Yigyul stepped out of the alley, hiding his trembling hands.
Damn it, he truly thought he was going to die.
Wiping away a cold sweat in secret, he let out a long sigh.
Since the only divine power he had ever seen belonged to that eccentric old “fake monk” who went to the Gate of Reverse Heaven with him, this was his first time facing such pure, direct divine power.
The collision with his corroding demonic energy had made his entire body ache as if it were shattering, but the system window was telling a different story.
[The curse has been alleviated.]
[The curse has been alleviated.]
[The demonic energy of the ‘Fragment’ has decreased.]
“Dammit…”
His contaminated body was definitely healing.
However, he never wanted to experience that hellish pain again. It was a bit tempting, but… no.
He had his honey water.
Yigyul quickly dismissed the thought.
If it was just about alleviating the curse, honey water could handle it—even if it wasn’t a fundamental cure.
Yigyul hurried toward Dumang Mountain.
Arriving at the entrance of the trail, the first thing he encountered was a group of elderly men huddled together on the bench presses at the trailhead.
Yigyul greeted them with a polite smile.
“Hello, gentlemen.”
“Oh, isn’t it Yigyul? You here to work out? What a shame, they say a gate opened on Dumang Mountain just now.”
“Ah~ it’s a dungeon, not a gate, sir.”
“Isn’t that all the same thing?”
“It’s a bit different. That’s actually why I’m here. To do some harvesting.”
“I see, I see.”
The leader of the group, Old Man Jang, grinned and patted Yigyul on the shoulder.
Having prominent muscles, Old Man Jang’s grip was twice as strong as an average person’s.
Yigyul winced, muttering, “Ah, that hurts,” as he was pushed to the side.
Besides Old Man Jang, the other grandfathers of similar age looked over Yigyul as if they were checking on a grandson.
“It hurts~ Grandpa!”
“You’re so skin and bones. Are you even eating right?”
“Start coming out to exercise with us from tomorrow, Yigyul. Look at this, look at this body.”
Old Man Go, boasting a firm, bulging bicep, laughed with a wide grin.
Everyone burst into laughter.
These were the grandfathers who ruled the Dumang Mountain trail, possessed by a madness for exercise.
Furthermore, they had been regulars at the Jangchun Health Center, which Yigyul now ran, ever since Grandma Oksun was alive.
Thanks to Grandma Oksun’s special elixir, all of them were enjoying a second prime in life.
“You gotta smash the boss monster like this, and like that! Yigyul, look at this!”
Among them, Old Man Seoksam, who claimed to be a master in his youth, jumped up and mimicked Bruce Lee with strange footwork.
Old Man Go tried to stop him, but Seoksam was too excited, shouting “A-choo~!” and performing a jumping kick.
Yigyul waved his hands dismissively.
“Hey, sir, stop it! If you get hurt, even honey water won’t fix it!”
“Exactly! Stop it! At this age, if you fall, you’re dead!”
At Old Man Go’s shouting, the others chuckled.
This wasn’t an unusual sight.
“I’ll be on my way now. Did Mr. Seoksam request an extract this time?”
“I’ll come pick that up next week. I’m looking forward to it, Yigyul.”
“I’ll have it ready. I only use the good stuff, so please keep coming back. The rest of you too, okay?”
“Of course, of course.”
Offering a grin to the laughing old men, Yigyul left them behind and began climbing the Dumang Mountain trail.
Passing the entrance and going up a bit further, he found the boundary line indicating that a dungeon had opened.
In front, a spherical barrier had been set up to block the magical wave emitted by monsters.
Before it sat a middle-aged man with a potbelly wearing an orange vest, holding a glowing baton while sitting on a plastic chair.
He was an acquaintance.
“Mr. Kwon, are you in charge here?”
“Isn’t that Yigyul?”
Kwon Seonghyun.
Known simply as Mr. Kwon, he was a B-class hunter belonging to the UNP, an international police bureau.
He mostly worked guarding the entrances of low-rank dungeons.
