Shun POV:
[Mission: Go on a date with Phoebe
Difficulty: F-
Phoebe remembers the agreement you both made before entering the Awakened Sentri’s Mausoleum. Take this time out to get to know her more.
Reward: Dependent on your desires.
Failure: Phoebe’s tears.]
I sat across from Phoebe at the dining table. Pink hair framed the sides of her face. It draped over her shoulders before following the curvature of her body until my view was blocked. This was the second time I saw Phoebe with her hair down.
She was beautiful.
My mind drifted back to what happened four days ago.
***
“Guys!! You’re alright!!”
The purple in Minji’s eyes brightened. She rushed out from behind the front desk and squeezed Phoebe tight.
“It’s been two whole weeks since you left! I was so worried…”
Minji moved on to Aiden; her tears showed the genuine concern those waiting for their loved ones to return home had to endure.
But they were also one of the reasons why Adventurers could push forward.
‘…Pointless.’
Gerard stroked Minji’s back, and a joke made a soft laugh add to the warmth of the atmosphere. Once she let go, gentleness stretched out toward her. It made Minji’s smile widen, but the handshake caused tears to flow faster.
My gaze shifted to the counter when Minji stepped in front of it. The veins on the side of my head popped the moment she spread open her arms.
“Do your damn job, Minji.”
“Nice to see you too, Shun.”
An amicable laugh caught the attention of many until it disappeared behind a closed door. My lips curved upward; she knew what my response would be, but it didn’t matter in the end.
The party approached the reception after Minji sat down and placed a thick folder on the desk below. I ignored the Adventurers, staring at us in awe before unzipping the brown Reaver Jacket.
“Was it a Dungeon End? Or a Dungeon Clear?”
“We decided to go for a Dungeon Clear instead.”
Minji raised an eyebrow; the blink of her eyes became two times faster than it was a second ago. Lips tightened before being pulled toward the floor. She adjusted her position, reforming the surprise without the distress that seeped in.
“Really? Why?”
The tone of her voice carried a hint of displeasure aimed at Phoebe’s response. Her usual playfulness was nowhere to be seen, and that meant something happened to either her boyfriend or Byeol.
“Minji, dethroning the King will lead to separate factions forming. The intelligence of Sentr—”
The narrowing of her light black eyes silenced Gerard’s attempt to give a report on the Sentri.
“Why didn’t you end it? Don’t you know that no one has heard from Byeol since she entered that S+ Ranked Dungeon?”
It was as I expected. Byeol’s unknown condition magnified the intensity of Minji’s reaction toward our safe return. Gerard stiffened before his large hands slammed the desk.
“What do you mean no one’s heard from her?!”
“Exactly what I said! While your party had an opportunity to rid the world of one Arcane Dungeon for good, Byeol could be fighting for her life right now in another! Gerard, she could even be dea—”
A blast of air rippled across the room. The click of a tongue broke apart the silence that followed when Aiden lowered Gerard’s extended fist. Minji’s Ki flared out; it shook the space, imposing its will on the walls that began to splinter.
I couldn’t sense her, and that meant she was at Enryo or above.
“…Calm down everyone. Minji, I know Byeol is like a younger sister to you, but don’t twist the situation.”
Minji clenched her teeth before looking away. Aiden’s words helped her see reason; they made the shaking fists unravel and lips part.
“…Sorry, Gerard. I was wrong.”
His eyebrows quivered until his gaze fell. Both acted in an emotional way because both cared about Byeol’s safety more than anyone else.
“I attacked first, so let’s just leave it be…”
Aiden moved back when I glanced at the shadow falling over Phoebe’s face. Her vibrant amber eyes shimmered through it, revealing the seriousness of the situation. I remained silent and continued to observe the change in everyone’s demeanour when Katherine stepped forward.
“Minji, have you contacted available Scouts to go in and provide support for Experienced Scout Byeol?”
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“I have, but Byeol was the only one willing to go in the first place. All the others were skeptical because of its strange location.”
“Not one of them budged to check on Byeol?!”
Gerard’s face contorted with desperation more than anger. I didn’t know how many years he spent waiting for Byeol to be ready for the next step in their relationship, but I did know that it wasn’t a short amount of time.
Trauma.
Many like to glorify it, mocking how easy it is to overcome the spectres of the past. However, those who are empathetic and those that have been through it can understand the effort each day requires to reach the end.
Some use it as a shield. Some use it as an excuse, and some use it as fuel. Regardless of what choice that person makes, they have to confront it one way or another.
‘…’
“None. The likelihood of Scouts being attacked in S Rank Dungeons and above is relatively high.”
The oak wood welcomed the rainfall. It shared the downpour’s pain and offered comfort by spreading it across a darkened surface. Everyone here was aware of it. Everyone here knew that Byeol was dead.
“This must be the place, Barbara.”
“Yeah.”
A woman drew the eyes of everyone present. She wore a short black jacket with black shades that hung from her wide hips. Every time she stepped forward, the male Adventurers gulped; their cheeks darkened, content with conjuring up strange fantasies in their heads.
The man beside her wore a dark orange cloak and a brown leather gauntlet, which had three extra straps wrapped around his elbow. He flicked off his hood, and the opposite reaction occurred with the female Adventurers.
‘I can’t sense them.’
The party moved aside once Barbara approached the front desk. Her gaze fell on Minji’s nametag before thin lips made way for a soft but firm voice.
“We’re looking for a Scout named Byeol.”
‘!’
There were three things that bothered me with their arrival.
The first was what I already mentioned: I couldn’t sense Barbara or the man beside her. The second was the timing of their appearance; whether it was coincidental or not, they arrived not long after we did. The third was The System’s lack of reaction to the aforementioned issues.
In other words, this situation was still developing. It hadn’t reached the point where that giggling idiot would issue a System Mission.
