Level Up - Chapter 26

Dungeon in Dungeon

White Holes are very different from Black Holes. Research on White Hole was still incomplete even in the future when Hyun Seok died.

In fact, at this point, there was no interest among others to know about White Hole, so the research was slow. Unlike Black Holes, White Holes are not rewarded.

As there was no way to clear it, so they couldn’t get any Artifact as a reward.

It was the same as a Black Hole where others could catch a beast and pull out a spirit stone, and could use or study the corpse of a beast, but there was no concept of clearing the dungeon.

And unlike Black Holes, there was rarely any case that the dead beasts could be reborn.

The biggest problem hither is that the beasts in the White Hole are much stronger than the ones in the Black Hole. Even if it was the same beast, it was faster and stronger, also smarter. It’s characteristic, and violence was even more intense.

In addition, it was discovered that the beasts lived in a group, so clearing itself was really impossible. Hunting is also tricky and dangerous, and there was not much to gain, so of course, the demand for White Hole had been reduced.

That was the current perception of White Hole.

‘But that’s not all.’ Hyun Seok’s mind was once again stuck between thoughts by observing the swirling White Hole in front of his eyes.

Maybe this was odd. The White Hole in front of him was a little different from other ordinary White Holes.

Basically, when someone moves into the dungeon, they feel like they’re entering another world. However, Hyun seok felt different about that part because he was more sensitive to various senses, including mana, compared to other Players.

Black Holes are much more refined and still than White Holes. More precisely, White Holes were much more natural than Black Holes. It means that it feels more like a real world.

And White Hall in front of him was different from the rest of the world. It was like a whole new world, a more violent, dangerous, blood-and-dark world. It was the norm to risk his life to level up.

It was widely believed that the limit to raise the level safely was 30. Of course, safe hunting can lead to higher levels. Anyway, level-up is based on the intense mana wave you experience in battle.

It wasn’t just a level-up decision, but theoretically, it was possible to raise the level in a safe way. However, reality was different from theory.

In fact, the level up of the person who fought with his life was much faster.

Anyway, Hyun Seok’s level in the past was 178 levels. At that time, he was one of the top 30 players, although he was blind.

Maybe that’s why he hasn’t experienced a sense of crisis in his life yet because he was living with ease. And it brought about an acute problem of slowing down his level-up speed.

But now, Hyun Seok had planned something in advance. So that he could make a decision more easily in situations like this.

When he found out that he had returned to the past for the first time, his plan was to enter the transparent dungeon and skip subspace and equipment. In fact, it’s an easy way to level up fast in the future.

‘At least I’m prepared to get ahead of others.’

It has been only about three years since the first Players appeared. Three years sounds like a long time, but it wasn’t exactly like that.

It’s easy to level up at the beginning, but slowly it becomes difficult to even raise only one level up. Of course, luck or misfortune applies to that as well. People who are more talented than others can raise the level much simpler and faster. And the same goes for people who have better equipment than others.

Hyun seok was confident that he would surpass the first Player using the equipment here. However, not long after he returned to the past, he realized that things might not be as easy as he thought.

“Crisis is essential, but.do I have to do this?”

Hyun seok hesitated after thinking one last time. That’s inevitable because White Hole, which he’s about to enter, was a really dangerous place.

Maybe, White Hole was the reason why the guild collapsed in the past?

This happened because the main figures of the guild entered the White Hole without any preparation.

Since then, the team has formed an exploration team to rescue survivors and conduct internal investigations.

And unlike other White Holes, this place was quite profitable and was considered an opportunity to uncover the secrets of the dungeon, so the guild focused on its capabilities.

Hyun seok joined the team and the result led to the fall of the guild. After that, the White Hall was named the entrance to Hell or Magye*.

“But I’m well prepared.” Hyun seok murmured as he recalled a large box in the subspace. It was full of power-up kits that can be used when needed.

If there was a power-up kit when attacking this place, history would have changed a little.

“Huuhh!” Hyun Seok breath out.

He suddenly realized that he had not yet confirmed the name of White Hole.

Hyun Seok confirmed its name with mana in his eyes, becoming as big as a lantern.

[Magye 19 Area]

“Magye? Was it real? And 19? Does that mean there are other areas?”

He doesn’t understand anything, but he can think about it later anyway. That’s not what matters right now. Hyun Seok, who had his entire body full of mana, jumped into the White Hole with all his guts.

Argh!

A dazzling light poured out of the White Hall. There is nothing left where the light disappeared. Except for the White swirl that spins alone.

* * *

Kang Joong Tae, the Chilseong Faction’s boss, was listening to Kim Sang Woo’s report with a serious expression. As soon as the report was over, Kim Sang Woo bowed his head as if he had committed a crime to death.

