Ch.245245. Dungeon (1)

After distributing all the spoils from this subjugation mission, there was still one matter that needed to be addressed.

That matter concerned Ulsan—specifically, the phenomenon occurring in South Ulsan.

After the Ulsan Catastrophe, the only habitable area in Ulsan was the former North Ulsan region where Seorabeol had been established. The South Ulsan area, where the Cult of Immortality had been based, had transformed into a place uninhabitable for ordinary living beings due to the magical storms left behind by Bahamut, with only a few exceptions.

“What an incredible spectacle! I feel like my eyes might go blind just from looking at it!”

“Indeed. Without the dragon armor used by the Hwarang, internal exploration would be impossible.”

Beyond the reconstructed North Ulsan, the land was splitting apart, with tremendous magical storms raging toward the sky.

At first glance, the mana itself had taken physical form, like blue flames burning. The Seorabeol Mage’s Association had established a research facility in North Ulsan and was working with the Hwarang to focus solely on observing and studying the phenomena occurring in South Ulsan.

With such a phenomenon right before their eyes, the Association’s attention was naturally drawn to South Ulsan. They paid little mind to the Hayabusa Group settling in the North Ulsan harbor and didn’t try to check their growing influence.

“Mysterious phenomena are frequently being discovered overseas.”

“I think it might be a natural phenomenon now.”

The Hwarang exploring South Ulsan felt the same way.

They too were so captivated by the mysterious phenomena in South Ulsan that they took no action against the criminal organization that had settled right next door until Jin A-yeon subjugated them.

Or rather, they had no time to take action.

That’s how intensely South Ulsan was experiencing phenomena that were the complete opposite of the apocalypse that had befallen the Korean Peninsula.

The Ulsan Catastrophe hadn’t reduced everything to ashes and ruins.

“According to our investigation, Bahamut’s residual mana in South Ulsan is solidifying.”

“The mana is gathering in one place and solidifying? Have you detected any spatial distortions in that area?”

“Yes. We’ve also discovered places where empty space is cracking like breaking glass.”

The mysterious phenomena occurring in South Ulsan might bring about a new transformation to the Korean Peninsula.

The mage dispatched from the Mage’s Association pondered deeply after hearing the Hwarang’s investigation results and witnessing the phenomenon.

The photo they brought as evidence showed the location where the former Ulsan City Hall had once stood.

However, the image captured in the photo wasn’t the City Hall that had once heralded Ulsan’s prosperity, but rather a scene of space cracking like a broken mirror amid a world hazed by Bahamut’s mana.

“I think it might be that phenomenon frequently mentioned overseas.”

“That phenomenon?”

“I’m talking about Gates. These days they seem to use the term ‘dungeon’ more often. It appears that dungeon formation is occurring in South Ulsan as well.”

Yes, it was a Gate.

Recently renamed as dungeons, these were the terrifying sources from which hordes of monsters had invaded America and Europe, causing massive damage.

That infamous dungeon was gradually revealing itself in South Ulsan.

“What did you feel when you saw this in person?”

“It was an overwhelming power. The cracked space before my eyes felt like a living creature. And considering that the mana emanating from the cracked space was the mana of the great Dragon God, it was truly dizzying just to look at.”

In response to the mage’s question, the Hwarang closed his eyes quietly.

Even with dragon armor protecting his body, the Hwarang was overwhelmed by Bahamut’s residual mana in South Ulsan.

The mana particles in the air trembled in a way that would make survival impossible for ordinary Awakened, and the energy sleeping beneath the ground writhed as if alive.

Even now, after time had passed, that intensity remained, and he sensed that entering South Ulsan without dragon armor would tear one’s body to shreds with that enormous energy.

“Do you think the Hwarang and the Seorabeol Mage’s Association can handle this phenomenon alone?”

“No. We’re struggling even with simple exploration, let alone handling it.”

“…Hmm.”

The mage fell silent at the Hwarang’s answer, then asked whether the phenomenon occurring in South Ulsan could be managed by the Hwarang and the Seorabeol Mage’s Association.

The Hwarang’s answer was no.

The two organizations representing Seorabeol couldn’t handle the phenomenon occurring in South Ulsan on their own.

Initially confident in their youthful vigor, the two organizations reached their limit after just a few months of exploration and finally acknowledged that limitation.

But their investigation wasn’t in vain.

“We’ve confirmed what’s happening inside, but if we can’t solve it ourselves, we have no choice but to entrust it to someone who can.”

“Prepare a report. I’ll inform the Dragon Priestess.”

“Please do.”

Their investigation results could quickly reach Choi Yu-na through the Hwarang, the direct elite guard of the Dragon Priestess.

Yu-na, who had kept her distance from Ulsan after the catastrophe, checked the news that came through the Hwarang and informed Bahamut of this fact.

“A dungeon.”

“Yes. After the Ulsan Catastrophe, it seems a dungeon is forming with Bahamut’s mana. Your energy has already begun to permeate the land of South Ulsan.”

According to the report, the phenomenon occurring in South Ulsan was a dungeon formed by Bahamut’s mana.

Moreover, the report stated that the geomantic veins of South Ulsan were already permeated with Bahamut’s mana, with tremendous energy flowing through them, and the air was filled with high-density mana particles that made it uninhabitable for humans.

Asking the Hwarang and the Seorabeol Mage’s Association to solve this situation was essentially throwing an impossible challenge at them irresponsibly.

