Chapter 81

Surprised by Seong Jarim’s statement, Do Junyeong responded, “Is that even possible?”

“I’m not entirely certain, but it’s not impossible.”

“I’d like to hear your reasoning. I will report today’s events to the association’s president, so please provide a thorough explanation later. Take some rest for today.”

“Uh, okay.” Seong Jarim blinked, slightly taken aback by the swift conclusion. It seemed like she had expected to be interrogated extensively.

“Yun Seora, thank you for coming here late at night. Are you planning to head back now?”

“Ah, well…” Seora glanced at the preoccupied Seong Jarim. She didn’t want to leave her alone on a day like this. “I’ll stay here tonight.”

“In that case, we’ll take our leave.”

“Yes. Thank you for your help.”

“You’ve done a great job.” Yun Jaeheon patted Seora on the shoulder, his face filled with pride as he looked at his grown-up younger sister.

Leaving behind their intention to return to the hospital, the two of them departed.

Seora settled the bewildered Seong Jarim on the sofa and tidied up the area. Despite the appearance of the gate, the house was sparsely furnished, so there was no significant damage to anything.

“Shall we go shopping together on the weekend? You’ll need a coffee pot and an air fryer. Air fryers are all the rage these days, you know. You can’t live without one.”

At Seora’s genuine enthusiasm, a small smile finally returned to Jarim’s face.

“I know. I’ve seen it on YouTube. Thanks to that, frozen food sales have skyrocketed, right?”

“No kidding. I’ll introduce you to the new world of living alone.” Seora raised her thumb, playfully waved her hand, and sat down next to Jarim.

Perhaps sensing that the ordeal was finally over, they could hear people returning from outside. The sound of footsteps and voices was much more comforting than the oppressive silence. It carried the scent of life.

“You must have been shocked to suddenly find yourself trapped in a dungeon while sleeping.” And to make matters worse, it was on Baskar. “To think that a place that hadn’t been accessible for a hundred years opened up twice in just three months. Was there anything special that happened this time?”

“I didn’t witness anything. When I woke up, the gate was already forming. But on our way back, I did see something.”

It was the first time Seora heard about it.

“There was a system glitch that created a passage to Earth.”

“A system glitch?”

“Mm. There was an error that caused a dimensional distortion, eventually resulting in a door connecting the two planets.”

“Was it an error on Baskar’s side?”

Considering the planet’s destruction and the death of the system administrator’s former contractee, Seora wondered if it was a related error.

However, Jarim firmly shook her head. “No. It was an error on Earth’s part.”

“An error on our side? But nothing unusual happened here at that time.”

“I don’t have the exact details as it only states that there was an error. If you want to know, it would be quicker to ask the administrator here.”

Seora suddenly looked up toward the administrator, hoping for a response. However, as is often the case in such situations, he remained silent this time.

Why the silence? Was it because he didn’t want her to know, or perhaps because she hadn’t asked the question correctly?

“Are you certain that the administrator knows the reason?”

“Yes, system administrator are responsible for managing everything related to the system. Even if they can’t fix the error, they should have knowledge of why it occurred.”

“What do you mean by ‘can’t fix it’?”

“Even administrators have limitations. Didn’t you sense that from their title?”

“The title…”

Seong Jarim gazed directly at Seora, her typically mischievous golden eyes now shining with calmness. “Administrators are responsible for managing systems that have already been created. They can make some modifications, but that’s the extent of their capabilities. They are not the system designers.”

“The designers…?”

This was the first time Seora had heard about this. It had only been half a year since she learned about the administrator in the first place, so she couldn’t have known much.

System administrators and system designers.

This was the knowledge that only Seong Jarim, who had lived in another dimension for over a hundred years, possessed. After all, it had only been twelve years since the gates appeared on Earth.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s something that designed the gates that can traverse planets and the system we use. That’s all I know. The true identity is probably unknown even to the administrators.”

“To think that such a thing exists…”

“Well, it doesn’t really matter. We can’t meet them anyway. According to Elona, the designer is almost like the universe itself.” Seora felt a growing sense of overwhelm as the scale of it all expanded. “Some supreme being created systems that span across the universe, and they select administrators to ensure that each planet can easily utilize them.”

“That’s why there are so many limitations. No wonder the administrator doesn’t have much information.” The administrator couldn’t prevent a dungeon Break, interfere with the gates, or even communicate properly at first.

She finally understood why.

“Even administrators are bound by the hands of the designer.”

Seora felt a pang of guilt for criticizing the administrator for only sending emoticons. She had no idea about this larger context.

“So why did an error occur on Earth…”

She recalled the events before Seong Jarim appeared. The day before, she had gone to impose a fine on Castle Tower and the Hunting Guild, who were engaged in a conflict.

“Ah.”

That day was when the administrator sent a regular message, not just an emoticon. While she couldn’t be certain, the synchronization seemed to begin at that moment. Perhaps that was the cause of the problem.

“Do you have any speculations?”

“Do you know about synchronization?”

