Chapter 13: Into the Depths (2)
Originally, a Dungeon expedition is sothing you embark on only after thorough preparation.
Unlike Gate requests, which can be considered a form of disaster response, it is fundantally different in nature.
In other words—’a raid.’
Thus, in the case of large-scale joint expeditions, the preparation period alone can take over 1 month.
From securing food supplies to analyzing past records, planning strategies, and assigning roles, countless elents must be established.
But I didn’t need any of that.
There was only one thing I did in preparation for this expedition.
—The Garden of Mind?
Calling the one Hunter who had uniquely reached the Lake within the Garden of Mind.
—Well, it’s a good Dungeon for newbie Hunters to boost their stats. Only up to the Entrance though. But why…
“I’m planning to enter the Deep Layer of the Garden of Mind.”
—The Deep Layer? You an beyond the Lake?
Yun Su-hyeok paused for a mont, then shouted with veins bulging in his neck.
—You’re going to break through the Deep Layer? Are you insane? Didn’t you hear what I said 1 year ago?!
The mont he heard my words, Yun Su-hyeok practically jumped out of his seat.
The polite tone he used when suggesting coffee was long gone—he had already switched back to informal speech.
At this point, I mixed in informal speech as well.
“I know about ‘clear-then-get-out.’ More importantly, I contacted you to get a few pieces of information.”
—Why should I?
“Because you’re the most experienced veteran in the Garden of Mind.”
Yun Su-hyeok endured inside the Lake of the Garden of Mind for a full 3 months, reaching right before the Deep Layer before choosing to withdraw.
And he did it without losing a single mber of his expedition team in that infamous central area that had created countless “non-returnees.”
His attitude might be rough, but his ability was undeniable.
—So why should I give you information…
“I told you. I plan to cleanly clear the Garden of Mind this ti.”
—…What?
As Yun Su-hyeok fell silent, seemingly at a loss for words, I continued calmly.
“Once I clear the Deep Layer, all attention will be on . If I casually ntion that I received help from the Pungbaek Guild, the impact will be huge. You’ll gain public attention by releasing a few outdated pieces of information, and I’ll shorten my clear ti. A win-win.”
—Wait, hold on.
Yun Su-hyeok steadied his breathing before continuing.
—Do you really think you can clear the Deep Layer of the Garden of Mind alone?
“Of course.”
It was possible.
Because I had received a definite promise of support.
There was no way I could fail.
At my confident answer, Yun Su-hyeok fell into silence again.
Then, after letting out a sigh, he spoke.
—…Fine. Then I’ll make one proposal.
“What proposal?”
—I’ll give you the information. In exchange, once you return, sign a contract with our Guild—
“Ah, no thanks.”
—What? Why?!
“I don’t like being leashed before I’ve even done anything.”
—Hey, listen. We’re the only Guild taking this much interest in you—
“Co to think of it, two people I’d never seen before approached this morning. Let’s see… here it is. Jeong So-won from Sanarae Guild and Pyo Myeong-hun from Aegis Guild.”
—They ca to you personally? Those people who never show their faces?! What the hell got into them?!
‘What got into them?’
You did.
And not just a breeze—more like a full-blown storm.
—I don’t get it. They’re not the type to move recklessly like common scouts…
“……”
—Ha, those bastards… trying to snatch what I’ve already marked.
Yun Su-hyeok muttered anxiously.
Looks like his “let’s grab coffee” wasn’t part of so grand calculation after all.
“In that sense, my proposal sounds even better for you. It’s like marking your claim again on talent that rival Guilds are eyeing.”
—……
I could hear him swallowing through the speaker.
But this outco had already been decided.
Pungbaek was a Guild obsessed with honor and results above all else.
To protect their reputation, they would inevitably try to recruit .
—It’s been over a year anyway. Who knows what changes that damn Garden has gone through. If you still want uncertain information, I’ll tell you a couple of things.
There was no way he’d back down at this point.
***
“You’re here, Hunter Kim Han-ul.”
The next day, I arrived at the gathering point in front of Sillim Station at the designated ti.
About 10 people were already gathered.
Around 8 Hunters were equipped with suits and various gear.
The remaining 2 were officials from the Dungeon Managent Bureau.
“Looks like I’m the last one. My apologies.”
As I bowed my head, one of the Hunters stepped forward, shaking his head.
A bald man with a scar across one side of his face—judging by his presence, he seed to be the expedition leader.
“It’s fine. We’ve been staying nearby since yesterday. Jo Gwang-su from the Indomitable Guild.”
“Kim Han-ul.”
“I know. You’re that guy who got S-rank in the Energy asurent a few days ago, right?”
One of the officials quickly added,
“Ah, we inford them this morning that Hunter Han-ul would be joining. We could’ve told them yesterday, but then—”
“You did well. Even if they don’t know your face, the na ‘Kim Han-ul’ is already quite famous. If the information leaked, this place would be packed with reporters. Though, honestly, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”
Jo Gwang-su muttered as he subtly scanned .
“I heard you applied for a solo expedition. Let make one thing clear—don’t even think about hitching a ride with us.”
Oh?
I smiled inwardly.
It wasn’t hard to understand.
I must look pretty arrogant.
They had likely spent a full month training and planning for this expedition.
To them, I was an unwelco intruder.
“And don’t get cocky either. I was an A-rank during my Awakening asurent too. Though I got weaker due to an unfortunate incident.”
“I see.”
[Activating Eye of the Sage.]
Na: Jo Gwang-su
Age: 34
Gender: Male
—Stats—
Strength: 20 Agility: 30 Stamina: 34 ntal Strength: 10
—Skills—
Prey Tracking Lv.1, Arrow Pierce Lv.2, Crude Arrowhead Lv.2
—Contracted Throne—
None
[Evaluation: Below C-rank. ‘Eye of the Sage’ count is not applied.]
