Since the monster is presumed SS-Rank, the Hunters who won challenge slots immediately began soliciting help from other S-Rank Hunters. None of them had ever cleared a dungeon alongside another S-Rank before—so there was no harm in testing cooperation now, especially with futures on the line.

“Me? Support duty? I’ve never waited on anyone in my life!”

“I’ll only use part of my skill. I’m not about to reveal everything in front of so many eyes.”

“Two pieces of S-Rank gear—that’s the price. Take it or leave it.”

Most of them were sputtering objections. Exactly as expected. I wondered how many teams could actually cooperate: one? two?

“Let’s go eat dinner,” Yuhyun said, as if he didn’t care how the S-Ranks clawed at each other.

“No. We’ll watch—at least until the first round finishes.”

I didn’t plan to stay all night, but I wanted to see the first run. My brother frowned.

“Then I’ll pack a simple bento. Stay next to Yerim.”

“Just grab whatever’s here. Most of it’s pre-cooked or ready to eat.”

We couldn’t keep a cook around, so nearly all the food was already prepared. Yuhyun said he’d fetch Peace and left.

“Gyeol, do you want to go rest first?”

Gyeol shook his head vigorously. He couldn’t speak—he’d be bored. When Yuhyun returned, we’d have to feed him something.

“My sister’s close to you, right?”

Riet approached Myeong-woo. Unlike Noah, she spoke freely—perhaps because Kang Soyeong’s skill provided a huge defensive shell, so she needed little gear, or maybe it was just her nature. Myeong-woo’s brow furrowed slightly at her teasing, but Noah reacted more sharply.

“This is none of your concern, miss.”

“I’m just trying to befriend him,” Riet said. Noah glared at her, then urged Myeong-woo back inside. Riet was left alone, pouting.

“This isn’t working.”

“Try being gentler, miss!”

Kang Soyeong sidled up beside Riet.

“My brothers were so kind to my friends—except the boys. And you have to bow out gracefully: buy treats, then vanish!”

Was Riet really trying to mend fences with Noah, taking advice from Soyeong? I didn’t know if Soyeong persuaded Riet or if Riet decided on her own, but she was changing.

“Why not praise Noah more?” I intervened. Riet turned to me.

“I always say he’s cute.”

“I mean his abilities. He’s good at so much.”

Riet blinked. Surely she didn’t think Noah had nothing he did well.

“He cooks better than I do.”

“Not by your standards!”

“Right, Miss. Lower your bar to something ordinary!”

Riet looked puzzled.

“He’s my brother. My standards should apply.”

…Maybe the problem wasn’t that Riet underestimated her brother, but the opposite. Soyeong tugged her away, teasing.

“Riet does seem to care about Noah, though. Sometimes the more precious someone is, the higher your expectations.”

“Like pushy parents who say, ‘My kid should naturally achieve this level,’” Yerim nodded.

If a child is just average but born to parents who expect greatness, they’d feel perpetually lacking. You have to meet them at their level, but that’s hard—everyone measures others unconsciously to their own standards. And as the adult, you must work harder to adjust. Errors happen, but wrong is wrong. Even if Noah fully recovers, Riet still needs to change.

“You and Yuhyun are both so obedient it worries me. I wonder if you just do everything I say even if you hate it.”

“Isn’t it the opposite? You always indulge Guild Master Han,” Yerim said.

“Ah, if I’d indulged Yuhyun in everything he wanted….”

He wouldn’t be here now. Hmm—Yuhyun’s a special case. He’s lived like a human all this time because of me, and still does. So shouldn’t I naturally yield to my brother? After all, he gave me everything first—absolutely everything, to the point of self-obliteration.

…Thinking like that, maybe I could spare an arm if he ever went too far.

“Yerim, I really want you to put yourself first. You always come first.”

“I do, of course.” Yerim paused, then added:

“I was the only one. If I didn’t exist, everyone I loved would vanish. But if I remember them, they don’t disappear.”

“…Who told you that?”

“My teacher, in elementary school.”

“…They must have been wonderful. Let me hug you.”

“Here.” Yerim spread her arms wide. I clasped her tight. Gyeol hugged my neck too. Hunters stared, but I didn’t care. Between Yerim and Yuhyun, I have to live a long time.

“Feels like talking to you is off-limits.”

Just then, Hwangrim’s voice came. Song Taewon, watching the teams prepare, had drifted nearby. I freed my arm from Yerim and turned.

“I thought it’d swallowed you inside.”

“The little Hunter refused entry because my name’s different.”

“That’s true.”

Yerim narrowed her eyes at Hwangrim.

“And your outfit’s a violation.”

“There was no dress code on the invitation—unfair!”

He looked absurd in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts—barefoot, too?

“You botched the army so badly your discipline’s shot. Sold your boots? I thought you only sold cigarettes, but you sold your clothes too?”

Hwangrim flapped his half-dried shirt.

