Episode 69: The Dark City of S-Class Dungeon (4)
Included in Suhomun’s curriculum was a topic called ‘Understanding Magic.’ The Guardian Gate policy was that a wizard’s use should be studied, even if they weren’t recognized as equal. Therefore, the warriors had an idea of the general timescale required for casting, amongst other integral aspects of magic. Jeong Pan-soo knew the topic well, and memory informed him that even those who had been on an elite course from childhood were expected to be second-circle wizards by Kang Min-hyuk’s age. It made no sense to him.
Kang Min-hyuk used fourth circle magic in front of everyone. At first, Pan-soo thought he had seen it wrong, but he couldn’t deny reality. How the hell had he done it? Even more shocking was that Kang Min-hyuk’s magic surpassed the fourth circle. The spells themselves belonged to the fourth circle, but their power extended into the fifth. Otherwise, no B-class Durahan would fall beneath it. The casting time was also unusually short, and he cast an astonishing ten times successfully. Any ordinary wizard would have been crippled by fatigue.
Pan-soo was not the only one taken aback by Min-hyuk’s performance. The third disciples also commented on it.
“Since when was Kang Min-hyuk a fourth Circle Wizard?”
“Nobody learns magic that quickly! What the hell is going on?”
“It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s great. I didn’t know that magic could be so effective!”
“It’s usually not. I’ve been hunting with a fourth Circle Wizard a few times, but Min-hyuk’s magic was much stronger than what he used. It’s weird. Have you ever heard of a wizard using ten spells in succession? Even a skilled magical would collapse after four or five.”
Perceptions were changing of the Gate’s fallen son. People thought that he had retired to magic as a way of giving up, but the boy had achieved unexpected results. The revelation changed the wavelength of Min-hyuk’s reputation. He was no longer the underdog, and this infuriated Jeong Pan-soo, who hated Kang Min-hyuk with venom so potent only envy could create it.
Pan-soo witnessed Kang Min-hyuk’s contribution, but he did not discuss it at all.
“Everyone has to fix it quickly. There is no time.”
His voice was edgy – nervous and dark. When he unsheathed his ax and glanced around, the disciples of Suho Gate looked away with pain. Pan-soo was their superior; they were afraid that praising Min-hyuk could be problematic for them, so they chose to look the other way.
Jeong Pan-soo approached Kang Min-hyuk.
“‘I don’t know how you got to that level, but I’m certain it’s your limit. From the moment an A-class monster appears, you’ll be useless. Not even a fifth circle wizard could stand up to one of those. So look carefully. From the moment you gave up your position as Suhomun’s successor, the gap between you and me has widened.’
Kang Min-hyuk turned away. It was time to focus on the battle.
* * *
Subjugation cruised like a ship in the wind. There were several times that the monsters resurrected from the rear attacked, but it was not enough to cause a problem.
Suhomun’s intelligence unit recognized many of the S-class dungeons and dark cities. Although they did explorations themselves, they could not enter a certain area due to safety concerns. It became a situation where the power of information could no longer be borrowed for Suhomun, and as he stepped into an unknown area, Lee Jun-ho’s senses became sensitive.
“Stop…”
About 10 minutes after entering the unknown area, an unfamiliar view was seen in front.
“Captain, there is a body.”
Around the building where the outer wall had collapsed, a corpse was seen twisted upon the floor. Lee Jun-ho and other advance teams approached it carefully. The body, completely drained of blood, seemed to have been dead for quite some time.
Lee Jun-ho examined the corpse’s outfit.
“There’s a black bracelet on his wrist. He’s part of the Drake mercenary, the last of the 12 parties that challenged the Dark City. Why were they killed in a place like this?’
Drake was a mercenary group that specialized in targeting dungeons around the world. After the previous 11 parties were wiped out, the Drake Mercenary Corps entered the Dark City with an elite force capable of dealing with Class A monsters. None of them returned alive. The Guardian Gate had not yet encountered A-class monsters, so it was determined that there was every chance they were dwelling nearby.
“The person who sent the survival radio transmission was also a member of the Drake Mercenary Corps.”
Lee Jun-ho looked around. He needed information. When he checked around the body, he saw a handkerchief stained with blood in the man’s hand. Words written in blood covered the surface.
[Expensive beak]
“… Expensive beak?”
The text didn’t look right. It may have been written just before he died, and the base was covered in blood and could not be distinguished. Suddenly, Lee Jun-ho realized that S-class dungeons and Dark City were an area of the epic monster Dark Lich.
“Surely not…”
Beep.
The noise triggered all of his senses, and he immediately shouted to the main university.
“Get together in one place right now! Space Separation, Dark Lich will use space separation…”
Rrrumble.
His judgment was correct.
The real term was ‘spatial separation,’ but the situation had already arisen.
“Damn!”
The ground shook beneath their feet, and the world around them distorted. Black mana erupted like magma from a volcano, took control of the surrounding space at once, and blocked the five senses.
Immediately after the explosion, while the people of Suhomun stood within the distorting space, the rear party, or ‘latecomers’ were nowhere to be seen.
