Chapter 1 - Dungeon Balak (1)

　　Prologue

　　[Welcome. You have been selected as a Dungeon Master.]

　　"Where am I? Where did you bring me?!"

　　The dungeon welcomes the unwilling.

　　[You are now a Dungeon Master, destined to stand against those who would conquer you—the Raiders. From this moment on, you must build your dungeon and prepare for their invasion.]

　　"I never wanted this! Send me back!"

　　The dungeon is a fortress.

　　[Heed this warning: A Dungeon Master has but one life. Before you are conquered, you must be the one to deliver death to the Raiders.]

　　"I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! Why do I have to do this?!"

　　The dungeon is the line between life and death. From this moment on, you will stand on the opposing side. You will not conquer; you will thwart conquest. As a Dungeon Master, you will fight back.

　　Chapter 1: Dungeon Balak

　　[Welcome. You have been selected as a Dungeon Master.]

　　When Taehyun opened his eyes, that was the message he saw, floating in the empty air.

　　"Wh-where am I? Why am I here?!" His response was only natural. For Taehyun, who had been downing drinks with his friends just last night, the disorientation was overwhelming. He could remember drinking until he’d finally passed out, but waking up here? That memory was gone.

　　[You are now a Dungeon Master, destined to stand against those who would conquer you—the Raiders. From this moment on, you must build your dungeon and prepare for their invasion.]

　　To make matters worse, the messages that followed only conveyed more absurdity. For a fleeting moment, Taehyun wondered if he was still drunk.

　　…What is this? Am I still not sober?

　　But his cheeks weren’t hot, and they always flushed when he was tipsy.

　　Then is this a dream?

　　He pinched his cheek, hard. The sharp sting of pain was undeniably real. Only then did the cold truth begin to settle in.

　　"It’s not a dream, either. Then where the hell am I?!"

　　He scanned his surroundings, which resembled the interior of an ancient cave. As if to prove it, long, jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling, weeping water drop by agonizing drop. A sudden, sharp fear seized him. He was in a place he’d never seen before, and in a situation like this, the first possibility that clawed its way into his mind was a kidnapping.

　　Maybe he’d been abducted by some psycho, destined to be slowly dismembered. Or perhaps he’d been caught by human traffickers, his organs about to be harvested before his body was sold off to another country. The possibilities were endless and horrifying, but none of them explained the messages floating right in front of his eyes. That single detail was so utterly unreal that his mind refused to accept it.

　　"What in the world…"

　　As he stood there trembling, another message materialized before him.

　　[Dungeon Master Taehyun Yoo’s detailed information is now available. Please check via the Status Window.]

　　Alongside the new text, an icon of a human silhouette appeared to his left, looking uncannily like a smartphone app. Taehyun whipped his head around, his voice cracking as he shouted into the darkness.

　　"Who is it? Who’s playing this sick prank!" he screamed. "Why are you doing this to me? Show yourself right now! This is some kind of hidden camera show, right? It has to be!"

　　His desperate shouts echoed through the cavern, but the only reply was the sound of his own voice, mocking him from the stone walls. Defeated, he had no choice but to turn back to the message and follow its instructions.

　　"Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!"

　　The feeling of being imprisoned and toyed with was suffocating, but Taehyun reluctantly reached out and pressed the icon.

　　[Name: Taehyun Yoo]

　　[Age: 22]

　　[Nationality: Republic of Korea]

　　[Level: 1]

　　[Rank: D]

　　[Class: None]

　　[Title: None]

　　[Affiliation: Dungeon Master]

　　[Guild: None]

　　[Strength: 1] [Endurance: 1] [Agility: 1] [Stamina: 1]

　　[Mana: 1] [Affinity: 1] [Luck: 1]

　　The moment his finger made contact, a status window unfolded before his eyes, looking exactly like a character stats sheet from a video game. Taehyun blankly scanned it from top to bottom, but none of it made sense. What was a Dungeon Master? What were all these stats? He’d played countless games in his life, but he’d never seen a status window in reality.

　　"No way. This can’t be happening."

　　He shook his head, desperately trying to deny what was right in front of him. But the System debunked his denial with yet another shock.

