Chapter 66

Dinner wrapped up in the middle of Joo Seowon’s little tantrum, and I went to his room.

“I’m coming in.”

I announced it and yanked the door open. He was sprawled on the bed with a laptop. He only shifted his eyes, then pushed himself up a little.

“Ready to go into the dungeon?”

“No.”

Next to his bed sat a space-saving box packed with gear. You’re all packed—what exactly isn’t ready?

I shot him a glance, popped the box open to check the contents, and sat on his bed.

“Why?”

“You packed defense gear well. If I look like I’m going to die tomorrow, use this on me.”

“What...? Why would you be dying...?”

“Been to the night market lately?”

“I bought that a while back.”

Next time he drops by the night market, I should ask him to pick up my stuff too. Unless I could slip in without Im Haekyung noticing, I’d rather not go anywhere near that place.

“Anyway, there was something I meant to say.”

I put the box back on the nightstand and started.

“Did you hear from Guild Master Song Hwayoung?”

“About what?”

“The dungeon.”

“I heard...”

His voice was weaker than usual. He seemed more reluctant about entering than I’d expected—did something happen? I was honestly curious.

“Do you hate going into dungeons that much?”

“I’m not immune to, you know, mortal danger.”

“The dungeon tomorrow is D-rank. You’re B-rank.”

Tomorrow’s run was D-rank. Not as low as F or E, but considering we’d be going in with Song Hwayoung, it was a stroll. He had to know that.

He frowned and closed the laptop.

“...First off, I just don’t like entering dungeons. Honestly, all my skills are support-type and mostly useful outside.”

“Hm?”

No way he didn’t know how useful Tracking was in a dungeon. Tracking the boss location, the dungeon core—none of that was useless.

“B-rank Tracking for support is top tier.”

“...Yeah. But it’s still true it’s more useful outside.”

“Useful both in and out, no?”

Listening to him, it sounded like the bastard was just making excuses because he didn’t want to go in.

With a grave look, he ran a hand down his face and muttered to himself.

“No, fine... I’m not the one clearing it anyway, and there’s Seo Jehyun and Song Hwayoung going in...”

Strictly speaking, that was my line—the guy going in with two high-rank hunters. Whatever. I’d come for something else, so I set that aside.

I got straight to the point.

“Did the Guild Master say anything else?”

“Ah, that.”

Like he’d guessed what I meant, he thumped his head back against the headboard.

“She asked briefly if you were in separate contact with the Haeseong guild master. Not in an openly suspicious way—more like a businesslike question.”

“Hm...”

“Feels like she was probing you and him. Or you and me. Could be both.”

“Probably both. From her point of view, I brought you in, and it’s a bit much to trust you overnight, right? I can’t be sure since I don’t know exactly what you told her, but.”

Nodding at my words, he raked his hair back and conceded.

“Fair.”

“Then... no, forget it. Better not overthink that.”

If you start acting like you’re thinking about it, you’ll look weird. Better to act normal. As I muttered, he thumped the blanket and nodded.

“Yeah. If I fuss about it on purpose, it’ll look suspicious.”

Anyway, I’d like him to ask her about Im Haekyung sooner. Him using Mental Domination on me in the dungeon, then using a brainwashing skill on Do Yehyun—both grated on me. He kept reaching out and I was too undefended; it was a problem.

Seeing me drift into thought, he asked cautiously,

“You’re not planning to stay in SH, are you?”

“...”

“Why did you even join SH? I thought you’d set up a direct line with Song Hwayoung, but that’s not really it... Is it just the stability of being guild-affiliated?”

“To run dungeons. Secure safety.”

“...So how long are you staying? Leaving soon? I prefer being unaffiliated.”

“Won’t be long.”

I only planned to park myself at SH briefly. It’d be best to be out before April next year at the latest. Fast for a guild transfer, but circumstances are circumstances.

“SH will be intact only until early next year. I’m thinking at least March... at the latest April I leave. But I’m not leaving any earlier than that.”

The timing lined up with the start of Kwon Taehan’s fifth life; Song Hwayoung dies and SH collapses. Because SH had a big impact in his first life, he keeps trying to revive it in later loops, but he always fails because it coincides with the regression timing.

The dungeon where she dies is an S-rank dungeon in April next year—“Forsaken Land.” Not just her—several domestic hunters get swept up and die. Not a place I particularly wanted to enter. If it lines up with Taehan’s regression and we have to retry... that’s a pain.

