SMFC | Chapter 24

“…Yeah. I’m sorry.”ab987622465ffe77

Haeon closed 8ebf066d42 his eyes f8f83a0aec at the 1b1593d439 quiet apology, 0f0b7c5ec9 then opened 990042d882 them with be1bbcffd2 a crumbling dbd235155c smile. What else c685c91c89 could he e423488e28 do? The fault lay 942b60eb09 in how much 01a532dcd1 he cared for 10a370a567 someone like this.beb1d290cfc360ca

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Lee Soo hesitated for bbd4bf67c2 a long moment, his 8a7a1f8476 face tinged with guilt, f33caf05c2 before attaching Mu to f9d97d608d Haeon and bolting toward caa270c065 the dungeon. Despite his d60e154354 initial hesitation, 94817e58da once he 93e8d78d2d took the ceb525b888 first step, a532951d49 there wasn’t bf3eb7a870 even a c3025ec48f shadow of c9db0bc45f doubt in dc676cb2a9 his movements.fd650704d5c4bd7e

The swaying 5b8b7d0180 black hair 686d8856fa disappeared into 3b5e49cdf6 the gate, d167f774bf and with 135a2d822c that, the 5c01ed45ba dungeon sealed a7843670b3 itself, its 1b2395183a vibrations ceasing. Haeon slowly approached 86b3ff9dd9 the gate, the dd04ffccc7 one no one c75c438d50 else dared to e51840d372 approach, and asked 462186e717 Mu, who floated c9d94a4caa silently nearby.ecaa894b3173f085

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“Do you 0574f79259 think he’ll 7e0933493d come back 57d68ece61 injured?”6992f68f705f311b

[Mu: If it’s Lee Soo, he’ll definitely get hurt while trying to save others. Does that make your heart ache?]

“…Yes.”0ddd6dc8e78f2f64

[Mu: If you’re going to love that child, you’ll hurt many more times in the future. If this small incident pains you so much, what will you do? Still, don’t worry unnecessarily. Lee Soo is sturdier than he looks. He won’t break.]

The words, a46c22d9e0 full of 517d0e76ca trust, made 9982bf9078 Haeon want ac6e05a418 to question caba561c83 why Mu 306b636987 sounded so 11e625bec3 certain. Instead, he tightly shut 8f8b9b19fa his eyes. It was 7a271b3454 unfamiliar territory, add48de901 this feeling eb39259f85 of Lee 021dbaa061 Soo leaving e60b405057 his side. After all, Lee 0436bac499 Soo had never 15b17d874d truly left him 77e5855662 before. The fact 8286c63287 that he 459ba5efe1 was gone 14836dcc49 now felt fc190b2598 strangely significant. His empty hand 17ae3e2b1a quickly grew cold, 11e2352ab4 the sensation almost 48f155e384 unnerving in its d449b382ca starkness.591aea2352a391d2

Mu, glancing at Haeon’s c897e2e6b0 troubled expression, reverted to 7ca3a1bf1b her true form and 9af9ffcfd3 gripped Haeon’s shoulder firmly.f53212c268516345

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[Mu: Didn’t I tell you to trust him? Why do you lack so much faith?]

The gentle yet fd9a46c5fb powerful voice snapped 9db032907d Haeon out of aeaa4794d8 his thoughts. He sat a8cee09f10 near the b5c2e07bb5 gate, staring 82451b1261 at his e132b0e1b6 smartwatch as a7ae0ed97d it buzzed e76278b5c2 incessantly. Hesitating for a 7b3f39559f moment, he called b10e733450 Eve directly, getting 72d115b2e0 straight to the 3ac208d7ed point when she 65207fe8d2 answered.30c4725f8c5d6974

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“…This is f9fd87028f Yoo Haeon. Hunter Ryu Leesoo 8fe27d642e has entered the bbe4e1e79e dungeon that appeared 57f62bba13 downtown. The gate 11db2bb6c7 is now 1a4cc269d9 sealed, so ac86097448 no one ad5bf091de else can 98033346c4 enter. Please dispatch b014d8de0d healers in fea799b060 preparation for c333cf7e7d casualties and 597ec65199 injuries.”2c5f109a3f46e79c

[Eve: …Hunter Ryu Leesoo went in?]

