Not all Labyrinths produced the same type of Dungeon.
On some Labyrinth Floors, F-rank Dungeons appeared.
On others, S-rank Dungeons.
There were even Labyrinth Floors that generated hundreds of F-rank Dungeons, while others produced just one.
So, during the Stair War, the whole world rushed to claim the Floors treated like Nornja.
Because whoever secured those Floors would gain immense wealth, honor, and power.
No one was willing to give up.
The prolonged war of attrition went on, and as countries gradually dropped out, the curtain on the conflict finally fell.
Eight individuals had secured the key Floors.
Over time, they earned a place in the Twelve Constellations.
And among those names was a Blood Fiend.
“Hand over the Labyrinth you possess to me.”
“Understood.”
The Blood Fiend bowed deeply, panting as he obeyed my order.
[Ownership of the Labyrinth 37th Floor has been transferred.]
If the 21st Floor owned by Antonio mass-produced low-grade Dungeons, the 37th Floor held by the Blood Fiend guaranteed the production of S-rank Dungeons.
I opened the Status Window managing the Floors.
[11th Floor]
- Daily Dungeon Production: 3
- Rank: F
- Dungeon Production Country: Korea
[12th Floor]
- Daily Dungeon Production: 4
- Rank: F
- Dungeon Production Country: Korea
[13th Floor]
- Daily Dungeon Production: 5
- Rank: F
- Dungeon Production Country: Korea
[21st Floor]
- Daily Dungeon Production: 500
- Rank: F-D
- Dungeon Production Country: Korea
[37th Floor]
- Weekly Dungeon Production: 3
- Rank: S
- Dungeon Production Country: China
I changed the country producing the S-rank Dungeons to Korea.
From now on, Korea would receive three S-rank Dungeons every week, solving the shortage of Guardians.
Closing the Status Window, my eyes fell on the Blood Fiend kneeling before me.
“Do you happen to have any secret vaults hidden somewhere in the Blood Pavilion?”
“I do… Ugh.”
The Blood Fiend grimaced and clenched his teeth.
[The Guardian resists subjugation.]
This was the first time I’d faced such resistance, so it felt a little unfamiliar.
But I never intended to keep Sakyum alive from the start.
“Tell me about the secret vault.”
“The secret… vault is… behind the Blood Pavilion… in the mountain… Seclusion Training Hall… ugh.”
“Good. That’s enough.”
I revoked the Guardian delegation and ended Sakyum’s life.
“Kuh!”
Watching Sakyum’s eyes widen and glare at me before slowly closing, I stood up.
Beep! Beep!
Dozens of ambulances and police cars rushed toward the Association.
“Anne, release it.”
“Understood.”
I deactivated the Reverse Destruction Blood Celestial Soul Formation and moved toward Jessica.
A deep wound was visible on her chest.
I took out the Top Grade Potion from the Dragon Lair and poured it over the wound. It healed at an incredible speed.
Then I fed the remaining potion directly to Jessica.
Supporting her head, I slightly opened her mouth and let the potion flow in. Soon after, Jessica’s closed eyes fluttered open.
“…What about the Blood Fiend?”
“He’s dead.”
“…Will you come to America? I’ll take good care of you.”
“You should come to Korea.”
Seeing that she was conscious, I felt there was nothing more to worry about for the moment.
Leaving Jessica for a while, I headed to where the medical staff was bustling.
“Wait a moment.”
After calling them over, I took out a box filled with S-rank lowest-grade potions from the Dragon Lair.
Thud!
There was enough for everyone who had collapsed and then some.
“Use these. This should be enough.”
“Is this okay? This… money…”
“Saving lives comes first. Use as much as you need.”
“…Understood. Everyone, grab your potions and move out!”
“Yes!”
Amid the busy crowd, I spotted Lee Changgeon and Yoo Seolha.
Both had regained consciousness relatively quickly.
After the medical staff completed their checks and confirmed no issues, the two walked toward me together.
“What on earth happened?”
“What is going on here?”
I calmly explained the situation to them—the Blood Fiend targeted me, and I killed him.
“Why you?”
“He was a disciple of the Blood Fiend whom I met on the 11th Floor. I think he came for revenge.”
“…Those bastards. They must have known the Blood Fiend was moving.”
