By Zephyria Eui-jae readily accepted the ticket. He would be able to obtain various information if he met Student Ga-eul. In fact, there were many things he wanted to ask. Just like Student Ga-eul had shown him the Fragment of Dream, just like she had entered the Memorial Dungeon without going through the entrance, wouldn’t he be able to enter the Dungeon again as well?
‘Then there’s no need to get Mana Stone.’
Perhaps his excited feelings were showing in his actions, as Jung-bin chuckled softly.
“Since meeting J… this is the first time I’ve seen you so happy. It was worth giving it to you.”
“……”
Eui-jae abruptly stopped the movements of his fingers and the muscles throughout his body. Jung-bin covered his mouth as if trying to suppress a laugh and turned his head away, then cleared his throat and continued.
“By the way, do you know what this ticket is?”
“Yes, I know.”
“You know? Hmm…. I thought J didn’t come to the Artisan Exhibition? Where did you see it?”
Ah, shoot!
The hand that had been fiddling with the ticket froze once more. That’s right, back then Eui-jae had visited disguised as the Wave Guild Leader’s secretary. But there were plenty of excuses. Eui-jae fiddled with the ticket and answered.
“…Hong Ye-seong boasted about it. Said he made something like this.”
The problem is mostly solved by substituting Hong Ye-seong or Mackerel. Somehow, it feels like my lying skills are only improving day by day. Eui-jae made an effort to ignore the guilt that was slowly rising. Jung-bin nodded lightly and smiled.
“Ah, I see. Did you also hear what role it plays?”
“I heard it’s a key to a Shield made by Hong Ye-seong…”
“That’s right. Would you like to try using it right away?”
Eui-jae nodded, then took the ticket and closed his eyes.
A moment later, the place he opened his eyes to was….
A classroom.
‘…Not a waiting room?’
A scenery completely different from the desolate waiting room unfolded. A half-open window and a curtain fluttering in the wind, desks and chairs lined up in rows, a green chalkboard. Textbooks and College Scholastic Ability Test prep books, graffiti, and half-eaten snack bags were all meticulously recreated on each desk. It was as if a classroom from some school had been lifted and placed here.
Eui-jae blinked. He was dazed.
‘…It’s been so long.’
It must have been at least 10 years since he last saw a classroom. Eui-jae looked around the classroom with unfamiliar and welcome feelings. Whether it was because it had been so long, or because he had longed for this scenery. Strangely, his heart fluttered. Eui-jae approached the chalkboard and grabbed a white chalk. He drew a line on the chalkboard. The feeling of it being drawn smoothly was unfamiliar.
“……”
Eui-jae stared blankly at the white line he had drawn. At that moment, he felt a presence from the door.
“Ah, J! You’re here?”
Ga-eul, dressed in comfortable clothes, stood at the doorway. Her expression was brighter than the last time he saw her. She approached with a worried look and examined Eui-jae from head to toe.
“Um, are you okay? You looked like you were in pretty bad shape right after you came out….”
“I’m fine. Back then….”
Damn it, there are too many people to apologize to. Eui-jae swept down his mask and bowed his head.
“I surprised you, right? I’m sorry. Back then, I… I wasn’t in my right mind, I guess. I’m fine now.”
Ga-eul waved her hands and shook her head.
“Ah, no! It’s okay. I understand completely. You, um, couldn’t bring Lee Sa-young with you, right?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
“I was a little curious about the situation back then. Did you not come out at all? Or….”
“He said he couldn’t go and shook off my hand. In the end, I only came out with one of his gloves.”
“Hmm….”
Ga-eul came to Eui-jae’s side and picked up the chalk. She tilted her head as if deep in thought and opened her mouth.
“I, um…. I’ve been thinking about it. I think there’s a reason why Lee Sa-young couldn’t come out.”
Ga-eul drew a circle.
“We said that the Memorial Dungeon was created based on the memories of people from the Destroyed world, right? The biggest part of that is…. I think it’s Lee Sa-young’s memories. Am I right?”
She roughly colored in most of the circle with chalk. Eui-jae nodded in agreement.
“Probably. Sa-young has lived in the Destroyed world the longest.”
“In the end, that means the Dungeon itself can’t be maintained without Lee Sa-young’s memories. Um, a kind of battery? A core component? Something like that. An important component that doesn’t work without it.”
“Then….”
Eui-jae bit his lip tightly.
“…The Dungeon itself held him back. Sa-young. To maintain the Dungeon.”
“It’s just a guess for now, but maybe…. Or maybe Lee Sa-young knew that and volunteered to stay behind…. Maybe.”
