My Assigned Hunters Climb the Tower - Chapter 15

========== CHAPTER 15 ==========

“Ah, damn it.”

A low curse escaped Go Gyeol’s lips.

“What’s wrong?”

Lee Seong-ha asked Go Gyeol, who was sitting in the passenger seat, staring into space without moving a muscle. But Go Gyeol had no intention of answering his question. His consciousness was directed solely toward the invisible presence before him.

‘System.’

【How can I help you, Go Gyeol?】

“Can you change the dungeon?”

To Go Gyeol’s sharp question, the System gave a mechanical response.

【Dungeon changes are not possible. This dungeon was carefully selected considering the abilities of the hunters you scouted.】

“Do you know that two of them are idiots who can’t do anything?”

Go Gyeol’s voice was laced with blatant annoyance.

【……】

The only response was silence. If the System had a physical form, he would have punched it right then and there.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Lee Seong-ha, who couldn’t hear the System’s voice but had heard all of Go Gyeol’s angry muttering, asked again. Anxiety was seeping into his voice.

“We have to go to an S-rank dungeon within 3 days.”

Skreeeeech-!

At Go Gyeol’s calm statement, Lee Seong-ha panicked and slammed on the brakes. With a sharp screech of tires scraping against the asphalt, the car came to a rough stop on the shoulder.

“Hey! Don’t cut to the chase, tell me properly. Where are we going?!”

“I told you if you drive like that, you’re never driving my car again.”

“Is that what’s important right now?!”

Lee Seong-ha shouted as if he were about to grab him by the collar. Go Gyeol looked at him indifferently and said it once more, very precisely.

“An S-rank dungeon. Specifically, the Sindorim Station S-Rank Dungeon.”

In an instant, the infamy of the ‘Sindorim Station S-Rank Dungeon’ flashed through Lee Seong-ha’s mind.

It was a dungeon with a very short official clear time of 40 minutes, but that was only in theory. The monsters’ patterns were viciously tricky, and above all, there were traps everywhere that changed location and type every time one entered. If the Hunter Bureau hadn’t been constantly managing it, no one would have stepped up to clear it, and a monster wave would have broken out long ago. It was a gaping maw of death that countless hunters were reluctant to challenge.

And they had to go to a place like that, taking along two beginners who had just set foot in the hunter world and one uncontrollable Witch.

Lee Seong-ha felt his vision go dark.

“…You’re lying, right?”

His wavering eyes searched for a sliver of hope. But Go Gyeol cut that hope down in one stroke.

“When have you ever seen me lie?”

“You crazy bastard!!! No! I won’t! I’m going back!! I’m going to the cathedral!!”

Lee Seong-ha’s scream filled the narrow car.

The back alley of Sindorim Station was like an island cut off from the world.

Since the dungeon was created, the alley had been intimidatingly surrounded by high, gray cement walls. On top of them, barbed wire with high-voltage current and sharply broken glass shards were densely embedded, emitting a sinister gleam. It was a landscape that exuded a brutal will to allow no intrusion, save for a single iron gate.

Go Gyeol was leaning his back against that gray cement wall with his arms crossed. Beside him, Kang Ji-hyun, dressed in a fiery red dress, stood blowing a large bubble with her gum as if she were bored.

“Are they actually coming?”

“They’ll come.”

A party dress with wavy long hair for a hunter coming to clear a dungeon? Go Gyeol clicked his tongue inwardly, but he withdrew his nagging since she had at least worn practical sneakers instead of high heels that would break her ankles.

That was when.

“They’re coming.”

In a neighborhood where a 1km radius had become a no-man’s-land due to the dungeon’s influence, a soft engine sound broke the silence and permeated the alley. As Go Gyeol straightened his leaning body, a black sedan stopped smoothly in front of him.

The driver’s side door opened, and Lee Seong-ha got out with a deeply furrowed face.

“Wow, I really hate this.”

Unlike his genuine annoyance that burst out as soon as he got out of the car, Kang Hoon, who got out of the passenger seat, couldn’t hide his excitement.

