Chapter 37
To be honest, challenging the Hermes Dungeon had been a gamble.
Even with the Death Knight’s Helmet and a B-rank Immortal Demon Sword, it was borderline insane for Hyuk-min and Hyun-jung to take on the Netherworld Twin Head Ogre with their current specs.
But his confidence came from one thing.
He knew that boss.
He’d fought it before. He knew how it moved, what it could do, and exactly how it killed people. And he knew that if Hyun-jung’s support was perfect, they could win.
That was why they went in.
And why they made it out.
“Haa… haa… Uncle.”
Hyun-jung grinned, still panting.
“I did it. Haa… haa…”
Launching herself through the air using gun recoil—something she’d never even attempted—was completely insane.
But Hyun-jung, the genius the world had already acknowledged, pulled it off like it was nothing.
A thirteen-year-old girl.
“Good job.”
“I… did well?”
“We couldn’t have even tried without you. It’s not an exaggeration to say you carried that Dungeon.”
“Hehe.”
She was at the age where praise hit harder than anything.
But Hyun-jung’s expression soon dimmed.
“…Still, I feel like I wasn’t helpful.”
“Huh?”
“Every time something got dangerous, I just called for you, Uncle. I didn’t solve those moments myself.”
“You mean the boss’s last-ditch move?”
Hyun-jung nodded without looking up.
“That’s just greed. You did more than enough.”
“Really?”
“You’ve held a gun for less than a year. And you’re already providing support at this level? You could search the entire world and not find someone like you. I guarantee it.”
“Re… really?”
Hyuk-min smiled without meaning to.
“Of course. I’d bet everything I have on it. You have talent. No—you’re a genius.”
“Me…?”
“If you keep working, you’ll surpass me someday. Because you’re a genius.”
“I’ll surpass you, Uncle?”
The gloom in Hyun-jung’s eyes cracked.
A timid light peeked through.
“Then… then I’ll be able to protect you, right?”
Being young was nice.
She jumped up like she’d never been tired, clenching her fist tight.
She probably thought she looked determined.
To Hyuk-min, she just looked endearingly cute.
“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”
“Just you wait. I won’t let anyone touch a hair on your head, Uncle.”
Hyuk-min chuckled.
Then the noise around them finally registered.
He glanced over.
“What? Where did those people come from?”
“You scared me. It’s like they just popped out of the Tower.”
“What’s going on? This is the opposite side of the entrance.”
“Is that monster blood? Is there a Dungeon nearby?”
Hyuk-min leaned closer and spoke quietly.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
“Okay.”
= = =
Dungeons that open under special conditions—like the Hermes Dungeon—are called Hidden Dungeons.
Unique, special Dungeons that remain invisible to everyone except those who meet the requirements.
There was a reason they were called Hidden Dungeons.
The items you could obtain there weren’t normal.
They were the kind of items that could shake the world.
Right now, Hyuk-min had three of them.
The Immortal Demon Sword.
The Immortal Demon Art.
The Death Knight’s Helmet.
And finally, the item he’d obtained from the Hermes Dungeon this time.
In his previous life, the Hidden Dungeon items that had stirred the world all ended up in someone else’s hands.
This time, they were in Hyuk-min’s.
‘Four left.’
For revenge.
And to fulfill a condition no one had ever achieved in his past life.
Unlike before, the world couldn’t learn about Hidden Dungeons this time.
‘Godslayer.’
Keeping his head slightly lowered, Hyuk-min walked against the crowd toward the taxi stand.
“It seems you failed to clear the Tower.”
Maybe it was because he was drenched in bluish-black monster blood.
“Excuse me?”
A man in a Buddhist robe approached—dressed like a monk.
“We will give you healing.”
“Thank you.”
“No.”
Hyun-jung, who didn’t know anything, started to bow, but Hyuk-min cut her off and refused.
“It’s fine. We cleared the Tower.”
“You can tell me everything. Your lowered head, your drooping shoulders, your body soaked in monster blood… We at the Temple of Healing can help you.”
Hyuk-min’s eyes narrowed.
It had been a good day.
And now some annoying bastards were trying to ruin it.
Whoever came up with that ridiculous name, it irritated him just hearing it.
“Find someone else. We’re fine.”
He brushed past the monk and hurried away with Hyun-jung.
