So this is the end.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind.

Latessai.

And not just any Latessai—the final boss of the main scenario, Caymon. If that was truly who stood before me, then my fate could only be one of two things.

Death.

Or becoming a puppet.

But I forced myself to think rationally.

Get it together, Hong Heecheol. Caymon wouldn’t appear here.

Exactly. There was no reason for Caymon to be here. Phase Three hadn’t even started yet. The Latessai should still be waiting deep within the Demon Realm.

I reached into my pocket and touched the Lens of Lavzahi I always carried.

[???]

Ability: ???

Lv: ???

HP: ???

MP: ???

(…)

Unidentifiable.

That meant it wasn’t simply an awakened one or monster in disguise. Even if someone used a transformation ability or item, the Lens always revealed the true body’s details.

Then this really is a Latessai standing in front of me.

But whether it was truly Caymon was another matter. The Latessai could manipulate minds—showing me Caymon’s appearance might just be a trick. The fact that my companions had vanished from sight was likely part of that same mental manipulation.

“You’re surprisingly calm.”

The figure who looked like Caymon spoke. Despite his blindfold, his face turned toward me.

“…Who are you?” I feigned ignorance.

“You can’t possibly not know.”

What?

My thoughts froze at his words.

“You’ve seen me before. Haven’t you?”

“…Are you talking about the statue I saw in the underground temple?”

At that, Caymon fell silent.

“So you insist on pretending you don’t know.”

And then, in the blink of an eye, his form changed.

“What about this, then?”

“!!!”

My mouth fell open in shock.

A silver-haired girl stood before me.

Nam Yejin…!

The girl I had once seen in the photo was back in Nam Yein’s dorm room. The one who had suddenly become a lie, her very existence erased.

“Heh. Now you’re surprised.”

Damn… My mistake. But now I finally had a hunch.

“…Never thought I’d see this kind of twist.”

I lifted the corner of my mouth.

“You’re another one, aren’t you? From outside the game.”

“I never imagined it either,” the girl—Nam Yejin—replied.

“Who would have thought the boy I met briefly ten years ago was a transmigrant too? What are the odds?”

Ten years ago…?

Something didn’t add up.

“Well, now that it’s clear we’re both transmigrants, I should introduce myself properly.”

Her appearance shifted again.

Curly hair down to her shoulders. Jeans, a white shirt, a black jacket. A completely ordinary young woman, the type you could see anywhere.

She looked about her early twenties.

“My name is Choi Yuri. I was playing Latessai when I got pulled into this world ten years ago.”

“…I’m Hong Heecheol. Same story—playing Latessai, ended up inside the character Nam Yein.”

“A hunter aspirant, huh. Lucky you.”

Choi Yuri gave a bitter smile.

“Not that it matters. Unless you land in the protagonist’s body, there’s no such thing as hope.”

“Mind if I ask a few questions?”

“Go ahead.”

“First—your host body. Don’t tell me it's Latessai.”

“Yeah. That’s right. Not even Valro or Baldo, either—I got stuck with Horima. Hilarious, isn’t it?”

She said it flatly, without the faintest trace of humor.

“What’s a Horima Latessai supposed to do, seriously. At least I wasn’t dropped into a Yedom.”

Yedom. Horima. Baldo. She was listing Latessai ranks.

“One more question.” I studied her tired expression.

“You’re saying you’ve really been here for ten years?”

“…Yeah.” She let out a long, weary sigh.

Ten years. So that’s possible too.

When I came here, it was April. Half a year had passed since.

Lee Hanye had never told me exactly when she’d arrived, but it certainly wasn’t ten years ago. With her personality, if she’d found someone in the same situation after a decade, she wouldn’t just sigh and complain—she would’ve broken down crying.

“…But how are you even here? The Latessai should still be deep in the Demon Realm at this point, waiting for the fusion of the two worlds.”

“It’s a long story,” Choi Yuri said.

“Summarize it.”

“…Tch.”

Her glare was sharp. You’re the one who said it was long, lady.

If she wanted to vent, I could just introduce her to Lee Hanye. She could cry on her shoulder all she wanted. I had no time to babysit someone else’s misery.

“…Fine. Short version: I broke out on my own. Been hiding my identity ever since. You know how Revrenta from the Demon Cult slipped out, built a power base, and then got crushed by his master later? Same deal.”

“Yeah, I know the story. That’s why I’m asking. You’re Horima—you have a master, Valro, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then how are you wandering free?”

“Because of my Trait.”

Traits. The special abilities Latessai possessed, just like awakened ones had their unique powers.

“What’s yours?”

“I can’t tell you.”

Her expression hardened.

“Even if you’re a transmigrant, I’m still Latessai. That makes me your enemy.”

“That doesn’t add up.”

“…What?”

“If you really saw me as a threat, you wouldn’t have shown yourself at all.”

“….”

A flicker of surprise crossed her face.

“I get that you want to steer this from a position of control. But with that attitude, you’ll never get what you’re after.”

“…And what is it you think I’m after?”

“Going home. To our original world.”

The look of shock on her face was almost comical.

“…How did you—”

She’d already told me everything herself.

She said she’d possessed a Latessai ten years ago.

That she’d slipped out and lived in hiding.

That she envied me for being in a hunter aspirant’s body.

That unless you were the protagonist, there was no hope.

