Once you go inside a dungeon, you are completely cut off from the world you came from.
A phone that had full bars goes dead, and GPS can no longer track you.
Which means that whatever happens in there, no one can know a thing unless they go in themselves or a witness comes out.
A new team of the 'Hammer of Light' guild.
Kim Jin-uk led that novice team.
A paladin, he was an Awakened who served as the face of the 'Hammer of Light' guild.
It was a dungeon that should have held nothing but goblins, so Kim Jin-uk taught the beginners while preparing only for the worst case.
He could never have imagined it.
That inside that dungeon he would become the first victim.
"Uh, uhh......"
Novice Awakened who had not yet outgrown their runny noses trembled and looked down at Kim Jin-uk.
It had happened in an instant.
A flash of light had burst, and the dependable paladin Kim Jin-uk lay sprawled on the ground with his head separated from his body.
The one who had caused that carnage stood before them.
Hollow eyes and a black suit.
Even in a situation that should have splashed blood everywhere, he stayed clean without a single drop on him.
"Paladin bastards, they say their defense is unbeatable, and it's all in the armor."
The man wore a dissatisfied face.
He was not pleased about the situation ending in a single blow.
"Hmm, more to the point, this one is Kim Jin-uk, correct?"
The man glanced sidelong at the survivors.
The survivor who met his eyes nodded hard.
"Ah, you lot don't know why he died, do you?"
The man scratched his head as though embarrassed as he spoke.
"The truth is, the Daylight Guild put in the request. Seems they took offense at these people withdrawing as they pleased and setting up their own guild."
"I-is that so?"
"Relax. This commission didn't tell me to kill you. And there's no particular reason for me to kill you either."
The man smiled as he tried to reassure them.
But the unease did not fade.
Even the easy smile he wore made their skin crawl.
"Then I'll be going. Keep up the fight, you growing sprouts."
The man rose to his feet and headed for the exit.
Just as they were about to let out a breath,
"Ah, that's right."
He turned back around.
"I forgot an important fact. Come to think of it, the contents of this commission were confidential as well."
The man made a show of covering his mouth as though he had slipped.
The survivors saw the corners of his mouth that his fingers had not covered.
He was wearing a cruel smile.
"If you've caught all the information, then you have to be silenced...... well, nothing to be done, I suppose?"
"P-please, spare......"
SHNK—!
Before the survivors could even beg for their lives, a flash of light burst.
Six survivors met their deaths in a single motion.
Looking down at seven corpses in total, the man smiled brightly and left behind words they could not hear.
"Nothing personal."
It was a lie that required not the slightest doubt.
He had by no means let it slip by mistake.
It was to obtain a pretext for his own slaughter.
That was the vicious method the murder fiend Heo Jin-ho liked to use.
***
Heo Jin-ho stepped out of the dungeon in a clean state, without a single drop of blood on him.
As he passed through the dizzying, many-colored gate of the dungeon, static began to sound in the Bluetooth earphone lodged in his ear.
He had crossed back into signal range.
-Did you finish what you set out to do?
A woman's voice asked, and the man answered.
"Finished cleanly."
-Survivors?
"I wanted to spare them if I could, but they resisted fiercely. So I killed them with tears in my eyes."
-Don't lie. Everyone in there was a beginner going into a dungeon for the first time. They resisted you?
Disgust seeped through the woman's voice.
But the man did not mind it in the least.
"It's my work, what can I do? In cases like this it's easier to kill them all. And if you don't want the guild getting suspicious, it's important to do it the way you usually do. You're the one who said that, right?"
-......Understood. Let's drop the subject now. I have important matters to discuss from here.
At the words important matters, color came into the man's eyes.
"Is the Heavenly Dragon Society's plan finally moving?"
-Word came ten minutes ago. They say they've found the location of the remains.
"Then let's move right away."
-But there's one problem.
The man, who had been moving off in excitement, stopped.
-It seems the dungeon holding the remains has already been sold to someone.
"To whom?"
-I don't know that much.
"Then let's not complicate it. Just tell me the location and I'll go in there alone. And I'll kill whoever bought the dungeon too. Okay?"
He offered an answer as simple and clear as cutting the Gordian knot with a single stroke.
-That's impossible.
"Oh, come on! Every time I try something, it's no. Let me have a bit of fun too, all right!?"
