Chapter 21
In the center of the door was a keyhole that practically begged for a key to be inserted.
Saebyeok slid the enlarged <Safehouse Key> into the slot.
Clunk. Clunk.
The number of locks clattering open was enough to make her think even a bank vault wouldn’t be this heavily secured. Then, the golden door shifted to a blue hue.
Creak.
The door swung open, as if welcoming her inside.
Saebyeok swallowed dryly.
“Old man, if I don’t come back in five minutes, could you report it? Say some item swallowed its owner whole.”
“Hmph, stop spouting nonsense and tame it properly before you return.”
When Saebyeok spoke playfully, the old blacksmith just snorted at her absurdity.
His voice was curt, but his eyes gleaming at the blue door shone with the same light as those of a young craftsman. It had clearly awakened his passion, seeing such an intriguing thing he’d never encountered before.
Saebyeok stepped through the door.
She adjusted her spear grip, ready to react immediately to whatever might happen.
What greeted her was a hall-like expanse.
An endless blue void stretched outward, its ceiling and floor indistinguishable.
Every step she took made a splashing sound beneath her feet, as if she were stepping on a thin layer of water.
But when she bent down to touch it with her hand, no water stuck.
As she surveyed the uncanny space, a notification appeared before her eyes:
!! Notification !!
<Dragon Warrior> Hwang Taesan is attempting to enter <Atlas’ Safehouse>.
Will you allow entry?
You currently have 1 key. The safehouse can hold up to 7 people. (0/7)
When she turned her head, there he was—Hwang Taesan—standing outside the door she’d left open.
It wasn’t surprising he appeared, since the dragon’s lair was the Black Dragon Guild’s territory, and the blacksmith she was dealing with belonged to them.
But the fact that he was blocked by an invisible barrier and couldn’t enter was interesting.
He pounded on the door and barrier with his fists, deliberately keeping his gaze away from her side—suggesting he couldn’t actually see inside.
!! Notification !!
<One-Legged Blacksmith> Seok Geumcheol is attempting to enter <Atlas’ Safehouse>.
Will you allow entry?
You currently have 1 key. The safehouse can hold up to 7 people. (0/7)
A moment later, even the old man couldn’t resist his curiosity, tapping the barrier with his hammer.
That was when Saebyeok noticed something she hadn’t seen upon entering—rows of potion bottles lined up inside.
The very potions she had stored in her inventory were now physically piled in this place.
“…A house.”
The word slipped through her lips, and Saebyeok’s mind spun.
“It really is a house.”
Her subconscious must have remodeled it into something resembling her inventory for convenience, but <Atlas’ Safehouse> was literally that—a safehouse. The <Safehouse Key> was, quite literally, a key.
Without the key, no one could even find the entrance. And even if they could see the door, they couldn’t enter without her permission.
It was, in every sense, a “safehouse.”
“Ha, my imagination was too narrow.”
She had thought unlimited inventory was crazy enough, but this went beyond imagination.
Thinking about it, even <Time of Guardianship> had the power to rewind the world’s time by ten whole years.
That ability had revived a dead world—by reversing time itself.
In comparison, an unlimited inventory really was a modest concept.
“But what kind of house has no rooms and no windows?”
Saebyeok grumbled, half in disbelief, half embarrassed at her own lack of imagination.
Yet at her muttering, the void twisted strangely—and suddenly, new walls and doors rose up around her.
Where before was only emptiness, now rooms appeared, complete with windows that looked real—or maybe not.
Through them, the only view was a galaxy-strewn cosmos.
It was as if she were the architect; the space morphed freely according to her words.
Though it could only house seven people, the system clearly allowed unlimited items. And since it specified “1 key,” it implied that duplicating the key might increase the number of people permitted.
So that’s why the key exists separately.
She had thought it was just for sharing the inventory, but it was more than that.
This is practically Noah’s Ark…
Unease pricked at her chest.
Her <Server Administrator> title had been given because she was the last surviving human on Earth.
The overwhelming skills tied to it almost felt like proof—this much power was necessary to protect the world.
No. Don’t overthink it yet.
