Haeundae, Busan.
It was relatively recently that strange things started happening on this beautiful white beach, which becomes overcrowded during the vacation season. The Knights Guild, the representative guild of the Yeongnam region, received reports of people continuously disappearing in Haeundae and started patrolling the entire area. And they ended up discovering them.
"Skeletons." At Lim Tae-Gyu's words, the leaders of the Knights Guild fell silent.
"The areas where they appear are gradually expanding." The video showed numerous skeletal soldiers emerging from beneath the sand and hunters fighting them off. Watching the battle unfolding on the screen, Park Jongsoo, the president of the Knights Guild, gritted his teeth with a serious expression.
"The problem is, we have no idea where they are coming from." Judging from the situation, it was clear that a dungeon break had occurred in the waters off Busan. However, they couldn't find the location of the gate, the core of the issue.
"...The endlessly multiplying skeletons mean that there's a necromancer-type monster behind this, summoning them. Assuming that it's boss-type, it should be located at the end of a dungeon, or in this case most likely inside or near the gate." Finally breaking the silence, the leaders spoke up.
"That's why our Knights Guild is focusing all our efforts on searching for the gate..."
"But we can't find its location at all."
"We're even suspecting that the gate might have appeared underwater."
"That's impossible! There's no precedent for a gate appearing underwater!"
"The Cataclysm happened only two years ago! New precedents can be set anytime!"
Gates, dimensional rifts connecting Earth to otherworldly dimensions. This mysterious phenomenon could appear suddenly anywhere in the world. But for some reason, there had never been a single instance of a gate being observed in the ever-changing and turbulent depths of the sea. Despite the unknown cause, humanity was fortunate. The prospect of a future without the sea was bleak, no matter how one envisioned it.
However, they couldn't be complacent forever. Just as no one had foreseen the Cataclysm two years ago, no one could know what unexpected changes might occur in the future. The hunter who raised his voice at the end was pointing out this very fact.
"Enough." With Lim Tae-Gyu's single word, the heated atmosphere among the hunters instantly calmed down. The people gathered here were the leaders of the Knights Guild, meaning they were all A-rank hunters. While there might be differences in their individual strength, they were essentially hunters of the same rank, so their voices carried equal weight. But precisely because of that, Lim Tae-Gyu, the only S-rank hunter among them, held more authority than anyone else.
As the room fell silent, Lim Tae-Gyu spoke again. "Sure, it's important to keep an open mind and consider all the options, but it is impossible to prepare for everything."
If the gate had indeed appeared underwater, it wasn't a problem that could be solved with the forces currently gathered here, a situation they couldn't hope to handle. So Lim Tae-Gyu believed it was better to rule out that possibility for the time being.
"So, for now, we'll form search teams under the assumption that the gate is hidden somewhere along the coast." Lim Tae-Gyu's gaze swept across the room and met Suho's.
'You understand the situation now, right?' Suho read his intention and nodded silently.
"Ahem. In that sense, we currently have two immediate tasks..." Suddenly noticing Lim Dogyoon beside Suho, Lim Tae-Gyu coughed briefly and averted his gaze, then continued the explanation.
"One is to continuously fend off the endless stream of monsters appearing on the coast. Of course, you're already doing a good job, but we need to deploy as many troops as possible to that area." Everyone nodded in agreement.
To prevent the monsters from leaving the beach and flooding into the city, the more troops, the better. Moreover, the monsters that first appeared in a dungeon break were always weaker than those that came later, as if they were scouts. In other words, due to the nature of dungeon breaks, although it was only skeletons now, there was a high probability that more dangerous monsters would appear later. To prepare for this, they needed to deploy their forces with ample margin.
"Two, find the location of the gate as quickly as possible. This task involves navigating through the monsters, so we'll form a small, elite search team led by me. At that, President Park Jongsoo raised his hand and asked a question.
"Is there a specific criterion for this 'small, elite team'?"
"Yes. Since the main objective is searching, we'll select people who are confident in their speed rather than combat power."
'Speed rather than combat power?' At those words, Lim Dogyoon's eyes widened. And when it was time to volunteer for the search team, he raised his hand high. Lim Tae-Gyu was startled but continued speaking in a calm tone.
"Ah, I forgot to mention one thing. Only those ranked B or higher can volunteer for the gate search team. It's a very dangerous task as there's a high chance of encountering the boss monster out of the blue."
"..." But even after hearing that, Lim Dogyoon had no intention of lowering his hand.
'I'm confident in my speed.' He was well-versed in running away.
Seeing Lim Dogyoon's determined gaze, Lim Tae-Gyu looked at Suho, hoping he would dissuade his son. But Suho just chuckled and raised his own hand, saying,
"We're not B-rank, but Woojin Guild would also like to join the search team."
