Chapter 8: Chapter 7

A silence filled with astonishment enveloped the banquet hall. Everyone seemed at a loss for words at the shocking sight.

“A healer?!”

Only after someone’s exclamation shot up like a signal flare,

“He was a healing type?”

“Wow.”

“An S-class healer…!”

Murmuring voices began to pop up here and there. Ryu Seo-ha turned around silently. Turning his back on the psychiatrist who was looking up with trembling eyes and mouth agape.

“If it’s alright, could everyone gather for a moment? I think we need a strategy meeting.”

Did the shock therapy work? People hesitantly gathered, glancing at others. The eyes that were full of distrust until just moments ago had already changed to admiration, envy, and jealousy.

Choi Gang-hu, who approached first with his long legs, looked down at him with shining eyes like a child who had gotten a fascinating new toy. His expression was as if he had belatedly realized that a gift he liked from the start was also a limited edition.

“Why didn’t you say you were a healer?”

“That’s right. If you had said so earlier, the treatment would have been completely different.”

“Did you deliberately hide it to make everyone look like fools?”

Among those standing in a semicircle around Ryu Seo-ha, there were still people showing sharp attitudes. They seemed displeased that such a young man was taking on a leading role in the group.

“You didn’t ask.”

As he spoke gently with a slight smile, intentionally creasing his eyes, the mouths of those who had been criticizing closed like clams. It was they who had been caught up in prejudice and focused on his past as a Chinatown survivor.

Of course, they must have thought that figuring out his tendencies was the priority, since a person registered as high-risk turned out to be an S-class awakened. They even asked about the contents of his status window after a brief Q&A. But right after hearing that, the popup dungeon burst.

“I just cooperated with the state agencies as much as possible.”

There was no way those who had shown a coercive attitude based solely on his background would have anything to say.

“Congratulations. You’ve become one of only two S-class healers in the world.”

“Wow, I’m so happy for you. I’m envious.”

Meanwhile, some people were quickly trying to change their stance. The ninth healer in Korea, and the second S-class healer worldwide. Thinking that only success awaits him from now on, they were trying to establish connections in advance.

Healers were beings who could sit on a pile of money just by getting an ordinary job at a hospital. It’s an incredibly popular profession where people have to pay huge medical fees and still wait a long time for their turn. In a situation other than this special one, it would be unimaginable to experience a healing skill for free like the doctor just now.

“I think it would be better to receive congratulations after we get out of here.”

Ryu Seo-ha firmly cut off the flattery that was about to continue from people. He had been thinking this for a while, but it seemed that everyone wasn’t recognizing the seriousness of the situation. Or they were trying to avoid it as much as possible psychologically.

“Is there a way to get out?”

A woman with a neat C-curl bob that suited her well pointed out the practical issue in a careful tone. She stood out among the majority wearing white gowns as one of the few in formal attire.

“I heard that no one has ever survived being caught in a popup dungeon.”

He hesitated for a moment after seeing the name written on the neatly attached nameplate. Kwon Se-jeong. She was a major supporting character in the original work and one of the heroine candidates.

In the original, she meets Choi Gang-hu a bit later. It seemed she got caught up in this incident while working near the precision measurement room. He remembered thinking that Se-jeong was a waste, even while secretly cheering for her because she was such a great character.

“The world’s first popup dungeon that occurred in the United States was conquered about 6 years ago.”

As he calmly explained, thinking that people who are meant to be entangled somehow end up entangled, Kwon Se-jeong’s eyes briefly turned to the upper left. As if recalling something.

“Wasn’t that when an external raid team entered?”

“Yes. Thanks to that, it was revealed. That the conquest method is the same as for regular dungeons.”

Popup dungeons were an issue that even the government kept hushed up. They had been ignoring it, saying the probability of occurrence was very low. Despite being a phenomenon dangerous enough to be necessarily included in disaster education curricula.

They probably didn’t want to publicly announce an incident with no survivors and heighten national anxiety. It was also impossible for additional entry until all pre-entrants were annihilated.

“Hunt the boss monster, or destroy the dungeon core?”

When he nodded at the question, Kwon Se-jeong’s expression, which had been serious, brightened considerably.

“Hmm, the problem is we don’t know the dungeon grade, and equipment…”

But soon she frowned as if troubled. While regular dungeons can be pre-assessed by the gate color before entry, popup dungeons can’t be.

“Before discussing conquest methods, I’d like to take a headcount first. First, those who are awakened?”

As Ryu Seo-ha asked while lightly raising his hand, a few who had been listening intently to the two people’s conversation followed suit and raised their hands. The total number was 22. There were 6 awakened and 16 non-awakened. Because there were many research positions, the ratio of non-awakened was higher than expected.

“Could you please tell me your type and grade if possible? As you’ve seen, I’m a healing type. I was told a few hours ago that I’m S-grade.”

As he quietly spoke up, other awakened also began to reveal their information one by one. 1 telekinesis type, 2 search types, 1 mental type. Even including Ryu Seo-ha who was healing type and Choi Gang-hu who was special type, it was a composition with an unbalanced offense-defense ratio.

“For now, how about we form teams centered around the awakened and take turns standing guard?”

A guard shift was absolutely necessary for safety. Although the possibility of monsters breaking into the hotel was low due to them feeling the Flame Skunk’s stench more strongly than humans, there were enough gaps like windows, so they couldn’t let their guard down.

“The numbers don’t match.”

“I think it would be good if the 4 awakened, excluding the two search types, take charge as team leaders and form 4 teams of 5 people each for guard duty.”

“You’re excluding the search types?”

