Chapter 229

-Kugugung—!

My whole body shook in time with the violent vibration. The ground churned everywhere like there was an earthquake, to the point I couldn’t stand properly. Even in the middle of that, the floor caved in wherever you put your foot down, so even the act of “keeping your balance” itself was impossible.

And it didn’t even take long for this violent vibration to become exactly ten times stronger than the first vibration I’d felt.

“Uwaah!”

“G, get a grip.”

“I can’t keep my balance! I’d rather just fly....”

Flying. Normally, that would’ve been a fine idea, but not today.

Because what this ferocious vibration was saying could only mean one thing.

-Jjeok—

The floor opened its maw as if it were splitting apart.

“Aaah!”

“Step back!”

Like a crevasse, something wet and sludgy got sucked into the sudden crack in the ground.

Aaaahk—!

At the wind noise that sounded exactly like a scream, several Hunters in front flinched at the same time.

-Kwareureung—!

The gaping fissure grew bigger and bigger. A gap about the height of an average man had, before anyone knew it, widened into a distance you couldn’t cross even if you jumped.

‘Ah, shit....’

Since the result was obvious, I thought it’d be a little less fun, but once this situation actually came, dopamine started boiling over in an instant.

If you left your spot, dying was basically a foregone conclusion. That was why the A-rank Hunters had no choice but to stay planted there no matter how hard they clenched their teeth. While constantly trying to clear away the fear filling their minds.

-Kuoong.

Finally, something revealed itself through the enormous gap. Shaped like an absurdly huge flower bud, it twitched layers upon layers of skin tissue that looked like petals.

Below it, some unknown bodily fluid-like stuff dripped down to the floor in a disgusting color.

“Ugh....”

One Hunter covered their mouth at the nausea and took a step back.

‘So Yeji....’

A first-generation Awakener, and a face I already knew because her fanbase was thick both in Korea and abroad. I watched So Yeji completely scrunch her brow and step back, then turned my gaze back toward the Dungeon Boss.

That was when the petal-like tissue began to throb, twitch twitch, as if it were pulsing.

“What is that...?”

“Is it a flower?”

“No, can’t you see the side? That’s skin!”

“Should we attack now?”

“Stay still. Who knows what’s inside. If it’s poison, we’re finished.”

The monster’s skin tissue swelled up in huge bulges, then burst with a pop. The moment the skin burst, the disgusting liquid pooled inside shot upward all at once.

“Ugh!”

It looked like someone forcing open a wound. I kept staring at the sight with my brow furrowed, and only then did one Hunter step forward.

“I think that’s the Dungeon Boss. Right now... it’s probably right before blooming.”

“Blooming?”

I quickly checked that Hunter’s Status Window.

Name: Ryu Jayoon

Age: 30

Rank: A

Title: -

Main Skills: Mansupok (A), Ssoajineun Bi (A), Sinche Ganghwa (C)

Growth Limit: A

‘Looks like he handles plants....’

Just the fact that he chose the word “blooming” after seeing that lump of a monster makes it feel like he’s not in his right mind.

But even if he’d lost his mind, his prediction seemed pretty accurate. Because right after he finished speaking, the flower bud started to open.

-Jjeoeok—

“Ugh, fuck....”

A curse burst out of someone who couldn’t hold it in.

The flower that had been clumped together like it was glued began to force itself open with a sound like skin tearing. It was definitely the shape of a bud, but the more it opened, the more it felt like some monster’s mouth.

‘And that’s probably... exactly what it is?’

Drip, drip, along with the sound of bodily fluid falling to the floor, an unpleasant steam covered the monster for a moment, then slowly faded away.

And there, a monster with countless teeth and a gigantic mouth stretched wide like petals was sitting there with its body hunched.

“......”

Just looking at it was oppressive. Because of the huge mouth attached to the middle of its black, massive body, I couldn’t tell where its head even was. Or is it weird to apply that kind of standard to a monster in the first place?

The mouth, drooling drip drip, began to rotate slowly. It was a bizarre sight you could barely even describe.

“What the hell is that....”

“What do you mean what. Haven’t you seen monsters before. Get ready.”

They hesitated for a moment, but quickly re-formed their formation.

‘Planning to charge?’

Then they shouldn’t.

At that moment, I felt a sound similar to the vibration that came through bone, not ears.

-Iii... wait....

I could see its mouth moving, but it didn’t seem like the sound was coming from there. It looked like the vibration was traveling through the floor the monster was on and reaching all the way into the bones.

A low, ominous vibration packed with metallic noise kept slamming into my bones, ringing them.

-Exiistence.... Thiiis plaaace nooo loonger... has any...thing left....

Because it was sound heard through bone, it was a little different from hearing through ears, but it wasn’t so different that you couldn’t understand what it was saying.

I listened to the bastard calmly.

‘This fucker talks so damn slow.’

If I sum up what it was saying, it was this in one sentence.

On this abandoned land where nothing remained that could even be called “existence,” it was left alone, feeding on life force, learning fear—the emotion that comes right before that life force gets eaten—and using that to search for its next prey. Fear was a perfect tool in many ways. Good for pinpointing location, good for neutralizing.

‘And when it says life force, it’s not like it’s literally chewing people up.’

In the end, that thing is a monster too. What it really needs isn’t useless flesh, it’s mana.

That mana charged and charged, and that created the absurd amount of mana it has now.

An amount of mana so insane it ranks as S-rank, absolutely ridiculous...... this amount of mana.

‘Then what about the people?’

This time too, it wasn’t hard to find the answer. I turned my gaze to the sticky tar-like stuff spread across the floor.

‘Shit... are these all traces of things that “used” to be people?’

And the people listened to the monster’s words, interpreted them in their own ways, and fell into confusion.

“This is... the first time it opened, so how the hell...?”

“It must’ve opened somewhere else. With a lower Rank.”

Well, there was no need to think about it complicatedly. At this point where it was clear that another world called a Dungeon existed, all you had to do was accept that, besides Earth, there were other...... worlds where other life forms lived.

I didn’t particularly like multiverses or aliens, so it was even easier to accept. Yeah, okay, got it—because that’s all it took.

After finishing its long speech, the monster suddenly fluttered its own skin that was like petals, then began to close the upper skin.

Like...... it was imitating a smile.

‘Ha.’

Right after that, it opened its mouth wide and started puking something out, squirming and writhing.

‘What is it?’

The moment I narrowed my eyes and tried to get a closer look at what it spat out, the Hunter at the very front suddenly started screaming a shriek that made my ears go numb.

“Aaaaargh!”

At the tearing scream, everyone tried to run over there, then their feet got caught by the floor. And starting with the Hunters who were closest to the scream, one by one, they dropped straight back into the world of fear.

“Yeonhui...?”

“Don’t come closer! Fuck, fuck!”

“...Why did we come back here again?”

This wasn’t a simple scream. You could clearly hear voices that sounded like each of them was in a different situation. Calling someone’s name, spitting curses, talking to themselves....

As it went on, the pattern became more and more varied. And what was really interesting was that all of their eyes were wide with terror.

‘So that’s what it is.’

This was one of the scenes Kwon Taehan most importantly stops to point out in this Dungeon. It’s a little different from a trauma Dungeon, but in terms of making people feel something fucking awful, it’s similar.

It literally forces a person into the situation they fear most. Even if it’s something they never actually experienced, even if it needs a fictional existence, it didn’t matter. It’s not real anyway—it’s just stimulating fear.

And the really hilarious point was what Kwon Taehan...... saw as his greatest fear in this Dungeon.

Every single time, without fail, in this Dungeon, Kwon Taehan witnessed himself killing me. More precisely, he saw me—already burned by fire, basically half-dead, turning cold as I cooled off—and the flames burning on both of his hands.

Something that can’t be undone anymore, something where he can’t save me, something where his fault is obvious.

It’s probably not because he really likes me, but more related to conviction. If he still liked the guy who killed him 999 times, that’d make him a sucker.

And the Kwon Taehan who killed me here, really...... even in the ending, he kills me and keeps a kind of beginning-to-end mirrored structure. Of course, this is “just” an illusion, and in the ending it’s real, which is a minor problem, but still.

That said, how clear does the form have to be that even knowing it’s false, you still can’t break free? And it’s not like there’s paradise right in front of you, either—your ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) most terrifying thing is unfolding right there...... so why can’t you escape easily?

I stared at the Hunters writhing in agony with indifference.

Soon, a thick black fog crept over them, little by little. Until their shapes couldn’t be seen at all.

Heh, the gigantic flower stretched its mouth long again, like it was smiling. No matter how you looked at it, it was grotesque.

That unpleasant black fog trapped all the Hunters, and before long it started encroaching toward our side, too. Still, since we’d kept a decent distance, it didn’t close in right away.

“Guild Master.”

Im Haekyung, who’d been strangely quiet this whole time, only then took a step back.

“Yes, Mr. Jehyun.”

“What are you most afraid of, Guild Master?”

“Looks like you already knew how it worked.”

Im Haekyung spoke lightly, like it was a joke. Of course, there was bone in it.

I cleanly ignored Im Haekyung’s probing and asked again.

“What are you most afraid of?”

“What I’m most afraid of....”

Im Haekyung paused for a moment, then after three seconds that felt like eternity, slowly opened their mouth.

“I really... don’t know. These days, I live a life that’s too far from fear....”

“Are you curious?”

A human being so far beyond the line that fear itself felt awkward to them.

I could guess Im Haekyung’s reason for going silent without any difficulty.

‘They were thinking.’

About what fear was sleeping inside them.

Im Haekyung answered my question slowly again. But the tone was clearly firmer than before.

“No, I’m fine.”

“If it were me, I think I’d be curious.”

“I am curious too. I’m always curious. And life is boring.”

“......”

“But unlike you, Mr. Jehyun, I learned how to restrain myself.”

A slanted smile hung on Im Haekyung’s face. Im Haekyung saw black smoke lingering around my feet and pulled the corner of their mouth up a little more.

“I think it’s time to wake them up now. If possible, I didn’t want to use this method.”

With that, Im Haekyung walked a few steps forward, lightly extended their hand, and snapped their fingers briskly, like breaking a hypnosis.

Mental Domination (S) has been activated.

Im Haekyung’s low, soft, distinctive voice filled the space.

“Alright, that’s enough. Don’t be too afraid. I’m here with you....”

Right after, the Status Window floating above Im Haekyung’s head flashed even bigger.

Mental Domination (S) has been activated.