By Zephyria “Excuse me, is anyone in there?”
Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking echoed in the quiet Hanover Soup Restaurant. Along with a small but clear murmur.
“Are they sleeping….”
I could tell right away just by the voice. It was Yoon Ga-eul, who had shown me the world within the Fragment. If it weren’t for this situation, she would have been a welcome guest…. Eui-jae glanced at the corner. Hong Ye-seong was lying face down on the floor, only raising his head to listen intently. He looked like a lizard surveying its surroundings.
‘Of all times for this guy to be here….’
Eui-jae, whose eyes met Hong Ye-seong’s, asked silently with his lips.
‘Do you know her?’
Ye-seong nodded with a serious face. Eui-jae suppressed a sigh and twisted his lips. Goddamn it, do Rankers gather and eat together regularly or something?
‘How do you all know each other, for f’s sake.’
Another hesitant knock was heard. Knock, knock. Hong Ye-seong, who had only stretched out his head, asked in a low voice.
“Doesn’t seem like they’re here for me? Secretary Kim, do you know that friend?”
“…….”
“What, tell me.”
“It’s a secret.”
“Boo, cowardly. Is that all you’ll say?”
Toward Ye-seong, who was whispering slogans like a protester, Eui-jae pointed to the door with his thumb as if to show off.
“Can I open the door?”
Hong Ye-seong stuck closer to the floor, perhaps to hide his presence. Of course, it wasn’t very effective because of his shiny, wet, bright blue hiking clothes.
“There’s a chance they contacted the Bureau of Rift Management and came looking for me. Let me think for a moment.”
“You said it doesn’t seem like they came looking for Hong Ye-seong.”
“You always have to keep possibilities open.”
Come to think of it, didn’t this guy have a secret Shield with a magnificent traditional house and palanquin? I didn’t know why he was rubbing his body on the ground instead of going there to hide. Eui-jae crossed his arms and asked.
“Can’t you go into the Shield where you kidnapped me? That traditional house.”
“Not right now. It’s a very delicate Shield, so it needs a bit of maintenance after one use.”
Whether Eui-jae looked at him sullenly or not, Hong Ye-seong rustled and took out a silver foil mat, covering himself like a blanket. Surprisingly, the area covered by the mat changed to resemble the floor. He gestured for me to go out quickly, with only his head remaining. Eui-jae trudged toward the door.
As the door creaked open, Ga-eul, who had been pacing back and forth, looked up at Eui-jae with a start. She bowed.
“Hello….”
“Just a moment.”
Eui-jae nimbly cut her off and raised his index finger to his lips. Yoon Ga-eul closed her mouth. Meanwhile, he opened the memo app on his phone with his other hand and wrote a sentence.
[There’s someone else here. Please call me Secretary Kim of Wave Guild.]
Ga-eul’s eyes moved quickly across the sentence. Soon, she cleared her throat.
“Ahem, I… came at too late an hour. I’m sorry, Secretary Kim….”
Ga-eul glanced up as if to ask if she got it right. Eui-jae nodded slightly and asked.
“No, it’s alright. What brings you here at this hour?”
“That’s….”
Yoon Ga-eul, who hesitated, wrote something on her phone and showed it to me.
[I came because there’s something I absolutely have to tell you. Today was the only time I could make it.]
If she came looking for me at dawn…. Did she see some important Fragment? Eui-jae nodded. Ga-eul began to write a new sentence.
[Starting a few months ago, Dungeons have started to appear where some of the environment suddenly changes. Not a natural change according to the flow, but a completely different form. But after hearing the explanation… the changed appearance is too similar to the world within the Fragment. Covered in white ash, and white Monsters that I’ve never seen before appear.]
The world within the Fragment. The world where Doomsday had come was a familiar Shield where pure white ash scattered. That was because it was eerily similar to the West Sea Rift, which he had been rummaging through non-stop. Eui-jae clenched his fist tightly.
[Nam Woo-jin calls it the Dungeon Infiltration phenomenon. It’s like it’s being invaded by a completely different Shield. Only some Rankers know about Doomsday yet, and the investigation into the Infiltration phenomenon is being conducted behind the scenes because Infiltration doesn’t happen often. I’m in charge of comparing the world within the Fragment and the Infiltration Dungeon. And as I compared what I saw with this world now….]
Ga-eul pushed up her glasses.
[As you can see, the world within the Fragment and this world are similar but different. But after looking at the Fragments again, I realized that there’s a branching point where the two worlds began to diverge in earnest.]
Her fingers moved busily.
[The West Sea Rift didn’t appear in the world within the Fragment.]
“…….”
West Sea Rift. Eui-jae bit his lip as he looked at the word that suddenly caught his eye. Ga-eul, who was watching his face, was about to write a new sentence.
“Ah… Achoo!”
