A place about 500 meters from Haeundae Beach.
[Haeundae Station]
An eerie emptiness hung over the streets in front of the station.
Scattered shoes and abandoned backpacks.
Cars left with doors wide open.
Street food trampled and crushed.
There were even bloodstains splattered here and there.
A street that had been packed with vacationers had turned into a ghost town in mere hours.
I looked around and muttered.
“As expected, there’s no one here.”
Two hours had passed since the S-rank dungeon gate appeared.
All nearby residents must have been evacuated to emergency shelters.
…By the way, why did I come to Haeundae Station?
Because of the imperial decree (quest) personally bestowed by His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor, of course.
—Ding-dong!
[Quest]
Conquer the dungeon 『Maslow’s Tower』.
This quest is a solemn imperial decree issued by His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor.
「View Details」
The quest content itself was simple.
Just clear the dungeon.
The problem was that it was S-rank.
Soon, I pressed [View Details] on the quest window.
The bottom of the quest window unfolded like parchment, revealing the detailed information.
[Quest Completion Conditions]
Neutralize the dungeon boss, 『Maslow』.
Maslow is an existence connected to His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’.
His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor wishes to meet Maslow in person.
※Upon completing this quest, you may be granted the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have an audience with the Sorcerer Emperor!
…So I might actually get to see the real Sorcerer Emperor?
Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.
A terrifying place where countless bizarre monstrosities are stored like ordinary objects.
The Sorcerer Emperor is the master of that place.
I didn’t particularly want to meet him, yet I was also curious what kind of person he was.
No matter what, the fact that I have to clear the quest doesn’t change.
Soon, I looked at the small lantern I was holding.
Ding-dong!
<Sandy the Sewer Rat’s Lantern>
– Storage Number: MRG-81
– Storage Grade: Safe
In a remote city lived a thief named ‘Sandy’ who looked like a sewer rat.
One day, he stole a lantern from a magician.
It was a magical lantern that shone brightly without fire or oil.
But the truly mystical thing about it was that if you held the lantern and imagined a place, it would reveal the hidden passages leading there.
Using the magical lantern, Sandy the Sewer Rat could come and go from every warehouse in the city.
…Until he was killed by a friend who coveted the lantern, that is.
“How do you always find secret passages so well? Alright, I’ll tell only you. With this, there’s no warehouse you can’t enter. Just follow this light…”
—Sandy the Sewer Rat’s last words—
The lantern in my hand was emitting a brilliant emerald glow.
It was the special gift lent to me by the Sorcerer Emperor for this quest.
To think it would find the hidden gate of a dungeon.
Hidden gate.
A second gate that spawns randomly near the area where a dungeon appears.
Passing through a hidden gate also allows entry into the dungeon.
Yet almost no one bothers looking for these well-concealed doors.
For one thing, hidden gates are extremely hard to find.
Unlike normal gates that appear in relatively visible locations, hidden gates spawn randomly in bizarre places—underground, high in the sky, or even deep underwater.
And above all, there is absolutely no benefit.
Whether you enter through the normal gate or the hidden gate, there is no difference.
Well, there is a benefit for me.
The dungeon that appeared at Haeundae Beach was S-rank.
Meanwhile, my hunter rank had only just reached E-rank.
There was no way they would let an E-rank hunter into an S-rank dungeon when even B-ranks would barely scrape by.
Therefore, the only way for me to enter Maslow’s Tower was to find the hidden gate.
I looked at the lantern again.
Sparkle—
An emerald light trail stretched out, guiding the way.
The light was pointing toward the underground stairs of Haeundae Station.
…Underground again?
Looking at the dark underground made me sigh involuntarily.
The very first mission I undertook right after obtaining my hunter license.
The memories of Bupyeong Station’s underground shopping mall made me shudder.
At that moment.
Ding-dong!
<Please carry out His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’’s imperial decree without delay!>
He really is annoyingly pushy.
Because it was an imperial decree from His Majesty, the system window nagged the moment I hesitated even slightly.
I shone the lantern ahead and descended the underground stairs.
Upon reaching the lower floor, a tightly shut steel shutter came into view.
There was a huge hole punched right through the center of the shutter.
As if something the size of a rhinoceros had burst out from the inside.
So I’m supposed to go in through here. It’s practically advertising that it’s dangerous…
Ding-dong!
