EFME 28

At breakfast, Muyoung made a momentous announcement. The momentous announcement quite surprised Sunyul.

“You’re saying I’m going into an S-rank dungeon?”

“Yes. We’re going back into the dungeon where you were found.”

“Why?”

“For investigative purposes. The dungeon might react to you in some way.”

Sunyul swallowed hard.

Gulp.

“Will I be okay?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t take you in if I thought you’d get hurt.”

If anyone else had said that, he might have thought it was just to soothe him. But since it was Muyoung, it wouldn’t be a lie.

Even so, he couldn’t help but worry.

An S-rank dungeon. There would be plenty of terrifying monsters, and hard-to-disarm traps would be scattered everywhere.

“What’s the maximum number of people for that dungeon?”

“Twelve. We’re going in with a full party.”

At Muyoung’s answer, Sunyul’s expression grew even more serious. If he took up one of the only twelve spots, it would inevitably increase the burden on the others.

“Won’t I put everyone in danger? The number of combat personnel will be lower…”

“We usually take two gathering members, but this time we decided to only take one, so don’t worry.”

Muyoung spoke as if to reassure him, but his words only brought on another worry.

“Then you won’t be able to gather anything. It must cost a lot of money to raid an S-rank dungeon, so that would be a loss…”

“It doesn’t cost that much.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t? I heard Cheongyeon covers the full cost of potions for the guild. The price of potions alone must be substantial… Let’s say health potions are one thing, but things like status effect removal potions are hard to even get. There’s the dungeon entry fee, and for an S-rank, disarming traps must cost a fair bit of money too. If you have fewer gathering members, the efficiency will be cut in half. Won’t you be operating at a loss?”

Muyoung gazed intently at Sunyul, who was speaking with such passion. Sunyul flinched unwittingly at the subtle stare.

“Did I say something strange?”

“No, I was just thinking you know a lot about it.”

“Isn’t this much just… common sense?”

“It’s not quite common sense. And it’s hard to reel it all off like that.”

“…”

He hadn’t thought about it, but it was true. His heart suddenly sank. He wondered if the reason he knew so much about dungeons was because he was some kind of existence tied to them.

“You might have been a hunter.”

As if shattering Sunyul’s anxious thoughts, Muyoung tossed out his speculation. It was incredibly random.

“…Pardon?”

“I’m talking about you. I’m saying you might have originally been a hunter.”

“A hunter, not an item or a monster?”

Muyoung let out a soft laugh at his tense voice. Heh.

“What you described is the nature of humans involved with dungeons. How would a monster or an item inside a dungeon know that?”

“…Ah.”

“Park Heena mentioned it, actually. That you might be a human who has undergone dungeonization.”

Sunyul nodded. Heena had certainly said something like that. Although Haemin had dismissed it as nonsense…

“I also think that hypothesis has a high probability. It’s much more plausible than speculating that an item is walking around in human form, or that a monster is mimicking a person.”

“…I hope that speculation is correct.”

“It will be if you want it to be.”

Sunyul let out a soft laugh at Muyoung’s optimistic words. Heehee. It was a baseless statement, but it was still quite encouraging.

But being encouraged was one thing, and Sunyul entering a dungeon was another.

“Are you really sure it’s okay? It’s like entering a dungeon with baggage.”

“It’s fine. And the Cheongyeon Guild’s finances aren’t so shaky that they’d falter from supporting a single S-rank dungeon raid. We have enough of a surplus to run a deficit like this hundreds of times without any problem, so stop your needless worrying and just prepare yourself mentally.”

Sunyul couldn’t help but nod. Since Muyoung said so, there was no reason for Sunyul to keep objecting.

“So when are we going in?”

“One week from now.”

“…That’s soon, isn’t it?”

Muyoung nodded. It was the originally scheduled raid date.

Typically, dungeons were raided about a month before their stabilization period ended, to be safe. The stabilization period for the dungeon Sunyul would be entering was about three months, and since it had been a little less than two months since Sunyul woke up in it, now was the right time.

The reason Sunyul was being inserted into the originally scheduled raid was due to a request for cooperation from the Korean Anomaly Research Institute. He could have ignored their vague reason of ‘just in case there might be some kind of reaction,’ but after some thought, Muyoung decided not to refuse.

After Sunyul had been stabbed, Muyoung had done a lot of thinking. And he felt the need for others to also accept Sunyul as a safe being.

No matter how hard he tried to protect him, if everyone around thought Sunyul was harmful, there was a limit to that protection. Besides, Sunyul would get hurt in the process.

Muyoung recalled the sight of Sunyul crying alone. The face, pale and dripping with tears, had been quite pretty, but… he didn’t want to see it at the cost of hurting Sunyul.

Muyoung thinks of Sunyul as a human. And even if he isn’t human, he is certain Sunyul is not a harmful being.

To confirm that, more research on Sunyul was needed. That said, he had no intention of treating Sunyul like a test subject, as the Korean Anomaly Research Institute did. Taking him into a dungeon where he was confident he could protect him was worth a try.

“If you really can’t go for any other reason besides the money issue, tell me.”

“Another reason?”

“Like if you don’t want to because it’s dangerous, or you’re scared.”

Sunyul shook his head.

“It’s okay. You want me to go, don’t you?”

“It’s not to the point where I’d drag you along by force if you’re scared.”

Muyoung was kind, as always. Sunyul knew well that those weren’t just empty words.

“I’m really okay. And I’m not that scared.”

He wasn’t just trying to act tough. Muyoung studied Sunyul’s face carefully and, seemingly judging that he wasn’t lying, nodded.

“Alright. Then it’s settled. If you happen to change your mind, let me know by the end of the day. We need to adjust the personnel.”

“I don’t think I will, but… I’ll do that.”

“Good. We’ll stop by the item storage room when we get to work.”

“The item storage room?”

“We need to rent some gear for you to use.”

At the unexpected words, Sunyul’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I’m going to use some too? But I won’t be of any help.”

“You need to have some means of protection.”

“Ah… right, yes.”

Just then, Muyoung, having finished his meal, stood up from his seat. Sunyul scrambled to his feet to follow. After thanking Juyoung who was clearing the table, Sunyul hurriedly got ready for work. Rush rush.

Arriving at the guild, the two pressed the button for the 27th floor instead of heading to the familiar 28th. Unlike the last time when he had just gone to look around, the thought of going to pick out items he would actually use made him a little nervous.

“You get nervous at the drop of a hat.”

“I’m not that nervous. Just a little jittery…”

“Relax. It’s no big deal.”

Sunyul nodded.

They got off the elevator and passed through security to enter. Leaving the rows of items behind, Muyoung walked straight toward the back. After authenticating himself at another security device, he entered the innermost area.

He hadn’t come this far inside when he was just looking around last time. Sunyul looked around, fascinated.

“What is this place?”

“It’s where only the S-rank items are kept.”

Sunyul, who had been peering at the items, froze stiff.

“Is it okay for you to lend me something like that?”

“And why wouldn’t it be?”

“But… what if the item gets damaged?”

“The item is probably tougher than you are.”

“…”

He wasn’t wrong. While consumables or materials might be a different story, durability was a basic feature for items like weapons and armor.

“Still, it’s a guild asset…”

“Enough, just pick one.”

Sunyul had no choice but to stand before the numerous weapons. The weapons inside the display cases all looked magnificent just from their appearance. Among them, what caught Sunyul’s eye was a staff that was emitting a faint glow.

Sunyul was suddenly reminded of the staff he had seen in his dream.

A staff with a large magic stone embedded in the end, crafted from a polished, pure-white tree branch. He was sure he had treasured it, but where had it gone? He was certain he had it right until he entered that place…

A faint throbbing started in his head. He figured it was because he was having such strange, nonsensical thoughts.

“Does your head hurt?”

“Just for a second… I’m fine now.”

Since he really was fine, Sunyul gave a slight smile. He then turned his gaze back to the weapons. To the staff he had been staring at so intently.

“Do you want that one?”

“No, it’s just… it’s pretty.”

“Should I buy it for you?”

“…Pardon?”

“I said I’ll buy it for you if you like it.”

“N-No. It’s okay.”

Flustered, Sunyul quickly shook his head. Muyoung raised his hand and gently ran it through Sunyul’s hair, messing it up.

“I’ll buy it if you want it, so for now, pick something else. A staff isn’t a weapon that will be of any help to you.”

“Ah… right, yes.”

A staff that amplified mana was meaningless to a non-awakened person with no skills. Sunyul tore his gaze away from the staff that had inexplicably drawn his eye.