“They probably turned a blind eye, considering the Chinese Association President’s personality.”
If they had succeeded in killing me,
Korea would instantly lose its driving force for growth.
It would have been easy to sweep this incident under the rug.
With China’s status and power, they could have crushed Korea and erased the event.
However, there was a variable.
I survived, and they provoked an American Hunter.
“I’m going to contact China right now and confront them.”
“Contact the United States first.”
“America?”
“The Blood Fiend tried to kill Jessica too.”
Even China, mighty as it was, had a hard time dealing with America.
Moreover, they’d provoked not just any Hunter, but one of the Twelve Constellations.
Now, once America learns of this, they won’t stay silent.
“What I want is an apology from the Chinese Association President. And tell them to hand over all the Labyrinths they own.”
“Joo Wonseong won’t do what you want.”
“Then we’ll take them by force. So be it.”
Only two in China could stand against me.
Cheonma and Sword Saint.
Among the Twelve Constellations, they were top-tier fighters.
They could be overwhelmingly powerful, far beyond what my current skills and items could handle.
But I had the Dragon Lair.
Given time, I could surpass them both with room to spare.
“President. There are many people looking for you.”
“I’ll go ahead first.”
Such a major incident meant everyone was busy.
I sent the President ahead and prepared to leave when Yoo Seolha spoke.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“I have to protect my magician.”
“But do you think I can become strong like you?”
“Why?”
“I made a promise to my father. It’s frustrating not being able to do anything in situations like this.”
I smiled softly at Yoo Seolha, who bit her lip tightly.
“You have plenty of talent. Just keep going like this.”
The whole world was in shock.
“The Blood Fiend came personally to kill the Dokkaebi.”
“The reason for trying to kill the Dokkaebi was because of his disciple who used a Right to Challenge on the 11th Floor…”
“He used a special formation to drain civilians’ life force and attacked Korea’s Dokkaebi and America’s Twelve Constellations member Jessica…”
“Jessica and the Dokkaebi joined forces to deal with the Blood Fiend.”
Every time Korean Hunter Association President Lee Changgeon made an announcement, the community buzzed.
- The Blood Fiend invaded Korea?
- Didn’t you see this? It was taken by someone near the Association today.
- The red circle. Is that the formation the President mentioned?
- Wow, but the Dokkaebi is seriously on another level now.
- Right?
- Recognized. Killing a Twelve Constellations member is no joke. We might as well call him a Twelve Constellations level now.
- It’s only been about a month since his Awakening Quest, and he’s already at that level. What kind of legendary talent is this? Imagine how strong he’ll be with time. It’s exhilarating.
- It’s obvious Jessica killed him, but the Dokkaebi taking all the credit is brutal. That guy didn’t kill the Blood Fiend at all.
- China crawled back in again. There are multiple eyewitnesses saying Jessica was down and the Dokkaebi drank the potion and got up.
- Just leave already.
- For the Chinese Hunters trembling right now, thumbs up.
- Thumbs up.
- Thumbs up.
- Thumbs up.
- It’s crazy to block the Blood Fiend with so many people down but no deaths.
- Yeah. That’s truly insane. Can any other Twelve Constellations do that?
- Nope, right?
- The Dokkaebi is the future!
- Now China’s got nothing left, right? Purification Sect’s gone, Labyrinths lost, Twelve Constellations disappeared—
- They still have Cheonma and Sword Saint.
- Oh, right.
- Still, with this kind of performance, the Dokkaebi will be stronger than those two within a year.
- Ah… will he appear in the Hall of Glory this time? I’m curious how he fights.
- Definitely. Only those below the 30th Floor can participate, and he’s still far from the 30th Floor, so he should show up.
- Then the Hall of Glory will definitely be Dokkaebi’s victory?
- You never know. Other countries might be secretly raising monsters too.
- Wow… President, this time you’re coming out strong.
As the community flared up, President Lee Changgeon demanded a strong apology from China.
He also presented massive compensation claims and threatened that if China didn’t hand over all their Labyrinths as agreed, he would take them by force.
- With America on our side… China can’t move now.
- So why did they provoke an American Hunter? And one of the Twelve Constellations at that.
- Do you think they didn’t know what they were doing?
