Tang-E and Hyeonu returned to the village of Bung Bung Island only after they had completely erased the smell of meat that was on their bodies. The village was noisy. Here and there, they were busy talking about how they had roamed Bung Bung Island.
âIt is my first time seeing them so energetic,â Hyeonu sat down and said.
âThatâs right. This is also the first time for Tang-E. Everyone seemed to enjoy it a lot,â Tang-E added to Hyeonuâs words.
Tang-E had never seen Bung Bung Island as noisy as it was today.
âThis has never happened in the past. Well⦠it is good for everyone.â
Hugo nodded. The Marionette Bears did fun and exciting things as individuals, but they didnât have an opportunity to move as a group as they did today. At best, it was around six friends flocking together.
âIt is late⦠would you like to eat?â Just then, Manong opened her mouth. At the same time, Tang-E, Hugo, and Hyeonu stopped talking. The atmosphere became cold. Manong felt a strange atmosphere and her expression hardened.
âTang-E and I were hungry, so we ate first.â
Hyeonu struck first. It was as if he had never closed his mouth. He naturally continued to talk.
âThatâs right, we ate. Master cooked it. He is a good master.â Tang-E continued from Hyeonuâs words as if nothing had happened.
âReally? Indeed⦠you have been wandering around for half a day, not an hour or two. You mustâve been hungry. Then what about you?â
Manongâs eyes were on Hugo. He was the only one left.
âI⦠Iâm going to eat. I was actually planning to eat,â Hugo spoke more naturally than Tang-E or Hyeonu.
âSo you are the only one eating, right? Wait a little bit. Iâll make it for you soon.â
Manong laughed and disappeared. Tang-E shook his head as he saw Hugoâs frustrated expression.
âHugo,â Hyeonu called out to Hugo.
Hugo turned his head at Hyeonuâs call.
âI found it.â
Hugoâs expression changed rapidly at Hyeonuâs words. His lost vitality was revived and his eyes came back alive.
âCan you guide me now?â Hugo asked as he grabbed both of Hyeonuâs hands.
âOf course. It isnât a big secret. Whatâs wrong with telling you?â
Hugoâs request was what Hyeonu intended.
âThen letâs go quickly.â
Hugo shot up from his seat. The chair he was sitting on failed to overcome the recoil and fell backwards. The loud noise made Manong reappear.
âWhere are you going?â Manong grabbed Hugo who was trying to run out.
âIt is just that he found the treasure⦠Iâm going to check it now. Iâll eat after I come back. Iâm sorry.â
"Really? Then Iâll prepare it slowly.â
Manong nodded at Hugoâs words.
Hyeonu briefly added, âIt wonât take long. He is just going to check the location. He will return in 20 minutes.â
â20 minutes⦠I understand. Go quickly.â
Manong smiled and waved after hearing Hyeonu say it would only take 20 minutes. There was no need to mention that Hugoâs expression had become bad.
âLetâs go, Hugo.â
Hyeonu took the lead without caring about Hugoâs heart.
***
âHere is the space that contains the descendants of the empire.â
Hyeonu guided Hugo to the place where he had eaten with Tang-E.
âCertainly⦠there is a magic circle. It is amazing even with just a glance.â Hugo marveled as he examined the magic circle in the pit.
âDo you also know magic?â Hyeonu saw it and asked Hugo with a surprised expression.
âNo? Iâm just saying this because there is a lot of magic power,â Hugo shook his head and replied. He was a layman when it came to magic. He just expected the magic circle to be great due to the extreme magic power.
âAh, yes. Indeed.â
Hyeonu managed to hold back the laughter that was about to burst out and nodded.
âWhy don't you go back now? I am going to enter the space inside this magic circle.â
âGo in. I will watch until you enter.â
âI understand.â
At Hugoâs words, Hyeonu nodded and threw himself into the pit. Then a message window appeared in front of Hyeonu.
[Do you want to enter the Traces of the Empire Left in the Middle World?]
Hyeonu answered the question in the message window without hesitation. âI will enter.â
Hyeonu and Tang-Eâs bodies were surrounded by light. They eventually became a ray of light and disappeared.
***
[You have entered the Traces of the Empire Left in the Middle World.]
Hyeonu looked around the moment he entered the instance dungeon. It was just a habit. He didnât know when, where, and what would happen. It was Hyeonu who would suffer damage if he was careless, not someone else.
âIt is quiet.â
The scenery of the space that Hyeonu entered was the same as Bung Bung Island. It was peaceful and beautiful. It was natural. This instance dungeon was created by severing the space of Bung Bung Island.
Hyeonu carefully explored the instance dungeon. He remained tense as he looked around carefully. Hyeonu was vigilant of the descendants of the empire, not the existence of monsters.
âHugoâs words were right.â
Not all the descendants of the empire would be as fond of Hyeonu as Kalui.
