A memory from the past flashed by.
“Don’t be so scared. Without his ability, that mutt’s nothing.”
“What? Ah, that….”
“You seen him get hit by the Boss? No, right? He flies off like a sheet of paper. Without his ability, even going one-on-one with me, he’d get wrecked.”
“B-behind you….”
“You called me, senior?”
“Aaargh! Wha—what is this…!”
“I—I didn’t say anything….”
And after that, the part where I’d been so kind as to bring him back to his senses with an electric shock.
Looking back on it now, it wasn’t entirely wrong.
The reason I—someone with no other particular talents—had managed to survive as a strong one in this world.
That was largely thanks to my ability, which happened to be on the stronger side, and to the Boss.
It was the Boss who’d turned someone living hand to mouth off their ability into what I was now.
He was the one who’d taught me how to properly use my ability.
How to survive among monsters, among humans—all of it….
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to make a run for it even now?”
…Come to think of it, the reason I was in this mess right now was that I’d tried to steal something behind the Boss’s back.
For an Awakener, an ability was like a part of their own body.
Humanity still hadn’t developed any way to suppress an Awakener’s ability.
And yet, suddenly being unable to use it?
For most Awakeners, that was probably something only imagined, never experienced. I, too, had lived my life without really assuming a situation where I couldn’t use my ability.
As long as I had a strong ability, that was enough.
As long as my physical abilities and intelligence were at a decent level, that was enough.
That’s what I’d thought.
Until I was caught by Choi Haegang.
When I came to, tied up in his torture chamber, my ability hadn’t come out at all.
I didn’t know if he’d used some special artifact or done something else. That was something I’d have to figure out after getting out alive, first.
What mattered was that this was now the second time I’d found myself unable to use my ability.
Suddenly losing one’s ability inside a dungeon was the same as losing a limb.
Still, compared to the moment I’d woken up in that torture chamber having lost both arms, this situation was relatively hopeful.
My ability would probably come back in about twelve minutes.
I just had to hold out until then.
Twelve minutes. If I could just hold its curiosity for exactly twelve minutes….
How?
Even while I was lost in thought, the monster kept pestering me.
Poke, poke.
Part of me hoped that if it got bored enough, it would just eat me.
The core could be destroyed with ordinary grip strength.
So if I could just get into its stomach, I could handle it even without my ability. That was the simplest solution.
But judging by how it kept poking instead of eating, it seemed like it had already lost interest in eating me politely.
The worst-case scenario was that it would just lock me back in the jar.
If time passed while I was trapped, Yeom Hajae would wake up, and then Atlas would start its dungeon raid.
Thankfully, Choi Haegang didn’t seem to have any intention of rescuing me, but Yeom Hajae would be different. Once he came to, he’d undoubtedly burn with pointless self-sacrifice and come to save me. Probably.
Somehow, I had to get eaten right now.
To do that, I needed to show it something, anything, immediately….
Was this how a comedian felt, standing in front of an audience that wouldn’t laugh?
I stopped thinking and pushed away the finger that kept bothering me. The monster obediently withdrew its finger.
Rummaging through my pockets to see if there was anything, my hand landed on a small box.
Opening the box, made of fine material, I found a necklace with a cubic pendant left inside.
With this….
‘…….’
What should I do.
Clink.
The metal in my hand made a clear sound as it knocked together.
Suddenly, I thought of a cat that would go wild and pounce if you shook something in front of it.
After some hesitation, I started shaking the necklace.
“!”
The monster reacted.
The hand approached again.
For a moment, I held out hope—was it coming for me?
But the giant hand grabbed the dangling, swinging necklace.
‘…….’
With a crumbling sound, the broken necklace turned to dust in the monster’s hand.
“…What am I doing.”
Doing to a dungeon monster what I’d only do for a cat.
“Hahaha.”
All I could do was laugh.
Sweat ran down my cheeks.
Not tears. Really.
[Penalty triggered: 〈Prohibition〉 in effect. (00:10)]
That precious gold necklace I’d barely even gotten to touch. And the bastard monster that had smashed it without a thought was just blankly staring at me again.
Had I really been reduced to nothing more than a boredom toy?
Even with it staring at me like that, I genuinely had nothing left to show. By this point, I’d run through every trick I’d ever pulled off in my entire life.
Should I try acting like a dog?
…No. That’s the Boss’s thing.
Throwing up.
Ah, that one too….
No matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing left to do.
What should I do.
What would make it want to eat me.
I studied the monster’s mood.
It looked like it wasn’t thinking about anything in particular. The hand that had crushed the necklace had dropped down.
In short, my opponent was off guard.
“This performance will resume in ten minutes….”
Provoke its hunting instincts?
But behind me was a sheer drop.
‘…….’
Having made up my mind, I suddenly broke into a run.
The monster’s arm was thinner than I’d thought. And since there was no flesh, the bare bone made it hard to keep my footing.
If possible, my plan was to run up the arm, get onto its shoulder, and somehow get into its mouth.
