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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: 'X''s Shadow
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The Final Dungeon Babel had invaded and absorbed countless dimensions.
Dimensions absorbed by Babel were broken down into pieces, either increasing the number of its floors or becoming part of Babel's dungeons.
Pezelron was the name of a dimension that had fallen to Babel 400 years ago.
'How long has it been since I ended up here?'
The boss of the sewer dungeon, Rattus King.
Its archetype, the 'Sha-Mondi' bound to the sewer dungeon, recalled the act of thinking for the first time in ages.
One day, Dungeon Babel arrived and sowed destruction across the Pezelron continent.
All races of Pezelron resisted the annihilation.
Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, trolls—every powerful being without exception climbed Dungeon Babel.
Among them was the king of the great sewers and lord of all ratmen, 'Sha-Mondi'.
'But we lost.'
On the 68th floor, as Pezelron's 14th hero knelt before the Four Heavenly Kings, it marked the end.
Every hero who ascended Babel met their death.
The dimension was torn apart and absorbed into Babel. Babel's floors increased from 74 to 78, and Pezelron's heroes and gods became prototypes or bases for the dungeon bosses, bound to the dungeon.
*Pu-thunk*
A hefty warhammer embedded into Rattus King's head.
The Rattus King staggered a few times with its caved-in skull, dropped its weapon, and collapsed.
'So the challengers win this time.'
Sha-Mondi had watched the battles countless times within the minds of the dungeon and boss mob. Whether the challenger won or the boss mob won, nothing changed for him.
Except that Babel's restraints loosened slightly until the Rattus King respawned.
Sha-Mondi looked at the hunters who had slain Rattus King. Just two of them, but their skills were astonishing. A sharp-featured male hunter and a black-haired female hunter using support magic.
'Impressive skills, but can you conquer Babel?'
Sha-Mondi gazed at them with mocking eyes. At that moment, the eerie red avatar behind the male hunter gleamed with strange intensity and emitted a sinister mechanical sound.
[Master. Basic ability 'True Sight' activated. A+ grade avatar 'Great Sewer King. Sha-Mondi' detected.]
Sha-Mondi's eyes met the male hunter's.
"What the hell are you up to in this stinking shithole?"
'You bastard, can you actually see me?'
Someone was looking at him and speaking to him.
It was the first time in 443 years since Pezelron's fall and Sha-Mondi's entrapment here.
===
[You have defeated Sewer Dungeon boss 'Rattus King' and veteran warriors!]
[ Raid Contribution: 1st 93% Ju Gonghyeok, 2nd 7% Ha Yeonsi.]
[Time Attack Bonus! 00:19:43. Cleared boss in under 20 minutes!]
[Violet coins 200 and navy coin 1 awarded!]
- Miss, besides recovery and debuff nullification, you were using some invisible power. What was that?
"It's called 'telekinesis.' I picked up a skill coin on the way here."
[ Cleared Sewer Dungeon in two days (33 hours).]
[Achievement 'Sewer Dungeon 48-Hour Clear' achieved!]
[Violet coins 300 and excess achievement bonus: navy coins 2 awarded!]
- Me, an avatar? Babel didn't originally have such a concept, but it seems after absorbing a bit of your world, we started manifesting as avatars.
[Please select your clear reward.]
['Rattus King's Thorn Mail' 'Pest Necklace' 'Essence of Poison']
[Selected reward: 'Rattus King's Thorn Mail'!]
Gonghyeok indifferently checked the rewards while glancing at Sha-Mondi.
- So here's the thing! Babel actually absorbs invaded dimensions to increase its floors and create internal dungeons! And heroes or gods like us become the material for dungeon boss monsters.
"Amazing! Sha-Mondi! I had no idea such a secret was hidden!"
Yeonsi listened with sparkling eyes as Sha-Mondi excitedly rambled on. It was a dull fact Gonghyeok had known for a long time.
But there was a reason he'd pretended not to know and asked about its identity.
[Hidden achievement discovered.]
[Drew slightly closer to the secret of Final Dungeon Babel.]
[All races, all floors integrated achievement. 'First to Uncover Dungeon Secret' achieved.]
[Special reward: 'White coin' awarded.]
A coin gleaming pure white floated before Gonghyeok's eyes.
"Oppa, what's this coin? It seems different from the ones we know."
"Yeah. Business is done."
- Hahaha! Just as you said. Time to wrap up the chit-chat.
The mottled rat Sha-Mondi, adorned with all sorts of gold jewelry, puffed out its chest proudly.
- I am the Great Sewer King, Sha-Mondi! Remnant and hero of a world destroyed by Babel. If you seek Babel's end, I shall become your strength.
"Let's go, Yeonsi."
"Huh? What's this one saying?"
- Now, call my name. Young one! I, Sha-Mondi, shall be your…
"Yeah. Not needed. Scram."
Clack, clack. As Gonghyeok walked out of the boss room, an icy silence descended behind him.
- W-Wait. Where are you going? Even I climbed to the 57th floor as a comrade of 'Slaughter King Odeir'... Young one? Hey. Hey! Hey, you bastard! Stop right there! Hey!
Sha-Mondi's voice faded as the boss room grew distant.
"Oppa, you should at least hear people out till the end. It's polite."
"A rat pup isn't people, Yeonsi."
"Oh, is that so?" Yeonsi pondered deeply beside him as he flicked the white coin.
GM's red cape unfurled, absorbing the white coin into an endless space.
[Avatar space expansion initiated. Required time: 3 days. Progress: 0.01%]
"What now? Keep hunting, or head to another dungeon?"
"Village first."
"V-Village? That place seems kinda scary."
A strange unease flickered across Yeonsi's face.
Dungeons were more dangerous, but being with Gonghyeok made it feel unreal. The conflicts between people and the chaos of ranking battles felt much closer to Ha Yeonsi.
"Time to adjust things and scatter some bait."
"Bait?"
"People are gonna start dying in droves soon. Gotta stop it."
"O-Oppa saying that feels kinda new."
'No. It's not the sucker play you're thinking of.'
It was far from the simple good deed Yeonsi imagined.
For Gonghyeok's 'goal,' too many couldn't die early on.
And through bait named Ha Yeonsi, there was something to 'catch.'
Before long, the nearest return point from the boss room came into view.
===
A blue return portal opened before the village altar where Azazel sat.
Return points installed on each dungeon floor opened portals back to the village.
It cost 10 violet coins per person, but guaranteed safety and saved time, making it well worth it.
Before Gonghyeok and Yeonsi, who arrived via portal, people could be seen prostrating and wailing toward the altar.
"Angel! Please! Please comfort us!"
"Don't plunge us into trials..."
"You bitch! Take responsibility for me! You sent me to this godforsaken place, so own up!"
About seven or eight of them. They were the ones who'd given up monster hunting.
Whether due to mental or physical factors, they were the first to crumble before Babel's survival struggle, clinging to the angels as their sole hope.
But Azazel sat cross-legged, eyes closed, saying nothing.
They tried approaching her but were blocked by an invisible wall that hadn't been there before. Since then, begging for mercy before her was their daily routine.
"Oppa, this is..."
"Ignore them and go to Azazel."
"By myself?"
"Yeah. Ranking updates only through Azazel. Don't register your name."
Yeonsi hesitated, skirting the people to approach Azazel.
"Um, angel? Can you record my rank?"
Azazel half-opened one eye and flicked her finger.
Changes appeared on the village altar's rules and rankings display.
1st 'Moore Jackson' 1,830 points
2nd '???' 1,770 points New Ranker!!!
3rd 'Kim Seongchul' 1,610 points
4th '???' 1,540 points
5th 'Igor Bashmakov' 1,390 points
As Ha Yeonsi blinked in surprise at her ranking, stardust-like light sprinkled over her body.
Gonghyeok didn't show himself, but GM displayed a message from within.
[Confirmed: 'Ranker's Blessing' granted to Hunter Ha Yeonsi. Estimated effects: All stats +5%, recovery time -10%, status resistance +10%]
Top rankers 1st to 40th received 'Ranker's Blessing,' 51st to 90th got 'Pursuer's Blessing.'
Mission survival cutoff was 50th. 41st-50th got no blessing, weakening them, while lower hunters with Pursuer's Blessing would think, 'I can catch up.'
Top rankers hiding rankings would find Ranker's Blessing too tempting to reveal late.
It was a device to intensify ranking battles, making registration irresistible.
Hiding rankings longer had merits, but now was the time to cast a 'shadow' over every hunter here.
"GM."
[Game Master activated]
"Access 1F Babel system, update ranking."
[Babel 1F bypass access initiated. Route 548 intrusion successful. Update permissions acquired. Modifying.]
Rumbling echoed from the sky as dark clouds gathered.
Thunder, lightning, and warning sirens blared as blue letters etched into the heavens.
Attention!! (주의) Attention!! (주의)
FINAL WINNER UPDATE (최종 승자 갱신)
Every hunter in the village and fields looked skyward.
"What's that?"
"Hold on, numbers popped up next to it? Ranker?"
*Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding!*
Numbers noisily climbed: 500 points, 1,000, 2,000, 4,000, 8,000...
'How high is that going?'
As astonishment gripped everyone, the numbers finally stopped.
13,210 points 'X' - TOP Ranker!!!
Everyone's minds blanked. An absurd score.
In that instant, the presence of the strongest hunter 'X' seared deep into every hunter's mind. From now on, when plotting big plans or controlling the village, they'd have to account for the mysterious 'X.'
Just by topping the rankings, 'X''s shadow loomed over all hunters' actions.
As everyone stared skyward in a daze, only Azazel on the platform glared at Ju Gonghyeok.
Ju Gonghyeok silently mouthed words.
'I'll help you, Azazel.'
'I'll save 100, not 50, and send them to the next floor.'
For the first time since his regression, a gentle smile bloomed on Gonghyeok's face.
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