Chapter 61: Haeundae (1)

A pitch-black gate had appeared at the Haeundae Observatory.

Beyond it, the hellish gates of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse could be glimpsed.

Soon after, a voice that resounded through the eardrums rang out.

<Warehouse Keeper ‘Cha Hasang’, obey the imperial decree of His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’ of the Magic Empire.>

And then.

KUGUGUGUGUGU—!

An incomprehensible force began pressing down on my body with terrifying strength.

The pressure felt like hundreds of elephants were sitting on me; I couldn’t even lift my head.

In the end.

—thud!

My legs gave out and I collapsed to the floor.

I was forced into a posture of kneeling and prostrating flat on the ground.

It was the posture of paying perfect respects before an absolute being.

An invisible power seemed to be forcing me into that position.

I steadied my breathing and concentrated mana throughout my entire body.

Even so, I could barely move my head.

When I turned it, the view of the beach beyond the observatory came into sight.

A gate that had formed right in the middle of the sandy beach.

A raging sandstorm and waves crashing violently.

A mana field spreading like sparks around the gate.

Seagulls flying away in panic and vacationers fleeing in chaos.

“!?”

Yet something was strange.

Everything had stopped moving.

It was a scene as though time itself had frozen.

No way…

I lifted my head and looked up at the rift in subspace.

The gigantic door leading into Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.

A crimson eye embedded at the very top was staring straight at me.

But that wasn’t all.

KURURURURUK~!!

Black mana.

Pure, pitch-black mana was pouring out in torrents from beyond the rift.

The Magical Warehouse… no, precisely the magic of the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’ was definitely affecting the surroundings.

At that moment, a sinister voice echoed once more.

<I deliver the imperial decree to Warehouse Keeper ‘Cha Hasang’.>

Ding-dong!

[Quest]

Conquer the dungeon 『Maslow’s Tower』.

A quest window appeared before my eyes.

At the same time, the black mana began pointing toward the dungeon gate at Haeundae Beach.

So that dungeon’s name was ‘Maslow’s Tower’.

Additional messages popped up one after another.

Ding-dong!

<This quest is an imperial decree personally issued by His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’.>

<Failure to accomplish the imperial decree will result in forfeiture of the Warehouse Keeper qualification.>

“?”

The wording felt ominous.

But the messages didn’t end there.

<Morgue’s Magical Warehouse Management Regulation Article 249, Clause 87: A Warehouse Keeper whose qualification has been forfeited will be ‘eradicated’ to ensure secrecy.>

Eradicated.

As far as I know, that word has only one meaning.

—Ding-dong!

<Will you carry out the imperial decree? (Y/N)>

There’s no real choice, so why even offer one?

Soon, yet another system window appeared.

—Ding-dong!

<Upon completing the imperial decree issued by His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’, an appropriate reward will be granted.>

Reward 1: All of the Warehouse Keeper’s stats will increase by 50.

Reward 2: The cooldown of the skill ‘Open’ will be permanently reduced by 1 day (24 hours).

“Oh?”

Both rewards looked incredibly tempting.

A carrot after the whip.

Is this what they call imperial dignity?

…Well, that changes things.

I nodded with difficulty and accepted the quest.

And then.

KUGUGUGUGU—

The crushing pressure that had been weighing on my entire body vanished in an instant.

“Phew—”

As I caught my breath and started to stand,

—Ding-dong!

<For the Warehouse Keeper who will carry out the imperial decree, His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor bestows a special ‘gift’!>

Suddenly, black mana swirled and gathered above my hand.

And that was…

“Oh ho…”

Quite an extraordinary artifact.

***

Busan Metropolitan City, Haeundae Beach.

Normally the sandy beach would be packed with tourists, yet now not even an ant could be seen.

It was only natural.

A gigantic structure had risen majestically right in the middle of the beach.

‘Maslow’s Tower.’

Despite the name, it resembled a pyramid far more than a tower.

Meanwhile, the fact that the dungeon’s structure was visible outside the gate was clearly an abnormal phenomenon.

Unless a dungeon break occurs, neither structures nor monsters from inside the gate can emerge.

The reason this was happening was the mana field leaking from an S-rank dungeon.

The mana field of an S-rank dungeon breaks the gate’s boundaries and even alters the surrounding environment.

In other words, not only structures but also the dungeon’s monsters could now come outside.

Sure enough.

WUUUUUNG—

Monsters began squeezing through the gaps in the gate and revealing themselves.

Reddish skin, pointed ears, and bodies the size of elementary school children.

Bat-like wings sprouting from their backs and long arrowhead-shaped tails.

‘Imps.’

Low-rank demons rated D+ in danger level.

The imps that had emerged grinned wickedly as they looked toward the buildings beyond the beach.

[KIGIGIGIGIGI—!]

[KEGEGE— KEGEGEGE—!]

[KIKIKIKIKIKIKIKIKI!]

Soon, they spread their wings, preparing to take flight.

But at that moment.

『Goksan Cheok Family First Form: Iron-Cutting Flash』

A fierce gust of wind pierced straight through the imps.

