Chapter 116: Alone in the Cave (1)

“What the hell is this?”

I stared at the system window on my screen in despair.

[Your account has been permanently suspended due to multiple violations.]

“What the hell is this!!!”

Multiple violations? All I did was use macros, unlimited attack-speed auto-clickers, real-money trades to farm game currency, log modifications to alter the client, and bug exploits to clip through maps!!!

Why?!!!

What exactly did I do that was so awful it got me banned?!!

“M-My rice-farming plan!!!”

As I flailed around, Nayu, sitting beside me, flailed with me. Two grown adults squirming around in a small room inevitably ended in a tangled mess.

“Nayu flailing!”

“You two are ridiculous.”

Then came that cold voice. Despite only being a seventh grader, Jamsuni had less social grace than most teenagers.

Jamsuni’s foot pressed firmly into my cheek.

A pale foot wedged itself between me and Nayu.

“Don’t! Sit! So close...!”

“You little brat, what kind of kid shoves her foot at her Unnie and Oppa?”

“Nayu unnie?! …! Unnie!”

Upon hearing the word unnie, Nayu jumped to her feet in excitement. Even her loose-fitting hanbok couldn’t hide the pride swelling in her chest.

“Nayu smug. Nayu strikes a proper big sister pose. Nayu wants to hear Sojin call her Unnie.”

“Damn it, if I were just a bit older, I’d—agh!”

“Bad words!!!”

I flicked Jamsuni on the forehead.

Oops, that was instinctual.

Why does her head always beg to be flicked?

A mystery for physics to solve.

“Uuugh.”

Jamsuni trembled.

Based on my extensive studies in Jamsunilogy, this meant she was just about to get seriously pouty.

And if Jamsuni pouted, it was over—she’d storm the DMZ, set fire to underground parking lots... a complete disaster. I couldn’t let it happen.

“Jamsuni. Come here, sit.”

I picked her up and sat her on my lap.

“What are you so upset about now?”

“...I’m not upset.”

“Sure. Just from your face, I can tell you’re dying to pick a fight.”

“Ah, you caught me? Now I feel like flipping the whole world upside down, like in an RPG.”

“There you go again, talking like a wannabe edgelord.”

I looked at her pouty face.

The kind of childish frustration and embarrassment a seventh grader would have—clearly enjoying being with family, but too shy to admit it.

She had such expressive emotions.

I couldn’t believe I had such an emotionally rich little sister.

Suddenly, I remembered something from the game.

GM Mirae: Don’t tell me you really think that’s your little sister? She’s not the kind of girl an older brother should be protecting. Your real little sister… she’s someone else, remember?

Yeah, I know. I really do.

But… just for this moment…

“…”

Just this moment—I spoke the truth in my heart.

“Sojin… Right now, you’re the most precious person to me. Seriously. I’m more worried about you than anyone else. I know it sounds lame and old-fashioned, but it’s how I truly feel.”

“…”

“So tone down the bad language, will you? It’s fine if it’s just with us, but if you say that kind of stuff to a psychic and they mess you up, then what?”

“Tch. Like anyone could mess with me...”

There it was again. That middle-school-syndrome face on a kid who wasn’t even in middle school yet.

“And don’t go doing something dangerous just because you’re mad. If you’re ever in trouble, I’ll come find you—no matter where. But I’m not invincible, either. If you want to see my funeral that bad, go ahead and keep doing whatever you want.”

“Wh-Who said I want to see your funeral?! I-I just…”

That’s when something caught my eye.

“Nayu sulking mode.”

Over in the corner, Nayu had curled up in a ball.

“Nayu shocked and sad. Nayu feels not important.”

Why was she acting like this?

Wait… was it because I said Sojin was the most precious to me?

She’d always seemed mature, but lately…

Still, I couldn’t let Nayu sulk either.

I hadn’t given up on my dream of turning my life around thanks to Nayu.

“Of course you’re super important too, Nayu.”

“Most important?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Nayu happy flailing!”

Just then, Jamsuni, who had cheered up, frowned seriously and asked,

“What the heck? Did you lie to me?”

“You’re both the most important!!!”

Aaaahhh! This must be karma.

How did I end up caught in a battle between two girls?

Thank goodness there weren’t three of them.

If there were three, I honestly don’t think I could survive!!!

I grabbed my coat and quickly said,

“Oh right!!! I’ve got something important to do today!!!”

And okay, to be fair, I did have something to do.

I’d gotten info from the crappy old 16-bit game that banned me for nonsense. It was about an inheritance item—and one of the key clues was available this week.

What was it called again?

Oh right, the cave called Deungseon-gul.

A special dungeon that only opens at certain times.

Apparently, when the water level of the Ido River slowly recedes throughout the summer and finally exposes the riverbed for three days in fall, you can break through a formation on the river floor and enter Deungseon-gul.

And what kind of cave is this?

From what I’ve heard, it’s an event dungeon where psychics get two, no—three or even four times the experience points.

But only low-level psychics can benefit. The high-level ones, known as “Immortals”, can’t gain EXP there.

The heirloom informant said, “How can someone who’s already ascended ascend again?”.

So basically... if I flip that logic, it means this is a guaranteed leveling spot up until ascension?

It kind of feels like one of those academy ads shouting,

“#1 Immortal Exam Prep! Guaranteed pass or full refund!!!”

