n

n

n“Ahaha, stupid mother**ers. You’re making me blush.”

nWhile camped near the dungeon entrance, Taylor burst out laughing when the reporters interviewed her.

nLost Day had gone to great lengths to try and interpret the dungeon, so when they failed, the reporters’ reactions were immediate.

nTaylor didn’t miss the opportunity to shout, “you fools, you should have been better organized!” at the reporters.

nUnfortunately, most of the words were filtered by the reporters.

nInterviewers are often criticized for excessive reporting, yet, now they were trying to make their reports smaller!

nEven Yoo Seodam was speechless.

nThe soldiers were trying to control the situation with the journalists, but they still came in droves.

nOn the other hand, Lost day remained silent.

nNothing good can come from saying anything here.

n

n

nTaylor was laughing at them indiscriminately, but then she suddenly turned her head to look at Seodam, who had a serious expression on his face.

nHer eyebrows creased.

n‘Bastard, you still have lingering feelings for Lost Day?’

nSince the founding of Lost Day, Seodam stayed for 12 years.

nIn the beginning, he stayed for one reason or another, but later…

n‘Hell Gate became the reason.’

nHell Gate.

nA strange hole appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean one day, an unknown place where no common sense applied.

nWhy it appeared, what’s inside, or how it’s even maintained, humanity knew nothing about it.

nHowever, hunters have constantly challenged it in the hope of conquering it.

nYoo Seodam was also one of the hunters who challenged it.

nSaying most hunters died there is an understatement.

nThe survival rate is 0.3%.

nMost of those who returned alive were not able to maintain their sanity, or became disabled, thus making it difficult to live a normal life, let alone as a hunter, for the rest of their lives.

nAlthough the feelings the hunters felt while inside varied, one thing they all shared was ‘absolute fear.’

nThere was also the famous case of a S-Rank hunter who had survived Hell Gate, but when he returned to society, he pissed his pants when he saw a F-Rank monster, acting as if he could never deal with a monster again.

n‘I don’t know what the hell you saw inside…’

nTaylor has never been there.

nSo she doesn’t know what Yoo Seodam experienced inside.

nHowever, she knows Yoo Seodam must still have lingering feelings after coming out of Hell Gate.

nThat’s why it is a problem.

nA few years ago, the international law changed so only A-Rank hunters or better could enter Hell Gate.

nYoo Seodam has lingerie feelings about Hell Gate, but he couldn’t enter it again because he’s not a superhuman.

nHowever, using the power of Lost Day, it was not necessarily impossible.

nTaylor thought it was one of the reasons why Yoo Seodam stayed in the guild even though he was treated badly by them, and she also thought that’s why he has a serious expression on his face right now as if he had mixed feelings.

n“Hey. Don’t tell me you still have lingering feelings for that guild?”

nAsked Taylor, with her teeth clenched as if she’s genuinely angry.

n“…What? What nonsense are you saying? I’m still not strong enough, so I was thinking how I could ** them up.”

nSeodam looked at Taylor as if he were looking at a strange creature.

nLost Day remained silent to the media.

nThe reason was simple.

nEven though they failed to interpret the dungeon, Yoo Haram thought that if they perform well inside the dungeon to the point where no can refute, their image will recover.

nKnowing the fact that reporters were rushing to the scene, Lost Day remained silent until it was time.

nThat was until a report came back.

n“The dungeon entrance authority has refused to let other groups in.”

n“…What?”

nAnswered Lost Day’s A-Rank interpreter, Han Yoojun, with a straight face.

n“What, say that again?”

nHe turned to an officer and asked again because he couldn’t believe it, but the officer with an embarrassed look said the same thing.

n“Yes. The dungeon entrance authority has…”

n“No, I know that. Why the hell?!”

nIn the case of dungeons where entry is impossible, a ‘right of entry’ will be given to the first person who discovers how to enter it.

nTo stop hunters from indiscriminately entering and dying, an international law went into effect that states the person with the right of entry has full command of entry and the troops.

