Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Silent Dungeon
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“…….”
Seol Do-yoon blinked, gripping his massive thorned club.
It was eerily quiet.
He swung the club in short, powerful arcs. The early stages didn’t matter if he died repeatedly. It was all about gathering data.
Maybe he should act even more boldly.
“Hello.”
Still no response—just silence.
Could that tree be a trap? Seol Do-yoon pulled three arrows from his quiver and nocked them onto his bow.
‘Mana Arrow’
[[Mana Arrow x3] activates.]
The three arrows settled onto the bowstring and absorbed his mana.
Twang—the taut string pulled tight with a creaking strain.
Closing one eye, Seol Do-yoon aimed at the distant black tree.
Mana swirled around the arrows and bow, forming a deep blue haze.
He held the fully drawn string for a moment, releasing it once enough mana had infused the arrows.
Ping, whoooosh!!!
The mana-charged arrows rocketed forward at terrifying speed, piercing the distant tree.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sharp arrowheads burrowed into the thick trunk.
The arrows’ ferocious velocity sent faint wisps of smoke rising from the impact points before they dissipated.
And then, unbroken silence.
“…….”
It seemed the dungeon monster here had retired.
Or maybe it was off the clock.
Seol Do-yoon approached the black tree, his ‘Pain of the Flower Tree’ blooming with black flowers in his hand.
‘No wind.’
Standing before the black tree, Seol Do-yoon stared intently at its branches and leaves. Not a single twitch.
The air flow was so nonexistent it felt artificial.
As he brought the ‘Pain of the Flower Tree’ closer, the black tree extended a branch, connecting it to itself.
Seol Do-yoon reached out and summoned the info window.
[Legendary] Ryukrian Flower Tree
Description: A lotus flower tree that extended roots into the wrong soil and died.
‘For something dead, it’s moving awfully lively.’
Seol Do-yoon extended his hand again, this time checking the tree’s info with his unique status window.
[ç ³전ª¼수] Ryukrian Tree
º§¿: Ryukr ³ can extend roots into fertile moist soil. Lotus likes prey that can be eaten, escaped from, and maintained.
“…….”
Roughly, the unbroken letters read: eat, escape, maintain.
It seemed to have some unknown effects.
This info window, which he’d had since opening his eyes, hadn’t always been glitchy like this. It started malfunctioning after he got caught in the ‘Mermaid Gate,’ like water had gotten into the machinery.
At first, seeing this incomprehensible window all by himself made him think he had some mental illness, but since it provided genuinely useful info, he decided to call it a superpower.
Even now, glitchy as it was, he could sometimes piece together the unbroken text for valuable insights.
It was similar to yet different from the standard system windows given in Nina Pinta.
As he aged, more menus appeared, but with the unreadable text, he had no clue what they said.
Seol Do-yoon snapped off a twig from the Ryukrian tree.
[Legendary] Pain of the Flower Tree
The item he’d had before reappeared.
Given the effects like ‘eat, escape, maintain,’ something probably happened when it was consumed.
For now, he’d hold onto it.
‘Guess nothing’s coming out till the end.’
This was a new one. Normally, entering a dungeon triggered attacks from low-level mobs right away.
Even if stealthed, they’d leave air currents or presences. But here, nothing.
The monster was called Black Ghost Knight, right? A novel case.
He should head back to base and check if any gates in the real world matched this pattern.
Gates and dungeons differed, but they shared structures and formats.
Nina Pinta felt like an RPG second world modeled after real-life features, so similar real-world gate cases might let him infer info here.
‘Mental-type monster gates reportedly had no low-level mobs?’
Mental gates had only been found in Uzbekistan so far, so internal layouts were unknown, but survivors all emerged deranged.
He turned toward the exit to check other dungeons.
He walked for five straight minutes.
The exit remained distant.
‘Trapped. How do I get out?’
A mental type after all.
Was it ruthlessly simulation-like because it was a gate before a game?
No clue when the illusion started.
The black tree from earlier was gone, so maybe he’d just fallen in.
‘Mental type... What form will it take? Cliché trauma stimulation?’
Pondering traumatic memories as he walked, scenes lodged in his mind flickered past.
A fox kit torn apart alone by a beast.
A kitten kit saved from death by its parents.
Parents dying to protect their child, a kid’s corpse slain by a monster while fleeing.
The dead child wore a lost-child prevention necklace around its neck.
He picked it up and put it on his own.
It felt like a scene from before the orphanage, wandering mountains evading monsters.
Showing vague memories suggested it was dredging up dormant unconscious ones.
As he traversed the black void, a girl estimated at 4 or 5 splashed water from a bucket over her head, scrubbing her hair with soap.
It was young Lee Sa-byeok from childhood.
Little Sa-byeok, pouring basin water over her head, stared right through him.
She wiped her face with hand-washing motions, grabbed her wet rubber slipper in her left hand, and waved her right while calling his name.
“Hey, you!! Let’s play pebble flipping!!! I folded an awesome one!!!”
The pitch-black space began shifting into the orphanage.
“…….”
Encountering Sa-byeok in this unconscious reflection felt unwelcome.
Especially in a simulation—his data might get recorded somewhere.
Seol Do-yoon turned away from young Sa-byeok.
The orphanage backdrop reverted to darkness.
After a few steps, a 10-year-old-looking Sa-byeok popped up, shoving her face close and hanging off his neck with her arms.
