Hours later, the Hunters who had participated in clearing the Rift were gathered inside one of the Bajin Guild's briefing halls.
The room was wide and dimly lit, with long rows of chairs facing a raised platform at the front. A large screen displayed mission data, still showing images from the collapsed Rift zone.
Seung-hoo sat near the back, his hands resting quietly on his knees.
He could feel his heart beating faster with every passing second.
This was the moment when teams were officially assigned their roles for the operation. Each Hunter would be categorized based on their performance, abilities, and rank. To everyone else, this was just routine procedure.
To Seung-hoo… it was different.
Because he was waiting for one name.
A staff member stepped forward and began reading from a digital tablet, calling out names one by one and explaining their assigned roles in the Rift.
Most of them were strangers to Seung-hoo, some of them were familiar. Some Voices he had never heard but hearing now. Their ranks were announced, their contributions summarized, and they were told where to stand.
Then the staff member paused briefly and looked up.
"Seo-yeon."
The name echoed clearly across the hall.
Seung-hoo's head lifted instantly.
Seo-yeon stepped forward from the crowd.
She walked with calm confidence, her long dark hair tied back, her cloak resting lightly on her shoulders.
A pair of daggers hung at her waist, and her movements were silent, controlled, and sharp, like someone who had trained for years to disappear into shadows.
To the others, she was simply a skilled Hunter.
To Seung-hoo, she was someone he had lost once before.
The staff member continued.
"Role: Assassin. Rank: A."
A quiet murmur passed through the room.
An A-rank.
That alone made her stand out.
"She was responsible for neutralizing high-threat targets inside the Rift,"
the staff member explained.
"Her speed and precision prevented multiple monster breaches and ensured the stability of the operation."
Seo-yeon gave a small nod in response, her expression unreadable.
She did not look proud. She did not look nervous. She simply accepted the words as fact and stepped to the side.
Seung-hoo watched her closely.
In his memories, she had been reckless at times. Loud when she laughed.
Sharp with her words when she fought. But now, in this timeline, she looked colder… more distant… like a soul that had never lost.
Like how the way they met in the past
Then the staff member looked back down at the tablet.
"Seung-hoo."
His name jolted him back to reality.
He stood up slowly, feeling dozens of eyes turn toward him.
He stepped forward, stopping beside Seo-yeon, though there was still space between them. She did not look at him.
"Role: Equipment carrier. Rank: F."
There was another small wave of murmurs.
An F-rank standing next to an A-rank assassin felt strange to the others,
Because lower ranks shouldn't get near higher rank hunters.
"He will carry your equipment, so you guys protect him" the staff member continued.
Seung-hoo lowered his head slightly in acknowledgment.
"Equipment carrier".
"F-rank".
The words felt heavy and light at the same time.
In his past life, he had fought beside Seo-yeon as an equal.
In this life… he stood beside her as someone far weaker on paper.
Seo-yeon finally glanced in his direction.
Just for a second.
Her eyes were sharp and curious, studying him the way one would study an unfamiliar tool. There was no recognition in them. No memory. Only mild interest.
Seung-hoo felt his chest tighten.
She didn't know him.
She didn't know what they would become.
She didn't know how many times he had relied on her in battles that no longer existed.
The staff member continued reading through mission details, explaining positioning, movement paths, and threat levels. On the screen behind them, images of shattered stone and broken ground appeared—evidence of the battle that had already happened.
Seung-hoo stood still, listening, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
Alive.
Seo-yeon was alive.
Standing only a few steps away from him.
Not as a fallen comrade.
Not as a memory.
But as an A-rank assassin at the beginning of her path.
He clenched his fists slowly, feeling something steady form in his chest—not grief, not relief, but something closer to resolve.
This time, he would not lose her, and anyone else in his team
This time, he'll prevent their demise.
The hall remained filled with voices, instructions, and movement as the briefing continued, names still being called, roles still being explained, and the Rift rank…
"Rank B, the Rift is rank B" the instructor said loudly.
Seung-hoo stood still, his thoughts drifting back to the strange moment inside this Rift.
The one they were assigned to clear in the past… had not been normal.
There had been a second Rift hidden deep within it.
No monsters.
No guardians.
Only three hollowed-out slots carved into stone, perfectly shaped as if something important had once rested there.
"…Three slots… and nothing inside," he murmured under his breath.
The image stayed in his mind like an unfinished puzzle. It felt like a warning rather than a coincidence.
