Chapter 57

“The hunter who collapsed suffered only minor injuries, and his debuff was dispelled relatively quickly,” Hae-gun continued. “Shim Woo-joo took over treatment herself. He’s supposed to be fully recovered and resting.”

“You contacted Healer Shim Woo-joo?” Eui-rim asked. “When?”

“Earlier, while you were unconscious, Eui-rim-ssi,” Hae-gun replied. “I asked her to come examine you, but she said the White Noise hunters were in worse shape than expected and offered to send an acquaintance instead. So I asked her a few questions about the hospital.”

This is why you shouldn’t make friends carelessly. Look at that sheer audacity, trying to summon a precious S-rank healer as if calling his personal attending physician.

Still, since Hae-gun had gone to such lengths on Eui-rim’s behalf, it felt ungrateful to criticize him. If he ever ran into Shim Woo-joo in the future, Eui-rim would simply have to do as he planned with Lee Seonha—offer a small gift and apologize in Hae-gun’s stead.

Glancing up at the clear IV bag, a quiet sigh slipped from Eui-rim’s lips. Having no self-recovery skill is an utter nightmare.

“By the way,” Hae-gun asked, cutting through his thoughts, “how did you handle the possessing monster?”

Hae-gun’s sharp question brought their sidetracked conversation back on course. Eui-rim drew a steadying breath and met those intense navy-blue eyes.

“I rewound time,” Eui-rim confessed.

“Rewound it?” Hae-gun repeated.

“Yes. How should I put it… I temporarily rewound the target’s time and sealed it in a previous state,” Eui-rim explained.

In truth, because this ability raised far more questions than Rewinding Hand, Eui-rim had wanted to keep silent until he understood its mechanics. Not only were its limitations unknown, but the principles governing its activation remained entirely opaque. He had hoped to test it thoroughly before ever bringing it to light.

Yet to convince Hae-gun while the temporal seal remained active, he had no alternative. Conveying the urgency of the crisis in the Isolation Ward took precedence.

“Does that mean another error in your skill was unlocked?” Hae-gun asked.

“No. It seems to have been added to the time skill I already possessed,” Eui-rim replied.

“What do you mean by ‘seems to have been added’?” Hae-gun asked.

“It’s largely speculation,” Eui-rim admitted. “I’m not even sure if calling it a seal is entirely accurate. It isn’t explicitly listed on my status window, either.”

Just in case, Eui-rim checked his status window once more, but it remained identical to what he had seen in Hae-gun’s car.

I really should have asked the Scales about this.

If it was too difficult to parse on the spot, he should have at least requested an explanatory annotation on his status window.

Swallowing the dregs of regret left a bitter taste in his mouth. Eui-rim drew a quiet, steadying breath before continuing.

“When you say sigil, do you mean the one you mentioned seeing in Utopia?” Hae-gun asked.

“No. It was a different shape,” Eui-rim said.

“What kind of shape?” Hae-gun asked.

…It should be fine to tell him this much, right? It’s not as though I’m directly mentioning a Fragment.

After a beat of hesitation, Eui-rim raised an index finger and traced the outline of an eye in the air. Hae-gun’s brows knitted together. He stared at the empty space where not even an afterimage lingered, then shifted his gaze back to Eui-rim, silently demanding an explanation.

“If the countdown expires or the skill is cancelled, that monster will emerge again,” Hae-gun noted.

“Most likely,” Eui-rim agreed.

Touching his lower lip out of habit, Hae-gun said, “Why not simply report it to the Association and release the skill? It would be safer to let the authorities handle it.”

“No. Even the Association won’t be able to handle it easily,” Eui-rim insisted. “It has to be cleared through a targeted raid.”

“Haha.” Hae-gun let out a low laugh.

Perhaps because the answer came without a shred of hesitation, Hae-gun—whose expression had been grimly set moments earlier—chuckled aloud. The outright dismissal of the Association’s capabilities seemed to genuinely amuse him.

“I’m not particularly fond of the Association myself, but they aren’t so incompetent that they can’t handle a single monster,” Hae-gun said.

“Th-that isn’t what I meant…” Eui-rim stammered. “I meant the monster can only be truly destroyed if we clear the Isolation Ward.”

“You sound remarkably certain,” Hae-gun remarked.

“Because that is the only way to resolve this,” Eui-rim said firmly.

Rather than pressing immediately, Hae-gun held him in an intent, unblinking gaze, silently demanding the foundation for such absolute conviction.

Eui-rim poured himself another glass of water, drank, and then spoke in a steady voice. “To be frank, quite apart from the healer’s condition, a serious anomaly is unfolding inside the Isolation Ward right now.”

Though Hae-gun asked no probing questions, the chilled quiet alone conveyed his bewilderment. Anyone would be confused; manifesting two extraordinary skills practically overnight was more than enough to invite suspicion.

“This is purely my own conjecture, but…” Eui-rim began.

“…”

“It seems my status window updates whenever I encounter a life-threatening crisis,” Eui-rim said.

Previously, Eui-rim had wondered whether it was tied specifically to dungeons, but this incident had confirmed it.

A status window update—in other words, for the Scales to grant a skill or trait, the balance had to collapse to the point of mortal peril.

Furthermore, whenever a Fragment intervened and escalated the danger, he acquired even greater abilities.

“That does make sense,” Hae-gun agreed.

Having witnessed most of those awakening moments firsthand, Hae-gun nodded without displaying overt suspicion.

Eui-rim had feared the revelation might trigger Hae-gun’s paranoia, but fortunately, that did not seem to be the case.

“So what does the unlocking of your error have to do with the Isolation Ward?” Hae-gun asked.

“The skill that unlocked this time is rather unusual in many respects,” Eui-rim said.

Hae-gun tilted his head slightly, prompting him to continue. Straining to keep his voice completely level, Eui-rim added, “It’s difficult to describe precisely, but I’ve become able to perceive certain fragments of the future.”

“…Are you saying you developed precognition?” Hae-gun asked.

“No, it’s slightly different from ordinary precognition,” Eui-rim replied. “Specific quests are assigned, and upon fulfilling them, visions of the future are granted as a reward.”

“…”

“The Isolation Ward was named in that quest,” Eui-rim said. “It instructed me to sever the link with the monster and confirm the future.”

Even if it hailed from a past timeline, having to describe a skill that had originally belonged to the very man sitting before him felt thoroughly surreal.

Yet Eui-rim refused to utter a single lie to Hae-gun. After all, it was the past-life Hae-gun who had set this timeline into motion. Even if the current Hae-gun retained no memory of it, Eui-rim wanted to prove that his sacrifice had not been in vain.

He wanted to prove to him that rewinding the world had not been an exercise in futility.

Hae-gun remained quiet for longer than expected. He didn’t appear suspicious of the skill itself, yet something about it seemed to leave him distinctly uneasy.

Only after a long stretch of silence did Hae-gun finally speak. Leaning back against his chair, his tone carried a languid edge. “Hunter Yoo Tae-geun should be forming a strike team and entering the Isolation Ward right about now. Do you believe that will fail as well?”

“For now, yes,” Eui-rim answered.

Eui-rim observed Hae-gun’s dark brows, the crease between them, and the troubled depths of his eyes. “The quest indicated that the dungeon’s rank increased alongside the mutation. Even with Hunter Yoo Tae-geun joining, clearing an A-rank dungeon with a makeshift strike force will not be easy. Furthermore…”

“…”

“Unless the link with the monster is severed, the anomalies will continue to recur,” Eui-rim warned. “Even if the Isolation Ward is cleared by sheer fortune, another dungeon will mutate in its place. And though it isn’t on domestic soil, the next target could very well be the Tower of Time.”

“So you want to raid the Isolation Ward, exactly as your skill instructed?” Hae-gun asked.

“Yes,” Eui-rim replied.

At the unwavering answer, Hae-gun’s eyes narrowed. Eui-rim held that gaze, peering into depths as dark as a nighttime sea.

Though he could not tell Hae-gun, this raid was not born of mere desire or ambition. It was an imperative that had to be fulfilled under any circumstances.

The fragile possibility forged by the Hae-gun of the previous timeline—the hope that total annihilation could be averted—this was his very first chance to test it.

“The fewer the variables, the better,” Eui-rim urged.

“…”

“Since we agreed to clear one more dungeon before entering the Tower of Time anyway,” Eui-rim continued, “I’d like us to take on the Isolation Ward.”

He did not know what future would unfold upon completing the quest, nor could he verify whether it would mirror the visions the past-life Hae-gun had seen.

Yet if I can diminish the Fragment’s power by even a fraction…

If that can grant me even the faintest clue to preventing annihilation, I must seize this chance given by the Scales at all costs. Even if unresolved questions lingered, he had to press forward without hesitation.

“…All right,” Hae-gun finally said.

Just how long had they stared at one another? The assent came the moment a ripple disturbed Hae-gun’s gaze. Like a man worn down by deep exhaustion, he rubbed his face with both hands, letting his eyes drop. “We’ll prepare for the Isolation Ward raid. Just as you said, Eui-rim-ssi, if the Association’s rescue team fails, we’ll head straight in.”

“Truly?” Eui-rim asked.

“Yes,” Hae-gun confirmed.

When their eyes met again, that fleeting vulnerability had vanished without a trace. As if it had never existed, Hae-gun rose leisurely to his feet.

“Setting aside the matter of resolving anomalies, I’ve grown curious myself,” Hae-gun said, smiling faintly. “About what kind of future you’ll end up seeing, Eui-rim-ssi.”

“…”

“I do hope it turns out to be an entertaining one,” Hae-gun added with a faint smile.

He said it in an airy tone, making it impossible to tell whether he was being serious or merely teasing.

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