In terms of short-term results alone, Hyunseok's group had made the right choice.
Breaking News! Over 120 Korean Slayers vanish simultaneously!
— Yes, I'm reporting live from here, at the entrance of what people are calling a "Dungeon." Slayers who entered this sudden anomaly to investigate have all gone missing…
The flickering disturbance that Hyunseok's group had discovered wasn't the ripple effect of a monster respawn. It was the manifestation of a new structure, the phenomenon known among people as a Dungeon.
The place where Hyunseok's group had been at the time was Baekryeonsan, a small mountain within Seoul. At its entrance, a Dungeon had appeared.
Not just there, about ten Dungeons appeared nationwide. But as every Slayer who entered to explore them went missing, it quickly spiraled into a national incident.
Among the missing was I'UET as well.
Those who entered the Dungeon from the I'UET Guild included Deputy Leader Park Sunghyung and five others. Among them was Lee Myeonghun, a Slayer close to Ha Jongwon. Unsurprisingly, Jongwon's expression had grown dark.
Hyunseok let out a sigh of relief. Even if he possessed overwhelming power unsuited for Easy Mode, no one knew what exactly was happening inside those Dungeons, or how dangerous they truly were.
A 30-man rescue party had gone in, but they too had vanished. At this point, no one could recklessly talk about attempting another rescue mission.
"It's really fortunate I didn't take you to a place like that."
Hyunseok rubbed Minseo's head a couple of times.
"Now do you get it? Just how dangerous Slaying is?"
"Yeah…"
Minseo seemed nervous as well. Nearly seven days had already passed since the Slayers had disappeared. It was possible none of them were alive.
On TV, the cries of the missing Slayers' families echoed daily.
"But… I still want to do it, Oppa."
Hyunseok sighed again, realizing breaking Minseo's stubbornness wasn't going to be easy. He stood up just as breaking news hit the TV.
— Miraculous Survival of I'UET!
— Deputy Leader Park Sunghyung and 3 others survive!
— A miracle return, I'UET!
The Slayers who had entered the Dungeon returned alive.
Their faces shown on TV were exhausted beyond belief, on the verge of collapsing any moment.
Lee Myeonghun, Jongwon's friend, collapsed on the spot and was rushed away by ambulance. He wasn't the only one, every survivor looked the same. Yet none of them spoke of what had happened inside.
They only left a brief statement saying they would decline interviews until they had recovered, then quickly vanished from sight.
The details of what had happened inside, their survival, how they escaped, and what they encountered, were announced two days later by the Hanjin Foundation.
This boosted the Foundation's reputation greatly, and I'UET's fame skyrocketed. Not just because they survived, but because of the results they brought back.
The most notable success was their acquisition of a large haul of Greenstones.
"Did you hear? I'UET made over 3 billion won in one go."
"Seriously?"
"They secured 30 Greenstones at once. Crazy, right?"
"That means… 3 billion…?"
For ordinary citizens, 3 billion won was an astronomical amount. And since the Greenstones had been priced rather conservatively, their real value could have been closer to 6 billion.
But overshadowing the money was the tragic news that two members had died. Because of that, the Greenstones' market impact was muted.
"So, it was 3 who died?"
"No, exactly 2. Six went in, four came out."
"Still… I'UET really is amazing. If only more Slayers could make it back alive…"
The news of I'UET's miraculous survival gave people hope, hope that others might also return. But sadly, their case was the only one.
It was then Jongwon opened his mouth.
"The important part… is that it's not over."
"What do you mean?"
"This is I'UET's internal secret, but I'll tell you because you're my friend. Minseo, you too, come listen."
Lowering his voice, Jongwon began.
❋ ❋ ❋
Jongwon's story was shocking.
The Greenstones weren't the only rewards I'UET had reaped. What was officially announced was only a fraction.
"First, everyone received 3 bonus stat points as a Dungeon clear reward, and their level went up by 1. They said it was from some kind of Achievement System."
The Level System.
Currently, Hyunseok wasn't under its influence. No matter how many monsters he hunted, he gained no experience. No bonus stats. This was the penalty for being forced into Easy Mode.
But in truth, the penalty existed only because his stats were abnormally high for Easy Mode, essentially, he was like a high-level player idling around in a beginner's zone.
Still, if the system was to be believed, leveling up once was an incredibly difficult task, and 3 bonus stat points were considered a tremendous reward.
'But I leveled up with almost no effort…'
Unaware of Hyunseok's thoughts, Jongwon continued.
"On top of that, the items that dropped this time? Practically broken."
"Broken?"
"Yeah. A skillbook that triples a healing Slayer's healing output, a potion that permanently boosts maximum HP, a weapon that increases attack speed… Tons of stuff like that."
Hyunseok thought to himself,
'Doesn't matter. Items from Easy Mode won't affect me anyway.'
No matter how amazing, nothing from Easy Mode could impact him. He was essentially a max-level player in a low-level world.
Hyunseok asked,
"So they're hiding this from the public?"
"Exactly. I'UET plans to gradually clear more Dungeons. Oh, and that '30 Greenstones' number? Actually closer to 100. They deliberately underreported."
Hyunseok couldn't help but groan softly. 100 Greenstones. That was 10 billion won in value. An amount ordinary people could never even dream of.
And if someday HP/MP systems became fully active, then things like permanent HP boosts and skillbooks that multiplied healing could become invaluable.
"And do you know why I'm telling you this?"
"Why?"
"So we can go clear a Dungeon ourselves."
"Are you insane?"
Hyunseok snapped at him, while Minseo flinched beside him. She, however, looked interested rather than scared.
"Come on, even all of I'UET together aren't as strong as you alone. You know that, right?"
"It's still too risky."
"Do you think I'd propose this without a plan? It's doable. I don't want to die either. But think about it, the difficulty will be about the same. Six I'UET members cleared it. With you, we're guaranteed. As long as we're careful."
Minseo added timidly,
"Oppa… I think Jongwon oppa's right. You said it yourself, your strength is outside the system's balance, right?"
"Exactly. In Easy Mode, you're an existence that doesn't fit within the rules."
Hyunseok closed his eyes for a moment. They weren't wrong. Even the system had acknowledged it.
Jongwon's eyes gleamed.
"Just the Greenstones alone would be worth 10 billion. Split three ways, that's 3.3 billion each. We'd be fools not to use the cheat code that is you."
❋ ❋ ❋
As of now, there were nine known, uncleared Dungeons in Korea.
Similar anomalies had begun appearing worldwide. Globally, seven Dungeons had already been cleared, their records stored in the Smart Codex for reference.
This allowed them to confirm the relative difficulty.
"First room, about three Orcs. Second room, five. Third room, you break a crystal. Same setup overall, with only slight variations in numbers."
That was Jongwon's analysis. Only the number of Orcs or rooms varied. The structure was otherwise identical. Confident, they prepared to head inside.
To Hyunseok, Orcs were nothing, enemies he could one-shot. Like a level 100 player casually grinding monsters outside the beginner's village.
Even if they attacked in numbers, he would take no damage, or his regeneration would outpace whatever scratches they inflicted.
"Let's go in."
Their chosen Dungeon was located midway up Bukhansan, plastered with yellow warning tape.
"Looks like a completely restricted zone," Jongwon muttered.
And rightly so. Dozens of greedy Slayers had already entered for a chance at fortune, only to vanish.
By now, the number of missing had crossed into triple digits.
Hyunseok shook his head.
"Throwing your life away for money is foolish… though I admit 3 billion is a lot."
"For you, maybe. But for the average person? 3 billion is winning the lottery. They gained power, confidence, then saw survivors, then intel about Dungeons, it's no wonder they got greedy. Idiot."
"Why are you swearing at my brother?" Minseo scolded, tugging at Jongwon's arm.
She had dropped formal speech with him lately. At his request, but now he regretted it, she was much sassier this way.
"Tch. You're usually quiet and polite, but say one bad word about your brother and you bite my head off. Having no little sister myself is suffering enough, you know. I used to dote on you, too."
Minseo shot him a glare but said nothing more.
At last, they arrived at the Dungeon's entrance.
Hyunseok took a deep breath.
Even knowing the intel, the tension was unavoidable.
A system chime rang out:
[Entering Apprentice Dungeon. Y/N]
[Return Scrolls cannot be used.]
They entered.
And further messages followed:
[Due to excessively high stats, Dungeon difficulty is being scaled upward.]
[Safe zones and recovery areas within the Dungeon are revoked.]
Then, screams rang out from inside.
"Damn it! The safe zone is collapsing!"
(End of Chapter 12)
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