Shaking her head, she brushed aside the negativity.
It’s just another ability making things easier. I’ve already prepared thoroughly, even without it.
She hung her spear on a wall and stepped back outside.
The blue door shimmered gold again before fading away.
The key in her hand shrank back to earring size.
Hwang Taesan, who had been poised to smash the door down, froze when she reappeared.
Saebyeok narrowed her eyes at the massive warhammer in his hands.
She tossed the key onto the old blacksmith’s palm and said,
“Every time I see it, I can’t help but think—your weapon is way too vicious, don’t you think?”
At over 190 cm tall with a brawler’s physique, he already looked intimidating.
Wielding a massive warhammer so casually suited him, but it also made him terrifying.
With tattoos covering his arms and shoulders, he sometimes looked more monster than man.
No wonder the public feared him.
“I know the dragon’s lair is Black Dragon Guild territory, but it’s not like I threatened the blacksmith or caused trouble. Isn’t it a bit much to intimidate me like that?”
It wasn’t just Hwang Taesan who was feared.
The Black Dragon Guild itself was notorious—widely regarded as a gangster den.
Most of its executives, including Hwang Taesan, were former gangsters. Joining required tattooing the guild’s emblem somewhere on your arm, big or small. Joining was easy; leaving was impossible.
Thus, while the guild was the smallest among S-rank guilds, its members’ loyalty to one another was unmatched.
It was the polar opposite of Glory Guild, full of attention-seekers constantly exploiting each other for popularity.
But Saebyeok knew the truth—despite appearances, Hwang Taesan was actually gentlemanly.
“Or were you actually worried the item swallowed me whole and came to rescue me?”
In fact, not just him—most Black Dragon Guild members were the same.
They might be rough in speech and violent in action, making “gentlemanly” feel like the wrong word—but one thing was clear: they had an extreme strong-bully, weak-kind morality.
They fought ruthlessly against the powerful, but were endlessly gentle to society’s lowest.
You could see it in the dragon’s lair.
Tattooed, muscle-bound thugs carried old men’s loads or gave kids piggyback rides.
They’d grin stupidly even while being scolded by street vendors for dawdling.
But when a bully showed up harassing others, their expressions turned cold, and they’d drag him off somewhere “quiet.”
Bloodstains on their clothes and grotesque weapons on their backs didn’t bother the merchants or their families—they knew none of that would ever be turned against them.
A nightmare to politicians, but a shield for common folk.
“More than that… seeing how you showed up the moment I disappeared, you must have been watching me.”
For the first time, Hwang Taesan flinched.
He deliberately dropped his warhammer with a thud and spread his shoulders wide, trying to look threatening.
But it backfired—the metal pipe strapped to his back ruined the effect.
“Found it, huh.”
Saebyeok chuckled, pointing at the pipe.
It was the same one she had used at Seoul Station.
“Did you tail me from home? Or did guild patrols in the lair recognize me first?”
Either way, it was clear he had been keeping close watch.
Hwang Taesan scowled, glaring down at her fiercely.
But when he realized intimidation was useless, he slung his weapon over his back again and pulled a newspaper roughly stuffed into his pocket.
“The Mysterious Helper.”
He unfolded the front page, holding it toward her.
The photo showed a lightning strike on Bukhansan, the collapsed cult building, and Kim I-han—framed neatly together.
“That was you, wasn’t it?”
His voice was deeper than Kang Suho’s, resonating low through the underground arcade.
“The same skill you used against the Seoul Station Lizard?”
The weight of his voice made it clear—he had already figured everything out, so don’t even think of lying.
Though he had put away his weapon, his rigid posture and hard face said plainly he was ready to fight if necessary.
The paper called her the possible birth of a new S-rank, and he had already witnessed her skill firsthand.
So, to him, she was undeniably a powerful figure.
And now, that powerful figure was standing deep within his guild’s territory. His caution was natural.
“Yes, that’s right. The same skill.”
Saebyeok saw no need for friction. She smiled lightly and extended her hand.
“That day was too chaotic to greet you properly. Nice to meet you—I’m Han Saebyeok, <Spear Mage of Dawn>.”
