Chapter 97: Chapter 97

The reconfiguration phenomenon in the Corrosion Dungeon and the rank upgrade of the West Sea Rift. Both events occurred as if they had been waiting for Cha Uijae to enter, changing the moment he stepped inside.

Uijae swallowed hard. Deep down, he knew the truth—that he was somehow tied to all of this. He couldn’t help but instinctively realize it.

Letting go of the table, Uijae asked quietly.

“Is it possible for me to review the data from the Jongno 3-ga underground dungeon? Or perhaps, go back inside?”

“Oh, going back in is not an option. The Guild Master would be strongly against it. But accessing the data is fine. That’s actually one of the reasons I came today. Just a moment.”

Mingeojeong pulled a thin file from his inventory and handed it over.

“These are the investigation reports on the reconfigured Jongno 3-ga underground dungeon. Vice Guild Master Baewonwoo personally handled the investigation, so you can trust it. Take your time reading it.”

Uijae took the file and skimmed through it quickly. The dungeon had been a lucrative source of potion ingredients before the Corrosion began, but strange signs of erosion had been appearing over the past month. The reconfigured dungeon was now a ruined landscape covered in white ash, and if the ash was brushed aside, broken Korean signs could be seen….

Uijae bit his lip. The West Sea Rift had shown similar signs with Korean letters, as did the fragments in Yun Gaeul’s vision. The puzzle pieces of the information were starting to fit together. Mingeojeong dusted his hands off and stood up from the table.

“Well then, I’ll pass on any additional information as soon as it comes in.”

“…Yes. Could I also ask for information on other Corrosion Dungeons?”

“Of course. I’m at your service for anything. Infiltration, investigation, or even manipulation is my specialty.”

Mingeojeong boasted confidently about his illegal manipulation skills, though Uijae couldn’t deny he had benefited from them before. As questionable as his ethics were, his abilities couldn’t be doubted. The only issue was that Mingeojeong always seemed to be a bit… unhinged.

“I’ve delivered everything I needed to today, so I’ll take my leave. Here’s my card; if you need anything, feel free to contact me.”

With a polite gesture, Mingeojeong handed Uijae a business card. Uijae also politely accepted it with both hands and read it: *Wave Guild Combat Support Team 1, Ajujageungeojaeng Mingeojeong, Seo Mingi*. Mingeojeong stood at the door with his hands behind his back and spoke earnestly.

“Don’t hesitate to contact me. Our support team is always on standby for your backup.”

Uijae realized this was the third Wave Guild business card he had received—one from the warning letter he’d sent to Lee Sayoung, one from *Rangman Offner* Choe Goyo, and now Mingeojeong’s.

He fiddled with the business card for a moment before slipping it into the pocket of his apron. Mingeojeong gave a wave as he turned to leave, pushing the door open.

At that moment, Uijae spoke up.

“By the way… since you specialize in information gathering, can you also find people?”

“People?”

“Yes. Someone who might already be dead by now.”

“Oh, you’re putting me to work right away! You really know how to make use of someone, huh?”

With a creak, Mingeojeong closed the door he had just opened and turned back around. He pushed up his sunglasses and pulled out a familiar-looking tablet from his inventory, blocking the doorway.

“If you have specific details and instructions, it’s possible. However, if the person died on the day of the Rift, it might be difficult. The entire society was paralyzed that day, and there are still unidentified casualties.”

“It wasn’t someone who died on the day of the Rift.”

Uijae, touching his lips as he recalled the details, slowly added.

“It was about three years after the Rift. Or maybe even later. Either way, it would’ve been after the West Sea Rift.”

At the mention of the West Sea Rift, Mingeojeong’s hand paused for a moment. He scratched his temple with his tablet pen and asked,

“Are you certain this person died? Did you confirm it yourself?”

“No, I didn’t. But… they probably did.”

“Hmm…”

Mingeojeong lowered his head slightly, only glancing up at Uijae. His pitch-black eyes studied Uijae’s face as he murmured.

“But from the way you’re speaking, it sounds like you’re not sure. I’ll mark them as missing.”

He scribbled something onto his tablet and then asked,

“What about their name, age, or appearance? Could you provide basic details or any distinguishing features?”

Pen in hand, Mingeojeong waited for Uijae’s response. But for once, Uijae found himself at a loss for words. After a long hesitation, he finally gave an awkward answer.

“I don’t know their name… or their face. They were a bit younger than me.”

“So you don’t know their exact age either?”

“…No.”

Frowning in thought, Mingeojeong muttered,

“I don’t mean to be rude, but… what do you actually know about this person?”

“......”

“I’m not trying to blame you. I’m just asking so I can gather more detailed information. Did they live in a certain area? Graduate from a particular school? Any small clue will help us start the investigation. Anything at all.”

Uijae crossed his arms, sinking into deep silence before finally speaking. His voice was lower than ever.

“I saved this kid in the Mangwon Rift…”

“......”

“They were the sole survivor of that Rift.”

“......”

“Their whole body was covered in poison, and they were so badly damaged that even their vocal cords were ruined. The only thing that still worked was their hearing, but they couldn’t move, so communication was impossible. Everything that could have helped identify them had been melted away by the poisonous swamp. So….”

