Chapter 354

Yoon Jeha accepted my proposal without much resistance. For her, tracking down J—who was probably her younger brother—had to be far more urgent than helping some stranger she barely knew.

After watching Yoon Jeha leave immediately, we moved too. Using Cha Sahyeon’s shadow skill, we went to Circle Guild.

Deep dawn, before the sun rose.

Standing in an empty street, I looked up at the Circle Guild building. Every window was dark, and I couldn’t sense any other presence.

“So there’s an unidentified rift in there?”

We deliberately stayed outside the building instead of going in, just in case.

Cha Sahyeon walked up to me and nodded.

“Yeah. Wait a second.”

Cha Sahyeon summoned a new shadow bird and sent it off. The bird checked the guildmaster’s office and returned quickly.

“It’s still open inside.”

“Let’s go in.”

I turned to Kwon Taehyuk and Kwon Seoyul. Kwon Taehyuk nodded calmly, and Kwon Seoyul shrugged like he didn’t care.

The front door wasn’t locked. I’d wondered why, but that question was answered when Cha Sahyeon continued.

“The moment I checked through my shadow, the rift had just appeared, and I saw the humans nearby get dragged in.”

The people Cha Sahyeon had seen were Hyun Dowoon, Ryu Sunghyun, Song Jiwoon, and even Chronos—the one impersonating Song Jiwoon.

‘What the hell is up with Chronos, that bastard, getting dragged in too?’

A sigh escaped me.

But that wasn’t the most important thing right now.

Normally, after all the guild members went home, Ryu Sunghyun or Song Jiwoon would do a final check of the building and lock up, so I could understand why the door had been left open.

At least one thing was fortunate: the other guild members hadn’t gotten caught up in the rift incident and were safe.

But there were still parts I couldn’t make sense of.

‘Why the hell is Hyun Dowoon at Circle Guild in the first place?’

And why did this unidentified rift—made by those cult bastards—have to appear at Circle Guild, and right now?

I’d have to meet the people who’d been pulled into the rift and hear it from them to know the details, but for now all I could do was sigh.

“Ha... this is fucking annoying....”

As we climbed the stairs, Kwon Seoyul complained. He looked openly displeased about getting dragged back out again without even getting proper rest after finishing one incident.

What a shameless bastard. An S-rank could go without sleep for days and be fine. Meanwhile, I’d been suffering like hell in a supporter’s body right in front of him.

Before coming, I’d already decided to focus on giving buffs instead of turning into “Cover,” so now I couldn’t just switch into S-rank mode even if I wanted to.

When no one answered him, Kwon Seoyul puffed out his lips, and this time started blaming Hyun Dowoon.

“Shit. What kind of trouble is Dowoon hyung causing now?”

Tell me about it.

Agreeing silently, I stopped in front of the guildmaster’s office.

“I’ll open it. Step back.”

Kwon Taehyuk naturally took the lead. He gripped the doorknob and opened it carefully.

The inside, revealed by moonlight through the window, was a wreck.

Maybe the rift’s appearance had hit the room with a huge shock—every piece of furniture was broken and scattered across the floor like a typhoon had swept through.

Papers were spilled everywhere, and cracks ran along the walls in several places. At this rate, the building might actually collapse.

‘Cleaning this up later is going to be a nightmare.’

I shifted my gaze to the center of the office.

An oval entrance to the rift floated in midair. It looked exactly like the rift I’d seen last time in the alley.

As if proving it hadn’t been there long, faint sparks snapped at the edge, and it was weak, but it was still sucking in the air around it.

“It looks the same on the outside, but the inside will probably be different.”

At my words, Kwon Taehyuk agreed.

“It feels similar to a dungeon.”

“Like last time, we might get scattered the moment we enter. We could get hit with mental interference, or get dropped into a fake space. Be careful, everyone.”

For a moment, I debated again whether I should switch into S-rank, but Cha Sahyeon had plastered me with a ton of shadows as a safety measure, so I decided to trust that for now.

“Let’s go in.”

At my words, Kwon Taehyuk moved first again. I followed behind him, his clothes fluttering in the wind.

The closer we got to the rift, the more the space began to twist. The rift, which had been slightly shorter than an adult man, steadily grew—until it was so huge I had to crane my neck back to see it.

“......”

Swallowing hard, I went all the way into the rift, shaped like a giant’s mouth.

