🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 21
Adaptation (2)
“Thunder…?”
Team Z had already pulled back quite a distance from the fortress.
They knew well that once you entered the city, hordes of zombies would come pouring out.
Specifically, the semi-zombies that were best left untouched—
the biggest reason this dungeon was practically impregnable.
That was why Captain Jung had assumed that Lee Hyun and Kim Minjeong wouldn’t even make it through the city gates and would have to retreat.
If that happened, I was planning to abandon them and escape the dungeon with only my team…
But then a strange noise rang out.
When he looked toward the fortress, he could see flashes like lightning.
What on earth was happening?
“Do you have a telescope?”
“Here, sir.”
[Moon-Watching Fox Scope]
No matter where you move in the world, the moon always follows, softly illuminating all.
—Origin: Folklore, Moon-Watching Custom
When Captain Jung raised the scope to his eye, his jaw dropped.
“The wall collapsed…? Just what are they trying to pull?”
The thunderous explosions had ceased, so he couldn’t tell what item they had used.
But it was clear it had been some kind of explosive item.
The zombies were all trapped under falling rubble, writhing helplessly.
Those that weren’t crushed tried to find the cause but were scattered and confused by bursts of lightning crackling all around.
And in the middle of it all, Lee Hyun and Kim Minjeong slipped through effortlessly.
“Captain!”
“Wait. Not yet. We can enter later—there’s still time.”
Lowering the scope, Captain Jung calmly held his subordinates back.
“Whatever item they found, they definitely didn’t come unprepared.”
It seemed sitting still wasn’t an option anymore.
“Assistant Manager Seo Aeri.”
He turned his gaze to the side.
There, apart from the others, lounged a man and a woman. They were leaning against a boulder and yawning, clearly uninterested in this raid.
The woman—Seo Aeri—glared back silently at her name being called, her expression sulky and annoyed.
Why are you bothering me?
Captain Jung felt a flash of irritation but forced a smile.
“Could you identify what item that was?”
Seo Aeri was the team’s analyst—
meant to interpret sudden events or sub-quests and propose solutions.
But—
“Why not just ask them over the radio?”
She was negative and uncooperative about everything.
“…For a more reliable strategic analysis—”
“I only came along because I haven’t joined a raid in a while. But if all we’re doing is wasting time sitting here, I’ll just leave. Do your political games without me, thanks. Bye.”
“Seo! Assistant Manager Seo!”
But she didn’t wait for his protests—she simply used a skill to teleport out of the dungeon.
“That damn…!”
Stunned, Captain Jung could only gape.
The man sitting beside her shook his head.
“Crazy woman. No social skills at all. No wonder she’s stuck in a place like this. But walking out like that in front of everyone—what does that make you look like, Captain? Don’t worry. You’ve got me.”
He was armed head-to-toe with all kinds of swords.
A massive greatsword nearly two meters long hung across his back,
while countless smaller blades jingled at his belt.
His sharp gaze was as intimidating as his weapons—few dared approach him.
“Assistant Manager Lee Giseon.”
Captain Jung eyed him warily.
If anything, Lee was even more reckless than Seo Aeri.
“I’ll go check it out. I may not be as skilled as her, but I know plenty about items. And truth be told, I’m curious myself.”
Jung was suspicious at how suddenly cooperative Lee sounded—
but his skill was reliable, so Jung nodded.
“Fine. Then please. Let me know if you discover anything.”
But—
“Eh? I never said I’d tell you.”
“…What?”
Lee tilted his head innocently, then smirked.
“I said I’d look into it. Not that I’d help you. Figure it out yourself. Later.”
“…!!”
With a cheeky grin, Lee waved and vanished.
Only then did Captain Jung realize he’d been played. His face flushed crimson.
“Those insane bastards… mocking me…!! Aaargh!”
He kicked rocks, drew his sword, and slashed wildly around him.
Smash! Crash!
The other team members looked away, saying nothing.
Those lunatics…!
Sure, Team Z is known to gather all sorts of misfits, but still…
We really need to get out of this team somehow.
Now we’ll have to deal with his tantrum all day!
One by one, they sighed heavily, feeling cursed with bad luck.
At that moment—
Whooosh!
Lee Hyun and Kim Minjeong vaulted the ruined wall and entered the city.
Behind them, several zombies stumbled helplessly in the fortress debris Hyun had left behind.
[You have entered the City of Hamelin.]
[The influence of the flute sound grows stronger.]
[Item duration reduced by 10 minutes.]
[01:26:21]
…
“Senior, forget the lightning—what was that movement technique…?”
“Breath of the Goblin. Modified.”
“That was modifiable!?”
Kim Minjeong knew his signature skill well—
the Goblin’s Breath.
The angrier the user, the stronger its surges of lightning energy,
eventually wrapping the body in a storm of thunder.
It reminded her of a thunder-spitting goblin swinging a club.
But it had always been a destructive ultimate skill, not a high-speed movement technique.
Yet he answered so matter-of-factly, she didn’t know what to say.
Just what did he go through to make this possible…?
It even seemed faster than her own mobility skill.
[Peach Blossom Shadow]
In shamanism, the Peach Blossom curse brings seduction and death. Where it passes, crimson petals fall.
