“Why? Am I not allowed to be here?”
Kang Haeil grinned broadly, spewing bullshit instead of an answer.
His piercing blue eyes gleamed as he looked down at me. Meeting those eyes made it hard to breathe, and a chilling sense of dread crept up inside me.
Don’t tell me he’s planning to drag me off right here?
My grip on the phone tightened.
Should I call Kwon Taehyuk right now? Or scream to draw attention from the others?
But would that even work? Kang Haeil was S-rank. If he covered my mouth, I wouldn’t be able to do a thing—I’d just be taken away.
Should I call the shadow Sahyeon left with me?
Would it be enough to stop Kang Haeil? He was S-rank too. A shadow alone...
Just then, a chill spread from my wrist, making me suck in a sharp breath.
The hand that had been touching my cheek slid downward, gripping my wrist instead.
The cold temperature of his palm against my skin sent a creeping dread into my chest. I knew this wasn’t a normal reaction, but I couldn’t stay calm no matter how hard I tried.
“You’re overthinking.”
His voice came low, tinged with amusement, as he leaned in over me—then abruptly straightened up.
That rising sense of panic—that I’m going to get dragged away—peaked.
“Well, fine. Do what you want.”
“...?”
The heat that had been pressing down on my entire body vanished instantly.
Startled, I turned around. Kang Haeil had stepped back and folded his arms, a dark smile on his face.
I quickly widened the distance between us and glared. The fact that he let go so easily only made me more suspicious. Watching me retreat with what looked like amusement, he spoke first.
“No point dragging you off by force. You’d just kick and scream and try every trick in the book to escape. Why bother with that crap? So go ahead—do as you like, Cha Seohu.”
“What the hell...”
“I was only ordered to keep an eye on you, anyway. Even after we enter the Great Dungeon, I won’t approach you. Just watch from a distance.”
He said it so casually, like he {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} was talking about the weather. My eyes narrowed on instinct.
“After what you pulled at the hotel, you seriously expect me to believe that?”
“Bit rude to talk that way to your hyung.”
No matter how hard I tried to keep my expression neutral, my lips curled in disgust.
Did he think I was a fucking idiot? I could tell he had some ulterior motive, but because it was Kang Haeil, I couldn’t even guess what it might be.
“What happened at the hotel... yeah. That was my bad. I was only supposed to observe from a distance, quietly. But come on, can you blame me? It’s you we’re talking about. How was I not supposed to freak out when you said you were entering the Great Dungeon?”
“....”
“What kind of older brother would just sit back and do nothing while his precious little brother walks straight into a death trap? If you die in there, we won’t even be able to retrieve a finger.”
“....”
“I’m worried about you. You know that. All of us are.”
“Shut the fuck up already.”
Even though I bit the inside of my cheek hard, I couldn’t keep my expression from crumbling. I dropped my head, cutting him off harshly.
A moment of silence followed.
With my head lowered, I couldn’t see what kind of face Kang Haeil was making.
As I focused on my breathing, staring down at the ground, polished shoes entered my view, stepping onto the dirt.
“Cha Seohu.”
His voice was still light, still laced with a faint smile.
“This is me compromising. You should also consider how I feel—having to go all the way into the Great Dungeon just because of you.”
He reached out and brushed my ear, pressing his thumb against my earlobe again and again.
“All of us are worried about you. But why don’t you ever try to understand that? Running away from home like a reckless brat is one thing, but don’t you think you should at least try not to give your brothers ulcers? Huh?”
He pressed his nail into the earlobe.
A stinging pain spread.
“Watch yourself in there. You’re just a B-rank buffer, so no one’s expecting miracles. But don’t you fucking dare use that shitty healing skill. You don’t want to see me tear everything apart, do you?”
I didn’t want to hear another word. I slapped his hand away hard and turned on my heel.
Goddamn bastard.
I already knew Kang Haeil spewed garbage every time he opened his mouth—but if it had anything to do with the Great Dungeon, I couldn’t take it lightly.
Just going to “observe” me?
I bit down on my lip as I walked back toward the gathering supporters.
He probably meant it literally. The thing is, it wouldn’t stop there. I had no way of knowing what Kang Haeil was truly plotting.
Suppressing my irritation, I stepped into the supporter line just as Park Minhyuk’s voice rang out again from the base camp.
“We’ll now begin supporter verification! Please line up in a single file according to the staff’s directions!”
Unlike the dealers, who had already gone through name checks, there were significantly fewer supporters. So even though I lined up toward the back, my turn came up quickly.
“Hmm, Hunter Cha Seohu. Affiliated with Guildmaster Won, B-rank buffer, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Please step up here. Any electronic devices like phones must be moved to your inventory. If you don’t have one, you can hand them over to us for safekeeping.”
