I had stepped into an area surrounded by old, ruin-like concrete buildings.
It didn’t seem like dungeon had began to form yet, but the city itself already felt like a dungeon in many ways.
As I walked through filthy alleys littered with trash, I occasionally came across people.
A middle-aged man with lifeless eyes and a strong stench of alcohol staggered along, then collapsed against a wall. As if it were too much trouble to get up, he simply lay there and fell asleep.
I turned into a side alley. A woman sitting on a floor covered in cobwebs puffed on a cigarette while staring at me intently.
She had wrapped herself in a ragged cloth, exposing her stained bare legs. Her unkempt hair was rough and tangled.
“Outsider?” she asked.
When I looked back at her, she smirked and held up a single finger.
“Ten thousand won.”
I felt something like nausea welling up inside me and turned away.
“You should evacuate the city. Monsters will be appearing soon.”
“Nine thousand.”
…It was clear there was no room for conversation.
Most of the people I’d seen in this city were the same.
No matter how hard we tried to warn them about the situation, they seemed to have no attachment to life. Words alone couldn’t move them.
They would continue like this until the disaster unfolded right before their eyes.
As I ignored her and walked away, the woman raised a finger and spoke.
“Not here for this? There’s only one reason city folks come here.”
“…….”
“Or maybe… a Hunter? Don’t worry about the monster problem. That little brat will take care of it.”
A brat?
I turned back, wondering what she meant, but at that moment, a group of drunk people began walking toward me.
There was no benefit in getting into trouble with the locals, so I quickly left the area.
While wandering through the filthy alleys, I found a building of decent height and climbed up.
Creak. Creak.
Each step up the stairs filled the air with grating noise.
On the second floor, two men reeking of filth lay sprawled out, deep in sleep. Haphazardly scattered playing cards and soju bottles rolled underfoot.
I continued up to the fourth floor.
No one was here.
I pulled a speaker from my pocket, connected a wire, and hung it by the window. Then, I pressed my smartphone to my ear.
“I’m done here.”
—We just finished too, Tower Master.
“Hold your position. Security here is a nightmare, so keep an eye on Bora.”
—Oh my, are you worrying about me, senior?
I hung up and slumped into a half-broken, worn-out chair, taking a moment to catch my breath.
I hadn’t even done much, yet I felt exhausted.
I stared blankly out the window.
Maybe it was the city’s gloomy atmosphere, but even I could feel my energy draining away.
I kept gazing outside, lost in thought.
‘Seriously, this place is a mess.’
I spotted someone staggering so much that they were practically crawling on the ground.
By now, I’d grown used to seeing such sights here, so I was about to ignore it.
‘Wait.’
Something was off.
The person suddenly started trembling violently, twisting their body in pain while flailing their limbs.
They weren’t human.
—Kyaaaak!
—Krrrghh!
‘It’s started.’
I gathered my mana and sprinted down the stairs.
Screams erupted from all over the city.
Vroooom!
A high-end foreign car roared down the highway.
A man in the passenger seat stuck one hand out of the open window while smoking a cigarette with the other.
His name was Ma Jong-guk.
A certified Rank 5 Hunter.
But today, Ma Jong-guk was in a foul mood.
He exhaled a long puff of smoke and glanced toward the back seat.
Three rookie Hunters—fresh fish.
They were promising guild recruits aiming to pass this year’s official Hunter exam.
‘But why the hell am I stuck babysitting?’
His fellow Hunters were off collaborating with other guilds in large-scale raids. Meanwhile, he was stuck escorting some license-less brats to a measly Rank 2 dungeon. What a miserable fate.
Ma Jong-guk flicked his cigarette out the window and turned his head.
“How much longer?”
The driver, a middle-aged man, responded nervously.
“About three more hours, sir.”
“Ugh, what a damn slog.”
The rookies in the back flinched, glancing at at him nervously.
Wasting an entire day like this infuriated Ma Jong-guk.
He thought about roughing up those so-called “promising recruits,” but he knew he couldn’t.
This babysitting gig was basically a punishment from the guild.
He had to hold it together this time—no slip-ups.
“Hm?”
Something strange caught his eye.
A crowd of people was surging onto the highway.
“Stop the car.”
Screeeech!
As soon as the car stopped, the people rushed over.
“Please, save us! Let us in, please!”
“Monsters! Monsters are—”
Ma Jong-guk rolled down the window and scowled.
“Hey, at least explain what’s going on before begging. Then I’ll consider giving you a ride or dealing with the monsters.”
“You’ll handle the monsters? W-wait, are you—?”
This was the moment Ma Jong-guk enjoyed the most.
With a smug grin, he pulled out his Hunter certification from his inner pocket.
“Certified Rank 5 Hunter, Ma Jong-guk.”
“Oh! A real Hunter!”
“Please help us! Zombies have appeared in our town!”
“Zombies? Which town?”
After getting the address, Ma Jong-guk smirked.
“Relax and go home. Your area just got dungeonized, but those things don’t leave their zones.”
He rolled the window back up and ordered the driver to move.
“What a damn lucky break. Hey, plug that address into the GPS.”
The driver hesitated, eyes wide with worry.
“B-but, sir… This isn’t part of the guild’s official schedule. Everyone’s expecting us—”
Ma Jong-guk let out a deep sigh, then casually raised his foot up.
Crash!
With a single kick, the passenger-side window shattered.
The driver trembled in fear.
“…H-hngh!”
“I told you, keep your hands on the wheel! Drive properly! Hey, do you even know who I am?”
“G-Grade 5 Certified Hunter, Ma Jong-guk…”
“This is your first time working in this field, isn’t it? Being a Hunter means dealing with constant unpredictability. A dungeon appears? Then you go there, no questions asked. If you dare talk back to me one more time…”
In the end, the driver obeyed Ma Jong-guk’s orders and changed course. Ma Jong-guk smirked, resting his chin on his elbow against the window.
‘What a lucky break. If this goes well, I might make a real fortune.’
* * *
The ‘dungeonization’ of a city happened in the blink of an eye. Just like in the movies, monsters were popping up everywhere.
And just as Jeong Seojin had informed us, the monsters were ‘zombies.’
Their appearance was just as I had imagined. Their bodies were covered in grotesque infections, rotting flesh hanging in tatters, their eyes rolled back as they stretched out pale arms and let out ghastly cry.
I was frantically fighting off the zombies while evacuating the people from the slums.
“Uwaaaah!”
Right in front of me, a homeless man screamed as he ran for his life. A zombie lunged after him, grabbing his leg and knocking him to the ground. Its mouth opened wide, aiming for his thigh.
A series of golden arrows shot through the air, piercing the zombie’s head. The homeless man scrambled away in terror.
“Over there! Evacuate outside the city!”
The man bolted in the direction I pointed. Once I confirmed he was safe, I turned my gaze back to the zombie. Even though I had landed a solid critical hit, it was still walking toward me despite the arrows lodged in its skull.
A rank-3 monster, huh? Damn thing’s sturdy.
I kept the zombie at bay with Rapid Arrows while surveying my surroundings. From a nearby alley, nearly a dozen zombies were swarming toward me.
I started retreating and contacted Jeong Seojin.
“Begin.”
At my signal, alarms blared throughout the city.
“Emergency alert! Emergency alert! Monsters have appeared! Please evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter!”
The sirens echoed through the city. I had downloaded an emergency broadcast from the Hunter Association website and played it through speakers we had set up in various buildings.
To warn those still inside their homes or asleep.
And—
- Kiiiieeek!
- Kyaaaah!
It was a trap to lure the noise-sensitive zombies into abandoned buildings.
Some of the zombies chasing me turned toward the loud speakers instead, giving me a moment to catch my breath.
“Senior! We’re done over here!”
Jin Bora ran over, waving.
“Good work—”
My eyes widened in shock. The stone wall to my right suddenly crumbled, and a zombie jumped out with its arms spread wide.
She was frozen in place, too startled to move.
‘…Too far!’
I tried to cast a shield spell, but she was out of range for remote activation.
Just as the zombie’s gaping mouth was about to clamp down on her neck—
It stopped.
‘What?’
The zombie, which had been trembling violently as if overloaded, suddenly turned its head. Then, ignoring Jin Bora completely, it rushed off in another direction.
“Bora! Are you okay?”
Jin Bora, who had collapsed to the ground, suddenly shouted.
“I’m fine! But look over there—one of the residents…!”
The zombie that had nearly attacked her had changed its target, now charging at a resident of the slums. I quickly cast an attack spell.
An ice spear shot forward at top speed, piercing the zombie’s leg and pinning it to the ground.
With its movements restricted, I shouted at the fallen resident.
“Now’s your chance! Run!”
“T-Thank you!”
Once the resident fled, I approached the immobilized zombie. It revealed its teeth and lunged at me.
I deployed a shield, blocking its path. Lacking intelligence, the zombie mindlessly snapped its jaws against the barrier.
‘It’s just an undead like any other. So what the hell was that just now?’
I sighed and raised my gauntleted fist, slamming it down on the zombie’s skull.
Crack!
A burst of blue sparks flew as the zombie’s head smashed into the ground. I stepped on its body to keep it down and drove a dagger into its neck.
Crunch. Crack.
I twisted the blade, putting my weight into it. The zombie thrashed for a moment before finally going limp.
I’ve killed plenty of monsters before, but killing something that looks so human never feels good.
“Senior!”
Jin Bora ran up to me. I wiped the sticky fluid off my dagger onto the ground before sheathing it.
“Good, you’re safe. You’re not hurt, right?”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
I had expected her to be shaken, but she dusted herself off with a bright smile.
“But what was that just now? The zombie ignored me and attacked that resident instead, right?”
“…That’s how it looked to me too.”
I’ve never heard of undead selectively attacking certain people before.
But now’s not the time to worry about that.
“If the zombies are specifically hunting down civilians, that’s a problem. Can you keep fighting?”
“Of course!”
From a nearby building, a scream rang out. This was followed by the crashing of furniture and the distinctive screeches of zombies.
“Let’s move.”
“Yes!”
