CHAPTER 214: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

YOOL sipped his soju while observing Wonhee’s sullen face and Ahyeon’s nervous face.

The two arrived at Graham’s house a few hours ago.

Since they were in someone else’s house, he brought his guests to the guest room that Graham lent him.

[The room is as big as a studio apartment.]

Yool set up a table, and the three of them surrounded it while sitting on the floor.

He then brought out the soju and the tteokbokki that he cooked.

"Alright, I’m done waiting for the two of you to talk," Yool said, putting the glass on the table. "What’s wrong?"

Ahyeon glanced at Wonhee nervously.

[So, the problem is probably about me.]

To be honest, Yool wanted to tell Wonhee and Ahyeon about Park Ruda’s uncle.

[Plus, how Maru seems to avoid me every time I ask about Team Leader Park’s condition.]

When the Team Leader fainted that day, the members of the church immediately went to their rescue. Maru told Yool that Team Leader Park was actually ill, so it was normal for him to faint or cough up blood.

But Yool didn’t get the chance to visit Team Leader Park because, according to Maru, the older gentleman needed to rest yet.

[I feel like they’re avoiding me, though.]

Anyway...

"Wony-ah, spill the beans," Yool said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did the System say something about me again? Is it forcing you to sacrifice me?"

"..."

"Wony-ah, you know that aside from miscommunication, hiding things you should be revealing is the second most annoying trope ever," Yool said, urging his young friend to share what was on her mind. "You got mad at Hwang Frost and your older siblings because they hid something important from you, right?"

Wonhee sighed, and she finally opened her mouth. "It’s not like I’m planning to hide this from you— I just don’t know where to start."

"Start from the beginning, Wony-ah."

"Do you remember Bitna?" Wonhee asked hesitantly. "My Legendary Friend who’s stuck in a dungeon."

"Yes, I remember her. What about her, then?"

"The System finally gave her the final task that she needs to accomplish in order to finally be free from the dungeon."

Ah.

[I have a bad feeling about this.]

"Does Bitna-ssi’s last mission have something to do with me?"

Wonhee took a deep breath before she nodded her head hesitantly. "Apparently, the two of you have to ’switch.’"

"’Switch?’" Yool asked, knitting his eyebrows. "So, I need to enter a dungeon so she can come out?"

"That’s how I understood it."

"She didn’t explain?"

Wonhee avoided his gaze. "Well, I kind of ended the conversation because I got upset..."

Oh.

[Wony can really be overprotective of me sometimes.]

To be honest, he didn’t really mind getting ’sacrificed,’ so he didn’t understand why Wonhee was trying so hard to protect him.

"Wony-ah."

"I know what you’re going to say, Yool-ah," Wonhee said, turning to Yool with an upset look on her face. "I know that you don’t mind sacrificing yourself if it means saving this world. I’m also aware that it’s the easiest way to beat the enemies. Even so, I don’t want you to take the risk."

"Wony-ah, don’t let your emotions get the better of you."

"But Yool-ah..."

"It sounds like the System is desperate for me to return to my original world," Yool said, pouring soju onto Wonhee’s glass. "You told me Bitna-ssi has been stuck in the dungeon for eight years, and that she has several tasks to complete before she can return to this world. But, all of a sudden, the System is offering Bitna-ssi an easy way out. That sounds like desperation to me, and you know that, Wony-ah."

Wonhee could only lower her head as if she was being scolded.

Yool was glad that Hwang Frost wasn’t there.

[If Hwang Frost was here, he would have frozen me already for making Wony upset.]

"H-Hyung, Wony Noona is just worried about you," Ahyeon said, obviously trying to meditate between them. "N-Noona is actually c-conflicted because she wants to protect you, but she also knows that she has a duty to s-save the world..."

Yool let out a sigh. "I also know that, Ahyeonnie. But there’s a reason why I want to ’sacrifice’ myself."

"W-What is it then, Hyung?"

"I want to protect the world where you and Wony live," Yool said, glancing at Wonhee who still had her head lowered. "Wony-ah, I know what you’re worried about. But I trust you. And I believe in your luck. I don’t think I’ll die if I go back to my original world. After all, the System needs the data that I have to retrieve."

Ahyeon’s face beamed as if the realization just hit him. "H-Hyung is right! The System needs the data, so the S-System will protect Hyung... p-probably."

Yool just nodded even though Ahyeon’s ’probably’ made him a bit nervous.

Even so, he thought it was enough to cheer up Wonhee.

But why wasn’t she raising her head yet?

"Wony-ah?" Yool called Wonhee worriedly, gently patting her shoulder. "Are you already drunk..."

He trailed off when Wonhee suddenly fell to the side.

