Chapter 326

Chapter 326

There were more than a hundred corpses visible to the eye alone.

As if a fierce battle had taken place, not a single corpse remained intact.

Severed arms and legs were the least of it. There were many corpses that no longer even retained their shape.

“It seems there was a fierce battle.”

“Why can’t we see the others?”

Beside Zeon, Briel murmured with a puzzled expression.

She too knew that over three thousand people had fallen into this place. Yet aside from a hundred or so corpses, there were no traces of the rest.

The one who answered was Seo Tae-ran.

“It seems they scattered.”

“Scattered?”

“Look at the ground. The footprints head in different directions.”

Seo Tae-ran’s eyes gleamed sharply.

The greatest reason she had been able to become Jin Geum-ho’s secretary was her sharp analytical ability and intuition.

Now that analytical ability was shining.

“Judging by the footprints left on the ground, they split into at least seven groups. Each group headed in a different direction. It seems the people gathered around the large raid teams.”

City Hall had led this expedition, but the members were raid teams considered outstanding in each district.

According to Seo Tae-ran’s understanding, at least seven large raid teams had joined this expedition.

Most likely, once the crisis occurred, they each seized command and moved separately.

Elder Go carefully examined the corpses.

“It seems they were attacked by small monsters. If a large monster had attacked, the wounds wouldn’t have ended at only this level.”

“You mean there are monsters underground too?”

“That’s chilling.”

The twin sisters looked around as if horrified.

A terrible darkness had settled underground.

There was not a single point of light, so aside from where they stood, they could not see even an inch ahead.

Seo Tae-ran approached Zeon.

“You have a lot of experience with situations like this, don’t you, Mr. Zeon? What kind of place does this seem to be?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Zeon answered honestly.

Whether this place was a dungeon or a naturally formed space, its true nature could not be known until they experienced it directly.

“One thing is certain. Monsters inhabit this place. Though I can’t identify what kind of monsters they are yet.”

“Is that so?”

A trace of disappointment appeared and disappeared on Seo Tae-ran’s face.

‘Did I expect too much from this man?’

She had thought that someone as experienced as Zeon would give an answer at once.

But because he gave only a general answer, she unintentionally revealed her disappointment.

Zeon noticed that too, but he did not care much.

That was because he had not come here to satisfy Seo Tae-ran’s expectations.

This kind of terrain had to be explored cautiously.

If one moved after deciding on a conclusion in advance, prejudice would make proper judgment impossible.

Once exposed to an unfamiliar environment, one had to assess the situation as coldly as possible.

Right now, Zeon was collecting information while keeping every possibility open.

‘Underground, darkness, monsters. They’re too common as keywords. I need to gather more information.’

Zeon examined the traces on the ground closely.

As Seo Tae-ran had said, it was clear the people had split into seven large groups.

He did not know what had happened between the seven groups, but they had not united at all and had acted independently.

The problem was determining which group Levin and his friends belonged to.

‘If it’s Levin, he definitely left some trace.’

Levin was young, but he was not immature.

He had plenty of experience following Zeon, so he would not have acted blindly like a novice.

He surely knew Zeon would come looking for him. If so, he would have left traces so Zeon could track him.

After examining the surroundings for quite some time, Zeon discovered a mark left on the ground.

The soil on the ground had melted and crystallized like glass.

It was a unique trace that appeared when a high-temperature current struck in an instant.

‘Levin.’

A smile appeared on Zeon’s lips.

He was a good student.

That was because he was faithfully carrying out what he had experienced and learned.

Briel whispered to Zeon.

“Did you find something?”

“It’s a trace Levin left behind. He marked that he belonged to the group that went this way.”

“He melted the ground with electricity. So he’s not a complete idiot.”

Briel chuckled.

At that moment, Elder Go asked Zeon,

“What do you plan to do now?”

“Why are you asking me? There’s a leader over there.”

“A leader?”

Elder Go chuckled as he looked in the direction Zeon indicated.

Seo Tae-ran was standing there.

“I don’t mean to disregard her, but she isn’t leader material. She is suited to being a second-in-command, exactly the position of a secretary. She isn’t a vessel capable of grasping a situation and taking the lead. She needs someone to give her orders.”

“For example, someone like the mayor?”

“Exactly!”

“Then how about you taking the role of leader, sir......”

“I am even less suited for it. I’ve spent my whole life living according to orders, so can I suddenly lead a group overnight? These twin sisters are even less suited to be leaders. Our group, or should I call it a party in this case? In any case, the party leader of our party is you. You have to lead us.”

At Elder Go’s words, Zeon silently frowned.

That was because he had never once thought of himself as leader material.

He was used to acting alone.

During the eight years he had spent in the desert, he had grown accustomed to that way of acting.

Taking responsibility for others was not something he was used to.

At most, Briel and Levin were among the people he was responsible for.

But now that things had turned out like this, he had to lead them whether he wanted to or not.

At that moment, Seo Tae-ran approached Zeon and said,

“Tell us what we should do. Among us, you’re the most accustomed to this kind of situation. So you should know best how to respond.”

“Will you follow my orders without complaint?”

“Of course.”

Seo Tae-ran answered without the slightest hesitation.

Zeon did not find her entirely trustworthy, but since she answered so firmly, he could not say he would not be party leader either.

“Fine. We’ll go this way.”

The direction Zeon pointed to was where the group Levin belonged to had disappeared.

Seo Tae-ran answered immediately.

“Understood.”

Regardless of her inner thoughts, it was an attitude that acknowledged Zeon as party leader.

Zeon walked in the direction Levin had disappeared with Briel.

