Magic Rental Shop Inside the Cave Part 02

Chomp chomp.
First things first, I fed them.
The awakened survivors, including Baek Min-woo.
And the officers and soldiers of the 507th Brigade devoured the food as if they had been starved for ages.
Among the food that my mother and Oh Ji-soo had prepared, there were some items registered as [items], and I mixed in a few simple instant meals taken out from the [Fresh Center].
For those who had been surviving on nothing but a few packets of hardtack without proper combat rations, this was an unparalleled feast.
Min-woo’s eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
“Thank you, Colonel Kim.”
“……”
Before I enlisted in the army, during my first and second years of college, I used to have lunch with this guy almost every day.
Now that I think about it, there was even a time I ate a meal at Min-woo’s house.
Coincidentally, it was on Daeboreum (Korean Full Moon Festival), and Min-woo’s mother had insisted we eat ogokbap that day to bring good fortune, seating us side by side at the dining table.
I remembered that day when, following her instructions, we thoroughly chewed the sticky ogokbap at least ten times, some of us up to thirty times.
Moreover, while savoring the subtle bitter aroma of the grains, I silently gazed at the lonely house that Min-woo and his mother shared.
Crunch, crunch.
Now, here I was, feeding this same Min-woo with my own hands.
It wasn’t a big deal, just a single meal, and it hadn’t even been that long since things changed. But somehow, the world flipping upside down felt glaringly vivid, like the round moon in the night sky.
Just as Min-woo seemed to have filled his stomach sufficiently.
When I handed him the chocolate milk he used to enjoy so much, he began to recount what had happened in Incheon.
“An bid competition was held there, too. The awakened people participated, but we couldn’t compete. I joined as well, since I awakened as a swordsman class. In the end, I couldn’t be of much help though…”
Min-woo had practiced kendo even before the apocalypse.
He had once said that during middle school, he participated in regional competitions and even won second place, so it seemed his skills hadn’t dulled.
I didn’t ask how the bid competition in Incheon went.
The regional representative was dead, and out of 100 people, only 30 survived.
There was no need to forcibly make him recall that horrifying situation.
But…
“…Is your mother safe?”
My question seemed to pierce Min-woo’s heart deeper than anything else.
He slumped his head down with a thump.
During the school term, he stayed in the dormitory, but during vacations, he always returned to his home in Incheon to live with his mother.
If nothing unusual had happened, he would have been with his mother.
Min-woo answered.
“That’s why I volunteered as a participant in the bid competition. I had to drive those bastards out no matter what…”
Min-woo’s house was in the residential area behind Chinatown.
But not long after the apocalypse began, both Chinatown and the adjacent Freedom Park turned into the battleground for the bid competition, and Min-woo was forced to part ways with his mother due to the transparent barrier that surrounded the area.
If they had pushed back the enemies, they could have reclaimed the Incheon area and headed home.
But because they failed the bid competition…
“…Terraforming. Now even though the barrier is gone, we can’t enter even if we want to. Chinatown is completely covered in caves now.”
The [Gate Portal] established in Incheon.
What it brought wasn’t just the enemy’s forces.
The black mud that flowed through the [Gate Portal].
It crawled up buildings and trees, then hardened into towering structures reaching for the sky, transforming the entirety of Incheon into a sprawling, interconnected network resembling a giant anthill.
Designed perfectly for the beings of [Sabros] to comfortably reside and maneuver to their advantage.
It was the ultimate form of terraforming.
Grab!
Min-woo suddenly seized my hand.
“Jeong-gyeom. I heard you’ve become the representative of Seoul. I also heard you wiped out all the lizards that crossed over from here to Seoul. Please, I’m begging you. Help me. I’ll fight with my life on the line.”
It was a desperate plea, but also something I had anticipated.
After all, I had come here to reclaim Incheon from the lizards of the Sabros dimension.
What’s more, rescuing Min-woo’s mother was something I was more than willing to do.
I still remembered the bitter taste of the ogokbap from that Daeboreum night.
