Chapter 170
The tunnel of Subterra’s sub-first floor was filled with the noises of battle. The humans who entered the dungeon were hunting subterranean Invasive Chaos.
[Moleden of the race Chaos, discovered.]
Moledens were subterranean Invasive Chaos. Each subterranean likely had names before they were corrupted, but they were reduced to Moledens after becoming Chaos and losing their sense of reason.
They were about 140 centimeters tall, close to the average dwarf height, and their bodies were slender in comparison to their thick arms. Their heads were egg-shaped, and their eyes were like tiny holes that one could barely see because they sensed others with vibrations instead of sight.
Their arms were the most unique part of their bodies. They might look like regular arms, but they were similar to the forelegs of a praying mantis, usually kept folded, but unfolded during battle. Their hands resembled spiked field shovels, hard enough to dig into steel as if it were pudding. Of course, their arm strength was also extraordinary.
Urrrrrhhhhh.
Subterra’s sub-first floor was filled with Shen-rank Blood, Bone, Flesh, Skin, and Armed Moledens.
“Kill them all! The sub-first floor only has Shen-rank Chaos!” shouted Vicente of the black clan, Bellido, to his subordinates.
There were a hundred members, all from El Salvador, named after the Spanish word for the savior. However, Vicente did not accept that name. He grew up in the slums as an orphan and naturally entered a regional gang. To him, murder and theft were equivalent to working hard and earning money.
Having both atrocity and charisma, he developed the small regional gang, Bellido, into the greatest gang in the country. They were so notorious that the residents used to call them little devils.
“Advance! We need to reach at least the sub-third floor to collect Karma. That’s where Segal-rank Chaos monsters appear.”
The hundred humans got into formation, their eyes filled with bloodlust. They were members of Bellido’s Punisher Unit, which had been infamous even back on Earth.
I’ll make sure to invite you once I seize San Salvador, RB, Vicente thought as he smiled faintly, staring at his subordinates massacring the Moledens.
Record Breaker, Cheon Seong-Hwi, had allowed them to enter Subterra. Although the admission tickets were expensive, they were still within their budget.
Bellido will achieve astronomical growth here.
Vicente planned to use this growth as the background to head to the fourth zone, where the reclamation boom was occurring, and seize San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.
“Heh! I’ll achieve the dream I couldn’t fulfill on Earth, in the Mirror World!”
The hundred killing machines hunted all the Shen-rank Moledens in a flash. The ground was drenched with the blood of the Chaos.
“Come and look at this, Boss,” the scout said.
“Advance,” Vicente ordered the unit to head in the direction indicated by the scout.
“This path seems to head down. There is a rail and a minecart.”
Like the scout said, there was a downslope path with rails installed on the ground, and on the track was a giant wooden minecart large enough to fit every Bellido member.
“What is this minecart?” Vicente asked.
“There are several ores lying around inside. It appears to have been used by the subterraneans.”
Vicente nodded, certain that it was a path leading to the sub-second floor.
“Everyone, get on the minecart! We’re going down!”
The Bellido clansmen entered the minecart one by one. It was so large that it resembled a boat more than a minecart. Although it wasn’t as large as a galleon, it could pass as a fairly large fishing vessel. Since the minecart was not automatic, it had to be manually pushed.
“You, you, and you. Get out and push. Get back on once it gains momentum,” Vicente said as he pointed at a few subordinates.
They expressed displeasure momentarily, but got out without complaining. Once the subordinates got out, Vicente felt a slight tremor in the minecart.
“What was that?”
“Huh? Boss! It’s turning red!”
The wooden minecart began to be dyed red.
Vicente, sensing danger, shouted, “This is... Everyone, get out!”
Chills ran down his back as he felt a threat to his life, but it was too late. The minecart was already redder than a pomegranate. The minecart exploded, and limbs and heads drenched in red sauce flew everywhere like popping corn kernels in a frying pan.
***
[Activating Unique Skill: Borrowing Destiny.]