The light shining from above the barrier vanished completely, and terrible darkness greeted them.

It did not feel like simple darkness.

It felt as if they had entered a sticky swamp.

Zeon said to Seo Tae-ran,

“Did you prepare anything like flashlights?”

“Of course.”

No sooner had Seo Tae-ran spoken than her subordinates took small flashlights from their coats.

They were small but extremely powerful high-performance flashlights.

The moment the flashlights were switched on, the surroundings brightened.

One would have expected their field of vision to open thanks to that, but that was a complete miscalculation.

“What is this?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”

Seo Tae-ran and Elder Go could not hide their bewildered expressions.

It was exactly five meters.

Only five meters around the flashlights had brightened. Everything else remained wrapped in perfect darkness.

As if trapped inside a hemisphere with a diameter of about five meters, the flashlight beams could not extend any farther. It seemed as if the darkness was blocking the spread of light, as though it would not allow more than that.

It was a phenomenon that defied the laws of nature.

Elder Go said,

“What a strange place.”

“It seems to be a dungeon. The barrier above, and the energy inside here too......”

“To think there was a dungeon beneath the place where the Mana Stone Mine raid team set up camp. Their luck was filthy.”

“Indeed.”

Zeon nodded and looked around.

Thick darkness perfectly blocked their sight like a curtain.

Because of that, it was impossible to gather proper information.

To determine what threats existed within this darkness, what monsters inhabited it, and what the dungeon’s main body was, they had no choice but to experience it directly.

Zeon thought of the Kraken on the surface.

‘Then was that Grade S monster born under the influence of the dungeon?’

Sometimes, monsters exposed to a dungeon’s energy grew rapidly.

If so, the Kraken occupying the Mana Stone Mine made sense.

It was unfortunate for those who had been attacking the Mana Stone Mine, but they had simply been unlucky.

After all, they had set up camp above a dungeon.

‘For now, the most urgent task is figuring out what kind of dungeon this is.’

They had to grasp the dungeon type first before they could clear it efficiently.

Zeon warned the group.

“Everyone, be careful. We’ve come this far in, so the dungeon will definitely react somehow.”

“Understood.”

Elder Go answered on behalf of everyone.

It was then.

Ssssh!

Something pierced through the darkness without sound or presence.

A wide-open mouth and large fangs dripping with saliva.

The thing that attacked the group was a gigantic wild dog.

But it was no ordinary wild dog.

It was translucent, like a ghost.

The translucent wild dog attacked one of Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates at the rear.

The subordinate did not panic and immediately counterattacked.

WHOOOSH—!

His fist slammed into the wild dog’s head.

Normally, in this situation, the wild dog’s head would have been smashed apart. But this time was different.

Sssrk!

The subordinate’s fist passed emptily through the wild dog’s head.

“......”

While the subordinate widened his eyes in shock, the wild dog counterattacked.

CRUNCH—!

The wild dog bit the subordinate’s head and shook it from side to side. Then the subordinate’s head crumbled like tofu, scattering blood and brain matter everywhere.

The other subordinates rushed in to save the one caught in the wild dog’s jaws. But their attacks passed uselessly through the wild dog’s body.

In the meantime, the wild dog completely ended the life of the subordinate held in its mouth.

Just as the wild dog was about to search for and attack its next victim—

WHOOSH!

Flames suddenly caught on the wild dog’s body.

Zeon had fired a Fire Missile.

Seeing the burning wild dog jump around in surprise, Zeon said,

“Physical attacks don’t work, so you need to use something like Magic.”

At Zeon’s words, Seo Tae-ran shouted,

“Everyone, equip the Gauntlet of Extermination.”

CLICK—!

No sooner had she spoken than the wristwatches on her subordinates transformed into gauntlets.

“Gauntlet of Extermination?”

“I’ll show you Neo Seoul’s technology.”

A cold smile appeared on Seo Tae-ran’s lips.

The subordinates attacked the wild dog again.

As if trusting in its own ability, the wild dog ignored the subordinates’ attacks.

As Zeon had said, it was clear that it knew physical attacks could not do anything to it.

But that was the wild dog’s mistake in judgment.

CRACKLE—!

WHOOSH—!

Electric current and flames suddenly erupted from the gauntlets worn by the subordinates.

The high-temperature, high-pressure flames and current struck the wild dog directly.

YELP!

With a single scream, the wild dog vanished.

Seo Tae-ran said,

“It’s an item created to compensate for the weaknesses of martial-type Awakened. As you can see, it converts the mana inside the body into elements like electric current or flames.”

The principle itself was not very difficult.

Among items excavated from dungeons, there were many items with similar effects. Compared to such dungeon-made items, the power of the gauntlets currently worn by Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates was insignificant.

Unlike dungeon-made items, which possessed special power, items made by humans could not be expected to have such dramatic effects.

What mattered was that humans could make such items and mass-produce them.

Zeon considered this mass-production ability to be one of Neo Seoul’s greatest strengths.

By standardizing and mass-producing items, everyone’s combat power rose evenly. Thanks to that, the combat power of all Awakened rose together.

That was how Neo Seoul became stronger.

It was then.

Ssssh! Sssk!

Numerous wild dogs appeared through the darkness.

The wild dogs attacked with terrifying momentum, and Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates fought back.

The wild dogs were no match for Seo Tae-ran’s subordinates wearing the Gauntlets of Extermination.

The moment the Gauntlets of Extermination struck, the wild dogs vanished without a trace.

After carefully watching that sight, Briel spoke as if she had realized something.

“Those things are already dead. This place is definitely a Dungeon of the Dead.”