Episode 21

At the center of the door was a keyhole that seemed to whisper, “Insert the key here.”

Saebyeok slid the now-enlarged <Secret House Key> into the hole.

Click. Click.

There were so many locking sounds that she thought,
“Even a bank vault isn’t this secure.”

Then, the golden door turned blue.

Creak—

It swung open as if to say, “Welcome.”

Saebyeok swallowed hard.

“Old man, if I don’t come back in five minutes, report it, okay? Tell them an item ate its owner.”

“Hmph, stop talking nonsense and just tame it before you come back.”

Although the old man’s voice sounded gruff, his eyes sparkled like those of a young blacksmith staring at a fascinating artifact for the first time.

Saebyeok stepped through the door, gripping her spear tightly, ready to react to anything.

Inside was a vast space, as wide as an auditorium.
Blue light stretched endlessly, making it hard to tell where the ceiling ended and the floor began.

Her footsteps made splashing sounds, as if she were stepping in shallow water—yet her hands came away dry when she reached down to touch it.

Then a notification appeared in front of her.

!! Notification !!

<Dragon Warrior> Hwang Taesan is attempting to enter <Atlas’ Safe House>.

Do you wish to allow entry?

Keys available: 1. Maximum capacity: 7 people. (0/7)

She turned her head to see Hwang Taesan standing outside the door she had left open.

This wasn’t surprising—this dungeon belonged to the Black Dragon Guild, and the old man she was trading with was a blacksmith from that same guild.

What was surprising was that Hwang Taesan was blocked by an invisible barrier and couldn’t come in.

Another notification appeared.

!! Notification !!

<One-Legged Blacksmith> Seok Geum-cheol is attempting to enter <Atlas’ Safe House>.

Do you wish to allow entry?

Keys available: 1. Maximum capacity: 7 people. (0/7)

Curiosity overcame the old man, and he tapped the barrier with his hammer.

At that moment, Saebyeok noticed potion bottles scattered across the space—potions she had stored in her inventory.

“…A house.”

The word escaped her lips, and her head spun.

“It really is a house.”

Her subconscious had reshaped it for convenience, like an inventory—but <Atlas’ Safe House> was literally a house.
The <Secret House Key> was a real key.

No one could enter without the key, and even if they found the door, they needed her permission to pass through.

“A true Safe House…”

She laughed softly.

“Wow… my imagination was too small.”

A limitless inventory had seemed crazy enough. But this… this was something else.

When she muttered,

“But what kind of house has no rooms or windows?”

—the empty space warped.

Walls rose, doors appeared, and glass panes that might or might not be real formed windows. Outside, a cosmic expanse glittered like a river of stars.

It was as if she had become the architect of the space itself.

‘This is why the key is separate,’ she thought. ‘This isn’t just an inventory. It’s… something bigger.’

A strange unease stirred within her.

The title <Server Administrator> had come to her because she was the last surviving human on Earth.

If the skills attached to that title were this powerful, didn’t it mean the world required someone with such power to protect it?

She shook her head.

‘No… don’t overthink it. This just makes things easier. I was prepared even without it.’

After exploring the interior a little longer, Saebyeok exited.

The blue door turned gold once more and vanished, while the large key shrank back to earring size in her hand.

Hwang Taesan froze, still holding his war hammer mid-swing.

Saebyeok narrowed her eyes at it.

“Every time I see it, I think… isn’t that weapon a bit too brutal?”

Standing over 190 cm tall with a fighter’s build, he already looked intimidating.
The massive war hammer made him seem even more dangerous, while tattoos covering his arms and shoulders made him look more monster than man.

But Saebyeok knew the truth—he wasn’t what he seemed.

“Or… were you actually worried that the item ate me and came to rescue me?”

Hwang Taesan didn’t answer—until she made one final jab.

“Wait… you were watching me, weren’t you?”

At that, he flinched.

Then he pulled out a folded newspaper.

“Mysterious Supporter.”

He opened it to the front page, showing lightning striking Bukhansan, a collapsed cult building, and a photo of Kim I-han.

“That was you, wasn’t it?”

His deep voice reverberated through the underground passage.

“Same skill as the one you used at Seoul Station, right?”

The weight in his tone made it clear—don’t bother lying.

“Yeah, that was me. Same skill.”

Saebyeok answered lightly and extended her hand.

“I was too busy to introduce myself back then. Nice to meet you. I’m Han Saebyeok, <Lancer of Dawn>.”