Chapter 556

Whew.

I looked around with a sigh.

A damp, chilly cave. Narrow passages tangled together like a maze. Sharp stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Exhausted faces, frightened out of their minds.

Just like back then.

Three years ago. No—if I counted the time I’d spent in Murim, it had been four.

The accident that day remained seared into my heart like an indelible brand, and even now, after taking my revenge, I still couldn’t completely forget it.

“Fuck. Brings back old memories.”

Unlike me, muttering gruffly, the Skeleton King smiled fondly.

“I feel the same. It is as though I have returned to what you humans call home.”

“……”

That’s not what I meant, man.

We seemed to be remembering entirely different things. For all I knew, this guy might have been Skeleton One, some skeleton I’d run into back when I was going from one low-level Gate to the next.

Anyway…

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

That wave of magical power is much stronger than I expected.

It was lucky we had been nearby. Otherwise, twenty hardworking living people would almost have been wiped out.

I beckoned to the Hunters staring blankly at us.

“It’s dangerous. Come over here.”

A man in his late twenties who looked like the Team Leader blinked.

“W-What?”

“I said come over here. Hurry.”

“W-Who are you?”

The cave was dark, and they were standing a considerable distance away. Their level was far too low for them to make out my face from that far.

I scratched my chin awkwardly. “I’m… Uh, look behind you.”

“What?”

Their reaction was slow. Instead of answering, I snapped my fingers.

Whoosh—boom!

A faint whistle cut through the air, and green blood splattered everywhere. Behind one of the Hunters, a rusty ax slipped from the hand of a goblin that had been creeping up on him.

Then its headless body collapsed like a rotten log.

Thud!

“Gah!”

“Behind you! Watch your backs!”

“What the hell is this?”

What else? Finger Qi.

I muttered inwardly as I watched the Hunters hurriedly reform their ranks, then realized something.

It’ll be faster if I go to them than if they come to me.

They were struggling against goblins before they’d even made it halfway through the Gate. Being low-level Hunters was one thing, but they couldn’t have much experience, either.

The Skeleton King swept back his blond hair and put on a solemn expression.

“Hmph. It seems the time has come for this body to take the field.”

“Stay put. Don’t get cocky.”

“……”

I knew what needed doing, so there was no reason to hesitate. I headed toward them, neither hurrying nor taking my time.

Step.

One step. At the same time, ten streams of Finger Qi shot from my outstretched hands and tore through the air.

Whoosh—thud-thud-thud-thud!

Once more.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

And again.

Boom!

It took only a moment for nearly thirty goblins to end up sprawled across the ground as headless corpses. The last to fall was a hobgoblin that looked like their leader.

And then…

Step.

With my third and final step, a sphere of light summoned by an unknown mage’s Light magic shone on my face.

Flash.

“……!”

“……!”

An invisible shock wave and wave of agitation swept through the cave.

For a moment, everyone stared at my face in a daze. Then cries burst out from all around, like water breaking through a dam.

“L-Lord Fuck!”

“Lord Sibu-leol!”

“J-J-Jin Taekyung!”

The last one was better, at least.

The stutter had stretched my name to six syllables, but compared to those nicknames, it was practically respectable. Vice-minister¹ respectable.

Come to think of it, the name fit the situation. The vibrations had grown steadily stronger, and now the whole cave was sh-sh-sh-shaking like a fucking earthquake.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The Skeleton King sauntered over, dodged a falling stalactite, and muttered, “This much commotion does not bode well.”

“Tell me about it.”

The magical power I was feeling was as far beyond what belonged in this E-rank Gate—or F-rank, even—as the Nanman Beast Palace was from Henan.

I clicked my tongue and beckoned to the still-stunned Hunters.

“Like I said, it’s dangerous, so come over—”

Patter-patter-patter-patter!

“Whoa. You startled me.”

“Undead, have mercy.”

What was that, a Blink spell?

Being famous did have its advantages. Some old lady named Kim in the middle of nowhere had probably heard of me. Of course Hunters in the same line of work would know who I was.

Before I could finish speaking, all twenty of them came running at the speed of light. They looked at me with fear and trust in their eyes.

“Hyung.² I’m a fan. A real fan.”

“Eek! What do I do? What do I dooo?”

“……Thanks, but are you all out of your minds?”

How were they thinking about that at a time like this? I shook my head in disbelief and looked for the Team Leader.

At least he seemed to understand how serious things were. His face was stiff as he rummaged through his pocket and held something out to me.

“Could I get your autograph? Please write, ‘Go, Hunter Lee Seungyeop!’”

“……”

“Please. I’ll make it a family heirloom and pass it down for generations.”

“……”

Ah, fuck. I had no words.

Feeling miserable, I scrawled my signature across the briefing board. The Team Leader cautiously added, “And if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you swear once?”

“What?”

“Swear at me. It’s my wish.”

“……You fucking bastard.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

“I meant it.”

“Gasp.”

One person—or rather, one monster—watched the exchange with obvious envy.

“You are rather popular, wretched human. They say that if one defecates, one becomes famous and people applaud.”

“……”

He had that backward somehow. Taking a shit in public might make you famous, but wouldn’t people slap you instead of applauding?

