SMFC | Chapter 2

Inside the dungeon, Lee Soo called upon Young and Joo, entities he had grown somewhat familiar with through necromancy. Just as they had shown no suspicion about his true identity in the dungeon, Joo once again treated him as if nothing was amiss.

Lee Soo had hoped that Joo might know more about his reincarnated state. However, Joo, as though fully aware of his internal conflict, left behind only a cryptic message:

“Lee Soo is Leesoo. Nothing has changed. Don’t be afraid—you are Ryu Leesoo.”

Whenever Lee Soo brought up anything related to his reincarnation, Joo would fall eerily silent. Over time, he had grown used to this selective silence, with Joo only engaging in unrelated conversations.

As Lee Soo was chatting with Joo, he frowned, noticing the sky beginning to brighten.

The once-dark sky turned lighter, and the cold rays of sunlight gradually warmed. Though he had countless unanswered questions, time had passed without mercy.

With a helpless sigh, he furrowed his brows and stared at the sky.

As if sensing his mood, Joo, a glowing orb hovering nearby, floated closer.

“Hmm? What’s the matter?”

[Joo: Hmm, I really shouldn’t tell you this, but… you’re so anxious, so I’ll make an exception. Lee Soo is Leesoo. Nothing has changed. Don’t be so scared. You are Ryu Leesoo.]

Just as Lee Soo opened his mouth to argue—pointing out that the fact he had reincarnated meant he couldn’t possibly be the original Ryu Leesoo—Joo vanished as if it had never been there.

Staring at the system window that now displayed only a notice that Joo had canceled the summoning, Lee Soo let out a hollow laugh.

One moment, he had been conversing with Joo; the next, it had disappeared without a trace. Startled, he waved his hand where Joo had been, though naturally, he grasped at nothing but empty air.

With a sigh, he glared at his empty hand. The silence was soon interrupted by a commotion outside the door, followed by a light knock.

Lee Soo flinched. Though he understood in theory that awakened individuals had enhanced senses, his body was not yet accustomed to the heightened sensitivity, so even the small noise startled him. Recovering quickly, he called out.

“Come in.”

As if waiting for permission, the door swung open before he had even finished speaking. Four people stepped into view—faces he recognized from the dungeon rescue team that had carried him to the ambulance.

The moment their eyes met, they flooded into the room as though they had been holding back a deluge of words. Their expressions screamed concern, but they held themselves back, likely out of deference to his fragile state. Instead, they lingered around him, checking to make sure he was okay.

“Are you alright?”

“Aigoo, look at you! You’re even skinnier than before, our poor Leesoo!”

“Don’t touch the patient’s face with those filthy hands.”

“Noona… your voice is too loud.”

As the four examined him, Lee Soo discreetly examined them in return. In the chaos of exiting the dungeon, he hadn’t had the presence of mind to figure out who they were, but now, their identities clicked.

They appeared to be the same four people who had cried the hardest at Ryu Leesoo’s funeral in the novel. In the original story, they had followed him around so much that they were practically described as Leesoo’s people.

Including Ryu Leesoo, the five of them had been treated as a single raiding party—a team. Although Lee Soo’s focus on Yoo Haeon meant he had skimmed over details about this group, he had a vague memory of reading such a description.

Piecing together names and faces, Lee Soo leaned back against the bed’s headboard.

The tank, Jeong Dahyun, the swordsman, Kim Dajeong, the mage, Kim Daul, and the archer, Yoo Sian.

Joo’s earlier words echoed in his mind: “Lee Soo is Leesoo.” Still, Lee Soo had a backup plan in case anyone suspected he wasn’t the real Ryu Leesoo. He decided to feign amnesia.

If these people believed he had lost his memories, it might prevent any misunderstandings about his identity. Hunters frequently suffered memory loss in dungeons, whether due to monster skills, curses, or sheer shock. It was a plausible excuse.

After waiting for the four to settle down, Lee Soo smiled sheepishly, scratching his head.

“Um, sorry to say this out of nowhere, but… I seem to have lost most of my memories. I don’t know why, so I don’t have much to say about it.”

Contrary to his expectations, the four exchanged glances and shrugged, looking entirely unfazed.

Their calm reactions caught Lee Soo off guard. His brows furrowed slightly as he scratched his head, confused by the unexpected response.

“Uh… this time seems pretty serious. Leesoo, what memories do you still have?”

This time?

The odd phrasing struck Lee Soo, who quickly deduced that this wasn’t the first time Ryu Leesoo had lost his memories. Perhaps it was related to his skill, necromancy, which involved summoning spirits. The nature of the skill could potentially affect his body and even his memories.

The reasoning made sense, and Lee Soo let out a soft, awkward laugh.

The four reacted in their own ways, but they all shared a similar air of discomfort.

“At least he remembers his name. Seriously, how did you clear the dungeon?”

“I followed the system’s guidance.”

“The system, huh? Yeah, that’s helpful. But… if this memory loss is a side effect of necromancy, isn’t it a bit extreme? And to top it off, everyone who entered the dungeon with Leesoo died. Ugh, what if this becomes a problem during the investigation?”

The mage, Kim Daul, muttered bitterly, her expression sour as she roughly tousled her pale blonde hair in frustration.

As she tangled her hair further, Lee Soo instinctively raised a hand to stop her, but another hand, belonging to the archer Yoo Sian—who shared her pale blonde hair—beat him to it.

Sian pressed her hand down gently and received her irritated glare with a practiced calmness before turning to Lee Soo.

“We should introduce ourselves,” he said with a warm smile.

“Why the sudden introductions?”

“Leesoo doesn’t remember us. We must be strangers to him. I know you’re worried, but the patient’s stability comes first.”

His composed reasoning convinced the others, who quickly followed suit and introduced themselves. While Lee Soo already knew their identities, he decided to accept their courtesy without revealing that fact.

As expected, their names matched what he had surmised: Jeong Dahyun, Yoo Sian, Kim Dajeong, and Kim Daul.

Relieved that he hadn’t mistaken their names, Lee Soo couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of unease about the reality of living as Ryu Leesoo. With a sigh, he leaned back against the headboard.

After the introductions, Kim Daul, the calmest of the four, provided a detailed explanation of his situation. While more thorough than what he remembered from the novel, the core facts remained the same: the story’s events hadn’t yet begun, so his death wasn’t imminent.

Ryu Leesoo was respected, kind, and highly skilled, just as described in the novel. Daul also mentioned that Leesoo was considered a candidate for guild leader.

Hearing this, Lee Soo involuntarily let out a dry laugh. While his primary goal was saving Haeon, another thought crossed his mind: he needed to switch to Haeon’s guild.

Even though they could still meet if they were in different guilds, physical proximity could help close the emotional distance between them.

While Ryu Leesoo might not care much about inheriting the guild, Lee Soo had no desire to stick around a guild he would leave behind anyway. His priorities lay elsewhere.

“Just wondering… does it have to be this guild? Since I don’t have my memories, working at a place I’ve been at for a long time might be uncomfortable. I’d like to try a different guild. Would that be difficult?”

Though he left the rest unsaid, his true motive was clear: before dying, he wanted to experience being coworkers with his favorite character.

The four immediately agreed with his decision, offering their support without hesitation.