The academy went into lockdown in under ten seconds.
Steel barriers slammed down. Emergency runes ignited along the walls. Professors and instructors flooded the corridors, mana flaring like fireworks as they rushed toward the underground sector.
Too slow.
Way too slow.
I walked calmly down the emergency staircase while alarms screamed overhead.
[DUNGEON BREAK CONFIRMED]
Threat Level: S-RANK]
Estimated Casualties if Unchecked: 4,812]
Your Estimated Casualties: 0 (Enemies Only)]
"That's optimistic," I muttered.
The air grew heavy the deeper I went. Mana saturation skyrocketed. The walls sweated black mist as if the dungeon itself was bleeding through reality.
This wasn't a natural dungeon.
It was forced.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS]
Dungeon Type: Artificial / Anchored / Malicious]
Conclusion: Someone planted this.]
Figures.
Behind me, hurried footsteps echoed.
"STOP!"
Vice-Instructor Yoon Haejin stormed down the stairs, red hair tied back, aura blazing.
"You're not authorized—!"
She froze.
Because the dungeon aura recoiled from me.
Literally recoiled.
Like a scared animal.
[PASSIVE EFFECT: DOMINANT EXISTENCE]
Dungeon Instinct: SUBMISSION FAILED]
Yoon Haejin swallowed.
"…You're going in alone?"
I nodded.
She clenched her fists.
"I'm coming."
I looked at her.
She met my gaze without backing down.
Interesting.
[HAREM CANDIDATE – INTEREST LEVEL INCREASED]
Reason: Witnessed your back while walking into hell]
We reached the underground gate.
It shattered on its own.
Dungeon Interior – Unregistered Depth
Darkness swallowed us whole.
Then—
A vast underground cavern revealed itself, pulsing with crimson veins of mana. A massive core floated in the distance, cracked, unstable, screaming.
Monsters poured out.
Not goblins.
Not orcs.
These were twisted things—half-formed beasts, corrupted hunters fused with dungeon matter, screaming faces trapped in crystal growths.
Yoon Haejin gagged.
"…This isn't normal."
"No," I agreed. "It's sloppy."
The monsters noticed us.
They charged.
[COMBAT MODE: AUTOMATIC]
Skill Sync: ENABLED]
I took a single step forward.
The front line collapsed.
Not exploded.
Collapsed—like gravity had decided to increase personally for them.
Bones crushed.
Flesh flattened.
Existence folded inward.
[SKILL: GRAVITY OF THE PROTAGONIST (SSS+)]
Effect: The battlefield acknowledges who matters]
Yoon Haejin stared.
"You didn't even—"
I raised my hand.
"Stay behind me."
She did.
Without argument.
Good instincts.
Deeper – The Core Chamber
The deeper we went, the angrier the dungeon became.
Walls regenerated.
Monsters respawned faster.
The dungeon was learning.
[WARNING]
Dungeon Adaptation Detected]
Countermeasure: Overwhelm Before Plot Escalation]
Finally, we reached the core chamber.
The dungeon core floated above a ritual circle.
Chains of mana anchored it to something… else.
A person.
A man stood beneath it.
Hunter uniform.
Gold insignia.
A familiar face from the ranking screens.
"…Guild Master Park Jinhyuk," Yoon Haejin whispered.
S-Rank.
National asset.
Hero.
He smiled.
"You're earlier than expected."
[ANALYSIS]
Target: Park Jinhyuk]
Status: Corrupted / Regressor / Traitor]
Regression Count: 3]
Ah.
There it was.
Regression.
He laughed softly.
"I needed chaos. Needed sacrifices. The tower won't wait forever."
I tilted my head.
"So you fed students to a dungeon."
"They'd die anyway," he said casually. "This way, they had meaning."
Yoon Haejin shook with rage.
I felt… nothing.
[REVENGE ARC CONDITION MET]
TARGET: WORLD'S 'HEROES']
"Your turn's over," I said.
Park Jinhyuk frowned.
"You don't understand. I've lived this timeline three times—"
I moved.
He never saw it.
One moment he was standing.
The next, he was kneeling, forced down by a pressure so heavy his bones screamed.
[SKILL: AUTHORITY OVERRIDE]
Effect: Regressors recognize true anomaly]
His eyes widened in terror.
"What—what are you?"
"I'm the variable you never accounted for."
I reached out.
The dungeon core began screaming.
System Overload
[WARNING WARNING WARNING]
Dungeon Core Stability: 0%]
Containment Recommended]
"No," I said. "Delete."
[EXISTENCE DENIAL: MANUAL OVERRIDE]
The core shattered.
Light flooded the chamber.
Monsters disintegrated.
The dungeon screamed one last time—then went silent.
Park Jinhyuk collapsed, coughing blood.
"P-please… I can help… I know the future…"
I looked down at him.
[REGRESSION FRAGMENT ACQUIRED]
Information: PARTIAL TIMELINE DATA UNLOCKED]
I leaned in.
"Next time," I whispered,
"pick a better world to ruin."
Then—
He ceased to exist.
No body.
No soul.
No reset.
[CONFIRMATION]
REGRESSOR ELIMINATED PERMANENTLY]
The system was quiet for a full second.
Then—
[GLOBAL NOTICE BLOCKED (BY YOU)]
Reason: Don't Feel Like It]
Aftermath – Surface
The dungeon vanished.
Literally.
One moment it was there.
The next—nothing.
The academy stood intact.
Students stared in silence.
Instructors trembled.
Yoon Haejin looked at me like I'd just rewritten her understanding of the world.
"What… are you going to do now?"
I checked my phone.
My assets updated.
Net Worth: ₩87,000,000,000]
I smiled.
"Enroll."
Her laugh was shaky.
Behind us, Lee Ara stood at the stairwell, eyes wide, hands clasped.
"You're… safe," she whispered.
I nodded.
She smiled like I'd just saved her entire world.
[HAREM SLOT UNLOCKED: 1]
Candidate: Lee Ara (PENDING)]
The tower pulsed somewhere far away.
Watching.
Waiting.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
The world will try harder next time.]
Good.
I'd be disappointed otherwise.
End of Chapter 4
.