“The event between the administrator and the contractee. Elona went through it as well. I see. So you’re in the process of synchronization too.” Seong Jarim nodded in understanding and explained slowly, “The more synchronization occurs, the deeper the connection between the administrator and the contractee, and the more the administrator can provide to the contractee. You can think of it as a normal relationship, but of course, there are differences.”

“What happens when you reach 100% synchronization?”

“I don’t know. Elona only reached 30%, and she said that the progress of the synchronization event varies greatly depending on the administrator’s inclination, so it’s not useful to compare it to Elona.”

It was a process that all administrators and contractees went through. Hearing that, Seora felt much more relieved. Of course, the administrator wouldn’t let anything harmful happen to her, but there was a significant psychological difference between knowing and not knowing.

“Is it possible that the synchronization is related to the system error you mentioned?”

“It’s possible if there was a problem during the synchronization process.”

“I didn’t notice anything wrong at the time.”

“When did you first learn about synchronization?”

“Well, it was when my rank increased in the Cheorwon Dungeon… Now that I think about it, I was already at about 15% synchronization at that time.”

“Then there might have been an issue without your knowledge. That’s the only possibility.”

She had no idea. Just like during the 15% synchronization, it was highly likely that something had occurred without her awareness. Seora couldn’t even ask because the administrator seemed unresponsive and unwilling to answer her questions.

“You have a lot of questions this time. You used to say that your safety and peace were more important than knowing the administrator’s identity.”

Seora remembered saying that on the first day she became the administrator’s contractee. She smiled at the memory. “That was a few months ago. I’ve changed my mind now.”

“I never intended to compromise your safety and peace. So you want to know more about the administrator?”

“Yes, very much,” Seora answered without hesitation. “As I’ve grown closer to the administrator through synchronization, I’ve become curious about who he is. I want to know more, have conversations with him, and meet him.”

The administrator remained silent, but Seora was certain he could sense her thoughts.

Now that she had completed her revenge in Cheorwon, she wanted to live for herself. Meeting the administrator was her first wish.

“The administrator truly cares for you. He’ll be thrilled to hear that.”

“Well, I don’t see any reaction from him right now. He must be shy.”

Jarim’s eyes, as she looked at Seora playfully responding, were filled with warmth and relief. “I’m glad the administrator loves you. Honestly, I was worried… the administrator on Baskar is quite scary too.”

The playfulness faded from Seora’s face. “The administrator on Baskar too? What are you saying? Don’t tell me…”

“You see, on Baskar… I wasn’t stranded there alone.”

As they both sank into the couch, the conversation began slowly. It was the first time Seora heard a proper account of life on Baskar.

“I used to work alone initially before Baskar, preferring to be independent due to my personality. Occasionally, when the guild requested collaboration, we would join forces to attack dungeons. Thankfully, being an A-class Hunter, I managed to hold onto my job.” This wasn’t uncommon among Hunters, as many preferred working alone. “However, one fateful day, half of our raid squad couldn’t escape the gate. They perished, and the remaining members became trapped, fighting for their lives.”

Since then, life had been like a living nightmare.

The area known as the plant-free ore zone posed extreme difficulties for Earth’s inhabitants, as they couldn’t consume the ores like the creatures native to that place. As a result, three out of five people starved to death.

“I was fortunate enough to slay an enemy and acquire a new skill, which became my lifeline, enabling me to survive. It was the ‘Spear of the Slaughterer’.”

Unfortunately, the companion who survived alongside her wasn’t as lucky and eventually met their demise. From that point onward, she endured for a long and grueling 20 years.

“All I wanted was to survive, but I faced severe rejection there. The administrator harbored a deep animosity toward me, often sending hordes of ore monsters to kill me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. But I owe my survival to Elona, who tried to block them multiple times.”

“She was truly a remarkable person.”

“Yes, she was. She had such a kind heart… When the Labyrinth Dungeon in Baskar experienced a Dungeon Break, I tried to convince her not to go.”

The fact that Elona made the decision to enter the Labyrinth was even more shocking than the existence of the Labyrinth itself.

Seora was at a loss for words, but Jarim reached out and held her hand. “Seora, even if something like that happens here, please don’t do the same. It didn’t end well in the end. The Labyrinth cannot be stopped, even if the administrator’s contractee intervenes.”

When asked to promise, Seora nodded. She remained steadfast in her belief that peace and security should be preserved. She desired to enjoy a peaceful life and had no intention of achieving it through sacrifice.

“I fought against the monsters from the Labyrinth to protect Elona. However, the administrator of Baskar attempted to kill me in the process.”

“What? I mean, you were defending their planet. So why would he do that?”

“I don’t know either. He seemed enraged, as if he held a grudge, but I had done nothing wrong. I was merely someone from another dimension who couldn’t escape.”

Seong Jarim, whose mind had gradually deteriorated after repeatedly facing the threat of death for decades due to the administrator’s actions, finally reached her breaking point and lost her sanity.

She only regained consciousness after most of Baskar’s residents and the Labyrinth’s monsters had been slain.

During that time, she obtained all her titles, except for “Returnee of Planet—Baskar,” which she earned upon her return to Earth.