Chapter 03: Playing with Fire

Alone, he entered the free dungeon.

Yunho slowly walked toward the center of the dungeon.

The dungeon landscape was simple: a dense forest, towering trees.

‘Why haven’t I received any rewards yet after entering?’

Well, if just entering got you rewards, that would be too easy.

Let’s go a bit further.

The winding path through the forest, and still no response.

After wandering through the forest for a while, Yunho finally reached a flat area.

And he was shocked.

“Wow...”

He had expected it, but seeing it with his own eyes was still a surprise.

A modern Earth city. Pitted asphalt, cracked paving stones, tilted street lamps, and a half-collapsed rectangular building that the people here called the dungeon tower. Broken cars, damaged bicycles, shattered windows of coffee shops, fallen convenience store signs, and the appearance of a destroyed city center.

And most importantly, the writing on the signs. It was in Korean.

‘Yuseong... Café, Gyeryong... Noodles, Seongshim... This looks like Daejeon!’

What he thought was a forest turned out to be a city-shaped dungeon. A city, Daejeon, Yunho’s hometown, but a city that had been horribly destroyed.

“Ah...”

If Earth were to fall, it would probably look like this. The end, the apocalypse.

Did something happen during those three years when he lost his memory? Or is the Earth the background of this dungeon? The paper-producing dungeon is like this, and so is this one...

‘The latter is more likely. The dungeon’s background is Earth.’

What was the dungeon he entered from Earth like? Medieval castles, moats, farmlands, desolate forests, and the monsters and creatures that appeared there, similar to the continent of Eron.

Yunho was just frozen. What should he do in this incredible place?

But right then!

Sniff, sniff.

A suspicious presence from the front.

‘Huh? ...A monster?’

Yunho lifted the spear on his back and extended it forward.

Swoosh, thud! Swoosh, thud!

Something was moving, making a sound.

Yunho, tense, slowly retreated backward, but his eyes were fixed on the front. Finally, it came into view.

Something was coming from behind the collapsed building.

Indeed, it was a monster. A zombie, an undead.

But its appearance was a bit strange.

Leaning on a cane, bent back, white hair, and the way it walked was exactly like...

‘An old man.’

The abilities of undead monsters usually correspond to their original form. Old men are weak. Old man zombies are the same.

However, even an undead that looks like an old man should not be underestimated, especially since it harbored intense hostility toward Yunho.

“Grrrr, grrr...”

The killing intent it emitted pierced his skin. Yunho, hesitating, slowly raised his spear.

‘This is no joke...’

He had learned basic spear techniques, but he had never experienced actual combat.

There’s a big difference between hitting a dummy and hitting a real monster. The pressure was palpable even from a distance.

A black eye with no whites, skin peeling off to reveal red flesh and bones, and strangely twisted limbs. Yet, it managed to walk.

‘It’s probably slow, not a fast one...’

He could probably handle it. He was a mercenary, after all. If he couldn’t deal with one old man zombie, he wouldn’t be able to show his face anywhere. Even as a new mercenary.

‘Just do what I learned.’

Whoosh!

Yunho’s figure moved with the flow of the wind. The spear blade flashed like lightning.

It wasn’t artificial. It didn’t look like he was thrusting. The spear seemed to move on its own, with Yunho just hanging on to the end.

Thud!

The spear tip touched the zombie’s forehead, and the contact burst the zombie’s head like a balloon.

Boom!

“Ah!”

A simple leap, and a thrust!

Yunho was honestly surprised. He just did what he learned, but the power was...

But he didn’t have time to marvel at his own skill.

The zombies were not alone.

From behind.

“Grrrr!”

From the right.

“Grrrrrrr.”

From the left.

“Kyaa!”

Chilling screams came from all directions.

“Oh no...”

Zombies were emerging from the ruins of the city, one by one. At a glance, there were hundreds. They all looked like old men...

“Damn!”

He had to run.

Yunho ran like a madman.

The zombies screamed and charged at him. They were a horde of zombies.

“Kyaaa!”

“Grraaa!”

Even with one leg missing, a zombie limped closer. Another zombie ran with its head tucked under its arm. A zombie approached with two canes, but fortunately, they weren’t as fast as he expected.

Still, if he was surrounded, it was over!

“Gaaaah!”

He saw the gate. If he could just get out, the zombies wouldn’t follow him outside!

But it was already too late.

“Grrrr!”

“Grr, grr.”

Zombies were already forming a line at the dungeon entrance, making eerie sounds.

“Damn!”

His escape route was blocked.

‘To the side!’

A shabby five-story building was nearby. It was partially collapsed but still maintained its structure.

Yunho ran toward the building. He saw the entrance. If he could get inside and escape to the roof...

The entrance door was surprisingly sturdy. It seemed to be a fireproof metal door. Yunho barely managed to lock the metal door handle.

Clank!

“Phew... I almost died.”

Thump, thump, thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of zombies pounding on the steel door could be heard. Fortunately, they couldn’t open it. If they had the intelligence of a child, they would have.

