Flash!

Sa-yoon opened his eyes, sensing his body was lighter than usual. Then he felt disappointed at both the scene before him and the fact he could see at all.

Had he failed?

To think he’d open his eyes again.

He truly thought it would work this time. Though his certainty had no basis, it was the strongest conviction he’d felt among all methods tried so far, and his intuition had never felt better. But it seemed the obvious remained obvious. Something like a mere Gate Reset apparently couldn’t break this insufferable cycle.

Right, how could the fate that had bound him for over a decade be so easily shed?

It was a supply without demand. Sa-yoon let out a nauseated sigh and rose with a groan.

Only then did he realize something was strange.

“…What?”

Why was he here?

Though he’d hoped it wouldn’t happen, he’d thought if he did open his eyes, it would be inside the Gate. Yet when he came to his senses, he was neither inside the Gate nor at the Fantasy Theater Gate’s entrance, but somewhere completely unexpected. He was lying in his own room, quite far from either location.

…Had someone moved him?

Questioning this, he surveyed his surroundings, but there was no one in his room besides himself. He checked the door, but found no signs of anyone entering or leaving. It was as if he’d simply dropped from the sky.

Ah, could it be.

Sa-yoon furrowed his brow, realizing there was only one entity capable of creating such a bizarre phenomenon.

The System.

It seemed to have teleported him from the Gate to his room while healing his body to save him from the Gate Reset. Forced teleportation, huh. Though quite shocking, for something capable of even sending people into novice Gates, this level shouldn’t be difficult.

Ha, letting out an empty breath, Sa-yoon searched for his phone.

He couldn’t abandon the possibility that he might have regressed.

Who knew if it hadn’t turned back time by a day while reviving him, making him appear in this room? Of course, Lee Jae-hee should have been beside him if that were the case, but with the System, any variable wouldn’t be strange.

For instance, it wouldn’t be odd if it displayed a message like ‘You have regressed 24 hours, find the changes in this regressed world and fix the errors!’ and issued a grueling quest to find Lee Jae-hee, or left a message saying he was temporarily confined to a world alone as punishment for trying to die through Gate Reset.

Thus, Sa-yoon immediately checked his phone’s screen, which miraculously still worked despite its shattered display from the intense battle.

The date had changed by one day, and it was dawn. Meaning only four or five hours had passed since he’d jumped into the Gate. Thinking it fortunate not much time had passed, Sa-yoon got up and checked his reflection in the mirror.

He was pristine, without a single broken bone. Though his clothes were bloodied, he’d planned to wear them just once anyway when he’d decided to cause Gate saturation, so it didn’t particularly matter.

Only after confirming all his internal and external injuries were healed did Sa-yoon truly realize he’d been revived. Clicking his tongue, he leaned his head against the wall.

“So even Gate Reset doesn’t work.”

He’d thought it would, but it failed in the worst way possible. Not only healing him but forcibly teleporting him after recovery. He was reluctant to try again, unable to predict where he might be teleported next time.

So this was how it applied pressure.

Sa-yoon gritted his teeth and ruffled his hair. If he were the only one affected, he’d try once more, but he couldn’t act recklessly since the situation could change depending on where he landed next time. To Sa-yoon, being relatively benevolently moved to his room now felt like a warning.

As if saying: I have the power to easily extract you from Gates like this, so stop with the foolishness and do as you’re told.

It was so absurd he was speechless. Thinking it only grew more vicious, Sa-yoon realized no answer would come from brooding with his head down and straightened up.

Well, since dying had failed, what he needed to do now was clear.

He had to find Lee Jae-hee.

Somehow he’d become a garbage person who’d run off after making someone work. Since Lee Jae-hee wasn’t his guild member but an equal collaborator who’d agreed to work together for their respective goals, he couldn’t just brush this off. Feeling the need to resolve this situation and explain what had happened to him, Sa-yoon called Gyeongjin.

Nothing was faster than asking him to track someone’s location.

“What’s this, hyung? So you’re alive?”

Why does this bastard get more ill-mannered by the day?

He’d been kind when Sa-yoon was briefly out of it after losing Han Geon-joo, but after just a few days he’d reverted to being ill-mannered. Clicking his tongue, Sa-yoon spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“Lee Jae-hee said you jumped into a resetting Gate, so he went to clear the Fantasy Theater Gate saying he’d find you. What happened?”

“…What?”