-Those above want it resolved without making a scene. This time we have to proceed without leaving a trace. Unlike now, when you killed because you had no choice.
He was worked up, but since it was the will of those above, the man grumbled no further.
"Then that bastard, the, the one who bought it, have you found out who he is?"
-I'm not a hacker, so I can only look things up on the internet. I can't dig up personal information. Still, it isn't that there's no way to find out.
"What is it?"
-It shows which brokerage the dungeon passed through. Trace it from there and something will come of it.
"Oh, then look into it for me. All right?"
-All ri...... no, acting is your part, isn't it? My main duty is backing you up.
"It's not my style to talk with people I don't know."
-Shall I put some vigor into you, then?
A moment later, a red dot settled on the shaggy-haired man's forehead.
The man snorted a laugh and changed his answer.
"What a foul temper you have. Fine. I'll go, all right?"
-I'll send you the location. Move there.
"Sure, sure."
-Ending transmission. Until the day the dragon devours the world.
"......."
-Aren't you going to say it?
The man rubbed at the bridge of his nose and hesitated.
"Honestly, it's embarrassing. Devouring the world and all that. We aren't children."
-If you don't say it, it becomes a problem on my end.
"Fine, I'll say it. Until the day the dragon devours the world."
CLICK—
The call ended, and the red laser point disappeared as well.
The man started the car parked on the shoulder and moved off.
***
Morning.
Geon-mu made every preparation to explore a dungeon.
Preparation in name only; he was hardly different from someone going on an outing.
His weapon was a sword picked up from the goblins, and his clothes were a T-shirt and slacks, a casual outfit.
"Let's see, where did they say the gate was?"
People called the door that led into a dungeon a gate, so he decided to call it that too.
Geon-mu looked once more at the location Kang Ho-seok had sent him.
The dungeon Kang Ho-seok had found for him was one of the sort commonly called junk.
The term covered dungeons that had not been properly surveyed or were difficult to survey, listings whose marketability was markedly poor.
The code name of the dungeon he had thus come to own was number N-338524.
Arriving on site, Geon-mu found the experience rather fresh.
"I feel like a detective."
The gate manifestation tape strung around the area looked like the police line at a crime scene.
Geon-mu lifted the tape and went inside.
"Hm?"
Beyond the police line, in the blind spot along the wall, there were people.
'Are they people guarding the gate?'
He had heard that high-value dungeons always had gatekeepers posted to stop unauthorized entry.
That would be true of a high-value dungeon, of course, but the dungeon Geon-mu had bought was junk, with no information disclosed at all.
It was not valuable enough to warrant about six Awakened guarding it.
"Are you the owner of this dungeon?"
A man who looked to be their leader came over.
An impure intent radiated from his rough features.
Geon-mu caught the scent of a thug.
"Owner of a dungeon, he says. You make me sound like some sort of goblin chief."
"Are you here to explore this dungeon?"
"I am. I bought this place. What business do you have?"
"Let me get straight to the point. Hand that dungeon over to us. We'll pay you a fair price."
Geon-mu clicked his tongue.
To think he would meet a customer like this on his very first day of dungeon work.
Kang Ho-seok had tipped him off in advance that a situation like this could arise.
'So this is what they call an intercept.'
Dungeon interception.
Before entering a high-value dungeon, another Awakened proposes a transfer of ownership.
Of course, the process was by no means upright enough to boast about to anyone.
You crushed the weak with level and items.
It was behavior no different from that of organized gangsters.
'They said it doesn't happen often with unconfirmed dungeons.'
Geon-mu found it rather interesting to be meeting thugs so soon.
"For how much do you mean to buy it?"
"I'll give you five million won. It should cover the reward value of an F-Grade dungeon."
When Geon-mu had bought the ownership of this dungeon, he had paid three million won.
It amounted to receiving another two million without lifting a finger.
'If I needed money, I might have given it to them.......'
Geon-mu did not need money, and he only found these thugs' proposal interesting.
"Sorry, but I have no intention whatsoever of selling to you."
"You'd do well to accept our offer. If you can't clear it within twenty-four hours, your ownership of that dungeon disappears anyway. Then the money's gone along with it, and you'll regret this offer. Won't you?"
"You speak as though you know what's inside."
"......."
