[No title provided]
This was Wonhyo the Great Master's skull broth? 'Eh, wh-what...?' The reality was so far from what she'd imagined──and feared.
She'd steeled herself for something like, 『Now kill each other.』 But the site that greeted them was... just a place desperate for extra hands.
The passage had collapsed from the battle's aftermath, and they needed more manpower to reopen it. They couldn't waste combat-ready hunters on rubble, so they'd rounded up porters to haul rocks and dirt.
Short-staffed, they'd even pulled in mining team hunters. It wasn't some novel plot where they lured people in as monster bait.
Cha Yaeun, blissfully unaware, had spent the trip simulating every wild scenario in her head.
Ugh, mortifying.... I got way too immersed in that novel.
Good thing no one knew. If word got out, she'd want to die for real. Cha Yaeun hung her head, hiding her shame-flushed face.
Lips clamped shut, she shoved aside nonsense like hidden pieces and massacres, silently clearing rocks.
Still, what a relief. Right? No matter how cutthroat this world is, it's still human society.... A novel's just a novel.
Sure, reality sometimes outdoes fiction, but if it happened all the time, the world would be chaos.
The last incident was just bad luck, she told herself, grunting "Nngh~ Cha!" as she shoved a massive boulder.
No heavy machinery in a gate, so pure manpower it was. Extra pay sealed the deal, and since she'd volunteered, time to hustle.
Thanks to tailing the novel, I scored unexpected cash.
Chicken with the siblings when I get home.
"Huh...?"
As the collapsed passage cleared, normalizing bit by bit, Cha Yaeun spotted something off.
"Two... passages?"
Structurally, it should be a single straight shot. But the rocks revealed a second one that had no business being there.
Others noticed fast.
"What the hell? No way... a secret passage?!"
"Jackpot...! Hidden like this?!"
"Blessing in disguise, huh?"
Crimson Guild had groaned when the fight collapsed the passage, delaying the raid.
They were running rookie training with newbies, which led to the uncharacteristic slip—a wayward attack caved it in. No casualties, but blocked path equaled headache.
Who could've guessed that blunder would uncover a hidden passage?
"This has to be it, right? A hidden piece!"
"Not confirmed... but prime fortuitous encounter odds."
Crimson Guild swiftly assessed, securing and controlling the site.
Eyes gleaming at the windfall, they eyed the hired porters, ensuring no funny business.
They looked dead set on diving in to claim it, but—
"Shouldn't we contact the Guild Master first? Prep properly?"
One stayed cool-headed, not rushing.
Smart. Roses have thorns; such luck demands caution.
Unknown perils inside. Assume worst, gear up, return later—but—
"What if others beat us to it?"
The on-site authority saw it differently.
"Too many outsiders witnessed. Info leak inevitable; hyenas will swarm."
Fair point. Can't hand fortune to rivals.
The Crimson exec with command authority decided.
"Current forces can handle typical threats."
Thorough prep for rookie training meant yes, average dangers were doable.
Average dangers, that is.
Lee Seoryul, the regressor who knew the horror lurking beyond that dark maw, fixed it with cold eyes.
Now it gets real.
She'd come here, identity hidden, to avert today's catastrophe.
Not for the hidden piece, but to save the doomed.
Pre-regression, she'd picked Crimson over the Association. Joined rookie training here, got dragged into the mess.
While she stepped away to secure the mining team, entrants discovered the secret path—and all died inside.
Crimson lost key assets in a blink; snowball to disaster later.
No hidden piece waited—just death.
Now she stood ready to stop it.
She ached to shout the truth, hold them back. But impossible, so this covert play.
Leave from Association, infiltrate incognito, aid Crimson unseen, rewrite history.
Her envisioned future needed Crimson strong; no losses here.
Plus, save comrades lost too soon. Only she remembered, but the pain lingered.
Especially in that grueling war: If they'd lived...
This time, everyone survives. No question.
She could. Had to.
Post-event, the late-arriving Guild Master solo-avenged them. Possible.
Regression cheat made her power Crimson Guild Master Red Witch Seo Dami's equal—or better.
Not for nothing guilds and Association scrambled on her license day.
She trusted herself to foil the tragedy.
But reality—
Strong. This thing might outmatch the gate boss...!
Regressors weren't gods. Lesson learned.
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The guardian swung its halberd with murderous fury, intent on total annihilation.
Locked in fierce melee, Lee Seoryul gritted out a groan.
Crimson's vanguard? Wiped. Alive but injured, sidelined.
Facing it solo, she realized her error.
Pre-regression, Seo Dami soloed it because guildies had softened it first—at the cost of lives.
No deaths, clean resolution? Failed.
Frustration bit deep; teeth ground.
I admit it. Prediction off. Got arrogant with my future knowledge, went soft.
Reflection done, she glared at the foe.
Bronze golem radiating no-mercy lethality, vowing zero survivors.
Nothing left to guard, yet it held position.
Aura wasn't bluff; active barrier sealed retreat.
Explains why guildies died trapped pre-regression.
But now? If someone pinned it, she could shatter the barrier...
Goal: save Crimson lives.
Quashing battle lust, she brainstormed amid ongoing clash.
Fist-blocked the halberd, hammered its chest.
Drew waist sword for follow-up slash.
Plain bronze? Shredded. Magic golem? Unyielding.
Full commitment? Winnable.
But no—can't expose aces here; priorities first.
"Someone... buy time! I'll smash the barrier, open escape!"
No takers for her plan.
Not wariness of mystery powerhouse or defiance.
Veteran frontline? All retired injured.
Left: rookies crushed by terror, morale pudding.
Can't shove healers or casters upfront.
Situation forced it.
Hold that monster briefly? Sans death?
Life precious to all; hesitation gripped them—
"I'll... I'll do it!"
Out of nowhere: Cha Yaeun.
"Just stall? I'll make it work!"
Porter versus that? Not die instantly = win.
Absurd normally. But not normal now.
Healer/caster backup? Doable.
"Just... seconds. Dodge, distract."
Trust and pray.
Guardian checked, she swapped with Cha Yaeun, eyed barrier timing.
Late ID on her—same freak survivor from Blood Demon mess.
Hand off rear, focus barrier breach.
"But..."
Then—
"You sure? The, hidden piece──."
"Pardon?"
Cha Yaeun's random line baffled Lee Seoryul and Crimson alike.
Hidden piece? Now? Circumstances screamed none.
"N-no, nothing! Slipped from nerves. Ahaha..."
Awkward laugh, tone off-key.
Lee Seoryul eyed her: She gonna be okay...?
Doubt crept in about suddenly dumping stall duty on her.