A respawning mini-boss in the rat area of the crypt, grown strong by feasting on its own kind, and the source of the relic fragment that opens the path toward Gloth.
Role in the world
Bae-Gumeong lives in the rat-infested section of the crypt. It has been growing stronger by eating other rats, its own kind. New Suhodan recruits are sent to put it down as their first assignment, immediately after their final lesson (a short account of the world and what they have trained for). Killing Bae-Gumeong ends the recruit’s first quest.
Rats and vermin take in Maggi quickly and are the first sign of corruption spreading, which fits a corrupted rat being the threat a recruit faces at the crypt’s edge. Like all things fully taken by the Maggi, Bae-Gumeong does not truly die. The bible states that those wholly corrupted are never permitted to move on, kept as tools of the corruptive force, their bodies turned against their minds. This is why it respawns rather than staying dead.
The relic fragment
When the recruit kills Bae-Gumeong, they find a piece of a relic. The tutor recognizes it as part of a relic once held by a man named Han-Gyeol (the man who became Gloth). The tutor will not explain who Han-Gyeol is, telling the recruit it is better left to the leader of whichever path they choose. Each path leader’s dialogue differs in wording but lands on the same point: the recruit is not yet strong enough to know more, or to do anything about Gloth. The fragment is the hook that begins the long arc toward confronting Gloth.
What the fragment is in relation to the broken Celestial Pillars (Cheonseokju) is unspecified here. The bible ties Gloth’s transformation to a pillar fragment found deep in the crypts, but it does not state whether the piece Bae-Gumeong yields is itself a pillar shard or a separate relic. Treat the connection as unknown until the bible says more.
See also
- Gloth (Han-Gyeol)
- Bestiary Overview
- Maggi
- The Crypts
- The Gloth Arc
- Why Players Fight (Progression Arc)
Source: ETK Lore Bible, Overall Storyline (A New Beginning); Boss Lore (Gloth); General Lore Considerations (Maggi, Enemy Respawns). Foundation doc for Maggi, the Crypts, and Suhodan recruit context.