The relentless thump, thump, thump of colossal footsteps vibrated through the very ground beneath me, a deep, resonant tremor that spoke of immense power and impending conflict.
The air itself seemed to hum with a primal energy, a prelude to the battle that was about to unfold.
On the vast, desolate plain of the dungeon, dotted sparsely with large, jagged rocks, a monstrous golem, its body crafted entirely from ancient, formidable stone, lumbered forward.
Its very presence seemed to warp the light around it, casting long, unsettling shadows.
Its destination was clear: it was heading directly for me.
Each ponderous step the golem took seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth.
As it moved, seemingly precariously swaying rocks tumbled down its form.
No, I corrected myself, it wasn’t just rocks tumbling.
The rocks that seemed to be rolling down its massive body were, in fact, its many eyes.
These fierce, glowing orbs, numerous and unsettling, converged on one single spot – me.
That intense, unblinking stare, a hundred fiery gazes fixed solely on my figure, snapped me to sharp attention.
It was a terrifying, almost surreal sight, like being observed by a living mountain.
A cold dread, far more potent than any fear of the golems themselves, gripped me.
It wasn’t just about my immediate survival; it was about the colossal ramifications if these things got out.
Not only would the entire Gwanak Mountain be utterly destroyed, flattened into a barren wasteland, but they’d instantly roll into the bustling city of Seoul, a tide of unstoppable destruction, and smash buildings into rubble, causing an unimaginable catastrophe.
The thought alone was horrifying, a vision of utter devastation that chilled me to the bone.
The sheer scale of the potential disaster weighed heavily on my mind.
‘I’ll close it and get out somehow,’ I resolved, my mind racing, desperate for a plan.
‘The Four Heavenly Kings… they won’t come, right?’
I desperately hoped my assumption was correct, a silent prayer echoing in my thoughts.
No one should come, absolutely no one, until I had managed to kill the boss monster and make my escape.
I had to avoid any contact.
Looking at the ominous status window that had appeared as soon as I entered here, the public’s anger towards extradimensional beings would undoubtedly be even stronger than before, amplified by the perceived threat.
They wouldn’t have heard of individual ranks increasing, that secret was mine alone, a carefully guarded truth, but for the universal dungeon difficulty to increase specifically “because of an extra dimensional being’s rank rising”… that was a direct, undeniable link, a smoking gun pointing directly at me.
The reason why I shouldn’t let it slip is that I’m an extra dimensional being that grew exponentially stronger.
Ever since I inadvertently revealed my true, more assertive personality, a shift that almost exposed me, I had managed to avoid suspicion by carefully pretending to be someone with an acquired personality disorder, a convenient and plausible cover story in a world accustomed to strange occurrences.
But the possibility of my rank increasing must, under no circumstances, be revealed.
It was direct, irrefutable proof of being an extra dimensional being, a truth that could ignite widespread panic and hostility, leading to an unthinkable hunt.
Now, the biggest problem wasn’t just managing my personality to maintain my disguise, a constant tightrope walk, but having to diligently hide the tangible, system-wide effect of my rank increasing, a burden that grew heavier with each passing moment.
It was incredibly fortunate that I had hidden the fact that I was an Awakener and acted alone until now; what would have happened if I had joined a guild early on, tying my fate to others, sharing my secrets?
The complications would have been insurmountable, the secrets impossible to keep, and my very existence would have been exposed.
Kwoooar!
The ground trembled with the deep, guttural roar of the approaching golems, a sound that vibrated through my bones.
There was no time to ponder further, no luxury for introspection or strategizing for distant future problems.
I had to deal with the immediate threat first and handle any long-term consequences later.
The golems, as if acting on a shared, predetermined command, simultaneously charged at me, their stony forms rumbling across the plain with an unnerving synchronicity.
The ground shook so violently with their collective advance that it was hard to keep my balance, the tremors making me stumble, almost throwing me off my feet.
“Bishap!”
I yelled, my voice cutting through the din of the approaching monsters, a desperate plea for aid.
As soon as I called, Bishap responded instantly, his loyal presence a comforting anchor in the storm of chaos.
He revealed his true colossal form from his miniature state, expanding rapidly until he was a magnificent, scaled beast, and offered his immense, scaled back.
I kicked off the ground, a desperate leap born of instinct, and landed firmly on his back just as the leading golem, a mountain of rock, threw a devastating punch towards where I had been standing moments before.
With terrifying, crushing force, the spot where I had just stood was deeply dented, a gaping crater left in the earth, a stark reminder of how close I had come to being crushed.
What if Bishap hadn’t been here in this desperate situation?
I would have probably been quite exhausted from running around and fighting alone, relentlessly pursued by these behemoths, a mere ant against a stampede.
Soaring high above the chaos on Bishap’s broad back, looking down at the enraged golems, I saw them starting to hurl massive piles of rocks into the air, transforming themselves into living catapults, their forms contorting with monstrous effort.
Bishap, with astonishing agility for his size, swiftly dodged the incoming rock projectiles, weaving through the airborne debris with an almost elegant grace that belied his massive form.
He then opened his mouth wide towards the ground, a chilling blue light beginning to gather within, pulsing with raw energy.
Small blue orbs of pure mana gathered rapidly in his gaping maw, coalescing like droplets of liquid light, then merged into a single, immense mass of crackling energy.
The orb, crackling and making a sound like something splitting, a miniature thunderclap, was shot towards the ground with devastating speed and precision, a beam of pure destructive force.
Bang!
A loud roar, thick smoke, and a choking cloud of dust immediately obscured my vision, temporarily blinding me to the battle below, leaving me suspended in a swirling veil of white.
From the ground, where the initial deafening roar had momentarily silenced all other sounds, the faint, grinding sound of rolling stones began, a low, ominous rumble, indicating the golems’ resilience.
As the dust and smoke gradually cleared, what was revealed were the monstrous creatures regenerating their bodies, slowly rolling and stacking up on the greatly dented, hemispherical ground where Bishap’s breath had struck, their forms coalescing once more, as if defying death itself.
“[Skill, ‘Black Cloud Mist’ is activated.]”
The system notification flashed, a crisp, ethereal voice in my mind.
To get rid of them permanently, I knew I had to destroy the hidden core in the center of each pile of stones, their true weakness.
My plan was simple, yet effective: First, I would use the Black Cloud Mist to melt their tough, rocky bodies, softening their defenses and making them vulnerable.
Then, when they were sufficiently melted and vulnerable, I would go down and break the core.
The Black Cloud Mist was potent enough to melt a monster’s body, its corrosive properties legendary, but it couldn’t affect something as resistant as a core, which required direct, physical force, a decisive strike.
Shadows slowly began to fall across my face, despite the dungeon being sun-drenched moments before, as if the world itself was responding to my spell.
The sky instantly darkened, as if a switch had been flipped, and black gathering storm clouds created threatening thunder, rolling ominously above the battlefield, a symphony of impending doom.
At that eerie sound, the golems looked up, their many eyes glowing with alarm, and shrieked as stinging raindrops began to fall on their bodies, a corrosive touch that elicited pain.
However, since my rank had decreased, a cruel twist of fate, I couldn’t unleash the same overwhelming power as before my transmigration.
What should have been a torrential downpour, like a heavy, corrosive rain that would swiftly melt them, only gently moistened the ground, a frustrating limitation.
The good news was that before my rank increased to A, the raindrops were even thinner, barely noticeable, a mere sprinkle.
But now, they were quite thick and falling with some force, certainly more effective than before, but still not the decisive blow I needed.
This might take a while, I realized with a sigh, the fight stretching out before me, a long and arduous struggle.
I couldn’t just cast a skill and passively wait for the monsters to melt away; I didn’t have that kind of time.
If I had the luxury of a leisurely pace, I wouldn’t mind being so relaxed, but right now, the priority was to quickly kill the boss and get out of here before any unwanted attention arrives, before the true danger outside this dungeon gate discovered my presence.
“Sahin,” I called out, my voice resonating with purpose.
There was no need to command him what to do; his inherent understanding of my intentions was absolute, a testament to our bond.
His eyes, fixed on the golems below, gleamed with a predatory light, then he vanished into thin air in an instant, a silent, swift disappearance, leaving behind only a ripple in the air.
Next, I saw the golems constantly looking around, their gazes darting frantically, unable to pinpoint where the swift, invisible attacks were coming from, their confusion palpable.
Clang—
Just then, one of the golems, somehow anticipating an attack, raised a rocky arm and blocked Sahin’s sword, a surprising display of awareness for a creature of its kind, an unexpected intelligence.
The moment Sahin appeared for his strike, the golems’ eyes lit up, and they immediately tried to attack him, their previously frozen forms twitching with renewed aggression, a sudden burst of violent energy.
What truly stopped the golems’ movements was Bishap’s breath, a chilling torrent cold enough to freeze the very air itself, turning the battleground into an icy spectacle.
The golems, now frozen solid with the ground beneath them, were stuck in their attacking poses, completely unable to move, transformed into grotesque statues of rock and ice.
After a certain period, the ice would slowly melt, and they would regain their mobility, their stony forms twitching back to life, but before that, the task was to smash their brittle, frozen bodies and destroy their cores, capitalizing on their momentary vulnerability.
“[Are you planning to freeze me too?]”
Sahin’s indignant voice cut through the air, directed at Bishap, a playful accusation.
