Chapter 22
As expected.
Lee Hyun gave a cold smile the moment he confirmed there was a new master of the flute.
And if his guess was correct, the hidden boss’s true identity was…
“How did you get here?”
The figure was wrapped head to toe in a heavy robe, making it impossible to guess their gender or age.
But their voice—there was something youthful about it.
Fwoosh!
Of course, no one who judged only by appearances could possibly conquer a dungeon.
Lee Hyun didn’t bother to answer. He stomped hard against the ground and lunged forward with ferocious speed.
“Tch!”
The hidden boss hurriedly retreated, forming hand seals.
[The Hidden Boss casts a curse. The filth of the sewers surges like a wave!]
The stench stabbing at his nose suddenly grew overwhelming.
Black muck oozed from the walls of the underground waterways, forming a rapid torrent in an instant.
A dark mage… specifically a curse user, huh?
Lee Hyun quickly analyzed the opponent’s nature with his Fiery Golden Eyes of Insight.
[Resistance to Stench (F) acquired.]
Shshshshshk!
The torrent hurled arrows made of congealed sludge.
Poisonous, venom-laced arrows.
But—
[The Clothes of the Dokkebi activate, boosting your defense to the maximum!]
The bluish-white lightning wrapped around Lee Hyun wove together like warp and weft, forming a garment tougher than ever before.
Bzzzzt! Crackle!
The poisoned arrows burned away before they even touched him.
Poison gas spread from the reaction, pricking at his nose, but—
[Your Poison Resistance (E) has rapidly leveled up to D.]
[Your Stench Resistance (F) has leveled up to E.]
Rather than hindering him, it only fueled his growth further.
Shkreeek!
Already upon the enemy, Lee Hyun crossed his twin blades—Shicheol and Galyuk, forged from the fangs of the beast Do-Cheol—into an X.
The hidden boss frantically slammed their palm down.
From the ceiling, a waterfall of corrosive slime poured down toward Lee Hyun’s head.
Can’t block this.
His instincts screamed the acidic sludge couldn’t be stopped by the lightning garment. Lee Hyun leapt backward.
Ssssss!
The spot he had just vacated sizzled and melted away.
He even caught the faint sigh of relief the boss let out beneath their robe.
Lee Hyun didn’t miss the opening.
Now!
He hurled Shicheol with all his strength.
Whirr—Thud!
The blade pierced the flute dead center.
And then—
“…!”
It snapped clean in half.
[The flute has been destroyed.]
[The flute’s curse is forcibly interrupted.]
“Th-the flute…! The flute my uncle left meeee!”
Through the folds of the robe, bloodshot eyes glared with rage.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!!”
Sludge rose to his ankles, then surged into waves. From a massive whirlpool, countless arrows, spears, and swords materialized and rained down upon Lee Hyun.
At the same time—
Skitter! Skitter!
Swarms of rats emerged from pipes and cracks in the walls, flooding the area.
[The Hidden Boss enters Phase 2!]
Boom! Boom-boom!
Lee Hyun swung his axe, smashing away sludge that slipped past his garment’s protection. But the poison and acid were intensifying.
Crackle!
『Sunbae! The citizens are almost all awake!』
Through the enchanted [The King’s Ears of the Bamboo Grove], Kim Minjeong’s voice rang in his ears.
Through his expanded perception, Lee Hyun could sense citizens gathering in the city square, shaken awake from their zombie-like state.
『Evacuate them all! Do not let them come this way!』
『Understood!』
Boom! Crack!
He swatted aside more poison arrows flying at him.
The hidden boss was clearly trying to drive him deeper into the dark sewer tunnels where no light could reach.
This space is too cramped. I can’t fight at full range.
Lee Hyun’s strength lay in devastating wide-area attacks.
The enemy clearly knew how to fight.
“You broke my uncle’s flute. I swear you’ll never leave here alive. I’ll bury you in this filth until even your bones dissolve!”
And worse—
There are more curse users inside.
[‘Sacred Relic: Fiery Golden Eyes of Insight’ detects over a dozen curse users approaching rapidly.]
[Warning!]
A glance was enough to tell—these weren’t weaklings, either.
So it wasn’t just one person playing the flute without pause. They were all spread out, covering shifts…
Now, sensing the crisis, the others were rushing in to support.
If they all converged here, it would be dangerous.
He briefly considered moving the battle to the surface—but—
No. If this sludge rises aboveground, the whole city will be destroyed.
And the quest condition demanded he save as many citizens as possible.
The filth wasn’t just poisonous or acidic—it was filled with countless unknown curses.
That meant—
I’ll pick them off here. One by one.
Fortunately, Lee Hyun was nearly immune to curses.
There was only one move left.
Time to turn from a will-o’-the-wisp… into a night goblin.
Fwoosh—!
[You activate Steps of the Shade. You vanish into the shadows.]
Lee Hyun disappeared into the darkness.
“…!?”
[The Hidden Boss can no longer detect you!]
The boss’s face twisted with confusion.
“Where are you? Stop hiding like a rat and show yourself!”
The words echoed endlessly down the tunnels… but there was no answer.
Where…? Where did he go?
The hidden boss scanned frantically, but even after years of living in total darkness, his honed eyes and senses failed to find Lee Hyun.
“Damn it…!”
