EST Ch 17

Gijun felt strange. The student council, which had almost always been in conflict, was different this time. Had the revelation that the villains were teachers strengthened the internal unity among the students? Perhaps witnessing the deaths of the students in the small auditorium right before their eyes had caused a change of heart.

Having faced the situation where someone they thought was good turned out to be evil, were they now seeing the opposite? Although no student in this training camp was truly evil…

While Gijun quietly pondered, Nam Hyungwook unwrapped and rewrapped the bandage around his fist. The skin on the back of his hand was completely torn and bloody.

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“Hey. If you meet Park Inho, punch him in the face once for me. He was the one I trusted the most, so it’s infuriating.”

“If it comes to close combat, I’ll get beaten.”

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“Can’t you just say you’ll do it?”

Nam Hyungwook let out a bewildered laugh, but Hae Gijun didn’t agree to impossible requests. In fact, he rarely accepted requests in the first place.

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Deciding there was nothing more to discuss, Gijun briefly thanked him and moved on.

As Hae Gijun’s figure receded, Nam Hyungwook muttered a final farewell. Though his voice was very small, it reached Gijun’s ears clearly.

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“I’m sorry, Hae Gijun.”

“…You did talk a lot of nonsense.”

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“Ah, geez.”

Gijun glanced back briefly and then turned his head expressionlessly. He was a really strange guy.

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The original team, five members, gathered. Kim Sihyung was excluded due to serious injuries.

To approach the hidden door in the back mountain, they had to push through the rain. Fortunately, the student council had found three old and half-broken umbrellas in the control room, which they had kept to use as weapons in emergencies. Although the umbrella frames were sticking out awkwardly, it was better than nothing. So, Hae Gijun, Baek Sunwoo, Ahn Youngah, Shim Dokyung, and Lee Donghun shared the umbrellas and moved forward. The back mountain was pitch dark, and they didn’t even use flashlights to avoid being detected by the links.

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Hae Gijun led the way.

The other three, excluding Baek Sunwoo, followed with tense faces, greatly surprised when Gijun said he learned about the location from Nam Hyungwook. Among them, Lee Donghun was the most shocked.

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“What? Hyungwook told you?”

“He said he would save the students at the training camp, so he asked me to stop them here.”

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“Wow…”

Lee Donghun was amazed. He had often talked with Nam Hyungwook, being well-connected and somewhat friendly. But it was surprising that Nam Hyungwook had said such a thing, especially since the two had been at odds even on the first night.

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Seeing Lee Donghun smiling proudly, like looking at grown children, Gijun responded with a bewildered look.

Behind them, Shim Dokyung seemed to remember something and exclaimed, “Ah!”

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“The kids we met last night asked me to apologize to you and Sunwoo.”

“Last night? What for?”

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“They, uh, asked Sunwoo to voluntarily go to the culprits. They said it was a mistake and apologized, and also said they were sorry for not supporting you, Gijun, when you opposed it…”

At that time, Nam Hyungwook had criticized Hae Gijun for being selfish, and while the other students hadn’t openly agreed, their silence was a form of agreement.

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But now it was known that Hae Gijun and Baek Sunwoo had been moving to uncover the ‘truth.’ They had collected clues by confronting the culprits and even revealed that Yeon Mijeong was the main mastermind. The students realized they had misunderstood. Hae Gijun wasn’t keeping Baek Sunwoo close for his own safety but was handling the most dangerous and important tasks.

Moreover, the testimonies of the injured students in the small auditorium supported this. They survived because Gijun’s team had lured away the little monsters. And when the monsters had swarmed the hallway earlier, Gijun had been the first to shout and rally the kids to hunt the monsters together. So the students apologized for their misunderstanding.

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After hearing this, Hae Gijun felt awkward. He had only tried to prevent someone from dying in front of Baek Sunwoo to avoid unpredictable actions. The way it was told made it seem like he had become a great leader trying to save everyone. Even before leaving the building, Kim Sihyung had apologized separately. Her reaction was understandable for a student, though.

Lee Donghun seemed pleased, coughing awkwardly while a slight smile crept onto his face.

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“Hearing this makes you sound like a complete hero.”

“R-right?”

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Shim Dokyung also blushed and scratched her cheek with a shy smile. She felt elated, thinking she had played a significant role in saving the students at the training camp by following Hae Gijun and Baek Sunwoo.

“We must work hard.”

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Lee Donghun, feeling a newfound sense of responsibility, flexed his shoulders. The betrayal of the teachers was shocking, but he believed they could overcome it with this group.

As he thought this, his gaze shifted sideways. For some reason, Ahn Youngah hadn’t said a word so far. Her face under the umbrella looked dark as if lost in deep thought.