“[You should have just dodged it well. You complain a lot for someone I just saved.]”
Bishap retorted, his deep voice carrying a hint of amusement, his massive form exuding a mischievous aura.
As soon as I jumped from Bishap’s back and landed on the ground, the two of them started bickering, their usual playful banter, a familiar and oddly comforting sound in the midst of battle.
When Sahin, who had approached quickly, retorted, Bishap just rolled his eyes and looked down at Sahin, a dismissive gesture, utterly unimpressed.
Then he snorted, responding as if it was nothing, completely unfazed by Sahin’s complaints, his immense power making him seem almost bored.
They were completely different from how they acted around me, where they were respectful and obedient, always deferential, but I was used to this familiar behavior, having seen it countless times.
They just tended to bicker a lot, a constant, amusing background noise to my battles, a testament to their unique personalities.
“Stop messing around and smash this instead.”
I commanded, my voice firm, cutting through their playful squabble and snapping them back to the task at hand.
“[Yes, Master.]”
Sahin, who answered politely as if he hadn’t just been engaged in a childish argument, struck the golem’s body with great force, his sword biting deep into the now-vulnerable rock, a precise and devastating strike.
Thanks to the toxic raindrops from the Black Cloud Mist that had been falling since earlier, slowly eroding their defenses, breaking the body became much easier, the rock now brittle and yielding.
As I targeted the partially melted areas, aiming for the weakest points, cracks began to appear in the hard rock, spreading like spiderwebs across the golem’s form, signifying its impending collapse.
Bishap, meanwhile, swung his front paws with immense power, slamming and throwing the golems, trying to pull out their cores, his brute force an effective counter to their bulk.
If the ice happened to melt and they started twitching even a little, I planned to bind their bodies with the Shackles of Darkness this time, a temporary but effective restraint, a quick and decisive countermeasure.
Although the skill has a time limit and I can’t bind them for long, using it alternately with Bishap’s freezing breath could create a powerful synergy effect, allowing me to continuously restrict the monsters’ movements, a well-coordinated dance of ice and shadow that maximized our combined abilities.
Clang—!
After a few more focused attacks, the golem’s body, which had been cracking under our combined assault, finally crumbled, collapsing into a heap of rubble, its imposing form reduced to mere debris.
Through the scattered debris, a black glowing core was revealed, pulsing with dark energy, the source of its monstrous life.
Sahin, ever swift, raised his sword vertically and brought it down with the force of instantly destroying the core, a swift, decisive blow that shattered it into nothingness, extinguishing its malevolent light.
The first golem was finally defeated. In the past, it wouldn’t have taken this much time and effort; the ease of previous battles was a stark contrast to this prolonged struggle, a testament to the increased difficulty.
I could truly feel the increased difficulty, a tangible challenge that tested my limits and pushed me harder, forcing me to adapt and innovate.
Following that, the bodies of the consecutively frozen golems collapsed one after another, their forms disintegrating into inert rock, their threat neutralized. Bishap’s sharp, hard claws, Sahin’s precise sword, and my long spear successively destroyed their cores, a rhythmic, efficient process that saw the remaining golems fall quickly.
The golems, which had wielded their attacks menacingly moments before, now piled up as mere heaps of rock, inert and lifeless, their reign of terror brought to an end.
After destroying the last core, I slowly looked around, taking in the aftermath of the battle.
The ground was scarred, the air thick with the scent of ozone and shattered stone.
It truly was an exhilarating sight, a sense of accomplishment washing over me, despite the unexpected difficulty, a rush of triumph.
Black smoke billowed like heat haze over the bodies of the golems we had killed, a ghostly reminder of the fierce fight, their lingering essence.
A smile spread across my face, excited with anticipation to extract spirits after so long, to replenish my ranks and add to my growing army of shadows, to transform these vanquished foes into loyal subordinates. I narrowed my eyes and opened my mouth.
“Hey, come out.”
That command was the signal, and black figures burst forth from the golems’ bodies, starting from their heads, a macabre rebirth.
Then, they sequentially rose, revealing their shoulders, arms, torso, and legs, forming into new, albeit ghostly, spirits, joining my ranks, their forms now ethereal and bound to my will.
It was like a singer appearing on stage via a lift from below at a concert, a theatrical, dramatic emergence, a dark performance.
Now, it was time to take these newly acquired spirits and go after the boss, the true, final challenge of this unexpectedly difficult dungeon, the last obstacle between me and freedom.
***
In the deep pre-dawn hours, the Hunter Association conference room, which would normally be dark and deserted at this time, was surprisingly bright, illuminated by harsh fluorescent lights, casting a cold, sterile glow over the tense faces gathered within.