****

But according to what I heard from the Heirloom Warrior, this cave wasn’t all sunshine and rewards. For all the enlightenment it offered, it was also extremely dangerous.

And the most important detail—Deungseon-gul was said to be filled with the relics left behind by psychics who didn’t make it out alive. Some of those items were from the Mythic Era, so valuable that people risked their lives just to try and find them.

Treasure and leveling up.

Aren’t those the two things most important to me?

Treasure could be exchanged for money.

Leveling up… was crucial when it came to saving my little sister.

So, I looked at the two girls glaring daggers at each other and said,

“I’ll be gone for a few days. Be good, both of you. When I get back, I’ll buy fried chicken.”

“What?! Why are you running off again?! Ugh, am I sounding like a clingy girlfriend now? Tch, bring chili-seasoned crispy chicken.”

“Nayu says she prefers honey-coated crispy wings.”

And the girls once again started arguing with crunch!, crinkle-crinkle! noises.

Though it looked like Jamsuni was bullying Nayu, Jamsuni honestly seemed more upset.

For some reason, I could practically hear the phrase Nayu’s victorious smugness echoing in the air.

“Haw…”

Seriously, thank goodness there were only two of them.

I slipped out of the room before things got even noisier.

****

A bloodline descended from the original priest who first controlled fire—once considered among the strongest families within the Heirloom Warrior order.

And now, as the ruling house of the clan, they wielded authority stronger than any royal family in the world of mortals.

Deep within the main estate of that family, in a room far too vast to even call a “room,” a girl dressed in an elegant traditional hanbok sat quietly, wearing a gloomy expression.

Her name was Jinari.

Jinari looked down at her phone. A KakaoTalk message from a man named Yoo Hajin was still there.

Not even a word from him in a whole month.

“Piiii…”

Her yellow wings drooped.

Her voice turned slightly irritable.

“Still haven’t found him?”

“We’re sorry, Young Lady.”

“According to what you said, Hajin is just an ordinary adult man, right? So how is it that you still haven’t found where a normal guy lives?”

The psychics hidden in the shadows could only lower their heads even further.

“Based on stolen data from the Anomali response headquarters website, Yoo Hajin is confirmed to be an ordinary man. The HQ director is known to be a wicked man who despises spirit-world seekers. If Hajin were truly a psychic, he would’ve written something bad about him—he wouldn’t have covered it up with false praise.”

“And yet, you still can’t find where he lives?”

“We apologize. Several members assigned to track down Yoo Hajin have already gone mad… and had to be dealt with.”

Hearing that, Jinari closed her eyes.

“May they rest in peace.”

“Thank you, Young Lady.”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll handle it myself.”

When Jinari said this, the attendants in the light immediately dropped to their knees.

“You mustn’t, Young Lady!”

“To think you would move personally for such a lowly man… If the head of the family found out, he would be furious!”

“Young Lady, your duty is to complete your training and one day annihilate Spirit Sovereign, the arch-enemy of our clan. There’s no time to waste on a man like this!”

The nagging continued.

As she listened, Jinari thought to herself.

Spirit Sovereign, huh?

Spirit Sovereign belonged to a realm she hadn’t even come close to—Earthly Immortal, a rank that most psychics couldn’t reach even after a lifetime of training.

Heavenly Immortal, a level so high that even immortals who had lived for centuries couldn’t hope to attain it.

And then came Spirit Sovereign—a transcendent being beyond all that.

How was she supposed to defeat someone like that?

Every time this pressure was forced on her, Jinari just wanted to chirp in frustration and hide in that one man’s arms.

But the nagging didn’t stop.

“And, Young Lady, the water level of Ido River has almost completely dried up. The hidden realm of Deungseon-gul should be revealed soon.”

“I heard. But there are still a few days left, right?”

“Even so, the first ones to enter such a hidden realm always gain the greatest rewards. The Ilwol-Oakmoon Sect and other factions are already preparing. You must also begin…”

“I said there are a few days left. Ido River is a tributary of the Samdo River. No one will approach it until it dries up completely, so there’s no problem.”

Jinari turned away from her retainers and stared back at her phone.

She’d spent all day staring at it, but all that remained was longing and frustration.

“So you’re saying Hajin came from a normal background, huh? After leaving such a mark on me… to not take responsibility. Really. Truly.”

Her eyes darkened—slowly and deeply.

“If I use the power of my clan…”

* * *

“Why did I just get chills?”

The man, who had just thought to himself how lucky he was to only have two troublesome girls in his life, opened his mouth.

He was riding an electric scooter.

His name was Yoo Hajin.

Yoo Hajin looked out over the Ido River.

But what lay before him was nothing but a desolate, lifeless field.

“I rushed out early because of Nayu and Jamsuni, and it’s already completely dried up.”

To his eyes, there was nothing even resembling a river.

He’d heard that the riverbed would be visible, but this wasn’t just the bottom of a river—it didn’t even feel like there had ever been water here.

There were no people around either.

“Still… there’s literally no one here.”

According to the Heirloom Warrior, Deungseon-gul was a hidden dungeon, but it was also one of those “secret dungeons everyone knows about,” so getting there early was crucial.

But no one was here.

Could this be… another classic “You’re the only fool who fell for it” ending?

Even so, something that looked like a cave did come into view.

And written in Chinese characters above the entrance was: Deungseon-gul.

“Should I go in… or not?”

After a moment of hesitation, Yoo Hajin slowly began walking toward the cave.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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