This was the seventh day of surviving inside the dungeon. According to the novel’s plot, today was the day the protagonist and the Espers would enter and rescue us. The days of barely scraping by on scavenged food in this pitch-black dungeon would finally come to an end.
I’m finally getting out of this place.
Just thinking about it made my heart flutter.
When I looked around, I realized only two of us were awake—me and Kim Seong-gyeong, who was standing watch alone a distance away.
He hadn’t eaten or slept once in the past week. He’d claimed S-Rank Espers could last about a week without food or sleep, and he’d even shared his rations with the others.
Maybe because I gave him some Guiding yesterday, but his complexion didn’t look bad at all. Compared to the rest of us, who looked like total wrecks, he almost seemed to be glowing. No wonder he was an S-Rank Esper.
“Oh? Seol-bin, you’re up?”
He must’ve noticed me staring, because he walked over with a gentle smile.
How’d he even know I was looking?
I pretended like nothing was out of the ordinary and answered casually.
“Yeah. Thanks for holding it together yesterday.”
“Come on, it’s nothing. It’s my job, after all.”
He scratched the back of his head, looking a little bashful, and his golden hair shimmered softly in the dim light.
Unlike my own matted mess stuck under a hat, his hair swayed clean and silky. I couldn’t help feeling a little jealous.
After a full week without washing, my body was gross, my glasses were cracked and fogged with dust—I was a mess.
Still, I should be grateful I’d made it out in one piece.
Just one more day. After this, I’d finally get to bathe in warm water and eat a proper meal. Even that thought alone made all the fatigue melt away.
I looked around again. The place was filled with monster corpses—all taken down by Kim Seong-gyeong.
Thankfully, over the past week, only one or two monsters had shown up at a time, so he was able to protect the rest of us on his own. If they’d come in a horde and rushed us all at once, the rest of us would’ve been wiped out without a trace.
They’re coming today… right? I wonder how close they are now.
Surely, by now, the protagonist and the other Espers had already entered the dungeon.
Still, I can’t let my guard down yet.
Today was actually the most dangerous day. This was the day Kim Seong-gyeong, drained of Guiding, would finally lose control and go on a rampage.
But…
His face, which I glanced at cautiously, looked so much better than before. He didn’t look like someone who’d been trapped in this hellhole for a week. Judging by how he looked now, he could probably go wild with his powers and still be perfectly fine.
Was that a good thing or not?
This doesn’t mean the story’s changing, right? He and the protagonist are meant to be, so they’ll work it out somehow.
I just needed to step out of the way like the good extra I was.
This would probably be the last time we had a real conversation anyway…
“Kim Seong-gyeong.”
He had moved away again to keep watch, but when I called him, he quickly trotted over without losing focus.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small chocolate bar. It was the last one I had left after sharing the rest with the other survivors. I’d been saving it for an emergency.
I tore open the wrapper.
“Say ah~.”
“Ah?”
As soon as he opened his mouth in confusion, I popped the chocolate in. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Eat while you’re working. Even if you’re an Esper, you’re still human. You can’t run on empty forever.”
“I-I can still manage…”
“Yeah, but there’s a big difference between eating and not eating, right? Just hang in there a little longer.”
“You must be hungry too… and you gave me your last bit of food… Thank you, Seol-bin. Really.”
He chewed slowly, eyes shimmering with tears. Anyone watching might actually think I was some kind of saint. I only gave it to him because it was the last day—I didn’t think he’d get this emotional over it. If I’d known, I would’ve rationed it better and given him small pieces from the start.
“Um… Seol-bin.”
“Yeah?”
His eyes sparkled so brightly it was a little overwhelming. There was gratitude there—but also curiosity—and I had to turn away to avoid his gaze.
“Are you really not going to tell me your age or where you live? Then at least… could I have your number?”
He sounded so earnest and sweet, like a well-behaved kid. Maybe it was because he was in his twenties—he was kind of cute. But that was as far as it went.
When I shook my head, he lowered his shoulders in disappointment, though it looked like he’d expected it.
“I just… really want to get closer to you.”
Ever since I gave him that one round of Guiding, he’d been clinging to me nonstop. It was kind of cute, but this was temporary. As soon as he met the protagonist, I’d be wiped clean from his memory—like I’d never existed at all.
When are they going to show up…?
“Uh…?”
As I glanced around to avoid Kim Seong-gyeong’s eyes, something caught my attention—black shapes flickering at the edge of my vision.
At first, they looked like small blobs, but their numbers began to grow.
What the hell is that?
Even at a glance, it was obvious they weren’t normal. And right then, my long-dormant instincts roared to life.
Danger.
Every cell in my body screamed it. If I didn’t get out of here immediately, something terrible was going to happen.
I turned quickly to Kim Seong-gyeong.
“Hey, Kim Seong-gyeong. What… what do you think that is?”
“Huh? What do you—oh…!”
He followed my gaze—and the moment he laid eyes on the black shapes, his face turned deathly pale. He shot up in an instant.
“Everyone, get up! Wake up, now!”
“Mm…? What’s going on…?”
“So… sleepy…”
“A monster horde is coming! We need to run, right now!”
