Chapter 3 - Chapter 3

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 3

Chapter Title: Awakening in the Myth Dungeon

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh..."

I cautiously opened my eyes and checked my body. I thought my whole body would have been shattered to pieces, but aside from a few scrapes on my palms, everything was fine.

'Where the hell am I, anyway?'

I'd definitely gotten off the train and was heading home. I remembered that just as I was almost there, a marble door suddenly appeared in the middle of the street.

I sat up and looked around. Chunks of stone and glass littered the ground, and I was in the middle of desolate ruins with no trees or buildings in sight. There wasn't a hint of human presence, not even an ant crawling by. Aside from the occasional whisper of wind and the growling from my stomach, there was no sound at all.

After walking about thirty meters, a conclusion quickly formed in my mind.

"...This seems like a dungeon."

A chill ran down my spine. I hurriedly pulled out my phone, but the screen only showed "Service Restricted Area" along with the emergency call icon.

Woooong.

As I shoved the phone back into my pants pocket, a roar like some beast echoed from far away.

'I'm screwed. It really is a dungeon.'

Dungeons were said to take the form of a snapshot from the region's history, myths, or legends. For example, a dungeon in Korea might recreate ancient Goguryeo, while one in Greece could depict a scene from Greek mythology.

Woooong.

At that moment, the beast's cry rang out again.

'Hide first. Gotta hide my body.'

I quickly ducked behind a nearby large boulder. Holding my breath to calm my pounding heart, I peeked out just enough to look toward the source of the sound.

"Hic."

There was a dragon. A massive dragon, like something inked by a brush, was circling high in the sky.

'Damn it, a myth dungeon.'

Myth dungeons were usually high-rank. Meaning the place I'd landed was meant for A-rank or higher hunters.

Breaking News. S-rank Hunter Selena Charlesdia dies in Georgia A-rank dungeon.

A-rank dungeon difficulties rising. Experts: 'Chance of solo clear by S-rank hunter approaches zero.' Hunter world in uproar.

A few internet news headlines flashed through my mind. My body trembled with primal fear.

Thud.

Then, my eyes met the dragon's.

'Why aren't the hunters coming?!'

Don't they send alert texts the moment a gate opens and dispatch hunters right away?!

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't do a thing in front of that massive dragon.

The dragon approached silently without roaring this time. It was far larger than it had looked through the rock gap, exuding an overwhelming presence.

Fwoosh.

In the midst of this bizarre standoff, the dragon lifted its head toward the sky again and opened its maw wide. Black smoke was sucked into its mouth, devouring even the moon floating above.

I knew instinctively. This dragon was going to kill me.

The dragon spewed the smoke it had swallowed earlier, and I bolted with everything I had. The massive boom pierced my ears, leaving a ringing tinnitus for a while.

"Huff, huff… What… the hell is this?"

Where I'd been standing moments ago now bubbled with black liquid, acrid smoke rising from it. No time to dwell on it—the dragon was flying right over my head. I ducked just in time to avoid collision, but the wind force sent me tumbling backward.

"Cough, kuh!"

Woooong.

Smoke and sand choked my throat, burning like fire. I couldn't just lie there with the dragon who-knew-where. I barely stood, but the ground shook, knocking me down again. Looking up, the sky was cracking like it might collapse any second.

"Huff, ugh, krrgh!"

I ran forward blindly. My legs gave out several times, knees bleeding, but trivial scratches were the least of my worries.

'There has to be a dungeon exit somewhere. If I can just escape, just escape...!'

Woooong.

A black shadow passed over me, and with a boom, black liquid splattered right in front of me.

"Aaaah!!"

I dodged sideways barely in time, but some splashed my calf, sending sharp pain racing up my leg. Collapsing, I saw the flesh melting horrifically.

"Urk."

The gruesome wound made me retch. Crawling with my arms to put distance from the dragon, I couldn't escape its shadow no matter what.

'Really? Am I dying this pathetically?'

Mom and Dad's faces flashed before me. Tears blurred my vision, and I saw Ji-yu lying in her hospital bed.

'Was this how Ji-yu felt, waiting for death?'

