Dungeon Bakery Chapter 1

“Again……?”

The head of the Suwon branch of the National Hunter Agency, a special government organization responsible for managing Hunters in South Korea, was in quite a troublesome situation.

“Yes. The agent we dispatched to that bakery a week ago submitted his resignation.”

“That makes three now…….”

The branch head slowly closed and opened his tired eyes.

A bakery that had recently appeared like a comet and sparked a nationwide craze for bread had been keeping him awake at night.

The bakery was highly suspicious. It was strange enough that it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started raking in money, but its location—right next to the ‘Dungeon of Beginnings’—also seemed suspicious. There were even rumors that some of its customers were rather strange.

The branch head had picked up a scent.

There’s something strange about this bakery.

At first, he had dispatched agents out of simple curiosity, but……

They all suddenly went on extended leave or submitted their resignations.

Every agent of the National Hunter Agency was Awakened. Since they carried out secret missions, they even lived while hiding their identities from their own families. They were the elite of the elite.

And yet, all of them had suddenly disappeared.

At this point, the branch head had come to one conclusion.

This bakery was dangerous.

“I suppose there’s no helping it. I’ll have to go there myself.”

Thump, thump. His heart was beating like this, so surely this bakery had to be threatening the peace of humanity!

Ding!

“Welcome!”

The branch head went straight to the bakery, only to find so many customers that he had to wait in line for quite a while before he could finally enter.

The pretty-faced owner was placing freshly baked bread on the display shelves. There was an easygoing air about him as he smiled brightly at the customers.

Strange. There are only two visible employees—the owner and one part-timer—so why does he look so relaxed?

Pulling his hat lower and heading as naturally as possible toward one of the tables prepared in the corner of the bakery, the branch head suddenly stopped with a gasp.

Huh? That person is……!

A man was sitting in the corner of the table, cleverly hiding his face so the bakery owner wouldn’t be able to see him.

The reason was simple.

Even though the head of the Suwon branch held a fairly high position, there was still someone sitting right in front of him whom even he would have difficulty receiving properly.

The Director of the National Hunter Agency, Baek Gi-jun.

Why would Director Baek be here……?

The head of the National Hunter Agency, Baek Gi-jun.

Now in his late forties, Baek Gi-jun was a living legend of the National Hunter Agency.

Baek Gi-jun seemed to have noticed the branch head a while ago.

After all, despite having a handsome face that hardly looked like that of a man in his late forties, he was glaring at the branch head with murderous intent in his eyes.

Eek.

Why is the Director looking at me like that?

The branch head barely managed to straighten his instinctively hunched shoulders.

Could he be sending me a message that I should have discovered this dangerous bakery sooner?

Interpreting his gaze however he pleased, the branch head scurried over and whispered quietly.

“I-I’m sorry. I will thoroughly investigate every aspect of this bakery as soon as possible and prepare for any potential threats……”

“……go.”

“Pardon?”

“Get out of here right now. Leave and forget everything about this bakery. Including the owner.”

The branch head blinked in surprise.

In other words, he was being told not to investigate the bakery or its owner.

Just who is that owner?

He was just about to turn around and get another look at the bakery owner’s face when—

“Don’t look at him. His face will wear out.”

A cold voice came from directly behind him.

There had been no sign of anyone approaching.

The branch head, who prided himself on being quite capable, spun around in shock.

A man was standing there at an angle, staring at him.

The branch head’s eyes widened when he noticed the mask covering half of the man’s face.

“Father…… No, Director. Even if you’ve put up a concealment barrier that leaves this man out, if you stay here like this, you’re going to get caught. You know what happens then, right? Let’s get out of here.”

A Hunter who was setting world records as the youngest in virtually every category in real time.

The signature Hunter of the number-one-ranked guild, ‘Legend.’

Baekho.

The black-and-white Taegeuk pattern emblazoned on his mask was his trademark.

“Of course, you should get out of here too, sir. As for this bakery…… you heard what you’re supposed to do, right?”

Baek Gi-jun spoke immediately afterward.

“I’ll give you enough time to erase everything from your mind. Go take a rest. Ah, you can rest forever if you’d like. I’ll make sure you get a generous severance package.”

The moment the branch head met the two men’s murderous gazes, he understood why the agents had quietly disappeared.

They had all been threatened—if not quite openly.

The branch head nodded frantically, swallowed hard, and fled the bakery.

His heart had been pounding like crazy ever since.

Someone whom both the Director of the National Hunter Agency and Baekho are protecting like this…… Just who is that person?

Unable to contain his curiosity, the branch head hurried back to his office and logged into Another, the exclusive network space for Hunters established by the system.

Keyword search. Dungeon of Beginnings. Bakery. Owner.

An hourglass icon appeared as the system searched the keywords he had entered.

Just as he began to feel that the search was taking longer than expected, every window suddenly shut down.