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“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? W-what?”

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“…No, you’ve been silent since we left the training camp…”

When he tapped her arm and asked, Ahn Youngah flinched and stepped back, surprising Lee Donghun.

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Ahn Youngah looked around slowly, then shook her head with an awkward smile. Everyone looked at her curiously.

“No, it’s nothing.”

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“Isn’t denying twice like admitting it? It seems like something’s wrong.”

“Ah, Lee Donghun, you’re so annoying.”

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Pretending to hold a microphone for an interview, Lee Donghun’s action made Ahn Youngah snap irritably. Her reaction, swatting his arm like usual, made the other kids finally look away.

Now that they were about to enter the underground, they might have been feeling nervous, or perhaps they were thinking about the deaths in the small auditorium. Especially Ahn Youngah, who had followed Yeon Mijeong a lot. Shim Dokyung, sharing an umbrella with her, gently patted her arm in a gesture of understanding her emotional wound. Ahn Youngah just nodded.

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They engaged in some idle chatter to ease the tension. Gijun didn’t participate but didn’t stop them either, listening quietly as he walked. He also remained vigilant, just in case they encountered any monsters.

Finally, they reached the hidden structure. Seeing it up close, it was distinctly different from what they had observed from within the training camp. It looked like a slightly protruding mound. The other kids also looked around in awe.

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“Wow, the raindrops really are falling from above.”

“But it just looks like part of the mountain from the outside… We wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t raining.”

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“This is the first time heavy rain has been advantageous.”

Even from up close, it was unclear what exactly this structure was. Whether it was a back door or something else. They would have to feel around to figure out its shape, but they hesitated to touch it recklessly.

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“Is this really a door? Where’s the handle…?”

“It’s a mana conduit.”

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“…Huh?”

Baek Sunwoo stepped forward and reached out as if to grab something in the air. Hae Gijun, surprised, grabbed his wrist.

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“Let’s first check if it’s dangerous-”

— Clang. 

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Baek Sunwoo’s hand pulled off a square ventilation cover. The grille-like vent materialized as it came off, which was quite fascinating. It looked heavy, but Baek Sunwoo casually removed it with one hand and set it aside.

“In the underground, there’s a huge flow of mana. The mana trying to open this portal, and the mana coming out of it. If it accumulates underground, it’s dangerous, and they’ve created this conduit to set this area as their ‘territory.'”

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He explained that they had likely used this to hide the mana fluctuations in the area from being detected by satellites. Additionally, since it was a path that released mana from the underground, he speculated that it could lead to any place underground.

Given its purpose, there wouldn’t be intruder sensors like the ones they had seen in the underground earlier that morning.

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“Wow, you learn about things like this at H.N…?”

The three of them looked at Baek Sunwoo and Hae Gijun, repeatedly realizing the power of knowledge. Even if they knew such things, they might not use them effectively, but it was impressive to be able to utilize such information.

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Then, Lee Donghun asked with a serious face.

“Isn’t it dangerous for us to go in there and get hit directly by the mana?”

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“Well…”

Honestly, he hoped Baek Sunwoo would immediately say no, but Baek Sunwoo remained silent. He looked between the conduit and the team, contemplating. The path, now fully revealed, was dark and eerie, looking extremely dangerous.

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After tapping his chin thoughtfully, Baek Sunwoo spoke.

“If your SPI grade isn’t high, prolonged exposure to high-purity mana can cause aftereffects. But if you receive proper treatment within a day, you’ll be fine.”

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He added that the aftereffects were not severe physical abnormalities but more like the flu. Headaches, dizziness, chills, and in severe cases, nausea.

Though not to be taken lightly, everyone nodded. There was no other way, and hearing that they could recover within a day gave them hope.

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Exchanging resolute glances, the kids finally entered the conduit. The sound of rain and their footsteps echoed ominously behind them.

But as they went deeper, they began to hear a whirring wind sound. It actually made their clothes flutter. As Baek Sunwoo had said, it seemed like mana was flowing through the air, making it intermittently vibrate, keeping everyone on edge. The wind noise was so loud that it might be difficult to notice any approach from other directions.

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The path stretched straight but then branched out like tree limbs at some point. And at regular intervals on the conduit floor, there were small oval holes about 5cm in size. Looking closely, they could see the underground scenery.

Lee Donghun muttered quietly.

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“It’s noisy down there too. Lots of people moving around.”

“Because the teachers’ identities have been exposed…”

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All except one of the homeroom teachers of Shin Hae High School’s second-year were linked members. It showed how long they had been preparing for this, and now that it was revealed, the underground was also in chaos.

