Neo Hyung-seok
I fired off a barrage of questions at Neo Hyung-seok. Did he know how to become a dominator? How did he end up here? Did he know the identity of that giant skeleton monster? And so on.
[Please wait a moment. I will recall my memories.]
Neo Hyung-seok spent a long time sifting through his memories. It was only natural—it took ages to dredge them up. Not only did he have Min Hyung-seok's memories, but also those of the corpses mixed in as additional ingredients.
[Ah. These must be the memories of this person called Min Hyung-seok. Now I can answer you.]
Neo Hyung-seok answered my questions one by one.
[I'm sorry, but I don't know how to become a dominator.]
[I was brought here by the labyrinth's selection. I... no, Min Hyung-seok was an explorer right from the start. There were other explorers selected alongside Min Hyung-seok, but they all died quickly.]
[That giant skeleton monster is called Giant Bonefind. It's normally the type that doesn't attack first, but Min Hyung-seok kicked a stationary Bonefind to pick a fight. That's how the battle started. The info on Bonefind came from memories other than Min Hyung-seok's.]
"What a crazier bastard than I thought. Why pick a fight with a guy just standing there?"
It was absurd. Was he suicidal or something?
'Picking a fight with an actual SSS-grade threat. He got wrecked fair and square.'
...Well, Min Hyung-seok probably didn't know how strong that giant skeleton monster was. He didn't have my ability to gauge threats like I do. Still, jumping into a fight without sizing up the opponent was straight-up idiotic.
[Are your questions finished?]
"No. Still a ton left."
I kept grilling him. How far had he explored the labyrinth? Tell me about any dangerous areas. What were the conditions for dominating monsters? And what the hell had he done to his dominated monsters like Melody Fox to make them hate him so much?
The reason turned out to be simpler than expected.
[He made his dominated monsters fight each other every day. Just for fun.]
After a long session of questions, I got all the answers I wanted. And finally...
I asked if Min Hyung-seok had ever summoned allies and fed them to monsters—like he tried to do with me.
Neo Hyung-seok paused for a moment before answering.
[Yes. About five of them.]
"So it wasn't his first try with me—he's been a repeat offender from the start. Psycho."
I'd gotten all the answers I needed for now. More questions might come up later, but the immediate ones were cleared up. Time to hear about the messy personal drama I'd put off earlier. Honestly, this was what I was most curious about right now.
Start with Ppururu for the story, then verify with Neo Hyung-seok.
"No clue. How would I know that?"
Lee Eun-ji was the name of a girl I'd once liked. She'd dated Min Hyung-seok briefly back in school, then apparently rekindled things after growing up and even got married. News to me.
Ppururu's words hit like a shock. That sweet girl cheating on her husband? Had all her innocence from back then vanished?
People really are unpredictable.
"So that's why Min Hyung-seok felt betrayed?"
"Hold up. Not a lover, but a mistress?"
Another shocker. Cheating... with a woman? Every revelation was breaking new records for legend status. Dan-bi had no reason to lie about this. But maybe it was just a vicious rumor?
I checked with Neo Hyung-seok for confirmation. The answer was affirmative. It was true—he'd cheated with a woman.
"...My head's spinning. Dan-bi, so what frame job did she pull?"
"......"
"Yeah."
I answered honestly. Liking someone isn't something to be ashamed of. The crush had fizzled out quickly and easily, but the fact that I'd liked her was undeniable.
"She was just... really kind. Not a little kind—extremely. To the point where everything Ppururu just said sounds unbelievable."
No lies mixed in. I'd been fact-checking with Neo Hyung-seok in real-time right next to me, and every answer came back positive.
"What? How do you know that, Dan-bi?"
Had I ever told her? I hadn't mentioned the confession to anyone.
"Why reject? My feelings had cooled off completely by then, obviously."
Back then, I'd even felt jealous when she dated Min Hyung-seok. But that jealousy didn't last, and my feelings for her faded fast. Probably wasn't true love. The jealousy might've just been inferiority over Min Hyung-seok's good looks.
"Rejection line? What'd I even say?"
"It's been so long, no memory."
"Go ahead. Now I'm curious too."
"...I said that?"
My memory was hazy. But it kinda rang true.
"Not exactly... Well, who'd prefer a partner with experience? Anyone, guy or girl."
Paradoxically, adapting to Elemen西亚 had made me lean toward polygamy. But I swallowed the rest to avoid waves. No one I liked right now anyway.
Everything we'd heard so far was 100% true—no lies. Neo Hyung-seok, with Min Hyung-seok's memories, confirmed it again. Separate from trying to kill me, the guy had a pitiful, twisted life.
And one more bombshell: Among the allies Min Hyung-seok summoned and fed to monsters, Lee Eun-ji was one of them.
After hearing that, any pity for Min Hyung-seok evaporated. No sympathy for Lee Eun-ji either. Birds of a feather, perfect match.
"Probably just a rumor. Don't spread unconfirmed crap."
We dropped it there. Neither Min Hyung-seok nor Lee Eun-ji existed in this world anymore. No need to badmouth the dead further.
[Master's master!]
Curse Devil called out urgently.
"Curse Devil, that title's been bugging me... I'm not your master's master—I'm his friend."
[Then I'll call you Master! You're as good as one to Master's friend! Yo-ho-ho!]
"...Do whatever. Why'd you call?"
[Ah! Cracks are starting on the egg now—you should hurry!]
Cracks on the egg? I checked the remaining evolution time.
Time Remaining Until Evolution: 00:00:15