chapter 30
Saojeong (5)
Thecursesthatruledthedungeonhaveallbeenlifted.The curses that ruled the dungeon have all been lifted.
ThePlagueofRatsscatters!The Plague of Rats scatters!
Kim Minjeong was still firing the last of her bullets at the rats that were about to pour over the city walls when it happened.
A sudden dungeon message popped up, and the rats began scattering in all directions—
as if they had never been there at all.
“Is it really… over…?”
She stood frozen, still unable to believe it. Then, cheers erupted from the citizens.
“It’s finally over!”
“Damn it! We beat them! We really beat them!”
“Uaaaah!”
The citizens hugged each other and sobbed with joy.
Thecitizensfeelsafe.The citizens feel safe.
Thecitizensaregratefulforyourhelp.The citizens are grateful for your help.
Condition #4 ‘Prevent the Plague’ has been successfully completed.
Clearrate:98.1Clear rate: 98.1%
Only then did Kim Minjeong truly feel reality settle in, and she collapsed to the ground in relief.
A hand rested gently on her shoulder. Startled, she looked up to see Lee Hyeon smiling.
“You’ve done well.”
“Senior Jang!”
“You must be exhausted. Rest for now.”
Just moments ago, she’d been planning to vent all her frustrations at him the moment they met again. But when he praised her, it was as if all her hardships were washed away.
Then she noticed the people standing behind him—
young faces under hoods, children or perhaps teenagers.
“But those with you…?”
“The missing.”
“…!?”
Her eyes widened in shock.
“Hey, Jang Lee Hyeon!!”
Team Leader Jeong suddenly stormed over, fuming.
His condition was terrible. Isolated in the middle of the rat plague, his protective gear destroyed, covered in countless wounds. Even his blackened eyes radiated madness.
YouareinfectedwiththeBlackDeath.You are infected with the Black Death.
‘StatusEffect:Madness’isworsening.Seektreatmentimmediately.‘Status Effect: Madness’ is worsening. Seek treatment immediately.
“It was you! You’re the one behind this mess!”
He looked ready to rip Hyeon apart. To him, this whole ordeal was the result of Lee Hyeon’s reckless dungeon conquest.
The other trapped team members were also filled with resentment.
Kim Minjeong, sensing a fight about to break out, tried to intervene—
“Fortunately, no one seems to be gravely injured.”
“You bastard, you call that a—!”
Hyeon’s calm words only fanned the flames.
Jeong felt something snap inside his head. His hand reached for his sword, but then the citizens rushed between them.
“■■! Aren’t you ■■?”
“■! My son…!”
“They’ve returned! The children are back!”
The citizens realized the truth at last, and wept as they embraced the missing children.
ThecitizensofHamelinhaverecoveredtheirlostchildren.The citizens of Hamelin have recovered their lost children.
“…!?”
“Children…?”
“Where on earth…!”
The other team members froze.
This meant a dungeon unsolved for over ten years had finally been cleared.
And sure enough—
QuestConditionsQuest Conditions
-
Defeat the Piper. (clear!)
-
Rescue the missing children. (clear!)
-
Ensure the safety of Hamelin’s citizens. (clear!)
-
Prevent the plague. (clear!)
Alldungeonobjectiveshavebeencompleted!All dungeon objectives have been completed!
‘Player:JangLeeHyeon’contributed70.9‘Player: Jang Lee Hyeon’ contributed 70.9% of the clear. Reward: ‘The Pied Piper’s Enchanting Flute’ obtained.
Anoverwhelmingfirstplaceachieved!Additionalrewardgranted:‘FavoroftheLordofSkulls’.An overwhelming first place achieved! Additional reward granted: ‘Favor of the Lord of Skulls’.
…
“……!”
“……!”
“……!!”
The team was left speechless. Not only had he gained the rare dungeon rewards, but also a near-impossible additional reward.
What the hell just happened!?
What did he face before we even got here?
How did he resist the flute’s sound?
Clueless, they could only stare at him in disbelief.
To clear a long-unsolved dungeon—almost singlehandedly—was the mark of a monster.
What do we even say to this?
Ah, so that’s why the A-Team Leader parachuted him in…!
