print("Hello, World!")
"Gayeon unnie. Wait, just wait a sec…!"
A faint voice pierced through her drowsiness, jolting Seoya awake. Glancing out the window, she saw it was still early dawn. The sky peeking through the curtain gap glowed an eerie blue.
What's going on?
Ji Sein's voice kept drifting in from outside the room. Seoya, with her sharp hearing, groaned and finally dragged herself out of bed. It wasn't just Ji Sein—Lee Gayeon and Baek Yena were there too, all three deep in conversation about something. The voices came from the direction of the front door; they seemed just about to head out.
Why's Sein unnie going out?
Heading out in the dead of night like this meant a dungeon or monster wave had popped up suddenly. But even when that happened, usually only Baek Yena or Lee Gayeon would go—Ji Sein never did. In fact, in the month Seoya had spent in this world, she'd never once seen Ji Sein step outside the house. Baek Yena had called her a "hikikomori" for it.
"No choice today. You know that, Sein."
"Ah, unnie… It's obviously a death sentence. I don't wanna go, I'm scared…."
"Hey, you gonna keep jinxing it? Who's dying?"
Seoya slipped out of bed and tiptoed across the floor. The cold wooden boards chilled her bare feet.
"You think I'd leave my baby and die? I'm clinging to life like crazy now."
"But, but how do we clear an S-rank dungeon…!"
Seoya froze mid-step. Even if they never talked dungeons with her, she had the basics from the news. S-rank was the highest, strongest level. Baek Yena was an S-rank hunter, and that Go Heejae guy was too.
An S-rank dungeon? That's insanely dangerous, right?
Seoya flung the door open. Ji Sein, sniffling with Lee Gayeon gripping her wrist by the shoe rack, quickly wiped her tears and schooled her expression when their eyes met.
"Unnie, where you going?"
"Uh, huh? Just clearing a dungeon and back. Baby, go back to sleep."
Baek Yena tried to play it cool, masking her panic.
"It's S-rank, right? Isn't that super dangerous?"
"I'm an S-rank hunter too, y'know. We can clear it, no problem."
"Then why's Sein unnie going? She never goes out. If it's bad enough she has to, doesn't that mean it's really dangerous? You don't have enough people who can clear it, so you're dragging her along?"
Baek Yena ruffled her messy hair, frowning slightly.
Damn, the kid doesn't think at all usually, but why's she gotta overthink now?
"It's risky normally, yeah, but this time tons of hunters are going in. Forty from our guild alone, plus thirteen from others. Fifty-three total."
Lee Gayeon stepped in for the fidgeting Baek Yena, acting like it was nothing.
Fifty-three… Can they pull it off?
Seoya pondered. Killing monsters chipped away at your "mental strength" or whatever… With that many people, could they spread the load enough to take them all down?
"Unnies, I'm not affected by that mental strength thing. Why not send me?"
Seoya looked at them hopefully, but none agreed. Not Baek Yena or Lee Gayeon—and even Ji Sein, who looked terrified of the dungeon, just shook her head calmly and slipped on her shoes.
"Seoya, back to bed."
Lee Gayeon met Seoya's eyes squarely. Bedhead indigo hair all tousled from waking up, those bright, sparkling indigo eyes, pillow creases on her pale cheeks, sky-blue pajamas. No matter how strong the kid was, she was still human.
Send that into a dungeon? I'd be a criminal. A straight-up criminal…
Plus, those nightmares screamed mental trauma from her home world. No way were they risking her.
"Seeing her awake like this, guess the cypress pillow didn't help."
"No, unnie~ I told you ages ago that stuff's useless! Vitamin D's all she needs~?"
"Letting the baby sleep alone was the problem from the start. We gotta book that psych clinic ASAP."
Seoya retreated from the entryway with a weary face as their familiar bickering resumed. Ever since she'd asked if they'd abandon her not long ago, their overprotectiveness had kicked into overdrive, now including her mental health.
"Seoya, don't step outside alone, got it? Promise?"
"Yeah, promise."
Promise made, no backing out. Seoya trudged back to her room. Even Ji Sein, who'd been clinging and whining about not going, freaked at Seoya's offer and geared up like she was ready to fight.
Well, they can handle it without me, obviously.
Seoya burrowed under the fluffy blanket up to her chin. Earth had managed fine without her before; the locals could handle it.
By morning, it'll all be sorted like always.
When she woke, the unnies were still gone. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, Seoya checked the clock: 9 a.m.
Still not back?
She grabbed milk from the fridge, poured it into a glass, and headed to the living room to flick on the TV. News would tell her what was up. She'd learned about this world through the television since arriving.
Right as it turned on, the channel was covering that dawn S-rank dungeon. Two anchors and an expert bantered, with this scrolling at the bottom:
Six of them?
Were S-rank dungeons supposed to spawn like that? Seoya settled lazily on the sofa, gulping milk, figuring it was no big deal—until the next exchange made her spit it out with a pthoo.
A man with faded gray hair and round glasses drawled slowly.
Eh?
Seoya uncurled from her sofa ball.
The unnies?
But the hunter safety talk seemed wrapping up; now it showed dungeon locations on-screen. Unable to shake the unease, Seoya jumped up and tried calling Baek Yena, Lee Gayeon, and Ji Sein on the phone they'd given her recently. No answers.
Right, Haejun oppa.
"Not answering, leaving a message after the tone—."
Park Haejun wasn't picking up either. With forty from Neverending alone heading in, he had to be one of them.
What do I do now?
Figuring things out alone had always been tough for Seoya. Especially with so little info. She couldn't break her promise not to go out.
Left alone, Seoya clutched her head and groaned.
Tap, tap-tap—
In the chilly room, the relentless typewriter clacks echoed. The long-unventilated space reeked mustily. The old ceiling light creaked.
"You sure this is okay?"
Taesa stood behind Ibin, asking. His red hair, matted with sweat, draped over his neck. His heaving breaths suggested he'd sprinted from afar to arrive just now.
Ibin, meanwhile, wrapped blue mana around her ten fingers like thread, nosebleed streaming. She plugged it with tissue, but it did little.
"Just drop the magic stones and go. Before you get caught."
Ibin's voice was ice-cold. Taesa dumped an armful of glowing blue magic stones beside her. Fist-sized ones scattered across the floor. She picked one up.
"Seoya—survival confirmed?"
"Yeah."
Ibin replied curtly, tossing a stone into the hole in midair. It met her mana, exploding in black light beyond.
"One error popped. If Seoya enters a dungeon, I'll assign her as a variable. Bit more work, and I can contact her directly."
"Guarantee she holds out that long?"
"Time flows differently, so yeah. And I've got contingencies if something happens to me— she can manage solo."
"Really no issues?"
"Long as HQ doesn't catch me right now, it'll go smooth."
Taesa gnawed his lip, staring at her.
"Is Seoya… doing okay?"
"No clue. Thought she'd hit a dungeon right away to save people, but no word. Kinda surprising for her."
"Ibin, pioneers'll be back at HQ soon. Contact Seoya before then."
"I'm fine. You prep a solid pretext."
Taesa clenched his fist. Nails dug deep, blood trickling from his right hand. Pain? Nothing.
She's endured worse.
He deserved this punishment.
"I'll flip it all."
"Good, but more than pretext… Seoya's our top priority. Always has been."
Taesa nodded slowly, his face graver than ever.
"My Seoya—no contact yet, but…."
Muttering to herself, Ibin suddenly hammered the keyboard, fingers dancing with mana threads.
"She'll have to come now."
Indecipherable numbers and symbols raced across the monitor.
"Six S-ranks at once? That'll do it."