Ahn Youngah asked with a dark expression.

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“Where exactly is the monster summoning machine?”

Before coming here, we had planned what to do once we entered the underground. A few hours ago, we analyzed the links’ documents in the meeting room and figured out that the machine that looks like a “gate” and the machine that summons monsters are separate.

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The summoning of monsters is fundamentally aligned with the will of the other world to awaken the “child of prophecy,” but it seems the links can control its flow and frequency. Perhaps the little monster that appeared when we were looking for a way to the underground a few hours ago was adjusted from the machine room, receiving a signal from Yeon Mijeong.

So, we decided to deal with the summoning machine first once we entered the underground, but we had no idea where to go in this vast underground. The holes in the passage were too small to drop the explosive artifact indiscriminately.

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“…Head in the 9 o’clock direction from here.”

Suddenly, Baek Sunwoo indicated the direction. Immediately, everyone looked puzzled and surprised. They appreciated the information, but the question of how he knew lingered in their eyes.

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Baek Sunwoo glanced around for a moment and then pointed below.

“Isn’t the wall of the lab right below marked C-4?”

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“Uh, yeah.”

“And, in the space we just passed, it was marked B-4.”

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He explained calmly. While analyzing the documents in the afternoon, he had occasionally seen numbers like A-1 and C-3 and collected all such information. He figured out that only the numbers from A to C and 1 to 5 were used repeatedly.

Baek Sunwoo drew a rectangle in the air with his finger.

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“Assuming the underground is roughly rectangular, I thought those markings might be similar to ‘room numbers.’ I assumed each letter-number combination referred to a specific room, and I just matched the clues. Of course, it could vary depending on the structure of the underground.”

“Wow…”

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Shim Dokyung, who had gone back to check B-4, was genuinely impressed. It was surprising that Baek Sunwoo had figured out something they hadn’t even thought of. It might be due to his education at H.N., or maybe his reasoning skills were exceptional. Probably both.

“The monster summoning machine is in C-2, so we should move in that direction. But first, let’s destroy the emergency power unit near the main entrance.”

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Everyone nodded vigorously at Baek Sunwoo’s words. Although their task wouldn’t be easy, having a clear direction was reassuring. Fortunately, they wouldn’t get lost underground.

However, Hae Gijun’s face was oddly stiff. He motioned for the three to go ahead and, after ensuring they were a bit further away, turned to Baek Sunwoo.

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Tilting his head slightly, he met his gaze as usual, but…

“Are you sure that’s how you figured it out?”

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“Then how else?”

“…”

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Gijun slightly furrowed his brow. He had seen markings like A-1 in the documents, but he hadn’t known that the letters and numbers ranged exactly from A to C and 1 to 5. They hadn’t collected all the documents from the research lab, so how was Baek Sunwoo so certain? And how did he know that the monster summoning machine was in C-2?

It’s understandable if you try. He had seen the documents for the first time himself, and smart Baek Sunwoo might have analyzed them better. After all, he received additional education at H.N. So it made sense that he figured out this was a mana conduit earlier…

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Something felt off. He was subtly disturbed by the strange changes since he had been swallowed by the monster. The way Baek Sunwoo wouldn’t leave his side…

…Or maybe that’s a good thing?

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As he contemplated, Gijun suddenly reached a positive conclusion. He considered using his “eye” for a moment but decided it was too taxing. And since it was Baek Sunwoo, he had a vague trust that he didn’t need the ability to discern lies and evil.

As Gijun quickly relaxed his expression and nodded, Baek Sunwoo chuckled softly. He slowly reached out his hand.

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“…?”

Baek Sunwoo’s palm covered Gijun’s eyes. The gentle pressure and the faint warmth of his hand unexpectedly provided a sense of security. It felt like the lingering fatigue in his eyes was being relieved.

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Baek Sunwoo chuckled quietly again, seeing Gijun accept the touch without resistance. Their faces were so close that he could feel his breath.

“Gijun. I really want you to get out of here.”

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His soft whisper echoed strangely in his ear. His voice was gentle, yet somewhat melancholic. The hand covering his face trembled slightly, just a little.

“…I want you to escape here unharmed and see the third morning.”

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“…”

“Calculate as needed and judge coolly. So this time-”

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“Hey.”

Hae Gijun grabbed Baek Sunwoo’s hand and pulled it down, saying,

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“That’s something you have to do as well.”

Though his voice was firm, almost commanding, Gijun didn’t bother to soften it. Initially, he was just listening to what Baek Sunwoo had to say out of curiosity, but as he continued, his words became increasingly odd. The content itself was fine, but his attitude was unsettling.