[Unabomber]
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Unabomb.]
[Activating Exclusive Skill: Nature’s Judgment.]
Seong-Hwi, having borrowed the destiny of the Unabomber, heard the voice of the crazy Theodore John Kaczynski in his head.
“Show the system an example! Humans must control the system, not the other way around!”
Seong-Hwi ignored the voice and mumbled—no, he might have mumbled calmly to ignore the voice. “Boom.”
His eyes reflected the inverted blazing minecart. His teammates laughed at the sight.
“You’re a wild one, Commander comrade.”
“What kind of skill is that? All he did was touch the minecart once and throw a wooden box in it.”
“Seong-Hwi’s always like that. He pulls out weird skills like they’re from Doraemon’s pocket.”
Voices could be heard, but no one could be seen.
“It’s okay now, Chaya,” Seong-Hwi said.
“Yes, hyung-nim,” Chaya replied as he canceled his skill.
[Canceling Unique Skill: Concealing Cloak - Circle.]
It was a skill that erased the presence of all those in a circular area he designated. He initially could only conceal those with whom he made physical contact with his Concealing Cloak, but he had modified it by adding an emission ability.
I haven’t been playing around, hyung-nim, Chaya thought proudly as he stared at Seong-Hwi.
However, Seong-Hwi’s attention was fixed on the blazing minecart.
“Looks like a few pests survived,” he mumbled.
Like he said, a few Bellido clansmen survived the explosion and were staggering out from the flames.
“Urgh...”
“Who... the fuck...”
“It... hurts!”
They had suffered burns all over, and some parts of their skin had melted. Some were coughing endlessly, possibly because their windpipe had turned into a crisp. However, none of Seong-Hwi’s teammates sympathized with them because they knew very well what kind of Dark Humans they were.
“I dealt the blow, so I’m taking the kill,” Seong-Hwi remarked as he unsheathed the Titanic Tide Kris from his back.
Douglas replied, “I know basic hunting etiquette.”
Ha-Eun agreed and said, “No stealing!”
Seong-Hwi stared at the Titanic Tide Kris lovingly and muttered, “Sorry for neglecting you for so long. You’ve been bored, haven’t you? I’ll let you taste some blood.”
The Titanic Tide Kris trembled as if it had been waiting for too long.
***
After less than ten minutes, Seong-Hwi wiped the blood off the Titanic Tide Kris using the clothes of a relatively clean corpse.
He smiled in satisfaction and said, “Nice. Muka’s outdone himself.”
He stared at the kris knife, which featured a beautiful Damascus pattern formed by folding the metal into 4,096 layers. Not only was it gorgeous, but it was also sharp, did not chip, and its wavy edge was peerless in making those it cut bleed profusely.
As Seong-Hwi sheathed the Titanic Tide Kris, Douglas approached him as he chewed gum and said, “Damn, Commander. You’re giving the spec force a run for our money.”
“I’m just helping to exterminate the pests infesting the Capital we all live in,” Seong-Hwi said with a smile. “Besides... I also have something to get out of this.”
He checked the Karma he had obtained so far, and it was quite a lot. However, Karma was only part of his objective.
I have a long way to go until I obtain the Ten Thousand-Man Killer trait, he thought.
He had obtained the Thousand-Man Killer trait in his past life, but not the Ten Thousand-Man Killer trait. Even if the ten thousand humans he killed were trash who did not deserve to be called human, it was still an unfathomable weight to bear. There was a saying that a ghost killed a hundred, a demon killed a thousand, and a hero killed ten thousand.
I’d rather be a hero than a demon, Seong-Hwi said inwardly as he reviewed Operation Pest Control.
He had initially planned to thoroughly select the humans he would take to Subterra with him so that they would work hard to contribute to society while he focused on reaching for the top. However, he changed his mind once he heard the truth about the Cecil Hotel from Kang-San.
I received inspiration.
Anyone would want to enter Subterra. Although it was an S-rank dungeon, one could hunt comfortably at their level because it was divided into floors. It was enticing bait, which the Dark Humans jumped at without hesitation. Hence, Seong-Hwi thoroughly selected the worst of the worst, irredeemable Dark Humans to join the Subterra subjugation.
The process itself was easy.
Not all Dark Humans were evil. For example, although Onie Yuki was classified as a Dark Human, it was only because her D Weapon turned corpses into living mannequins, not because she killed for pleasure.
Clans were no different. The clans Hard Drug and Pure Ladies and Gentlemen seemed the same, just based on the fact that their members usually consisted of those with drug D Weapons. However, Hard Drug manufactured drugs for sale to ordinary humans, while Pure Ladies and Gentlemen only manufactured those that would be used among the clansmen. Hard Drug was both irredeemable and irreparable, while Pure Ladies and Gentlemen had leeway for dispute.
Seong-Hwi knew about many irredeemable black clans and Dark Humans. He had seen various atrocities as a Dark Hunter in his past life and either killed or captured the culprits of the incidents he had tracked down. He selected such clans and individuals who submitted reports, took their Coins, and shoved them into Subterra.
A perfect Dark Human hunting ground.
They were usually scattered, but were now bunched up in a way that made them much easier to devour.
I also hired Chaya, whose D Weapon is specialized for assassination, Seong-Hwi thought as he stared at Chaya, who was examining the corpses to confirm the kills.
He had grown well in one year; he was well-trained in the Executionary Corps.
“What’s the progress, Enrique?” Seong-Hwi asked Enrique, holding the Spy Drone Controller.
Enrique tapped on the controller as he replied, “I’ve sent it to five teams so far.”
“Where?”
“Four on the sub-first floor, one on the sub-second.”
“Then let’s deal with the sub-first floor first. Chaya!” Seong-Hwi called.
Chaya ran to him as if he had been waiting. “Yes, hyung-nim!”
“You’re up. Are you ready?”
“A Gurkha warrior is always ready!” Chaya answered energetically.
Seong-Hwi smiled and remarked, “Good. Carry out your mission. Enrique will guide you.”
“Yes, hyung-nim!”
Chaya turned to Enrique, who nodded and pointed at the drone floating in front of him, and said, “Follow this guy.”
The drone flew away, and Chaya followed it into the darkness.
***
“Wha... So, you’re saying that RB... Record Breaker, is Card?”
“That famous Cheon Seong-Hwi is Card, who went through the mandatory quest with us?”
“How does that make any sense?”
The One Tree clansmen—especially Ho-Geun, Seong-Tae, Min-Jae, Hwa-Yeon, Ye-Ji, Ha Rin, and Hee-Gyeong, who carried out the mandatory quest at the same time as Seong-Hwi—stared at Shin Jun in shock.
“Yes, it’s him. We all saw what he was like. Cheon Seong-Hwi is Card, the man who started from District 8 at the same time as us,” Jun said as he scratched his head.
The original members couldn’t find the words due to shock.
This is why I kept it a secret... Jun said inwardly.
Although they started from the same place and time, an insurmountable gap had formed between Seong-Hwi and One Tree. Seong-Hwi had become as strong as a High Ranker and now possessed undeniable influence throughout the Capital. Although One Tree had grown much bigger after restoring Garapan and expanded after accepting new comrades, they couldn’t come close to him.
“That’s insane...”
“I thought Card died...”
“No way that monster would die. Hah! Does that mean the guy became a High Ranker in just one year?”
“He’s not a High Ranker yet. The ranking bureau is delaying the ranking update, but he could just fight the Sword Emperor to make it certain.”
As the original Dark Forest members chatted dejectedly, the members who joined after reaching the Mirror World asked in curiosity.
“What? What’s gotten you all so down?” said Maximilian, the transformation captain.
“We paid a lot to come to Subterra, so we should be hunting! This is the perfect chance to reach the intermediate caliber,” said Nathaniel, the conjuration captain.
They had entered Subterra and already fought against a group of Moledens.
