"Wouldn't It Be Better to Save More People?"
The moment those words slipped from Seoya's mouth, everyone fell silent and started exchanging glances.
"Y-Yes, of course it is!"
Na Seonghyeon was the first to break the silence, shouting it out.
"Absolutely, just as Seoya says, saving more people is the best! I fully agree."
Everyone stared at him in disbelief. He had been the most vocal opponent of that agenda, yet he'd flipped his stance in an instant, like turning over a pancake.
Seoya muttered without much thought.
"Yeah, life is precious, right?"
"Ha... That's truly words that sink into my bones and flesh... 'Life is precious'—I'll make that my second doctrine..."
"I can't watch this with my eyes open..."
Ji Sein shook her head at Na Seonghyeon's display.
So Euneung gaped wide, poking her brother as if questioning if she'd heard right.
"I heard the rumor that Seonghyeon-nim had lost it, and it turns out it's true..."
"Shh, you can't say that in front of someone who's actually lost it."
"Enough already, Bureau Chief."
As Kwon Yooseok spoke in his signature sarcastic tone, all eyes turned to him again.
"The guilds are already avoiding each other's territories in their operations, so hunters are reasonably distributed across regions. It's just not legally mandated, but there's no need to tweak the current system further~."
"He's right."
Lee Jiseon backed him up.
Kwon Yooseok followed up sharply.
"The reason you're bringing up this agenda now is to divert people's attention, isn't it? Make them think some big systemic change is happening to reassure them~."
"Well... haha..."
"That guy's always scheming like that. No way it'll work."
Baek Yena spoke to the awkward-looking Han Daejun.
As Baek Yena said, making people think something had changed to shift public opinion was practically standard playbook for hunters.
"Even if you reshuffle the system like that, it won't make things easier for hunters. This issue won't resolve unless the number of hunters increases~."
"Or unless we adapt to the new dungeons and monsters and get stronger."
"You two are really in sync today."
Han Daejun muttered, glancing back and forth between Kwon Yooseok and Baek Yena.
They'd usually clash and turn things into chaos among themselves, but whenever it came to shared losses for hunters, they united like this. It was utterly exasperating.
"Is that how it is?"
Seoya, who had just been listening, widened her eyes and asked.
Saving more people is the right thing, but does that agenda not really change much from the current setup? Is it just for show?
"Yeah, it's just wordplay. The actual rescue numbers won't change much."
"Baek Yena's right."
Baek Yena and Go Heejae answered Seoya's question in turn.
Only then did Na Seonghyeon beam even brighter, relieved that he hadn't gone against Seoya's 'life is precious' stance while avoiding any needless losses.
"Ah, you didn't call us here just for this, right? Next agenda, next agenda!"
So Euneung chirped energetically, and Han Daejun, looking exhausted, advanced the slide.
"This is the main item. It's about the 'anomaly' dungeons popping up worldwide. Hunters enter, leave a chat message saying there's something weird inside, and then... they don't come back."
"They probably died, obviously."
Kwon Yooseok said calmly.
"...Yes, so most countries have issued controls barring further hunter entry into reported anomaly dungeons."
"How many such dungeons have been sighted in South Korea so far?"
Lee Jiseon raised her hand to ask, and Han Daejun replied.
"One."
"Hm... We're not at a dangerous level yet."
"Yes, and... we received a report recently that Seoya Hunter, along with Baek Yena Hunter and Kwon Yooseok Hunter, entered that anomaly dungeon and cleared it."
Seoya nodded slowly, and a few who hadn't known looked her way.
"Baek Yena Hunter has already described the dungeon's background, story, and monsters. The materials are in the papers I handed out earlier. What I'd like to ask Seoya-nim is..."
Han Daejun paused before cautiously addressing her.
"Whether you'll share the method used to clear those monsters."
Seoya fell silent, unable to respond.
...How did I clear that?
The reason was simple. She couldn't explain how she'd cleared that monster herself.
She knew it was tied to the higher world, which explained why it was so tough for her. The only reason she'd defeated it that day was because the higher world's energy had aided her.
Without it, she couldn't guarantee she'd have escaped the dungeon alive. And she had no assurance that higher world energy would always help her.
As the NPC said, to the higher world, we're insignificant. We can't expect their aid...
