Dungeon Predator (WN)

It was depressing within the Crow's Nest. Red Moon's Four Heavenly Kings and their subordinates had gone out to assassinate Kang Oh, but they had instead suffered a major defeat at his hands.

Red sat atop his skeletal throne, a smile mask covering his face. Scapi, Brutal Blade, and Taboo knelt before their master.

"Four of you left, but only three of you came back," Red said.

"I apologize."

"Please forgive me."

Scapi, Brutal Blade, and Taboo's heads simultaneously touched the floor.

If Red expelled them from Red Moon and the Shadow World, then they would have no place to go.

They would be hounded by bounty hunters, players they'd hurt, or guilds. Eventually, they'd be caught and spend the rest of their lives in prison.

If that happened, they'd be forced to delete their characters and start anew, or just quit the game altogether.

"Things like this can happen. Raise your heads," Red said nonchalantly. He didn't seem angry. There was no way of knowing what expression he wore under his mask.

"Clown's out. He's been banished from Red Moon."

They weren't loyal enough to each other to break him out of jail. At the same time, they couldn't just wait for him to get out of jail either.

If Clown deleted his character and started fresh, then there was even less reason to save him. After all, he'd be completely useless to him.

"Yes, sir," the three said simultaneously. They already knew that's what would happen.

"And as you saw, Kang Oh declared war on us."

Kang Oh declared war on them after passing Clown over to the Security Bureau. The footage was widespread, and could be seen all across Arthtory and Arth's other community sites.

"What do you think we should do?" Red asked.

"Please give us another chance," Brutal Blade said.

"A chance?"

"Yes. The three of us will kill him no matter what!" Brutal Blade said firmly.

"He's right."

"We will."

Taboo and Scapi said.

"You couldn't beat him when there were four of you. How could you possibly beat him with three?"

"We managed to kill him, but we didn't anticipate his Resurrection ability, so we ultimately failed... This time, we'll lure him into a trap with that in mind."

"Even without Clown?"

"We'll succeed no matter what."

Brutal Blade knew that Red didn't keep useless people around. In other words, if he didn't show why he deserved to be here, then he'd be banished like Clown.

"Fine. But you'll go as four, not three."

"Four? Who'll come with us?" Scapi asked.

"Tell him to come in."

The fox mask woman brought Shion with her. He was sporting a nasty expression.

"I gave you so much treasure, yet you came back in defeat. You have some nerve," Shion said sarcastically.

"Assassinations don't always work out. However, Red Moon always succeeds in the end. It doesn't matter who it is," Red said.

"What a pathetic excuse."

"Then why don't you try killing him yourself?"

"What?"

"We lost one of the Four Heavenly Kings. I can give you that spot."

"Are you crazy? Why would I work for you?"

Shion had once been the leader of the Hercules Guild. He had absolutely no intention of working as Red's underling.

"Haha, this'll probably be your last chance."

"What are you talking about?"

"This is the only place that'll accept you. If I banish you from here, then you'll go around getting killed left and right, and eventually quit the game. I suppose you can take solace in the fact that you were successful once upon ago."

"..."

Shion couldn't argue with that logic. He had no idea when the Storm and Breaker Guild's kill on sight order would end. There was a chance that it'd never be lifted.

"Gather your strength here. If you manage to kill me, then you can gain Red Moon for yourself. It could help you restore the Hercules Guild."

"Mm." Greed returned to his eyes. Red was right. He couldn't let things end here.

'I don't care if it comes from an angel or a demon. I need all the help I can get.'

"I have some conditions."

"Which are?"

"I won't serve you. We'll be partners instead."

"Do what you want. The others aren't my subordinates anyway; they're just waiting for me to slip up so they can kill me and take my place. Oh, right. There's a girl there too." Red scanned Brutal Blade, Scapi, and Taboo.

"I'm going to leave whenever I please."

"Hmph, do what you want."

The label of 'Red Moon' would follow him everywhere.

Shion would figure this out eventually. Once he joined Red Moon, he wouldn't be able to leave it whenever he wanted, or against Red's will.

"Fine. Then I'll become one of the Heavenly Kings for a short while."

"Use Clown's subordinates as you please. You could also bring your subordinates from your Hercules Guild days too."

"Got it." Shion nodded his head.

'I need to take revenge on Kang Oh first.'

He planned on doing things step by step. He would take revenge on Kang Oh, take control of Red Moon, and then revive the Hercules Guild!

"The four of you can decide how you want to kill Kang Oh. But keep this in mind. You won't get another chance," Red said.

"Yes, sir," Scapi, Taboo, and Brutal Blade simultaneously replied.

"Alright," Shion replied curtly.

With this, Shion joined Red Moon, and the Four Heavenly Kings began preparing for Kang Oh's assassination once more.

However, they couldn't try to kill him right away.

'We need a more thorough plan.'

They'd experienced Kang Oh's overwhelming strength firsthand. Moreover, Red had stated that he wouldn't forgive failure twice!

They couldn't help but be cautious. Thus, Kang Oh and Red Moon wouldn't meet for the time being.

* * *

For a few days, Kang Oh waited for Red Moon to take revenge on him in a small village near Altein.

He'd make full use of this opportunity, and see Murderer Red, someone who was even more notorious than Dukeram himself.

However, Red Moon never showed itself.

"They're unexpectedly quiet," Sephiro said.

While Kang Oh was busting his ass escaping the trap, Sephiro had been fighting against Yaksha and the Killing Ghost Squad. Sephiro had given it his all, and had just barely survived.

Gyaa.

Waryong uttered weakly. It'd been grievously injured fighting Yaksha, so it was currently recuperating.

"It feels like they'll attack us when we let our guard down," Kang Oh said.

