Chapter 121

“Why is everyone wearing navy blue jumpsuits?” Shin-hoo asked, utterly perplexed.

“Aha! So you don’t know yet,” Da-on grinned.

Rummaging through her pockets, she pulled out her smartphone. After a quick internet search, she pulled up a low-resolution video and hit play. The shaky footage depicted a Hunter sprinting across the surface of the ocean, engaged in furious combat. Even zoomed in to the maximum, the camera was too far away to clearly identify the Hunter’s face.

Moving freely across the churning water, the Hunter effortlessly slaughtered the monsters, neutralizing the entire situation in a matter of seconds.

[Wow, who is that? Did we always have a Hunter that strong in Korea?]

[Never seen them before, but doesn’t their fighting style look a bit like Nam Shin-hoo’s?]

↳ Please don’t bring up the deceased. Have some respect.

↳ No, I’m not joking, it’s real. Look, the moment he touched the boat, the motor died. It looks like he absorbed the energy to attack. Is there any other Hunter besides Nam Shin-hoo who can do that?

↳ I’m chiming in, but they do look similar. I became a huge fan of Nam Shin-hoo after he died, so I’ve rewatched his archival combat footage at least three times. The footwork when he charges is exactly the same.

↳ What’s wrong with this weirdo? [By the way, what is that outfit? It looks like a jumpsuit. Does anyone have the brand name?]

↳ Just search ‘fisherman workwear’ on Naver.

↳ ??? For real? That fit is just standard fisherman gear?

“…”

“That video went totally viral a while ago,” Da-on explained cheerfully. “Everyone is absolutely convinced the Hunter in the video is you, ahjussi. So, your official fan club decided their uniform should be navy blue jumpsuits.”

Shin-hoo had explicitly instructed the boat captain to maintain absolute secrecy regarding Kwon Haeju’s involvement, but he hadn’t bothered to request anonymity for himself. He hadn’t thought the captain had recognized him, so he assumed it was unnecessary.

It seemed someone had secretly recorded the incident from a distance, and the footage had leaked. Then again, managing the flow of information from that many witnesses would have been impossible anyway. At least there was no mention of Kwon Haeju in the comments, which was a massive relief.

“But wait, is the guy in the video actually you, ahjussi?” Da-on pressed.

“That does not seem particularly important right now,” Shin-hoo deflected smoothly. “More importantly…”

Shin-hoo purposefully averted his gaze. Having finished preparing for the dungeon dive on the opposite side of the coffee trucks, Kwon Haeju approached them. His expression was thoroughly displeased. More accurately, his displeasure was entirely directed at Yoo Da-on.

“Why exactly are you here?” Haeju demanded, his voice laced with thinly veiled hostility.

Despite Haeju’s aggressive questioning, Da-on casually waved her hand. “This is our guild’s dungeon. Obviously, I’m coming along.”

“…”

“Besides, the legendary Nam Shin-hoo is making his grand return to the dungeons, and both Epic and Saint are participating. You think Hyeonjeol is just going to sit this out? Absolutely not.”

Da-on confidently crossed her arms, looking immensely pleased with herself. “We are going to use this opportunity to aggressively promote our guild.”

Shin-hoo finally understood exactly where the extravagant coffee truck and the dense swarm of reporters had come from. Looking at the triumphant Da-on, Shin-hoo felt a flicker of genuine admiration.

She possessed a razor-sharp political acumen that was entirely uncharacteristic for a Hunter her age. Furthermore, her methods for capturing and utilizing public attention were incredibly sophisticated. She seemed even more adept at manipulating the media than the older Da-on he remembered. It was almost strangely brilliant.

Completely ignoring Da-on’s grandstanding, Haeju stepped forward to escort Shin-hoo.

“Let us go inside.”

“Hold on a second! We need to at least do a quick press conference before we go in. This is the legendary S-Rank Hunter Nam Shin-hoo’s grand return to the dungeons, after all!”

Da-on beamed a blinding smile at the waiting reporters. She aggressively dragged the two men along with her, forcing them to answer a few questions for the press before finally allowing them to step through the gate.

The familiar, nauseating sensation of spatial distortion washed over them, followed immediately by a blinding flash of light.

Stepping through the portal, the three Hunters expected to see the familiar, scorching desert terrain…

Instead, they found themselves standing inside a colossal, pristine white pyramid constructed entirely of solid marble.

***

Historically, the dungeon that spawned the cacti required to brew high-grade potions was a vast, unforgiving desert. It was a place where the air was so aggressively arid it physically stung the lungs, and a suffocating, blistering heat beat down mercilessly from above.

But this was completely different.

“What… is this?” Da-on breathed, staring at her surroundings in absolute awe.

They were standing in a massive, enclosed space surrounded by tiered walls of pure white marble. Observing how the structure narrowed into a perfect triangle toward the ceiling, Shin-hoo instinctively tensed, his eyes scanning the perimeter.

Since his regression, he had encountered this specific architectural motif—the temple format—several times. Sometimes it manifested as a grand circular dome; other times, it was entirely encased in intricate stained glass.

And in every single instance, those specific locations served as the descent point for a God, or the true body of some forgotten extraterrestrial entity.

However, the throne resting at the absolute center of the pyramid was currently empty. Keeping a wary eye on the vacant seat, Shin-hoo issued a grim warning.

“Stay sharp. Whatever boss we face here, it will be entirely different from anything you have fought before.”

“Understood,” Haeju replied.

