89 – HGL 89

Returning

Kwaang!

A fist wrapped in Black Chains struck the center of a rock. The massive boulder crumbled silently from the point of impact. Jung-bin retracted his fist. Around him, piles of rock with hollowed-out centers were stacked as high as hills. He released the Chains, invisibly wiped away sweat, and turned around.

“Are you both alright?”

“Yes. Are you okay, Mister?”

Ga-eul peeked her upper body out from behind the collapsed wall. Next to her, a thumb and a white wing popped up in succession. Jung-bin approached them, deliberately smiling.

“I’m fine. Ga-eul, how’s your dizziness?”

“Uh… I feel much better after resting. Thank you for your concern.”

Ga-eul replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. Even at a glance, her complexion was much better than when she was retching. Jung-bin was inwardly relieved as he examined them. Only after confirming their safety did he let out a small sigh. The situation was a mess.

One chaotic event followed another, as if he were possessed. He had anticipated the Artisan Exhibition would be a disaster through experience, and he had prepared for it. Lee Sa-young’s fainting and Nam Woo-jin’s urgent Dungeon exploration request were not expected, but he managed to handle them well enough.

However, even Jung-bin had not anticipated the news of Hong Ye-seong’s escape. The urgent call arrived just before he entered the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon, after giving all the instructions in preparation for a long absence. Jung-bin held up the loudly ringing phone and gestured to Sa-young. Sa-young raised an eyebrow, leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. Jung-bin pressed the call button. And,

—I’m sorry, Team Leader. Hong Ye-seong has escaped…

He was faced with an unbelievable reality. Ah, so this is what it feels like when your vision spins from a huge shock! Jung-bin learned a new fact for the first time in 30 years. Listening to the mournful voice of the Hunter in charge of security, he, for the first time in a long time…

‘I want to run away….’

He had such thoughts. Even though the only place to escape was inside the Dungeon.

Perhaps it was because he had been pacing back and forth so much while listening to the tearful situation report, Lee Sa-young, who had been waiting with his eyes closed, opened his mouth irritably.

“Did your feet catch fire? Why are you making so much noise….”

“Lee Sa-young….”

Hearing his voice, Sa-young seemed to sense something was wrong and slightly opened one eye. Then, seeing Jung-bin’s world-weary face, he opened both eyes wide. Jung-bin had never seen Lee Sa-young look at him with such surprised eyes. Thanks to Hong Ye-seong, he was only gaining new experiences.

Fortunately, Lee Sa-young played the part of a capable Guild Master. That is, he passed the work on to his subordinate. If Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo hadn’t taken the lead in the pursuit, they would still be searching for Hong Ye-seong instead of exploring the Dungeon. Hong Ye-seong was important, but….

‘I have to find the clue to Doomsday.’

A few months ago, Yoon Ga-eul, after her Awakening, predicted that Doomsday would come. Doomsday, which could come at any time, in any way. It was a hard story to believe. Especially since the whole world was forgetting the chaos and entering a period of stability. Ham Seok-jeong, the Director of the Awakened Management Bureau, who first heard the story, regarded it as a kind of post-Awakening aftereffect and assigned someone to Yoon Ga-eul.

However, as if to support Yoon Ga-eul’s claim, Invasion Dungeons began to appear one by one, and after Lee Sa-young’s Awakening, Prometheus’s activities, which had been quiet, became rapidly active.

The first Invasion occurred in a Dungeon owned by a Guild near Incheon. The Dungeon, which was originally a cave inhabited by blue slimes, was covered in pure white ash. Yes, it was too similar to the scenery in the stories.

Immediately after the existence of the first Invasion Dungeon was confirmed, Ham Seok-jeong immediately changed her mind and revealed the existence of Doomsday to only a very small number of Hunters. Only up to the top 10. It was a conclusion reached to prevent the anxiety that the Doomsday theory would bring.

Since that day, combat-type Rankers had been taking turns investigating the Invasion Dungeons. Originally, Gyu-Gyu or Honeybee should have gone in order, but Nam Woo-jin said it was urgent and sent Lee Sa-young and Jung-bin in. And then the Dungeon was suddenly Restructured.

The first S+ Grade Dungeon to appear, the sudden appearance of Hong Ye-seong and Yoon Ga-eul. Jung-bin recalled the eyes burning pure white.

‘Did he anticipate this situation and send us in….’

“…Mister?”

It was a small voice that cut off his lengthening thoughts. Jung-bin snapped out of it and looked for the owner of the voice. Ga-eul was rubbing her mouth and asked.

“Are you really okay?”

Jung-bin put his hands behind his back and smiled gently.

“Yes, of course. But it looks like it will be quiet for a while. Have you had a meal?”

“Yes? Um. No.”

Jung-bin took out a small backpack from his Inventory and handed it to Ga-eul. It was a simple supply kit containing preserved food and bottled water.

“If you feel even a little hungry, I recommend eating it now. You never know when you’ll have another chance.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t fill yourself up too much, it’ll make it uncomfortable to move, just enough to satisfy your hunger.”

“Yes.”

Ga-eul bowed her head and accepted the backpack. Seeing her hesitant expression, Jung-bin deliberately sat down on a flat piece of debris, tore open an energy bar wrapper, and took a bite. Only then did Ga-eul open her backpack and take out a bag of jerky.

Jung-bin, who had finished the energy bar, neatly folded the wrapper and opened his mouth.

“You can listen comfortably while you eat. Since we have a moment of respite, let’s sort out the situation. I came in here with Lee Sa-young to investigate the Invasion Dungeon… Lee Sa-young said someone had entered the Dungeon, and no sooner had he said that than the Dungeon Restructuring phenomenon occurred…. And then I met you two. I don’t know why you two are here, though.”

