By Zephyria J is dead, but his corpse did not disappear. We can only guess that his body remained here, and only his Soul returned to its original world. It had to be that way.
Lee Sa-young cleaned and tidied J’s corpse, moved it to his house, and placed Preservation Stones everywhere. To prevent the corpse from decaying. So that his time would no longer flow. And he spent his daily life in that house. Ga-eul fidgeted with the cold key.
“Um, but… is it necessary for all of us to manage it…? Wouldn’t Hunter Lee Sa-young manage it well?”
Honeybee frowned. She whispered sharply.
“Do you trust that crazy brat?”
“C, crazy brat, you say…”
“What else is preserving a corpse if not perverted?”
Instead of Ga-eul, who was at a loss for words, a languid voice answered.
“I can hear everything.”
“Oh, really? That’s great. I meant for you to hear it.”
“You didn’t bury yours either. Your Guild member. Isn’t it the same?”
“……”
Honeybee and Lee Sa-young’s gazes collided. It was such a fierce exchange of glances that it felt like sparks were flying. Ga-eul took a small breath with a pale face. Goosebumps rose all over her body. If she hadn’t been an S-Class, she probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand it and would have collapsed.
Eventually, Honeybee shrugged first.
“Okay… you’re right. I misspoke.”
“Good to know.”
“Still, we’re all managing it together. Got it? We’re all going to be busy from now on.”
“…Whatever.”
Ga-eul glanced at Sa-young. Sa-young leaned against the wall with a blank face, seemingly not even thinking about fixing his disheveled hair. Since J’s death, all expressions had disappeared from his face. Fortunately, he wasn’t holed up in a dark room like in her memories, but….
‘He looks precarious….’
Honeybee must have noticed his condition and taken extreme measures. Under the guise of managing J’s corpse, to periodically check on Lee Sa-young’s condition. A life with a corpse couldn’t have a positive effect on his mind.
He was like a bomb that could explode at any moment. Ga-eul gripped the key and closed her eyes. She hoped the end would come quickly. Otherwise….
It felt like someone would end first.
After J’s return, Director Ham Seok-jeong called together a small number of people. They were those directly related to the Invasion Dungeon, but in reality, it was fair to say it was a Ranker meeting. J, Matthew, Jung-bin, Gyu-Gyu, Shield Guy, Director Ham, Nam Woo-jin who sent Marionette instead of attending himself, Rift Management Bureau representative Yang Hye-jin, and Min-gi Seo, who volunteered to be J’s driver. The purpose of the gathering was to confirm the current situation and share information.
Yang Hye-jin turned over the paper in her hand and said.
“…Invasion is happening rapidly. The Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon is underground, so it’s not exposed to the outside, but the places with entrances outside are already turning white around them.”
“The Invasion phenomenon must have become apparent.”
“Yes. So, we’ve designated the areas around the Dungeons as restricted areas and set up barriers… but even Dungeons that weren’t Invasion Dungeons are being invaded. At this rate, there will be problems with resource procurement.”
Humans quickly adapted to living with Monsters. The market has many items made from Monster raw materials, and all items for Hunters are made from materials in the Dungeon. Not only weapons and armor, but even low-grade Elixirs in the gift kits for new Hunters sold in messenger gift shops.
Director Ham Seok-jeong glanced at Gyu-Gyu.
“Is it the same overseas?”
“Yeah, it seems to be a global phenomenon~ If this keeps up, it’ll be difficult to get even common Elixirs, let alone weapons.”
Gyu-Gyu tossed a die and caught it. Silence flowed. Places where Invasion and Whitening occur turn into white wastelands. The ashes left after everything is burned are useless. It covers and erases everything, and scatters when the wind blows. Eui-jae suddenly thought.
‘So, Nam Woo-jin was even more overworked….’
A world where resources are scarce. Wounds that would normally be treated with Elixirs would have to be treated directly by him. Eui-jae recalled the world inside the Memorial Dungeon. Hunters with big and small wounds.
Director Ham Seok-jeong asked.
“How is the Mutation situation?”
“It’s increasing rapidly. The frequency of Mutation was high among residents near the Invasion Dungeon. The causal relationship between Whitening and Mutation is clear. As Hunter J said, the Invasion phenomenon in our world seems to be the Whitening phenomenon in the Destroyed world. Only the names are different.”
Matthew asked.
“How about closing the Dungeons? Since we can’t get resources from the Invasion Dungeon anyway, eliminating them would be the shortcut to reducing damage.”
Jung-bin sighed softly and shook his head.
“Of course, we considered that plan, but the entrances to the Invasion Dungeons have disappeared even if we wanted to close them. It seems no one can enter while the Memorial Dungeon is in progress.”