“If the Hwarang and the Mage’s Association can’t solve it with their skills, then this is indeed a problem I should handle. A dungeon, you say. I’ll investigate it myself first.”

“Please do.”

Bahamut nodded as if already aware of this fact and declared that he would investigate personally.

The Phoenix Revolution, which had recently given Bahamut the most trouble, was now over. Unless something major happened, there would be less need to intervene in Western Europe, so it was time to focus on internal matters in Seorabeol.

‘This is ultimately my responsibility. It’s a catastrophe I caused.’

Of course, the responsibility of the one who caused the Ulsan Catastrophe couldn’t be ignored.

Although it was said to be the will of the people at that time, Bahamut hadn’t strongly objected and had been responsible since the moment he caused the Ulsan Catastrophe.

From Bahamut’s perspective, he wanted to restore South Ulsan to its state before the catastrophe as much as possible, and if that wasn’t possible, his goal was at least to help Ulsan prosper again as a place where people could live.

And upon arriving at the scene, Bahamut’s conclusion was:

“It seems I can manipulate this phenomenon.”

He realized that he could manipulate the anomaly occurring in Ulsan himself.

For Bahamut, who had been somewhat tense about the massive anomaly that had burned Europe and America, this was a rather anticlimactic conclusion.

“The dungeon established in Ulsan seems to have completed its form by absorbing mana from the atmosphere, but there’s nothing inside. It’s just an empty dungeon with mana as a resource?”

Unlike the commonly described dangers of dungeons, there was nothing inside the dungeon that had formed in South Ulsan.

There were no dangerous traps or monsters that would typically be found in dungeons, nor were there any facilities or resources to support monsters.

There was only mana, and the dungeon was determined to be empty with just mana as a resource, posing no danger.

“Wait. If I use this well, couldn’t I create a simulation dungeon that I can design as I please?”

Conversely, he greatly rejoiced at the potential of this dungeon precisely because it was empty.

If the dungeon was empty, couldn’t the dungeon master fill its interior as they pleased?

Indeed, when Bahamut lightly used magic to manipulate the dungeon’s interior, the dungeon responded to his mana, and the terrain was automatically manipulated according to his will.

“Perhaps the ownership belongs to me because it’s a dungeon born from my mana?”

The only possibility he could guess right now was this one.

But since it was a phenomenon that occurred after the Ulsan Catastrophe, and it was confirmed that the dungeon itself was permeated with Bahamut’s mana, and subsequent findings also supported Bahamut’s guess, it was essentially the most plausible explanation.

The question was how to use this dungeon.

“Thinking about overseas cases, they didn’t conquer suitable dungeons but converted them into farm-type facilities to harvest monster byproducts and magic stones, right?”

First, considering overseas examples, one option was to convert the newly discovered dungeon into a farm-type dungeon for harvesting monster byproducts or resources.

Monster byproducts, which still showed massive demand, had become difficult to obtain in Seorabeol recently.

In fact, since the apocalypse that befell the Korean Peninsula was a zombie apocalypse rather than a monster gate, the number of monsters that appeared on the Korean Peninsula wasn’t very high, and they had essentially gone extinct due to civilian rampage, with native Korean creatures taking their place.

In other words, demand had increased to the point of shortage, but there were no means to supply that demand domestically, leading to an increasing dependence on imports from overseas.

This situation could be seen as a chance to partially resolve the current thirst in Seorabeol’s civilian economy, but:

‘Still, this is a valuable dungeon. It seems such a waste to think only about monster byproducts or magic stones.’

The dungeon before him was what could be called the world’s first dungeon that could be manipulated according to the owner’s will.

If it could be manipulated, human nature wanted to use it for various purposes, not just for the economy.

Bahamut also wanted a dungeon that could influence Seorabeol’s national policies, not just help the civilian economy.

“Then shall I plan a kind of training ground?”

Bahamut’s answer was a type of training ground.

“It’s not just the civilian economy that has problems. Seorabeol has been severely lacking places where Awakened can train.”

If the monsters that had settled in Seorabeol were exterminated, it meant that the experience points that Awakened could use to develop their abilities had also disappeared, and Awakened had to venture outside and take risks to level up.

While Seorabeol’s military or the frontline in Daegu could continue fighting against external forces or wild undead to protect Seorabeol, civilian Awakened in relatively safe areas found it nearly impossible to level up.

Of course, as always, Seorabeol itself hadn’t legally made leveling up impossible, so there was the option of going on expeditions outside and risking one’s life to level up, and the choice of guilds with scale was also to venture outside dangerously and level up.

However, not all Awakened wanted to risk their lives to level up.

Naturally, there would be an enormous number of Awakened who would prefer to level up safely and efficiently in a relatively safe place rather than venturing into the dangerous outside world of Seorabeol.

‘We needed a specialized training place to train new recruits for the military and the Hwarang anyway.’

And Bahamut realized that this wouldn’t just be consumed by civilians.

With state governance now well past a year, Bahamut had intuitively come to understand what current Seorabeol needed.

“First, I should inform Yu-na of this fact. And through Yu-na, inform the Seorabeol cabinet.”

However, just because it was necessary, Bahamut didn’t proceed based solely on his own decision. He would decide what to do with the dungeon that appeared in Ulsan after listening to the advice of not only the Dragon Priestess Yu-na but also the Seorabeol cabinet.