The departure time for Russia was set for 8 p.m. tomorrow evening.
Haehyuk, who advised to do as one pleases except for getting hurt, promised to send the list of members for the Russia dungeon support team by evening. In return, he asked Kang Sihyun to deliver the schedule directly to the children. Kang Sihyun, happily accepting the condition, left the guild leader's office and entered the group messenger room of Class A children before heading back to the lodging.
Not long after sending a message to gather in Haewoon's room, replies asking why started to come in. Fortunately, it seemed like everyone had returned from the fracture site.
It definitely became more relaxed.
Perhaps due to the appearance of the dungeon, the frequency of fractures appearing on the streets had significantly decreased. Compared to when they couldn't sleep at night and only went around for battles, it was a considerably more leisurely schedule, so Kang Sihyun sent a message that he would inform them once he returned to the lodging and then turned off his phone for the last time.
Upon entering his room that he shared with the children to wash off the dirt from rolling around the battlefield, he noticed that Hamin and Geonu were not present. The two seemed to have gone to Haewoon's room first.
Kang Sihyun, after washing up alone in the quiet room and changing into clean clothes, and hanging the laundry that had all been returned, moved to Haewoon's room. As he opened the door, it seemed he was the last guest, as all the children were already sitting together.
“You came early?”
“You had already sent the time, I was in the room. So, what’s up?”
“I heard other people saw you going up to the guild leader's office.”
Daun, who asked this, threw a look of belief without a doubt that Kang Sihyun had been plotting something with Haehyuk. Kang Sihyun, sitting in an empty spot, pondered what to say. He had spoken confidently in front of Haehyuk, but his heart kept weakening in front of the children.
Unintentionally, he let out a deep sigh, causing the children to flinch.
“What happened?”
“Did Haehyuk scold you?”
“Is there a problem?”
Initially, the children looked at Kang Sihyun as if he had done something foolish again, but their attitude quickly softened. Although Kang Sihyun had a crush on the children, it seemed like they had a crush on him too. Clearing his throat once, Kang Sihyun started to speak.
“A second dungeon appeared in Russia.”
“A dungeon, you say.”
“The one that appeared in Egypt.”
“Ah.”
Jihye reacted the most significantly. She thought she hadn’t shown it, but Kang Sihyun saw Jihye's shoulders jump noticeably.
Clearly, Jihye harbored a deeply ingrained negative and dangerous perception of dungeons.
“Are you okay?”
Kang Sihyun asked out of concern, to which Jihye slightly nodded. Her bobbed hair rustled above her shoulders. Since Jihye said she was okay, Kang Sihyun answered understandingly, thinking it would feel burdensome to worry more about it. Then, facing faces that seemed to ask if he was going to that dungeon, he clenched his phone tightly.
“So, I’m going to Russia tomorrow.”
“What?”
“So suddenly?”
“Are you going alone?”
The children jumped at this bombshell announcement.
“I’m not going alone.”
Everyone seemed to sigh in relief as if on cue at his denial, but Kang Sihyun knew they were not yet at ease to relax. He hadn’t even mentioned the purpose of his talk yet.
Stealthily.
Kang Sihyun moved a step back from the children. The children of Class A showed confusion at the boy suddenly distancing himself. After taking a deep breath, Kang Sihyun began to speak.
“I'm not going into the dungeon alone, but that doesn’t mean you are going.”
“What?”
“That’s how it is.”
His calm tone contrasted with the children's shocked expressions. Kang Sihyun maintained a calm face as he touched his own face, grateful that his weakness from seeing their surprised faces didn't show.
The children were expected to be louder and more outraged, but they were surprisingly quiet. This silence felt even colder when Suhwoo, who had been quiet since Kang Sihyun entered the room, finally spoke.
“I roughly expected this to happen. Since you called us together.”
“……”
“What’s the reason you decided to go without taking us with you? You can at least tell us that.”
“I was planning to talk about it anyway.”
At this moment, Kang Sihyun appreciated Suhwoo's calm temperament. Holding back Hamin from flying into a rage, Suhwoo asked, and Kang Sihyun made eye contact with all the children. There were faces of disappointment, sorrow, and anger
.
And there was also a resigned expression, as if they had expected this.
The last expression belonged to Jihye.
When their gazes met, Jihye smiled ambiguously. Kang Sihyun, troubled by her consoling smile, neither returned the smile nor comforted her but quickly nodded at Jihye signaling him to hurry up and talk.
With all eyes focused on him, a more assertive voice flowed out.
“To be brutally honest. With your current levels, you’d die as soon as you enter the dungeon. It's not an exaggeration; you’d really die right at the entrance.”
“……”
“Not taking you to this dungeon doesn’t mean I won’t take you to any in the future. You might not understand since you haven’t experienced what a dungeon is like, but it’s not a place to decide whether to enter lightly.”
“We didn’t mean to take it lightly―”
“Of course, it’s also not a place to choose to enter just because you’re eager.”
