Editors: Spade, Roki
Proofreader: Sapphire
Four days later, the results of the sixth dungeon’s clue analysis were released.
Yisun’s penalty period had ended just two days ago, and the Chord Hunters were not overly anxious. With only two locations among the Seven Wonders left, they were prepared for either outcome.
The entire group gathered in Chord’s office for the briefing on the sixth dungeon. In the center of the conference room stood a long table that could comfortably seat all twenty members. Shin Jian turned on the TV and began discussing the results of the analysis.
“The item that appeared when we connected all the stone fragments is a ‘tombstone,’” she announced.
A tombstone, about 30 centimeters in length, appeared on the screen. From past experiences, they knew that the shape or material of the clue would hint at something in relation to the next dungeon. In this case, a tombstone as a clue meant that the next dungeon had already been determined.
“The inscription on the tombstone was written in ancient Greek and translates to, ‘In Caria, a peaceful rest awaits.’ Caria was once a province of Greece, with Halicarnassus as one of its capital cities.” Shin Jian clicked the remote, and a large structure popped up on the screen. “This is the Tomb of Mausolus, also known as the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, a burial monument built for Mausolus, the governor of the Persian Empire. It is believed to be the sixth dungeon we must clear.”
The construction of this monument began during the governor’s lifetime. Mausolus was a skilled leader who brought peace to Persia by finding common ground between the Persian rebels and the Persian king. Though he held the title of governor, he effectively ruled over Caria. His love for Greek art led him to invite Greek artists to build his tomb before his death. It wasn’t completed until after his passing, and the monument was so grand and beautiful that people would continue to celebrate his achievements for years to come.
The tomb was an impressive structure, measuring 125 meters all around and standing at a height of 50 meters. According to historical records, it had four levels, with the first one serving as a wide marble foundation adorned with statues of mounted warriors at each corner. The second level, also known as the central burial chamber, featured 36 towering columns made of gilded marble and surrounded by sculptures of deities. On this floor, there were walls dividing the space and housing the actual burial chamber crafted from smooth white marble.
The third level had a massive pyramidal roof comprised of 24 tiers, while the fourth and final level boasted an intricately carved marble quadrigua perched on top. This tomb was renowned as one of the Seven Wonders of the World not only for its sheer size, but also for its intricate and beautiful embellishments.
The Mausoleum was the latest among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to be destroyed, ravaged by an earthquake in the 12th century. However, remnants of it survived until the 15th century when Crusaders used its stones to build a fortress. Today, only a small section of its foundation remained.
Yisun watched the screen calmly while Ki Joohyuk trembled with fear. “As if it wasn’t ominous enough that the clue was damaged, it’s a tombstone…”
The thought of being buried in such a place terrified him. Na Gunwoo patted him on the back, reassuring him that he would take care of him so he wouldn’t end up in the burial chamber. Ki Joohyuk was grateful and sobbed with relief.
“I wonder what the boss monster will be this time?”
“Maybe it will come out of the grave? It is the tomb of Mausolus, so perhaps the governor’s corpse…?”
A gasp could be heard from one side of the room, but the Hunters were unfazed by the familiar sound as they continued their meeting. In the second dungeon, Babylon’s Hanging Gardens, the boss monster had been a giant tree on the rooftop. It wouldn’t be surprising if this boss took on a form other than human as well.
Sa Hyeon turned to Han Arin, his eyes fixed on the screen as he spoke. “Let’s try to avoid using your Earthquake ability in this dungeon. The boss fight will most likely take place on the second floor of the building, and using your abilities there could lead to the collapse of the entire structure.” There had been discussions about Han Arin summoning a sword before entering the building, but Sa Hyeon was hesitant about relying on her hidden ability.
“Based on our experience in the first dungeon with the undead, I don’t think physical attacks are going to be very effective…”
The only people to have entered the first dungeon of the Seven Great Raids were the five core members of Chord. Han Arin and Na Gunwoo sighed as they recalled the battle at King Khu’fu’s pyramid, and Ki Joohyuk looked even more stunned. Yisun, who had been watching them exchange glances curiously, suddenly made eye contact with Sa Hyeon.
