The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low - Chap 86
The faint tremor that only sensitive people could feel gradually intensified until it began to shake the debris around them. The previously still air was now in turmoil. Jung Bin, frowning, drew out his black suppression rod.
“What on earth is happening all of a sudden…”
Lee Sa-young took off his gas mask.
“Jung Bin, has there ever been a sudden change in an erosion dungeon?”
“There haven’t been any reported cases. This type of dungeon is still under investigation, so anything could happen, but…”
“…”
“There must be a cause. Sudden changes like this don’t happen without someone touching or discovering something.”
“…I agree with that.”
Lee Sa-young sighed irritably. At that moment, there was a cracking sound, and a black crack appeared in the pale sky. Lee Sa-young and Jung Bin simultaneously looked up at the sky.
A white system window appeared in front of them.
[The dungeon reacts to the title!]
[The dungeon is being restructured!]
“…What?”
Bang! A loud thunderclap rumbled as if the sky was about to collapse. Thud, the ground they stood on began to heave. Even the two S-grades, who had maintained their balance until now, staggered. A powerful unknown force was sweeping them away. Jung Bin reached out to Lee Sa-young…
But he couldn’t reach him.
Who knows how much time passed.
Jung Bin slowly opened his eyes. Blink, blink. As he struggled to move his heavy eyelids, his vision finally focused on the white dirt floor.
The floor? He moved his arm and sat up. He must have lost consciousness while lying on the floor. Despite being able to endure considerable pain, Jung Bin furrowed his brow at the throbbing pain in his body.
“…Ugh.”
He let out a short groan and finally managed to stand up. His last memory was… dungeon restructuring. But what exactly is dungeon restructuring? He had never heard of such a phenomenon. Could an already opened dungeon be restructured?
‘First, I need to regroup with Lee Sa-young…’
Moving alone in an unknown dungeon is suicidal. As Jung Bin turned his head, he heard a small groan. Could it be Lee Sa-young? Jung Bin quickly turned towards the source of the sound.
But instead of Lee Sa-young, there was…
“Ugh… I’m dying… Damn it… What the hell is this?”
A hiker in bright blue hiking clothes was lying face down on the ground, muttering like a zombie. Next to him, a woman in sleep pants was on the floor, dry-heaving. And a round, dumb-looking chicken was clucking around them. Their appearance seemed familiar, so much so that Jung Bin, unusually, opened his mouth in astonishment.
“…Hong Ye-seong? Yoon Ga-eul?”
“…Hey, kid. Am I in hell? Why do I hear Jung Bin’s voice?”
“U-ugh…”
“Yeah. Does it feel like hell to you? I think so too…”
“…”
“Cluck-cluck!”
The ceramic chicken crowed loudly as it made eye contact with Jung Bin. Jung Bin could only stare dumbfounded at the unbelievable scene.
***
J took a deep breath with his eyes closed. The familiar air filled his lungs. The air in the Rift was silent, tasteless, and scentless, even though there were corpses and blood everywhere. Thanks to this, the bodies inside the Rift didn’t decompose.
That’s fortunate, J thought. It made it easier to find them among the undecomposed bodies.
J began to move his body, starting from his fingertips, checking for any injuries. In the Rift, where monsters could appear at any moment, he could only trust his own body. People die, weapons deteriorate. Blood, fat, and oil dull even the sharpest blades…
Only after ensuring everything was fine, J opened his eyes, ready to face hell once again.
But…
What came into view wasn’t the crimson-blood-stained ruins.
“…What?”
J looked around with a puzzled expression. There were no piles of bodies or monsters. Instead, white ash was piled high on the collapsed buildings and debris. Urgently surveying his unfamiliar surroundings, he noticed a slightly dented white baseball cap lying alone.
He definitely remembered seeing that item. That…
‘…Wasn’t Yoon Ga-eul wearing that?’
And the long, sturdy pole lying next to it.
‘That belonged to Hong Ye-seong.’
Ah. Letting out a short exclamation, Cha Eui-jae abruptly stood up, his stomach churning incessantly. Damn it. Cha Eui-jae clutched his chest, trying to steady his breathing.
This wasn’t inside the West Sea rift. Cha Eui-jae quickly sorted through his jumbled memories. The system alert had announced their entry into the Jongno 3-ga underground dungeon along with Yoon Ga-eul and Hong Ye-seong. After unlocking a title… the system window turned white, announcing the dungeon’s restructuring. He clearly remembered the sensation of the lightning striking down and the grip on his companion’s arm vanishing before he could grasp the situation.
Cha Eui-jae picked up the baseball cap and pole. There was no sign of their owners, presumably swept away during the dungeon’s restructuring.
‘Where are Yoon Ga-eul and Hong Ye-seong?’
There was no sign of any humans around. Biting his lip, Cha Eui-jae closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.
His azure-blue eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. Monsters, monsters, monsters, monsters… Amidst the countless monsters, a burning light stood out. Violet flames. Cha Eui-jae knew their owner.
