Choi Gang-hu lifted him with one arm and leapt onto the observation deck of St. Vitus Cathedral. Even standing on the open spire, he wasn’t afraid or anxious about being thrown off like before.

“Kitlova revealed it beforehand. That she was their pawn.”

He whispered softly into Choi Gang-hu’s ear, naturally embracing his neck. Approaching him when angry wasn’t scary like before.

“As an S-class healer, she must have been under close management.”

The order would have quickly found Ryu Seo-ha’s whereabouts, who had suddenly disappeared, as they were already monitoring this place.

“You entrusted yourself to that woman’s power even knowing that?”

Choi Gang-hu seemed to quickly realize the other party wasn’t an enemy. Instead of attacking Kitlova, who was left restrained below, he scolded this side for overlooking potential dangers.

“You really need to be punished.”

“Ah.”

He couldn’t help but let out a low moan as teeth gently bit his soft earlobe. When he reflexively tried to turn his head away from the stimulation, a large hand firmly grasped Ryu Seo-ha’s chin, holding it in place.

“We agreed to date, didn’t we?”

A slick tongue teased his ear.

“Then I should have a stake in Ryu Seo-ha now too.”

With a possessive statement, the moist tongue dug in as if to lick his eardrum.

“You can’t just recklessly use that precious body.”

Shuddering at the unfamiliar sensation, Ryu Seo-ha slightly bit his lip and cupped Choi Gang-hu’s cheeks with both hands.

“How are you going to punish me?”

As he asked in a whisper, narrowing his eyes, lips that had momentarily lost their target let out an “Ah” of exclamation.

“Like this?”

Slender white fingers pushed a small candy between parted lips. Tasting the cool mint on his tongue, Choi Gang-hu made an incredulous expression.

“…What are you doing?”

“Imitating Choi Gang-hu?”

Gently rubbing the slightly raised eyebrow with his thumb, he smiled at the unexpected answer. His smile shone brightly against the backdrop of the Czech cityscape reminiscent of a fairytale village.

Neither the square surrounded by pale yellow buildings, nor the lush forests and quaint red roofs shimmering a clear green beyond, nor the sparkling Vltava River could capture Choi Gang-hu’s gaze.

“Wasn’t it your specialty? Punishing with money.”

Feeling the arm around his waist tighten, Ryu Seo-ha asked. Not hiding at all the nuance that he knew Choi Gang-hu had been flirting indiscriminately with both enemies and allies.

“What does that have to do with candy…”

The tail end of his words, meant to be a retort, faded uncharacteristically. He seemed to recall his own past actions of forcibly feeding Ryu Seo-ha mint candy. Comparing mere candy to house deeds.

“Ah, really.”

Choi Gang-hu lifted the small buttocks with his strong arm. Ryu Seo-ha’s feet floated in the air. Even in such a precarious position, his smile resembling the morning sun didn’t fade.

“Aren’t you scared? Of what I might do.”

“Choi Gang-hu wouldn’t turn his precious stake into a scrap of paper, would he?”

Though he tried to make empty threats, only lovely answers moistened his eardrums.

“Right, what happened with the rescue operation?”

Choi Gang-hu, who was about to shower him with kisses, frowned at the following question.

They were supposed to keep in regular contact with the rescue team that had entered the catacombs in Vienna, Austria. This was to respond in real-time in case of unexpected situations.

And just now, an apostle had appeared here targeting Ryu Seo-ha. There was a high probability that something had changed on the rescue team’s side as well.

“I wondered how the location information leaked…”

His voice was calm as he checked the contact history and muttered lowly. Tilting his head slightly towards Ryu Seo-ha in his arms,

“All contact with the rescue team has been cut off.”

He reported the failure of the rescue operation, lightly waving his phone.

❖ ❖ ❖

The entire rescue team, including Kwon Se-jeong, had gone missing. Judging by the fact that even the location signals they had left on just in case weren’t showing up at all, it seemed they had been taken hostage by the order.

A second rescue team was scheduled to be newly formed, but Ryu Seo-ha didn’t have the capacity to help them right away. He had his own problems to deal with.

Status: Remaining lifespan 8 days 21 hours 44 minutes

He could no longer postpone obtaining the elixir. He had to move as planned before. Now it was time to seriously prepare for entering the S-class dungeon that the Promhell Guild had won at auction.

“Eeyolll~ Moving genius~!”

On his first day back at work after returning home, Dr. Han Gang-seok playfully greeted him as he visited the production research lab to check on items.

“Dr. Han. Have you been well?”

