Wait. Jin-Woo hastily pulled up the message window. He didn't have time to celebrate four duplicate Level Up notifications, because his gaze locked onto the very first message. My god. Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
[You have slain an enemy.]
'This thing isn't the boss?'
Jin-Woo's stunned eyes drifted to the giant whose limbs hung limp, its eyes having lost all focus. Its strength, leagues beyond the other giants, had been overwhelming enough to surprise even Jin-Woo himself. A creature that looked every bit like a boss-level monster turned out not to be the boss. The System message was calling it a regular monster. Just then.
"Hyung-niiim!"
Yoo Jin-Ho's voice came from a distance, brimming with excitement. Jin-Woo raised his hand high toward the approaching Yoo Jin-Ho, signaling him to stop right there.
"Hup!"
Whether it was obedience or pure fear, Yoo Jin-Ho froze in place. Jin-Woo's gaze grew solemn. The message "[You have slain the lord of the Dungeon]" still hadn't appeared. That meant the raid wasn't over. And that wasn't the only strange thing. Shadow Extraction on this massive monster was also impossible. The black smoke that announced a valid extraction target was nowhere to be seen. Sure enough, as Jin-Woo stared intently at the giant, a mechanical sound chimed. Ding.
[This target cannot be subjected to Shadow Extraction.]
'What the…?'
While Jin-Woo furrowed his brow at the string of unexpected developments, a clattering of bones came from somewhere. The giant's jaw was moving. Something vaguely humanoid was glimpsed inside its opening mouth.
'…!'
Jin-Woo reflexively assumed a combat stance. The daggers summoned in both hands flashed with a keen blade-light. But the voice coming from inside the giant's mouth was a familiar one.
"Your Majesty… It is I."
Beru stepped out and bowed respectfully to Jin-Woo.
"…It was you."
Jin-Woo let his guard down. Beru had slipped inside the giant, and his presence had been swallowed by the creature's enormous mana, so Jin-Woo had briefly been unable to tell friend from foe. Having confirmed it was Beru, Jin-Woo sent the daggers back to storage. Beru trudged over, coated head to toe in the giant's flesh and blood. It was easy to guess how much effort he'd put in from the inside. Jin-Woo was about to praise Beru with a smile, but suddenly scrunched up his face.
'What is that smell…'
The foul stench grew worse the closer Beru got. Even Beru seemed able to smell himself—his face was contorted. Beru arrived right in front of Jin-Woo and politely lowered his head.
"Right…"
Jin-Woo reached out to clap Beru on the shoulder as a gesture of good work, but spotting a mysterious yellow liquid clinging to it, he quietly withdrew his hand and spoke.
"Good work, Beru." "…Thank you, Your Majesty."
His voice sounding a touch curt was probably Jin-Woo's imagination. Anyway, the identity of the liquid on Beru's shoulder was not what he needed to focus on right now. If this super-giant monster wasn't the "lord of the Dungeon," then where was the real lord? That question had just flashed through Jin-Woo's mind when—woooooo—the air suddenly trembled.
'…!'
Sensing the disturbance, Jin-Woo quickly raised his guard. An instant later, Beru, who had detected the threat a split-second behind Jin-Woo, immediately puffed up his body and shielded him.
"Kieeeeeek!"
A violent gust slammed into them right after that.
'Ugh.'
Jin-Woo grimaced. A gale fierce enough to rip trees out by the roots swept through the surroundings, then vanished somewhere in the blink of an eye. The commotion settled quickly. Beru, judging that things had calmed down, stepped aside from in front of Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo surveyed the area and gasped.
'No way!'
That had not been wind. What he'd mistaken for wind was the terrifyingly savage and massive mana the giant had possessed. A huge amount of mana had moved all at once, raking across everything nearby as it went.
'Jin-Ho?'
Jin-Woo hurriedly looked toward where Yoo Jin-Ho had been. Fortunately, Igrit had shielded him, so Yoo Jin-Ho was safe. Jin-Woo let out a sigh of relief.
'Phew.'
Having regained enough composure to survey his surroundings once more, Jin-Woo turned his head in the direction the mana had vanished.
'…'
It was toward the Gate. Every last drop of mana the giant had possessed had been sucked inside the Gate, as though the Gate itself had swallowed it. The black curtain blocking the Gate had long since shattered during the dungeon break. The interior of the Gate—in other words, the Dungeon itself—was fully visible. Groooooo— the atmosphere hummed low. Even someone like Jin-Woo, who prided himself on having been through everything, had never seen or heard of such a bizarre phenomenon.
'Something's in there.'
His Sensing stat was telling him so. Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes toward the Dungeon's interior. Whatever was inside, the moment he perceived it, the back of his head prickled. A chill swept over him, and goosebumps erupted across his entire body. Thump, thump, thump. As if resonating with the moaning atmosphere, his heartbeat quickened.
"Hyung-nim…"
Yoo Jin-Ho approached cautiously, step by step, and stood beside Jin-Woo, gazing at the Gate. It could be dangerous. Jin-Woo turned to Yoo Jin-Ho and spoke in a heavy voice.
"You wait here." "Yes, Hyung-nim."
Yoo Jin-Ho nodded meekly. He desperately wanted to follow, but he figured he would only be a hindrance. Having left Yoo Jin-Ho outside, Jin-Woo led the Shadow soldiers through the Gate and into the Dungeon.
'Incredibly…'
He'd been in several top-tier Dungeons and thought he'd grown accustomed to the word "big." But stepping inside this Dungeon changed his mind.