<Please carry out His Majesty the Sorcerer Emperor ‘T’’s imperial decree without delay!>
<The great and majestic Sorcerer Emperor bestows fitting rewards on the excellent and severe punishment on the inferior!>
“Alright, alright. I’m going.”
If he says crawl, you crawl; if he says go, you go.
That is the fate of a warehouse keeper, whether in South Korea or on the Lokpia Continent.
***
The underground of Haeundae Station looked as though a flood had swept through—everywhere was submerged.
Splash— splash—
Every step echoed with the sound of water.
“This is worse than Bupyeong Station’s underground mall.”
A salty, fishy stench stabbed at my nose.
It must be an aftereffect of the S-rank dungeon appearing.
The mana field of an S-rank dungeon is powerful enough to completely alter the surrounding environment.
A little while later, I arrived in front of the ticket gates.
The light from the magic lantern was pointing beyond the gates, toward the subway platform.
As I was about to pass through, something caught my eye.
“…Barnacles?”
Large barnacles were densely clustered on the part where people pass through the gates.
Upon closer inspection, the stair handrails and walls were also covered thickly with barnacles.
Their surfaces looked so sharp that even a graze would cause a fatal wound.
I carefully passed through a gate that had no barnacles.
Then I looked down the stairs the lantern light was indicating.
“Whoa—”
The subway platform was a true hellscape.
The floor, walls, ceiling—every visible surface was swarming with ping-pong-ball-sized barnacles, and the seaweed growing around them writhed like living tentacles.
Moreover.
Squelch!
The floor was filled with sticky tidal-flat mud.
“Wow, I’m so thrilled. I’m gonna lose my mind.”
One mountain after another. No, one sea after another.
Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!
I stepped through the squishy mud and descended to the platform.
Then I pushed open the half-closed screen door and jumped down onto the tracks.
Splash—
Seawater rose up to my groin.
Barnacles clung to the tracks as well, so I had to be careful not to scrape myself.
“The lantern light has grown stronger. The hidden gate must be up ahead.”
If I walked about one more station’s distance, the back door of the dungeon—no, in this case maybe the under-door—would appear.
Anyway.
Splash— splash—
Every step forward made the seawater slosh.
When the lantern light illuminated the water, coral, sea urchins, crabs, anemones, and the like began to appear.
“Oh… it’s a little creepy, but it kind of feels like an aquarium.”
I shone the lantern light here and there under the water.
There were hermit crabs. Clams. Starfish. Conches.ackerel. Mudskippers. Cockles. And… an uncle?
“…?”
An uncle? What’s an uncle doing here?
At that instant.
[KRRRRAAAAA—!]
A man buried in the tidal flat suddenly opened his eyes wide and stood up.
His face was deathly pale, his body swollen from the seawater.
But what drew the eye most were the huge barnacles protruding from his face.
At the same time.
[UAAAAA—]
[KRRRRAAAA—]
[KRRRRRRRR—]
People buried under the water and in the tidal-flat floor all rose at once.
Every one of them had barnacles bulging like acne on their faces, necks, arms, and legs.
Ding-dong!
<Parasitic Barnacle Zombie>
– Danger Level: B
– Discovery Location: Haeundae Station, Busan Metropolitan City
***
An entity infected by the ‘parasitic barnacles’ that inhabit the Deathclaw Coast.
Normally they lie motionless in tidal flats or near water, but when a living creature approaches, they rise and attack.
They turn the target into another parasitic barnacle zombie, and in environments rich in moisture or salt, all their stats—strength, speed, stamina—skyrocket.
“Barnacle zombies!?”
Suddenly I remembered the barnacles stuck all over the ticket gates.
So if you get scratched by a barnacle… you turn into that.
To think that even a graze really was fatal.
The entire underground passage was covered in parasitic barnacles.
And barnacle zombies were continuously rising both in front and behind me.
At that moment, a quest window appeared before my eyes.
—Ding-dong!
<Sudden Quest Triggered!>
<Morgue’s Magical Warehouse has updated its request.>
<Request: Parasitic Barnacle Samples (0/100)>
<Reward: All Warehouse Keeper stats +1>
“…Parasitic barnacle samples? You’re telling me to rip those off and submit them?”
I looked at the grotesque barnacles clinging to the zombies’ bodies.
What on earth are they planning to use them for?
Is there some monster in the warehouse that feeds on barnacles?
