The End of the Path We’ve Walked (1)
An Jong-hyeok and Woo Jae-dam gathered in Nam In-cheol’s private break room inside the Dungeon Research Laboratory, staring intently at his face.
Nam In-cheol, sitting across from the two, was utterly bewildered. Were they really going this far now? Initially, he had secretly summoned only An Jong-hyeok. But this damn An Jong-hyeok had barged into the break room with Woo Jae-dam without saying a word.
“You call someone here and then don’t say anything?”
And now he had the nerve to urge him to speak. On a normal day, Nam In-cheol would have been furious, but since he had important matters to discuss today, he decided to let it slide. Still, a question lingered. Had An Jong-hyeok perhaps sensed something? Or was it simply good intuition that made him do something so out of character? What was his intention in bringing Woo Jae-dam to his break room?
Nam In-cheol maintained a serious expression before letting out a deep sigh. Now wasn’t the time to worry about such trivial matters. He looked back and forth between the two, scratching the back of his head before issuing a warning.
“I called you to discuss the S-class dungeon. I didn’t expect you to bring someone else… well, since you’re already here, listen together. But if either of you breathes a word about today’s meeting, know that you’ll both die by my hands.”
“What’s so serious that you’re like this?”
As An Jong-hyeok spoke, he studied Nam In-cheol’s face. Nam In-cheol looked similar to when he first discussed the S-class dungeon. Bloodshot eyes, rough skin from lack of proper care, and chapped lips. He was a complete mess. After spending a long time choosing his words, Nam In-cheol finally spoke.
“Hah… even I wonder if this makes any sense… but it seems the S-class dungeon might naturally disappear without needing to be conquered.”
“What?”
“Did you just say… natural disappearance?”
The expressions of An Jong-hyeok and Woo Jae-dam were exactly as Nam In-cheol had expected. They couldn’t possibly believe it. Nam In-cheol looked at their stiffening faces and nodded.
“Nothing’s certain yet. Looking at the wavelengths alone, that’s what it suggests. I’ve discussed it with the Ability Department… they want to wait until the scheduled date. They don’t want to create unnecessary confusion.”
“How much time is left until the emergence date, and they’re just going to wait and see? When was this decided anyway?”
“Yesterday.”
“If it does disappear, what direct impact will that have on us?”
“That’s… something we can’t predict. There’s never been a case like this anywhere in the world. That’s what makes it even more frightening.”
An Jong-hyeok swallowed a sigh at Nam In-cheol’s answer.
They had made various preparations for the S-class dungeon, but now it might naturally disappear without being conquered. How should they interpret this? His head throbbed at the thought that this could escalate into something much larger.
“An Jong-hyeok, have you noticed anything unusual in the dungeons?”
An Jong-hyeok shook his head at Nam In-cheol’s question.
“There were no problems in the dungeons I conquered.”
“That’s a relief. …Ah, right. Wasn’t it Esper Woo Jae-dam who went to the dungeon where the boss died on its own?”
“Ah, yes.”
Woo Jae-dam nodded in response to Nam In-cheol’s question. He had thought it was an isolated incident, but to only remember such an important matter now.
Perhaps An Jong-hyeok had brought Woo Jae-dam to provide more detailed information about the strange occurrence in the A-class dungeon. The thought suddenly occurred to him.
Nam In-cheol swallowed dryly and asked Woo Jae-dam:
“How was it? Were there any other strange or suspicious incidents besides that?”
Woo Jae-dam briefly reflected on the day they conquered the volcano dungeon, then cleared his throat with a “hmm” before speaking.
“There was something that seemed a bit odd.”
“What?”
Woo Jae-dam frowned and said:
“The monster seemed to be… performing tricks.”
“The monster was performing tricks?”
“Yes. It behaved like a dog showing affection in front of its owner. I don’t know why.”
“That’s definitely strange. It’s not behavior you’d expect from a monster, especially a dungeon boss. As Esper Woo Jae-dam said, it’s not a puppy.”
Nam In-cheol’s face grew serious as he listened. He fidgeted with the handle of the mug in front of him, muttering that he couldn’t understand it at all. Indeed, monsters are beings incapable of showing benevolent attitudes.