He was sitting right next to him, so nothing stood in the way as their gazes met. Yisun felt a sense of unease in the pit of his stomach. However, Sa Hyeon held eye contact and spoke calmly, as if relaying objective information. “These corpses are pretty tricky to deal with.”
“…Ah, I see…”
“They primarily use magic rather than physical attacks, and they’re most likely to use curses.”
At the mention of corpses, Yisun paused for a moment, but then nodded in understanding. Sa Hyeon’s composed demeanor helped calm his nerves as well. He didn’t want to overreact or overthink; this was only about the monsters they would face in the dungeon.
“The only somewhat manageable situation would be if the undead monsters crawled out of their graves, but even those are pretty tenacious.”
“They won’t die even with a sliver of HP left and just keep coming at you. Ugh…” Ki Joohyuk grumbled in frustration as he recalled the mummy-like monsters he had encountered in King Khu’fu’s pyramid, while Shin Jian zoomed in on the image on the screen.
“There were statues of gods between the pillars on the second floor where the burial chamber is located, so there’s a good chance for the mob monsters to be gods.”
“It looks like we’ll also be fighting knights on horseback on the first floor,” Han Arin added with a roll of her eyes. “Gods on the second floor, and then finally, a corpse or a ghost?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Soon, the Chord Hunters each chimed in with their opinions, having spent the entire week preparing for what was to come. However, the fact that the dungeon was quite tricky meant that the meeting dragged on for hours.
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Ki Joohyuk mentioned a new bakery cafe that had just opened near the Guild’s building and invited him to come along. Yisun wondered how his earlier comment about loving the smell of freshly baked bread had evolved into love for desserts, but he still nodded.
On the way out, Han Arin and Na Gunwoo shared suspicious nods and glances with Ki Joohyuk. But before Yisun could dwell on it, he was soon dragged out of the office by the fussing Ki Joohyuk.
On their way out of the elevator, the atmosphere of the Guild seemed different than usual.
“It seems a bit noisy, is there something going on?”
“Oh, it’s the Guild’s founding anniversary celebration. It’s the 40th anniversary, so it’s going to be a big event,” Ki Joohyuk said, pointing to the wreaths in the lobby. He explained that it was still a while away but that it was going to be pretty big this time, maybe even the biggest celebration they’d had yet.
Ki Joohyuk then paused for a moment, looking around, before whispering to Yisun in a hushed tone, “The Vice Guild leader is throwing a big party on purpose to boost his image. With Chord constantly clearing the Seven Raids, his position is being overshadowed. So he’s hosting this party to take center stage.”
“Ahh…”
“He’s probably going to invite us to be ‘guests of honor’ too, though our leader won’t let it be.”
“…Will Chord attend?”
“Of course! We’re still part of the HN Guild, right?”
Ki Joohyuk burst out laughing at Yisun’s reluctant expression. Yisun quickly waved his hands and explained that he didn’t mean it that way.
“I don’t know if our team can attend such an event during the raid period… Didn’t you say that people are sensitive to the behavior of Hunters? I don’t want them to think we’re fooling around when a dungeon is about to happen…”
“Ah, it’s okay, this is a pretty big event, and besides, we’ve been doing well, haven’t we? I mean, we’ve cleared all but the third dungeon in a single attempt.”
Ki Joohyuk emphasized that a one-clear of an S-class dungeon was something really hard to achieve, and that they’d even done it within 10 hours of entering, which was considered a world record.
“That’s why I think they’re going to make the event even more spectacular. Recently, public opinion has been like, ‘Chord is doing so well, but what has the HN Guild done for them?’ When we cleared the second dungeon, the Vice Guild leader said he would fully support Chord in the future, but he didn’t actually do anything to follow through with his words.”
Ki Joohyuk mused that they would probably give out a token bonus or a symbolic trophy at the event.
“Although the nature of the relationship between our leader and the Vice Guild leader is quite well known, I don’t think they’ll have any friction in public. That is, of course, as long as the Vice Guild leader doesn’t make a scene.”
As they talked, they made their way outside the Guild building. The sky was clear, and the breeze was cool. It was a perfect day for a walk; Yisun tilted his head back for a moment and looked up at the sky.
