“Nonsense! A dungeon without a boss? I’ve never done anything like that!”
Choi Jin-hyeok bit his lip slightly at Gong Tae-seong’s shock.
“……………….If we couldn’t clear the erosion gate because there was no boss, then of course no one would know.”
“…….”
Park Seung-gi, who was excitedly taking pictures of the remains of the demon beast with his cell phone camera, asked quietly.
“Then how do we clear the dungeon without a boss and get out?”
No one answered.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.”
Lee Hye-yeon pressed her forehead with a confused face.
“Let’s think about all the possible scenarios. Does anyone have a map of the center structure?”
“I took a picture when I was exploring earlier.”
In Yoo-shin hurriedly held out his cell phone. Lee Hye-yeon, who had a picture of the entire gymnasium on the phone screen, checked them one by one while asking Hyeon Gyu-ha and Gong Tae-seong questions.
“You’ve looked around everything………………. Let’s do this. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I think we need to cross-check to make sure.”
“Okay. Let’s go back and check the west that Hyeon Gyu-ha explored.”
“…….”
Hyeon Gyu-ha also got up again with Gong Tae-seong without saying anything and walked to the main stadium.
The second exploration with In Yoo-shin following along at a brisk pace was no different from the time we explored the west area. We explored while walking, and when we came across a monster, we blew it up with heavy pressure to kill him.
However, Hyeon Gyu-ha’s expression was different from before. The moment we mentioned the gate without a boss, he suddenly became quiet.
‘Does that mean it’s that serious?’
Hyeon Gyu-ha protects In Yoo-shin safely. It’s almost an absolute proposition, but can that proposition really hold true in a dungeon like this where there’s no way to clear it?
My heart aches.
The gate opening was a natural disaster, but the reason Hyeon Gyu-ha was there at the exact place and time the gate opened was……………….
"Ouch."
Suddenly, Hyeon Gyu-ha stopped walking. In Yoo-shin, who had been walking alone, bumped his face against his back and stopped walking.
In Yoo-shin, who wondered what was going on, stuck his head out next to his side and looked ahead, swallowing a groan. Beyond the safety fence of the rooftop futsal field, he could see the outside of the gym.
It was complete darkness without even a single color, black and white.
There was a pitch-black darkness there, as if it was cutting the white sky with a knife and dominating it, as if it was sucking up even the light. Half was inside the gate, and half was split in two by the darkness.
The cars and trees on the road were eerie.
In Yoo-shin shook his shoulders lightly, as if the darkness was greedily devouring even the colors of black and white.
"Gyu-ha-ssi."
As soon as he parted his lips, sometimes before he could even call him, Hyeon Gyu-ha’s gaze, which used to turn around, no longer turned to him. His amber eyes, which looked even redder because there was no shading, were fixed on the darkness beyond the black and white world.
A chill ran through me sharply again.
Hyeon Gyu-ha’s bleak expression, staring at the darkness as if possessed, was even scarier than the complete darkness.
“......Gyu-ha-ssi.”
Only when he was called the second time, his eyes finally turned around, wandering through the air as if he couldn't see the divine messenger, and slowly fell down.
"What's wrong?"
"It doesn't seem to be on the rooftop either, so let's go down."
To somewhere a little farther away from that darkness.
He grabbed his sleeve. Hyeon Gyu-ha's steps slowly turned away, and he turned his back on the pitch-black darkness.
'Did I make you anxious?'
Without the ambiguous voice that would have been heard normally, a joke, a sincere playfulness, and a playful tone.
In Yoo-shin realized it as he felt Hyeon Gyu-ha's presence going down the stairs without saying a word. It wasn't as scary as when I first got to know him, and we joked around, knew each other's houses, and even went to visit and spent the night together. Maybe it could be said that we were closer than friends.
However, just by Hyeon Gyu-ha's small words and actions, the air surrounding the two of them changed. I realized anew that the bond that tied him to me was absolute and at the same time absurdly shallow. If Hyeon Gyu-ha wanted to, their relationship would go back to when they first met, or even back to when they hadn't even met.
