Everyone understood instantly.

  Useful means you’re going to be working until you regret ever being born.

  Mu Yichen’s lips pressed together, a faint sigh slipping past.

  Park Taegun’s hand reached up to scratch his neck, as if the secondhand dread was making his skin itch.

  Kang Juwon simply looked at Seo with pure sympathy—well, as close to sympathy as a man like him could manage.

  Seo glanced wildly around. “Useful? For what? There’s literally nothing here!”

  He gestured at the endless green grassland. “What am I supposed to do? Mow the lawn with magic?”

  Lee Aseok didn’t answer right away. He simply raised a finger and pointed at the ground in front of them.

  “Break it,” he said.

  Seo blinked at him. “Break… the ground?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re insane.”

  The weight of Lee Aseok’s gaze was like a slow-building storm, cold, inevitable. Seo’s shoulders sagged. “…Fine.”

  He grumbled under his breath as he prepared his magic, his hands glowing faintly as energy coiled around them.

  Mu Yichen crossed his arms. “What is he planning?” he murmured, half to himself.

  Park Taegun shook his head. “Nothing good.”

  The moment Seo began charging his attack, Lee Aseok’s voice cut in again, casual but sharp enough to slice through his concentration.

  “Use more power.”

  Seo froze mid-incantation, whipping his head up. “More power? Are you out of your mind? You’re asking me to just—what—randomly destroy the scenery? Do you think this grass did something to you in a past life?”

  Aseok didn’t blink. “More power.”

  Seo threw his hands up. “Oh sure, because nothing says responsible dungeon clearing like wasting high-tier magic on landscaping!”

  “More power,” Aseok repeated, voice confident and calm.

  The corners of Seo’s mouth twitched. “Do you… do you hear yourself? We’re in the middle of the most dangerous gate in the world, and you want me to blow holes in the landscaping. Is this revenge on grass?”

  Aseok’s only answer was a slow, small smile.

  Seo stared at it. His spine prickled. “…Alright. Nope. Not arguing with that smile. That’s the smile of a man who’s about to watch something explode for fun!”

  Kang Juwon smirked. “You’re not wrong.”

  “Not helping!”

  He turned back to the ground and muttered, “Fine. Let’s do this. Let’s destroy the ecosystem for no reason at all.”

  Mana swelled around him, heat and static whipping at his coat as he poured strength into the spell. In the distance, a few birds scattered from the shock.

  The blast hit like a hammer from the heavens, dirt erupted skyward in a deafening explosion, a cloud of dust rolling over them as a massive pit tore open in the ground.

  Seo straightened, breathing a little hard. “There. Big hole. You happy?”

  Aseok stepped to the edge, glanced into it, and said, “Continue.”

  “…What?”

  “Continue.”

  Seo’s jaw slackened. “You want more? Do you have any idea how much mana this—”

  Aseok’s gaze cut to him—calm, unblinking.

  Seo inhaled through his nose, exhaled through his teeth, and muttered, “I’m going to haunt you so hard when I die.”

  He charged another blast and hurled it down, the pit growing wider and deeper, sending fresh tremors through the grassland.

  Aseok’s voice came again, steady as stone. “Continue.”

  Seo’s eyes rolled up toward the sky.

  “Oh heavenly powers above, explain to me why someone like him is allowed to walk around free.”

  A few meters away, Mu Yichen, Park Taegun, and Kang Juwon stood with expressions ranging from mild amusement to faint pity.

  “Poor guy,” Park murmured.

  Seo turned and glared at them.

  Instantly, all three of them looked away, Mu Yichen adjusting his gloves like they suddenly mattered.

  Taegun scans the empty horizon as if searching for imaginary threats.

  and Kang Juwon pretending to be interested in a very boring patch of grass.

  Seo clicked his tongue. “Cowards.”

  Still, he raised his hands again, magic roaring to life. This time, he poured everything into it.

  The earth cracked with a sound like splitting stone, clods of dirt flying as the pit became a yawning chasm. Dust swirled, filling the air with a gritty haze.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  By the time he stopped, he was sweating, breathing hard, and silently plotting Aseok’s hypothetical murder.

