SMFC | Chapter 24

“…Yeah. I’m sorry.”3a0fecbb8638e208

Haeon closed his 8849093dc0 eyes at the e3e8c3cfbe quiet apology, then 8e8ba910a9 opened them with 3538c7c1e4 a crumbling smile. What else could c51d855f3f he do? The fault lay 6daa57c0e9 in how much 1e88cc1d94 he cared for 40d78b90c1 someone like this.7dd2a6727a6e8aa5

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Lee Soo hesitated for 8be3fc32c1 a long moment, his 9bbf5d4c55 face tinged with guilt, 30351e09bc before attaching Mu to 0934c1201c Haeon and bolting toward ffaed6cddd the dungeon. Despite his initial hesitation, 93b771fee2 once he took the aca9f93ea5 first step, there wasn’t 63b93b0e5f even a shadow of 0882c40fb3 doubt in his movements.12672d4df922777e

The swaying 09e74f98fe black hair 976826712e disappeared into 9dc748b003 the gate, 6f3ff2f68e and with a4932b712a that, the 19c4a04f29 dungeon sealed 3af66b4064 itself, its d9992817a2 vibrations ceasing. Haeon slowly approached 1003e6f6f3 the gate, the e14c1ac43b one no one ba8958ce7a else dared to 8d1da55e29 approach, and asked 7835210d07 Mu, who floated d7fa3cfcb1 silently nearby.a773682a40a39460

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“Do you c6fb8c4b60 think he’ll 15d421e168 come back 9517fdc541 injured?”8c9e9ca2d07d7271

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

“…Yes.”2df93e755b2693a7

[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, full 7f388b1956 of trust, made 5053016182 Haeon want to d3eeaa15b2 question why Mu 17746ff369 sounded so certain. Instead, he tightly shut 9fddae9805 his eyes. It was unfamiliar territory, fc16a51917 this feeling of Lee e8416fc4fc Soo leaving his side. After all, Lee 37d35cd8bd Soo had never b14f41dd61 truly left him 735d522573 before. The fact that he 464803ad60 was gone now felt 3f87b7e1ea strangely significant. His empty 98ddab1976 hand quickly 89b9e5cf64 grew cold, 9e23895286 the sensation 724bebe409 almost unnerving f32ac54f8f in its 3642bb7944 starkness.3e837b5f3686c2c3

Mu, glancing at f11bda49b5 Haeon’s troubled expression, 54ae54603a reverted to her ee471d8b81 true form and f89040c265 gripped Haeon’s shoulder 1454518f5e firmly.3eb73ad4963f3828

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

The gentle yet 2ca8a648c3 powerful voice snapped bea7f855e6 Haeon out of 0784bc8651 his thoughts. He sat near the 0a3ba9fbd3 gate, staring at his 9328dd3ebd smartwatch as it buzzed bd1b539116 incessantly. Hesitating for a 591450adbc moment, he called d34e2d7d5a Eve directly, getting 9d6eb972ea straight to the 111a31e3cd point when she 56d373f78d answered.af1484bf82be7437

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“…This is Yoo Haeon. Hunter Ryu Leesoo 64ee0177d0 has entered the d755f928ac dungeon that appeared eff4c2764a downtown. The gate is now b14a20e58b sealed, so no one 9ce7ba1ca0 else can enter. Please dispatch healers in 8257524505 preparation for casualties and 0cf58f6b2d injuries.”88b06d329eb80ad7

[Eve: …Hunter Ryu Leesoo went in?]

