NPLLD 04

Chapter : 04

The God of a Small World

Director’s Office

Inside the Director’s office—

Director Park Gwang-su stared forward with a stern gaze.

In front of him, Rescue Team Leader Lee Han was sweating nervously, while Seoyul stood beside him with an awkward expression.

Park Gwang-su flipped through the report submitted by the Rescue Department regarding the Epic Guild incident and spoke.

“Everyone worked hard on this case. I was quite worried when I heard Chief Seoyul had gone missing.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“But this report… lacks sincerity.”

“I-I’m sorry. There really wasn’t much I could write.”

They had been ordered to document how he survived—

But Seoyul, the one who wrote it, had left a single absurd line:

‘I lost consciousness and don’t remember anything.’

This was a report submitted to a high-ranking political official—

Someone on par with the Director of the National Intelligence Service or a cabinet minister.

Frankly, it looked terrible.

At this point, it was the kind of behavior that could easily brand someone as reckless—or uninterested in promotion.

And yet—

“Hahaha… I suppose this ended up sounding like I was pressuring you. Still, the important thing is that you came back alive. Truly. Because of you, many people survived.”

Park Gwang-su laughed heartily and chose not to reprimand him any further.

There was no reason to trouble someone like Seoyul, who had always risked himself for others.

“Get some proper rest today and recover. You may go.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Lee Han and Seoyul bowed before leaving the office.

As their footsteps faded away, Park Gwang-su let out a long sigh as he looked at the pile of documents on his desk.

“…So much work to do.”

2:00 PM

Around 2 PM—

Seoyul wandered near his home after being dropped off by Lee Han.

“Don’t overthink things. Just get some rest today. Honestly, I’d tell you not to come in tomorrow either, but… you know how busy we are.”

That was the last thing Lee Han had said before leaving, his face filled with guilt.

Ironically, Seoyul felt relieved.

The fact that he could work again tomorrow—

That meant everything.

‘If I want to make use of this ability… real combat is essential.’

As he was heading home—

A bunch of apples suddenly came rolling down the hill.

Seoyul quickly grabbed one and looked up.

A familiar girl was struggling uphill, holding a torn apple box.

Recognizing her, he shouted urgently—

“Yeonhee! Your apples are falling!”

“Huh? Ah?! Wait—!”

Before she could react—

Rip!

The box completely tore apart, and apples spilled everywhere.

Lee Yeonhee looked like she was about to cry.

A moment later—

Seoyul gathered the apples into a plastic bag he got from a nearby convenience store, and the two walked up the hill together.

“Thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, mister, it would’ve taken me an hour to carry all this by myself.”

“Glad I could help. How’s school these days?”

“………”

The moment he asked—

Yeonhee fell silent.

‘She used to be so cheerful… why does she seem so gloomy now?’

It didn’t take long for Seoyul to guess why.

“Are your grades dropping a lot? It’s fine. I used to be near the bottom all the time.”

“N-no! My grades are… I’m actually in the top ten.”

“……I wasn’t bad at studying. I just didn’t do it.”

“Pfft!”

Unable to hold it in, Yeonhee burst out laughing at his accidental confession of his past.

By the time they finished talking, they had reached home.

Yeonhee lived on the first floor, Seoyul on the second—they were neighbors.

“Thanks to you, I got up easily. Here, you should take this.”

She handed him a bag filled halfway with apples.

“Is it okay to give me this much? I didn’t help for this.”

Scratching his temple awkwardly, Seoyul hesitated.

Yeonhee grinned.

“You know my family runs a fruit shop. It’s fine—take it.”

“Then I’ll enjoy them. Thanks.”

“Get some rest.”

“You too.”

Holding the apples, Seoyul went inside his home.

Later

Crunch!

Taking a big bite of a glossy apple, Seoyul changed into comfortable clothes and began testing his skill.

[You have created a Sphere.]

[Tutorial Labyrinth]

• Description
• Durability: 143/150
• Labyrinth Boss: Minion (★)

The labyrinth will collapse when durability falls below 60% or all monsters are eliminated.
If an enemy escapes the labyrinth, the Sphere will be canceled.

A gray, semi-transparent sphere floated in the air.

Inside it—

The maze from his tutorial appeared like a miniature world.

Ghouls wandered within it.

He slowly pushed his hand inside.

It sank in as if entering water.

[Would you like to enter the labyrinth?]

Seoyul pulled his hand back and stepped away, deep in thought.

‘If it’s a labyrinth… can I set traps too?’

