Chapter 648
“Damn it!”
Jang Yong-beom cursed from within the sand.
He was an S-rank Awakened. But even someone like him was as fragile as a fallen leaf before the giant sandstorm, the tyrant of the desert.
If an S-rank Awakened like Jang Yong-beom was in danger, there was no need to mention the others.
His subordinates—Aiden, Giselle, and Mountain—all had their heads buried in the sand, waiting for the massive sandstorm to pass.
“Aaaagh!”
A desperate scream rang out from within the storm.
It was the sound of one of Jang Yong-beom’s newly recruited subordinates being swept away by the sandstorm.
After the portals had been activated, Jang Yong-beom had mainly operated around the Steel Fortress.
The area around the Steel Fortress was undeveloped territory, so there were many monsters no one had seen before, and dungeons were occasionally discovered there.
In fact, the raid group led by Jang Yong-beom had already found and cleared two dungeons.
Thanks to that, they had earned a great deal of money and quite a few valuable items.
As a result, the influence of Jang Yong-beom’s raid group had grown considerably.
They had established a base in Neo Seoul’s Central District and were even able to set up headquarters in the Steel Fortress.
Because of that, Jang Yong-beom became a little greedier.
He wanted to convert the raid group into a guild.
Once they became a guild, they could recruit far more members. But converting into a proper guild required an enormous amount of funding.
That was why Jang Yong-beom decided to take a gamble.
He had come far away from the Steel Fortress in search of a new dungeon.
The areas surrounding the Steel Fortress were already active with forces from every district and countless raid groups.
Every worthwhile dungeon had already been cleared, and the number of monsters had been greatly reduced through regular extermination campaigns.
Naturally, competition was fierce, and finding a new dungeon was not easy. So Jang Yong-beom had turned his attention farther away from the Steel Fortress.
There was risk involved, but if they found a new dungeon, the rewards would be tremendous.
That was why Jang Yong-beom’s raid group had ventured so far.
Of course, encountering a sandstorm had never been part of his calculations.
Whoooosh!
The sandstorm howled like a gigantic monster.
Several Awakened were swept up by it and disappeared into the sand.
Meeting them alive again would probably be impossible.
They had likely been torn to pieces by the sandstorm, which was even more vicious than monsters.
For now, all they could do was lie flat on the ground and endure.
“Grr!”
Jang Yong-beom clenched his teeth.
The sandstorm passed ten minutes later.
It was not a particularly long time.
But to Jang Yong-beom and his subordinates, it felt like an eternity.
“Haa! Is everyone alive? Anyone still breathing, call out your names.”
“Aiden, alive.”
“Giselle, safe.”
“Mountain, over here.”
“Sein, unharmed.”
“Illuman, survived.”
One by one, his subordinates called out their names and reported their survival.
But many names were missing.
At least ten people failed to answer.
They had clearly been swept away by the sandstorm.
“Damn it! We’ve already suffered heavy casualties.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to return to the Steel Fortress and regroup? Even the vehicles we rode here are buried under the sand and unusable.”
Aiden, his trusted lieutenant, carefully voiced his opinion.
Not only Aiden, but most of the subordinates felt the same way.
However, Jang Yong-beom firmly rejected the suggestion.
“If we return empty-handed, everyone will look down on us.”
“Boss!”
“You know what happens when people look down on you. They’ll swarm like piranhas and suck the marrow from your bones.”
“That...”
Aiden could not find a suitable response.
Neo Seoul and the Steel Fortress had become united while fighting the war against the other races.
But that only applied when there was an external enemy.
Without a common enemy to fight, they still kept each other in check.
Granted, the intensity was weaker than before.
Jang Yong-beom could not tolerate his raid group being looked down upon by other raid groups or monster-hunting teams.
“Move out! If we’re going to take care of the families of those who died, then we have to find a new dungeon.”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Understood.”
The subordinates answered obediently.
Whenever there were casualties, Jang Yong-beom always took care of the families left behind.
That was why the people who had recently joined his raid group were fiercely loyal to him.
The fact that they followed him without complaint the moment he mentioned supporting the families of the dead showed just how strong their loyalty was.
“Charlton!”
“Yes, Boss.”
A man named Charlton stepped forward.
“We absolutely must find a dungeon. Take the lead.”
“Understood.”
With a vigorous reply, Charlton moved to the front.
He was an Awakened with a rare detection-type skill.
Unfortunately, he could not detect monsters, but he possessed a skill that allowed him to sense abnormal fluctuations in mana.
That made him extremely useful for dungeon exploration.
With Charlton leading the way, Jang Yong-beom’s expedition silently crossed the desert.
Along the way they were attacked by monsters, but none posed any threat to the raid group.
Jang Yong-beom’s group was not weak enough to be troubled by low-grade monsters.
They slaughtered dozens of low-grade monsters in an instant.
Yet their expressions remained grim.
Low-grade monsters were not worth much.
Leaving the corpses behind in the desert, they continued onward.
Three days passed.
“Boss!”
Suddenly, Charlton called out to Jang Yong-beom.
“Found something?”
“Yes! I’m detecting abnormal mana amplification ahead.”
“A dungeon?”
“I’ll need to confirm it, but there’s a high probability.”
“Excellent!”
