– Hyung! Hyung! Hyung! Scold Yuhyun!

Iryn’s shrill voice pierced through my daze as he launched himself onto my shoulder. The small lizard’s claws dug into my clothes as he scrambled for purchase. I blinked, snapping back to awareness. What had gotten into him all of a sudden?

– Yuhyun did something dangerous!

“Dangerous? What do you mean dangerous?”

– Yuhyun drew out his source and used it all up!

The little spirit bounced frantically, his tail whipping back and forth. I could feel his distress radiating through our connection.

“Iryn, slow down and explain properly. What do you mean by his source?”

– The fire! He’s not supposed to do that yet! He just barely started feeling it, and now he’s pulled it out completely! He can’t handle it properly—he can’t even pull it back in!

I was still lost. The source is fire? Was he talking about the power that Yuhyun possessed as a born S-Rank? I knew they had more of the source’s power than ordinary humans, and in Yuhyun’s case, that power manifested as fire.

“Are you talking about the blue fire?”

The other me, who had been watching with growing alarm, spoke up.

“Blue fire? A dark blue one?”

“No, completely blue. So clear it was almost translucent.”

A pure blue flame. So that was Yuhyun’s true fire, the manifestation of his deepest nature. The other me’s gaze dropped to the ground, and I watched him bite his dry lips.

“I shouldn’t have been able to leave the designated area originally.”

“What?” I stared at him. “You were an area boss monster? You?”

It felt bizarre calling myself ‘you,’ but the other me nodded grimly.

“The membrane that trapped me—Yuhyun destroyed it.”

With that blue flame. I turned to look at Yuhyun with new eyes. If it was a membrane that could contain an area boss, then it was part of the system itself, woven into the very fabric of the dungeon. And Yuhyun had destroyed it.

Until now, only transcendent beings could tamper with dungeons. Yet here was my little brother, barely awakened for a few years, casually tearing apart the system’s constructs. How was that even possible?

“But how could he—”

– Because true fire burns everything! Iryn didn’t understand completely before, but the fire turned blue because Yuhyun finally started accepting his own source!

Iryn puffed out his chest with pride.

– Real fire can’t be stopped by anything! Not defense skills, not fire resistance, nothing! It could even melt that black sword of yours!

“Wait, if fire resistance doesn’t work, doesn’t that put Yuhyun in danger too?”

– But Yuhyun is Yuhyun! He could even devour your blue bird if he wanted!

“Absolutely not! Don’t you dare, either of you!”

An attack that couldn’t be defended against, not even by L-Rank items. It was completely broken. Though I supposed it made sense—if dungeons and items derived their power from the source, then the source itself would naturally transcend those limitations. Still, it was essentially a cheat ability.

“But what makes using this power dangerous? Why is it so risky?”

– That’s just it, Hyung! Normally, drawing out your own source power is impossible! You have to be born as the attribute itself, like us spirits. Even if you train for ages and finally sense your source, you still need to spend years carefully learning to use it safely!

“And it was too soon for Yuhyun?”

– Exactly! Plus, Yuhyun was suppressing it this whole time. He’d been rejecting himself, and only just started to accept who he really was!

So it was like he’d just learned to stand, maybe not even that—more like he was still trying to figure out balance—and then suddenly decided to sprint. Of course he’d fall and hurt himself.

– That’s why when you draw out the source fire and use it, you can’t take it back! It scatters and vanishes forever!

“Then what happens to him?”

– Since part of himself gets destroyed, Yuhyun’s lifespan decreases!

“What?!”

The blood drained from the other me’s face as I shouted. He actually stumbled backward a step, looking like he’d been struck. Yuhyun noticed our reactions and spoke up, almost defensively.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter!”

“It doesn’t! I never should have survived in the first place!”

“That’s right, Hyung.”

My little brother’s calm voice cut through our protests.

“I’ll probably live much longer than you anyway. So it doesn’t matter. My real lifespan should match yours.”

“Yuhyun!”

“Han Yuhyun!”

Both versions of me scolded him simultaneously. Despite our angry expressions, my little brother looked almost pleased.

