Chapter 7 – To Home

Jaemin was feeling endless regret.

Even as he entered the code at his house’s gate, he was regretting every moment.

He couldn’t be a complete weirdo, right? Maybe he just arrived in Seoul today and doesn’t have a place to stay?

Woojin had given Jaemin a backstory for his sudden need for accommodation.

He’d told Jaemin that he’d lost his memory during the Dungeon Shock and run to find refuge on Jiri Mountain. As he tried to find safety, he’d stumbled into a strange, ill-tempered, Taoist priest and taken him as a teacher.

But he’d suddenly regained his memory recently and had made the trip back to Seoul. He had made his first stop at the high school where he’d first lost his memory.

As Woojin told him a tale that even a third rate drama would scorn, Jaemin stared at Woojin, still in two minds about him.

If that’s his situation, he really should go to a police station.

Sadly, Jaemin never had the chance to voice his thoughts aloud. When a police siren started to wail faintly in the background, Woojin once again started shadow boxing as he ‘killed flies’.

Jaemin figured he’d probably be knocked out if a blow even glanced him. No, he might die….

Oh well. I have no clue. If he meant me harm, then he would have done it by now. Jaemin grew resigned to his fate.

Beep. Beep.

The door swung open and Woojin followed Jaemin in, smiling radiantly.

“Wow, you have a nice house.”

Jaemin’s home was an ordinary villa’s studio apartment. As land prices plummeted in Seoul, rent also followed. At the same time, gas and electricity prices shot through the roof, so it was still difficult to live in the city.

The reason utility prices had increased was because the monsters had destroyed all of the infrastructure when they’d rampaged outside the dungeon.

Regardless, the studio apartment was relatively large. Jaemin still had plenty of room even after a bed and desk.

“Ha ha. I’ll be in your debt for a day then. Do you mind if I wash first?”

Woojin brazenly headed towards the bathroom. He left his rags in a heap as he took a shower. Jaemin sighed as he heard Woojin’s comments over the shower like “Mhmmmm, this is fantastic.”

“Ha…. I wonder if this is appropriate.”

Jaemin had a hunch that Woojin wasn’t a bad person. After all, he hadn’t felt anything bad as they’d talked on the way home.

Then again, even if Woojin wasn’t a bad person, he was definitely weird. He’d naturally fallen into Woojin’s pace and before he’d realized it, had him staying over as a guest.

Jaemin started to munch on the onigiri he’d bought. It would have to suffice as dinner, since he had given Woojin the money he’d originally thought to use to buy dinner.

“Whew. That was refreshing. Hey, do you have any clothes you were going to throw away?”

“…. Hold on.”

Woojin acted as if he was at a close cousin’s house. Jaemin wasn’t particularly comfortable with it, but there was no use crying over spilled milk. Resigned, he dug out a basic white tee and black shorts for Woojin.

“Do you have any underwear?”

“I’m already burdening you, so it would bother me a little if I took your underwear too.”

Unabashed, Woojin laughed as he went commando. He casually took a bottle of water from the fridge and downed it. Jaemin no longer had the energy to be taken aback at his casual behavior.

But Jaemin had priorities, “Alright. I have to study now.”

Woojin replied, ”Okay okay. I won’t interfere with your studies. Go ahead and study. Ah, think I can use your computer?”

What else is left for you to ask for?

“... You can use it.”

Jaemin yielded his desk with the computer. He set up the desk he usually used for meals and opened his textbook. Quickly, he sank into studying with a frightening focus.

After his parents had passed away, the only family he had left was his older sister. This studio apartment and even the privilege of going to high school was solely because of his older sister’s sacrifice.

Even now, she was making ends meet by working arduously in a factory. The only way he could pay her back was to study as hard he could.

Jaemin’s focus was so visibly intense that Woojin didn’t dare to talk to him.

Whoa. He might be a pretty boy, but he takes studying very seriously.

Woojin turned his attention to the computer and connected to a familiar online portal. He started to look up information on dungeons. The internet should have the most comprehensive understanding of Earth’s changes in the last five years.

Let’s see. Dungeon Shock. August 5th, huh? I was summoned around that time.

The timing between his summoning to Alphen and the transformation of Earth’s subway stations into dungeons was too close to be called a coincidence. He didn’t remember the exact date he was summoned, but his intuition was telling him that both definitely happened on that day.

It means there’s a connection.

Why was he summoned to Alphen during the Dungeon Shock? His time on Alphen had never yielded any clues. He’d just fought tooth and claw to survive, always looking for a way home.

He was dissatisfied.

Awakened. What? These are just people with abilities.

He couldn’t help his surprise when he looked up Awakened. In a nutshell, Awakened were able to use special skills like teleportation, fire control, superspeed or the like.

Each Awakened’s special ability was unique, but more importantly, they all had the ability to use magical artifacts from dungeons.

If they could use Artifacts, it meant they possessed magic. It wouldn’t be wrong to classify them as magicians.

Earth has magicians.

Even as an expert Necromancer who had fought to the peak and reset his level, he was still genuinely surprised by this.

Since all of Earth’s dungeons showed up underground, conventional heavy weaponry had been rendered mostly obsolete. In that void, Awakened had taken up the gauntlet and proceeded to become the heroes of Earth.

If left alone, the dungeons were ticking bombs that could go off at any moment.

Besides, the dungeons themselves could evolve.

Dungeons had three forms, and the strategy for capturing them varied accordingly.

A dungeon was an existence that came with a timer. When a new one came into existence, a one month countdown immediately began.

If the dungeon were to be conquered before the countdown ended, it transformed into a Mine. If the capture failed, then a Dungeon Break would occur.

At first, calling conquered dungeons Mines was just slang, but it had stuck to the point where the government started to use it in official matters. Conquered dungeons only summoned basic monsters, which allowed for deeper exploration of the dungeon itself. The basic monsters had value in and of themselves, but the true treasures were the Artifacts.

All Mines reset after some time. The interval might be as long as a couple of months or as short as a couple of days. Since there was no way to predict the reset period, there were always government employees stationed to oversee each dungeon.

On the other hand, Dungeon Breaks occurred when the one month countdown ended and the dungeon had yet to be conquered. In short, the dungeon would then burst outward in an explosion of violence.

The dungeon barrier would crumble, and the monsters within would escape to rampage in the outside world.

The dungeon that Woojin had entered, [Gwachun Station’s 1st Exit], had been a Mine. Moreover, the rank of the basic monsters was so low that they didn’t produce any Bloodstones. The Drabbit itself also had no particular use as an ingredient. Thus, it had become an abandoned Mine, rarely even used as a training dungeon for beginner Awakened.

Next, Woojin looked up Hammer Guild.

He was a little curious about the identity of the imposing building that stood where his home used to be.

Across the room, Jaemin leaned back, working out a kink in his neck. He glanced over at the computer screen, and his eyes widened.

“Uh? Uncle knows about Hammer Guild?”

Woojin looked up, “Huh? Hey, call me big brother. Do you know what goes on in there?”

“Of course, I know. It’s one of the three most successful guilds in Korea.”

Jaemin’s eyes sparkled as he started to explain. Hammer Guild, Hwarang Guild and KH Guild were the three most powerful guilds in Korea.

Woojin raised an eyebrow, “So they’re companies?”

“Uh, mmm. It’s not quite a company. It’d originally started as a place for Awakened to gather, but now it’s a little closer to a company. But it’s probably more accurate to call it a coalition of Awakened?”

Jaemin cocked his head to one side as he tried to clarify his explanation.

“For Awakened, it’s a coalition. For a normal person like me, it’s a company. It’s my dream company. You can’t get in with ordinary qualifications.”

The reason Jaemin put so much effort into studying was because the three guilds were his goal. Their employee benefit package was reportedly amazing, and he’d be able to get a great starting salary. If he could join the company, he’d finally be able to repay his struggling sister’s kindness.

“Huh, is that right?”

Jaemin’s eyes had started to glow as he spoke, and his voice had grown rough with passion. Woojin felt a little awkward and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, won’t those bastards from earlier bother you tomorrow?”

Jaemin’s face grew dark as he remembered Lee Joonhyuk’s persistent personality. He’d somehow made it through the day thanks to Woojin, but it looked like his school life would take a turn for the worse from now on.

When he saw Jaemin’s grim face, Woojin spoke up.

“Hey. I have some business with the school, so let’s go together tomorrow. I’ll solve all your problems.”

“T-together?”

Jaemin’s worry only grew when he saw Woojin’s confidence.