By Zephyria The vibration, which was so faint that only sensitive people could feel it, gradually grew stronger, and soon even the debris piled up around them began to shake. The still air was churning. Jung-bin, frowning, took out his black suppression rod and gripped it.
“What’s going on all of a sudden…”
Sa-young took off his Gas mask.
“Jung-bin, has there ever been a case of a rapid change occurring in an Invasion Dungeon?”
“There have been no reported cases so far. In the first place, it is still a Dungeon type under investigation, so it wouldn’t be strange if anything happened… ”
“……”
“There must be a cause and effect. Unless you carelessly touched something or accidentally discovered something, such a change couldn’t suddenly occur.”
“…I agree with that opinion.”
Sa-young sighed irritably. It was then. Crack, a black crack appeared in the pale sky. Sa-young and Jung-bin looked up at the sky at the same time.
A pure white System window floated in front of them.
[The Dungeon is reacting to the title!]
[The Dungeon is being Restructuring!]
“…What?”
KWAANG! A huge thunderclap rang out as if the sky were collapsing. Thump, the ground they were standing on began to seethe as if it were boiling. Even the two S-Class users, who had been maintaining their balance, lost their footing and staggered. An unknown strong force was sweeping over them. Jung-bin reached out his hand towards Lee Sa-young, but…
He couldn’t reach him.
How long had it been?
Jung-bin slowly opened his eyes. Blink, blink. As he struggled to move his heavy eyelids, a white dirt floor came into view in his barely focused vision.
The floor? He moved his arm and raised his upper body. He seemed to have lost consciousness while lying face down on the floor. Despite being able to withstand most pain, Jung-bin narrowed his eyes at his aching body, as if he had been beaten black and blue.
“…Ugh.”
He let out a short groan and barely managed to get up, planting his feet on the floor. His last memory was… Dungeon Restructuring. But what the hell is Dungeon Restructuring? He had never heard of such a phenomenon before. Can a Dungeon that has already been opened be Restructuring?
‘First, I need to join up with Lee Sa-young-nim quickly…’
Moving alone in a Dungeon about which nothing is known is a suicidal act. It was the moment Jung-bin turned his head.
“Ugh…”
A small moan caught his ear. Lee Sa-young? Jung-bin hurriedly turned his body and headed towards the sound.
But instead of Lee Sa-young, there,
“Ughhh… I’m gonna die…. Aish… What the hell?”
A hiker in bright blue hiking clothes was muttering like a zombie with his face buried in the floor. Next to him, a woman in sleeping pants was kneeling and retching. And a round, stupid-looking chicken was clucking and circling around them. The way they looked was somehow familiar… Jung-bin opened his mouth in unusual embarrassment.
“…Hong Ye-seong-nim? Yoon Ga-eul-nim?”
“…Hey, student friend. Am I in hell? Why can I hear Jung-bin’s voice?”
“Ugh, uweeaaack…”
“Uh… you think it’s hell? I think so too…”
“……”
“Kkokkiooook!”
The porcelain chicken, which had made eye contact with Jung-bin, crowed loudly. Jung-bin simply stared blankly at the unbelievable sight.
J closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Familiar air filled his lungs. The air of the Rift is still, with no taste or smell. Even though the surroundings were full of corpses and blood clots. Thanks to that, the corpses inside this Rift do not rot.
Well, that would be a relief. That way, they can be found among the unrotting corpses.
J then moved his body little by little, starting from the tips of his fingers, checking to see if anything was wrong. In a Rift where Monsters can appear at any time, the only thing you can trust is your own body. People die, and weapons rot. Blood, fat, and oil dull sharply honed blades….
Only after completing all the preparations did J open his eyes. To face hell again today.
However.
What came into view was not a ruin stained with dark red blood.
“…What?”
J looked around with a puzzled expression. The piles of corpses and Monsters were nowhere to be seen, and white ashes were piling up on the collapsed buildings and debris. He quickly looked around at the different scenery, but only a slightly dented white ball cap was lying there.
It was definitely something he remembered seeing. That is….
‘…Wasn’t Yoon Ga-eul wearing it?’
The long, sturdy rod next to it as well.
‘I got it from Hong Ye-seong.’
Ah. Cha Eui-jae, who let out a small exclamation, jumped up from his seat. His stomach was constantly churning. Damn it. Eui-jae put his fist on his chest and took a breath.
This is not inside the Rift. Eui-jae quickly sorted out the mixed memories. He entered the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon with Yoon Ga-eul and Hong Ye-seong. A System notification popped up. After some title was unlocked… a System window appeared saying that the Dungeon was being Restructuring, covering his vision in white. Then, before he even had time to assess the situation, there was only the lightning that struck down and the sensation of the arm he was holding onto disappearing.
Eui-jae picked up the ball cap and the rod. Perhaps because he was caught up in the Dungeon Restructuring process, Master was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where are Yoon Ga-eul and Hong Ye-seong?’
There is no sign of anyone around. Eui-jae bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly before opening them again.
