Chapter 30: Drunken Rambling

“…”

Ion couldn’t respond. His lips sealed shut as if stitched, Jin Seongha spoke.

“Was my question too shocking? Let’s start with something easier.”

“…”

“How did you know about the system levels and Giants?”

This, Ion could answer. He’d prepared for it.

“Someone told me before we entered the dungeon.”

“Told you? Who?”

“Can’t say. I signed a confidentiality agreement.”

“How’d you know terms like ‘Lord of Ashes’ or ‘Ult’?”

“Same person. Can’t tell you.”

“How many skills do you have?”

“Roughly two.”

“…”

Jin Seongha’s lips tilted up, amused by Ion’s brazen replies.

Jipyeong Seop, silent until now, sighed.

“Wow, lying so effortlessly with such an innocent face…”

Lying?

Jipyeong Seop didn’t have a truth-detecting skill, yet he was so certain…

The vibe’s off.

Ion couldn’t help glancing at Daon, who stared at a corner with a detached expression.

“Ion Corps Leader.”

Ion’s gaze snapped back to Jin Seongha. Their eyes met, Jin Seongha’s golden stare brimming with curiosity.

“You don’t seem to remember, so I’ll fill you in. But after hearing this, no more hiding.”

“…”

Jin Seongha recounted what happened.

“And my Sanse…”

Muttering weakly, Ion passed out in Jin Seongha’s arms.

“Ion!”

“Ion Hunter!”

Hunters surrounded them.

As soon as the Giant vanished, A-rank monsters swarmed, as if waiting. Defensive Hunters quickly raised shields to block attacks.

Boom! Screech! Crash!

“Jin Seongha! How’s Ion?” Lee Jina asked urgently, dropping formalities.

“Not dead. Unconscious,” he replied.

Lee Jina exhaled in relief. The mercenary trio—Hong Insu, Bae Younghoe, Shin Minji—rushed over.

“What the hell happened? What was Ion trying to say?” Hong Insu asked.

“Probably to take care of his Sansevieria. That plant he babies! Thought he was dying and left a will!” Bae Younghoe said.

“Must be. Even right before fainting, he ran to that plant after every fight,” Shin Minji added.

Hearing them, Jin Seongha, deep in thought, stood, cradling Ion. The boy’s small, thin frame was hidden in loose robes.

He handed Ion to the collection team leader.

“Get his Sansevieria and keep it by his side.”

“Yes, sir!”

The team leader hoisted Ion onto his back and retreated with the others. Jin Seongha turned, drawing his Black Cloud Sword.

For now—

Screeech!

—monsters were the priority.

…

Ion didn’t wake.

The Hunters decided to press on with the dungeon. They had no choice.

Even after the Giant left, return stones remained unusable. Destroying the gate stone was their only way out.

Spec-1 pushed forward quickly. Nearing the desert’s end, they reached the forest terrain hours later. Battling countless monsters, they reached the gate stone.

It was a world-record speed, but joy was muted.

Two guild members died to the Giant, and Ion’s condition was unknown.

The “World-Earth” and “Level 4” system messages muddled their minds.

Ion seemed to know something, but even A-rank healers’ skills couldn’t rouse him.

Spec-1 destroyed the gate stone.

An exit gate appeared.

Debate arose—leave immediately or stay? They chose to follow Ion’s words.

From his talk with the Giant, Ion clearly knew more. Right before collapsing, he’d insisted they collect all the green material before leaving, like a dying wish. How could they ignore it?

Plus…

Normally, exit gates’ duration was unknown, so teams left within hours, a day at most.

But their system windows, temporarily at Level 4, showed:

[Destination: World-Earth

Time until reset: 71:59:59…]

They deduced the exit would close when the timer hit zero.

The team set up camp near the exit, held a funeral for the two fallen guild members, and harvested the green material while waiting for Ion.

…

Three days later—

“Hey, Ion! You awake? Ion!” Hong Insu shouted.

Jin Seongha, petting Pippi, looked up.

Pru?

“He’s awake,” Jin Seongha said, tucking Pippi onto his shoulder. The forest’s mild sun allowed Pippi out.

Heading to Ion’s tent, he found Hong Insu, Bae Younghoe, Shin Minji, Lee Jina, and other Hunters crowding Ion, talking.

Ion sat, clutching his Sansevieria, cheek against its long leaves, eyes dazed. His usually vivid green eyes were a dull grass color, his expression guileless, making him look younger.

“Hey, look here. How many fingers?” Hong Insu held up his middle finger, waving it.

Ion, staring blankly, grabbed it with both hands.

Crack!

“Argh!” Hong Insu yelped as Ion bent it backward.

Gasps and murmurs erupted—What the hell? Insane!

“Why? Why’d you do that? To your sidekick? Why?” Hong Insu wailed.