Snap, the chalk in his hand crumbled. Eui-jae shook off the white chalk dust and muttered.
“Nam Woo-jin’s notebook is connected to the Memorial Dungeon. Then that too…. Is it connected because Lee Sa-young is still there?”
“Um, I’m not a Memorial Dungeon expert, but…. Wouldn’t that be the case? The reason I was able to see the Fragment of the past world…. Was because of another me.”
In other words, Lee Sa-young volunteered to act as a bridge connecting the Memorial Dungeon and this world. Since when has he been so full of self-sacrifice? Eui-jae gnashed his teeth. Ga-eul glanced at him.
“…J, are you okay?”
“…I’m fine.”
He couldn’t lose his mind and run wild in front of Student Ga-eul again. She wouldn’t be able to protect herself. Eui-jae took a deep breath and calmed his mind. Ha-eun, Grandmother, various people, those damn Hanover Soup Restaurant regulars, Lee Sa-young….
‘But when did he start caring about others so much? Unbelievable?’
No matter how hard he tried to calm his mind, it was useless. As soon as his thoughts jumped to Lee Sa-young, complaints popped out like the spines of a pufferfish. Eui-jae paced back and forth on the platform and suddenly raised his head. No, there’s still a way.
“Student Ga-eul, you entered the Memorial Dungeon without going through the Dungeon entrance.”
“Yes? Yes, that’s right.”
“Then can you send my consciousness to the Memorial Dungeon too?”
“…I wonder? Um, just a moment….”
Ga-eul rolled her eyes as if troubled.
“…I can try, but, um, you said you brought the gloves, right? Lee Sa-young’s gloves.”
“Ah, yes.”
Eui-jae took out the crumpled black gloves from his pocket. Ga-eul let out a sigh of relief.
“Please hold them tightly in your hand. And first, you need to lie down on the floor.”
Eui-jae quickly nodded and pushed all the desks and chairs against the wall. The floor was exposed in a circle in the middle of the classroom.
Eui-jae lay down on the floor in a proper posture. He held the gloves in both hands and neatly folded them on his chest. Ga-eul, who was sitting cross-legged next to him, placed both hands on Eui-jae’s solar plexus. Her hands began to glow. Dozens, hundreds of colors and patterns, like a kaleidoscope, dyed her hands. Ga-eul closed her eyes and said.
“The Memorial Dungeon is also a kind of memory, a Fragment of the past…. If you have a point of contact with that side, you can connect to it. I’m glad you brought the gloves.”
Ga-eul paused for a moment and caught her breath.
“…Do you remember when I first showed you the Fragment? You were dragged into a strange dark room at the end.”
“I remember.”
The room where Lee Sa-young was holed up. Ga-eul made a small groan.
“At that time, the owner of that Fragment strongly recognized J and reacted. We’re going to apply that method… this time we’re going to find that side.”
Eui-jae didn’t understand a word of what she was saying, but he nodded for now. The expert would take care of it. A kaleidoscope-like brilliant light spread from her hands to Eui-jae’s upper body. As he stared at the brilliant light, his consciousness gradually became hazy.
“Ah! And this is only a part of your consciousness going over, so….”
Ga-eul mumbled from afar.
“Proper communication is impossible… possibility……. Staying for a long time…. Won’t be possible….”
What?
Eui-jae tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids wouldn’t move. His consciousness was slowly sinking. At the end of his sinking consciousness, Eui-jae barely managed to come up with one thought.
‘Give me the warning first, Student Ga-eul….’
…Eui-jae opened his eyes.
It was a cozy room with crimson lighting. He was standing in the corner of the room. The large bed was bulging as if someone was lying on it. Eui-jae carefully moved his steps. He tried to silence his footsteps, but it was strangely quiet. He examined his hands and body. They were translucent.
‘Is this a similar situation to when I saw the Fragment?’
A situation where he could only watch like a movie and couldn’t have any influence. Eui-jae clicked his tongue. At this rate, he wouldn’t be able to nag Lee Sa-young. Since there wouldn’t be any sound anyway, Eui-jae trudged towards the bed. The person lying on the bed was covered with a blanket up to their head.
‘I can’t even see who it is like this.’
He tried to grab the blanket as a test, but his hand passed through the blanket without any force.
‘Nothing is easy, really.’
It was then.
Creak….
The door opens. White light seeped through the slightly opened door. But that light was soon blocked by a black figure and disappeared. Eui-jae stared at the door. The sound of footsteps stopped.
“Have you been waiting? Hyung.”
A languid voice asked.