Chapter 3

Erosion was the phenomenon in which the blue mist flowing out of a Gate contaminated its surroundings. Areas contaminated by mana from another world became ideal habitats for magic beasts.

While the world beyond a Gate was called a “dungeon,” the contaminated area around one was known as a “field dungeon.” Once contaminated, a place was effectively a dungeon. By that measure, Hankuk University's art museum was now a land of death.

“I'm afraid that student...”

The hunter trailed off. But everyone could guess what would have followed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Suho...

[You have leveled up!]

'This is... what I think it is, right?'

Something unbelievable had happened. Letters floated in midair. The leveling system he had only ever seen in his dreams long ago had appeared in reality.

'My God. Am I dreaming again?'

No. This was absolutely not a dream! The vivid sensations against his skin proved it.

What's more, the moment the level-up message appeared, all his accumulated fatigue vanished. Even the minor burns the Mist Burns had inflicted were completely healed.

But what was this?

[You have met the completion requirements for 'Secret Quest: Courage of the Powerless.']

[You have unread messages.]

The leveling system in his dreams had simply displayed his level. There had never been messages like these. This felt more like the real thing.

When Suho looked at the message, his inbox opened automatically.

[You have two unread messages.]

[Welcome to becoming a 'Player' in the real world.] (Unread)

[A quest has been issued.] (Unread)

'A Player... in the real world?'

He opened the first message.

[Secret Quest: Courage of the Powerless]

You have proven your worth by earning experience while unawakened.

You have awakened from level 0 to level 1 and can now view your status window.

[Information]

This system supports the 'Player's' growth.

This is not 'Tutorial Mode' this time. Please bear in mind that you only have one life in the real world.

'Tutorial Mode? Does it mean those dreams?'

Suho understood instinctively. All the dreams he'd had during adolescence had been practice games. The real game was starting now.

And befitting the real game, features unavailable in the tutorial had been added. Like that “status window.”

[Status Window]

Name: Sung Suho

Level: 1

Class: None

Title: None

HP: 100/100

MP: 10/10

[Stats]

Strength: 10 Vitality: 10

Agility: 10 Intelligence: 10

Perception: 10

(Available Stat Points: 0)

[Skills]

Passive Skills: None

Active Skills: Ruler's Authority Lv.1

The status window presented a brief overview of Suho's information. Just like a game.

He immediately opened the next message.

[Quest: Rescue the Survivors.]

There are people nearby waiting for you to rescue them.

Rescue as many as possible.

Your reward will vary depending on the number of people rescued.

-Current Number of Survivors: 52

-Current Number Rescued: 0

The second message was a quest window. Quests were another system he had never encountered in his dreams.

'My reward depends on how many people I rescue?'

This really did make it feel like a game. But this was indisputably reality. Even now, people were continuing to die in real time.

[Current Number of Survivors: 52 → 51]

[Current Number of Survivors: 51 → 50]

The figures snapped Suho back to his senses.

Just then—

[“Grrrraaah!”]

'Oh, crap!'

He must have been too absorbed in the status window. A Mist Burn had drawn close without him noticing and was attacking him.

“Damn!”

Suho swung his arm reflexively.

THUD!

Then something astonishing happened.

[“Kraaagh!”]

Struck by Suho's fist, the Mist Burn flew backward in agony.

“... Huh?”

Suho was even more bewildered as he stared at his hand. He had punched that blazing blue smoke barehanded, yet it hadn't even felt hot.

Another Mist Burn lunged at him from behind. Without hesitation, Suho threw a punch.

THWACK!

[“Kraaagh!”]

The result was the same. Suho's ordinary punch sent the Mist Burn flying helplessly backward.

[“Grrr?”]

By now, even the Mist Burn seemed bewildered. The human clearly looked unremarkable, yet his blows hurt terribly.

But Mist Burns were creatures driven solely by instinct.

[“Kraaaaaah!”]

At its shriek, every Mist Burn nearby swarmed toward Suho. Yet he didn't waver in the slightest at the threatening sight.

He had realized something: they no longer posed much of a threat to him.

Now it was time to fight back.

Suho kicked off the ground and charged them without delay.

THWACK! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

[“Kraaagh!”]

[“Grrrraaah!”]

What followed was nothing like a normal raid. Normally, the strategy was to calmly assess the monsters' strength, then have a tank hold the front while damage dealers attacked.

Suho ignored all of that, swinging both fists as he brawled with the magic beasts. Still, it was undeniably effective.

[You have defeated a Mist Burn!]

[You have defeated a Mist Burn!]

[You have defeated a Mist Burn!]

...

Suho kept moving, defeating them one by one.

[Current Number of Survivors: 37 → 36]

Even as he fought, the number of survivors continued to drop. Which ultimately meant the number of Mist Burns was growing.

'The more of them there are, the faster people will die. It'll increase exponentially.'

He had to hurry.

Suho scoured every corner of the museum for survivors.