The thug leader did not answer beyond that.
Hearing that made Geon-mu all the more resolved.
That he would never, under any circumstances, hand it over to those thugs.
Geon-mu smiled, as though a clever scheme had come to him.
"Then let us do it this way."
Geon-mu folded his arms and made a proposal.
"We make a wager. On whether I can clear this dungeon or not."
"You want to make a wager?"
"By your own account, if I can't clear this dungeon, then the money's gone and I take nothing but a loss. You're that confident, aren't you?"
If it were a simple bluff, taking Geon-mu's wager would have been dangerous.
But the thug leader already knew what was inside.
"What will you stake?"
"I will smash everything in this dungeon and come out within thirty minutes. If I fail to do that, I won't care whether you go in here or not."
Thirty minutes.
Hearing that, the thug wondered whether he was in his right mind.
'A normal dungeon clear takes at least an hour. What is he on about?'
Even if you used a magic map, the thing most needed in dungeon exploration, and confirmed all the terrain and monsters, moving around inside took time.
Having heard him out, the thug thought this.
'I took him for a day-old puppy, but this is the first time I've seen one this arrogant.'
The thug was certain of his victory.
In poker terms, the thrill of holding a royal straight flush wrapped around his whole body.
"And if you win?"
"If I win, hmm......."
Geon-mu shifted his eyes toward the men standing behind him.
"That will do nicely."
What Geon-mu pointed at was the van parked behind them.
It was an express van of the sort successful entertainers rode around in, a vehicle modified for the exclusive use of Awakened.
At market price alone it was worth at least a hundred million won.
It was not the leader's personal property but the company's.
Naturally, it was out of the question.
"Fine."
But the thug leader accepted his proposal.
[<God of Destruction and Creation> is intrigued.]
[<Goblin King> expresses regret.]
There were Patron Stars enjoying themselves, and the ones who did not like Geon-mu showed the opposite feeling.
The Patron Stars who had watched Geon-mu for a long time were certain this wager was Geon-mu's victory.
"Who guarantees the terms of the wager?"
"You use this."
The thug leader took something out and showed it.
It looked like an ordinary sheet of A4 paper, but mana had soaked into it.
[Wager Pledge]
Type: Consumable Item
Grade: D+
A sheet made by the Patron Star <Gambler Who Toppled a Nation>.
What is written on the pledge must be carried out without exception, and failure to do so triggers <Debt>.
'Quite an entertaining item.'
The compulsion that what was written must be carried out without fail.
But since its grade was low, its range of use would not be great.
Coming into its own in wagers like this was probably the extent of it.
"Good, let's do that."
The leader began writing out the terms of the wager.
He recorded everything they had discussed and finished by signing.
[<Wager Pledge> takes effect.]
[The <Wager> has begun!]
The thirty minutes written at the bottom began counting down in real time.
"The wager's started, so hurry up and go in."
"You go and polish that car until it shines. Even a first car, I'd like it to look new."
"If I win, I'll polish it lovingly with my tongue, so don't you worry."
Geon-mu heard what the leader said and gave a meaningful smile.
"I will remember those words."
And so Geon-mu went in through the gate.
A thug subordinate came up to the leader and asked cautiously.
"Boss, isn't staking this car a bit risky even so? You know what our boss is like......."
"What is? Do you think that bastard is going to clear the dungeon?"
"There's always the off chance, isn't there?"
"You idiot! Didn't I tell you what's in this dungeon?"
"That was...... you said gremlins."
"And what did I brief you about a gremlin's habits?"
"Gremlins are small-bodied, cautious monsters that normally stay hidden and only show themselves when they ambush...... ah!"
Only then did he clap his hands together as though he understood.
"So if the gremlins don't ambush, they won't move."
"Then he'd have to kill them one at a time, which means running around all over the dungeon unless he's a mage. That man isn't a mage either, so there's no way he kills them all inside thirty minutes."
"As expected of you, boss! My thinking was too shallow!"
"I can already picture the face that bastard is going to make."
The leader laughed in good spirits, and his men flattered him and played along.
But that too lasted only a moment.
"Have you been resting well?"
"Ha ha...... hm?"
The thug leader turned his head.
Cha Geon-mu, who should have been inside the dungeon, was standing behind him with a hand held out.
"Hand over the car keys."