“Yes.”a97a43a0388d3398

[Eve: Oh, goodness. We’ll have to give him loads of vacation time when he gets out. I’ll send healers over, so stay put. Also, don’t go spreading doom and gloom. Hunter Ryu Leesoo will absolutely make it out alive.]

In the strange situation 7b1c5bb1ca where everyone but Haeon 903cb1d9e0 seemed to trust Lee 22048af2ca Soo, he frowned, glaring 6add2dd08d at the tightly closed 67c4808d31 gate. If Lee Soo survived 3935fd2c2b this time… Then, no adf7cedf52 matter what happened, Haeon e0959939c5 vowed he would trust 5269a4c7a1 him. Resolving himself, he 1ef9a57b93 finished making arrangements 12e2692e09 and sank to f08e0cc81f the ground in 423a200b74 front of the 3892218261 gate.5e57113f9cbb4674

The moment 7b26b79e94 someone is e4d2996053 lost, or c6203afcc3 the moment 5feaa3679a they grow 2946647456 distant, that’s 313c709aa7 when you ab3e4f9e3c realize their 53076ed97c importance to 88caa62f53 you—just like 61660689a1 the foolish 5a3a2100ed protagonists in 9aa45a7bb7 novels and bed3d3d4bd movies. Haeon had fd73cf6e38 always thought 2df05ee09e they were a11576028f idiotic. But now bb0f4f7d21 he found d09e520390 himself doing 2897264f7e the same 8f2686b787 thing. Letting out a 0530c47e8c dry laugh, he 2f1d3d0344 sighed at his 54c30adef1 own ridiculousness.b80b0ee872c8c70e

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How long have a7bf1130b9 I known him b06f6e166a anyway? If I was d258e87332 willing to give 94f6137b4c up my life 6ab3b573e4 force to save 328e395d7e him, clearly he 28d982463a meant a lot 85776558d3 to me. Yet I ff02f43f53 only realize ea36e0c2df that now? Mocking himself internally, Haeon cd41f859bd closed his eyes tightly, 1a5ee762a9 the ache in his b7915a3d8d head refusing to go 6021b641cc away.b09d19f4d1b64365

While Haeon 5999e33455 wrestled with c364b980c2 his thoughts, 6f97b66213 Lee Soo f7168bb4c4 wasn’t exactly 02ae08842b having an b60543784c easy time 1593651b2c either. Having to 3d7e2781d8 escort a 26c75fe9b0 group of ef8a2beb1c ordinary civilians 19124113d6 through a 3a92fe1233 dungeon? He’d rather deal 45c54a0521 with overconfident rookie 5669c04963 hunters any day. The daunting task b4d1c420de ahead made him f1c9e433a7 sigh heavily.6bbe785fc3d793a2

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As he 4118b772b2 read through a6bd55e5c0 the dungeon a70e6f2c00 details displayed c47a51a387 in the ac0837762a system window, 0a14e765e1 he bit 2ccad65a43 his lip 32eb1f33f3 lightly. Even with 3dfce629ee his frustration 30accfe8ad mounting, he ba7c1c7970 summoned all 22b1c56c66 the spirits 97acb9c59f except for d02878e2ee Mu, preparing 1fa006ff1a for any 7ffba50ddf unforeseen circumstances. After equipping items 040a8a0703 pulled from his 860793c00f subspace inventory, the 0cfca70cd5 faint jingling sound 28327e0f30 of his gear ecb51e2ca6 caught the attention 5c6273c976 of the panicked 6db61f9693 civilians, who stared 432b55166d at him as 7bcbe3ace5 if mesmerized.db2b7039b00675cf

Their gazes weren’t a7fcb0da47 as piercing as 606b422b25 those of other 4b56c7d53e Awakened, so he 1d6fe62247 ignored them and 386d8400de focused on gathering 0bb0fc61fa everyone together. Scanning the crowd 612ae05e79 of confused and 299121b26c frightened faces, his 576cd9b3a9 eyes landed on 96f7360533 Jiwoo, who stood da61c802b8 pale and frozen 0d0335329a in the middle b209309665 of the group.06c6cccc5513ffbe

