Next to Sejong City, in an open field, stood an incomplete facility the government had once planned to construct. While I couldn’t determine its original purpose, one thing was clear: a stadium was part of the plan. Even in its unfinished state, the structure made that obvious.
The facility wasn’t tall, likely no more than six stories at its highest point, with a sprawling layout thanks to the abundant land. The main roads were designed to be 16 lanes wide, while even the smallest side roads maintained six lanes.
However, the city’s construction had halted, leaving the roads barren of vehicles. In their place stood pale gray walls—alien, unnatural, and completely out of sync with human understanding.
It was the characteristic maze of a Spider-type monster.
After three years, the maze had grown vast and complex, larger and more intricate than any I’d seen before.
Before entering the maze, I inspected my weapon, unraveled a length of rope from the armored vehicle, and secured it tightly to a protruding metal fixture whose original purpose I couldn’t discern.
King watched me with curious eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“Asterion’s Knot.”
“What’s that?”
“You know the story of the Minotaur from Greek mythology, right?”
“The one where they used a thread to avoid getting lost in the labyrinth?”
“Exactly. It’s an old trick, but it works. The Spider-type’s labyrinth can disorient even those with excellent memory and spatial awareness. The monsters won’t cut the rope, so it’s a reliable method.”
While it wasn’t a method I favored, this was a monster’s den that had been festering for three years.
Caution wouldn’t hurt.
I also brought along a can of spray paint as a backup. Marking areas prone to confusion would prove helpful in an emergency.
“We should leave the armored vehicle here,” I said.
“Why?”
“We need an escape route. Whenever you’re hunting monsters, you should always have something with wheels nearby.”
“Calling it back now feels a bit undignified, though.”
“Dignity won’t save your life.”
King hesitated before using his radio to summon the vehicle.
“Can we swap out the driver?”
“Why?”
“He’s deaf. Communication’s going to be an issue.”
“Are you discriminating against people with disabilities?”
“Discrimination is a luxury you can only afford when you’re safe.”
King turned to me, his gaze thoughtful.
“You’re different from the internet stories about you.”
I checked the rope and spray paint again. The rope was sturdy and long enough, but I brought a second one just in case. The spray paint, though old, worked well enough after I shook it like a bartender mixing a cocktail.
As I prepared, King spoke.
“At first, I was disappointed when I heard you were coming, Skelton. But I had some hope when I heard a hunter might show up. I thought, what if Skelton turned out to be that hunter? It was a slim chance—less than 10%—but as soon as I saw your face, I knew. You’re a hunter.”
I won’t deny there’s a certain look that hunters have.
It’s not so much about facial features as it is the atmosphere we carry.
Old-school hunters like me were trained to suppress the strongest human instinct—survival—for the sake of the team. It’s no surprise we exude an unusual aura.
Even after leaving active duty years ago, hearing something like that made me realize just how deeply ingrained the hunter mindset was in me.
“When did you figure it out?” I asked, watching the armored vehicle approach.
“It’s been a while. The plan seems to have been in place for some time. Right after Jeon Si-hoon left, I even considered sending in the military.”
“You’ve got quite the intel network,” I remarked.
King removed his gas mask, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag before responding.
“When our group was smaller, people treated us like common thugs. But once the city’s population exceeded 30,000, the way people looked at us changed. Now, I get calls without even trying—people who feel unstable, desperate for women, or those who need a secure refuge. Their reasons vary, but they all come to me for the same thing.”
“Why did Jeon Si-hoon run here?”
“You know how kids can be—moral purists. He didn’t like my city. I mean, with drunken brawls spilling onto the streets every night, warriors beating up laborers, and all the cursing and exploitation... I can see how it might’ve looked shitty to him.”
The armored vehicle arrived.
The driver was an ordinary man with a slightly terrified expression.
He wasn’t a coward—his muscular arms and hardened demeanor proved that—but in the gray zone, fear was inevitable.
I asked King to secure the driver with adequate compensation, then grabbed the rope.
“Well, shall we get started?”
If there’s one thing that makes Spider-types infuriating, it’s the labyrinths they create.
True to their monstrous nature, these mazes aren’t just cluttered with disorienting walls. They can abruptly turn into sheer drops or narrow, vertical pathways that require rock-climbing to navigate.
The labyrinth itself is made of a wax-like gray substance secreted by the Spider-type and its minions. This material blurs the edges and corners, making it even harder to find your way.
