As if the time limit had expired, the dungeon crumbled and the scenery changed rapidly. The dark sky regained its blue hue, the forest disappeared, and a vast plain spread out. The ground, which had been close to mud, also changed to sand, resulting in a familiar field landscape.
Perhaps because of this, it felt strangely cruel.
As if the absence of Noah, the forest, and the lord’s castle in the field was saying that everything in the dungeon had been a lie.
‘Replay of the Destroyed City.’
Only after clearing the dungeon did they realize why the dungeon they had entered had such a name. No words could explain more accurately what had happened in the dungeon than the word ‘replay’. However, thinking that at least Noah’s ending, the ending he had chosen, hadn’t been reproduced exactly the same as reality, a strange sense of relief came over him. It might be hypocrisy, as Geon-joo had said.
Geon-joo.
At the name crossing his mind, Sa-yoon turned his head. The man who had lost the boy in his arms was standing blankly. Nothing but emptiness was visible in his emotions. Geon-joo, who had been standing silently without a word, looked down at his empty hands as if entranced, then covered his face with them.
Was he crying?
Judging by his shoulders not shaking, it didn’t seem like he was crying. No sobbing sounds could be heard either. Yet, the sight of Geon-joo quietly suppressing his emotions without making a sound looked like silent weeping.
After seeming to soothe himself by running his hands through his hair, touching his mouth, and pressing his eyes, Geon-joo soon returned to an expressionless face. Disliking this, Sa-yoon’s eyes narrowed.
Geon-joo’s attitude looked exactly like a demonstration that he didn’t want to show any emotion to Sa-yoon.
It could be an exaggeration or a simple concern.
However, as always, Sa-yoon’s intuition had never been wrong when it came to ominous aspects.
Sa-yoon was certain that his intuition would be right this time too. After all, given the nature of the conversation they had just before the dungeon collapsed, what could he expect?
‘Say something!’
The desperate expression came to mind. Feeling as if the ringing in his ears that he thought had stopped was starting again, Sa-yoon bit his lip and mulled over Geon-joo’s words.
Some were accusations, some were pleas, and some were resentment.
‘I was wrong.’
The last thing he recalled was the voice he heard just before returning to the field.
‘You’re just that kind of person. I thought maybe you had some story too.’
He had spoken self-deprecatingly, as if it was futile, as if he found himself foolish for thinking that way, but surprisingly, it was an astonishingly correct statement. Suddenly, a question arose.
Why did you think that way?
Most people abhor things that deviate from the normal range. It’s rare for someone to look at a madman and think, “There must be a reason he ended up like that.” They just mutter that he’s crazy and criticize. The Han Geon-joo he first met was the same.
He too had seen Sa-yoon as nothing but a madman, so when did he start harboring such thoughts? When did he start thinking that way?
What made him have such doubts?
He became curious belatedly, but it was too late to ask now. It wasn’t a situation where he would answer if asked, nor was it the right atmosphere to ask. Sa-yoon suppressed his rising curiosity and observed Geon-joo, who was staring at something beyond the distant ridge with unfocused eyes.
The eyes that had asked for an explanation and the voice that had clung to a thread of belief echoed in his mind.
A memory from some time ago surfaced.
The conversation he had with Geon-joo before entering the new dungeon, which now felt like quite a while ago.
‘I’m really curious now, why did you bring me along?’
It was a question he hadn’t answered properly and had brushed off. For some reason, that question overlapped with Geon-joo’s plea to explain Noah’s situation, echoing in his ears. Sa-yoon took a breath as he mulled over that day’s events.
What if.
What if he had spoken, would anything have changed?
If he had answered Geon-joo’s question honestly then, and properly explained Noah’s situation too, would the current awkwardness, the emptiness Geon-joo must be feeling, have been lessened even a little?
It was an answer he couldn’t know unless he could turn back time. Sa-yoon set aside the hypothetical he had briefly entertained and approached Geon-joo. He still didn’t seem fully recovered, but they needed to start moving soon.
+++
[Proof – The Hundred and Eightieth Step Towards True Human Evil]
‘Lower the probability of Earth’s salvation by eliminating a high-ranking Awakened.’
Condition: Check the World Awakened Association rankings and eliminate an Awakened within the top 100
Reward: 1,000 Karma
Failure Penalty: Rank down S → A+
Time Remaining: 3 days 7 hours
+++
With only 3 days left for the quest with a big penalty, it was time to act.
Since they had come out of the dungeon early, they needed to complete the quest early as well. After formulating a plan while looking at the blue window, Sa-yoon called up the Gate clear conditions. Of the nine conditions, the only one not met was perfect escape, short by 2 times. It wouldn’t take long since all he had to do was pick a fight with any visible monster and run away.
“Shall we move?”
As he spoke, nudging the thoughtful Geon-joo, the man who had been standing blankly slowly turned to look at Sa-yoon. Sa-yoon’s face was clearly reflected in his colorless eyes. Geon-joo, who had momentarily furrowed his brow, soon returned to an impassive face and merely blinked.
