Chapter 45 : Into the Dungeon. (3)
Chapter 45: Into the Dungeon. (3)
I went to work at the factory for the first time in a while.
From far away, Kkalkki came running over.
“Boss!!!”
Kkalkki wagged his tail like a puppy meeting its owner.
“Have you been well?”
“Yeah! Last week I even got praised by the professor! He said I was super smart!”
Kkalkki had been attending night college lately.
There, he was receiving systematic education and learning new knowledge about hunter equipment.
Since he was naturally sharp-minded and had a strong thirst for learning, Kkalkki looked extremely happy.
“Oh right, that’s right! You know what the professor told me?”
Kkalkki tilted his head.
“He asked if I had any thoughts about going to grad school. He said he wanted me to help with his business and research. If I did that, I could write papers and stuff, and anyway he said it was really, really great!”
“…….”
A hero was nothing special.
Standing before a life-or-death crisis.
Saving comrades who were floundering under the whispers of demons—wasn’t that what made a true hero?
“Boss! Should I go to grad school?”
“Don’t.”
“Huh?”
“I said don’t.”
“Huh! Got it, Boss!”
With his answer, Kkalkki smiled brightly and shot his hand straight into the air.
“Oh right, that’s right!”
Then he glanced around, checked our surroundings, and whispered into my ear.
“P3 is finished.”
It was the name of the third suit Kkalkki had invented.
P2 had been struck by lightning and burned up during the last fight with Go Ju-hoon.
Just as lunchtime had ended.
I saw workers holding instant coffee in one hand and cigarettes in the other heading toward a temporary building.
That place was the new rest area I had set up.
It was a space where you could enjoy a nap, furnished with sofas comfortable enough to lie down on.
Bookshelves filling the walls were packed with used books.
Adult magazines, comic books, martial arts novels, and the like.
They were perfect for killing time.
Mixed among them were various classic novels, humanities books, and specialized journals related to hunter equipment.
It was an intentional arrangement.
If there was less to read, people would naturally reach for what remained.
Through the window, I could see workers lying on the sofas.
Every single one of them had a book open.
Noticing my gaze, Kkalkki smiled with satisfaction.
“Boss. Everyone really likes that place. Uncle Kim Chun-bae and Professor Jang don’t even go to the lottery shop anymore, and after work they head straight there!”
Until not long ago, they were people who lived day by day without dreams or hope.
Most of them were steeped in alcohol and gambling, so naturally reading was far removed from their lives.
I wanted to help them grow, even just a little, and continue developing steadily.
‘Just as planned.’
After taking over the factory, my own kingdom was being completed.
If possible, not just the Fourth Factory.
I wanted to own the entire Ilsan Hunter Industrial Complex.
‘It’s not impossible.’
Once I broke free from my narrow view of chasing only money, my ambitions grew.
In this life, it wasn’t just about me living well.
‘I’ll take care of the people around me too.’
Making that vow to myself, I walked along with Kkalkki.
When I opened the container’s steel door, a dust-laden space revealed itself.
This was where Kkalkki’s new inventions were born every time.
‘This place needs an upgrade too.’
I couldn’t keep a genius scientist stuck in such a shabby place forever.
“Kkalkki. I’ll set up a dedicated lab for you soon.”
“Huh? I like this place too though? Hehe.”
Kkalkki whistled as he walked toward the center.
There stood a mannequin covered in purple cloth.
“W-wait…… look forward to it!”
“Ta-da!”
Kkalkki pulled off the cloth.
My lips parted slightly.
It was the most refined design among all the models so far.
Before, it had been made by gathering leftover brown dragon leather from the factory like rags and stitching them together.
This time, it was a clean purple mask with no visible stitching.
“I bought the Bronze Knight material whole, just like you told me, Boss!”
I had given Kkalkki instructions in advance.
Not to spare any money on suit development.
I raised my hand and stroked the mask.
Because of the seams, P2 had a rough inner surface and poor wearability, but—
“Smooth.”
More than anything, what pleased me most was—
“The P letter is finally gone.”
“Right! You said it looked tacky!”
The cosplay outfit that looked like it belonged in a children’s hero show had improved considerably.
On the chest of the suit was an upside-down star.
The so-called inverted pentagram.
“What’s this?”
“It’s modeled after Algol!”
Algol is the beta star of the constellation Perseus and means ‘demon.’
Perseus is more famous for the villain he defeated than for himself.
That villain was Medusa.