“……”
“No matter what your intentions are, with your current skills, saying you want to go would just seem like bravado and take it lightly. Why? Because you…”
Rarely speaking so firmly and ruthlessly, Kang Sihyun trailed off, furrowing his brow.
He was conflicted.
Whether to speak more gently or to shock them with firm words.
He didn’t want to unnecessarily hurt the children who were already in a difficult situation and burning with the will to do something together. However, it was essential for the children to be aware of the dangers, to be more cautious in their decisions, and to realize their actual skill levels.
Within the guild, they were top-notch against ordinary fractures, but that was grossly insufficient for what lay ahead. Simply flattering them wouldn't help their growth. After a brief contemplation, Kang Sihyun decided to use shock therapy just this once.
“…Because you, in the dungeons, would be of no help.”
“……”
“You’re too lacking compared to the current dungeons. You’re not qualified to judge going to dungeons. That’s how weak you are. No matter what you say about dungeons, you don’t have enough influence yet. Honestly, does anyone among you have skills like Haehyuk?”
Silence was the response to his question. It couldn’t be helped. Haehyuk was among the top talents in Korea.
Class A children might be strong, but they weren’t representative of Korea’s strength. The children knew this.
“Even he couldn’t be sure of surviving there. An S-Class Awakener from the US struggled during the first dungeon. The Egypt dungeon team was made up of almost all quasi-S-Class talents or higher, excluding us. And still, surviving was all they could manage, and Haewoon returned severely injured. That’s the level of skill you currently possess.”
In the dungeons, their abilities would only be a hindrance.
Slightly softening his words, Kang Sihyun felt the atmosphere become somber. The children, directly told they were lacking, were at a loss for words, and Jihye looked at the lying Haewoon with slightly subdued eyes, while Haru, the most skilled among Class A children, added nothing more.
Nobody dared to casually refute Kang Sihyun’s words. Jihye was the one to restart the conversation in the subdued atmosphere.
“Honestly, I got swept up in the mood and said I wanted to go with you, but that was just a wish. A wish to go with you. I really wasn’t of any help in the Egypt dungeon, was I?”
The girl cautiously started speaking, fidgeting her fingers a bit before smiling awkwardly. That smile seemed to say sorry to Kang Sihyun, who then firmly closed his mouth.
“If the dungeon we are going to is more difficult than the one in Egypt, then I think it's right to listen to Kang Sihyun.”
The dungeon veteran admitted this easily. We lack both experience and skill. Adding that to her words, Hamin objected.
“By experience, Kang Sihyun also…”
“I have to go. I’m going because I have to. I’m going into the dungeon because it’s something only I can do, not like you guys.”
He wasn’t going because he had enough skill. Not because he was confident he could survive in the dungeon, nor because he wanted to go to the dungeon.
He had to bear the task of going to that dungeon, a place he had to go even if he didn’t want to, so when he bluntly cut off Hamin’s words, the boy who had boldly spoken fell silent at Kang Sihyun’s forcefulness. Kang Sihyun let the solemn atmosphere linger a bit longer before taking a breath.
It was meant to make them aware of the situation, not to lower their self-esteem. It seemed enough now, so it was time to change the mood.
“As I said earlier, not taking you to this dungeon doesn
’t mean I won’t take you to the next. It’s not that I ignored your desire to come along. I took that seriously, and I would indeed like to be with you guys if possible. But as of now, you are replaceable as combat support, and that’s why it’s difficult.”
No exaggeration, no understatement, just the facts made the children flinch. The words "replaceable as combat support" hit them hard. Kang Sihyun looked at their stern faces, then clenched his fist to overcome the awkwardness.
“But…”
“……”
“You guys are irreplaceable as my friends. So, grow your skills and come. With the emergence of the dungeon in Russia, three large fractures have opened up, and you will be going to support there. Improve your skills there, catch a Catastrophe-Class on your own, and then let’s go together.”
Just as you don’t want to lose me, I don’t want to lose you either.
Adding that softly, Kang Sihyun flinched under their penetrating gaze. The gloom in their eyes that had been listening turned vivid at that moment.
Feeling somewhat overwhelmed by their gaze, Kang Sihyun inadvertently felt his ears heat up, wondering if the words he had planted were insufficient. Covering his mouth with the back of his hand, he swallowed and then avoided their persistent stares.
“I also want to go with you guys next time.”
He hoped this statement would serve as motivation for the children to decide to grow their skills. Thinking this, and finally voicing his thoughts, the children exchanged glances before finally smiling lightly, their expressions somewhat determined, nodding in agreement.
They had understood why they couldn't go to this dungeon.
“So, basically, you’re telling us to shine in the large fracture and even catch a Catastrophe-Class.”
Hamin succinctly summed up the situation. Kang Sihyun nodded, and Hamin, promising to surprise everyone, asserted confidently, and the children agreed with him. Watching this, Kang Sihyun realized that the conversation had ended more peacefully and smoothly than he had thought, sighing in relief.
A compromise was reached where one side wasn’t swept away, leading to a fair concession and middle ground.
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