Seeing the familiar shoes around him made Seonghyeon feel that he had truly returned home.
Compared to the unfamiliar forest scenery he had been in only moments ago, it put his mind at ease.
[……the Awakening Phenomenon that occurred around 4 p.m. In other words, in the Tutorial Dungeon, a Korean Awakened cleared it in first place, shocking the entire nation…….]
As he walked down the hallway, he heard the sound of the news.
Even though he had started listening midway, he could roughly guess what it was about.
The TV was broadcasting breaking news about the Tutorial Dungeon clear.
“Oh my goodness, what in the world is going on? First place, from our country?”
The woman was so absorbed in the breaking news that she did not even know Seonghyeon had arrived, muttering to herself.
It was his mother, Kim Gyeong-ae.
At the 3D reenactment created by the news, Kim Gyeong-ae jerked in surprise.
The breaking news continued.
[Netizens who checked the System Window have been mentioning ‘Meteor Lord’ and expressing anticipation for Korea’s Hunter community…….]
‘Huh? Meteor Lord? Did they already give me a nickname?’
Hearing the nickname ‘Meteor Lord’ from the anchor felt awkward.
It was true that he had entered the Tutorial Dungeon, used his skill, and achieved first place.
But he had not seen exactly what had happened there…….
There was no guarantee that he could take first place again in the dungeons he would enter from now on.
Even so, the news was reporting it as breaking news. He wondered whether it was really that big of a deal.
“Mom.”
“Oh, my heart!”
When a voice came from behind her without any sign of someone’s presence, Kim Gyeong-ae started violently.
She had not heard him come in at all.
“You little rascal, you nearly scared the life out of your mother. When did you get here?”
“I just came in. Were you too focused on the TV to hear me?”
At that reaction, Seonghyeon realized his mistake.
After all, he had been transferred to the dungeon the moment he entered the house, so his mother must not have seen him vanish.
And when he returned from the dungeon, his mother would not have sensed anything either.
‘How would she react if I told her I had awakened…….’
Seonghyeon still had not reached a clear conclusion.
“Oh my, that must be it. How could such wonderful news happen? You saw it too, right?”
“Yes. A Hunter who can take first place has finally appeared in our country too.”
“If twice as many magic stones start coming out, the economy should loosen up a little, right?”
“It will still take quite a while before ordinary people like us feel the effects.”
For now, he decided not to tell his parents.
He still was not certain what level his skill was, and he did not want to get their hopes up prematurely only to disappoint them later.
First, the proper order was to experience it a few more times.
Seonghyeon went into his room and turned on his computer.
When he accessed a portal site, there normally would have been ads using keywords like life hacks and lifestyle information, but now it was full of articles mentioning ‘Meteor Lord.’
[A New No. 1 Hunter Never Before Seen in Korean History, ‘Meteor Lord’]
[Even the U.S. President’s Jaw Drops: How Is the World Reacting to the Appearance of a New Hunter?]
[Why ‘Meteor Lord’s’ First Place Is Special]
[Japan’s S-Rank Hunter ‘Kenma’—‘First Place? No Problem. Japan’s National Power Is Still Stronger.’]
There were articles praising the appearance of Meteor Lord, and even quoted comments from top Hunters of other countries keeping him in check.
It was strange to see public opinion full of such things…….
Among them, his mouse moved of its own accord toward one headline.
***
Why ‘Meteor Lord’s’ First Place Is Special
At present, society is discussing the Hunter who became the first Korean to take first place in a dungeon, the so-called ‘Meteor Lord’…….
……Although nothing has been confirmed yet, his skill may in fact be as powerful as an actual meteor…….
……However, even setting aside that uncertain skill, the reason his first-place achievement is special is clear.
……
First, he achieved first place under Korea’s system.
Due to a series of incidents, Korea’s Hunter Management System has a characteristic weakness in its early-stage management, namely the discovery of prospective Awakened.
Considering that no organizations, including HIS, have released any statement so far, there is a high probability that Meteor Lord is an unaffiliated Hunter.
In other words, he took first place ‘without possessing any information about the dungeon.’
……
Second, the dungeon clear time and contribution rate.
The key point of the first-place condition for the F-0011/Goblin Mountain Fortress dungeon is that it is determined by contribution to the defeat of the dungeon boss, the Goblin Centurion.
Therefore, Hunters have to subjugate the rushing goblins, find the hidden Goblin Centurion, and inflict damage on it quickly. The previous record for first place was in the thirty-minute range. According to available information, even a Hunter possessing a speed skill takes around ten minutes just to reach the mountain fortress.
The previous first-place Hunter’s contribution record was 37%.
However, Meteor Lord cleared it in the twelve-minute range with a 100% contribution rate. Perhaps his skill is not merely sonic, but light-speed.
……
Lastly, his provocative Hunter name.
His Hunter name is ‘I Am Meteor.’ There could hardly be a more confident Hunter name.
Most people use short, concise Hunter names that do not stand out, but he used a metaphor suggesting that he himself is as powerful as a meteor.
Judging by his confidence, he is expected to continue making extraordinary moves in the future.
***
‘Oh…… Am I actually that strong?’
The column, with its straightforward title, had some parts that differed slightly from the truth, but it showed him just how overwhelming the result had been.
He had beaten people who already had information in advance…….
And he had done it with the best record in history.
‘No, really, Meteor is just that powerful.’
Just as a sense of superiority began to swell in him, Seonghyeon quickly came back to his senses.
Meteor was still a skill he could not control.
Then, suddenly, he became curious about the skill’s power.
Chat Gemini.