Steeling their resolve, the three Hunters readied their weapons, their knuckles white with tension as they meticulously scanned their surroundings for an ambush.

And yet…

“…”

“…”

A considerable amount of time passed, but absolutely nothing happened. No monsters spawned, no boss appeared, and there wasn’t even the faintest trace of a hostile presence.

“We definitely entered the right gate, right?” Da-on asked, her voice losing its edge. As the owner of the dungeon, she muttered in sheer confusion as to why her territory had suddenly morphed into this bizarre structure. Finally relaxing her defensive stance, she straightened her posture. “This is so weird. It’s never been like this before.”

“Is this location a deviation from the norm?” Haeju asked, stepping into the dungeon for the first time.

Da-on knew the dungeon intimately as its administrator, and Shin-hoo knew it equally well, having secured both the First Clear and the associated title rewards.

Shin-hoo nodded at Haeju’s puzzled expression. “The starting zone is supposed to be a vast, sprawling desert. This is entirely unprecedented.”

This space didn’t even resemble the standard boss room. It was so radically alien it felt like an entirely different dungeon. Scanning the bizarre landscape, Shin-hoo issued a directive.

“Now that I’m looking closely, the patterns on the walls are highly unusual. We should start by investigating those.”

“That’s a great idea!” Da-on chirped.

In a dungeon, a single tiny insignia, a stray marking, or a carved phrase could often be the crucial key to clearing it. Responding with bright enthusiasm, Da-on marched over to one side of the pyramid and began running her hands over the marble. Haeju wordlessly approached the opposite wall, and Shin-hoo moved to inspect the remaining surfaces.

The interior was so staggeringly immense that when Shin-hoo stood at one end, the person on the opposite side appeared as small as an insect. The walls were densely packed with unintelligible carvings—a bizarre, grotesque amalgamation that looked like Egyptian hieroglyphs violently spliced with Hebrew script.

I highly doubt we’ll glean any linguistic hints from this text, Shin-hoo noted grimly.

The only discernible pattern was the color-coding. Each carved symbol was filled with a distinct pigment—red, blue, black, and various other colors repeated in a seemingly random sequence. If this color scheme turns out to be the hint, that would be ideal…

Just as Shin-hoo was deeply engrossed in analyzing the wall, a voice broke his concentration.

“Ahjussi.”

It was a tiny whisper. Glancing down, Shin-hoo found Da-on’s face casually poking out from the shadow cast directly beneath his feet.

“Wow. You don’t look surprised at all,” she noted.

Because I’m completely used to it.

In his previous life, whenever they had engaged in joint-guild operations, Da-on had frequently utilized this exact method.

By traversing through the shadows, Da-on could facilitate stealthy communication. While the effective range was limited, and maintaining a state where only part of her physical body was submerged in the shadow caused severe stamina drain, it was an undeniably terrifying utility skill.

“What is it?” Shin-hoo asked softly.

“Nothing major… It’s just, this is the only way for the two of us to talk privately.”

With only her head protruding from the shadow, Da-on cast a quick, furtive glance toward Haeju’s distant figure before lowering her voice even further.

“Our resident idiot back home suddenly declared he wants to start training properly. Can you believe it? He even said he wants to try running a dungeon solo.”

“Hm?”

“I think you really lit a fire under him, ahjussi. I mean… it’s not a bad thing. Honestly, it makes my life a lot easier.”

Looking slightly embarrassed, Da-on scratched her cheek with a finger that breached the surface of the shadow. The ‘resident idiot’ she was referring to was obviously her twin brother, Yeonho.

“Do you have any idea how incredibly annoying it’s been? He’s an S-Rank Hunter, just like me, but he absolutely refused to engage in solo combat and just trailed after me like a lost puppy. Thanks to you, ahjussi, I finally have a little freedom.”

Despite her abrasive complaints, the underlying relief and genuine concern she had harbored for her brother bled clearly through her voice. She was acutely aware of how the public perceived Yeonho.

A half-baked S-Rank Hunter. A Hunter with a powerful ability but disastrously low utility. The vicious public consensus that reduced him to nothing more than Yoo Da-on’s personal support item had been deafening.

“Anyway! It was totally unnecessary meddling on your part, ahjussi, but… yeah. That’s what happened.”

No matter how much they bickered and complained, they were undeniably siblings. Watching Da-on struggle to express her gratitude honestly, the corners of Shin-hoo’s mouth twitched upward.

“I hardly said anything,” Shin-hoo replied smoothly.

“Well, he claims you helped him immensely. He said Hunter Nam Shin-hoo is incredibly mature and completely different from anyone else he’s ever met… I mean, I don’t really see it, but that’s what he said. Anyway, I just wanted to pass that along. Go back to inspecting the wall.”

Looking visibly relieved to have delivered her message, Da-on melted seamlessly back into the shadow. Less than ten seconds later, her face abruptly popped out again.

“Oh, right. I actually have a question for you.”

“What is it?”

“Are you really okay with me?”

Asking a seemingly nonsensical question, Da-on’s expression tightened considerably, losing its previous casual bravado.

“I am not sure what you mean by that,” Shin-hoo replied carefully.

“I mean, I’m incredibly rude and abrasive, right? Are you genuinely okay with me talking down to the ‘incredibly mature’ Nam Shin-hoo and calling you ahjussi?”

For someone who had acted with such brazen disrespect until now, her sudden hesitation was baffling. The phrasing of the question almost felt like she was desperately seeking his confirmation that she was, indeed, rude.

Looking remarkably awkward, Da-on continued her explanation.