Chapter 180

“Hoo-eup!”

Bong Jaeyoung drew a deep breath into his lungs, held it, and dashed forward.

Layers of summoned energy wrapped around his body like armor.

“Huh?”

“Where are you going?!”

“Mr. Steel Fist?! What are you doing? Don’t tell me you’re running away by yourself?”

The survivors’ panicked voices trailed behind him, but—

‘Not my problem.’

Bong Jaeyoung clamped his mouth shut and kept running.

Guilt pricked at him for a moment, but how many hunters had died in Dungeons because they tried to be conscientious?

His life mattered far more than a brief moment of shame.

‘First, I just need to get through this damn fog.’

The green fog surrounding them was a kind of acidic poison.

It hadn’t been there originally.

It had accumulated little by little over the three days they’d been pushing toward the center, and now it swallowed the entire area.

If it weren’t for that fog, he wouldn’t be lost in a place like this.

‘Here I go!’

Tap! Tap-tap-tap!

Bong Jaeyoung didn’t slow down, even as he plunged into the vicious poison.

Sssss! Ssssss!

Acidic poison that could have reduced his body to ash on contact gnawed at the surface of his energy.

“Kkeueueup!”

Eyes wide, Bong Jaeyoung ignored the sting and kept charging forward.

‘My body and my energy are like steel! This much is…!’

I’ll break through.

Was the energy of the world’s 101st-ranked hunter really not enough to endure a mere poison like this?

Ssssss! Sssssss!

His vision was already dyed jade.

He couldn’t see anything.

He had no idea what obstacles lay ahead.

He just—

Kwaang! Kwaang!

True to his nickname, Steel Fist, Bong Jaeyoung swung his fists and forced his way through like a battering ram.

How much time passed like that?

“What’s this.”

A voice dripping with ridicule reached his ears.

Flinch!

Bong Jaeyoung stopped dead.

“Don’t tell me you cowardly ran away all by yourself?”

A foreign man’s accent—one he didn’t recognize.

“Which bastard are you!”

Hwoooong!

Bong Jaeyoung hurled a fist toward the voice.

It was pure instinct.

He’d felt the murderous hostility in that voice with his entire body.

However—

“My, what a loose fist.”

His punch cut through empty air.

“For someone who forced his way through the formation, this is disappointing.”

In that moment—

Kwaang!

Something unidentifiable slammed into Bong Jaeyoung’s ribs with crushing force.

“Keo, keoheok?”

A pain worse than anything he’d felt since becoming a ranker surged through his abdomen.

But Bong Jaeyoung was a hunter whose whole body—not just his fists—was steel.

He grit his teeth through the agony and forced himself to take in the situation.

‘Just who is this guy?’

For a second, he wondered if it was Joo Donghoon.

But it wasn’t his voice.

‘Then…’

Bong Jaeyoung’s pupils shook.

“Gotham…?”

Was this the criminal organization the survivors had been whispering about for the past three days?

As Bong Jaeyoung looked around, confused—

“Oh, you know us?”

Clap, clap, clap!

With slow applause, a man emerged from the fog.

A Russian man with jade-colored eyes.

“You knew about us and still came in so fearlessly?”

Behind him, dozens of hunters began to appear, one after another.

‘That bitch…!’

Among them was the Russian woman—the trickster who had pretended to be a survivor.

“Damn it!”

Bong Jaeyoung shouted, realizing he’d been played completely.

“You criminal bastards! What do you want from me! Why are you doing this?”

“Hm? What do we want…? Weren’t you the one who led a group of hunters here to attack us?”

The man grinned.

“Besides, you called us criminals yourself, didn’t you? If you’re asking a criminal why they commit crimes… hm, isn’t it because they’re criminals that they commit crimes?”

With jade-colored insects crawling all over his body, it was obvious who he was.

World rank 69, Bug King Andrey.

