Dinosaur (2)
Lee Jong-su, his head wrapped in bandages, stared blankly at the food tray set before him.
"……."
He couldn't wrap his head around it. The clean, well-balanced meal featuring meat and even a fried egg, the comfortable environment, his rapidly recovering fatigue and stamina—all of it.
"Hyung, you're awake?"
He jerked his head up. It was Im Hae-jun.
"Y-Yeah. Hey, Hae-jun."
"How are you feeling?"
"I-I'm okay... But where, where is this?"
"Where else? Seol Ha-woon's Base."
Which meant the east.
He understood it even less now.
How could a base be this clean? He must have dealt with the eastern magical beasts all by himself.
"How did you end up like that, Hyung?"
"I... got a bit lost."
While evacuating to Kate's Base, they were ambushed by beasts, and the team naturally split up.
Actually, at first, he hadn't thought of running away, but of sacrificing himself.
This labyrinth is doomed anyway, so maybe I should pretend to be devoted and manage my public image.
But the moment he faced a beast, his brain froze. He was just terrified. He felt like if he died here, he would truly die.
So, he ran and ran, and the place he arrived at was...
"We have another mouth to feed."
Just then, the master of the base arrived.
"What are you doing? Eat up quickly and get to work."
Seol Ha-woon waved his cane at Lee Jong-su.
Clang!
A crystal shattered. The spoils were a single bead and a crystal fragment.
In the middle of the beasts' corpses, Kang Hyun's party wiped away their sweat.
Remaining Crystals: 30
"There are still thirty left."
Ryu Yeon-hwa sighed. Kang Hyun sat down on a nearby tree stump.
His party member, Lee Shin-hye, muttered worriedly.
"We can manage somehow... but can the base hold out?"
Kang Hyun shrugged, as if he didn't know.
"But Hyun. What are these crystal fragments used for?"
Lee Shin-hye made a point of sitting right next to Kang Hyun.
"They're fragments of Cognitive Flame. Spoils of war. They will manifest into whatever object you desire, Shin-hye. The more fragments you have, the greater the wish you can fulfill."
It was a mechanism similar to the beads, but while the beads were limited to this labyrinth, the crystal fragments would likely only be usable once they went outside.
"Ah~ Wow, Kang Hyun, how do you know so much?"
Lee Shin-hye's casual exclamation.
Kang Hyun turned to look at her. For a long moment, he said nothing.
"...Hmm?"
His retinas were clear and deep as glass. Unlike usual, it was eerie.
Soon, a bright smile appeared on his lips.
"The beads are used in a similar way. So I figured these might be similar too. I checked the information with the telescope I got from the gacha, and it turned out to be true."
"Ah~ Can I tell the others too?"
"Yes."
Lee Shin-hye picked up her phone.
As she sent a text message to someone, Kang Hyun watched her with cold eyes.
Swoosh!
An arrow pierced a crystal. It was a spell arrow crafted by Seol Ha-woon himself. Its power was far greater than it had been during the Cargo Labyrinth.
Im Hae-jun was amazed all over again.
"That is seriously insane."
"With this, the 'swords at our backs' have been cleared."
At Mr. Kim Yong-tae's words, Im Hae-jun smiled.
"Indeed."
They had cleared all the crystals behind the village.
"The remaining crystals..."
Remaining Crystals: 22
"Twenty-two... That's still a lot."
Still, seeing the number decrease in real-time meant everyone was working hard. The problem was that their own crystals were also decreasing.
"We only have four of our own crystals left... Huh? It went down by one? Jong-su hyung!"
"Huh?"
Lee Jong-su turned around while munching on snacks. Having joined them this time, he was definitely helpful.
They said he was an elite warrior who had only walked the elite path, and he wasn't called an elite for nothing.
"Jong-su hyung. Do you know where this is? The light went out."
Im Hae-jun pointed at the map.
"Ah. Here..."
Lee Jong-su's face darkened.
"It's Yoon Hwa-rim and Seo Ji-woo's side."
Rumble──
The fortress walls were collapsing. The walls they had painstakingly built were being destroyed.
It was heartbreaking. It felt like her heart was being ripped out. The memories they had made... might be an exaggeration, but similarly precious memories flashed through her mind.
"Hwa-rim! We have to go now!"
Yoon Hwa-rim stared blankly at the endless wave of beasts.
"Hey, Yoon Hwa-rim!"
"...Y-Yes?"
Seo Ji-woo dragged her by the arm.
"We have to go! Hurry!"
The base had already collapsed. The walls had been destroyed long ago, and soon the crystal would be crushed by the beasts as well.
"What about these people?"
However, Yoon Hwa-rim was more worried about the 'people'.
Fourteen people. The civilians who had trusted this shabby base, trusted that she would protect them, and stayed here, handing over their meager food supplies.
"There's nothing we can do. After all..."
They're just Labyrinthins.
Even Seo Ji-woo couldn't bring herself to say those words. Children, mothers, fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers. The families looked exactly like the people in their own world.
"Master Yoon."
Just then, the mercenaries stepped forward. It was Brunson, an A-rank mercenary whom Yoon Hwa-rim had appointed as commander.
"We'll handle this."
"...What? Handle this?"
Yoon Hwa-rim looked at him with bewildered eyes.
"We will buy as much time as possible. Please move to another base with the civilians."
"But..."