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Gijun looked Baek Sunwoo straight in the eye and said,

“You haven’t forgotten the bet we made, right? Do your best. I need to win it.”

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“…It seemed like you had forgotten it first.”

“Th-that’s…”

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He stumbled over his words, caught off guard by Baek Sunwoo’s retort. Given that he had been swallowed by a monster just a few hours ago right in front of him, it was hard to argue back.

Gijun felt a bit wronged. While he had only almost died once in front of Baek Sunwoo, Baek Sunwoo had died multiple times before his eyes. Not just faced danger, but actually died.

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Yet, he couldn’t say that, so Gijun bit his lip, feeling like he had lost. Baek Sunwoo quietly took in his expression and then smiled.

“Let’s move quickly. The others will arrive first.”

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Hae Gijun had a lot to say, but he eventually nodded.

They reached a position overlooking the power unit.

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Though they got lost a few times due to the many forks in the path, they ultimately arrived at the place they had come to in the morning. With tense faces, they first observed the situation below. If there were many people here, they planned to make noise from another part of the passage to lure them away.

But the sight before them rendered their detailed plan moot.

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“What? There’s no one here?”

There were no links visible at the main entrance. Seeing only through the small hole had its limits, so they looked back and finally spotted people below. It was bustling with noise.

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Ahn Youngah listened intently and relayed what they were saying.

“They’re shouting about where we disappeared to. Asking where we were last seen, why all the CCTVs are broken… Seems like they’re looking for us?”

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“Y-yeah. All the CCTVs on the second floor were broken then…”

Shim Dokyung quickly deduced the situation. A while ago, when Baek Sunwoo briefly lost control and wrecked the hallway, all the CCTVs were destroyed. The links likely had hidden CCTVs elsewhere, but those seemed to have malfunctioned too.

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However, they must have seen the moment right before the CCTVs were destroyed. Seeing an S-rank potential ability user affiliated with H.N. manifesting and wielding a dozen mana chains must have been terrifying. They seemed to have lost track of their move outside the training camp. Luckily, they had been hidden by the night.

Suddenly, Gijun’s gaze turned to Baek Sunwoo. He had led the way out of the training camp this time…

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Just as his thoughts were piecing together, Baek Sunwoo spoke.

“Let’s move now.”

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***

They needed to take advantage of the absence of the links near the main entrance. Lee Donghun took a deep breath and opened the passage door. It was time for his ability to excel, climbing walls and running fast. Since they had to move in the dark after turning off the lights, Hae Gijun accompanied him.

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This marked the beginning of their underground assault.

Shim Dokyung swallowed nervously despite not going down herself, and Ahn Youngah clenched and unclenched her hands repeatedly, saying,

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“Make sure to come back alive.”

“…Is she trying to jinx me now?”

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The joke that she was the real villain came out rather absurdly. As Ahn Youngah opened her mouth to retort, Lee Donghun jumped down. Hae Gijun gave him an exasperated look for a moment before following suit.

They quietly landed on the long hallway they had walked hours earlier.

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Exhaling, they exchanged glances and sprinted towards the power unit. They had to descend a long flight of stairs, but Lee Donghun, feeling impatient midway, slid down the handrail. His lunchtime practice of sliding down the school stairs handrail paid off here.

Having arrived first, Lee Donghun turned off all the switches. Though the people were far away now, they had to eliminate any risk of being discovered. He swept his hands across the transparent box, flipping all the switches down.

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“Huh, what’s going on?”

“Why did the lights suddenly…!”

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Taking advantage of the confusion, Hae Gijun opened the emergency power unit. It was already starting to whirr, gearing up for operation.

At that moment, Lee Donghun, who had followed the plan but now had questions, spoke up.

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“Hey, do you know how to disable the emergency power unit?”

“No.”

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“What? Then how…”

“Why don’t we just cut all the wires?”

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As if reminiscent of stories where computer science majors fix computers by hitting them, Lee Donghun’s expression twisted in confusion.

Ignoring him, Gijun used a multitool knife to cut all the visible wires inside. If this were a bomb defusal situation, he’d carefully consider which wire to cut, but here, it didn’t matter if it exploded or not.

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Snip, snip. Hae Gijun cut the wires diagonally without hesitation. Sparks flew here and there, but he kept cutting.

The whirring sound gradually died down and eventually stopped entirely.

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Then, the two quickly returned to the passage in the ceiling. They almost encountered a link in the dark hallway, but Hae Gijun yanked Lee Donghun by the collar just in time to avoid detection.

“Huff, huff…”

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Lee Donghun panted, either from being choked or from running, but there was no time to catch their breath. Links were already scurrying around the underground, assessing the situation.

