novelraw Chapter 221 : Amsa Station (3)
Chapter 221 : Amsa Station (3)
Chapter 221: Amsa Station (3)
That was how the first meeting with Sword Saint Jeong Heeseon ended.
A meeting with a named individual.
Whether for better or worse, he had hoped for a meeting that left a strong impression, but it only left discomfort behind.
What Sanghyun felt from Jeong Heeseon was wariness.
She tried to pretend otherwise, but that only made it more obvious.
‘Maybe I had too many illusions about her?’
Sanghyun shook his head to clear his thoughts of Jeong Heeseon.
It wasn’t like he wanted to become close with her, nor was there any reason he needed to be recognized by her.
However, he definitely got the sense that she would become someone to keep an eye on, whether as an ally or an enemy.
Only after Jeong Heeseon had walked far enough away.
Jo Jinho spoke with a chuckle.
“Players like her live off their own brilliance. Don’t mind her. She’s the textbook opportunist.”
Shin Taeri added her own comment.
“She didn’t get cut off by Kang Boah in the early days for no reason. She’s someone who doesn’t understand the concept of trust.”
Sanghyun thought it would be nice if Jeong Heeseon had clearly heard what Shin Taeri just said.
At the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had captivated her loyal follower, Jeong Yunhak.
There had to be a reason that made him pledge his loyalty... Maybe she was sincere and honest only to those who were truly hers.
Either way, it didn’t seem like today would be the last time he’d meet Jeong Heeseon.
The more he stood out in swordsmanship, the more he was bound to encounter her again.
The exploration continued.
The topic of conversation naturally shifted to Sanghyun’s recent activities, which had not been seen domestically.
Sanghyun shared what had happened in America.
There was no reason to hide it.
Of course, he left out which dungeons he had gone to and whom he had met.
Even so, the two of them seemed genuinely curious, simply because he had been to the U.S., a place they had yet to visit.
It was unexpected.
For Jo Jinho and Shin Taeri, who were classified among the top ranks of the Eden Guild, to have never been to America.
When asked why, they said there was just too much to do within the guild, so they had no room to travel abroad.
To be more precise, it wasn’t just the guild work—they were also swamped with clearing dungeons related to the Eden Guild.
There were that many places that needed to be handled, and hearing that made sense.
The strength of a guild was its access to dungeons.
A large-scale guild like Eden wouldn’t run into trouble because of a lack of dungeon access.
Before they knew it, the rift exploration had entered its fourth hour.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t expected to wait, but it was frustrating to keep coming up empty with no end in sight.
If he’d been alone, Sanghyun wouldn’t have minded wandering endlessly.
But knowing Jo Jinho and Shin Taeri were putting effort into this even during their vacation time, he only felt more sorry.
When Sanghyun let out a deep sigh without realizing, Shin Taeri, standing beside him, gently shook her head with a soft smile.
“Don’t feel pressured. I actually like this kind of treasure hunt. I get skunked a lot, too.”
She kept working the device with eyes that sparkled a hundred times more brightly than Sanghyun’s.
Then Jo Jinho, standing behind her, silently nodded at Sanghyun.
It was his way of saying he really meant it.
That it wasn’t just a sugarcoated statement, so don’t take it the wrong way.
That made Sanghyun feel even more grateful, though he still hoped they would find the rift soon.
At the same time, a thought occurred to him.
What if, because of his regression, the future he had created had changed so that the rift didn’t appear?
If that were the case, he might actually be happy about it.
At the very least, the Union’s players wouldn’t end up dying for nothing.
But since they hadn’t yet searched the entire Amsa Station area, he couldn’t jump to conclusions.
And then, at that very moment—
“Huh?”
Shin Taeri made a surprised face.
The device was reacting.
The screen, which had been flashing a safe green light the whole time, suddenly turned orange.
It didn’t mean the rift had been found.
But it did mean that there were irregular fluctuations, however slight—indicating a high possibility of a rift.
“It’s to the west. Adjust the direction.”
Jo Jinho read the waveform.
Sanghyun had thought he didn’t know how to interpret the device, but he’d analyzed it even faster than Shin Taeri.
“There’s definitely something there.”
Sanghyun’s eyes sparkled.
His memory hadn’t been wrong, and the reality that memory contained hadn’t changed either.
Then the two who had been briefly distracted by the signal turned their gazes toward Sanghyun.
“So there really was a rift.”
“It’s creepy to think it was just a hunch. Honestly… I kind of came out expecting to shoot the breeze.”
“I can’t believe you sensed such a tiny change as something off.”
Not knowing the source of Sanghyun’s information and certainty, they both looked at him with amazed expressions.
At the same time, they also let out small sighs of relief.
Because the rift hadn’t opened yet.
Which meant they still had time to stop the disaster and set things right.
Sanghyun asked—
“All the dungeons in this area are currently being cleared by the Eden Guild, right?
Then there’s no reason for there to be an unstable waveform…”
In other words, it meant there was no issue with the dungeons already being explored.
Which also meant—there existed a dungeon even the Eden Guild wasn’t aware of.
A dungeon left unattended, yet acting as a break spot dungeon.
