“Lumina! Don’t just stand there—co in!”
“Ah, w-wait…!”
I sat beneath the parasol, watching the three of them play.
iling had grabbed Lumina’s arm and was dragging her toward the sea.
Whether it was a matter of stats or simply strength, Lumina couldn’t resist and was pulled right in.
“Take this!!”
“Eek!”
Lumina shrieked as a wave crashed over her, drenching her completely.
But iling wasn’t satisfied. She splashed more water on her.
For a while, Lumina only raised her arms to shield herself, but then she retaliated. Before long, the two of them were laughing as they flung water back and forth.
anwhile, Seo Yui was off on her own, floating on her back without even a tube.
So still was she that I wondered if she had fallen asleep.
“…Hm?”
I narrowed my eyes.
She was drifting quickly away from shore.
And yet, she continued lying there, unmoving.
“Shit.”
I shot to my feet and sprinted into the water.
“Ah, Yein!”
“What’s with him, barging in like that? Wanting to join th—”
I ignored iling’s words and swam hard toward Seo Yui.
“What’s going on with him?” she grumbled faintly behind , but I kept my focus ahead.
“Senior! Get up!”
I shouted as I swam.
But Seo Yui didn’t respond.
“Senior!!!”
She tilted her head up at last—only to sink straight down into the sea.
Monts later—
“Pwah! That scared …”
She surfaced, muttering, then casually swam toward .
“What’s wrong? Why so frantic?”
“…Do you realize you were being swept away?”
I could only stare at her, exasperated.
She blinked her half-lidded eyes toward the beach, tilting her head.
“Huh? How’d I get out this far?”
A sigh escaped .
I knew it was her first ti seeing the ocean, but could she really be this clueless?
“Let’s just head back.”
“Okay.”
We swam for shore. Even then, the stat difference left irritated as she easily outpaced .
When we finally climbed onto the sand, I found Seo Yui watching quietly.
“I troubled you for nothing. Sorry.”
“…It’s fine. As long as you’re safe.”
I’d nearly lost the tanker I had worked so hard to recruit.
I pushed my wet hair back—and then Seo Yui suddenly laughed.
“Heh.”
“…?”
“It feels strange.”
I gave her a questioning look.
“In Vallahal, no one ever tried to protect .”
“You were the champion there.”
She nodded at my reply.
“The others were all weaker than . I thought it was my duty to protect them. But you—Yein—you protect . You freed from Vallahal, gave weapons, armor, a shield, and skill gems so I could fight monsters. You always watch my back so I don’t get hurt from overdoing it.”
She stepped closer.
“And today, you even got permission from the teacher to bring us here so we could relax. It feels strange to say this to soone younger, but it’s like I’ve gained an older brother I can rely on.”
Seeing her shy smile, I turned my head away.
“Not only brothers look out for their siblings.”
“Hmm… then maybe a father?”
…So fathers aren’t exactly role models. A perfect counterexample was walking toward us right now.
“What are you two whispering about?”
The counterexample—iling—strode up, her wet dress clinging under a tied pareo.
Lumina followed behind, with a pareo draped over her shoulders.
“I was saying Yein feels like a big brother.”
“What? A brother? Well… I guess he does remind of my second brother—bad-tempered and always picking on people.”
iling pouted.
“Then you must be the youngest, always sulking and pouting whenever soone disagrees with you.”
I looked down at her.
“What!?”
“See? Already red in the face and yelling.”
“You—!”
“Alright, enough.”
Seo Yui caught iling’s arm before she lunged at .
“H-hey! Let go of !”
“Cool down a little.”
“Kyaaah! D-don’t lift ! Put down!!”
Seo Yui hoisted iling over her head with ease.
No matter how much iling thrashed, Seo Yui didn’t budge. That was the difference between a Strength Aptitude of S and C.
Seo Yui glanced at Lumina, then winked at before marching off toward the waves with iling kicking and flailing in her grip.
She called a big brother earlier, but honestly, she looked far more like the eldest among us.
“What was that about…?”
Lumina had co to stand beside .
“Why did Senior Seo Yui suddenly carry iling into the sea?”
“She said she’d cool her off. Lumina.”
“…?”
I wasn’t about to waste Seo Yui’s gesture.
“Walk with for a bit?”
“M-!?” Lumina’s eyes widened.
“Co on.”
“O-okay.”
I took the lead, and she hurried to keep pace.
“So, what do you think of the ocean?”
“Mm… the sand makes my feet tingle, the air slls strange, and the water… it really tastes salty. And…”
“And?”
“I realized how vast and endless the sea is. It makes feel like I’m nothing at all.”
“Earlier you said it felt like you’d dissolve and vanish into it.”
Lumina nodded.
We walked quietly along the beach for a while.
“Yein…”
I looked at her.
Still gazing down at the sand, she spoke again.
“When Persila died… what went through your mind?”
“That I had survived.”
“I see…”
“And at the sa ti, that there was no going back.”
Lumina flinched.
“Killing monsters and killing people… they’re different.”
“…Yeah.”
“But even if I could go back, faced with the sa choice, I’d do the sa again. To live.”