　　[You have been assigned Dungeon Balak. Information about Dungeon Balak is now available. Please check via the Dungeon Window.]

　　This time, an icon shaped like a log cabin appeared with the new message. Swallowing hard, Taehyun pressed it.

　　[Dungeon Name: Balak]

　　[Master: Taehyun Yoo]

　　[Rank: D]

　　[Location: A cave deep within the Valley of Silence, on the western frontier of the Astral Continent.]

　　[Supporter: Unassigned]

　　[Boss: None]

　　[Mercenaries: None]

　　[Guardians & Keepers: None]

　　[Soldiers: None]

　　[Monsters: None]

　　[Servants & Maids: None]

　　[Traps: None]

　　[Installed Facilities: None]

　　[Modification Status: None]

　　[Rooms: 5]

　　[Dungeon Status: A dungeon that could be conquered by even a ragtag group of Raiders. With no troops or traps deployed and no facilities installed, it offers a straight, undefended path to the Crystal Sphere. Urgent changes are required. The first step should be to summon a Supporter.]

　　After his personal stats, he was now presented with information about his assigned dungeon, Balak. For some reason, the word "Raiders" sent a chill down his spine.

　　Does this mean I have to protect this place from them? The thought made him increasingly anxious. His eyes widened at the final message that appeared after a series of other system functions unlocked before him.

　　[As a new Dungeon Master, you must now compete with other Dungeon Masters, protect your dungeon’s Crystal Sphere from Raiders, and develop Balak.]

　　[Your final goal is to create an unconquerable dungeon and obtain the title of Demon King. Until then, you cannot return to your world.]

　　[Heed this warning: A Dungeon Master has but one life. Before you are conquered, you must be the one to deliver death to the Raiders.]

　　It was the final nail in the coffin of his desperate hopes. Taehyun stared blankly for a moment before his composure finally shattered.

　　"Don’t give me that crap!" he roared, his voice echoing with rage and despair. "Send me back! Why the hell do I have to do any of this?!"

* * *

　　He screamed until his throat was raw and his energy was spent. Finally, he collapsed to the floor, a hollow look in his eyes.

　　"Hahah… This is ridiculous," he scoffed. "Please, someone, just tell me this is a prank."

　　He’d shouted it dozens of times, but no one had answered. He wracked his brain, trying to remember if he’d wronged someone so badly they’d orchestrate this elaborate revenge, but he came up with nothing. He had simply gone to sleep and woken up here. The unfairness of it all was overwhelming. With no energy left for anger, he could only let out a dry, empty laugh.

　　A soft hum drew his attention. A crystal sphere, glowing with a faint inner light, was hovering in the middle of the cave. For a second, he thought he was hallucinating, but it remained, solid and real.

　　"…This is driving me nuts."

　　Taehyun felt his sanity fraying at the edges. The game-like messages and menus were unbelievable enough, but now there was a massive crystal sphere floating in the air. This was something straight out of a fantasy novel.

　　Did I really get transported to another world? He pushed himself to his feet and cautiously approached the sphere. It was nearly as large as he was, its surface shimmering with an ethereal light.

　　The light seems a bit faint, though.

　　He felt a pang of worry. The sphere’s glow was so dim it looked like it could flicker out at any moment. If everything he’d seen so far was real, then this crystal was his lifeline. Anxious, he reached out and gently touched its smooth surface.

　　[Balak’s Crystal Sphere]

　　[Rank: D]

　　[Level: 1]

　　[Mana Value: 1/1]

　　[Upgrade Value: None]

　　A warm energy pulsed against his palm as an information window appeared. Taehyun blinked, reading the text.

　　Just like my stats and the dungeon, this thing’s pathetic, too.

　　As a lifelong gamer, Taehyun could easily see how hopelessly weak his dungeon was.

　　I get that this place is like a game, but… I won’t actually die, right?

　　This place, a bizarre fusion of a dungeon game and grim reality, was a vortex of shock and confusion. He was beginning to lose his grip on what was real. He shook his head, trying to clear the anxious thoughts, when a new type of message appeared.

　　[System Directive]

　　[1. Summon a Supporter using the ‘Random Supporter Summon Card’ in your inventory.]

