Chapter 234
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: A Past Even She Didn't Know About
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"Ah.... I'm going crazy. What the hell am I supposed to do about this...."
Sejeong tore at her hair.
If their relationship had been good, would her life have turned out completely different? It surely would have. Han Minguk was now one of the top heroes drawing the attention of all Korea.
After letting out a deep sigh on the bed for quite a while, Sejeong slowly got up. The sun was high in the sky, but the company had given everyone the day off because of the reporters.
As she headed to the living room, she sensed someone watching TV.
'Dad?'
The only person who could be home at this hour was her dad.
Glancing at the TV screen, she saw her little brother Minguk on it. He'd been handsome even as a kid, but after awakening as a hero, his looks had really leveled up, was her first thought.
Anyway, Minguk was on a broadcast teaching someone. It was that program he'd appeared on before, My Precious Hero, which Han Sejeong had watched live. And sprawled out straight on the sofa was her mom.
"M-Mom? You didn't go to work?"
Sejeong startled at the sight of her mom and asked.
"Took the day off."
The curt reply, without even turning away from the TV, carried a lot of meaning.
At her mom's reaction, Sejeong bit her lip slightly. Dad thought she and Minguk had fought like sworn enemies and he'd run away from home, but Mom knew to some extent why Minguk had left and cut off contact with the family.
Such an awkward silence stretched on for about ten minutes.
"About Minguk's engagement party. I'm thinking of going."
At her mom's words, Sejeong's heart sank. Her eyes, fixed on the floor, shook without focus.
"......Okay."
"We're his parents, after all. Can't keep cutting ties forever...."
Besides, if the parents didn't show up to such an important event, there'd surely be talk about Han Minguk's family background.
Moreover, Minguk was a hero expected to play a major role in defending Korea from the darkness monsters. And his fiancée was none other than Kang Chaeyoung. As parents, they couldn't smear their child's reputation.
"Sigh.... Minguk reaching out again means he's softened up a bit, maybe.... Anyway, you brace yourself too."
"...Okay."
"If anything from the old days comes up even a little, apologize to Minguk right away. Say you're sorry."
"...I know."
As soon as she answered, a deep sigh echoed. Seeing her mom like that made Sejeong feel like a stone had been placed on her chest.
If she hadn't let her stupid curiosity get the better of her....
If she hadn't been a high school senior ruled by her lust....
If she'd just exercised a little more self-control....
Then this soap opera-level family mess wouldn't have befallen them....
But no matter how much she regretted it, years had passed since it happened. And after pretending not to know each other all this time, who knew how deep the rift in their emotions had grown.
'He probably won't even acknowledge me, right?'
The memory of Minguk looking at her like a bug long ago made Sejeong shudder reflexively. Even in that moment, her phone had been buzzing nonstop, demanding attention.
Kyaaack!
"Wiped out fast. Heading back for another try!"
At the team members' screams echoing from afar, Minguk immediately signaled a full party wipe.
Having successfully cleared Titan Sanas, the GGW raid team pressed on against the named bosses of the Double Helix Dungeon.
But their progress wasn't as fast as the time invested might suggest. That was only by Minguk's standards, though—to others, it was blindingly quick.
[Kang Chaeyoung: What? You've already taken down 6 named bosses?]
You could tell just from Raid Leader Kang Chaeyoung's reaction, seasoned as she was.
In the chat room with just Han Minguk, Oh Hyun-ah, and her, Hyun-ah posted real-time dungeon progress updates every day, leaving Chaeyoung tilting her head in disbelief each time.
Admittedly, the Memoria raid team had reset the dungeon once due to a timer issue, forcing a restart from the beginning. But now, after about twenty days of serious clears since entering, Minguk and GGW had conquered all nine named bosses up to Ephlaxis, and were tackling the final one: Abyss Tracker - Orlas.
"What happened?"
"Someone in our party stepped on the wrong platform, triggering Orlas's ambush. That's why the team wiped."
The members, revived at the dungeon entrance via Revival Stones, gathered together.
They all turned to Jeong Yerin, who was leading Team 2 this try. Under their gazes, she opened and closed her mouth a few times before speaking.
"...Sorry. We nailed the memory game, but I rushed and hit the wrong floor panel."
"Ugh, my fault."
Yerin bowed her head deeply, and Shirahui Mai dropped to her knees beside her, head lowered.
In truth, Jeong Yerin hadn't made any mistake. Her judgment in the memory game pattern had been spot-on. But Shirahui Mai had rushed and stepped on a trap panel, triggering Orlas's assault.
"If I hadn't messed up and stepped on that white panel...."
