# 034. The King’s Arrival (5)
The Daejeon Station building was visible, but its interior was as dark as if painted black. No people were in sight, and the ground was completely stained black. It looked as if a child had heavily colored it with a black crayon.
Before entering the station, Jaehee checked his phone one last time. Even now, his phone barely had reception, and once he went inside, he wouldn’t be able to check messages even if the network was restored. But the message he was waiting for hadn’t come from anywhere.
Well, Jeongwoo must be busy fighting monsters right now too, right?
I wonder if Yeong-i has met her father.
“Let’s introduce ourselves before going in. I’m Park Yong-pil. I’m an attack type, mainly using strength. I primarily use a staff as a weapon, but I also use swords and various other weapons.”
“I’m Kim Ji-su. I’m also a combat type, but my main skills are curse-based, so my attack power isn’t that high. You can think of me as somewhere between a supporter and a fighter. I can also do simple healing.”
“Ah, I, I am… a Whisperer. But I mainly use a sword.”
“So I’m the only pure attack type. Good.”
Jaehee hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should reveal that he was a Royal Road, but for now, he just said he was a Whisperer. Park Yong-pil simply nodded without further comment. Despite his rough appearance, Park Yong-pil seemed to have a decent personality. Kim Ji-su, perhaps because of her mention of curse-based skills, looked pale and somewhat gloomy, though her impression wasn’t particularly bad.
The thought that just the three of them had to deal with this massive Daejeon Station corruption was absurd.
Not even an ant could be seen in the enormous station building. There was an ominous silence, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what felt strange.
As they carefully moved forward, looking around, a system window appeared before their eyes.
[Instant Dungeon (S-Rank): You have entered Daejeon Station.
Daejeon Station has undergone complete corruption and transformed into an S-Rank dungeon.
According to the Planetary Management Law, partial rights to the S-Rank dungeon Daejeon Station are transferred to those who contributed to the spread of corruption.
Current shares based on contribution: Earth 56%, Dark Night 25%, Dawn of Whispers 17%, Others 2%]
[Personal Sub Mission: Stop the corruption erosion at Daejeon Station and rescue people! The more people you rescue, the more they will praise the Great Sovereign! The praise and worship of many people will make the Sovereign’s power even stronger.]
S-Rank?
For a moment, Jaehee was speechless. This was the first time an S-Rank dungeon had appeared. The D-Rank practice dungeon that had been cleared had turned into an A-Rank dungeon, and now the highest S-Rank dungeon? At this point, he wondered if he was cursed, or if only bad luck was following him. Moreover, at least Jeongwoo had been there last time, but Jeongwoo wasn’t here now.
“Did you just… see that? Daejeon Station, an S-Rank dungeon…”
“I, I saw it. What on earth is going on… How could this happen?”
“Everyone, get a grip. Since we’re already here, let’s check it out more.”
It was Park Yong-pil who woke Jaehee and Kim Ji-su from their dazed state. Park Yong-pil gestured toward the stairs going up. The eerie and quiet atmosphere was unsettling, but they couldn’t just leave after coming this far.
“I’ll take the lead, so stay behind me. Since I’m a fighter and mainly use a staff, it’s better for me to be in front.”
“I have a scouting skill. Let me use my skill to look around the area.”
Park Yong-pil took the lead, with Kim Ji-su in the middle since she had a scouting skill, and Jaehee at the back. Jaehee felt his chest tightening for unknown reasons but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was nervous due to lack of dungeon experience, out of fear, or because of some external factor.
There were still no people visible in the spacious station. Since the stores were still there, it seemed as if only the people had disappeared.
“Huh? What’s that?”
The place Kim Ji-su pointed to was toward the train platform. Though partially obscured by glass, they could see lush trees. At first glance, it looked like a botanical garden.
“That… wait, isn’t that a waterfall?”
Park Yong-pil rubbed his eyes several times. A massive tropical rainforest was spread across the platform. Giant vine plants grew over the train tracks, and as Park Yong-pil had said, a huge waterfall could be seen in the back. This was beyond comprehension. If the train tracks and trains weren’t visible, he might have just thought it was a dungeon, but the fact that the tracks and trains were still there made it even more bizarre. It felt like seeing things that absolutely couldn’t coexist together.
The three of them walked slowly inside, as if entranced. Distracted by the botanical garden-like exterior view, they all missed seeing something flashing on the arrival board.
[Shin Jaehee, don’t go in, wait.]
The words flashed futilely on the board, seen by no one.
The three cautiously entered. A heavy humidity hit them, as if they had really entered a tropical rainforest. While the station had been uncomfortably quiet, now various sounds began to be heard.
The first thing they heard was bird sounds. Not the sounds of sparrows or pigeons commonly heard in cities. Unknown bird calls that one would only hear in a deep forest rang out continuously.
It felt like being in a dream.
“What is this… What is this place…?”
“Huh? That, isn’t that a butterfly?”
Just then, a yellow butterfly fluttered past them. It was the first living creature they had seen since entering Daejeon Station. Soon after, white butterflies and patterned butterflies flew around in swarms.
Park Yong-pil went down, and after a moment’s hesitation, Jaehee followed. With the station completely empty and not even an ant to be found, there weren’t many other options besides going this way.
A small shop selling cream puffs was visible next to the stairs leading down to the platform. The mix of surreal scenes with reality made him dizzy.
Benches where people would normally sit waiting for trains were covered with unknown grasses and flowers. Seeing vines covering the vending machines, he couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. The platform was completely covered with soil, and trees and grass were everywhere.
Turning his head, he saw heavily rusted train tracks. Seeing them reminded him of Woljeong-ri Station in Cheorwon that he had visited on a school trip. The collapsed train and the sign saying “The iron horse wants to run” that had been attached to it would not have looked out of place if moved here.
The trains and tracks were all rusted as if a long time had passed. The large train lay collapsed haphazardly, and grasses as tall as a person were visible through the broken windows.
This couldn’t be called a botanical garden. A botanical garden is where plants are moved into a building, but this was like seeing a train mistakenly placed in a jungle. There was even water flowing beside the tracks.
This was no longer Daejeon Station. It was just a dungeon pretending to be Daejeon Station.
The sounds of unknown insects and various animal calls were continuous. What made it creepy was that no people were visible.
According to the Management Bureau’s estimate, there should have been at least a hundred people, but where on earth had all those people disappeared to?
“Look, there seems to be something over there. Inside that train.”
Kim Ji-su pointed in one direction. It was the train that looked most intact.
The three slowly approached that train. The train definitely looked somewhat maintained compared to the other rusted and overturned trains. Even so, it probably couldn’t move.
Just then, something jumped out from inside. It was a water deer. The reaction was slow because it was strange to see a water deer in a jungle, and it escaped leisurely onto the tracks. It seemed to be teasing them, looking back as it ran, then running again and looking back, which made Jaehee laugh briefly.
“It’s a water deer.”
“Yeah. A water deer in this jungle… no, I guess Daejeon Station being a jungle is even stranger.”
With Park Yong-pil again in the lead, they approached the train.
