1.

It has been six years. The reason dungeons were quickly assimilated into society and easily accepted as part of daily life over the past five years is simple.

Animals in a zoo.

The certainty that a cage called a 'Gate' existed and that under no circumstances would the wild beasts escape.

As long as that certainty existed, humans could smile and wave at the beasts from outside the cage, observing them with fascinated eyes.

They willingly tolerated the beasts surviving among humans, even raising them as a means to relieve the fatigue of their weary daily lives.

That was the only reason.

The reason they did not harbor fear or terror toward monsters—creatures capable of shredding and killing players who possessed superhuman abilities, threatening humanity, and possessing the power to completely overturn the human food chain.

That is why greater chaos and fear washed over them now.

When the news broke that the beasts, who were never supposed to leave their cage, had escaped the zoo.

—Holy shit, a monster escaped the dungeon.

—What? How?

—Dunno.

Naturally, the community went into an uproar.

It happened on a mountain with little foot traffic, but the news spread instantly.

Why? How?

Countless speculations about the reasons and methods emerged.

But more important than that was handling what had already happened.

—What level was the dungeon that broke?

—I heard it's xxx's level 1?

—Then it shouldn't matter too much.

—They discovered it quickly, so if they figure out the number of monsters and deal with them, there shouldn't be major casualties.

Level 1 Dungeon monsters.

The reason the world hadn't turned upside down yet.

—There's a live video.

—It's on the news too.

People began to look into how the incident initially unfolded.

To understand what had happened.

* * *

Monsters coming out of a dungeon was incredibly dangerous.

Level 1 Dungeon monsters.

It was a combination of words that didn't seem very dangerous, but that only applied to players. To ordinary people, they were several times more dangerous than wild beasts in a zoo.

In particular, the cognitive dissonance between seeing a monster in a dungeon and seeing one in reality hit hard.

The appearance of the monsters broadcast live on the news confirmed this.

They instantly mauled wild animals they encountered and moved by following scents.

The reports said about ten to fifteen monsters had emerged, but only five were visible in the footage, which only increased the fear.

People who had tuned into the news thinking, 'It's only level 1 monsters, right?' began to slowly erase their complacent thoughts.

A monster that appears in reality is, in the end, still a monster.

The level doesn't matter.

The terror and fear that they could attack me, anytime, anywhere.

That is what it means for a monster to come out of a dungeon.

While pretending to be calm in their chats and conversations, people secretly prayed.

'Please let the escaped monsters be caught safely.'

'Please let this not happen where I live.'

One by one, players began to be deployed.

Starting from players living nearby to those dispatched from all over the country.

The fact that players from various regions, and even the Jeong Cheol Guild, were mobilizing—to the point where one might wonder if it was necessary for level 1 monsters—instilled a sense of relief and security in the people.

In fact, the monsters were being caught one by one.

The small anxieties sprouting in their hearts began to fade little by little.

And then, more concrete circumstances regarding the incident were revealed.

[Update]

▶ Dungeon Break

—Breaking News: Update details are up.

Along with a new hologram announcing a new world.

2.

"What is this? It's really like a game."

"An update... I never thought I'd see this in reality."

A hologram unfolded before the eyes of Kim Buja, who was traveling with Jeong Seora.

His incredulous gaze stared blankly into the air, unconsciously reading the listed text.

Knowing better than anyone that this was reality, and despite a year having passed since he drifted away from gaming, it was absurd enough to make him confuse reality with a game.

There had been no warning whatsoever.

It just suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Accompanied by the word 'Update,' something one would only expect to see in a game.

Of course, separate from his disbelief, his hand reached toward the hologram.

He was curious.

Wasn't the timing quite significant given what was happening right now?

When he clicked on the update history, the details unfolded.

▶ Dungeon Break

1. Along with the end of the Tutorial, Dungeon Traits are unlocked.

→ Trait 1: After a certain period following creation, the dungeon's barrier will dissipate.

2. Monsters in dungeons with applied traits will possess 1 random penalty.

3. Monsters in dungeons without applied penalties will have their stats enhanced.

4. Upon entering a Dungeon Break area, a 'Special Mission' is assigned. Various rewards are given based on difficulty.

It was content that was purely game-like.

Conversely, that meant there was absolutely no difficulty in understanding it.

A game-like update notice in a game-like world.

Because it was the field most easily accessible to Kim Buja.

To summarize, it was simple.

"This means dungeons are no longer safe golden fishing grounds."

"Exactly."

He nodded at Jeong Seora's words.

It seemed like a very minor difference, but it was by no means minor.

"It's going to get chaotic again."

"The earth might actually be destroyed, you know?"

No, there would be no one left who felt this was minor.

The logic was very simple.

One just had to make a single assumption.

Just like when dungeons first appeared.

At least when dungeons first emerged on Earth, all sorts of doomsday theories and anxieties were rampant, but people didn't panic.

Because it was okay to assume.

The worst of the worst.