White clouds floated peacefully in the blue sky, and the bright sunlight shining through the clouds was dazzling. The HN Guild building was located in the center of a bustling area, so there were quite a few people on the streets. However, since it was midday, a time when most people were at work, it was relatively quiet.
Yisun was scanning the many cafes around, trying to find the bakery cafe Ki Joohyuk was talking about, when the latter asked him, “By the way, Restorer-nim. Is there anything you want?”
“…Yes?”
“Ah, I mean, we get a lot of rewards for clearing dungeons, so I was wondering if you had any plans on how to spend it? Is there anything in particular you’ve wanted to buy?”
Seeing Yisun’s puzzled expression, Ki Joohyuk started rambling. Quite surprisingly, it wasn’t until he was asked that Yisun realized he hadn’t thought about it.
He knew that money was being wired into his bank account, but he never checked it, and he never thought about doing something with it. Maybe it was because he had spent the past four years paying off a huge debt and had never spent a lot of money on himself before, or he simply never had the desire to have anything.
Ki Joohyuk looked at Yisun, who still looked confused, and asked him again.
“Then, is there anything you want to do…?”
“…Where did this come from all of a sudden?”
“What? Oh, that, aren’t we doing well in our raids? Usually, after we finish a difficult dungeon like this, we would celebrate and go on vacation or something.”
Ki Joohyuk went on a tangent about how, now that the Seven Great Raids were coming to an end, the Hunters were already talking about what they were going to do afterward. Everyone was getting antsy because they couldn’t go out for anything other than official events during the raids.
“So, do you have any plans in mind, Restorer-nim? Anything you want to do or experience once the raid is over…”
As the question was posed, Yisun’s movements slowed and he shifted his gaze between Ki Joohyuk and the street ahead. Then, he looked down at the ground for a moment.
It wasn’t uncommon for Yisun to fall into these moments of silence, where he appeared almost lifeless. Though his face always appeared devoid of life, there were times when it was even more pronounced. With a blank expression, he could easily be mistaken for a motionless doll.
This strange contrast often created a sense of distance, making Ki Joohyuk feel uneasy. Yisun turned the question around in a casual voice, calmly tossing it back at him, “What are you planning to do after the Raid, Hunter Ki Joohyuk?”
“M, me? Uh… I think I’ll probably take a short break and then get right back to cramming.”
Ki Joohyuk sighed heavily, “Keeping up is going to be tough since I’ve pretty much given up on this semester due to the raid.” On top of that, he said he had to come up with a senior project to graduate, so he had his hands full. Then his eyes suddenly started twinkling, “Ah, Restorer-nim, will you come to my graduation exhibition? I have yet to show you the soul of my art!”
“Oh? When is it being held?”
“Next semester, at the end of this year, maybe around December?”
Faced with Ki Joohyuk’s eyes that were filled with anticipation, Yisun fell silent. Raids happened every half a month to a month, so at the latest, they would have cleared all of it in the first half of the year. As he was thinking, Ki Joohyuk pleaded, “The end of the Raid doesn’t mean the end of our relationship, right?”
Yisun was hesitating. Never before was he faced with such a definite date in the future. Barely managing to hide his expression, he replied that he’d see when the time came. Ki Joohyuk looked a little disappointed at the vague answer, but then he smiled and nodded. “If you’re available, you should definitely come!”
Yisun could only offer an awkward smile.
In no time, they found themselves at the bakery cafe. It was a very large shop, and the smell of sweet bread wafted in as soon as they entered, as tempting as Ki Joohyuk had claimed. Despite it being a weekday afternoon, there were quite a few people, so Yisun adjusted his hood.
Meanwhile, Ki Joohyuk enthusiastically started picking out bread. Yisun’s gaze, which had been watching him, suddenly turned towards the cake display. Behind the transparent glass, there were all sorts of whole cakes and slices, all delicately crafted. As Yisun gazed at it quietly, Ki Joohyuk suddenly asked, “Restorer-nim, do you like strawberry cake?”
“What? Ah, well, I don’t hate it…” Yisun trailed off ambiguously and looked away. He had been looking at the strawberry cake without realizing it.
