Chapter 59 ….
“Have you been in touch with Seowoo recently? You two haven’t fought or anything, right?”
“Why would I bother? I’m busy with work, and I don’t exactly have the time to quarrel with a kid. I did bump into Seowoo briefly when I was with Kwon Asol, though.”
“I see… I can imagine how that went without even seeing it. Then, can I ask on what basis you were so sure Seowoo would continue training under you?”
“Are you calling that a question?”
Baekgyeon frowned but replied in a completely unshakable voice.
“There’s no hunter in Korea who can teach Kwon Seowoo better than me. That alone is reason enough for Seowoo to choose me.”
It had been widely known in the hunter community that Baekgyeon had been keeping an eye on Seowoo ever since the siblings’ first awakenings.
A B-class acquired awakener appearing less than a month before the hunter exam was bound to be a hassle, yet Baekgyeon personally took Seowoo under his wing for training. Normally, Baekgyeon would never have done such a thing, but as a result, Seowoo completed the official promotion in one go, proving that Baekgyeon’s judgment had been right.
However, Seowoo didn’t receive a single scout offer during the following scouting period. Some veteran hunters, including those in Sindorim, already suspected why.
‘Since the rumor that Baek was going to take her was so widespread, there was no reason to bother. And Baek probably assumed Seowoo would naturally come to him.’
But the fact that Seowoo ended up following Kwon Asol into Baekyeom meant that Baekgyeon’s frustration wasn’t exactly with Han Jae-hyun, who scouted the siblings.
“So it just bothers you that Seowoo chose Han Jae-hyun over you, right? I’ve been wondering, Baek. Why are you so obsessed with Seowoo? I know you’re after J… no, Najin, but this is taking it way too far…”
“The only ability that can neutralize Najin is Seowoo’s nullification. No matter how strong a hunter you bring, unless the gate itself is closed, you can’t take down Najin. Don’t you remember what happened in Gangbuk?”
“…I remember.”
Gangbuk.
The sudden mention of the place weighed heavily on Sindorim’s face. After a brief pause, moving his lips slightly, he asked again.
“And Asol?”
“You don’t usually consider a risky option as a solution. Kwon Asol is like a double-edged sword.”
“….”
“To catch Najin without getting cut on our side, we need Kwon Seowoo. And the only one who can bring Seowoo up to a level comparable to Najin is me. Yet, she’s wasting her talent like this, and I just don’t understand it.”
Today, Baekgyeon was the only hunter capable of fighting on equal footing with Najin, now a terrorist.
Years of being at Najin’s side had taught him every trivial habit: how Najin moves in battle, what he does before attacking, and how to manipulate situations to gain the upper hand.
“Baek, I’m not asking about that. I want to know why you react so strongly about Asol.”
But that wasn’t the answer Sindorim wanted to hear. He pressed further.
“If, as you said, you have no intention of seeing Asol as an ally, then just treat him as usual: hostile, cautious, intimidate him when needed. But you’re not doing that now, are you?”
“Kwon Asol is the strongest motivator for Kwon Seowoo.”
It was a direct answer.
“Seowoo wants to become stronger because of Asol. She knows that Najin has to be killed for Asol to survive. I don’t know why she made such a stupid choice knowing that. And…”
Baekgyeon dug into his pocket and pressed the call button like it was second nature, muttering quietly to himself.
“Better this way than leaving it be and having useless people get involved. Even Asol might be better off on this side.”
“What?”
“Everything’s off, after the beep…”
“But now you’re doing this without anyone knowing what you’re thinking.”
“…Where are you going this time?!”
Baekgyeon rose from his seat, smiling grimly without answering Sindorim.
Sindorim, unusually raising his voice, followed but stopped at Baekgyeon’s next words.
“I’m not going to see Han Jae-hyun, so go back to the office and catch some sleep. Unless you want your little brother to see that swollen face of yours.”
After hearing the shocking nature of the relationship between Kwon Seowoo and Baekgyeon, Sindorim had been briefly unsettled but quickly recovered.
‘In the original, Baekgyeon was concerned about Seowoo… no, he just wanted to manipulate her. Anyway, he came into the dungeon to oversee things.’
But now, since their relationship was a complete mess, Baekgyeon wouldn’t appear in the dungeon.
