to test her reactions.
Hwik!
Seol-a whipped her head. Furball chomped her gently, placing her on his back, then crouched low as if to say, copy me.
Quaaaeaeng!
Charging King Battle Bees—
Wadeuduk!
—crunched. Seol-a hopped excitedly, mimicking him. Her round eyes screamed, you're amazing!
Kang-ho sensed the dense demonic energy around them.
'Thick.'
Far denser than the raptors before—viscous, potent.
From the hive's center.
I need to uncover its true identity.
"Furball."
15 years ago during the Amon Drake raid, Furball had been too young. But now...
Zeeing—
Kang-ho touched the ruby ring on his left hand. Sensory linkage began.
Furball's power flowed into Kang-ho's body. White energy unraveled like thread across his form.
Krreureureureung—!
A thunderous roar echoed through the dungeon.
. . . . . . .
Among the Big 3 guilds, Napa was a raid powerhouse. They'd recently proven it by conquering the Amon Drake raid gate.
20 top rankers, 50 total— a massive operation. The investments and prep? Too much to recount without tiring the tongue.
Modern raids weren't just "guild hunts." The dungeon's value, its loot—that sparked pre-conquest battles over priority.
In truth, conquering was secondary. Securing raid priority came first.
"What? In Pocheon?"
Fast info...
"Is that legit?!"
...was always profitable.
Napa's raid team leader and vice-guild master, Ko Je-hoon, bolted up at the tip-off.
50 years ago, a raid gate meant catastrophe. Now? Awakeners were stronger—higher levels, peace-honed techniques, accumulated know-how.
Today's Awakeners dwarfed the old survival hunters.
Why were "celebs" famous? Strength? No. SNS era—self-PR ruled.
Top Awakeners had YouTube (U-Tube) channels, SNS accounts. For some, that income topped hunting.
Ko Je-hoon excelled at marketing. Not plain hunts, but PPV ticketed spectacles—like movies.
'Survival' became 'entertainment.' Raids were the pinnacle.
Napa was raid-famous but not Big 3 caliber—until Ko Je-hoon elevated them. The Amon Drake hunt rocketed their fame; "skyrocketing" in modern terms.
To sustain it, they needed the next target. Luck struck.
"Yeah. Yeah."
Ko Je-hoon continued the call.
"Pocheon where? Got it, send map and address. Sending scout team ASAP. Keep it confidential."
Hanging up, his eyes gleamed.
'Good thing I built that intel network.'
* * *
Ko Je-hoon arrived in Pocheon with his team three hours later.
"Huh?"
But the dungeon entrance buzzed with crowds. Info wasn't exclusive.
Name-brand guilds gathered, evident from gear.
Chak— Chak—
Awakeners amassed. Cars roared in; numbers swelled.
Ko Je-hoon clicked his tongue.
Over there—broadcast vans. Media got wind too.
This meant a battle for raid priority.
He pulled out his smartphone.
'For PvP battles, call the PvP specialist.'