Chapter 127
Chapter 127
Civil Servant Hunter’s S-class Resignation Log – Chapter 127
108 years. It was an impossibly distant span of time, even for the world's strongest L-rankers. No one dared to speak.
"108 years...?"
"No way! Someone who's lived for 108 years still looks like they're in their twenties? Even healers can't stop aging. What the hell did you do?"
Monic, the world's top healer who'd treated countless patients, couldn't even cure those who'd succumbed to old age.
"I don't know why my youth is preserved either. But while 108 years passed inside the dungeon, only five years went by on Earth. Maybe that's the reason."
"Something like that is possible...?"
"No one predicted the world would turn out like this, right?"
The world had changed beyond recognitionwhat could be impossible now? Seong Ja-rim's words rang true, leaving Monic without a retort. She plopped back down into her seat.
"Can't argue with that. Hmm. Still, I'd love to examine you thoroughly someday and find out the truth."
"Could you not phrase it like dissecting a lab rat...?"
"Aren't you curious about the exact reason yourself?"
"Not at all!"
"What a shame."
Seong Ja-rim shuddered at the genuine regret in her voice. For some reason, she just didn't vibe with healers. Same with that Chihuahua back in Korea.
"Fine, let's say you're the world's sole dungeon survivor. If Alex vouches for it, it's probably not a lie."
The conference room, abuzz with confusion, settled a bit at Ali's words as she propped her legs up on the round table. As she said, Chancellor Alexander Roderick wasn't the type to endorse wild claims without reason.
"The true nature of dungeons and gates that only you knowwhat is it?"
"Alien planets."
"...Alien?"
"Yeah. Gates are interdimensional portals. Dungeons are planetsliving worlds in the universe, just like Earth."
The room, which had quieted momentarily, now fell awkwardly silent. The quiet stabbed at Seong Ja-rim like icy needles. But she'd crossed the line between life and death dozens of timesshe wasn't fazed. She hadn't expected instant belief anyway.
"The planet I was on was called Baskar. Its environment was totally different from Earth's, but one thing was the same: Awakeners, gates, dungeons, and labyrinths. They had them all too."
"Hold on. This is too much info at onceI'm getting dizzy..."
Roderick rubbed his temple, interrupting her.
"So dungeons aren't just monster neststhey're actual planets out in space...?"
"Yep. Hard to believe, I know, but trust me. When I went to Baskar, it even had moons. Like five of them."
Yoon Se-ra recalled that dungeon from her memory. Five planets drifting in the sky. Ah, so those were moons, not planets.
"Seeing that makes it obvious I'd know about the apocalyptic world in the labyrinth."
"..."
"Myths can be real events from other dimensions. Lookgods we dismissed as fantasy are right here with us now."
Roderick sighed deeply at the unimaginable scale. Dungeons and gates weren't mere monster holes.
Even knowing their nature didn't reveal a way out of this crisis. If anything, solutions felt even more elusive. How could they fully seal off the monsters' crossings?
And could they truly trust Seong Ja-rim, who'd lived 108 years on another planet?
"I figured you weren't ordinary from the start, but over a century old? A dungeon survivor from another planeta returnee?"
Julian chimed in, marveling. Roderick frowned at his giggling.
"Julian Martinez, is this a laughing matter?"
He just shrugged off the reprimand.
"No reason to take it so seriously. Getting stuck in a dungeon isn't a crime. So what if dungeons and gates are cosmic? We just learned the truthnothing changes."
Julian was right. Whatever dungeons and gates were, Seong Ja-rim was just an unlucky victim. They owed her thanks for sharing unknown truths, even if it complicated their heads.
"Never thought I'd hear that from the chick. How intriguing."
Ali snickered at Seong Ja-rim's quip. Garcia and Monic chuckled too. Roderick realized he was the only one treating this gravely.
Just like Julian saidnothing really changed.
"But one thing bugs me. You were there 108 years, right?"
"Yeah."
"That means Awakeners have existed there that long? Unlike us, where it's only been 12 years since the cataclysm."