“For Jin, it’s only a hundred dollars.”

“I’m not buying it. Get lost.”

“The shorts are a thousand dollars.”

“Why so expensive? Designer?”

“Lower sells for more.”

What nonsense. Hwangrim stepped toward me; Song Taewon’s eyes narrowed. Yerim clamped her hand on my wrist as if ready to teleport us away. Hwangrim spread his hands and laughed:

“I really came to sell things.”

“Even a stray dog wouldn’t believe that.”

“So unfair—”

Hwangrim leapt back. Flames rained down on the spot where he’d stood, charring the ground black.

– Kii-ang!

Peace came rubbing against my feet, and Yuhyun landed beside him on the scorched earth.

“Can I kill him now?”

“Not in front of Director Song.”

Hwangrim, backed off, laughed silently at me. He didn’t come only to hawk wares—what was his scheme?

“…Let’s at least check out the monster. Director Song, would you join us?”

“I’ll stay here.”

Several Hunters remained, and Seong Hyunjae was here too. Peace grew larger. Yuhyun mounted him, and Yerim flew up beside us.

“It’s huge.”

In the sea beyond the shore, over a hundred meters out, a massive shell rose in a perfect dome—like a giant turtle’s carapace in tarnished metal, glittering under the sunset, clearly formidable.

“You ready?” Moon Hyun-ah, already on the beach, called out, holding a timer. As an S-Rank not participating, she’d been asked to track time.

First up: a team of two S-Ranks and five A-Ranks gripped their weapons.

“Don’t use skills yet. Line up at the start! Go!”

Boom! Moon Hyun-ah slammed her spear butt into the sand, and the team charged. Instead of flight skills, perfect circles appeared on the water’s surface. Auxiliary casters dashed across the stepping-stone rings, unleashing spells. Yuhyun opened the bento bag.

“Let me heat these.”

“Yuhyun, me too—ice in the drink?”

“No. It’s cold.”

“But soda needs ice.”

“Drink milk, then.”

I wanted soda too… Meanwhile, the lead S-Rank Hunter swung a hammer imbued with skill around and struck the shell—

Clang!

“Ugh!”

The Hunter rebounded high with the hammer, the force nearly explosive—clearly a skill. Tricky fight, indeed.

The rushing water stopped. ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Seong Hyunjae, still dripping, stepped out of the bathroom wearing his robe. This side of him resonated more with Han Yujin—he liked those with something to care for, whether human, monster, or neither.

“I didn’t request bathing service.”

In the center of his assigned suite, someone stood—a human form, but not human in essence; closer to a manifested skill or item.

[Why am I fitting in here?]

It asked. Seong Hyunjae approached.

“You must state your name if you’re a guest.”

[Frustration born of helplessness, anger at my powerlessness—that’s unbecoming.]

His hand shot out and gripped its throat. It writhed and sharp magic clawed at his hand, leaving long, shallow cuts across his fingers, wrist, and forearm. Blood welled, but he didn’t flinch, only stared at what he held.

“The Chatterbox mark—not it.”

He probed with magic, golden sparks singing as if dissecting flesh.

“…Nor Crescent Moon.”

Yet the Crescent Moon had many children—it could be one of them.

“I already have enough worries.”

He raised his other hand to its head; his fingers bent and sank in. Instead of blood, a black ichor oozed out. With a snap, he tore it apart.

[Why do you hold me?]

It asked as it was ripped—its pieces plopped to the floor, forming a spreading black puddle.

“Why should we despise anger, frustration, and annoyance?”

He murmured softly, a faint hum in his voice.

“To live is to feel them. If you only felt joy, you’d be a madman.”

Could someone who felt only bland emotions be called normal? He was certainly going mad—maybe had been for a long time.

“Some expect me to stand unwaveringly above them.”

He sifted through the fragments at his feet—building, discarding, rebuilding.

“I quite like everything about myself.”

Others might hate him, but not Seong Hyunjae. He breathed in all his complexities.

Even if he were to fall to ruin, if it was by his own will, he would savor it—so long as he remained himself.

With a final tear, the last shard split in two; the pile writhed like tar.

[The more you pile on,]

[The faster it crumbles,]

[So come to me.]

Its voice faded. On the single tiny orb that remained, an electric spark cracked. Its shattered pieces smoldered black.

“Lots of bugs out even in weather like this.”

Seong Hyunjae murmured, spraying potion on his bloodied arm. Should he wash again—or go out as is? Han Yujin and Song Taewon would surely react with fascination.

Especially Han Yujin—he would worry. Seong Hyunjae exhaled deeply. Han Yujin, unfortunately F-Rank, was lucky—if he’d been stronger, he couldn’t have held back like this.

He wanted to squeeze every bit of emotion from Han Yujin—both pleasant and painful.

“So live long,” he smiled, infusing the torn magic into an ancient mana stone. For both him and Han Yujin, time was short.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep