Chapter 23

Chapter 23.

 

Near an Abyss Gate, in a gukbap restaurant,

Ha-kyung was eating with Ma Do-hyuk.

Beep.

His phone chimed absentmindedly, and he turned on the screen.

It was a message from Choi Hyun-ki.

‘Oh? They already took care of it?’

Moon Jeong-hoon’s false article had quietly disappeared.

A small correction piece had followed after it.

It had been handled cleanly, just the way Ha-kyung wanted.

With a puzzled look, Ma Do-hyuk asked, “No, seriously, what did you do to make that out-of-control trash reporter take the article down?”

“I only made one phone call.”

“To who?”

“To Choi Hyun-ki, the master of the Raiders.”

“What? Why him of all people...?”

“When it comes to dealing with evil, the easiest way is usually to use evil against evil.”

“Ahh!”

At Ha-kyung’s answer, Ma Do-hyuk snapped his fingers.

It seemed he had instantly figured out what Ha-kyung had done.

Beep-beep-beep.

A moment later, Ha-kyung’s phone rang.

Since they were in the middle of eating, he first excused himself to Ma Do-hyuk.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

“It is Choi Hyun-ki anyway, is it not? You can just take it here. I am curious what that man is going to say too.”

“All right.”

Ha-kyung answered the call at once.

The familiar sound of someone clearing his throat came through.

“Ahem! This is Choi Hyun-ki. The matter has been wrapped up neatly.”

“Yes, I just saw the correction notice go up.”

“Our guild always handles its business perfectly. He will not dare act carelessly again. If you want, I can even tell you how we handled it.”

“That will not be necessary.”

“And when do you intend to make good on our agreement?”

“The sooner, the better. I do not have any dungeon raid schedule for the time being, so you can contact me whenever.”

“Good. Then let us do it this weekend.”

Ha-kyung had asked the Raiders to deal with Moon Jeong-hoon.

Since he could not harm him personally, he had left it to professionals.

If he had tried to handle it through legal means, it would have taken a very long time.

Ha-kyung could already predict how things would go from here.

‘This is the fastest and most effective way.’

The price was that he would join a Raiders guild raid as a guest member.

This time, he could not insist on priority purchase rights.

After all, he was the one asking for a favor.

Even so, Ha-kyung felt that he had gained something bigger.

‘They handled something I could not do myself.’

Besides, what Ha-kyung wanted was the Ultimate Abyss Fragment.

Not the dungeon’s final reward.

He asked Choi Hyun-ki a question.

“What kind of dungeon is it? I would at least like to know the rank first.”

“Heh heh heh! Do not be surprised. It is an Unfathomable-rank dungeon.”

“I see.”

“......”

At Ha-kyung’s answer, Choi Hyun-ki fell silent for a moment.

He sounded faintly disappointed.

From Ha-kyung’s perspective, it was hard not to find that a little odd.

“You told me not to be surprised, so I did exactly that.”

“Ahem! It was just a figure of speech. You really are a stiff one.”

“How many entrants?”

“It is ordinary enough. A thirty-man dungeon.”

“Would it be all right if I brought one more guest member?”

“Who?”

“Just a moment.”

Ha-kyung muted the microphone on his phone for a second.

He was about to ask Ma Do-hyuk a question.

But before he could even speak, the answer came.

“An Unfathomable-rank dungeon? I am absolutely going.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, come on, I am the one getting the opportunity here. I should be the one thanking you.”

“Then I will let him know that you are willing to join.”

“Yes.”

Ha-kyung resumed his conversation with Choi Hyun-ki.

“It is Mr. Ma Do-hyuk.”

“......”

Choi Hyun-ki went quiet again for a moment.

It seemed some emotional resentment was still lingering.

Probably because Ma Do-hyuk had interfered with him before.

Still, there was no way he could refuse.

Awakened ones as skilled as Ma Do-hyuk were not easy to find.

Before long, Choi Hyun-ki’s voice came through again.

“Hoo. Understood. I will leave two spots open for you in the raid team.”

“Thank you. I will see you at the gate at the appointed time.”

“If you need anything like this again, let me know. No matter who it is, we will crush them properly. Or rather, while we are at it, why not just join our guild—”

“I am eating, so I will hang up now. Goodbye.”

Click.