Looking back, it had always been this way.
For me, the closest people were my family—those who formed the thickest roots and trunk of my memories. But relationships extended beyond that, forming countless thin, interwoven roots.
Of course, there were people I had lost contact with long ago.
Some became untraceable as communication devices failed in the wake of the apocalypse.
But just like meeting Baek Min-woo now, there were times when someone or something suddenly resurfaced, igniting a thin wick of memory that reminded me of what once was.
These memories, faint and blurry as they may be, weren’t something I wanted to see entirely swallowed by the inky blackness of the apocalypse.
Of course, I couldn’t promise to save everyone.
But as I pushed back against the apocalypse from the frontlines, light would inevitably reach them in one way or another.
Just as saving Incheon would lead to saving Min-woo’s mother.
Min-woo added,
“The Gate Portal of Sabros may have opened, but it’s not over yet. They said the Gate Core is still remains.”
“…It’s still there?”
The strange, yolk-like entity we had once destroyed during the bid competition.
I had thought it would disappear on its own after forming the Gate Portal, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
“The Chamber of Commerce said that destroying the Gate Core could close the Gate of Sabros.”
What I thought was a lost battle in the bid competition… was still ongoing.
I asked,
“Where is the Gate Core now?”
“That’s…”
Min-woo hesitated to answer.
Someone else stepped in to answer on his behalf.
It was the operations staff officer of the 507th Brigade.
“We’re still searching for it. The city has been completely covered with caves due to the terraforming, so it’s not easy to locate. We’ve tried sending out drones multiple times, but they were all shot down before even entering. One of the reasons we requested your visit was to explain the layout of the enemy’s cave zones.”
He continued.
“They don’t usually come out beyond the caves, but because the terraforming is still ongoing, their territory continues to expand. If necessary… we’re considering requesting artillery support from the Marines as well.”
“Wait a minute, Staff Officer!”
Min-woo, startled at the mention of artillery strikes, interjected.
“What about the people trapped down there?”
“If we don’t locate the Gate Core, even more people will die. It’s not like we’re planning indiscriminate bombings. We’ll expand the radius around the area where the Gate Portal is located. Once we find the Gate Core, we’ll cease the bombardment.”
From the perspective of the operations staff officer, it was a second-best solution.
A city covered in cave-like structures, with people trapped inside.
They, too, would likely be caught in the explosions. But failing to find the Gate Core would result in even greater casualties—it was a grim but undeniable truth.
However…
“I’ll find it for you. But first, we need to get closer.”
I intervened.
There was no need to settle for the second-best option when the best one was still on the table.
It was time to make use of the wraiths of Camelot.


The 507th Brigade was stationed in Bupyeong.
To assess the situation in Incheon, we needed to move closer.
The sprawling cave walls that covered the city like a creeping tide.
The terraforming that had started in Chinatown had now reached Jemulpo Station.
We set up base at the Incheon University Jemulpo Campus, not far from there.
The mud from the Sabros Dimension was still creeping over in the distance, but we had just enough time.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
By now, four knights had already been summoned.
Only eight wraiths remained, but it was still a significant number.
Whoosh!
These beings were capable of passing through terrain with ease.
The wraiths surged toward Chinatown, gliding along the cave walls as they descended near the residential area.
Sharing the vision of the wraiths the entire time, I smiled faintly as Lionel, one of the wraiths, passed effortlessly through a familiar front gate.
Then, I firmly gripped the shoulder of the anxious Baek Min-woo, who was nervously awaiting results.
“Your mother is safe.”
“What…?!”
Of course, “safe” didn’t mean she was in good condition.
The sink was bone-dry.
The cupboards were completely empty.
Min-woo’s mother had taken out a thick cotton blanket from an old chest and was lying curled up on her side, looking desolate.
She had no food, no drinking water, and couldn’t even leave the house because of the monsters wandering outside.
She must have been consumed by a sense of helplessness, with no way to fight back.
I didn’t share these details with Min-woo.