Whatever the case, they were enemies I had to defeat to move forward anyway.
Kill two birds with one stone—clear the path and raise my stats.
“Not a bad deal.”
I immediately advanced toward the barnacle zombies.
Then.
Ding-dong!
<Monster mutation detected in the vicinity!>
<The presence of ‘moisture’ and ‘salt’ accelerates the monsters’ transformation!>
<All stats of ‘Parasitic Barnacle Zombie’ greatly increased!>
“?”
At the same time, I saw the line at the bottom of the barnacle zombies’ description window.
In environments rich in moisture or salt, all stats—strength, speed, stamina—skyrocket.
“Ah.”
This place was exactly that kind of environment.
[URRRAAAA—]
[URRRR—]
[KRRRAAAAAAA—]
Soon, the barnacle zombies began charging at me all at once.
But.
Everyone is equal before an explosion.
I immediately activated my skills.
Ding-dong!
<Activating skilly skill ‘Embers’!>
<Activating skill ‘Inherited Skin Oil’!>
KWAKWAKWAKWAKWANG!
A ferocious explosion resounded through the tunnel.
Crimson flames swept through the pitch-black passage.
WHOOOOOOSH
The charging barnacle zombies were engulfed in the fierce blaze and oxidized in an instant.
Even the barnacles clinging to the tunnel walls began burning black.
[KIGIGIGIK—]
[KIIIIIK—]
[KIGIK—KIGIGIK—]
The barnacles screeched grotesquely as they spread their legs wide.
Thick tentacles burst out and flailed wildly.
“What are you going to do with those flailing tentacles?”
I activated the skills again.
Ding-dong!
<Activating skill ‘Embers’!>
<Activating skill ‘Inherited Skin Oil’!>
An even fiercer storm of flame swept through the underground passage.
The never-extinguishing feathers of the fire crow and the hyper-concentrated oily mucus of the Gigasnail.
Their combination was more than enough to incinerate dozens of barnacle zombies.
KWAKWAKWANG—!
Fighting a horde of enemies rushing in a narrow terrain—I had already experienced that countless times in the warehouse.
Soon, I absorbed all the flames in the underground passage with the fire crow’s feathers.
WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM WHOOM—
Ding-dong!
<Skill 『Embers』 converts fire damage into energy!>
The blackened underground passage came into view.
Charred zombie corpses lay scattered everywhere.
“Hm, maybe I should’ve controlled the firepower a bit.”
Most of the parasitic barnacles on the zombies’ bodies had burned away or shattered.
Still, if I searched, I’d find some intact samples.
I took out the Gigasnail gloves from my inventory.
“With these, I won’t have to worry about getting cut by barnacles.”
Wearing the Gigasnail gloves, I quickly collected samples from the barnacle zombies.
A moment later.
Ding-dong!
<Parasitic Barnacle Samples
…
(100/100)>
<Sudden Quest Completed!>
A radiant orb of light formed in midair and began seeping into my body.
Ding-dong!
<Strength +1!>
<Stamina +1!>
<Agility +1!>
<Intelligence +1!>
<Mental Power +1!>
“If all quests were like this, I’d welcome them anytime.”
I stood up with a satisfied smile.
The pitch-black underground passage still stretched ahead.
It seemed I still had a bit further to walk to reach the hidden gate.
I began walking, following the lantern’s light.
But…
“…?”
Something felt off.
I quickly shone the lantern light everywhere.
Nothing on the walls, nothing on the ceiling, nothing even in the water.
Not a single parasitic barnacle that had been clustered everywhere could be seen.
…This doesn’t feel good.
From my experience so far, this was never a pleasant sign.
When the small fish disappear, it often means a predator is nearby.
Sure enough.
DRDRDRDRDR~!
The lantern in my hand began shaking violently.
The color of the lantern light shifted from green to red.
At the same time.
Twitch
Something in the darkness ahead moved.
I shone the lantern toward it.
“…!?”
A barnacle the size of a tetrapod—one of those concrete structures commonly seen on breakwaters—was completely blocking the subway tunnel.
The previous barnacles were already large, but this one was on another level.
At that moment.
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK—
The shell of the giant barnacle slowly began to open.
And at the same time, a system window appeared.
—Ding-dong!
<A Parasitic Barnacle Zombie Variant has appeared!>
<Phase 2 begins!>