Han-Joon stayed perfectly still.
The sirens had finally faded, but distant echoes still traveled through the dungeon. Boots. Voices. Metal scraping stone.
The A-Class hunters were here.
Just thinking about it made his chest tighten.
He moved quietly through the tunnels, keeping low, claws lightly scraping against the walls as his enhanced senses stretched outward.
Every sound felt sharper now.
Water dripping.
Rocks shifting.
Distant human heartbeats.
It was overwhelming.
Han-Joon rubbed his temple.
"How do monsters live like this…"
He kept moving deeper instead of heading toward the surface tunnels. Every instinct in his body screamed at him that going upward meant death.
Then he noticed something strange.
A breeze.
Han-Joon stopped walking immediately.
"…Wind?"
That shouldn't exist this deep underground.
He slowly turned his head toward a narrow crack in the wall hidden behind a cluster of broken stalagmites.
The breeze was coming from there.
Cold air brushed against his face.
His eyes narrowed.
"No way…"
He shoved the rocks aside carefully and squeezed through the opening. The passage was tiny, forcing even his evolved ghoul body to crawl.
Sharp stone scraped his shoulders.
The tunnel sloped downward for several minutes before suddenly opening into a massive hidden cavern.
Han-Joon froze.
The room was ancient.
Unlike the rest of the dungeon, this place looked almost... untouched.
Huge glowing roots stretched across the ceiling. Strange blue symbols pulsed faintly along the walls.
And in the center of the cavern stood a giant circular platform made of black stone.
A teleportation gate.
Han-Joon stared at it cautiously.
"Why is there something like this down here…?"
The platform hummed softly.
The blue markings around it flickered weakly, like it still had power after years of neglect.
He slowly approached.
Then the system appeared.
[Hidden Floor Discovered] [Ancient Transit Gate Detected] [Destination Linked - Surface World]
Han-Joon's eyes widened.
"…Surface world?"
Not the dungeon entrance.
Not another floor.
The outside world.
His heartbeat sped up.
"Wait… does this mean I can actually leave?"
For the first time since entering the game, real hope hit him.
He stepped closer to the gate carefully.
Then paused.
Something felt wrong.
The platform was damaged.
Large claw marks covered parts of the stone. Dried black blood stained the edges.
And scattered nearby were bones.
Human bones.
Han-Joon's expression slowly darkened.
"…Someone used this before."
A low hum suddenly echoed through the cavern.
The gate flickered brighter.
The air warped slightly above it.
Han-Joon took a small step back.
Then the system chimed again.
[Transit Gate Partially Active] [Warning: Destination unstable] [Manual activation possible]
He stared at the glowing platform silently.
Outside.
The real world was right there.
But something deep in his gut told him this hidden floor wasn't meant to be found.
And whatever created this gate…
Probably wasn't human