Ion, still dazed, said, “Oh… sorry… thought you were cursing me…”

“Don’t mess with me! You did that on purpose!”

“No… really sorry…”

Ion drooped his eyebrows apologetically.

“Hey, Hong Insu, your fault. Why flash your middle finger at a guy who just woke up? Come here, I’ll fix it,” Shin Minji said.

“Don’t blame Ion Hunter. He’s not fully back yet,” Lee Jina added.

“Ha, a B-rank shouldn’t whine over a broken finger,” Bae Younghoe scoffed.

“No one’s on my side…” Hong Insu muttered, getting healed by Shin Minji.

Ion, clutching his Sansevieria, watched, then looked up, sensing a gaze.

He met Jin Seongha’s eyes and… grinned broadly.

Without his usual sharp, guarded look, he seemed truly boyish.

Pruurr.

Pippi trembled, as if saying, What’s wrong with this guy? It flattened like mochi, clinging to Jin Seongha’s back, tail wrapping his neck.

Jin Seongha didn’t remove it and sat before Ion.

“Ion Corps Leader, remember everything?”

“Wow…”

“…”

“Your voice is so cool, as always…”

Jin Seongha felt Pippi’s trembling.

“Memories?”

“Oh… yeah, I remember. The Giant left… I passed out from mana depletion…”

“Mana? You mean magic power?”

“Similar… my head hurts…”

He seemed to recall everything, but his cloudy eyes were concerning.

“The exit closes soon. I’ve got questions, but let’s leave first,” Jin Seongha said.

“Wait… did we harvest enough Moshi?”

“Moshi?”

“The green glowing stuff… we need lots of it… it’s rare… for humanity to reach a level like Idea…” Ion mumbled.

He tried to stand but collapsed from a headache. Hong Insu, grumbling, asked, “We got tons of the green stuff, don’t worry. But what’s Idea?”

Ion, vision blurring, blinked slowly.

“Another world… we’ll face it this year… but you might not see it, hyung…”

“What? Why not?”

“You kill Choi Jungo and die by suicide before then…”

“…”

“Oh… my head…”

“…”

Choi Jungo, a famous monster tamer and Jin Seongha’s friend, was known to all.

Even in a daze, it was a chilling statement.

Hong Insu, who had no desire to kill Choi or himself, looked at Jin Seongha to explain, but he shook his head.

Jin Seongha stared into Ion’s cloudy eyes. Lee Jina did the same.

“Must be a mental skill from the Giant,” she said.

“We need to get him to a specialist,” Jin Seongha replied.

“Yes. Time’s short—let’s wrap up,” Lee Jina agreed.

As Hunters scrambled to prepare, Jin Seongha stayed by Ion. Shin Minji offered to stay for healing, but he declined.

He wanted Ion alone to dig deeper.

He’d never told anyone, but Jin Seongha had heard “Moshi” before.

Long ago, someone gave him clues about the future, mentioning “Moshi.”

Was Ion connected to them?

He kept Ion alone to find out, but… conversation was impossible.

Ion wasn’t in a state to talk.

When Jin Seongha offered water, Ion grinned.

“You’re so kind… not like I heard…”

“…”

Jin Seongha gave him water. Ion sipped twice and stopped.

“My reputation’s that bad?”

“Yeah… Daon said you’re nice, but I didn’t believe it… you only love animals…”

“Daon. Aide Daon. So you know each other.”

“Oh, that was a secret… shouldn’t have said… am I an idiot?”

“You’re under a Giant’s mental skill. Don’t blame yourself.”

“No… it’s just drunkenness from mana depletion… I’ll pass out soon and won’t remember this…”

Ion suddenly clapped both hands over his mouth.

“Why?”

“Don’t make me talk… just knock me out…”

“Why?”

“When I’m like this, I can’t stop talking… I say things I shouldn’t…”

Jin Seongha thought for a moment, then asked, “Ion, what’s your awakening rank?”

“Think of it as S-rank…”

“How many skills?”

“Never counted…”

“How’d you know about Giants?”

“Someone told me…”

“Who?”

“Teacher…”

“How many stages are in the dungeon level system?”

“Three stages… up to Level 10…”

Despite covering his mouth, Ion answered everything.

“Ion Corps Leader, this ‘Teacher’…”

“Agh!”

Ion moved his hands to his ears, blocking them to avoid answering.

“Stop… I really can’t talk more…”

He was near tears. Though an adult, he seemed like a tormented teen, pricking Jin Seongha’s conscience. Taking advantage of someone unaware of their words due to a mental skill…

But he sensed this was his only chance to get answers.

“What can’t you say?”

“Too much…”

“The most important, urgent thing. Just one.”

Jin Seongha doubted Ion would answer, but with drooping eyelashes, he hesitated, then spoke.

“I need to revive the Demon King soon…”

“…”