*Boom!*

A fist wrapped in black chains struck the center of a stone, causing the massive boulder to crumble silently from the impact point. The shattered rocks piled up like a hill around them. Jung Bin withdrew his fist, wiping away unseen sweat, and looked behind him.

“Are you two unharmed?”

“Yes. Are you okay, sir?”

Yun Gaeul, who had been crouched behind a collapsed wall, peeked out. Next to her, a thumbs-up and a white feathered wing appeared in quick succession. Jung Bin approached them, forcing a smile.

“I’m fine. How are you feeling, Gaeul? Any dizziness?”

“Um… I rested a bit, so I’m much better now. Thank you for your concern.”

Gaeul replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. Even at a glance, her complexion was much improved from the time when she had been dry-heaving. Jung Bin inwardly sighed in relief as he checked on them. Only after confirming their safety did he allow himself a small exhale. Things were getting out of hand.

One unexpected event followed another. It was almost as if they were cursed. Jung Bin had expected chaos at the Artisan Exhibition and had prepared for it. Even Lee Sayoung fainting and Nam Woojin’s emergency request to investigate the dungeon weren’t part of the plan, but those situations had been manageable.

But even Jung Bin hadn’t anticipated the news of Hong Yeseong’s escape. The urgent call came just before they entered the *Jongno 3-ga Underground Dungeon*, after he had finished issuing all the necessary orders for his absence. He glanced at Sayoung, who, with a raised eyebrow, leaned against a wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Jung Bin answered the call.

"—I’m sorry, Team Leader. Hong Yeseong has escaped…"

Facing a reality he didn’t want to believe, Jung Bin learned something new for the first time in 30 years: if the shock is big enough, your vision really does spin. Listening to the distressed voice of the Hunter in charge of guarding Yeseong, Jung Bin, for the first time in a long while, had one thought:

‘I want to run away…’

And the only place to escape to was inside the dungeon.

Perhaps he had been pacing too much, because Sayoung, eyes still closed, finally grumbled in annoyance.

“Did you set your feet on fire or something? Why are you making such a racket?”

“Lee Sayoung…”

Hearing his voice, Sayoung seemed to sense something was off. He cracked open one eye, then fully opened both as he took in Jung Bin’s expression. It was the first time Jung Bin had seen Sayoung look at him with such shock. Hong Yeseong was giving him all sorts of new experiences.

Fortunately, Sayoung fulfilled his duty as a competent guild leader. In other words, he delegated the problem to a subordinate. If not for the *A Very Small Miracle* team’s quick response in tracking Yeseong, they’d probably still be searching for him instead of exploring the dungeon. Although Hong Yeseong was important…

‘I need to find clues to the apocalypse.’

A few months ago, Yun Gaeul had awakened and predicted the coming of the apocalypse—when and how it would arrive was unknown. It was a hard story to believe, especially since the world seemed to have entered a period of stability after the chaos. When Gaeul first mentioned it, Director Ham Seokjeong of the Awakener Management Bureau had dismissed it as post-awakening trauma and assigned someone to monitor her.

However, as if to support Gaeul’s claims, eroded dungeons began appearing one after another, and Prometheus, which had been quiet since Sayoung’s awakening, suddenly became much more active.

The first erosion occurred in a dungeon owned by a guild in Incheon. It was originally a cave inhabited by blue slimes, but it became covered in white ash—an eerily familiar scene, just like in Gaeul’s stories.

After the existence of the first eroded dungeon was confirmed, Ham Seokjeong changed his stance and shared the news of the impending apocalypse with only a select few Hunters, limiting the information to the top ten ranking Hunters. This was to prevent mass panic due to apocalyptic fears.

Since then, combat rankers had been taking turns investigating eroded dungeons. According to the original rotation, Gyu-Gyu or Honeybee should have been the ones to enter this time, but Nam Woojin had insisted on sending in Jung Bin and Sayoung due to the urgency. Then the dungeon had suddenly reconfigured itself.

The sudden appearance of an S+ grade dungeon, along with Hong Yeseong and Yun Gaeul—Jung Bin couldn’t help but think of the blazing white eyes.

‘Did they send us in here, knowing this would happen…?’

“…Sir?”

A small voice interrupted his thoughts. Jung Bin snapped back to reality and looked for the source. Gaeul was nervously rubbing her lips.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jung Bin folded his arms behind his back and smiled warmly.

“Yes, of course. It looks like we’ll have a moment of peace. Have you had anything to eat?”

“Um… no, not yet.”

Jung Bin pulled a small backpack out of his inventory and handed it to Gaeul. Inside were emergency rations and bottled water.

“I recommend eating something now if you feel even a little hungry. You never know when we’ll get another chance.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t overeat, though. Just enough to take the edge off your hunger.”

“Okay.”

Gaeul nodded her head as she accepted the bag. Hesitating a little, Jung Bin casually sat on a flat piece of rubble, unwrapped an energy bar, and took a bite. Only then did Gaeul open the bag and pull out a packet of jerky.

As he finished his energy bar, Jung Bin neatly folded the wrapper and began to speak.

“Feel free to eat while we talk. Since we have a moment to breathe, let’s review the situation. I came here with Lee Sayoung to investigate the eroded dungeon… and just as Sayoung mentioned someone entering the dungeon, it suddenly reconfigured itself. That’s when we met you two. Now, I don’t know why you’re here.”