Jang Yong-beom clenched his fist.
Just as he had begun to think they were reaching their limit, they had discovered a dungeon.
Looking around at his subordinates, he spoke.
“You all heard that, right?”
“Yes, Boss!”
“Heard it loud and clear!”
The subordinates answered excitedly.
They were obviously exhausted, but the possibility of a dungeon waiting ahead instantly put smiles on their faces.
If they could clear the dungeon, all their hardships would finally be rewarded.
Jang Yong-beom’s raid group moved to the location Charlton indicated.
“It’s here.”
The place Charlton pointed to was beneath a massive sand dune.
Frowning, Jang Yong-beom asked,
“You’re certain?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“It looks ordinary.”
“The mana fluctuations are uniquely unstable there. I’m certain there’s a dungeon.”
“Understood.”
Seeing Charlton’s confidence, Jang Yong-beom nodded.
He addressed his subordinates.
“You all heard him. There’s a dungeon there. Follow me and approach carefully.”
“Yes!”
Drawing his primary weapon, a massive claymore, Jang Yong-beom approached the base of the dune where the dungeon was presumed to be.
The closer he got, the colder the atmosphere became.
Every hair on his body stood on end, and chills crawled up his spine.
His body was reacting first to the ominous energy.
Jang Yong-beom bared his white teeth in a grin.
“Looks like we found the real thing.”
If his body was reacting this strongly, there was a high chance it was a high-level dungeon.
Just as Awakened and monsters were divided into ranks, dungeons were ranked as well.
The higher a dungeon’s rank, the greater the amount of mana it released and the greater its danger.
Naturally, greater danger meant greater rewards.
That was why ordinary dungeon raid groups usually avoided high-level dungeons.
They understood that treasures beyond one’s ability only invited disaster.
Jang Yong-beom was different.
He himself was S-rank, and all of his trusted followers were outstanding Awakened.
“Where’s the entrance?”
“Right here.”
The Awakened gathered where Charlton pointed and began digging through the sand.
A task that would have taken ordinary people all day was completed in an instant.
A massive crack hidden beneath the sand revealed itself.
“That’s a dungeon entrance I’ve never seen before.”
“This doesn’t feel right.”
The expressions of Aiden and Giselle stiffened as they stared at the crack.
They had explored countless dungeons, but this was the first time they had ever seen an entrance in the form of a fissure.
Like a bottomless abyss from hell, its interior was swallowed by deep darkness.
Aiden looked toward Jang Yong-beom.
“Boss, do we really have to go in?”
“Scared?”
“No, not that. It just feels unsettling.”
“Then should we hand it over to some other bastards?”
“No way.”
“Whether it ends in disaster or success, we’re the ones clearing it. We didn’t suffer all this just to make things easy for someone else.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare everyone for entry.”
Aiden replied with a reluctant expression.
This really feels wrong... but there’s no helping it.
Just as Jang Yong-beom said, they could not hand over the dungeon to another raid group for a few scraps of reward.
If it turned out to contain an incredible item or treasure, the regret would be unbearable.
Aiden shouted to the others.
“It looks like a high-level dungeon, so don’t let your guard down. We have no idea what kind of environment will greet us once we enter. Make sure you’re fully prepared.”
“Yes!”
“Don’t worry!”
The subordinates answered in unison.
“Let’s go!”
Jang Yong-beom led the way into the dungeon, and his subordinates followed behind.
Thus, Jang Yong-beom’s raid group entered the mysterious dungeon, while only a few people remained behind to guard the entrance.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Time continued to pass.
But no matter how long they waited, the raid group that had entered the dungeon did not emerge.
The Awakened guarding the entrance could not hide their anxiety.
“They weren’t wiped out, were they?”
“There’s no way...”
It had already been ten days since Jang Yong-beom and his raid group entered the dungeon.
Normally, clearing a dungeon took only two or three days.
There were exceptions, but never before had there been no word for ten whole days.
It was only natural for those guarding the entrance to be worried.
Even so, they stubbornly continued waiting for Jang Yong-beom and the others to return.
Then, two more days passed.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the crack began to shake violently.
“Did they succeed?”
“I hope everyone’s alive.”
The Awakened stared at the fissure with tense expressions.
Then—
Boom!
Someone was violently ejected from the crack and tumbled across the ground.
The person was a woman.
Her armor was torn to shreds, and her entire body was covered in blood.
The Awakened guarding the entrance immediately recognized her.
“Lady Giselle?”
“Are you alright?”
The blood-soaked woman was none other than Giselle, one of the core members of Jang Yong-beom’s raid group.
The Awakened hurriedly checked her condition.
Giselle looked as though she could stop breathing at any moment.
One of the Awakened quickly pulled out a potion and forced it down her throat.
It was the very potion Brielle had created during the war against El Harun.
“Ughhh!”
Only after emptying two bottles in succession did Giselle’s breathing stabilize.
Only then did the Awakened ask what had happened.
“What happened to the others? Why did only you come out?”
“There’s no time to explain. We need to get to the Steel Fortress immediately.”
“What?”
“I said we’re going to the Steel Fortress.”
Giselle gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand.
“We have to meet Zeon.”
“The Sand Mage?”
“We need to ask him for help. He’s the only one who can save us.”
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