If he had known he would have to lose Jaehee in order to save someone like Kang Mingyu, he wouldn’t have saved Kang Mingyu.
Woo Jeongwoo roughly swept his wet hair back.
Seeing Kang Mingyu collapsed and unconscious made his rage boil up.
He should have just left that bastard alone, whether he lived or died.
He’d gotten into this mess trying to save him to look good in front of Jaehee for no reason.
“Damn it! You idiot! If you get caught once you should know better, how could you get caught twice!”
Jeongwoo muttered while banging his own head.
If it were up to him, he wanted to push that bastard Kang Mingyu back into the pond right now. But even if he did, nothing would change.
Jeongwoo half-heartedly pressed down on Kang Mingyu’s abdomen with his foot. After applying pressure a few times, water gushed out of Kang Mingyu’s mouth.
“Heuuuugh, kek, kekekek, cough, cough, cough.”
At that moment, Kang Mingyu’s chest heaved up and down greatly once. Kang Mingyu kept vomiting water, then after a while raised his head.
“Hey, if you’ve come to your senses, get up. Get up and tell me what happened. I’ll decide whether to get rid of you or not depending on your answer, so be careful.”
Kang Mingyu cowered before Woo Jeongwoo standing in front of him and quickly bowed his head deeply.
It felt like he’d had a long dream. But the nightmare wasn’t over yet, and Woo Jeongwoo was waiting for him with a face more terrifying than the grim reaper.
“Actually, I don’t remember that much. I remember entering the Bukhansan dungeon together with the Guild Sahae people.”
Kang Mingyu watched Jeongwoo’s mood while sipping warm milk wearing the gym clothes Jeongwoo had given him.
Kang Mingyu was the perceptive type. Most people thought Kang Mingyu acted that way because he was clueless, but in fact he was quick-witted and caused trouble while sizing people up. Thanks to that, he’d been able to get by without major issues until now.
“Then do you know where the other people who entered with you went?”
Kang Mingyu glanced at Jeongwoo out of the corner of his eye and shook his head.
He’d known to some extent that Woo Jeongwoo had a good body, but seeing him shirtless, it looked much better than his own. These weren’t muscles simply inflated from working out at the gym, but solidly compressed practical muscles.
He’d heard Jeongwoo had just graduated high school, but when on earth had he built a body like that?
“If you keep sneaking glances, I’ll want to kill you, so look down.”
“Uh, uung, yeah yeah. I, I won’t sneak looks.”
Kang Mingyu quickly lowered his head.
Why hadn’t he recognized such a strong person? Kang Mingyu sighed, resenting his past self. After seeing the future where humanity perished, Kang Mingyu had believed for a while that he would become the savior of this world.
Because he was humanity’s savior, he had seen such a horrific scene. He was chosen to save humanity—that’s what he thought.
But all of that was shattered in Ouroboros’s dungeon. In Ouroboros’s dungeon that showed him what he feared most, Kang Mingyu saw Earth destroyed because of his unworthy self. Seeing people who were neither dead nor alive, Kang Mingyu was engulfed in extreme terror.
After that, he stayed home like he was dead, not going outside. He wouldn’t have gone to the Bukhansan dungeon either if not for Section Chief Lim’s repeated urging.
Right. He’d been correct. He shouldn’t have gone outside.
He listened to someone like Section Chief Lim and came out not knowing what would happen to Earth, and ended up like this. What did Section Chief Lim know to make him listen?
‘Sliding.’
At that moment, hearing the sound of metal clashing, he raised his head and Kang Mingyu jumped. Woo Jeongwoo stood right in front of him, having drawn a long sword.
“Temperamentally I want to just cut off your head right now, but I’m making an effort to hold back, so answer me properly and sincerely. Everything that happened since entering the dungeon, down to the smallest detail—tell me everything you remember. If you don’t remember, try saying you don’t. I’ll forcibly make you remember.”
He could tell what method would be used to make him remember by looking at the flashing sword in front of him. Kang Mingyu nodded frantically with a pale face.
