DPGR 72

“Let’s move out, too.”

By then, Dojin had already turned away from the Beta Team captain and was scanning his own team.

The spots where Yulchan and Sena should’ve been were empty, and the remaining members didn’t look so great either.

It’s probably because of Yulchan’s leg injury.

Dojin mentally noted their absence, a bitter taste rising in his mouth.

But he couldn’t afford to dwell on it.

Focus.

This wasn’t just some nightmare. It was a dungeon they would actually face in real life—he had to get some useful information from this dream.

Just as Sehun had said, calling it a haunted house, all the monsters inside the dungeon were ghosts.

Some were incorporeal, immune to physical attacks, while others were bloodsucking bats or swarms of giant spiders.

Screeeeech—!

Skreeee!

Dojin swung his long spear and took down yet another vampire bat—he’d lost count of how many.

A long sigh escaped him—not from his mind, but his body.

A reflex. One that showed just how exhausted he was.

What about the others…

He looked around. His teammates looked just as drained as he felt.

And among the Beta Team espers they had randomly crossed paths with inside the castle, several were visibly injured.

A wave of unease washed over him.

Captain Yoon from Beta Team still looked alright for now, but at this rate, fatigue would catch up to them, and someone would make a fatal mistake.

Especially someone like Yoon, who was a close-range melee dealer—barehanded, no less. The risks were countless.

“Ghh…!”

BOOM!

“Captain Yoon! Left side! Watch out!”

Sure enough.

A giant spider, hidden in the shadows, leapt at Yoon’s side.

Luckily, a defense-type esper nearby managed to put up a shield in time—but it was too sudden. The shield slammed into Yoon as it deployed, knocking him back.

“A-Are you okay?!”

“Yeah… Ngh. Dammit, almost threw my back out.”

“S-Sorry, I didn’t—”

“No, no. It’s fine. Honestly, I’m grateful.”

Though he staggered heavily, Yoon managed to right himself and patted the defense esper reassuringly on the shoulder.

But despite the smile he forced onto his face, Dojin could see the anxiety leaking through.

He really is running on empty now.

Dojin understood what that meant.

His face tightened slightly. But he couldn’t sit there worrying about Yoon forever.

Because just then—screams echoed from far off.

“<Shit!>”

“<What the hell is that?!>”

“<Aaargh! Run!>”

Panicked cries and curses in Japanese.

The source seemed to be the Japanese espers who’d gone ahead earlier.

As the screams grew louder, murmurs started spreading among the Korean espers.

“What’s going on?”

“No way… is it the boss monster?”

“Wait, already?”

They were still only on the first floor.

Usually, in big dungeon buildings, the boss would be on the top floor.

So the others were all clearly thrown off by the idea. Dojin was no exception.

The boss? On the first floor?

Just then, his body took the initiative—walking forward to investigate.

But then—

BANG!

A massive door at the end of the hallway burst open, and a horde of Japanese espers came rushing out, faces pale with terror.

Alpha and Beta Teams blinked in confusion, unable to understand what was going on.

And then, Dojin saw it.

“<Agh! Let go! I said let go!>”

“<Get a grip! Dammit! Graaagh!!>”

Chasing after the retreating Japanese espers, attacking them—were other Japanese espers.

Ones who had clearly been on the same side just moments before, now turning on their comrades.

A full-blown breakdown within the Japanese esper military.

What the hell…

Maybe it was the shock, but Dojin’s consciousness began to slip.

No—not yet. I haven’t—

His vision blurred. He clenched his teeth, trying to extract more information until the very end, but it was no use.

Fwsh—

His mind went dark.

Just like last time—a total blackout.

***

“Hyuuung?”

Dojin sat blankly, lost in thoughts of the dream he’d had all day.

During the day, he managed to function, completing tasks almost on autopilot and awkwardly smiling at his noisy teammates.

But as night approached, his blank spells grew longer and longer.

Noticing his strange state, Jiho hovered near him.

“Hyung. Why… why…?”

Ever since recently, Jiho had started calling Dojin hyung.

He poked Dojin’s cheek where he sat zoned out on the sofa.

Startled, Dojin snapped back to reality, scooped Jiho up by the waist, and placed him in his lap.

“Ah. Sorry. I was just… lost in thought.”

“What… what—w-were you thinking about?”

“That’s…”

“Hm? Whaaat? Hm?”

Tfi:

“…Tell..me quickly!” Jiho shook Dojin by the collar, and Dojin’s earlobes turned red.

It wasn’t the first time Dojin had blushed like that—his earlobes, neck, and even his face often turned red in situations like these, so Jiho wasn’t particularly surprised anymore.

“Hmm? Please, tell me, hyuung.”

“Ha…”

In the end, Dojin melted at Jiho’s subtle yet undeniable charm, even though Jiho himself wasn’t aware of it.

Well, since they needed Jiho’s clear memory to prepare for the dungeon anyway, he decided to tell him.

“Well, actually…”

Dojin’s face grew more serious as he explained the things he had seen in his dream.

Jiho listened intently, nodding thoughtfully. When Dojin finished explaining that he had woken up at a crucial moment, Jiho seemed to have an idea.

“Do you think you know something?”

“Hmm… I’m not really sure…”

“It’s okay. Just tell me anything that comes to mind.”

Jiho hesitated for a moment but then spoke slowly, recalling a rumor. It was about Beta Team’s captain, who was supposedly dead, but the death hadn’t been caused by a monster.

“…What? You heard he died from an attack by a Japanese esper?”

“Mm, yeah…”

And then, there was some talk about the Japanese government being involved, though Jiho didn’t know the full details.

“I don’t know much, but… it seemed like something happened…w-with the Japanese government….Only people at the center know about it. Just rumors…”

“Ah, so the world doesn’t know.”

“Yeah.”

“So what happened with the rumor?”

“Uhm… It kind of just fizzled out… Even Beta Team’s captain’s death… Everyone just kept quiet about it…”

According to Jiho, the Beta Team captain hadn’t even had a proper funeral. Something about not being able to bring the body? No, it was more like the body was so damaged they had to leave it behind.

Dojin listened quietly, trying to make sense of it all, while replaying the scene from his dream.

The faces of the Japanese espers, running away after opening the massive door, clearly showed fear.

They seemed so scared, and yet, they didn’t even swing the weapons they were holding.

Even though these were military-trained soldiers, they should’ve charged at the enemy regardless of the risk to their lives.

Something’s off about this…

And the fact that the ones chasing them were also Japanese espers made it even stranger.

A feeling of unease began to rise within him.

“Jiho, this dungeon has many dangerous elements.”

“Yes.”

“So, this time, it might be better if you don’t go in…”

“Huh?”

Dojin was about to suggest leaving Jiho behind when Jiho’s stubbornness stopped him.

“No, no. I’m going too.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“I’m training. I’m working hard.”

“……”

“I won’t….s-slow…you down, hyung….I..c-can work harder…”

With those pleading eyes, Dojin couldn’t bring himself to say no.

If he did, Jiho might burst into tears, asking if he was being a burden. He didn’t want that.

“Ha…”

Eventually, Dojin gave up trying to get Jiho to stay behind and focused on something more urgent.

“Since we’re talking about it, I’d like to hear more about the events before the regression.”

“Hmm…”

The two hadn’t really had a deep conversation yet.

Though they had time to talk, it seemed that the weight of the big events had made them avoid discussing it. Dojin couldn’t help but feel a bitter smile tug at his lips, wondering if he had always been this weak.

As Jiho began recalling the major incidents, Dojin hurriedly grabbed a pen and paper, jotting down everything.

“The Japanese S-rank dungeon incident happened in the fall…”

Jiho continued, and Dojin quickly started making a timeline of events to piece together the sequence of incidents that would unfold.

“Wait, hold on… these two dungeons are overlapping in time.”

“Ah. Yes, that’s right…”

It turned out that the timing of the Japanese Dungeon incident and the Taean Dungeon incident overlapped.

“Taean… This is the accident that took my parents…”

The Taean Dungeon had been the worst dungeon accident, taking the lives of many—including Dojin’s parents.

Even though Captain Yoon from Beta Team died in the Japanese Dungeon incident, it was overshadowed by the Taean accident and barely acknowledged.

“I want to know more about the Taean incident.”

Dojin’s expression darkened as he mentioned his parents.

He looked even more somber than when they’d discussed the final dungeon incident.

Jiho, though worried about Dojin, began slowly revealing the details he knew.