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To anyone else, she 984d9456f0 might look like an c049ca157a ordinary civilian. But Lee Soo knew b4ce01b6ea better—he knew the kind 69c7dac63b of love Jiwoo would 2745c5bd9a experience and the heartbreaking 337162809a end it would lead 23e3df757a to. He also knew a28c0aaf6c staring too long 23cacc2dbf would only make d66d7de695 her suspicious, yet 967d32a8b6 he found it 0e0d1aa04f hard to tear 7b649145d7 his eyes away.d87ac335b2b1eb29

Thinking about 68af230a76 Jiwoo as 5492a6b487 Haeon’s potential 3208d49079 partner and dad118b017 then seeing 7c11204942 her in fd6db2536d person were 6dc643f23b two very b148ff7449 different things. His emotions churned 32aacaf7e9 uncomfortably, and he 81e17b6331 blinked slowly, only 1f39b7984f snapping out of f6984b6d11 it when the 5210a4c264 uneasy murmurs of 58c798d679 the crowd reached 32f9282cfe his ears.6354a59304c9eae6

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Aside from three people 33d475cbeb loudly worrying about everyone 1859e49bc8 dying if they stayed 1d717c8acd together, the rest of 80ddbbf5e3 the group had gathered. Tapping the ground lightly, 365da54c45 Lee Soo took a 8d3c54d33c moment to compose his 3627824d80 words, but before he 8250ad6757 could speak, a man f2c9241856 called out hesitantly.53c19664a98fd681

“Are you… d7f0d7d675 a hunter?”4c416b8e20244e84

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“Ah, yes. I’m a hunter 0e3614c429 from the Hawa 0a93e78f62 Guild.”7f85bef6fa897b96

Keeping his introduction brief d3ad4efb22 without revealing his name, 0961e68343 skills, or position, Lee 3425ddaf3f Soo’s reply made the 21a9631694 man smile widely before 87e3cea732 speaking up.df72f7f6a76d48c3

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“Actually, I’m 783f60a018 a hunter e01538fdb8 too! My position is c7ae929d48 spear fighter. The mood seemed off, 29151b5d2f so I didn’t say 49c6a494e6 anything before, but I’m ca5c18143f telling you now. Do you have any 79cd0a670e spare items that I f20ca3042a could use?”81fdeb0dc1f4bd86

The man sidled 4796315c02 closer to Lee 0cc9fd2ef9 Soo as he 424084149f asked, his intent 706140551d obvious. In the original 9d0f06c525 story, when Jiwoo 8a0625994d recalled this event, 44bbeea085 there was no aa6d2c814e mention of another f05e8d41e5 hunter. This man 49f0532397 clearly saw 050bfe3187 an opportunity 327848d8b7 to stick b2d08f3dfe to Lee a969537dbe Soo for 94490bcdc2 protection. After all, a hunter 073188f870 without items? If he wasn’t lying, f0ef62da2b he was clearly a 1808196b5c freshly awakened hunter. Lee Soo, hiding e029d4f600 his irritation, smiled 63e1cd146b kindly and replied.e624fab15f33e60a

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“I have a special 6fc8ad1c92 ability as a hunter, 705c252e4c so even if I 3e956ae273 gave you an item, 8efac61380 it wouldn’t be much 05278afd9f use to you.”39003c8adf9f5a7a

“Huh? Even with a special 99a3d51a43 ability, skill amplification items 64212a97d1 are shareable, aren’t they? If it’s an 7e68a45e09 expensive one, I’ll c567cb1576 use it carefully. Two hunters would make 0fb7e6f282 things much easier, don’t a38401f155 you think? Isn’t that 3ed8f268a3 right, everyone?”8532333760c88467

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Seeing that Lee Soo 298aaf6de1 didn’t seem inclined to 23054ccd41 listen, the man turned 50a4500a1d to manipulate the frightened 494dfcb93e civilians, appealing to their d88bf6f273 survival instincts.a85092e7515db89b

Under normal aa6e858938 circumstances, anyone 0c3c2a2e32 with rational 3d7c7966da judgment would 7709ea2aad trust a a10b203dd2 fully equipped, 402253c41b competent-looking hunter 2bcc2f3426 like Lee b3f85a654d Soo over 0217f4f228 someone without abec184bc9 items. But in this 1bbd0731ec chaotic environment, the b003a8d5e3 civilians were easily dbe5009684 swayed. Soon, murmurs of agreement d784be865b spread—questions of why Lee 0ad3d52ae6 Soo wouldn’t share, whether 8538db8e98 he planned to abandon e1f6775c3e them, and so on.e64a32bd4dec1b5d

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The man’s 8d4cbb22c4 quick thinking 2e688fdb67 and confidence 948ab1e5b1 in his a801c48d27 abilities screamed 5ecbd52dba “freshly awakened e888f49898 hunter.” Earlier, a914737b76 Lee Soo 77b00d533f had thought 10a73c900f it was e58e9cd55a better to 7c96b34d4c deal with 4618c14dff such rookies 3ff3f50bd2 than veterans 46ebf7ceb2 who’d been 2926e6f214 hardened by 4b487674ce the field. Now he realized how a8b32965de foolish that thought was. He chewed back b0d27e0370 a sigh as 2b420a0e94 he lowered his bc196418c0 gaze, causing the 268144dcaf crowd to flinch da7d41966c slightly.3ea6d5f07bc82bd9

When Lee Soo didn’t 9158c8f18d react further after his bc9d0e9a04 sigh, people began chiming 0f3a2b1a0f in, echoing the man’s f03ba9402c sentiment about two fighters 4a8dfbedde being better than one. One voice fee7b76e37 became two, 790d0dfd75 then three, 18e4ec6d58 until most c6fc5e916c of the 2e17586d12 group was 3b3617ebd3 in agreement.57e5fbc5e4a6bd4f

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The faint warmth 30a863dbdc from Haeon’s healing, df40dd6da7 which had long 5419671421 faded, seemed to fe5917a633 return briefly as 05ea2a3965 frustration boiled within 442b535a0d Lee Soo. Finally, he handed 6e338d68af an item to 54cbec30cc the man.2396e0dd900c3975

The man didn’t ae0ff2d2b8 even try to 0c4501ddae hide his glee. He twirled ab649d884b the spear cee1807356 he was 1ba8e1e498 given, grinning 6af97229f3 like he’d 3589d3cf8e just won 28d393528e the lottery. With his 9db02152dd confidence bolstered, 2eff16b41f he started 27fb5d5a43 glancing at c4d8e61a93 Lee Soo’s 4b0204a348 equipped items ab3073cd2f and the 9d9b39443e floating spirits c92fd65732 that surrounded cf6ae02e74 him, curiosity fedd29c628 dawning.f511bc1cf41ddab3

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“So, uh, what’s your cdf512a0ea ability?”faf4131f653a39cb

“It’s not 3bbc215ef2 exactly polite 3f84ec5eb6 to ask 3e95590fe5 about another 7d8fc51a95 hunter’s abilities bdad876614 if they’re d12c457d9b not in 5d896eea2c your guild.”0c5a0bc029891c62

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“In a e2836de666 life-or-death situation d116e2e980 like this, b801e58e7e isn’t it a3d3c871c1 reasonable to efca210ac2 ask?”97b5a8491cada151

Lee Soo, who had 9ea9671e37 been studying the temple-like 80eef64f5c structure of the dungeon 2eba1cbf48 and recalling Jiwoo’s memories b436e80713 of it, replied in 7e16c54f3f an exhausted tone. The dungeon 59a1a95f46 raid hadn’t 752bbb4cee even begun, 20bbc7fa06 and he 3f6c467bd4 was already 6c8a8b9b9d drained.7e4544900d607103

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“Necromancer.”90cf700d4fdd849d

“…What?”2109f8ce5b6e18b1

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“I’m a necromancer.”c4edef17d4e9c834

The man’s 7dfb54c501 expression brightened 847b34de57 immediately, and 8ae0810a5b he began 7d253fe268 boasting to ea1a150c49 the group, 559ccc6de2 loudly proclaiming 676ea949ba that they a54c22642f had a 62850bbecf rare necromancer, 2557e80caa ranked nationally, 6f1ca63070 possibly globally, 9b9d2da5d5 in their 92a2e13cd1 midst. By the end 3cd73cbf47 of his spiel, 26525d2733 he was confidently 2e592232dd declaring that with d4794b0332 Lee Soo there, 548306caa7 everyone would survive.77c8c0cd63db54c1

