Thud!
[The final room of the dungeon has opened.]
[A new quest has been updated.]
[Dungeon <Tomb of the Forged>]
[There is one who could not cross the boundary of death. Will you be able to stop him?
This dungeon was created due to the following individual and offers no special reward.
List of the individual responsible for creation
–Hidden]
Wait. What was that notification window? It flashed by too quickly—I didn’t get to read it. Something about having been created by someone…?
There was a massive coffin. The kind you’d imagine an Egyptian pharaoh would be resting in—made of gold. It looked strikingly similar to the one Anubis had once placed in my Sanctuary of the Soul as a so-called blessing.
Before I could get a proper look at it, Lim Hee-seop recoiled in sheer panic. A scream ripped out of him, the sound of a man frozen by terror. Baek Tae-beom was trying to calm him down, but he wasn’t listening at all.
With a heavy clatter, the coffin creaked open.
Something slowly stepped out of the coffin that had been flung open. A mummy—its massive, gray form draped with gaudy golden ornaments, thin white cloth wrapped around parts of its limbs, its entire body withered like dried-up bark.
It rolled its fish-like eyes and fixated on Lim Hee-seop. Then, extending both arms, it started staggering toward him. Lim Hee-seop, trembling in panic, backed away and fell on his butt.
“P-Please, help me!”
But Baek Tae-beom showed no sign of helping. He didn’t move an inch. He just stood there, silently watching Lim Hee-seop. I hesitated for a moment, then stepped in front of Lim Hee-seop and shouted,
“Fight! You’re a Hunter too, aren’t you?!”
“How the hell am I supposed to fight an S-Rank boss?!”
“I’m out here doing this—so why can’t you?!”
“J-Just help me! It’s getting closer!”
I turned to look at Baek Tae-beom. Our eyes met, and as if reluctantly conceding, he stepped forward. Standing beside me, his back to Lim Hee-seop, Baek Tae-beom spoke.
“Aren’t you scared, hyung?”
“What?”
“This is an S-Rank dungeon. And the guy you’re trying to protect? He never looked at you kindly. Aren’t you afraid?”
I shouted with absolute conviction.
“Scared shitless!”
Baek Tae-beom’s face shifted with a strange expression. I kept going.
“I’m scared shitless—but that doesn’t mean I can just stand by and watch someone die! What if there’s even the slightest chance I could save him?!”
“You…”
“Even if I look like a dumbass, it can’t be helped! This is just who I am, okay?!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again. My legs were trembling. A wave of despair washed over me. If Baek Tae-beom doesn’t protect Lim Hee-seop, then maybe I have to. Can I even take on an S-Rank boss monster? Sweat dripped from my hand clutching the sword.
But I hadn’t anticipated Lim Hee-seop’s sudden move.
“Just kill it already…!”
Lim Hee-seop shoved Baek Tae-beom. On any other day, that wouldn’t have even made him flinch, but for some reason, Baek Tae-beom stumbled a few steps forward. As if it had been waiting for that moment, the boss monster suddenly lunged with frightening speed and swung its arm at him. It happened in a flash. Blood burst through the air in a vivid spray, and Baek Tae-beom collapsed to his knees.
I couldn’t believe the scene unfolding before me.
“Tae-beom!”
Lim Hee-seop scrambled backward in horror. The boss, after slashing Baek Tae-beom, stood still and then turned its gaze toward us. I could feel rage overtaking my thoughts. I grabbed Lim Hee-seop by the collar and roared.
“You sick fuck! You still call yourself human?!”
“I-I didn’t mean for this to happen…!”
I threw Lim Hee-seop aside and tried to rush to the fallen Baek Tae-beom, but the boss blocked my path. I backed away. But only for a moment.
Baek Tae-beom was hurt. That meant this boss possessed terrifying strength far beyond what I’d imagined. There’s no way I could take it on. If I made a mistake, we’d all die right here.
I gripped my sword tighter and glared at the boss. But would doing nothing change anything? No. Even if the enemy was far beyond my reach, I had no intention of just lying down and dying. Especially not to the one who hurt Baek Tae-beom.
“Move!”
I screamed at Lim Hee-seop and dashed toward the boss. Raising my sword high, I slashed at the figure before me. Of course, the boss would dodge. So right after that—
Schhhhlick.
“…?”
I could only stare blankly at the boss, now cleanly sliced in half. I was so dumbfounded, I couldn’t say a word. The twitching boss dissolved into dust, and silence filled the room.
A million thoughts raced through my head.
That’s when I heard the rattling sound of one of the walls slowly grinding open.
What lay beyond the wall that had opened… was something utterly beyond imagination.
“…And that’s a wrap! This was a surprise hidden camera prank for Choi Ga-hyeon and Lim Hee-seop!”