There are two major types of rifts.
The first type appears suddenly without any signs.
The representative case was the Bupyeong Station rift, one Sanghyun had previously waited for and cleared.
The second type occurs when a dungeon serves as the “fertile ground” known as a break spot, and the rift forms by feeding off that dungeon.
The Dotonbori River break spot Sanghyun had once visited was this kind. It was the starting point of the Shinjuku Grand Rift.
The rift Sanghyun and the others had discovered now was of the second type.
Therefore, if they properly cleared and stabilized the break spot, the Amsa Station rift would not occur.
The search continued.
Since the waveform was weak, even the slightest rough movement from Shin Taeri holding the device caused the signal to cut out.
Still, the trio’s focus and determination eventually succeeded in finding the break spot’s location.
“It’s no wonder no one found it.”
Sanghyun scratched the back of his head as he spoke upon reaching the point where the dungeon was presumed to exist.
They had descended into the basement of an abandoned, half-built building.
The apartment had its foundation completed and construction had reached the fifth floor, but the construction company went bankrupt and the project was halted.
With the real estate market worsening, the frenzy of pre-sale had died down, and no follow-up construction company appeared—so the site was left to rot.
Because of that, the area around the apartment had turned into a full-scale dump, with quite a few stray dog carcasses lying around.
On top of that, countless unidentified disposable syringes and deliberately discarded waste were scattered about...
No wonder anyone who thought of checking this place must’ve turned back immediately.
Just the idea of a dungeon being in such a place was impossible from the beginning.
“Will you be okay? The two of us have been through so many extreme situations that this level of filth doesn’t even register.”
At that moment, Jo Jinho spoke, looking down at the knee-high water pooled in the basement.
It wouldn’t have been a big deal if it were just water, but it was obviously contaminated water filled with floating filth.
The stench was indescribable, and the floating debris was enough to make anyone gag.
“I’m fine. But I think there’s an easier way. One moment.”
『Defensive Sword』
Deployment of Defensive.
Though it’s a defensive skill that can be applied to up to five people including the caster—
In this case, it could also be used like a thin layer shielding the entire body.
In other words, while the protective barrier was active, the basement’s filth wouldn’t touch their bodies directly.
If this had been a battlefield, the shield would have vanished quickly, making it a pointless measure.
But in this current safe state, Defensive became an excellent protective measure.
“No need for hazmat suits.”
“I don’t know why, but I just assumed Sanghyun wouldn’t be able to use a skill like this because he’s a swordsman.”
Jo Jinho and Shin Taeri both gave Sanghyun a thumbs-up.
Sticking too long to common sense made one forget—Sanghyun didn’t follow common sense.
Thanks to that, they managed to reach deep into the basement without getting their skin or clothes dirty.
They had to go into a space that was practically a storage room within the basement, so it was no wonder no one had found it.
It looked fairly new.
If it hadn’t been, the construction workers in the past would’ve discovered and reported it.
“Shall we go in right away?”
Sanghyun asked, and the two nodded. They had already discussed this beforehand.
This kind of break spot functioned to suppress the rift from occurring right away.
But in reverse, it could also act as a fuse that could trigger a rift at any moment.
In other words, it wouldn’t be strange if the rift opened right this instant.
So once they had decided to enter, the sooner they went in—even seconds counted.
As long as a player was inside the break spot, the rift would not trigger during that time.
It only occurred after reaching the critical point while the dungeon was left unattended with no one inside.
‘Their eyes are different.’
Sanghyun flinched as he noticed the spark in Shin Taeri and Jo Jinho’s eyes, more intense than usual.
It was likely the excitement of entering a dungeon with Sanghyun for the first time.
Sanghyun, too, was looking forward to it.
What kind of combat prowess did the two who held the highest rank within the Eden Guild possess?
Especially Jo Jinho, who, like Sanghyun, used a sword—it made him all the more curious about Jo Jinho’s capabilities.
Jo Jinho was a sword user specializing in defense, unlike Sanghyun.
If Sanghyun closely observed his skills and how he used them, he could surely learn a lot.
What greeted the trio upon entering the dungeon was an eerie wind and an unnaturally quiet environment.
Most dungeons were swarming with monsters near the entrance.
Even if the numbers were low, there would at least be a few monsters to signal that this place was a dungeon.
But this one was different.
As if it was fundamentally something else, not even a trace of a monster was visible—not even the usual ambient sounds.
Instead, what they saw was a setting filled with heavy unfamiliarity.
“This definitely looks like a city. It feels like a near-future city you’d see in a movie.”
Sanghyun pointed ahead with the tip of his sword. Shin Taeri and Jo Jinho both nodded.
Just as he said, it felt like a future 30 or 40 years ahead of their current time.
The problem was, there were no signs of life in this city.
The high-rising buildings were all covered in green vines that had grown endlessly upward.
If there was one notable feature—
“This doesn’t feel good.”
Sanghyun turned and pointed to the top of a metal tower where three unknown lifeforms stood.
They were the only signs of life in this dungeon, but they also seemed to be potential threats.
“Let’s get ready.”
Sanghyun said briefly.
It looked like they would be facing troublesome enemies right from the start.