“…Your name, please?”
“Barbara Hawkins, and this is my husband, Melo Hawkins.”
Despite the reveal of their names, The System had no intention of creating a mission to save Byeol, but that was fine. I wouldn’t make the same mistake of relying on it again.
Melo stood next to her; his light orange eyes contained a sharp confidence to them, honed through countless experiences. The license that slid across the front desk didn’t just verify his presence; it shattered my expectations.
‘SSS+??’
A red border printed Melo’s ranking in bold. Several orange slashes cut through his engraved name and wrapped around the metal plate. Minji bowed her head when I shifted my gaze toward a scar on his neck that was blocked by the hood of the cloak he wore.
“Please excuse my lack of manners, Lord Melo. Byeol was last seen entering a new Arcane Dungeon that appeared over 3 weeks ago.”
Smooth eyebrows fell. Barbara’s thin lips tightened, and her hand rested against her hip.
“We need a map now.”
“Right away, Lady Barbara.”
Minji lowered her head before rushing to pull out a large map of Sharir. Barbara’s tone was firm. However, her focus was on finding Byeol, and that aligned with what everyone present wanted.
A red marker circled the location of the Arcane Dungeon. It was far from Chunhae but not close enough to cause significant problems for Shako. It was also near the sea, in an area known for having a low number of monsters. Filkruj was capable of choosing the location of The Awakened Sentri’s Mausoleum, so the Boss Monster of this Arcane Dungeon had a goal in mind as well.
The Dungeon had already deterred available Scouts from entering it, yet it still wouldn’t be considered a high priority by Central Guild since if a Dungeon Break did occur, Shako had more than enough time to respond before any casualties took place.
In other words, the Boss Monster was waiting for something. Filkruj wanted power, and his comment toward Byeol proved he could have taken a more active approach in dealing with Scouts entering the Dungeon. He chose not to, but what did this Boss Monster want? If a Scout was to enter and disrupt its plans, they could be used to make a statement.
It was plausible.
If Central Guild decided to organise a raid due to the Boss Monster’s provocation, how would that further its own plans? Or if Central Guild chose to only monitor the Dungeon despite Byeol’s death, how would that benefit the Boss Monster?
“This is odd.”
Barbara interrupted my thought process, and Melo’s eyes narrowed at the assessment she made.
“Minji, please tell Central Guild to keep a close eye on this Dungeon.”
He had a soft voice that was carried by a strong texture. However, it also contained a slight shakiness, unable to fit in with the right pitch he wanted to express.
“Yes, Lord Melo. I will let them know as soon as possible. Do you plan on going inside?”
“I’ll do my best to bring her back, Minji.”
“Thank you…”
Melo’s eyes softened, aware of what Minji wanted to request. She wiped her eyes and gave him a nod, grateful that she’ll be able to know if Byeol was alive or dead, but my only concern was how he knew Byeol was a woman.
Melo stated that ‘this must be the place,’ indicating he had some previous knowledge about the Guild Byeol worked for; yet based on the discussion, neither Melo nor Barbara had gone to any other Guild in Sharir.
Why?
Because somehow they both already knew she entered a Dungeon. That meant they didn’t need to go to the country’s capital, Shako, to request information from Central Guild.
‘It wasn’t a coincidence.’
I cocked my head to the side and observed both of them again. There was no hostility or any kind of hidden emotion I could grasp from their body language or facial expressions, so I had no choice but to leave it be.
Barbara’s lips formed a soft smile toward Minji. She understood the difficulty of waiting, and that made sense, considering her husband was a Rank SSS+ Scout.
“Let’s go.”
They vanished out of view, leaving behind no trace or any semblance of evidence of their presence. Only an idiot wouldn’t be able to figure out that Melo was on the same level as Shades.
He was damn strong.
“Gerard, that was one of the best Scouts in all of Idora. If Byeol is alive, he’ll bring her back.”
Aiden’s calculated observation loosened the tension in Gerard’s shoulders. Phoebe placed her hand on his back beside Aiden’s, prompting him to give them a solemn nod. Katherine’s lips formed a sad smile, and I moved to the front.
“Minji, let’s finish our report first.”
***
The expected news came that same day. Melo found Byeol’s dead body mutilated and tied down to a chair in a Hidden Room on the 45th Floor. Gerard broke down on the spot, but Minji bowed her head.
“Thank you, Lord Melo and Lady Barbara. Thank you.”
Tears wet the counter, and it would take five hours before Minji’s face became visible again. Once it did, she left to prepare the funeral arrangements.
“Shun... you didn’t... go to comfort Gerard...?”
I peered down at Jujil, struggling to hold back the tears. Short black hair trembled. Dark eyes quaked until thin fingers pinched a cheek.
“...Hold it together, Jujil. Hold it together.”
Nothing worked. The stream splashed against her hands, and her head fell forward. The reason I stayed behind was to get every facet of information from Melo about the torture. This was then compiled into the appropriate categories before being utilised to form hundreds of plan iterations.
Byeol’s nails were split open. They were ripped to the side and used to blind her left eye. The monster plucked out her teeth one at a time, then lacerated her calve muscles with them. Her tongue was sliced down the middle, and she was forced to gag on her own blood. Oxygen was cut off via a bag of flesh made from her own body; the monster repeatedly suffocated Byeol to the point of death.
Burns. Dark bruises. Missing chunks of flesh. Fractures across every part of her skeleton. Large indentations on her skull. The list went on, but...
I memorised it all.
“Shu—”
“Jujil, get ready for the funeral.”
I walked off until I stood outside the door to my room. Despite how the situation looked, it wasn’t over yet.
It wasn’t hopeless yet.
The door slammed shut, and an arm rested over a knee. Vengeance was coming. I would make sure of it.