“Get out, quickly!”

As soon as he found anyone, he sent them outside.

[Current Number Rescued: 12]

* * *

“What's going on? How are they all escaping?”

The hunters outside the museum were astonished. They had just checked their equipment and were about to enter, but people kept coming out on their own, one after another.

“Someone inside saved us.”

“A student saved us!”

Hearing their accounts only astonished the hunters more.

“You mean someone's in there fighting the magic beasts right now?”

“Has another hunter already gone inside?”

Teaching Assistant Im tilted his head at that.

“I don't think so. None of the students are hunters, and no other hunters have arrived yet.”

Daehyun, who had been listening beside them, spoke hopefully.

“Could it be Suho?”

“Suho?”

Im and the hunters hesitated, exchanging glances. The chances of an ordinary person surviving a field dungeon were exceedingly slim. But they couldn't bring themselves to tell Daehyun that his friend was probably dead.

Then it turned out that one of the survivors who had just escaped knew Suho.

“That's right! Suho's an upperclassman of mine. He saved us!”

“What?!”

“Suho? How on earth?”

“He was beating up the magic beasts with his bare fists.”

“... His bare fists?”

The hunters looked at them with pity. The terrified survivors must have seen something wrong. Fighting Mist Burns barehanded was far too dangerous.

'His hands would be burned to a crisp.'

'That's suicide.'

Unless a hunter could coat their fists in mana, they had to protect their hands with gauntlets at the very least to avoid burns.

In any case, it seemed certain that this student named Suho was alive and rescuing people. With grave expressions, the hunters murmured,

“Perhaps that student... has awakened.”

“Suho's awakened?”

Im turned his gaze back toward the museum. Even now, survivors were continuing to emerge, rescued by Suho.

Just then, the hunters finished preparing to enter the museum.

“Team leader, the mana readings are in. It appears to be a D-rank dungeon.”

“Understood. We'd better hurry, then.”

Determination shone in the hunters' eyes at the mention of a D-rank dungeon. That meant there would be magic beasts far stronger than Mist Burns inside.

Even if Suho had just awakened, no one could guarantee how long a rookie with no dungeon experience would last in there.

* * *

HISSS...

[You have defeated a Mist Burn.]

Having finished off every Mist Burn in sight, Suho panted heavily.

'Almost done.'

He was tired enough to want to lie down right there, but his mind was clear.

Then it happened.

DING!

[You have leveled up!]

A clear light enveloped Suho, and vitality surged through his entire body.

'Now I can keep going!'

Just as Suho was about to set off again to find the remaining survivors—

KABOOM!

“...!”

The ceiling suddenly exploded overhead. A tremendous cloud of dust and chunks of rubble scattered in every direction.

Startled, Suho rolled across the floor, but couldn't dodge it all. Though reaching level 2 had only just healed all his wounds, red blood now trickled down his forehead.

But that wasn't the real problem.

A giant wolf dropped through the hole in the ceiling.

[“Grrrr!”]

Suho's hair stood on end. The sight of its imposing bulk jolted him fully alert.

'There's no way I can beat that.'

He knew it the moment he saw it. It was the survival instinct every living creature possessed. He felt a primal fear on an entirely different level from anything the Mist Burns had inspired.

[“Grrr.”]

The giant wolf looked haughtily down at Suho—the gaze of a predator watching wounded prey with nowhere to run. At the same time, its overwhelming presence bore down on him.

“Ghk.”

Suho gritted his teeth. He hadn't come this far to be crushed by fear. He would simply take the best action he could.

'If I can't run, I'll attack first!'

With a sharp burst of movement, Suho grabbed a chunk of rock and hurled it at the beast. But the giant wolf raised a forepaw and swatted the attack aside as though it were laughable.

'Now's my chance!'

Suho rushed straight at it and swung the fist that had beaten dozens of Mist Burns to death.

But it wasn't enough.

[“Grrrr!”]

CRUNCH!

The giant wolf's jaws clamped onto Suho's shoulder.

“Argh!”

Gritting his teeth, Suho hammered its skull over and over as it held him in its jaws. That wasn't enough either.

SLAM!

In the end, Suho was brutally flung to the floor. The giant wolf arrogantly pinned him beneath a forepaw.

It had never been a fight he could win. Knowing that, the wolf savored its victory as though it were only natural.

And just as its vicious fangs were about to tear out Suho's throat...

That was when the miracle happened.

[“Kieeeeeeeeeek—!”]

FWOOOOOOSH!

From the far reaches of space, high in the distant heavens, a streak of black lightning suddenly plunged straight down.

KABOOOOM!

[“...!”]

The ceiling exploded, and the space between the giant wolf and Suho was split in two.

As the dust cleared, the king of the ants appeared, his entire body wreathed in black vapor.

[Beru Lv.Max]

Marshal Grade

With one hand pinning the wolf's jaws down, Beru gazed regally down at Suho.