“We’re really clearing this place, right? Me, who cleared a D-rank a few days ago, clearing an S-rank. I’m so nervous…. Huh? W-wait. Is that… Kang Ji-hyun-nim?!”

With a pop sound, the bubble burst, and everyone’s gaze turned to her. As if enjoying the attention, Kang Ji-hyun waved leisurely at Kang Hoon.

“Hello, kid.”

“Wow! It’s Kang Ji-hyun-nim!! Wow, wow!! Hello!! You’re so beautiful!!”

Kang Hoon approached Kang Ji-hyun as if bewitched and poured out endless praise. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging at an invisible speed. Kang Ji-hyun seemed to quite like Kang Hoon’s pure praise, as she lifted her chin with a satisfied smile.

Go Gyeol quietly ignored the ‘combination of an idiot and an idiot’ and opened the car’s back door.

Inside sat a man with a face that looked as if he had lost all the light in the world.

“Kwon Do-geun-ssi.”

A low but firm call. In the eyes of Kwon Do-geun, who looked up at him, unstable emotions were mixed like a dying ember. A primal fear of stepping out into the world he had been locked away from for so long, and a faint terror of the unknown existence called a ‘dungeon’ that he would face at the end of it.

“Are you going to run away?”

It was neither comfort nor prodding. It was an extremely plain question, as if there were a set answer. But that one sentence caused a huge ripple in Kwon Do-geun’s inner self, as if a massive rock had been thrown into a calm lake. Run away. The moment that word invaded his mind, his eyes changed completely. His scattered focus locked onto one point, and his slack jawline hardened as if steeling his resolve.

As he made up his mind and got out of the car, the gazes of the gathered group all focused on one place at once. Even Go Gyeol, who had been the center of the formation, was pushed into the background; his presence was overwhelming.

“Woah, woah…! Isn’t that… the actor Kwon Do-geun? Wow, he looks amazing in person!”

The first to break the silence was Kang Hoon. He nudged Lee Seong-ha’s arm, who was standing next to him, making a fuss like a child who had seen a rare animal for the first time. It was an excitement on a different level than when he had seen the other hunter earlier. Countless gazes and whispers flew in like arrows, but Kwon Do-geun didn’t move his tightly shut lips. His mind was filled only with a tragic resolve for the fate that was about to befall him.

It was before Kang Hoon’s excited voice had even scattered into the air.

“Smack!”

With a sharp, crisp friction sound, Lee Seong-ha’s palm landed precisely on the back of Kang Hoon’s head.

“Don’t make a fuss, Kang Hoon. Get a grip. We’re not here to play.”

“Ouch! A-alright, I get it…”

Kang Hoon rubbed the back of his sore head and pouted his lips, but he soon quieted down at Lee Seong-ha’s ice-cold glare.

Once the commotion died down, Go Gyeol spoke again. He said, looking at the faces of those gathered one by one.

“You all know where this is… no, wait, you don’t.”

Go Gyeol realized the moment he said it.

That the people in front of him now were not the hunters who fought alongside him before his regression.

Except for Lee Seong-ha and Kang Ji-hyun, they were greenhorns with eyes mixed with anxiety and curiosity. They were absolute beginners who didn’t even know the ‘D’ in dungeon. A deep sigh escaped him before he knew it.

He gathered everyone’s attention again and delivered the cold reality.

“Those who know will know, but the place we’re going is the S-rank, Sindorim Station Dungeon.”

“Hiiik.”

The air froze instantly at that declaration. Sharp gasps erupted from here and there. Kang Hoon, who had been well-versed in rumors about dungeons even if he had no direct experience due to his traits, asked back with a face that had turned stark white.

“Sindorim Station Dungeon? Is it the one I’m thinking of? Are we really going there?”

“Yes.”

A short, firm affirmation. Kang Hoon’s voice rose like a scream.

“Are you crazy?! S-rank is one thing, but that’s Arcadia! How am I supposed to clear that when I barely cleared a D-rank!”

Arcadia.