nIn other words, there was ample room for self-interest.

n“There must be a reason. What did they say?”

n“Yes, the dungeon entrance authority, F-Rank hunter Yoo Seodam, said his strength is enough…”

n“Oh, ** him!”

nUnlike the other guilds and hunter unions who were simply curious, Lost Day was pissed.

nThis dungeon meant a lot to Lost Day.

nThe tens of billions of won they invested were not just for their image, but to obtain the ‘unknown knowledge’ that exists inside the dungeon.

nLost Day has invested an unimaginable amount to uncover the very special knowledge that only a few people on Earth knew.

nYoo Haram took a deep breath.

n‘No. He’s only a F-Rank hunter. Even if he goes with that crazy S-Rank bitch…I don’t think those two will be able to do anything.”

nOn the contrary, if they were to fail the dungeon attack, the media would quickly turn on Yoo Seodam, who is receiving high praises now.

nThus, everyone’s attention will be diverted from Lost Day.

nIt was an opportunity.

nYoo Seodam was making the same mistake that Lost Day made the other day!

n‘It’s been a real headache ever since you **ed us…’

n‘Haven’t you done enough?’

nThrough the huge door, a colorful blurry space came into view.

nWell, it’s certainly leery.

nTaylor Nine, swinging her baseball bat in the air with a ‘home run’ expression, spoke.

n“Hey, are you sure just the two of us will be enough?”

nIt was a natural question, considering it’s a deformed dungeon.

nThe scientific equipment couldn’t measure the general rank of the dungeon, what kind of monsters or natural phenomenons appeared inside.

nA world different from common sense.

nEven Taylor couldn’t help but to worry about going to such a place.

nHowever, I knew.

nThis dungeon, which could not be measured with scientific equipment, was made of mana, and for a deformed dungeon, its output is weak.

nAlthough its output is A-Rank, it’s more or less a S-Rank dungeon.

nUnder normal circumstances, at least three S-Rank hunters were needed to attack a S-Rank dungeon.

nAnd, wasn’t I only wearing 2nd-Grade equipment?

nThis would usually be too much to even attempt a B-Rank dungeon.

nOn the surface this looks impossible.

nBut there’s no problem.

nI was certain.

n“If we fail and both die, I’ll curse you in the afterlife.”

n“It’s okay. I know what I’m doing.”

nThanks to the Client, I was able to figure out the name of the dungeon.

n< This world is the fallen Julexa Empire’s Magic Palace. >

nMagic Palace.

nAs the name suggests, this place is related to magic.

nHowever, the difference in ‘development’ was noticeable.

nAll day yesterday, while fixing the magic circle, I had my doubts.

nIt turns out that the magic in Julexa Empire is much worse than those in Vivienda Empire.

nIf I was to compare, it’s like the difference between the technology of the late 20th century to those of the mid 21st century, or an overwhelming difference of more than 100 years.

nBut unlike science, the difference in magic compared to technology is that magic could take a greater advantage by fully understanding inferior magic, allowing for more advanced magic.

nAlthough my knowledge can only be considered at the primary and secondary school level at Vivienda Academy, and while I can’t control magic, I could still ‘see it.’

n…As a professor at Vivienda Academy, I studied diligently.

n“I’ll signal an alarm if it gets dangerous. If things aren’t looking good, the guilds ‘Lekaden’ and ‘Glock’ had asked me if they could step in and help.”

n“What? Why them?”

n“It’s not just us who hates Lost Day. Also, saving us and attacking the dungeon can boost their image. Don’t you think it’s three birds with one stone?”

n“Uh…Really? Is that so? Was there something like that?”

nI wasn’t going to go into a dungeon without countermeasures.

nI value my life.

nAlso, there was one thing that was on my mind.

nAs I turned around, several members of Lost Day were staring at me from the sideline.

nWow, if glaring could kill a person.

nAvoiding their gazes, I laughed and spoke.

n“Let’s go in.”