A loud sneeze tore through the silence. Ga-eul’s eyes widened. Eui-jae turned his head sharply to look at the source of the sound. Hong Ye-seong was rubbing his nose and smiling awkwardly. Damn it, I forgot about that guy’s existence. If we continued to communicate in writing, even Hong Ye-seong, who wasn’t very perceptive, would feel something was wrong. Ga-eul seemed to have the same thought.
[Who’s inside?]
Ga-eul knows that Eui-jae is J. There’s no need to hide it. Eui-jae gestured silently.
[Hong Ye-seong.]
A look of surprise appeared on Ga-eul’s face. Well, Yoon Ga-eul must have seen Jung-bin’s megaphone too. Her speed increased as if her fingers were on fire.
[Why is Ye-seong here??? Jung-bin was looking for him a lot before he went into the Dungeon…]
Eui-jae pondered Ga-eul’s story. The Dungeon Infiltration phenomenon that occurred a few months ago, the Infiltrated Dungeon changes into a form very similar to the Destroyed world due to Doomsday. The West Sea Rift is also similar to the Destroyed world. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his heavy head.
What if the Dungeon Infiltration phenomenon isn’t just about becoming similar… but about connecting to the same Shield?
The back of his neck grew cold. If so, couldn’t the Infiltrated Dungeon and the West Sea Rift be connected? It could just be a guess. But….
I had to confirm it.
Eui-jae steadied his trembling hands and quickly wrote a sentence.
[Can I go into the Infiltration Dungeon and see? Anywhere is fine.]
Ga-eul’s eyes widened, and soon she crossed her arms with a serious face and put her fist over her mouth. She seemed to be thinking, and then she nodded and showed her phone.
[There’s one Infiltration Dungeon that appeared recently. It should be in Jongno 3-ga.]
Jongno 3-ga… Fortunately, it was in Seoul. If I went and came back quickly, I could come back before opening the store. Ga-eul, lost in thought, continued to write sentences.
[But it’ll be a bit difficult to sneak into the Infiltration Dungeon. It’s under control, so only authorized personnel can enter.]
‘Is that a big problem?’
If I knock everyone out and there are no witnesses, isn’t that infiltration? As long as I have something to cover my face, it’s possible enough. But Ga-eul didn’t seem to think so. At that time,
“Hee-tish!”
Hong Ye-seong sneezed loudly again. Ga-eul’s face lit up.
[Ye-seong might be helpful. I learned how to handle him from Jung-bin.]
Eui-jae checked the store again. Hong Ye-seong, with only his head floating, was making eye contact with Cluck, who had already gotten up, and communicating with it.
That guy?
I don’t think so?
Perhaps noticing the suspicious look, Ga-eul gestured as if to say it was okay. Then, she squeezed under Eui-jae’s arm, who was blocking the door, and suddenly thrust her upper body into the store.
“The best Artisan Hong Ye-seong! Please help me! It’s Dungeon Infiltration!”
“…Who is it?”
Before Eui-jae could stop him, Hong Ye-seong raised his head with a start.
“Who called the best Artisan?”
Dungeon. A mysterious Shield that began to appear sporadically after the Day of the Rift.
The vegetation inside the Dungeon is something that cannot be seen on Earth, and dangerous Monsters are entrenched there. If the Monsters inside the Dungeon are not culled periodically, the population increases rapidly and overloads. Therefore, unnecessary Dungeons are closed, and Dungeons with a lot of potential profit from byproducts are managed by the state or Guilds.
And Lee Min-hoon, a C-class Hunter belonging to the Rift Management Bureau, was in charge of managing the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon. In fact, the management role was a so-called cushy job where he only had to let in people who had received a permit from Wave Guild. He licked his lips.
‘I thought I’d be kicked out after the owner changed.’
The Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon was a case where ownership was transferred from the state to the Guild. Usually, a Guild member would take on the management role when it becomes Guild-owned, but Wave Guild left the Rift Management Bureau’s management role alone, saying they didn’t have the manpower. They couldn’t be more generous. Thanks to that, Lee Min-hoon continued to enjoy his boring and leisurely work here.
3 a.m. He yawned widely while looking at the phone where automatic hunting was running. This job was all good, but it was too boring because there was nothing to do. It was when he wiped away the tears that had welled up. He saw figures approaching the management office in the distance. Who the hell are these crazy bastards at 3 a.m.!
Lee Min-hoon rubbed his eyes and adjusted his hat. It wasn’t a hallucination as they continued to get closer. Soon, a dim light illuminated them.
“…What is that?”
One hiker wearing blue hiking clothes and heavily armed with sunglasses and a black mask, a student wearing a white ball cap, a beige hooded zip-up, and pajama pants, and a handsome young man wearing a gray hoodie. It was a bizarre combination that was impossible to find a common denominator. They were walking towards the management office where Min-hoon was sitting without hesitation. Min-hoon hurriedly turned on the microphone.
“There! Please stop. Identify yourselves.”