—Origin: Folktale The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon
It’s using even less mana than before. He really does seem like a goblin now.
She realized instinctively: Hyun was going to shock her many more times today.
Meanwhile, Hyun could clearly feel the effects of Trinity Windstorm.
As I thought—combining just Resonant Thunder and Trinity Windstorm is already leagues beyond what I had before.
Each step burst with gales of wind, and best of all, it consumed almost no mana—
he was simply riding the aftershocks of Resonant Thunder.
I could even kick up dust clouds for concealment or tie it into Shadow Step.
His skill tree was finally taking shape.
“There’s the bell tower, senior.”
At last—their destination.
The solitary tower rising in the city center.
“Right. Let’s silence that flute.”
For the past three days, Hyun had thought about nothing else—
—How can I stop the flute first?
The curse of the flute didn’t affect him, but it did affect Kim Minjeong—
and the zombified citizens were still obstacles.
[Entering the city center. The flute’s influence grows stronger.]
That was why he chose the bell tower.
The tallest structure in the middle of the city—
its chime could drown out the flute.
Tap, tap!
They kicked off the wall and scaled it in seconds, reaching the bell at the top.
The fairy-tale city stretched out below.
“We need to hurry! Zombies are already converging here!”
Kim Minjeong set her cello case down, pulling it from her inventory.
Not all zombies had been at the gates—many had been roaming inside the city. They had sensed the intruders and were now gathering.
Click.
Inside the case lay her Mk12 sniper rifle, along with other firearms.
If Hyun’s main weapon was the axe, hers was the magic gun.
Chk-chk!
She attached scope and silencer, shouldered the rifle, and aimed downward.
[Tears of Janghwa]
Bullets carrying the grudge of slain sisters curse those they pierce, afflicting them with misfortune.
—Origin: Folktale The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon
“Starting now.”
“I’ll leave it to you.”
Through the scope, she fired at a male zombie.
[Tradition: Janghwa and Hongryeon activates, firing a curse!]
Bang!
The shot hit his left shoulder, knocking him down.
He struggled to rise, but cursed misfortune spread through his blood, sending him into convulsions.
Kaaak! Kaaaak!
Her inherited legend was The Tale of Janghwa and Hongryeon.
The cursed bullets were not only powerful but spread terrible misfortune after impact.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each shot dropped another approaching zombie.
Meanwhile, Hyun activated an item he still hadn’t returned to Lim Wonyeong—
[Relic: Guardian’s Amulet summons 4 spectral guardians!]
[Yiol refuses the summons.]
[The summoned warriors gain lightning affinity.]
Lightning burst from the ring on his finger, summoning grotesque spear-wielding ghosts.
“The Guardian commands us to aid you…”
“Give us orders…”
“Ring the bell. Hard. Until I say stop.”
The bell tower had once marked time for the city. Its sound could reach far—
more than enough to drown out the flute.
“We obey!”
“Please tell the Guardian we fulfilled his will faithfully!”
Charged with lightning, the ghosts swung the bell.
GONG! GOOONG!
The colossal sound thundered across the city, past the fortress walls.
[The bell tolls!]
[The flute can no longer be heard. The curse weakens.]
The zombies froze, as if stunned.
At the same time—
[Item duration greatly extended.]
[03:14:41]
[Hamelin’s cursed citizens awaken from mass hallucination!]
GONG!
Fsssh!
The black curse surrounding the zombies dispersed.
“H-huh…?”
“Wh-why am I here…?”
“■■? ■! You’re here too?”
“I came looking for my son, who vanished with the flute, but…”
The citizens, regaining consciousness, staggered in confusion.
“It really worked…”
Minjeong lowered her rifle, letting out a laugh of disbelief.
A curse unsolved for ten years—
Hyun had erased it as if it were nothing.
It really is him. Jet! Jet has returned!
Without realizing it, she clenched her fist tight.
Thump! Thump!
Her heart pounded furiously.
The same excitement she’d always felt when following her leader, Jet.
Crackle!
Hyun, too, was scanning the area cloaked in blue-white lightning.
But he wasn’t celebrating yet.
This was only a stopgap.
We have to find the flute’s new master. The hidden boss.
With golden-lit eyes, he followed the trail of the curse fleeing the zombies.
[Relic: Golden Eyes of Insight activates, tracing where flute waves and bell waves collide.]
Through his vision, a black haze streamed like rainwater toward a manhole.
[Location discovered!]
That was the origin of the curse. The epicenter of sound.
A manhole, swirling with black vapors, leading underground.
The sewers!
Fwoosh!
Hyun launched himself toward it.
“Senior!?”
Minjeong looked up to see him soaring skyward.
[Goblin’s Breath (B+) unleashes its full fury!]
It was as if a new sun burst in the sky—
a goblin god manifesting.
KRRAAAACK!
Hyun became lightning itself, slamming into the ground.
The earth exploded, collapsing into the depths.
And deep below, the cursed, stinking sewers appeared.
Crash!
Hyun lifted his head—
and there, cloaked in a black robe, stood a startled man.
[You have entered the Boss Room.]
[Hidden Boss discovered!]
In the man’s hand—was a black flute.