'If Earth ended up like this because of dungeons, what would it be like?'

During the five years of the tutorial, it didn't really matter.

The only problems were that the number of dungeons increased too much, and the level of players clearing them was too low to handle the volume. As a result, dungeons were embedded here and there on every street, but other than that, there was no significant damage.

It was damage, sure, but no direct danger.

But now, it was different.

With this update, and with the end of the tutorial allowing monsters to come out into Earth, the standard for the 'worst-case scenario' had changed.

Coming out isn't a huge problem in itself.

If they are 1-star monsters like now, people can just evacuate appropriately and wait for the players.

Even if the number of players is small, players who can handle low-grade monsters will arrive quickly.

If push comes to shove, people with weapons can buy time.

Strictly speaking, based on low-level monsters.

There is a limit to what armed forces can handle.

Based on the worst-case scenario, if a dungeon breaks that the current number one ranked player cannot handle...

That is the worst.

The worst of the worst.

The event that could bring about the most damage among all possibilities.

"If an 8-star dungeon bursts right now, Earth is finished."

"..."

One might be okay.

If rankers from all over the world gathered, led by Fly, they could stop it.

The problem is the possibility of it bursting.

Since that possibility has been unlocked, there is no guarantee that only one will burst.

The moment they fail to stop it immediately, it begins.

The end of the Earth.

The extinction of humanity.

Even if not an extreme result, it would be the prelude to it.

That is why it's tense.

"The tutorial really is over."

A tutorial is literally a courtesy for new users.

A condensed version of the game created to give time to understand the massive worldview, controls, skills, and characters encountered for the first time.

It was exactly that much.

The dungeons over the past five years.

The sneering attitude of 'what more could come out?' vanished in an instant.

"...This is going to be fun."

Even in such a moment, Kim Buja actually smiled.

Because of this; because it approached with an unexpected difficulty that exceeded expectations.

It was drawn in his mind.

The atmosphere of the world that would unfold from now on, and the attitude players would take toward dungeons.

Simple, one-dimensional growth no longer exists.

The era where the player's goal was to repeatedly enter dungeons to earn money and farm items is over.

From now on, players exist literally to protect the Earth.

Information on how often, when, and in what manner Dungeon Breaks occur is still lacking, but players will grow in the process of finding out.

The public perception of players will also change.

Heroes.

Not everyone will be one, but this is an update where true heroes could be born into the world.

And it is the beginning of a story like a novel.

[Dungeon Break]

▶ Grade: Special Mission

▶ level: ★

▶ Content: Eliminate monsters escaped via Dungeon Break

▶ Reward: 1P

"Wow."

Seeing the hologram that appeared upon arrival, I felt it for sure.

"This novel really is trash with how unfriendly it is."

Just how considerate the hologram had been to players during the tutorial.

* * *

Countless players were deployed.

[Special Mission complete. Rewards are being distributed.]

[Contribution is insufficient.]

[You failed to acquire the reward.]

Less than 30 minutes after Kim Buja arrived, the hologram appearing before his eyes announced the end of the situation.

He didn't feel particularly disappointed or regretful.

In a situation where more than two hours had passed since barely ten monsters escaped, it would be strange to hope for even a single monster to pass before his eyes.

Excluding Jeong Seora and Kim Buja, players had flocked from all over the country.

It was more accurate to view it as them coming for a field survey to prepare for future changes, rather than a desire to enjoy wealth and glory by catching 1-star monsters.

"For now, we haven't confirmed what 1P is."

"I think we'll need to buy information from a player who completed the mission."

"Yes, well, it's probably a concept like points. Or something that will be activated in a future update."

Therefore, they moved to achieve the purpose of their visit.

Dungeon Break.

It's 1-star now, but no one knows when a 2-star or 3-star might burst.

To cope flexibly and block them efficiently when that happens, one must gather more information than others in advance.

In this situation where players have to find out information themselves.

In that respect, Kim Buja's experience was quite useful.

"The important things are the number of emerging monsters and the applied penalties, but seeing as they aren't on the Special Mission hologram, we'll have to confirm them by experiencing it firsthand. It seems the Dungeon Gate disappears once the barrier dissipates and all monsters come out. If we know the exact location where a Dungeon Break occurs, we could deduce it through the dungeon information that was there, otherwise well..."

It was just deduction.

Organizing the parts that should be prioritized along with things to prepare for.

Yet, it was sufficient.

"The most important thing is one thing."

"level?"

"Yes."

Eventually, all answers lead to one thing.

A Dungeon Break is ultimately just another dungeon.

Among the things needed to conquer all dungeons, the most important is the player's level.

The difference between a Dungeon Break and existing dungeons is that instead of the concept of challenging each level, the player challenges the monsters that come out of the dungeon.

Naturally, the higher the level, the more advantageous it is.

That means in front of a Dungeon Break, Kim Buja's advantages are no longer favorable conditions.

"I need to grind levels hard."

A bitter smile formed on its own.

* * *

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