“Yeah... that’s right. He was a monster from the beginning. He had always been in a league of his own.”
“Yeah! I’ll collect as much Karma as possible here and heighten at least one stat to the intermediate caliber! A colleague did it, so what’s to say that I can’t?!”
“Colleague? Get a hold of yourself, Na Seong-Tae! You’ll only hurt yourself if you bite off more than you can chew like a dumbass.”
“Haaa... Can’t you just cheer for a fellow teammate, Yoo Hwa-Yeon?”
Jun smiled as he watched his teammates regain their energy.
Yeah. Although his method was correct, that doesn’t mean ours was wrong. We’ll move forward our way.
Clan One Tree was slow because many were walking together. However, since they knew where they needed to go, they would undoubtedly reach their destination.
As Maximilian mentioned, Subterra is a treasure trove where we can aim to heighten our caliber. I’m sick of staying at the inferior caliber.
They needed undeniable feats. Clan One Tree would take this opportunity to take one step further.
“Alright! Let’s move on to—”
Just then, the sound of a propeller in the air interrupted Jun.
“What’s that?”
“A drone?”
“Is it a D Weapon?”
The One Tree clansmen looked up at the drone. The drone beeped as it hovered over the clansmen, then flew vertically down toward Jun.
“Jun!” Min-Jae shouted as he drew his bow.
Jun stopped him and said, “Don’t worry. It doesn’t seem to be an attack.”
Once the drone descended sufficiently, it dropped a letter toward Jun.
“A letter? Who is it from—Gasp!” Jun expressed shock once he read what was on the envelope.
I am gathering comrades willing to join our cause. Open the envelope if you are interested in hunting Dark Humans.
R.B.
“RB... Cheon Seong-Hwi?”
Jun quickly ripped open the envelope and read the letter. His eyes gradually widened the more he read.
“What does it say, Jun?”
“Did someone send you a love letter?”
“They might have. Jun is popular, after all.”
“What’s with you all of a sudden? Min-Jae oppa? Did Na Seong-Tae’s loser energy rub off on you?”
“What’d you just say?”
The One Tree clansmen joked with each other, but kept their voices down as Jun’s expression grew more serious. Jun finished reading the letter, and his lips subtly quivered.
“Operation Pest Control... Have you been preparing for this since before entering Subterra?” he mumbled, then shook his head. “You’re as radical as always, but just as efficient.”
Seong-Hwi’s every move was systematically designed to be interrelated with several other moves. Taking this operation for example, Seong-Hwi earned a huge amount of Coins by mass-selling admission tickets to Subterra, receiving immense criticism from many humans.
The Dark Humans were bound to be absorbed in hunting to make the best out of this opportunity, which would help in fulfilling the first condition of the purification quest. He would then stab those Dark Humans in the back to prevent the crimes that would occur if they got out of Subterra. Seong-Hwi planned to recycle the trash as much as possible until they were no longer of any use.
Jun had no choice but to support the operation. The operation would commence whether One Tree joined or not. The Dark Humans would eventually notice what was happening and begin to attack other clans. Once it reached that point, One Tree would be forced to fight, irrespective of what they wanted. Seong-Hwi was as resolute as a typhoon, having no care for everyone he had swept into his plan.
“It’s just like you...” Jun mumbled as his expression stiffened.
He smacked his lips as he closed his eyes, thinking, I don’t like that I’m being dragged into your operation, but...
A boy’s voice echoed inside his head.
“You’re all cowards! You pretend like you don’t know when you know full well! Were your rage and tears back then all lies?”
It was the voice of Nam Do-Hyun, the boy who had screamed in rage when they had encountered the culprits of the District 8 massacre. Jun recalled the tears he had shed before Do-Hyun’s grave in Edu on that rainy day.
“Dark... Humans!”
The one who had stabbed the little boy’s heart was also a Dark Human. Jun’s eyes widened, glinting the same way as Seong-Hwi’s.
“Our thoughts... match for once.”
There was no reason to refuse.