The strawberry cake was the last birthday cake he had given his friend Kang Youngjoon a few months ago. Even though he knew it would be a meaningless deceit to give a birthday cake to a friend who was already dead, he had bought it anyway.
The sudden reminder of the past made him feel mildly sick, but he hid it with a familiar ease and turned the question around, “Does Hunter Ki Joohyuk like strawberry cake?”
“I eat everything! But if I had to pick a favorite, I’d say chocolate? Mocha is also good…“ Ki Joohyuk was quite the talkative person, so when he was asked a question, he would go on a tangent about it for a long time. Yisun nodded as he listened to Ki Joohyuk ramble on and on, only for him to start panicking mid-talk. He muttered something unintelligible to himself about getting carried away again, and then he asked Yisun which cake he preferred. His gaze was desperate. “What kind of cake do you like, Restorer-nim? Strawberry, whipped cream… Maybe chocolate, or blueberry?”
“Hmm….”
“Also, is there anything else you’d like to have? Anything you can think of…”
Yisun’s eyelids drooped in a slow blink. Ki Joohyuk’s expression and demeanor evoked a familiar feeling. He now realized that his actions had a surprisingly obvious intent. Maybe that was why Na Gunwoo and Han Arin had exchanged secret signals with Ki Joohyuk.
His pale brown eyes clouded over for a moment, but then he turned back to the cake display, feigning his usual calm. He’d completely forgotten about it since the incident. It was just another day among others, as he spent the last year muddling through life like a walking dead…
It seemed like his birthday was coming soon.
After returning, Yisun continued to check the Restoration maps in his private office. Sa Hyeon, who had determined that his control over his restoration abilities had reached a satisfactory level, was no longer training him, so all he needed to do was memorize the restoration maps perfectly by the time he entered the dungeon.
Yisun was concerned about whether to restore the third and fourth floors of the Mausoleum. Considering Chord’s biggest battle would likely be on the second floor, and the third floor, which made for the ceiling, could collapse, he would restore it. Though, he had his doubts about the fourth floor because it had the statue at the very top.
However, he had restored Zeus’s throne in the third dungeon, which prevented the mob monsters from attacking, so there was a possibility the statue on the fourth floor could also be some sort of clue. The statue depicted Governor Mausolus and his wife riding in a carriage, so it would require careful restoration.
In the silence of the room, Yisun repeatedly reviewed the Restoration maps. He had to memorize it so that he could visualize it even with his eyes closed, which wasn’t easy because the Mausoleum was known for its delicacy and sophistication.
He thought he should keep looking at the map until he memorized it, but… he started dozing off. Whether it was because of the quiet space or because he went out for a short time earlier in the day, even the sunlight streaming in through the window made his eyelids feel heavy.
He’d never dozed off at the office before, so he tried to force himself to stay awake somehow, but his body easily surrendered to the drowsiness, and his eyes closed.
After peacefully dozing off for a while, he suddenly felt a subtle sense of another presence and opened his eyes. He blinked languidly, trying to focus through his heavy-lidded eyes, and saw a hand in front of him. “…?”
Yisun had fallen asleep with his arms propped up on his desk and his head leaning on them, and the first thing he saw was a hand in the air. He stared blankly up at the hand, which seemed to be shielding his face from the sunlight, and then slowly shifted his gaze forward, finally making eye contact with someone.
Sa Hyeon was standing in front of him.
Yisun quickly sat up, startled. He was so startled that his arm slammed against the desk.
He hung his head in embarrassment at the feeling of being caught slacking by his boss. Unconsciously, he smoothed down his hair, thinking it might have become disheveled due to sleep. Just as he was about to apologize, Sa Hyeon casually asked, “Do you feel very tired?”
“Ah, no. I just… dozed off for a second.”
“How many minutes do you think I’ve been standing here?”
Yisun cursed himself for saying the wrong thing, but then a strange feeling suddenly struck him. If he had seen him sleeping, he could have woken him up immediately or just ignored him, so why didn’t he?