“Kek kek, this is funny. A rank 101 barges in here and the first thing he says is, ‘Why are you doing this?’”

The yellow-haired man behind Andrey was—

World rank 79, The Ruthless, Zima.

“It’s just ridiculous, kek kek.”

From behind Zima, the Russian woman stepped forward, like she might die from laughter.

Her rank was 110.

Thunder Step, Tima.

And besides them—

Rank 132, 150, 181, 192, 255, 291.

What made Gotham terrifying was how densely packed their rankers were.

“You… sons of bitches.”

Bong Jaeyoung’s eyelashes trembled.

‘This is hopeless.’

If it were one-on-one, he might’ve been able to find an opening somehow.

But with this many rankers surrounding him, he couldn’t see any way out.

And beyond that—

Around them.

Grrrrr!

Grrr…

Dozens—no, hundreds—of the blood-red-eyed monsters he’d seen before were closing in.

It was obvious every single one of them was at least S-Class.

Bong Jaeyoung lowered his head.

“What… are you going to do with me?”

“What are we going to do? Why do you ask?”

Andrey smirked.

His softened voice made it painfully obvious.

He was scared.

And watching Bong Jaeyoung, Gotham’s rankers snickered.

“Kikikik, this is fun.”

“He looks so stupid asking ‘What?’ Why is that so funny?”

“Rankers are all just people. No one is immune to fear.”

Laughing, the rankers stepped back one by one.

Grrrk!

Grrrrr…

At the same time, the monsters advanced faster.

Their movements were like starving beasts that had finally found prey.

“Hey.”

Andrey grinned.

“Try to win against these guys. Then who knows? Maybe we’ll let you live.”

“…”

Bong Jaeyoung clenched his fists.

“But it’ll probably be tough. Tsk tsk, the kids here don’t seem to know. I’m about to release something called Vile Dokgo…”

“Vile Dokgo…? What’s that.”

“You’ll find out once you experience it. Well then. I wish you good luck.”

Andrey ignored Bong Jaeyoung’s words and turned away.

Grrr…

And in that instant, the monsters surged forward.

“Damn it.”

Now, in the clearing beyond the fog, all that remained were Bong Jaeyoung and the monsters.

—

“Hey, Andrey.”

The Ruthless, Zima, asked.

“What.”

“Forget that moron. What are you going to do about the guy waiting outside?”

“That Skeleton King or whatever?”

“Yeah. He doesn’t seem to have any intention of coming this way. And I don’t know what trick he’s using, but he’s getting rid of all the fog you spread.”

“Ah, that.”

Andrey nodded.

“It’s fine. It actually worked out for the better.”

The white fog outside was gas emitted by the Dokgo.

Dokgo gas was lethal while bound to the Dokgo, which was why Andrey had scattered it outside.

If he cleaned it all up, Andrey should be grateful.

“I was a bit disappointed the big fish kept escaping because of the fog.”

“No, but still, it’s suspicious. If you enter a Dungeon, you either go to the center or you leave. But he’s just staying put. I heard he’s doing something like training with his skeletons?”

“Hmm.”

Andrey tapped his chin.

“So what are you trying to say?”

“We should strike! He’s only rank 78. The woman next to him is around rank 151. We have the advantage. Can’t we just go and kill them right away?”

“Yeah, no.”

“Hah.”

Zima exhaled, frustrated.

That was always the problem with Andrey.

“Are you going to say again that we can’t fight outside that damn formation?”

“Just be patient a little longer.”

Andrey muttered and glanced up to his left.

Floating there was an elderly ghostly figure.

(T/N: Interesting…)

Long ago.

The greatest fortune Andrey had obtained in an unmeasurable Dungeon.

The Formation King, Dang Hwi-pyeong.

His Dokgo arts were magnificent.

With nothing more than a spread of it, he could enslave people.

Wasn’t it the ultimate chemical weapon?

And his ideals and Andrey’s weren’t so different.