Lee Sa-young.
‘Why is he here?’
Before the question could fully form, his feet were already moving. Cha Eui-jae began to run, kicking up the white ash. The scenery of ruins and numerous lights flickered past his glowing blue eyes. Monsters, monsters, monsters. The restructured dungeon was teeming with monsters, the same ones he had grown sick of seeing in the West Sea rift.
Screech!
With a shriek, a monster roaming nearby lunged at him. Without stopping, Cha Eui-jae jumped and impaled the monster’s head with the pole. Thud! Instead of blood, white ash spewed from the monster’s head.
Quick and concise actions, conserving energy and maximizing efficiency.
Although not as proficient as Lee Sa-young, there were four significant lights gathered. Two must be Yoon Ga-eul and Hong Ye-seong, and if Lee Sa-young was here, it meant… unfortunately, they had entered the dungeon where Lee Sa-young and Jung Bin had already arrived as the advance party. The other bright light near Yoon Ga-eul should be Jung Bin, presumably. The warm, golden aura was unique to Jung Bin. The other one was unknown. But before further thoughts could form, the sight of Lee Sa-young’s flame grabbed his attention.
While he couldn’t be certain without seeing it himself, his keen instincts, his feet on the ground, his running body— everything about Cha Eui-jae was telling him.
‘I need to get to Sa-young.’
He didn’t know why. Cha Eui-jae swung his pole at the approaching monsters, smashing their heads like tofu. The familiar, dull impact and the vibration of the pole kept him breathing. Cha Eui-jae stopped thinking, following his instincts and running.
***
Amidst the suddenly tangled dungeon and the unfamiliar ruins rising from the ground, Lee Sa-young, while incinerating monsters and surveying the surroundings, settled in a relatively intact part of the ruins. The space covered in white ash evoked a strange discomfort that he didn’t want to see anymore. Lee Sa-young leaned against the wall and took a short breath. He couldn’t contain the rising irritation.
‘Jung Bin will find his way here on his own, damn it…’
Nothing was to his liking. Just because of a fainting spell, Jung Bin had taken him to Nam Woo-jin, and since then, Lee Sa-young hadn’t been able to handle any other matters and had to tour the erosion dungeons.
‘I didn’t want to owe anyone…’
Nam Woo-jin, obsessed with observing the world’s origin, would dig up anything once he got a clue. Even Seowon guild members had been deployed for the investigation, but places they couldn’t go had to be handled by Jung Bin or Lee Sa-young. That was the contract they had made. He needed to finish quickly and go back.
Just as Lee Sa-young clenched his fist anxiously, a fiercely sharp and intense energy was rapidly approaching. Carefully, he moved to the opening connecting to the outside.
Lee Sa-young’s eyes widened. Amidst the snow-like swirling white ash, something gray was running straight towards him. Could it be? Despite thinking it couldn’t be true, his pounding heart was uncontrollable. But why would he be here? This was a dungeon. Questions and confusion swirled.
Yet, Lee Sa-young called his name.
“…Cha Eui-jae.”
“Lee Sa-young!”
The voice responding to him pierced his ears like a bolt of lightning. Lee Sa-young could only watch blankly as Cha Eui-jae, scattering white ash, ran towards him.
“You…”
“Are you okay?”
“Ah.”
“No, it’s alright. It’s me.”
Cha Eui-jae, bursting through the ruins, suddenly threw down the pole he was holding. His strong hand grabbed Lee Sa-young’s cheek, turning his head this way and that. Lee Sa-young, unable to even think of pushing his hand away, simply stared at Cha Eui-jae’s face.
Gasping for breath, a face pale as death, and eyes glowing like the ocean. He couldn’t take his eyes off those blue eyes. Countless thoughts crashed like waves.
Why are you here?
How did you get in here?
Do you know what kind of place this is?
Who are you to ask if I’m okay?
However,
“You shit… why are you in a dungeon when just recently you passed out? Are you crazy?”
The hand cupping his face was so warm, and the voice asking if he was okay was so… familiar.
The warmth of the hand on his face and the familiar voice asking if he was okay sent an inexplicable shiver through Lee Sa-young’s body. He couldn’t help but tremble. Words he wanted to say kept rising to his throat, only to sink back down. It felt as if he were being tempered in molten lava, his entire body burning. Lee Sa-young’s mouth moved soundlessly, wanting to say so much but unable to form the words. From the tangled mess of thoughts that had been buried for so long, one clear emotion emerged.
Joy.
He had found him.
Lee Sa-young opened his mouth to speak. But at that moment, a firm hand covered his lips. Lee Sa-young’s eyes widened once again. The person he had been searching for was not looking at him. Those sharp eyes were focused on the ruins outside.
“…Stay quiet.”
He…
“…”
“It’s okay, just stay quiet.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Enormous footsteps filled the ruins.
