You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

Chapter 127

The four of them were heading towards a D-class dungeon near Namsan in Seoul.

From the missing low-level hunters' social media posts and testimonies from people around them, this was the most likely dungeon they had visited last.

The entrance was blocked by a half-hearted safety rope, and the sign marking the dungeon had the date of the last cleared run written in magical ink.

"This dungeon is managed by the government, right?"

Dungeons that are not economically viable are not bid on by guilds and are instead managed by the government.

This D-class dungeon in Namsan was one of those cases.

Despite the numerous hikers on the Namsan trails, there was no sign of any maintenance.

"A dungeon in the middle of Seoul left to rot like this... anyone could walk in without anyone noticing."

"Usually, people wouldn’t think an ordinary citizen would enter a dungeon."

Ryu Seon-young also recorded the scene in front of the dungeon with her camera.

Detective Im Geon-woo chuckled in disbelief.

"The dungeon's marked, and the last clear date is written on the sign—what more do you want? There’s already not enough manpower, so should we waste it here?"

"Still, you never know. Someone might wander in by mistake..."

"That’s why the sign’s there. They’ve had mandatory training, what more should we do? They should be able to figure it out themselves."

As a veteran detective with 20 years of experience, Detective Im’s tone was full of cynicism.

"Stop complaining. And by the way, this is all being recorded."

"Please edit it carefully. Don’t put it in the video and get me fired. I want to retire with honor."

"...Sure."

Even though Detective Im sounded like that, there wasn’t a more driven detective when it came to solving cases.

He had become cynical after years of dealing with complaints, but that didn’t stop him from working hard.

"Yeah, it’s definitely a chronic issue. When there’s a warning not to enter, it only seems to make people more curious."@@@@

Han Jae-young smiled as he spoke. From the way he said it, it seemed like he had been through a lot as well.

"Anyway, the fact that low-level hunters have gone missing after entering such an economically useless dungeon is strange. There must be clues inside the dungeon."

"Yes, you're right. And if this case gets published and low-level hunters start being more cautious, that would be great."

With that, Han Jae-young gave an unreadable smile.

"Then let’s go in."

No matter how many times you entered a dungeon, it was never easy to adapt.

Just taking one step would change the surrounding scenery completely.

It was a miraculous sight.

As if they had never been at Namsan, Ryu Seon-young saw the surrounding landscape transform into a barren plain.

"Cough, cough!"

The dust flying everywhere made her cough uncontrollably.

The camera shook violently.

Living in a concrete-covered Seoul, when you enter the wilderness like this, even the smallest discomforts become apparent.

Or maybe it was more accurate to say that you were overwhelmed by the wildness that humans, in the name of convenience, had destroyed.

"As expected, it’s a D-class dungeon, and the goal is to hunt 20 monsters... Yeah, looks like there’s no problem."

"It’s much bigger than I expected. Do you think we’ll find any traces of the missing hunters?"

"It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either."

Saying that, Han Jae-young took something out of the air.

It was an inventory item used by hunters.

Common people often refer to these inventories as the four-dimensional pockets you see in cartoons.

What Han Jae-young was holding looked like a metal rod that resembled a dowsing rod.

"This item detects magical reactions within a 10 km radius. The problem is that it can’t differentiate between monsters and humans."

It wasn’t a water vein detector, but a magic detector.

Han Jae-young frowned as he observed the movement of the magic detector.

"The monster clusters seem pretty large, but... whether they’re human or not, we’ll have to check one by one."

"Ugh, so we have to walk ourselves...?"

As a reporter who had spent years sitting behind a desk, Ryu Seon-young felt overwhelmed by the idea of walking through a vast, dusty plain for 10 km, or maybe even more.

Though she had prepared herself, the task felt daunting.

Seeing Ryu Seon-young’s reaction, Han Jae-young shrugged.

"Ah, don’t worry. We won’t have to walk."

As soon as he said that, a large off-road vehicle suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the air.

Ryu Seon-young’s eyes nearly popped out. Even Detective Im was startled and made a sound of surprise.

"Is this for real? It’s not some magical pouch... A car just appeared?"

"People aren’t just calling them S-rank for nothing. When hunters from support teams come, it takes them at least an hour to prepare magic when a monster like that shows up, and the fighters have to charge in groups."

"She’s special, even among S-rank hunters."

Han Jae-young responded with a smile. It didn’t seem like a regular occurrence.

"But what’s that girl doing over there?"

"Yeah, looks like she’s signaling us to come over."

After dealing with the centipede, Jeong Da-on stood still and gestured for them to approach the vehicle.

It was an obvious invitation, and the three of them got out of the car.

Jeong Da-on asked Ryu Seon-young.

"Do you have the camera?"

"Uh, yes."

"Take a look at this."

"...Ugh!"

Ryu Seon-young was horrified.

In the place where the centipede had burned in blue flames, was something that seemed like it had been hidden in the ground.

"Ugh..."

Ryu Seon-young nearly threw up.

What was left in the place where the centipede had burned away was part of a human body.

Detective Im muttered a curse, while Han Jae-young observed with interest.

Ryu Seon-young turned her head away, unable to bear the sight.

She was filming it, but she had no idea how to edit it later.

"This... this is... the body of a missing hunter?"

"Probably."

"...This is strange. The upper body has melted completely. We’ll need to send it for forensic examination to identify the person."

As Detective Im said, the upper body was gone, and all that remained was the lower body, from the pelvis down.

The only thing they could deduce was that it was a male, based on the clothes and shoes.

"Based on the circumstances, it’s clear this is one of the missing low-level hunters, but... could they have been killed in combat and then disappeared?"

"This doesn’t add up. The centipede’s venom is on it, but it doesn’t seem like they died from poison. The skin isn’t blue."

As a veteran, Detective Im checked the damaged parts of the body, confirming its condition.

"To die in a battle with a monster... this looks more like... doesn’t it resemble a mummy?"

Indeed, it did look like what Detective Im said.

Han Jae-young agreed.

"I think the centipede stored it as food after it found the body."

"So... are you saying this person didn’t die from the monster, but from something else?"

"It seems more likely. Right, Jeong Da-on?"

"I agree."

Even though the corpse was so gruesome it was hard to keep one's eyes open, Jeong Da-on calmly rolled up the lower part of the corpse with her hands.

It was almost a heroic act, closer to a strange act of kindness.

'This really needs to be reported.'

Ryu Seon-young, overwhelmed by emotion, felt her heart racing. Even Detective Im, who was usually tough, couldn’t help but admire her.

"Impressive. The family will be grateful."

As he spoke, Detective Im quietly lit a cigarette. His hand was trembling.

"...I don’t understand. So, what happens when you drain someone’s magic? Is the one who drains it immortal, like in a cartoon?"

"Energy drain like that wouldn’t make anyone immortal. But..."

Han Jae-young sighed lightly.

"In reality, there are people who believe that."

"And judging by how many low-level hunters have gone missing, it seems there are one or two people who believe it."

With that, Detective Im crushed the cigarette he had burned down to nothing with his foot, letting out a sigh mixed with smoke.

"Then this really could be an organized crime. Some crazy people might be bringing low-level hunters into the dungeon, draining their magic, and then dumping them."

Ryu Seon-young felt her hands tremble as she realized just how much more sinister this case had become than she imagined.

"My God. In this day and age, something like human sacrifice...?"

"It's an unforgivable crime."

Jeong Da-on, holding the body wrapped in her jacket, said with a tone full of anger.

“I hope the culprit is caught and pays the price.”

It was a heartfelt statement that even made me feel angry.