“I know you’ll hate this, Hyung, but I can’t give in on this one.”

“That’s not the point! Iryn, how much did his lifespan decrease?”

– Iryn can’t know for sure. Probably anywhere from a week to maybe a year!

“A whole year? Really?!”

– Yes! But if Yuhyun was going to live ten thousand years, now he’ll only live nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine years!

A year out of ten thousand. I mean, not a single day of my little brother’s life should be sacrificed, but still, I felt somewhat deflated. I’d known that born S-Ranks lived longer, but ten thousand years?

“Is it really ten thousand years? He never mentioned his lifespan being that long.”

– He’s Iryn’s contractor! He has to live ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) at least that long!

Was this just Iryn’s wishful thinking?

– So Hyung has to live a long time too! How much longer will you live?

“Uh, I’ll try to make it to a hundred, but I probably won’t—”

– No, Hyung! Then Yuhyun will die early too! You have to live a long time!

Even if you tell me to, I can’t just will myself to live longer. If I lived another hundred years, I’d be 125. That’s Guinness World Record territory. Could I really extend my life just by trying harder?

“How about we convince Yuhyun to live a full life instead?”

– What are you talking about, Hyung?

Iryn’s eyes narrowed, his expression turning serious.

– How could Yuhyun live without you?

“He could manage—”

– No, he couldn’t. The person he loves would be gone. The most precious, the only person he loves.

“He might find someone new—”

– That wouldn’t be Yuhyun! If he wasn’t a fire that only looked at you, Hyung, Iryn never would have awakened!

Iryn shrieked, his tail lashing against the ground in obvious fury.

“Iryn, you said you like Yuhyun. But you’d really say he wasn’t Yuhyun just because of that?”

– But Iryn is the spirit of fire! The first, the strongest, the purest fire!

“So if Yuhyun found someone else he liked as much as me, or even more, would you break the contract and leave?”

Iryn’s mouth snapped shut. Look at this little guy. He was actually considering abandoning Yuhyun over this? He puffed out his cheeks before wailing again.

– It wouldn’t be Yuhyun if he did that! There’s no way Yuhyun would ever do such a thing, so why are you being like this, Hyung! It’s too much! Iryn made a contract with Yuhyun precisely because he wouldn’t do that! Yuhyuuun! Hyung keeps doubting you!

Iryn leaped over to Yuhyun’s hand, his cries cutting off as soon as he left my shoulder. I could see his mouth moving soundlessly before he gave up and clung to my arm again, resuming his complaints.

“I don’t like that version of me either. It’s unpleasant.”

Yuhyun took Iryn from my arm, and the squirming fire lizard seeped into the back of his hand like liquid flame.

“It wouldn’t be me. I can’t help it, Hyung.”

My little brother looked between both versions of me, his faint smile carrying a reddish tinge in his eyes.

“Of course, I could be whatever you wanted, Hyung. I’m used to holding back. But now I don’t hate myself anymore. Because you accepted me, I’ve become a little greedier.”

In the past, Yuhyun had said he hated his fire nature. A kid who had spent his whole life suppressing it. As I searched for the right words, I noticed the other me staring blankly at Yuhyun. He didn’t quite understand what my little brother was saying—the me from this timeline.

“Yuhyun.”

The other me finally spoke.

“I don’t know what’s changed, or how much. But if you had been the same as before, if you’d been smiling like when we lived together, if you’d looked happy, then maybe I would have tried to quietly step back. I would have had regrets, but still.”

If Yuhyun hadn’t worn that expression.

“But you weren’t. You used to smile so easily. We were never well-off, but you looked happy. You’d get excited over the smallest things.”

I remembered when my little brother had first left home. It had felt like he’d become a completely different person. Even when people said he was an S-Rank Awakened with a bright future, I couldn’t help worrying. The danger of dungeons and monsters was one thing, but it was that look on his face that really concerned me.

“But now you look like you used to. You seem happy. Isn’t that enough? I don’t really understand what we’re talking about, but whatever you are, if you’re happy, that’s what matters. The world has all sorts of standards, but what’s the use? They won’t live your life for you—you’re the most important person in your own life.”

