NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
Capri Sun was delicious whenever you drank it, but buying it at a convenience store for 900 won each felt a bit wasteful. It tasted best when bought in bulk at Co*tco.
This time, I headed for the lower gate marked by the Hunters Association Headquarters as I accessed the association’s official website and opened the map.
[*Low-level (E) gate in Hapjeong province, Mapo district, Seoul – Daybreak Guild bid successfully]
Six years had passed since the invasion of the outside world began. The great war was over, but the alien invaders were still invading Earth.
The gates that opened all over the Earth were proof of their invasion.
In the early days of the war, all gates were unexpected because we did not know when a gate would open, but technology had developed to estimate the location and timing of the gate.
It only sometimes got it right, though. Sometimes, things got wrong, like the gate opened at Dangsan Station earlier.
“Bro! I think the gate is already open!” someone’s voice echoed loudly near the gate.
According to what I’d checked earlier, the Daybreak Guild won today’s bid for this low-level gate. Of course, that person shouting in front of the gate must also be from the Daybreak Guild.
[Estimation (1:44) until the spread of the low-level gate at Mapo district.
Dungeon: Wave probability estimated at 10:0.
Estimated gate rank E. Recommended Attribute: Pierce.]
“Sis, can I take a picture of this dungeon and upload it?”
“No. The guild leader will nag again.”
[Assuming that the surroundings are similar to the King of Gluttony’s territory, it is estimated that the King of Gluttony’s army will appear.
Please send environment samples and monster data only if the territory is 64.47% unfilled. Otherwise, submit only boss data.
The association will accept the compensation from the society as before.]
A group of Hunters was seen standing in front of the support vehicle. All of them were wearing clothes with the same mark on them. Those were clothes that proved they belonged to the same guild.
[Approaching the gate. Estimation (0:52) until gate spread.]
I was always alone because I was hiding my identity, but other Hunters usually joined guilds and work.
Of course, when you entered the guild, you would inevitably reveal your nickname. However, being a Hunter was a great job, so everyone revealed their identity casually.
I don’t know why they guaranteed anonymity if this is going to happen.
“This gate is probably a dungeon. In other words, an outer-dimensional gate. Seobin, did you see the guide?”
“Of course.”
They talked in front of the gate. Well, if they asked about basic common sense, did that mean there were beginners here?
The gates, the connection points to other dimensions that opened in our dimension, could be classified into two types: an outer-dimensional gate and an inner-dimensional gate. The outer-dimensional gate was the door through which we entered the outer-dimensional dungeon. On the contrary, the inner-dimensional gate was the door through which monsters poured into the Earth from the dungeon located in the outer dimension.
The latter, of course, was dangerous. So the guilds that raised newbie chicks always chose only low-level gates, especially the outer-dimensional gates. Otherwise, a monster wave might appear if you choose the latter, and all rookies would die. Then it would be a guild loss, a national loss, and even a global loss. Because there were far fewer Hunters than ordinary people!
I checked the terminal while sucking on the orange mango-flavored Capri Sun I’d bought at the convenience store.
The Daybreak Guild mark was attached to a pin stamped over the red gate icon. This meant that the owner of this gate was the Daybreak Guild. But things become different since Finger King, who’d been assigned a mission from the headquarters, was dispatched.
This gate was mine now, and it was up to me.
Slurp.
The empty juice pack rattled in the air. The sound of air escaping was quite loud.
I dumped the finished Capri Sun pack on the street and opened a new one.
The world seemed hazy like fog, and the air began to shred. A strange sensation landed on the skin, twisting space.
I tossed out the Capri Sun, whose straw I had pierced in the wrong place, and stepped through the gate. Before long, the air became heavy, and the terminal glowed.
[You have entered the low-level gate.]
[System is activated.]
[You have entered the territory of the King of Gluttony.]
[Collecting environmental data.]
[Checking data…]
[Estimated to be the King of Gluttony Leviathan’s 3rd Army 27th Division ‘Flood’]
[Estimated Gate Rank E]
[Estimated Dungeon Rank C]
[Estimated Monster Rank C+]
[Estimated Boss Rank B+]
[Estimated Overall Rank C+]
[Estimated Rank C+ Dungeon – ‘Sea of Flood’ has been entered.]
When you crossed the gate and entered the dungeon, the terminal collected data unconditionally. As usual, I stupidly opened my mouth as I watched the dungeon information measured through the terminal floating in front of my eyes.
The gate rank is E, but the overall rank is C+? Isn’t this a total scam?
[Terminal User: Finger Technique]
[User Information: (Expand)]
[Dungeon – ‘Sea of Flood’ access record: 3 times.]
[Loading old data…]
<The King of Gluttony’s 3rd Army conquest rate: 78.125%>
<The King of Gluttony’s territory conquest rate: 35.53%>
[Start collecting dungeon data.]
Uninteresting information followed the dungeon information.
I turned off the terminal before it leaked useless information. If it started collecting data, it would spread that I was here.
This was the basics to steal a gate.
I put the terminal, which had quickly been turned off, into my coat pocket and raised my head.
I saw a beach covered with sticky blood. Reddish-black seawater, reddish-blue sandy beach, pale purple sky, and pitch-black sun. At first glance, it was not Earth.
Blood clotted, and the muddy sand wriggled like a swamp. Monsters resembling crocodiles began to emerge one by one from the dark waters of the world where Hell had arrived.
Basil of the 3rd Army of the King of Gluttony.
Basil, the monster that made up the 3rd Army of the King of Gluttony, had a similar appearance to the crocodile we knew. Of course, it was much bigger and looked much more bizarre than a crocodile. But if that creature creeping ashore had one thing resembling our crocodile, it was that it would die if you broke its head.
All living things will eventually die. You, me, and the monsters are the same
.
After escaping from the black water, a group of Basil chased the signs of creatures not of their kind.
It would be perfect if I could break the heads of those crocodiles right now and get some loot, but I couldn’t. It looked like the guild kids hadn’t entered yet, so I’d have to run far away before I got caught.
For Hunters, the gate was a hunting ground, a battlefield, and a means of earning a living. Most Hunters joined a guild and made a living through it, but some powerful Hunters preferred to go alone. In other words, not joining a guild.
But the world is the best when there are many people.
Who would give ownership of the gate to one Hunter when not only large guilds but also small and medium guilds poke the association with money to get the gate? So the Hunters who traveled alone had no choice but to walk down a tragic path.
“Bro, wait a minute. Isn’t this dungeon E-level?”
Sneaking into someone else’s gate, killing the boss, and clearing the dungeon alone…proudly ranked at the top of the list of acts that Hunters hated the most!
That’s called…Gate Steal!
That’s right.
The only way for veterans without guilds to live was to steal gates marked by other guilds. Well, I usually didn’t go to dungeons marked by large guilds like the Daybreak Guild, so what kind of retaliation was I trying to get here?
I wasn’t the kind of person who thought about retaliation or anything. But as you all knew, the guild leader of that guild was anxious because he couldn’t scout me.
If I, the world’s Rank 1, said I would join a guild, wouldn’t anyone welcome me with open arms?
“Everyone, be careful! The overall rank is intermediate gate level!”
The Daybreak Guild’s raiding party, which entered the gate later than me, was struggling with the higher-than-expected dungeon rank. I didn’t miss the chance and ran along the beach without hesitation between the Basil.
A smart thief’s first act is to escape!
In fact, the fact that Finger King stole other people’s gates had spread all over the neighborhood, so there was no need to run away, but right now I hadn’t taken out my mask.
I ran across the muddy sand and fumbled over the piercing in my left ear. The piercing encrusted with blue jewels instantly heated up and twisted the space.
Accessories inlaid with space stones were expensive items that only high-ranking Hunters could use, but because of their convenience, they were hot items that were also sought after by wealthy ordinary people.
This item, which was convenient like an inventory in a game, allowed you to store your belongings in a gap in space. It was very expensive, but I couldn’t carry a weapon whenever I went to a dungeon, so I made a big decision to buy it.
How many Capri Suns did this one piercing cost? It was like buying the company straight.
I stretched out my hand and drew my sword from the gap in space. As usual, I raised and struck it hard against the floor. Then, with a heavy thud, there was a terrifying shockwave.
Red and blue sand splattered everywhere, and black seawater flooded violently, just like the dungeon’s name.
Loot scattered like stars from the exploded Basil division, and screams erupted from the members of Daybreak Guild that had just entered the dungeon.
Like Moses’ miracle, the shockwave that split the seawater in half called the boss monster in the sea.
Seeing that the boss monster that came out when you had killed all the field monsters already appeared, it seemed that all Basil in the area had just died in that shock wave.
Turning off the terminal was inconvenient. If I had the terminal, I would have been able to receive loot acquisition status and boss monster appearance notifications.
A fishy smell and sticky slime spilled over the sandy beach. A giant monster’s protruding back skin was visible beyond the overflowing sea. The pulsating blood vessels over the wriggling leather made the bumps soar high into the sky.
By now, the system window should’ve popped out, announcing “the boss monster XXX of ‘Sea of Flood’ has appeared!” with a sound. But it didn’t.
Such is the life of an unidentified hero. I couldn’t enjoy the things I should have enjoyed. Is this what a thief’s life is like, dear Netizen?
Instead of waiting for the silent contact with the netizen, I groped over the space stone piercing once more. If the space stone piercing played the role of the game’s inventory, the specially designed mask guaranteed my anonymity. This mask, with a touch of brilliance that I’d requested to match the reputation of Rank 1, was designed by an Italian artisan and made by going in and out of the land of the King of Lust like eating meals…!
This half-mask was worth 50 buildings! The one and only half-mask in the world.
So when someone wearing this half-mask appeared, everyone went, ‘Oh, oh! It’s FT/Finger King/the God of War!’!
The hags of the 4th Army of the King of Lust changed their appearances according to the taste of others. This half-mask with the spirit of such hags made me look different depending on the viewer.
It made me look like their ideal type.
That could be why the world’s best thief Finger Technique, who always stole other people’s dungeons, was so popular.
Of course, some people’s ideal types wearing a half-mask didn’t go well with dungeons. Still, it was a bit like spitting in the face of someone you liked, even if you called them FT or Finger King. In any case, this half-mask helped me hide my identity in that it made me look different from person to person, and it was also my symbol because any face could be seen wearing a half-mask with a unique design.
Come to think of it, I saw comments from netizens asking me to take off my mask the other day.
Thinking nonsensically, I jumped on the wreckage of the Basil scattered on the sandy beach. I could see the black sea and the boss monster beneath my feet, and blue flames rose above the blade soaring into the sky. The flames burning over the greatsword scattered blue flames and fell to the floor in a straight line.
I didn’t want to regard my attack as a skill and put a skill name on it, but others looked at each of my attacks and named them. So, what I just used, according to the skill name given by others…was Firestorm (
feat
. Finger Technique).
Abbreviation of Firework Beaaa–am.
I was not sure why people named other people’s skills so weirdly, but I’d give them 0 points for now.
Because you guys keep posting composite memes, I’m stressed out every day.
The blunt blade of the greatsword pierced the glossy boss monster’s outer skin and crushed it, and blue flames spread as if running on the black leather.
Initially, when the terminal was on, a system window announcing “Dungeon Clear!” should’ve appeared with a fanfare sound, but it was a shame that it did not. It felt like being told to throw away the soup when eating ramen because it was not good for the body.
The huge body of the boss monster was devoured and the burning flames scattered along with the burnt ash.
I watched the scene all the time and searched among the burnt ashes to find a jewel the size of a fingernail. The soul stone of the dungeon boss monster had the power to forcibly close or open the gate.
This was an outer-dimensional dungeon, so with this, you could open the gate and return to Earth.
I tossed the sword almost as big as my body through the gap in space and opened the gate to Earth.
Come to think of it, were those Hunters alive?
They were not a shit group; they were Hunters from Daybreak Guild, so I was sure they all had emergency escape kits. If I took my time picking up the trophies here, I’d see the Hunters rushing toward the gate earlier.
Gosh, it seems like it takes longer to pick up trophies than to clear the dungeon. This isn’t some kind of gleaning. I request to add a pet function. I think it’s too much like a game, but since reality has changed dramatically, wouldn’t it be okay?
Maybe not.
Blue flames flew over the sandy beach filled with the corpses and remains of dead monsters.
I turned on the power of the terminal as I walked through the burning dungeon. Between the blazing flames, a golden light shimmered, indicating where the spoils were.
[Collecting dungeon data…]
[※Warning※ It is a rule to keep the terminal turned on inside the dungeon.]
[Update data.]
[The King of Gluttony Leviathan’s 3rd Army 27th Division ‘Flood’]
[Gate Rank E+]
[Dungeon Rank C+]
[Monster Rank C+]
[Boss Rank B-]
[Overall Rank C+]
[Rank C+ Dungeon – ‘Sea of Flood’ has been cleared.]
[Terminal User: Finger Technique]
[User Information: (Expand)]
[Dungeon – ‘Sea of Flood’ access record: 4 times.]
[Loading old data…]
<The King’s 3rd Army Conquest Rate: 78.125%>
<The King of Gluttony’s territory conquest rate: 35.53%>
[Dungeon data collection has been completed.]
[Ranking information is updated.]
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