Chapter 25: Desert

Spec-1 Team consisted of one S-rank, thirteen A-ranks, and seven B-ranks or below, totaling 21 combat members. Including Byproduct Collection Teams 1 and 2, the full roster was 51.

Collection Team 1 would return mid-mission using a return stone for a progress briefing. The rest would not use return stones.

The goal: clear the dungeon in one try with everyone returning safely.

Foresight skill users worldwide predicted a major leap for human civilization following Korea’s S+ dungeon, hinting at extraordinary byproducts within.

If Spec-1 failed and retreated, neighboring powers would intervene under the guise of aiding Korea. An S+ dungeon overflow would mean Korea’s immediate downfall. Last year, Russia’s S+ dungeon overflow unleashed monsters only stopped by nuclear weapons, leaving a wasteland the size of the Korean Peninsula, with surviving, breeding monsters rendering the land uninhabitable.

But failure was unlikely. A hydrogen bomb—Korea had them—could destroy the dungeon’s monsters, though not the gate stone, which required direct destruction post-clear.

S+ dungeons typically take four to five months from gate appearance to overflow. Some nations were already forming teams, claiming to prepare for Korea’s safety, their motives transparent.

Amid this, Spec-1 calmly held a press conference and entered the dungeon.

Collection Team 1 was set to return after 40 days for a briefing.

But on day 21, the gate flickered and vanished.

Horizon’s office, international officials, and reporters with live cameras were stunned.

A gate vanishes in two cases: total party wipe or dungeon clear.

After just 21 days, was Naju’s S+ dungeon a failure or a success?

The answer would soon be clear.

Entering the Moshi dungeon, Ion mentally screamed, We’re screwed.

The orphans, under Teacher’s scolding, had whispered about Hunter and Hero’s sloppy writing. Despite a detailed world, the novel skipped key descriptions, like a thousand-meter cave described only at its entrance.

The Moshi dungeon was one such case.

In Hunter and Hero, its walkthrough process was barely mentioned:

“Horizon Guild’s raid entered Naju’s 15-meter S+ dungeon. They set a world record for the fastest S-rank dungeon clear, bringing back glowing green mineral byproducts—Moshi—set to advance human civilization.”

No details on duration, terrain, monsters, or even Protagonist 1’s personal rewards. The author’s omission led readers, including Ion, to assume it was uneventful. So, Ion prepared minimally, bringing only his Sansevieria.

The result?

“Argh! Hot! My skin’s burning!”

“Put on more clothes! Get your hats!”

The Moshi dungeon was a desert.

Sand dunes stretched endlessly, not a blade of grass in sight, with a scorching sun blazing overhead.

Despite reading Hunter and Hero thousands of times, no desert existed in the Demon Realm. Lava, glaciers, jungles, grasslands, oceans—even dystopian cities or temples guarded by divine sentinels appeared at higher levels. But never a desert.

The author simply didn’t mention it.

Ion, hiding his dismay, brushed the sand. It was so hot it felt like it’d burn his hand.

He wasn’t alone in his shock. Team members, flustered, stowed weapons and pulled out long-sleeved clothes, goggles, and hats to shield from the sun.

“Team Leader, what’s going on? The gate Hunter said the entry was a mountain. That’s why we trained in one,” a member said.

“Damn it. The gate moved. It’s rare, but…” Lee Jina replied.

S-rank dungeons over 10 meters can span ten times Korea’s area. The three known S+ dungeons covered 40, 38, and 35 times Korea’s land. Expecting one terrain was unrealistic. An S+ dungeon in the U.S. had grasslands, glaciers, and seabed zones.

They’d prepared for forests, swamps, and caves based on data, not a desert—especially not a gate shifting to one. Gate movement was rare, with fewer than ten cases worldwide. This was the eleventh.

“And a desert? Never seen before!” a Hunter exclaimed.

They were more shocked than Ion.

“My skin’s already burned from brief exposure!”

“Careful! Cover up!”

Amid the chaos, Jin Seongha spoke, having tucked Pippi into a custom carrier.

“Good, actually.”

Everyone stared, incredulous.

“A first-ever desert terrain. Clearing an unknown dungeon in one try means something big. I’m excited to see their shocked faces. Let’s clear it fast.”

Hunters relied on Jin Seongha. His confidence, not fear, calmed their agitation.

Ion’s stomach churned.

Jin Seongha’s breaking character…

Saying this to reassure teammates? So unlike him.

“What do you think, Corps Leader Ion?” Jin Seongha asked.

Ion blinked. Why me?

“What’s that look? Nervous?”

“…No. With you here, why would I be? I just want shade.”

“I see.”

Jin Seongha’s lips curved brightly. Ion felt doomed.

“No monsters nearby. Let’s head for the gate stone. Mexima Hunter, please,” Lee Jina ordered.

“Yes!” A guild member activated a skill, projecting a large system window above.

[Dungeon Map Analysis System

Loading ■■■□□□□]

Ion’s jaw dropped, but he quickly closed it to hide his awe.

A system message—seen only in the novel!

Soon, “Analysis Complete” appeared, and a 3D holographic map displayed their position, terrain, and gate stone location.

So cool in person.

Ion touched the map’s edge, his fingers passing through shimmering blue waves. He playfully opened and closed his hand, wanting to grasp the light. Hong Insu noticed.

“What’re you doing? Acting like a country bumpkin seeing a system window for the first time?”

“…”

Ion clenched his fist. Hong Insu flinched but didn’t back down, giving a “What? Huh?” look. He’d learned Ion restrained his true personality in crowds.

Clever jerk.

“Total villain,” Ion muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing, hyung.”

Just wait till we’re alone.

The dungeon was dense forest encircling a desert, with an ocean beyond, blocked by the dungeon’s boundary. Only forest and desert terrains existed.

The gate stone was in the easternmost forest center. Crossing the desert straight east was the plan, but its area equaled twenty Koreas. Had the gate stayed at the western mountain, they’d have crossed half the Earth.

Unlike Earth’s deserts, this one radiated blistering heat from the sand even at night.

To reach the forest, the team rotated sleep shifts and pressed on.

Even in this harsh environment, monsters appeared. Fearing unknown desert-specific creatures, they were relieved to face familiar insect-type monsters from regular dungeons.

Roar!

“Die!”

“Damn monsters!”

Boom! Crash! Screech!

Amid explosions and cries, Ion swung a longsword, extended to keep distance from the monsters’ sticky fluids.

He avoided magic. No plants were visible, meaning no mana source.

While Hunters grew calmer with the familiar walkthrough process, Ion grew anxious.

If my mana runs out…

Using magic with vitality alone would bring excruciating pain. The thought chilled him.

Screech! Slash! Thud!

Ion left trails of light, severing monster limbs as he advanced, leaving them alive. Hong Insu or others finished them off.

Support Hunters, watching from afar, were amazed.

“Who buffed Ion’s speed?”

“Not me.”

“Me neither.”

“Who gave him combat foresight?”

“Not me.”

“Nope.”

“How’s a barely twenty-year-old so seasoned? Like he grabbed a sword at birth.”

“Feels like the Cataclysm was ten years ago, not one.”

“Yeah.”

Shin Minji narrowed her eyes, watching Ion precisely strike monster vitals.

“Like he’s done this before…”

Her whisper went unheard.