Chapter 130 – Suspicion (１)

News of the raid spread fast.

The press releases each guild had put out from camp shot out to media outlets around the globe, and as if they’d been waiting for it, news organizations and media channels began covering the Level-9 Dungeon raid.

[Third Gate Breach Successful!]

[Progress Exceeding All Expectations!]

[Full-Scale Analysis of the Monsters Encountered!]

[Experts Weigh In on the Level-9 Dungeon…]

All kinds of interpretations and opinions about the Level-9 Dungeon flooded in.

The monsters appearing inside the dungeon, the environment within.

Predictions on future progress, analyses of the Superhumans participating in the raid.

Even speculation on when the next raid would take place and which new Superhumans might join.

‘He’s really climbed to a place I can’t even reach anymore.’

Jiyun was checking the news about the Level-9 Dungeon raid from her own home.

‘Amazing. Truly.’

She also knew that Jun had joined the Level-9 raid.

What she felt toward him now wasn’t jealousy.

There was no reason to be jealous of him in the first place, and besides, Jun had risen too high for jealousy to even make sense.

‘I never imagined Oppa¹ would take part in a Level-9 Dungeon.’

She’d always thought he’d reach that position someday, but she never imagined it would come this quickly.

Hearing the news, Jiyun felt a swell of pride, as if she’d accomplished it herself.

‘But these bastards…’

Not everyone in the world shared her feelings, though.

One of the hottest topics on the internet right now was Jun’s participation in the raid.

[Fuck, here we go again, busing him in to prop up Hwarang’s rookie.]

[Same shit different day lol star-making machine]

[No shame at all. A Level-9 Dungeon and they’re still trying to bundle him in.]

[That is a bit much, yeah.]

“‘Bundle him in’ my ass… Those clueless pricks.”

Criticism rained down on Jun.

Truth be told, it was only to be expected.

Of course people would question it; of course they’d find it hard to believe.

It would’ve been the same even if it were some other rising star in Jun’s place.

A Level-9 Dungeon wasn’t the kind of place just any promising rookie could join.

The Level-9 Dungeon Raids were a stage reserved for the cream of the world’s best.

Jiyun tapped at her keyboard.

[Think about it logically, it doesn’t make sense. What kind of idiot would send someone to their death just to manufacture a star? If they were determined to push someone, there are a thousand ways to do it. Right? Being summoned for a Level-9 Dungeon Raid means his skill has been proven beyond doubt!]

That was Jiyun’s take on it.

Of course, she didn’t think Gijun was as strong as the other Superhumans there.

But there was no doubt he’d been called in because he had something uniquely exceptional about him.

Something only Gijun could do.

A special weapon of his own that could bridge the gap in skill with the other Superhumans.

But the response, predictably, was icy.

[Baek Gijun, welcome back lololol]

[Gijun, isn’t it cold in Siberia?]

[The cope is unreal lololol]

[Tch tch tch just go to bed already]

A torrent of hate comments flooded in within seconds.

No one defended Jiyun’s position.

She knew it was the expected reaction, but it still stung, and there was no helping that.

But then.

[Huh? A breaking news alert just dropped!]

[What is this?]

[What the hell is this saying?]

[Holy shit]

[…No way]

“…What’s got them all worked up?”

A sudden avalanche of question marks.

Curiosity rose in Jiyun too.

If it was breaking news, it had to be about the Level-9 Dungeon.

[Here’s the link! For anyone who hasn’t seen it, click in and check it out!]

Jiyun clicked the link.

And at that moment.

“…No way.”

Her eyes went wide.

The article she confirmed was about the Level-9 Dungeon’s third gate.

[Breaking: The only Superhuman to clear the third gate is Baek Gijun, alone.]

[(Breaking) Baek Gijun solo defeats Level-9 Dungeon’s third gate]

.

.

.

It was the moment news that Gijun had broken through the third gate alone spread across the entire world.

“…Holy shit.”

In the end, Jiyun couldn’t hold back either and had to let out a curse.

It was truly a shocking piece of news, enough to make her head spin.

And in that instant, the Superhuman community she was logged into had its server crash.

Countless traffic had poured in all at once.

*

White Wood, Woo Jimin, Brad, and even Ha Taehyeong — all of them were there.

Every single one of them had just confirmed the breaking report.

The news about Gijun was the last to be reported.

Even they needed time to process the report’s contents.

Since it was such a shocking story, they had to pack in as much supporting material as possible.

It was a story even they found hard to believe while writing it — to convince the public, they’d need solid evidence, wouldn’t they?

So it took a while to gather and fill in enough supporting material to patch over the parts that might raise suspicion.

“…At this point, I don’t think anyone can doubt Mr. Gijun’s abilities anymore.”

“Probably not.”

“Naturally.”

The three of them also inserted their testimonies as concretely as possible.

Woo Jimin, White Wood, Ha Taehyeong.

The scene they’d witnessed after charging into the dungeon to rescue Gijun.

Plus the voice conversation logs recorded on the smartwatch.

If anyone questioned this, it would be tantamount to challenging all three of them.

Because these three were staking their names on vouching for Gijun’s feats.

“Looks like all hell broke loose after all.”

“What did you expect? My phone’s already blown up to the point it’s useless.”

“Same here.”

“Mine too.”

Their phones had been ringing off the hook already.

Every media outlet, reporter, guild official, association contact — you name it.

Everyone in the superhuman industry was pouring every effort into getting even a single word with them directly.

“And yet you, my friend, are remarkably calm.”

And then there was Gijun, the man at the center of the storm.

Unlike the others, he looked perfectly at ease.

“I turned my phone off ages ago. Honestly, not many people even have my number.”

Gijun hadn’t been active as a superhuman for very long.

So despite his accomplishments, his connections were practically nonexistent.

The only superhumans he’d exchanged contact info with were a few from the Hwarang guild.

There was no way people from his old guild would reach out to Gijun now.

Not that he’d have any reason to answer even if they did.

“Anyway, let’s start getting ready to pull out.”

Brad said.

The first Level 9 Dungeon Raid.

They hadn’t even come close to reaching the end, but the result could still be called a resounding success.

*

“Is this for real? What the hell is this Baek Gijun bastard…”

Around that time, in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

A man wore an expression full of grievance.

“But what can you do? With them testifying like that, we can’t exactly deny the facts.”

The man sitting across from him replied.

These two were superhumans from Korea’s Cheolgun guild.

Cheolgun was also a major guild, ranking in the Republic of Korea’s top ten.

Not on the level of Hwarang, but it was undeniable that they were a giant guild nonetheless.

The man grumbling in discontent was Kim Myeonghwan, a mage and Gijun’s former classmate from the Academy.

“Hyung², come on, this is insane. You’re telling me that bastard Baek Gijun cleared the 3rd Gate all by himself?”

Kim Myeonghwan spoke again.

The man sitting across from him replied with a somewhat questioning look.

That man was the Cheolgun Guild Master, Kang Baeyeong.

“Certainly… it’s not exactly an easy story to swallow.”

He, too, harbored doubts about this whole incident.

As it was, Cheolgun already felt inferior to Hwarang and Ure.

And the fact that not a single one of Cheolgun’s superhumans had been allowed to participate in this Level 9 Dungeon Raid was a major source of resentment.

That was when it happened.

A sharp, electronic ring cut through the air.

Kang Baeyeong’s smartphone buzzed — the Cheolgun Guild Master’s personal line.

“See? I’m not the only one.”

The call on the other end was from another guild master inside the top ten.

He picked up and exchanged a few words.

After a brief moment, he ended the call. Kim Myeonghwan turned to him and asked,

“What was that about?”

“Same story. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t add up.”

“…Think we can blow this up a bit?”

Kim Myeonghwan’s expression turned meaningful as he spoke.

“What?”

“Well, we’re not the only ones who feel this way, are we? Everyone must be thinking it. No matter how you slice it, it’s just unbelievable.”

“Yeah, but what can we do? Those three staked their names on it. Baek Gijun clearing the Third Gate is an undeniable fact. All the documents are verified.”

“But what if the Third Gate was just… a little unusual?”

“…What do you mean?”

Kang Baeyeong’s eyes went wide.

“There are times like that, aren’t there? You know—Dungeons where clearing a specific mission finishes the whole place. So maybe the third gateway is the same kind of case. Baek Gijun definitely cleared that gate, but he didn’t hunt down every Monster in there. What if he stumbled on some Gimmick and cleared it easily?”

“…Hmm.”

Kang Baeyeong’s eyes narrowed slowly.

It was a plausible theory.

No—this was more likely the truth.

After all, the very idea that a Superhuman like Baek Gijun had the skill to fully clear a single gate in a Level 9 Dungeon was almost impossible to entertain.

“He’s playing smart. Mixing lies with truth just enough to manufacture a spectacle—desperate to build himself up as Baek Gijun the star.”

“Right. That makes sense. But what’s your point? You want to expose the secret or something?”

Kim Myeonghwan shook his head.

“There’s no way he’d pull such a crazy stunt. Doesn’t even seem possible to begin with. But what if we turn that cheap trick around and swallow him whole?”

“You, surely you don’t mean…”

“Yes. Let me go up against that bastard Baek Gijun. Like an event match between classmates. How about this: the academy’s top graduate and the dead-last meet again after ten years to test their skill.”

“That might actually be worth trying.”

“It’s not just worth trying — we have to do it. From this very spot, I’ll become the Superhuman who beat the mage who solo-cleared the third gate at Level 9.”

“Right. I suppose so.”

Kim Myeonghwan never entertained the premise that he might lose to Gijun.

No matter how he turned it over, he couldn’t picture a future where Gijun defeated him.

By now, Kim Myeonghwan and Kang Baeyeong had already concluded that the third gate Gijun cleared was one solvable through a special Gimmick.

“And a Gimmick that barely demanded any effort, at that.”

“I don’t know how that bastard got so strong so fast, but there’s no reason I should lose to him.”

“Right. Exactly. That’s nonsense.”

The two men locked eyes for a moment.

Then Kang Baeyeong nodded.

“Okay. Wait and see.”

1. Oppa — an affectionate term a younger woman uses for an older man she is close to; literally “older brother.”

2. Hyung — a term a younger man uses for an older man or brother; literally “older brother.”