"N-Noona!" Ahyeon said, catching Wonhee before she hit the floor. "N-Noona is asleep..."

Yool was about to say something, but Wonhee suddenly opened her eyes.

[The look in her eyes is strange, though.]

"Gong Yool, you must return to your world," Wonhee said while getting up, and then she grabbed Yool’s arm. "We’re running out of time."

Oh.

Yool was hit by the realization then.

[This is the older Wony.]

***

TSK.

Yejun clicked his tongue when his hand only went through the semi-transparent barrier covering the entire Namsan Tower.

It was as if the tower wasn’t physically there anymore.

"The Namsan Tower has turned into a dungeon," Yejun said while still staring at the tower. "This is indeed an L-Grade Crack."

"APA will be here in a few minutes," Semi said, crossing her arms over her chest. "What should we do? It will be bad if APA finds out that the L-Grade Crack wants Gong Yool. They won’t hesitate to literally throw him into the dungeon even though he’s a Civilian."

"I won’t let them do that to Yool," Graham said in a serious tone, and then he turned to Yejun. "Hwang Yejun, Yool is Chu Wonhee’s best friend. You know that she’ll be very sad if something bad happens to Yool, right?"

[This punk is using my feelings for Wonhee to his advantage.]

Yejun turned to Semi. "Noona, can you stop APA from approaching the tower? I’ll try to ask the System to change the description of the Crack."

Semi raised an eyebrow at him. "You can do that?"

"Well, I have to try."

"I can’t hold up APA for too long."

"Just tell them that it’s dangerous to approach the tower at the moment," Yejun said firmly. "Give me half an hour, Noona."

Semi fell silent for a moment, and then she nodded. "I’ll leave it to you then."

And, just like that, Semi already disappeared.

"Talking orange, I know you can hear me," Yejun said out loud. "The description of this Crack can be read by A-S Class Hunters. APA will probably send Kunwoo here since this is a Red Code alert. Which means Kunwoo will be able to read the description. You know that we don’t trust APA, don’t you?"

Fortunately, his Status Window popped up after his monologue.

[HUNTER HWANG YEJUN, WE CAN’T CHANGE THE DESCRIPTION OF THE DUNGEON! BUT WE CAN LIMIT ITS ACCESS! THE SYSTEM CAN MAKE IT SO ONLY THE BIG 4 COULD READ IT!]

"Can you exclude Song Moonho?" Yejun asked, putting a hand on his hip. "That old man isn’t an ally at the moment."

[THE SYSTEM CANNOT DO THAT! HUNTER SONG MOONHO HASN’T BROKEN THE CONTRACT YET! HENCE, THE SYSTEM STILL CONSIDERS HIM AS A PART OF THE BIG 4!]

Yejun clicked his tongue, annoyed.

"It’s fine if Song Moonho finds out about the dungeon," Graham said, still looking all serious. "He cares about Gong Yool, so I’m sure he’ll protect him."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I hate to say this, but Song Moonho likes Yool as much as I do."

Yejun really found it weird that Graham— the man who killed all the Hunters who harassed Ahn Kisoo in the past— could have such feelings for Gong Yool. He also couldn’t understand what kind of relationship Gong Yool had with Song Moonho.

[But what do I know about relationships? The only relationship I care about is my relationship with Wonhee.]

***

"THAT’S DEFINITELY not a normal dungeon," Song Moonho commented while standing on the rooftop of the hotel with a view of the Namsan Tower. "The Red Code alert that I received suggests that the Crack is at least S-Grade."

"Close," the Commander, the square-headed villain who was standing next to him, said. "You’re looking at the first L-Grade Crack in the world, Moonho-ssi."

Okay, that was shocking.

But he was more curious about something else.

"How did you know it was an L-Grade Crack? We haven’t even approached the tower yet because my fellow Big 4 members are there."

"My liege said so."

The ’liege’ was obviously the big boss of the Anti-System Faction.

Moonho raised an eyebrow. "Now I’m even more curious about your liege. How does he know what kind of Crack it is when we haven’t checked it yet? Is your liege an all-knowing being or something?"

"My liege told me that he’ll give you the honor of meeting him if you succeed in the mission that your deceased younger brother had failed."

"And what mission would that be?"

"There’s a person who can’t approach the Namsan Tower at all cost," the Commander said sternly. "That’s why you have to kill Gong Yool, Moonhoo-ssi."

What?

[The Anti-System Faction wants Gong Yool dead?]

Were these square-headed bastards the reason Song Sunho attacked Gong Yool before?

But Gong Yool was just a Civilian, so why?

Moonho touched his chin while thinking.

[Now we have a problem.]

***

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