Chapter 67 …
<I’m currently standing in front of Mars Dungeon No. 23! The 204th cohort, Team 4 hunters, along with Hunter Baek-Gyeon, have just finished clearing the dungeon, and meanwhile, there’s a protest going on here!>
Against the background of the protesters’ voices, a close-up showed the back of Kwon A-Sol. Moments later, Baek-Gyeon walked in front of the protesters, broke a sign, and approached Kwon A-Sol, whispering something that imprinted itself in the man’s eyes.
<The footage you just saw has been a hot topic over the past few days. It’s the scene of the protest that took place in front of Mars Dungeon No. 23, where Baek-Gyeon Hunter and Team 4 of the 204th cohort entered.>
<Yes, the footage captured the protest being stopped through Baek-Gyeon Hunter’s mediation, which drew a huge reaction. Fortunately, there was no other damage to the hunters present, but since the protest was illegal and conducted without notification, citizens were uneasy, worried about potential violations of hunter rights…>
“You said you’d understand me. Why…?”
“Don’t be too upset.”
As the man muttered in a dazed voice, a hand emerged from the darkness and rested on his shoulder.
“I told you, Najin. Only you can understand her.”
The man pressed his lips to Najin’s ear, affirming tenderly:
“In the end, she’ll hold our hands.”
After returning with the support of Yuga’s retainers, I contracted an incurable illness.
“There really isn’t anyone trustworthy in this world. Yeomyeong…”
“Hm?”
If you’re reincarnated into a world with traitors, there’s one disease you’re almost guaranteed to catch at least once: the “Suspicion of Traitors Syndrome.”
And of course, I caught it. Damn it!
“Even though the probability of a mole is 99.9%, I hoped for that 0.1% miracle…!”
As expected, no such twist came. After confirming that, all the ominous thoughts I’d been suppressing started to fill my mind.
“This crazy webtoon author who likes to break readers’ minds wouldn’t just leave such a premise unused.”
A chilling premonition crept in: perhaps the original author deliberately planted a mole among the main characters to tear apart the bonds of friendship, love, and humanity for readers’ shock. God, just thinking about it… XX.
“Let’s think… it probably isn’t the protagonist’s group… but nowadays, breaking clichés is itself a cliché, so who knows?!”
I buried my head in my hands in frustration. These days, there were too many patterns: evolved clichés, clichés that pretend to be broken but aren’t, and clichés that break clichés… I couldn’t even guess who the mole was.
“Sigh… eh, whatever.”
“A-Sol, what’s wrong? Something happened?”
“No. I was worrying, but I just gave it up and it’s resolved. I realized it’s impossible to predict the thoughts of true lunatics, no matter how hard I try.”
“Huh? …I don’t really get it, but I’m glad your worries are gone!”
For several days, I had suffered from this incurable “Suspicion of Traitors Syndrome,” but finally giving up allowed me to regain peace of mind! Hooray!
XX. I’ve been blindsided by the original author more than once; giving up predictions was healthier for my mental state.
“By the way, what about Piuri?”
“Over there, staring at weapons in the corner for over an hour before suddenly jumping up and leaving? That’s just like her. Ever since she got the magic stone, she’s been like this for days.”
“Again?”
As Yeomyeong said, Piuri had seemed busy nonstop since leaving the dungeon.
‘She must have been a bit stagnant with equipment research, but the magic stone gave her a fresh stimulus.’
It was nice to see her so dedicated. Seeing her so happy over a single stone made me feel that the original author who destroyed the stone was even more cruel.
However, there was a slight problem.
‘To bring up Cheonga, I need to be alone with Piuri.’
I had planned to give her the stone and immediately ask her to introduce me to Cheonga, but the timing was hard to manage. Besides, Yeomyeong was always at the training ground with us, so there was never a moment to speak privately.
For reference, Kwon Seo-woo had been receiving separate training from Baek-Gyeon, so recently the training ground was used only by the three of us: me, Yeomyeong, and Piuri.