Ah. Roderick's head snapped up at the unexpected point.
"Then couldn't we prepare for our future based on what you saw there?"
"Julian, what's gotten into you? Having productive ideas like that."
"Better than Garcia. Sometimes I wonder if that guy's got a brain."
Ali and Monic praised the insight. Julian gets so much flak, Seong Ja-rim thought.
"I've been studying Korea lately since I'm interested. They have a saying that fits perfectly: Even dog shit has its uses."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The real legend was Oliver. The three Koreans sank at the deadpan bomb. Sure, the proverb existedbut from Oliver?
Watching him smile, as if checking if he'd used the idiom right, killed any urge to laugh. She was curious how he studied Korean.
"Are you insane? Treating me like dog shit?"
"That's not what the proverb means..."
"First chick, now dog shit. Julian, loving all these nicknames? Too bad we can't share with the others."
"Chick's fine, but dog shit? No!"
Dog shit started flying in the once-serious meeting.
"Focus on the meeting, please."
Roderick finally slammed the table, scattering the chaos. These L-ranks got distracted at the slightest lapse.
"But Julian Martinez's point is spot on. Hunter Seong Ja-rim, could you tell us what you saw there?"
Yoon Se-ra and Kang Se-jun instinctively glanced at Seong Ja-rim.
The one who'd led a planet to ruin.
Recalling that would be harsh for her.
But she shrugged it off lightly.
"No big deal. Not much to say, though. They had labyrinths too, but the contents were all different. Even this 8th floor was nothing like what opened there."
Disappointment crossed Roderick's face.
"You don't know how to make dungeons and gates disappear?"
"Well, there is one way..."
"There is? What is it?"
Roderick clung to this last hope. Seong Ja-rim scratched her head, wondering if she should say it.
"...Planet destruction?"
"..."
"Once all life vanishes... they stop appearing."
Everyone's faces twisted in horror. They wanted to ask how she knew but also felt they already did.
Even Yoon Se-ra and Kang Se-jun raised both hands, shaking their heads as if to say don't ask more. Silence fell.
No one dared probe further.
* * *
After the debrief, Seong Ja-rim and Kang Se-jun gathered in Yoon Se-ra's suite. A few unspoken matters from the meeting lingered.
"Kang Se-jun. When are you revealing you're a regressor?"
Seong Ja-rim had come clean. He hadn't.
"With returnees already here, adding a regressor won't change much."
"Like you said, this life's diverged so much from my past fiverevealing now won't hurt. But something bothers me. I want your thoughts."
Yoon Se-ra and Ja-rim tilted their heads. This was new.
"What is it?"
"I mentioned this life differs greatly from my previous five, right?"
Yoon Se-ra's survival when she'd died before, Seong Ja-rim the returnee appearing for the first time, the sudden key emergence, and the Cheorwon Dungeon incident. Countless changes.
"The labyrinth was different too."
"I thought it was weird. You said labyrinths never change, but what we saw inside was way off from your description."
Kang Se-jun had said Oliver activating Michael's stigmata would summon the apocalypse dragon. But not that the snakes would merge into a dragon.
"Come to think of it, the apocalypse dragon's dying words were off too."
"What'd it say?"
Yoon Se-ra, who'd passed out, asked. Kang Se-jun replied.
"It definitely said 'ally.'"
"I can't die here! Ally! Ally! Where are you? Save m!"
Yoon Se-ra's face hardened.
"An ally? The labyrinth owner has an ally?"
"I've killed that dragon multiple times, never heard such a thing. That's why I'm uneasy. I'm holding off on revealing I'm a regressor to investigate. But if it gets out, it'll draw unwanted attention."
"Fair point. An ally that didn't exist before... Could it tie to that key incident?"
That would be bad. It'd mean a monster colluding even with the labyrinth lord.
Why am I thinking of that beauty from the gem mansion now?
Yoon Se-ra recalled her labyrinth dream. The nameless beauty talking with her mom, Hyun Jae-hee.
No way that's the ally, right?