“I was hoping the two of you could focus on locating the boss monster and dungeon core in good condition.”

As he looked at them as if seeking agreement while giving his opinion, both search types nodded readily. It’s because they knew that was the rational thing to do. As expected, people who had experience in the field were easy to communicate with.

They said they could search for specific living beings and terrain respectively, so they should be able to figure out a fair amount about the dungeon and boss monster. Unlike usual cases, it might take some time since they weren’t moving locations, but.

They couldn’t just go outside aimlessly without any information. What if the dungeon grade was S-class? That would mean everyone dying together. Excluding Ryu Seo-ha and Choi Gang-hu, the highest grade was B-class.

“Thank you. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to tell me. Then, do you all agree to arrange the guard shifts like this?”

Some answered shortly with “Yes,” and some nodded. There were also people who didn’t show any particular reaction, but no one openly expressed opposition.

“But. Why did you say not to light fires?”

The grumpy voice came from a different direction. It was that employee from the VIP waiting room again.

“Flame Skunks don’t just like flames, they love them. The one lurking somewhere in this building will charge at us if it smells fire.”

“Didn’t you say it was a non-aggressive monster?”

“Even so, it’s better not to create situations that expose us to danger. There are always variables.”

“Then how are we supposed to eat? Never mind the cold, are we just going to keep starving?”

“I’ll go get food. We don’t have any food on hand right now anyway.”

After saying that much, the complaints finally stopped as if there was nothing more to say.

“Since the overlapping range seems wide, there will probably be many people caught up in this besides us. I hope the search types can also pay attention to survivors if possible.”

The precision measurement room was in a very secluded location within the association branch. People passing through nearby corridors could gather here, but it was different for those far away.

It was impossible to even guess how many people were caught up in this, where they were now, and what they were doing. We had to conquer the dungeon before they all died.

❖ ❖ ❖

While the people except for the first team among the 4 teams that were to take turns standing guard for 3 hours each were resting, Ryu Seo-ha, who had drawn the last turn in the lottery, had come down to the first floor lobby.

It was to find food before it got dark. Even he couldn’t look favorably on people who had treated him badly due to prejudice. But he couldn’t just leave them all to die either.

Since it had come to this, he was thinking of properly establishing merit and getting a hefty reward. Although he was experiencing considerable mental fatigue as he wasn’t the type to usually step forward, it wasn’t a bad situation for him either.

‘It’s also an opportunity to level up.’

In principle, the opportunity to proceed with dungeon conquest is only given after passing the hunter exam. He was planning to join the S-class dungeon conquest that Choi Gang-hu’s From Hell Guild would enter within a month, but honestly, even that short term felt like a waste.@@novelbin@@

Of course, going outside the building to hunt monsters without teammates was an extremely dangerous act. He wasn’t trying to do something recklessly without having something to rely on. Firstly, there was the characteristic of [Sanctification], and secondly…

“Where are you going?”

He was able to come out boldly because he believed that a man who was no less reliable than an S-class shield would follow. Even though he had anticipated it, Ryu Seo-ha was startled by Choi Gang-hu’s ghost-like appearance.

“When you’re not feeling well.”

It was also because the thick arm that extended silently gently wrapped around his waist. It was a very natural skinship as if he had always done it. Choi Gang-hu’s unique cool scent wafted over.

“I’m fine.”

As he slightly twisted his shoulder to escape from his embrace, the handsome eyebrows twitched. Ryu Seo-ha fiddled with the sleeve cuff discreetly and slightly lowered the corners of his eyes. Then he could see the expression that had instantly become cold softening considerably.

As expected, he seemed to be the type to be somewhat lenient towards small and weak opponents, as long as he didn’t get fixated on something and go crazy. Of course, even so, his tendency to act as he pleased was strong, so it wasn’t very noticeable.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

Choi Gang-hu’s pitch-black eyes persistently scanned Ryu Seo-ha from head to toe. His dazzlingly handsome face, slender physique, and graceful body lines, everything.

It was a gaze that caused inexplicable chills. Unlike the guys who ruled the Chinatown lockdown zone, it clearly wasn’t a lewd and unpleasant gaze, but still.

“Since when have you been like this?”

“…?”

“Anemia, hemoptysis, and even fainting.”

Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes widened. While fainting could be explained by his collapse a few hours ago, how did he know about the anemia and hemoptysis? Suddenly, he recalled Choi Gang-hu waiting in front of the bathroom on the day they first met.

At that distance, he could have smelled blood sufficiently even without seeing it. That means he had roughly noticed that his health wasn’t good but still made the scouting offer. So why?

“Can’t you heal yourself?”

He couldn’t fathom what Choi Gang-hu was thinking as he stared at him silently.

“It will get better when my magic stat increases more.”

He smiled pretending to be nonchalant while hiding his confused feelings. Choi Gang-hu doesn’t pay attention to useless opponents. While he might tolerate wasting time, he couldn’t stand wasting energy.

By that standard, Ryu Seo-ha was an opponent with a very high probability of becoming useless soon. But it’s still okay for now. Because he hadn’t been found out about having only a month left to live. His fingertips felt tingly.

“How much?”

If the lifespan issue was discovered, he would likely be abandoned with high probability. Neither the state, companies, nor individuals would carefully invest time and effort in a being that would soon turn to dust. Especially not Choi Gang-hu.

“It rises quickly when I touch you, doesn’t it?”

As he looked at him quizzically, wondering what he meant by that, Choi Gang-hu curled up one corner of his mouth obliquely.

“I can hold you as much as you want.”

Although his voice was infinitely affectionate, it was a smile that somehow felt eerie.