And simultaneously.

—slice—

The imps’ bodies slowly began to tilt.

More precisely, their upper bodies were gradually sliding off their lower halves.

Clear sword wounds were etched across their torsos.

Black blood sprayed onto the sandy beach as the imps collapsed in unison.

Soon, a man holding a sword stood tall before the corpses.

“The spawn cycle of the monsters is getting faster.”

South Korea’s A+ rank hunter ranked 6th — the Swordmaster, Cheok Junseong.

He turned around and continued speaking.

“Are the other A+ rank hunters still not here? Shin Sodam.”

“What the hell are you asking me for, you little shit? How would I know?”

An immediately irritated reply came back.

The Red Mage Tower Lord, Shin Sodam, growled in displeasure.

“Ha, seriously. Every single time, the only ones who show up on time are you and me. Those tax-thieving bastards — we should strip every last one of them of their A+ qualifications.”

Cheok Junseong looked at Shin Sodam and the members of the Red Mage Tower guild and said,

“I heard the other mage towers are also sending support for this operation. When will they arrive?”

There are four major mage tower guilds in South Korea in total.

The Red Mage Tower. 

The Blue Mage Tower. 

The White Mage Tower. 

The Gray Mage Tower.

All four were scheduled to participate in conquering this S-rank dungeon.

At Cheok Junseong’s question, Shin Sodam snapped back sharply.

“Are you insane?! Why do you keep asking me?! Am I the president of the Hunter Association or something?”

“Did you at least contact the Blue Mage Tower Lord?”

“Hah? The Blue Mage Tower Lord? You think I’m gonna call that bitch~!?”

Shin Sodam glared at him with bulging eyes.

Cheok Junseong continued calmly.

“You two are close, aren’t you? I heard you’re from the same hometown.”

“Ugh, bullshit. Just because we’re from the same hometown doesn’t make us friends. By that logic, from an alien’s perspective every human on Earth is a friend, right?”

Sparks popped and crackled around Shin Sodam’s hair.

The Blue Mage Tower Lord, Han Seoha, and the Red Mage Tower Lord, Shin Sodam.

The moment those two met, they fought like sworn enemies.

Eventually, Shin Sodam clicked her tongue and said,

“That bitch probably isn’t coming today. She’s off in Hollywood filming a movie or some shit. Ugh, that insane woman, Han Seoha. No sense of responsibility at all. Yet she struts around bragging about being 5th among A+ ranks…”

“Hm.”

“What’s with that face? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“As expected, you two get along well.”

“?”

Shin Sodam stared at Cheok Junseong with an incredulous expression.

“What did you just say? Are you out of your mind? Is there something wrong with your brain? How the hell did you reach that conclusion after hearing all that?”

“You even know her movie filming schedule. Plus, you always bring up the Blue Mage Tower Lord. You couldn’t do that if you weren’t interested.”

“Shut the fuck up! Seriously, I’m about to lose it!”

Sparks crackled around Shin Sodam once more.

Cheok Junseong shrugged and turned his head.

“By the way, where is Master…?”

“What? That old geezer Lee Geuk is coming too? Guess this really is an emergency.”

Shin Sodam stuck out her tongue in surprise.

Cheok Junseong’s master and South Korea’s undisputed strongest hunter — Sword God ‘Lee Geuk’, ranked 1st among A+ hunters.

Even past sixty years of age, he still held the top spot.

At that moment, Cheok Junseong frowned and said,

“Shin Sodam. Watch your words. Even for you, calling my master that is unforgivable.”

“So what are you gonna do about it? You wanna fight, punk?”

Right then.

Caw! Caaaaw~!

A sleek crow elegantly landed on Cheok Junseong’s shoulder.

A small note was tied to the crow’s leg.

Cheok Junseong quickly unfolded it.

“It’s a message from Master.”

“Pfft. A carrier crow in the 21st century? Very on-brand for the old man. What does it say?”

“‘Junseong-ah. I have arrived in Busan. However, I cannot seem to find the way. Could you come pick me up?’ — that’s what it says.”

“He got lost again? Incredible, truly. Both you and the old man. Why don’t you ever take care of your own master?”

“…I suppose I’ll have to go get him.”

With those words, Cheok Junseong vanished like the wind.

“Ha, seriously. Does he even know where the old man is before running off? He can’t find his own way anywhere either.”

Shin Sodam clicked her tongue and looked around.

Then, far in the distance, she spotted a man running.

“What the—who’s that?”

It wasn’t Cheok Junseong.

At the observatory, quite far from the beach,

someone had stealthily emerged and was now sprinting toward the city.

Civilian evacuation had finished over an hour ago.

Moreover, a 5-kilometer radius around the gate was under strict access control.

“A Hunter Association staff member? Wait a second…”

That man looked strangely familiar.

The hairstyle, the silhouette of his clothes — everything.

She felt like she had seen him somewhere recently.

Shin Sodam stared fixedly at the man running toward the city and muttered to herself.

…Where have I seen that guy before?