Lumina froze mid-step.
“The sa choice…”
“But next ti, I’d ask you, iling, and Senior Seo Yui once more—are you really willing to follow ? That’s my only regret from last ti. I didn’t ask.”
“I—I would!”
Lumina looked straight at , pressing a hand to her chest.
“Even if you asked again, I’d still choose the sa thing!”
Lumina’s eyes flew wide after her outburst.
It was the look of soone who had suddenly realized sothing.
“…Yes. I’d make the sa choice.”
She whispered the words to herself, then let out the faintest of smiles.
“Yein. You bought drinks at the store earlier, right? I’m thirsty.”
“Then let’s head back.”
“Mm.”
We retraced our steps toward the parasol.
“Branch Leader, I’ve brought the compatriots you asked for.”
“Co in.”
Ju Yeongsong, seated at her desk, gave the command.
The door opened, and in walked a man in his forties and a woman in her twenties.
“This is the compatriot who works as staff at Crystal Academy,” the man explained.
“Thank you for coming. Please, step closer.”
“Y-yes!”
The short-haired woman replied nervously and approached the desk.
Ju Yeongsong fixed her gaze on her and spoke.
“The reason I called you today is because we need to locate an Awakened.”
“An Awakened…? You an a hunter candidate?”
Ju Yeongsong nodded.
“They seem to be attending a hunter academy, though I don’t know which one. Most likely one near Yongsan.”
“I-I see.”
“Do you have any acquaintances among the staff at Martial God or Gwangcheon Academy?”
“Yes. I have a friend at Martial Academy.”
“Perfect. Could you ask for their help as well?”
“I’ll try.”
Ju Yeongsong described the boy she had seen, and the girls who were with him.
“And I’d like you to see if you can reach soone on the staff at Gwangcheon, too.”
The woman hesitated, then spoke in an uncertain tone.
“I’ll ask around, see if anyone knows soone from there.”
“Good. But be careful. No one must know that I’m searching for this student. Proceed cautiously.”
Ju Yeongsong held her gaze until the woman nodded quickly.
“Y-yes! I’ll do as you say.”
“Thank you. May the Demon God’s rcy be with you.”
“M-May the Demon God’s rcy be with you…”
With a glance, Ju Yeongsong dismissed her. The man escorted the woman out.
Left alone, Ju Yeongsong rose and looked out the window.
“Demon God, may the stone I lay beco part of your sacred temple.”
Her murmur lted into the sunlight streaming through the glass.
We stayed in the Archipelago dungeon until late.
We watched the sunset over the sea, lit a bonfire, grilled at.
For the others, it was all their first ti—and they were brimming with wonder and joy.
By the ti we left, smiles were bright on all three faces.
“Haah… I never thought I’d experience sothing like this inside a dungeon!”
iling laughed brightly.
“Yeah! It was so much fun!”
Lumina’s voice was livelier than I had ever heard it.
That blank look she’d worn that morning at the academy was gone without a trace.
‘Bringing them here was worth it.’
Both Lumina and iling had been deeply shaken by the Persila incident.
When a wound is that raw, trying to “push through” only makes it fester deeper.
To heal, you need the right dicine.
And one such dicine is a place where, even briefly, you can forget your burdens.
‘When you stop obsessing over a problem and focus on sothing else, the heart calms. Then maybe you see it from a new angle you’d missed before.’
They had to be whole—mind and body both—if they were to endure the crises ahead.
And as well.
‘If my guess is right, the Demon God Cult will approach us soon.’
In the ga, their quests didn’t even appear unless you hit specific triggers.
That’s why on a first playthrough, you might know they existed, but never encounter them before reaching the ending.
But I’d seen Ju Yeongsong’s eyes that day. And now, events were triggering on their own.
Their approach was inevitable.
‘Fights are certain to follow. Depending on the situation, I might even lose a comrade forever. I’ll have to be careful.’
At least there was one relief: after the Persila incident, everyone’s levels were near 40.
“Since we rested today, let’s hit the dungeons hard again starting tomorrow.”
I looked around at my squad.
“Mm!”
“Yeah!”
Lumina and iling answered with renewed vigor. Seo Yui nodded firmly.
Two days later, during dungeon training.
All the first-years, myself included, headed for the open-type dungeon Magongham.
Starting today, first-years would begin challenging the second floors of each dungeon.
Of course, for , Lumina, and iling—already clearing third floors and aiming for the fourth—it should have been easy.
Should have been.
“What the hell was that just now!?”
“There was this sudden flash—”
“Where are we!?”
Panic rippled among the students.
“Yein, this….”
“Don’t tell , again?”
Lumina and iling looked at in alarm.
‘Right… I’d forgotten about this one.’
I scanned our surroundings.
The hallways of steel, the windows showing strange skies, the huge machinery that marked Magongham—gone.
In their place: a sky black as ink, thick with storm clouds.
Jagged mountains rising all around.
And beneath our feet, a massive stone altar.
‘This ti… we’ve been warped into an entirely different dungeon.’
(End of Chapter)
Reviews
All reviews (0)