Since Yigyul often saw him during harvesting jobs, they were on friendly terms—especially since Yigyul occasionally slipped him “bribes.”
Yigyul grinned and lightly tapped Mr. Kwon on the shoulder.
“What’s this? You’re just coasting today.”
“Coasting? Please~ things are hard lately. It’s not easy to make money.”
“A C-class is a breeze for you.”
“Yigyul, can’t you count the alphabet? It’s A, B, and then C. I can’t handle C-classes anymore.”
“Stop acting weak.”
Yigyul chuckled and then asked something that had just crossed his mind.
“By the way, sir… among the people entering this dungeon, was there a kid?”
“A kid?”
“Yeah. I heard a kid about middle school age headed this way.”
“A bunch of harvesting hunters just swarmed in, so I couldn’t count them all properly…”
Yigyul frowned slightly.
Surely not.
Would that brat Kang Yeongwon really enter a dungeon on his own?
Especially with a national hunter guarding the front.
No matter how much of a belly Mr. Kwon had, he was still a hunter.
Mr. Kwon also waved his hand as if it were nonsense.
“Still, I kept a good eye out. I didn’t see any kid. What kind of kid goes into a dungeon? Don’t you know those under 18 can’t even come near here?”
“Ah, I just asked just in case.”
“He’s not an Awakened, is he? There are always those types among the ones acting out lately. Even if it’s C-class, a dungeon is still a dungeon.”
“True, you’re right.”
A dungeon was a dungeon.
No matter how gutsy a brat was, there was no way he’d go in alone.
Yigyul nodded. It seemed he could cast aside the small lingering worry.
Just as he was about to enter the dungeon, Mr. Kwon, who was checking Yigyul’s watch, suddenly looked behind Yigyul.
His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
Yigyul, who had been looking down, turned around at Mr. Kwon’s shocked expression.
“Seo… Seo…”
“Ugh. You followed me all the way here.”
Seong Yohan was there.
Yigyul scowled deeply.
That persistently annoying face was staring straight at him.
Yigyul quickly turned his head away.
He didn’t want to keep facing that man.
He urged Mr. Kwon.
“I can go in now, right?”
“Seo… Seo… Seong Yohan…”
“That’s him. I’m entering now.”
Mr. Kwon was still dazed. Yigyul was appalled.
Was Seong Yohan really that incredible?
Was he really such a terrifyingly great person that people had to be this shocked?
Huh?! Irritation flared up.
Yigyul snatched his hand back from the dazed Mr. Kwon, pouted, and stood before the entrance.
Behind him, Seong Yohan asked quietly.
“Are you going into the dungeon? In that state?”
“Does it look like I came here to play?”
He replied with plenty of attitude, causing Mr. Kwon’s eyes to look like they might pop out as he stared at Yigyul.
Mr. Kwon stepped closer and tapped Yigyul’s shoulder.
He whispered with his lips, “Are you… do you know each other?”
Yigyul mouthed back a polite reply: “We don’t know each other.”
After that brief answer, Yigyul hurried into the dungeon.
Seong Yohan tried to say something from behind, but Yigyul ignored him.
[Dumang Mountain C-Class Dungeon]
Hesse’s Castle
Clear Gauge: 56%
The system window appeared before his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a blue sky.
And in the distance… a Gothic-style castle.
And then… a pungent smell of sulfur that seemed to pierce his nose.
Yigyul’s eyebrows twitched. This smell was too familiar.
‘Yigyul, those bastards smell like sulfur.’
‘You have a nose like a dog, old man. There are volcanic craters everywhere here, of course it smells like sulfur.’
‘No, the demons. All those demon bastards carry the scent of sulfur.’
Memories of the past resurfaced.
Yigyul pulled out a necklace hidden inside his hoodie and toyed with a name he missed.
The necklace, which had several name tags attached, felt heavy in his hand.
The monk-mage Guanun, who used divine power and was famous back in the Gate of Reverse Heaven.
‘…That fake monk was right.’
Yigyul’s expression hardened into a cold mask.
There was a demon in this dungeon.
A demon belonging to the Demon Realm.