“So I need to get out of SH before that.”

Something about my answer snagged him; he paused and asked,

“But SH’s position looks pretty solid right now, no? What happens that makes it disappear?”

“It’s not that something happens; the situation just goes that way.”

“‘Situation’?”

Should I tell him she dies? I hesitated, then decided to be honest. He’s not the type to freak out over this, and he’d just complained not long ago that I don’t share information.

“He won’t accept it if I just say ‘that’s how it goes.’”

Like he said, there aren’t many things that could topple a stable SH in an instant.

There’d be some risk from the shock... but time would patch that.

I spoke plainly.

“Song Hwayoung dies.”

“...”

He froze, then asked like he couldn’t believe it.

“...What?”

“The guild master dies. Of course the guild falls apart. SH doesn’t have overall stats as high as the big five domestic guilds. And besides Song Hwayoung, quite a few guild members die.”

“What is... what the hell are you saying? It goes like that? Then right now, are you—are we—trying to stop it?”

“I never said I’d stop it.”

It’s not like I can save everyone in an S-rank dungeon, and even if I told her she’d die, she’s not the type to back out. She’s making a choice knowing she might die.

“I can’t stop it anyway. Even if that’s how things unfold.”

“No, can’t you change it?”

“If I could, I would.”

But SH’s dissolution had a big impact on Kwon Taehan’s psyche, and stopping that would cause a deviation that’s too big. If it were some side character, maybe. I wasn’t fond of Taehan’s unpredictability.

“He’s definitely going to think something’s off.”

His face twisted more and more as he heard the answer.

“...So you’re just going to let it happen?”

“Better to leave SH before then. I wasn’t planning to stay long anyway.”

“...”

“What?”

He clamped his mouth shut like he had a lot to say. What? I guessed at what he wanted.

He’d said he wasn’t immune to mortal danger... Right, maybe he needed certainty he wouldn’t die. That, I could give. I watched his hands clenched on the laptop and said,

“You’ll be alive and well until then, so don’t worry.”

“...”

“And after that, you’ll still be alive and well.”

That do it? In the original, he was one of the ones who survived to the end; even now, with the flow twisted by “me,” he’d still be one of the ones who survived—assuming we handle a few variables.

“Variables, huh.”

I brought my hand up to his ear. He flinched on reflex and grabbed my arm tight.

“W-what are you doing.”

“Tomorrow’s dungeon will be safe, yeah, but if something happens, tell me. I’ll try.”

Ignoring his grip, I flicked the piercing with a finger. It was much harder than metal, made from dungeon magic stone. I pressed past the piercing to the skin beneath—fully healed. Fitting for a B-rank.

“Healed up?”

“S-stop touching it.”

“Looks good on you.”

“What...”

His hand on my arm slid off. Meeting his eyes, I asked, curious,

“Never taken it out once?”

“I haven’t. ...C-can you take your hand away?”

I obediently pulled my hand back. Ah, right—there was one more thing I needed to bring up.

“Ah.”

“...Now what.”

There was one issue I hadn’t bothered to pin down till now.

“If you’ve got anything sticky regarding dungeon entry or other guilds, tell me in advance.”

“What sort of thing? Other guilds?”

“Damyeon or Cape Prime.”

“...”

It was a personal matter that shows up in the original too. He’d been jointly blacklisted by Damyeon and Cape Prime. I didn’t even remember the reason, and I hadn’t wanted to spend time digging it up twice, so I’d let it slide—but now seemed like the time to check.

Getting kidnapped by the Infinite Guild who’d done illegal collections to Do Yehyun was unpleasant in all sorts of ways.

“If he gets kidnapped instead of me, that’s a problem too.”

We’d signed a covenant, after all. The moment something went wrong with his safety, I’d lose my head, BOGO-style. Even if not, I hated the idea of having to start over and secure someone new because of a security problem.

His face, which had been a little dazed until a moment ago, went stiff. Something’s up? I stared straight at him and said,

“I’m saying I’ll guarantee your safety. If you’ve got something to say, say it to me.”

Even if I couldn’t guess his exact problem, I could say that much. Besides, guaranteeing his safety was something Kwon Taehan had offered too; if I mimicked him, I could more than handle it.

But his answer was unexpected.

“I’ll... handle that myself. I’m fine.”

“...”