He began shaking people awake, frantic and rough. Still half-asleep, the others could only stare blankly at the black mass barreling toward us, unable to grasp what was happening.
“M-Monster… horde…”
Someone muttered under their breath, swallowing hard.
What we thought were just shadowy lumps were, in fact, a massive army of monsters. And these weren’t like anything we’d seen before. Their pitch-black skin, their mouths stretched into grotesque, inhuman grins—they looked more like demons than anything else.
UUUUUOOOOOHHHH!!!
A bone-chilling sound rang out. It was strange—almost like singing—but cold and hollow, soaked in despair. The howling sent shivers down my spine.
It sounded like a war cry—one meant to signal that they were here to tear us limb from limb.
“What the hell is that?!”
“Run! Run, now!”
“AAAHHHH!”
The survivors lost it, bolting in the direction of the old apartment complex like their lives depended on it—which they probably did.
I sprinted after them. Even if I had Special Agent training, I was still just a regular human. I didn’t have the power to fight those things.
Behind us, Kim Seong-gyeong stood between us and the swarm, his whole body tense and focused.
UUUUUOOOOOHHHH!!!
Everything suddenly made sense. Now the events were falling into place, just like in the novel.
Now I understood why there had been so little mention of the other survivors. Why the story only focused on the S-Rank Guide and the rampaging Esper, Kim Seong-gyeong.
Because this was where all the survivors died. Torn to pieces by those monsters.
Kim Seong-gyeong wouldn’t be able to hold them off. He’d lose control—go berserk. And everyone else would die. Every last one of them. Only after that would the protagonist finally arrive.
It was all just setup—designed to heighten the impact of that dramatic, destined encounter between the leads.
No. Hell no.
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ground together. I wasn’t going to die like some background extra.
And in a twisted way, I was thankful for what I’d done.
Thank God I gave Kim Seong-gyeong that Guiding. If I hadn’t, my death would’ve been set in stone.
With the Guiding, maybe he’d last longer than he did in the original story. Maybe, if I was lucky, we’d get rescued before he snapped.
I quickly pulled out the two pistols I’d stashed in my pocket and disabled the safeties.
Could I really do anything against that many?
“KYAAAAAH!”
A scream split through the chaos.
I turned and saw a schoolgirl sprawled on the ground—she must’ve tripped. One of the monsters had broken away from the swarm and was heading straight for her.
Panicking, I looked toward Kim Seong-gyeong. But he was swarmed—barely keeping the others at bay. There was no way he could get to her in time.
There was no time to think. I aimed my gun at the monster and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
“Uuhhh…?”
The monster turned its head and locked eyes with me.
Just as I feared—the bullet didn’t do a damn thing. It bounced right off its body.
All I’d done was piss it off. But at least I’d bought a moment.
UUUUUOOOOOHHH!!!
The monster snarled and turned away from the girl—charging straight at me now.
UUUUUOOOOOHHH!!!
I stayed calm and dodged.
It was huge, and its size made it slow. As long as I stayed sharp, I could avoid its attacks.
The real threat wasn’t just their size—it was the sheer power behind their blows. One punch from those things could shatter the ground. If I so much as brushed against them by mistake, I’d be dust. My hand trembled around the grip of my gun, damp with cold sweat.
Stay calm. Breathe. Hwang Dae-heon, you’ve been through worse.
This wasn’t any different from before—just that the enemy was a monster, not a man.
Even these things had to have weak points. Their skin might be tough, but their eyes—yeah, or their mouths. The inside of the mouth couldn’t be armored, right?
And the more I moved to dodge, the more I realized something. This body—Hwang Seol-bin’s body—was faster, lighter than the one I had when I was still myself.
This might actually work.
My body responded quicker than I expected, and my instincts—the experience I’d built over a lifetime—were still there. That gave me confidence.
I stopped just dodging. I lunged.
Caught off guard, the monster reared back with a confused “Uuuuooooohhh” and opened its mouth wide. That was all I needed.
I shoved the barrel of the gun deep into that disgusting, reeking mouth—so foul it made me gag—and pulled the trigger without a second’s hesitation.
Bang!
It was over in seconds. The monster blinked, stunned, and then spewed a stream of green blood before collapsing.
It worked.
Tough hide or not, the insides were just as vulnerable as any other creature. Wiping the gore from my face, I flicked the sticky green mess from my cheek. Not bad… for a first kill.
UUUUUUOOOOHHHH!!!
“Please! Help me! Somebody—!”
“Kyaaaah!!”
Screams tore through the chaos. I whipped my head around to see more monsters closing in on the other survivors.
I still had plenty of bullets.
It wasn’t that I felt some deep moral duty to save them. I wasn’t trying to be a hero.
But if Kim Seong-gyeong went berserk while fighting off these things, everything I’d done—all that Guiding—would’ve gone to waste.
That’s why I moved. That’s the only reason I stepped in.
Now that I had a way to kill them, I could at least provide backup. Just enough to help buy time.
I only had to hold out a little longer. Until the protagonist and the other Espers arrived.
If I could just last until then… I’d make it out alive.
Grinding my teeth, I charged forward.
UUUUUUOOOOHHHH!!!
The real fight had begun.