"Then what do we do?"

"We can't wait for them forever. Especially now." Kang Oh grinned. Soul dungeons were all the rage right now!

They presented him with an opportunity to make a ton of money, so he couldn't wait for Red Moon any longer.

"We'll continue looking for soul dungeons."

"Alright."

"We'll start with the Twisted Fortress, which we weren't able to go to last time."

"Ok. But please let me leave Waryong at the Tamer Guild. He can't fight yet."

"I'll see you at Altein's intercity transfer gate."

"Yes."

Sometime later...

Kang Oh and Sephiro teleported to a city nearby the Twisted Fortress. This time, they were able to reach the dungeon without any interference.

[Entering the dungeon, Twisted Fortress.]

It was suspected that the Twisted Fortress was a soul dungeon. Thus, several players were already here.

This could be seen in every dungeon suspected of being a soul dungeon. These prospective soul dungeons had become battlefields.

Bark!

As soon as a dog-faced, armored monster respawned, players rushed in and killed it.

The Twisted Fortress was a terrible hunting ground. After all, there were a ton of people here.

However, Kang Oh and Sephiro didn't come here to hunt. The monsters here were only about level 300.

Plus, Kang Oh and Sephiro wore inconspicuous clothing, so no one recognized them.

Kang Oh calmly scanned the dungeon.

How much time had passed?

'This is it.' He felt a suspicious feeling, as if something was hidden here!

The walls consisted of similarly shaped, different colored tiles. Once he saw a faded tile, however, his Hyper Intuition activated.

Kang Oh stroked the tile. Normally, a tile like this would act as a button, so pushing it would open a secret door.

However, it wasn't a normal device. Pushing, pulling, or sliding it to the side didn't do anything.

It was only natural. After all, Kang Oh wasn't the first person to find this tile. If it was a simple device, then someone would've found the secret door already.

"Is that it?" Sephiro asked.

"Yes," Kang Oh glanced around and muttered. Some people were watching him.

However, there were plenty of people that came here examining the tiles. Thus, they quickly lost interest and went someplace else.

"It doesn't seem like a normal device," Sephiro said after examining the tile.

"There may be a magic circle engraved behind the tile. The kind of magic circle that responds to a key," Kang Oh said.

"What if we just break it?" Sephiro knocked on the tile and said.

"Break it?"

"Yes. This tile seems empty on the inside, unlike the others."

Whack, whack.

Sephiro smacked a different tile. To Kang Oh, however, the tiles made the same sound.

"They sound the same."

"There's a slight difference. You wouldn't be able to tell unless you had a class like mine, which sharpens your hearing," Sephiro said.

Sephiro was a Giant Hunter. A Hunter's sight, smell, and hearing were extremely sharp.

"So there's something inside?" Kang Oh checked again.

"I'm absolutely sure there is." Sephiro whacked the tile again, and nodded his head with certainty.

"Then I'll break it and see what's inside."

A dungeon's walls, ground, etc. could be broken. After some time had passed, whatever was broken would be restored to its original state.

Kang Oh took a look around, and then slammed his fist into the tile.

Crumble!

The tile broke into pieces, emitting a sound akin to crushed crackers, and revealed a space behind it.

There was a round switch inside. The type of switch that'd activate if you pressed on it!

"Breaking it was the right move." Sephiro looked at the switch and grinned.

"Then please do what we always do."

"Yes."

Kang Oh leaned against the wall, covering the switch, while Sephiro went off into the distance.

A short while later...

"Over here! The hidden dungeon's over here!" Someone's yell resounded throughout the dungeon.

"What!?"

"Where is it?"

The players rushed towards the source of the noise. Sephiro, who'd completed his mission, joined Kang Oh a short while later.

"Let's go." Kang Oh pressed the button.

Creak!

A portion of the wall rose, revealing the entrance to the hidden dungeon.

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon, Veteran's Refuge.]

Kang Oh and Sephiro quickly entered the dungeon.

Soon after they entered, the hidden dungeon's entrance closed back up. The switch hidden behind the tile had been fully restored too.

Sometimes, there'd be a device inside the hidden dungeon that closed the entrance. This hidden dungeon happened to have such a device.

Once the two entered, they immediately activated the device and sealed the hidden dungeon's entrance shut.

Of course, there were many hidden dungeons that didn't possess this feature.

In those cases, it was clear that other people would enter the dungeon after you, so the best option was to go through the hidden dungeon as fast as possible, and check whether it's a soul dungeon or not. If it was, then you had to kill the guardian ASAP.

Anyhow, Kang Oh and Sephiro quickly went through the hidden dungeon, Veteran's Refuge.

Befitting its name, the monsters here all had the 'Veteran' title. However, they were no match for Kang Oh and Sephiro.

The hidden dungeon itself wasn't all that large, and it didn't take that long for them to reach the innermost area.

And...!

They were greeted by a giant dog-faced monster that wore flashy armor.

Keoheong!

The monster roared.

[You have discovered General Woongska.]

"I'm Woongska, a general of the great Yellow Dog Tribe."

It was clear that this was a soul dungeon. Kang Oh and Sephiro's faces brightened.

"A guardian."

"He's a guardian."

"That's right. I'm the Twisted Fortress's manager."

"Enough with the chit chat. What do you want?" Kang Oh asked.

"Leave immediately. I won't betray my master!" Woongska yelled. He was clearly an extremely loyal guardian.

"What's he saying?" Kang Oh stared at Sephiro.

"I think he wants a beating." Sephiro had accompanied Kang Oh for a long time now, so he knew exactly what Kang Oh wanted to hear!

"That's right." Kang Oh grinned and rushed at Woongska.

A short while later...

Whimper!

Woongska cried out, and gave up the soul stone.