The moment another recruitment pitch started, Ha-kyung quickly ended the call.

They had already discussed everything important.

And it was obvious Choi Hyun-ki was only going to start saying pointless things.

At Ha-kyung’s bold attitude, Ma Do-hyuk shook his head.

“Sometimes I think the nickname Abyss Beast suits you better than it suits me.”

“That nickname already belongs to you, Mr. Do-hyuk, so I guess I will go with Fierce Beast instead.”

“Oh! That does sound strong. But I still think Immortal Demon King suits you better.”

Ma Do-hyuk snickered for a moment, then went back to eating his gukbap with gusto.

Talking about how this was real man’s food,

and marveling at it over and over.

Ha-kyung let out a faint chuckle and took a spoonful himself.

‘He is much more down-to-earth than I expected from the first impression.’

***

A few days later, Ha-kyung and Ma Do-hyuk joined up with the Raiders guild.

The moment he spotted them, Choi Hyun-ki spread his arms wide in welcome.

“Ahem! Welcome, Mr. Lee Ha-kyung.”

Of course, when it came to Ma Do-hyuk, he only shot him a sidelong look without smiling.

He really was the sort to hold a grudge.

Ha-kyung greeted not only Choi Hyun-ki, but the team members as well.

There were sixty people in total.

The other team was there to act as an escort until they reached the dungeon.

Seen like this, the advantages of having a guild really did stand out.

Ma Do-hyuk, who had drifted over beside him at some point, spoke up.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“It seems like having a guild would be nice, at least when it comes to raiding dungeons.”

“With more people, the odds of obtaining a key go up, and you can even field an escort team.”

“But in exchange, you would be tied down just that much more.”

“It would be the same even if you founded a guild and became the master. A leader’s burden is a heavy one.”

Ha-kyung nodded.

He had not even completed the key yet.

So what talk was there of building a faction?

This was the time when he needed to grow stronger above all else.

Before long, the Raiders raid team passed through the gate.

Their destination was the Abyss’s depths.

An Unfathomable-rank dungeon resting at the very bottom.

[You have entered the dungeon ‘Layered Abyss.’]

[As time passes, new layers will form.]

[Climb to the top as quickly as possible and defeat the Shroud Wraith.]

[Rank: Unfathomable]

[Reward: Unknown Artifact]

The moment they stepped into the Layered Abyss, their breath turned white.

An unpleasant chill crept over his entire body like insects crawling across his skin.

The abandoned houses before his eyes, and the countless graves.

It had the sort of atmosphere where undead might appear at any moment.

Ha-kyung stared quietly at the graves.

‘Are zombies going to come out or something?’

Since the boss was a ghost-type monster, it was not an unreasonable guess.

As he was briefly looking around, Choi Hyun-ki’s voice suddenly came through.

“Ahem! We will now begin the raid on the Layered Abyss. I will be leading the operation personally, so I expect the guest members to follow instructions carefully.”

The moment Choi Hyun-ki’s speech ended, Ma Do-hyuk voiced his displeasure.

“Why does he have to single out the guest members like that? It is irritating.”

“I suppose that means the Raiders guild members are confident they will not make mistakes.”

“As if. Tch!”

The Raiders guild was certainly quite skilled.

If one looked only at the firepower of their ranged damage dealers, they were probably among the best in the country.

But that did not mean they were incapable of making mistakes.

Had they not shown a somewhat helpless side when they fought the Gear Crusher in the Fusion Abyss?

As expected, it was the sort of phrasing that left a bad taste in the mouth.

Of course, Ha-kyung did not pay it much mind.

‘It is better to be a little unpleasant than incompetent.’

Sure enough, Choi Hyun-ki’s command was steady.

The monsters that appeared in the Layered Abyss were ghostly in form.

Banshees and Specters made up the majority.

If someone brushed against a Banshee the wrong way while passing by, a scream would erupt.

“SKREEEEEEE!”

“Khhhuuu...”

Then the surrounding Specters would come rushing in from all sides.

That was how the fighting would begin.

Meanwhile, Ma Do-hyuk retreated with a frown.

“Ghost types really are annoying. You hit them, and the damage does not even land properly. It just wears you out.”

He said that and casually turned his head, only to find that Ha-kyung was fighting the ghostly creatures just fine.

