Blackout
Before Seo Ji-ah meets asd123's assistant.
Lee Dong-gyu, who had received the Darkness Attribute Magic Bullet from asd123, was preparing to meet her.
He donned a transparent robe and a mask item that concealed his appearance.
The fact that the Association had contracted with asd123 was top secret even within the organization.
There was no need to give the major guild any room for suspicion.
...In times like these when we need to join forces, we can't be suspicious of each other.
Having finished his preparations, Lee Dong-gyu glanced at the Association President sunk into the recliner.
...It's best not to disturb him right now.
He left quietly, leaving only the email behind.
......
Thus, Lee Dong-gyu sneaked into Seo Ji-ah's office.
"...asd123 sent me."
A modulated voice leaked out from behind the mask.
Seo Ji-ah, who had been staring into space, flinched, her shoulders trembling.
A transparency item alone couldn't breach a major guild's defenses.
But asd123 had sent an email requesting the path be opened briefly at that time, making it possible.
"This way."
Lee Dong-gyu removed the transparency robe. He still wore the mask, so his face wouldn't be visible to Seo Ji-ah.
"...You're asd123's assistant?"
Seo Ji-ah asked in a dry tone. Despite her words, there was no sense of wariness. Did she lack even the strength for that?
Lee Dong-gyu swallowed a sigh.
As an A-rank, Seo Ji-ah wouldn't die from lack of sleep... but still.
...At this rate, hunter life might become difficult for her.
It was a shame. With unknown dangers ahead, humanity desperately needed her barrier ability.
Of course, asd123 stepped in...
Honestly, even asd123 seemed unable to solve this one.
'The fields are completely different.'
If it were a demon's doing, he would have tried a Purification scroll.
But dreams were a mental issue, weren't they?
Besides, the scroll asd123 had given Lee Dong-gyu was...
◈ Base Destructive Power: 1
◈ Mana Consumption: 40
◈ Attribute: Darkness
It was a somewhat out-of-place 1st-circle attack magic scroll. What on earth was it for?
How was it related to the current situation...?
Still, considering asd123's past actions, it wasn't a meaningless attempt—there was vague anticipation.
Plus, the extremely rare darkness attribute piqued Lee Dong-gyu's interest.
...A attribute I've never heard of before.
Was it because he wasn't a mage? He'd ask the Association President later.
With that thought, he said to Seo Ji-ah,
"Yes. I'm asd123's assistant."
Seo Ji-ah scanned Lee Dong-gyu up and down.
"Will you be okay...? I heard you're going into my Virtual Barrier."
Lee Dong-gyu's role was to enter the Virtual Barrier directly, use the Darkness Attribute Magic Bullet, and report every detail to asd123.
"I heard it's not dangerous if you adjust the Virtual Barrier's environment properly."
"That's true, but... the moment you enter the Virtual Barrier, you'll appear in my dreams for life. What ridiculous things you do there won't be up to your will."
Lee Dong-gyu nodded calmly upon hearing that.
"That sounds even better."
"Pardon...?"
For a moment, Seo Ji-ah looked at him with a disgusted expression.
"Don't misunderstand. I meant it's better to meet me in dreams than monsters. As you can see..."
Lee Dong-gyu slammed his fist on Seo Ji-ah's desk—thud.
Seo Ji-ah, who had been talking with half-closed eyes, jumped in surprise.
"...I'm so weak I can't even break a desk with my fist. You don't know my face or identity, and now you see how weak I am. Use the Virtual Barrier perceiving me that way."
Then, whatever I do won't mean much.
At those words, Seo Ji-ah stared at Lee Dong-gyu for a long while. Thanks to the item, his face appeared as pitch-black darkness.
And that darkness gave a considerable sense of stability.
In truth, having someone she knew appear in her dreams forever would be quite tormenting.
Seo Ji-ah, who remembered her dreams, would eventually confuse reality and dreams when dealing with that person.
Memories experienced in dreams. In some, they fought; in others, they became lovers; in yet others, they parted ways...
When those varied memories mixed, she'd confuse who the person really was in reality.
However.
If, as this man said, he was a weak stranger whose face she didn't know, there was no real reason to hesitate.
"...I understand."
"Yes. Once you've sorted your thoughts, please use the Virtual Barrier on me."
Seo Ji-ah nodded and soon flicked her finger.