'…Big.'
So endless were the impossibly tall and wide corridors that it felt as though the word "big" existed solely to describe a place like this, and Jin-Woo swallowed his awe in silence. Inside a Dungeon, he made not a single sound. Back in his early days as a low-rank Hunter, when he had few means of defending himself against monsters, this habit had taken root—and even now, long past the level of an ordinary S-rank Hunter, it was faithfully maintained. Being cautious was never a bad thing. In the darkness, Jin-Woo's eyes gleamed. Without letting his guard slip for an instant, he advanced toward the end of the Dungeon. Behind Jin-Woo, the soldiers—who had fought that ferocious battle and were now restored to perfect condition—followed in silence. After some indeterminate stretch of walking, Jin-Woo's steps halted. Beru, who had been trailing right at his back, raised a hand and brought the entire force to a stop. Having originated from an ant, a species perfectly suited for communal living, Beru proved skilled at commanding a large legion. Tick. The entire Shadow army froze. Beru glanced back at the soldiers, then stepped up close behind Jin-Woo.
"Your Majesty…" "Shh."
Jin-Woo raised his index finger. Then he continued.
"Do you hear it?"
Beru, who had been listening intently for a moment, nodded.
"…I do."
It was audible to Beru as well. From the far end of the Dungeon—the place where a boss should be—a laugh could be heard. A hearty male laugh, sounding genuinely joyful and without end. Jin-Woo couldn't help but be puzzled. Though the darkness of the Dungeon hid both parties from view, at this distance the other would surely have noticed their approach. The size of the Shadow army trailing behind him as well.
'And yet he's laughing?'
Of course, Jin-Woo had detected the other too. An overpowering mana that made it hard to breathe lay coiled beyond the darkness. The hostile aura, tinged with menace, exceeded even the giant's mana. But he was no pushover himself. Jin-Woo released all of his mana. Vooo— a wave rippled outward from Jin-Woo. Had it been laced with hostility, the shadow soldiers nearby would have crumbled on the spot. Even so. Hahaha— the other party still hadn't stopped laughing. The corners of Jin-Woo's mouth lifted ever so slightly.
'Interesting fellow.'
Smiling, Jin-Woo stepped into the boss room. A vast cavern opened up—the space where the super-giant monster had stood. Without a moment's hesitation, Jin-Woo walked in the direction of the voice. The shadow soldiers followed him in formation. Tick, tick, tick, tick. The sight of countless monsters marching in perfect unison, shrouded in black mist, was enough to inspire terror in any enemy. But.
"Hahahaha!"
This did not apply to the man chained from neck to toe. Chained? No. He wasn't merely chained. Black chains connected to the Dungeon's walls wound around him layer upon layer, pierced clean through his body, and in some places their ends had taken root like tree stumps. If this was punishment, one couldn't help but wonder what enormity of sin would have to be committed to end up like this. Jin-Woo frowned. The man, on the other hand, looked at Jin-Woo as though greeting a long-lost friend, a broad smile across his face.
"How amusing, how funny! Abominable Rulers—see who came to me first!"
Jin-Woo stopped at a distance neither too far nor too close. The man went on.
"The chains… remove them. I know the Rulers' plan. Hurry—other Monarchs must be told the truth—"
The man's words cut off abruptly. The eyes that had been filled with joy moments ago went eerily calm, as if a lie.
"…"
The man stared quietly into Jin-Woo's eyes. While the man studied Jin-Woo, Jin-Woo calmly studied him. In that moment, Jin-Woo realized that the man's face was identical to that of the super-giant monster standing outside the Gate.
'Not human… no.'
The mana signature was nothing like a human's. The fact that he was fluently speaking the language of monsters made it clear: this was no human. But why was a monster locked up inside a Dungeon? In the nearly ten years since Gates first appeared, monsters of all kinds had emerged—but never had he heard of one bound hand and foot, unable to move. Still, there was one clue: the word the man had spat out— "Rulers."
"…" "…"
A brief silence. After some time had passed, the man's lips finally parted.
"You are… not someone I know."
Jin-Woo didn't know who the man had mistaken him for, but he had no intention of denying it. Aside from the giant outside, this was a complete stranger. Jin-Woo asked.
"Those Rulers or whatever—they did this to you?" "They intend to use me. As a stepping stone to lay the true foundation of war."
It was a first. Jin-Woo had repeatedly tried to hold conversations with intelligent monsters, but not a single one had been able to explain its own origin. Yet this monster before him had, for the first time, revealed the reason for his existence. To lay the true foundation of war. Whether those words were true or false, Jin-Woo had a feeling they could serve as a lead.
"What exactly are these Rulers?" "The ancient enemies of the Monarchs." 'Monarchs…'
That angelic figure, backed into a corner, had lashed out. Had asked whether the other Monarchs would simply stand by and watch. Regardless of what kind of being that Monarch was, it seemed he now knew where at least one of those Monarchs was.
"So those guys are the ones who tied you up like this…" "Yes."
The man answered with sorrowful eyes.
"I, too, am a Monarch."
And in a desperate voice he went on.
"Most likely, both the Monarchs and the Rulers have you in their sights. But you currently lack the strength to face them all. If you mean to stand against them, you will need forces of your own."
Jin-Woo sifted through the many obscure terms and picked out the one the man most wanted to convey.
"Forces?"
The man nodded.
"Unseal me. I will aid you."