[Question – How powerful would it be if an iron meteorite with a diameter of 10 cm and a fixed speed of 10 km/s fell from 1 km above?]
[Answer – Hello! That is a very interesting setup. Are you simulating a novel or game scenario? I will analyze it based on the values you entered…….]
Chat Gemini’s answer that followed was similar to the System Window’s explanation.
Impact energy, gigajoules, bow shock, and a parade of technical knowledge that he, as a humanities major, could not understand.
Seeing that, he thought even the System Window must have been trying to explain a complex skill as simply as possible.
Even so, Seonghyeon had no choice but to demand that Chat Gemini make it “simple, even simpler.”
[Answer: Understood. In consideration of the user’s “intellectual limitations,” I will switch to a . Ook ook.
Explosive force of approximately 50 kg of TNT: Moreover, since the scenario is a meteorite, it is like an underground explosion. As a result, an earthquake of approximately magnitude 3.0 on the Richter scale would occur within a 50 m to 100 m radius of the impact point.
Final summary. User, if you fire this once, things will simply “be destroyed, make a loud noise, and the ground will be overturned.” Do you understand? Would you like another banana?]
‘……Why did it have to go all the way down to monkey level?’
At some point, Chat Gemini had started mocking him.
However, the point that flustered Seonghyeon was not the mockery.
‘So how powerful is that supposed to be……? Damn it. I have only ever seen practice grenades.’
Even as a man who had completed military service, explosives like TNT were not something one easily saw.
He could guess that it possessed tremendous destructive power, but the only firepower he had experienced was at the level of personal firearms.
His curiosity had not been resolved, but asking any further made him feel as though he would lose the last of his dignity.
His hand would not move toward the keyboard.
‘Should I just check it myself one more time?’
It was not as though he could abruptly blow up the mountain behind his house…….
For now, the only way to check his skill was to enter a dungeon.
From what he had heard in passing, dungeons could be entered only once per day.
He was wondering whether he had no choice but to search for information on the internet until tomorrow.
‘Huh?’
One community post caught his eye.
[Dungeon Information the System Window Does Not Tell You ver.6.2]
It was an informational guide on a community site that recorded the highest number of views every day.
Among them, it was a post that had been carefully written, with several years of revision history left behind.
According to the post, two types of dungeons existed in the world.
The first was a dungeon that appeared directly in reality.
One could enter only by physically going into the dungeon before one’s eyes, and by looking at the dungeon’s name, one could infer the mission and difficulty to some extent.
Clearing this dungeon did not grant any special buffs beyond loot, but failing to clear it caused a Dungeon Break. This was commonly called a Defense Battle.
The second was a dungeon accessed through the System Window. If one entered a dungeon through the System Window, one would be sent to a random dungeon matching one’s Hunter rank, and it could be entered only once per day.
The more consecutive entries one made into this dungeon, the higher the difficulty became, and the missions were random. However, aside from loot, tremendous rewards were given according to rank. This was commonly called a Ranked Match.
And the most important point was that the Tutorial Dungeon did not count toward the entry limit.
‘I can go in again? Then I might as well try, for now.’
If it was a dungeon with difficulty similar to the Tutorial, the risk should not be that great.
“System Window.”
『I Am Meteor』
【Skill: Meteor (EX)】
【Inventory】
【Dungeon】
Seonghyeon called up the System Window.
The Hunter name ‘I Am Meteor’ still felt nothing but unfamiliar to him.
The system’s information was quite limited and simple.
【Dungeon】 F-Rank
-Enter Dungeon ◀
-Exit Dungeon
When he selected the dungeon from the system, the rank was automatically displayed as F-Rank.
Seonghyeon immediately pressed Enter Dungeon.
‘Whatever it is, I will have my answer if I try it myself.’
And so, Seonghyeon disappeared from his room once again.
[F-Rank random dungeon transfer in progress…….]
***
A massive castle surrounded by a large moat came into view.
It was built solidly from orange bricks.
[F-0132/Kingdom of the Sticky Queen dungeon transfer complete.]
【F-0132/Kingdom of the Sticky Queen】
『Primary Monsters: Wasps』
『Boss: Wasp Queen』
『Main Mission: Subjugate Boss (Wasp Queen) (0/1)』
『Progress Requirement: Subjugate Wasps (0/100)』
『Time Limit: 05:00:00:00』
Soon, a window informing him of the mission appeared.
Wasps meant…… bees.
Compared to the Tutorial Dungeon, the monsters were different, but the mission format was similar.
It did not seem difficult.
“No! Why did it have to be this dungeon?”
“We would be better off moving together. Gather up!!”
“Please! Everyone, do not move rashly.”
Strangely, however, the Hunters around him were panicking and crying out.
Was there a difference from the Tutorial Dungeon?
The dungeon’s atmosphere was different, but he could not tell why, which made it deeply frustrating.
Before long, an enormous vibrating BZZZZ began from around the orange castle.
[F-0132/Kingdom of the Sticky Queen dungeon is starting.]
And so, despite the Hunters’ fear, the mission began.
‘Whether the dungeon is difficult or dangerous, checking my skill comes first.’
Of course, Seonghyeon did not feel particularly afraid.
He did not hesitate in the slightest.
『Meteor (EX)』
[Objective Setting]
……
1201. Wasp Queen (Mission Target) ◀
……
“Mete…….”
KABOOOOM!!
[F-0132/Kingdom of the Sticky Queen dungeon cleared.]
And with that, the dungeon was cleared.
It had been 2.1 seconds since it started. If counted from the moment he used the skill, it was 0.1 seconds.