Chapter 21
Part 3. Bari-degi’s Domain (4)
The figure standing in front of me was unclear.
I could only see the hem of its robes. Its face was hidden by fog.
“It’s okay to rest for a moment.”
Where had I heard that voice before?
It must have been before I possessed this body.
It wasn’t even that long ago, yet I couldn’t remember clearly.
I tried to step back, but my knees wouldn’t listen.
It felt like my body was sinking downward.
I knew that if I sat down, it would be over.
And yet, I wanted to sit.
‘A great potion maker.’
I tried to recall those words again, but my heart didn’t respond.
It was strange.
That goal was something I had chosen myself, yet now it couldn’t hold me in place.
Scenes rose up inside the fog.
A laboratory.
People lying sick in bed.
Faces relaxing as they drank potions and caught their breath.
They felt familiar, as if I had seen them once before.
They felt safe.
And because of that, they became an excuse to stop moving forward.
“You’re already doing well enough.”
The figure extended a hand toward me.
It looked warm.
If I took it, my thoughts might stop.
If I stopped, maybe I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
I clenched my teeth.
I didn’t take the hand.
Instead, I shook my head.
“No.”
My voice trembled, but it was clear.
“That’s not enough.”
The fog rippled for a moment.
The figure’s hand grabbed my wrist.
The instant it touched me, memories poured in.
The academy’s training grounds.
A dungeon alert that opened without warning.
Screams.
Scenes that had repeated countless times in the original story overlapped.
So many people at this academy had died.
That tragedy had been used as a trigger for the protagonist’s awakening.
I knew that.
That was why it hurt even more.
‘Do that many people really have to die?’
The question stabbed into my chest.
I couldn’t breathe.
My vision blurred.
And then, another wish surfaced.
It was intense.
More direct, heavier than becoming a great potion maker.
The kids have to live.
The people at this academy have to survive.
I wanted tragedy to stop being fuel for awakening, and instead become a wall that could be overcome.
“I want to save more people.”
At that moment, the density of the fog changed.
The warmth vanished, and the texture of the path became visible.
The figure tightened its grip on my wrist.
“That path is dangerous.”
For the first time, emotion entered its voice.
I shook my hand free.
“Even so, I have to go.”
Once the hand let go, the figure didn’t follow anymore.
I walked toward the place my wish was reaching for.
My steps were heavy, but my direction was clear.
The fog split apart, and a door appeared in front of me.
This time, it was an exit.
This time, I didn’t hesitate.
When I passed through the door, the space changed.
It was the dungeon boss room.
A low vibration filled the room.
Voices overlapped as they flowed through the air.
Injustice.
Resentment.
Abandonment.
Stories that had disappeared without names were soaked into the walls.
I listened to those sounds, but I didn’t let go of my wish.
I want to save more people.
That desire didn’t waver.
At the center of the room stood a figure.
Only then did I realize that it was nothing more than a shadow.
Whose shadow was it?
Before I could ask, the shadow spoke.
“You have passed the trial.”
Its voice was low and composed.
The figure raised its hand and offered an object.
It looked like an ordinary bowl.
No decorations. No glow.
“A Nameless Vessel.”
As soon as those words ended, the vessel settled into my hands.
It was neither cold nor warm.
Only the sensation of emptiness was clear.
At that moment, cheers exploded from inside my earring.
[That’s mine! That’s mine, so give it to me!]
Erich was shouting in delight.
Without realizing it, I let out a laugh.
The tension that had stiffened my face loosened.
“Alright, alright.”
[Really? It’s a promise! You promised!]
Erich repeated himself several times.
It was rare for a demonic sword to show desire so openly.
That alone meant how important this vessel was to him.
I knew why.
That was the reason I had come here in the first place.
‘They say that when the resentment of an ego sword deepens, its body grows heavier.’
The boss’s shadow watched us quietly.
The echo of injustice and resentment that filled the space slowly began to settle.
The figure looked at the Nameless Vessel in my hands and spoke.