I didn’t have time to correct the Skeleton King’s distorted understanding. Just as I opened my mouth, the cave, already shaking like an earthquake had struck, lurched violently.

Rumble-rumble—crack!

The ground split, and cracks spread across the ceiling like a spiderweb. One of the Hunters groaned, “Is it collapsing…?”

Half right. Half wrong.

While everyone stared at the ceiling, which looked ready to come crashing down at any moment, I was the only one who knew what was happening below as well.

Crack. Crack-crack.

A sprout pushed its way through the solid rock covering the ground.

Dark red. Even as I watched, it grew at a frightening pace.

It produced thorns. A flower bud burst open, scattering seeds that soon began spreading in every direction.

Crack-crack-crack-crack!

“W-What is that?”

“Eeeeeek!”

“Ugh!”

“Cut it! Chop it down!”

The Hunters finally noticed and sprang into action. But screaming and hacking at the undergrowth did nothing to stop it from spreading.

Because this wasn’t happening only here.

Even if the Skeleton King and I stepped in, we couldn’t make it through the entire Gate and deal with all of it in so little time.

This is…

Not a simple collapse. A change.

The entire Gate was taking on a new form.

Mutation. Literally.

Before everyone’s horrified eyes, the Mutated Gate neared the end of its transformation.

Rumble-rumble-rumble. Boom!

The hairline cracks spreading across the ceiling darkened, and the gaps opened wide. It looked as though a giant egg—the cave itself—was breaking open.

And then…

Crack!

Beyond the ceiling, where nothing should have existed, something appeared, wreathed in red light and dim mist.

A vast space that dwarfed the cave. Dense vegetation. Heat as muggy as a wet sauna.

“What is that?”

“A-A jungle?”

Everyone was struck speechless. The Skeleton King whispered so that only I could hear.

“Wretched human. This body’s power is growing stronger.”

Illusion magic hid his true appearance, but the Skeleton King was a monster. If his power was growing stronger, it meant one thing.

The amount and density of the magical power.

I couldn’t see it. But I could feel it.

Whoosh…

Immense magical power filled the air. It had swelled almost to bursting, pressing down on the jungle.

It was a level of magical power that would be difficult to sense even in an A-rank Gate. There was no chance ordinary low-level Hunters could withstand it.

“Hhk. Hhk.”

“I-I can’t… breathe…”

Their pupils gradually lost focus, and they staggered. Not one of the twenty Hunters was spared. As they began passing out one by one, the Skeleton King frowned at me for standing by and watching.

“Wretched human. You…”

“This is better.”

“What?”

“Nothing good would come of them staying awake.”

“……!”

I had to conceal the Skeleton King’s existence as much as possible. If so, it was better to remove these people from the situation from the beginning, as long as doing so didn’t endanger their lives.

The fewer witnesses, the better.

Thud.

Once the last Hunter had lost consciousness, the Skeleton King nodded at my signal and snapped his fingers.

Crack-crack-crack!

Countless bones rose from somewhere and closed around the Hunters without leaving a gap. The Skeleton King looked smug.

“Done. Since this body has personally demonstrated its abilities, the safety of those humans is guaranteed.”

I studied the small dome. “I don’t know. I think you should reinforce it.”

“Tsk, tsk. Wretched human, you are distrustful indeed. This would hold firm even against a horde of ogres.”

Ogres were monsters whose terrifying strength was always considered among the highest, regardless of their Grade.

“It’d probably be fine against ogres. But those things look a little different.”

“Huh?”

The Skeleton King turned to look. In the vast jungle, something was slowly rising to its feet.

Twenty meters³ tall. Arms and legs longer and thicker than the countless giant trees around it.

And…

One enormous eye gazing down at the earth.

A Cyclops.

Mist shrouded the mythical giant from head to toe. Its single eye turned toward us, and an eerie voice boomed like thunder.

—Intruders. Humans. Kill.

And the next moment—

System

You have been forcibly moved to the Mutated Gate!

An Unexpected Quest, Forest of Giants, has been created.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

Along with the System notification drilling into my ears, the jungle shook.

No. It came alive.

Flap-flap!

Nameless birds shot into the sky. Beneath their beating wings, hundreds of trees rose with monstrous cries.

Ancient tree spirits from countless tales. Ents awoke from their slumber and roared.

—Gwoooooar!

—Grrrrrrrr!

One person—or rather, one monster—had watched it all in silence. He promptly changed his mind.

“……I shall reinforce the humans’ barrier.”

“Uh, yeah.”

Crack-crack.

Far more bones than before surged upward, piling on in layer after layer.

The Skeleton King took care to finish the reinforcement, then fixed a grave stare on the advancing jungle.

“Ready, Jin?”

“Of course, King… Wait, where the hell did you learn this kind of thing?”

“The internet. It is entertaining.”

“You bastard. Once we get out of here, I’m confiscating your phone.”

I muttered a threat at him, then spoke under my breath.

“Inventory open. Summon.”

At my command, the shaft of White Flame appeared in my empty hand. Its familiar feel was one I hadn’t known in a long time.

I looked around at what had become a battlefield, and a smile touched my lips.

Let’s go.

Whoosh.

Three jiazi⁴ of Scorching Yang Qi surged up from my lower dantian, became a fire dragon, and spread through every limb and bone in my body.