Swallowing the medicine and calming his rapidly pounding heart, Yoon Seo began to speak about the temple's boss monsters and the terrifying dragon that appeared last.
"You need to be particularly careful with the last dragon. My shield cracked with just one breath, so it's safe to say it has at least 70 million tons of destructive power."
"70 million tons…"
Do Deungsoo muttered, dazed. In truth, those listening thought Yoon Seo was far more terrifying than the boss monster. He had casually mentioned that his shield merely cracked but didn't break, even under the force of tens of millions of tons.
The most powerful weapon in human history, the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba, had a force of 50 million tons. Of course, we can now create weapons with even greater power, but the important thing is… Yoon Seo's shield is strong enough to withstand a Tsar Bomba explosion.
Considering that Yoon Seo was drained of magic at the time and exhausted from the prolonged battle, if he had been in perfect condition and had enough magic to deploy his shield, it might have been able to withstand not just tens of millions but even gigatons of force.
"After defeating the final boss, I found that only five of us, including myself, survived."
"…Wait. The Revengers who emerged from the great dungeon were you, La Bijina, Garis Romeo, and Mark Farshim. That's four people. But if five survived… what happened to the fifth?"
"Hunter Lee Kangjin was alive. I made eye contact with him and even spoke with him, but I don't know why he didn't make it out of the dungeon. To be honest, my memories from that point on are very faint…"
Yoon Seo furrowed his brow and trailed off.
"I'm worried that I might be causing more confusion with my inaccurate memories. Please keep in mind that my recollection isn't complete. But I will share everything I know."
"Yes."
Yoon Seo calmly explained the situation.
"After the final boss died, a black portal appeared. I believe it's the same portal that Grace Guild Master saw in her prophecy."
In front of those waiting for the exit, a pitch-black portal, darker than anything they had ever seen, appeared. Someone screamed as if they were being torn apart. Another, with a face full of despair, cried out that they were all going to die here.
"At that moment, a system window appeared before my eyes. A skill called
"The final dungeon…"
Do Deungsoo echoed Yoon Seo's words blankly. Yoon Seo continued reciting the next message that appeared.
[The path to peace will never be easy.
A path of thorns stretches endlessly before you.
Poisoned rain will fall upon your head,
And hunger and cold will wear you down.
You will have no time to lift up a fallen comrade.
But until the final gate is overcome
And a new world opens,
Gaia will be with you,
So fear not…]
[The
[The final dungeon of the Gaia System.
※ Entry denied – conditions unmet.]
[The final dungeon of the Gaia System is disappearing.]
"This is as far as I remember."
"Wait, hold on. Just… wait…"
Yoo Juncheol ruffled his hair in frustration, clearly confused. Since Yoon Seo had already explained everything he saw, he remained silent.
When he opened his eyes, he had already exited the great dungeon.
When they defeated the final boss, there were definitely five of them, but no one explained why only four emerged. The other three could only repeat that they didn't know.
Perhaps La Bijina knows far more details and can explain more accurately. If La Bijina were mentally intact, it would be better to hear about what happened in the temple from her… But for now, they had to rely on Yoon Seo's faint memories.
Yoo Juncheol, Do Deungsoo, and Grace Elysia had expressions as if they had just encountered something unreal.
"For now, I'll ask step by step. Were you the only one who read the message?"
"I wasn't the only one. Kangjin hyung… Hunter Lee Kangjin, who had copied Gaia's Eye, also saw it. Hunter La Bijina probably didn't see it, but she must have heard about the message from Hunter Lee Kangjin."
"I see."
Do Deungsoo projected the system message Yoon Seo had recited as a three-dimensional hologram among them.
Thorny path, final gate, new world, Gaia will be with you.
This strange message sounded like the prelude to a legend.
"Yoon Seo, what exactly does this message mean? What is this 'new world'?"
"I don't know."
Yoon Seo responded immediately, as if he had anticipated the question.
"I've told you everything I know. If there's something you don't understand, I don't either."
"…I see. I understand."
Yoo Juncheol nodded, his face still confused.
Now it was up to them to theorize about this mysterious message. Do Deungsoo, who had been reading and re-reading the message, spoke first.
"Well… The first five lines seem to just warn us that this dungeon won't be easy. The important part is the next line. When the final dungeon is cleared, a new world will open, and Gaia will help, so don't worry too much… What could this 'new world' be? Another planet? A multiverse? A different dimension?"
"People often compare the Gaia System to a game. If it's really based on a game system, maybe Chapter 2 will open."
"Or maybe the system itself will vanish. After some kind of selection process, the system stops running, and only the chosen ones move on to the next world. Like a rapture…"
Several theories were tossed around. Since Yoon Seo hadn't thought deeply about this part, he stayed silent.
Whether it was a multiverse, Chapter 2, or a rapture, all he hoped for was that it wouldn't interfere with carrying out the will.