As that name came up, even the faint hope that had been flowing among the group vanished. Originally, it was a massive complex shopping mall built ambitiously by several large corporations and the government. ‘Arcadia,’ which had been expanding its influence across the country starting with its Paju main branch, had also opened spectacularly here in Sindorim three years ago.

But the tragedy struck just one week after opening.

The massive shopping mall, which was supposed to be the new heart of the city, mutated into a dungeon overnight. The government and stakeholders were worried that the brand reputation of ‘Arcadia’ would be tarnished. They hurriedly tried to downplay the incident by giving it the official name ‘Sindorim Station Dungeon,’ named after the location.

But hunters were practical beings. They consistently called it the ‘Arcadia Dungeon.’

Because the entire environment of the dungeon was the once-glamorous shopping mall itself.

Even at Kang Hoon’s scream, there was no movement on Go Gyeol’s face. He spoke as if soothing a troublesome child, or perhaps even more indifferently than that.

“It is an S-rank shopping mall-type dungeon, but we’re only clearing the first floor. And Lee Seong-ha and Kang Ji-hyun will take the lead.”

His gaze turned to Kang Hoon and Kwon Do-geun.

“Kang Hoon. You watch how your master fights. And Kwon Do-geun-ssi. For now, just get used to the ‘air’ of the dungeon from the back.”

At those words, Kang Hoon’s suspicious gaze turned to Lee Seong-ha. Could that grumpy old man really take the lead in an S-rank dungeon? The moment that distrust was clearly visible on his face, Lee Seong-ha’s hand reflexively went up. Kang Hoon, not wanting to get hit again, quickly hid behind Kang Ji-hyun and shouted at Go Gyeol.

“I have a question! So, am I just supposed to watch? Can’t I fight?”

“You can fight.”

Go Gyeol replied indifferently.

“If you can, that is.”

It was just then, as the two nodded awkwardly at that cynical permission.

“Go Gyeol.”

Lee Seong-ha asked with a smirk, a provocative smile.

“Do you trust me?”

“No.”

It was an immediate answer without a shred of hesitation. Lee Seong-ha’s eyebrow twitched.

“You don’t trust me, yet you’re going to enter an S-rank dungeon with this ragtag group without another veteran hunter?”

Go Gyeol answered with a scoff.

“If they don’t want to die, they’ll manage. And is that person over there just for decoration?”

The place his chin pointed to was Kang Ji-hyun, who was standing with a haughty expression the entire time.

“Is Kang Ji-hyun alone enough?”

“It’s enough.”

The S-rank Sindorim Dungeon. There was no one who knew more about its traps and variables than Go Gyeol himself, who had regressed. In his calculations, the clear was more than enough with just Kang Ji-hyun and Lee Seong-ha, who had returned after retiring. The rest of the personnel were just an investment for the future.

“Enough chatter. Let’s head in.”

The time promised to report to the government was approaching. Go Gyeol didn’t delay any further and led the people to the front of the glass door of the massive shopping mall, Arcadia. As he pushed the heavy door open, a noise of a completely different dimension from the outside world engulfed the group.

‘Beeeep-‘

A sharp mechanical sound that felt like it would tear the eardrums. The cry of a beast not of this world, echoing from the darkness beyond. And the announcement from a broken speaker, piercing through all that noise.

「…Welcome to… Arcadia… dear customers… have a… pleasant shopping…」

The fragmented greeting bizarrely filled the space. But that was only for a moment, and a complete silence followed where all sound disappeared as if it were a lie. A suffocating silence. And the next moment, all the terrible noises revived at once.

A strange phenomenon where noise and silence repeated irregularly. In the air of another world completely separated from the outside, Kang Hoon, who was in a dungeon for the first time, swallowed dryly without realizing it. Even Kwon Do-geun, who had steeled his resolve, hunched his shoulders with his face still stiff.

The entry into hell was beginning.

Go Gyeol, who looked around, clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘A clothing store, of all things.’

Originally, Arcadia Shopping Mall was a massive complex space that stretched from the second basement floor to the eighth floor above ground. But after mutating into a dungeon, that rule was broken. The first floor was no longer a lobby with general stores and a performance hall. Instead, one of the many stores that had existed inside the shopping mall randomly became the first gateway to greet the hunters.