  Before Seo could demand an explanation, the ground beneath them gave a long, deep groan.

  Everyone froze.

  Then the earth shuddered violently.

  The edges of the pit began to crumble, collapsing inward, and a strange, cold wind rose from below. Dirt and rock tumbled away, revealing something… darker than darkness.

  It wasn’t just a shadow. It was the kind of black that swallowed light whole, like a void reaching up to drag them in.

  “Uh,” Seo said flatly, stepping back. “That’s not normal dirt.”

  Park Taegun tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “Can’t tell what’s beyond it.”

  Kang Juwon crouched at the edge, peering in. “It’s… like a hole into nowhere. I like it.”

  Mu Yichen’s voice was low. “It’s dangerous.”

  Aseok, of course, was already moving toward it.

  Before anyone could ask if maybe, just maybe, they should investigate carefully—Lee Aseok simply jumped.

  No hesitation. No warning. Just a clean, easy leap straight into the darkness like gravity had politely asked him to.

  Seo blinked after him. “…Did he just.!”

  “Yes,” Mu Yichen said.

  “He just..”

  “Yes.”

  Seo threw both arms up. “Great! Wonderful! Absolutely brilliant leadership decision! Let’s just swan-dive into ominous black holes now, why not?!”

  From below, there was no sound. No scream. No thud. Just silence, as if the void had swallowed Aseok whole.

  Kang Juwon stood, brushing imaginary dust off his hands. “Well… we either follow him, or we stand here debating until the gate gets bored and kills us.”

  Seo groaned. “I hate this job.”

  The others jumped in after him without hesitation.

  Seo was left alone on the collapsing edge.

  “Right. Just me left. Of course. Because I’m the sane one. And sane people don’t—”

  The pit cracked under his boots.

  “Fine, fine, fine!”

  He threw himself into the void with all the enthusiasm of someone diving into tax season.

  The world tilted, the air felt heavier, and then, he landed hard.

  It wasn’t dark anymore. They were somewhere else entirely, surrounded by towering black stone walls slick with faint light, the air thick with damp, cold mana.

  It was a dungeon.

  And right there, as casual as if they’d just popped into a park, stood Lee Aseok with an old iron rod in his hand. The Holy Sword floated lazily beside him like it was on vacation.

  Seo stared at the sword. “ What is the point of going through all the trouble of looking for a holy sword if the hero is not even willing to go near it?!”

  Aseok didn’t bother replying.

  The others, Mu Yichen, Park Taegun, and Kang Juwon, were scanning the area, blades and skills at the ready.

  “What is this place?” Park asked.

  “No idea,” Kang Juwon said, grinning faintly. “But I like it already.”

  Before they could discuss further, the ground trembled again. This time it wasn’t just collapsing, it was footsteps.

  The sound of claws scraping stone echoed through the dungeon.

  Then they appeared.

  A-rank monsters, their hulking frames bristling with armored plates and glowing eyes, circled them from the shadows.

  Their breathing was low and guttural, each inhale promising violence.

  Weapons flared to life. Mana surged. Everyone was tense for the fight except Lee Aseok.

  He glanced at Seo MinHyun, pointed at the stone floor beneath them, and said, “Start digging.”

  Seo froze mid-preparation. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Dig.”

  Seo MinHyun looked around at the snarling A-rank monsters closing in, then at the cold, solid dungeon floor beneath him, and finally at Lee Aseok.

  He jabbed a finger at the stone. “You want me to dig? Here? While those things are trying to chew our faces off?

  Lee Aseok didn’t answer right away. He just tilted his head back, gaze traveling upward to the sky that shouldn’t exist inside a dungeon.

  Mu Yichen, after a long, tense silence, finally asked the question everyone else was thinking. “What exactly are you planning, Lee Aseok?”

  Aseok lowered his gaze, calm as if they weren’t surrounded by monsters capable of ripping through steel. “The Hell Gate is like a tower,” he said, pointing upward. “And right now, we’re on the top floor.”

  The group followed his finger. Sure enough, there it was, that strange silver circle in the sky, hanging like someone had taken a pen and drawn it into existence.

