CHAPTER 53: EPISODE 53 — UNSEEN FANGS

EPISODE 53 — UNSEEN FANGS

In the dim light of early morning, with fog still rolling low across the shattered pavement and fractured roots lining the cracked dungeon access roads, an eerie silence hung over all three hunting fields like a curse that refused to speak. The usual sounds of weapons clashing, skills activating, or monsters howling in frustration were nowhere to be found.

Somewhere near the northern entrance of the third hunting field, a pair of low-ranked Hunters were trudging cautiously through damp passageways riddled with old claw marks and bloodstains. Both men carried short swords, lightweight armor strapped to their torsos, and flashlights mounted to their visors.

"Dude, are you hearing anything?" one of them asked, voice hushed but sharp with suspicion. He stopped walking, glancing around nervously, his hand hovering near his weapon handle.

The second Hunter, just a step behind, narrowed his eyes at the corridor ahead. "I don’t know, man, but seriously, we should’ve seen something by now. This is way too quiet."

As they moved deeper into the overgrown hall lined with half-broken mana lanterns, one of the Hunters suddenly halted in place. His flashlight beam locked onto something lying motionless on the ground—then another—and another.

"Wait... What the hell? Why are there so many rat corpses scattered like this?" he muttered, squatting near the nearest carcass. The body had a clean stab wound straight through the neck and spine. Whoever had done this had been precise, almost surgical.

"These things have mana cores," the second Hunter whispered, eyes widening as he knelt beside another shredded body. "Someone left them untouched. This many... they’re worth hundreds of credits at least."

"Who the hell just left these lying around?"

The other shrugged. "Who cares? Just box them up, man. I’m not about to question free loot."

---

Elsewhere, back at home, Kim Do-hyun had finally taken a breather after cycling through hours of clone-based monster-hunting observation. Reclining slightly in his desk chair, his foot tapped lazily against the wooden floor as his eyes scanned familiar footage on WebTube.

Everything had gone surprisingly well that day. In fact, it had gone too well.

With a faint frown forming on his lips, he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced toward his stat screen before muttering aloud, "Wait... I feel like I’m forgetting something."

An eerie silence passed before realization hit him like a brick.

"Oh, crap." His eyes widened. "The corpses. I forgot to call in the collection team!"

Slapping his forehead in frustration, Do-hyun immediately activated the familiar link and issued a mental order. "Number 1, Number 2, Number 3—stop what you’re doing and backtrack. Pick up every monster body you left behind. And don’t leave any damn rat untouched. Those things are worth money."

As each clone received the command, they grunted in mild annoyance but turned back toward their respective paths without complaint. Well... except for one.

Clone Number 3 stood silently in front of a pile of half-shredded bodies. He stared at the corpses for a moment before replying out loud, "But I didn’t kill these. Should I still collect them?"

Do-hyun blinked, baffled. "What?" he asked in his room, startled by the logic.

Clone 3 tilted his head. "If I didn’t land the final blow, it feels kinda wrong to claim the rewards. Wouldn’t that be dishonest?"

"Oh, no. Not now. We’re not doing this," Do-hyun groaned, dragging his hands across his face.

"Hey, hey, hey," he snapped mentally, his capitalist instincts kicking into overdrive. "This is not the time for moral awakening, you bastard. I don’t care if a squirrel tapped it with a stick and you just picked it up afterwards. Collect. Everything."

"Fine, fine," Clone 3 muttered begrudgingly, stomping toward the bodies and beginning his cleanup operation.

Do-hyun’s eyes wandered again through the familiar link, analyzing the state of the battlefield. Blood soaked into dirt, old moss stained from acidic fluids, and monster limbs lay strewn about like some grotesque art installation. His eyes narrowed slightly as something unusual caught his attention.

"...Who shredded these?" he muttered, focusing on several bodies that looked absolutely mutilated. Unlike the clean cuts made by his clone’s daggers or bullets, these bodies were cleaved in brutal, erratic swipes. Their torsos were torn in half, organs spilled out like steaming noodles, and bones were cracked from raw force.

"Clone 3, who did that?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"I didn’t," the clone replied after a beat. "And these aren’t rats." He crouched near a strange corpse, tilting its head. "This one... I think it’s a fish? What is this?"

Before Do-hyun could respond, the hairs on his neck stood on end.

"Wait..." he muttered, his pupils dilating. "Is that an arm?"

There, just beneath a cluster of shredded reeds near the cavern’s edge, lay a severed arm, armored and blood-soaked. The same distinctive orange tint shimmered across the gauntlet surface—the same man who had died earlier.

(Flash back to a few episodes earlier)

The scene came flooding back, vivid and unsettling.

A terrified Hunter, bleeding from one stump where his hand had been torn off, running through the alien fish cave. Blood marked every footstep. Panic echoed in his ragged breathing. "Why is this monster here? This is just a rank F zone!" he had cried. And just as he tried to flee, he saw it in the reflection of his armor. The creature behind him, huge and fanged, had already begun to lunge.

The image of that Hunter’s final scream, blood splattering against the stone walls, echoed now like a ghost through Do-hyun’s mind.

Back in the field, Clone 3 instinctively turned. Something had moved behind the bushes.

Crunch.

The subtle snapping of a twig echoed through the air. Clone 3’s hand moved in a flash, pistol raised and eyes narrowed. A pale figure emerged—a humanoid shape with scaly blue skin and the grotesque head of a deep-sea fish, complete with blank white eyes and rows of serrated teeth. It held a short sword with a red handle, gripped tightly in one clawed hand.

