By Zephyria 256
I never thought I’d be back here again.
They were in the Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon. The Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon was the very place where Cha Eui-jae, along with Hong Ye-seong, Cluck, and Student Ga-eul, had attempted a forced breakthrough. It was also the place where he had suffered greatly due to the Dungeon Restructuring.
Though he was with Lee Sa-young now.
Lee Sa-young headed towards the management office at a leisurely pace. Just then, a Hunter who had been dozing off in the office suddenly raised his head. He looked strangely familiar, and it turned out to be the Hunter who had been beaten and knocked out by Cluck back then, still guarding the place. The ID card around his neck had the Rift Management Bureau logo and the name Lee Min-hoon written on it.
‘He didn’t get fired. That’s a relief.’
Eui-jae nodded towards the pitiful Lee Min-hoon. However, he seemed to have taken it as a kind of threat. Lee Min-hoon looked back and forth between Lee Sa-young and Eui-jae, then widened his eyes. He jumped up from his seat and bowed at a 90-degree angle. The hat that was loosely perched on his head fell off as he moved abruptly.
“Ah, hello! What brings you here!”
Sa-young simply nodded in response.
“Two people are going in. The purpose of entry is to investigate the Invasion Dungeon.”
“O-Only two of you?”
“Yes.”
“Understood! Please be careful!”
Lee Min-hoon, now fully alert, hurriedly opened the management office window and handed over two entry cards. Lee Sa-young didn’t even glance at Lee Min-hoon as he swiped the card on the machine next to the door. Drrr, the heavy door slowly opened.
Eui-jae wanted to encourage the poor civil servant Lee Min-hoon, so he clenched his fist to convey his support. However, instead of a smile, foam formed on Lee Min-hoon’s lips.
Sa-young, who was waiting by the door, scolded him.
“Why are you threatening people?”
“Hey, it’s not a threat, it’s encouragement, encouragement. You don’t even know.”
“How is that encouragement? It looked like you were shaking your fist saying you’d kill him if he blabbed.”
“…Never mind.”
“You have to consider that your expression isn’t visible because of the mask.”
At the end of the long tunnel, the Dungeon entrance shimmered with blue light. Sa-young, who had stopped in front of the entrance, went, “Ah,” and held out his hand to Eui-jae. Was he asking to hold hands?
‘Even with all this, he’s still young…’
Eui-jae chuckled and took his hand. However, Sa-young looked back at Eui-jae with wide eyes.
“Huh?”
“What, why?”
“Why are you holding my hand? Did you want to hold it?”
“No, who held out their hand first?”
“I held it out to ask for the sword.”
“Sword? What sword?”
“Hong Ye-seong’s sword. Didn’t Hyung take it? I can’t capture it alive with my ability, so I have to use that.”
“…Then you should have asked for the sword. How would anyone know if you just hold out your hand!”
Eui-jae tried to push his hand away, but Sa-young was faster. He quickly intertwined their fingers and gently stroked the back of Eui-jae’s hand with his thumb. Heat rose to his neck. Sa-young smiled, raising the corners of his lips.
“Let’s go holding hands. Since we’re already holding them.”
“……”
“I think I’ll feel more at ease if we hold hands, too…”
The touching skin was ticklish. Damn it. He was getting drawn in again. Eui-jae didn’t respond further and took Hong Ye-seong’s sword out of his Inventory and handed it over. Sa-young received the black longsword and fastened it to his waist. It suited him well, as if it had always been his. Eui-jae stared at it and opened his mouth.
“Wait, I have something to say.”
“Yeah.”
“The Dungeon Restructuring happened when I went in here last time, remember?”
“Ah, yes.”
“It might happen again this time.”
Sa-young, who seemed lost in thought, lowered his eyes and replied.
“They said that when the investigation team went in after that day… it had returned to normal. It’s certain that it changed in response to Hyung.”
“……”
“Have you ever been into other Invasion Dungeons?”
“Yeah, a few times. But there was nothing special about them then.”
“Then that must have been a unique case. If the Restructuring happens again this time and we get separated…”
Sa-young shook their intertwined hands slightly.
“Hyung has to come find me.”
“……”
“Can you do it?”
He felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Had he had this conversation somewhere before? But before he could find the cause of the déjà vu, Eui-jae was nodding as if he were possessed.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, then let’s go in.”
The two stepped into the blue light at the same time.
After the slight dizziness disappeared, Eui-jae carefully opened his eyes. He could still feel the warmth of the tightly held hand. When he turned to the side, Sa-young was quietly looking at him. He rubbed the back of his hand and the flesh of his palm with his fingers.
“Thankfully, it’s normal.”
“Stop touching me…”
The area around the entrance was a forest with lush grass and tall trees. However, the forest didn’t last long, and beyond the shade of the trees, a wasteland covered in white ash could be seen. Sa-young stretched out his arm and pointed to the debris covered in white.
“That’s the invaded area. It’s getting wider and wider.”
“It’ll be invaded up to the entrance soon.”
