Chapter 65: Voluntary Appearance

[The quest has been completed.]

[You have received your reward.]

[Clear rewards will be distributed according to contributions.]

[Initiating full party recovery.]

A notification window appeared amid the collapsing dungeon.

Sion and Clara’s urgent voices seeped into his ears, but with his mind growing hazy, Rohan couldn’t even read the words before his eyes drifted shut.

The thought that everything had somehow been resolved brought a sense of relief.

Rumbleee—!!!

A surge of magical power gripped his entire body, constricting him.

Then, for a brief moment, he felt his body lift into the air.

With his eyes still closed, a notification window appeared in Rohan’s mind, relaying information.

[No designated return point found.]

[Returning to a random location.]

The next moment, his back made contact with something.

A breeze brushed against him.

It was no longer the stiflingly hot, humid air that had clung uncomfortably to his skin just moments ago.

It’s cool…

Gradually, his consciousness which had been fading due to blood loss began to clear.

Familiar ambient sounds of everyday life flooded his ears.

“Rohan! Rohan…! Open your eyes!”

“Oppa! Wake up!”

Sion and Clara’s voices rang out.

Rohan’s eyes snapped open as a sudden sense of calm washed over his entire body.

“?!”

Above him, the girls’ faces peered down, and between them, he could see the sky. Rohan blinked his eyes repeatedly.

Then, a thought surfaced that prompted him to ask,

“…Clara. Are you okay? What about your mana exhaustion? Sion, are you unharmed?”

Clara couldn’t bring herself to speak, only nodding with teary eyes.

Sion too bit her lower lip with a complicated expression before assuring him she was fine.

After a brief hesitation, she asked the most pressing question.

“Rohan… y-your arm… how is it?”

Sion swallowed hard, waiting for his response. Clara too stared at him intently.

Neither of them knew why Rohan’s severed arm was somehow intact.

Before they could celebrate their return from an unknown world, they could only hope that, at least outwardly, nothing was amiss.

“My arm? Ah… my arm… Right.”

Rohan grew suspicious of the sensation coming from a part of his body that should no longer exist.

Then he tried directing his will into it and moved it. He raised his arm and held it up before his eyes.

This isn’t just phantom pain, right?

It was attached without any issue. Really attached.

His arm which was blown off when he was struck by the boss’s thorn was perfectly fine.

Though the Orion Academy uniform had been torn away from the shoulder down, his arm remained.

His clothes were ripped here and there like rags, and he was covered in dried blood. Yet his skin showed no scratches from the thorny vines.

That’s right. That’s what happened.

A foggy awareness cleared, and he finally understood the situation.

So this is what complete recovery feels like. He was starting to regain his senses.

“It’s fine. Guess I’m lucky.”

In truth, that was the extent of his reaction.

He hadn’t made the move to protect Sion because he expected some kind of healing reward.

It had been a reflexive action, and it all happened in a split second, after all.

“Hah, your reaction is really…”

“Oppa, you should still go to the hospital. Okay?”

Rohan silently smiled at their concern and pushed himself up from where he had been lying.

He looked around and seemed satisfied.

“Anyway, it looks like we made it back safely. Good work, everyone.”

The place where the three had landed appeared to be the rooftop of some restaurant.

From below, the smell of food and the buzz of people’s voices wafted up.

A glance around showed towering buildings and unique structures. This was the Academy City.

“…Rohan.”

“Huh?”

Sion stood up, took off her goggles, and bowed deeply in a show of utmost respect.

Rohan and Clara watched her in surprise.

“Thanks to you, we returned without any issues. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it. I got plenty of help from you, too.”

“And at the end…”

“Speak freely. I’m all right in the end, aren’t I?”

Sion straightened from her bow.

When Rohan showed off his fist while clenching and opening it, she gave a wry laugh and sat back down.

“Even though I noticed something amiss and drew my weapon, if I’d tried to handle it with my baton, it would’ve been too late. I definitely would’ve been hurt. If it had pierced my heart or head, I would’ve died instantly.”

“Really? Then I’m glad it wasn’t a wasted effort.”

Sion was acutely aware:

Although her wound healed for reasons unknown, if she had actually died, there was a real possibility she never would have returned.

“I’m so relieved your arm is back, but if it hadn’t grown back, what were you planning to do …?”

“I didn’t really think about it. You can still live with just one arm, right?”

Rohan tried to lighten the mood in his own way.

However, Sion’s expression remained heavy.

“Sion.”

“…….”

He gently lifted her head, which was bowed as if she were guilty of something, and met her eyes.

Rohan had many things he wanted to say, but he couldn’t speak them all now.

“We fought continuously for three days, sweating, barely eating, and never bathing.”

“…….”

“But despite how tough it was, you had some fun, didn’t you?”

At Rohan’s question, Sion glanced toward Clara who was quietly staying by her side.

Clara gave her a warm smile, and that alone made Sion’s heart feel at ease.