Before he could sink deeper into thought, a familiar voice cut through the heavy air of the site.
"Hey, carrier! Let's move—watch the equipment!"
Seo-yeon's voice echoed across the construction zone.
Seung-hoo blinked and turned toward her, still half lost in his thoughts.
"I'm on it!" he replied, quickly standing up.
Around them, the construction site was frozen in chaos. Tower cranes loomed overhead, their long arms motionless against the cloudy sky. Half-built concrete walls stood like broken ribs, and piles of steel bars and shattered asphalt surrounded the glowing Rift in the center of the area.
Warning tape fluttered weakly in the wind.
Military trucks and emergency lights were parked at the edges of the site, but the four Hunters stood closest to the Rift itself.
Seung-hoo gathered their gear—spare weapons, potion cases, supply packs—and stuffed them into a large reinforced bag. The weight dragged against his shoulders as he slung it onto his back.
Soon, all four of them stood together.
Their tank adjusted his shield.
Their mage quietly whispered something under his breath.
Seo-yeon rested a hand near her blade.
And Seung-hoo steadied the bag on his back.
In front of them pulsed a B-rank Rift.
Dark mana leaked from it like smoke from a furnace, warping the air around its edges. The ground beneath it was cracked and discolored, as if the world itself was being eaten away.
The pressure was far stronger than before.
Seung-hoo felt it crawl across his skin.
"…This one's heavy," he said quietly.
No one disagreed.
They each took a breath.
Then, without hesitation, all four stepped forward at the same time.
The construction site where the Rift appeared vanished behind them.
The world twisted violently, colors stretching and folding into darkness.
When Seung-hoo opened his eyes again, he was no longer under the open sky.
They stood inside an enormous cave.
Rough stone walls rose endlessly around them, uneven and scarred as if carved by something massive long ago.
Pale blue crystals were embedded in the rock, casting dim light that barely reached the ceiling. The air was cold and damp, and every breath tasted of dust and minerals.
There were no tunnels in sight.
No visible exits.
No paths forward.
Only an open chamber wrapped in shadow.
The sound of dripping water echoed faintly from somewhere unseen.
Seung-hoo slowly turned in place, scanning their surroundings.
"…This Rift clearly looks like a dungeon in an fantasy game."
The cave felt empty, yet oppressive, as if something was hiding just beyond their vision.
As he continued observing the walls and the glowing crystals—
A mechanical shim rang out only Seung-hoo could hear, he was already familiar with that sound
______________________________________________________
|[ Ding! System Active ]|
|[ New Quest Available ]|
|[ Quest: Find 3 Yellow Crystals In The Cave ]|
|[ Quest ranking: Normal ]|
|[ Reward: ??? ]|
|[ Time: ??? ]|
|[ Penalty for failing: Deduction from Skill Max-level Growth ]|
______________________________________________________
Seung-hoo, looked the the window infront of him, questioning why theirs no time or reward,
then remembered the latest reward on the last quest.
He shouted in his mind, "Status Window" and a shim rang out
______________________________________________________
|[ Ding! System Successfully Activated ]|
--Stats--
|[ Reward Is Now Active ]|
|[ Speed: 186 / 131 ]| Previous Stat: |[ 86 / 131 ]|
|[ Strength: 178 / 131 ]| Previous Stat: |[ 78 / 131 ]|
|[ Stamina: 200 / 162 ]| Previous Stat: |[ 100 / 162 ]|
--Skills--
|[ Electric sword technique: Max ]| Previous Stat:
|[ Max ]|
|[ Eye of truth: Max ]| Previous Stat: |[ Max ]|
______________________________________________________
Seung-hoo froze in place, staring at the glowing window floating in front of him.
Lines of light shifted across it, symbols and words forming and dissolving as if it were alive. For a moment, he completely forgot where he was. The dark cave, the cold air, the tension of the Rift—all of it faded from his mind as his eyes stayed locked onto the window.
The window flickered once, as if responding to something only he could see.
Behind him, Seo-yeon noticed.
She narrowed her eyes.
"There he goes again…" she muttered.
To her, Seung-hoo looked like he was staring at absolutely nothing, just blank air in the middle of a dangerous cave.
His posture was stiff, his expression distant, as if his soul had wandered off somewhere else.
She walked up behind him quietly.
Too quietly.
Then—
Snap!
Her fingers flicked sharply against his ear.
Seung-hoo jolted, clearly caught off guard
"How many times have you zoned out already?!" She yelled.