This wasn't sincerity built up through communication, but a forced union due to taming.
There was no dungeon boss in the eastern area. The western area that Gong Tae-seong looked around again was the same. The hunters couldn’t hide their bewilderment, so it went without saying for the ordinary people. Since they were accompanied by S-class hunters, a deep sense of anxiety quickly spread among the group that had maintained a certain level of composure.
Gong Tae-seong bit his lips, which were filled with anxiety.
“If it’s not visible, does it mean it’s high in the sky?”
“If there’s an ad balloon floating in the sky, it might really be there………………….”
The sky was still white and empty.
“Tae-seong. You were swept away by an erosion gate in Germany or the United States six years ago, right? I heard it took several days to clear. How was it then?”
Gong Tae-seong’s eyes wavered for a moment, but the wavering quickly dissipated so that no one in the group could catch it.
“It was a commonly known erosion gate. However, since the area was the entire city, it took time to search for the boss, so it was late to get out. I don't think it’ll help in this case."
"Umm, if it was just hard to find, then it's definitely different from here."
In Yoo-shin cautiously raised one hand, glancing at Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was still silent.
“Aren’t there any areas where entry is restricted? I saw it on the guide map earlier, and it said that they did renovation work 5 years ago, so there might be some closed spaces during the construction………………”
It wasn’t a very confident opinion, so the words gradually faded away, but the group listened carefully.
“We can’t just sit back and do nothing, so it would be good to take a look like Yoo-shin suggested. But how do we get construction drawings or old structural drawings?”
“There were a few laptops in the main building. Is there anyone who is keeping files there?”
“I remember seeing those laptops too. Let’s see and find them.
Hyeon Gyu-ha was sitting looking outside until Gong Tae-seong returned with all the laptops. In Yoo-shin seemed to know what was at the end of his gaze blocked by the audience seats.
That darkness.
Fortunately, the laptops had enough batteries. Carefully touching the keyboard that would crumble like dust with the slightest force, he searched through the folders and found the structural diagram before the renewal and a rough blueprint.
However, there was no secret space where the dungeon boss could be hiding.
“I’m sorry. I wasted your time.”
"No, you have a point. It's not on the ground or in the sky, so it must be underground. For example………………. Is there a subway line that runs under here? Is there a shelter?"
Lee Hye-yeon pointed to the ground of the playground with her index finger. Gong Tae-seong frowned and answered.
"It sounds ridiculous, but the problem is that it sounds plausible."
"My younger brother used to play tennis at this center, so I looked into it before, but there's no underground shelter, Team Leader."
Choi Jin-hyeok denied one assumption as he threw a poisonous dagger at the demon who was slowly taking shape.
"If it's not a shelter, I'm leaning toward the possibility that there's a subway line that's open……………….. Jin-hyeok, you don't know about that, do you?"
"I don't know that much."
"I’ve to dig no matter what."
As soon as Gong Tae-seong finished speaking about burning three monsters at the same time, the group's eyes turned to one place. Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was sitting on the edge like an outsider, belatedly felt the gaze and looked back at the people.
"If the line is open, considering the width of the railroad, it’ll definitely pass through the playground."
According to Lee Hye-yeon's opinion, they decided to start by digging the playground. Only one person could move freely and dig up dirt without being affected by the cracked ground.
Hyeon Gyu-ha started digging the cracked ground without saying much.
"I thought you'd wag your tail and say, 'Praise me after I dig through the ground,' but why are you so quiet?"
Lee Hye-yeon, who had gotten to know the relationship between the two quite well, said mischievously. In Yoo-shin, who knew that it was meant to ease the tension, smiled awkwardly.
Even while Hyeon Gyu-ha was digging the ground, the other hunters were on guard around them. There were no people in sight, but dirt was steadily rising from under the hole and piling up next to him. In Yoo-shin crouched down on the edge, a little away from the restless group, and watched the dirt pile up.
"In Yoo-shin."
I was so deep in thought that I didn't even notice anyone, but there was a hand tapping my shoulder.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader:
Silent Gyu Ha is so scary...