Chapter 87

Pyeongtaek Dungeon Three had already transformed into a bizarre jungle.

Once erosion was complete, a field dungeon became a world entirely separate from Earth's ecosystem. Still, this place had been classified as D-rank for a reason. The magic beasts roaming it were weak and few in number.

What made it troublesome instead was the jungle itself.

[There are traps everywhere, Master.]

"Eek!"

As Quay emerged from Suho's shadow, Im Dogyun recoiled in fright. He moved remarkably fast, but then, afraid he might stumble into a trap if he strayed too far, he darted straight back and hid behind Suho.

"Esil, you come out too."

Suho opened the door to the Shadow Dungeon, and Esil, who had been waiting below, emerged as well.

"So this is the place this time?"

As she sharpened her senses and surveyed their surroundings, Dogyun stared at Suho's shadow with renewed wonder.

"Suho. I mean, Guildmaster. Can I go in there too?"

"You can. But..."

[Within this shadow lies a world of death. Should a living being carelessly set foot inside, they may be drained of their vitality and left to wander the world as a restless spirit.]

"Gasp! R-really?"

[Of course, I'm joking.]

"..."

Beru snickered at Dogyun's suddenly flat expression.

[But it isn't entirely untrue. It would not be particularly healthy for an ordinary human. In more ways than one.]

"Oh."

Something dawned on Dogyun, and he shivered.

'Esil may look human, but she's a summon too, after all...'

Dogyun knew Esil only as a demon summon that Suho could call forth.

Which meant... wasn't he the only ordinary person here?

Suho was human too, of course, but the very fact that he kept pulling these strange creatures out of his shadow made him anything but ordinary.

"Ahem. Then I'll just keep running away like I've been doing..."

Dogyun's role was both miner and collector. Whenever those jobs actually needed doing, however, Suho summoned his Shadow Mummies to handle them. In practice, Dogyun served as a guide, sharing what he knew from his dungeon experience.

"Guildmaster! Dungeons like this aren't particularly difficult as long as you don't get lost. Usually, you mark your path by dropping stones on the ground at intervals..."

"You told me that last time, Dogyun."

"..."

He was starting to run out of material.

'Once the guild's established, I should ask to be transferred to a desk job.'

Once the magic beast hunt began in earnest, Dogyun had even less to do. All he could do was dodge this way and that to stay out of the fearsome shadow soldiers' way as they fought.

Then he spotted something, and his expression turned grave.

"Suho, come look at this."

"What is it, Dogyun?"

"... Human bodies."

Finding human corpses on a dungeon floor was nothing unusual. The problem was their condition.

"They died after turning into Mist Burns."

The bodies had been burned pitch-black.

Turning into a Mist Burn was a phenomenon that primarily affected civilians with low mana adaptability after prolonged exposure to mana. They would rampage about until all their fuel burned away, then collapse and die like this.

"But this..."

"There's definitely something strange about it."

Suho's expression grew serious too. The bodies, reduced to ash, had been neatly piled in one place, as though someone had brought them here and dumped them all at once.

Only one thought came to his mind.

"Don't tell me this is..."

"Yeah. Looks like it."

It was none other than Esil who answered him.

"Looks like demons have made a nest here."

A factory.

These discarded bodies were the waste left behind after demons manufactured Stardust.

As Esil realized that, a quiet fire kindled in her eyes. She was the eldest daughter of the Radir Clan, which had been utterly ruined by demons.

At the thick murderous intent seeping from her entire body, Dogyun quickly fled backward.

* * *

Section Chief Lee Youngho ground his teeth.

"He dares to disrespect Hyunmoo?"

It was absurd.

"Is the bastard really that fucking clueless?"

Not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined that, after such blatant threats, Suho would simply head straight inside.

'Does he have a death wish?'

Youngho briefly weighed his options.

Sung Suho was CEO Yoo Jinho's relative, after all. If Suho were to go "missing" here, Jinho would instantly realize who was responsible.

'Would that hurt us in any way?'

No.

The previous incident had already put a definitive end to business between the Hyunmoo Guild and Ahjin Soft. Besides, however famous Ahjin Soft might be, wasn't it just a company that made games?

Outside of business involving hunter games, a hunter guild had absolutely nothing to lose by making an enemy of that company.

'If anything, they're the ones who should watch their backs at night.'

Whatever else they might be, hunters were an armed force possessed of superhuman strength. Especially in times like these, antagonizing them could put one's life in danger.

No one knew when or where a Gate might open and magic beasts might invade. It was common for the assets of conglomerate owners with nothing but money to be devastated in an instant.

Wasn't that why more and more major corporations were struggling to establish hunter guilds of their own?

'And CEO Yoo Jinho was trying to establish one with Sung Suho as its front man.'

He had finished his calculations.

Murderous intent flickered in Youngho's eyes.

'Sung Suho. Today is the day you die.'

He turned his gaze toward the official responsible for the Pyeongtaek dungeon.

"I've thought it over, and I simply can't allow this."

"P-pardon? What do you mean...?"