Jung-bin deliberately emphasized ‘you two’ and ‘why.’ Ga-eul was tearing at the jerky as if she were about to choke. Jung-bin smiled warmly and looked at the seat next to her. Only the tip of a navy blue hiking hat was sticking out.

“Well, then… first of all, Hong Ye-seong?”

“…Ahem.”

The hiking hat, whose name was called, slowly lowered. But that didn’t mean he could suddenly run away. Even if Hong Ye-seong lived with a screw loose, he wouldn’t do something crazy like acting alone in an S+ Grade Dungeon. Having made his judgment, Jung-bin continued without a care.

“I’d like to hear the whole story from beginning to end about why someone who suddenly disappeared and turned the Management Bureau upside down is inside the Invasion Dungeon. And why you two are moving together.”

“…….”

“You can’t exercise your right to remain silent on this matter.”

Cluck, perched on top of the hat, tilted its head, and Ga-eul was chewing on thinly torn jerky with a gloomy face. Hong Ye-seong was still only showing the top of his head. Neither of them seemed to be in a state to tell a proper story. Jung-bin, who had folded the wrapper into a note shape, sighed deeply.

“We’ve investigated Invasion Dungeons several times so far, but this is the first time the grade has increased as the Dungeon Restructured. In the first place, the phenomenon of Dungeon Restructuring itself is also a first….”

Kuuuuung…. The ground rumbled from afar. Such a huge rumble was probably the Dungeon Master. Which they had to kill in order to clear the Dungeon.

“My ability is specialized for one-on-one combat, so it’s not very useful for dealing with Monsters. Until now, I’ve been fighting with grade and stats, but there’s a limit to that.”

Jung-bin sighed briefly.

“To be honest, I can’t be sure that I can protect you while fighting the Dungeon Master. That’s why I need a more detailed explanation of the situation.”

“I’ll tell you that!”

It was the moment Ga-eul shoved jerky into Ye-seong’s mouth, who was about to say something, and raised her hand. A huge shadow fell over them. The three people and one animal looked up at the same time. A very huge….

“…Hand?”

It was a palm.

The palm was so huge that the still air tore even with a small upward movement. Where did something so huge suddenly come from? Jung-bin quickly wrapped the Chains around his arm and shouted urgently.

“Ye-seong, the shield!”

“Ah, I got it!”

And then,

Kwaaaaaang!!

A huge shockwave echoed as if tearing apart the surroundings.

A little while ago.

‘How long has it been?’

Eui-jae glanced at Lee Sa-young while smashing the Golem’s arm with his staff. Lee Sa-young was smashing the Golem with his fists. He must have judged that smashing it was faster than melting the stone with Poison.

Before they could decide whether to join Jung-bin or catch the Dungeon Master first, Monsters rushed at them. And Eui-jae soon noticed something strange. The form of the Monsters rushing at them was changing over time.

The first to appear after the Restructuring were the white, emaciated Monsters they had often seen in the West Sea Rift. After killing them all, the surrounding debris rolled together and clumped together, and now they had become complete stone Golems. The Golems slowly roamed around. Eui-jae gripped his staff tighter.

‘Is it an error that occurred during the Restructuring process? Or….’

Since this Dungeon was suddenly Restructured in response to Eui-jae’s title, the Monsters that appeared at first must have been related to Eui-jae. And the fact that familiar Golems only started appearing after all those Monsters were dealt with. Generally, the Monsters inside a Dungeon are related to the Dungeon Master. Looking at the small Golems that keep appearing… the Dungeon Master is probably a Golem as well.

Eui-jae pondered, piercing the Golem rolling towards him with his staff. There were a total of five Super Hamsters in the Dungeon. Two of them were bombs. One bomb was next to him, so it was okay, but Hong Ye-seong was the problem. The chaos at the Artisan Exhibition flashed through his mind. Eui-jae’s face changed seriously.

Lee Sa-young could be reasoned with if he was appeased, but Hong Ye-seong was hopeless once he was fixated on something. He could only helplessly accept the disaster that was Hong Ye-seong. Without thinking any further, he came to a conclusion.

“Instead of just catching them aimlessly like this, it would be better to join Jung-bin’s group. Let’s go.”

“I was wondering what you were thinking so hard about….”

Sa-young, who had somehow heard the small whisper, scoffed.

“What are you believing in to be so brave…. You just swallowed my words, didn’t you?”

“I listened to your words and made a rational judgment.”

“Ah, rational. Good.”

Sa-young covered his mouth and smiled slightly. However, unlike his raised lips, his mouth was fierce without a hint of a smile.

“Why don’t you take off that hoodie first before we talk. You don’t think it’s okay just because you don’t have an apron, do you? That would be too simple….”

“Here he goes again.”

Lee Sa-young had been acting strangely friendly since they met again in the ruins. This was not a delusion. He was pretending to be sick, exaggerating, and even clapping and saying, ‘Amazing, did you learn taekwondo?’ when Eui-jae kicked a Monster with a whirlwind kick. If it were normal, he would have already sneered at him for not even thinking about hiding his ability! But that was only until his mood soured, it seemed to be a limited-time offer.

‘What does he want?’

Eui-jae kicked a Golem with a disgusted face. The kicked Golem shattered into pieces.

“What’s bothering you again?”

“No… I’m just curious.”

Sa-young, who had been following behind, stopped abruptly. When Eui-jae turned around, Sa-young tilted his head as if he had been waiting for it.

“Hyung… acts like he has to take responsibility and solve everything,”

“…….”

“Don’t you think it’s time to realize that’s a really useless idea…?”