It was no longer clear why Cha-hyeon had joined a moms’ online forum, nor what nickname he had used there… but the questioning continued amidst a somewhat awkward tension.
“Wow… insane. Yes, Esper Sung Cha-hyeon.”
…Though one person remained caught in the aftershock.
“So, after exiting the dungeon gate, you forgot someone named ‘Guide Ji Se-min,’ and along with that, all memories associated with ‘Guide Ji Se-min’ have vanished as well. Got it—crystal clear.”
The Secretary-General’s lips twitched. She looked like she was itching to say something—most likely something along the lines of ‘Se-min’s father’—but she clearly held back with visible effort, regaining her usual professional tone.
“Let’s go back to the beginning. Please walk us through the detailed timeline, from entering the gate to the moment of clearing it.”
“…There wasn’t anything special.”
The day of the Bukhansan Special-Type C-Rank Dungeon Gate operation.
Final number of entrants: one. Estimated dungeon clear time: approximately 60 minutes. Scheduled gate entry time: 13:00. Time until flood: 5 days, 15 hours remaining. Type: monster wave—meaning he had to battle through an endless onslaught of creatures and defeat the boss monster to clear the dungeon.
Failure to conquer it would result in a flood above the gate’s designated rank, but the atmosphere on-site wasn’t particularly tense.
After all, it was that Sung Cha-hyeon. There was no chance of failure, and the dispatched personnel, instead of bracing for a battle, looked more like typical office workers eager to get the job over with and go home.
Even Cha-hyeon himself radiated a bored ease. Despite his chronic guiding deficiency, a C-rank dungeon was nothing to him, an S-rank esper. Dressed head to toe in a pitch-black combat suit, he prepared for the mission with a mechanical air, going over the gate’s information.
A wave-type dungeon, huh. He had already wanted to empty his mind, and this dungeon seemed like a perfect match. When facing an onrushing tide of monsters, all thought vanished and only slaughter remained—an ideal way to relieve stress.
Of course, there was the downside that using his powers only worsened his physical condition afterward, but it wasn’t like he could go around killing people. With some auxiliary ampoules and… ramen, it wouldn’t be the worst.
Tsk. Cha-hyeon didn’t even bother to hide his tongue-click. These days, … with … constantly hovering… another esper… as his guardian, it was… annoying… It had been a good call to partner up earlier. … is mine….
“Esper Sung Cha-hyeon, three minutes to entry.”
But the wandering thoughts didn’t last long. Cha-hyeon did some light stretches to loosen his stiff shoulders.
Thanks to chronic guiding deficiency, it felt as if heavy weights were tied to his limbs, but that was nothing new. As usual, he furrowed his brows several times to try and clear the fog from his mind.
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1. At 13:00 sharp, the Bukhansan Special-Type C-Rank Dungeon Gate operation begins.”
In sync with the support team’s routine announcement, Cha-hyeon stepped into the glowing blue gate.
The interior was exactly as predicted. Oppressively hot air. Endless monster shrieks loud enough to tear eardrums. For the average person, it would’ve been enough to crush morale, no matter how mentally prepared they were—but Cha-hyeon curled his lips into a sharp grin, almost welcoming it.
He emptied his mind and let his body move by instinct. Kill, kill, and kill again the never-ending stream of monsters. Adrenaline surged to the very tips of his limbs.
The overwhelming excitement set his entire body ablaze. The climax was the electric thrill that coursed through him as he slayed the boss monster amid that all-consuming unity of flesh and will.
The boss monster’s shriek echoed through the canyon.
And then…
“The boss monster was taken down 57 minutes after I entered the dungeon.”
The only reason Cha-hyeon remembered the clear time was due to esper regulations. Unless they were unconscious or otherwise incapacitated, all espers were required to record the exact time they defeated the boss monster.
They had to save the operation time on their esper-exclusive smartwatches and confirm it aloud—a double-check system.
Deputy Chief Jeong leaned toward the Secretary-General and added quietly,
“According to the simulation data, the expected clear time was about 60 minutes. That is, if it had remained a C-rank special-type gate. Based on the records, Esper Sung Cha-hyeon reported the clear time as 13:57:58.22, so that moment was likely when the boss monster went down.”
There was no denying it—Cha-hyeon had cleared a C-rank gate in just under an hour. However, he didn’t emerge from the gate until nearly two hours later. The Secretary-General, chin resting on her hand, tapped her temple with her index finger.
“When exactly did the C-rank gate shift to S-rank?”
“…At 13:58:09.12.”
“So, roughly 10 seconds later—practically immediately. Meaning, Esper Sung Cha-hyeon, you ultimately came out of the gate about three hours after entering. That leaves around a two-hour gap. Can you tell us what happened inside the gate after you cleared the C-rank dungeon?”
This was the heart of today’s inquiry. How had the gate’s rank shifted? What had the terrain been like afterward? What was the boss monster, and how had Cha-hyeon managed to subdue it in those two mysterious hours?
Ji Se-min, holding his breath, swallowed dryly. Even the previously composed Secretary-General and the industrious Deputy Chief Jeong, who had been typing nonstop, seemed to hang on the next words.
But…
“That’s all I remember.”
Cha-hyeon’s answer was chillingly concise.
“I took down the boss monster after the wave, and when I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital bed. Honestly, it felt like I blinked once and the entire scene had changed.”
No one in the room could have anticipated that they’d walk away with absolutely nothing. The Secretary-General asked again, disbelief evident in her voice.
“You’re saying you really don’t remember anything from that two-hour gap? What about after you came out of the gate? You don’t even remember collapsing while hugging Guide Ji Se-min?”
“I told you. I killed the boss monster, and when I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital.”
“Haa…”
Letting out a long sigh, the Secretary-General rubbed her face in exasperation. Ji Se-min, far more anxious than even the uncooperative Cha-hyeon, cautiously spoke up—his tone almost pleading, like he was trying to shield Cha-hyeon in some way.
“Hey… hyung. I mean, right after you killed the boss and before you woke up in the hospital—wasn’t there anything, no matter how minor? Something you might’ve left out because it seemed too trivial?”
Only then did Cha-hyeon seem to acknowledge Se-min’s presence, his gaze settling on him with an unblinking stare. Those black eyes seemed to harbor a shadow, boring into Se-min as if peeling him open from the inside. Instinctively, Se-min felt the urge to look away.
But contrary to that intense gaze, Cha-hyeon’s voice softened noticeably.
“After I killed the boss monster… oh. I received the gate clear reward.”
“Gate clear reward?”
That itchy feeling of being watched shifted to the Secretary-General, whose voice had risen in response. The veins bulging at her temples screamed: Why the hell are you only telling us this now? Or maybe it was: You seriously thought this was too trivial to mention?
“Yeah. The gate clear reward.”
Cha-hyeon gave a simple nod, his tone as detached as if he were talking about someone else’s business. The Secretary-General’s questioning turned even more relentless.
“What kind of reward? Experience points? A rare item?”
“The reward was…”
He began with confidence, but his voice faltered mid-sentence. An uncomfortable silence settled over the hospital room. For once, his lips parted slightly as he stared blankly into the air, eyes unfocused.
“The reward…”
For the first time, Cha-hyeon’s expression showed unease. A strange tension crawled up Se-min and Deputy Chief Jeong’s spines as they exchanged a wary glance.
“…What was the reward again?”
It was only then that he seemed to register something was off. His eyes remained fixed on empty space—likely checking his status window.
After a moment of silently scanning words invisible to the others, Cha-hyeon finally spoke again.
“Nothing’s changed. No added experience points, no bound items.”