Filming staff, the director, other cast members, even the supposedly destroyed camera equipment—all eyes were on us. I froze in place, then slowly looked down at Baek Tae-beom. He gazed up at me with a cheeky grin and held up a hand stained with fake blood.
“…Ha.”
No wonder it all seemed so suspicious—off, somehow. I dropped the sword I was holding and collapsed to the floor. Then I buried my face in my hands. Baek Tae-beom hurried over, concern written all over his face.
“Hyung, were you really shocked? Are you okay?”
“You’re seriously insane… Why would you pull something like this? Do you have any idea how scared I was?”
I lifted my head and snapped at him, voice shaking with anger. Baek Tae-beom looked flustered, unsure what to do. He started to reach out to me but then stared down at his hand, still sticky with fake blood. After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally managed to speak.
“I… just wanted you to feel a little more alive again.”
“What?”
“Ever since that day, hyung… you’ve been going through a lot, haven’t you?”
He spoke hesitantly.
“You always say you’re fine, but I could tell. I knew you had a lot on your mind. So I thought, what if—just for a moment—you went into a dungeon again like you used to? What if that helped you feel something again?”
“……”
“It’s a childish idea, I know… but if there was even a small chance this could lift your spirits, I wanted to try.”
“……”
“…Was it really that awful?”
How could I possibly stay mad at someone saying something like that?
“I just wanted to give hyung something joyful. It took a long time to plan everything in the safest way possible…”
“…I must’ve made you really worried.”
Something heavy swelled in my chest. If that was the case, then everyone else must have known too—and even with their busy lives, they still helped him pull this off.
They were all that worried about me. All that… loving. That’s how it felt. I rested my face against Baek Tae-beom’s shoulder. The sensation was unfamiliar, indescribable.
“…A… surprise hidden camera prank, really?”
In the background, Lim Hee-seop muttered as he got to his feet. A chorus of cold, condemning stares landed on him. It was a shame, really—but he had no one to blame but himself.
The day of the episode’s broadcast.
We all gathered at Baek Tae-beom’s house to watch the premiere. Everyone was busy, so they could only stay briefly—but it was long enough to have dinner together.
I tried to help Baek Tae-beom in the kitchen, but he firmly refused, leaving me no choice but to sit in the living room. I couldn’t understand why everyone looked at me like I deserved to be banned from cooking. But the buzz of chatter and clatter was nice. It had been so long since I felt anything like this. It hit me then, just how isolated I’d been from others all this time.
The massive logo for The Hero Has Returned flashed across the screen, and the first person to appear was Baek Tae-beom.
[You’ve got the most important role in this hidden camera prank. Think you’ll pull it off?]
Baek Tae-beom answered the PD’s question with a face full of brazen confidence.
[Of course. Fooling hyung is easier than closing my eyes.]
I shot a death glare toward the kitchen.
[How did this program even come to be?]
Lee Myung-won pushed up his glasses as he replied.
[Baek Tae-beom did most of the work. I barely did anything. I just thought it’d be great if Choi Ga-hyeon—our hero, really—could have a bit more fun.]
Others gave similar answers.
[Why did you agree to join this show?]
[Because he’s the person I once promised to protect with my life. I don’t want to see someone like that in a dark place.]
[I just wanted to cheer Ga-hyeon up!]
[It really felt like Ga-hyeon-hyung had been down lately~.]
Park Gil-seon laughed as she spoke.
[What wouldn’t I do for my baby?]
It was hard not to get emotional. But still, regardless of their good intentions, the fact remained that they’d scared the hell out of me. Blue Star clapped me on the shoulder with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“Wasn’t that just the most touching thing ever?”
“Teaming up to deceive me, you mean?”
“Oh, come on~ Don’t say it like that.”
Next on screen were my face and Lim Hee-seop’s. Now that I thought about it, I had done a pre-show interview too.
[How do you feel about participating in this program?]
On screen, I couldn’t even look at the camera properly and answered with a shy tone.
[I was honestly worried whether I should even be here.]
Someone nearby let out a stifled snort. Without a word, I smacked Oh Kwon-hyuk on the back—but my hand hurt, so I just clenched my fist instead. Damn S-Rank Hunters.
[The truth is… I’ve been struggling a lot, mentally.]
As my voice played slowly through the speakers, the living room went quiet.
[It’s not a big deal. I just… haven’t really known what I’m supposed to do anymore. As you can see, I’m basically like an ordinary person now. Is it inconvenient? Not really. But not being able to do the things I used to… it’s made my self-worth plummet.]
The me on screen gave an awkward smile.
[I’m just afraid… that I might become a burden.]
After that, Lim Hee-seop’s interview played.
[I’m confident in myself.]
