Chapter 60 : The Name Etched in the Abyss

Seeking the Abyss was not the sole domain of Explorers.

There were Operators who guided travelers in the lower Layers and established ‘paths’ within the Layers.

Retired Explorers who had turned into private armed groups.

‘Miners’ who extracted various resources from the Abyss, and many others.

Yet, it was always the Explorers who stood at the very forefront of Abyss Conquest.

The exchange of information among these Explorers took place through various channels.

There were official routes via the Explorer Association and the Record Information Center, as well as unofficial ones.

If one disregarded quality and reliability, the place with the most massive volume of information was undoubtedly the internet.

A website that began as a small community for Explorers called AdventureD.

There, without fail, posts related to the Abyss and Explorers appeared daily.

More than half of Korea’s Explorers were registered members of that site.

And that day, an analytical post appeared on the Issue Board.

Titled ‘Baek Yuseong This Broadcast Analysis.txt.’

Ever since its upload, it had received many recommendations and became a Best Post.

There was a man reading that post on his Notebook.

He was clearly Korean, but his exotic facial features stood out.

Handsome, perhaps, but his distinctively hooked nose made him unique.

He clicked through AdventureD’s analysis post with a frown.

“Guys, take a look at this.”

He called to his older brothers.

They looked just like him, sharing the same brown skin tone and thick hooked noses.

But if the youngest had the hooked nose, the two older brothers had distinctive traits of their own—one had salt-and-pepper hair, the other a cleft chin.

“What is it?”

“Baek Yuseong? His analysis post made Best again.”

They showed no special interest.

This wasn’t the first time Baek Yuseong had appeared as the subject of Best Posts on AdventureD.

Both Explorers and civilians were curious about this newcomer named Baek Yuseong.

“No, just look at the content once.”

When the youngest grew excited, Salt-and-Pepper and Cleft Chin also started reading the post.

‘Baek Yuseong This Broadcast Analysis.txt’

Views: 9,579 Recommendations: 152

Author: Cold-Headed Strategist

For those who watched the video on Mitube this time—I expect many among fellow Explorers have.

However, perhaps some of you AdventureD folks might have missed the live broadcast.

Baek Yuseong declared he would hunt down a ‘dinosaur.’

Of course, he didn’t mean the dinosaur that went extinct after the Cretaceous period, haha.

Various opinions have emerged.

Some say it’s the Wangko Lizard.

Others believe it to be a sea creature similar to a Serpent.

Today, I will dare to confidently argue.

The dinosaur Baek Yuseong refers to is the ‘White Crocodile’ that appears in the 14th Layer.

How do I know? Haha.

First, calling it a Wangko Lizard dinosaur is too small an analogy.

It’s only slightly bigger than a person, and from what I see, Baek Yuseong isn’t the type to bluff about something so insignificant.

And about the opinion that it’s a Serpent-like sea species?

If you think about it closely, that’s not the case either.

Baek Yuseong buried and finished off a Serpent.

It looked definitely like a snake-type aquatic monster but had horns.

Why?

That man doesn’t classify monsters by conventional standards.

He classifies them solely by ‘match.’

If it were a sea creature, he would have called it a fish, not a dinosaur.

Then the answer is obvious, right? Exactly.

So far, the conquest has reached up to the 18th Layer, and the dinosaur-type monsters—pachycephalosaur-like monsters—only appear from the 13th to 15th Layers.

Excluding ordinary and smaller aquatic monsters… the options narrow drastically.

My bet is on the White Crocodile.

When this big revelation came, Il Horangi, the eldest of the Three Brothers, expressed awe.

“Oh…”

“How about that, brother? Sounds right, doesn’t it?”

The youngest, Sam Horangi, smiled proudly.

Because this is anonymous, we can’t be sure if the author of this post is a truly outstanding Explorer or just a basement hermit.

But the content was surprisingly persuasive.

“Then our paths might overlap… hehe.”

The second brother, Eongdeongteok, smiled with a barely contained grin.

“Right. Look, we’ve got our own stories too, brother.”

The post continued.

Anyone familiar with current industry rumors would know who these Explorers are.

Yes, TT, the Treasure Hunter Trio.

They had retreated from the frontline to focus on relic exploration toward the 14th Layer.

Their crew concentrated on relic hunting rather than conquest.

The monster they sought was also the White Crocodile.