He’s clearly the real deal. Maybe we should try to get on his good side now…?
But with the team leader glaring like that…!
Outwardly they stayed back, but their eyes betrayed awe and calculation.
Meanwhile, Team Leader Jeong’s face burned red with shame, jealousy, and fury as he glared daggers at Hyeon.
Youhavesuccessfullyreadandunderstoodthe<ShortStory>.Youhavegainedagreatamountof■■■■’sKarma.You have successfully read and understood the <Short Story>. You have gained a great amount of ■■■■’s Karma.
…
YourresonancewiththeRuyiJinguBangincreasessignificantly.Your resonance with the Ruyi Jingu Bang increases significantly.
YoucannowbetterutilizetheFieryGoldenEyes.You can now better utilize the Fiery Golden Eyes.
…
YourRankhasincreased.Your Rank has increased.
YourRankhasincreased.Your Rank has increased.
Allstatshaveincreasedby10.All stats have increased by 10.
Yourbodyundergoesanothertransformation.Your body undergoes another transformation.
…
Additionalrewardobtained:‘WaterManipulationSkillbook’.Additional reward obtained: ‘Water Manipulation Skillbook’.
…
Crack, crack!
Once again, Hyeon felt his body transform under Sun Wukong’s Karma. But he moved quickly—time was short.
The dungeon will close soon. I have to finish before then.
“Minjeong, do you have what I asked for?”
“Here. But… why did you suddenly request this?”
Earlier, when she reported two high-rankers entering, he had told her to leave them to him, and instead gave her a note with instructions for something else.
“It’s for closing the dungeon.”
“Closing…?”
The dungeon quests were already complete, weren’t they? Even the closing messages had appeared.
Her face filled with confusion, but he only smiled faintly and moved on.
If I’m right, a <Short Story> altered by <Adaptation> won’t just end as a simple short story.
He walked toward where the hidden boss lingered.
Thedungeonisclosing.Allparticipants,retreattothesafezone.The dungeon is closing. All participants, retreat to the safe zone.
The message quickened his steps.
The hidden boss stood apart from the others, staring bitterly at the city. His gaze toward the adults was still a tangled mix of resentment and longing.
1010
“What are you staring at?”
“You.”
“Here, take this.”
“What’s this?”
99
The hidden boss frowned, accepting the note. It was a map, beginning at the city’s back gate.
“The Piper’s grave.”
“…!?”
The boy froze.
88
77
“It proves not all the adults you hated were evil. After he died unjustly, some townsfolk secretly built him a grave.”
44
“Go see it. And…”
Hyeon whispered something. The boy silently nodded, countless emotions flickering in his eyes.
And then—
22
11
“…Thank you.”
Clutching the note tightly, the hidden boss’s eyes reddened.
Hyeon smiled softly.
“Thank you.”
“…?”
“Next time, say that to the adults instead.”
“…!?”
00
CountdownEnded.Countdown Ended.
A curtain of light fell between them from the sky.
From the other side, the hidden boss chuckled bitterly.
“So you were a nag after all.”
Thedungeoncloses.The dungeon closes.
With the message, the dungeon collapsed.
“…nia.”
Hyeon thought he heard something faint as the world receded—
Whoooosh!
The world twisted, and he suddenly found himself outside the gate. Regaining his balance, he scanned for messages.
Did it work?
Nothing at first, only old logs. But then—
Ding! Ding!
ThechildrenfollowedthemapyougavethemandfoundthePiper’sgrave.The children followed the map you gave them and found the Piper’s grave.
Theyraisedastonemarkeronthenamelessgrave.Regrettingneverfindingitbefore,theyvowedtovisiteveryyear.They raised a stone marker on the nameless grave. Regretting never finding it before, they vowed to visit every year.
Thechildrenresolvedtheirmisunderstandingswiththeadults…The children resolved their misunderstandings with the adults…
…
A <Sequel>—something never before recorded after a dungeon closed—was unfolding.
As expected.
Normally, dungeons were closed narratives, with no “after-story.” But if <Adaptation> reshaped the tale, then it became an entirely new story.
The<Characters>aregratefultoyou,theoutsiderwhohelpedthem.The <Characters> are grateful to you, the outsider who helped them.