It was neither an affirmative nor a negative response. Uncomfortable with the ambiguous reaction, Sa-yoon’s lips twitched, but realizing that no words would improve the situation, he took the lead and started walking.
Occasionally looking back to make sure Geon-joo was following properly.
The atmosphere was too awkward and gloomy to even consider walking side by side in step or carrying him and taking off.
***
<Congratulations! You have achieved the Gate clear conditions. You will be moved to the ‘Room of Rewards’.>
As soon as Sa-yoon succeeded in perfect escape by running himself, not being in a situation to order Geon-joo around, the system window filled his vision.
Finally cleared.
Although it felt like they had spent about a month, the time spent in the Replay of the Destroyed City was counted as triple, resulting in clearing the Gate after spending about 100 days. Sa-yoon glanced at Geon-joo. He thought Geon-joo would be at least a little happy, given how much he had longed for clearing the Gate and escaping the field, but Geon-joo’s expression as he stared at the floating window showed no emotion at all. It was beyond expressionless, almost stern. Clicking his tongue, thinking it would be embarrassing if someone were happy, Sa-yoon pulled Geon-joo’s shoulder with a cheerful voice.
“We finally finished, don’t you have any thoughts?”
Despite deliberately acting playful, the response was minimal. No, could it even be called a response?
If slightly rolling his eyes and bending his body to avoid contact could be considered a response, then it was a response. It was an utterly bland attitude.
As a result, Sa-yoon was the one who felt awkward. Despite putting in effort with Geon-joo over the 100 days, the relationship that crumbled at the end caused displeasure to surge. This was no different from when they first entered the field. No, it seemed even worse than then.
He was angry but knew he shouldn’t express it, so he kept his mouth shut, leaving only a precarious silence that seemed to melt away the ominousness. The bright system window, indifferent to the atmosphere, transported the Gate entrants to the Room of Rewards.
It was a space no different from the Ground of Distrust. The only difference was that, being an S-rank Gate, the box on the table was larger than before.
It was large enough to be called a treasure chest. The box, about the size of an adult man’s body and tightly wrapped with wire, unlocked with a clicking sound as Sa-yoon and Geon-joo’s gazes fell on it. Sa-yoon once again observed Geon-joo’s expression at that moment.
At any other time, he would have been curious, but whether the events in the dungeon had left a strong aftereffect or not, the man still had a blank face.
Thump.
Finally, Sa-yoon patted Geon-joo’s back. It was meant to encourage him to go and check it out himself, as it was his first S-rank Gate, but the man frowned as if even that slight contact was uncomfortable and stepped away from Sa-yoon.
“…”
The stubbornly closed-off attitude of constantly ignoring and turning away from people made irritation surge. He felt like properly explaining Noah’s situation out of a sense of injustice, and wondered why he had to go this far for him. Just as he was about to warn him to ease up, unable to control his temper…
Geon-joo slowly walked towards the box. Arriving at the table with lifeless steps, he opened the closed box with emotionless eyes and examined the rewards inside. Then he took out all the items from the box, placed them on the table, and turned to Sa-yoon.
“Take them.”
That was all.
He didn’t ask what this or that was. Even though there must be items of a rank he couldn’t identify with his grade, he showed no interest. He didn’t ask for anything or show any material desire. Annoyed by this, Sa-yoon frowned and handed all the items on the table to Geon-joo.
“Are you treating me like a beggar?”
“…”
The words he had intended to say came out harshly due to pent-up frustration. Speaking in a growl-like manner, Geon-joo, after checking Sa-yoon’s expression, sighed and accepted the items.
“I’ll return them to you once we’re out.”
“I don’t need them.”
“I don’t need them either.”
“…”
“…And I don’t want to receive anything from you.”
Even the “Guild Master” he used to call him had reverted to an utterly stiff form of address. Irritated by Geon-joo’s blatant display of discomfort, Sa-yoon suppressed his anger and watched as Geon-joo quietly put the items into his inventory.
As soon as all rewards were received, the room disappeared. The chilly dawn air, cooled by the change of seasons during their time in the field, touched their cheeks. It was their return.
Feeling the reality of their return in the cold air, Sa-yoon watched Geon-joo, who remained silent as if pondering something, and slowly moved his hand to call up the quest window.
He intended to check the status window first.
After all, the reason for entering the field was for Geon-joo’s growth.
However, his hand, moving on its own, touched a completely different window.
[Quest – The Second Step Towards Activation]
‘Maintain a close relationship with the trait holder.’
Caution: Maintain the relationship until the trait holder reaches S-rank. If the relationship deteriorates, it may affect activation.
Reward: ?
Failure Penalty: Unable to activate ‘The Resister’
Current Relationship: Resentment and Contempt
“…”
It was quite a suffocating window.