"..."
Yoon Seo's face stiffened.
Grace continued as if delivering a death sentence.
"A revelation has come that the Great Dungeon is exactly the same as the one that appeared ten years ago."
***
They explained everything: the first revelation two years ago, Kwon Jihan obtaining the Gaia skill, tracking Seo Chaeyoon, the recent new revelation, and the person entering the black portal.
Yoon Seo couldn't listen calmly. His breath had become labored from the moment they mentioned the Great Dungeon reappearing, and eventually, he started having trouble breathing. Grace had to stop speaking, startled.
"Hyung."
Kwon Jihan quickly handed him some water, which Yoon Seo gulped down, followed by a tranquilizer, but his anxiety persisted.
"Continue."
Yoon Seo spoke, lowering his gaze.
"…We believe that if we clear the black portal inside the Great Dungeon that Hunter Grace saw, a 'new world' mentioned in the message when the Gaia skill was obtained will appear. According to Hunter La Bijina, a message appeared just before the black portal disappeared in the Great Dungeon ten years ago, but she didn't see it herself and doesn't remember the details. We were hoping you could… talk to us about this, Yoon Seo… Additionally, if you could recall the terrain of the Great Dungeon and the monsters that appeared, we'd appreciate it."
When all the stories were finally told, a heavy silence fell.
Yoo Juncheol, seemingly parched, downed his tea. Then, Kwon Jihan spoke up.
"You don't have to go back in, hyung. We're not planning to send in anyone with a healing resistance. It might be hard to remember, but just tell us about the terrain and what creatures we'll be fighting."
"No. I'm going in too."
"No way. The healing skills don't work there, so stop saying nonsense."
"If you knew how many comrades I lost there, you wouldn't call it 'nonsense.'"
"..."
"I'm definitely going in. And please be quiet for a moment. I need to think."
Kwon Jihan slightly furrowed his brow but said nothing.
"..."
Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, and Yoon Seo, too, leaned deeply into the back of his chair, trying to calm his tangled emotions. He put Riceball into his inventory, holding only a medicine bottle in his hand.
After hearing everything, he understood why they had been searching for Seo Chaeyoon. If Tae Jaesik had known this, things would have been resolved much more easily. For this reason, Yoon Seo would have barged into the Guild Leader's office and declared, "I am Seo Chaeyoon," and voluntarily surrendered.
Of course, he could understand why they hadn't revealed such a critical issue to Tae Jaesik. If that man had known, even a hermit living deep in the mountains would be aware of this by now.
'No… even if he had told him, that man wouldn't have believed it.'
The Great Dungeon reappearing?
It wasn't a new Red-Black Dungeon, but a dungeon that had already been cleared reappearing after ten years—who could believe that?
The Great Dungeon, the Revenger, death, and sacrifice. He wanted to gather all the words floating in his head and throw them away. If possible, he wanted to erase them from the dictionary of his mind forever.
He felt like an idiot for thinking about writing his will and preparing to die.
At some point, he had imagined that a crimson-black portal would appear. He had even thought about documenting the Great Dungeon strategy before his death.
But he never imagined that the dungeon from ten years ago would reappear.
'Is it because of the black portal?'
Because he hadn't entered the black portal… is that why? Is the Gaia system saying they're giving him another chance and telling him to enter the Great Dungeon?
To go back to that hell again.
Saying that he must go.
Is that why they didn't take back the "Chosen One" trait or the Gaia skill?
"Hyung, are you okay?"
Kwon Jihan called out quietly to Yoon Seo, who was deep in thought, biting his lips. Yoon Seo didn't respond, as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"Yoon Seo hyung."
"..."
"Seo Chaeyoon."
Yoon Seo frowned, glaring at Kwon Jihan. Kwon Jihan studied Yoon Seo's expression with a maturity beyond his years.
"Hyung, you don't look well. Should we continue the rest of this conversation later? We've set up a bedroom upstairs."
"Yes, Yoon Seo. It's late, and it must be difficult to recall those events, so let's continue in the morning."
Even the three of them agreed that Yoon Seo's condition seemed serious. Listening to the Great Dungeon strategy was a top priority, but pushing someone who was dependent on medication could lead to a disaster.
Kwon Jihan stood up first, extending his hand as if to help him. Yoon Seo didn't even glance at the hand and roughly brushed his bangs back.
"I'm fine, so let's continue. What do you mean by the rest of the conversation?"
"No, it's not that we have more to say. We're suggesting you talk about the Great Dungeon strategy and the black portal after getting some sleep."
"The Great Dungeon is vast, and the number of monsters is countless. It could take days to explain. Time is of the essence, so I'll at least explain the first area today."
"Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine."
Kwon Jihan briefly scanned Yoon Seo's face and sighed softly.
"Alright, then."
As Kwon Jihan sat back down, the three others looked surprised.
"Yoon Seo, you really don't look well. Your hands and legs are trembling, and your face is pale."
"The trembling hands can't be helped. It's not something I can control with willpower. I wouldn't be able to sleep in this state anyway, so let's not waste time."
"But—"
"Hyung said he's fine."
Kwon Jihan interjected bluntly. The four of them, including Yoon Seo, turned to look at Kwon Jihan.
"If he says he's fine, then why make a fuss? Hyung, go ahead and start."
"..."
Kwon Jihan adjusted his posture with a smile, signaling he was ready to listen. Yoon Seo's hand tremors subsided. He gave a small smile and addressed Yoo Juncheol.
"Before we start, there's something I'd like to ask first."
"Please, go ahead, Yoon Seo."
"How can you be so sure it's the same Great Dungeon from ten years ago? It could just be a new S-rank dungeon with a black and red portal."
"The prophet's revelations have never been wrong, not even once, no matter how minor they might seem. Especially the revelations from S-rank Grace, the guild master… It's definitely the Great Dungeon from ten years ago."
"Has there ever been a case where a cleared dungeon reappeared?"
"As far as I know, this is the first time."
"Isn't that strange? Why is everyone just accepting it? A cleared dungeon reappears… and it's the Great Dungeon at that."
"Two years ago, we were just as surprised. But considering that Proxima b, where the dungeons appear, is several times larger than Earth but still limited in area, and that it's been 12 years since the dungeons started appearing, we've come to the conclusion that it's not entirely unexpected for the same areas to start showing up again."
"So, you're saying there might be several more reappearances of the Great Dungeon. That's why you're trying to get information from hyung to prepare."
Kwon Jihan made the grim statement lightly.
When Yoo Juncheol shot him a glare for saying such things to someone still unstable, Kwon Jihan shrugged, claiming he was just being honest. However, when Yoon Seo bit his lip and glared with a pale face, Kwon Jihan quickly apologized, "Sorry…," to which Yoon Seo turned his head as if to let it slide this time. Yoo Juncheol was slightly surprised by this exchange. Kwon Jihan had always been insensitive, but this was the first time he had apologized so quickly.
"I think differently. The Gaia System may be lazy at times, so it might repeat dungeons eventually, but this isn't the case with this Great Dungeon."
Yoon Seo's voice carried a tone of certainty. All eyes were on him. He rubbed the lid of the medicine bottle as if he might open it at any moment, but he didn't.
"Then, what do you think is the reason for its reappearance, Yoon Seo? If you could share your thoughts…?"
"What did Hunter La Bijina say?"
"As I mentioned, she said the black portal disappeared, and a message appeared, but that's all. She didn't see the message herself, someone else told her about it."
Grace, who had the most frequent contact with La Bijina, replied.
"Did she mention anything else? About the monsters that appeared there or the terrain?"
"Unfortunately, she's in a state where she's talking about how it took her 300 years to clear the Great Dungeon…."
"..."
"The clearing period was 77 days, but it must have felt like 300 years, considering how horrific it was…."
Yoon Seo closed his eyes, a pained expression briefly crossing his pale face. His fingertips whitened as if he were about to open the medicine bottle. Kwon Jihan immediately frowned harshly.
"At this rate, our hyung is going to take the medicine again. He's going to become addicted."
"I won't take it."
Yoon Seo pressed his fingers against his furrowed brow. As he closed his eyes, thinking through various things, the surrounding fell silent.
The A-rank and S-rank Hunters around him could feel Yoon Seo's rapidly beating heart. It was a heartbeat that made the listeners anxious. They waited silently for Yoon Seo to calm down.
After a while, Yoon Seo opened his eyes. They had hoped he would have calmed down, but his brown eyes still looked hollow and unstable.
Yoon Seo leaned back deeply in his chair.
"In order…. I'll start from the first day we entered. I've never really organized this in my head before, so it's probably best to explain it chronologically."
"Yes, please speak at your own pace. As you recall the terrain, the monsters that appeared, and the items you obtained there, everything will be automatically recorded by the voice recognition in the video sphere."
Yoon Seo nodded and began his long explanation.
"There were four main terrains in the Great Dungeon: lava, swamp, mountain range, and finally, the temple."
***
Yoon Seo explained step by step, starting from the first day they entered. When he mentioned that various nations had gathered armored vehicles, self-propelled guns, and other weapons to support them, only for them to melt almost immediately upon entry, everyone sighed in disbelief.
As Yoon Seo described each monster in the lava zone in detail, including their forms and characteristics, the others exchanged uneasy glances.
"You still remember everything so clearly."
"Yes, I remember it all."
Yoon Seo nodded as if it were only natural that he remembered everything from the Great Dungeon, but the atmosphere among the others became somewhat somber.
"Dealing with the monsters wasn't too difficult. The problem was the terrain of the lava zone. We stayed there for 33 days."
"Thirty-three days? You mentioned there were four terrains. You spent nearly half of the clearing period in the first terrain?"
"It's hard to explain. That's why Hunter La Bijina said it felt like 300 years."
"What…?"
The three of them still looked confused, which was only natural.