They quickly moved to C-2, where the monster summoning machine was likely located. They moved cautiously to avoid making thudding noises that might give them away.

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Finally reaching the summoning room, they were met with an unexpected sight. One wall was filled with CCTV screens and a huge control panel in front of them. Although the room lights were off, the CCTV and control panel were lit, likely powered by mana from the other world.

At a glance, it resembled a simulator used to train ability users. While they had no idea how to operate it, they knew it needed to be stopped.

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“Looks like no one’s here!”

Shim Dokyung, who had carefully inspected the area, shouted, and Hae Gijun agreed. The links seemed to have left to investigate the sudden blackout and the emergency power unit not functioning. The timing was perfect.

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Though they considered dropping a bomb from above, it would be difficult to control the exact location. Moreover, following Baek Sunwoo’s warning that a mishandled explosion might summon more monsters to the training camp, they decided to go down.

This time, the passage led to a storage area inside the machine room. Though the machine room was empty, there could be someone in the storage room, so they moved cautiously.

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Fortunately, the storage room was also empty.

In this smooth operation, Ahn Youngah moved urgently. She was the first to grab the door handle and shouted,

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“Quickly, while no one’s here…!”

— Bang!

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“Ugh!”

But as soon as Ahn Youngah swung the door open, a scream came from the other side. They all froze in surprise, then found someone collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

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Judging by the white coat, it was a link-affiliated researcher. They hadn’t spotted him from above due to a blind spot, but he had been approaching just as Ahn Youngah opened the door, knocking him out.

“Wow, Ahn Youngah, your luck is incredible!”

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“R-really amazing…”

Lee Donghun and Shim Dokyung exclaimed in admiration. Even Hae Gijun was genuinely surprised, letting out an “Oh…” in awe, while Ahn Youngah stared bewilderedly at the fallen researcher, feeling sorry for him as he bled from his nose.

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Determined not to miss this stroke of luck, they quickly approached the control panel. Some CCTV screens displayed static and noise, possibly from broken lenses, but they could see most areas except the small auditorium on the second floor.

Though only an hour or two had passed, the situation inside the training camp was dire. As time passed, more monsters appeared, and as the night deepened, their aggression increased. With the heavy rain making it much darker, their lethality was at its peak.

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The student council was busy rescuing the injured and holding off monsters with explosive artifacts, but they were clearly struggling, having already been through many battles.

Lee Donghun urgently scanned the control panel and said,

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“We don’t know how to operate this, so should we just set off the bombs?”

“But if we mess up, it might summon even more monsters…”

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Shim Dokyung’s hands trembled with worry. Although the hit rate would be higher than dropping the bombs from above the passage, the thought of making a mistake nagged at her.

Baek Sunwoo stepped forward and explained,

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“If we do well, we might get rid of the monsters inside the training camp, but it doesn’t mean there won’t be any more monsters.”

The entire area around the training camp was a realm where the gate had opened. Even if they used the machine to reverse summon the monsters, they could still reappear. It was only natural that beings from the other world would come through an open gate.

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“In the end, we have to close the gate,” Hae Gijun murmured quietly, and Baek Sunwoo nodded. Only by closing the gate and cutting off the mana from the other world would the monsters stop appearing.

But for now, just using the machine to temporarily get rid of the monsters would greatly help the students. Even while they were talking, the students were being chased by monsters.

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Feeling anxious, Lee Donghun sighed deeply. He agreed that figuring out how to operate the control panel would be better than just blowing it up, as mishandling it might summon even more monsters and the links could rush in with the commotion.

But the big problem was that they had no idea how to operate it. Though they had read the instructions in the afternoon, actually using it was daunting. Shim Dokyung was hesitant too.

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“In movies, genius characters press buttons like crazy to solve things.”

“Oh! You mean those hackers in hoodies, hunched over in their chairs, munching on snacks, saying ‘Game Start’ while hacking?”

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“…I didn’t describe it that precisely, but yes, that’s what I meant.”

Lee Donghun nodded, looking exasperated at Ahn Youngah’s words. Whenever organizations or institutions were raided, there was always a genius hacker, but in their group… they were just Shin Hae High School students. That explained everything.

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Hoping that Baek Sunwoo might know how to operate it, but he didn’t either. With slight hope, they looked at Hae Gijun next…

“Should we press any button and see?”

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“…You’ve become quite reckless lately.”

“We can’t afford to waste time. If it goes wrong, we’ll press the button again to reverse it.”

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“Hopefully, there’s no button that adds more monsters one by one!”

