← I was summoned to another world and inherited an entire dungeon.As Junho ventured deeper into the cave, the air changed.
At first, it was subtle. The degree of humidity. The temperature. The smell. Junho couldn't remember how many years he'd been working in an office, breathing the same air for so long. The air here was different. Heavier. As if something was mixed into it.
The ground beneath his feet changed too. At first it was hard rock, but gradually it became softer. Soil. Moss. Wet things. The soles of his shoes grew damp.
And there was light.
At first, he thought it was an illusion. But it wasn't. A faint green glow was emanating from the walls. Bioluminescent moss? Junho raised his hand and brought it closer. As his fingers touched the wall, the green light grew slightly brighter.
It was warmth. The warmth was coming from that light.
Junho stopped. To catch his breath. To check that his heart wasn't beating too loudly.
He couldn't tell how deep he'd come. Time was the same. He tried to look for his wristwatch, but he couldn't read the dial in the darkness. The only thing he was certain of was that he wasn't tired. There was no fatigue that usually came around 2 PM when he worked late nights.
It was strange.
Junho started walking again.
Toward where the green light grew stronger. It might have been instinct, or perhaps simply a desire to escape the darkness.
He walked with one hand against the wall.
His foot caught on a small stone on the ground. Junho didn't fall. Balancing his body was easier than before. This was strange too. Normally, Junho often stumbled even on stairs.
The green light grew stronger and stronger.
And then, that moment.
He heard a voice.
"I've been waiting long."
Junho's feet stopped.
Where did the voice come from? From ahead? From behind? No. From above? From the wall?
"Don't be frightened, child."
It was a woman's voice. But being a woman didn't make it gentle. The voice had depth. It had age. As if the mountain itself was speaking.
"Do you know where you are?"
Junho opened his mouth. But no sound came out. His throat was dry.
"Speak. Don't be afraid."
The voice came from everywhere. And from nowhere at the same time.
Junho took a deep breath.
"Who are you?"
The voice laughed. The laughter echoed through the entire cave like a reverberation. Junho wanted to cover his ears, but he didn't move his hands. It felt like moving would be more dangerous.
"You are mine."
"What?"
"This place is yours. And I am of this place. Therefore, you are mine."
Junho didn't understand.
"What... are you?"
Silence flowed. The green light pulsed quietly. As if breathing.
"Those with names are still too early for me. But if you wish to call me, call me Lumi. In your language, that is closest."
Lumi.
Junho repeated the name in his mind. Only in his mouth. He didn't speak it aloud.
"Why... are you here?"
"More precisely, you should ask why you are here."
"Yes. Why am I here?"
Silence again. The green light grew brighter. The cave gradually revealed itself. The walls were smoother than expected. They seemed artificially polished. And the floor had patterns. Geometric patterns. Junho felt like he both understood and didn't understand what they were.
"The world has changed."
Lumi's voice resonated.
"When it happened doesn't matter. Three months ago would be about right, but time has no meaning to me. In any case, the world has changed. Rules appeared. Rules like a game. Have you felt it?"
Junho couldn't answer.
"Within me, it's clearer. This place is... old. Very old. More than 200 years. And when that rule touched me, I awoke. An old and forgotten consciousness awakened again. And that rule told me it would give you to me."
"Give me... to you?"
"You will be the master. The master of this place. My master."
Junho's legs trembled. This wasn't reality. He was certain. He must have been sleeping at the office. He must have fallen asleep at his desk during overtime and was dreaming.
But at the same time.
The green light was bright.
He felt his fingers. He felt the humidity of the air. He felt the roughness of the stones beneath his feet.
This wasn't a dream.
"What... are you?"
"I am this place. The consciousness of this place. The heart of this place. And now you will become the hands of this place."
Lumi's voice grew closer. Not from above, but from everywhere. From the cave walls. From the floor. From the air itself.
"Are you afraid?"
Junho nodded silently.
"Good. That much is normal. And you are not alone. There are other things here. Things already awakened. They are waiting for you."
"Other... things?"
"Go and meet them. They are already close. Only the darkness was thick."
The green light exploded into brightness.
Junho closed his eyes. It was too bright. When he opened them after a few seconds, the world had completely changed.
It wasn't a cave.
It was a vast space. The ceiling was high, and the walls were far. The green light was coming from everywhere. Like moss. Like fungus. No, something more alive than that.
And there were things moving there.
Transparent creatures that had only been visible in the darkness were now clearer under the green light. There wasn't just one. There were several. Each of different sizes. Different movements.
And there were larger, darker things too.
They didn't move. Like rocks.
"Now it begins."
Lumi's voice whispered in Junho's ear alone.
"You are now the master."