“So when we first entered the dungeon, everyone was relaxed. Since it was a dungeon Guild Sahae had conquered themselves, it seemed they had a lot of information they hadn’t reported to the Management Bureau. It was a loose atmosphere where we’d secretly gather materials while walking and stuff. I was embarrassed but very nervous about the dungeon, but since the other people were like that, I also… got a bit relaxed and gathered this and that. Originally you’re supposed to report all dungeon byproducts, but everyone does that anyway, right?”
Kang Mingyu swallowed as he looked at the expressionless Jeongwoo. Jeongwoo didn’t say anything, but it felt like he was hearing “skip the useless talk and get to the point.”
“A-anyway, we were going along pretty relaxed when one person said their stomach hurt. So the group decided to split up. Seven people had entered the dungeon in total, and two stayed including the sick person, while five decided to go further. We decided to look around up to the dungeon master’s territory and come out. But then something strange happened to me… I kept hearing strange sounds.”
“Strange… sounds?”
“I-it’s true! I’m not lying. It was the sound of someone calling and asking for help. But no one else heard such sounds and they laughed at me. Saying I was a coward hearing things… After that I kept my mouth shut even when I heard sounds, but the sounds got louder and louder. It sounded like a woman’s scream, or like a young child crying… I can’t express what it was, but it was a sound that was painful to listen to.”
Kang Mingyu let out a long sigh. Jeongwoo listened to Kang Mingyu’s story in silence without saying anything.
“I’m not sure, but the Guild Sahae people, something was a bit strange. They whispered among themselves and excluded me. I understood since I wasn’t a guild member… But it seemed like they were looking for something in the dungeon. I heard stuff like they couldn’t leave until they found it… I don’t really know what it was… Really! I’m telling the truth.”
“I understand. Then how did you end up falling into the pond?”
“The pond… Actually they kept teasing me saying everything I said was a lie, so I fought with the Guild Sahae people about that, and I said I’d leave on my own. The path looked simple up until then, so I thought I could just turn around and get out. Those people told me to do that too. So I huffed and turned around to leave, but…”
“The path disappeared.”
“Uung…”
“Inside a dungeon, even a path you thought was straight might not be straight. Be careful from now on. So did you get lost and fall into the pond?”
“I, I don’t know…”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t remember well…”
“Haa…”
Jeongwoo let out a long sigh and looked at the sky while watching the whimpering Kang Mingyu.
If it were up to him, he wanted to just get rid of someone like Kang Mingyu and quickly go find Jaehee.
But upright and honest Jaehee wouldn’t tolerate such a thing.
Jeongwoo looked at the bracelet on his wrist and shook it once. A red gem sparkled on the crude gold bracelet. The fact that this gem was still red meant Jaehee’s life wasn’t in danger.
The bracelet was something Jeongwoo had secretly bound to Jaehee with a spell after the Daejeon Station incident. It didn’t have major functions, but he could know Jaehee’s condition.
Jeongwoo walked over and approached the pond.
The pond was so clear without a speck of dust that it reflected Jeongwoo’s appearance like a mirror.
Wait… a mirror?
Jaehee turned his head to look at Kang Mingyu.
No way. One hypothesis he really didn’t want to think about came to mind.
“Kang Mingyu-ssi.”
“Y-yes?”
“What exactly is your classification?”
Seeing Kang Mingyu’s face turn white, Woo Jeongwoo sneered.
So that bastard was indeed the problem.
“I, I am…”
“Last time you said you were a King, right? But it’s already been exposed that you’re not a King, so speak honestly.”
“I, I’m… a Supporter…”
“A Supporter, huh. It won’t be fun if you lie. It’s not like there’s no way to find out your classification.”
He firmly planted the sword he was holding into the ground in front of his feet.
Kang Mingyu’s eyes watching that shook pathetically.
“I’ll ask once more. Tell me ‘exactly’ what your classification is.”
“I… I’m a Whisperer. And among them, a Prophet.”
Kang Mingyu said while sniffling.
Prophet.
Hearing those words, Woo Jeongwoo bit his lips tightly.
“Then, you, what did you see when you entered that pond? Mirrors amplify a Whisperer’s abilities. That pond was itself a giant mirror, so you must have seen something inside it, Prophet.”