“Hell of a maze,” King muttered, keeping pace with me.
Despite the faint zombie stench clinging to him, I had to admit he was agile and had decent stamina for a gangster boss.
Most impressive was his sheer grit—the kind of raw courage typical of gangsters.
Ordinary people would’ve been paralyzed by fear by now, begging to turn back.
The only thing that irked me was his choice of weapon: a handgun instead of a rifle. But I didn’t bother correcting him. His real strength lay in his Awakened abilities, not his marksmanship.
Ssshhhhhkkkk
I sprayed a red mark on the ground in front of three branching paths.
“How much longer do we have to go through this?” King asked.
“There’s a clearing deeper inside. This is just a kind of outer wall.”
“Spoken like a skilled hunter. Honestly, you’re much more reliable than those Legion faction hunters.”
“Are you holding up alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m serious. If we go further, you might not make it back alive.”
The Spiderlings, the minions of the Spider-type, hadn’t even shown up yet.
This was just the beginning.
King removed his gas mask.
His face had deteriorated alarmingly since dawn.
This wasn’t normal.
A man’s face shouldn’t age this drastically in less than half a day.
With a strange, ambiguous expression somewhere between youthful and elderly, King spoke.
“Going back now would still mean death.”
“Is it pride keeping you here?”
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
King stared into the gray expanse.
“If I go back now, the ones below me will think I’m a joke.”
“And that’s more important than your life?”
“It is.”
King Sighed, Taking in the Ambiguous, Gray-Tinted World Around Him
“The only reason my city survives is because I’m its king. Without me, it’ll fall apart, splitting into dozens of gangs like Incheon. It won’t last long after that.”
“I don’t get it,” I replied. “You know going further could get you killed. If you die, isn’t that exactly what will happen?”
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“A king who loses his dignity is already a dead king,” King stated plainly.
“The people under me are a small number of loyal dogs and a large pack of wolves. Until the loyal dogs outnumber the wolves, I can’t afford to show weakness. Otherwise, they’ll tear me apart.”
I didn’t fully understand it in my heart, but my head got it.
King’s city was barely holding together, kept afloat by his strength and charisma alone.
The fact that he’d come here with me was probably to solidify his image as a fearless leader.
Considering he’d even involved the Legion faction, this place must have been a thorn in his side for a long time—a threat to his authority.
“Why did you choose me?” I asked openly.
“You could’ve requested support from the Legion faction and gone with a proper team, couldn’t you?”
King smirked, his expression laced with something cryptic.
“Those Legion guys? I don’t trust them. They’re the type to stab you in the back sooner or later.”
“Is that so?”
“When I saw you, I had a feeling. Skelton, I don’t know you, but I could tell. This guy’s capable of something.”
I let out a small laugh.
“Seems like you’ve got a good eye for people.”
King grinned back.
“That’s why I’m the king.”
The faint sound of clicking reached my ears.
Spiderlings.
“If they don’t get right up in our faces, save your bullets and abilities. I’ll clear the way,” I said, slinging my rifle onto my back. With a pistol in one hand and an axe in the other, I cautiously stepped into the gray, indistinct expanse.
Just as I approached a spot where it was impossible to tell if it was a corner or a wall, a silent killer leaped at me.
It was a Spiderling, a minion of the Spider-type monster.
While not particularly strong or possessing any special powers, its spear-like legs could easily pierce human flesh, and it had an impressive leap.
Being an inferior minion, its patterns were simple: either it lunged after closing the gap or ambushed from a hidden position. Yet, those sharp legs combined with the eerie maze had claimed the lives of countless hunters and soldiers.
Bang!
When facing Spiderlings, the most important virtues are calmness and composure.
Those virtues ensure precision—another key to survival.
“On your left!” King shouted as two Spiderlings lunged at me from my blind spot.
Bang! Bang!
I shot one in the head-like protrusion, its weak point, and slammed the axe into the other as it came from the opposite side.
Thwack!
Though I couldn’t get a clean swing, I stomped on the writhing creature with my boot, finishing it off.
King looked at me with admiration.
“Skelton! You’ve got some skills!”
“Let’s move before more show up.”
“What do you mean? You’re saying there’s more?”
“Even a one-year-old Spider-type nest has hundreds of Spiderlings. This one’s been around for three years, so there are probably thousands.”
