Hunters Level +=2
As the day Seoya was set to leave for Greece drew nearer, Baek Yena grew increasingly restless, pacing around the house like a caged animal.
"Haa... Only a few days left already...? Clothes all packed, toiletries check, emergency supplies check..."
Whenever she spotted anything remotely useful around the house, she'd try cramming it into her massive suitcase. Seoya finally stepped in to stop her.
"Unnie, enough. The bag's not gonna fit anything else..."
"...Should I buy a new bag?"
"No, please... And I won't even have hands left to carry it."
"It's fine. You won't be carrying the bag anyway."
This was the first time sending Seoya off to such a distant place, so even Lee Gayeon, who would normally rein her in, looked just as frazzled.
"Let's pack more shoes."
"No, unnie. Why would I need more shoes?"
"You never know."
"Ah, Captain! What if I can't sleep in a strange place? We should pack the pillow from here too!"
"Good idea."
"No, it's a bad idea."
Seoya shook her head with a weary expression.
"Ugh~ Aren't you guys being way too overprotective~?"
Ji Sein said it with a beaming smile, but Seoya knew she was just teasing the others. After all, when Seoya had begged her to talk some sense into everyone, Ji Sein had insisted they weren't overdoing it at all.
'Maybe I should just sneak out early...'
More exhausted than when she'd woken up, Seoya dragged herself back to her room, turned off the light, and flopped onto the bed. Sleep crept in, her consciousness fading into a haze.
And then...
"Ah, again."
Starting a week after returning from the Cheongju Dungeon, Seoya had begun having strange dreams. The same one, every night.
Whenever she fell asleep, she'd find herself in an endless white void. Whatever she imagined would shape the space—Toda if she thought of home, her own room if she pictured that.
Up to there, it was just a regular lucid dream. What unnerved her was the eerie presence in that space. It felt like something high above was gazing down at her.
Someone was definitely watching, yet there was no sound, no sign of life.
"Who's there?"
With no words, no interaction—just silent surveillance—there wasn't much she could do. She'd just sit or lie on a conjured bed and wait.
If it were Ibin or Taesa, it'd be a relief. But Seoya couldn't even be sure it was human.
Her suspicions pointed one way, though.
'Higher World.'
Not content with influencing her waking life, the Higher World was now invading her dreams, watching her, wearing her down. Jeong Sira had said there might be factions in the Higher World—some out to slaughter Earth's humans, others who might hold back. Seoya had definitely felt help from someone there during the Cheongju Dungeon.
And this watchful presence in her dreams...
"You helped me in the dungeon that day, right?"
Seoya blurted it into the void. She still remembered the warm touch of fingers on her forehead that bizarre day.
"Can you communicate? Are you even human?"
As always over the past week, silence answered. Seoya sighed deeply.
The dream was ending—the space melting into a foggy blur. Resigned, she waited it out. Then, for the first time, a fleeting shape materialized before her eyes.
"Huh?"
In that split second before waking, Seoya glimpsed a stranger's face peering down.
It defied description. Hair shimmering like a captured cosmos, eyes holy and aloof, as if deeming all creation foolish. Delicate features too perfect for one face. And those eyes—indescribable hue—held only her reflection.
'Ah.'
A gasp escaped as her mouth fell open. Then she was back in her bed.
"Who was that?"
The man from the dream was no one she'd ever seen. And crucially, he wasn't a figment of her imagination—no one could dream up that.
'So... that must be the one from the Higher World who helped me.'
No other explanation fit. Grimacing at the sunlight piercing the curtains, Seoya rubbed her dry face.
'At least he looks kinda human... Well, a bit different, but not by much...'
His identity aside, Seoya was utterly drained. Weeks of lucid dreams had wrecked her sleep; days blurred in fatigue and irritability. She napped during the day—no dreams then—dozing fitfully to recharge.
And seeing that only fueled her overprotective guardians' anxiety about sending her to Greece.
"Baby, sleep well...? Looks like you didn't."
Baek Yena, fresh from the bathroom, spotted Seoya's hollow eyes and pouted sadly.
"You need to be in peak condition... Why are you so wiped out lately? Captain, when's that black goat tonic kicking in? We should switch back to ginseng. Can we even send her to Greece like this? Should we cancel?"
"She just took it yesterday—no miracle cure overnight. And honestly, I'm debating canceling too."
With Seoya shambling around like a zombie from sleep deprivation, it was no surprise her doting crew was in overdrive. Never mind the tonics and herbs they'd shoved down her throat—yesterday, Lee Gayeon had swapped ginseng extract for black goat elixir, grumbling about the former's inefficacy.
"Captain, I saw on TV that earthworm soup's great for vitality."
"Isn't that for the kidneys?"
"Maybe it boosts energy too?"
"What's earthworm soup?"
Seoya cut in, and Baek Yena mumbled sheepishly.
"E-earthworm soup..."
"No. Absolutely not."
Seoya's glare was fiercer than ever. She'd endured the goat, but worms? No way.
"Don't even sneak it to me. Promise."
"Yeah, promise."
Seoya hooked her pinky—her habitual gesture—and Lee Gayeon obliged without protest. Watching intently, Ji Sein asked with concern.
"Hmm... You don't think some mental debuff curse is on you, right?"
"Doubt it..."
"Status windows can't check mental stats, which sucks. At least then you'd have objective numbers!"
Ji Sein sighed wistfully before returning to her laptop.
"Yawn~."
Another day winding down. Seoya yawned amid crashing waves of drowsiness and headed to her room.
'Please, no dream tonight.'
Constant tension in the dream world left her exhausted every moment.
'If you're gonna watch, just show yourself already.'
That man from earlier seemed to be the watcher. If he appeared properly, she could at least demand answers.
'He was weirdly striking, though.'
Seoya had dubbed him a Higher World 'human' for convenience, but he hardly seemed the same species. Black hair swirling with milky ways and purple nebulae—not dyed cosmic hues, but as if he'd draped the universe over himself. His features were beyond her words to capture, but those eyes... They lingered.
Drooping at the corners with worried pathos, yet gazing straight at her with warmth. If she wasn't mistaken, they reflected only her.
No color name fit—no black, no green. Just her image, contained within.
"Who are you?"
Murmuring to the air, Seoya stared into space. If he watched her dreams, maybe he could see her now.
"Come out. I want to talk. I know you're from a higher world."
In that instant, a chill prickled her skin. The room's air turned frigid and heavy; instinctively, she cloaked herself in mana, her eyes flashing sharp gold.
The pressure mounted, crushing down from above.
"Nngh..."
Unbelievable. A rift tore open in her room's empty air.
"What the—"
Beyond the fissure, Seoya glimpsed the cosmos—vast, humbling, rendering humans insignificant. Oppressive weight choked her breath.
"Hah... hah..."
Then, eyes from the void. Consciousness fled; she collapsed onto the bed.
The rift sealed with those words. The room returned to normal.
Save for Seoya, fainted on the bed, finally sleeping soundly for once.