DING.
The number 305 appeared in red on the electronic display board above the information desk.
Cheol-woo rose from the stiff waiting chair and walked to the counter. The heavy duffel bag slung over his shoulder made a rattling sound.
"Hunter number 305. What business are you here for?"
"I am here to submit a Gate Raid Application."
Cheol-woo set the duffel bag down on the floor, took out the documents, and slid them through the gap beneath the glass window.
The clerk, who had been looking at the monitor, picked up the documents and quickly scanned their contents.
"F-rank, Misty Medicinal Herb Garden. A Solo Raid, I see. Do you not have any Party Members?"
"No. I am going in alone."
"As you know, even though the rank is low, it is a toxic environment, so it can be dangerous to enter alone. If you go in without a Porter, even carrying the Antidotes and Purification Equipment will be difficult."
The clerk looked at Cheol-woo with a concerned gaze.
In these special-environment Gates, the terrain and toxicity were a bigger problem than the monsters themselves. If a Low-tier Hunter tried to carry all the baggage alone, it was common for them to collapse after being poisoned.
"I brought enough equipment."
Cheol-woo opened the zipper of the duffel bag on the floor halfway.
Inside, a Sealed Special Protective Suit, replacement Gas Mask Filters, and Antidote bottles wrapped in layer after layer of shock-absorbing cushioning material were packed tightly.
The clerk compared the equipment list with the actual quantities according to procedure and nodded.
"Ten bottles of Middle-grade Antidote, one box of Low-grade Antidotes. You also have plenty of spare Filters. I have confirmed the airtight certification mark on the Protective Suit as well."
The clerk stamped the document with a loud thud.
"Thank you."
Cheol-woo took the application receipt and left the Association building.
The designated vacant lot was surrounded by steel barricades in a circle.
At its center, a grayish-white vortex was slowly rotating as it emitted murky Mana. A distinctive, unpleasant smell lingered around the vacant lot.
Cheol-woo took out the Protective Suit in front of the Gate and put it on.
The thick material made his movements sluggish, but it was something he had to accept if he wanted to block out the Toxic Mist. He pulled the zipper all the way up to his neck, put on the Gas Mask, and tightly fastened the strap behind his head.
He pressed around the seams with his fingers, checking to make sure there were no gaps.
"Hup, hoo."
The air that passed through the Filter was rough and dry. The edge of his vision was also blocked by the mask frame, making it feel somewhat stifling.
In that state, Cheol-woo warmed up by lightly jumping in place.
After comparing Cheol-woo’s Hunter ID and application receipt, the gate management staff guarding the Gate entrance opened the barricade for him.
"Once you cross the safety line, you will enter immediately. Be careful not to tear the Protective Suit."
"Thank you."
Cheol-woo answered in a muffled voice through the mask and stepped into the rippling Gate.
The sensation of his vision spinning soon disappeared.
However, the scenery where he set foot was not an easy one.
"Is this really all I can see?"
Cheol-woo muttered.
Everywhere around him was filled with yellow Toxic Mist. He could not even properly see the ground three steps ahead. The damp, sticky air brushed against the surface of his Protective Suit, making an unpleasant scraping sound.
It was an environment where anything could jump out from anywhere if he walked forward blindly.
Cheol-woo drew a One-handed Sword from his waist.
Before taking a step, he tapped the dirt ground with the tip of the blade.
Tap, tap.
A shallow vibration traveled through the ground.
As if responding to that faint tremor, a wet, squelching sound came from within the yellow mist.
The mud on the ground swelled as if clumping together, and a lump as tall as an adult man’s knee crawled out. It was a Poison Mushroom Slime, its surface covered in blotchy purple spots.
The Slime closed the distance toward Cheol-woo, then soon greatly inflated the middle of its body.
It was an obvious warning sign that it was about to spray Poison Fluid.
Instead of taking out his Shield, Cheol-woo lightly stepped backward.
SPURT!
Dark green Poison Fluid sprayed out from the Slime’s body in a fan shape.
The Poison Fluid poured onto the ground where Cheol-woo had been standing moments earlier, melting the soil with a sizzling sound.
There was an opening while it temporarily shrank after spitting out its Poison Fluid. Cheol-woo did not miss that instant and sprang forward.
The blade cut through the air and sliced precisely through the center of the Slime’s body.
SPLAT.
The Slime, split in two, sprayed Gelatinous Skin and collapsed onto the ground.
But there was no time to relax. As the acrid smell of the Poison Fluid the Slime had sprayed spread through the air, sharp wingbeats began overlapping within the mist above his head.
Bzz— bzzzz—
Three Poison-Stinger Bees the size of an adult’s fist broke through the mist and revealed themselves.
They circled outside Cheol-woo’s field of vision, then dove toward him from the front all at once.
Cheol-woo did not swing his sword in haste. He lowered his stance.
The Bees’ flight trajectories were linear. The moment their stingers missed, they had to slow down and gain altitude again.
Whoosh. A Poison Stinger that had missed narrowly grazed past the shoulder area of his Protective Suit.
At the moment their wingbeats slowed briefly to rise again, Cheol-woo’s sword shot upward fiercely.
SLASH!
The body of the Bee in front was cut in two and fell.
The remaining two changed direction and charged at him again, but Cheol-woo had already predicted their next attack trajectory and turned his body.
A long horizontal sword stroke cut down the remaining Bees one after another.
"Hoo."
Cheol-woo glanced over the monster corpses on the ground and continued moving deeper into the mist.
The experience he had accumulated from facing countless Goblins in the Abandoned Mine and monsters in the Waterway had stripped unnecessary force from Cheol-woo’s movements.
When he saw a Slime, he first provoked it and made it expend its Poison Fluid, then used the smell of that Poison Fluid to lure the surrounding Bees and deal with them in one place. There was no need to run around and waste his Stamina.
After walking through the mist for a long time, the air trapped inside the mask gradually grew heavier.
It was because the Poison Fluid on the surface of the Protective Suit had begun to seep in. Feeling his breathing become shallow, Cheol-woo immediately stopped walking and searched his pocket.
'If I collapse while trying to save it, I am the only one who loses.'
He flipped open the cap of a Middle-grade Antidote with his thumb.
He opened the lower intake port of the Gas Mask and drank the potent liquid in one go. A cool sensation spread down his throat, and his stiff lungs became much more comfortable.
Rather than extending his stay time by trying to conserve Consumables, it was far safer to use the medicine decisively and break through quickly.
How long had he walked?
The ordinary dirt covering the ground gradually changed into an area covered in purple vines. He had reached the center of the Medicinal Herb Garden.
Slither, rustle.
From within the mist, enormous stems crawled upward all at once and braced themselves against the ground.
A gigantic Poison Flower three meters tall, the Mist Devouring Flower, revealed its grotesque form.
Its broad petals opened, pouring out yellow Poison Powder, and at the same time, its thick roots dug through the ground like snakes, aiming for Cheol-woo’s ankles.
Cheol-woo ran with wide strides so the Protective Suit would not hinder his movements.
The moment the ground suddenly bulged and a root burst out, Cheol-woo rolled to the side and avoided the attack.
'There is a pattern.'
Just before the Devouring Flower raised its underground roots, Cheol-woo saw the dense mist being drawn in around its thick stem.
It was a clear warning sign that it was gathering Mana and preparing to attack.
Cheol-woo did not force himself to extend his sword toward the petals.
He followed the flow of the mist being drawn in with his eyes and quickly dug in toward its side.
SWISH!
Two roots shot toward Cheol-woo’s solar plexus.
Cheol-woo deflected one at an angle with the back of his blade and stomped down on the other.
Using the root as a foothold, he launched himself into the air and twisted his body toward the monster’s main body.
Poison Powder poured over his Protective Suit, but the power of the Middle-grade Antidote he had drunk in advance was suppressing the poison’s spread.
Cheol-woo’s sword dug deeply into the lower part of the hard stem.
CRACK!
The hard outer layer split open, revealing the round Nucleus hidden inside.
At the same time as he landed, Cheol-woo twisted his waist and thrust his sword forward with force.
The tip of the blade pierced the Red Nucleus precisely and protruded out the other side.
"SCREEEEEECH!"
With a grotesque scream like air escaping, the Devouring Flower’s massive body collapsed.
At the same time as it fell, the yellow mist that had filled the surroundings began to scatter with unbelievable speed.
At the end of his cleared vision, he saw a lump emitting a faint light.
It was the Dungeon Core that the Mist Devouring Flower had been guarding.
Cheol-woo drew a ragged breath and looked around once more.
After confirming that there were no remaining monsters or additional threats, he slowly approached the Core.
Without hesitation, Cheol-woo raised his sword and swung it down at the Core with all his strength.
SHATTER!
With a clear sound like breaking glass, the Core shattered into pieces.
Those fragments turned into powder of light in midair and scattered, while translucent System Windows rose one after another before Cheol-woo’s eyes.
[F-rank Dungeon 「Misty Medicinal Herb Garden」 raid has been completed.]
[Raid Contribution of 100% has been confirmed.]
[Ownership of F-rank Dungeon 「Misty Medicinal Herb Garden」 has been acquired.]
They were familiar messages.
When Cheol-woo closed the windows, the Gate behind him contracted, then disappeared normally with a pop.
He was standing in the middle of an empty vacant lot in reality.
The management staff waiting nearby spotted Cheol-woo and approached him.
"Good work. Are you injured anywhere?"
"I am fine."
Cheol-woo took off the Gas Mask and breathed in the fresh air.
Before leaving the site, he pretended to take out his smartphone and manipulated the Management Window at the edge of his vision.
[Owned Dungeon List]
F-rank Goblin’s Abandoned Mine (In Operation)
F-rank Sleeping Waterway (In Operation)
F-rank Misty Medicinal Herb Garden (In Operation) - NEW
Below the Goblin’s Abandoned Mine and the Waterway, a third entry had been clearly registered.
There was no need to figure out right now what kind of Medicinal Herbs grew inside it or what Production Value it had. The single fact that he had obtained proper authority and made it his Territory was enough.
Cheol-woo quietly closed the Management Window while hiding the smile spreading across his lips.
At a nearby faucet, he roughly washed the sticky Poison Fluid from the surface of his Protective Suit.
After rolling up the equipment and stuffing it back into the duffel bag, he unlocked his phone.
He opened the map app and searched for the address of the old villa apartment building where his parents lived.
'The Abandoned Mine, the Waterway, and the Medicinal Herb Garden.'
He had gained three dungeons now.
The bank balance he was turning into cash through the Purchasing Office was also growing every day.
But his parents’ lives were no different from when Cheol-woo had been a perpetual E-rank Porter.
His father was still making deliveries with an old truck, and his mother was still working on her feet at a side dish shop.
Cheol-woo adjusted the shoulder strap of the duffel bag.
'It is about time I got them into a new place first.'
He stepped forward without hesitation.
His feet were headed straight toward the old neighborhood where his parents were.