Sub-Quest: "Echoes of Endless Strife" Progress: 1,274/10,000 monsters defeated.
Jae-Hyun frowned. At this rate, there’s no way I’ll finish this in time.
It wasn’t just a minor issue. He was severely behind. Even if the monsters kept coming in waves, the difficulty would increase, and the longer he took, the more exhausted he’d be. The realization gnawed at him.
“System, what happens if I fail this sub-quest?” he asked aloud.
A brief pause, then the response appeared.
System Notification: Failure to complete the sub-quest results in no penalty. The quest reward will simply be forfeited.
No penalty. Only lost potential.
Jae-Hyun clenched his jaw. That was somehow worse.
If he had been given an actual punishment, he could at least prepare for it. But now? Now he had to wrestle with the thought that if he wasn’t fast enough, he’d miss something big—and he wouldn’t even know what it was.
“Tch.” He clicked his tongue. If I don’t pick up the pace, I might regret it later.
But first—rest.
He had just fought for an entire day, and his body was beginning to rebel against him. Resting for 3 to 4 hours seemed reasonable. Then, he could use the remaining time to explore, maybe even find a way to kill monsters faster.
He sat down, leaning against a jagged rock, and let out a slow breath. The wasteland was still eerily silent. Even after all the bloodshed, the world remained indifferent.
Jae-Hyun closed his eyes, trying to force himself into a light sleep.
But the moment he did—
A voice drifted into his thoughts.
“You’re bad at this.”
Jae-Hyun almost smirked.
His mind had dredged up an old memory. Ahri.
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The Tower’s lower floors had been a mess that day. Blood, dust, and shattered stone littered the battlefield. Ahri had taken a hit—not a deep one, but enough to slow her down. Despite her protests, Jae-Hyun had taken the lead, cutting through the last remaining monsters while she leaned against the cavern wall, inspecting the cut on her leg.
It wasn’t deep enough to be life-threatening, but blood still seeped from the wound, staining the fabric of her pants.
Jae-Hyun stepped closer, reaching into his inventory. He pulled out a potion and tossed it toward her.
“Here.”
Ahri caught it but didn’t open it. Instead, she rolled it between her fingers, eyeing the wound critically.
“It’s not that bad,” she muttered. “Not worth wasting a potion on.”
Jae-Hyun exhaled sharply, his patience thinning. “You’re literally bleeding.”
“And? I’ll live.”
He frowned, his gaze flickering to the crimson streaks against her skin. “You’re being stubborn.”
Ahri let out an amused scoff. “I don’t see you chugging potions every time you get cut.”
Jae-Hyun clicked his tongue but didn’t argue. Instead, he crouched beside her and grabbed a roll of bandages from a nearby corpse’s pouch. “Fine. Hold still.”
Ahri arched a brow. “You even know how to do this?”
Jae-Hyun shot her a dry look. “I’m not useless.”
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She let him work, but the moment he wrapped the bandage around her leg—far too tight—her entire body tensed.
“Shit—” Ahri gritted her teeth. “What are you trying to do? Cut off my circulation?”
Jae-Hyun didn’t ease up. “It stops the bleeding.”
“It’s stopping my leg from working, dumbass.”
“Tch. You’re bad at this.”
Ahri snorted. “And you’re bad at not getting stabbed. Shut up.”
Jae-Hyun couldn’t help it—he chuckled. Even injured, she had an attitude.
With a sigh, he loosened the bandages just enough to be bearable. Ahri muttered something under her breath, but she didn’t stop him.
As he secured the final knot, she shifted her leg, testing it.
“…Not bad,” she admitted.
Jae-Hyun smirked, standing up. “Told you.”
Ahri rolled her eyes. “You’re still terrible at this.”
He didn’t miss the small smirk on her lips as she said it.
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Jae-Hyun’s eyes cracked open. The wasteland still stretched endlessly before him, barren and lifeless. But for a brief second—it didn’t feel as empty.
She looked worried.
Not back then—but before he left.
He could still see the way Ahri’s gaze lingered, the way her fingers curled slightly when she told him to come back. She hadn’t explicitly said she was worried. She never would.
She didn’t have to.
Jae-Hyun’s fingers twitched slightly, his mind drifting. I wonder if she’s checking the time.
Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she was fast asleep, unbothered. But deep down, he doubted it.
He exhaled, staring up at the sky. The stars didn’t exist here. Just an empty expanse, stretching infinitely, pressing down on him.
The Fracture had been desolate from the start. But now?
Now it felt lonelier than before.
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Jae-Hyun finally allowed himself to shut his eyes.
The exhaustion wasn’t just in his body—it was in his mind, his very bones. His limbs ached from overuse, his breathing had steadied but still carried the weight of fatigue. He had spent the entire day fighting, pushing past his limits, surviving wave after wave without any real time to recover.
Now, for the first time since stepping into this Fracture, he allowed himself to stop. To breathe.
The wasteland was still. The cracked earth beneath him carried no warmth, only the lingering chill of the wind that swept over the desolate land. Jae-Hyun exhaled deeply and let himself rest.
At some point, he slipped into unconsciousness.
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When his eyes fluttered open again, the first thing he saw was the sky. Still the same dull, empty expanse—no stars, no sun, just the endless gray void.
He shifted, sitting up with a groan. His body was stiff, muscles slightly sore from the stillness. He had slept longer than he intended—maybe three or four hours. His first real rest in this trial, and yet, it still felt incomplete.
Jae-Hyun checked the system timer.
[Time Remaining Until Next Wave: 20:36]
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn’t ideal, but it was necessary. His body felt better than before—still sore, still tired, but no longer on the verge of collapse.
His stomach twisted slightly. He hadn’t eaten since arriving here, but hunger was secondary. He’d manage.
For now, there were other things to do.
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Jae-Hyun rose to his feet and scanned the surroundings. The landscape hadn’t changed, but it still felt… off.
The emptiness here wasn’t natural—it was designed to break him down. No resources, no shelter, nothing but the endless, cracked terrain. He couldn’t afford to sit still.
He started walking.
Exploring was a gamble. There was no guarantee he’d find anything useful, but standing in one place wouldn’t help either. He moved carefully, keeping his senses sharp as he searched the wasteland. No footprints. No structures. No life.
It was as if this place had been stripped bare, leaving only the most hostile conditions imaginable.
He scoured through loose rubble, checked behind jagged stone formations, but aside from the occasional piece of debris, there was nothing.
No hidden resources. No signs of past life. No potential escape routes.
After nearly fifteen minutes of searching, he stopped and sighed. This place was a tomb.
Nothing would come easy here. If he wanted to survive, he would have to make do with what he had.
Jae-Hyun checked the time again.
[Time Remaining: 05:04]
That was enough. He turned back toward his original resting spot, rolling his shoulders. Five minutes left.
Just as he was about to sit down and go over his inventory, the system suddenly buzzed in his mind.
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System Notification: Warning—[Redacted] has observed your progress.
Jae-Hyun’s eyes snapped open. What?
His pulse quickened as he immediately scanned his surroundings. The air suddenly felt heavier.
Another message appeared.
System Notification: Conditions have been met.
Then—
System Notification: Environmental Shift Pending.
Jae-Hyun’s fingers curled into fists. Something was changing.
His rest was over.
And the next wave wouldn’t be like the last.