As if responding to his thoughts—

The system connected with his skill, King of the Labyrinth, and displayed a guide.

[Available trap: ‘Spiked Ceiling.’
Cost: 20 Gold or 200 Mana.
Would you like to proceed?]

His mana was only 70—

Using mana wasn’t an option.

Seoyul muttered bitterly.

“So… they’re basically telling me to pay real money.”

Gold.

The currency used by Hunters.

Used for equipment upgrades, trading weapons, dungeon raids, and rare items.

Exchange rate:

1 Gold = 100,000 won.

And that meant—

20 Gold = 2 million won.

‘Even if I starve for a month… I have to invest.’

His hesitation didn’t last long.

To survive.

To save more people—

He needed to become stronger.

“Let’s place it… here.”

He pointed behind the boss room.

[Trap ‘Spiked Ceiling’ has been installed.]

Inside the sphere—

A chained spiked ceiling rolled upward, covering the top of the boss room.

The sharp spikes gleamed coldly.

‘Next…’

Just as he was about to proceed further—

Beep—!

His phone suddenly rang with an emergency alert.

A call from the Rescue Department.

Seoyul answered immediately.

“This is Seoyul.”

—“Chief Seoyul, sorry for calling so late. A 1-star dungeon break has occurred at Hotel Renaissance. Please respond immediately.”

Dungeon Break.

A dangerous phenomenon where a gate is left uncleared—

Allowing monsters to break through and invade reality.

Dungeon ranks range from 1-star to 6-star.

1-star is the lowest.

Seoyul frowned slightly.

“That area is assigned to the Hanul Guild. What happened?”

—“They said they were busy and would handle it later… I think they ignored it because it’s low rank.”

“…Understood. I’m heading there now.”

With a wave of his hand—

The sphere dissolved into mist.

Seoyul quickly changed and rushed out.

Hotel Renaissance – Jongno, Seoul

“Guests in rooms and lobby, please evacuate immediately!”

Police had sealed off the area with barricade tape.

Vroom!

Seoyul arrived on a motorcycle and approached an officer.

“I’m Chief Seoyul from the Rescue Department.”

“O-only one of you came?”

The officer looked nervous.

Seoyul replied calmly.

“I just got here first. Others will follow. Where is the gate?”

“It appeared on the 7th floor. The monsters are Red Goblins.”

“…Troublesome.”

Red Goblins.

Technically 1-star monsters—

But known for their intelligence, cruelty, and love of blood.

Many considered them closer to 2-star in actual danger.

“Has everyone evacuated?”

“Yes.”

Seoyul was about to feel relieved—

When suddenly—

“No! My daughter! My Somi is still inside! Please let me in!”

A woman cried desperately beyond the barricade, struggling against officers.

Seoyul looked silently at the police.

“Th-that is…”

“…Understood. I’ll go in first.”

“What? Alone? That’s dangerous! Due to the dungeon break, electromagnetic interference is blocking all communication devices!”

“Move.”

Normally, they worked in teams of two.

But in Korea—

There weren’t enough Awakened.

Solo missions weren’t uncommon.

“P-please don’t do this! Red Goblins are dangerous!”

The officer tried to block him.

Seoyul placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered quietly—

“…You weren’t told to stall until Hanul Guild arrives, were you? Did they pay you too?”

“W-what are you saying?!”

As the officer panicked—

Seoyul added one final line.

“My friend works in internal surveillance. Want me to have your accounts checked?”

“….”

The silence was answer enough.

Seoyul frowned.

Corruption—

It was everywhere.

Especially now, when guilds held power rivaling the government.

“I’m going in.”

He brushed past the officer and entered the revolving doors.

[Sixth Sense activated.]

The moment he stepped inside—

A Red Goblin lunged from above.

Seoyul leaned back effortlessly, dodging it, then kicked it hard in the torso.

The goblin rolled and pulled out a knife.

At the same time—

Three more emerged from behind pillars and the front desk.

Seoyul flexed his hand—

Then smirked.

“Perfect. A good chance to test things.”

Kiiieek!

All four goblins charged at once.

Just as their blades were about to reach him—

[Active Skill: Sphere created.]

A translucent sphere erupted from the ground—

Swallowing all the goblins instantly.

In the blink of an eye—

They vanished.

Seoyul looked inside the sphere.

The goblins were now trapped in the labyrinth, wandering aimlessly.

One goblin, separated—

Was devoured by ghouls.

“…This is insane.”

At that moment—

Seoyul felt it clearly.

As if—

He had become the god of a small world.