SMFC | Chapter 24

“…Yeah. I’m sorry.”

Haeon closed his eyes at the quiet apology, then opened them with a crumbling smile. What else could he do? The fault lay in how much he cared for someone like this.

Lee Soo hesitated for a long moment, his face tinged with guilt, before attaching Mu to Haeon and bolting toward the dungeon. Despite his initial hesitation, once he took the first step, there wasn’t even a shadow of doubt in his movements.

The swaying black hair disappeared into the gate, and with that, the dungeon sealed itself, its vibrations ceasing. Haeon slowly approached the gate, the one no one else dared to approach, and asked Mu, who floated silently nearby.

“Do you think he’ll come back injured?”

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

“…Yes.”

[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 of trust, made Haeon want to question why Mu sounded so certain. Instead, he tightly shut his eyes. It was unfamiliar territory, this feeling of Lee Soo leaving his side. After all, Lee Soo had never truly left him before. The fact that he was gone now felt strangely significant. His empty hand quickly grew cold, the sensation almost unnerving in its starkness.

Mu, glancing at Haeon’s troubled expression, reverted to her true form and gripped Haeon’s shoulder firmly.

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

The gentle yet powerful voice snapped Haeon out of his thoughts. He sat near the gate, staring at his smartwatch as it buzzed incessantly. Hesitating for a moment, he called Eve directly, getting straight to the point when she answered.

“…This is Yoo Haeon. Hunter Ryu Leesoo has entered the dungeon that appeared downtown. The gate is now sealed, so no one else can enter. Please dispatch healers in preparation for casualties and injuries.”

[Eve: …Hunter Ryu Leesoo went in?]

“Yes.”

[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 where everyone but Haeon seemed to trust Lee Soo, he frowned, glaring at the tightly closed gate. If Lee Soo survived this time… Then, no matter what happened, Haeon vowed he would trust him. Resolving himself, he finished making arrangements and sank to the ground in front of the gate.

The moment someone is lost, or the moment they grow distant, that’s when you realize their importance to you—just like the foolish protagonists in novels and movies. Haeon had always thought they were idiotic. But now he found himself doing the same thing. Letting out a dry laugh, he sighed at his own ridiculousness.

How long have I known him anyway? If I was willing to give up my life force to save him, clearly he meant a lot to me. Yet I only realize that now? Mocking himself internally, Haeon closed his eyes tightly, the ache in his head refusing to go away.

While Haeon wrestled with his thoughts, Lee Soo wasn’t exactly having an easy time either. Having to escort a group of ordinary civilians through a dungeon? He’d rather deal with overconfident rookie hunters any day. The daunting task ahead made him sigh heavily.

As he read through the dungeon details displayed in the system window, he bit his lip lightly. Even with his frustration mounting, he summoned all the spirits except for Mu, preparing for any unforeseen circumstances. After equipping items pulled from his subspace inventory, the faint jingling sound of his gear caught the attention of the panicked civilians, who stared at him as if mesmerized.

Their gazes weren’t as piercing as those of other Awakened, so he ignored them and focused on gathering everyone together. Scanning the crowd of confused and frightened faces, his eyes landed on Jiwoo, who stood pale and frozen in the middle of the group.

To anyone else, she might look like an ordinary civilian. But Lee Soo knew better—he knew the kind of love Jiwoo would experience and the heartbreaking end it would lead to. He also knew staring too long would only make her suspicious, yet he found it hard to tear his eyes away.

Thinking about Jiwoo as Haeon’s potential partner and then seeing her in person were two very different things. His emotions churned uncomfortably, and he blinked slowly, only snapping out of it when the uneasy murmurs of the crowd reached his ears.

Aside from three people loudly worrying about everyone dying if they stayed together, the rest of the group had gathered. Tapping the ground lightly, Lee Soo took a moment to compose his words, but before he could speak, a man called out hesitantly.

“Are you… a hunter?”

“Ah, yes. I’m a hunter from the Hawa Guild.”

Keeping his introduction brief without revealing his name, skills, or position, Lee Soo’s reply made the man smile widely before speaking up.

“Actually, I’m a hunter too! My position is spear fighter. The mood seemed off, so I didn’t say anything before, but I’m telling you now. Do you have any spare items that I could use?”

