When a sudden event befalls a person, their mind can come to a halt.

When an incident exceeding the bounds of cognition occurs, it can cause one’s thought processes to temporarily cease functioning.

‘Dungeon.’

I’ve frequently experienced this in the past, but somehow, I didn’t this time.

Perhaps it was the instinct to survive, suggesting that if I let my thoughts freeze now, I might end up dead.

‘Rampage phenomenon, there were no warnings. This place has been swallowed. Is it the dungeon’s power pressing down on my spatial perception?’

A dungeon’s consciousness inherently seeks to persist indefinitely. In any situation, it acts to maintain itself.

That’s the reason dungeons create traps and spawn monsters to repel intruders. After all, external enemies tend to have the intent to destroy the dungeon.

Once it fulfills its purpose of self-preservation, a dungeon then turns to greater ambitions.

Perpetuity. Next is the will to expand.

When a dungeon endures and accumulates excess energy beyond a certain point, it goes into a rampage. This is why dungeons that are maintained intentionally require periodic subjugation.

‘No precursors?’

Surplus energy. Essentially, a massive force that is readily observable.

The Tower of Observation constantly surveys the front lines of the magical realm. It interprets the movement of monsters that aim to breach the inlands, identifies the presence of high-tier monsters entrenched within, and also observes the hinterlands with the energy left over. It watches for high-risk villains and issues early warnings for dungeon rampages.

There was no warning. A spontaneous event. A rare occurrence, yet post-graduation from Shio-ram, it becomes a disaster that happens as often as one eats meals.

‘Damn it.’

Of all times… it has to happen right now, while I’m here.

I suppressed the negative emotions. I bit my lip and stretched out my hand, pulling up the waist of a child who was flustered at my side.

“…!?”

The child jolted in surprise. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to be considerate. I steadied the child in my arms and pushed off the ground.

I channeled the magic coursing through my body. Using the art of Hardening, my reinforced legs propelled me forward.

The fierce wind hammered against my entire body. I opened my senses wide. Now wasn’t the time for excuses like being bothered by my nerves.

The wind carried a variety of sounds to me.

Screams filled with terror, the horrific noise of skin tearing and bones shattering, the booming of buildings collapsing and things exploding, the cries of monsters…

Most were sounds I had heard before.

I had heard screams in the cursed home of my childhood, torn the skin and smashed the bones of monsters during dungeon training, and even taken lives in The Tower of Growth, though it was supposed to be simulated.

But this was reality. Not a drill, and certainly not a safe examination like in the tower.

People had already died. They won’t be coming back…

‘Shelters.’

Over a century has passed since the history of humanity was ravaged by dungeons and monsters. It may seem an incredibly short time in the grand scheme of human history, but it’s been ample time to develop countermeasures.

In most cities rebuilt after the great upheaval, shelters have been constructed considering the possibility of falling under the influence of a rampaging dungeon.

Though they can be used for typhoons, hail, earthquakes, and the like, their primary purpose is to provide refuge from the altered environment caused by dungeons and the monsters that emerge chaotically.

I fully expanded my spatial perception.

The influx of information increased. It wasn’t satisfying. Ever since the rampaging dungeon engulfed this place, the state of my spatial perception had been terrible.

It thrashed wildly. As if in a tug-of-war, it repetitively pushed against an exterior force.

It was a sensation I knew well. It was the feeling I got in The Tower of Growth when my spatial perception couldn’t fully expand and got crushed.

The outcome was different this time. Back then, I couldn’t resist and was just suppressed, but now I was fiercely pushing back against the dungeon’s power.

While searching for a shelter, I spotted several monsters.

It wasn’t enough to say there were ‘several’. Every time space shifted, new monsters appeared.

There was a variety of species, but what dominated in number was a beast with red fur. It moved on all fours, and its body was at least twice my size.

‘Red leaf hound?’

Knowledge from the original work and what I learned about monsters at Shio-ram… together with the information observed through spatial perception, I deduced that it was a red leaf hound.

Red leaf hound. Standard ranking: 7th tier, a level of monster that has resistance against conventional firearms.

So, could the rampaging dungeon be class 4? It’s a relief amidst misfortune. If it had been class 3, the chances of survival would have drastically decreased.

I flicked my fingers. The magic I wielded formed a barrage of spell formulas.

Magic bullets.

The magical projectiles traced a blue path through the air, striking the head of the red leaf hound.

Bang! The red leaf hound’s head exploded with the blast, and fragments of the split skull and shattered brain scattered in all directions.

I flicked my fingers again. A series of newly formed magic bullets dispersed in all directions.

– Bang! Bam! Bang!

I fired magic bullets at all the monsters entering my spatial perception. The monsters’ heads burst open where the magic bullets struck.

I wasn’t worried about accuracy. Thanks to my spatial perception, the projectiles hit their mark almost every time.

‘I found it.’

While reducing the number of monsters, I located a shelter.

The entrance of the shelter looked like one you’d typically find on a bunker. A thick metal door now stood wide open, invitingly.

Surviving citizens were filing into the entrance that led underground.

On either side of the entrance, two superhumans with anxious expressions looked around. Judging by their aura, they weren’t particularly strong.

“Hey, hey! Over here!”

One of the superhumans caught sight of me. He widened his eyes and waved his hands. Thankfully, there was no misunderstanding that I was a villain.

After I landed in front of the entrance, I set down the child I was carrying. The child, with hair in disarray, struggled to regain balance, looking dizzy and disoriented.

In the meantime, the superhuman who had been waving at me spoke in an urgent tone.

“You must have grasped the situation, too – most of the city has been isolated, swallowed by the rampaging dungeon!”

I knew that already. Anyone who hadn’t grasped the situation was either immediately killed by the rampage or was no longer around.

“We need to buy time until the rescue team can break through the outer wall! So…!”

I also knew what would come next.

Modern citizens receive education on what to do in such emergency situations. Right now, survivors are desperately flocking to the shelter.

Many might be unable to gather due to the monsters strewn about.

I nodded and was about to take off again.

– Thump

That’s what I intended, but my sleeve was yanked, stopping my leg mid-motion. The culprit was the child I had brought with me.

The child, with an urgent look, was tugging at my sleeve.

Eyes that seemed bored, half-closed before, were now wide open, revealing fear-filled pupils.

Had this child seen me somewhere before? The thought crossed my mind but was immediately dismissed. Even if they had seen me, they wouldn’t recognize me now.

The bracelet of identity obstruction, personally cared for by the Vice-Principal. With this, my current appearance would seem entirely different.

That is to say, even if they knew Lee Hayul, my current appearance was not that of Lee Hayul’s outward look. Since I kept my magic well under control, it was impossible for them to think of me as Lee Hayul.

‘Don’t worry.’

I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t because of the curse. I could have used a hologram to convey my intentions, but I didn’t want to waste the time.

I shook off the small hand. It came free easily, as the hand had no chance against my strength.

A pair of eyes, resembling someone, drifted away. I kicked off the ground again and raced across the city.

Shipnaha came into my spatial perception. It wasn’t a particularly beautiful or artistically valuable city.

Shipnaha had come into existence only decades after the great cataclysm, its origins stemming from a city built by the heroes and hunters who gathered to subjugate the nearby dungeons.

Hence, this place was characterized more by practicality than artistic value.

The city was falling apart. People were dying everywhere. The spatial perception that struggled in a tug-of-war with external forces delivered the situation all too well.

It made my head clear. All trivial thoughts, including the fear of death, were pushed to the back of my mind due to the gravity of the situation.

I shook my hand again. The magic released from my grasp sketched out spell formulas. I focused on neutralizing one monster with each shot.

There was no leisure to hold a weapon and kill one by one. Even if it meant a bit more magic expenditure, it was better to use magic to kill.

The depleted magic quickly recovered. There was fatigue accumulating in the circuits and core, but there was no time to indulge in such complaints.

To survive, to save more people, this crisis had to be dealt with. I racked my brain.

‘The rampage must be quelled.’

A dungeon is a vast sub-space attached to the world, likened to a ship temporarily anchored by dropping its anchor.

To stop the ship, the anchor must be dropped. If the anchor is pulled out, the ship gets swept by the current and drifts in the ocean.

The same goes for dungeons. If its core is destroyed, the dungeon cannot sustain itself and will collapse.

‘Where is the core?’

There are various kinds of cores. It could be a structure that looks special, an abnormally large mana crystal compared to others.

Or, it could be a monster that has taken on the role of the core.

Naturally, monsters that are dungeon cores are labeled alpha. Such monsters are particularly dangerous, even among alpha specimens.

A monster serving as a core never leaves the dungeon’s sphere of influence. Therefore, it feasts on the dungeon’s blessings, wielding power far superior to other creatures.

‘Has class 4 gone on a rampage?’

I felt my spatial perception. It kept undulating, but it was functioning as well as it could.

A pressing sensation came from all around… Upon closer analysis, there wasn’t just one or two sites of manifestation. At least five or more…

‘Damn it.’

Is everything class 4? If so, the standard ranking of the emerging monsters would be around class 8. What about the alpha specimen? Probably class 6…

‘How can this be dealt with?’

I had seen a parasitic moth in The Tower of Growth that was an alpha of class 5. That thing is dead. Hong Yeon-hwa killed it, and I had a hand in its defeat.

I’ve grown since then. Can I kill it now? I wasn’t confident.

I hadn’t confirmed yet whether there was an alpha serving as a core, but if there is one, to stop the rampage, the alpha must be killed.

If not killed? There is another way. Wait for external rescue.

Communications have been cut, so the outside world must have been aware of the city’s situation by now. The Association will immediately send a rescue team composed of the highest-class and upper-class superhumans available here.

The outer walls of a dungeon are solid. Before a rampage, one wouldn’t dare touch them, but the walls of a rampaging dungeon become somewhat softer.

Even more so for the lowest-ranked, class 4 dungeons. If pounded from the outside, surely the outer walls will crumble and the rescue team will enter.

…How long will it take? It’s a class 4, so there’s a chance of rescue.

From class 3 upwards, rescue from outside is virtually impossible, and even class 4 would take at least twice as long as half a day to breach the walls.

How many will die in that time?

And…

‘Why are there so few superhumans?’

Can they even hold out for that long?

I continued to lessen the number of monsters while pondering these questions.

For some reason, there weren’t many superhumans around that I came across immediately. Surely, there should be a clan responsible for the city’s defense, but I hadn’t encountered any such individuals.

There’s a shortage of manpower. There are too few superhumans subjugating monsters. And I don’t see any that seem to be at least mid to high-level. Why?

‘Damn it…’

The situation is bad. As the possibility of survival seemed to dim, my face involuntarily twisted in frustration.

– Rrrrick

Suddenly, I heard something being torn apart. It sounded close, but I couldn’t identify what it was.

* * *

[The ability ‘Power of the ■■ and the ■■■’ has grown.]