Chapter 20
“You’re late. If the raid is at exactly 10 p.m., you should be here at least an hour early to wait!”
Kim Min-jeong glanced at her watch.
9:40.
She wasn’t late.
Besides, their equipment check had already been completed before departure. All that was left was to walk in. Technically, she had arrived early.
Team Leader Jeong wasn’t truly angry anyway. He was just looking for an excuse to nitpick.
How can someone be this predictable?
Min-jeong felt foolish for having briefly worried Z-Team might not show up.
Still, she pretended not to notice and played her role.
“Why are you even here, Team Leader? The plan clearly said only the two of us would be moving.”
Jeong thought he’d caught them off guard and puffed himself up smugly.
“You think we’d send just a rookie and some mercenary from another team? Of course the team backs you up. I may have clashed with you, but I’m not petty enough to let personal grudges get in the way of proper support.”
He made it sound like he was graciously compromising.
But his words treated the two of them as beneath him—making it clear he intended to establish the hierarchy from the start.
Min-jeong looked to Lee Hyun for direction.
“Very well.”
Hyun nodded with an unreadable expression.
Jeong took that as surrender.
Boring bastards. If they’d complained, I could’ve hit them with an insubordination charge. Fine. Let’s see how long you can keep that smug composure.
Grinding his teeth inwardly, he turned away.
He didn’t really believe these two could clear the dungeon anyway.
This was a long-unsolved dungeon for a reason. Dangerous.
Our own orders are basically to ‘manage’ the place, not really clear it, and that’s exactly why.
“Alright. If everyone’s ready, we’re entering the gate!”
[You have entered the dungeon!]
[Dungeon: The Pied Piper]
[You have stepped into the folklore of Hamelin, or into the fairy tale penned by certain brothers.]
[Stop the flute that is stealing children, and rescue the missing kids.]
[Objectives]
-
Defeat the Piper.
-
Find the missing children.
-
Ensure the safety of Hamelin’s citizens.
[Reward for success: ‘Flute That Enchants Humans’]
[Failure: Disappearance.]
This dungeon, unlike many others, did not appear to have extreme environmental hazards.
The warm sunlight on their faces felt pleasant.
It really felt like stepping into a fairy tale.
They stood on a grassy hill.
In the distance, they could see a walled city surrounded by ramparts.
[Objective #1 ‘Defeat the Piper’ has been completed. Yet, for unknown reasons, the flute can still be heard.]
[Quickly complete Objectives #2 and #3.]
[Current Raid Progress: 25.1%]
As the reports had said, this dungeon was “halted mid-clear.”
The faint flute sound drifting beyond the walls was the reason.
Fwee-ee-ee—
[You are beginning to be affected by the flute. Mild hallucinations are setting in.]
“Everyone, put on the earplugs you were issued. If you’re too slow, the curse will trigger madness!”
Their vision began to waver.
The team quickly put in the earplugs they had received beforehand. Hyun and Min-jeong did the same.
[‘Shut Your Mouth Earplugs’]
Earplugs made from the thread of siblings who nearly fell prey to the tiger that ate their mother.
When worn, a power that reveals true voices activates, blocking certain sounds—especially magical or deceptive ones.
-
Origin: Folktale The Brother and Sister Who Became the Sun and Moon
In that instant, the flute stopped as if cut off.
Their distorted vision stabilized.
[The effect of ‘Shut Your Mouth Earplugs’ reduces the flute’s sound to its minimum!]
[You have escaped the curse. You may now move freely for about 2 hours.]
[Warning: Time may shorten depending on circumstances.]
[Timer begins.]
02:00:00
01:59:59
01:59:58
…
“As you can see, the earplugs aren’t perfect. Keep an eye on the timer—the duration could drop suddenly.”
Jeong raked a hand irritably through his hair.
Even with the earplugs, faint traces of the flute still scratched at his nerves.
The reports had mentioned this problem:
Failure Analysis
-
The flute heard upon entering causes madness. Self-destruction from debuff was the greatest threat.
-
As it’s an AoE debuff, a defensive item is necessary. But most have limited duration.
-
Limitation: The flute persisted even after the boss was defeated, suggesting another source. Possibly minions wielding flutes. Urgent: identify and remove source.
Hyun recalled this while thinking:
This is why most raid teams failed. Finding the flute’s source AND clues about the children within two hours isn’t easy.
It was like the “Threefold Divine Wind” in the Yellow Desert—except this time, the flute controlled the entire dungeon even after the boss’s death.
Even White Burn had scoured the city fruitlessly for clues.
But here—
Hyun spotted signs of Adaptation.
[‘Holy Relic: Hua’an Golden Eye’ activates, revealing hidden ■■■■ mythology in the dungeon.]