The other me’s gaze dropped again.

“If everyone says something’s wrong, it feels like it must be. But usually those are just thoughtless words. Anyway, I think you look much better now.”

He glanced at me as if asking for confirmation. Well, that was obvious.

“You’re right. Still, Yuhyun, even if your lifespan is ten thousand years, or a hundred thousand, or a million, you can’t use it recklessly. It’s easy to say a year gets shaved off, but ultimately it means your body is being damaged. And like Iryn said, this power can be used safely with proper training.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ll be careful.”

“Of course, don’t hesitate when it’s truly dangerous. You have to survive first.”

What good was a remaining lifespan if you were dead? I scratched the back of my neck and looked at the other me. This whole situation was still surreal.

“Um, hey. How old are you, by the way?”

“Twenty-nine.”

So not thirty yet. I glanced at the box he was holding. It didn’t look like a birthday cake, so was it Christmas or Christmas Eve?

The time seemed to be slightly different for each person, each monster, each area in this place. Haeyeon Guild was the only location decorated for Christmas. If the entire dungeon was in the Christmas period, there’s no way the Sesung Guild building wouldn’t have had a single decoration. Not just Seong Hyunjae, but Ms. Soyeong was acting guild leader—they definitely would have thrown a party.

The timeline Seong Hyunjae had mentioned matched this too. If it had been a year and a half after Chief Song’s death, the me in front of me would have been thirty.

“You know the Sesung Guild Leader, right?”

“Yeah. He’s missing.”

“Did he happen to send you a postcard?”

The other me looked at me like I’d lost my mind. Yep, as expected—no memory of it. Even Yuhyun was giving me a what-are-you-talking-about look.

“He said you hadn’t met at this point in time.”

“Right, that’s what I remember. But the Seong Hyunjae who appeared as a monster said he had met me.”

“So it was closed because of you, Hyung.”

Yuhyun’s voice turned cold.

“Why did you go alone? And to Sesung Guild instead of Haeyeon?”

“I went to Haeyeon first! Of course I did! But there was no one there, so I left a message and went to check Sesung Guild. It’s true! And I wasn’t alone—I went with the Old Man Chaos, but he passed away. Or should I say he went outside.”

From what I could tell, it looked like he’d died. I briefly explained to Yuhyun what had happened after I entered the dungeon, leaving out the part about Seong Hyunjae’s memory.

“So it was closed, but I don’t know if that counts as clearing it.”

“Haeyeon Guild opens last, and I broke the place where you were trapped, Hyung, so now the only confirmed cleared area is the Hunter Association? There was an SS-Rank Hunter there?”

“Yeah. I think that Hunter was probably the boss.”

“Are there other areas? If he went to related places, then where would Hunter Park Yerim be?”

“That’s…”

I definitely knew Yerim’s guild.

“Water Spout Guild. Near Dongmyo.”

The other me supplied the answer.

“Right, Dongmyo. And I thought Chief Song might be at the Awakened Management Office. The National Cemetery is nearby, so there’s no way he wouldn’t have come after seeing the Sesung Guild collapse.”

But as for Yun Yun, Noah, and Seong Hyunjae, I had no idea where they might have ended up. Especially Seong Hyunjae—if not the Sesung Guild, where would he have fallen?

“Do you have any ideas, Yuhyun? Places the Sesung Guild Leader might go?”

“Not really. You’d know better, Hyung. You even know about his safe houses.”

“I don’t think it would be there. He mentioned using hotels he’d stayed at before—maybe there? Or his favorite restaurant or bar? Could it be Chief Song’s house? Or the special isolation room, or the Awakened Management Office where he was usually confined? Should we check the company housing for probationers too?”

“Why do you know so much about him?”

“From talking with Chief Song and Ms. Soyeong.”

Some things the man himself had told me, but a lot came from those two, especially Ms. Soyeong. Anyway, for now it seemed better to head to Dongmyo, where we had a definite destination. To get to Dongmyo…

[The sun will set soon!]

A system message window suddenly appeared.

[Warning! Dragons will be released after sunset!]

What the hell was this now?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep