Chapter 5: The Chat Comes Into Focus

I just breathed for a while.

No, I tried to breathe.

In reality, it was more like gasping. My throat burned hot and raw, and my lungs felt stuffed with wet rags, suffocating.

From beyond the iron door, the pounding still echoed.

The golem banging on the door.

And outside that, the rock serpent's scraping claws.

I lay sprawled on the corridor floor between them, not wanting to move a single finger.

But the window in front of my eyes wouldn't leave me alone.

I blinked slowly.

Only then did the words come into focus.

One by one.

Crystal clear.

Until moments ago, they were just noise blotting out my vision.

But now, it was different.

I could tell who was laughing, who was doubting, who was watching me.

That fact felt more unreal than the boss inside the iron door.

"......It's readable."

My voice cracked out hollow and empty.

It was real.

Just seconds ago, it only felt like a crowd murmuring in the distance.

Now it was certain.

Those words were tracking my every move in real time.

Even my gasping breaths.

"Excuse me...."

Still sprawled on the floor, I spoke cautiously into the empty air.

"Can you really hear this?"

A brief silence passed.

Then the words popped up right away.

I stared blankly at those sentences.

They were replies.

To my words.

"This is insane...."

Goosebumps erupted across my entire body.

"Scary" didn't even cover it.

It was too bizarre—that made it even creepier.

Being chased by monsters in a dungeon, chatting with unknown people like it was a broadcast? It made no sense.

But the nonsensical was happening right in front of me.

"No, that's not it...."

Frustration bubbled up, and I shot back immediately.

"I'm really a total newbie here. I didn't calculate anything—I was just scared...."

I stopped mid-sentence and shut my mouth.

It sounded like an excuse.

No, it was an excuse.

But it wasn't a lie.

I really backed away out of fear, collapsed from fear, hugged the wall from fear.

So why did everyone keep seeing it differently?

The chat showed no mercy for my plight.

"It's not a character."

I muttered with utter sincerity.

"I just want to survive...."

Those words sounded so pathetic, no one would believe them.

A massive thud erupted from inside the iron door again.

Bang.

I flinched hard, curling up.

I couldn't stay here longer.

Whether the golem broke through or the rock serpent charged again, nothing good awaited.

I had to find the exit.

Gripping the wall, I staggered to my feet.

My knees shook.

My thighs felt like they belonged to someone else.

Having ditched the backpack lightened my shoulders a bit, but that only twisted my gut worse.

Today's pay was gone.

If they demanded compensation, I was done.

I grimaced.

The chat reacted to that too.

I was legit worn out.

No faking.

Too drained to reply, I trudged down the corridor.

The magistone light weakened from here on.

Instead, a faint blue glow flickered ahead. Gate light.

The exit.

Confirming that, strength surged back into my legs.

I'm alive.

This time, I can really get out.

The chat window clung on.

Clear? What clear?

I was just running away.

But even that correction wouldn't come out now. No energy left to argue.

Instead, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I quickened my pace a little.

As the gate neared, the cave air shifted. Amid the damp stench, a faint whiff of outside air mixed in.

Nearly in tears, I stood before the gate.

Blue waves rippled.

"Here goes...."

Didn't know who I was saying it to.

Myself, maybe. Or the people beyond the chat window.

I hurled myself into the gate without hesitation.

Whummm.

A nauseating floaty sensation swept through me.

I closed my eyes, then opened them.

Cool night air hit first, replacing the dank stone smell.

Outskirts of the capital. Mountainside.

Police line.

Emergency lights.

Ambulance glow.

Reality.

"Sir! Are you okay?"

A staffer in an orange vest rushed over.

I stood there blankly for a while, unable to reply.

I was back.

Alive.

Unable to believe it, I scanned my surroundings two or three more times.

No matter what, it was outside the dungeon.

Only then did all my strength drain away.

My knees nearly buckled; I barely held on.

The staffer grabbed my arm.

"You need treatment first. Your face is scraped up, and you look rough...."

I started to reply, then paused.

Honestly, I wavered a bit.

Lying down right now would feel good. Disinfect, bandage the wounds—my breathing might ease.

But the next instant, pain wasn't what flashed in my mind.

My balance was.

I imagined a card decline beep louder than an ambulance door slamming.

After this morning's bus fare, my account had three digits left.

I bit my lip.

"...No, thank you. I'm really fine."

"Still, you should at least get checked...."

"I'm fine."

My voice trembled at the end.

I wasn't fine.

I just had no money.

The staffer backed off with an awkward look.

Head down, I shuffled out beyond the police line.

The asphalt underfoot felt too solid—unfamiliar, even.

After three steps or so.

Something trailed at the bottom left of my vision.

I froze.

Slowly turned my head.

The blue window.

Exactly as in the dungeon.

Not faded a bit.

"......Huh?"

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rubbed my eyes.

Looked again.

Still there.

I swiped at the empty air with my hand.

It passed through.

"Wait, no."

My heart dropped.

I thought it only showed inside the dungeon.

Thought it'd end once I exited the gate.

But the window persisted, and viewers had increased.

Chat scrolled up again.

Mouth agape, I read the lines.

It really wouldn't go away.

This was real.

A passerby glanced my way and kept walking.

That gaze suddenly terrified me.

Was I now the guy mumbling to thin air on the street?

"Disappear...."

I gritted my teeth and muttered.

"Please, just disappear."

As if waiting, new text appeared.

I nearly burst into tears.

"Yes! That!"

I frantically reached into the air.

Poked what looked like a button.

Nothing happened.

Poked again.

My finger just passed through.

"Why won't it press...."

I reached out again.

Stabbed at the button spot two, three more times. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My frantic fingertips just swished empty air.

My heart raced faster.

Shouldn't something like this end with a press?

I never even turned it on—now I couldn't turn it off?

This time, eyes closed, I screamed in my mind.

Disappear.

End.

Stop.

A brief silence, then the text changed.

"What?"

I glared at the empty air.

This made no sense.

My broadcast—why couldn't I end it my way?

The chat scrolled up, as if mocking that too.

Finally, a different kind of terror rose.

In the dungeon, I feared death.

Out here, I feared this wouldn't end.

What if this window followed me showering, eating, sleeping?

I collapsed onto a bus stop bench.

My mind went blank.

People passed, car lights swept by—reality churned on, but I felt left behind in some warped spot.

Then.

Ding.

I stared blankly at the text.

One thousand won.

Actual one thousand won.

Survived the dungeon, and all I got back wasn't comfort—just cup ramen money.

It was so absurd I almost laughed.

But I couldn't even laugh.

The window stayed, viewers stuck at 12 with no sign of dropping.

Hunched on the bench, I stared at that number for a long time.

Then my pocket phone buzzed shortly.

Bzzzt.

Mind numb, I checked the screen.

"......Huh?"

Phone in hand, I froze for a long stretch.

My fingertips just kept chilling colder and colder.

The dungeon was over.

But my real life?

It felt like it was just starting to unravel.