Chapter 7 – To Home

Regret kept flowing in.

Even as Jaemin put in the secret code for the gate in front of his house, he was feeling regret.

‘He couldn’t be a really weird person, right? He probably arrived in the city today, so maybe he doesn’t have a place to stay?’

Woojin gave a somewhat believable backstory to Jaemin.

He said he had lost his memory 5 years ago in the Dungeon Shock, and he had retreated in to the Jiri Mountain. Inside the Jiri Mountain, he had served a strange Taoist priest as sensei.

While serving the ill-tempered Taoist, he suddenly regained his memory. This was why he had returned to Seoul, and he had returned to the high school where he had lost his memory.

Woojin told him a story even a third rate drama wouldn’t use. Jaemin was on the fence as he looked at Woojin.

‘If he is in such a situation, he should go to a police station.’

Jaemin didn’t even get to say this out loud. When the sound of a police siren passed by, Woojin let out several jabs into the air as he caught the flies.

Jaemin thought he would probably get knocked out even from one hit. No, he might die….

“Oh well. I have no clue. If he meant me harm, then he would have done it by now.’

Ddee-dik, Ddee-ro-ri. (TLN: input sfx)

The door opened, and he followed in after Jaemin. Woojin smiled radiantly.

“Wow, you have a nice house.”

The house was an ordinary villa’s studio. As the land price became cheap in Seoul, the rent became cheap as empty houses increased. However, the electric and gas fee had increased as well, so it was still hard for people to live there.

The Monsters always destroyed all the infrastructure, so of course, the price would increase.

The studio was quite large. There were a lot of room left even after a bed and a desk was put in there.

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

Woojin brazenly spoke as he headed towards the restroom. He took off the pieces of straw mat then he took a shower. Jaemin could only sigh as he heard weird sounds come from the restroom like “Uhmmm, huh, this is great.’

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

They had talked about various topics while coming here, and he didn’t seem like a bad person. This was just a hunch he had felt.

Even if Woojin didn’t look like a bad person, he was assuredly weird. He had fallen into Woojin’s pace, and before he realized it, they had come home together.

Jaemin munched on the onigiri he bought from the convenience store. This was his dinner. The money he needed to purchase dinner was taken by Woojin, so he had no choice.

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

“….wait a moment.”

Woojin acted as if he was visiting the house of a very close cousin. Jaemin was uncomfortable with the situation, but the water had already been spilt. He just gave Woojin the basic white t-shirt, and a black shorts.

“Do you have an underwear?”

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

Woojin laughed brazenly, and he wore his clothes as he went commando. Then he opened the refrigerator to take out a bottle of water, and he downed it. Jaemin didn’t have the energy to be surprised any more by his natural look.

“Whew. I have to study now.”

” Ok ok. I won’t interfere with your studies. Go ahead and study. Do you think I can use your computer?”

You are asking for everything.

“……you can use it.”

Jaemin yielded his desk with the computer on it. He opened a desk he used for meals then he opened his book. Jaemin started focusing on his studies so much that it was frightening.

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

Even now she was working arduously in a factory. The only way he could pay her back was to study hard.

Jaemin was studying so fiercely that Woojin didn’t dare to talk to him.

‘Whoa. Even though he is handsome, he is studying really hard.’

Woojin turned on the computer, then he connected to a familiar portal site. He searched about the Dungeons. The internet was the best option to learn about the changes that had occurred on Earth in the past 5 years.

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

His summon to the Alphen Planet, and the Earth’s subway stations turning in to Dungeons were too close to be called a coincidence. He couldn’t exactly remember it, but his intuition was telling him it happened on the same day.

‘It means there is a connection.’

Why was he summoned to the other side during the Dungeon Shock? He still didn’t know the exact reasons. He just struggle hard to survive, and he longed to return home.

He felt a feeling of unsatisfaction.

‘Roused. What is this? They are just people with super natural powers.’

He couldn’t help, but be surprised when he looked up the Roused. The Roused were able to use specialized skills like teleportation, ignition ability, super speed and etc.

The Roused’s specialized ability was important, but the ability to use the magical artifacts acquired from the Dungeons was more important.

If they could use the magical items, it meant they possessed magic. It wouldn’t be wrong to look at them as magicians.

‘The real-world has magicians.’

As a top Necromancer, he had advanced to received amazing bonus stats, but he was still genuinely surprised by this.

Since the characteristic of this dungeon was that it was underground, they couldn’t use heavy firearms. Therefore, the Roused basically become the heroes of the entire Earth as they worked out of Seoul.

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

Moreover, the Dungeons went through changes.

They were classified into three different types, and the attack plan differed for each of them.

Dungeon – It literally was a timed dungeon. If a new one was created or a subway station changed into a dungeon, a one month countdown began.

If the Dungeon was cleared before the countdown ended, it turned into a Mine. If they failed, the Dungeon Break happened.

Mine – At first it was used as a figure of speech, but it had stuck so even the government called it that name. The conquered Dungeons only summoned the basic Monsters, and this was when the exploration happened. The basic Monsters carried some value, and sometimes they were able to find Artifacts.

These Mines reset after a certain amount of time. At most, it would reset after couple of month, and at the very least, it would last a couple of days. No one knew when the dungeons would be reset, so government employees were assigned to look over the dungeons.

Dungeon Break – It was a horrible event where the Dungeon attack has failed after the period of one month’s time. As the word indicates, the dungeon bursts.

The barrier crumbles, and the monster within escapes to the outer world.

Woojin had entered the [Gwachun Station’s 1st Exit], and it was a Mine. Moreover, the rank of the basic monsters was so low that Bloodstones weren’t produced. The Drabbit itself also had no particular use. It became an abandoned Mine when it was decided it was of no value. Occasionally, it was used as a resting dungeon, where the beginner Roused trained. However, this happened very rarely.

Woojin looked up the Hammer Guild.

He wanted to find out the identity of the imposing building built where his home used to be. He was genuinely curious.

Jaemin’s neck stiffened as he studied, so he straightened his neck. He looked at the monitor on a whim, and his eyes became round.

“Uh? Uncle knows about the Hammer Guild?”

“Huh? Hey, call me big brother. Do you know what goes on in this place?”

“Of course, I know. It is one of the 3 most successful guilds in Korea.”

Jaemin’s eyes sparkled as he gave an explanation. Hammer Guild, Hwarang Guild and KH Guild. These three were the most powerful guild in Korea.

“So they are companies?”

“Uh, mmm. It’s a little bit different. It started off as gathering places for the Roused, but it is almost like a company now. No, should I say it is a big union between the Roused?”

He started tilting his head in confusion, and Jaemin started organizing his disorganized explanation.

“For the Roused, it is a union. For a normal person like me, it is a company. It is my dream company. You can’t get in with ordinary qualifications.

Jaemin was studying hard as he made the three great guild in Korea his target. The benefits for the workers was amazing, and the annual income was quite large. If he’s able to join the company, he’ll be able to pay back the kindness shown by his struggling sister.

“Huh, is that right?”

Jaemin became starry eyed, and he let out a voice filled with desire. Woojin was unaccustomed to such looks, so he asked roughly.

“Anyways, won’t those bastards from earlier in the day bother you tomorrow?”

Jaemin’s countenance became dark when he thought about the tenacious personality of Lee-soohyuk. He had somehow gotten through today since Woojin had shown up. It seemed his school life will become tortuous starting tomorrow.

When he saw the other’s face, Woojin spoke coolly.

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

“T…together?”

Jaemin felt worried when he saw the confident Woojin.