Saying that, Shirahui Mai squeezed her eyes shut. With the long katana at her side, the team couldn't help but see her as a samurai on the verge of seppuku.
They'd only wanted to know the reason for the wipe, not to blame a teammate, so the women nearby quickly reassured her and helped her up.
Still, Yerin and Shirahui Mai fidgeted, stealing glances at Minguk. After all, the raid wipe was on them. Minguk patted their heads casually, as if it were nothing.
"It's fine. Everyone messes up sometimes, right? Anyway, succeeding at the memory game means we can shake off Orlas's pursuit. So we're basically there."
Clapping his hands, Minguk rallied the team.
60 tries? Maybe 70? Either way, it'd taken a ton of time. But now, the dungeon clear was in sight.
'This place had a lot of headache-inducing bosses.'
The Double Helix Dungeon's big three—Titan Sanas and Ephlaxis—were tough enough, but other named bosses had worn them down with novel patterns.
And the final named, Abyss Tracker - Orlas, felt tricky even by Minguk's measure.
That was because every Orlas try required splitting the raid into two parties to evade its pursuit pattern.
If the team clumped up to flee, at least half would die to its ambushes. To avoid that, Minguk had to split them, which multiplied the tries.
Even with comms, he couldn't monitor both sides himself, so he had to trust the teams completely. That explained the high wipe count.
'There were ways around it, though....'
The memory game to dodge Orlas's pursuit.
To evade ambushes from Orlas hiding off-field, heroes had to step on platforms in a set sequence. Naturally, before the ambush, the panels flashed quickly, hinting the order.
The catch? Step on them in exact sequence without error—and it wasn't easy. Early on, three panels sufficed to confuse Orlas and dodge, but late tries demanded over ten perfect steps.
Minguk had expected headaches from it himself, but an unexpected helper appeared.
"Huh? Memory game? I looove these!"
Qwoo♡, who'd introduced him to the Chaos Shop and Sex Coins, popped up and cleared it flawlessly, zero mistakes.
Thanks to her, Minguk aced the memory game easily. But the other split party wiped repeatedly on it.
Still, their hard work was paying off. As the team got the hang of it, successful memory game clears increased.
"Nail the memory game, and this guy's a pushover. The other patterns are trickier, honestly...."
"That's nothing. The memory game's what pisses me off most."
"I just learned my memory sucks."
As Tanya scratched her neck awkwardly and Yuna chimed in, the GGW team agreed—the memory game tormented them all. Minguk figured Orlas would fall easily once they cleared it consistently.
"Our raid leader's amazing, huh? Skills on point, and smart too.... I love smart guys."
Giselle sidled up to Minguk, her gaze sticky as her finger traced his collarbone.
"Come to think of it, you've never messed up the memory game, right, Raid Leader?"
Kim Sojeong nodded right away.
"Ahem! That's my man right there."
"...I'm in the cartel too, you know?"
Minguk quietly shut his mouth as the team gazed at him with envy. Truth was, he wasn't doing it—Qwoo♡ was.
'Whatever, good is good.'
No way he could admit that.
The next try began.
Even at full sprint, it took over ten minutes from entrance to Orlas.
"Ugh, it's so far."
"Why can't we use vehicles in dungeons?"
"They say non-Gear Score hero gear disintegrates the moment you portal in, right?"
"What kinda principle is that?"
Thus, Minguk and the team fought mid-dungeon mobs en route to Orlas. To minimize time loss, they had to give every try their all.
"You all know Orlas's attack patterns by now. Memory game's the hurdle.... You got this?"
"Yes! We'll nail it this time."
"No pressure, though. Wipe, and we try again."
Despite her enthusiastic reply, Yerin's face was stiff, so Minguk tapped her cheek lightly.
Among the members, Yerin's memory was the best, so the memory game relied on her. Still, her success rate was impressively high.
"Got him?!"
"Kyaaah!!!"
"Fucking monster!"
After three more tries, Minguk and GGW finally downed Abyss Tracker Orlas for the first time, wrapping up the Double Helix Dungeon.
"...Ah."
"Yeah, seed's a bust."
The bummer? No Dawn Knight class from Orlas's loot chest. But with low class stone drop rates, it wasn't devastating. Grinding was endless anyway.
'Plus, Double Helix drops purple-grade crystals too....'
And more.
It yielded Gear Score gear to boost the team's specs. Not BiS, but pieces pushing 1130+ Gear Score.
With those upgrades, they'd tackle 【A-4】, then 【A-3】, and finally their goal 【A-2】 difficulty dungeons.