"Hyung?"
When I stopped dead in my tracks, stunned by what I saw in the quest window, Cha Sahyeon reached out and grabbed my hand with a puzzled expression.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing..."
I answered reflexively and dismissed the quest window.
I’ll just remember the names and try to find them as we go.
Once I found them, I’d stick close and make sure they stayed safe.
At least Park Minhyuk was S-rank. He could take care of himself.
I repeated the names J and Dan Yeoun in my head and looked up, only to be greeted by towering, seemingly endless walls and a thick layer of mist.
The walls stood tall in both directions, forming a straight path like a road.
The area wasn’t so narrow that we were cramped, but the dense fog, the overgrown bushes veiling the walls, and the eerie, indiscernible noises from a distance had the [N O V E L I G H T] supporters visibly tense.
Even though the scouting monster had returned unharmed before we entered the dungeon, that only gave us information on the very beginning. It was just a precaution to make sure we weren’t ambushed the moment we walked in. From here on out, we had to be fully prepared for anything.
Park Minhyuk, now the team leader, scanned the surroundings with a stern expression before gathering the key Hunters. As usual, this included S-ranks and guildmasters from major guilds with a large number of team members. A few foreign Hunters were present too.
I spotted Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon exchanging serious opinions—and then I noticed someone unexpected.
Park Heeseok is here too?
Park Heeseok, guildmaster of Ronik. This was the first time I’d seen him since the guild competition.
Come to think of it, Ronik had been oddly quiet lately. In the previous timeline, they’d constantly picked fights with Circle Guild. Maybe they got slammed hard enough during the competition that they finally shut up?
Well, Ronik is a fairly big guild. Of course they'd participate. And Park Heeseok is S-rank, after all.
Especially for transformation-types—being in an unfamiliar area is a big tactical advantage.
"I suggest we scout the nearby area before moving further."
"I agree. The fog is thick, and it’s even more dangerous than usual. We don’t know what could be right up ahead."
"Then I’ll go check."
"I’ll go too."
Amid the Hunters discussing their plan, Ryu Sunghyun and Park Heeseok exchanged nods and volunteered to scout without hesitation.
They were putting aside personal grievances to focus on the dungeon, and Park Heeseok even offered to go on recon himself.
Maybe getting punched during the competition knocked some sense into him—or maybe it was just because there were foreign Hunters watching. I couldn’t tell. Either way, the mood wasn’t bad.
The selected scouts moved quickly, vanishing into the mist. Less than five minutes later, they returned.
"There’s another path about 10 meters ahead to the right."
"And if you go further from there, there's a path to the left too. The central path we’re on curves like a zigzag."
Upon hearing the report, the leaders let out sighs and mutters.
"This must be a maze section."
As Park Minhyuk wiped his forehead, Kwon Taehyuk clicked his tongue.
"We suspected it might be either a labyrinth or maze. But I’m not sure which is better, honestly."
According to data on previously discovered Great Dungeons overseas, each section had completely different environments.
A forest at first, then a desert, then an underground cave.
So we were already expecting this one to be tough—but starting off in a maze? And with walls this high, it was clear this place was massive.
"What should we do?"
"Efficiency-wise, we should split up and explore every visible path."
"But we don’t know what could jump out of the fog. And you want us to split up?"
"Exactly. We’ll hit a bunch of forks eventually. We can’t split the team every single time, can we?"
"Let’s send up someone with a flight skill to get a bird’s-eye view. Maybe the maze is smaller than it looks and we can figure out the right path..."
BOOM!
A sudden loud impact shattered the discussion. All eyes turned, scattering from the group of representatives. People looked around in panic, their eyes dropping to the ground.
RUMBLE!!
The floor shook violently enough that even the supporters staggered. Dust rained down from the high walls, and the rumbling grew longer and louder.
One supporter, looking back with a horrified face, shouted in terror.
"Th-the wall! A wall’s coming this way!"
Everyone turned to look. Sure enough, a wall that hadn’t been there before was barreling toward us at incredible speed.
The dealers who were guarding the rear cursed as they fired off skills in a panic, but the wall didn’t so much as crack. It only sped up.
"Run! Dealers, grab the supporters first!"
"Fucking hell!"
Dealers immediately dove in to scoop up the supporters, carrying them toward the opposite side. All 100 team members had been selected by the state, and it showed—even in this sudden chaos, they moved efficiently.
Cha Sahyeon calmly wrapped his arms around my waist and leapt into the air.
RRRRRRUMBLE—CRAAASH!
Clinging to Sahyeon as he soared, I looked around. It wasn’t just a single wall chasing us—the entire maze was shifting.
The paths to the right and left sealed up, the zigzag direction reversed, and new routes appeared.
Walls sprouted and disappeared and twisted, filling the air with screeching noise and thick clouds of dust.
This... this is bad.
Escaping a static maze was hard enough—but now the whole maze was in motion?
Even the Great Dungeon entrance disappeared when the paths shifted.