But monks from the Temple of Healing appeared from every direction, circling them.
And then—
“Heal.”
“Heal.”
A bright light erupted from Hyuk-min and Hyun-jung’s bodies.
‘So they’re doing it anyway.’
In his previous life, there had been a saying about the Temple of Healing.
Demons disguised as benevolent monks.
The monk who’d spoken earlier stepped into Hyuk-min’s path again.
Hyuk-min’s expression twisted.
“You ended up receiving healing after all.”
“I told you we refused.”
“When did you say that?” the monk asked smoothly. “You asked us for help. Isn’t that all settled?”
The monk’s face was perfectly shameless.
Hyun-jung frowned as well, stunned at how the story had flipped.
“We clearly refused!”
Her shout pulled attention.
Dozens of eyes turned.
‘This is exactly what they want.’
The Temple of Healing needed a crowd.
It was the only way this scam worked.
“Hehehehe.”
Thok. Thok. Thok. Thok.
The monks began tapping wooden percussion instruments, smiling kindly.
With gentle voices and faces that looked harmless to anyone watching, they started spewing nonsense.
“We offered help because you wanted it, but now you’re demanding compensation. Is it because we’re monks? You shouldn’t do that—even to monks.”
“Ha!”
Hyun-jung was about to snap back again.
Then—
“How dare these bastards stab kind monks in the back!?”
Rough-looking men shoved through the crowd and grabbed Hyuk-min by the collar.
‘So it comes to this.’
Hyuk-min scanned the faces around him.
As expected, plenty of eyes were already filling with hostility, pulled in by the Temple of Healing’s performance.
Whoever wrote this script knew what they were doing.
To everyone here, Hyuk-min and Hyun-jung were now villains extorting kindly monks.
“Let go.”
Hyuk-min glared at the thug clutching him.
“Ha! Now you’re going to hit us too!? Go ahead! Hit us instead of bullying kind monks!”
“Bullshit.”
“What?”
“I was going to leave quietly. But those fake monks blocked my way.”
Hyuk-min’s voice dropped.
“Sorry, but you messed with the wrong person.”
He grabbed the thug’s hand and snapped it.
Crack!
“Ugh—ughaaaaack!”
The scream ripped through the air.
The thugs flinched.
Even the monks flinched.
Hyuk-min seized the thug by the broken wrist and dragged him toward the center of the crowd.
Then he pulled out the Immortal Demon Sword and pressed the blade to the thug’s neck.
The monks who’d been watching calmly suddenly shrieked like the world was ending.
“Ugh…”
“Please help us! He’s stabbing kind monks in the back, and now he’s trying to kill a chivalrous man who’s trying to help us! Please, help us!”
“Please help us! Please! Please help us!”
“It’s enough if we’re the only ones suffering! Please save that kind chivalrous person!”
Even in a harsh world, there were still people who stepped forward.
One by one, they started gathering.
And mixed among them were enough capable fighters that a real brawl would turn ugly fast.
Click.
Hyun-jung raised her gun and guarded Hyuk-min’s side, aiming at anyone who moved wrong.
“Get lost.”
“Please help us!”
Just as the “chivalrous” crowd started to advance at the monks’ last cry—
Hyuk-min leaned in and whispered into the thug’s ear.
The thug’s face crumpled.
“I’m sorry!”
Tears streamed down as he shouted.
“W-we are lying! We’re in cahoots with those monks!”
The crowd froze.
Hyuk-min slowly pushed the Immortal Demon Sword closer.
A thin line of blood appeared on the thug’s neck.
The thug squeezed his eyes shut and screamed.
“We’re also disciples of the Temple of Healing!!”
Then he tore open his outer clothes.
Underneath was the same Buddhist robe the monks wore.
All eyes snapped to the cluster of monks.
Their faces stiffened.
Hyuk-min’s smile turned sharp.
He pressed the blade in a little more and spoke softly.
“Tell them everything you’ve done while wearing a monk’s face. Or do you think I won’t cut your throat?”
“I-I will! I will!”
The thug’s voice shook.
“Actually—our Temple of Healing is a guild of healers. We forcibly heal people—”
“Louder.”
“We force people into parties! We forcibly clear the Tower to raise Levels!”
Murmurs spread.
