Chapter 358

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on March 1, 2025

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It loops.

The world convulses, and the light of circulation filling the prairie distorts the space.

Before I know it, I’ve arrived at another prairie, scanning my surroundings with an alienated sensation.

“Damn. Ah.”

Next to me, the Jeokwol Guild Master sits dejectedly.

So overwhelmed with despair, he’s succumbing to hopelessness, as if the world has ended.

“…And seriously, what are we going to do about Min-hyeong’s kid?”

“Lord Jeoksa?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Why does the boss pattern make the difficulty level harder with each loop, bringing us here?

Jeoksa glares at me with an expression full of grievances before sighing.

“That’s enough. It was Min-hyeong’s mistake to let you do this.”

“What is it?”

“A Loop Dungeon. You continue to loop until you clear it.”

[Loop?]

[Oh]

[This dungeon’s sweet]

[Looks tough since it says “ultimate,” though]

[Jeoksa looks pissed ㅋㅋㅋ]

Loop Dungeon?

“What’s a Loop Dungeon?”

“I already said. It loops until you clear it. You can’t leave until you ‘break’ the ‘circulation.'”

The intermediate level took a week to break. If this is the highest…

Jeoksa scratches his head restlessly as if something’s complex.

“So, we just need to break it?”

“It sounds simple, but even with only three levels of circulation, it’s maddening. At eleven, it’s impossible.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

“Yes. Besides, even if we had to overpower it, we have Lord Sword Saint and Lord Leo. Why worry when Lady Lily prevails?”

He said this while drawing the twin blades on his back.

“There’s always a reason.”

■

Jeoksa’s twin blades swing.

The red aura imbued in the blade erupts and slices through horned red horses that crumble to the ground.

True to his ranking, Jeoksa, though a brother to the over-powered Hyung, still fights admirably, despite the buffs.

“Hoo… He’s crazy, for real.”

“The monsters’ level is 92.”

Level 92 for a regular monster.

And these aren’t even field bosses, just regular monsters.

There’s an abundance of them on the prairie. Moreover, behind there are three red horses similar in size to the Circulation’s Red Horse.

Even worse, killing them doesn’t reward you with experience points or goods.

[This is tough]

[92?]

[This is harsh]

[With mobs this strong, what’s the boss’s level?]

[Jeoksa’s doing pretty well, though?]

After cutting down six level 92 red horses, Jeoksa still looks fine.

In fact, his physical stats and energy seem to have risen since the last time we met.

Though it seems a little far-fetched, it doesn’t seem impossible to clear.

“With this, we might be able to clear it, right?”

“…No. You can’t finish it just by killing.”

Jeoksa sheathes his sword and points skyward.

From the start, a red ring hovering high above the prairie has been watching from above.

[The circulation loop is in progress.]

[The eternal life fades, and a portion of eternity is consumed.]

[The circulation gauge decreases by 2%.]

[The circulation loop grants eternity to the dead.]

[The circulation gauge increases by 5% according to the number of loops.]

[Current circulation gauge: 18%.]

“When the gauge fills to 100%, it loops. Meaning, we’ll return to the start.”

“If we kill all at once?”

“It won’t work. Killing them fills the gauge.”

“Hmm…”

Killing one red horse reduces the gauge by 2%, but the circulation loop increases the gauge by 5%.

In other words, killing one increases the gauge by 3% each time.

With at least thirty red horses left…

“Killing them won’t work.”

“Normally, killing would deplete the gauge, but the difficulty’s gone berserk…”

“It’ll increase through other means, right?”

“Yes. It can increase with time, or if you tamper with the horns. Interfere with that loop, and it’ll reset immediately.”

[This is so unfair]

[???]

[How do we break it?]

[Won’t wiping them all out break it?]

[Will killing the boss break it?]

“Previously, how did you clear it?”

“I kept killing horses, depleting the gauge. Once it reaches 0%, the boss’s resurrection is restricted, and you can then kill the boss during that gap.”

Simply put, when the gauge reaches 100%, it resets.

The gauge increases or decreases under specific conditions, and when it hits 0%, the boss stops respawning, giving you the chance to kill it…

“Does this mean clearing the dungeon is unrelated to maintaining the hunting ground?”

The resurrection in the prairies is certainly part of the red horses’ influence.

“…”

Jeoksa remains silent as if hiding something.

Something that might harm his guild or this place.