Jet-black despair tightened around my throat, dragging me toward death's door.

The dragon's maw slowly opened, black smoke swirling into its throat once more.

Sister, I hope you live a long, long time—to 300 years old.

Ji-yu's letter from my birthday came to mind. Our Ji-yu, who craved life more than anyone, her plea to me.

Thump, thump.

My heart pounded.

Every fiber of my being fiercely rejected death.

I can't die here.

I have a reason to survive.

"I absolutely cannot die here!!"

The world turned blindingly white in an instant. It felt like all the light in the universe gathered here, swallowing my body. As my eyes adjusted, blue text came into view.

"SS-Rank attack skill? What the..."

Thump, thump.

My stomach churned.

'...Feels strangely familiar.'

Surrounded by words like awakener, unique skill, attribute—things that had nothing to do with me—it was oddly not alien. Like someone's memory overwriting mine, as if my brain was being kneaded by another hand.

'One Who Steps on… What?'

Before I could finish reading, new text overlaid it.

"Aaaah!!"

Sudden pain tore through my body like it was being ripped apart. Squeezing my eyes shut and collapsing to the ground, a vision played before me.

Ruined city, bizarre monsters, people's screams, and in the midst of the chaos… a corpse lying there.

'Me.'

'What is this? What the hell is this?'

My body was shattered beyond imagination, blood from my head congealing stickily on the asphalt. Revulsion made me gag.

Then, "I" muttered something.

"Hey, don't screw up this time. Stop the world's end. And the traitor..."

"Wait! What did you say?!"

The vision faded like smoke, and the pain in my body began to subside. Propping myself up with my hands, I stood shakily and stared blankly at the awakening window.

Awakening, missions, emergency directives… So much to question, but a few things were clear.

'This world already ended once because of a traitor.'

And…

'I've regressed to live a second life.'

But the biggest problem: no memories from my past life.

For now, I had no choice but to follow this directive or whatever it was.

'Status window.'

For some reason, it came naturally. I opened my status and checked my skills.

So, if I yell, I can attack that dragon?

Rumble.

The ground shook as the text vanished, returning my surroundings to the gray ruins. Looking around for the dragon that wanted me dead, a huge shadow fell over my head.

Boom!!

"Argh, damn it!"

I rolled aside to dodge its black liquid and quickly regained my stance.

'I don't know what's going on, but I can't die here.'

Clutching my chest that felt ready to burst, I tracked the dragon with my eyes. As the black dragon opened its maw toward me, I took a deep breath and slowly parted my lips.

"Disappear!!"

Thwack.

My voice cracked as I screamed, unleashing a white shockwave like lightning toward the dragon. It pierced the dragon's body in an instant, its form wavering unstably.

Pop pop pop!!

Something burst with a sound, and the dragon's body scattered into the air. Black liquid poured from it, sizzling wherever it touched the ground like acid—even a small stone melted instantly.

"Huff, heok, haaa..."

'Gonna puke.'

The extreme tension released, horrific tinnitus ringing as my consciousness faded, vision turning black.

"Air Raid Shelter, activate."

The crimson flames engulfing Ji-ui grew into a perfect cube. It blazed fiercely, impervious to any attack.

Bang!!

A red-haired woman wreathed in flames crashed to the ground like a meteor. Despite the destructive impact, her face was serene.

She brushed off the flames around her casually, entered the cube, squatted before the unconscious Ji-ui, and examined her body and face. Confirming no major wounds, she scooped her up.

Whoosh.

As she exited the cube, the flames scattered, leaving only white smoke that vanished.

"...Tur."

Ji-ui's mumble halted the woman, who looked down at her.

"Choi Min… Hunter."

"Huh."

The woman inhaled sharply without realizing. This young girl, with nothing distinctive, was calling her name.

The funny thing: this stranger felt familiar.

'Is she really...?'

She alternated between Ji-ui's and her own status windows, biting her lower lip.

Bang!!

Setting aside understanding the situation, she rocketed into the air, kicked the floating marble door, and shot outside. Only unquenched flames remained in the ruins' sky.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Read 363 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!

https://noveldex.io/series/ss-rank-scream-hunter

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━