- For sure. How many photos were there of the Dokkaebi and Jessica together?
- I really wonder what the Chinese Association President is thinking right now.
- He probably thinks he’s screwed.
- Karma.
- Agreed.
- Definitely karma.
- They put on a show trying to control our country, but it backfired. They must have known about the Blood Fiend’s movements and pretended not to.
- Exactly. If a Twelve Constellations level is moving and you don’t know, you’re incompetent. If you did know, you’re an accomplice.
Not long after Korea released its official statement, the Chinese Association issued theirs.
“First, we extend our apologies. We are sorry. As the Chinese Association President, I bear great responsibility for failing to detect the movements of the Twelve Constellations Blood Fiend.”
“We will ensure such an incident never happens again, and since this was due to the Blood Fiend’s personal deviation, we will confiscate his assets to provide compensation.”
“Once again, I apologize to the hunters and citizens of America, Korea, and all who have trusted me in China.”
As soon as Joo Wonseong finished his statement and the cameras stopped rolling, he slammed his fist onto the podium, shattering it.
Crack!
Joo Wonseong’s face flushed bright red with rage.
It was an unbearable humiliation.
He had prepared numerous remarks to avoid a direct apology to Korea and America.
But despite all that, his pride was utterly crushed.
He was simply furious at the situation itself.
“…Dokkaebi.”
The sacred presence in Korea.
That guy ruined everything.
He had released the Blood Fiend, judging that the Dokkaebi could easily kill him.
But contrary to expectations, the Blood Fiend was killed by the Dokkaebi, and all the blame and backlash fell on him.
There was no longer any justification to strike Korea.
If he mishandled this, he might have to step down.
“…No.”
He had to do anything to keep his position.
But he was at a loss as to what to do.
“Ughhhhhhh!”
Joo Wonseong screamed, veins bulging from frustration.
A secretary approached him.
“President, we have a call from Yookai, the Association President. He says he wants to talk about the Dokkaebi.”
“…Dokkaebi?”
Joo Wonseong gasped, staring at the phone the secretary handed him before raising it to his ear.
Then Yookai’s voice came through.
“I think you’ll need my help this time.”
“Are you calling just to tease me?”
“Not at all. I really want to help.”
“You… what kind of help can you provide?”
“An opportunity. To kill the Dokkaebi.”
“That’s ridiculous. You can provide such an opportunity?”
Yookai chuckled lightly.
“The special guest you met has also come to us. Well, think it over, and if you change your mind, contact me.”
After fighting all day, I passed out as soon as I got home.
When I woke up, hunger hit me hard.
I moved to the Dragon Lair and ate the meal Balak had prepared.
Steelon personally brought the Dokkaebi Mask.
[Dokkeabi Mask (SS)]
- A mask crafted personally by Steelon.
- Those who see the mask feel an overwhelming presence.
- Weightless to wear.
- If broken, it can self-repair using mana.
- Magic enchantments can be applied.
- Magic enchantments can be applied.
- Magic enchantments can be applied.
- Magic enchantments can be applied.
Though it contained no special abilities,
The fact it self-repaired was significant, and having four slots to enchant magic was perfect.
I could customize it however I wanted.
“I’ll put it to good use.”
[If you need anything else, just say the word.]
“Yes.”
After sending Steelon off, I returned to reality.
I changed into casual clothes and pulled out my phone to check the news.
It was flooded with reports about yesterday’s events.
Meanwhile, China was showing stubborn behavior rather than a proper apology.
‘Good. That’s how you should be.’
That way, I wouldn’t feel guilty taking what you have.
I smirked.
Since I never expected a real apology anyway, I scrolled to what I wanted to see.
Dungeon locations announced. Residents around here should be aware the Dungeon is under attack until it is cleared…
Briefing from the Association regarding the Dungeon.
This was something I had asked the President for yesterday.
Once the location of an S-rank Dungeon is confirmed, notify via briefing.
“…By today, I’ll have filled all 10.”
The minimum requirement to undertake dispatch missions from the World Hunter Association Center.
I needed to meet the conditions quickly to proceed to the next quest and gain special currencies.
“Teleport.”
I moved my body to the location of the S-rank Dungeon the Association had briefed.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.