Free Web Novel“Ah...”
It’d honestly be better to scold him like before entering the dungeon than to let him mumble like this.
But since I wasn’t blameless for throwing a twenty-year-old into a dungeon, I pushed myself up and sat with my back against the headboard.
“Got something to say?”
“No. I don’t, I just... wanted to make sure you’re okay, hyung.”
“I’m fine. You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Then go. I’m going back to sleep.”
If there’s no business, I should send him out. But despite saying he had nothing to say, Do Yehyun kept hovering in the same spot. I gave him exactly three seconds of that before prodding him.
“If you’ve got nothing to say, why are you still standing there.”
“I... do have something.”
“Then say it now.”
He strode right up and stopped close in front of me. He’d looked fine earlier, but now his hands were trembling in tiny shakes. Being alone must have made him think of the Infinite Guild bastard dying.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
But he didn’t accept my answer; he just raised his hand and put it on my shoulder without asking. A soft glow filled the dim room, and a light flow of mana swept through my whole body.
'His skill really did get better.'
I felt my wrist and leg—those little discomforts—clear up in an instant and couldn’t help being impressed. Should I run him through a few more quest-type dungeons? I was tempted, but quest-type dungeons don’t pop easily, and it wasn’t like he’d gotten lucky this time by chance. I dropped the idea quickly.
“...Are you okay?”
“Your skill really improved.”
I praised him because I was genuinely pleased—and he suddenly made a face again.
'Did he really have a nightmare?'
Im Haekyung had said you could have nightmares or end up with trauma. But strictly speaking, Do Yehyun was already a guy layered in trauma.
I hesitated, then decided to tolerate a bit of discomfort.
“Lie down.”
“...Sorry?”
“I’m going to sleep, and if you stand there you’ll probably have a nightmare. Just lie down next to me.”
I even lifted the blanket and tipped my chin at the spot. I’m picky about sleeping arrangements, but the bed was wide; for a quick nap, it seemed manageable. Of course, I fully intended to kick him out by tonight.
I slid inward to make space. He wavered, then shamelessly climbed up and lay beside me.
I adjusted the pillow to be comfortable °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and closed my eyes again, when he suddenly started talking to himself.
“In the dungeon today... the person who died was someone I knew.”
Ah. The guy he knew came back as a corpse, of all things...
“I thought I wouldn’t care if he died because I really hated him... but it kept sitting wrong with me. I’m not sad he’s dead. He was a bad person. But I didn’t know it was a place where people drop dead like that. I’ve never been in a dungeon.”
“...”
“You hear about dungeon accidents in the news every day and you feel scared for a bit and that’s it. Seeing it in person... that people can die that easily—it was so, so strange. Getting used to dungeons through the news and articles outside, and getting used to them by actually going in—they must be very different.”
“...”
“In a place where people die that easily... the cave suddenly collapsing at the end really scared me. I was really shaken, but I’m glad you’re alive. The side you were on collapsed entirely, the Haeseong Guildmaster said...”
I’m trying to sleep and he’s really running his mouth off.
He rambled in circles, then suddenly clamped his mouth shut. After a beat, he repeated the same thing in a lower voice.
“I’m glad you’re alive, hyung...”
I didn’t think we were that affectionate. I turned to face him and met his eyes.
“Yehyun.”
“Yes?”
“Good night.”
'And stop talking now.'
Smirking, I closed my eyes again. He didn’t move for a while, then started fidgeting—rolling around, crumpling and smoothing the blanket, making a mess of it. Just when it was really getting on my nerves, he finally went still and quiet again.
***
While staying at the hotel, I scheduled installation dates for a home security system, CCTV, and a triple-layered defense using items.
There were no signs of intrusion, but since I was doing it, I figured it was better to do it properly now so it would be useful later. Luckily, the schedule came together quickly; selection and installation would be done in three days.
We rested at the hotel for three days and lived absurdly comfortably. Or—correction—me and Joo Seowon did.
The day after the dungeon, Do Yehyun suddenly declared he needed training, went to SH, and busted his ass. While he trained, Seowon and I ate in the lounge and dabbled a bit in the attached fitness center.
“What’s your bench-squat-dead numbers?”
“Never measured. Depends on the day and my condition. Why?”
“You’ve got Body Reinforcement, right? Be honest.”
“Think whatever you want.”
I let his bullshit go in one ear and out the other and focused on my workout. The guy who wrecks his body with booze and cigarettes got all excited to tag along when I said I was working out, and then didn’t even work out himself—just meddled in mine.
