“How’s the situation at the site?”
A woman walked into the control room. The Hunter who was currently on duty recognised her face and jumped to her feet, “Agent Kim Jina!”
“I see it’s still the same.” Kim Jina stared at the monitor in front of her. The screen reflected a cluster of densely overgrown silver branches. A beat too late, the Hunter added an explanation.
“Ah, yes, yes! That’s right. Team A is still attempting to enter, but thpse trees are so tightly entangled that entry is impossible.”
“Is it difficult to remove?”
“Yes. They keep trying, but … it just keeps regenerating when they remove it. We stopped because we didn’t want to risk hurting the people inside.”
“I see.”
Tension flickered in her eyes as she quickly scanned the data on the monitor.
It might be inappropriate for the seriousness of the situation, but the rookie Hunter, who came to the site for the first time, felt a shiver run down her spine at the knowledge that the ‘Kim Jina’ was right next to her.
It’s the living legend of public officials belonging to the Dungeon Management Office, that Kim Jina.
Non-Awakened people can also be appointed to the Dungeon Management Office if they pass the test. However, this was only in principle, not in practice.
The non-Awakened selection test itself is difficult, and even if you pass it, everyone around you is an Awakened. Not only are they arrogant, but you can’t even read the system window, so you will lose out on access to information. At best, most people quit within three months of passing the test.
Kim Jina is one of the few who has managed to pass through the eye of the needle1.
At first, when she became a member of the Emergency Dungeon Task Force, there were complaints of favouritism. However, everyone soon realised: that it was wrong to waste a talent like her as a Hunter’s assistant.
Not only is she the only person who has ever passed the test with a perfect score, but she’s also a monster who can’t see the system window, yet has all the dungeon, item, and monster information crammed into her head.
The same is true for this incident alone. They wouldn’t have been able to react so quickly if it weren’t for her comment about the weirdness of the Super Buff Coffee before the anomaly was revealed.
It was also because of her that they quickly got the cooperation of the Cheongna Guild to identify the victims…….
“Who is currently inside?”
Kim Jina’s question broke the silence. The Hunter answered in a panic.
“Yes, yes! They are Hunter Choi Yichan of the White Silver Guild, a Hunter from the Cheongna Guild whose identity I haven’t identified, and the owner of Cafe Rieul.”
” Is it possible to contact them?”
“We’re still trying, but we’re not getting through to them so far.”
‘Rieul-ssi….’ Kim Jina swallowed a sigh inwardly, ‘Please, you need to be okay.’
However, after some time, the number of dense branches began to decrease. It was clear to the naked eye that the tree’s cocoon, which had completely blocked them in and out, was losing strength.
“……! The target is losing power. Prepare for Team A entry.”
“Entering in five minutes. Healer standing by.”
An air of relief settled over the scene as the branches lost their strength.
Then, Kim Jina, who had been keeping an eye on the monitor, raised her voice.
“For a moment! Wait! This can’t be….”
As the Sephiroth branch was losing strength, the ether level on the monitor did not drop. On the contrary, it began to rise steeply.
‘No way……!’
“We need to evacuate the site immediately. Evacuate the public and stop the entry ……. ugh!”
With a loud crash, the floor shook violently. Tangtang! As equipment came crashing down, the monitor room became a mess.
When the shaking stopped, Kim Jina, who had ducked under her desk, stood up and looked out the window.
The silver tree and cafe that were popular recently were nowhere to be found. No, the familiar street itself had changed.
It was an unrealistic landscape. An intense aether had engulfed the buildings, transforming them into one giant dungeon. The dungeon glowed around her, as if it were two spaces joined together.
***
Choi Cedric doubted his ears at what he had just heard.
“You say you can save our Rona?”
He’d met many scammers who’d said things like that, and each time he’d been disappointed. Reading the doubt in Choi Cedric’s reaction, Kwon Seokmin smiled.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What kind of kid is so suspicious? Watch what this man doing.”
Kwon Seokmin reached into his collar. After rummaging around for a while, he pulled out a small bottle on a string.
“Ugh, it’s inconvenient not to be able to use the inventory. You should use your inventory sparingly. Organize it well.”
The nagging voice fell on deaf ears. Choi Cedric’s gaze was fixed on a small vial the size of two fingers.
“What is that?”
“A Tikkoun Elixir. It’s a precious medicine that corrects the flow of ether in the body.”
Kwon Seokmin was about to use the Tikkoun Elixir on the sleeping Choi Rona, but Choi Cedric stopped him again.
“For a moment. Wait a minute, Mister.”
“Duh, what’s wrong with you again? Oh, you don’t have to worry about the cost of medicine because I’m giving it as a replacement of the New Year’s money. This uncle is a man who can afford it.”
“That’s not it! How do you know Rona? and Rona, why do you want to …… her to get better?”
“Tsk tsk tsk, I feel very depressed because this kid is unable to form healthy attachments.”
“Yes?”
Kwon Seokmin looked at Choi Cedric with a smile on his face, “Do you want to know why? I could tell you something you don’t know. But maybe it would be easier for you not to know.”
“……!”
Choi Cedric thought.
Rona fell into a coma, he became an S-Class, the guild grew, Aeon disappeared…….
In the midst of this series of events, he felt like he was floating aimlessly, lost and unaware of anything.
But this is a story about Rona, not anyone else. Whatever it was, he had to know.
“I want to know. Tell me please.”