Crackle—sparks flew, and a sharp pain grazed me. Then my vision dyed black, and my consciousness cut out.

***

Chirp, chirp-chirp.

Somewhere, I heard birds chirping.

As sensation returned, the first thing I felt was an aching pain spreading through my arms and legs. Like I’d fallen from a high place, my entire body throbbed.

“Ugh....”

A groan slipped out of me. I frowned, grimacing for a moment, then slowly opened my eyes.

“...?”

When my vision cleared, I saw a blue sky and a sun hanging high overhead. Dense green trees covered part of it.

“Ugh, what the hell.”

Pressing my forehead, I pushed myself up. Rough dirt scraped against my palm.

‘I definitely went into the rift.’

Maybe because it was my second time, I came to faster than last time.

I calmly looked around. Thick trees and brush everywhere. No matter where I looked, I was in the middle of a forest.

“Cha Sahyeon? Guildmaster?”

Just in case, I called out a little louder for my teammates. But again, there was no answer.

‘Again... I’m alone.’

This got complicated. I already had a whole list of people I needed to find, and now even the teammates who’d entered with me had been scattered.

“Ha... still, it feels better than last time, at least....”

Better than wandering around a wide open field at random, I guess. Being in the middle of a forest is... better? I didn’t know.

I scratched the back of my head and stood up. Luckily it was just mild soreness—nothing seemed injured.

“Man.... Huh?”

I reflexively brushed dirt off my clothes, then my eyes widened.

“Fuck—what is this?”

A curse burst out before I could stop it.

Clothes I’d never seen in my life filled my vision.

And I was wearing them.

I’d definitely been in a gray hoodie and jeans. But this—this weird, flowing fabric... what the hell is it?

‘Hanbok? No, it looks kind of different.’

I’d lowered my head, and then a new shock hit me.

“W-what the hell is this now.”

Black hair swaying in front of my eyes. What is this? Seriously.

When I grabbed it and pulled, my scalp hurt.

‘...Don’t tell me this is my hair?’

A chill ran over me.

Not only did my clothes change, my hair got longer too? What kind of bullshit is this—

I panicked and just stood there blankly for a moment, unable to do anything.

If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve carried a mirror in my inventory. Then I could’ve at least checked my face.

‘No, who the hell would imagine that you go into a rift and suddenly your clothes change and your hair gets long?’

What if my face turned into an animal or something?

I felt my face over with my hands as much as I could, then gave up with a sigh.

Only then did my reason finally come back. Whether my hair got long or my face turned into a monster, I had to move first.

Still, it could be dangerous, so before anything else, I pulled my sword out of my inventory.

Then I used my skill.

Crackle—!

“Ugh...!”

《Hidden Skill: Silverlight’s Blessing (S-rank) [Activated]》

The moment I activated the skill that turned me into an S-rank, the long hair swaying in front of my eyes changed from black to gold.

I slid the scabbard neatly into what looked like a belt on the waist of these strange clothes, then glanced down at the ground and spoke softly.

“Hey, kid.”

Kreeeeek!

But the one who answered my call wasn’t Cha Sahyeon—it was a black shadow bird.

The shadow bird slipped out of my shadow, circled once in the air, then landed on my shoulder.

Kreek, keek.

Like it was showing affection, the black bird pressed its beak to my cheek and rubbed. Its green eyes, looking at me, were unusually gentle.

“Where’d your master go? Why are you the only one here?”

With a heavy feeling, I stroked the bird’s small head a couple times with my finger, then started walking.

Even though the shadows were working properly, Cha Sahyeon couldn’t come. Looks like the situation is worse than I thought.

‘It can’t be helped.’

For now, I’ll move around. With the bird perched on my shoulder, I started heading out in earnest.

I hacked aside the brush blocking my way with my sword and walked forward without any real direction.

That was when—

“Stop right there!”

“Get that bastard!”

Men’s shouts rang out from somewhere nearby. There were urgent footsteps too.

None of the voices were familiar, but I didn’t know anything about this space, so I had no choice but to check. I tensed up and moved silently toward the sound.

I pressed my back to a big tree and peeked my head out slightly.

One man running for his life, and several burly men chasing him. All of them were dressed similarly to me.

The one being chased got closer and closer. I narrowed my eyes and checked his face.

And I froze in shock.

“...Hyun Dowoon?”

What the hell is that crazy bastard doing here?