Theywilllivehappilyeverafter,neverforgettingyouraid.They will live happily ever after, never forgetting your aid.
…
The<ShortStory>hasreachedabeautifulending.The <Short Story> has reached a beautiful ending.
Congratulations!YouarethefirstEarthlingtodiscoverthesystem’suniqueauthorities:<Revision>and<Editing>.Congratulations! You are the first Earthling to discover the system’s unique authorities: <Revision> and <Editing>.
Achievementunlocked.Achievement unlocked.
…
TheLogoiofWritingnowturntheirattentiontoyou!The Logoi of Writing now turn their attention to you!
…
Hyeon clenched his fists as message after message flooded in.
A “new ending” was more significant than he’d imagined.
But what he truly wanted was—
Allstatsincreasedby10.All stats increased by 10.
…
YourRankhasincreased.Your Rank has increased.
YourRankhasincreased.Your Rank has increased.
Additionalrewardobtained:‘RandomBox(SR)’.Additional reward obtained: ‘Random Box (SR)’.
—additional rewards.
But the prize was strange.
Random Box?
He frowned.
RandomBox(SR)Random Box (SR)
A box tightly wrapped, its contents impossible to guess.
But it will surely contain something you need most right now.
– Type: Gacha Item
– Origin: Urban Legend
It was his first time seeing such a reward. Still, the description reassured him: something I need most right now.
At least it wouldn’t be useless.
But then—
“Hey, Manager Jang.”
Team Leader Jeong suddenly blocked his way, radiating hostility.
Hyeon narrowed his eyes.
Right. This one’s still left.
The dungeon was over, but the Z-Team’s trial was far from finished.
‘Relic:FieryGoldenEyes’revealsthetarget’sstate.‘Relic: Fiery Golden Eyes’ reveals the target’s state.
TheBlackDeath’ssideeffectsareworsening‘Madness.’Withouturgenttreatment,itwillbecomelife−threatening.The Black Death’s side effects are worsening ‘Madness.’ Without urgent treatment, it will become life-threatening.
Thetargetisblindedbyjealousyandhatredtowardyou,filledwithmurderousintent.The target is blinded by jealousy and hatred toward you, filled with murderous intent.
Clearly, his isolation during the plague had let the curse consume him. A vicious mental curse at that.
“Feels good, huh? Pushing your teammates into hell, then hogging all the credit and rewards for yourself?”
Jeong jabbed his finger into Hyeon’s shoulder. His skin was blotched black, his body reeking of curse energy. Black miasma swirled around him ominously.
“Team leader!”
“What!?”
“You’re cursed—!”
TheCurseoftheBlackDeathbeginstoleakout.The Curse of the Black Death begins to leak out.
The other members panicked and backed away. His mental corruption had peaked.
What should I do?
Hyeon had never planned to take him back alive anyway. Originally, he had only meant to ruin his mana circuits with the curse, forcing retirement. But now… he was even considering amplifying it, pushing him toward sudden death.
All because of the messages he’d just seen—
The‘Inheritance:GhostMoon’sRedLantern’beginstoburn.The ‘Inheritance: Ghost Moon’s Red Lantern’ begins to burn.
Ghost Moon, huh? Korea has no such tradition… but in China…
Hyeon recognized the scent.
Seo Changwoo.
The stench of an old enemy.
He made up his mind.
‘Relic:MaskoftheGoldenArhat’activates.Cursescripts‘MurderousImpulse’and‘Paranoia’amplifythetarget’scurse.‘Relic: Mask of the Golden Arhat’ activates. Curse scripts ‘Murderous Impulse’ and ‘Paranoia’ amplify the target’s curse.
“There’s no curse! Bullshit! You’re all ignoring me like him, aren’t you? Do you know who I am? I’m the rookie even President Jang Chen acknowledged! You’ll all die—!”
His eyes rolled back as the Ghost Moon’s Red Lantern flared, blood-red flames surging. They were eerie, ghostly flames filled with killing intent.
The team scrambled to raise defenses—
But faster than that—
Whirr—
A battle axe flew and buried itself into his skull.
Thud!
