My ears were ringing. It felt like someone had shouted, but the sound was muffled as if filtered through a thick membrane—I couldn’t make it out properly. Ziiiip. My limp body was being dragged away. I could feel one of my legs, and the clothes wrapped around it, getting soaked in blood.

I struggled to regain my senses. As long as Grace couldn’t properly protect me, Yuhyun and the others could only watch helplessly. If they tried to rescue me recklessly, I’d get hurt too.

I forced my heavy eyelids open. When I lifted my head, I caught a glimpse of Yun Yun collapsed in a curled-up position. The horns and tail that had sprouted were gone.

And next to her—

[Grade 1 Demonkin – Weaving Nightmare]

Something like a mass of blood-red smoke was floating. A single wisp of smoke from that mass had pierced my leg and was slowly dragging me. That thing… could it be?

‘The Nameless Demon King?’

The owner of the item Yun Yun had swallowed when she grew—no, wasn’t that absorbed and gone? I scanned my surroundings with eyes that kept blurring from the pain. But everything was submerged in blood-red smoke, and I couldn’t see anything. I only caught a glimpse of the Red Marble goblin lying face-down in the distance. Since my stats were F-Rank, everyone else would be safe, but my heart pounded with anxiety.

Just then, a system message appeared before my eyes.

[※Warning!!※

Boss monster not registered in the system detected!

Forced synchronization of a dungeon outside the system will begin!]

What? A dungeon outside the system—are you talking about this place right now? The demon king that had disappeared appeared and was recognized as a dungeon… what are you warning me about before that!

[Prepare for tremors and changes in terrain! The dungeon’s grade is grade is grade is! Confirmed as SS-Rank! Beings with an existence value grade of A or lower will be pushed outside.]

The messages appeared in rapid succession. An SS-Rank dungeon? A-Rank and below are sent out? That’s a relief—no, it’s not!

“Just send out the goblins! Rookie! Just leave me!”

I have to stay. Even more so if it’s an SS-Rank dungeon, not an S-Rank.

[Dungeon Synchronization in progress ■■□□□□□]

[Please wait a moment!]

[Collecting data!]

[A new dungeon will be created using the fragments of this world.]

[Based on this world, Year 20XX, Month XX, Day XX, XX o’clock]

[A new dungeon will be registered in the system!]

[8R-30-DES8320

Dungeon Creator: King Trapped in the Tower, King of Harmless, Yu Myungwoo]

For a moment, I doubted my eyes. Myungwoo, why are you involved in this? Is it a different person with the same name? And the King of Harmless is dead!

RUMBLE!

The world began to shake. The Red Marble’s form disappeared, and Yun Yun and the Weaving Nightmare also faded away as if blurring.

[※Warning! Warning! Warning!※

The use of skills that affect the outside world of SSS-Rank or higher is prohibited!]

The system message flashed red. I don’t have any skills like that to worry about!

[Checking for errors ■■■□□□□

Completion 65.451%]

[This dungeon requires additional maintenance and improvement!]

[Fragment information is having an excessive influence.]

[Fragment information is being influenced by the raiders.]

[The raiders are being influenced by the fragment information.]

[A large number of errors are likely to occur! 23 errors have already occurred! A quick fix is recommended!]

[The dungeon creator’s skill is clumsy! A very inexperienced creator is having an influence.]

The messages flashed past my eyes so quickly that it was difficult to check them one by one. It seemed the dungeon state was a mess, but what about the errors?

Soon, the system messages disappeared, and the surroundings became completely white and bright. As it grew brighter and brighter, I couldn’t hold on any longer and closed my eyes. The entire space around me shook as if it were collapsing.

After some time had passed, the sound that had been deafening my ears suddenly disappeared, and silence fell. I slowly opened my eyes. My eyes adjusted to the dim space.

“What is this.”

A familiar scene came into view. An empty subway station. Rows of ticket gates with their lights off. The electricity wasn’t completely out, as emergency lights were on here and there. After confirming that the distorted surrounding mana had returned to normal, I first raised Grace to S-Rank.

– Chirp!

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

I soothed Grace, who popped out worriedly, and poured a potion on my blood-soaked leg. It was a relief that it was the injured leg. I took out a spear from my inventory and used it as a cane to get up.

“Rookie!”

I called out softly, asking what on earth had happened. Then the system message appeared again.

[You have entered a new dungeon for the first time!

A completely new dungeon! Clear bonus +500%!]

“No, I don’t need this. Though a 500% bonus is appreciated.”

The reward for clearing a dungeon for the first time was the best, but I had never heard of a five-fold bonus.

‘Does that mean the new dungeons so far had actually been cleared in other worlds?’

It was the first clear in our world, but it seemed it wasn’t the first in the entire universe, system-wise. But this dungeon was freshly made and hot off the press…

“Explain it to me, explain it. What happened to Myungwoo? And the King of Harmless?”

[System is under maintenance! Please wait a moment.]

“Ah, okay.”

First, I started walking. It would be best to join up with the others first. It looked like a normal, empty subway station, but since it was a dungeon, I didn’t know when a monster might pop out. I put on the Wildcat set and used the Stealth skill. Let’s see, Yeoksam Station? That… could this place be? No, it looks the same, but could it be…

As I walked past the ticket gates—

“…”

I came to a dead stop. In front of an advertisement billboard in the subway station. It was a familiar face. A face I could never forget stared back at me, expressionless.

“The fragment of this world.”

Is this what it meant? It was my younger brother, around twenty-four or twenty-five years old. The text on the billboard was erased and couldn’t be seen.

“I knew that dungeons were like this, but…”

The higher the dungeon, the more pronounced the traces of civilization appeared. Castles, villages, cities, and so on. Traces of worlds that had been swallowed by the Source and disappeared. And this was—

A trace of the world that had been cut off when I regressed. I stared at my brother’s face in silence for a long time.

“Ah… really. I couldn’t even tell my business partner and Chief Song. And Yun Yun doesn’t know a thing.”

I thought Chief Song and Yun Yun would believe me if I told them the system had created it on its own, but Seong Hyunjae would one hundred percent notice.

I let out a long breath. It’s okay. It’s just a dungeon. A dungeon teeming with monsters, without a single person. For that, it’s in too good a condition. Could it be that the buildings also get destroyed according to the number of times it’s cleared?

Looking up at the clear advertisement photo again, I turned on the Fear Resistance skill. At the same time, I felt sorry for Park Hayul. Seeing the skill take effect, he must be alive and well. I want to go back, but to do that, I have to clear the dungeon. I’ll have to turn it off again right after clearing it.

The machines weren’t working, so I struggled up the stairs and came out to the surface. The all-too-familiar street scene made me feel strange. Even though the sun hadn’t completely set yet, the empty sidewalks and roads felt unfamiliar. This place was usually crowded with people.

“There are no buses or taxis.”

– Chirp.

“How big is this dungeon? I should have brought a bicycle. I probably can’t ride it with this leg anyway.”

Let’s see, this is Yeoksam, so… should I go towards Haeyeon Guild? I thought Yuhyun and Yerim would probably come to Haeyeon. Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song would probably go there to join up too. I don’t know if Yun Yun is okay. Since she has a teleportation skill, she should be fine if she’s regained her senses. It would take at least thirty minutes to walk to Haeyeon Guild. With this leg, it would be even slower.

“It’s a good thing I don’t see any monsters, but if it’s an SS-Rank dungeon, the regular monsters might be S-Rank.”

It’s a relief that the Stealth skill works on S-Ranks with the Wildcat jacket buff. For now, I set my direction and started walking.

The city was really well-preserved. Even the convenience stores were fully stocked with products. There were also cars parked here and there on the roadside. But unfortunately, there were no car keys. I probably can’t start a car with a master key.

“Gangnam Station is damn far.”

And I have to go even farther from there. The Hunter Association is near Gangnam Station—could Chief Song have gone there? If he were to go to his own place, he would have gone to the Awakened Management Office, not the Association.

I trudged along the road. I thought about firing a signal flare, but it would be troublesome if S-Rank or higher monsters swarmed in. Still, since the goblins, except for Yun Yun, would have all gone out, the rest of them should be able to protect themselves…

‘Wait a minute, why was I left behind?’

Did the rookie listen to my request? Anyway, I just need to join up quickly and use the double damage skill to clear it. Phew, I can finally see the Association building. There are people at the Hunter Association… too…?

“We have to be quiet, Grace.”

– Chirp.

Grace chirped softly and went inside the necklace’s jewel. It’s humans. And I even saw a familiar face.

‘Crazy.’

Hunters. Hunters belonging to the Hunter Association were walking around the Association building. Just in case, I used the Promising Talent skill.

[Grade 2 Humanoid – Defense-type Hunter

Current Stat Grade S

Potential Awakening Stat Grade A

Optimized Initial Skills

I’ll Take the Hit for You! (S) Acquired

Shield Block (A) Acquired

Steel Skin (A) Acquisition Failed]

‘Is an Awakened a monster!’

Right, I definitely remember that face. He was originally an A-Rank Hunter, but he had become S-Rank, probably because he got a buff from an SS-Rank dungeon. Then is an S-Rank Hunter SS-Rank? As soon as I thought that, a scary fact came to mind.

Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae. No, was Seong Hyunjae missing at this time?

‘It can’t be. Tell me it’s not, Rookie. Not Yuhyun.’

And please let Mr. Partner’s point in time be after his disappearance. It’s hard enough now, but an SS-Rank Seong Hyunjae—that’s a nightmare. How do you even catch that?

Just in case, I raised Grace to SS-Rank and walked stealthily, keeping a distance from the Association building. But is it okay to go to Haeyeon Guild like this? It seemed that at Haeyeon, the Haeyeon Hunters would be monsterized. At this time, did Haeyeon have two more S-Rank Hunters besides Yuhyun? One of them was in charge of a regional branch.

‘I should confirm the exact time first, and if it’s after Seong Hyunjae’s disappearance, it would be better to clear Sesung first.’

Among the S-Rank and higher dungeons, there were also forms where the strongholds were divided into parts like this. In such places, you usually had to clear the weaker strongholds first.

Breaker… probably doesn’t exist. Is MKC still around? Hanshin will be there too, and the Awakened Management Office… ugh, please let it be after the disappearance. Please, please, please. Just thinking about Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song being SS-Rank gave me chills down my spine, even with Fear Resistance on. As for Yuhyun, since the possibility of him not being there is low, I’ll give up, but please, not the other two.

Since it was a place to be cleared, I was checking the Association Hunters outside one by one with Promising Talent and passing by.

“Who goes there!”

A sharp voice rang out. Damn it, am I caught? More importantly, can they talk too?

SWISH!

The sound of something tearing through the air hit my ears. At the same time, I heard a heavy THUD! right at my neck. No wound was made, but with the pain of being hit hard on the neck, my body tumbled backward.

“Keuk!”

It’s an SS-Rank Hunter! A Hunter strong enough that Grace couldn’t completely nullify the damage. At the Association, an S-Rank Hunter, right, one had joined. A spear user…

Before I could even finish my recollection, attacks came flying in succession. With my F-Rank stats, I couldn’t even see my opponent’s form. I felt a kick to my abdomen and BANG! I was thrown into the glass wall of a hamburger shop. I thought about raising Grace to SSS-Rank, but the Fountain of Mana is not infinite. Since I can withstand it with SS-Rank, for now—

“Ack!”

CRASH! My body was pushed back again by a rushing gust of wind, and the glass wall shattered to pieces. THUD, the tables and chairs were knocked over. Shit, should I set off a bomb? I can’t even see anything…

[First attempt to clear a new dungeon bonus! Summon a special helper! 10 million points → 10,000 points super huge discount!!

Do you want to summon? YES/NO]

A system message flashed. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll do it! It’s a real super huge discount! I quickly pressed the YES button. And—

KAANG!

A greatsword that appeared before my eyes blocked the spear blade. SCRAPE, the spear blade that had scraped long along the surface of the greatsword was deflected with a THUD. I saw the owner of the spear frown and jump back.

“What a pain at this age.”

A familiar grumble was heard. Red eyes glanced at me as if to blame me. I [N O V E L I G H T] gave an awkward laugh towards that gaze.

“Hello, Old Man!”

Anyway, I’m so damn glad to see you.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep