"A [Dungeon] has recently been discovered in Bukhansan National Park near Doseonsa that has gone through a [Surge]. There have been nearly 300 deaths so far. Please remain cautious and avoid the area…-"
"Damn, what bad luck…I'd hate to be one of the people over there when that happened.." A young man, hands in his pockets, muttered.
"Don't be rude, Go Hyun, we were lucky to be only a few miles away from the affected districts." Another older man grumbled, placing his palms together to pray for the deceased. "Jeez, whatever hyung.."
Go Hyun waved him off, walking away from the shop displaying TVs streaming the news. It's already been 4 years and yet the world is still going to the dunghouse.
He clicked his tongue, feeling irritated. Slowly, he took out an ID card from his pocket, staring at it.
[Player Registration:
Name: Go Hyun-jin
Age: 21
Level: 1
Skill(s): Shadow Possession
Guild: none]
He was also falling behind. The eternal level 1…his skill was trash despite the fancy sounding name too. Like everyone else, he awakened the system, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get past the first level.
Behind him, the older man sighed. As his senior and best friend, he tried everything to help Hyun-jin…but his own status wasn't helping.
He pulled down his cap, quickly following after him. Peaking out of his jacket pocket was another ID card reading:
[Player Registration:
Name: Oh Jae-won
Age: 24
Level: 3
Skill(s): Hand-to-Hand combat, Cold Nullification, Permafrost, Ice veil, Snow Field, Poison resistance, Pain resistance, Fire resistance, Mental resistance, Regeneration, Dash, Empathy
Guild: Aegis Guild]
…
"Send out scout." The moment the cooldown was over, Eun-ho sent out his scout unit.
His actions might have been reckless, but there were three reasons why he did this:
—1. He needed more information
—2. The monster probably isn't there anymore
—3. And finally, in the case it was still prowling the area, he could use [Recall] again.
He was hoping it wouldn't come to option 3. He wanted to try and have her get closer to the city this time so he could understand just where he was in the timeline.
At the very least, after seeing the human centipede, he knew that it might be somewhere in mid March, 2009.
The door opened once more. He watched silently as the hound went out before using [Sense Sharing].
Once again, they were on the same mountain peak. Instead of going in the same direction as last time, they decided to run through the path without caring about stealth.
From what he observed about the human centipede, they were amazing trackers. The hound was actively using [Stealth] and hiding in the shadows but was still caught.
That's why they focused on bolting out of there using speed.
The trees whipped past them and soon enough, they were at the base. Behind, several birds flew up as if startled, the leaves of a few trees rustling before stilling.
Eun-ho swallowed, but urged the hound to move forward.
They were at the entrance to the mountain now, leading into a more populated area. "It's really the same.." Well, besides the residential district in the surroundings looking like a ghost town.
It seems people had been evacuated, just like what happened before. The hound's ear twitched, hearing something. Turning around, they noticed a young man holding a cellphone, recording himself.
"Hey viewers, can you guess where I am right now?" He asked with a broad smile. Right. There were those people.
The reason the death count rose higher than it should've was because of stupid people like this or stubborn residents that refused to leave their homes.
"That's right! I'm at Bukhansan-nim Mountain!" The man exclaimed, his neon orange jacket hurting their eyes.
"Huh? There's something behind me?" The man suddenly tensed. "Haha…you're just joking! Don't be like that!"
He tried to laugh it off, only to narrow his eyes as the chat kept going off on him. He sweat a bit, turning the angle of his camera to catch sight of Eun-ho/the hound.
Her gleaming red eyes and body that billowed smoke made him freeze. "A-a monster..!? Since when were there dog creatures here!?" He whispered in a panic.
Half the chat was telling him to run while the other half was telling him to pet the "doggo".
Eun-ho would've rubbed his temples if he could. He transmitted his thoughts to her and she immediately snarled, barking at the young man as she began to dash towards him.
"Hieek!!" He screamed, running in the opposite direction. "Idiot successfully scared off." Eun-ho hoped the guy wouldn't try anything stupid again.
He returned his focus back to the task at hand. The hound followed his orders and hid in the shadows of the alley, slowly weaving around buildings.
He made his way to a shop displaying TV screens, listening in to the news.
"-The Buddhists of Doseonsa are doing their best to restrain the monsters in Bukhansan under Kim Hyeonmu's leadership."
'Kim Hyeonmu is alive?' Eun-ho knew now that this was definitely somewhere in mid to late-March or in April..because Kim Hyeonmu died on April 23rd. It was memorable because he had seen a photo of his dismembered body in an article that was quickly taken down the next day.
Now he had a general idea of what was going to happen next. The Buddhists will lead a raid into the [Dungeon] alongside nearby guilds like the Aegis and Slicer Guild.
He mentally tapped his chin. 'So…if the time matches up perfectly, then…' once the grace period ended, he could start a full on attack.
The best course of action he could take here would be to have the raid team weaken the monsters and then send in his own units.
The problem with this plan though, was the fact that his soldiers would be monsters. The raiders will definitely attack them too…and sending too many risked his own [Dungeon] being found.
Deactivating [Sense Sharing]—he was sure she could handle herself—he glanced at the [Loan] option. He didn't know how to obtain points consistently. He knew how to, but not reliably…at least not until a surge in his own [Dungeon] started.
For now, he had to build up his army with it.
"Borrow 50 SC." He announced.
"Summon Wisp Shaman and Husk warrior." He already knew what the hound scout was capable of, now he wanted to know what the husk and wisp could do.
The system screen flashed white as a purple and white streaked passed and formed two creatures.
The first one, a cloaked figure with a head made of purple flames holding a wooden staff, the second, a humanoid monster with sickled hands and ghostly white skin.
[Wisp Shaman unit (level 1)]
[Description: A lost soul. The wisp shaman is a glass cannon with high attack power but low defense. Is unaffected by physical attacks. If you take its staff, it will cry]
[Skills: Mana sense, Magic Missile, Physical Nullification, Curse, Staff Return]
[Gender: none]
[Status: Calm, curious(Are you my master?)]
[Currently no Evolutionary paths]
[Husk Warrior unit (level 1)]
[Description: A great warrior. Despite its appearance, this creature honors bravery and loves one on one clashes. The sickles on its arms are sharp enough to cut through a tree like butter]
[Skills: Cross Slash, Minor Sickle Arts, Duel Arena, Honor, Vow]
[Gender: Male]
[Status: Excited, ready(Prove your honor!)
[Currently no Evolutionary paths]
[Grace Period: 29:01:54:36]
To be continued…
Additional Information:
>[Evolving Dungeons] take after their masters.