That’s what Sa-yoon wanted to ask. How did Lee Jae-hee know about him jumping into the resetting Gate, and what was this about clearing a completed Gate to find him? As he stood dumbfounded, silence fell over the phone briefly before Gyeongjin’s dubious voice returned.

“Hyung, don’t tell me you abandoned Lee Jae-hee there?”

“…Not exactly abandoned…”

“So basically the same thing.”

He couldn’t argue. It wasn’t wrong, after all. When Sa-yoon didn’t respond, Gyeongjin’s voice dripped with contempt so vivid his expression was almost visible.

“You’re the worst, hyung. I told you not to live like that. Ah! Not saying don’t live at all, just fix your personality and use it better. Though they say you can’t fix people.”

What is this bastard on about?

He was better as his usual tersely ill-mannered self. A chatty ill-mannered nonsense-spewer was the worst, so Sa-yoon frowned and grabbed hold of the conversation’s direction as it veered off course.

“So Lee Jae-hee is currently raiding the Gate?”

“Yeah, he went in about an hour ago, so he should be out soon?”

Then it would be faster to wait for him to return to the guild after completing the dungeon than to go himself.

“Send someone to tell Lee Jae-hee I’m here.”

“Not going to pick him up?”

“It’s faster if he comes.”

“Wow, hyung, you’ve trained your dog well.”

“What did you say?”

“So I should tell the operations team to call the people near the barricade?”

He was first-rate at deflecting conversations, as always. Sa-yoon looked suspiciously at his phone screen at Gyeongjin, who seemed to only grow stranger evasion skills while working under him, before agreeing. Though he expected Gyeongjin to hang up immediately since the business was done, for some reason he hesitated without ending the call.

What now?

Could it be about salary negotiations?

It was about that time. Sa-yoon pondered, considering that Gyeongjin already received the highest salary in Night Rats Guild, and now wanted to raise it further. Though money wasn’t an issue, easily raising it whenever asked made him look too soft. Gyeongjin’s salary had already been raised once two years ago. If Gyeongjin’s salary increased, those below him would subtly hope for salary negotiations too, and after raising one or two people’s pay, eventually the entire Night Rats Guild’s salaries would increase.

Having experienced this twice before during salary negotiations, Sa-yoon checked the remaining guild funds. Since the guild had been stagnant for a while and he hadn’t been active as ‘China Number Six’ for some time, things were a bit tight. The guild funds wouldn’t notice one or two raises, but it was different if the entire Night Rats Guild’s salaries increased.

Could he delay it for half a year?

This was Gyeongjin. He was the most money-obsessed one, so Sa-yoon was considering how to persuade him when—

“Um…”

Gyeongjin opened his mouth. Realizing he had no time to think, Sa-yoon quickly responded.

“How are you feeling?”

“Hey, let’s put it off for later!”

“…?”

At their offset responses, Gyeongjin fell silent. Sa-yoon blinked as he realized something was off moments later. Gyeongjin continued, sounding embarrassed.

“Well, if you’re busy now, we can talk later. Anyway, let me know beforehand if you’re thinking of doing something stupid again.”

I’ll help with what I can, he added quietly before hanging up. Sa-yoon stared blankly at the call end screen before tilting his head.

What was that?

He was certain it would be about salary negotiations, but suddenly showing concern? Moreover, Gyeongjin was working as hard as Jong-sik to revive the guild. The usual him would have shouted about having too much work already without adding more, but asking if he was okay? Why was he doing such an endearing thing?

After briefly assessing the situation, Sa-yoon sent Gyeongjin a text:

[Whoever you are, did you think I wouldn’t know you’re pretending to be Gyeongjin?]

[F*** you ㅗ]

Gyeongjin’s reply that came shortly after put Sa-yoon’s mind at ease.

That’s more like it. It was definitely Gyeongjin. He must have eaten something wrong earlier.

As he was thinking this, a knocking sound came from somewhere. Not from the door. It came from near the bed, and when he turned his head, he saw a griffin attached to the large window.

Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!

It was tapping the window with its sharp beak. Sa-yoon approached the window at the griffin’s sudden appearance. When he opened it, the curtains fluttered aside, revealing the figure they had concealed. It was Lee Jae-hee.

He came quickly.

Apparently, he’d mounted the griffin and flown at full speed as soon as he’d exited the Gate and heard the news.

This would make the news.

If he’d flown through the sky on a griffin, people must have spotted him. Sa-yoon swallowed a sigh as he looked at Lee Jae-hee, who would surely make tomorrow’s news headlines.

Right, those questioning eyes needed an explanation first.

“Come in.”