nEntering the dungeon, fallen Julexa Empire’s Magic Palace.

nWith the feeling of being sucked somewhere, the world changed in an instant.

nThe feeling was similar to traveling to other worlds to kill protagonists, but slightly different.

nSoon, I opened my eyes.

nUnder the impressive backdrop of a setting sun, the huge half destroyed magic palace came into view.

n“Wow…”

nCaution! This world’s Epilogue has ended.

n“Hmm?”

nI tilted my head when I saw the message.

nIf the epilogue has ended, then it has ended.

nWhat do I need to be cautious about?

nThe Client then spoke.

n< When a protagonist finish their story, their world loses its meaning. >

n< In other words, the present world is in the process of extinction. >

n< Not civilization, but the world itself. >

n< If you don’t leave when the world is completely destroyed, your existence will be in danger. >

nWhat the **.

nYou should’ve told me that first!

nMomentarily surprised, I let out a sigh.

nWhether the dungeon collapses or not, nothing has changed.

nBut, the word ‘epilogue’ was a little annoying.

n“Ugh.”

nAfter shaking my head, I drew something on the ground with chalk.

nTaylor stared at me strangely, but I paid it no mind.

n“Alright. Let’s go now.”

nTaylor and I walked to the entrance of the magic palace.

nThe entrance was simple.

nJust like the magic circle drawn at the entrance to the dungeon, it quickly opened when I added several similar lines to it.

nSoon, the interior came into view.

nTaylor and I checked the interiors from far away using our telescopes.

nThere was a two legged creature made of black metal walking around, ominously shimmering blue lights from its eyepiece.

n“Crazy, is that golem?”

n“No. It’s a guardian.”

nGolem and guardian.

nAt first glance the two creatures are seemingly similar, but are actually different.

nGolems are a natural substance that gained a heart and became a living thing, so there were various kinds like fire, water, earth, etc…

nIn other words, it is a kind of ‘spirit.’

nBut guardians are magical creatures.

nIt is similar to a robot in a way.

nAn energy robot that connects circuits and metals.

nAnd, all those guardians and their circuits were clear in my eyes.

nIt’s so simple that it feels like reading a picture book as an adult.

nSimply put, it is a killing machine.

nAlso, what about the structure of this palace?

nVivienda’s architecture was clearly aided by magic.

nHowever, the magic was hidden as much as possible, whereas this place was different.

nThe circuits are clearly visible.

n‘As expected…I can figure out the structure of this palace. Well, I guess it’s all meaningless now.”

nWhen I was thinking about it.

nWiwing!!

nSuddenly an alarm went off in my ear.

nAn alarm that is audible only to me.

nIt is a very basic magic spell, the ‘boundary alarm.’

nIt was of little use in Vivienda because it’s like a child’s toy, and would be meaningless if someone knew a bit of magic.

nHere, no one knows how to use or sense magic.

nMeaning, there is an intruder who snuck into this dungeon.

nI chuckled.

nEven the one who came were clearly visible.

nThere were three people in total.

nNo doubt it is the three S-Rank superhumans that Lost Day somehow managed to sneak in.

nThey weren’t the ones upholding the law or anything like that in the first place.

nSince they had invested tens of billions of won, I had expected it.

nStill, I was dumbfounded by their brazen behavior.

nMaybe they’re doing this at the expense of a huge risk.

n“Taylor. We have visitors. I think we should still continue with the dungeon.”

n“Oh, **. They’re really annoying.”

n“You stay put. I’ll go alone.”

n

n

n“What? Should I?”

nI slowly looked through the interior of the palace.

nThe magic was surprisingly very proper and clear.

nThis is only the second time I’ve witnessed magic properly, but I was certain.

nThe magic of this place was not much different.

nTherefore, if a building is built using magic…it means a place full of magic.

n“Hahaha.”

nI put away my aether blade and aether gun.

nThese won’t be necessary for a while.

nFrom this point on, it’s not Yoo Seodam the hunter but Yoo Seodam the mage.

n