That meant Sindorim could strategize in the dungeon without worrying about the magical stones being destroyed.
‘And at this point, if I try to patch up their relationship, it’ll just double the problems…’
So the fractured relationship would have to wait until after the dungeon. For now, the focus was on preparing for the labyrinth dungeon.
‘If the four of us are going to take down a large magical beast, we need to properly equip ourselves. I’ll check that at the training ground tomorrow anyway, so it’s fine.’
After considering this, Sindorim reached a conclusion:
‘Now the important question is… how can we navigate this maze dungeon with minimal getting lost!’
The strategy for this disgustingly vast labyrinth was crucial.
As mentioned before, the dungeon itself was essentially one massive maze. Once inside, impossibly high walls surrounded them on all sides, with no signs or markers whatsoever.
Thus, the team could easily end up wandering aimlessly for days without knowing which way the center was, or even the direction they were heading.
In the original, the protagonist’s team had wandered for three days, and because there was nothing else to do in the maze, the author summarized the three days rather tersely.
[Three Days Later]
XX, are you kidding me?
‘The omissions are too extreme.’
In Korea, creators often dump the world-building into the first chapter so readers know the setting before anything happens.
‘Was there really nothing else? Just walls, more walls, and traps appearing randomly…’
Drawing from memory, that was truly all there was.
Even how the protagonist team crossed the maze was just: “Keep wandering blindly for three days.”
‘We can’t afford to waste three days in this dungeon.’
Though the original gave no clues for strategies, Sindorim refused to give up hope.
‘This insane original author likes hiding intricate details for themselves. Surely, they put some secret strategy for the dungeon somewhere.’
Recalling how the author alone knew the family backstories of the Shinga and Baek clans, it seemed plausible. Sindorim immediately turned on his phone and began searching.
‘Minotaur’s Maze. Minotaur’s Maze…’
[Comments]
─Why even go into that useless Mars City dungeon? Time wasted.
─Leave it, maze-finding is his hobby.
[Title] My Dream About Entering Mars City’s New Dungeon, Minotaur…;;;;**
“Ugh, write this in your diary!!”
Every search result was just complaints or questions. Grinding his teeth, Sindorim refused to give up.
[Interview] Mars City, Dungeon #23 ─ <Minotaur’s Maze>. What kind of place is it?
Views: 8
‘Huh?’
Finally, he unearthed a local newspaper article.
The next morning:
“Everyone, gather around.”
“Huh?”
The team at the training ground all turned to him.
“I’ve been thinking about this dungeon…”
“Ah, it sounds convincing, but will it really work?”
“I think the possibility is high. Even if we fail, there’s no penalty.”
“Right. So like you said, we just need to find this and we’re good? Let’s do it!”
Fortunately, the team nodded without suspicion. Immediately, they began preparing to enter the dungeon.
“Food! We don’t know how long we’ll be trapped, so pack compact emergency rations!”
“Emergency escape items and potions just in case.”
“Do we need clothes or toiletries?!”
“What, is this a picnic?”
From the last Gyeongbokgung incident, everyone seemed to have learned a lesson: full preparation was essential.
They had received various equipment and items from the Baekyeom side for dungeon use, and double-checked the plan several times.
And the thing Sindorim obsessed over most was their weapons.
“Strong weapons! Pick the strongest ones!”
“Huh? But aren’t there no magical beasts in this dungeon?”
“Still, better to bring them than regret it.”
“True. So what should we bring? There are so many types…”
“A weapon strong enough to fight magical beasts, but soft enough not to destroy everything around you with a single swing. Subtle strength and gentleness combined.”
Yeomyeong gave a strange expression, but Sindorim felt no shame for giving a well-thought-out answer.
‘Perfect.’
This time, they had done all they could to prepare.
And since the dungeon was rumored empty, they should have been the only ones at the entrance…
“Hunter Baekgyeon! Why suddenly decide to tackle an E-rank dungeon?”
“I heard you personally trained Kwon Seowoo. Is this just an extension of mentoring your juniors?”
“What are you doing? We’re supposed to enter the dungeon. Are you just standing there?”
At the dungeon entrance, they found Baekgyeon surrounded by reporters, casually observing them.
