Chapter 35
If I want to avoid dying, I should cancel today's raid.
But there were too many problems with that.
If we canceled the raid, we would most likely lose our chance at a rank evaluation.
And...
[New Quest: Work together with your teammates and clear the dungeon before the 'Dome' phenomenon occurs!]
[Quest Objective: Clear the dungeon with your teammates within 2 hours.]
[Penalty Upon Failure: (2)]
[Quest Summary: Clear the dungeon within 2 hours. (0/1)]
[Quest Reward: (?), Skill Proficiency.]
That window looked like it intended to remain until I completed the quest.
The countdown hadn't begun yet.
But I had no idea when or where it might start again.
I couldn't predict what situation I would return to next time either.
And what happens if I use up both of those remaining '2'?
I swallowed.
Ignoring it felt far too dangerous.
What should I do?
Was there any way to safely clear the dungeon within two hours while also avoiding losing the Center's trust?
...Of course not.
I shook my head at the hopeless situation.
Meanwhile, time continued passing.
Even if I got ready immediately, I wasn't sure I could make it to the raid on time.
If I wanted to choose...
I had to do it now.
My anxious eyes moved around the room.
Then they landed on my phone.
At that moment...
A brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
What if I do it this way?
My heart trembling, I picked up my phone.
“What else can we do? Judging by the mana reading on the Wave Detector, if we delay much longer, the Transitional Phase might begin...”
I had hoped something might change.
Nothing did.
“Junhyuk has a foul mouth, but he listens when he's given orders. Don't worry too much.”
Even that part was exactly the same.
Han Siwoo, who had comforted me, walked toward the dungeon entrance.
Watching everything happen exactly as before made me anxious.
What if the returned timeline didn't allow even the smallest change?
“Fire Ball!”
“Blade Shield!”
“Fire Ball!”
“Blade Shield!”
The returned time flowed exactly as I remembered it.
Even my brother and Lee Junhyuk recklessly spamming skills because of their competitiveness was identical.
I supported them from a distance while constantly looking around for something.
It should definitely be somewhere around here...
There was something I hadn't managed to find even after searching from the moment the Transitional Phase began until we reached the boss room.
There should be one in every dungeon.
That meant it had definitely been somewhere before the mid-boss room.
“What are you doing?”
Han Siwoo noticed me suspiciously searching the surroundings.
“Nothing.”
For a moment, I considered telling Han Siwoo and asking him to help me search.
But the memory of my teammates dying after I relied on them was still painfully vivid.
To them, it might have happened in another timeline.
To me...
It had happened only a few hours ago.
Because of that, even asking someone for help made me hesitate.
Still, the closer we came to the mid-boss room without finding what I wanted, the more anxious I became.
Maybe I should just ask...
I let out a long sigh.
Then, by chance, my gaze fell on the path behind us.
I froze.
For a moment, I couldn't decide whether I should feel delighted or exhausted.
They really weren't kidding when they said the darkest place is under the lamp.
I couldn't believe it had been there.
Not long afterward, we reached the mid-boss room.
And the Transitional Phase began.
[Work together with your teammates and clear the dungeon before the 'Black Sphere' phenomenon occurs!]
[Quest Objective: Clear the dungeon with your teammates within 2 hours.]
[Penalty Upon Failure: (2)]
[Quest Summary: Clear the dungeon within 2 hours. (0/1)]
[Quest Reward: (?), Proficiency.]
[Remaining Time: 1:59:59]
The familiar quest window appeared.
The countdown began.
“What do we do now?”
Last time, I had been the one to ask that question.
This time, my brother said it.
The déjà vu was uncomfortable.
Before the others could start saying reckless things again, I spoke first.
“Everyone, listen to me.”
“What?”
“Our party is E-rank at best. You all know that, right?”
I looked at each of them in turn.
They reluctantly nodded.
“Meanwhile, this dungeon is at least D-rank now. And the boss might be even stronger than that.”
“So?”
“Even if we lose our chance at a rank evaluation, we only have one life. I think we shouldn't push ourselves too far.”
I spoke calmly.
I deliberately avoided telling them that time had reversed.
I also didn't tell them we had already failed once and died.
If I explained things logically, they should understand.
My mistake before had been trusting my teammates too much instead of facing reality.
As the party leader, choosing ideals over reality had been unacceptable.
“So you're going to give up without even trying?”
Surprisingly, Han Siwoo was the one who asked.
My brows tightened slightly.
He was wrong.
I wasn't giving up without trying.
I was giving up because I had already experienced failure.