[The flute is affected. Find the myth of ■■■■ and inherit ■■■■’s legacy.]
If the flute was mixed with the myth of the Monkey King, that made things easier.
Finding the source in two hours? Not a problem. Pathfinding is my specialty.
And—
I’m practically immune to curses like this anyway.
[Curse Resistance (S) activates. The flute has no effect.]
[Your timer is frozen.]
01:59:57
This dungeon heavily favored Hyun.
But he didn’t let it show.
“So, Deputy Kim, Manager Jang… search thoroughly. We’ll stay back here. Call if you need help. Good luck.”
Of course, Jeong, ignorant of all this, assumed failure was inevitable.
No—he was determined to make them fail.
They can’t even explain their past achievements. Whatever their game is, I won’t let them get away with it.
Jeong’s eyes burned with jealousy as he looked at Hyun.
For the past few days, Hyun had been sticking close to Min-jeong like glue, and Jeong couldn’t stand it.
He had pulled every string he could to investigate Hyun—yet learned nothing.
HR knew nothing either.
Only one fact surfaced: Hyun had worked as a pathfinder for years, and had recently assisted Team A in their raid.
When Jeong found out, he had been furious.
Comparable to me in strength, yet just a pathfinder? Nonsense. He’s hiding something. He’s Im Won-young’s secret attack dog. He’s planning something.
So now Jeong intended to test him directly.
To see his real power… or what he’s hiding.
Shff.
At Jeong’s command, Z-Team all withdrew, as if it wasn’t their concern.
Min-jeong found their blatant avoidance infuriating.
“Let’s go.”
Hyun didn’t care and stepped forward.
She followed.
The raid had begun.
[You are approaching the city. The flute’s effect intensifies.]
[Item duration reduced by 10 minutes.]
Min-jeong read the message floating on her retina.
“We only have about an hour and forty minutes left.”
“That’s plenty.”
They reached the city gates.
But approaching any closer was difficult.
Hundreds of zombies crowded the open main gate.
“…And you can still say that?”
[Due to the flute’s curse, all citizens of Hamelin are trapped in mass hallucination.]
[They currently act like zombies.]
[Remember Objective #3: Ensure the citizens’ safety. Take care not to harm them.]
This was the second reason no one had cleared the Pied Piper dungeon.
The curse didn’t only affect hunters.
Citizens—drooling, limbs bent unnaturally—shambled like zombies, ready to spill out of the city.
They weren’t easy foes, and worse, they had to be kept alive.
The Monkey King perched on Hyun’s shoulder tilted his head.
『Why not just wipe them all out?』
That would tank quest progress—and could trigger worse consequences. Best to follow the objectives.
『Humans really do make life complicated.』
That’s the problem. You never know when new restrictions will appear.
Hyun activated his mana circuits.
Bzzzzzt!
Either way, let’s start. There’s plenty to gain here.
Rumble—
Blue-white lightning flared around him like a newborn sun.
[‘Dokkaebi’s Sigh (B+)’ activates, unleashing searing fury!]
“…!!”
Min-jeong instinctively stumbled back.
She had never imagined Hyun was hiding such power.
So it wasn’t a fluke he matched Team Leader Jeong before… no, this is way beyond that!
Hyun smiled at her stunned face.
“You asked how we’d deal with the zombies and the flute, right? I think this answers it.”
He drew one of the Do-cheol’s Fangs from his belt.
In the distance, the zombies began stirring—agitated by the thunder and lightning.
Of course, Hyun had planned it that way.
If I want to bury them all at once, I need bait.
Bzzzt!
Lightning enveloped the axe.
Let’s see how much stronger Dokkaebi’s Breath has gotten.
He hurled it with all his might toward the ramparts.
Whoosh—
The axe ripped through the air like a storm, faster and more powerful than before thanks to the Threefold Divine Wind’s boost.
A flash!
[‘Dokkaebi’s Wrath’ detonates!]
Bolts of lightning cascaded onto the ramparts.
Thunder roared.
KRRAA-BOOM!
The zombies halted, eyes locked on the falling axe—
Then the collapsing walls crushed them as the lightning struck.
Hyun followed up with his remaining two axes, bringing down the entire wall.
Dozens of zombies were buried beneath the rubble.
Dust billowed in clouds.
“That should do.”
“…I suppose so.”
Min-jeong nodded blankly, as if entranced.
“Then why are you standing there? Move! We need to find the flute.”
“…!”
“I’m going ahead.”
Fwoosh—
Hyun dashed forward, wrapped in winds born from lightning.
His movements seemed supernatural.
[‘Dokkaebi’s Sprint’ activates!]
Min-jeong stared, then quickly triggered her movement skill to follow.
Thump!
Her heart pounded as she watched him run.
It felt like she had gone back four years.
[01:41:21]
