VSP 110

– It’s Hoya! Hoya!

– Why’s that idiot Seo Sejun acting up? lol He’ll just end up being a background prop again.

– Hide behind Sejun-hyung if you don’t want to die ㅠㅠ

– What a waste of taxes (subject omitted)

The chatroom, which took up half the news screen and was impossible to ignore, was filled with criticism aimed at Sejun. Even though he hadn’t done anything wrong right now.

Of course, there were still a few people trying to keep things balanced.

– Stop cursing Seo Sejun, you fucking idiots.

– Seriously, can you stop insulting the hunters who went inside?

– You think you can talk like that to people risking their lives to save others?

– Yeah, says the ones scratching their bellies in their rooms watching through a screen. Why don’t you go then?

But the comments defending Sejun were outnumbered by those attacking him. As if everyone thought it was fine to do that to Seo Sejun. Because everyone else is quick to criticize him.

Even those trying to defend him weren’t doing it because they liked Seo Sejun, but because they wanted to protect the hunters who’d gone into the dungeon risking their lives.

Dogyeong’s fingers clenched as he watched.

When Sejun used to cause trouble, the media and everyone else were desperate to tear him apart, and no one could stop that public outrage. But lately, Sejun hadn’t caused any accidents. He’d been working earnestly. So why did these people never disappear or even lessen in number?

Seeing people curse Sejun like that only made Dogyeong burn inside, as if to prove how much his feelings toward Sejun had changed.

As a public figure, Dogyeong had always been oblivious to what others had to say about him. He’d even told Sejun in the past, “Why bother with such things?”

He couldn’t understand what they thought gave them the right to insult Seo Sejun. What had Sejun done so wrong?

Seo Sejun was just a gentle guy who only pretended to act prickly.

“Noona.”

“I’m already driving as fast as I can!”

Dogyeong called softly, Na Yookyung, as if she knew what he was going to say, quickly turned the steering wheel and answered.

She was already speeding, weaving between illegally parked cars and dodging people, so it was pointless to urge her any further.

Meanwhile, the situation on the screen changed constantly. Only the leftmost feed showing Sejun.

Lee Dohun and Choi Hangyeol were combing through another floors that seemed calm. Meanwhile, Sejun’s screen shook frantically, flashing an indecipherable green light, a constant state of urgency.

Dogyeong’s anxiety continued to rise, seemingly without end. Unlike Dogyeong, who seemed frantic, worried that Sejun might suffer a fatal wound at any moment, the ablaze chatroom reacted with surprise at Sejun’s unwavering endurance.

– What? He’s holding on for so long…?

– Shouldn’t he be retiring by now?

– From what I can tell, it’s almost time for him to retire lol

When things didn’t go their way, the comments that had been constantly criticizing Sejun began to react with bewilderment and gradually diminished.

– What? Why is Seo Sejun holding on so well?

It’s just as they said, Sejun was holding on so well.

Normally, Sejun would have to use one or two mana potions to land even a single effective hit, but he was managing Hoya reliably without even potions.

More precisely, he was conducting the raid alone.

– ???

– What’s this? Which Earth version of Seo Sejun is this?

– Why’s Hoya fighting so well?

– Hoya’s always been strong;

– No, normally he gets unsummoned after two attacks at best, why’s he lasting today?

– Yeah why

– Well it’s good that he is, though~

– I’m just surprised~

– Wait, are you saying Seo Sejun could’ve done this all along and just didn’t?

– Seo Sejun was hiding his power;;

– Oh, Seo Sejun’s spirit just found Choi Hangyeol.

– Looks like it found Lee Dohun too.

The people who had been mercilessly criticizing Sejun were startled, and at that moment, the spirits finally reached the two hunters on the upper floors.

The blue tiger, shining most brilliantly on Sejun’s screen, erupted with a blue flame that even Dogyeong had never seen before. Even though he wasn’t there, even though he was merely feeling it through the screen, the overwhelming sight froze the chat window for a moment.

But the body cam couldn’t capture the entire scene. Bright red blood filled the screen, staining it with blood and obscuring more than half of the dazzling sight.

At that moment, the car Na Yookyung was driving came to a stop.

“You’d better run from here!”

Dogyeong didn’t look at the screen any longer and got out of the car. The anxiety that had filled him became action, and he ran at breakneck speed across the alley, where the gathered onlookers shouted, “What? It’s Cha Dogyeong!” But of course, he paid no attention.

“Hunter Cha Dogyeong and Hunter Na Yookyung have arrived!”

Son Wontae, the field supervisor, ran over in a panic, but Dogyeong ignored him and grabbed the nearest Association employee.

“How do I get in?”

“Huh?”

“How do I get in?”

Seeing Cha Dogyeong close for the first time, the employee, tense and nervous, stuttered a few times before finally answering.

“You can enter from any side of the department store!”

Dogyeong didn’t hesitate. As soon as he heard the answer, his figure, which had been heading toward the department store, disappeared into the dungeon.

The reporters, thrilled by their new source, flashed their cameras frantically.

“Hey, Cha Dogyeong!”

Na Yookyung, who had been following closely behind, massaged her forehead as she watched Dogyeong enter without even looking back.

“Why are you leaving me behind?”

No matter how urgent the situation, she’s never seen Cha Dogyeong, of all people, so pressed. The urgency was certainly a factor, but the real reason was probably because Seo Sejun was inside

“Ugh.”

Sh expected it to some extent since Cha Dogyeong was worrying and overthinking about him, but at that level, it wasn’t just a simple crush, it was love.

Feelings that deep aren’t fun to watch even as a bystander! And Ryu Sehyun didn’t seem like an ordinary case either!

Na Yookyung screamed inwardly as she approached the department store, and the reporters, having changed their targets, swarmed her like a tidal wave.

I knew this would happen. She gritted her teeth. She hadn’t meant for it, but being left to handle the aftermath was infuriating. Not that she was someone easily cornered, but she already had enough on her mind.

“Hunter Na Yookyung! How do you feel right now…?”

“I’m really sorry.”

But regardless of her feelings, Na Yookyung smiled.

She smiled, clasping her hands together to politely express her apology to the gathered reporters, but also drawing a clear line.

“There’s a proper order depending on the situation, don’t you think?”

We all have to take turns. She smiled and immediately ran into the department store building.

•••

What time is it?

Once you enter a dungeon, all your senses become blurred. Whether it’s time or something else.

Because of this, he couldn’t even tell how much time had passed since he entered the dungeon, nor how much time had passed since he sent the spirits to Lee Dohun and Choi Hangyeol.

Sejun checked his watch, only to realize belatedly that he hadn’t bothered to wear one since he was just out to buy a cup of coffee.

He felt dazed.

Are the others there yet?

Perhaps because the place was so vast, the scattered spirits seemed to be taking a while to find Lee Dohun and Choi Hangyeol.

[Sejun-nim. Sejun-nim!]

“Ah, yeah. What?”

[what do you mean “what”? Sejun-nim, wake up. You’re already experiencing effects from mana potion addiction.]

Ah.

Sejun belatedly realized, following the system’s words, that the reason for his strange state was potion addiction. His head felt dizzy, his body’s reactions slowed.

Somehow, it wasn’t simply a matter of being in a dungeon and losing his senses. His hands were trembling, and he felt nauseous, as if he were in a quandary.

He felt his mana draining in real time. Hoya was fighting in the distance.

His clever summon, it seems, has realized that the mana strain on its summoner isn’t what it used to be…

But Sejun, who consumed mana with every movement of Hoya, couldn’t endure without drinking the potion, even though his mana stats had increased and he was wearing a ring that reduced mana consumption.

Sejun reached out with trembling hands into the air. The system, knowing he was asking for a mana potion, refused to provide it this time.

[You can’t drink any more.]

“Then what? If I can’t hold on, I’ll die anyway.”

[…]

Perhaps because the dungeon happened to be a department store, it was so vast that the spirits hadn’t yet reached Lee Dohun and Choi Hangyeol.

He didn’t know when help would arrive, and his mana was almost depleted, so he had to drink the potion. No matter what the side effects.

With a helpless sigh, the system pulled out one potion from Sejun’s subspace.

[That’s the last one.]

“Is there any more?”

[No, your body can’t hold on anymore. I’m not stopping you out of concern, but Sejun-nim, if you drink one more, you’ll physically die.]

Ah, so it’s that bad.