Chapter 340

I did not feel hungry, nor was I sleepy. My mind was far too clear for it to be because of tension, so this Dungeon itself probably had a trait that drove away drowsiness and hunger. It was a Dungeon that interfered with the mind, after all.

It seemed as though it would be convenient to have the basic desires of appetite and sleep disappear, but it was not particularly so.

The sun's position had barely changed, so it was impossible to estimate the time. It was fortunate that, like hunger, I did not feel thirsty either, but that did not mean I could not feel the heat.

It was somewhat better because I removed the mana suppression device several times in between and froze the ground, but even that was not a perfect method.

"The weather is fucking awful."

When I muttered to myself, Im Haekyung went out of their way to answer.

"It's simply hot. Can this even be called weather?"

"You were quiet until just now."

At first, they sat there enduring the heat, but later, they completely sprawled out on the ice as though melting into it. Perhaps it was an issue with their skin, because I could see that their cheeks and ears had turned red from the heat. Even though they were not sleepy, the amount of time they spent with their eyes closed, perhaps suppressing their displeasure, gradually increased.

"I think nighttime is better."

"......."

At those words, Im Haekyung slowly lifted their eyelids. Rolling their eyes to meet my gaze, Im Haekyung brushed the hair stuck to their forehead back and answered languidly.

"You could say the Dungeon's purpose is to make you think that way...."

"Am I not supposed to think that?"

"There is no reason you can't. But when night comes, you get trapped in trauma. You don't seem affected, Mr. Jehyun... but people who struggle with it would have a hard time."

"Are you talking about Kwon Taehan?"

When I asked with a twitch of my eyebrow, Im Haekyung remained quiet for a moment before speaking.

"You would know what kind of person Taehan is... Mr. Jehyun."

"That is true. Still, when you investigated Taehan, didn't you skim through it roughly?"

"I looked."

After I had previously asked Im Haekyung to tell me about Kwon Taehan's actions one by one, Im Haekyung had diligently investigated Kwon Taehan through the information team and passed the information on to me. Though, for various reasons, I kept putting off reading it and only looked through it recently.

"It wasn't a particularly moving story. In truth, Taehan is very... fortunate."

"In what way?"

"In the sense that he awakened as an S-rank overnight."

That was true. I agreed with that as well.

"You know, don't you? Awakening as a high-rank awakened person depends entirely on luck. Effort isn't necessary. Of course, even if you make an effort... it has no meaning. You would need to make an effort afterward to preserve your position.... But not many people are given that kind of opportunity. The fact that crises keep coming endlessly is the luckiest part of all."

Their speaking speed was subtly slower than usual. Since they kept squinting, I shifted my position and created shade over their face.

"Endless crises are lucky?"

"Of course. Imagine there were awakened people, but no Dungeons. What do you think would happen?"

"It would be fascinating."

When I answered carelessly, Im Haekyung let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Then... the enemy would change. Right now, there is at least the justification of clearing Dungeons, and because they are actually a serious threat to public safety, the public tolerates it... and even likes it."

"Mm."

"Taehan is fortunate. Both parents dead.... No real friendships, no work experience, poor.... In truth, Taehan isn't the only one with a past like that."

"But in the sense that only Kwon Taehan awakened?"

"Yes."

Had the world balanced things out by telling him to save it so his life would not become too fucking easy? Thinking of it that way, it felt strangely fascinating that they had turned a socially inept, orphaned beggar bastard into an S-rank overnight, and he had happily worked himself to the bone trying to save the world until he developed mental problems.

"Then what about you, Guild Master?"

"I'm fortunate too. Perhaps even more than Taehan."

"......."

"And so are you, Mr. Jehyun."

"I'm a fucking small fry. I'm not even S-rank."

"You know that isn't what I mean."

Then what did they mean?

When I merely nodded without answering, Im Haekyung stared intently at me and suddenly asked something unrelated.

"Were you close to your mother's side? She passed away, right?"

"I don't think we were particularly close."

"You looked a lot like CEO Choi."

"Apparently."

"Even I would have felt threatened. You're difficult to control, Mr. Jehyun, and your very existence is proof of a scandal. Unless you were dealt with, it would be no different from living while carrying an unpredictable variable that could explode at any time."

They had started talking about feeling threatened, so I thought they were empathizing with me, but they were suddenly considering CEO Choi's feelings.

"Yes...."

"Did you nearly die?"

"Probably?"

I answered ambiguously.

Well, judging by the circumstances, it was fairly certain, but there was no actual physical evidence.

"And then one day, while living like that, you awakened?"

"......."

"It seems you no longer contact your family. You live alone."

"I don't live alone. I live with Yehyun."

"Mr. Yehyun...."

They opened their mouth as though something had suddenly occurred to them, then closed it again.

"And then you met Taehan, and Taehan is, in any case, a major clue connected to the destruction of the world. And you and Taehan were... in any case, in a special relationship? He was attached to you as well.... And so were you."

"Yes."

"You said it wasn't a trauma, but it was still a memory that affected you quite deeply."

"......."

"Mm."

"......."

"And you repeated that several times while retaining your memories...."

After saying that much, Im Haekyung slowly turned their gaze from the empty air and met my eyes again. They blinked silently, then added calmly,

"Affectionately."

"Affectionately?"

"It was a more intense memory than... the attachment you feel toward Mr. Yehyun or Mr. Seowon."

"I don't divide it that way."

"And you intend to trap that Taehan in a place like this?"

Well, why not?

"Taehan, who has a lot of trauma, whose mental state is not very good, and who thinks of you in some terrible way no matter what?"