Youngho put on a look of sincere concern for the flustered official.

"I'm terribly worried about those junior hunters who went in ahead of us. Wouldn't you agree? How can just two of them enter a dungeon out of youthful recklessness?"

"Well, you do have a point..."

At Youngho's words, the official began to worry about the hunters who had entered first. It was only because this was a field dungeon that two hunters could enter at all. An ordinary Gate required a minimum of ten.

And there was something else.

"Besides, multiple raid parties can tackle a field dungeon at the same time, can't they? We're worried about those junior hunters, so we'll follow them in immediately. The regulations allow that, don't they?"

Since Suho's raid party, which had been the first to bid on the dungeon, had already entered, there was no major problem with a second party going in.

"Well, even so, going in right on their heels is against the regulations..."

"Honestly! I've never seen anyone so inflexible! Only two of them went in. Aren't you worried? If those fellows have already become beast food while we're wasting time here, will you take responsibility?! Do you even know who that young man I was talking to is?"

"What? W-who is he?"

"He's a very close relative of Ahjin Soft's CEO Yoo Jinho! Unless we go in and save him right now, that foolish young master could already be dead!"

The official gasped, his eyes widening at Youngho's words.

At the end of the day, he was only a low-ranking civil servant. The first person who would have to take responsibility if anything went wrong...!

"I-I'll write your entry permit right away!"

Youngho grinned as the official hurriedly flipped through his file.

"Let's go, boys."

He would personally make Suho pay for daring to ruin their business.

His smile was utterly cruel.

* * *

"This way."

Esil led the way, searching for signs of demons, while Suho followed, hunting magic beasts as he went.

This was a D-rank dungeon, so the beasts were weak to begin with. With little profit to be made, it had slipped down the hunters' list of priorities, and civilians were barred from the area.

'It really is the perfect place to build a factory in secret.'

In fact, all the dungeons Suho had been raiding to build up his experience had been much like this one. This was the first time, however, that he had found traces of demons.

He tightened his grip on Vulcan's Horn.

[Item: Vulcan's Horn]

Acquisition Difficulty: ??

Type: Sword

Attack +40

A sword made from the horn of the greedy demon Vulcan.

Imbued with Vulcan's power, it inflicts greater damage.

-Effect 'Destructive Urge': Increases physical damage by [40%].

-Effect 'Demon Devourer': Vulcan's power grows stronger as it devours demon souls.

[Demon Souls Devoured: 10]

The more demon souls Vulcan's Horn absorbed, the greater its attack power became.

'I really hope this factory has plenty of demons.'

Suho lightly smacked his lips as he surveyed the area.

Then it happened.

WHOOOSH!

An arrow suddenly hurtled toward his back at tremendous speed. Sensing it, Suho was just about to turn around when—

[Who dares...!]

CRACK!

Quay appeared first, catching the arrow and snapping it. He glared in the direction it had come from.

[Attack my Master from behind!]

"What's that? A summon?"

The figures emerging from behind the trees in the distance were none other than the Hyunmoo Guild hunters.

"I heard you were a summoner, but that's a pretty decent creature you've got there. You'd have been quite the favorite if you'd joined us."

At the very back, Youngho stood with his arms leisurely folded, appraising Suho.

The corners of Suho's mouth rose, and he let out a short laugh.

"So you've finally crossed the line."

"The line? Listen to this little shit. You crossed it first."

The moment he entered the dungeon, Youngho had discarded every pretense of social courtesy. He glared at Suho with an utterly vicious smile.

"You know something, you little punk? In here, the strong make the rules. The strong devour the weak. Understand?"

"The strong devour the weak..."

That sounded familiar.

[The Monarch of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs, bares his teeth, saying this fellow knows a thing or two.]

Just then:

DING!

[An Emergency Quest has been issued.]

Proof that Youngho's murderous intent was genuine had appeared before Suho.

[Emergency Quest: Defeat the Enemies!]

There are people nearby who harbor murderous intent toward the 'Player.' Eliminate them all to ensure your safety.

Number of enemies to eliminate: 10

Number of enemies eliminated: 0

"Now I know your true intentions."

As Suho nodded, the look in his eyes changed completely.

A chill ran through Youngho. Realizing that look had made him tense, he felt his pride smarting.

'He's just a promising C-rank hunter. Why am I...?'

He forced away his sense of foreboding, telling himself it was only because he had been neglecting dungeon hunts lately in favor of sales work.

"Look at those eyes. Kids these days..."

He was just about to order his guildmates to attack Suho when it happened.

ROOOAR!

"...!"

Suddenly, tremendous murderous intent poured in from every direction, accompanied by countless monstrous cries.

"Wh-what the hell is this?!"

The Hyunmoo hunters frantically scanned their surroundings. Their eyes widened as demons came pouring out of the jungle.

Suho's eyes widened for a different reason.

'Found them! Demons!'

There really was a factory nearby!

Youngho, however, ground his teeth at Suho as he fought off the demons suddenly attacking them.

"You little bastard! Don't tell me you summoned these things too!"