Being accidentally alone with my favorite was nice… but still.
‘Phew! It’s really frustrating for plans to go so off-track.’
I’m someone who separates work and personal matters clearly, so this situation was far from welcome. It hurt so much I felt tears might come.
“A-Sol, why are you smiling like that? Something good happen?”
“Me? No.”
…Ahem, anyway, it was really inconvenient.
‘Anyway, now is the right time to approach Cheonga.’
Progress was delayed, but the solution was simple.
If there’s no chance to talk alone at the training ground and I can’t use messages or calls…
“Uriya! Sorry for the sudden contact. I happened to remember that you live around here.”
“…Noona? Seeing your message, I half-expected this…”
I could just go there in person!
“Am I interrupting you while busy? Should I come back later?”
“No, no. It’s fine. Please come in.”
Piuri blinked, slightly surprised, then composed herself.
According to my intel, this was the easiest place to get Cheonga information out of Piuri.
Chat Conversation:
Me: Uriya, I’m near your place. Are you busy?
I happened to be passing by. If you’re free, can we talk for a bit?
Piuri: Yes?
Me: Thought I could see your face and hear about your research updates!
If possible, I’d like to hear more about equipment too.
Piuri: One moment, please. I’ll come down.
Where are you?
Piuri’s house. In other words… the workshop!
“…All the rooms inside are used as workspaces. You could say it’s both a home and a workshop.”
“Wow.”
Following Piuri inside the workshop, I instinctively exclaimed.
From the apartment entrance, it seemed like a normal home. But inside, the space completely transformed.
Except for the living room, kitchen, and one bedroom, the rest was all a workshop. She really seemed to have devoted her life to equipment crafting.
‘Even in the original, I thought her interior was clean and neat… wait, what’s this?’
I stopped at a movie poster and small display case on the living room wall.
“This is Director Pi Nason’s work. You like movies?”
“No, I didn’t put it up because I like movies…”
Piuri hesitated before speaking.
“That’s my father.”
“Your father… huh? Then your mother is actress Ju Heeyeon?”
“Yes.”
Piuri answered shyly, avoiding eye contact.
Her father, Pi Nason, was a famous director, and her mother, Ju Heeyeon, was a renowned Korean actress. Both were widely celebrated for talent and appearance, and even now were considered a leading celebrity couple in Korea.
‘So Piuri’s aesthetic sense didn’t come out of nowhere!’
In the original, it just said “rich household,” but this was far beyond just money.
I marveled again at the original author’s detailed description as we moved deeper into the workshop.
“This is the workspace. Everything from equipment I made as a child to my latest creations is mixed here.”
“Wow, seeing her work from childhood, you can tell she’s been doing this for a long time.”
True to her proclaimed genius in the original, Piuri’s childhood equipment was impressive enough that it didn’t feel like the work of a child.
‘Lowest-grade equipment is D? If she made that as a kid…’
According to the original, her sponsorship connection with Cheonga had lasted quite a while. Naturally, talking about equipment would bring up Cheonga.
“I can’t believe you did this all alone. Did you get sponsorship or something?”
“…You flatter me.”
She seemed to have stumbled slightly in her words.
I wasn’t sure why her acting was so poor despite her mother being a genius actress, but I cleared my throat and spoke.
“This is a secret, but I also have sponsorship… or, well, there’s a group that supports me in a similar way.”
“Really? In addition to Baek-Yeom?”
“Yes, I’ve been sponsored for quite a while. They regularly provide support needed for my studies.”
Piuri’s eyes widened, genuinely surprised.
“You… I didn’t expect that besides Baek-Yeom. Truly amazing.”
“Haha, it’s nothing.”
Ever heard of the Korean Scholarship Foundation?
“…Ahem, so speaking as a fellow sponsored person, you also have a separate sponsorship group, right? You can speak freely.”