Suddenly, at the thought of Sa Hyeon shielding him with his hand, the feelings overwhelming his mind almost drove him mad. His heart was racing uncontrollably, but he chalked it up to waking up and being startled, and he took a deep breath.
“I guess you’re comfortable here now.”
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be. I didn’t mean to blame you. I didn’t mean to be sarcastic either. I just thought back to when you first came here. You were very nervous and uncomfortable.” The words were spoken so very softly. Yisun slowly raised his head, and when their eyes met, Sa Hyeon’s mouth curled into a smile.
“Since we did this and that here before entering the fifth dungeon, I thought maybe you’d shy away from the space, but I guess not.”
Once, twice, three times. Yisun blinked slowly, and the next thing he knew, he felt a tremendous amount of discomfort. What had been a comfortable space had suddenly become uncomfortable. Even worse was the fact that he could see the sofa right behind Sa Hyeon.
As Yisun stood there, unsure of what expression to make, Sa Hyeon reached down to touch his hand. Yisun’s hand, which was resting on the desk, unconsciously moved closer, reaching out to him. He thought Sa Hyeon was about to mark him again.
However, a questioning look arose on Sa Hyeon’s face as he looked oddly at Yisun, who suddenly placed his hand on his palm.
“Yisun-ssi, my penalty period has yet to end.”
After a moment of confusion, Yisun quickly withdrew his hand. Only yesterday did Sa Hyeon use his hidden ability on his friend, so it had only been two days into his penalty period. Therefore, there was no way he had meant to mark him just now, and yet he had absentmindedly reacted by habit.
Now feeling both uncomfortable and embarrassed, he tried to pull his hand away, but Sa Hyeon grabbed his hand again and held his wrist with an indifferent expression. It seemed like his goal had been to check his wrist all along.
“I make sure you eat, but you’re still so thin. Must be because you’ve been sick for a week as a penalty…”
Whether Yisun was embarrassed or not, Sa Hyeon still checked his wrist, then asked him to stand up and slowly scanned his upper body. Sa Hyeon seemed to be objectively assessing his condition, when suddenly, his hand moved to Yisun’s hair.
Yisun tensed, then watched as Sa Hyeon casually touched the ends of his hair. His gaze shifted sideways, immediately catching the approaching hand. Long and slender fingers stretched out before his eyes.
“Trim the ends just a little bit…” Sa Hyeon muttered, then gently tousled the front of Yisun’s hair. He lightly swept it back, then moved it to the side, checking something. Yisun felt a little uncomfortable as he watched Sa Hyeon’s hand moving right in front of him. The sensation of fingers lightly touching his forehead and the tickling feeling of hair brushing against it felt unfamiliar.
Yisun, strangely frozen and unable to react for a moment, finally asked, “What are you doing all of the sudden…?”
By then, Sa Hyeon had withdrawn his hand, having tousled Yisun’s hair as well. Feeling unnecessarily burdened by the touch, Yisun shook his head from side to side to mess up his hair again. Sa Hyeon chuckled at his reaction. “I’m thinking about how to style you, Yisun-ssi.”
“…?”
Suddenly, Yisun recalled the information he had heard from Ki Joohyuk a few hours ago. He had mentioned that there was going to be a big party to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the HN Guild, and that Chord would be there.
Sa Hyeon smirked at the dazed Yisun, reaching out this time to tug at the collar of the hoodie he usually wore, “I don’t like others finding faults with my people.”
Ahhh! Yes! I’m looking forward to the birthday arc which is probably mean but I want to see how it differs from the manwha
Birthday arc was too excitiinggg, we got angst, drama, and their first kith 🤭
Exactly!!!!!! It was so delicious! Thank you for your hard work!
Thanks for the update ❤️❤️❤️
Thank youu for reading(also for pointing out my typo last chapter, i’m grateful) 💞🌸
❤️❤️❤️😇
It’s how you can’t stop watching how 2 trains are crashing that’s how I can stop reading this book
Thank you for your translation 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Hearing you enjoy it makes me so happy😊! Thank you for reading~~ 💞🌸
(-_-;)・・・Embarrassing of my self now 😅 Thank you for your work ❤️
Thanks for the chapter
Thank youu for reading 💞🌸
Thanks for the chapter