Seo MinHyun tried to look brave. “Okay, listen here, you mad bastard.”

  Lee Aseok blinked slowly.

  “You can’t just—just—do that!” Seo MinHyun gestured wildly at the now-absent gate behind them. “You can’t just waltz into an A-rank dungeon, ALONE! and come out five minutes later like you went on a grocery run! Do you even have a survival instinct?!”

  Lee Aseok opened the car door.

  Seo MinHyun slammed it shut again with his back.

  Lee Aseok looked down at the door handle in silence, then at MinHyun, as though calculating how long it would take to move him by force.

  Seo MinHyun’s eyes twitched. “Listen, I get it! Everyone says you’re crazy, and yeah, I agreed, but even crazy people have limits!”

  Mu Yichen and Park Taegun finally caught up, just in time to watch MinHyun gesturing dramatically like a man truly on the edge.

  “There are protocols, okay? Safety checks! Coordination! For an A-rank gate, you need at least twenty hunters, proper support teams, healers, backliners, teleport anchors!”

  “I don’t need it,” Lee Aseok said.

  His voice was flat. Barely audible. As if even speaking was more effort than the dungeon just now.

  Seo MinHyun looked like he was going to combust. “You don’t—? You don’t need it?!”

  He whirled around to Mu Yichen and Taegun.

  “HELLO?! Am I the only one here who still believes in basic logic?!”

  Mu Yichen just smiled gently.

  Park Taegun, arms folded, finally spoke. “He’s not wrong.”

  MinHyun looked betrayed. “YOU TOO?!”

  Taegun looked at Lee Aseok. “Even if you're strong, going alone into high-rank gates is reckless. Statistically, gates can shift. Boss monsters mutate. Layouts change. Preparation saves lives.”

  Lee Aseok didn’t even blink. “I don’t need it.”

  “…What do you need, then?” Seo MinHyun asked, exasperated. “A playlist and a lawn chair?!”

  Lee Aseok turned slightly, as if actually considering that.

  Mu Yichen chuckled.

  “You’re not helping,” MinHyun snapped at him.

  Mu Yichen stepped forward, brushing invisible dust off his cuff. “He’s right about the risks, though,” he said gently. “Even S-rankers can die in A-rank gates. The deeper layers aren’t always predictable.”

  Then, almost casually, Mu Yichen reached out and grabbed Lee Aseok’s wrist.

  Lee Aseok calmly pulled his wrist from Mu Yichen’s hand like he was brushing off dust.

  “I’ll do whatever I want.”

  That was all he said. Again.

  His voice was flat. Expressionless. And in the quiet tension hanging in the air, it sounded like a declaration of war.

  Mu Yichen let out a long, measured sigh as he looked at Lee Aseok with the tired patience of a teacher dealing with a particularly unteachable student.

  Seo MinHyun, on the other hand, looked ready to combust.

  He pointed at Lee Aseok with a dramatic flourish. “You—! You’re just like a kid throwing a tantrum! ‘I don’t care! I’ll go where I want! I’ll fight what I want!’ What are you, twelve?!”

  Taegun stood beside him with arms crossed. He said nothing, but the crease in his brow said he agreed.

  Mu Yichen rubbed his temple. “Aseok-ssi… You’re not just any hunter now. You’re the one chosen by the holy sword.”

  He gestured calmly at the silent silver blade floating behind Aseok like a shadow with a mind of its own.

  “People are watching you. Expectations are high. You need a team—your hero’s party. You can’t do this alone.”

  Lee Aseok turned his gaze to the three of them.

  There was no anger in his eyes.

  Just a quiet, sharp disgust, like someone asked to eat something rotten.

  “I don’t want.”

  His tone was blunt. Unapologetic.

  Seo MinHyun’s eye twitched. His anger finally hit the boiling point.

  “You—!” he barked, stepping forward. “You think you can just say ‘I don’t want’ and be done?! What about safety protocols?! What about teamwork?! You’re not the only one risking your life here!”

  “I didn’t ask you to come,” Lee Aseok said without blinking.