“Yes.”4387805fa984f8b8

[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 89465f2d86 situation where everyone 62a27cfc90 but Haeon seemed 4e2b529cd3 to trust Lee 013005320c Soo, he frowned, 3bd625004f glaring at the c6a34ad8d5 tightly closed gate. If Lee 662722def3 Soo survived 6a0608af74 this time… ff1def6ed2 Then, no 362707a39f matter what 43ef9147b1 happened, Haeon b3219dfb6a vowed he d4ab7431f4 would trust 6b03ce412e him. Resolving himself, he finished 9ab8e656e4 making arrangements and sank d2b0a86e02 to the ground in 5fdd6e2310 front of the gate.5af9881707314dcf

The moment someone 252540df66 is lost, or 03d9e2d9c0 the moment they 946f069183 grow distant, that’s bf96dfd833 when you realize fb120e075b their importance to fe4e2f048a you—just like the 791cc711c9 foolish protagonists in c382d3a8b0 novels and movies. Haeon had always thought 3a33c87aa8 they were idiotic. But now he found 89d64752c4 himself doing the same 2dc02a2b97 thing. Letting out 01a4671f5f a dry 066ba213cf laugh, he c7761602ee sighed at 06b4c48b0b his own f0713063b8 ridiculousness.1f852a33b942b54a

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How long have 065b847978 I known him c9f775097a anyway? If I 1bb848d98d was willing 71d476015b to give 0663afda77 up my 076e749442 life force 16ed5d9937 to save 9b478d3871 him, clearly 544d2f9108 he meant 91406a2358 a lot 49967dd7d5 to me. Yet I only realize 231388f73d that now? Mocking himself f411da0fbd internally, Haeon 9917c0b45b closed his 99fd4d4532 eyes tightly, da3a37baf0 the ache eab7dd8d33 in his fbe8137d9b head refusing 3fc17e63f3 to go b79fc44cc3 away.766a061aac72f6a6

While Haeon wrestled with 39d7a4177d his thoughts, Lee Soo 4893b2481e wasn’t exactly having an 6e28539213 easy time either. Having to escort a 9e112e3719 group of ordinary civilians f6343a99ea through a dungeon? He’d rather deal with 2af476cfcc overconfident rookie hunters any a93ec978d0 day. The daunting task ahead a47f9a6182 made him sigh heavily.b69d525acc6c734f

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As he read 97db2170f1 through the dungeon 204e8ab3ad details displayed in d54bfb57a9 the system window, 7f1338cdcb he bit his 8f50fb03de lip lightly. Even with 7104a4bf1a his frustration 29fd39fd5c mounting, he 85d3bc726f summoned all 326780d416 the spirits 69e43d7639 except for b9def7a7b3 Mu, preparing b9f653af4d for any 24201571da unforeseen circumstances. After equipping 028448b4ce items pulled f957a0a098 from his 56133e7f9f subspace inventory, f5f754699a the faint a96f9fb33a jingling sound 7a9c7793d2 of his 280632a5e8 gear caught 08acc00b8f the attention 392c0d30c5 of the e8afd38d55 panicked civilians, 48afbeb7eb who stared 7d6c18df93 at him b866fa4991 as if 5e77de3bc1 mesmerized.94a494a1e5ec54bd

Their gazes f5b0458f01 weren’t as fd4743412f piercing as 42f46bfc48 those of f145c90111 other Awakened, e5c5f6719d so he 0a77cb0006 ignored them c08e46b02a and focused 97d991a7a7 on gathering 1a9b3971c3 everyone together. Scanning the b7b754154a crowd of fcccbb66b3 confused and 4edfc461c5 frightened faces, f2d24ab434 his eyes 832e22227c landed on 87f57e997e Jiwoo, who 2c24621cf5 stood pale 2a93be52ea and frozen c37cad1cb6 in the a4482a3258 middle of 5472723a05 the group.3855d2d38617ef51

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To anyone else, 6e0e4d5685 she might look 81778dfea2 like an ordinary 36a828b775 civilian. But Lee Soo knew 2bb1923318 better—he knew the kind 1673f9fff6 of love Jiwoo would 1d913b9f0f experience and the heartbreaking 753b896f8b end it would lead 5447efdfe0 to. He also knew staring b134271314 too long would only 18cb1c1444 make her suspicious, yet 47aa40a747 he found it hard 78862d3913 to tear his eyes a31fc45406 away.9115a791c8853421

Thinking about Jiwoo bed9ac8dda as Haeon’s potential 064ed254d1 partner and then 2e36bad3d0 seeing her in 5732e0e987 person were two 5b374ae734 very different things. His emotions churned uncomfortably, cbe7672f2b and he blinked slowly, 55d70f4be8 only snapping out of 81103afb4e it when the uneasy 1bcafdcdc2 murmurs of the crowd e162af3831 reached his ears.c84572dd739ec93d

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Aside from three a5f5ddcf99 people loudly worrying e1b53751ed about everyone dying f4a7356eb2 if they stayed 112b42cfe4 together, the rest 21a18e7ae1 of the group 89831adec1 had gathered. Tapping the 2eecd92373 ground lightly, 94e060e2c0 Lee Soo 9029ec80e8 took a d96366da32 moment to 0495dd08bd compose his ba76acc677 words, but 72645d421c before he acef24a317 could speak, cffbb43d3a a man cec8e2e800 called out cc1d566d5f hesitantly.fcce58c715d7d952

“Are you… a hunter?”68fc2d0b30146637

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“Ah, yes. I’m a hunter from 68faca43fa the Hawa Guild.”655d3dc3d805aeca

Keeping his introduction brief f5198defbc without revealing his name, cc22a2fcff skills, or position, Lee 03ac58e11e Soo’s reply made the 0d3ae5966f man smile widely before a1c8142597 speaking up.bcb6b8bdc7894e5e

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“Actually, I’m e8b3aecaea a hunter 35e7baa1a8 too! My position 122b6fafe3 is spear 2934443b57 fighter. The mood seemed 422e0d9793 off, so I e7172fabfb didn’t say anything c2ae446226 before, but I’m fd9815e7a7 telling you now. Do you d44398c56d have any 0121612f38 spare items 499b4bfdc5 that I 3ebce0c1a7 could use?”8704fe101912a641

The man 6cc5b3858e sidled closer 5344fc236d to Lee b3f73c8875 Soo as 75627008f3 he asked, 2ea91187a7 his intent 99e9af9c7c obvious. In the c81c1334c1 original story, 7f100e1661 when Jiwoo f4895042ea recalled this cab1493881 event, there b4d431217f was no cf2909fbf9 mention of 03441ed3dd another hunter. This man clearly 4dcffcf015 saw an opportunity d712a09fff to stick to ba9000adc2 Lee Soo for d5575a8bcb protection. After all, a hunter dd674c469c without items? If he 85c2b5164e wasn’t lying, e85babcaf9 he was 489caeec6d clearly a e8514233e1 freshly awakened 831c86992d hunter. Lee Soo, 2bbe94ec80 hiding his 6d88a87600 irritation, smiled 85889edb03 kindly and deceabfd15 replied.61e8b3a2c3ab82a0

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“I have a special 1a780a7834 ability as a hunter, a1e8d3a093 so even if I 7bb9f713a9 gave you an item, 070eebc20d it wouldn’t be much d6a492efd3 use to you.”2fe91674ddaaa7d7

“Huh? Even with b68042bdea a special 9376ce75e8 ability, skill d9806faaf6 amplification items 72769165e5 are shareable, 1ad89ef524 aren’t they? If it’s an d428f1c2bb expensive one, I’ll d0221e9d11 use it carefully. Two hunters would 86f45dc5fd make things much 798982558d easier, don’t you b335dc3dd4 think? Isn’t that 0dccbac582 right, everyone?”27521df9bb36a6d0

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Seeing that 03e086b213 Lee Soo 31c68c96b3 didn’t seem ba682a3207 inclined to 1564d138de listen, the 8356f7b2e0 man turned 31477752ce to manipulate a041f34067 the frightened 80e642f76d civilians, appealing 25d0f7cf2e to their 431770a738 survival instincts.ac542554367102b0

Under normal circumstances, 6fc158b4cb anyone with rational cd22ce539d judgment would trust 712f7dc3f6 a fully equipped, 0fdc92b6e7 competent-looking hunter like eaf76ce9cd Lee Soo over 58ad39897c someone without items. But in bfb64d9dbb this chaotic d4109b8609 environment, the 357ad17b32 civilians were 8f148eb5c6 easily swayed. Soon, murmurs of 5d0f2ce776 agreement spread—questions of 016d807093 why Lee Soo cd9bc3f1ef wouldn’t share, whether 7e3c0c2883 he planned to ccb842e734 abandon them, and b0c6d2df9f so on.485fe95524206290