"The Gaia System has a lot of skills named after physics and astronomy. Like my
Yoon Seo's ears perked up at Kwon Jihan's low voice.
[The Gaia System selects you as a pioneer of the universe.]
[You acquire a new trait.
'The Chosen One'
You, who are righteous and virtuous,
Protect peace with the power of Gaia…
A new world awaits you…]
Yoon Seo had seen that message too.
"To sum it up, in order to reach this new world, whether it's a different universe or not, we need to clear the final dungeon that appears after completing the Great Dungeon. We failed ten years ago, so now we're being given another chance."
"I'm not sure if I'd call it a chance when the fate of Earth is hanging in the balance, but that seems about right."
Yoo Juncheol clicked his tongue.
"Now, we need to figure out the entrance conditions for the dungeon."
"I'll ask the God of Blessing once my prophecy skill's cooldown is over."
"Yes, please do."
"We also need to find new Chosen Ones—those who possess the
At Kwon Jihan's words, Yoo Juncheol immediately pulled up the list of A-rank hunters and started picking out promising candidates who might have those traits.
Yoon Seo leaned back deeply into the sofa, not participating in the discussion.
He was starting to want to go home. He had plans to visit a good restaurant with Kwon Jihan tomorrow, and he wanted to head home early today to be in top condition for it.
Things would only get busier from here. He had to devise a strategy, resume the training he hadn't done in a while, and carry out the execution of his will in between all that…
Yoon Seo was determined to enter the Great Dungeon. If they failed to clear it, carrying out his will in the future would become impossible. There were still 17 wills left to execute. Some were near completion, but others still had a long way to go. If the world ended due to a failed dungeon raid, how would he be able to bake cookies or do coloring books?
That was the surface-level reason.
In truth, there was another reason buried deep within.
The events that transpired when the black portal appeared after they cleared the Great Dungeon.
According to Grace's prophecy, someone entered that black portal.
It was only one person, but their identity was unclear.
Was it Kwon Jihan, as everyone speculated? Or… was it Seo Chaeyoon?
Perhaps neither was the case, but for now, it seemed most probable to consider one of them as the person who entered.
Why did only one person go in? Why, when hundreds would barely suffice for that dark dungeon, did only one enter?
…Did everyone else die or become incapacitated except for that one person?
Whether it was a brave hero among many survivors who stepped in first… or someone who entered alone, having survived alone.
Yoon Seo couldn't imagine Kwon Jihan being that one hero, nor could he imagine Kwon Jihan being among the fallen.
If someone had to be sacrificed, it should have been him.
It wasn't about some noble spirit of sacrifice. Although Yoon Seo had considered dying in the S-rank Yellow Dungeon, it was due to mana depletion.
Even though he wanted to die so badly, with his wills left unfulfilled, he couldn't bring himself to die. The thought of dying evaporates in a state of mana depletion. Despair, pessimism, and negative emotions are amplified. One finds forced reasons to accept death and convinces themselves. That's the terrifying aspect of mana depletion. For instance, if there's a landmine in front of you, you think, 'I almost stepped on it. I'll be careful when I come back.' But in a state of mana depletion, you end up stepping on it anyway.
Now that he was free from mana depletion, he had no intention of taking his own life. However…
'I absolutely cannot tolerate Kwon Jihan's death.'
For the past ten years, Yoon Seo's highest priority in life had been the wills. Despite wanting to die, he lived because of them. But now, priorities had shifted. Even if he couldn't fulfill the last wishes of the dead, he could not let Kwon Jihan die.
Even though he had no future, Kwon Jihan did.
His brown eyes grew deeply shadowed. The voices of the people around him grew quieter and eventually faded. Though he was in the same space, Yoon Seo felt as if he were somewhere else.
Where he was,
A place where molten lava melted everything away.
A place where stepping forward would drag you into the ground.
Darkness with no exit.
A place where bugs crawled between moss-covered rocks and the smell of rotting corpses filled the air.
All that could be heard were agonizing screams and groans.
Yoon Seo remained there, never having escaped that place for the past ten years.
He knew the fate of the chosen ones, those who were virtuous and just. They all died there.
He would not let Kwon Jihan meet such an end.
At that moment, as Yoon Seo was immersed in the abyss, contemplating death…
"It would have been nice if there had been an inventory back then."
A soft voice reached Yoon Seo, who was deep in the inferno of purgatory.
"I'm so angry and resentful. If only there had been an inventory and potions back then, if only there had been guild stones, so many wouldn't have died. I'm so damned frustrated I could go mad."
The voice sounded like a scorched blade.
Yoon Seo knew who the voice belonged to.
Kwon Jihan.
Though he was familiar with the indifferent or sarcastic tone, he had never heard such a dark and fierce voice before.
Yoon Seo stared blankly at Kwon Jihan.