The surroundings morphed into the old Association room they’d shared.
Two small beds. A floor hole hiding various items.
As Seol Do-yoon eyed the changing scenery curiously, Sa-byeok tugged harder.
“Hey.”
Her face pressed close, noses nearly touching.
“Why’re you avoiding me?”
Seol Do-yoon blinked dumbly at her face for a moment, then smiled and pried her arms off his neck.
“’Cause you’re an illusion. If you were real, I wouldn’t.”
“Why am I an illusion? You suck. That’s your standard. From my view, you’re the illusion, jerk.”
Classic Sa-byeok rebuttal.
He’d amassed big data on her in his brain, so her speech and retort mechanics simulated the real thing eerily well.
Seol Do-yoon turned to walk away from the elementary-school Sa-byeok.
“Hey, where you going!!! ”
Suddenly, she grabbed his arm desperately.
“Don’t go!!! I’m not an illusion!!! ”
“…….”
“Being left alone in this dark space is lonely......”
Sa-byeok bowed her head, tears dripping.
Halted by her grip, Seol Do-yoon stared at the crying girl for a long moment before smiling.
“Fine, one illusion-check question then. Info only we know, so you can answer, right?”
“What?”
“What’s the passcode to my third hideout.”
“9832?”
“Hmm......”
Seol Do-yoon stroked his chin at her answer.
“That was info only I knew. You’re an illusion, confirmed.”
He pulled the thorned iron club from his inventory and swung at illusion Sa-byeok.
[Crazy bastard.......]
The illusion dodged without contact, rippling like water, scraping out a metallic voice before vanishing.
The Association dorm backdrop faded back to darkness.
‘What kind of mental type is this?’
It kept spawning Sa-byeok to torment him.
Not the trauma-reenactment type rendering one combat-incapable.
Nor the good-memory trap locking one in blissful paralysis.
‘From that flustered monster voice earlier, it reads memory anchors to recreate scenarios and distort memories.’
A new mental monster breed. No such type in reality either.
Seol Do-yoon clicked his tongue. Of all anchors, Sa-byeok.
‘No helping it. She’s the one I’ve spent most time with.’
If the monster read his memories, it’d be Sa-byeok everywhere—easy to exploit.
But disappointingly, Sa-byeok let it do nothing.
No emotions hindering choices or actions, beyond shared time and memories.
He just wanted her gone.
‘Gotta kill the monster to escape.’
He’d tried hitting earlier, but it vanished like haze.
It’d hide behind illusions, avoiding hits.
Then, a current-era Sa-byeok voice echoed from afar.
One leg missing.
She limped closer, grabbed his collar, and sobbed.
“You fucking asshole!!!! I told you not to target people as weaknesses!!!!”
Weakness? What was that?
The surroundings shifted again.
Now, gate outskirts.
Suddenly, his awareness blurred.
‘What was I doing here?’
Oh, right.
Sa-byeok had an accident patrolling this gate, so he’d come.
She’d lost her leg entirely.
Worse than thought.
Strong winds shook surrounding trees. The backdrop sharpened.
“What’re you talking about? Don’t target people?”
Seol Do-yoon tried to piggyback the struggling Sa-byeok but switched to carrying her when the position was awkward.
Get her to treatment fast.
Leg bleeding nonstop, so he tore his shirt sleeve for hasty tourniquet.
“Ever since you used Ra-hee unnie on that old guy, I’ve been uneasy!!!!”
“What?”
“And all the other crap you’ve pulled—I almost died because of it!!!!”
His head throbbed like a hard smack to the occiput.
Sa-byeok buried her face in his arm, bawling.
“Thought your precious people were safe while you grabbed others’?”
“…….”
“Won’t let my guard down, you said. All talk, asshole.”
His mind chilled.
Figure out the situation first.
Assigned to this gate that trapped and cost Sa-byeok her leg... and he’d assigned it.
“Lee Yoo-hyun?”
Last convo was with him.
Something about Sa-byeok came up; he’d slipped once, shown temper.
Just once.
That one slip let them grab his weakness.
Heart pounded fiercely.
Seemed like a warning for using Ra-hee as leverage.
Deliberately assigned Sa-byeok to a dangerous gate?
Long ago, he’d heard Lee Yoo-hyun couldn’t be trusted fully—set up a device to kill Ra-hee instantly if needed.
Guess it got exposed.
That’s why you don’t fully trust people; long work dulled his vigilance.
‘Stupid...’
He’d do the same: play nice long-term to lower guards.
How hadn’t he prepared for that?
“......Sorry, I’ll fix it somehow.”
“Ha, fuck. Unawakened, leg gone—now what!!! I’m done for?”
Sa-byeok clutched his collar, tears flowing.
“I’ll call hunters to search the gate for your severed leg. Might reattach if lucky. Worst case, I’ll research a high-tech prosthetic. One that jumps 10m without awakening. Sound good?”
Seol Do-yoon hugged Sa-byeok, patting her back. She trembled, terrified of leg loss.
“All your fault. Why do I pay for your deeds......”
“Sorry. Tried my best to be careful. Sorry....... Won’t let this happen again. Sorry......”
Head spun.
Sa-byeok had lost too much blood.
En route to hospital, Seol Do-yoon checked her pulse repeatedly, fearing death.
Still pulsed vividly, like a living person’s.
Heart raced raggedly.