Shim Dokyung, about to express her worry, quickly rephrased seeing Hae Gijun’s gaze. She was sweating nervously.

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Though Gijun hadn’t ignored that possibility, they had no other choice since they didn’t know how to operate it. Besides, Nam Hyungwook had entrusted the underground to him, saying he’d take care of the training camp. It was his responsibility. There was no grudge.

“So, which button should we press first…?”

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Just as they agreed to press the first button carefully.

— Click.

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They heard a button being pressed somewhere. Startled, the kids looked at each other and held their hands up, showing it wasn’t them. All five did the same.

“…?”

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Realizing something was off, Hae Gijun quickly turned his head to find the real culprit. His face hardened.

The man who had collapsed after hitting his head on the door had barely gotten up and crawled to the emergency button.

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“Huff…”

After pressing the button, the man slumped back down, unconscious again. Hae Gijun was deeply frustrated that his determination had been used in such a pointless way.

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— A loud whirring noise filled the air.

“Let’s get back up!”

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Speed was crucial. They had to hide in the mana passage before the links arrived. Ahn Youngah, worried about the situation inside the training camp shown on the CCTV screens, bit her lip and ran.

But before they could even reach the storage room,

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— Whoosh!

— Whoosh!

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“Stay still!”

People in black robes arrived in droves. The mana bullets they shot upon arrival hit the ground threateningly, causing the group to scatter as they dodged the sparks.

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“Everyone, don’t move and put your hands- Aaaah!”

“Guys, run first.”

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The man who had been threatening them was suddenly yanked back by Baek Sunwoo’s red mana chains. The sight of him being thrown startled the links, but they quickly regained their composure and raised their guns again. The bright red chains swiftly wrapped around their wrists.

However, the links had already anticipated Baek Sunwoo’s growth and prepared countermeasures. Ability users with enhancement artifacts stepped forward to bridge the gap in their ranks, drawing his attention while the others attacked the kids, continuously firing to prevent their escape.

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The light in the space was minimal. The faint glow from the CCTV and control panel made it difficult to avoid the links’ attacks. In the sudden chaos, Hae Gijun bit his lip.

He needed to move Baek Sunwoo. First, he had to evacuate the others to the mana passage, then help him…

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“Everyone, stay still!”

“Ah…!”

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At that moment, a man’s shout and a subsequent scream made everyone freeze. The voices were familiar. Lee Donghun looked at the scene with a pale face.

“T-teacher…”

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Class 3 homeroom teacher, Kim Sungmin, was holding Ahn Youngah hostage. It was a kind of penalty, bad luck triggered by her luck ability. Kim Sungmin had his arm tightly around Ahn Youngah’s neck. She struggled, making choking sounds, but he didn’t care.

Unfortunately, Kim Sungmin was not only presumed to be an A-rank barrier ability user but also wore resistance artifacts, making him a tough opponent. As the kids hesitated and stopped, Kim Sungmin asked incredulously,

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“How did you get into the underground? Was the sudden blackout your doing?!”

— Bang!

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Instead of an answer, a mana chain flew at him but was blocked by his barrier. The links struggling against Baek Sunwoo immediately retreated behind the barrier to catch their breath. In contrast, the kids’ faces darkened.

Especially Lee Donghun, who was in a state of panic. He had already experienced Kim Sungmin’s betrayal at the training camp, but back then, he had only blocked Baek Sunwoo’s attacks with a barrier, not choked a student. Just last night, he had been a teacher trying to mediate the fight between the student council and Hae Gijun.

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But now, he tightened his grip on the struggling Ahn Youngah’s neck, annoyed. Soon, she stopped resisting and went limp. Her face was unusually pale.

“….”

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Hae Gijun subtly signaled Shim Dokyung. He wasn’t sure if his confusion ability could penetrate the barrier, but he had to hope for a chance. If they fell into confusion, they could rescue Ahn Youngah and then set off the bomb. The risk of damaging the machine was no longer a concern.

But just as Shim Dokyung, understanding the silent signal, was about to speak, Kim Sungmin shouted,

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“Try anything funny, and I’ll shoot! Everyone, stay still!”

He threatened, pressing the gun to Ahn Youngah’s temple. The other links immediately aimed their mana guns at the kids, making Shim Dokyung freeze in fear, tears welling up in his eyes.

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Thinking this wasn’t enough, Kim Sungmin dragged Ahn Youngah to the side. Conveniently, the control panel was right next to them.

“You were trying to reverse summon the monsters, weren’t you? Haha, you don’t understand the greater cause…”

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“Talking about a greater cause while holding a student hostage is pretty pathetic.”

“Shut up!”