I only told him that she was still alive and that we could rescue her after destroying the Gate Core.
“Thank you… thank you so much, Jeong-gyeom…”
Baek Min-woo, sobbing with tears and snot running down his face.
It was an odd thing to think, but his gratitude made me feel uncomfortable.
I just hoped that he could return to being my usual friend, as if none of this had ever happened, as soon as possible.
And now, that task rested on my shoulders.
“Let’s see…”
Now it was time to find Sabros dimension’s ‘Gate Core’.
The caves created by the enemy were like a labyrinth of blood vessels, connecting alleyways to streets in a chaotic network.
The wraiths traversed through the caves, traveling long distances back and forth, circling around, and relentlessly searching for the hiding place of the enemy’s heart.
However…
‘No matter how much I look, I can’t see it?’
I found the enemies’ gate.
A shimmering portal glowing with a brilliant blue light.
From within, Lizardmen were still crawling out, one by one.
But even as I slowly expanded the search area around it, I couldn’t find not only the Gate Core but even any forces that might be guarding it.
The enemies seemed solely focused on maintaining the entrances and exits of the sprawling caves, gradually expanding the terraforming to engulf all of Incheon.
I paused for a moment, deep in thought.
The Gate Core.
It was an object that the Sabros Dimension would undoubtedly protect at all costs.
Naturally, they must have hidden it in the most optimal location they could find.
As I mulled over the possibilities, a thought came to mind.
These weren’t natural caves.
They were artificial formations created through terraforming.
If that were the case…
‘There might be a sealed chamber somewhere.’
Since these caves were artificially constructed, it wouldn’t be strange if there were a “hidden room” somewhere.
I immediately instructed the wraiths to phase through all the walls and search thoroughly.
And before long…
We discovered a narrow, dimly lit room illuminated by a faint glow.
‘…What is this?’
The interior didn’t match the atmosphere of the Sabros Dimension at all.
There was an antique wooden desk.
On it, dozens of ink bottles were stacked, and behind the desk stood a small bookshelf filled with aged scrolls tied up with strings.
And, as it turned out…
“Shoo! Shoo! What the hell is this?!”
An elderly human man was driving away my eight wraiths.
He had a large nose and wiry gray hair that stuck out in all directions.
But his piercing eyes exuded an eerie and chilling presence.
And then…
Sure enough, it was there.
The Gate Core of the Sabros Dimension.
The Gate Core, a spherical object with short, stubby limbs, wobbled its crudely attached eyes, nose, and mouth as it giggled and gleefully watched the wizard who was driving away the wraiths.
It resembled a lump of life itself—a grotesque and unsettling impression.
It gave me the exact same revolting feeling as when I destroyed the Gate Core of the Emeth Dimension.
Unable to tolerate the wraiths any longer, the wizard eventually pulled out a weapon.
To be precise, he fumbled around the bookshelf behind him in a fluster, pulled out one of the scrolls, and hastily ripped it open.
Then he shouted.
“Ex… Exorcise!”
Whoosh!
A yellow veil spread outward from the parchment the wizard had torn apart.
Five of the wraiths were expelled from the space, and the remaining three vanished on the spot.
Ding!
[The wraiths of Camelot—Hector, Tristan, and Caradoc have been destroyed.]
[Time remaining until reproduction: 23h 59m…]
An enigmatic old man.
Though I didn’t know how, he had successfully driven away the wraiths.
Moreover, judging by the way he was laughing and enjoying himself alongside the Gate Core of Sabros, it was clear he wasn’t an ordinary human from Earth.
‘Without a doubt, he’s a being from another dimension.’
A space enclosed on all sides.
I had finally discovered the heart of the enemy, but an unexpected troublemaker was lurking there.
“Of course, there was no way the Gate Core would be left unguarded.”
This time, I decided to pay the little room a visit myself.
But before that…
“First, you go and take care of things, Mordred.”
“As your command.”
Knight Mordred, possessing the [Materialization] ability.
I was planning to send him in first.”

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