Jung Bin emphasized the words “you two” and “why.” Gaeul looked like she was about to choke as she ripped off another piece of jerky. Jung Bin, still smiling warmly, glanced at the figure beside her. The tip of a dark blue hiking hat was sticking out.

“So… Hong Yeseong?”

“…Ahem.”

The hat lowered even further. But it wasn’t like Yeseong could suddenly run away. No matter how reckless Hong Yeseong was, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to act alone in an S+ grade dungeon. With that thought, Jung Bin continued calmly.

“You disappeared and threw the management bureau into chaos. So I’d like to know why you’re here, in this eroded dungeon, and why you’re moving with her. I want to hear everything from start to finish.”

“……”

“There’s no use exercising your right to remain silent here.”

Kokko, the ceramic chicken perched on Yeseong’s head, tilted its head, while Gaeul chewed on her jerky with a gloomy expression. Yeseong continued to show nothing but the top of his head. Neither of them looked like they were about to offer a proper explanation. Jung Bin sighed as he folded the wrapper into a square.

“I’ve investigated several eroded dungeons before, but this is the first time the dungeon has reconfigured itself and its grade has increased. In fact, this is the first time we’ve ever seen a dungeon reconfiguration.”

*Rumble…* The ground trembled from a distant location. The massive vibrations suggested that the dungeon’s boss had made an appearance. To clear the dungeon, they’d have to kill it eventually, but…

“My abilities are specialized for human combat, not monsters. So far, I’ve been relying on my stats to fight, but even that has its limits.”

Jung Bin sighed briefly.

“To be honest, I’m not confident I can protect you both while fighting the dungeon boss. That’s why I need a clear explanation of the situation.”

“I’ll explain!”

Before Hong Yeseong could say anything, Gaeul shoved a piece of jerky into his mouth and raised her hand. But before she could begin, a massive shadow loomed over them. All three, along with Kokko, looked up at the same time. A massive…

“…Hand?”

It was a gigantic hand.

It moved slightly upward, the air tearing apart with its motion. Jung Bin hurriedly wrapped his chains around his arms and shouted.

“Yeseong! The shield!”

“Oh, right!”

And then—

*Boom!*

A colossal shockwave shook the surroundings as if to rip the air apart.

A little while earlier…

“How long has it been?” 

Uijae shattered the golem’s arm with his staff, glancing at Sayoung. Sayoung was punching through the golem with his bare fists. He had likely decided that breaking the stone with brute force was faster than melting it with poison.

Before they could decide whether to regroup with Jung Bin or hunt down the dungeon boss, monsters had swarmed them. And it didn’t take Uijae long to notice something strange. As time passed, the forms of the monsters attacking them began to change.

Immediately after the reconfiguration, the monsters resembled the pale, emaciated ones Uijae had seen during the West Sea Fracture. After wiping them out, the surrounding rubble began to gather together and form complete golems. The golems lumbered slowly around them. Uijae readjusted his grip on his staff.

“Was there an error in the reconfiguration? Or…”

Since the dungeon had reconfigured itself in response to Uijae’s title, it made sense that the first wave of monsters had been related to him. Once he defeated those, familiar golems had started appearing. Typically, the monsters inside a dungeon were linked to the dungeon boss. Judging by the number of golems, it seemed likely that the boss was a golem as well.

Uijae drove his staff through a rolling golem, all the while deep in thought. There were five Super Hamsters in this dungeon. Two of them were like bombs. One was fine since it was nearby, but Hong Yeseong was the real problem. The chaos from the Artisan Exhibition flashed through Uijae’s mind, his expression growing serious.

At least Sayoung could be reasoned with, but once Hong Yeseong latched onto something, there was no stopping him. You just had to helplessly accept the disaster that was Hong Yeseong. The conclusion was obvious.

“Instead of taking down these monsters one by one, we should regroup with Jung Bin. Let’s go.”

“What were you thinking so hard about…?”

Sayoung snorted, having heard Uijae’s muttered words.

“Where do you get the confidence to be so bold? You completely ignored my suggestion, didn’t you?”

“I listened to your advice and made a rational decision.”

“Ah, rational. I like it.”

Sayoung covered his mouth with his hand, letting out a soft laugh. But despite his raised lips, his expression was far from amused.

“First, maybe you should lose that hoodie. You don’t actually think you’re fine without an apron, do you? That’s a bit too simple, don’t you think?”

“Really, this guy…”

Ever since they had reunited in the ruins, Sayoung had been strangely cooperative. This wasn’t just Uijae’s imagination. Not only had he exaggerated his pain and whined, but he had even sarcastically clapped when Uijae kicked a monster, saying things like, “Wow, did you learn Taekwondo?” Normally, Sayoung would have mocked him outright for trying to hide his abilities, but it seemed even his patience had a limit.

‘What is he after?’

Uijae, his face twisting as if he had bitten into something sour, kicked a golem with a powerful strike, shattering it.

“What’s bothering you now?”

“It’s nothing… I’m just curious.”

Sayoung, following behind, suddenly stopped in his tracks. When Uijae turned to look at him, Sayoung tilted his head as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“You act like you’re responsible for fixing everything by yourself.”

“……”

“But don’t you think it’s about time you realized how pointless that mindset is?”