[Opening Scene: Gangnam Station – Entrance to the Dungeon]
The police barricades trembled as Michael approached, his Hunter ID gleaming in the flashing red lights. Officers moved aside, whispering as he passed.
OFFICER LEE: (muttering) "That's the guy who took down the Shadow Lurker solo..."
Captain Jin waited at the dungeon's swirling portal, arms crossed.
CAPTAIN JIN: "You sure about this, Michael? No reconnaissance, no backup—just you walking into an unranked anomaly?"
Michael adjusted his gloves, eyes fixed on the pulsating gateway.
MICHAEL: "This 'unranked anomaly' is about to be classified as a C-rank dungeon. Send anyone else in first, and they die screaming."
A rookie Hunter, Kim Seung, stepped forward, his new armor still gleaming.
KIM SEUNG: "Then let me come with you. I can handle myself!"
Michael eyed the kid—barely twenty, eager to prove himself. The same rookie who'd died first in his original timeline, torn apart by dungeon spiders.
MICHAEL: (sighing) "...Fine. But you follow my lead. One misstep, and you're monster chow."
[Scene 2: Into the Darkness]
The dungeon's interior defied physics—a cavernous subway tunnel stretched into impossible depths, walls lined with pulsating veins. Kim's flashlight flickered.
KIM SEUNG: (nervous laugh) "Heh. Kinda feels like we're being watched, huh?"
A skittering sound echoed from the shadows.
MICHAEL: (drawing his sword) "Because we are."
A dozen Frost Spiders dropped from the ceiling, their crystalline fangs dripping paralytic venom. Kim barely had time to scream before Michael moved.
MICHAEL: "Crimson Aura: Ignition."
His blade erupted in scarlet flames, bisecting three spiders mid-leap. Ichor splattered the walls as the remaining creatures hissed, retreating.
KIM SEUNG: (staggering back) "W-what the hell was that?!"
MICHAEL: "Lesson one: Dungeons adapt. Cold weakens fire, so this one spawned ice-attribute monsters to counter pyrokinesis." He kicked a spider's carcass. "Too bad I don't need flames to kill them."
[Scene 3: The First Boss]
Deeper in, the tunnel opened into a grotesque chamber—a nest of webbed corpses, human and animal alike. At its center loomed the Frost Queen Spider, a towering monstrosity with six glowing blue eyes.
FROST QUEEN: (chittering) "Huuuungry..."
Kim froze, his sword shaking.
KIM SEUNG: "We—we have to retreat! That's at least a B-rank!"
MICHAEL: (cracking his neck) "Nah. It's a warm-up."
The spider lunged.
Michael vanished, reappearing above it in a blur of crimson. His sword carved through its main eye, but the beast retaliated—a whip-like leg slammed into his ribs, sending him crashing into a wall.
KIM SEUNG: "MICHAEL!"
MICHAEL: (spitting blood) "I'm fine. But you—MOVE!"
He yanked Kim aside as a spray of frozen venom turned the ground where he'd stood into jagged ice.
MICHAEL: (grinning) "Okay. Now I'm annoyed."
[Scene 4: Eclipse Severance]
The Crimson Aura around Michael intensified, swirling like a storm. The spider reared back, sensing danger.
MICHAEL: "Sword Art: Eclipse Severance—First Form."
A single slash.
The air itself split, a crescent of red energy shearing through the Frost Queen's body. For a heartbeat, the monster stood intact—then its upper half slid clean off, dissolving into ash.
KIM SEUNG: (collapsing to his knees) "...Holy shit."
Michael wiped his blade, eyeing the dungeon's core—a pulsating blue orb—now exposed.
MICHAEL: "We're done here."
[Scene 5: The Aftermath]
Back at HQ, the medical team swarmed Kim, who babbled about "flaming swords" and "dungeon physics." Director Kang watched the debrief with a raised brow.
DIRECTOR KANG: "You cleared a C-rank dungeon—alone—in 17 minutes. A new record."
MICHAEL: "Would've been faster without the kid."
She slid a folder across the table.
DIRECTOR KANG: "Then you'll love this. The Han River dungeon just opened. Exactly where you predicted."
Michael's smile faded.
MICHAEL: (standing) "How many Hunters deployed?"
DIRECTOR KANG: "Forty-two. Why?"
A cold weight settled in his chest.
MICHAEL: "Because in eight hours, only eight will be alive."
[Chapter End Hook]
As Michael sprinted for the exit, his phone buzzed—an unknown number. The message read:
UNKNOWN: "Running won't save them, little king. The Monarchs are watching."