Even if I'm the only one who remembers it.
A bitter smile touched my lips.
“I'm not simply giving up. Considering the situation, I'm saying we should use a trick.”
“A trick?”
Instead of answering immediately, I checked the timer.
[Remaining Time: 1:49:32]
Only ten minutes had passed.
That should be enough.
They should be arriving soon.
At that moment...
I sensed a huge flow of mana behind us.
Finally.
The presence grew stronger.
Lee Junhyuk's eyes widened when he noticed it too.
I decided that was enough.
A deep smile appeared on my lips.
“Yes. A trick.”
“What nonsense are you... W-What the hell?!”
Wooooong. Wooooong.
A strange vibrating sound mixed with the rumbling caused by the Transitional Phase.
My brother shot to his feet in shock.
The others did the same.
Unlike them, I leisurely stood last.
I sensed the presence of two people behind us.
The others' expressions turned completely dumbfounded.
Looks like they're here.
I turned around.
Their timing really is perfect.
“Whoa. This actually worked?”
“Seriously. Ah, long time no see, everyone.”
Standing there was Lee Dohyun, staring curiously at the place he had emerged from.
Beside him was Kim Taeyoon, raising a hand in greeting.
I walked lightly past my frozen teammates and approached them.
“Long time no see.”
“L-Long time no see...”
Lee Dohyun scratched himself awkwardly and looked away.
That was when I noticed his red hair.
It had been black before.
Apparently, he had dyed it sometime while we hadn't seen each other.
“We've both been busy, so it really has been a while. Have you been doing okay?”
At Kim Taeyoon's greeting, I turned toward him.
I had known Kim Taeyoon for years.
But during the past year, he had changed enormously.
It wasn't only the physical changes that came with high-ranking Hunters.
His overall atmosphere had changed.
So had the energy I felt from him.
Whenever I looked at Kim Taeyoon, I felt something strange.
According to the novel, he should have died.
Yet because of one small whim of mine, he had survived.
He was also proof that maybe...
I could survive too.
“Yeah. What about you, Oppa?”
“Me? I've been doing all right. Busier than I expected, though. A lot of places keep calling me.”
“Kim Jia, have you been well?”
“Move your face.”
Lee Dohyun suddenly stuck his head out from behind Kim Taeyoon's shoulder.
Kim Taeyoon looked disgusted and pushed his face away.
Watching how close they had become while I hadn't seen them made me laugh.
“As you can see.”
Kim Taeyoon had outstanding talent even among Hunters.
Looking back, he had been different from the beginning.
The dungeon that activated at Songpa University had been D-rank.
Even if he had borrowed the power of a Mana Stone, Kim Taeyoon had still survived alone among that massive swarm of spiders.
A Hunter didn't immediately become skilled the moment they awakened.
Only after repeatedly experiencing real battles did they learn how to properly use their abilities.
Proper rank evaluations had only begun around six months ago.
Kim Taeyoon received B-rank during his very first evaluation.
Lee Dohyun, being the protagonist, received A-rank.
I had already guessed that Kim Taeyoon was on a different level from us.
Even so, I had been surprised that he was nearly comparable to Lee Dohyun.
I had felt a little proud of my own D-rank back then because I had received it thanks to a quest buff.
Strictly speaking, however, calling myself D-rank wasn't entirely accurate.
At the time, Hunter ranks were mostly determined by attack power.
And as a healer, I didn't possess a real attack skill.
Fortunately for someone like me who wanted nothing to do with danger, the value of healers had been rising steadily over time.
In any case, A-rank and B-rank were currently among the highest ranks in the country.
Because of that, Kim Taeyoon appeared to be receiving offers from all kinds of places while working alongside Lee Dohyun.
Come to think of it, guilds should start appearing soon.
The concept of a Guild was first introduced around a year and a half after the world changed.
That meant roughly six months remained.
A Guild was an organization formed by Hunters themselves, independent of direct government orders.
Right now, the Center gave Hunters instructions about which raids to participate in.
Once Guilds appeared, the position of Hunters would change considerably.
To be precise, I guess 'orders' will become 'requests.'
Of course, the money earned from a single raid was enormous.
Even without government requests, plenty of Hunters would voluntarily participate.
“More importantly, what exactly is this?”
Lee Dohyun pointed toward the passage he had emerged from.
It was a rapidly rotating vortex filled with white mana.
A so-called 'White Hole.'
It was the only known passage that allowed someone to enter a dungeon from outside during the Transitional Phase.
And even now...
No one had discovered exactly what it truly was.