There was no elevator in the five-story building. Yunho climbed the stairs to the roof and peeked out.

Bubbling.

“Why are there so many?”

Zombies surrounded the building, screaming and pounding on the steel door and the building’s exterior.

Thump, thump! Crack! Boom!

‘This won’t last long...’

He needed to act quickly. If the door broke and the zombies entered the building, there would be no place to run.

“What should I do?”

This was a real nightmare.

“Ah! I’m going crazy. Why are old men so violent? Is it because they’re zombies?”

What if they climbed up the walls...? The thought made his hair stand on end.

“Stay calm, stay calm! I need to find a way.”

A small shed on the roof caught his eye.

“A storage room?”

Through the open door, various items were scattered.

Creak.

He opened the door and went inside. Maybe he could find something useful.

Various tools, a ladder, stacks of paint, a can of thinner, and a familiar item on the shelf.

“Huh? What’s that...”

How could he not recognize it?

Cigarettes. And a lighter.

Swallow.

Suddenly, a fierce urge to smoke arose. How good would it feel to light one up?

Memories of Earth came back. Guild members who defied the guild leader’s orders, cursing and lamenting when they would escape their F-rank status, smoking to relieve stress.

But he couldn’t have them. In the dungeon, only ‘items’ could be obtained.

Not everything in the dungeon is an item. Items must be dropped by killing monsters, found in chests, or received as rewards. They must meet specific conditions to be considered items.

The paper Kim Bu-jang threw in the paper-producing dungeon was one such item.

“Ah, how nice it would be to touch this!”

He knew he couldn’t touch them, but Yunho reached out to the cigarettes and lighter, mesmerized. The urge to smoke was overwhelming.

But...

“...Huh!”

He could touch them!

“Oh my God! Are they items? They are items?”

It didn’t matter. The important thing was that he could touch them.

“Can I smoke them?”

His hand was already holding a cigarette. After putting it in his mouth, he lit it with the lighter.

Click!

And the flame rose.

Puff.

The familiar taste of tobacco in his lungs.

“Ah, crazy... This is amazing.”

He never thought it was possible. To touch items in the dungeon! And they weren’t even items.

This was Yunho’s second dungeon experience, and his first as a mercenary. The first time, he just followed and picked up items, so he didn’t notice. But now?

He needed to confirm.

Yunho went into the storage room and touched various items.

He could touch them. He could pick them up. He could feel the texture.

Metal tools, rusty nails, a mop, a plastic bucket, colorful paint cans, and a can of thinner with a pungent smell.

But who in their right mind would leave flammable materials and a lighter together? What if there was a fire...

“...Wait, fire? Thinner? Fire!”

That’s right. Fire.

Yunho picked up the can of thinner and shook it. It was full. How many cans? One, two, three, four... seven cans? Enough.

“Grr!”

Yunho took the cans of thinner out of the storage room and placed them on the roof railing.

“Crack!”

“Grrrr!”

“Kwooo!”

The horde of zombies was still screaming.

Thinner alone would burn out quickly. Mixing it with paint would make it more effective.

He mixed the thinner and paint in cans, carefully throwing them in different directions. Spacing them out was key!

The pungent smell of the liquid made the zombies even more agitated.

Now, the final touch.

“Any empty bottles? Ah, there they are.”

He poured a certain amount of thinner from the last can into a bottle, tore his underwear to plug the bottle’s mouth, and after a moment, lit it. Smoke and fire rose.

A crude but effective Molotov cocktail was made. He made three.

Yunho estimated the areas where the thinner was spread and threw the Molotov cocktails with all his strength.

“Damn, they’re all dead!”

Whoosh.

Thud!

Roar!

A bright red flame rose in the middle of the zombie horde.

“Kyaah!”

“Graah!”

“Kik? Kikik?”

One more!

Whoosh!

Thud!

Boom!

Roar!

It was a terrifying sea of fire.

“Wow, this is amazing.”

The heat was unbearable. The heat rose to the roof.

Zombies are weak against fire, especially old zombies. Their emaciated bodies burned spectacularly.

With no moisture in their bodies, once they caught fire, they burned until they were completely consumed. Soaked in thinner and set alight, they burned like dry firewood.

The burning zombies flailed and spread the fire to other zombies.

One more throw!

Boom!

“Wow, the firepower is stronger than I thought.”

Unexpected power. Like napalm bombs dropped from planes. Thick, acrid smoke rose.

The fire spread like a living snake, infecting and spreading on its own. It spread throughout the dungeon.

Roar, roar.

As the flames rose, the zombies’ screams gradually faded. The dead were countless, and many had fled.

After a while, the dungeon interior suddenly became quiet.

‘Is it over?’

It seemed so. Only the remaining embers and smoke were left on the roof.

Yunho hurriedly went down.

“Wow!”

He had hunted undead zombies in the dungeon. Hundreds of them, all at once.

What was left? Of course, the loot.