Medusa, once the very embodiment of terror, hid within the hero’s constellation and radiated her presence.
That was Algol, the head of Medusa.
Anyway.
I quite liked the inverted star embedded in the chest instead of the P.
“Put it on quickly, Boss!”
Kkalkki removed the suit from the mannequin.
The first P1 was a prototype.
It was closer to armor than a suit.
‘It was excessively heavy and full of unnecessary functions.’
From P2 onward, practicality improved, but aesthetically it was a disaster.
And finally.
I put on the suit and looked at myself in the full-length mirror.
“Now I actually look like a hero.”
My chest swelled with excitement at the fairly convincing suit upgrade.
I ran my hands over my arms and thighs.
Unlike the snug-fitting mask, the outer surface was uneven.
The areas around the elbows and knees were cracked here and there.
“Is this Bronze Knight too? It looks defective.”
“The body’s a Chinese knockoff.”
Kkalkki’s shoulders drooped.
“Bronze Knight is so rare that I couldn’t get enough supply! I barely managed to buy the mask on the black market. And even that was insanely expensive.”
The hide of a bronze-colored dragon.
Bronze Knight was an expensive raw material on the market.
Even then, it was so rare that you could only obtain small quantities with difficulty.
There wasn’t nearly enough material to make the entire body out of Bronze Knight.
Kkalkki let out a deep sigh.
“It’d be nice if we had tons of raw materials.”
He muttered and continued.
“If there was something better than Bronze, that’d be even nicer.”
A higher grade than Bronze Knight.
There were Silver and Gold Knights, silver and golden dragons, but even with money, acquiring them was like plucking stars from the sky.
And even the ashen-colored dragon.
The Dark Knight was known to be impossible for humans to obtain through ordinary routes.
“Isn’t there some way, Boss?”
To a hero, a suit was like life itself.
It wasn’t simply for looks.
Enhanced equipment was directly tied to my safety.
As I agonized over it.
A flash went through my mind.
‘What date is it today?’
I checked the year and the day.
Then I nodded.
“I’ll find a way to get it, somehow.”
“Oh. How?”
“To the Purple Devil…….”
I lowered my stance while looking into the mirror.
Sunlight that had crossed over the window frame illuminated the purple costume.
“There’s no problem that can’t be solved.”
It was three days before entering the dungeon.
“The next schedule is the mental reinforcement class. Everyone, go shower and gather in the lecture room.”
After finishing physical training, I wiped off the sweat that had soaked me through.
“Huff, huff.”
Calming my ragged breathing, I gulped down an entire bottle of water.
Today, as always, was a relentless sequence of grueling training.
Flexibility training, high-intensity weight training, extreme intervals, mana cultivation methods.
They were drills meant to build the basic abilities required of a hunter.
Before going to work, I woke up at the crack of dawn to do my own training.
Practicing unleashing <Judgment of the Superhuman>, and basic training through mana marathons.
It was twice as hard as what others went through, but—
‘I have to make it, no matter what.’
As an awakener, I had no talent.
I was fortunate enough to be able to use hero abilities, but even those had limitations.
To stand firmly on my own without relying on talent, blood-soaked effort was essential.
“Hoo.”
I staggered and leaned against the corridor wall.
A wave of drowsiness poured over me.
It seemed my body had finally taken a toll from pushing myself nonstop while cutting down on sleep.
I closed my eyes and waited for the dizziness to subside.
“Are you all right?”
At someone’s voice, I lifted my heavy eyelids.
Instructor Nike was standing there.
“I felt a bit dizzy for a moment.”
“Hmm. I see. Drink this.”
Instructor Nike handed me something.
It was a liquid with a faint fluorescent glow.
“This is—”
“It’s a newly released potion. It’s also a new product from Bihwa Pharmaceuticals.”
Bihwa was a major corporation that stood shoulder to shoulder with <Seosan>.
My factory was currently also a third-tier band receiving contracts from <Seosan>.
I stared at the gently sloshing liquid.
The Dio Guild was also receiving support from <Seosan>.
‘If it’s Bihwa, isn’t that <Seosan>’s rival?’
I couldn’t quite make sense of it.
On top of that, ordinary potions were usually blue or red.
‘Fluorescent…….’
I lifted the glass bottle and shook it.
“This is my first time seeing something like this.”
“That’s why it’s new. Drink it straight. It’ll be effective.”
I took a sip of the potion.
The liquid slid down my throat.