They were offering to sacrifice themselves. Tears welled up in Yoon Hwa-rim's eyes. She looked at the many mercenaries lined up beside Brunson. They all seemed to share the same sentiment.
Brunson smiled.
"Don't worry. We can just use our return devices."
"Ah..."
Yoon Hwa-rim lowered her head. She clenched her fists, trembling.
In the end, it was because of her lack of ability.
If only she had been a slightly better spellcaster, if only she had worked a little harder, if only she had slept a little less.
This wouldn't have happened.
"Master Yoon. Raise your head and protect the civilians."
"...Mr. Brunson."
Watching this scene, Seo Ji-woo scratched the back of her neck.
Yoon Hwa-rim was the type of person who would share even a single bean. Even if she was greedy sometimes, it was never for herself, but for everyone.
It seemed these mercenaries also thought highly of her for that.
"I won't forget this," Yoon Hwa-rim said, her voice choked with emotion.
The time they spent together was barely a week, but the density of it felt like more than three months. Hardships and trials created that kind of special bond. Days so full of meaning flashed through Yoon Hwa-rim's mind.
"Yes. Go quickly. There is no time."
"Right. Let's go, to Kate's."
Seo Ji-woo also pulled Yoon Hwa-rim along. Yoon Hwa-rim shouted to the civilians.
"Everyone, follow me!"
With that, she threw her last remaining bead.
She used it to create a cart. The cargo labyrinth cart that had become her trauma. Even the design was identical.
"Everyone, get in!"
She wouldn't make the same mistake again.
"Oh, thank you, Inspector..."
"Inspector. You can leave us behind..."
"What nonsense! I'm taking you with me even if it kills me!"
Seo Ji-woo and the fourteen civilians climbed into the cart.
"Hang in there! Don't you dare die! That is my final order!"
Yoon Hwa-rim shouted to the mercenaries. They made 'O' signs with their fingers to show they understood.
"...Seriously. I am never looking at those guys again."
She grit her teeth as she gripped the steering wheel.
'Those guys' referred to the Offenders. The ones who had run away faster than anyone else the moment the base showed signs of ruining.
"Especially Kim Dong-ha and his crew. I hope they rot."
Strategically, it was the correct choice.
Seo Ji-woo pointed ahead.
"Hwa-rim. Focus on driving."
"...Just a second."
Yoon Hwa-rim looked back one last time. She engraved the sight of the mercenaries blocking the beasts with all their might into her retinas.
Sniff. Sob.
Wiping away her tears, she stepped on the accelerator.
...6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th.
Six waves rushed in over the course of three days. The intervals had shortened.
Though the number of enemy crystals had also decreased quite a bit.
"One of the three... has fallen."
Headquarters, the town hall. Im Hae-jun pointed at the map with a gloomy face.
"Since the updates are delayed, it probably fell yesterday or the day before."
It was Jo Woon's base, which had held out until the very end.
"Hyung. Why aren't the other Offenders looking for us? It would be so much easier if we worked together."
Im Hae-jun muttered inquisitively. Lee Jong-su flinched.
It wasn't just a flinch. The entire table rattled.
"...What?"
Im Hae-jun and I turned to look at Lee Jong-su.
"……."
Lee Jong-su swallowed hard without a word. I glared into his eyes and asked.
"What did you do?"
"No. No. N-No. N-No..."
He slowly averted his gaze.
"Jong-su. You only get one chance."
Lee Jong-su looked into my eyes, quickly cast his gaze down, looked up slightly again, and cast it down once more.
"Ah, well... that... I..."
Lee Jong-su's confession of conscience followed. He confessed that he had actually called the Offenders and suggested they gather in the west.
"...I'm sorry."
"Wow. Hyung, you're unbelievable. You completely left me out and said that?"
"No... well... that... uh..."
"It's fine."
I swept my hair back.
"It was more rational to move in the west from the beginning anyway. The bases are concentrated in the west, and there are more enemy crystals there."
The proof was that Kang Hyun chose the west. He is more rational and logical than anyone.
"And I was too tired to reply anyway."
I looked at Lee Jong-su.
"Which means it's not your fault."
Lee Jong-su suddenly bit his lip. It looked like tears were welling up in his eyes.
"Cry and you die."
It would be too disgusting if a guy the size of a house started crying.
He was already repulsive enough.
"...I'm sorry."
Beep-beep-beep- Beep-beep-beep-
Lee Jong-su's phone rang.
"Ah."
Lee Jong-su quickly hid it.
I furrowed my brows.
"What is it now?"
"Wow, this hyung is hiding something again."
Im Hae-jun also narrowed his eyes.
"No. It's not that I'm hiding it, it's..."
"What is it?"
"It's... a request for rescue."
"A rescue request?"
"Yes. Don't worry about it..."
"Give it here."
"Ah, it's fine. You should rest, Hyung-nim. May your royal body remain hale and hearty. I'll take care of it—"
"Give it here before I beat you."
Lee Jong-su, suddenly using extreme honorifics, hesitantly handed over his phone.
"Ah, well... you know how I was active in a team and then got separated? Well... Kim Dong-ha and those guys seem to be at Kate's Base right now."
"These have been coming since yesterday."
"Yes. I was worried it would stress you out, Hyung-nim..."
"You should have told me sooner."
"But it's not like we can do anything for them anyway..."
"Jong-su."
Thud. I set the phone down on the desk.
"This is a group project. Not a competition."
Now, only two bases remained.
Which meant cooperation was essential.
"...I'm sorry."