“Probably.”
“What happens when it’s completely covered?”
“No one knows. However, this place has the highest invasion rate among the existing Invasion Dungeons…”
“……”
“We’ll find out soon, I guess. For the first time.”
Eui-jae moved and stood at the boundary between the forest and the invaded area. The horizon beyond the jagged fragments of the wasteland was white. Eui-jae pointed to the horizon.
“Have you ever been to the end of that? It looks pretty far.”
“No. The investigation team only went as far as the previously confirmed area for safety reasons. We don’t know where the end is, and it’s been Restructured before… There are also issues with food and safety.”
Sa-young glanced at Eui-jae.
“Do you want to go?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, then.”
Sa-young’s Walker lightly crossed the boundary and stepped onto the wasteland. Why was he allowing it? Eui-jae, who had been prepared for a round of arguing, relaxed his shoulders. And he followed behind him, muttering.
“…You’re letting me do it easier than I thought?”
“It’s better to have you do it in front of my eyes. Rather than you doing things secretly like last time.”
“When did I ever do that?”
“Ah, there are so many that you can’t even remember? Here. When you came with The Artisan and the high school student.”
“……”
“I was investigating well with Jung-bin, and then the Dungeon Restructuring happened… Then you suddenly appeared and slaughtered the Monsters.”
Eui-jae shut his mouth tightly. He had committed so many sins that he couldn’t win against Lee Sa-young with words. Sa-young, with his arms crossed, didn’t stop his sarcasm.
“I thought you remembered since you brought it up first. Your memory isn’t very good.”
“You’re just as bad at doing things secretly, you know?”
“Yeah, we’re a match made in heaven.”
Eui-jae lightly kicked Sa-young’s calf. Sa-young laughed out loud as if it didn’t hurt at all. He pulled on their intertwined hands and rubbed his lips on the back of Eui-jae’s hand.
“Let’s go as far as we can. I brought the basic supplies.”
Squeak, squeak… Two pairs of footprints were left long on the white ash that had piled up thickly. Eui-jae glanced back. The blue forest of the entrance had long disappeared from sight. They had been walking for over two hours without stopping, but they hadn’t found a single Monster. Sa-young, who was walking side by side, muttered.
“This is strange.”
“Did the investigation team encounter Monsters?”
“Yes. They even fought.”
Purple eyes scanned the surroundings. Nothing could be heard except for the sound of two people breathing.
“It’s empty. Strangely so.”
Eui-jae approached a protruding rock and brushed off the white ash. It was a sign that was half-buried in the ground at an angle, but it was a common sight on the street. However, the contents were unreadable. It was written in an unfamiliar script. Eui-jae carefully examined the letters.
‘It’s the same script as the books I saw at the Seowon Guild…’
A book found in the Dungeon, a real-world sign found in the Dungeon. Eui-jae rubbed the corner of the sign.
At that moment.
Clunk!
“……”
Their bodies froze. Eui-jae raised his index finger to signal for silence. Sa-young quietly placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. A presence could be felt a little further away. A Monster? No, this was…
The presence of a person.
Eui-jae whispered in a small voice.
“Are there any other people who entered besides us?”
“No.”
“Anyone who went into this Dungeon and didn’t return?”
“No one.”
“Not even one?”
Sa-young nodded instead of answering. Then whose presence was it that they were feeling now? Eui-jae snatched the sword that Lee Sa-young was wearing, scabbard and all. Sa-young looked at him with a bewildered expression, but there was nothing he could do. It would be faster to subdue them with a club with a scabbard than to punch them with his fists.
“I’ll borrow it for a second.”
“Ah, you just take it and say you’re borrowing it?”
“This is urgent, stop nitpicking! Hide over there.”
“Is Hyung going to fight?”
“It’ll be faster if I fight. You can’t even use Poison.”
Sa-young raised both hands and walked awkwardly behind a protruding rock, sitting behind the rock as if he was hiding but not really.
He quickly scanned the surroundings. Two flickering flames were approaching them. Eui-jae took a few steps, holding the sword. At that moment, a black shadow flashed across his vision. Goosebumps rose on his cheeks and neck. Eui-jae quickly raised his sword.
Clang―!!
A strong impact flowed through the sword. Immediately after, something sharp and silver pierced his neck. Eui-jae quickly tilted his head back to avoid it.
‘A sword?’
It had a springiness to it for a sword. Eui-jae swung the scabbard to block the fast-approaching attacks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The opponent was only aiming for vital points. It was a clean technique. It certainly didn’t seem like a Monster. Then, could he talk to them? Eui-jae quickly opened his mouth.
“Wait! Just wait a minute!”
“……”
The fierce stabbing that seemed like it would kill him stopped. What had been threatening his vital points was a sharply crafted Rapier. The opponent, who had been wearing a black cloak, slowly took off their hood. Brown eyes narrowed and reflected Eui-jae. It was a face that Eui-jae knew well. He carefully opened his mouth.
“…Honeybee?”
The brown eyes slowly widened.