Nothing happened at Jangnam High School where only Ban Eunhyeol and I had gone.
It definitely felt like the dimension I used to live in, with a strange, alien aura lingering around, but it was quite peculiar.
‘Maybe it’s just a strong residue from an S-rank gate?’
Just the thought of that drained my energy.
I had hoped there might be a solution at Jangnam High, but it turned out I was mistaken.
“Still thinking about Jangnam High again?”
Yeon Ha-yeon approached, sighing from the morning.
Since it was vacation, but gates don’t take breaks, we were on our way to Eatro after having secured a contract from the Hyeolhyang Guild.
Being a third-year high schooler, Yeon Ha-yeon said she planned to entrust guild work to others during the break and focus on studying.
Maybe that’s why there were no plans scheduled for a while after this raid.
The additional schedules that were arranged also excluded Yeon Ha-yeon and me.
Honestly, I preferred going on raids, but since Yeon Ha-yeon was a third-year, I reluctantly accepted her decision.
“I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed.”
I gave a vague answer so the driver, Mr. Dokki, wouldn’t catch on to what we were saying.
Yeon Ha-yeon must have thought it wasn’t an appropriate place to go into detail, as she simply nodded.
“What are you talking about? Can’t I join you?”
Yeon Hyeong-gwang, who had been listening to our conversation without knowing anything, looked back and forth between Yeon Ha-yeon and me and asked.
“There’s nothing for you to know.”
Yeon Ha-yeon’s short and cold reply quickly discouraged him, but that was Yeon Hyeong-gwang for you—he didn’t sulk but just shrugged and turned his head toward the window.
“Hey, look, there’s a gate.”
Yeon Hyeong-gwang, who was enjoying the breeze through the open window, tapped us and pointed ahead.
Sure enough, the ominous gate was getting closer, flaunting its grim aura.
***
The dungeon we had entered was B-rank, a fairly challenging one.
“This one looks a bit easier today.”
“With the Yeon siblings and the outcast here, it’ll be over quickly.”
As the guild members whispered, since the Yeon siblings and I were all here together, it should be wrapped up fast.
The inside of the dungeon looked like a normal cave we were familiar with, but there was one difference.
“Ah!”
“Hey, be careful! The floor is ice, so it’s slippery!”
Everything around was covered in ice.
Even when they tried to put strength into their legs, guild members started slipping one by one.
Amid it all, the Yeon siblings maintaining their upright posture looked almost miraculous.
‘This place is difficult in another way.’
The floor was ice, making walking itself a struggle.
Fighting monsters was secondary—just not falling consumed all their energy.
Our goal was to reach the wide space visible up ahead, struggling as we moved forward.
“If we just get there, we can ride Bisharp, right?”
“Yeah. Let’s hurry and get there.”
One guild member nearly lost his balance but managed to steady himself and asked me.
Since the space widened, we could ride Bisharp, so the icy floor didn’t matter.
While fending off monsters that dropped like icicles here and there, cheers echoed throughout when we finally reached the wide area.
I was so taken aback I briefly lost myself and looked around—the sight was unusual.
The jagged ice walls sparkled as if dusted with scattered light, and inside the blue ice, it seemed water was flowing.
Despite everyone’s breath steaming in the cold air, their eyes were wide open, marveling at the dungeon interior.
[Master, be cautious.]
At that moment, the voice of Tebeo, who rarely spoke first, reached my ears.
[Is there a hallucination-type monster?]
[It’s hiding behind the ice walls. If you keep looking at the walls, you risk falling into hallucinations.]
As soon as Tebeo finished explaining, I summoned the spirits to block the walls from our view.
We took measures to ensure no one looked at the walls.
“We shouldn’t look at the walls, huh.”
Everyone was confused about why I was doing this and only stared at the spirits, but Yeon Ha-yeon immediately grasped my intention.
“If you keep staring at the walls, you’ll fall into hallucinations. We need to find the monster hiding behind the ice walls.”
That must be the boss monster here.
Upon my explanation, the Yeon siblings jumped forward simultaneously and fiercely started breaking the ice walls.
Hearing me, the guild members rushed out to break the walls or attacked the walls from a distance with their skills.
“Everyone, come out!”
I had all the guild members mount Bisharp and called Red to melt the ice with his breath.
Red appeared in his usual small form but grew rapidly when he saw my urgent expression.
Growing from the size of a small dog, Red spread his wings, and his presence was overwhelmingly intimidating as always.
[This is my specialty. Just trust me, Master!]
If only his tone wasn’t so unbefitting his face.
But since no one else could hear, everyone’s eyes lit up as they looked at Red.
Especially seeing Yeon Ha-yeon licking her lips, I worried she’d challenge the boss to a duel before the fight even started, so I hurried Red along.
Red opened his mouth wide and unleashed his fiery breath at the wall.
The fire attribute breath burned hotly, melting the ice wall.
‘What is that?’