Then she looked back at Rohan and shared her thoughts.

“…I had fun. Enough that I wouldn’t mind doing it all over again.”

“That feeling won’t last long, though.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ve got more fun things ahead of you.”

“….…!”

She could sense his determination to free her from the suffocating cage she was stuck in.

His promise to grant her freedom.

Sion instantly understood Rohan’s deeper meaning and was left speechless.

Having witnessed how he risked himself without hesitation, the weight and sincerity of his words soared sky-high.

This man…

As she stared at Rohan, she felt a tingling warmth and her heart pounded.

She also sensed an odd kind of pressure from Clara’s gaze.

And so, an awkward silence that only the two girls perceived settled in.

Buzzz—!!! Buzzz—!!!

Suddenly, Rohan’s and Clara’s smartphones regained their signals and started ringing.

Now that broken time had resumed normally, a flood of missed calls poured in.

Wow, we must’ve really worried everyone.

Watching his phone vibrate frantically, Rohan sensed that dealing with what came next would be exhausting.

Just from Joo-yeon alone, plus calls from all over, he already had more than a hundred missed calls.

Messages from classmates in Class 1 also piled up, asking what was going on and why he hadn’t returned after lunch break.

“O-Oppa! The date hasn’t changed…!”

“Right. Sion said she had about five hours of leeway, right? That means you should be fine.”

Clara jumped up, sat down beside Sion, and showed her the current time and date. The elf girl’s mouth dropped open slightly in surprise.

The discrepancy was severe and far more than she expected.

“No matter how many times I double-check, it’s just unbelievable…”

Sion who was grappling with her first encounter with such a bizarre phenomenon looked deeply troubled.

Dragged somewhere else for more than three days, only to return and find less than a day had passed…it was only natural to be skeptical.

Still, this is a stroke of great luck.

Returning now meant she wouldn’t be late.

Though it felt gross not having showered for three days, she could do that once she got back.

Aside from mental fatigue, her body was fine.

Seeing Sion stand and gather her gear, Rohan spoke up.

“You’re leaving already?”

“I need to. This is the perfect chance, so I have to make use of it. I need to be there until I can get to the bottom of this.”

“Yeah, I should also let everyone know I’m back. Getting entangled with the Public Safety Department would be a headache.”

Rohan’s words left Sion with a look of pure curiosity.

It was certainly the kind of situation that would attract attention from all sides.

“Is it really okay for me to step away from this?”

“If it comes up, I’ll find a way to brush it off.”

“Thanks. Really, for everything…”

Rohan waved off her gratitude, saying it wasn’t anything worth thanking him for.

Just then, Clara who had been silent until now called out to Sion.

“Sion unnie.”

“Hmm?”

“You’ll come again, right? Next time, let’s just hang out like normal…!”

Sion smiled playfully and turned to Rohan.

“Even if I don’t, Rohan said we’ll be meeting again soon. Isn’t that right?”

Clara’s eyes widened at that and started darting between the two of them.

“Rohan.”

“What.”

“Did you tell Clara about me?”

“No. I didn’t spill anything.”

“Then make sure to explain it to her properly.”

This time, it was Rohan’s turn to be surprised.

“I don’t mind, but… are you sure?”

“I just want Clara to know a little more about me. Besides, she’ll be involved in what’s coming, won’t she?”

“How did you know that?”

Sion simply smiled and said it was just a hunch, leaving it at that.

Then she handed Rohan the reward they had received from the dungeon. All three of them knew exactly what this tiny, fingernail-sized object was.

“Well then, take care, both of you. And Rohan, make sure you get yourself checked at the hospital.”

With those final words, Sion disappeared across the building.

Rohan watched her figure quickly fade into the distance before shifting his gaze.

Next to him, Clara sat with a complicated expression on her face and pursed lips.

“I’m heading to the Public Safety Department now. What about you? If it’s too much, you can go home, take a shower, and rest. I’ll handle things here.”

That question…

If it had been her usual self, Clara might have run away.

But this time, she felt she couldn’t.

“I-I want to stay with you…!”

The girl reached out and grabbed the tattered edge of his collar.

***

Joo-yeon had been searching alone, scouring Academy City and its surrounding areas, when he received a message from Rohan and the Public Safety Department.

The moment she did, she shot across the sky like a meteor, streaking over Academy City.

A huge blaze descended upon the Public Safety Department.

Clank!

Guided by an officer, Joo-yeon pushed open the door and stepped inside, where she found Rohan dressed in a tattered student uniform.

The moment Rohan saw him, she broke into a bright smile.

An emotion too complex to describe surged within Joo-yeon. Relief, yes….but also a pain that felt like her heart was being torn apart.

“Instructor!”

“….…”

Without a word, Joo-yeon strode forward.

Then she pulled Rohan into a tight embrace.

“——!!!”

Clara who saw the scene froze on the spot.