“This is not an object for the living.”
The words sounded both like a warning and an explanation.
“This vessel exists to contain the names of the dead.”
“It has no effect on the living.”
I nodded.
Then I smiled.
The corners of my lips lifted naturally.
“I never intended to keep it for myself anyway.”
At that, the boss’s shadow fell silent.
That silence was close to surprise.
I lifted my hand to my earring.
The place where Erich resided.
It was always cold, always a blood-red color.
“Erich.”
When I called his name, an excited presence stirred inside.
[Hurry. Hurry.]
I brought the Nameless Vessel to the earring.
In that instant, the vessel vanished without a sound.
It didn’t break. It didn’t melt.
It disappeared as if it had never existed.
At the same time, the color of the earring changed.
The blood-red hue faded, and a deep purple seeped in.
A dark, profound purple.
I held my breath as I watched the change.
[It’s done.]
Erich’s voice was far steadier than before.
The excitement was gone, replaced with satisfaction.
[I feel like I could fly.]
The boss’s shadow nodded quietly.
“There should be one last room left.”
When I nodded back, the figure seemed to smile faintly.
“Did you know? We have been waiting for you.”
What?
Before I could ask, the edges of the room began to blur.
The echoes of injustice and resentment completely faded, and the space felt as if it were being tidied away.
I didn’t stay any longer.
Whatever those final words meant, I had already gained what I came for.
The next moment, I was standing outside the dungeon.
Cold night air brushed against my face.
The moonlight was still dim, and the clearing looked no different from before.
I looked down at my hands.
There was nothing there.
Hyun Iseo and Lee Haesol both looked at me with confusion.
They let out their breaths a beat later.
Seeing their expressions, I smiled gently.
“It was a dud.”
I said it lightly.
As if I truly hadn’t obtained anything.
Hyun Iseo rubbed his forehead and sighed.
“I told you it was reckless.”
Lee Haesol also let out a long breath.
“Still, I’m glad you came back.”
There was sincerity in his voice.
We returned together.
The farther we got from the dungeon, the fainter the lingering dusk-like sensation became.
When the dorms came into view, Lee Haesol asked carefully,
“Are you going again?”
I thought for a moment.
I felt the stable, calm presence of purple light coming from the earring.
“Probably.”
I nodded.
“It feels like the last one. I think I’ll try.”
For reference, the three gold coins this time had a different skill.
They were one-time use instant teleportation.
Transferable instant teleportation.
“I don’t think I’ll ever need to use them, though.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing, Haesol.”
With a teleportation skill like that, it felt like an incident that required it was bound to happen.
But that was probably just my imagination.
***
The third visit was different from the start.
According to the original plan, it should have just been Hyun Iseo, Lee Haesol, and me.
But right before we left, Yoo Hanseong said he would come too.
“I heard from Haesol. Holding onto you with my skill instead of just a rope would be much safer.”
Strangely, at that moment, I couldn’t find the words to refuse.
Instead of feeling burdened, I felt an odd sense of stability when he said he’d come along.
“Thank you.”
Then, someone completely unexpected joined us.
Gong Seoyoon.
He was the type who brightened the atmosphere wherever he went, a perfect fit for the word “easygoing.”
He approached us with a smile after seeing us gathered.
“What’s this, a night walk?”
His tone was so natural that no one immediately denied it.
“I can join too, right?”
It sounded less like a request and more like a declaration.
Hyun Iseo frowned.
Lee Haesol glanced at me.
I shrugged.
I couldn’t think of a reason to stop him.
If anything, having more people might make this trip less dangerous.
Gong Seoyoon must have sensed the subtle mood, because he didn’t ask further and blended in naturally.
And behind them—
Yoo Hui was quietly following.
Without the others noticing.
Her presence was so faint that even I only realized it much later, through Erich.
Just like in the original story, she lingered around the edges.
Never too obvious.
Our eyes met briefly.
She smiled brightly, then pretended not to know me.