　　[Warning: Failure to summon within one hour will result in the destruction of the Crystal Sphere. The destruction of the Crystal Sphere will result in the death of the Dungeon Master.]

　　"What the!" The curse escaped his lips before he could stop it. Now the System was threatening his life outright. Taehyun ground his teeth, glaring at the message.

　　"Don’t be ridiculous. Who’s going to kill who? I’m not doing it!"

　　He was done being ordered around. Being dragged here was infuriating enough, but being forced to play their sick game?

　　"This piece of crap!" Furious, he drew back his fist, ready to shatter the crystal sphere. But his arm froze just inches from its surface.

　　"…Damn it!" A sliver of doubt, a primal fear of the unknown, held him back. In the end, he squeezed his eyes shut and threw a punch at the empty air, his knuckles meeting nothing but a cold draft.

* * *

　　[Time Remaining: 23 minutes 57 seconds]

　　A timer had appeared at some point, and now it was ticking down. Leaning against the crystal sphere, Taehyun clung to his last shred of hope.

　　It has to be a hidden camera show. Technology is so advanced these days that they can probably pull off a prank like this. Or maybe it’s a dream. A hyper-realistic one where I can even feel pain.

　　He laughed weakly, a sound teetering on the edge of madness as he gnawed on his fingernails. And they wouldn’t really kill me, would they? I’m alive. How could they just… kill me? It doesn’t make any sense. Despite seeing the messages and the crystal with his own eyes, he continued to deny it all. The timer ticked down, mercilessly, until only five minutes remained. Taehyun finally broke, burying his face in his knees as a choked sob escaped him.

　　"I don’t want to die," he whimpered. "I don’t want to die. I never asked for any of this…"

　　He had lived an ordinary life, free of hardship. He’d been looking forward to a normal, easy college experience like everyone else. Why was this happening to him? Trapped in some surreal nightmare, forced to play a game where his very life was the price of failure. It was no wonder his mind couldn’t take it.

　　"Damn it, damn it!"

　　The air in the cave was growing colder, and a chill seeped into his bones. He hadn’t eaten since waking up, and a gnawing hunger twisted in his stomach. He trembled like a leaf in the wind, biting his lip until he tasted blood. Backed into a corner, he had only two choices: do as he was told, or die.

　　"You bastards," he snarled, his eyes bloodshot with rage and fear. "I don’t know who you are, but I’ll kill every last one of you. I’ll find you, and I’ll make you pay!"

　　He surged to his feet, a desperate fire in his eyes. The inventory icon, a small chest, had appeared when the other system functions unlocked. He stabbed at it, opening the window.

　　This is it!

　　Fortunately, the Supporter Summon Card was in the top slot, its card-like shape impossible to miss.

　　[Random Supporter Summon Card]

　　[Rank: ?]

　　[Restriction: None]

　　[Description: A card that summons a Supporter of a random grade.]

　　Ignoring the brief description, Taehyun glanced at the timer.

　　[Time Remaining: 2 minutes 43 seconds]

　　I have to do it now!

　　Panic surging, he slammed his finger on the summon card. It vanished from the inventory, and in its place, a glowing summoning circle materialized on the stone floor.

　　[You have used the Random Supporter Summon Card.]

　　[A summoning circle is being generated.]

　　[The summoning circle has appeared near the Crystal Sphere, stabilizing its mana.]

　　Blue energy swirled, gathering within the circle’s intricate lines. It pulsed with an azure light, and Taehyun watched, his heart pounding with a mixture of hope and dread. Then, a human silhouette began to form within the light.

　　[Great Success!]

　　[A B-Rank Named Supporter, ‘Riel of Healing,’ has been summoned.]

　　[Due to Riel’s special ability, ‘Light of Healing,’ the health recovery rate of all units within the dungeon increases by 2 percent.]

　　With a triumphant fanfare, a woman with hair like spun gold appeared, bathed in a soft, green light. Taehyun could only blink, staring at Riel, who stood as motionless as a mannequin.

　　"Wh-what the? It says I summoned something amazing, but… it’s not moving."

　　Dressed in a pristine white nurse’s uniform, she looked like an angel, but she remained perfectly, unnervingly still.

* * *