“Seowon. If you mess around one more time here, I’m actually going to beat your ass.”
“...Scary as fuck.”
After shoving him out of the way, I finished up, drank some water, and checked my phone.
News│ “The Association” did it again... Another illegal guild busted
(photo.jpg)
△ Hunter Han Deokgyu of the Hunter Association at a press conference. freewēbnoveℓ.com
[MediaCore, Kim Yuri] On the 7th, the Gate Special Response Team deployed after receiving a report. But once again, it was not the Team that took the credit, but the Hunter Association.
With illegal guilds more rampant than ever, the Team had deployed on a case of “illegal gate occupation.” The illegal guild in question had occupied a B-rank Gate, kidnapping civilians, and maintained a “shop” in Seongbuk-dong, Seoul, continuously exploiting non-awakened and low-rank awakened individuals. The Team joined hands with the police to capture the Infinite Guild, but the ones who brought results yet again were none other than the Hunter Association, aka “the Association.”
Association hunters Jung (33) and Kang (41) quickly identified the Infinite Guild members’ whereabouts and handed them over to the police, and through the Association’s nationwide network, swiftly apprehended the Infinite Guild members. It has been confirmed that, aside from the guild master Na M— (38), all 27 members have been arrested.
Citizen A said of the situation, “In the end, the only reliable one is the Association,” voicing dissatisfaction with the Special Response Team. With illegal guilds and sudden gate appearances causing chaos, expectations for the Team have risen—and so have public concerns and complaints.
I didn’t need to read the comments to know. Articles like this, and similar ones, were pouring out in droves—praising the Association while cutting the Team down. Even so, public opinion of the Association wasn’t exactly good.
'Their baseline reputation was already bad.'
Guilds with star-like hunters—like Haeseong’s Im Haekyung or Clavis’s Tae Hyunjin—had mixed reputations, sure, but the default public perception wasn’t that negative. Maybe because individual hunters had fandoms; the vibe toward them was fundamentally different from how people felt about the Team or the Association.
For example, if Im Haekyung cleared a dungeon, it was ad-worthy. If the Association or the Team cleared a dungeon, it was just “as expected.”
'I still thought cozying up to the state-linked Special Response Team would be better. There’s also a point of contact with Kwon Taehan later.'
And even if the Association looked strong now, in a year the top brass would get swept out by Kwon Taehan anyway. Of course... in the original, I also had a hand in that with him.
'Hm, but maybe it won’t be the same this time.'
Because I wasn’t confident I’d be on those terms with him a year from now.
I drifted into thought. The dream from the quest-type dungeon still hadn’t faded; it was too vivid.
It was obviously the original’s Kwon Taehan and me. But that was clearly his first life. The first life where he soon died to “Seo Jehyun.”
If the dream was showing me that part, you could chalk it up to my subconscious, which remembered the original. But something was off.
'It wasn’t from Kwon Taehan’s perspective—it was mine. And I could read “Seo Jehyun’s” thoughts, too.'
In other words, it was a kind of memory. Like replaying a film that had already been shot—something I couldn’t interfere with, but at least could recall the feelings at the time.
Setting everything else aside, the thing that grated was this thought: the fierce certainty that if I didn’t kill Kwon Taehan now, he would get killed by someone else. And... anxiety.
Had I ever felt that kind of anxiety in my life? Sure, the original painted me as a psychopath, but being that desperate and anxious that I might not be able to kill Kwon Taehan with my own hands? Something felt wrong.
And the quest-type dungeon itself had an odd, unpleasant feel. Most of all, this mark left on my palm.
The pattern had remained even after leaving the dungeon. Thankfully it stayed faint and whitish; unless you stared closely at my palm, it was barely noticeable. But it wasn’t a mere mark—it was a life absorbed into my palm. Hard to just shrug off.
'Granted, thanks to it I can use Mimic like a fixed skill.'
I clicked my tongue while staring at Seowon attempting a sloppy lift.
“Seowon, you’re going to herniate a disc like that.”
“You’re annoying as fuck. If you’re going to nag, at least coach me properly!”
This fucker.
I sent a quick text, then strolled over and pressed a hand into his lower back.
“Don’t ‘use your back.’ Think of using your abs.”
“Can’t I just pick it up?”
“Then it’s not exercise, it’s labor.”
While I was in peak nagging mode, a reply came in.
'How about tomorrow evening? If you come to the Neo Core building, I’ll open the lab for you for a bit.'
Good. Start with the easy win. I checked Sung Eunha’s reply and flipped my phone face-down again.