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Kim Sungmin shouted at Hae Gijun’s mocking tone. It was surprising how he had hidden such a temper until now. His face quickly turned red as he reached for the control panel.

“Surrender quietly. If you don’t, I’ll release more monsters into the training camp!”

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It was a warning directed at Baek Sunwoo, who was trying to approach quietly.

“The kids you’re trying to save will die because of your stupid actions!”

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“Ha…”

Hae Gijun sighed briefly. He had already given up on expecting anything from the teachers, but this was beyond his imagination. A trash who tried to shift the responsibility of killing someone onto the students. He kept his mouth shut to avoid endangering Ahn Youngah further, but his eyes were cold as he looked at Kim Sungmin like he was garbage.

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But Lee Donghun and Shim Dokyung’s faces were pale. The guns aimed at them and the situation of their friends in the training camp being held hostage were shocking.

As the tense silence continued,

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“Ahaha…”

Suddenly, Ahn Youngah let out a small laugh. It was so out of place that everyone’s attention turned to her.

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“Maybe it’s because I’ve been a hostage before, but I’m getting used to it. Maybe that’s why experienced workers are preferred?”

Her following words were even more out of place, making Kim Sungmin look at her like she was a strange kid.

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But Ahn Youngah simply raised her gaze slightly to look at the CCTV. Even if the infrared camera footage was somewhat blurry, it clearly showed the chaos unfolding in the training camp.

Her eyes calmly took it all in.

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‘You understand this situation best.’

‘There’s no one else who can stop those wicked people but you…’

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The words Kim Sihyung had said to her a few hours ago suddenly came to mind. When she was almost swallowed by the whale monster and fell into digestive juices, Kim Sihyung had injured herself to save her. She had expected their group to resolve the situation.

This wasn’t just a burden of responsibility. Even the student council within the training camp had the same expectations.

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‘I will be here rescuing other students.’

‘So you stop them down there.’

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As Nam Hyungwook had told Hae Gijun, they were now frantically moving around the training camp. They searched for unrescued students, treated the injured, and struggled against monsters. They trusted that “we” in the underground would somehow stop them.

The news Shim Dokyung conveyed as they entered the back mountain of the training camp also carried such content. Students were now feeling sorry for them and cheering them on.

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‘Hearing this makes you sound like a complete hero.’

Lee Donghun’s voice echoed anew, and Ahn Youngah slowly lowered her gaze.

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In truth, Ahn Youngah didn’t fully trust her own abilities. Luck. How trivial was luck, especially when her SPI wasn’t even high. She experienced small conveniences in daily life, but she never thought of it as being “helpful” to others. In fact, without her Shin Hae High School student ID, there was no way to prove she was an ability user.

The uncertainty of her abilities naturally killed her expectations. To “expect” something meant it was significant enough to hope for, and such major events rarely involved her luck. Her luck was always limited to trivial matters. Moreover, at times, she even encountered penalties like bad luck, making the uncertainty of her abilities burdensome.

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So, Ahn Youngah’s expectations also lowered accordingly. It was best not to expect anything at all. Expectations led to disappointment, highlighting the inadequacy of her uncertain and small abilities. She pursued only small satisfactions and joys.

But this place wasn’t one where she could do that.

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Until a few hours ago, Ahn Youngah hadn’t felt the weight of being with Hae Gijun. She had just been lucky to avoid the commotion in the annex and met him, and his excellent judgment led her to decide to accompany him. Ridiculously, she thought of it as just getting on a bus.

While being a guide was burdensome, she couldn’t refuse. Even fellow F-ranks like Lee Donghun and Shim Dokyung used their abilities to aid in battle, so she had to rely on her uncertain luck. Until then, Ahn Youngah’s only worry was the cold stares that might follow if she led them astray.

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‘You do it. We need your luck.’

When Hae Gijun entrusted her with using the explosive artifact, she even felt resentment. Her luck wasn’t that great, and if things went wrong, she would feel the most guilty.

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But, the path she walked had somehow become one of saving everyone. She found the gaze of others even more unfamiliar than they did. It was because she herself wasn’t confident in her abilities. She was always satisfied with her trivial luck and feared her own bad luck.

The expectations of the students felt strange. Also, the trust of Hae Gijun and the group felt burdensome.

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“…”

But Ahn Youngah no longer wanted to feel that way. Was it because of the sense of responsibility towards the students on the surface? No, it wasn’t. She no longer wanted to see their expectations as a “burden.” She wanted to embrace the trust that had approached her abilities for the first time.

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Facing the misfortune that had finally come to her, Ahn Youngah decided to trust herself.

“I’ll turn my bad luck into good luck.”

