Chapter 4 - A Scholer's Dilemma
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A Scholar's Dilemma
Kang Hyeon had spent years chasing knowledge no one valued. To the world, strength was measured in raw power, in the ability to carve through monsters and leave nothing standing. Runes? Ancient symbols? Useless distractions.
Yet here, in the depths of this dungeon, the world itself seemed to challenge that belief.
The air was thick, pressing against his skin as he traced the shifting symbols along the chamber wall. They moved—not just visually, but physically—rearranging themselves in patterns he instinctively understood. That should have been impossible. The System governed dungeons with absolute laws. It dictated the classifications of hunters, the power of magic, the behavior of monsters.
But this?
This was something older.
Something untouched by the System.
The moment his fingers brushed against the rune, a sensation like static coursed through him. Not pain. Not magic. Recognition.
His body stiffened, his breath caught in his throat. His notebook slipped from his grasp, pages fluttering against the stone floor.
And then, he heard it.
A whisper. A presence coiling around his mind like a serpent tightening around prey.
"The Forsaken Shall Rise."
Hyeon stumbled back, his pulse hammering in his ears. He wanted to believe it was just his imagination, but the runes—their glow had changed. They were watching him.
A shadow loomed behind him.
"Scholar."
Min-seok's voice was as steady as ever, but there was something in his gaze. Something calculating.
"You're falling behind."
Hyeon swallowed. He forced his voice to stay even. "There's something here. The runes—"
"I don't care about your runes," Min-seok cut in. His expression was unreadable. "Move."
The message was clear. No arguments. No discussion.
Hyeon hesitated, then picked up his notebook, dusting off the pages. His gaze flickered back to the runes, now dimmed as if they had never glowed at all.
But he had seen them.
And they had seen him.
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The Descent
The deeper they went, the heavier the atmosphere became. What should have been a C-rank dungeon felt suffocating, unnatural. Even the seasoned hunters shifted uneasily, their hands never straying too far from their weapons.
The cavern walls stretched higher, expanding into a hollow abyss that swallowed their torchlight. The path ahead split into three separate tunnels, each darker than the last.
Min-seok didn't hesitate. He pointed to the middle path. "Formation. Stay alert."
Hyeon stayed at the rear, as always. He had learned long ago that no one wanted him at the center of any operation. It didn't matter how well he documented dungeon layouts or trap sequences. At best, he was tolerated. At worst, he was an afterthought.
But something gnawed at him.
The air here…
It was wrong.
He exhaled slowly, adjusting his grip on his notebook. If no one else would acknowledge it, he would. Because whatever lay ahead, whatever truth was buried beneath this dungeon—
It was watching them.
Waiting.
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A Pulse from the Past
It started as a low hum, barely audible, vibrating beneath their feet. Hyeon noticed it first, his breath hitching as he turned toward the cavern walls.
The runes were shifting again.
Min-seok noticed his hesitation and followed his gaze. His brow furrowed. "What is it now?"
Hyeon opened his mouth to respond—but the floor trembled.
A sharp, unnatural pulse tore through the chamber. The walls shuddered, dust and loose stone cascading from above. Something was awakening.
And then, the tremors stopped.
A beat of silence.
Then—
The ground collapsed beneath them.
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Into the Abyss
The fall felt endless.
Hyeon barely had time to register the weightlessness before his body slammed against an unseen surface. The impact knocked the air from his lungs, pain lancing through his side. He rolled, his fingers scrambling against the uneven stone beneath him.
Somewhere above, voices echoed—panicked shouts from the hunters who had yet to fall.
Then another body crashed down nearby. A pained groan. Min-seok.
More followed. A chain of brutal landings as the party scattered across the darkness.
Hyeon's vision swam. He forced himself upright, chest heaving. The chamber they had fallen into was vast, its ceiling lost in shadow. Jagged stalactites loomed overhead like fangs poised to descend.
The walls…
They were covered in runes.
And this time, they weren't just shifting.
They were burning.
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The Lost Tomb
A soft glow flickered along the ancient carvings, illuminating the space in a dim, golden hue. Unlike before, the symbols were no longer passive. They pulsed with a rhythmic intensity, as if alive.
Hyeon could barely breathe.
This wasn't a dungeon. This was something else entirely.
Footsteps. Min-seok pushed himself to his feet, his expression unreadable. His blade was already drawn, his stance tense.
"Roll call," he barked.
The hunters groaned, some coughing, others cursing. One by one, they confirmed their status. No immediate casualties, but injuries were inevitable.
Hyeon barely registered them. His gaze was fixed on the far end of the chamber.
A door.
Massive, towering, engraved with layers upon layers of intertwined runes. Unlike the symbols along the walls, these were static. Unmoving. Sealed.
His heart pounded. He knew this script.
He had seen it before, in the deepest ruins, in forgotten texts dismissed as nonsense.
This was a tomb.
And the runes on the door…
They were a warning.
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A Shattered Reality
A distortion rippled through the chamber, twisting the air like heat rising from stone. Hyeon felt it before he saw it—a shift in existence, something bending beyond its natural state.
The runes weren't just glowing anymore.
They were unraveling.
A presence stirred, something ancient and nameless. Not a guardian. Not a monster. A remnant of something long forgotten, a fragment of knowledge itself.
It did not attack.
It spoke.
Words did not form. Instead, reality itself bent, forcing understanding into their minds.
"You should not be here."
Hyeon's breath caught in his throat.
The tomb was waking.