Junho reached out his hand. He wanted to touch the green light. The moment his fingers made contact with the luminescent moss, warmth flowed through him. It wasn't heat. It was a different sensation entirely. Like someone holding his hand. Yet what he had touched was only moss.
As Junho withdrew his hand, the green light grew slightly brighter.
"It responds," Lumi said. "The wall has recognized you. Everything in this place has recognized you."
Junho slowly turned around. He tried to comprehend the scale of this vast space. Would the conference room in his office even reach the feet of this place? No. This was the size of a subway station. No, it was larger. The ceiling was impossibly high. There had to be dozens of meters between here and where the green light faded away.
"A few years ago... no, you said three months ago," Junho murmured. "This place... it already existed?"
"Over two hundred years."
Lumi's answer was clear.
"Then why now? Why me?"
Junho turned toward the transparent creatures. They were still moving. Slowly. Carefully. As if observing him. One of them drew closer to Junho. It was about the size of a finger. Something flowed within its transparent body. Like blood. No, something brighter. Something the same color as the green light.
"That is Geurim," Lumi said.
"Geurim?"
"A name. I gave it to you. The weakest thing here. The most transparent."
The transparent creature called Geurim drew even closer to Junho. Its movements were full of curiosity. Like those of a child.
"And that one is Seokwha."
Lumi pointed to the dark thing. The one that had not been moving. A massive stone-like form slowly lifted its head. It had no eyes. Or perhaps it was impossible to tell. But Junho felt that it was looking at him. A weight felt through his skin. A different kind of perception, not a gaze.
Junho's breathing became shallow.
"What are those things?"
"They are what dwell in the dungeon. Some call them monsters. But they are not mere beasts."
Lumi's voice drew closer. Close enough to touch his ear. It was warm. That voice was like a story a mother tells her child. But its content was stranger than any fairy tale.
"Three months ago, the world changed. In your words, the 'System' arrived. At first, only a few humans awakened. They learned the rules, gained numbers, and obtained power. But this place was different."
Lumi paused. The green light pulsed once more, shining brightly like a heartbeat.
"This place was already awake. For two hundred years. It was waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For its master."
Goosebumps rose across Junho's body. Visible goosebumps. The fine hairs on his arms stood on end.
"I am the consciousness of this place," Lumi continued. "I am the wall, the light, the air. And these two as well," Lumi gestured to Geurim and Seokwha. "They are what dwell here. But we were... incomplete."
"Incomplete?"
"We had no master. We had no dungeon. We were merely an old space. In your words, just a cave."
Something like sadness tinged Lumi's voice. But it soon faded.
"Then three months ago, the rules changed. The 'System' descended upon the world, and at the same time, we realized something. We could become a dungeon. But for that... we needed a master."
Junho opened his mouth to speak. Dozens of questions came to mind. But Lumi spoke first.
"Why you? I think you want to ask that."
"Yes... why?"
"It is fate. Or coincidence. They are the same thing."
Lumi laughed. That laughter echoed through the green light. As if the entire cave were laughing.
"You were supposed to die here. You collapsed while working late. It was because of your weak heart. But you fell here. To us. And we saved you. We made your heart ours. We filled it with green light."
Junho touched his own chest. His heart was beating. Too fast. As if beating for the first time.
"Now you are the master of this place. Legally, you will be. It will be decided that way in the outside world. Dungeons are protected by law. So are their masters. You are no longer an ordinary employee."
"And Geurim... and Seokwha?"
"They are yours. You must manage them. You must nurture them. You must love them."
Lumi's voice softened. Like a mother introducing her sons.
Junho looked at Geurim again. The transparent creature the size of a finger was still approaching him. With movements full of curiosity.
"That dark one... Seokwha?"
"He is the strongest here. He has protected this place for two hundred years. But now he awaits your command. He will not fully acknowledge you yet. It will simply take time."
The massive creature called Seokwha took a step backward. Junho could not tell if it was an expression of contempt or reverence.
"And..." Lumi said. "Now you cannot leave this place."
Junho's breathing stopped.
"What?"
"It is the price of becoming the master of this place. You are connected to it. Your life has been changed to green light. If you go out into the outside world, that connection will be severed. And you will die."
Lumi paused for a moment.
"Or, you must remain here. Forever."
Junho fell to his knees. It was not intentional. His legs simply gave out. Geurim approached and circled around Junho's fingers.
"You are afraid now," Lumi said. "That is normal. But fear soon becomes familiarity. And familiarity becomes love. This is the technique of time."
Junho lifted his head. The green light entered his eyes. And within that light, he saw something. It was Lumi's form. The form of a woman. Transparent and bright, enveloping him.
"I will protect you," Lumi said. "It is my duty. As the mother of my master."
The word mother pressed down on Junho's chest.
In that moment, Junho realized something. That he was truly not alone in this vast world of green light. And that was the most terrifying thing of all.