“Yes, yes. I can’t believe you’re willing to listen to this old man’s story. Then let’s talk about it.”
“…….”
“Six years ago, this old man was being chased by Aeon.”
“Aeon? Why would that secretary…….”
“Dang, you have a short temper. Keep listening.”
Kwon Seokmin happened to get his hands on a book called ‘Grimoire’. It was in the hidden hideout of the Church of Starry Wisdom, which disappeared 10 years ago. The book was deeply hidden, sealed in layers.
Aeon demanded that Kwon Seokmin hand over the Grimoire. When he refused, they immediately tried to kill him.
He was lucky and escaped once. However, even though he was an active Hunter, he was no match for the crazed incarnation of Chaos in a human body.
At a time when he was wondering if he was going to die with the Grimoire stolen from him, he happened to meet Choi Rona.
It was a rainy day. She was standing with an extra umbrella, as if she knew Kwon Seokmin would show up.
“Uncle, are you looking for a place to hide your book? That book, I’ll keep it for you.”
At first sight, he recognised that Choi Rona was a girl with unusual powers.
Normally, he wouldn’t have entrusted such a dangerous object to a girl so young, no matter how urgent the situation, but he entrusted her with the Grimoire because she … resembled someone he knew.
Those eyes. Those special eyes that could read the Causality. The same power as his mother. A girl with such power would be able to suppress the power of the Grimoire.
And so, although the Grimoire was hidden, Aeon still imprisoned Kwon Seokmin in a maze dungeon to keep his identity a secret.
Choi Rina knew her fate. She knew that three years later, Aeon, who was wary of her, would take care of her.
Even though she knew that fate, she accepted it because…..
“Wait a minute. That’s strange.”
“Are you going to keep interrupting, duh?”
“My Rona is a non-Awakened, and Aeon disappeared after the last incident.”
“…….”
“Throwing Mister in the maze dungeon, putting Rona to coma … if Aeon had that much power, why did he leave so easily?”
Kwon Seokmin stared at Choi Cedric for a moment, then asked, “Did you say your name is Cedric? Cedric, it seems you already know the answer.”
Ah.
Cedric came up with an answer he couldn’t accept.
……The Lee Sein of today is not the real Lee Sein.
In fact, maybe he’s already known that for a while. He just didn’t want to admit it.
After all, a long time had passed since Rona fell into a seemingly eternal sleep. If he lost Lee Sein too, he would have no family left.
However, no matter how hard he tries to deny it, the truth reveals itself like a protruding nail.
“…….”
Instead of offering comfort, Kwon Seokmin walked to Choi Rona’s bedside and was about to pour the elixir onto her lips.
Creek. The door to the hospital room opened. It was the healer in charge of Choi Rona. The healer backed away in horror at the sight of Kwon Seokmin at her bedside.
“Heck, in-intruder……! Hunter Choi Cedric, what is this……!” The Healer reached out and tried to press the emergency bell.
Technically, it was Lee Sein who had hired him. The healer had no reason to follow Choi Cedric’s words, and if anything happened in this hospital room, he would contact Lee Sein right away.
That must be stopped at all costs. At all costs.
Choi Cedric reached for the healer. In anticipation of the subsequent violence, the healer leaned back. His finger was on the verge of pressing the emergency bell.
“……?”
But instead of drawing his sword, Choi Cedric grabbed the Healer’s wrist with an unsteady grip. His fingertips trembled.
He couldn’t tell himself why.
It could have been a calculation to avoid making too much noise. Maybe he just made the wrong choice in the heat of the moment.
It’s just that he didn’t want to use force like he had ever done before.
“Please, don’t. Please.”
The Healer had no positive feelings for Choi Cedric. It didn’t matter what happened in here, as long as he reported to his employer and got paid.
Still, a sense of sincerity of some kind held the man’s gaze for a moment. The Healer withdrew his hand from the emergency bell.
“……Please explain what the hell is going on.”
That one moment was enough.
Kwon Seokmin gave the elixir to Choi Rona.
After a while, the girl, who had been asleep for a long time, opened her eyes. The whole moment of her eyelids opening felt like a miracle to Choi Cedric.
“Rona-ya….”
But.
“Ugh, uh, ugh….”
Letting out a gasp, Choi Rona clutched her chest. She looked distressed. Her tiny body shuddered, and the tips of her hair began to turn silver, as if under some strange spell.
Kwon Seokmin’s expression turned grim.
“No way, that crazy Chaos, it’s a double trap from the start……!”
“Oppa, it’s dangerous. You, can’t ruin it…….”
Unable to bear the pain, Choi Rona fell unconscious.
At the very moment.
Kurrrr-
The ground shook with a rumble.
***
A room with no one else in it. Lee Sein calmly poured warm tea into a cup.
“There’s no way I will let you wake her up that easily, Cedric.”
The rich aroma filled the room. Lee Sein sipped the tea and smiled.
“I intend to do everything I can in this life.”
In the glow of the new dawn, her eyes shone coldly.
PREVIOUSNEXT
Translator’s Corner:
The term “eye of a needle” is used as a metaphor for a very narrow opening. It is used as part of comparisons indicating that something is futile, impossible, or extremely difficult to accomplish. ↩︎
I enjoyed doing this chapter so much, I hope you guys like it too~
Life was hard to bear recently for everyone, right? I hope all of you are in good health and sleep under a comfortable roof and able to eat properly and stay kind ^^