  “Well, tough luck!” MinHyun shouted. “We’re following you anyway! You can’t stop us!”

  A pause.

  Lee Aseok stared at him.

  Seo MinHyun was breathing heavily, shoulders squared, eyes burning with a mix of pride and righteous fury.

  Then Lee Aseok sighed.

  A long, patient sigh.

  Like a man at the edge of giving up on humanity itself.

  And then…he smirked.

  It was small. But very noticeable.

  The corner of his lips curved upward, a little too cold, a little too knowing.

  The smirk wasn’t mocking.

  It was dangerous.

  Mu Yichen’s expression subtly stiffened.

  Taegun’s eyes narrowed.

  MinHyun’s mouth, which had been open to shout more, slowly closed.

  A chill ran down all three of their spines at once.

  Then Lee Aseok said quietly, “Fine. Follow me. But you’ll follow my orders.”

  He turned away, brushing past them like they were nothing more than furniture.

  Seo MinHyun blinked. “…Wait, that’s it? Just like that?”

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  “Apparently,” Taegun muttered.

  Mu Yichen, smiling gently, whispered under his breath, “That smirk didn’t feel like a win.”

  Still, they all nodded behind Aseok’s back, almost in unison.

  Because as much as they wanted to beat some sense into him, none of them felt comfortable letting this lunatic dive headfirst into another high-rank dungeon alone.

  Especially not the kind that somehow got cleared in five minutes.

  They trailed after him, somehow all feeling like they’d signed something terrible without reading the fine print.

  Lee Aseok reached the car, opened the trunk, and pulled out another device—a compact scanner that linked to real-time gate reports.

  Seo MinHyun eyed it warily. “Where did you even get that?”

  Aseok didn’t answer.

  He pressed a few buttons, then pointed at the display. A red blinking marker showed the location of another A-rank gate nearby.

  “…You’re not serious..” MinHyun began.

  “What are you going to do?” Seo MinHyun asked, still breathless from the last five minutes of soul-wrenching absurdity.

  Lee Aseok looked at him with an expression that could only be described as the death of all enthusiasm.

  “Gate clearing,” he replied.

  No embellishments. No explanations. Just those two words, delivered as calmly as someone ordering takeout.

  Mu Yichen, Seo MinHyun, and Park Taegun froze, a silent wave of disbelief washing over them.

  Again?

  At that moment, the three of them had no idea what kind of hell awaited them.

  But hindsight would eventually remind them: traveling with Lee Aseok meant peace was an illusion, and common sense was a luxury none of them could afford.

  With no fanfare, Lee Aseok walked to the parked car outside HQ and pointed at the gate coordinates on the real-time tracking device he “borrowed” from the meeting table like it was his personal property.

  “There,” he said, a tone devoid of emotion.

  Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he climbed into the backseat, folded his arms, and closed his eyes.

  “Drive,” he muttered to Park Taegun, as if he were some chauffeur instead of a high-ranking military officer.

  Park Taegun blinked, gave Mu Yichen a side-eye, and then wordlessly got behind the wheel.

  Seo MinHyun was still flailing. “We’re not seriously doing this again, right? We should at least check..”

  “Just get in the car,” Mu Yichen muttered as he opened the passenger door.

  Five minutes later, the four of them were speeding through the outskirts in a nondescript black vehicle, with the world’s most unpredictable man taking a nap in the backseat and a holy sword floating lazily behind the car like a loyal ghost.

  From a distance, the HQ staff who had been monitoring them were frozen. Someone dropped a tablet.

  Someone else whispered, “He’s on the move again.” Another person shouted, “He’s…he’s heading into another A-rank gate?! Already?!”

  Panic spiraled.

  Then came the first news ping.

  [BREAKING NEWS: Lee Aseok, the Holy Sword’s Chosen, Clears A-Rank Gate in Under Five Minutes.]

  By the time they reached the second gate, the story was everywhere.

  Social media buzzed with speculation. Forums exploded. Was Lee Aseok finally stepping into his role as humanity’s savior? Was the era of despair finally ending?

  Even the HQ, for once acting with actual coordination, began issuing carefully crafted public statements.

  Words like "cooperation," "hope," and "duty fulfilled" filled the headlines. For a brief, fragile moment, the world felt like it could exhale.

  But far away from all the flashing cameras and celebratory posts, a completely different atmosphere surrounded Lee Aseok.

  He stepped out of the car without a word. The staff stationed near the A-rank gate opened their mouths to greet him..

  And were completely ignored.

  Again.

  Like ghosts.

  He walked past them in his usual black coat, long hair swaying like a funeral banner, his iron rod resting over his shoulder.

  Inside the car, Pudding looked at his back and barked softly.

  The moment they stepped into the gate, the air changed, thick with heat, dense with smoke, and scorching enough to peel skin.

  Flames danced along the jagged obsidian walls. The ground sizzled under their feet. Lava flowed through cracked veins in the floor like blood in a dying god. Above, ash fell like dirty snow.

  The place felt like hell's kitchen had merged with a volcano.

  And in that cursed oven stood monsters, giant beasts wreathed in fire, with molten skin that hissed and popped.

  Their bodies were grotesque combinations of lizards and wolves, each one radiating enough heat to melt steel. Even the smallest among them stood twice as tall as a human.

  Mu Yichen, stepping in last, exhaled sharply and activated his skill. A radiant pulse swept over him, and his armor shimmered into existence, platinum edges lined with magical circuits.

  He unsheathed his Moonlight Sun sword, a dual-element blade that glowed faintly with both warmth and moonlight.

  Park Taegun wordlessly lifted his shield, activating his fortress-class tank skill. The earth under his feet trembled, a faint energy field forming around him.

  Seo MinHyun, not one to be outdone, spun his staff like a conductor about to drop the most dramatic note in history. “So, what’s the plan? I vote for overwhelming water power. Ice spell, maybe. Classic weakness combo.”

  “Wait,” Lee Aseok said.

  The word was flat, but something in it made the others freeze.

  Lee Aseok, still calm amidst the heat, adjusted his ponytail with one hand and raised the other to stop Seo MinHyun from casting.

  His cold gaze swept over them.

  “Who's the leader of this team?” he asked.

  Seo MinHyun blinked. “Uh…”

  Lee Aseok’s stare intensified.

  Seo MinHyun gulped. “You. It's you, obviously.”

  “Good.” Lee Aseok turned his icy eyes to Park Taegun and then Mu Yichen. “If you can’t follow my orders, then you’re no longer needed.”

  The words hit harder than expected, leaving a tense silence behind.

  Even the flames around them seemed to flicker lower in response.

  Seo MinHyun looked genuinely offended. “Why are you so bossy all of a sudden? You didn’t even want a team five minutes ago.”

  Lee Aseok ignored him.

  “Cast your strongest fire spell,” he said.

  Seo MinHyun froze. “Come again?”

  “I said,” Lee Aseok repeated, “use your most powerful fire magic.”

  Mu Yichen looked around. “This is a fire-based dungeon…”

  “Exactly!” Seo MinHyun flailed his hands in disbelief. “There’s magma. Lava. Literal flame demons crawling out of the rocks. Why would you want me to use fire?”

  Lee Aseok’s voice was calm and cold.

  “Because I said so.”

  Seo MinHyun opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then finally sighed. “Fine. I hope you know what you’re doing. I’m not cleaning up any corpses today.”

  “Park,” Seo MinHyun muttered, already sweating through his shirt, “get your shield up unless you want to be roasted meat.”

  Park Taegun wordlessly activated his barrier. A translucent blue dome expanded around them, crackling against the ambient heat of the dungeon.

  Lava rivers bubbled at their sides. Flames danced from the cracks in the ground. The air was heavy with soot and the stink of scorched monsters.

  Mu Yichen stood just behind them, sword resting lazily on his shoulder, his usual smile in place. He glanced at Lee Aseok and gave a soft chuckle.

  “So,” he said lightly, “what now, Leader?”

  Lee Aseok stood still, hands in his coat pockets, staring into the distance where fire-laced monsters were crawling toward them, massive lizard-like things with magma oozing from their joints and ember-red eyes glowing like dying stars.

  “Seo MinHyun,” Lee Aseok said, tone as flat as ever, “burn them.”

  Seo MinHyun gawked. “With what? Fire?! This is a fire dungeon. They live in fire. It’s like trying to drown a fish.”

  Lee Aseok didn’t blink. “Do it.”

  “Are you serious?” Seo MinHyun looked at Mu Yichen and Park Taegun for support, but both had seen enough at this point to know better than to argue with Lee Aseok when he used that voice.

  “I’m just saying,” Seo muttered as he raised his staff, “this is probably the dumbest spell I’ve ever used in my life.”

  The ground beneath him lit with intricate runes as his magic surged. A deep violet flame coiled up his staff, burning with an eerie hum that crackled through the air.

  “Infernal Burst!”

  A column of blinding, purple fire erupted from the staff tip, roaring forward like an unleashed demon. The heat wave alone made the ground ripple.

  The flame hit the monsters.

  And then..

  Everything exploded.

  The fire-based monsters didn't absorb the spell. They didn’t shrug it off. They screamed.

  Literally screamed.

  Dozens of them collapsed mid-charge, their molten skin boiling from the inside out, bursting apart like fire balloons.

  One particularly large one let out a dying howl and fell over sideways into a lava pool.

  There was a long pause.

  Seo MinHyun’s mouth fell open. “Wait. What?”

  Mu Yichen’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “They’re... burning?”

  “Okay, what kind of broken logic is this? Fire doesn’t burn fire!” Seo protested. “You don’t throw a lighter at a volcano and expect it to explode!”

  Lee Aseok didn’t answer. He just watched the flames consume the horde, eyes dull with indifference.

  The heat licked the edges of his coat, but he didn’t flinch.

  Then, without a word, he turned around and said, “Follow me.”

  And vanished.

  Literally vanished, like lightning across the battlefield, his form blinking out and reappearing ahead.

  The only thing left behind was the holy sword that had hovered loyally behind him, and a fresh trail of bisected monsters.

  Clean, even cuts. All dead.

  “Wait! Hey! You can’t just..” Seo MinHyun snapped. “We’re still here!”

  “Did he just... leave the holy sword behind?” Park asked, blinking.

  Mu Yichen’s expression didn’t change. “I think that was his version of an invitation.”

  “Why is he like this?” Seo MinHyun moaned. “It’s like babysitting a murder-happy ghost with control issues.”

  With no other choice, the three followed after him, throwing themselves into combat.

  Monsters emerged from every crevice, lashing out with magma-dripping claws, but none of them could match the chaos Lee Aseok had already unleashed.

  The group fought hard, Mu Yichen’s blade glowing like moonlight cutting through hell, Park’s shield absorbing wave after wave of searing blows, Seo MinHyun casting elemental spells with aggressive frustration.

  “This is insane,” Seo MinHyun muttered as he blasted another creature with a freezing explosion. “We’re running a relay race with a guy who doesn’t believe in teammates.”

  Park didn’t reply, just grunted as he slammed another monster to the ground.

  Fifteen minutes in, just as they reached what looked like the dungeon’s core chamber, a massive roar echoed through the burning cavern.

  Then….

  Silence.

  A heavy, eerie silence.

  Mu Yichen immediately slowed his pace.

  “Wait. That roar just now, was that the boss?”

  Seo MinHyun looked around in panic. “Don’t tell me he..”

  Before he could finish, Lee Aseok walked past them.

  Calmly.

  Unburned. Unscratched. Coat slightly rumpled but otherwise pristine.

  “You’re slow,” he said.

  every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Yes, every week!

  read ahead or just support me as I write, you can now find me on Patreon! Every bit of support helps me create more chapters (and maybe a few surprises in the future ??).

  https://www.patreon.com/c/LithutheBloom