‘If you’re a man, you should try to rule the world at least once.’

Andrey wanted to become a global ruler, starting with his homeland, Russia.

Dang Hwi-pyeong wanted to unify the world with Dokgo.

However, Earth was vast, and the strong were many.

That was why they needed to prepare slowly.

‘Leaving the formation…’

Should only happen when they were ready to face the entire world.

– “But… you know.”

It was then that Dang Hwi-pyeong, floating in the air, muttered.

– “For the past few days… I’ve been smelling something very unlucky. A very foul smell.”

‘Yes, Elder.’

Andrey bowed his head slightly.

Dang Hwi-pyeong knew far too much for Andrey to treat him lightly.

“What… do you mean by that?”

– “…Never mind. It’s nothing. It can’t be.”

After leaving those meaningful words behind, Dang Hwi-pyeong slowly closed his eyes again.

===

Shuuuuu…

“Euuuhm.”

Eyes closed, I let out a low groan.

Seated cross-legged, I was surrounded by—

Shwooo! Shwoooo!

The Toxin Mist that had been expanding until now welcomed me fiercely, as if asking why I’d taken so long.

“Slowly, you rascal. It’s fine. Come in slowly.”

As expected.

Inside my body is more comfortable than that unknown land, right?

Even though the fellow’s size had increased by almost half, there was no major issue accepting it.

Hunters are controlled by the system.

And the system was telling me—

[Skill: Ten-Thousand-Poison Immunity]

[Grade: S]

[Effect 1: Resists all poisons in the world.]

[Effect 2: Identifies all poisons in the world.]

[Effect 3: Handles all poisons in the world.]

That I could resist every poison in this world.

“Waaaaah!”

“The fog is disappearing!”

“A-amazing!”

The remaining survivors erupted into cheers.

They reacted like castaways spotting a rescue ship, and I couldn’t help feeling a flicker of pride as well.

“…Amazing.”

“How can he handle all that poison? I couldn’t even speak when I got a little close.”

Kwon Soye and Im Sujin shook their heads, looking fed up.

“…”

Ki Soyul, in particular, still looked like she couldn’t understand.

Well.

She must have experienced the Toxin Mist firsthand in Theme 1.

She would know its horrors better than anyone.

It took about thirty minutes.

For all of the Toxin Mist to enter my body.

“Thank you, Skeleton King-nim! We will never forget this kindness!”

“We’re leaving now, but please be careful, Ranker-nim!”

Sob. “Thank you. Thank you.”

After safely sending the survivors out through the exit, I—

“Ugh-cha.”

Laced my fingers and stretched.

“Shall we get a move on now?”

One by one, I loosened the muscles that had stiffened from sitting cross-legged.

‘The Elder said so.’

That if I took in the Toxin Mist steeped in Dokgo farts, the formation would unravel.

Of course, only the formation.

From here on, I had to solve everything else myself.

‘Was it Gotham?’

Truthfully, the favor I took on for Chairman Choi Taeseung was already complete.

He’d only asked me to rescue our country’s missing people.

Honestly, I’d have nothing to be ashamed of if I returned home right now.

I’m not a volunteer, and I’m not the world police.

Is there really any need for me to fight a dangerous criminal organization?

‘But.’

I was a little curious about this Dang Hwi-pyeong guy.

For some reason.

Curiosity because he came from the world the Elder once lived in?

‘Also.’

Bug King Andrey was rank 69, right?

If I catch him, isn’t it a chance to legally raise my ranking?

“Are you leaving now?”

“Are you really going to fight them?”

Just as the two rankers from the Association were about to ask—

An unfamiliar message popped into view.

[The Guide invites you to a ‘Chat Room’.]

[‘Chat Room’ Name – Dragon Slayer Alumni Room]

[Members (6/7)]

‘Hmm…?’

Capu?

A chat room?

What is this?

(T/N : The gang is back! I repeat, the gang is back!)

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