Strange. Judging by the stats shown through Beholder’s Glasses, there’s no way he could’ve received an A-rank in Energy asurent.
As I smiled faintly, Jo Gwang-su’s face twisted.
“W-why are you laughing?”
I cleaned my silver-rimd glasses and put them away.
“It’s nothing. You look like you’ve been through quite a lot. I imagine you have plenty of experience.”
“What?”
“Hey, are you mocking our boss for going bald from hardship?”
“What, that’s what you ant?”
Several bald Hunters suddenly flared up.
…That’s not what I ant. Even I have limits.
“Alright, alright, that’s enough chatting.”
As the atmosphere turned tense, one of the officials clapped his hands.
“You’re all ready, right? We’ll open the entrance now.”
He walked toward the center of the construction debris beneath the floating grand garden.
Then he gestured toward a pile of rusted materials and concrete blocks.
Vooooom
With a resonating hum, a blue crack about 2 ters in diater appeared.
A dinsional gate leading to the Garden of Mind.
“We’re going in.”
With that, Jo Gwang-su entered first.
The other 7 Hunters followed.
I walked slowly, taking up the rear.
As I stood before the swirling blue Gate, an information window appeared.
[Garden of Mind]
Rank: B
Personnel Limit: 20
Type: Condition-Based Clear Dungeon, Breakthrough Type
An information window everyone who enters this Dungeon sees.
But for , there was one additional line no one else could see.
[The Garden of Mind, huh! You will find a new answer here. Focus. You must see beyond what is visible.]
Unlike the sleek holographic interface, it appeared as a familiar dot-style window.
I stepped into the crack.
“Wishing all expedition mbers a safe return.”
As the official’s voice echoed, deep darkness engulfed my vision.
Then, cutting through the darkness, a dot-style status window flew toward .
[The Garden of Mind has accepted the request of the Dream Lord’s Castle!]
[The Garden of Mind partially alters its structure.]
***
The mont I entered the Dungeon, the first thing I saw was a blood-red sky.
It resembled a sunset—but sothing about it felt off.
The sky was literally dyed in an unsettling crimson.
Beneath it, the Indomitable Guild mbers and I stood in a dense forest filled with unfamiliar vegetation.
“Ugh…!”
“What kind of dinsional transfer takes this long… I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”
The Hunters who had entered before were already vomiting on the ground.
“Sothing’s wrong.”
Jo Gwang-su, the first to recover, wiped his mouth and muttered.
His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings before settling on the crimson sky.
“This isn’t the Entrance.”
“Y-yeah… wasn’t the Entrance supposed to be at night?”
Another Guild mber spoke anxiously.
That was correct.
Even Yun Su-hyeok had said so.
—The Entrance is nothing special. Just hunt Pigmallets wandering a dark plain. If you’ve got good night vision, a detection skill, or even a flashlight, you can clear it easily.
But the scene before us was nothing like a dark plain.
The blazing sky was dazzlingly bright.
And instead of an empty field, we were surrounded by dense forest.
“I don’t get it. I’ve heard of Dungeons where the structure changes occasionally, but the Garden of Mind isn’t supposed to be that kind…”
Right as Jo Gwang-su muttered that—
[Welco to the Lake of the Garden of Mind. Mission will now be assigned.]
A new status window suddenly appeared before my eyes.
The other Hunters saw it too, judging by their grim expressions.
[Too many Pigmallets have been slaughtered under the hands of greed. Now, they have given up moving within the slaughter grounds. Their fate lies in your hands!]
[Protect the Pigmallets from the Slaughterers until night falls.]
[Success: Proceed past the Lake and enter the Deep Layer.]
“T-this… This is the Lake already?! Not the Entrance?!”
One Hunter trembled as he spoke.
But that wasn’t all.
The line below pushed them into even greater panic.
[Failure: All challengers of the Garden will die.]
All will die.
“D-die?! What kind of bullshit is this?!”
“B-boss, let’s just give up now! The mission hasn’t started yet—if we withdraw now, we can still leave!”
“He’s right! We were just planning to farm at the Entrance and leave anyway!”
“…No.”
“Boss!”
“You crazy idiots! We can’t withdraw! The option isn’t even showing up!”
“…What?”
The Guild mbers froze.
“I tried it the mont I realized sothing was off. But it doesn’t work at all.”
At that mont, a massive holographic window appeared in the crimson sky.
[Remaining Pigmallets: 130]
And imdiately, the count began.
[2 Pigmallets have been killed by the ‘Slaughterer.’ Remaining: 128]
“W-what kind of insane situation is this?!”
Even as the count began, the Hunters were in complete panic.
Amid them, Jo Gwang-su clenched his teeth and turned his gaze.
Toward —crouching beneath the bushes, carefully observing sothing.
“H-Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Do you… have a plan? This doesn’t seem like a situation for solo play…”
‘A bad situation?’
That was true.
To be precise, it had just beco a bit more troubleso for solo play.
“I do have a plan.”
“What is it? At this point, let’s work together. We entered together, didn’t we?”
Earlier, he had warned not to hitch a ride.
Now, he looked completely deflated.
“And for this plan to work—you must absolutely follow .”
“…What?”
The Hunters stared at , mouths agape.
“No matter what I say, you must trust and follow . Can you do that?”
“That’s basically handing over full command of the Guild—”
His words were cut off by the announcent from the sky.
[4 Pigmallets have been roasted by the Slaughterer! Remaining: 124]
Among the pale-faced Hunters, only I smiled calmly.
Because before my eyes, a single window had appeared.
[The Dream Lord’s Castle has provided a special item.]
A dot-style status window.
Visible only to .
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