It meant our final escape route was gone too. Sure, we had to complete the raid to prevent a dungeon break anyway, but the psychological pressure was immense.
And the longer we wandered this maze, the more that pressure would turn into fear.
We cleared it in the previous timeline, so there’s no need to panic yet...
Still, what if those cult bastards had already tampered with the maze? That suspicion hit me just as—
"...!"
Over Sahyeon’s shoulder, amidst the running Hunters, I spotted a face that felt oddly familiar.
I couldn’t place it, but it froze my breath.
Who is that?
I’d definitely seen him before.
Beneath a deep black hat like Sahyeon’s, light brown hair spilled out messily. His youthful jaw made him look like a teenager—maybe high school age. He kept appearing and disappearing between bodies.
Then I saw his white sneakers.
"Ah."
A memory struck me like lightning.
How could I have forgotten?
Back before Sahyeon regained his memories. The day after we went to the amusement park.
When he was bedridden with a high fever and I was panicking at his bedside—the bastards who smashed in our office door and ambushed us.
The ones who used skills similar to Sahyeon’s. Who kidnapped him while he was sick and dragged him off.
That kid... he was one of them.
The second that realization hit me, my grip on Sahyeon’s shoulder tightened.
So the cult bastards really are here...
I swallowed hard, every muscle in my body tensing.
I’d been warned by Chronos, and I’d half-expected this, so I wasn’t that surprised. But the flood of alertness was unavoidable.
"Hyung?"
Sahyeon patted my back, sensing the sudden change in my heartbeat.
"Are you scared? It’s okay. It’s just the layout changing. No monster presence."
"It’s not that..."
This Great Dungeon would’ve been nothing—if it weren’t for those goddamn cult fuckers.
As I struggled to figure out how to explain mid-escape, the cacophony around us gradually died down. The shaking stopped too.
"I-It’s over, I think."
"God, scared the shit out of me."
"What the hell is this place...?"
The Hunters who had been running for their lives finally stopped and caught their breath.
Thanks to the dealers responding quickly, no one got hurt this time—but if the walls kept moving like that, we’d have a serious problem.
"When do you think it’ll shift again?"
"In most cases, it’s every six hours, right?"
"Better be careful just in case. Let’s mix the supporters into the main group instead of putting them in the back—avoid accidents when we have to run again."
Leaving the other Hunters to make preparations, I pulled Sahyeon into a more secluded corner.
He tilted his head in confusion but followed without resistance.
I lowered my voice and asked:
"Do you remember the time you got kidnapped at the office?"
"I do."
"Those guys who attacked you—the cult bastards."
The kid had disappeared into the crowd by now.
He was just around there. I glanced to the opposite side, trying to spot him again.
"One of them is here now."
"..."
Sahyeon made a strange face. Not the reaction I expected, but I got straight to the point.
"It’s obvious they’re here to fuck with the dungeon somehow. Like planting that flower. Anyway—can’t you quietly deal with him? Like, take him out during a fight? Even just crippling him would help. Cut off an arm or a leg, something to stop him from doing anything."
"Hmm..."
Sahyeon didn’t answer, which made my frustration spike.
"You know the cult better than anyone. Even if killing him’s hard with people around, we have to stop him from pulling anything. Don’t tell me he’s stronger than you?"
"He’s not, hyung."
"Then?"
Sahyeon smiled awkwardly.
"Let’s just leave him alone."
"What?"
"I think it’d be best to leave him."
"..."
I blinked, dumbfounded. I was so shocked my brain practically bleached out.
Did this bastard even understand what I was saying? Leave him alone? Why?
Sure, nothing had happened yet. But that guy was the reason Sahyeon was kidnapped while sick, dragged to that godforsaken church. I went through hell to rescue him.
"What the..."
Sahyeon, sensing my disbelief, hesitated but didn’t change his answer. Now it was beyond absurd—it physically hurt.
That odd expression he’d made earlier—clenching my fist, I asked:
"You... did you already know that cult fucker was part of the raid team?"
"..."
"You did, didn’t you."
I couldn’t stop the bitter laugh that burst out of me. My chest throbbed painfully with the rush of anger.
"Why didn’t you say anything? You should’ve told me. Why the hell—"
As I reeled from the helpless fury, Sahyeon floundered and finally opened his mouth.
"I didn’t want you to worry... But really, he’s fine. Even if we leave him—"
"You’re seriously defending that fucker to my face?"
"What?"
Sahyeon’s green eyes trembled. He looked stunned, lips parted but unable to speak.
I glared at him for another second—then turned on my heel.
"Hyung? Where are you going?"
"Don’t follow me."
"Where are you going...?"
"I said I’m going to give buffs, so don’t follow me!"
I shouted, voice brimming with fury, and stormed off.
Perfect timing. Thanks to the maze shift, the distinction between dealers and supporters had blurred—it’d be easier to cast buffs now anyway.
"Buffs? Wait—hyung!"
Sahyeon, who knew exactly what that meant, chased after me in a panic. I didn’t stop. I headed straight toward where the S-ranks were gathered.

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