“Well, do you know?”

“I don’t.”

“You said we can’t leave until it’s cleared. Do you want to stay here forever?”

[Yes]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Forever with Lily? That’s sweet, but no?]

Jeoksa pressed his temples as if in pain, then turned his gaze to the red ring.

The ring overseeing the circulation remains unwavering.

“…Gah. Either I confiscate all their items or something. It’s driving me crazy.”

“The answer?”

“Follow me. We’ll decide after we see, right?”

…Even after seeing, it doesn’t seem like I’ll choose.

Jeoksa mumbles while gesturing with one of his swords, guiding me.

[The circulation loop grants eternity to the world.]

[Current circulation gauge: 21%.]

■

Gru-grr…

Keeeeek…

Phew!

“…”

Jeoksa led us to a small cave far from the prairie we saw earlier.

Inside, there are calves with tiny horns embedded on their foreheads, sleeping.

They look rather cute, with faces nestled together.

[Holy]

[So cute ㅋㅋㅋ]

[Is that it?]

[Are we supposed to kill these?]

[It’s so sad]

[Let’s kill them]

Levels are barely under 30.

These calves weakly cry with eyes not even fully open.

I ask Jeoksa for an explanation.

Without hesitation, he raises his sword.

“This is the most efficient way.”

“Killing the calves is the answer?”

“Just… it’s better than dealing with the adult red horses. More importantly, killing the calves cuts down on the gauge because they have a lot of life ahead of them.”

Churk.

Red aura emanates from his blade’s tip.

“Killing them all will bring the gauge to 0%. After that, kill the boss—”

“You didn’t do that, did you? If you had, the loop dungeon wouldn’t still exist.”

“…”

Interference, like ancient ruins dungeons, and hidden dungeons like this one disappear or only retain their basic frame once cleared.

This means the dungeon turns into a lower-quality one with reduced difficulty and rewards.

If the reward quality has dropped and the circulation loop has broken, then the horses in the prairie shouldn’t naturally revive.

Even if they do revive, the experience and item values should drastically decrease.

When I mention this fact, Jeoksa looks curious.

[He?h]

[There might be another way]

[Figure it out quickly]

[Can’t we just kill the boss?]

“…Well. There is such a method. As you said, we didn’t kill the boss. Considering the difficulty and boss penalties, maintaining the hunting ground while siphoning experience and goods was much more profitable.”

“What method is it?”

“A somewhat peaceful method. Well, maybe not for someone.”

Jeoksa slices through the horn of one sleeping calf with his sword.

The calf stirs in pain, shedding tears, as its horn breaks off.

[Current circulation gauge: 24%.]

Attacking the horn naturally increases the gauge.

Jeoksa collects the horn and hands it over to me.

An unusual power flows within the horn.

“After cutting horns enough to push the gauge to 99%, log out immediately. Remember, keep all the horns in an extra-dimensional storage.”

“Huh?”

“Afterward, the dungeon loops with time. Even though the world loops, the horns remain in the inventory. Essentially, there will be two of the same horn in one world.”

Apparently, one guild member stayed in the dungeon for too long, forcing them to log out due to an emergency, only to discover the dungeon had looped while they were gone.

Typically, logging out from a dungeon transports you outside of it, but loop dungeons follow the rule “you cannot leave voluntarily.”

Sure, one could argue logging out is a way of leaving, but Deoen prioritizes the users’ real-life situations.

There are penalties to reconnecting after logging out in combat or within a dungeon.

“Though it took a considerable amount of time experimenting, the conditions are clear. Roughly three rules: first, when the dungeon loops, the horns will only remain in your inventory if you’re logged out during said loop.”

“Another dimension, it seems, goes unrecognized.”

“Yes, anyway, the second condition—having over a hundred horns triggers something special.”

With an overwhelming amount of ‘eternity’ in one world…

When the eternal circulation loop twists, strange phenomena begin.

That strange phenomenon…

Rumble-rumble-rumble!!!

“?

[What?]

[Huh]

[Is it an earthquake?]

[???????]

The world shakes.

The eternal circulation loop, previously unshaken, trembles. Beyond the cave, a vast and crimson something that watches the world becomes visible.

Its size rivals that of a colossal fortress. The red horse, master of this place, granting life and death.

[The Supreme Circulation Red Horse notices something small.]

[The Supreme Circulation Red Horse brims with anger!]

[LV.130]