#52 The Raid Dungeon of the Earth Dragon Clan's King Has Opened
Motorcycles and cars roared in from all directions, engines thundering.
From luxury sports cars to high-speed magic stone bikes, Yeongjongdo's streets were soon clogged with Awakeners' rides.
"Whew—what the hell is this?"
King crossed his arms, tilting his head with a scowl.
A raid dungeon.
Its opening meant an inevitable scramble for priority assault rights.
The one who'd called King in was Napa's vice guild master, Go Je-hoon.
"Ah, you made it?"
Go Je-hoon waved. He wasn't alone today—a white-haired man stood silently beside him.
Ghost...
King wasn't particularly fond of him.
Ghost was Napa's fixer. Shrouded in bandages, his real name and race were total mysteries.
Ghost's hollow eyes fixed on King.
King frowned slightly. "Even Ghost?"
Go Je-hoon broke out in rare cold sweat. Truth be told, a raid gate this massive was unprecedented lately.
"The scale's off the charts."
King had to agree. The pressure radiating from the gate alone was something he'd never felt before.
"This... doesn't feel like your average raid."
Go Je-hoon nodded at King's words. "Jackpot... this is a straight-up jackpot. Bigger than the Amondrake raid by far."
He was buzzing with excitement.
These days, raids boiled down to money. Fame led to cash. That was the era they lived in.
"......"
King felt a twinge of unease.
He gulped, glancing around.
Historic scale. No wonder every guild had brought their elites.
The Big 3 were all here, for starters.
Baekya's crew was visible—Lee Hyuk at the front, commanding the spot. His combat-suited squad stood at rigid attention. They meant business.
Beside them, Mercenary's legion. Forte, freshly promoted to SS-rank, led the pack.
Napa had deployed SS-rank King and Ghost, with the Four Great Clans (minus Lebadon) filling out the ranks below.
And that was just the tip. Mid- and small guilds had mobilized en masse.
Raid dungeons this size were too big for one guild to hog. That's where subcontracting came in—hauling loot, cleanup, vanguard duty. The side gigs paid well, drawing everyone.
Civilians had cleared out fast, turning the city ghost-town empty. Awakeners filled the void.
An age of power. An age of money. That summed up the modern world.
King felt a sudden dizzy spell at the eye of that storm.
"......"
A tense air hung over Yeongjongdo's streets.
The monsters were inside the gate. But right now, it was a fight over who got to enter first.
Gates of this transcendent scale popped up occasionally. In those cases, exceptions applied: guilds scouting assault rights formed recon teams.
Fair play—each guild sent a few members to scout, map the interior, and estimate costs.
This gate called for a recon team after ages.
Shhk—
A 30-man team plunged into the dungeon, emerging an hour later.
Napa's rep was Ghost.
Ghost returned and spoke slowly. "Just as expected."
"I see."
Go Je-hoon nodded gravely.
"Expected?" King prompted.
Go Je-hoon explained. "Means it's a Demon Realm gate, right?"
Ghost nodded.
"Estimate?"
"Three or four times bigger than Amondrake. Too much for Napa alone."
"Three or four times?!"
Go Je-hoon gaped.
"Terrain?"
"Vast tropical rainforest. Bosses presumed to be two Amondrakes."
"......What?"
King blinked. "Two?"
Ghost nodded, his gravelly voice continuing to Go Je-hoon. "Male and female Amondrakes coexisting. Too many mobs—couldn't scout deeper without losses."
"Hah."
Go Je-hoon let out a hollow laugh.
What was an Amondrake? Napa's recent raid boss. Towering over 10-story buildings, armored hide thicker than tank plating—a colossal lizard.
Its horrors: toxic miasma from its body, insane attack range. Tail scales like honed blades, whipping 360 degrees to sweep everything.
Took 50 assaulters to down one—including Napa's top 20 rankers. King had even joined that fight.
And it dragged on for three full days.
Now two?
Chills raced down King's spine.
Suddenly, Lee Hyuk approached from across the way.
He gave Go Je-hoon a slight bow, polite. "Lee Hyuk of Baekya."
"Pleased to meet you. Go Je-hoon of Napa."
The Big 3's field leaders opened talks.
"You've heard the estimate. No single guild can handle this."
"Agreed."
"Not something words alone will settle. And... this mana."
"......Demonic energy, right."
Go Je-hoon nodded. Easy to grasp what Lee Hyuk meant.
A three-way summit. All Big 3 present, none willing to yield such a mega-dungeon.
King moped, slouched on his signature muscle car, the golden Hellcat's roof.
"......"
A hand offered him coffee.
He turned. Choi Kang-ho stood there.
"Huh, hyungnim?"
Kang-ho's face was unusually stern.
King took the iced Americano. "Not your average scale. Why the long face?"
"......Just."
King stared blankly at the gathered Awakeners.
"......"
Kang-ho eyed them too, thoughts churning.
Finally, to King: "How is it?"
"Historic level. Bosses are a pair of Amondrakes, male and female."
Theo, who'd been blankly staring off, piped up from beside them.
"Yeah."
Theo pondered.
Demonic energy saturated the air.
"So it seems."
Kang-ho glanced at Theo, who wore a pensive frown.
"That?"
"Right."
Kang-ho nodded curtly.
Seol-a, fox-formed in his arms, grinned at King.
Screech—
King blinked. "You're going in...?"
"Rest up."
Kang-ho vanished after that.
"......!"
King whipped around—no trace. Not teleportation. Just blinding speed.
.........
Shhk—
As Kang-ho and Theo entered, Furball dropped camouflage.
Shaaak—
Nature assimilation—near-perfect stealth. Incredibly useful.
Krreung—
Furball sniffed, scanning wildly the instant he entered.
"Vast."
Kang-ho's verdict was brief.
Tropical rainforest stretched endlessly.
Theo whistled low at the sight.
The landscape felt eerily familiar to him.
"Thoughts?"
The tropical climate came from Demon Realm grass: heatweed, blanketing the ground like turf, radiating warmth.
Krrreung—
Furball's ruby eyes bulged from fluffy fur, rolling in dismay.
He hated summer. And sure enough, the sweltering tropics enveloped them.
"What kind of place?"
Theo answered slowly.
At fifteen, Theo had come here with his father—and gotten stranded.
That savage look on his dad's face as he said "survive" still burned vivid.
Theo shuddered, rare for him.
Theo pointed—man-sized black lizards emerged one by one.
Armored Lizard.
E-rank beasts.
Kang-ho cocked his head. "Mid-tier?"
Amondrakes were raid bosses. Calling them mid-tier?
Theo pointed deeper: a massive head stirred amid the trees.
Just the head protruded, but unmistakably Amondrake.
"......"
Suddenly—
A bone-rattling roar echoed from the distant peak piercing the endless canopy.
Jaw Dragon Kasumus.
Kang-ho had never heard of it. But Earth Dragon clan? Familiar enough.
Simple example: those man-sized lizards. All Earth Dragons.
Bird-footed lineage, he meant.
Then—
Kwaaaaang—!
The roar's shockwave blasted through the forest.
Shwoooosh!
Like a gale-force hailstorm, it swept everything—Kang-ho's clothes flapped wildly.
Krrrreung!
Furball bellowed back, refusing to yield.
Kang-ho glanced down at Seol-a.
Her eyes sparkled brighter than ever, gazing up as if claiming her moment.
Demon Realm.
A raid dungeon tied to it. Items from there already in Kang-ho's possession: two.
And here too.
Something called to him strongly.
For one—
Bzzz— Bzzz—
The Eternal Crystal from the Demon Realm hummed in his pocket.