A Sudden Rift

No matter which channel he tuned into, the TV was abuzz with breaking news about the A-rank dungeon in Bangbae-dong. What would once have been dismissed as madness, prompting people to question the sanity of public broadcasters, had now become an everyday reality.

Portals leading to dungeons swarming with monsters would open, and after a set period, monsters would spill out, only for Awakened individuals with special abilities to subjugate the dungeons. A phenomenon so far removed from reality had suddenly erupted into existence. It had grown so commonplace, in fact, that dedicated dungeon channels were now in operation.

Seo Dowoon, having turned off the TV, picked up his persistently ringing phone and headed to the front door.

“Oh.”

“– Pick up your phone on time! Do you even know what time it is? I’ve been waiting so long my neck almost broke!”

No sooner had Seo Dowoon answered than Yoon Changwoo, as if he’d been waiting for this very moment, yelled with palpable irritation. Seo Dowoon, however, remained unperturbed, leisurely putting on his shoes and tidying his hair in front of the mirror as he replied.

“I was just watching the news.”

“– Bangbae-dong? Ugh, you could’ve watched that here. It’s loud as hell because of it here too. Have you left yet?”

“I’m about to head out now.”

“– What? I can’t hear you. Guys, quiet down a bit!”

At Yoon Changwoo’s shout, Seo Dowoon subtly moved his phone away from his ear. They had apparently rented out the entire bar, and the raucous noise suggested everyone was deep in their cups.

“I said I’m leaving now.”

“– Wow, you shameless bastard!”

“Shameless? I told you I’d be there by eight.”

But Yoon Changwoo didn’t hear his next words. Instead, he yelled, ‘This bastard’s leaving now!’ It was impossible to tell what the gathered guys were shouting, their voices a jumbled mess as if they’d all piled on him at once. The clamor reaching through the phone made it easy to imagine the unruly drinking party taking place.

Seo Dowoon lowered the phone from his ear, stood before the elevator, and pressed the button.

“I’m getting on the elevator. I’ll hang up now.”

“– Alright. Hurry up!”

Stepping into the elevator, he turned his head, and his own impassive, almost mechanical face stared back from the mirror.

‘…….’

Seo Dowoon used his index finger to pull up the corners of his tightly closed lips, forcing a smile. Only then did his face appear somewhat livelier. When the elevator stopped on the fourth floor, he lowered his hand and greeted the boarding resident warmly.

“Hello.”

“Oh my, Mr. Seventh Floor! Long time no see. Are you going somewhere?”

The woman from the fourth floor, carrying a grocery bag adorned with floral patterns as if she were off to the market, clapped her hands, clearly delighted to see him.

“I’m meeting some friends.”

At Seo Dowoon’s reply, the woman nodded, smiling as she remarked, ‘Is that so? Those are the good old days.’

“Still no girlfriend?”

“No, not yet.”

“You’re so handsome, why don’t you have a girlfriend yet? It’s truly strange.”

The woman seemed even more regretful than he was.

Once, he had helped her pick up fruits that had spilled from a torn box in front of the elevator. Ever since then, whenever they met, she would act chummy and ask him all sorts of questions.

He had already heard her lament, ‘If only I had a daughter, I’d introduce her to you, but alas, I don’t,’ more than five times. Each time, Seo Dowoon would respond with a smiling face, ‘That’s a shame.’

The woman kept her gaze fixed on Seo Dowoon until the elevator reached the first floor. Her desire to somehow connect Seo Dowoon with someone in her social circle was palpable.

Seo Dowoon feigned ignorance, pressed the open button, and waited.

“Please, go ahead and exit first.”

A contented smile spread across the woman’s lips, as if such small but natural courtesies pleased her immensely.

“Oh, young man. If you’re ever low on sugar, have one of these. And be careful in the dungeon today!”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy them.”

Seo Dowoon bowed his head slightly, said, ‘Please go in,’ and then lengthened his stride. He could feel the rough texture of the candy wrapper the woman had given him in his hand.

As soon as he exited the alley, Seo Dowoon surveyed his surroundings. Confirming no one was watching, he approached the pile of trash overflowing at the base of a utility pole and casually tossed the candies he held.

Thud-thud.

The scattered candies bounced off the trash bags and rolled away. Leaving the cheap, bulk-packaged sweets behind, he turned away with dry, unfeeling eyes.

Once he reached the main road, the number of passersby noticeably increased. Seo Dowoon blended into the crowd. His exceptionally tall and well-built physique, however, stood out even from a distance, drawing furtive glances from people.

Not only his height and build, but Seo Dowoon’s striking features also commanded attention. His facial structure was so pronounced, it made one wonder if he truly possessed Korean genes. Each feature was remarkable on its own, yet their collective harmony was breathtaking, defying verbal description.

Accustomed to such gazes, Seo Dowoon paid them no mind and headed towards the bus stop.

As luck would have it, it was rush hour, and the crowds were overwhelming. He had no desire to wait standing there, and even less inclination to squeeze onto a bus packed as tightly as bean sprouts.

Turning on his heel, he made for the taxi stand. Sadang Station, his meeting point, was not far from where the A-rank Bangbae-dong Dungeon had opened, which meant no calls were being answered, and even the taxis at the stand repeatedly refused him. Ultimately, he managed to secure a ride only after offering to pay double the fare.

When he finally disembarked near Sadang Station, little time remained until his appointment. Despite having left with ample time, the combination of rush hour traffic, road closures due to the A-rank Bangbae-dong Dungeon, and numerous detouring vehicles had caused severe congestion. Furthermore, with the dungeon having just closed, the added presence of media vehicles had extended his travel time beyond expectation.

Seo Dowoon reconfirmed the meeting location.

‘They said it was near the station, didn’t they…’

As he looked at his phone, a strange sensation suddenly enveloped his entire body. Seo Dowoon froze, standing still as he scanned his surroundings.

A subtly unsettling aura emanated from directly above. He raised his head to see the very air distorting. Anyone living in this era would instantly recognize it as a dungeon rift.

“Agh! It’s a rift!”

“Kyaa!”

“R-run!”

People nearby scattered in a panic, fleeing in all directions.

Seo Dowoon, too, backed away from the distortion in the air, only to find himself blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to move any further.

He had already been ensnared within the dungeon’s spawning radius.

Above his head, a purple rift expanded rapidly, threatening to engulf everything around him.

‘Ah… shit.’

Just like that, Seo Dowoon was sucked into the rift.

****

Thrown into the dungeon, Seo Dowoon fortunately landed on his feet without stumbling.

“Ha.”

The sheer absurdity of being swept into a rift made him let out a hollow laugh. Even in this situation, Seo Dowoon didn’t lose his composure, checking his phone first. The absence of a warning message indicated it was an unexpected rift.

A rift was a precursor to the creation of a portal leading into a dungeon.

When purple rifts appeared in the air, they would swiftly converge, forming a complete portal. Stepping through such a portal would reveal creatures known as monsters, not lifeforms native to Earth.

In other words, Seo Dowoon had been dropped alone into a dungeon teeming with monsters.

Occasionally, people near where a rift manifested would be sucked inside. While an Awakened might stand a chance, for a civilian, it was tantamount to a life-threatening accident.

Just like now.

For a civilian in this place, there were only two options: die, or wait for an Esper to arrive and rescue them.

Seo Dowoon ran a hand through his hair, which had been tousled by the rift, and tilted his head askance. He had even applied wax for the first time in ages, for the alumni reunion, but it had all been for naught.

His dark eyes gazed into the all-encompassing gloom. Where Seo Dowoon stood, only impenetrable darkness existed, utterly devoid of light.

‘…Still no signal, as expected.’

He wished he could at least call for rescue, but, predictably, it was out of range. Tsk, he clicked his tongue briefly, then turned on his phone’s flashlight to illuminate his surroundings.

“A cave dungeon….”

The air was musty and damp. It seemed quite vast, yet all his sight could discern were stone walls. The cave stretched endlessly, its far reaches hidden from view.

Despite being alone in the dungeon, Seo Dowoon remained composed. While most people would have succumbed to panic or been at a loss for what to do, he assessed his surroundings and current predicament without a hint of tension.

‘It doesn’t seem like there are any monsters close by.’

Entering a dungeon through a proper portal typically led one to the entrance. However, being sucked in by a rift, as Seo Dowoon had been, meant being dropped in a random location. This implied he could be in the dungeon’s center or even its furthest reaches.

At least he hadn’t landed directly in a monster-infested area from the start, granting him a slight extension of his lifespan.

‘I should focus on finding a way out.’

While he could have simply waited for rescue, Espers would inevitably enter the dungeon through the main entrance. Judging that moving in any direction was better than remaining stationary in his current spot, Seo Dowoon began to walk, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

“To be dropped in a place like this, of all places…”

There were many types of dungeons, and he was thoroughly displeased that he’d ended up in a cave—damp and musty. While his phone’s flashlight provided a somewhat clear view, the reality of being trapped inside a confined dungeon remained unchanged.

‘Ugh.’

Suddenly, a persistent ringing in his ears, accompanied by a throbbing headache, pierced through him, causing Seo Dowoon’s brows to furrow. He stopped walking and squeezed one eye shut. He had suffered from inexplicable tinnitus since birth, and university hospital doctors had diagnosed it as a genetic issue.

He had grown accustomed to the buzzing sound that constantly echoed in his ears, but it occasionally brought with it a headache. This, he could never quite get used to. Still, the headaches never lasted long; they would only linger for a fleeting moment before passing.

“……Hmph.”

Seo Dowoon exhaled a short breath and resumed his walk. He walked aimlessly for a while before checking the time. Roughly ten minutes had passed since he entered the dungeon, meaning a guild should have entered to subjugate it. However, his chances of survival would steadily decrease as long as he didn’t encounter them.

About five minutes later.

‘……!’

Perhaps a monster had caught the scent of a human, for a foul, fishy odor assaulted his nostrils, accompanied by a sharp, piercing sound that resonated painfully in his head. Due to the cave’s acoustics, the sound amplified, burrowing deeper into his eardrums.

As the putrid smell intensified, Seo Dowoon wrinkled his nose and covered it with his sleeve. His sensitive sense of smell already found the cave’s inherent odor repulsive, but with the added stench of a monster, it became unbearable.

‘What should I do?’

His dark eyes darted around. No monsters were visible, implying they weren’t particularly close. Perhaps it would be better to return to where he had been earlier, as there were no monsters in that vicinity.

Just as Seo Dowoon was about to turn back the way he came, an immense light erupted behind him, stretching forward into the darkness. The gloomy interior of the cave instantly brightened as if a fluorescent lamp had been switched on, and the chilly air filled with a warm glow.

“Stay right where you are!”

At the clear, melodious voice echoing through the cave, his dark eyes widened momentarily.

He had never once felt that someone else’s voice sounded pleasant, yet this clear tone resonated distinctly, as if his blocked ears had suddenly been unstopped.