A message from the system appeared.

<System: This keyword has been prohibited from being searched at the request of an ‘Involved Party.’ Entering a prohibited keyword one more time will result in your access to Another being restricted for one month.>

An Involved Party? What the hell is an Involved Party?

The branch head stared blankly at the screen.

In all his years, this was the first time he had ever seen information being protected by the system itself.

Just who the hell is that bakery owner?

 

***

Several months before the branch head fell into a panic.

Baek Seol blinked as she stared at the building in front of her.

She had come here at the recommendation of a real-estate agent, hoping to find a place with free rent.

‘They don’t charge rent here. Go check it out.’

‘There’s a place like that?’

‘As far as I know, the landlord temporarily provides a place to stay for graduate students. What? You don’t like it? If you don’t, give me the information back. My student is kind enough to give me such valuable information…….’

‘No! Thank you! I’ll go check it out first!’

After failing to get into the graduate school dormitory, Baek Seol had searched everywhere for cheap rent until she ended up here.

She swallowed nervously.

Grayish brick walls.

A gray door.

Gray windows.

The building gave off the faint impression of a shop that had gone slightly out of business.

Is there really a room for me here?

“Excuse me? Is anyone there?”

Knock, knock.

She carefully knocked on the door, but no sound came from inside.

Instead, the door slowly opened, as if inviting her in.

A chill ran down the back of Baek Seol’s neck.

Eek.

What was that?

The door just opened by itself.

She hurriedly backed away and peeked inside before slowly relaxing her hunched shoulders.

……Did I knock too hard?

Baek Seol pressed her lips together and pushed the door open.

“Um, excuse me. I was referred here by the real-estate agent.”

She spoke cautiously as she stepped inside.

For a moment, she thought she caught a glimpse of an interior that looked like something straight out of a bakery.

And then—

A strange window suddenly appeared in front of her.

<System: To enter, you must agree to the following terms.

Do you agree to the following terms? Y/N>

What is this?

Baek Seol stared blankly at the window floating in midair.

She was extremely surprised.

The sudden appearance of the window was shocking enough, but……

Why does it look so tacky?

That was because the design of the window in front of her was unbelievably ugly.

She had seen something like this before.

I think old Windows from the ancient era used to look like this.

A monotonous gray screen.

An awful-looking font.

She tried to figure out what this tacky window was, but no answer readily came to mind.

Rather than waste time on something irrelevant, she began carefully examining the contents displayed on the window.

Let’s see. Does this mean I have to press Y to enter?

Apparently so.

Baek Seol moved her eyes around to check the ‘following terms’ mentioned in the message.

A tiny arrow, no bigger than an ant’s nostril, was visible at the bottom of the window.

Apparently, pressing it would bring up the terms requiring her consent.

Baek Seol blinked and instinctively aimed her index finger toward the arrow.

At that exact moment, another message appeared.

<System: The time limit is almost over. If you do not agree, access will be automatically denied.>

At the same time, a number appeared beside the window and began counting down.

5…… 4…… 3…… 2…….

“Eek! Wait, wait!”

There had been no mention of a time limit!

After suffering under the clutches of her academic advisor, Professor Kim, for so long, Baek Seol’s reflexes had become second to none.

She bent the finger she had been aiming toward the arrow and quickly poked the Y button.

If it means getting a room for free……!

She could worry about how suspicious and tacky the window was later.

Baek Seol absolutely had to get into this shop.

First, she needed to meet the landlord. Otherwise, how was she supposed to do anything?

Another window immediately appeared.

<System: You have agreed to all of the following terms required for use.>

Huh?

Before Baek Seol could even blink, an incomprehensible amount of text began scrolling upward at an absurd speed.

<☑ Agreement to the Dungeon Bakery Terms of Use (Required)>

Welcome to Dungeon Bakery. These terms and conditions…… (omitted)…… please be advised.

☑ Consent to the Collection and Use of Personal Information (Required)

In accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act of the Human Realm…… (omitted)…….

☑ Location Information Terms of Use (Required)

Necessary for entry into the bakery…….

☑ Consent to Dungeon Bakery Purchase Loan (Required)

In the event that you do not have enough points…….

☑ Supporter Terms of Use (Required)

☑ …….

☑ …….>

What the hell is this?

Baek Seol was overwhelmed by the sheer torrent of text unfolding before her.

She rubbed her eyes and stared intently at the window.

There were countless clauses, but only one caught Baek Seol’s attention.

There was no way it couldn’t catch her attention.

It was sparkling brightly.

<☑ Consent to Awakening as the Owner of Dungeon Bakery ☆ (Required)>

The moment Baek Seol’s mouth fell open, another strange window suddenly appeared before her.

<System: Congratulations on your Awakening! You have awakened as the owner of Dungeon Bakery.>