Just a moment ago, the blue ice seemed to have water flowing inside, but now it felt oddly unsettling.
I looked up at the waterway running along the ceiling, avoiding the spots hit by the breath.
Splash!
Suddenly, water broke through the ice wall from above.
The water soon took shape and transformed into a monster.
[We can just evaporate it.]
Red’s cheerful voice echoed as he fired his breath at the monster.
“One-shot, one-kill?!”
“This should be more than enough to evaporate it.”
The guild members had already stepped back, watching the scene with interest and acting as intermediaries.
‘The boss monster won’t die with just one hit.’
I looked around for the invisible boss monster where the breath had hit.
Through the melting ice with water dripping down, I saw a water channel moving rapidly.
Thinking we had encountered a rather troublesome foe, I was about to fire another breath when—
“Ahhh!”
Suddenly, a scream burst out from atop Bisharp, who was flapping his wings mid-air with the guild members on his back.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?!”
“His eyes are unfocused!”
Urgent voices from the guild members followed, and it sounded like a member had fallen under hallucination.
“The wall is collapsing! Everyone move! The ceiling’s about to fall!”
The ceiling was intact.
Although the wall had melted, it wasn’t thin enough ice to collapse like that.
The whole cave was made of ice; a little melting wouldn’t bring it down.
‘This is troublesome.’
Before I had made Tebeo a spirit, I was trapped and killed in a dungeon like this; it would have been better if they just stayed quiet and calm.
‘Causing a ruckus like that… Wait a minute.’
I was just about to bind the hallucinating guild member with the Dark Shackles when a sudden realization struck me.
‘Wasn’t what happened to me with Tebeo some kind of dream-inducing hallucination?’
I was bound quietly as if asleep, seeing hallucinations, then waking up.
If that’s the case, maybe I could use Tebeo to induce the dreams as I intended.
Until now, I had only thought about dreaming by falling asleep but never considered creating dreams through hallucinations.
Whether asleep or hallucinating, ‘dream’ was the connecting medium.
If we hadn’t faced a hallucination-type monster, I might have realized this much later or not at all.
Eager to use Tebeo, my movements suddenly became swift.
From then on, everything happened quickly.
As soon as I hinted to Yeon Ha-yeon that we could use Tebeo, her expression changed.
We had to get out of here fast to try using Tebeo.
Moreover, if high-ranking Yeon Ha-yeon or Yeon Hyeong-gwang fell into hallucinations, the guild members would be in danger.
This was a race against time—whether the hallucinations would hit us first or we’d defeat the boss first.
We focused on luring out the boss monster and eliminating it as quickly as possible.
Except for Yeon Ha-yeon, Yeon Hyeong-gwang, and me, everyone else seemed caught in hallucinations, mumbling and even trying to use skills, which made me more anxious.
“What is everyone doing? Why isn’t anyone supporting?”
“We have to get out of here! Now is not the time…”
As if mistaking us for the boss, a blade flew in from behind.
“Danja noona!”
Since I was calling Tebeo to break the hallucination and move, it was hard to dodge.
I barely took a step back, and the blade grazed my cheek and slammed into the wall.
“Danja!”
From then on, everything happened in a flash.
Seeing the wound on my cheek, Yeon Ha-yeon, with fierce momentum, slashed the boss monster with her sword.
I knew she was strong and skilled with a sword, but this was the first time I saw a boss monster cleanly sliced in half like that.
As soon as we defeated the boss monster, the first guild member caught in the hallucination regained focus.
“Huh…? Where am I?”
Looking confused, we left him to the care of other guild members who had already woken up and hurriedly searched for another gate to summon Tebeo.
***
In the living room overlooking the Han River, the tapping sound stopped abruptly.
“You shouldn’t bite your nails.”
The outcast, who had almost bitten her nails out of habit, quickly pulled her hand back, realizing she was a model.
Since Danja arrived recently, she hadn’t been able to focus properly on her work.
Back in that other dimension, seeing friends tall, slim, beautiful, and handsome like models made her envious.
She felt like nothing more than an extra in this world, while they enjoyed life as true protagonists.
So, when her body was swapped with Danja’s, she was startled but overjoyed.
‘I thought I could finally live like the main character.’
She had thought that someday she might meet a man like Ban Eunhyeol, who looked like a protagonist to everyone.
Although she missed Ban Eunhyeol left behind in that other dimension, having finally gained the body and wealth she’d wanted, she somehow suppressed her feelings and lived well.
She hadn’t been particularly close to her parents, so she didn’t feel much longing for them either.
Of course, at first, it was scary when her parents suddenly disappeared, but she adapted quickly.
‘I never knew life would be so happy with everything I want and no annoying people bothering me.’
That was why she couldn’t easily decide to swap bodies back.
She was too happy now and didn’t want to lose this happiness.
She walked to the sun-drenched window, gazing out with a hint of longing.
At that moment, a familiar voice sounded behind her.