Of course, J didn’t answer Cha Seohu’s question right away. He stared at Seohu warily, and after a long pause, finally opened his mouth.
“What the hell are you—”
“Just answer.”
“......”
But before he could finish his retort, Cha Sahyeon stepped in and cut him off.
J glanced sidelong at Sahyeon, grumbled, then slumped his shoulders and answered reluctantly.
“Yeah.”
“What do you mean ‘yeah’? You mean it is capital J?”
“How the fuck should I know? Whether it’s capital or lowercase, it’s still J.”
As Seohu pressed further, J snapped irritably and tugged his cap even lower over his eyes.
But Seohu ignored the attitude and quietly mulled it over.
‘What does he mean he doesn’t know? Isn’t it his own name? That’s suspicious.’
A fake name, then? Seohu had never gotten that feeling from Sahyeon’s name before.
‘Come to think of it... who gave him the name “Sahyeon” anyway?’
For a child kidnapped and used as a lab experiment by cult bastards, “Sahyeon” was strangely normal. They gave one kid the name “J,” and another one a perfectly proper name like Sahyeon?
‘Was it because Sahyeon was one of the successful subjects?’
Seohu recalled what Sahyeon had told him about J earlier.
[“That one’s like me—a survivor of the human experimentation.”]
Sitting in the Circle Guild's representative office, Sahyeon had clearly explained that only three children out of 120 had survived the experiments.
[“So he can use shadows like I can. But his powers are unstable.”]
[“Unstable?”]
[“Yeah. But he’s still stronger than most humans. If you were to assign him a rank, he’s probably stronger than A-rank but not quite at S-rank.”]
[“Does that have to do with how he looks?”]
Sahyeon had nodded calmly.
[“As always, hyung’s observant. His age shifts depending on how much power he has. More precisely... his power and body are intertwined, so they affect each other. When his power is low, he looks younger and doesn’t remember anything. As his power grows, he appears older and regains the memories sealed within that power.”]
[“Memories? Wait, you don’t mean—”]
[“Yeah. All of us survivors—me included—remember every previous timeline.”]
Sahyeon had glanced at him nervously, then gently grabbed his hand.
[“J has the same power as me, so I can control him. Shadows follow the strongest will—mine. That’s why I didn’t think he was dangerous, and I didn’t want to burden you with something else. You’ve already got enough to worry about...”]
[“Hold up.”]
[“Yeah?”]
[“What did you say his name was?”]
Flustered, Seohu had asked again, and Sahyeon replied, puzzled but honest.
[“J. I don’t know why. That’s what the lab scientists used to call him. Actually, they said ‘failure’ more often than J, but... we don’t really like using that term among ourselves.”]
[“...Jesus Christ.”]
Of all the important details he heard, the one that stuck the most was the name of the kidnapper.
And now, back to the present.
Seohu, still not quite believing what he’d just confirmed, opened the quest log and double-checked the list of key individuals—“J” was indeed there. He pressed a hand to his forehead, half in resignation.
‘Fucking system, you piece of shit.’
Out of all people, it wanted him to protect the cult’s damn errand boy.
Well... after hearing Sahyeon’s explanation, it was hard to classify J as a straightforward enemy.
‘If I’m doing what the quest says, he’s someone I have to protect.’
Scratching his forehead with a sour expression, Seohu grudgingly accepted it.
Sure, the fact that he was the kidnapper still pissed him off—but he was a quest target, and apparently Sahyeon could control him.
‘Besides, Sahyeon said they’re friends. Or... comrades? Whatever.’
Seohu had planned to kill him on sight, but if things had come to this, he might as well clear the quest while he’s at it—and maybe even get some help.
Especially since anyone with shadow abilities could be very useful.
‘Acting on emotion won’t do me any good.’
Having made his decision, Seohu crossed his arms and gave J a wide grin.
“Alright then, my friend J.”
“...What?”
Both J and even Sahyeon momentarily looked stunned by the shockingly upbeat tone. Ignoring their reactions completely, Seohu kept going.
“Looks like we had a bit of a misunderstanding between us. Honestly, if we’re being technical, I should be the one getting an apology here. But hey—I’m not a petty guy, so I’ll let it slide.”
“......”
“Fate brought us together, right? Why don’t we stick together until this Great Dungeon run is over? You followed Sahyeon here anyway, right? I feel safer when my good buddy J is within eyesight. So let’s work together. Win-win for everyone, right? What do you say?”
J finally lifted his head, his neck twisting as though it pained him to look up.
His eyes met Seohu’s.
Seohu was smiling, but his gaze was ice cold.
‘What a two-faced bastard.’
It was the epitome of hypocrisy.
He was pretending it was mutually beneficial, but he didn’t understand a single thing about them—hadn’t even tried to. And likely never would.
J turned away from Seohu and looked straight at Sahyeon.
“I still don’t understand you.”
He completely ignored Seohu and snapped at Sahyeon.
“You know this is all a waste of time!”
“......”
“You’re only going to get hurt! Why would you go this far for such a stupid—!”
“Alright, that’s enough.”
As J stormed forward, clearly ready to grab Sahyeon, Seohu quickly stepped between them.
He didn’t care if J insulted or ignored him—but approaching Sahyeon was a different matter.
J’s killing intent leaked like venom as he muttered at Seohu standing in his way.
“Move.”
“Sorry, I’m his guardian. You’ve got to go through me.”
“Guardian?”
J scoffed and twisted his mouth into a sneer.
“That’s disgusting...”
“Your mouth’s getting out of hand.”
God, he wanted to punch the kid—but from the outside, J still looked like a high schooler.
Just as Seohu clenched his jaw, trying to hold back—
BOOM!