Kang Joong Tae spoke calmly to Kim Sang Woo.

“Okay, it doesn’t look good. Raise your head.”

Kim Sang Woo opened his eyes at his words. His head was full of thoughts that how Kang Joong Tae was not mad at him.

An unusual look of Kang Joong Tae came into Kim Sang Woo’s sight as he raised his head. He was back to their normal self.

“Hyung…”

“It was too much for you to deal with. So don’t blame yourself.”

Kang Joong Tae said so and handed over some documents. Kim Sang Woo carefully took it back.

Kim Sang Woo’s eyes flashed as he checked the documents.

“Is Jongno inspiration involved in this?”

“Yeah, but of course I can’t figure it out.”

“But. there’s no evidence that this inspiration has a direct connection in this document.”

Kang Joong Tae nodded at his comment.

“That’s the point. There was no intervention on our side, but there was something strange about it.”

“We’ll dig into that part. Who did Jongro arrange these for?”Kim Sang Woo’s eyes lit up.

“Yes.”

Kim Sang Woo looked at Kang Joong Tae and answered with a slight nod.

In his view, the scariest thing about Kang Joong Tae was his preparedness. Instead of having only one plan, he’s always ready with few more plans in advance to apply it if the first one didn’t go the way he wanted.

‘Maybe… I’m sure you have at least two other measures aside from this.’Kim Sang Woo thought.

“You’ll find this much, right?” Kang Joong Tae’s words broke Kim Sang Woo’s conception.

“Leave it to me. I’ll dig every inch of it.”

When Kim Sang Woo politely bowed and went outside, Kang Joong Tae muttered with creepy eyes.

“This is going to be hard for Sang Woo.”

The owner of the Black Market in Jongno was indeed involved with this. Unlike other Black Markets, the Black Market in Jongno has considerable power. It had a complex background.

It was a massive leading organization, which is about the same as the Chilseong Faction, the Chilseong Faction had faced Jongno inspiration several times, whether it was in good terms or not.

‘At that time, I had no choice but to feel how great the power of inspiration was.’ Kang Joong Tae smirked.

Whenever Kang Joong Tae met the inspiration of Jongno, Kang Joong Tae was unable to do anything against him. But it also helped him to improve and become stronger, now he’s more powerful than before.

“Go and help me if you don’t have anything to do.” Kang Joong Tae said out of the blue.

As soon as Kang Joong Tae finished his words, three shadows dumped down from the ceiling.

In reality it was three men in all Black attire who jumped. The men had a hard angular face and Black tanned skin without flesh, but they just bowed once and disappeared into the air instantaneously.

“They’re the ones I raised. I get goosebumps every time I see them.”

An eerie smile formed around Kang Joong Tae’s lips.

* * *

The plan of the Chilseong Faction reaches to the ears of the old Hwang, the owner of the Black Market in Jongno.

Hwang nodded as he looked at the man in front of him who had completed presenting his report.

“Kang Joong Tae must have had a hard time.”

“No, I was able to finish it without a hitch because you informed me to prepare in advance.”

“So. At this point, how far do you think the Chilseongites can find out?”

“I think I’ll only get the name Chae Hyun Seok.”

“Name.”

Finding a name is equivalent to extracting a considerable amount of additional information.

Perhaps if someone put more time, money and effort into it, they will be able to extract new information one by one.

The old man was lost in thought. He pressed his finger on his temple and tapped the armrest of the chair with his other hand.

It was a habit when he fell into deep thought with all his senses. The man knew that, so he was careful of whatever he did.

Soon, the old man Hwang straightened up.

“Common sense, I think we should get out of here. I have a bad hunch this time, so it’s a problem.”

The man could understand what the old man Hwang had decided just by hearing only up to that point. If old Hwang had decided to step out of this matter, he wouldn’t have said it that way.

Sure enough, the old man Hwang, who had been agonizing over it for a while, continued with his eyes shining.

“Help me more properly.” The man’s eyes grew bigger.

“Do you mean right?” He confirmed.

The old man Hwang took a short break and opened his mouth.

“I think it’s better to hide as much as possible other than his name. I did it once anyway, so nothing is too difficult, right?”

“It’s not difficult, but.”

“I know, it’s dangerous. But this time, it will be really worth the investment.”

The man swallowed dry saliva and looked at the old man Hwang.

The old man Hwang had a kind smile on his face. However, his eyes sparkled brighter than ever.

“If I’m wrong, that’s it. I must be old enough, I should just retire and live a leisurely life.”

The man laughed inwardly at the old man’s words. It was because he knew better than anyone else that he’ll never do so.

“There’s nothing Kang Joong Tae can find out more than Chae Hyun Seok’s name.”

The old man Hwang nodded with a satisfied look.

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Magye:- devildom/ the world of demons and witchcraft