âWho was it? The man from that time.â
There would be some people who doubted Hyeonuâs qualifications and denied his existence, like the descendant of the empire that he couldnât remember properly. This was why he was even more careful. However, this was over after an hour. For an hour, Hyeonu and Tang-E simply looked at the scenery of Bung Bung Island. They didnât see any life at all. Naturally, the vigilance was lightened and tension eased.
Tang-E knocked on Hyeonuâs head and asked, âMaster dude, is this the right place? I canât even see any ants.â
âI am curious about that as well. Why is there no one here?â
It was the same for Hyeonu. He wondered why no one showed up.
âIf I canât find them, I will call them out.â
Hyeonu changed his mind. It was clear that the descendants of the Luos Empire were here. They were just hidden. Then Hyeonu had to make them come to him.
âLook well. They will come soon,â Hyeonu asserted in a voice full of confidence.
He was confident that he was better than anyone else at attracting attention.
âCall them quickly, Master dude.â
Tang-E was intrigued by Hyeonuâs words. He was really curious about how Hyeonu was going to call out those who they hadnât found a trace of after one hour of wandering around. Hyeonu used a skill without saying anything. The skill selected was Dragon Fear, an item set effect. A shape resembling the dragonâs head in the empty space in Phinis appeared behind Hyeonu. The dragonâs head opened its mouth to cry out without any sound.
It happened at this momentâ¦
A crunching sound started to be heard like crazy from the forest far from where Hyeonu and Tang-E were.
âDo you see? They are coming,â Hyeonu boasted as he heard the sound in the distance.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âBy the way⦠I donât think it is just one or two, Master dude. Be careful.â
Tang-E couldnât smile. It was good for those who couldnât be found to come on their own. The problem was that the number was too high.
âIt is fine. If it doesnât work, then weâll just fight. We can win.â
Hyeonu pretended to be casual to reassure Tang-E. No, he was actually casual.
âIf we have to fight, then weâll fight.â
The thing Hyeonu cared about was a variable that he didnât know when or where would pop out. The problem in front of him didnât matter much. He was sufficiently capable of coping with it.
âUnderstood, Master dude.â
Hyeonu and Tang-E chatted as they waited for the main characters to appear. After a while those he had been waiting for appeared in front of him. There were as many as 100 protagonists. They were ordinary humans. There wasnât anything strange except for their nervousness.
âD⦠did a dragon come here?â the man in front of the 100 people asked Hyeonu. His voice was very solemn.
âIâm not a dragon. My species is human.â
Hyeonuâs voice was also serious. It was just that his tone wasnât serious, so there was a strange sense of dissonance.
âHuman? It was obviously a dragonâs energyâ¦â The leading man looked confused at Hyeonuâs words.
âDonât lie!â the man standing right behind the leading man screamed at Hyeonu.
âWho is the one leading the descendants of the empire? I want to talk to them,â Hyeonu lightly ignored the manâs bluster and said what he wanted to say.
This was the most comfortable and fastest way to get things done. It was obvious that he would just waste his time if he listened to everything.
âWhy isnât anyone answering?â
Unfortunately, there was no return answer. At Hyeonuâs words, everyone quietly looked at each other. No one opened their mouths.
âThen live here for the rest of your life. Iâll be going now. I should tell Kalui that I didnât find itâ¦â
Hyeonu threw these words at those in front of him and turned away. There wasnât any hesitation.
It happened at this momentâ¦
âWait! Did you just say Kalui?â the man in the lead shouted at Hyeonu.
Hyeonu turned and looked at the man again. âThatâs right. How could I have come here? I came because Kalui requested it.â
âHow can we believe that?â
âIt has been a long time since the Luos Empire collapsed. Do you think it makes sense that there are humans who didnât note down the names of the old emperors, but noted down the name of Kalui and sought the whereabouts of the descendants hidden by the old emperor?â
The man heard Hyeonuâs words and failed to say anything. It wasnât just that. Not a single person could open their mouths among those standing behind the man. It was because Hyeonuâs words were right. They couldnât refute it. Too much time had passed for someone to come visit them. They knew it best. Who would know how it felt unless they were the ones who were trapped without being able to die?
âIf there is anything to prove my identity⦠How about this? It is a ring I got from Rondal.â
Hyeonu approached the man while taking off the gauntlet. Then he extended his hand without the gauntlet to the man. It was so that it could be seen well.
âThis is the Guardianâs ring⦠did someone who passed Rondal really show up?â
The man looked amazed when he saw the ring on Hyeonuâs hand. It wasnât just that. Expectations started to appear on the faces of those who heard the manâs voice.
âCan we finally escape this space?â
âThe opportunity to live like a person has come.â
âNow I can make my motherâs wishes come trueâ¦â
They wanted to leave this space quickly.
This cursed space.
âEveryone here wants to go out?â
Everyone responded similarly. The descendants of the empire gathered here seemed to want to escape the space.
âThen let's go. To the outside,â Hyeonu said with a smile.