‘Even Higher…?’
It was undoubtedly referring to the higher world.
In the midst of this chaotic situation, Seoya realized one thing.
“You’re not that person, are you?”
The man from the higher world who didn’t seem intent on harming her. The one who resembled the cosmos, who had only watched her in her dreams, who had briefly appeared through a rift in her room and made her pass out, who had helped her in the Cheongju Dungeon—that very existence. Seoya had felt a warm aura from him.
But the red eyes gazing down at her now were not his.
He was from the higher world as well, but those red eyes were unmistakably on the side that wanted to slaughter Earth’s humans.
“You’re not on my side.”
Both were transcendent beings, but Seoya could tell them apart. Their vibes were completely different.
“What are you talking about?”
Go Heejae, who seemed to have finally regained his senses after covering his eyes from the red gaze, frowned slightly and asked. Seoya ignored him.
Struggling to withstand the overwhelming pressure, Go Heejae asked her, “Those eyes… they seem like a monster. My mental strength is draining like crazy. Can you beat it?”
“No.”
Seoya answered honestly. The moment she locked eyes with the red gaze, her instincts had told her.
This pressure was a sensation she’d never felt before in her life.
Even the monster I faced in the Cheongju Dungeon wasn’t this bad.
The one from Cheongju had felt more on her level, relatively speaking. She could at least face it head-on back then.
But these red eyes were different. An overwhelming sense crushed her, making her feel like she herself was an insignificant speck.
She—the mighty Seoya—was feeling the primal crisis instinct of facing a top predator in the food chain.
I absolutely can’t beat that thing.
If that higher world being was playing the role of this dungeon’s boss monster, they were trapped here for good.
What do I do?
Ji Sein couldn’t pull her mouth away from the plastic bag due to the ongoing breathing difficulties from the red eyes, while Jeong Sira had her eyes squeezed shut, hands clasped in prayer. They had no solutions either.
…Actually, Seoya did have one half-baked idea she’d come up with.
“Go Heejae.”
“Yes.”
“Can you knock me out?”
“What?”
“Better yet, put me to sleep instead of knocking me out. Can you do that?”
To defeat a higher world being, she might need to borrow the power of another from the higher world who was helping her. Like that man who kept appearing in her dreams, for instance.
Go Heejae stared at her with a complicated expression, unable to grasp her intent. “What’s your plan?”
“Well… if I can just fall asleep, I think I can figure something out.”
“I have a skill that induces nightmares. Would that work?”
“Probably not.”
As Seoya seriously pondered smashing her own head somewhere to knock herself out, Ji Sein started fumbling in her bag.
“Oh, that… Gayeon unnie packed a sleeping potion.”
“Why do you have something like that?”
“In case you couldn’t sleep at night.”
Ignoring Seoya’s dumbfounded look, Ji Sein finally pulled out a blue potion from her bag and held it out to her.
“Here.”
“…You don’t have my pillow in there too, do you?”
“Haejun oppa probably packed it nicely in the carrier somewhere.”
This overprotectiveness is actually helping for once…
With a half-resigned expression, Seoya uncorked the potion and downed it in one gulp. Her eyes soon drifted shut peacefully.
And…
When Seoya opened her eyes, the familiar white void from her dreams stretched out before her. She could bend her fingers all the way, confirming this was a lucid dream. The sleeping potion had worked perfectly.
“Hello.”
As Seoya greeted the empty air, the man she’d grown somewhat accustomed to appeared before her.
“You actually came.”
The last time he’d peeked through the rift in her room, his presence had been so overwhelming she passed out… but now, there was no pressure at all.
Is it because this is a dream?
Facing higher world beings in reality strained the mind, but dreams seemed fine.
Then, the man who’d been staring intently at her spoke.
“Can you hear me?”
“Huh?”
Seoya’s eyes widened in shock at his first words.
“…It finally worked.”
He seemed surprised too that his voice had reached her, his face like someone amazed he could speak at all.
“You really are from the higher world? Who are you? Why have you been watching me? Why did you help me? And those red eyes—they’re from the higher world too, right?”
Now that conversation was possible, Seoya bombarded him with questions.
But instead of answering, he fixed his strangely colored eyes on her and said, “Flee.”
“What?”
Seoya eyed the mysterious man suspiciously. Even without the pressure, he was surely far stronger than her—probably just hiding his power. And yet, flee?
“It’s a trap. Escape this dungeon.”
A trap?
Suddenly, the dungeon’s name from before they entered flashed in her mind.
RUN AWAY.
“What do you mean, trap? You mean those red eyes… are the trap?”
“Hush.”
He pressed a long finger to his lips, and Seoya instinctively clamped her mouth shut. Even that casual gesture carried an untouchable aura.
“Do not dare utter the name of something higher.”
Do not dare pry into even higher places. It was just like the phrase from that system window earlier.
“You didn’t pop up that system window, did you?”
Realizing she had no idea what was happening outside while she was in this space, Seoya asked urgently. She needed to wrap this up and wake up soon.
“You didn’t make these dungeons either, right? You don’t seem like you want to harm Earth’s humans.”
He looked down at her.
“No. I lack the vulgar hobby of reveling in destruction of the weak, like the others.”
“Then…”
If “destruction of the weak” meant obliterating Earth like this…
“The higher world beings are just destroying Earth for no reason? For fun?”
“Do not dare seek knowledge of higher things.”
His expression didn’t change a bit. He didn’t seem human at all.
“But I need to know!”
Frustrated, Seoya lost her composure and raised her voice—a rare occurrence. She glared fiercely, but even eyes that would terrify any Earth lifeform left him unmoved.
After huffing and calming down a bit, Seoya took a breath and asked again. “I get the gist about the higher world. But I went to sleep just to meet you. You’re the only one I can ask.”
He stared at her with those inorganic eyes. Seoya pleaded, gazing back. “So… can I trust you? You helped me in that other dungeon before.”
“That’s just your perception.”
He dodged any firm affirmation like “I’m on Earth’s side,” circling around it, so Seoya shot a dissatisfied glare at the ground.
Ignoring her expression entirely, he spoke first, his gaze directed far away as if sensing something.
“They’ve used vile trickery… twisted the safety mechanisms cleverly, so with your power, you can’t escape this place…”
“This place—you mean the dungeon?”
He nodded readily, his eyes enigmatic.
“What’s a safety mechanism?”
“A device made with meager power to prevent your world’s destruction.”
“What does that mean?”
She couldn’t understand a word he said. But he didn’t seem to expect her to, continuing his monologue without explanation.
“Since you sought me out for aid, I shall provide it.”
Seoya’s face lit up. She could uncover the truth later; for now, she needed to clear this dungeon and get out. Especially if it was just a trap, as he said.
“I cannot yet interfere with the safety mechanisms. But I shall grant you a small power to escape this place.”
His words were vague and slippery, but Seoya grasped that he’d promised help.
“How do I get out of this dungeon?”
“I’ll give you a mark. It should aid you once.”
With that, he approached her. His movements were eerily smooth, inhuman, without a hint of sway.
And not just that.
No scent at all.
Everyone had their own unique smell. Taesa smelled of fire, Go Heejae of his signature cologne, Ji Sein of stuffy indoor air, Jeong Sira of paper, Gwak Mansu of salty sea…
But this man had no scent, no sound, no presence whatsoever.
His hand covered her. It wasn’t cold or hot— utterly devoid of temperature.
Then she felt his other hand brush her bangs aside.
“Remember: perception is key.”
He left another cryptic message. The instant she thought his lips touched her forehead—
“Seoya, are you coming to?”
“How many fingers?”
“Princess, you back with us?”
Seoya’s eyes snapped open. Jeong Sira, Go Heejae, and Ji Sein were peering down at her.
“What the actual fuck…”
Uttering profanity she’d never used before, Seoya raised a hand to her forehead.
What the hell did he do?
It was a sensation she’d never felt before in her life.