“Are we just waiting, then?”
“Yes. But the flow of time is also different between reality and inside the Dungeon. How long do we have to wait….”
The flow of time inside and outside the Dungeon is different. When Cha Eui-jae escaped after spending about a week in the Memorial Dungeon, two weeks had passed in reality. If we wait, he will come back, but we cannot rule out the possibility that Doomsday will proceed before that….
‘Lee Sa-young will have to be there much longer….’
Because he has to keep wandering that world even after the world is destroyed. Cha Eui-jae recalled the three months Sa-young had been asleep. Those hellish times.
At this rate, the end of the world will come before Lee Sa-young returns. Eui-jae bit his lip. Can’t we get him out sooner?
‘You come find me first. Like you did before.’
Someone’s voice floated in his head. Like a ship that has lost its way.
In the end, this meeting was dismissed without finding a suitable solution. Shield Guy said he had something to check and remained at the Awakened Management Bureau, and only Min-gi Seo and Eui-jae decided to return first.
Eui-jae got into the passenger seat of the old truck. The rearview mirror decoration had been replaced with a fist-sized gray cat doll wearing sunglasses. Min-gi Seo, who was sitting in the driver’s seat and adjusting the angle of the rearview mirror, suddenly asked.
“It would be good to go into a closed Dungeon or Rift, right? Customer.”
“Yes. It won’t work, though. Romantic Opener can’t open doors leading to the inside of the Dungeon either.”
“Unfortunately, that’s right. Instead, I have a suggestion.”
Beyond the sunglasses in the rearview mirror, black eyes were reflected.
“Contact the Wave Guild research team. They’re already suffering from lethargy these days due to successive business trips. They say they feel like chopsticks that don’t match.”
“Research team?”
“Oh, didn’t you meet them once in Incheon? The team that was researching how to open closed Rifts under the Guild Master’s orders. They are currently researching the Invasion phenomenon.”
Ah. Eui-jae exclaimed softly. Wasn’t the young man who readily lent him the access card when he suddenly stormed into Incheon to find Lee Sa-young a member of the research team? His face was like a bandit, but his personality was kind. Above all, he said he was a fan of J. The voice of the bandit-like young man, blushing and stammering, came to mind.
‘I, I, I’m a fan. I’m a fan… O, our team members are fans too, and, P, Professor is also a fan….’
Eui-jae rubbed his chin. A fan of J. If he coaxes him well, he might be able to get help.
“What about the research results? Did they open it?”
“Um, we should say there are no results since they couldn’t open it. But they have the best Dungeon knowledge in the world. They are also conducting research on the Invasion Dungeon.”
Rumble, the old truck started with a thunderous sound. Eui-jae asked sullenly.
“Why didn’t you say anything at the meeting earlier? Such important information.”
“How important is this classified information? Don’t you know about security?”
“The world is about to end, and security is more important?”
“That’s why I told you, Customer? In the first place, it would only waste time to tell the Awakened Management Bureau. This is a matter that requires reckless action like Customer.”
“Keep it a secret from the Awakened Management Bureau?”
“Don’t you have secrets you don’t tell your parents, Customer?”
Perhaps it was because they had spent time together. Min-gi Seo knew Cha Eui-jae too well. The corner of his mouth went up behind the mask. Under the sunglasses, Min-gi Seo’s mouth was also raised.
Eui-jae nodded.
“Let’s go right away.”
At the same time, Min-gi Seo roughly turned the steering wheel.
Wave Guild’s pride, the Dungeon Research Lab, had very thorough security. You had to scan your access card several times and go deep inside along a winding path like a snail. It was a deep place without even windows, but for the mental health of the employees, there were artificial sky panels on the ceiling and screens with natural scenery on the corridor walls. No wonder people are depressed. Eui-jae thought as he walked through the tediously long passage.
Finally, the moment Min-gi Seo scanned his access card on the last security panel.
“Welcome!!”
Bang, fireworks exploded. Eui-jae quickly stepped back and blinked.
Researchers standing in a row on either side of the red carpet laid out in front of the door bowed 90 degrees. It looked like gangsters welcoming their boss. Even more so since there were bandit-like researchers. Eui-jae asked Min-gi Seo in a ventriloquist voice.
“What exactly did you say?”
“That J-nim is visiting.”
“Did you really only say that?”
“Yes. This time it’s real.”
The red carpet was incredibly long. The researchers who had finished greeting him stared at Eui-jae with sparkling eyes. As if telling him to step on the carpet they had prepared. Eui-jae clenched his fist. His fist trembled.
‘I, I don’t want to.’
This kind of attention was the worst!