The moment I planted my foot on the inside of its elbow, where the joint stuck out in a strange way—
Smack—!
“Ugh!”
My vision flashed white.
…….
My head was ringing.
When I finally came to my senses, I was back on the monster’s palm.
What had just happened?
My forehead throbbed so badly it had gone numb.
Ah, did it hit my head?
It seemed like the giant palm had caught me as I went tumbling down after being hit on the head.
Which meant that thing had flicked my head.
…Fuck, the monster bastard just flicked my forehead?
Should I be grateful it didn’t just kill me with one hand?
I was too dizzy to keep a coherent train of thought going.
That’s when it happened.
Trickle.
“?”
A thin liquid ran from my nose. My mouth tasted salty.
My hand shot up reflexively.
When I wiped it with the back of my hand, bright red blood came away.
A nosebleed….
The day had finally come where one flick to the forehead gave me a nosebleed.
“Ha….”
I really should’ve practiced running more.
I rubbed my dry face irritably.
The road ahead looked bleak.
Without giving me time to think, a palm came toward my face. Not in a grabbing motion, but more like it was covering me.
My body was squeezed tight. The monster had pressed down on my upper body with the edge of its hand.
Had it gotten tired of waiting? Or had my sudden attempt to run changed its mind?
Pinning me down with the pinky-side edge of its hand, the monster lifted my lower body with its remaining fingers.
It bent my body into a right angle, then grabbed my shin between its thumb and index finger.
“…?”
A strange pressure built up. My leg, caught between those thick, pillar-like fingers, looked as thin as a straw.
I struggled belatedly, but it was useless. A huge hand could easily snap a human leg.
Crack!
“!!”
My leg broke.
Crack!
Then the other one was snapped just as easily.
“Hagh, hah….”
Only after the monster’s hand pulled away did my body become free.
I lowered my trembling eyes to check below.
My shins were bent back at a brutal angle.
Fuck….
It’s fine.
The breaking sound had been clean.
I’m an Awakener, so my bones would heal back quickly.
It’s nothing. At least it’s not like some psycho cut off my arm.
I barely managed to hold onto my consciousness as it threatened to fade from the pain. Looking around, I realized I’d been placed on top of a table.
The monster, having gone somewhere, came back holding a plate and a fork.
My head hit the hard plate.
Sparkling powder was sprinkled all over me, covering my whole body and face indiscriminately.
And then.
Squelch!
The fork pierced my side.
“Aaagh!”
What the f—what is this?!
Why is a wooden fork this sharp?!
…….
Fortunately, it didn’t hurt that much.
Actually, ever since my legs had broken, my head had gone hot and my heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t really feel much of anything.
Instead—
“Kuhk….”
Blood gushed out of my mouth.
Following the path of the fresh blood, my body and the floor grew warm.
Ah….
This is so unfair.
So this thing knew how to use a fork too?
Why is it always me….
Trying to make sense of it was pointless.
I accepted my fate.
It’s fine. I’m an Awakener with the life force of a cockroach….
Still, I wish it had been chopsticks.
My body lifted into the air.
Right. A fork on a plate—that means it. That means eating.
Desperately gripping the fork so I wouldn’t fall, I thought:
Finally, I’m going in.
My field of vision rose high, and the surroundings opened up wide. Through my blurry sight, I could make out Choi Haegang, small behind the wooden planks.
Seeing that face brought back old memories.
Getting my waist seared with a torch had hurt more. Ah, there was also that time I’d been cut open alive while still conscious. Seeing my own intestines had been a fresh experience.
Well, getting pierced by a giant fork is nothing, really.
Anyway, the plan was about to succeed.
“Ugh….”
Spitting up another mouthful of rising blood, I smiled and looked back at him.
And then—
Without even getting a chance to check Choi Haegang’s expression, I fell into the golden ropes.
***
“…Come to think of it, where’d my necklace go?”
The youngest member searched his pockets. The inner pocket of his jacket, both side pockets of his pants, even the back pocket.
He checked everywhere, but there was only a wallet and a phone inside. The thing he was looking for wasn’t there.
“Meow….”
“Did I lose it. Ugh, it was a gift for my girlfriend….”
He felt like the cat was giving him a pitying look. Of course, there was no way a cat could understand human speech, so it was probably just his imagination.
Meanwhile—
Yeom Hajae, who had been lying among the injured, opened his eyes.
The moment he opened his eyes, he sat up and looked around.
Everyone was still there. Except for two people.
The youngest member, noticing Yeom Hajae looking around, came over.
“Leader hyung? When did you wake up?”
“Hyung…. No, where’s Kim Cheolsu?”
The youngest member carefully glanced toward Choi Haegang.
Yeom Hajae followed his gaze. His reddless eyes — eyes tinged with red — settled on Choi Haegang. Even with his gaze fixed silently on him, Choi Haegang said nothing.
“…Haegang? Where’s Kim Cheolsu?”