His mouth went dry.
He cast detection curses over and over—
[Your curse fails due to Curse Resistance (S).]
[Your curse fails due to Curse Resistance (S).]
Every attempt fizzled.
Anxiety gnawed at him—any moment, Lee Hyun might strike from the shadows.
The sludge, linked to his will, began to boil violently when—
Splash…
From deep within the sewers came faint footsteps on water.
No way…!
He widened his eyes.
But it was already too late.
“Kyahhh!”
[Curse User #2 has been eliminated.]
“■■■! Damn it!”
The psychic link with one of his comrades—no, his friends—had just been severed.
The boss sprinted deeper into the sewer in panic.
“What on earth is happening down there?”
Kim Minjeong glanced at the sinkhole, but its depth was so great she couldn’t sense anything.
And more than that—
The stench and malice are too strong. Too many curses. The flute was never the only problem.
Even after the flute’s curse was broken, greater obstacles awaited. She sighed.
How is sunbae even holding out down there?
She herself had nearly broken down resisting the mental confusion the moment they entered the city.
Even with earplugs, not all curses were blocked.
Yet Lee Hyun endured without flinching—now even charging into the boss’s chamber.
Was it the Queen of Snow’s curse that hardened him so much? Just what kind of torment did he suffer to build such resistance…?
She recalled the words he had spoken during last night’s strategy session.
-
I’ll be fine moving in the city. While I fight the boss, your job is to take care of the citizens freed from the curse.
-
You’re immune to curses? Even team leaders ranked among the top hunters can’t resist them here. Isn’t this reckless—
-
What do you think I’ve been through all this time?
-
…!
-
That’s why, while I face the hidden boss, you must handle what comes next.
Resistance is only earned when someone is pushed beyond their breaking point.
Normally, the pain of that process was unbearable.
But to achieve near immunity…
“Are you an Outsider?”
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
She snapped to attention.
Following Lee Hyun’s orders, she had moved the freed citizens away from the sinkhole.
One of them, a middle-aged man with greedy eyes, stepped forward.
“My name is ■■■■ ■ ■■■, the mayor of this city. Could you explain what is happening here?”
To dungeon natives, their world was “real.” They believed themselves alive, facing real problems.
They called the hunters who crossed over from another world “Outsiders.”
To the system, however, the natives were nothing more than “characters in a story.”
And to hunters, they were like NPCs in a game.
-
Take the citizens and prepare them for the next curse.
-
Another curse? Beyond the flute?
-
Why did the mayor call the piper in the story?
-
Because of the rats, of course—oh!
-
Exactly. So what happens once the flute stops playing?
-
…!
-
After suffering so long, they’ll be consumed by hatred.
Kim Minjeong remembered his warning and addressed the mayor.
“I know everyone must be confused. But this is exactly when we must remain calm. The flute’s curse turned you into zombies…”
[The citizens are listening attentively.]
“…and because of that, a flood of rats may be unleashed. My comrade will hold them back below, but the swarm is another matter. We’ll need your cooperation.”
“You mean the city will fall into chaos again?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
But then—
“You expect us to accept this!?”
[The mayor objects loudly.]
Her face hardened.
“We endured countless hardships because you promised to end the curse! Yet instead of solving it, you let this happen—and now the rats return? Are you mocking us!?”
Kim Minjeong’s eyes grew cold.
The greedy mayor sneered.
“If you’re mercenaries, do your jobs properly! Otherwise pay compensation for the damages we’ve suffered!”
In the fairy tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin, the reason the piper lured the children away was because the greedy mayor refused to pay him.
Even in a crisis like this, he’s still obsessed with greed?
She looked at the other citizens.
Most weren’t paying attention. Some searched for their children, others trembled at the thought of the rats.
A few sided with the mayor, glaring with hostility.
What would sunbae do here…?
“If you at least offered proper compensation, maybe we’d help a little…” The mayor rubbed his fingers together in a coin gesture—
Only to freeze as Kim Minjeong pulled a pistol and pressed it to his forehead.
“W-wait! Put that away! You’re crazy—”
Bang!
“Uwaaagh!”
The mayor fell backward.
Citizens screamed and ducked for cover.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
She fired several more shots.
The ground around the mayor’s groin was peppered with bullet holes. His pants grew wet.
“Say another word and the next hole goes in your skull.”
“…!!”
“Understand?”
“Y-yes…!”
Normally, hunters—and calm types like Kim Minjeong—avoided antagonizing natives to keep quests smooth.
But in this case, a “Jang Lee Hyun–style solution” seemed just right.
It was even a little cathartic.
“What are you waiting for? Move! Or do you want to watch your city burn—”
She was about to finish when—
Ding!
A dungeon message rang out, though she hadn’t triggered anything.
A global announcement.
No way—already?!
She looked up.
[A hidden new <Page> has opened.]
[The flute had been holding back the city’s greatest scourge—the rats.]
[With the flute silenced, the swarm is stirring once again. In 10 minutes, the city will be overrun.]
[The rats, having dwelt long in the foul sewers, carry countless deadly diseases.]
[An epidemic may break out. Beware.]
They had barely shaken off the zombie curse—and now, plague.
It was happening far sooner than expected.
Kim Minjeong shouted urgently:
“Hurry! Move!”