Memories he had quietly buried began to surface again. Uijae lowered his gaze. Something surged inside him, but he forced it down.

A tall young man in a black combat uniform stood with his arms crossed in front of the glass window. Beyond the glass was a stark white space.

On the operating table lay a boy so disfigured that it was impossible to recognize his original form. At first glance, one might think he was already dead, but J knew that the boy was still barely breathing. The numerous machines connected to him were the only things keeping his fragile life intact.

Just then, the door to the intensive care unit opened, and a doctor in surgical scrubs came out, wiping sweat from his brow. J spoke in a low voice.

“Doctor.”

His voice was strangely distorted, making it impossible to determine his gender or age by sound alone. His tall, solid frame led one to assume he was an adult man, but that was all. The doctor approached him and replied.

“You’ve been waiting.”

J’s black mask turned slightly toward the doctor.

“Can he be saved?”

The doctor sighed deeply.

“J, to be perfectly honest... I can’t make any guarantees.”

“......”

“As you know, wounds caused by monsters... are difficult to treat with modern medical techniques. Simple physical injuries can be treated with a combination of modern medicine and potions, but…”

The doctor’s gaze shifted to the boy.

“In a case like this, where he’s been so severely poisoned... it’s honestly a miracle he’s still alive. If it weren’t for the antidotes you’ve been administering non-stop, he would have died long ago.”

J silently turned his gaze back to the boy beyond the glass.

That evening, a devouring-type Rift appeared in the middle of Mangwon-dong. The Rift suddenly appeared, sucking in everything around it—people, buildings, nothing was spared. A 3-kilometer radius near the Rift had been reduced to rubble, as if some monstrous force had torn it all apart.

J had gone straight to the Mangwon Rift after emerging from a dungeon in Chungju, and a full day later, he came out with something cradled in his arms. The waiting Hunters had rushed toward him, but J took a step back, as if telling them to stay away.

What he was holding—wrapped tightly in a blanket—looked like a small bundle.

One of the Hunters, somewhat familiar with J, approached.

“They say it’s a poisonous Rift. Are you alright, J? And that…?”

J, in an unusually urgent tone, responded.

“It’s going to disappear soon.”

“Excuse me? Then, are there no other survivors…?”

J’s gaze lowered to the small figure he held. He muttered softly.

“There’s only this child. No other survivors.”

With that, he disappeared, still clutching the child in his arms. Moments later, the entrance to the Rift was filled with corpses, their bodies blackened and melted away by the poison.

J tapped his mask lightly with his fingers before speaking.

“If there’s poison…”

“Pardon?”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“If that kid’s been covered in poison… is it possible to create an antidote using it?”

The doctor sighed again, falling into thought. It was common practice to analyze the venom from poisonous creatures to create antidotes. And recently, many Awakeners had emerged who specialized in potion-making. If they gathered the right people, it would be possible. But...

“It might be possible… but the question is whether the boy will survive long enough for us to make the antidote. And whether we can collect enough poison…”

“Let’s do it.”

J turned to leave. The doctor, surprised, grabbed his arm.

“Wait, what are you…?”

“I’ll gather the poison. I know what kind of monster it came from.”

“......”

“Don’t worry about the cost, time, or manpower. I’ll supply everything you need.”

“…Understood.”

“In the meantime, treat him with the general antidote I’ve been providing.”

J stepped out of the suffocating room and continued down the hallway. He was now in the hospital corridor, and people’s eyes followed his straight back. Expectation, admiration, reverence, fear... His watch beeped loudly on his wrist, signaling an incoming call. J placed his earpiece in and pressed the answer button.

“This is J.”

—Ah, you’re connected. Just a moment.

A calm woman’s voice came through. It was Ham Seokjung, the Director of the Awakener Management Bureau.

A Rift has appeared in Mokpo. It’s a Grade 4 Rift. Can you head over there? We don’t have any Hunters in the area who can handle a Grade 4 Rift.

“Yes, understood. Will I be going in alone?”

—It seems so. Jung Bin is currently involved in a suppression operation.

“Got it. Please prepare transportation for me.”

—I’ll have a helicopter ready at headquarters.

Ham Seokjung ended the call quickly, clearly busy with her tasks.

J hurried his steps and exited the hospital. The world outside was still quiet, the aftermath of the Rift Day still hanging over everything. It had been a long time since the sounds of children laughing, playing, and people chatting in the streets had been heard.

In that silence, a voice echoed in his mind—a voice, hoarse and cracked from the poison, whispered faintly.

“Please… save me.”

J stopped walking.

Inside the Rift, where everything had been melted away by the poison, J had searched desperately for the faintest trace of life. He hoped, with every step, that the presence he sensed wouldn’t vanish before he reached it, that it could hold on just a little longer.

And finally, hidden in the debris of a collapsed building, after tearing apart the outer walls, he found the boy—dying, covered in poison, clinging to the bodies of two melted corpses. Even with his vision clouded by the poison, the boy had somehow managed to look up at J. His small lips had moved.

“Please save me.”

That image, so much like the 17-year-old Cha Uijae, who had once begged for help…

J couldn’t help but take the boy’s hand.

For he was the only one who truly understood the weight and responsibility that came with holding that hand.