Two bright blue eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. Monster, Monster, Monster…. Among the Monsters, there was a light that seemed to grab his eyes and burn. Purple flames. Cha Eui-jae knows the owner of it.
Lee Sa-young.
‘Why is this bastard here?’
Before the question could even arise, his feet were moving. Eui-jae kicked off the white ashes and started running. The scenery of the ruins and countless lights flickered and passed by in his bright blue eyes. Monster, Monster, Monster. The Restructuring Dungeon had countless Monsters. They were the same guys he was sick of seeing in the West Sea Rift.
Kieeeek!
With a scream, a Monster that had been wandering around rushed towards him. Eui-jae did not stop running, but jumped up and pierced the Monster’s head with the rod. Thwack! Instead of blood, white ashes soared from the Monster’s head.
Act quickly and concisely, saving as much energy as possible and efficiently.
There was also a place where four large flames were gathered, though not as much as Lee Sa-young. Two of them must be Ga-eul and Hong Ye-seong. Seeing that Sa-young is here… it seemed that they had entered the Dungeon as reinforcements in the Dungeon that Lee Sa-young and Jung-bin had entered, unfortunately. The other light with Yoon Ga-eul must be Jung-bin. Probably. Because no one but Jung-bin has that warm, wheat-colored energy. He doesn’t know what the other one is. When he tried to continue thinking, Lee Sa-young’s flame grabbed his attention.
Of course, he can’t be sure unless he actually sees it. It may just be self-rationalization. However….
‘Damn it.’
Eui-jae’s keen intuition, his two feet on the ground, his running body, everything that made up Cha Eui-jae was saying.
‘I have to go to Lee Sa-young.’
He didn’t know why. Eui-jae swung his rod at the oncoming Monsters. Their heads are crushed like tofu. The familiar, dull impact and the vibration of the rod made him breathe. Cha Eui-jae no longer thought. He just ran following his instincts.
Suddenly entangled Dungeon, unfamiliar ruins rising from the floor. Lee Sa-young melted the Monsters and looked around, then settled in the ruins that seemed to have the least collapsed roof and were the most intact. The space, covered in white ashes, evoked a strange unpleasantness, and he didn’t want to see it anymore. Sa-young leaned against the wall and took a short breath. He couldn’t control the rising irritation.
‘Jung-bin will find me on his own, damn it…’
Nothing was to his liking. Thanks to Jung-bin, who took him to Nam Woo-jin because he had collapsed, he had to tour the Invasion Dungeons without being able to handle any other work after the Artisan Exhibition.
‘That’s why I didn’t want to create any debts…’
Nam Woo-jin is a guy who is obsessed with observing the origin of the world, so once he gets a clue, he tries to dig it out to the end. Seowon Guild members were also put into the investigation, but Jung-bin or Lee Sa-young had to go to places they couldn’t go. That was the contract they had made.
I need to finish this quickly and go find him.
It was the moment Sa-young clenched his fist anxiously. A chillingly fierce and intense energy was rushing towards him. He carefully looked out through the open space connected to the outside.
Sa-young’s eyes widened. Through the gaps where white ashes were swirling like snow, something gray was running straight towards him. No way. Even though he thought it couldn’t be, he couldn’t control his racing heart. But why is he here? This is a Dungeon. Doubt and confusion swirled. Nevertheless―
Lee Sa-young called his name.
“…Cha Eui-jae.”
“Lee Sa-young!”
The voice that answered him pierced his ears like a thunderbolt. Sa-young was just staring blankly at Eui-jae running towards him.
“You…”
“Are you okay?”
“Ah.”
“No, I’m okay. It’s me.”
Cha Eui-jae scattered white ashes and squeezed into the ruins. Thump, the suddenly arrived he threw the stick he was holding on the floor. A firm hand cupped his cheek and turned his head from side to side. Sa-young couldn’t even think of pushing his hand away and just stared blankly at Eui-jae’s face.
His breath coming in gasps, his pale face, his two eyes shining as blue as the sea. He couldn’t take his eyes off that bright blue light. Countless thoughts surged like waves.
Why are you here.
How did you get in here?
Do you know what kind of place this is?
Who is asking who if they are okay.
However.
“Why the hell are you… why is someone who collapsed coming into a place like this? Are you crazy?”
The hand covering his face is so warm, and the voice asking if he’s okay is so…
Familiar.
An inexplicable thrill washed over his body. Sa-young trembled without realizing it. The words he wanted to say repeatedly rose to his throat and then subsided. His whole body was so hot that he wondered if someone was tempering him in lava. Sa-young just opened and closed his mouth without saying a word. There were so many things he wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. The only sensation that crawled out, prying through the thoughts that had been messed up and tangled for so long, was.
Joy.
I found you.
Sa-young opened his mouth. But at that moment, his mouth was blocked by a firm palm. Sa-young widened his eyes again. However, the person he was looking for was not looking at him. His sharp eyes were facing outside the ruins.
“…Quiet.”
He is….
“……”
“Just be quiet because I’m okay.”
Thump, thump, thump.
Huge footsteps filled the ruins.