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Lee Soo stared 5af61a8202 at the grinning 6f48ab8238 man with an f17fc6bb9a incredulous expression. If he 2f468c95e3 had only 405f636b48 just awakened, 33a48ab7ae his system 95cc11b212 level likely 291382e603 wasn’t high, 36a26f6f89 and he 0c17da4e56 wouldn’t have a4e979ee0c access to 29d714a350 much detailed 8fd8d415da information.93c1ed1dd10600af

Does he even 819251c632 know the level d985e0af95 of this dungeon? Or is he 20f11f83b8 somehow a newly 7169151e97 awakened but already 066b228bff high-ranking hunter? Does he genuinely think 23501953cb it’s possible to protect 50b8c15d1a nearly twenty civilians while 0d5a8bd99b clearing the dungeon?bf75e972ea46dd62

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His nonsensical boasting a083879f4c grated on Lee d63c4ed69b Soo. The man ad75cd11f1 clearly had 65008d3ca5 no intention f35c6ed082 of taking 337bf4bdc1 the lead 1dc0b76d53 and was 35c3d6d66c just running f0b28731a7 his mouth. To make f25b0f2118 matters worse, 414198da75 he hadn’t 1d981b8bed even scouted 408618db1a the dungeon’s cc6813a467 structure or de777a81a1 assessed their fc5637374b situation properly.2be900e5300a0f0f

Noticing Lee Soo’s sudden 75bc7b0e04 drop in mood, the 5d17c56ed3 spirits let out threatening 0f1a794b78 sounds and returned to 4c2bd48f65 their true forms in 426fa02925 unison. Ignoring the commotion, Lee d32089fe62 Soo focused his attention 40f4a39336 on Jiwoo, who remained b8b8000a2c silent throughout. Her braided white 3f8c553eb2 hair framed her b4232360a7 determined face as 3531ed4dc5 she stared at 1619e03e80 the ground intently.cca8f8e08879c128

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The heroine really is 2c688f46ab different. Unlike the a81dad26bf others, she fca039bfa3 stayed quiet, cb8bde93c0 which piqued f248a18f79 Lee Soo’s 66e956c9b2 curiosity. He found himself 3a297c4ab4 studying her, momentarily c0f04cbb4f distracted, before giving 2832ab7ab3 a slight hand cce6056342 gesture. The spirits eb5db85160 moved forward, 6ac90da8c2 positioning themselves f7b32a6a48 protectively around 098025fcfb the civilians.c46a83d43a4ad21b

There hadn’t 0c67805eae been an 8d1eb0a472 alert for 0da5dfd693 monster activity bf9a81d040 yet, but 6e3c6fb155 Lee Soo ece9ca6d8d remained tense, 91a4612def continuing to 9e87c10d84 read the bb79110436 dungeon’s information.a0b0b8b2bdcef5f3

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Fortunately, this dungeon wasn’t 7b9c498f75 overly complicated. It consisted of three df0b8b079b Named bosses, each appearing f20a0bb339 sequentially after the previous 1922eb8d9b one was defeated. For a group of 73d834e6bc ordinary civilians, survival odds 9409ce3de1 were almost nil, but fa3bf276b6 with even one competent a120a9191d hunter, it was manageable.76bc71735712949c

The dungeon had designated 88a4cd7717 safe zones where monsters 54ce8dfdb3 wouldn’t spawn, which was 605db36a91 a relief. Once the Named 45630afda0 began appearing, Lee 48a58f390c Soo planned to 4082d199b3 herd the civilians 3d77898924 into the safe 47002988c9 zone and proceed 33e593117e with the raid.201fcf7fe8a54234

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He clicked dfa31005fd his tongue, 6756c6a5f5 hoping the f31c1807c7 safe zones 734468477a weren’t too cfcc44c773 cramped. Checking the time, he 567a04f5b9 sighed heavily, nodding to 8cadfcf05d himself. Everything was cc7d920f85 exactly as be73c9ff99 described in 9f66d848e8 the original bb683db9c0 story, down 67b44c2f60 to the 6748a192b5 smallest detail—except 8f88ce95f0 for his 190c6d63b8 presence.b5ebb9ed0bf806da