Mist hung over the farm that never saw daylight, the stalks of wheat taller than two men brushing against each other with a constant, whispering rustle.

The ringing in Aedin’s ears grew sharper. He pressed a hand against his throbbing temple, knuckles whitening with strain.

A voice that wasn’t there whispered in his head, grating like chains dragged across stone.

His steps faltered. Stumbling, he realized his companions were already ten paces ahead, their figures about to be swallowed by the swaying sea of grain.

Then, in his haze, a warmth like running water slid across his back. Pale golden light spread from his shoulder to cover his whole body.

The maddening ringing cut off instantly. Even if temporary, the relief was bliss.

“You alright? If something’s wrong, you need to tell me sooner!”

A freckled face parted the hanging wheat, the priest gently supporting the staggering Aedin.

Shaking his head to clear it, Aedin pulled away from the faintly intimate posture.

“Sorry. My problem. Thank you, Fan…”

The name caught in his throat. What was the priest’s name again?

But she only smiled. “We’re teammates, aren’t we? Come on—we’ll fall behind the others.”

Right. Falling behind in the Abyss was suicide. Coordination mattered here more than in any other dungeon.

He hurried after, finding the other two waiting at a barn door.

The thief knelt, picking the lock. The warrior shot Aedin a glare. “What took you so long? This kid dragging his feet?”

The warrior’s gaze fell pointedly on Aedin, but before he could answer, the priest stepped forward. “It was my fault. Sorry for the delay.”

The warrior grunted. Since she had taken the blame, he let it go, waiting silently for the thief’s work.

Click—

“Done!”

With a whistle, the thief shoved the door. Rotten oak hinges groaned as the barn swung open.

And inside—

Gold. A barn full of gold.

The thief’s deerskin boots sank into the shining heap. He picked up a coin and inspected it. “Ancient Kingdom mint! We hit the jackpot!”

The warrior and thief dove in, laughing, letting coins spill from their fists like sand.

“Hahaha! This must be the treasure of this floor!” The warrior dumped out his pack, stuffing it with gold by the handful.

Even the priest’s eyes glittered, though she remained outwardly composed.

Only Aedin stood frozen in the doorway, bewildered.

“You… what are you doing?”

Where they saw coins, he saw nothing but a barn full of grain.

Buzz—

The ringing returned. He blinked, and now he too saw coins. Piles and piles of them.

The warrior’s pack bulged with gold, unable to hold a single extra piece.

“No. No, this is wrong! It’s a trap—get out!”

He shouted with all his strength, but the warrior and thief ignored him, obsessed with hoarding their “treasure.”

The priest, at least, heard. But instead of fleeing, her first reaction was to cast 【Remove Curse】 on the two lost in their delusion.

Her instinctive kindness cost her the chance to run.

The reek of rot swept in. Grass claws raked past Aedin’s face as scarecrows crawled from the wheat fields.

Forced back step after step, he nearly fell into their grasp several times.

When he finally retreated far enough and turned, the barn was already crammed with scarecrows…

I should save them… at least the priest…

The thought burned in his chest. But his legs only carried him, sprinting back the way they came.

The phantom voices returned. This time, no one dispelled them. Could he even escape alive?

The world darkened around him. He reached out, trying to tear away the black—

“Hm?”

Rough curtains tore open. Summer sunlight spilled in like scalding milk, dazzling white against his lashes.

Aedin instinctively shielded his eyes, dragging himself upright against the wall.

Pressing his palm to his pounding temple, he tried to squeeze the fragments of nightmare out of his head.

He felt like a sack of meat after a night of beatings.

And then his gaze slid to the unfamiliar woman beside him, her chestnut hair spread across the crumpled pillow.

What had he done last night?

Ah. The mushrooms.

He grabbed the half-empty pouch of blue mushrooms from the bedside, scowling, and tossed it into the trash.

“Damn sleeping aid.”

He’d heard they helped with sleep. And they had. But the price was this nightmare.

A nightmare that hadn’t touched him in fifteen years, dragged back up by a handful of mushrooms.

So much for resting well to prepare for the dungeon. Now he felt worse than before.

Still, he had five days.

Aedin pulled the blanket over his head again.

“That priest… what was her name, anyway?”

—

At the Adventurer’s Guild.

Mirabelle tossed the quest acceptance record onto her desk. Before her stood the night-shift clerk from last night.

“Who the hell are Hoselei and Hoset? Since when do we have diamond-rank adventurers by those names? Didn’t the names look suspicious when you filled the form?”

“But… but they had guild ID tags…” the girl murmured, aggrieved. She’d followed protocol.

“Forget it, go.” Mirabelle waved her off.

She knew it wasn’t the girl’s fault. A level 56 illusionist fooling an ordinary receptionist was child’s play.

Even Mirabelle herself might not have seen through it.

But her irritation boiled over anyway. Adventurers—one headache after another.

First Begorn’s squad had thrown their lives away in arrogance. Now this Aedin, swaggering into an S-rank team quest alone.

And if he died? Would she have to issue another S-rank bounty?

Mirabelle flipped through Aedin Klar’s records, her brows climbing higher with each page.

Apparently, this wasn’t his first time.

He favored exploration quests, solo or team. For team missions, he simply used illusions to bypass the rules.

And because his success rate was fairly high—bringing back useful intel even when he failed—other branches had tacitly let him be.

No record of serious injury, either.

Well… one exception.

As a rookie, he’d suffered a total party wipe in the Scarecrow Abyss. Of four, only he survived—cursed with permanent loss of taste.

After that, he’d abandoned the Abyss entirely, wandering between other dungeons. Only after the Demon Tide did he arrive in Yafeng Town.

So, he was capable.

And with so few diamond-ranks in Yafeng right now, maybe sending him wasn’t such a bad idea after all.