"Yes."

"A fire-type Hunter would struggle even from spending only these scorching days here."

"Probably."

When I answered indifferently, Im Haekyung's gaze remained fixed on me quite heavily.

In any case, luck had followed me a little. The timing was good too.

If I put Kwon Taehan into this Dungeon and made a few simple adjustments to the Hunter Association while Kwon Taehan was gone, it would be perfect. Naturally, problems with plausibility would arise during that time, so God would feel threatened, and if it appeared once more, I could use Im Haekyung to establish some guidance for the future as well.

Would Kwon Taehan resent me if he became trapped here?

'Maybe?'

That was not particularly important. Even if Kwon Taehan resented and hated me, what could he do? At most, I would take a few hits and that would be the end of it.

"Then, well.... He'll wait for night."

"What if his trauma surfaces?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly and answered calmly.

"It's better than the heat."

***

The tedious day passed, and at last the sun began to set little by little. Each time the shape of the sun disappeared below the horizon, water began to fill the completely dried sea.

It was a sight I had seen the day before, but it was still fascinating to see again.

'The water level definitely rose.'

At last, the sea filled completely. If it had reached our waists the day before, now it came almost above our chests. If we spent another day here, it would probably rise over our heads.

'Though I intend to leave today.'

Feeling the resistance of the splashing water, I looked up at Im Haekyung.

"Will you come in late again today?"

At my question, Im Haekyung naturally entered the water.

"Seeing how the water level keeps rising, it seems there is a stage that can only be reached once everything is completely submerged. If breathing is not a problem, enduring it and following along should help us advance to the next stage in the standard way."

"What do you think will be in the next stage?"

"The Dungeon Boss."

That was the usual thing. When I nodded, Im Haekyung belatedly added,

"Or... an environment meant to induce mental confusion?"

"What?"

"I think there must be a reason it repeatedly shows us trauma."

A reason?

Around the time I was considering what kind of reason there could be, the now-familiar wave surged toward us from far away.

"Do you have any predictions?"

"I'm always making predictions."

"What are they?"

"It grants temporary omnipotence. It takes you back to before the trauma occurred and makes you believe you resolved it."

"What meaning does that have?"

"It would have meaning to someone who dreams of such a reality."

With those words, the enormous wave covered us. After a brief moment of confusion passed, I realized that breathing was not particularly difficult.

A moment later, I felt as though my body were being dragged downward, and a familiar environment unfolded before me.

It was a Dungeon I had seen countless times. Even the final moment was identical.

My roughly staunched abdomen hurt as though being pulled, and the black sand covering the ground scratched painfully against my skin.

Above all, I saw a familiar face.

"Taehan."

Kwon Taehan.

Once I uttered the words that felt like predetermined dialogue, I naturally assimilated into the situation. Even if I recognized in my head that it was an illusion, accepting that was clearly a different matter.

The direct pain blurred my judgment, but Kwon Taehan was clearly not in good condition either. His injuries were already severe. There was a high chance we would fail to properly finish this Dungeon.

Then?

'I have to kill him.'

It was right to consider this run a failure and start over again.

I slowly approached Kwon Taehan in order to 'kill' him.

At that moment.

Plausibility requirements fulfilled.

A huge Status Window filled my vision.

You have completed the destruction of the world!

This was... so.

'What is this?'

It was not the familiar 'past' I had seen just the day before.

Proceed toward the confirmed future.

...What?

I searched through my memories and found a 'run' similar to this moment.

A deleted run? Then at what point was this? Or, if I used 'Kwon Taehan' as the reference, was this the first run? No, it seemed far later than that.

Then was it the current fifth run? Or something even later than that?

'No, was there anything later?'

The contents of my mind evaporated in an instant. At that moment, I felt a heavy weight in my hand. I slowly raised my right hand.

There was not a weapon for killing Kwon Taehan in it, but a familiar bottle.

'It's a potion.'

I had definitely used all of them, so how?

But there was not enough time to dwell on doubts. In any case, both Kwon Taehan and I were dying.

I slowly opened the potion and sprinkled it over Kwon Taehan's wound. After pouring half of it, I drank the rest. It would not be perfect, but this much was enough. If survival was the objective.

At that moment.

As Kwon Taehan raised his body, all the Status Windows floating like malfunctioning pop-up windows disappeared at once.

It happened in an instant.

"...Seo Jehyun?"

At Kwon Taehan's voice that came the next moment, I realized what this situation was describing.

'Is it over?'

All of it?

Temporary omnipotence. A stage that brings back a past memory that had fallen into trauma... and makes you believe you have resolved it.

"Ah.... Fuck, this is fucking irritating."

It felt as though cold water had been thrown over me. I looked down for a moment at the illusion of Kwon Taehan pretending to be confused, then raised the corner of my mouth in a smile and seized his throat.

"Keugh...!"

"All right, let's finish quickly and move on."

"Khk...."

I felt his pulse beneath my fingertips. As though this situation were real, my senses, from my mind to my body, came sharply alive all at once. Looking directly into Kwon Taehan's eyes as they instantly became bloodshot, I tightened my fingertips with all my strength.

The lifelike sensation of strangling another person to death spread through my entire body.

"Kh, ngh.... Kgh...."

Watching Kwon Taehan struggle to remove my hand, I put my full weight into it and pressed down hard on his throat. His airway was blocked, and blood boiled up in his mouth and spilled past his lips.

It was a horrific sight.

'It doesn't matter.'

I looked directly into Kwon Taehan's eyes and said,

"I... have no interest in illusions."

"Nghk...."

"You're fake."