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The man’s quick da1e27a19d thinking and confidence 42c743d344 in his abilities ebcce168b4 screamed “freshly awakened 0a53327314 hunter.” Earlier, Lee 1757ac4938 Soo had thought 98fd5f1821 it was better 9c8abdca15 to deal with b1432534c0 such rookies than d7c9c80afa veterans who’d been 0772842e58 hardened by the 8205dc45c8 field. Now he realized how d75a7d1289 foolish that thought was. He chewed 690e970413 back a d1303af020 sigh as e5c4ce407c he lowered 555e4763f2 his gaze, a43d636799 causing the cffedd7977 crowd to eb66d0f0d6 flinch slightly.4d6861f66680d0db

When Lee Soo didn’t 4eb43729bc react further after his 9f446848c2 sigh, people began chiming 90e4f97983 in, echoing the man’s b25ef390c4 sentiment about two fighters 9c4e8b414b being better than one. One voice 13f3ad91b9 became two, 0397af21f3 then three, 5219e8163c until most 0afc30f9d0 of the 7477a34002 group was 69e3667b18 in agreement.d40f5323c4675def

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The faint warmth 725b64271a from Haeon’s healing, 9a8ead2579 which had long b7e999697c faded, seemed to 59bca0e901 return briefly as 4231f7e814 frustration boiled within a54012a92f Lee Soo. Finally, he handed fd9d6835ba an item to 0f22da1519 the man.7c453217e6868b47

The man d48c79678e didn’t even 744f0c5cb4 try to 586c99193c hide his 7b5b7051db glee. He twirled the 8e5bf6d5e0 spear he was 18eaa0bea8 given, grinning like f5e35d1e90 he’d just won 7ff792b2d2 the lottery. With his 5647fffda7 confidence bolstered, 07ebd3414d he started 1da5ab4298 glancing at 55065e40eb Lee Soo’s b051fde7c0 equipped items bf14a62dd1 and the ec4a4d2b16 floating spirits f3a09688e9 that surrounded 61bba7e47c him, curiosity 960edd55ae dawning.e876dee4a41e794d

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“So, uh, what’s your 317b43034a ability?”e4e0686e1e01b913

“It’s not exactly polite e0acfe5cb1 to ask about another 7b6056eecc hunter’s abilities if they’re 8614de6aaa not in your guild.”61a888cf3209446f

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“In a 3fb825e39a life-or-death situation d2cd3763eb like this, 09d6c1a2ee isn’t it dc793403d5 reasonable to c531794e81 ask?”9f14e9e803cd09af

Lee Soo, who 1925a1940b had been studying 24f4972c8e the temple-like structure b6ab840567 of the dungeon 99174d0958 and recalling Jiwoo’s 3ea287e130 memories of it, d173357869 replied in an 8c13b739a9 exhausted tone. The dungeon 230c7724b3 raid hadn’t 6e48685a14 even begun, 264aac41df and he ddbc3c3acc was already dbfdb9f1b9 drained.e48e8cb0365a27fa

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“Necromancer.”2741036a9e82c25a

“…What?”2070ad2fd9d75f9d

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“I’m a necromancer.”bd58bc79c287d279

The man’s af5ce59de4 expression brightened a28ef44497 immediately, and aee8d00c01 he began 45a0ff6c7e boasting to 1b6f9d61a4 the group, 45ca4f6c37 loudly proclaiming e172565afc that they 5b7423ece3 had a 106ca74f4b rare necromancer, e2a6d671dc ranked nationally, c44bb2eb05 possibly globally, 24aaa8b90e in their ddea977de7 midst. By the end of 9a1c4f8ebb his spiel, he was c623c789be confidently declaring that with db06331dc9 Lee Soo there, everyone b9a50e61c3 would survive.12bc366c45a83795