A heavy sound echoed from afar, followed by a rumble underfoot. Was the maze shifting again?
But then came a foreign energy—and a beast’s roar.
Kyaaaahk! Kyak!
There was only one thing in the Great Dungeon that made a sound like that. Monsters had finally appeared.
“Monsters incoming!”
“Tanks and sensors to the front! Supporters to the center, dealers gather up!”
“Fall back!”
The Hunters moved swiftly and in perfect coordination.
A fight was imminent. Seohu needed to get Sahyeon and J over to the dealers’ group.
Frowning at the timing, he was about to move when—
“Then answer me.”
J’s low voice cut through the chaos.
“If I hadn’t shown up to get you in time—what would you have done?”
“...What?”
“You don’t know anything. That’s why you go around calling yourself his guardian.”
“...What the hell are you talking about—”
Seohu felt it instinctively—J’s words were about the kidnapping.
There was a truth here, something critical. He reached out to stop J, but before he could, Kwon Taehyuk’s voice rang out.
“Hunter Cha Seohu, over here! It’s dangerous!”
Seohu’s lips, just about to form a response, snapped shut.
J smirked at him with mockery and turned his back, walking away without hesitation.
Still smirking even in the middle of this, J left Seohu scowling in silence. Seohu sighed and gave Sahyeon a light pat on the shoulder.
“...Let’s go too.”
It wasn’t the right time or place to unpack any of that. They’d have to talk again—later.
When Seohu and Sahyeon returned to the group, Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon rushed over like they’d been waiting for him. Their faces were a mix of tension and excitement.
This was the first real battle since entering the Great Dungeon. With fresh S-rank buffs, it made sense they were eager to cut loose.
“Be careful, everyone. And don’t forget to check the performance like I asked. Sahyeon—you know the drill, right? Don’t overdo it.”
“Don’t worry, hyung.”
“We’ll be back soon.”
As a buffer, there wasn’t much Seohu could do from here. With the dealers heading forward, he moved back toward the center with the other supporters.
It was the perfect vantage point to watch how those three handled their buffs.
“Scan complete! Monsters confirmed A-rank. Twenty spotted so far—more may follow!”
“They’re coming from the east!”
“Energy detected from the west too. Deploy the dealers!”
“Split the tanks—half to the east, half to the west. Ranged dealers take position behind them. Here they come!”
Kyaaaahk!
As Park Minhyuk finished his briefing, the monsters appeared from the end of the maze.
Dozens of them, frothing at the mouth with violet saliva, came charging like lunatics. They were serpent-like in shape, with long, sharp, bladed forelimbs.
Their round, humanoid bald heads had mouths torn all the way to their ears—just looking at them made your skin crawl.
Their long tongues lashed wildly as they surged forward using tails and clawed limbs with terrifying speed.
Boom! Crackle!
The first wave slammed into the tanks’ defenses and staggered. Instantly, a rain of skills from the ranged dealers came crashing down on them.
The lead monsters fell. But there were many more behind them, pushing forward without pause.
“Lower the barriers!”
To prevent the monsters from scattering randomly or crawling into the supporter ranks, the tanks deliberately dropped their barriers.
They slammed their massive shields and greatswords into the ground.
Boom! Boom!
The sound pulled all the monsters’ attention. Instinctively drawn toward weaker prey, they had started veering toward the supporters—but now they twisted toward the tanks.
“Now! Dealers—go!”
This was the prime moment—while the monsters were distracted.
Park Minhyuk knew it. He was just about to give the order when—
“Please duck your head.”
A calm voice cut through the chaos—chilled to the bone. He ducked on instinct.
Something massive whooshed over his head.
Only afterward did he realize it was a giant ice spear.
A dozen of them flew with unnatural speed and impaled the charging monsters.
CRASHHH!
Kyaaaahk!
The ground where the ice struck froze white. The monsters trying to rush across it found their tails frozen solid and stuck in place.
Park Minhyuk stood frozen amid the shimmering shards of ice as Ryu Sunghyun raised his hand beside him.
Golden light swelled from his body and filled the maze.
The once-dark corridors lit up like noon. Stars bloomed above like constellations in the sky.
His golden eyes gleamed beneath tousled brown hair as the stars ignited—then plummeted like meteors.
“Ugh...!”
“Kgh...!”
The light was too much—even some A-ranks couldn’t withstand it and shielded their eyes.
Then came repeated explosions and tremors as the world went blindingly gold.
Only after the golden storm had passed could the stunned Hunters finally assess the damage.
“Um, Team Leader...”
A Hunter wearing enhanced sensory glasses spoke in a pale voice.
“Total monsters confirmed: 54. All destroyed.”
“What? Wait, what about the west side?”
Startled, Park Minhyuk turned toward the west—and froze.
What he saw first was a pile of shredded monster corpses—torn to unrecognizable pieces.
And standing among them was Kwon Taehyuk.
Floating around him were fourteen blades, all dripping with blood.
One of the tanks scratched his head awkwardly and reported to Park Minhyuk.
“West side’s cleared too.”
“...Damn.”
Despite being team leader, Park Minhyuk found himself reduced to just receiving reports.
Supporters nearby, all gathered and watching the carnage, whispered among themselves in awe.
“Unbelievable...”
“S-ranks really are on another level. Dozens of A-rank monsters in less than five minutes...”
“Those three are especially crazy. That white-haired guy—they say he’s a newly discovered S-rank?”
“Two of them are from Circle Guild.”
“Guildmaster Kwon looks like he got even stronger somehow.”
Hearing the chatter, Cha Seohu smiled faintly and thought to himself:
‘This is insane. They’re going way overboard...’
Who the hell’s supposed to clean up after this?

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