A Virtual Barrier formation appeared around Lee Dong-gyu.
Before long, the space in that area vanished entirely.
Lee Dong-gyu, who had entered the Virtual Barrier.
It was a dreamlike flower field.
Looking around, there were no dangers.
Seo Ji-ah must have implemented what she considered the most peaceful environment.
...asd123's request was simply to use the scroll here.
He had no idea what meaning this action held.
However.
[Attribute: Darkness]
Anticipation built. As an item analyst, he couldn't help but be excited. What phenomenon would this bizarre scroll cause...?
He found a suitable tree as a target and activated the scroll.
At that moment, the Darkness Attribute Magic Bullet shot out from the scroll.
----!
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary magic bullet.
But.
"...?"
The phenomenon following the magic bullet's trajectory was utterly bizarre.
Even though the magic bullet rushed forward at high speed, there was no sound.
As if an eraser had wiped along its path, pitch-black darkness was etched there.
And soon after, other space filled the 'empty space,' causing the Virtual Barrier to shrink.
"Insane..."
Lee Dong-gyu unwittingly stepped back.
An attribute that erased space itself—of course he couldn't even think of approaching it.
Were all darkness attributes like this?
If so, the world would have been in chaos long ago...
He'd have to ask the Association President about the darkness attribute immediately upon return.
Around that time, Park Ha-jun was sitting in a private room at a high-end Korean cuisine restaurant with his parents.
"...So you really bought this? Telling us to live here?"
His father peered at the contract repeatedly as he asked.
A luxury apartment in a mixed-use complex worth 20 billion won. The management fees were hefty since it doubled as guild security.
"Yes. You two need to live comfortably and safely. Don't worry about the fees."
Park Ha-jun spoke calmly, using formal speech unnecessarily.
It felt terribly awkward. Completely different from working with researchers on projects.
Indeed, no matter the age, one felt endlessly young before parents.
"...Be honest. What have you been up to lately?"
His mother asked worriedly. Park Ha-jun, who had sent a mere 400,000 won monthly, suddenly handed over a 20 billion won apartment contract.
Such a reaction was inevitable.
Park Ha-jun showed them a prepared article.
"What's this?"
"Math professor? You're not saying this is you, are you?"
Park Ha-jun nodded with an embarrassed smile.
If it had been pure math research instead of magic fusion, he might have bragged.
To his stunned parents, Park Ha-jun explained in a deliberately calm tone.
"Thanks to you two, I was able to endure without collapsing..."
Words of gratitude, that his recent research had succeeded and brought huge profits...
And as he explained his awakening was a safe special type, not dangerous, and so on—
An email arrived from Lee Dong-gyu.
"...Sorry. I have to go—urgent matter. Anyway, I'm not doing anything weird, so don't worry too much. I'll send someone soon to help with the move..."
Uttering those flustered words, Park Ha-jun hurriedly left the restaurant.
The two left behind exchanged bewildered looks.
"What on earth is Ha-jun talking about...?"
One thing was certain: the 20 billion won apartment contract Park Ha-jun had brought.
Park Ha-jun wasn't the type to joke about something like this.
"I'm a bit scared... Can research really make this much money if it succeeds? He mentioned awakening— he's not doing something dangerous, is he?"
At her words, Park Ha-jun's father thought for a moment before speaking in a firm voice.
"It's fine. We saw Ha-jun's expression today."
Recalling their usual Park Ha-jun.
When meeting them, he often wore a bitter expression or tried to hide his guilt.
But today was different.
Park Ha-jun had smiled happily throughout, unable to hide his pride.
In a word, he looked happy. Just like his undergrad days, immersed solely in math without a care for the world.
"That's what matters."
"...You're right."
More than the unrealized 20 billion won contract, they felt relief that Park Ha-jun was living happily.
Of course, since it still didn't feel real.
Back in his workshop, Park Ha-jun carefully reviewed Lee Dong-gyu's email.
Summarizing the contents:
1. The Darkness Attribute Magic Bullet erased space.
2. Other space filled the erased trajectory, shrinking the Virtual Barrier.
Up to here, Park Ha-jun had anticipated it. He'd sent Lee Dong-gyu expecting this result.
But.
3. The Virtual Barrier suffered no damage. Lee Dong-gyu could only exit after the time Seo Ji-ah set.
This was not what Park Ha-jun had predicted.
It seemed the request wouldn't resolve so easily.
...I thought even slightly erasing the space defined by the Virtual Barrier would cause immediate collapse.
Instead, it merely shrank, he reported.
He pondered the failure briefly.
Park Ha-jun thought of the Virtual Barrier as a balloon.
If you tear off part of a balloon filled with air, it bursts.
But despite collapsing part of the Virtual Barrier, it only shrank?
'If the Virtual Barrier is a world-creation ability, that could be.'
The real world wouldn't collapse if space shrank.
But was an A-rank ability at that level?
Creating a world with mana—surely not A-rank.
Then what was it...?
After much deliberation, Park Ha-jun reached a conclusion.
'What if my magic bullet erased the air inside the balloon, not its surface?'
This viewed the 'Virtual Barrier' and 'the world inside' separately.
Virtual Barrier – balloon shell.
World inside – air.
A balloon doesn't burst if the air decreases.
But this was just an analogy.
...Why didn't that world collapse?
There was only one hypothesis that answered this.
The Virtual Barrier was created, but the internal world actually existed.
This meant the Virtual Barrier was an ability that sent the 'target' to some existing world somewhere.
If even the internal world was a virtual space made of Seo Ji-ah's mana...
The moment the Darkness Attribute Magic Bullet erased space, the mana structure would collapse.
...I need to tweak the formula a bit.
After pondering, Park Ha-jun began drawing circuits.
Two hours later, he sent an email to Seo Ji-ah.
It was nearing midnight, yet Seo Ji-ah remained in her office.
Because an email from asd123 had arrived. But its content was a bit sad.
...Even asd123 can't fix what can't be fixed, huh.
But the email didn't end there.
And on her desk, two scrolls left by the assistant.
"...So, hold this while sleeping?"
Was a scroll some kind of talisman?
It was a somewhat outlandish temporary measure, but...
"I can't hold out anymore."
She was so sleepy she could no longer resist sleep.
If Basqui appeared in her dream, it'd be extreme stress, but.
'Still, better to have a nightmare than not sleep at all...'
No choice.
Seo Ji-ah lacked the mental strength for rational judgment.
She simply clutched the scroll as asd123 instructed and slumped her head on the desk. She lacked even the energy to go home.
"......"
Seo Ji-ah fell asleep in an instant.
When she came to, it was a dreamlike flower field.
But slightly different from the Virtual Barrier she'd imagined and created. The space was a bit distorted...
"Did I make it this ugly?"
Seo Ji-ah was a bit flustered.
Thanks to the sense of incongruity, she realized she was dreaming.
She reflexively shuddered and looked around.
At that moment.
She spotted a figure approaching through the grass, its face shrouded in darkness.
"...!"
Startled, Seo Ji-ah tried to step back—
But the strange figure lacked the strength to push through the grass.
"Ah... the weak stranger I don't know!"
Recognizing the fact as it was wasn't hard.
This was asd123's assistant.
A truly weak person who, despite being awakened, couldn't break a desk with a fist.
Had asd123 calculated up to this point and sent him?
While marveling anew at asd123's insight, a fact came to mind.
'Oh right, the scroll.'
The scroll from asd123 that she'd clutched before sleep.
But it was in her hand.
It hadn't appeared suddenly.
She'd been holding it all along, only noticing now.
...Come to think of it, my clothes are the same as before bed.
She hadn't had leisure to analyze before.
Nodding at the new realization, Seo Ji-ah activated asd123's scroll.
At that moment.
The world went black.
In the pitch-black darkness...
At the spot where the unidentified man had been, a small flame crackled softly, like a campfire.
In this world now, only the campfire and herself existed.
Seo Ji-ah was drawn to the mystical sight.
"Warm..."
The soft glow soothed her body and mind. She hugged her knees, gazing at the campfire for a long time—
Before long, she fell asleep. Deeper and more peacefully than ever in a dream.
Though the phenomenon would vanish once the Detection scroll in her hand deactivated, it was enough.
For the first time in three years, she enjoyed sweet, nightmare-free sleep.
Because in this world, there was only Seo Ji-ah and the campfire protecting her.
The next day.
As Park Ha-jun conducted interviews to activate the second lab, sponsorship arrived.
30,000,000,000 G
[Message: Hello, Creator!!! I welcomed a peaceful morning for the first time in 3 years...]
Reading the message, Park Ha-jun also smiled warmly.