"...Alright, let's do that." In the end, Lim Tae-Gyu had no choice but to nod with a reluctant expression. The reason he had brought Suho here in the first place was to have him join the gate search team. But he hadn't imagined that his son, a mere E-rank hunter, would also volunteer.
'But he's the guild master, so he'll take responsibility for his guild members' safety. They even went to the Glacier dungeon together.' Suppressing his unease, Lim Tae-Gyu conveyed the detailed strategies to the hunters and concluded the meeting.
"...Then, let's begin the operation."
Thus, a total of 20 people formed the search team. Lim Tae-Gyu further divided them into five groups of four. But here, a problem arose.
"I'll lead the first group, and Hunter Sung Suho from Woojin Guild will lead the second group. And the third group..."
"What?!"
"Excuse me?" The hunters who had volunteered for the search team, assuming the S-rank hunter Lim Tae-Gyu would lead them, were understandably bewildered.
"But this is different from what we were told!"
"I heard Sung Suho is a C-rank hunter!"
"How can you put our lives at risk like this...?" As if expecting such complaints, Lim Tae-Gyu calmly responded to them.
"Again, our goal is to search, not fight. That's why I specifically asked for those who are fast on their feet."
"Th-that's true, but..."
"We're searching for the boss monster's location. Shouldn't there be at least a minimum guarantee of safety?"
"Exactly. And I'm a B-rank hunter. Does it make sense for me to follow the orders of a mere C-rank hunter?"
"Sigh. 'Mere,' you say..." Their complaints were valid, but Lim Tae-Gyu couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
"Suho. No, President Sung Suho. Haven't you gotten re-evaluated yet?"
"I've been busy setting up the guild."
"Make sure to get re-evaluated after this. That way, we won't waste time on pointless arguments like..."
"If that's the case, I'll take charge of the second group! I'll leave the third group to my subordinate."
"Hmm?" While Suho was talking, the hunter who was supposed to lead the third group stepped forward confidently.
A-rank hunter Jung Yoontae. He was the vice president of the Knights Guild and had a close relationship with President Park Jongsoo. Jung Yoontae looked at the members of the second group with disapproval. Sung Suho, despite being a guild master, is still only a C-rank hunter. Lim Dogyoon, an E-rank hunter who was supposedly his guild member. And next to them...
'Who's that woman? Is she a hunter from the Woojin Guild?'
Next to them was Esil, whom Suho had summoned from the Shadow Dungeon, now included in the second group as a member of Woojin Guild. And the remaining member was a B-rank hunter from the Knights Guild.
"Tsk." Jung Yoontae clicked his tongue and said.
"The second group's combat power is particularly weak compared to the others. In that case, it would be better for me to switch to the second group. Of course, I'll be the leader..."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Huh?" Jung Yoontae was taken aback by Suho's easy acceptance. Suho transferred the Knights Guild member to the third group and readily stepped down as the leader. Then, pushing Jung Yoontae, who had become the new leader of the second group, he said.
"I don't mind, so let's get going."
"Uh?" Jung Yoontae, who had unexpectedly become the leader of the second group, felt something was odd. But in any case, the four members were chosen.
A little later, Lim Tae-Gyu gave his final instructions to the search teams that had arrived in Haeundae.
"Then, each group will disperse to their designated areas. Whether there's a special situation or not, let's exchange information in real-time as much as possible."
"Yes, sir!" Jung Yoontae responded energetically to Lim Tae-Gyu's words and then turned to the hunters of the weak second group he was leading, giving them orders.
"Our second group will break through the skeletons and start searching from behind them! Let's go...!" With those words, Jung Yoontae dashed forward at tremendous speed. Then, he turned around and shouted, trying to match the pace with his team members.
"Don't fall behi... Huh?" There was no one behind him.
"Huh?" Jung Yoontae turned his head forward again with a puzzled expression. Surprisingly, all the hunters from the second group were running ahead of him.
'Their speed is impressive! So this is why Hunter Lim Tae-Gyu included Woojin Guild in the search team!' Jung Yoontae was impressed and increased his own speed. But what was this? No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up to them! Not even Lim Dogyoon, an E-rank hunter!
'Th-this can't be right?' It wasn't just Jung Yoontae who was surprised by this sight. Even Lim Tae-Gyu, who had been watching the second group from afar with concern, couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Then, snapping out of it, Jung Yoontae hurriedly followed the second group hunters, shouting.
"W-wait! There are too many skeletons over there, it's safer to go with me..."
At that moment.
"Perfect." For leveling up.
Suho, who was running at the front, raised his fist towards the swarming skeletons ahead.
"Blizzard of Frost."
Whoosh! A biting cold swept through, engulfing the skeletons rushing towards Suho.
Crack! The white blizzard swept over the bare bones, even freezing the waves rolling in behind them.
[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, opens his eyes.] At that moment, the slumbering Monarch of Frost, Sillad, awoke.