I waited for about five more minutes just in case before going out.
Fortunately, the monsters seemed to have completely retreated. Not even a single footstep or presence could be felt anymore.
“Phew...”
Only then did the tension slightly ease. I let out a deep breath of relief and, with some grunting, pulled myself out from where I had wedged my body between the cracks in the wall.
Even amidst all the chaos, Cha Sahyeon stayed clinging to me without moving an inch. Sitting on the ground like a koala stuck to me, I grabbed the back of Cha Sahyeon's neck and gently pulled her off.
"Let's have a little talk."
"......."
It was fortunate that the monsters had left, but that didn’t mean the root of the problem was solved.
The sudden quest to calm the villain was still active, and I had to figure out exactly what had made Cha Sahyeon so upset.
‘If something like this happens again...’
It was fine this time because it was the first, but if the same thing happened again in another dungeon, there would be no choice but to narrow down the culprit.
Not to mention, if I got banned from entering dungeons when I barely had any way to make money... No, worse than that, if the government realized something was wrong with Cha Sahyeon, they might just drag her away.
"Hey, kid."
Cha Sahyeon, who had been pouting from being forcibly pulled off, lifted her head at my call. The torch stuck to the dungeon wall reflected in her green eyes.
She was definitely the one who could become the Catastrophe that destroyed the world if things went wrong again. And she was dangerous enough even [N O V E L I G H T] now...
But when facing her so close like this, she just looked like a kid, and my heart softened helplessly.
"Come on, tell me."
"......."
"What’s wrong? What upset you so much?"
When I asked calmly, she narrowed her eyes slightly and turned her head away with a pouty expression that clearly said she was displeased.
Oh, look at this brat. Here I am trying to make her feel better even after almost dying.
'...Stay calm.'
Honestly, my personality wasn’t all that great either, so I felt a spike of irritation, but there was nothing to gain from snapping at a kid right now.
The opponent was a child. A young child. About... sixteen years younger than me? At least a ten-year age gap.
No matter how frustrating it was, ranting at a kid that much younger would only make me look like trash.
After some serious self-control, I forcibly raised the corners of my mouth into a smile and placed my hands on Cha Sahyeon’s shoulders.
"Hm? Don’t hide it. Tell me. I can help if you do."
"......."
"Did someone bother you while I was gone?"
Only then did Cha Sahyeon glance at me again, hesitating as if struggling with something.
Good. Take your time. Tell me everything.
"I'm not saying you have to force yourself to talk."
While thinking about other things in my head, I stroked her hair gently, pretending to be relaxed, pretending to be the patient and kind adult.
"But if you just avoid talking because you don't want to, nothing will ever get solved. We have to live together from now on, remember? Are you just going to get mad inside and not say anything every time? You don't want that, right?"
"......."
"We have to talk a lot to understand each other and be more considerate. Right?"
I kept stroking her soft hair as I repeated the obvious, moral-advice kind of words you’d find in a children’s book.
Her hair was so soft it was actually kind of satisfying to touch.
Cha Sahyeon, with the corners of her eyes turning red, leaned her head into my hand and then gave a slight nod.
And then, slowly, she opened her mouth.
"I..."
"Yeah?"
"They keep..."
Finally! She was finally about to speak!
I focused all my attention on her words, full of anticipation.
"...!"
But then, she suddenly widened her eyes and whipped her head around to look behind us.
The face I had barely managed to coax into softening hardened again.
I turned my gaze to where she was looking, and I could feel someone approaching.
'Wait, that’s not a monster. And this aura...'
While I was panicking, the source of the presence quickly reached the room we were in.
The person who rushed in like the wind looked just as surprised to see me.
‘What the hell?’
Following behind, I saw Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun entering the room, and I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even speak.
‘Are they crazy?’
They knew full well that dozens of monsters and an ogre were roaming around the dungeon, and they still came here? Just the two of them?
Ryu Sunghyun, who arrived slightly later, spotted me and hurried over.
"Cha Seohu Hunter, you're safe!"
"Ah, yes."
"That's such a relief. I was really worried."
Ryu Sunghyun stood in front of me, carefully checking to see if I or Cha Sahyeon were injured.
His bright brown eyes were full of genuine concern for me, despite the fact that, from his perspective, I was basically a stranger.
‘Sunghyun hyung...’
He was such a good person.
Even though I didn’t know him that well in this life, the sincerity in his worry made my heart ache.
As I was feeling touched, Kwon Taehyuk, who had walked up, cut in with a cold voice.
"What is this?"
"Excuse me?"
"How are you unscathed?"
Kwon Taehyuk looked me up and down, inspecting me.
Unlike Ryu Sunghyun, who had been checking for injuries out of worry, his gaze was filled with suspicion.
"There weren’t just a few monsters. Surely..."
He didn’t finish his sentence, but I could guess exactly what he meant.
Surely what.
Surely I should have died, right?
Surely my body should have been torn apart without even a corpse left behind?
‘I get why you think that.’
Honestly, if I were Kwon Taehyuk, I would’ve thought there was no chance of survival either.
And the fact that he came all this way to find someone he thought was as good as dead... that was impressive in itself.
I gave a bitter smile and pointed at the crack in the wall where I had hidden earlier.
Even with my explanation, Kwon Taehyuk still didn’t look convinced.
"One more question. Why didn’t you enter the room?"
"That’s..."
"Just before entering, you turned away. What were you thinking? Why did the monsters chase after you instead?"
"......."
Goddamn, he’s sharp as hell.
I clicked my tongue inwardly and racked my brain quickly.
‘What do I say?’
From his reaction, it didn’t seem like any old excuse would work.
But if I took too long to answer, that would just look even more suspicious.
Times like this, there was only one move.
Covering my mouth with my hand, I put on a bitter expression and spoke.
"I’m sorry. I... I was so scared that I instinctively ran in another direction, worried that if I entered the room too late, I might endanger the others."
"Endanger?"
"Cha Seohu Hunter, the others are all stronger than you, a supporter.
And instead of asking for help, you ran away?"
Man, he’s really grilling me.
Whether he bought it or not, this was all I was going to say.
"I was just really scared... It was my first time in a situation like that. Honestly, would I have any reason to do it on purpose?"
Please just let it go already, huh?
Just as I was about to steel myself to ignore any more accusations, a familiar alert sound rang out.
Ding!
《Trait: Soaked Cat (F-rank) activated!》
《You have triggered the target’s sympathy!》
‘What?’
This trait is activating now?!
In the perfect timing, I stood there in a daze, while Kwon Taehyuk, who had been coldly cornering me, flinched and pressed his lips shut.
"Let’s stop here, Kwon Taehyuk Hunter. Cha Seohu Hunter looks uncomfortable."
Ryu Sunghyun even stepped in to defend me.
Wait, did the trait affect him too?
“...Ha, fine. I was being impatient."
Kwon Taehyuk sighed, pushing back his hair with his hand, and spoke in a more relaxed tone.
"I’ll hear the full story after we escape the dungeon. For now, let’s get out of here. Cha Seohu Hunter, can you move?"
"Yes. I’m fine."
"Still, just in case, take my hand."
I didn’t know what was going on exactly, but it was definitely working out in my favor.
Once we got out of here, I was going to bolt.
Grinning, I grabbed Ryu Sunghyun’s hand—
And at that moment, system alerts poured in.
《Warning! Progress of the Seed of Catastrophe has changed!》
《Warning! Progress of the Seed of Catastrophe has increased!》
《Warning! If progress exceeds 50%, exercise extreme caution!》
《Sudden Quest: Prevent Seed of Catastrophe Progress - Failed!》
《Quest Failure Penalty applied!》
‘What?!’
Before I could even fully read the cascading status windows, a hot surge rushed up my throat.
My chest twisted with nausea, and my vision blurred.
I couldn’t hold it back anymore and vomited everything up.
"Urgh, cough!"
Splat.
A heavy splash of liquid hit the floor.
Even with my blurred vision, I could clearly see the bright red blood pooling on the ground.
[Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain. (Remaining Time: 3 days, 8 hours, 27 minutes)]

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