Chapter 13
Chapter 13
A corner table on the second floor of a large café.
Joo Do-gyeom and Kim Han-yul sat facing each other.
After taking a sip of the iced Americano he had casually ordered, Do-gyeom was the first to speak.
"Since we know each other well enough, let's cut to the chase. Kim Han-yul. I want you to join my team."
Han-yul smirked, took a sip of her coffee, and then replied.
"Name: Joo Do-gyeom. Face... well, not bad-looking, I guess."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means that while you might know me, I don't know a thing about you. Hell, I can't even guess your age."
"Does age matter in a dungeon? I thought your skills were proof enough."
"You—no, you. Do people often tell you that you have zero social skills?"
Do-gyeom calmly took another sip of his iced Americano.
Honestly, it wasn't an unfamiliar remark.
Even before his regression, countless people had said similar things about him.
He never cared.
In a world on the brink of collapse, social niceties were meaningless.
And now was no different.
"No answer, huh? Guess you do know. Man, I don't even know what to say."
Han-yul drank her coffee, her brow deeply furrowed.
Still, her looks were undeniably striking—enough to naturally draw the gazes of every man in the vicinity.
Do-gyeom waited in silence for her response.
He had said his piece. The choice was hers now.
Han-yul set down her cup, crossed her arms, and sank into deep thought.
After about ten minutes, she finally broke the long silence.
"First of all—"
"Go on."
"I get your skills. You're a monster—no, uh... well. Impressive, let's say."
"......"
"Don't get the wrong idea. That was a compliment."
"......"
"Could you at least try to smile?"
"I'll consider it."
"Ugh, seriously. Fine, if that's how you are, I'll get to the point too. My answer's no. I won't join your team."
"That's unfortunate."
Do-gyeom stood up.
Han-yul stared at him, baffled.
'What the hell? You came all this way to recruit me, and you give up that easily?'
If that was the kind of person he was, she had no reason to entertain him further.
Good riddance.
Just as she turned her head sharply toward the window to make her disinterest clear—
Do-gyeom's voice reached her.
"......What are you doing, Kim Han-yul?"
"Huh?"
"......"
Do-gyeom silently looked down at his sleeve.
Han-yul followed his gaze.
Her face instantly turned crimson.
Her index finger and thumb were clearly gripping his sleeve.
"Wh-why is this here? Ahahaha...!"
She burst into awkward laughter and quickly released her grip.
Then she added,
"Don't get the wrong idea! This wasn't—I didn't mean to, it was just... subconscious? Yeah, my body moved on its own—"
"Ah..."
"Oh! You understand?!"
"Of course. You must have a screw loose too."
It was strange.
In the future he had experienced, there was no record of this.
Still.
As someone who had lived through it, he couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
Han-yul, sensing his gaze, inexplicably felt her mood sour.
'Should I call him out on it?'
As she wrestled with the thought—
"Then I'll take my leave."
Do-gyeom turned to leave again.
Han-yul shouted,
"Wait!"
"......?"
"I-I have something to say too, you know?"
"Something to say?"
"Yeah. You'll at least listen, right?"
"Hmm......"
Do-gyeom let out a short sigh and returned to his seat.
"Phew......"
Han-yul exhaled a shallow breath, watching him.
Her flushed face refused to cool down.
She needed a moment to compose herself.
Thirty seconds... sixty seconds...
'This isn't working.'
Han-yul downed the rest of her coffee in one go.
"Guh...!"
Do-gyeom tilted his head.
It wasn't carbonated, so why the reaction?
"That hit the spot. Ah, I feel better now."
At the very least, it didn't seem like a joke.
The redness in Han-yul's face had faded back to normal.
She continued,
"Alright, let me talk. Mr. Joo Do-gyeom—no, Do-gyeom. Actually, I wanted to make an offer."
"Meaning... you want me to join your team?"
"Exactly."
"I refuse. Then I'll be going."
Do-gyeom abruptly stood up.
"H-hey, wait!"
"What now...?"
"You didn't even hear me out!"
"Since I have no intention of accepting any offer, isn't this better than wasting each other's time?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
Why? What was this?
Kim Han-yul was a rising star, a super rookie.
Naturally, she had received countless recruitment offers from guilds and teams, but she had never been tempted by any of them.
Frankly, her personality was too stubborn.
Yet, talking to Do-gyeom kept pulling her in—
Against her will.
"Then I'll take my leave."
For the third time, Do-gyeom turned his back.
Han-yul hastily spoke.
"If you join my team, I'll take full responsibility for you. I know I'm just one person, so it might not seem like much, but I'll get you whatever gear you want, and you can even choose the last team member yourself. This is a special offer, you know?"
"Not intere—"
As Do-gyeom shook his head and repeated himself, a lightbulb went off in his mind.
"Let me rephrase. I know a way to drastically improve your Implementation Art."
"......What?"
"Join my team, and I'll share it with you."
Honestly, this wasn't Do-gyeom's forte.
There were others far more skilled at persuasion and negotiation.
But now that he was on his own, he had to handle it himself.
'Unfamiliar, but...'
It might just work.
His hunch seemed correct.
"I can tell there's something..."
Han-yul crossed her arms and legs, her tone skeptical but her eyes brimming with curiosity.
"How much do you even know about my Implementation Art to make such a bold claim?"
Reading her emotions, Do-gyeom answered calmly.
"I know more about it than you do right now."
Because he had seen the future Kim Han-yul.
His gaze was steady.
Han-yul sighed.
"Ha..."
Conflict flickered in her eyes like waves.
Do-gyeom continued,
"Here's my proposal. Kim Han-yul. Come with me to one dungeon. If the results don't satisfy you, we'll go our separate ways. But if you're happy with what I show you, you join my team."