As the silence dragged on, Kwon Yooseok spoke up for her.
"Truth is, we weren't in a state to stay sane when we killed the boss monster that day~."
"Baby, if you can't explain, just say so."
"Urgh..."
But if I say I can't explain here, won't it look suspicious?
The Neverending Guild folks seemed to know she was from another world and suspect the truth beyond that, so they hadn't pried even when she acted oddly lately...
But for Han Daejun, the Dungeon Safety Bureau chief, it was different. She already seemed like someone who'd popped up out of nowhere, and if she could solo-clear every dungeon but couldn't explain how, he'd naturally get suspicious.
Seoya spoke awkwardly.
"It was luck that day, and if I tried again, I probably couldn't kill the monster..."
"Huh? What?"
Ji Sein widened her eyes and leaned forward over the table.
"You didn't say that? Was it that bad?"
"I don't know... The mental drain felt so intense..."
"Huh? Seriously, what's up with the system admin's recent updates? Can't even call to complain— what are we supposed to do?!"
As Ji Sein vented passionately, the others nodded in agreement.
The system had definitely been off lately. Until now, it had at least been somewhat user-friendly thanks to Ibin.
But the higher world has no reason to accommodate us... How do we even solve this?
Do we just watch Earthlings die now too?
As everyone realized this update was more serious than thought and the mood grew grave, Han Daejun cleared his throat.
"Ahem. And there's a pattern we've found in these anomaly dungeons."
He pressed the remote, advancing the slide.
A world map appeared, dotted thickly with red points.
"This marks the locations of anomaly dungeons worldwide. Does any shape stand out to you?"
"Nope~."
So Euneung answered instantly, leaving Han Daejun sheepish.
"W-Well, if you look a bit harder... There is a pattern..."
"But really, nothing~."
"Can't see it."
"No idea."
"Hehe, me neither..."
So Euneung, So Eunsu, Na Seonghyeon, and Lee Jiseon chimed in one after another, making his blood pressure spike.
Han Daejun swallowed his frustration. Every quip added to his exasperation.
Finally, the answer he wanted came.
"Like a spherical wave or something~?"
"What's that?"
"Yeah, just round waves."
"Did you have to phrase it so complicatedly?"
"But that was the only term that came to mind!"
Ji Sein answered innocently, and suddenly she and Baek Yena were bantering, turning the meeting into their private chat. Han Daejun sighed deeply at being ignored.
"Bureau Chief! How do you expect us to solve such a tough puzzle~!"
Ji Sein, mid-spat with Baek Yena, whipped her head toward him.
"Eunsu and Euneung barely study! Last time, they called the Pythagorean theorem the 'Pistachio theorem'!"
"Ah, Sein-nim! Why bring that up~!"
So Euneung flushed red and shot up, yelling. Han Daejun rubbed his forehead.
I meant for them to focus, not derail like this...
"Inefficient. You've prepared materials, so you know the answer. Why waste time quizzing us?"
"Ah, y-yes..."
Go Heejae's words were the final blow. Han Daejun sighed heavily and advanced the slide.
Expecting a normal meeting flow with these people was his mistake.
"As you see, these dungeons form regular circles around a central one, at fixed intervals. Like ripples emanating from that core dungeon."
The red dots on the map traced several circles, linking together, with one solitary red dot at the center.
"Whoa, it really is~!"
"Where's that center?"
"Greece. The dungeon in front of the Parthenon Temple."
"Par... Parthenon...? Sounds familiar... Ah, the milk! Milk!"
"Euneung, that's pasteurization. Parthenon is the dog from Flander's Dog. Guess it came from Greek mythology."
"Eunsu, don't spout nonsense in that calm tone... It's Patrasche, and Parthenon is just the temple name..."
Na Seonghyeon winced at So Eunsu and So Euneung's knowledge level, shaking his head. It was embarrassing that they were top-tier hunters like him.
"So, you're saying there's something special in that central dungeon right now?"
Go Heejae cut to the core amid the chaos, and Han Daejun nodded eagerly.
"Exactly. So at the upcoming World Safety Conference, we'll discuss sending hunters in."
With that, Seoya—who'd watched silently—finally spoke.
"I'll go in."