* * *
Space separation was a very difficult type of magic. In the past, an English party experienced dungeon-based space separation. As a result, the party was scattered and destroyed. If they hadn’t written about space separation just before they died, humanity might not have known forever that such magic existed in the world. It had occurred three known times in a century of documented history. Kang Min-hyuk knew of it, but it was too rare for him to be prepared for it.
“Wow.”
Kang Min-hyuk frowned. Disgusting energy lingered inside due to the impact of space separation. When he finally got up and checked his surroundings, he saw a group of 3 people rising one after another, right beside him. Kim Seong-ho also regained awareness.
“Are you okay?”
“…I think so?”
Kim Seong-ho smiled, his face pale. They’d been fortunate, though – spatial separation was magic with many variables.
If there was no chance of separating the space, the bodies of those within it might be torn apart. The dimensional rift is such a frightening thing, and it was also the reason humanity remained cautious about the magic that directly interferes with matter, generally. The magical civilization was already widely known for the magic that transcends the physical world. However, the fortified civilization still loved technology that combined science and magic, such as magic buses and airplanes.
Group three all seemed to have fallen into the same place. But then, Min-hyuk heard a strange sound from somewhere.
“What are you talking about?”
It was close.
As Kang Min-hyuk checked the surroundings, there was something like a human figure crouched within the building’s deep shadows.
“Whoah…there’s someone here.”
A dry croak came from the corner. Kang Min-hyuk went there in a hurry. He found a man who seemed to be in his early twenties, whose condition was concerning. Both legs had been severed in battle, and his cheeks were sunken due to malnutrition. It was remarkable he hadn’t already died. Upon further investigation, however, scraps of beef jerky could be seen. Almost all of that was gone, however, and death crept darkly across the man’s face.
“Oh…are you the rescue team?”
His voice was thick and jagged, as though it hadn’t been used for a very long time. Kang Min-hyuk checked his condition and told Kim Seong-ho to call Jeong Pan-soo.
“Yes. We’re a rescue team. What the hell has happened here?”
“I…I was separated from space. Dark Lich is really scary… … Wow!”
Splat.
He retched, coughing up black blood from deep in his lungs. He was dying. Kang Min-hyuk took immediate action. He carefully poured a few drops of water into his mouth, but the man couldn’t swallow and vomited again.
“What’s happening?”
It was Jeong Pan-ho. He got up and arrived with Jeong Pan-soo. He didn’t need an explanation. It was obvious that the dying man was the one who contacted them through the survival radio, and there was no way to save him. The people of Suhomun had seen numerous deaths.
Jeong Pan-soo said in a calm voice, “Father, this man cannot be saved. Rejoining the group has to be our main priority.”
Jeong Pan-ho let out a deep breath that filled his cheeks and said with a hard look, “It’s Pan-soo.”
Jeong Pan-soo’s eyes filled up with tears. However, Jeong Pan-ho’s expression was determined, “I used to say my sister: never give up on people, under any circumstances. I didn’t teach you very well.”
“Yes…but.”
“But what? Would you abandon me if I was in that state? That man has persevered through great trials. He still lives. Can you imagine the despair of being left behind to die alone? Even if he doesn’t survive, he should be by our side.”
It was a strange sight. As Jeong Pan-ho admonished Jeong Pan-soo, the rest of Group three held their breath.
There was a case like this once in the past. It was in Kang Min-hyuk’s memory. Just once. When Jeong Pan-soo got scared and left in the middle of a training session, Jeong Pan-ho turned into a tiger. At that time, even Kang deok-cheol could not be dried. Jeong Pan-soo was beaten to dust for abandoning an ally, and from then on, he could not disobey his father.
The situation at that time was re-enacted. Knowing that Jeong Pan-ho had a line that should not be crossed, Jeong Pan-soo bowed his head with a softened expression.
“Sorry.”
“You had to be told.”
Jeong Pan-ho drew attention, and looking at Kang Min-hyuk, he said,
“This survivor is our top priority. Help him, and we’ll rejoin the main group.”
* * *
The survivor woke up later and identified himself as a Korean-American named Alex.
“…Thank you very much. If it weren’t for you, I would have died.”
Jeong Pan-soo turned his head guiltily.
The cameraman of K Broadcasting Company took care of Alex. Since his only use was to document the proceedings, he had no choice but to volunteer to use his energy this way. Anyway, the shooting had become difficult. Alex, who was walking with the support of the cameraman, said in a fearful, trembling voice,
“You have to be careful. There was an A-class monster, Death Knight. Because of them, we were annihilated…”
Beep.
A signal was heard in front. At that moment, Alex’s expression turned pale. If a monster appeared, it would be Death Knight. Alex’s body rattled. Now he was about to collapse, Kang Min-hyuk sent warm mana to his back.
Hwaak.
“Do not worry.”
Alex looked at Kang Min-hyuk. Looking into his fear-filled eyes, Kang Min-hyuk said in a firm voice.
“The Suho Gate doesn’t fall easily.”
Jeong Pan-ho and Jeong Pan-soo weren’t fond of Kang Min-hyuk, and he didn’t like them either. He did, however, recognize Jeong Pan-ho’s skills. He was known as ‘the tiger of the guardian gate’ and was Kang Deok-cheol’s closest aide.
Jeong Pan-ho was a monster. He, in earnest, joined the battle.
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