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Finally, Ahn Youngah raised her head and smiled. In the dark space, the faint light from the CCTV flickered around her face.

Although only a few seconds had passed, her smile looked incredibly relieved, capturing the attention of Hae Gijun and the kids. As they wondered why she suddenly said that…

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Beep- beep- beep.

An all-too-familiar, unwelcome sound came from Ahn Youngah’s crossbody bag. She had deliberately stopped resisting to lower Kim Sungmin’s guard, and now her hand was inside her bag.

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It all happened in a flash.

As each of them reacted with confusion, shock, and dismay, Ahn Youngah spoke. Her calm tone was as playful as ever.

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“I’m saving all of you with just me, isn’t that pretty lucky?”

— BOOM!

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An explosion occurred inside the sturdy barrier.

The blazing red explosion fiercely engulfed the links, swallowing their screams and shattering the control panel with successive detonations.

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Hae Gijun’s eyes caught the ‘change’ appearing on the CCTV. The monsters attacking the students inside the training camp vanished one by one, like smoke.

Truly, luck was on their side.

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“……”

For a moment, Hae Gijun couldn’t say anything. It was as if his cognitive processing had slowed down, perceiving everything in slow motion.

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The heat washing over the space, the acrid smoke, the debris of the control panel scattered on the floor. The occasional screams from the other side of the explosions and the shouts from this side. More than sounds, it felt like waves resonating.

Finally, as the flames began to spread towards the front, he grabbed Baek Sunwoo and turned his body. It wasn’t a calculated action but an instinctive reaction. They needed to get out of here.

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They couldn’t waste the opportunity Ahn Youngah had given them.

“Everyone, get back into the passage.”

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“What?! Right now, over there…!”

“If you know what’s happening over there, move.”

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Despite Lee Donghun’s resistance, Hae Gijun responded firmly. It was the coldest demeanor he had shown so far. It was almost inhuman.

Gijun had witnessed countless deaths. He had seen students he was just conversing with moments ago die as their heads exploded, students beside them die as their necks were snapped, and students die spilling their guts. And the lesson he learned from those experiences was that if he froze over someone’s death, he would end up dying as well.

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He had even witnessed Ahn Youngah’s death in the previous round. Their group had moved in the wrong direction, not trusting her guidance, leading to their deaths, and she had blamed herself for failing to convince them, ultimately being torn apart by a monster.

So, thinking back on that, even more, he couldn’t miss the path Ahn Youngah had created this time. He had to follow her luck.

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Though Lee Donghun seemed angry for a moment at the cold voice, he eventually moved, irritably running his hand over his face. His pained sigh sounded almost like a sob. Shim Dokyung, whose legs had given out, eventually crawled to the storage room, sobbing.

As all four of them reached the mana passage, they heard the links approaching from outside. The fire must have hit the wires inside the control panel, causing continuous explosions.

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They moved while the commotion grew. Hae Gijun glanced briefly at the situation in the machine room through the passage’s lower hole, then moved without hesitation.

A flash of pale yellow light passed before his eyes.

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“…?”

Suddenly, things rose from below, looking like dozens of them. They floated like particles of light and moved somewhere as if carried by the wind. Gijun watched the trail of light in a daze and asked,

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“Do you see something like mirages?”

“…No?”

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“It’s too dark to see anything…”

Baek Sunwoo and Lee Donghun responded, puzzled, and Shim Dokyung, his tear-streaked face, shook his head. A strange light flickered in Gijun’s eyes. It seemed like the same phenomenon he had seen in the small auditorium…

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Am I slowly losing my mind?

Gijun pressed his palm to his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn’t tell if his nerves were making him see things or if he was actually hallucinating. It was anything but a normal situation.

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“Where do we go now?”

“We need to close the gate, and that place should be…”

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He quickly recalled all the information he had gathered. He hadn’t seen the gate while sneaking in through the back mountain and moving towards the main entrance through the mana passage. So, he excluded the rooms in that direction, and he hadn’t spotted it while heading to the C-2 machine room, even though he checked below from time to time.

Gijun frowned. It seemed like it wasn’t underground? He had almost explored everywhere but couldn’t remember discovering the ‘gate.’ But in the photo Ahn Youngah had found, there were a huge machine and capsule with stairs leading down to it…

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Gijun sighed briefly as he thought that far.

“…There seems to be a deeper part of the underground.”

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As he pieced together the clues, he felt a strange sensation. The direction those palm-sized lights had moved. The end of the underground. B-1. In his memory, it was a very plain room. It looked similar to other labs but relatively empty inside, with hardly any researchers around. The oddly empty walls.

There was another door leading further underground.

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“We need to move to B-1 immediately.”