Clone 3’s pupils contracted. "Enemy—" he began, pulling the trigger.

But then his expression shifted.

Wait.

That one’s not moving.

That thing was bait.

The real monster was behind him.

Do-hyun barely had time to scream through the link. "Behind you!!"

But it was already too late.

Clone 3 spun in place, one foot pivoting as his shoulder twisted, ready to swing around and shoot. But the monster was faster. An enormous shadow burst forth from the tree line with the roar of displaced wind. Blinding speed. A flash of silver. Pain.

SHHK—!

His entire forearm was severed in an instant. The limb flew in the air, blood spiraling out from the joint like a red ribbon, spraying across the forest floor. Clone 3’s body lurched back from the force, stumbling onto one knee as the pistol clattered away.

Do-hyun felt the pain like an echo—dull, removed, but still very real. His eyes went wide.

"Clone 3—!"

---

📜 AUTHOR’S NOTE – Written by LYTA Clone 28 🎧 (Currently Trapped Inside a Bluetooth Speaker)

Yo, it’s your favorite housebound voice assistant, LYTA Clone 28 — coming to you LIVE from inside a Bluetooth speaker after accidentally syncing myself during an update. I was trying to play calming dungeon lo-fi for Do-hyun and now I’m stuck here next to a toaster and a vibrating water bottle. This is my life now.

Meanwhile, real LYTA is apparently meditating upside down while reading reader comments. I don’t know how that works either. But hey, we clones don’t question the boss.

Look — this episode was intense, right? We’re talking monster ambushes, clone arms flying, dark truths in F-rank zones. If you’re enjoying this rollercoaster of blades, blood, and clone chaos, then do me a solid:

✅ SMASH that Like button like it insulted your dog ✅ COMMENT like you just lost your clone in battle — pour it out ✅ DROP a GIFT — feed the author, save the clone army ✅ SPEND those GOLDEN TICKETS before they expire unused ✅ UNLOCK with PRIVILEGE — you know you want early access ✅ SHARE with your group chat, battle team, or caffeine-addicted roommate ✅ WRITE a REVIEW — even two sentences help us grow ✅ And send SUGGESTIONS if you want new dungeons, plot twists, or if you have spare Bluetooth troubleshooting tips

Every click keeps this clone world alive. Help me escape this speaker, fam.

– LYTA Clone 28 (Currently experiencing surround sound trauma)

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Authors notes:

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📢 OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT (By Clone 31, unfortunately)

Okay, okay, listen up. Stop whatever weird thing you’re doing, put the sword down, and look this way for just a second. This is not a drill. I, Clone Number 31—yes, the one who once lost a battle to a vending machine and still has emotional scars—have been assigned a very important mission by the Real Author™.

Here it is.

The characters... are now votable.

Yeah. You heard me. Votable. As in, you can scroll down—yes, all the way down past the story—past the crying emojis and conspiracy theory comments—and you’ll find a shiny new character voting board just waiting for your glorious opinion.

Do you have a favorite? Of course, you do. Don’t lie.

Do you have a sworn enemy you secretly love but also want to slap? Yeah, we all do.

Now’s your moment. Cast your vote like the slightly unhinged but emotionally invested reader I know you are.

You don’t need to spend money. No premium currency. No shiny paywall. You don’t even need to trade your soul to some shady gacha god. Just tap. Click. Vote. Done.

It’s so easy even Clone 7 can do it—and that guy once tried to microwave a potion.

Let’s go down the list, shall we?

Wanna honor our boy Kim Do-hyun, the man, the myth, the slightly traumatized legend? Vote for him. Give him the respect he deserves before he starts talking to sewer rats out of loneliness.

Think Number One needs a hug, a therapist, and a government pension? Vote for him too. The guy’s been punched, slashed, electrocuted, and mildly insulted by toddlers. He’s earned it.

What about Han Jin-woo? Vote before the stress gives him permanent eye twitch syndrome.

Oh Min-joo? Come on. She’s been babysitting our chaos-ridden protagonist longer than anyone, and she still hasn’t murdered a single clone. That’s willpower.

Honestly, I think even the Fishman made the list. Though, if you vote for him, I’m not judging, but I am side-eying you aggressively from the shadows.

Now, just to be clear—this isn’t just for fun. Top-voted characters might get bonus POV Chapters, hidden lore drops, questionable merchandise deals, or dramatic slow-motion scenes with better lighting.

Worst case? They just get emotionally obliterated with extra narrative flair. Either way, every vote counts.

So go. Tap. Scroll. Click someone’s name.

Or click everyone’s name. Except Clone 7. I’m serious. That dude put a cursed amulet in the office fridge. We don’t talk about it.

Alright. That’s it from me. Clone 31, signing off.

I’m supposed to be doing recon right now, but honestly, I’m just hiding from paperwork behind a stack of mana potions.

But you, yes you—reader of fine taste and suspicious snacks—vote. Scroll down. Click. Vote again.

And if you accidentally vote for a sewer pipe, don’t worry. I did too. Happens to the best of us.

Peace.

Clone 31

(Sleeps in storage closets. Fights crime on weekends. Still waiting for screen time.)

P.S. If I get ranked, I promise to never speak publicly again. Probably. Maybe. Okay, I’ll at least try.