“That’s more than the population of my city, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry. Once the master dies, the minions lose their aggression and disappear.”
The fact that we’d fought Spiderlings meant the Spider-type was aware of us now.
From this point forward, it was a race against time.
Before more minions could swarm the narrow labyrinth, we needed to reach the central clearing where the Spider-type resided and take it down.
If I were alone, this would’ve been impossible. But I had an Awakened with me.
Once we located the core, the fight would end quickly. King, a Level 5+ Awakened, could neutralize its repulsion field, and I wouldn’t even need my hunter gear—a rifle would suffice to finish it off from a distance.
The only concern was the mid-sized monster the Legion faction had reported.
I didn’t believe it existed.
I’d seen too many people exaggerate or lie about impossible odds to cover up their failures.
The Legion team that came here probably panicked at the three-year-old labyrinth and made up a story to justify their retreat.
As we jogged through the maze, I spoke to King.
“When I give the signal, neutralize the repulsion field. You’ve done it before, right?”
“I’ve done it a few times against humans, not monsters.”
“Fanatics?”
“You know your stuff.”
“Are there fanatics here too?”
“Not many in Incheon, but the south is crawling with them. They’ve been spreading bullshit about how monsters won’t kill you if you believe in them, growing their numbers in the process.”
“Their original doctrine says you can befriend monsters, doesn’t it?”
“They’ve twisted it into something more Korean. Isn’t that even creepier?”
“Maybe.”
While we talked, two more Spiderlings attacked. I dispatched them with my axe.
After navigating the twisted, sloping path and crossing ambiguous edges, we reached a vast, dark expanse.
The central clearing.
The Spider-type’s lair.
I’d never seen a clearing this large before.
Was something like this even possible?
It had to be at least two kilometers in diameter.
Spider-types usually built interiors no larger than 50 meters in radius.
This must’ve expanded over time, with constant construction and modification turning it into a massive stronghold.
True to the deepest part of an infiltration-type’s erosion zone, the surroundings bore an uncanny resemblance to the world beyond the rift.
Everything was gray.
There was no light, yet an eerie brightness allowed us to discern our surroundings.
The strangest thing was the sound—or lack thereof.
Not a single sound from the world we knew existed here.
Only our breathing and the faint thudding of our hearts echoed in the oppressive silence.
In this uncanny world, I quickly scanned the crumbling gray structures for the Spider-type.
I couldn’t see it.
Instead, hundreds of Spiderlings slowly advanced toward us, raising their spear-like legs.
“Goddamn it!” King growled, preparing to use his abilities.
“Save your strength,” I said.
“Got a plan?”
Ssshhhhhkkkk
I sprayed the remaining red paint on the ground, marking our exit for later.
“Run.”
“Where?”
“That way.”
Even in this fully eroded zone, some tactical principles still applied—like the advantage of higher ground.
If you couldn’t locate the enemy, head to a higher vantage point to find them.
That was one of Jang Ki-young’s rare bits of sound advice.
We dashed toward an unfinished skeletal building.
The scaffolding looked unstable, but it was far from the Spiderling horde and offered a clear interior view.
Creak!
The moment I stepped on the scaffolding, it wobbled precariously.
King hesitated for a moment, but when I didn’t stop, he followed without complaint.
We climbed to the fifth floor in a single sprint.
I quickly checked the red paint mark at the entrance.
It wasn’t easy to spot, as the advancing Spiderlings were already using that path.
Next, I searched for the Spider-type.
Several buildings lay below us.
It had to be in one of them.
I carefully studied the area, scanning for signs of the creature.
Then, I saw something.
It wasn’t the Spider-type.
There was a person in a window of a slightly tilted building—
A girl.
“Jeon Si-hoon’s a girl?”
“No, he’s a guy,” King replied.
“Oh.”
King squinted at the girl.
“She’s one of the kids that got mixed up with the fanatics.”
Another figure appeared beside her—a tall, skinny boy with glasses.
I turned to King.
“Is that him?”
“Yeah. That’s the bastard.”
King glared at Jeon Si-hoon and shouted, “Hey! How’s life treating you?!”
Jeon Si-hoon looked down at him, clearly startled.
“I came to get you, kid! How long are you planning to stay in this dump?”
The girl beside Jeon Si-hoon whispered something to him, and he called out to us.
“Come this way!”