And among them, the most difficult and notorious place was this very clothing store.

“It’s… kind of creepy.”

Kang Hoon rubbed his own arms as if a chill had seeped in. That sensation was not felt by him alone. The inside of the store was as bright as day with fluorescent lights, and the neatly displayed clothes were no different from any ordinary shop. But a suffocating sense of incongruity lurked within all that normalcy. The hollow gazes of the mannequins standing in perfect poses, and the unnatural smiles of the posters of famous celebrities on the walls seemed to scan the group as if they were alive.

“No time. Let’s clear this quickly and get out.”

As if completely unaffected by the pressure of this strange dungeon, Kang Ji-hyun stepped forward first. A whip with a blood-red glow was coiled like a snake around her white wrist.

“A whip…?”

The moment Kang Hoon muttered in confusion, the red snake in her hand sliced through the air.

Bang—!

A single strike. With a sound that tore the eardrums, the solid marble floor shattered as if exploding, sending spiderweb-like cracks in all directions. Go Gyeol reflexively grabbed Kwon Do-geun’s arm and stepped back.

That was when.

Before the dust and debris had even settled, dozens of CCTVs that had been hanging like dead things in every corner of the store’s ceiling. A sinister red light lit up simultaneously from the lenses of those surveillance cameras.

And the next moment, with a creepy mechanical sound, kki-gi-gik, dozens of red lenses moved in perfect synchronization, focusing on their only target, Kang Ji-hyun.

“Kang Ji-hyun, dodge!”

Simultaneously with Lee Seong-ha’s shout, the marble fragments that had shattered at her feet rose into the air as if they had a will of their own. The sharp pieces instantly surrounded Kang Ji-hyun, becoming a fiercely rotating barrier.

Bang! Bang! Ka-bang!

Scorching beams pouring out from the red lenses of the CCTVs hit the stone shield, causing a chain of explosions. In the chaos where acrid dust and flashes blocked their vision, Kang Ji-hyun’s voice was as cold as ice.

“Protect me.”

“Hey, you crazy girl!”

Regardless of Lee Seong-ha’s profanity-laced shout, Kang Ji-hyun swung her red whip through the gaps in the barrier, popping the watchers on the ceiling one by one. Explosions and debris rained down like rain, but neither the attacker nor the defender showed any sign of stopping.

Go Gyeol glanced sideways at Kang Hoon, who had already slipped behind his back.

“What are you doing? I thought you said you’d fight?”

“Ahaha… I’m still not used to the dungeon environment.”

Go Gyeol turned his gaze away from Kang Hoon, who was dodging the situation with a glib laugh. His eyes turned back to the center of the battlefield, to the two people struggling against the CCTVs. The inside of the store was wider than he thought, and the surveillance cameras were embedded as densely as a spiderweb. To destroy the distant targets, they inevitably had to move, but every time they took a step, a hail of lasers pouring from blind spots held them back. Time was flowing endlessly.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

‘Hmm. It seems they haven’t noticed. That guy’s practical sense has rusted too.’

Go Gyeol, who inwardly mocked Lee Seong-ha’s dullness, shouted with a voice that rang through the battlefield.

“Lee Seong-ha! Don’t step on the tile on the right!”

That shout was as sharp as a blade. Lee Seong-ha’s foot, which was about to take the next step, instinctively hesitated in mid-air. But the problem wasn’t him. Kang Ji-hyun’s foot, which was retreating subconsciously while dodging the pouring lasers, stepped exactly on the tile Go Gyeol had warned about.

It wasn’t the feel of solid marble.

“Huh?”

The moment a short question burst from Kang Ji-hyun’s lips, a creepy change began from under her feet. The solid tile turned mushy like jelly, losing its form, and with a disgusting sound, it turned into a sludgy black swamp. Sticky mud crawled up over her combat boots and swallowed her ankles.

Before Lee Seong-ha could even look flustered, Go Gyeol’s second command flew like lightning.

“Lee Seong-ha! Take Kang Ji-hyun and fly!”