"One dungeon? You're saying a single dungeon run can drastically improve my Implementation Art?"
Do-gyeom nodded in response.
Then his eyes asked,
'What'll it be?'
If she refused here, he would walk away without hesitation.
While Han-yul's talent was valuable, he could find substitutes for her role.
In the silence—
Tap. Tap.
Han-yul, wearing black leather shoes, lightly tapped her left foot against her right.
Finally, she uncrossed her legs and spoke.
"......Fine. Let's give it a shot."
Though her arms remained crossed.
Her eyes were still full of doubt.
Honestly, she thought—
'Nothing to lose, right?'
She'd just check it out.
See if this mysterious guy was a pathological liar or the real deal.
'If he is for real...'
Then she'd surrender.
No point in stubbornly denying it.
Do-gyeom extended his hand toward Han-yul, whose expression had settled.
Wordlessly, she uncrossed her arms and offered her right hand.
Their hands clasped.
Do-gyeom said,
"Party invite."
Simultaneously, a message echoed in Han-yul's mind.
『User Joo Do-gyeom has invited you to a party. Accept? Y/N』
"Accept."
Immediately after—
Do-gyeom declared,
"Entering the dungeon. Destination: Broken Arms Factory."
Their bodies vanished from the café.
Broken Arms Factory
Like Zombie Burst, this was one of the dungeons with entry restrictions for Hunters.
The limit was a combined stat rating of C or below.
That implied a decent difficulty, but for Do-gyeom, it was neither rewarding nor interesting.
'But for Han-yul, it's different.'
For most profession skills, the most crucial factors were various stats and support skills.
But Implementation Art worked a little differently.
While magical stats, support traits, and skills were important—
Imagination and self-confidence played an equally significant role.
For example:
One of Han-yul's current signature creations was a motorcycle.
As a dungeon mobility tool, few things matched its speed, but it wasn't without flaws.
That was because, in the future, Han-yul rode an anti-gravity flying motorcycle.
And that wasn't all.
She had equipped it with a plasma gatling gun and rained unlimited bombardment on the ground.
The difference between that and her current two-wheeled bike with a single pistol was staggering.
While magic and support traits contributed to this gap—
Her still-lacking imagination and self-confidence were also factors.
To nurture these, Do-gyeom believed there was no better place than the Broken Arms Factory dungeon at this stage.
(For reference, it wasn't a mechanized, 21st-century-style dungeon.
It had a more magical structure.
Even the monsters roaming inside were half-broken golems.)
Right after entering—
Han-yul scanned their surroundings and spoke.
"Broken Arms Factory... The clear condition is defeating the boss monster, right? Just the two of us might be—"
Her words trailed off as her gaze fixed on Do-gyeom, now wielding a massive warhammer.
She shook her head involuntarily.
The image of the warrior who had turned a colossal Corpse Giant into pulp with a single hammer strike flashed in her mind.
"Who was I even worried about...?"
With a wry smile, Han-yul silently followed Do-gyeom as he took the lead.
'Fine, he's impressive. But how the hell does he plan to improve my Implementation Art?'
She'd wait and see.
If he failed, she'd laugh in his face.
'Actually, this is a win-win.'
A grin crept onto her lips.
Moments later.
Do-gyeom's warhammer obliterated the first broken golem they encountered in a single strike.
Han-yul's eyes widened slightly.
"What? It didn't even hit the core! How did you one-shot it?"
Golems could only be stopped by destroying their cores.
Otherwise, they kept moving even in a broken state.
Yet, Do-gyeom's hammer had reduced the golem to scrap, rendering it motionless.
It felt different from complete destruction.
Baffled, Han-yul asked,
"What was that? How did you do it?"
Come to think of it, she had felt something similar when he killed undead in Zombie Burst.
Do-gyeom answered flatly,
"One of my abilities. Works on machines too, apparently."
"Meaning?"
"Now that I've confirmed it, it won't happen again."
A somewhat evasive answer.
Han-yul understood the implication.
'He's saying he has no reason to explain.'
Fair enough.
She'd have done the same.
Just then—
A second broken golem appeared.
True to his word, Do-gyeom dismantled it, tearing off its limbs and smashing its head.
It was still technically "alive," but barely functional.
He dragged the wreckage in front of Han-yul.
"What do you think?"
"What do I think? It's a half-dead golem."
"Not like that. As a target for your Implementation Art."
"That's ridiculous. How am I supposed to implement a gole—"
Han-yul's words died in her throat.
Do-gyeom's intense gaze was telling her—
This is possible.
"......Seriously? You really think I can do this?"
"You already know. The key to your Implementation Art is imagination and self-confidence. Believe it. That you can implement a golem like this. Study its structure. That'll strengthen your conviction."
"Uh..."
As Han-yul hesitated—
Do-gyeom's warhammer smashed the mangled golem to pieces.
Just like before.
Despite not hitting the core, the broken golem ceased functioning.
"But why? You told me to study it—"
"You've seen enough. If you've made your judgment, we move on. We didn't come here to make broken scrap metal."
"Huh? If not that, then what are we—"
Again.
Han-yul's words cut off.
Her eyes widened.
In the Broken Arms Factory dungeon, there was only one thing that could be called "unbroken scrap metal."
"Don't tell me... the boss monster...?"
"Yes."
Do-gyeom nodded briefly.
His back, turned toward her, radiated absolute certainty.
Han-yul swallowed hard.
She had never even considered attempting this, let alone imagined it—
'Implementing a dungeon's boss monster as an ally?'
How could she resist?
Her heart began to pound violently in the dungeon she had followed him into, half in disbelief.
As if it might burst.