EVS Chapter 82

This was a topic Geon-joo had brought up before, and a question he had already answered. Sa-yoon carefully examined him as he revisited the conversation that had ended on the day of the welcoming party.

The movement of his eyelashes, the degree of trembling in his pupils, the tension in his facial muscles, the speed at which his Adam’s apple moved, and the gestures his hands made – after scrutinizing all the elements that could reveal a person’s psychology, his conclusion was that something was different this time.

It was unlike before.

His attitude, the atmosphere surrounding him and him, and the look in his eyes were all different.

Unlike before, when he had acted with a gentle tone that seemed fabricated, hiding inscrutable intentions, this was different. If there was any similarity, it was that he still couldn’t understand the purpose of his question, but everything else was different.

His calm voice and steady eyes were evidence of this. He neither smiled nor frowned. Sa-yoon let out a sigh as he faced Geon-joo, whose expressionless face made it even harder to read his emotions.

He wondered if his answer should change since his attitude had changed.

What had he answered that day?

He seemed to have brushed it off by saying he just brought him to raise him. Remembering that he had stuck to the lie about recruiting talent until the end, his deep blue eyes gazed into his pure black ones.

His mind raced quickly. He calculated whether to reveal more of his circumstances or to lie again this time, based on the time he had spent with Geon-joo and the attitude he had shown. Sa-yoon opened his quest window to help with his decision.

+++

[Quest – The Second Step Towards Activation]

‘Maintain a close relationship with the trait holder.’

Note: Maintain the relationship until the trait holder reaches S-rank. If the relationship deteriorates, it may affect activation.

Reward: ?

Failure: Unable to activate “The Resister”

Current relationship: ?

+++

“…?”

A question mark?

Sa-yoon frowned at this unexpected result. There had never been a question mark before. The system’s inability to draw a conclusion meant that even it didn’t know what was in Han Geon-joo’s heart, which implied that this seemingly indifferent Han Geon-joo was harboring many thoughts inside.

He’s troublesome, annoyingly so.

Knowing that something would be determined by this answer, Sa-yoon, who had been about to speak, called up his status window.

‘The Resister (Deactivated)’

And.

‘The True Evil of Humanity’

After alternating his gaze between these two traits, he took a deep breath.

Should I tell him?

Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, he had only known Han Geon-joo for just over a month. While it might be too early judging by the time they’d known each other, based on what he had seen of him, it seemed okay to tell him that he was needed for his plan, if not everything.

Isn’t he somewhat righteous in character?

As much as he pursued what was right, he didn’t seem like someone who would carelessly spread others’ secrets.

Let’s gain his complete trust by revealing a little.

As he was about to make this decision, his stomach kept churning. It felt as if a snake was writhing inside his stomach. Sa-yoon frowned, covering his mouth with his hand due to the discomfort. Suddenly, a memory he had forcibly suppressed flashed through his mind.

“……”

The humming-like sigh stopped, and silence fell again. Sa-yoon’s eyes sank with a dull light.

No, I can’t.

The opinion that had been leaning towards the positive until just now suddenly flipped to the negative.

He couldn’t tell him.

Because he had already tasted failure once before.

Unless they were people who had been by his side for a long time like Jongsik or Gyeongjin, he couldn’t fully trust and believe in anyone.

His relaxed fingers tensed. Sa-yoon looked at Geon-joo, his fingernails digging into his palm. His deep black eyes looked straightforward, but despite that, he couldn’t fully trust him.

As much as he needed to gain his trust, Han Geon-joo also needed to give him his trust, but he hadn’t given his anything.

Suddenly feeling like he might laugh sarcastically, Sa-yoon tightly closed his mouth and calmed his slightly roughened breathing caused by the memory that had surfaced.

He didn’t want to be betrayed again.

He didn’t want to have to kill everyone with his own hands.

Because he didn’t want to repeat the massacre of everyone by his side like before, Sa-yoon, who had been hesitating, soon traced his muscles to relax his tense lips and stiff expression. The corners of his mouth lifted without issue. Regaining his usual glib smile, Sa-yoon chuckled and patted Geon-joo’s shoulder.

“Why are you getting so serious again? Didn’t we finish this conversation before?”

“It ended ambiguously.”

His dry tone and direct gaze seemed to admonish his not to avoid answering. Sa-yoon ignored this unsettling feeling and shrugged his shoulders once.

“I don’t think it ended ambiguously. Besides, it usually takes a lot of money and time to raise a person. In my view, you’re worth that level of investment.”

“Based on what?”

“I told you I’m good at judging people. I’m trusting my instincts.”

Yes, he was trusting his instincts, not Han Geon-joo.

The answer he gave him came back as comfort to soothe himself. Calming his unnecessarily anxious mind and body, Sa-yoon urged Geon-joo to go find the next dungeon. He tapped and pushed his shoulder, but the man’s feet remained firmly planted on the ground as if nailed there. Sa-yoon looked at him again.

“What now?”

“Do you really need me?”

“I do.”

“Why?”