In that instant, my eyes flew open.
Mana surged throughout my entire body.
“How is it?”
“Indeed, I feel overflowing with strength. How much do I owe you?”
Potions were expensive products.
Instructor Nike was usually kind to the interns, but I couldn’t accept material benefits for free.
Instructor Nike patted my shoulder.
“It’s fine. Among the interns, Hunter Choi Yong-gi works the hardest, so I wanted to give it to you. You’re entering the dungeon tomorrow, right?”
“Yes.”
“In any case, be careful. Beyond the gate is a dangerous place. I’ll continue to keep an eye on you.”
With a kindly smile, he disappeared down the corridor.
Instructor Nike’s words were old-fashioned advice, but—
‘For some reason, they sound loaded with meaning.’
I looked down at the empty potion bottle.
This was indeed a new potion.
However, by my standards, it wasn’t new.
Because I had already seen it in my previous life.
‘This fluorescent potion…….’
In addition to healing wounds, it had one more function.
That function was—
Tracking.
By using a special device, it was possible to track the location of the person who consumed the potion for 24 hours.
In other words, it was meant to monitor me.
‘Why?’
I stared at Instructor Nike’s suspicious retreating figure.
Of course, I also knew how to escape tracking.
I tossed the potion bottle I was holding into the trash.
“Fine. Let’s see you try watching.”
“Kids. The more your mind feels like it’s about to collapse, the calmer you have to be. The moment hyperventilation or a panic attack hits, it’s over! Got it?”
The instructor who conducted the class in casual speech had the call sign Deimos, the God of Terror.
Having just finished intense training, everyone looked visibly exhausted.
Lee Ji-jun yawned so wide his mouth looked like it might split, and Hase-na’s eyes drooped as if they were about to close.
Bang Su-hwan was openly nodding off.
Thanks to the potion, my body had recovered, but a lingering fatigue remained.
Just as my eyelids were starting to close—
Wiiing!
A siren blared throughout the entire building.
Ding! Ding!! Ding!!!
Emergency disaster alerts flooded in as phones rang from all directions.
[Ruin-level Emergence!] A gate has appeared in the Gangnam area. Nearby residents are requested to evacuate immediately.
For a moment, I doubted my eyes.
It was a disaster a full two levels higher than Big Lava.
Instructor Deimos hurriedly pulled out his radio to check the situation.
“What? A multi-gate has appeared?”
A multi gate (Multi Gate) referred to gates opening simultaneously in multiple locations.
Originally, the information team had predicted the opening time to be around 10 a.m. tomorrow, with only one in Gangnam.
Instructor Deimos raised his head.
“The Hunter Association has requested support. They’re asking each guild to send reinforcements. Tsk. Looks like our Dio Guild has to join in too.”
Gates appeared almost daily.
And countless monsters poured out from within them.
As a result, manpower was always lacking.
“If we fail to close the gates in time……. You all know what happens, right?”
Instructor Deimos put on a grave expression.
If monsters were to emerge from multiple gates, it was obvious that catastrophic damage would follow.
“Anyway, you all just focus on preparing for the gate you’ll enter tomorrow. I need to head out right away. Dismissed!”
The gate opening tomorrow was <Crisis-level>, a course that even interns could enter without issue.
Instructor Deimos gathered the books on the podium.
At that moment, the door opened.
“Huh? Team Leader.”
Lee Yu-seol entered through the door and swept the lecture room with a sharp gaze.
Her eyes met mine.
Lee Yu-seol knew my true identity, but given the situation, she deliberately pretended not to know.
“What brings you here?”
“Deploy the six rookies here as well.”
“What? They’re still greenhorns, so…….”
“Enough talk. Follow me!”
Lee Yu-seol shouted and stormed out.
Instructor Deimos scratched his head roughly.
“Kids. You all heard that, right? You’re being deployed to the field too.”
As no one stepped forward readily in the sudden situation and everyone just looked around uncertainly, Instructor Deimos barked angrily.
“What are you all doing? Put on your gear and wait on the first floor. Move!”
“Move!”
The rookie hunters sprang up like coiled springs and rushed out in a mass.
“Of all things, a multi gate…….”
“They won’t send just interns, right?”
Everyone looked flustered by the unexpected turn of events.
Among them, I alone smiled inwardly.
‘What was coming has finally arrived.’
The Gangnam Station multi-gate incident.
It was an event worthy of being recorded in history, the moment a dragon first appeared inside a dungeon.