Several hours had passed since Rohan and the girls were swept into the monolith and dropped into the dungeon.
In the world they originally belonged to, lunchtime had just ended.
The Elysium Public Safety Department had already detected the ominous surge of magical power within the Academy City.
That was why Joo-yeon, who should have been teaching classes at the academy, was now at the Public Safety Department.
The officers showed her a video.
After reviewing the footage, Joo-yeon’s expression hardened and she carefully uttered a single word.
“Monolith…?”
“That’s correct. However, as you can see, the situation is somewhat different. If it were a case of monsters appearing, we would have already mobilized and handled it, but…”
Just as the officer said, the situation was unusual.
At that point, all the Department could do was restrict access to the affected area; there was little else they could manage.
“To be honest, even we, the officers, are ignorant of the cause behind this phenomenon. We’ve already shared the details with other countries and requested information, but we also wanted to hear your opinion, General.”
Dimensional rifts and monoliths were disasters that disrupted the world and caused immense loss of life.
Within the Academy City, there was no one more experienced than Joo-yeon in confronting and dealing with such disasters firsthand.
Moreover, to make matters worse, one of the academy’s students involved in the incident was someone quite familiar to the officers.
It was the same face that had become widely recognized after a recent operation, where a human trafficking ring had been dismantled and lives were saved.
Naturally, the officers knew that the student in question was under Joo-yeon’s guidance.
“…Show me the footage again.”
“Yes!”
At Joo-yeon’s request, one of the officers moved the mouse and replayed the video.
The footage was from a security CCTV installed in an alleyway.
There was no sound, but the visuals made the situation clear.
Joo-yeon hoped it wasn’t the case, but reality often proved merciless.
No matter how she looked at it, the student in the footage was undeniably Rohan.
From what she could infer, he had been trying to send off an elf-like woman when the monolith suddenly broke through the ground, making its appearance and releasing an overwhelming surge of magical power.
It was from that point that the unexpected phenomenon began.
Normally, this was the point when monsters should have poured out.
However, the three people vanished into thin air, along with the monolith, as if they had evaporated like smoke. This was clearly different from any phenomenon the monolith had caused before.
They even tried calling Rohan’s phone, thinking perhaps it was just a matter of being relocated somewhere else.
But there wasn’t even a signal to connect to his smartphone.
The Public Safety Department couldn’t track his location either, and the officers on the ground came back empty-handed.
“Haa…”
Joo-yeon closed her eyes tightly and took several deep breaths. She struggled to suppress her emotions and regain her composure.
She erased the ominous assumptions forming in her mind. There was no confirmed information yet.
While waiting in silence for the officers’ next move, Joo-yeon reviewed her own experiences, hoping to find something relevant.
But as expected, no concrete solutions or clues came to mind.
“I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. This is the first time I’ve encountered a situation like this.”
“I see. Perhaps we should consider that this monolith in the Academy City is… unique.”
The officers seemed unsurprised by her response; they had likely anticipated it.
The fear of the unknown weighed heavily on the room and subtly made the atmosphere tense.
Amid this tension, Joo-yeon replayed the video once more. Then, noticing the officers’ growing confusion, she raised her voice to refocus them.
“Perhaps we can sense something from the lingering traces of magical power. Would it be possible for me to visit the site?”
“Of course! We’ll guide you right away.”
The officers snapped out of their daze at Joo-yeon’s suggestion and jumped to their feet. They quickly gathered their equipment, grabbed their car keys, and prepared to leave without delay.
***
Rohan woke up after what felt like an incredibly long sleep.
As his eyelids fluttered open, he was greeted by the sight of a doll-like girl smiling warmly at him.
“Oh….! Oppa! You’re awake?”
“You’re up?”
The sound of Sion’s footsteps approaching marked the end of the vine-leaf fan work.
As Clara’s hand stopped moving, warm air seeped into Rohan’s groggy consciousness. That heat reminded him of their current reality; they were in a dungeon.
“Sorry about that. I’m fully recovered now.”
Rohan apologized as he lifted his upper body.
Looking down, he noticed his shoes had been removed, and his clothes were in disarray. He could tell what measures the two had taken while he was out.
No wonder I felt so comfortable.
As Rohan started fastening the loose buttons and buckling his belt, Clara and Sion averted their gazes.
Once he put his shoes back on and stood up, Clara looked at him with worried eyes and asked,
“Oppa, are you really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m really fine now. Sorry about that.”
While reassuring Clara, Rohan pulled his smartphone out of his pocket. He checked the timer that had been running in real-time.
And then, silence.
…What?
The moment he saw the timer, he was so shocked that he almost flipped over. He couldn’t believe how long he’d been asleep. Thinking he might have seen it wrong, he rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the numbers hadn’t changed.
He had only planned to rest for a bit, but somehow, he had slept for over five hours.
“I decided that ten minutes of rest wouldn’t be enough.”
Clara nodded fervently in agreement with Sion’s words.
Rohan had nothing to say except to apologize. What was done was done; all he could do now was make up for it by doing better moving forward.