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Lee Soo stared a26db33068 at the grinning 2567eb54e8 man with an 081ba6787b incredulous expression. If he a7e6cc8104 had only 7c9f0bfbee just awakened, 768b33b335 his system 7f1305bf53 level likely bbd7d654a1 wasn’t high, d426df7e08 and he 70b345237b wouldn’t have 4ea500b035 access to a8fe80ccc7 much detailed 216dc44e38 information.576ff4adb3f81385

Does he even know 8fcd3c80b8 the level of this 289b9b0a35 dungeon? Or is he b91a21da78 somehow a newly f165a0406b awakened but already b20d38378e high-ranking hunter? Does he genuinely 6d646f5cc3 think it’s possible 5d006ef2b9 to protect nearly 5dc5d04446 twenty civilians while 8bf73a6719 clearing the dungeon?f23b3f57fefd51e9

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His nonsensical boasting grated 9efc8114a5 on Lee Soo. The man fa34f67a79 clearly had e6555ff083 no intention a2474ffce5 of taking 82f1908ece the lead 7e00662cd7 and was e418e3535f just running b4cde26f60 his mouth. To make matters 0acad84abd worse, he hadn’t 26bc161f3a even scouted the ddaa6f5dbf dungeon’s structure or 8997712749 assessed their situation 14f82485a2 properly.e53c0422bcca018a

Noticing Lee Soo’s sudden bd59968bc4 drop in mood, the 5a683fab5a spirits let out threatening 6ad799680f sounds and returned to d4317992a9 their true forms in 55316568d3 unison. Ignoring the commotion, a24b0396db Lee Soo focused 10829b4ec0 his attention on b676843f0b Jiwoo, who remained 6036e94b3e silent throughout. Her braided cb00369870 white hair 67d0250688 framed her 92ad8efe19 determined face 6b9e8beb9f as she 5ca6383667 stared at 5837bcdb38 the ground e54d4f451c intently.d2f32af891b374ea

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The heroine 2eb9c31801 really is 5201ac1617 different. Unlike the others, 8875f3e8df she stayed quiet, 288c645bb9 which piqued Lee 8a6585a20a Soo’s curiosity. He found himself studying 97b37675fa her, momentarily distracted, before 21bedfe1b6 giving a slight hand a8e5de83c2 gesture. The spirits 486d599f12 moved forward, 245576c9cc positioning themselves d66da24296 protectively around 49f99ca66b the civilians.88e2404eba0127d1

There hadn’t been b3b5eea588 an alert for 22b9f4d9dd monster activity yet, 5e31ed7b81 but Lee Soo 21bd643fe1 remained tense, continuing 4fd8a06ef1 to read the 35ec3428f2 dungeon’s information.ea8a56539a9ba579

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Fortunately, this 7a5819d29f dungeon wasn’t 9712da8d54 overly complicated. It consisted of 86c55e4f70 three Named bosses, 1bfcc273e3 each appearing sequentially 5e85cb9224 after the previous 3ad88a9590 one was defeated. For a group fcde5a17fd of ordinary civilians, ce935af75f survival odds were 1ec8a68555 almost nil, but 569db9d782 with even one fd39978252 competent hunter, it e0b7613b60 was manageable.946109e2bd3c228d

The dungeon had designated 6436059340 safe zones where monsters be6201c524 wouldn’t spawn, which was 8fb1a3cf6b a relief. Once the Named began 9c63df2771 appearing, Lee Soo planned e206327add to herd the civilians 0eac4af27c into the safe zone e6f9cebf7e and proceed with the dfda8a5cb1 raid.43412d5fe2b4e8f3

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He clicked his tongue, ae425a44c1 hoping the safe zones 76ebccca95 weren’t too cramped. Checking the time, f77f35a605 he sighed heavily, 07c9886dc3 nodding to himself. Everything was exactly 2ae45028dd as described in 7d6b79c130 the original story, f41138f048 down to the edcab64da1 smallest detail—except for 2b336b25d1 his presence.4a3c375026a9c543