“I’ve moved them. I’ll go up.”
I stepped onto the machine the staff gestured toward. A red scanning line swept from my head to my feet.
It wasn’t anything too fancy. Just a scanner to verify that you were indeed an Awakened and that the gear you were carrying was officially registered. Like airport customs.
“Alright, you’re good. Next.”
It was over in less than five seconds. As I walked to where I was directed, I saw the dealers gathered in a tighter clearing.
And across from them, standing imposingly, was the largest dungeon entrance I’d ever seen.
The portal, shaped like a typical oval, looked to be over 50 meters tall. About the height of a 20-story building. Pitch black—like the night sky.
Sure, portal color only helps gauge risk level for lower-grade dungeons. But something that blatantly black? It couldn’t help but feel ominous.
“Hyung.”
As I stood staring blankly up at the Great Dungeon’s entrance, a familiar warmth appeared at my side. Recognizable faces had gathered around me.
So they’d just been waiting here after the roster check. Once everyone was present, we’d begin the entry.
Once we enter, I should be able to figure out who the remaining three people in the subquest are.
Could Kang Haeil actually be one of them?
...No way. That can’t be. The System has nothing to do with the district.
The System existed solely to stop the Catastrophe... right?
Then again, I couldn’t say I was entirely confident about that. Still, it was clear that it wasn’t connected to the district.
That bastard Kang Haeil just had to follow me into the Great Dungeon. Thanks to that, my head was spinning trying to figure out how to handle it.
Even now, he was probably hiding nearby, keeping watch on me. The thought made me sigh.
“Hunter Cha Seohu?”
“Huh?”
I turned toward the gentle voice of Ryu Sunghyun. He gave me a concerned look.
“Did something happen?”
“Ah...”
That slight furrow in his brow, the worry etched on his face—it was exactly the same as in the previous timeline. It knocked the wind out of me.
“No.”
Now that I looked, Kwon Taehyuk, Song Jiwoon, and Cha Sahyeon were all staring at me with worried eyes.
What the hell? Was it that obvious? I’d just been standing there.
“Nothing happened. We were only apart for a few minutes.”
“Hm...”
I exaggerated a shrug, trying to play it off as a joke. Only then did their lingering gazes finally drift away. Not because they were convinced, but because they realized I didn’t want to talk and gave me space.
That made me more uncomfortable. I didn’t mind getting closer to them, but I didn’t want them seeing through everything either.
I’ll wait before saying anything about Kang Haeil. No reason to get them worried unnecessarily.
Even if I did bring it up, there wasn’t much anyone could do. It was better to focus on the dungeon for now.
As I tried to organize the chaos in my head, a small creature slithered out of the Great Dungeon entrance.
It resembled a snake—one of those low-level monsters used to test the safety of newly spawned dungeons. If the creature entered and returned unharmed, that was the cue to begin.
“Entry will begin with the S-rank dealers!”
A staff member shouted in place of Park Minhyuk, who stood at the front gripping his weapon.
“See you inside.”
Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon headed out first, as expected.
Cha Sahyeon was technically only ranked A on record, but he’d still have to move to the front once battle began.
“When the fighting starts, don’t rush in. Just do your part and lay low. If anyone gets suspicious, it’ll be a pain. Got it?”
“Yeah.”
Even after all the times I’d repeated that same nag since this raid got approved, Sahyeon still responded earnestly, never once looking bored.
I knew he wasn’t really twenty-two, but I couldn’t help the protective instinct. It kept sneaking up on me.
I kept rattling off the same reminders as we walked toward the dungeon entrance.
Maybe because Sahyeon was stuck close to my side, stepping into the pitch-black portal wasn’t as unnerving as I expected.
Szzzzzkt.
That spine-crawling wave unique to dungeon portals scraped over my body, and a damp, moldy underground stench flooded my nose.
At the same time, a flurry of System alerts pierced my ears.
Ding, ding, ding!
《You have entered the Great Dungeon!》
《Main Quest: Successfully Clear the S-rank Great Dungeon. Countdown Begins! (Time remaining: 6 days, 23 hours, 58 minutes)》
《Sub Quest: Protect the Key Individuals Inside the Dungeon. (S-rank) Additional information updated!》
[Sub Quest: Protect the Key Individuals Inside the Dungeon.]
You must ensure the listed individuals do not die inside the dungeon.
Key Individuals: Sahyeon, Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, Song Jiwoon, Park Minhyuk, J, Dan Yeoun
⚠ Warning! If even one of the ‘Key Individuals’ dies, the quest will fail.
“...!”
I froze in place as I read the quest window.
Park Minhyuk... fine.
But what the fuck? J? Dan Yeoun?
Who the hell are these people, seriously—fuck.

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