“Everyone must be hungry, right? And we’re probably out of water in the bottles too.”
With that, Rohan decided to start by replenishing their supplies. But as soon as he moved to do so, Clara urgently called out to him.
“Oppa…! Wait a second!”
“Huh?”
After stopping Rohan, Clara exchanged a glance with Sion.
Then, with serious expressions, the two nodded at each other at the same time. Rohan watched silently and was wondering what they were up to.
“Oppa, can I ask you something?”
“Rohan. This might be a sensitive question, but we need to ask it for the sake of what’s ahead.”
“Did something happen while I was asleep?”
Clara shook her head with her twin-tails swaying as she dismissed the notion.
“No, that’s not it.”
After glancing at Sion, Clara cautiously opened her mouth to speak.
“It’s about that skill you use to get water, Oppa…”
“Mhmm?”
“… Did you collapse because of the cost of using that skill? Please be honest with us.”
Rohan quickly understood what the two girls were trying to say.
Because of that, he skipped any lengthy explanations and firmly reassured them.
“No, it’s not related to that. Even if the skill has a cost, it doesn’t drain things like my lifespan or anything like that.”
“…….”
Sion and Clara closed their mouths at Rohan’s decisive response.
Though their expressions didn’t completely lose their unease, they refrained from prying further into what kind of cost the skill might have.
“Let’s fill our stomachs and replenish our water. Just wait here for a bit.”
Rohan stretched his stiff body as he walked outside.
The scorching sunlight greeted him again, and he took a moment to marvel at it before checking the shop.
He didn’t even need to scroll through the menu to find something suitable; it was right there.
[You have bought a large battle ration.]
It was his first time buying this particular 5-point ration.
Judging from the description, “large” meant that it was only large if consumed by one person. While it probably wouldn’t leave the three of them feeling full, it seemed enough to stave off their hunger.
If he bought one more, they could eat enough to feel satisfied, but he held back.
In their current situation, where a fight could break out at any time, eating enough to feel sluggish wasn’t exactly a good idea.
It’s a self-heating meal? The calorie count is pretty high too.
Looking at the packaging, he noticed instructions that read, “Just pull the string and wait 15 minutes!”
Thankfully, the meal didn’t require water or fire. As he looked at it, a wave of nostalgia mixed with bitterness washed over him, causing his eyes to twitch slightly.
Finally, he added three bottles of water to his purchase for an additional 6 points and closed the shop.
Rohan carried the items back inside, handed out the water bottles, and plopped down in his seat.
Clara showed interest in the battle ration which she saw for the first time, while Sion, though familiar with battle rations in general, showed a different kind of curiosity since this one was new to her.
“Just wait 15 minutes.”
Rohan said as he pulled the string attached to the box.
When white steam began to rise, Clara let out a sound of amazement. She was clearly impressed by the mechanism.
Normally, Rohan might have found her reaction cute and smiled at the sight, but his mind was too preoccupied with sorting out his thoughts.
The man called “Master”… What kind of Master is he? And this body… what on earth is going on with it?
It had been fine to borrow someone’s perspective. That much wasn’t particularly burdensome and came with nothing but benefits.
However, experiencing their emotions was a different story. One with clear pros and cons.
The advantage was that it greatly helped in understanding situations more vividly. But the downside was the toll it took on his mental strength, as he was forced to taste negative emotions.
A constant instinct emerged, compelling him to endlessly reaffirm who he was. The mental fatigue that came from this was no small matter.
Even so…
There was no choice to stop learning or cease thinking.
Rohan had only been holding back because the path forward wasn’t clear.
Yet, the curiosity was always there.
What kind of life had this body led before securing admission to Orion Academy and stepping into the Academy City?
His smartphone’s contact list was empty, and there wasn’t a single trace of photos taken in its gallery.
This body, with no visible connections to anyone, was nothing short of a mystery.
Once I gain power, I’ll head south.
He now felt as if he’d begun to grasp a clue about that mystery.
Of course, he hadn’t uncovered anything definitive or concrete. Even so, it felt like he had at least found a path to pursue those answers.
For now, he was satisfied. It was enough.
“Alright, let’s eat!”
Rohan pulled out the paper lunchbox and poured the hot sauce over the rice.
Curry and mapo tofu.
The enticing aroma stimulated the girls’ hunger, making them swallow hard as their eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Wow…”
“To have such a proper meal in a place like this… What an incredible luxury.”
The girls began eating while using the clunky spoons. Their appetites were clearly piqued.
Watching them eat heartily, Rohan felt a sense of satisfaction. At the same time, he felt grateful. It pained him that he couldn’t offer them a truly filling meal.
“Let’s eat, rest for a bit, and then get moving. I’ll stay awake this time.”
Judging by the time, even Sion and Clara could probably use a brief nap.
After eating and letting the meal settle for a moment,
Rohan forced the two who claimed they were fine to lie down and fanned them to help them sleep.
Then with conditions that were remarkable considering the circumstances,
Rohan and the girls headed toward their destination, which was now beginning to come into clearer view than before.
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