The man sidled closer to Lee Soo as he asked, his intent obvious. In the original story, when Jiwoo recalled this event, there was no mention of another hunter. This man clearly saw an opportunity to stick to Lee Soo for protection. After all, a hunter without items? If he wasn’t lying, he was clearly a freshly awakened hunter. Lee Soo, hiding his irritation, smiled kindly and replied.

“I have a special ability as a hunter, so even if I gave you an item, it wouldn’t be much use to you.”

“Huh? Even with a special ability, skill amplification items are shareable, aren’t they? If it’s an expensive one, I’ll use it carefully. Two hunters would make things much easier, don’t you think? Isn’t that right, everyone?”

Seeing that Lee Soo didn’t seem inclined to listen, the man turned to manipulate the frightened civilians, appealing to their survival instincts.

Under normal circumstances, anyone with rational judgment would trust a fully equipped, competent-looking hunter like Lee Soo over someone without items. But in this chaotic environment, the civilians were easily swayed. Soon, murmurs of agreement spread—questions of why Lee Soo wouldn’t share, whether he planned to abandon them, and so on.

The man’s quick thinking and confidence in his abilities screamed “freshly awakened hunter.” Earlier, Lee Soo had thought it was better to deal with such rookies than veterans who’d been hardened by the field. Now he realized how foolish that thought was. He chewed back a sigh as he lowered his gaze, causing the crowd to flinch slightly.

When Lee Soo didn’t react further after his sigh, people began chiming in, echoing the man’s sentiment about two fighters being better than one. One voice became two, then three, until most of the group was in agreement.

The faint warmth from Haeon’s healing, which had long faded, seemed to return briefly as frustration boiled within Lee Soo. Finally, he handed an item to the man.

The man didn’t even try to hide his glee. He twirled the spear he was given, grinning like he’d just won the lottery. With his confidence bolstered, he started glancing at Lee Soo’s equipped items and the floating spirits that surrounded him, curiosity dawning.

“So, uh, what’s your ability?”

“It’s not exactly polite to ask about another hunter’s abilities if they’re not in your guild.”

“In a life-or-death situation like this, isn’t it reasonable to ask?”

Lee Soo, who had been studying the temple-like structure of the dungeon and recalling Jiwoo’s memories of it, replied in an exhausted tone. The dungeon raid hadn’t even begun, and he was already drained.

“Necromancer.”

“…What?”

“I’m a necromancer.”

The man’s expression brightened immediately, and he began boasting to the group, loudly proclaiming that they had a rare necromancer, ranked nationally, possibly globally, in their midst. By the end of his spiel, he was confidently declaring that with Lee Soo there, everyone would survive.

Lee Soo stared at the grinning man with an incredulous expression. If he had only just awakened, his system level likely wasn’t high, and he wouldn’t have access to much detailed information.

Does he even know the level of this dungeon? Or is he somehow a newly awakened but already high-ranking hunter? Does he genuinely think it’s possible to protect nearly twenty civilians while clearing the dungeon?

His nonsensical boasting grated on Lee Soo. The man clearly had no intention of taking the lead and was just running his mouth. To make matters worse, he hadn’t even scouted the dungeon’s structure or assessed their situation properly.

Noticing Lee Soo’s sudden drop in mood, the spirits let out threatening sounds and returned to their true forms in unison. Ignoring the commotion, Lee Soo focused his attention on Jiwoo, who remained silent throughout. Her braided white hair framed her determined face as she stared at the ground intently.

The heroine really is different. Unlike the others, she stayed quiet, which piqued Lee Soo’s curiosity. He found himself studying her, momentarily distracted, before giving a slight hand gesture. The spirits moved forward, positioning themselves protectively around the civilians.

There hadn’t been an alert for monster activity yet, but Lee Soo remained tense, continuing to read the dungeon’s information.

Fortunately, this dungeon wasn’t overly complicated. It consisted of three Named bosses, each appearing sequentially after the previous one was defeated. For a group of ordinary civilians, survival odds were almost nil, but with even one competent hunter, it was manageable.

The dungeon had designated safe zones where monsters wouldn’t spawn, which was a relief. Once the Named began appearing, Lee Soo planned to herd the civilians into the safe zone and proceed with the raid.

He clicked his tongue, hoping the safe zones weren’t too cramped. Checking the time, he sighed heavily, nodding to himself. Everything was exactly as described in the original story, down to the smallest detail—except for his presence.