“What if they refuse like we did?”
“Then… as compensation for the healing…”
“I said louder.”
“We take money! If they don’t pay, we sabotage them so they can’t clear the Tower again—like we tried to do just now!”
That was it.
The whole thing was out in the open.
From the monks’ side, a small voice tried to salvage the scene.
“Ahem. We’ll see you again later.”
“Please let us pass.”
They were trying to slip away one by one.
Hyuk-min’s eyes turned cold.
“I told you. You messed with the wrong person.”
He pulled a dagger from his Inventory and threw it.
Thwack!
“Ughaaaaack!!”
The monk screamed as the dagger buried itself in his thigh.
It was the same monk who had blocked Hyuk-min’s path at the start.
Hyuk-min put the Immortal Demon Sword back into his Inventory and shoved the thug away.
“Get lost.”
“Yes!!”
The thug tried to run.
But there were too many people here who’d been harmed by these scumbags before.
Hyuk-min wasn’t letting him go.
Crack!
“Ugh—ughaaaaack!!”
Hyuk-min kicked the thug’s right leg and shattered the bone.
The leg twisted grotesquely.
Just looking at it made it obvious.
He’d never run properly again.
“This is cheap,” Hyuk-min said, voice flat. “Spend the rest of your life looking at that leg and repenting, you son of a bitch.”
Leaving the screaming thug behind, Hyuk-min walked toward the monk crawling on the ground.
“H-Heeheeik!”
The monk’s earlier confidence was gone.
He covered his face while the crowd stared him down.
Hyuk-min reached him and snapped his arm first.
Crack!
“Ughaaaaack!”
He kicked the monk into a spread-eagle sprawl and shouted.
“Look closely! This guy’s a well-known scammer in the Tower! If you get caught by him, you’ll be crippled in an instant! Be careful!”
“Tsk, tsk.”
“I almost got fooled by the robe.”
“That’s why you stay neutral until you’re sure.”
“There’s no one to trust anymore.”
“I heard scams like this were everywhere lately. Guess it’s true.”
“He deserves it!”
The crowd’s mood flipped in an instant.
And just as quickly, they dispersed.
No one was coming to save the demons from the Temple of Healing now.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Hyuk-min stepped on the monk’s chest.
No—he corrected himself.
He stepped on the chest of the demon disguised as a monk.
Then he grabbed the dagger lodged in the monk’s thigh.
“I don’t know how many people you scammed,” Hyuk-min said, “but anything with a long tail gets caught eventually. Live the rest of your life crippled and repent—like a monk.”
Crack!
He twisted the dagger hard, crushing bone, then turned away with Hyun-jung.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
= = =
“Are you alright!”
The monk from the Temple of Healing who’d been attacked was hauled into a car by other monks.
Gritting. Gritting.
He ground his teeth, eyes full of murderous intent.
Monks pressed healing onto him from all sides, but the wound was too severe. It would take time.
And the Temple of Healing’s “healing” wasn’t true healing in the first place.
It was closer to quackery.
“Aaa…”
The karma the Temple of Healing had forced onto countless victims was rebounding—landing on the demon pretending to be a monk.
“Aaaaa!! A!!”
He screamed, clutching his twisted, partially restored leg.
It felt wrong.
He couldn’t bend it.
He couldn’t put strength into it.
One leg was useless now.
“Hey! Park Kyung-jung!”
“Yes…”
At the demon’s furious shout, the thug Hyuk-min had crippled earlier was dragged forward.
He’d been beaten so badly that the only things still usable were his mouth and teeth.
“Did you see that guy’s name?”
“Yes… I saw it. I definitely saw it. It was in PvP Mode.”
“You’d be dead if you hadn’t. So what was his name?”
“Bang Hyuk-min. It was Bang Hyuk-min.”
“Bang Hyuk-min!?”
The name made his eyes widen.
A news article flashed through his mind the moment he heard it.
“Title—right. Did you see his Title!?”
“I don’t remember the Title…”
“Color. Do you remember the color?”
“Ah! I remember the color!”
The thug swallowed and forced the words out.
“It was red.”
A red Title.
“Legendary!”
That color belonged only to Legendary grade.
“So that’s it…? That bastard was a Legendary Title Holder?”
The demon’s face drained.
“I’m dead.”