Taken together, the meaning was obvious.

Ten years alone.

A life where discovery meant death.

She resented being bound to a Latessai.

If she had been the protagonist, she could have cleared the game and gone home—but for her, it was impossible.

“You approached me because you were sure I was a transmigrant too. And you wanted to see if there was any chance of returning to the original world. Right?”

“……”

Choi Yuri simply stared at me—

Then suddenly,

“Sniff.”

“…Huh?”

“Huuuh… sniff… hhhhhhhaaaahh!”

“Wait—what the hell—”

She burst into tears.

What?

She’d acted like she’d never cry, and now this? Which part of what I’d said was supposed to make her cry?

Then the world around me rippled, as if heat haze swept through it, and the others—who had vanished—appeared once more.

“Mmnn….”

“Nggh… no… don’t….”

“Hehehe….”

Seo Yui, Meiling, and Lumina lay sprawled on the ground, mumbling like they were trapped in a dream.

My stomach dropped.

No…

That had to be Choi Yuri’s Latessai ability at work.

But when she broke down crying just now, the mental manipulation she’d cast over me had unraveled. That meant the others would soon wake up too.

And if they saw her?

A normal-looking girl, no equipment, appearing out of nowhere in an independent dungeon that no one else could enter?

There was no explaining that away. No lie I could spin would cover this.

“Choi Yuri. Stop crying and put them back to sleep.”

I rushed my words.

“Hhhhhhhaaaa… sniff… hhhhuuuhhh…”

“Please. I’ll make time to hear your story later.”

“Sniff… r-really?”

“Yes. And there’s another transmigrant besides me who’d want to hear it too.”

“!!”

Her eyes widened.

And in the next instant, the others’ expressions shifted to those of deep, peaceful sleep. Their muttering stopped entirely.

Terrifying.

The Latessai’s mental manipulation power.

Faced with it unprepared, even the most powerful awakened ones were nothing but prey.

Even Chun Jiwon, called humanity’s strongest, would be nothing more than a puppet to them.

I looked at Choi Yuri again. She was still sniffling faintly but no longer crying.

“Nobody can find out we’re transmigrants. Not ever. Be careful.”

“I-I know. It’s just… I got overwhelmed….”

“What overwhelmed you?”

“…Everything I try turns to a mess. And the only chance I get… slips away….”

What the hell was she talking about.

“Forget it. You’re a Latessai—you can become a spirit form, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then do that and follow us. We’re planning to grind levels in this dungeon before heading back. You know what’s going on with me right now?”

“Yeah. You’re fighting against Forward.”

So she really was watching.

The thought that I’d been under unseen surveillance chilled me.

“For now, let’s continue this later.”

“You promised to listen.”

“I will. And I know someone who’ll definitely want to hear everything you have to say.”

“…Fine.”

“Then put them under again.”

She nodded.

In the next moment, the others stirred—and Choi Yuri’s form vanished.

“Ah!?”

Lumina shot up.

Seo Yui and Meiling followed, pushing themselves off the ground with startled faces.

“What the—why was I lying on the floor?”

Meiling turned a confused gaze on me.

“…Don’t you remember?”

I mirrored her expression, feigning equal confusion.

“It was a sleep status effect. I slipped up.”

“Huh? Sleep? But why?”

Lumina blinked at me.

“When we came through the portal, I spotted a monster clinging to the ceiling. My warning was too late. I barely dodged myself, then drove it off with an item. But I didn’t have a waking potion, so I waited it out.”

“So that’s why I don’t remember it happening,” Seo Yui murmured.

Sorry. That monster never existed.

“Damn it. Where’d it go? I’ll kill it.”

Meiling whipped out her wand.

“Relax. From here on out, it’s the sixth floor. We’ll be facing monsters around our level.”

I lifted the consecrated lantern.

“But no more letting your guard down. Forget the HAUT days. Take this seriously.”

Their expressions hardened at once.

“Mm. Yein’s right.”

Seo Yui’s blue half-mask appeared.

Lumina gripped her twin daggers tight, while Meiling pursed her lips and adjusted her wizard’s hat.

“Let’s move.”

We fell into our usual formation and advanced through the dungeon.

[Hmmm. You really know how to handle them.]

My shoulders twitched.

“What is it? Cold?” Meiling asked.

“…Nothing. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right, sure.” She turned away with a snort.

[Still, a first-year who’s already won HAUT and is clearing a sixth-floor dungeon before Phase Two… What kind of playstyle did you have in Latessai?]

This woman. She knew I couldn’t answer, but kept poking anyway.

[Oh, and don’t worry. Only you can hear me.]

Of course. The others didn’t react at all.

[Sigh. If I’d been a hunter aspirant, I could’ve at least enjoyed school life.]

Enjoy? Did she think I was enjoying myself here?

“…Yein, are you okay? D-did something I say upset you?”

Sensitive as ever, Lumina gave me a worried look.

“I think my face just stiffened from tension. I’m not angry.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah.” I nodded, forcing a rueful smile. She relaxed and faced forward again.

[Wow. Smooth cover. You take acting classes or something?]

“……”

[What? Are you mad? You’re mad, huh?]

“……”

When I finally brought her to Lee Hanye, I prayed the bead glowed red. That way, I could deal with her without a shred of guilt.

(End of Chapter)