“Oh, you know, nothing special. But your performance was amazing, wasn’t it?”

Returning the greeting with a small smile, Han Gang-seok, who had already become quite close and dropped formalities before the departure, gave a thumbs up.

“I was surprised watching it on TV. To think you didn’t lose even facing an S-class hunter head-on.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, the fact that Choi Gang-hu had violated the tournament rules was glossed over. Judging by Han Gang-seok’s reaction, it seemed the attention on him was still quite high.

“I was lucky.”

“Haha, luck is also a skill. I heard from the PR team that CF filming requests are pouring in like crazy?”

Advertising appearance offers had been constantly coming in since his awakening grade and type were revealed. He had postponed them all due to lack of time.

“Rejecting the easy flower path and entering that dangerous S-class dungeon… Seo-ha, you’re really something else.”

Well, from the perspective of someone who didn’t know the intimate circumstances, it might seem like an unexpected move. Just like when he received bewildered looks for applying for the practical test as a combat type.

“It’s just, you know, a rare opportunity.”

Unable to explain the whole story, he simply responded as if filled with vain ambition, and Han Gang-seok shrugged.

“Well, an S-class healer conquering an S-class dungeon. It’s a fitting title. I’m sure you’ll do well, Seo-ha.”

“Thank you for the encouragement.”

“Hmm, can I ask about your secret?”

“Secret?”

“How on earth did you persuade the guild master?”

As he tilted his head and asked back, Han Gang-seok, who had been organizing measuring instruments, stopped his hands and his eyes lit up.

“You got permission to enter right after returning home. I thought the guild master would never allow it.”

His eyes were full of curiosity, like an aspiring detective who had witnessed an unexpected incident.

“Why?”

“Why? How could the approval come easily? When the guild’s precious healer, who they cherished like it might fly away if blown on or break if squeezed, said they wanted to go to such a dangerous place themselves.”

“…Was it that obvious?”

“Hm? Who doesn’t know about the guild master’s favoritism towards you?”

He was secretly taken aback. Is this how celebrities who choose to date privately and meet away from the public eye feel? Even small evaluations linking the two made his heart pound.

“After you joined, he replaced all the lounge furniture with luxury brands, created healer-exclusive facilities, and even established a special leave system.”

“Ah…”

Choi Gang-hu had been showing a lot of interest in Ryu Seo-ha all along. He expressed it so openly that most people probably wouldn’t suspect it was that kind of emotion.

“What logic did you use to persuade him to take a low-level hunter who awakened less than a month ago into an S-class dungeon? Of course, your talent is extraordinary, but still…”

Faced with his curious gaze, Ryu Seo-ha smiled faintly and shrugged slightly, imitating Han Gang-seok’s habit. He hadn’t tried any logical persuasion.

-I don’t want to be apart from Choi Gang-hu for even a moment.

He had only obtained approval with an embarrassingly mirror-like confession. Though it was a statement with a clear intention, perhaps Choi Gang-hu appreciated the sincerity mixed in those words. He had stamped the entry permit on the spot.

“If I don’t want to be a burden once I’m in there, I need to work harder than others. That’s why I wanted to get help from you, Doctor.”

“Well, that’s a given. It’s my duty to assist as a salaried employee.”

As he naturally changed the subject and took out the items to be worn on the day of entry, Han Gang-seok briefly clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head.

“You mean you want me to set the direction for enchanting, right?”

“Yes. Is it possible?”

“Hmm. Since they’re all S-class items, it won’t be easy to additionally engrave skills or proceed with synthesis or reinforcement.”

“I guess so…”

Enchant. A term encompassing all production-related actions to upgrade item performance, and the reason he visited the production research lab today.

“The higher the item grade, the harder it is to find things that can be worn without level or stat restrictions… but all of these are that type.”

Han Gang-seok examined the S-class items laid out on the work table closely and muttered as if very curious.

Coat, top, bottom, underwear, and shoes. Casual clothing-type armor with a sense of uniformity in color, shape, and even material, as if custom-made.

S-class armor is originally more expensive than a luxury building piece by piece, but items with almost no wear restrictions like these were literally priceless.

“It makes me realize anew how incredible the guild master’s influence is. These seem sufficient in performance as they are… Is there a special reason you’re focusing on enchanting?”

Did he think it was excessive greed? Han Gang-seok asked the expected question with a subtle expression.

“I heard this dungeon is estimated to be a special type where missions are presented.”

Ryu Seo-ha nodded calmly and responded.

“I want to be prepared for various possibilities.”