  Aseok continued, “To clear it, you have to kill the boss. The boss is always at the lowest floor. So it’s only natural we should get there as quickly as possible.”

  Seo blinked. “And by ‘quickly as possible,’ you mean… tunneling through the floor like we’re cartoon moles?”

  “Yes.”

  There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in Aseok’s voice.

  Seo stared at him, mouth slightly open. “You’re not just insane—you’re committed to it.”

  Ignoring him, Aseok turned toward the others. “Seo MinHyun—dig. Don’t slack off. Mu Yichen, Park Taegun, Kang Juwon, buy him time.”

  Mu Yichen, Park Taegun, Seo MinHyun, and Kang Juwon exchanged glances that carried a silent understanding, a mix of dread and resignation.

  They had known Lee Aseok’s way of thinking was different, always different.

  He didn’t play by the rules, didn’t follow expectations, didn’t even pretend to respect them.

  But somehow, each time he acted, it made everyone else feel like they had left their brains at the entrance of the dungeon.

  And yet, here they were again, staring at him as he calmly rested his iron rod on his shoulder, eyes scanning the chaotic landscape like a bored spectator at a circus.

  The monsters were closing in, the silver circle above glimmered ominously, and the air was thick with the smell of stone and burnt mana.

  There was no argument. Not because they agreed, but because experience had taught them that arguing with Lee Aseok was as effective as telling a river not to flow.

  Still, as they spread out to intercept the incoming monsters, they had a lot to say, quietly, under their breath, and very much directed at the lunacy of the situation.

  Park Taegun muttered while swinging his shield, “You realize from the monster’s behavior that this whole thing is designed so we have to fight through every floor.”

  Mu Yichen’s sword intercepted a charging beast, his voice calm but edged with disbelief. “Yes. That’s the point of the Hell Gate: fight, survive, repeat until you reach the boss.”

  Kang Juwon punched through another monster’s chest. “And instead of following that obvious design, he’s decided to just… skip the levels.”

  They didn’t need to say his name. Everyone knew who “he” was.

  Meanwhile, Seo MinHyun crouched and pressed both palms to the stone, magic swirling around him. The floor cracked and splintered as raw mana burned through it.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Seo muttered. “I trained for years to master destructive magic… for this. Dungeon demolition work.”

  Aseok stood beside him, iron rod in hand, occasionally glancing toward the battle but mostly just watching the hole widen. “Faster.”

  “You try faster!” Seo snapped, sweat beading on his forehead. “Do you know how thick this is?!”

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “Still faster.”

  Seo’s jaw tightened. “I am this close to dropping you into this hole before it’s finished.”

  The monsters roared again, hurling themselves at Mu Yichen and the others.

  Blades flashed, mana flared, and the air was thick with the acrid scent of blood and burning stone.

  In the middle of the chaos, Lee Aseok’s plan was starting to make uncomfortable sense.

  Yes, the dungeon was clearly structured for an endless gauntlet of battles. And yes, most hunters would accept that and fight floor by floor.

  But Lee Aseok wasn’t “most hunters.”

  His brain operated on some strange axis that ran between “cold logic” and “what if I just ignored the rules entirely?”

  And in this case, ignoring the rules meant digging straight down to the boss and skipping the endless grind.

  Even knowing the logic, Mu Yichen still found himself thinking, How does he always make us feel stupid for following common sense?

  Another crack split the stone as Seo’s magic surged. The hole was getting deeper, but it was exhausting his mana reserves at an alarming pace.

  “Keep going,” Aseok said.

  Seo gave a bitter laugh. “Sure. And when I collapse from mana exhaustion, you can carry me down there like a sack of potatoes.”

  “I wasn’t planning to carry you,” Aseok replied without missing a beat.

  “…I hate you.”

  “That’s fine.”

  Author Note:

  Every “OH MY GOD ASEOK STOP” gives me the strength to write the next disaster.

  Mon ? Wed ? Fri

  (Yes, I too question my life choices.)

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

  please leave a review or rating—it helps summon new victims readers. ??