It was unimaginable to make a monster devoted to slaughter submit. An owner… it made no sense, unless there was someone among the conquest team who could control the boss monster at will.
Meanwhile, Woo Jae-dam continued:
“And… you may have already heard, but it apparently passed by the base camp on the way to us without doing anything.”
“Ah, that story. Well, I did hear about it. That’s what makes it even more confusing. What kind of monster would leave intruders ransacking its home undisturbed? Were the other monsters normal, and only the boss acted strangely?”
“Yes. Only the boss.”
“What about other dungeons?”
“Other dungeons weren’t significantly different from usual. Except that we conquered them quickly, to the point where the increased difficulty wasn’t noticeable.”
An Jong-hyeok tilted his head sideways at Woo Jae-dam’s words and asked:
“The conquest wasn’t difficult?”
“Ah, yes. That was our experience. I didn’t think our team’s strength was particularly superior to other teams, but perhaps we just had good synergy?”
An Jong-hyeok shook his head at Woo Jae-dam’s questioning response.
“Good synergy alone doesn’t explain it. Your team succeeded in conquering three hours faster than the other two teams. Unless the dungeon you conquered was unusually weak that day, which would be an incredibly unlikely probability.”
“Or… is there someone among Esper Woo Jae-dam’s team members who could be a variable?”
At those words, An Jong-hyeok involuntarily thought of Sa Hae-geon but quickly dismissed it. Being a Dual Esper probably wouldn’t be a major factor affecting dungeons. Besides, Sa Hae-geon wasn’t interested in flaunting his abilities, so he would have certainly performed just like the other Espers.
If he had performed beyond expectations, Woo Jae-dam would have mentioned it first. But Woo Jae-dam was just pondering with a perplexed expression, not offering an easy answer.
At that moment, Nam In-cheol brought up Sa Hae-geon, perhaps having thought of him as well.
“Didn’t you say there was a Dual Esper? Was his power particularly strong?”
“Everyone’s combat strength was similar. And what’s the big deal about a Dual Esper?”
“Is that so? Well, I suppose being a Dual Esper doesn’t necessarily make one more adept at using abilities than other Espers.”
“Yes. It definitely wasn’t because of Esper Sa Hae-geon. Personally, I think it might be because we spent less time dealing with the dungeon boss.”
“How long did it take?”
“About 10 minutes.”
“10 minutes?”
An Jong-hyeok’s eyebrows twitched at the number, which was even lower than expected.
“It wasn’t just the S-class Espers who confronted it?”
“No. The second dungeon took about 20 minutes, and the third dungeon about 10 minutes. And I got the impression that the monsters in the second and third dungeons were weaker than those in the first dungeon.”
“That’s strange. Shouldn’t it have taken longer from the second dungeon onward?”
The more he heard of Woo Jae-dam’s story, the more confused he felt. Nam In-cheol messed up his hair vigorously and let out a deep sigh. No matter how he thought about it, the only variable was the people… There was nothing else to be suspicious of.
But they couldn’t just summon all the conquest team members and scrutinize them one by one. As Nam In-cheol scratched his head, his eyes suddenly lit up.
“…Ah! Wait. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Think of what?”
Nam In-cheol waved his hands at An Jong-hyeok and Woo Jae-dam, who were looking at him curiously, then burst through the break room door and ran off somewhere. An Jong-hyeok was left staring blankly at the door, suddenly alone with Woo Jae-dam. Soon, they heard hurried footsteps coming from the end of the corridor.
The door opened with a loud sound, revealing Nam In-cheol breathing heavily. With his research coat sleeve, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. In his hand was an unfamiliar object.
“What did you bring?”
“Haa… wave, huff, wavelength detector.”
“Wavelength detector?”
An Jong-hyeok looked at Nam In-cheol with a puzzled expression. Was it so urgent that he had to rush out in the middle of their conversation to get a wavelength detector? An Jong-hyeok was curious about Nam In-cheol’s bizarre reason for bringing the wavelength detector.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