From Ma Do-hyuk’s point of view, it was hard not to be baffled.

“No, Mr. Ha-kyung. How are you beating up things that do not even have physical bodies?”

“Uh... they just hit fine?”

There was really no other way to explain it.

Ha-kyung gave a small shrug.

‘I cannot exactly tell him I am using Abyss energy directly.’

Fortunately, Ma Do-hyuk did not press any further.

He merely shook his head.

At this point, no matter what Ha-kyung did, he no longer even questioned it.

That was because Ha-kyung had shown him absurd feats far too many times by now.

Ha-kyung pushed his way through the pack of Specters.

Then he cut off the neck of the Banshee that kept shrieking without pause.

“SKREE...! Ghk!”

Slash!

Once the Banshee was dealt with, the Specters scattered in all directions.

It certainly seemed that thing was the center calling the ghostly pack together.

Ha-kyung glanced around.

‘This is an Unfathomable-rank dungeon, so why do I not feel any kind of resonance at all?’

It seemed there was no Ultimate Abyss Fragment here after all.

This was a raid he had joined while practically giving up on the final reward.

It was a somewhat disappointing result.

Still, Ha-kyung gave up on it quickly enough.

‘Not every reward can be a good one. Let it go.’

The raid continued smoothly.

As expected of an Unfathomable-rank dungeon, the monsters inside were extremely troublesome.

At least there were no traps.

Because of that, the Raiders guild was able to show off its abilities to the fullest.

The overwhelming firepower of the ranged damage dealers.

And on top of that, the support of holy-type healers.

The back line was incredibly dependable.

By contrast, the melee damage dealers were only Ha-kyung and Ma Do-hyuk.

Just the two of them.

With a bitter look, Ma Do-hyuk said, “Normally, this should have made things unstable, but this dungeon just happens to be a great match for them.”

“It does. But are they not getting a little too excited?”

“It is a little much to clear out every last monster, sure. Still, that is not a bad strategy in its own way. There are minor enemies that answer the boss’s summons too.”

“That is not what I mean. I am worried because of the message we saw when we entered.”

“Uh... what did it say again?”

“It said we had to climb as fast as possible.”

“What?”

It seemed even Ma Do-hyuk did not remember. Which, really, was only natural.

Dungeon descriptions were all much the same.

Hardly anyone bothered reading them carefully.

But Ha-kyung was meticulous by nature, and he did not let things like that pass by carelessly.

Sure enough, a meaningful system message suddenly appeared.

[The Layered Abyss creates a new terrain.]

Rumble! Rrrrumble!

A moment later, boulders began crashing down from the sky.

Ha-kyung and Ma Do-hyuk took shelter beneath a half-collapsed building.

Even an abandoned house should be able to endure one or two hits.

After the chaos finally passed, the dungeon was swallowed in darkness.

The fallen rocks had formed pillars,

holding up broad stone slabs overhead.

True to the name Layered Abyss, a new floor had been created.

A little later, Choi Hyun-ki’s voice came through the Whisperer.

“Is everyone all right?”

“The ranged damage dealers are fine.”

“One tank is out.”

“Two healers are out.”

As the reports continued, Ha-kyung took hold of the Whisperer and spoke as well.

“Both melee damage dealers are safe.”

Perhaps because everyone had reacted quickly, there were only three casualties.

But the real problem was what came next.

“KYAAAAAAAH!”

[You have encountered the Abyss dungeon boss, Shroud Wraith.]

[The evil spirit’s scream weakens mental strength.]

[The evil spirit’s scream strengthens the dungeon’s monsters.]

[Skill activation time increased by 25%]

[Chance of skill failure occurs: 10%]

A shriek rang out, sharp enough to feel as though it might split his skull open.

System messages poured down one after another.

Then, from every direction, countless monsters started spilling out.

“SKREEEE!”

“KHHHUUUUU!”

The Banshees and Specters had grown more than twice as large as before.

At that point, type advantage or not, things could only become dangerous.

And that was when it happened.

Ma Do-hyuk suddenly shouted.

“Huh? What the hell are those bastards doing?”

At the urgency in his voice, Ha-kyung whipped his head around.

And there they were, the Raiders guild members pulling back after abandoning the front line.

Ha-kyung let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Hah. I did not think I would see that kind of crap this soon. They really are living up to their name.”