Unlocking Toda's Hidden History

After confirming that Go Heejae would help, Seoya moved to close the system window when one unread chat message suddenly caught her eye.

'How the hell did he know?'

At the words that felt like he was watching her every move, Seoya flinched.

Wait—thinking about it, maybe he was actually watching her?

Seoya answered bluntly, without any sugarcoating.

It was only natural. She didn't particularly distrust Kwon Yooseok, but to her, Go Heejae seemed superior. And it was hard to trust someone whose true intentions were so opaque.

Ah, right—friends.

Regrettably, Kwon Yooseok was the first peer friend Seoya had ever had.

'Come to think of it, Ibin-unnie said friends are people you trust.'

Staring at Kwon Yooseok's loaded words, Seoya pulled a puzzled face but dismissed it as nothing important and flopped onto her bed without a second thought.

That's when an important issue she'd almost overlooked popped into her head.

'Oh, right. I need to tell Na Seonghyeon not to make those metal movable type things or whatever...'

The next day, cloaked up, Seoya sat on the sofa at the top floor of the Neverending Guild Building.

No one else dared use that sofa anymore, making it practically her exclusive seat.

Soon, a careful knock echoed from the door.

It gave her a strange sense of déjà vu from when she'd met So Eunsu and So Euneung not long ago.

"Come in."

As Seoya answered the knock, a woman with long brown hair cascading down opened the door and entered.

Her overall impression was soft and kind, so even hearing Seoya's voice wouldn't lead to digging up personal info for blackmail, or so she thought.

"This is Jeong Sira."

"Ah, hello, Seoya-nim!"

Jeong Sira bowed her head politely, and Seoya awkwardly waved back in response.

"Um, straight to the point..."

Jeong Sira cautiously perched on the sofa in front of Seoya and pulled something from her bag.

"This is it... The item's name can't be read..."

A rusty old golden padlock, just like the key. The keyhole looked like a perfect fit for the key she'd gotten from the So siblings recently.

Seoya stared at the padlock with sunken eyes.

"Equation..."

'Toda's destruction and its reasons...?'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Seoya knew well that Toda had been ruined by the sudden appearance of Mutants, but she had no clue what this padlock meant by that.

"Where'd you get this padlock?"

At Seoya's question, Jeong Sira widened her eyes in surprise at the youthful voice, then quickly composed herself.

"I was at the excavation site of the world's first dungeon, and I found a familiar Korean name there. That's why I brought it to you."

"The world's first dungeon?"

"Yes, you probably know—it's in Turkey."

Seoya, who hadn't been on Earth when the first dungeon appeared, had no idea, but it seemed like common knowledge to Earthlings as Lee Gayeon nodded from behind Jeong Sira.

"Why'd you go to the Turkey dungeon?"

"Normally, when a dungeon is cleared, nothing remains at the site. But with the first one in Turkey, the ground was deeply dug out, and items appeared inside."

Seoya sat there blankly, listening intently to this new story.

"The world was too chaotic back then to excavate, but once things stabilized, digs have been ongoing..."

"...Yeah."

Not knowing a thing about the Turkey dungeon, Seoya awkwardly chimed in.

"Items are still turning up there. I'm not Turkish, so I had no right to join the Ephesus Ruins excavation, but I've always been personally interested... Luckily, thanks to you and Go Heejae-nim, Korea has some pull with dungeons. So right after awakening, I applied and went."

Jeong Sira spoke with sparkling eyes, as if recalling the ruins.

"It was an amazing place... Even though it's an artificial ruin made by the dungeon, it felt like it'd been there forever..."

"So the stuff about the equation—you just read the reward?"

"Yes. I don't know what it means, but I thought you might..."

So Jeong Sira didn't know any of the truths Seoya was hiding. A relief for her.

"Why bring it to me? I mean, even if only I can use it, you could've hidden it."

"When I picked up the item, a system window popped up—like a curse."

Jeong Sira's face paled as she recalled it.

"It said I had to deliver it to the user 'Seoya' within the time limit to bind it. Otherwise, it'd kill me."

"What?"

'Ibin-unnie... Isn't that too extreme?'

Though she didn't say it, So Eunsu and So Euneung had probably gotten similar warnings.

Seoya bitterly eyed the padlock and key alternately, then placed her hand on the key.

"Guess I should try opening the padlock."

Ignoring Jeong Sira's uneasy look, Seoya immediately inserted the now-bound key into the padlock's hole.

Lee Gayeon and Park Haejun were in the room, so any issues could be handled.

'No idea what this key and lock are for, though.'

In that instant, a system window appeared before them.

"What?"

Before Seoya could even echo 'Bonus Dungeon?', a brilliant light exploded from the key and padlock like a burst.

Seoya instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

"Kyaa!"

"What is it?"

"Seoya-ssi, step back!"

Jeong Sira's short scream mixed with Lee Gayeon and Park Haejun rushing to protect her, then faded.

Seoya opened her eyes to familiar yet unfamiliar air.

Before her stretched not a room, but a natural landscape. Vast lush trees and grass. The ground covered in soil and stone.

This wasn't inside the guild building anymore.

"S-Seoya-nim... Where is this?"

Only bewildered Jeong Sira stood before Seoya, dragged into this unfamiliar place by chance, her body trembling slightly.

'No Gayeon-unnie or Haejun-oppa... The dungeon opened when I inserted the key into the padlock?'

To get her bearings, Seoya looked around.

She seemed to be atop a rugged mountain terrain. And the strangest thing was...

'The air feels like Toda.'

"Is this Toda?"

"S-Seoya-nim?"

Realizing Jeong Sira's gaze, Seoya changed tack.

"...Looks like a dungeon. It said bonus dungeon earlier."

"I've never heard of a bonus dungeon. Do you know what it is?"

"Nope."

Seoya gave a curt reply and continued her train of thought.

'The air is definitely like Toda, but was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there ever a place like this on Toda?'

Toda had long been laid waste by Mutants. But this land teemed with vibrant green life.

Rumble—

A deafening thunderclap boomed.

Startled by the roar, Seoya looked up at the sky.

It had darkened in an instant, thick storm clouds gathering. As if something ominous was about to happen.

Boom boom boom—CRASH!

As the sky shook like an exploding bomb, a system window appeared before her eyes.

"Seoya-nim! Wh-what is this? Why are the letters in the system window...?"

As Jeong Sira cried out in confusion, Seoya ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just stared rigidly at the window before her.