“The more talent, the better, you know.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. If you looked at it closely, it was a truth mixed with about 70% lies. When he replied glibly, Geon-joo frowned. As he quietly watched his frowning expression, a retort reminiscent of the welcoming party day came back.

“Is that really all?”

“What else could there be? I’m tired of this, pretty one. If you want to rehash our previous conversation, do it by yourself.”

He couldn’t show any more openings to someone with such good instincts. He couldn’t give him time to think freely, so Sa-yoon lightly frowned, mimicking Geon-joo, and waved his hand as if tired of the conversation.

Acting as if he was annoyed by the repetitive conversation, Geon-joo’s furrowed expression slowly smoothed out. A low sigh escaped from his mouth, which had returned to a neutral expression. To Sa-yoon, that sigh sounded different from usual, not like resignation or giving up, but as if he had made some decision.

“If you won’t tell me, then forget it.”

“I told you I’ve said everything.”

“I’m sure you have.”

Geon-joo smirked, and a brief sound of him clicking his tongue was heard. As Sa-yoon slightly rolled his eyes to understand why he had smiled like that and what he was thinking now, Geon-joo, like him, no longer gave his a chance to figure him out.

He turned around, fixed his hair that had been disheveled by the wind, straightened his clothes, and instead urged his to go to the next dungeon.

Something felt off.

For having finished a conversation, it wasn’t clean, and the atmosphere was uncomfortable and uneasy.

Geon-joo seemed to be aware of this fact too, and Sa-yoon also noticed the uncomfortable atmosphere.

However, neither of them mentioned the already concluded conversation again.

“……”

As he flew carrying Geon-joo in his arms to find the next dungeon, as he always did, he heard a small voice from his embrace. It wasn’t a sound he would usually miss, but unfortunately, at that moment, a large group of flying monsters howled, drowning out Geon-joo’s words. He could only tell that he had said something, so he lowered his head.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

“I heard you say something.”

“I was talking to myself.”

Sa-yoon looked disapprovingly at Geon-joo, who was obviously evading, but didn’t press further and flew towards the inner part of the field.

Despite the awkward atmosphere, they continued moving. Having failed to discover the third dungeon, they couldn’t afford to move halfheartedly anymore. Planning to enter the inner area of the field that he had never been to before, Sa-yoon slowed down his flight speed and spoke while scanning the surroundings.

“I don’t know well what’s here either from this point on, so stay sharp.”

Until now, when he knew the structure and what monsters lived there, he could engage in pointless conversation while flying and ruminate on uncomfortable talks, but now there was no room for that. They needed to focus all their attention on survival.

Geon-joo adjusted his position in his arms. He nodded. And at that moment, something shot up from the ground and attacked Sa-yoon and Geon-joo.

It was neither a shadow worm nor an earth dragon, but something else.

A large caterpillar-like creature with three horns on its head sprang up and tried to swallow Sa-yoon. Hurriedly pulling his body away and kicking the creature, Sa-yoon narrowed his eyes at the tingling pain transmitted through the tip of his shoe. Its epidermis was harder than it looked.

Even at a glance, it was S-rank.

There was no reason to engage in an unnecessary fight while carrying Geon-joo, so Sa-yoon stomped on the creature’s head and bent his knees before bouncing upwards. The closer they were to the ground, the more threats they were exposed to, so Sa-yoon rose to a height where ground-dwelling monsters wouldn’t dare to reach, swatting away flying creatures that came at them intermittently as he surveyed the ground.

He narrowed his eyes to detect the energy of a dungeon, but for the risk they had taken, there was nothing to be felt. Just as he was thinking they might need to go underground despite the danger,

“That looks a bit strange.”

Geon-joo, nestled in his arms, pointed his finger towards the sky. Following where he was pointing, Sa-yoon saw something glinting between ashen clouds that looked like storm clouds.

It was the energy of a dungeon.

“Well done, pretty one.”

Sa-yoon, holding Geon-joo over his shoulder with one hand, drew his sword and shot up towards the clouds. As they got closer, the intensity of the light became more fierce. Warning Geon-joo to keep his eyes closed as it felt like they might go blind, Sa-yoon approached the light closely. Finally, he came face to face with the glowing core.

Sa-yoon raised the corners of his mouth at the strong light that made him unable to even attempt opening his eyes.

He had found it.

Certain that he had finally discovered a new dungeon this time, he raised his sword high with his eyes closed. As he brought the sword down following his senses, he felt something catch on the tip of his blade, as if he had penetrated the core.

As he let his energy flow, the core resonated in response to Sa-yoon’s power and immediately emitted a strong light reminiscent of sunlight.

Whoosh!

An ominously brilliant energy enveloped Sa-yoon, Geon-joo, and the entire field area. Unable to open his eyes, Sa-yoon heard the system’s voice in his ears.

<You have entered the highest-grade dungeon ‘Destroyed City: Replay’.>

<You are the first discoverer of this hidden dungeon! First discoverer’s privilege, condition selection, is granted!>