As someone had analyzed before, it seems there is some connection between that monster and relics of the 13th to 15th Layers, though I don’t know the details. Haha…

Everyone knows those greasy three brothers, right?

‘How dare they try to snatch our prey!’ They’ll definitely come out filming if you say that.

If Baek Yuseong is truly targeting the White Crocodile, a clash is imminent.

We might even get to see the triple attack show of the Treasure Hunter Trio.

This post will become sacred ground within weeks.

Then, I wish you all a successful conquest.

Clap, clap, clap.

Il Horangi clapped lazily.

It was a theatrical gesture, but the other two brothers seemed unfazed.

Il Horangi pondered while stroking Salt-and-Pepper’s hair.

“Baek Yuseong, daring to eye our prey… no, ahem.”

Suddenly realizing his reaction mirrored the post’s content, he corrected himself.

“It’s a challenge.”

“A long-awaited challenge.”

“Hmm, a worthy prey.”

The Three Brothers were pleased that Baek Yuseong, the subject of their Issue, was nearby.

“Youngest, turn on the camera. Let’s upload a response video and get some more subscribers this time.”

The Treasure Hunter Trio.

They were especially famous among Explorers running personal channels.

Among them, these three were particularly fond of attention.

That day, a video was uploaded to their channel, which had 600,000 subscribers.

Titled ‘Baek Yuseong’s Declaration of War?! The Brothers Won’t Back Down!’

The video became a hot topic from the moment of upload.

The Three Brothers smiled happily at the soaring view and subscriber counts.

***

12th Layer.

A makeshift boat floated on the sea.

Yuseong and Jang Dojin were aboard.

Jang Dojin teased the absent-minded Yuseong, who was staring at the water.

“Boss, can you do something for me too?”

“What?”

He was mimicking a classic job referral scene straight out of a movie.

“My mom always said it’d be nice to have a stable job.”

“Your father wants you to become an Explorer.”

“That’s Dad. Mom doesn’t really like the idea of me being an Explorer. She says it’s dangerous.”

“Is that so? Then what are you good at?”

“Uh…”

Jang Dojin hesitated, then opened his mouth.

“Weightlifting? Bench press?”

“If so, I don’t think you’re needed.”

Yuseong shot that down sharply, and Jang Dojin frowned.

“But you really do everything, boss. I was shocked when you suddenly said you became a boss. We talked a lot about you at home during meals.”

“Well, I came up with the idea, but Cheonghwa handled all the complicated stuff.”

Yuseong said that and leaned back on the boat.

Throughout his past life and this one, this was his first time becoming a boss.

He had met the requirements to join the Council, donated rare ingredients from around the world, and ultimately aimed to change public perception about food.

Though it cost three billion won, none of this would have been possible without Cheonghwa’s help.

Probably, Yuseong would have given up out of frustration otherwise.

“Ah, but it’s so boring.”

Jang Dojin also leaned back and sighed.

The boat they boarded was different from the one used on the 10th Layer.

Much rougher, it looked like a crudely woven flat wooden board.

No sails, but the boat moved swiftly as if riding a favorable wind.

This time, they weren’t following the sea route like before.

The 12th Layer, filled with complex reefs, was the most extreme marine environment among the oceanic areas extending from the 10th Layer.

Explorers either navigated the sea road using their boats and oars, or crossed from reef to reef.

“Shall we go a bit faster?”

“Yeah, let’s.”

Of course, this was unrelated to Yuseong.

He only flicked his hand forward lightly.

[As the Master of the Islands commands, the reefs open the path.]

At once, the ocean currents that seemed to wrap around the boat like they would swallow it calmed.

The boat, without any wind, shot forward swiftly.

Thanks to the privilege he recently gained.

“Epic Achievement…”

After surpassing 50% contribution in the Serpent Subjugation,

he achieved the Hidden Epic Achievement ‘Serpent’s Slayer.’

As expected, epic achievements came with formidable perks.

His cold resistance had significantly increased, and he gained a previously unheard-of privilege: ‘Lord of the Islands.’

“Feels great.”

“Indeed.”

The effect of this privilege was more straightforward than expected.

Near an ‘island,’ Yuseong could freely control the sea road.

Because of that, although the 11th Layer still had no dangerous monsters, it took a long time to clear, but Yuseong managed it in just one day.

Jang Dojin muttered absentmindedly.

“But it doesn’t seem like such a great privilege?”