Around the central table of the conference room, several guild masters sat with serious expressions, their faces etched with concern and a hint of bewilderment, their sleep abruptly disturbed.
They had all hastily gathered after seeing the sudden, global status window that had appeared at dawn, a system-wide alert that had disrupted their sleep and sent shockwaves through the hunter community, an unprecedented alarm.
The civil servants of the Dungeon Management Bureau must have also urgently contacted each other, their own emergency protocols in motion, but they were their own group, responding to a different chain of command, a separate but equally urgent response.
This was ours, a private, urgent gathering of the most powerful guild leaders, a council of war.
Since gates first appeared and guilds were formally formed, guild masters had become accustomed to such sudden summons, their lives constantly punctuated by emergencies and unforeseen crises, a relentless cycle of threats.
Because gates had only recently begun opening globally, there were overflowing issues that required them to share information and put their heads together, a collective effort to manage the growing threat, to pool their resources and knowledge.
“Huuuaaah— What is going on?”
Baek Ji-woo, a guild master who was an early bird unlike most delinquents in the hunter world, yawned widely, his fatigue evident, and mumbled, articulating the collective exhaustion that pervaded the room.
Just then, the door to the conference room burst open, and Ban Eun-hye entered, his stride purposeful and brisk despite the hour, his presence adding a new dynamic to the tense atmosphere.
All eyes turned to him, who, despite living conveniently close to the Hunter Association headquarters, was the very last to arrive, raising silent questions and a flicker of impatience.
“Ah, I was on my way from Gwanak Mountain.”
He explained, offering a concise reason for his delay as he took an empty seat at the table, his words immediately drawing everyone’s attention.
Cha Hyeon-seo, the formidable Black Guild Master, a woman of few words but immense influence, spoke first, her voice calm but authoritative.
“Again, an extradimensional being.”
It was a concise remark, cutting straight to the heart of the matter, but the guild masters, understanding its dire implications, straightened their postures seriously, their faces grim, a collective tightening of resolve.
The idea of another powerful extradimensional entity, potentially hostile, was deeply unsettling, a threat that loomed large.
“Rank increase, you say? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Is that even possible?”
James, a guild master known for his directness, placing both arms on the table, leaned forward and asked, his voice laced with incredulity, echoing the disbelief of many.
Everyone else around the table shook their heads. It meant they didn’t know either, a collective shrug of uncertainty in the face of an unprecedented phenomenon, a new and alarming development.
The concept of dungeon difficulty increasing due to an extradimensional being’s rank was completely new and deeply concerning, hinting at powers and mechanisms they had never before encountered.
“If the dungeon difficulty increases, we’ll have to readjust the number of guild members to take when clearing gates again.”
Yeon Ha-yeon, who had come to the association for the emergency meeting while ostensibly studying for school, said as she stuck a straw into a large yogurt drink, her usual calm demeanor slightly ruffled by the interruption, a sign of her growing irritation.
Her expression already showed a headache, the prospect of more bureaucratic work and logistical changes overwhelming, adding to the already heavy burden of their duties.
“We don’t even know how much the difficulty has gone up, so what should we do?”
A male guild master muttered, his frustration palpable, echoing the sentiment of the room, the uncertainty a heavy weight.
The lack of precise information made planning impossible, leaving them adrift.
Ban Eun-hye, who had been leaning back in his chair with his hand on his forehead as if bothered by someone’s incessant mumbling, suddenly opened his closed eyes wide, a flicker of realization crossing his face, a sudden insight.
“Wait. Could this also be because of that extradimensional being?”
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed them the message he had received at dawn, the emergency notification that had summoned him to this very meeting, its contents alarming.
[Mana fluctuation anomaly detected at gate. Immediate confirmation required. This is an emergency notification automatically sent to the guild that won the bid for the gate.]
The guild masters’ faces darkened in real-time as they read the message, understanding the gravity of the situation unfolding, their expressions shifting from concern to outright alarm.
“What? Danger detected?” “What is this…?”
Their voices were a mix of alarm and confusion, a growing sense of unease, the implications of the message slowly sinking in.
Ban Eun-hye ignored the guild masters’ varied reactions, their rising panic, and suggested that since he had visited the gate just before coming to the association and had seen the status window firsthand, they should all go check it together, a direct and practical approach to a dire problem, cutting through the growing anxiety.
“Shall we all go to Gwanak Mountain?”
At his words, Do Yi-hyun, a guild master who was more clear-headed than anyone but had remained silent until now, stood up, his decision made, recognizing the undeniable urgency.
Soon after, the rest of the guild masters, recognizing the urgency and the need for collective action, all rose and exited the conference room, their debate over, their purpose now singular.
Their immediate destination was Gwanak Mountain, the site of the unfolding crisis, a place where a new and terrifying threat was emerging.