“What?”

“I thought epic level would let you call down lightning from the sky or something.”

His impression was understandable.

Currently, the most outstanding publicly known achievement was at the epic level.

Even the strongest Explorers at the frontline had achieved epic achievements, yet their perks were not dazzling.

“Won’t it become useless once we go to the next Layer?”

“No, this privilege will become more useful later.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Yuseong knew.

Multiple oceanic Layers or Layers with islands would appear in the future.

“We’ve taken the advantageous position.”

And able to roam freely on the water, Yuseong would undoubtedly hold a better position than any other Explorer.

The Hidden Epic Achievement’s privilege was truly worthy of its name.

As they circled around a reef,

an island large enough to be called an island appeared.

“We’re here.”

The final stop of the 12th Layer.

The place where the Clear Gate was located.

Without bothering to disembark from the boat, Yuseong steered it upriver into the island’s interior.

Jang Dojin spotted Explorers already on the rocky island.

“There are quite a few people here.”

Unlike Yuseong’s leisurely group, these Explorers wore various climbing gear and cautiously ascended the island.

Every step over the slippery rocks looked precarious.

They had no skill like Yuseong’s to ride a boat upriver, so it was inevitable.

“Hey, they’re looking at us.”

The Explorers also noticed Yuseong’s party.

As if they recognized Yuseong from afar, they stopped climbing and whispered among themselves.

“Feels like they’re watching us…”

“Why would they?”

“It just seems like we’re the only ones comfortably passing through.”

Timid Jang Dojin seemed burdened by the attention.

When everyone was hiking hard, if someone rode a cable car to the top, they would naturally be the target of scorn.

Yuseong’s response was enigmatic.

“If they had any shame, they wouldn’t act like that.”

Jang Dojin’s expectation was completely wrong.

Instead, the group cheered toward Yuseong.

“Wow! Baek Yuseong!”

“Baek! Yu! Seong!”

They chanted his name as if greeting a celebrity—or rather, a war hero.

“…I didn’t expect to be embarrassed like this.”

“Wow, why are they acting like that?”

Some recognized Jang Dojin as well, and his name was chanted a few times.

“Jang Dojin!”

The great ape! The armored one!

Jang Dojin was proud but also puzzled by the outpouring of cheers.

“The weather’s been good all along.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Jang Dojin realize.

The 10th to 12th Layers were notorious for sudden bad weather.

Storms and heavy rain often struck without warning, and Explorers who navigated these waters on pet boats faced extreme danger.

Even the strongest could die if they fell into the water.

“When they caught the boss monster, the weather…”

“That was it.”

However, since Yuseong and the Subjugation Party had defeated the Serpent, the situation had changed.

There was a reason the Serpent was not just a huge monster but a Field Boss.

Simply killing it stopped the abnormal weather phenomena of the world’s Layers.

In other words, all the Explorers cautiously climbing around here were beneficiaries of Yuseong and the Subjugation Party.

Indeed, even after Yuseong’s ascent, the welcome continued.

Explorers of all ages greeted Yuseong with smiles.

Some even extended their hands for a handshake.

“I’m Park Cheoljung. Thanks to you, Yuseong, our guild safely passed the 11th Layer.”

“Wow, I’ve only seen you on Mitube, but you’re really handsome. Can we take a picture with you?”

Some even asked for photos or autographs, which Yuseong politely declined as he moved forward.

The Explorers kept their distance but followed Yuseong.

When Yuseong ignored them, they whispered among themselves.

“Is he trying to clear the Layer immediately?”

“Have you never heard the rumor? Whenever you reach the Clear Gate, they always eat there.”

Though slightly distorted, rumors about Yuseong seemed widespread.

“I’m really getting hungry.”

“Yeah, it’s about time for a meal.”

Yuseong didn’t always eat near the Clear Gate, but at least now, that was his plan.

“Oh, we’re eating!”

“This time, shall we eat the Moon?”

When Yuseong declared he’d eat the Moon, the spectators got even more excited.

Before his return, these Explorers didn’t even want to see him eat—this was a completely different situation.

“By the way, is there any edible monster nearby?”

“How would we know what’s edible? Maybe he’s got something in his backpack.”

Yuseong really opened his backpack and began rummaging.

What he pulled out left the spectators’ faces twisted in astonishment.

Famous for not eating Energy Bars,

Yuseong took out a government-issued Energy Bar.