UHNA 19

Chapter 19

Bari-degi’s Domain (2)

Inside, it was a dungeon without killing intent.

There was no smell of blood, and no sign of enemies.

My vision was clear, but the sense of distance was off. I could hear sounds, but they followed a beat too late.

The ground was solid, and the walls were rough.

It looked like a mining-type dungeon, but the light of any ore veins had not appeared yet.

I walked while biting my lip, afraid of losing hold of my wish.

From time to time, I took small sips of the mental strength potion.

The effect was faint, but it was enough.

How long had I been walking?

“Ah.”

The rope tied around my waist suddenly became light.

I stopped and turned around.

The rope was cut.

The connection to the outside was gone.

But strangely, fear did not come rushing in.

‘What a strange place.’

My head felt a little foggy, but not like being drugged by cold medicine. It was more like being half-asleep—peacefully hazy.

It felt like my senses were being dulled little by little.

I threw the rope away and walked forward again.

I didn’t care.

What mattered in this dungeon was not the path back.

It was only to make a wish and find the exit.

The wish to become a great potion maker held my steps in place.

Whenever the cozy fog tried to brush past me, I recalled that wish more clearly.

It was only a few days, and just because they were children and beloved characters from the original story, but even that was enough for me to hold such a wish. I knew that most of them were kids who would willingly risk their lives to save others.

I looked ahead—into the pitch-dark interior.

The first corridor of the Bari-degi dungeon was guarded by the twilight.

The twilight silently called to me from there.

I willingly stepped deeper inside.

The deeper part of the twilight dungeon was quieter than I expected.

There was no sign of pushing intruders away, and no pressure that felt like a test.

That didn’t mean it was safe.

The feeling that there was no danger was the first way this dungeon deceived people.

I steadied my breathing and moved forward.

Even though each step clearly touched the ground, the sensation in the soles of my feet slowly blurred.

The cozy fog flowed past my calves, lightly tightening without stealing my body heat. It felt like the touch of something with warmth and life—something with its own will.

That was why I had to stay even more alert.

‘Become a great potion maker.’

I repeated the wish in my mind.

Even without moving my lips, the thought was clear.

If my thoughts became vague, the dungeon would slip into that gap.

So I repeated the wish in rhythm with my steps.

Once when I inhaled.

Once when I exhaled.

Doing that left less room for other images to creep in.

The path split several times.

To the left, a soft light spread.

To the right, deeper darkness continued.

From the side with light came the sound of metal clashing.

From the dark side came the sound of cloth brushing past.

I stopped for a moment and recalled the nature of the dungeon.

Here, light was not the right answer, and darkness was not necessarily a trap.

The problem was the reason for choosing.

I asked myself why I wanted to take a certain path.

Because it looked safe? Or because it seemed like it would end faster?

The moment voices tried to whisper in my ear, adjusting my will, that path became the wrong one.

So I chose the option without a reason.

I used my wish as the 기준.

I chose the path that didn’t seem necessary for becoming a great potion maker.

I took another sip of the mental strength potion.

The effect wasn’t strong, but the bitterness left on my tongue anchored me to reality.

I already knew that discomfort was the first thing to disappear in comfort.

And when discomfort disappears, caution disappears with it.

So I deliberately left a bit of unpleasantness behind.

I couldn’t tell how long I walked.

In this dungeon, a sense of time lost its meaning.

As I walked, it sometimes felt like I could hear the sound of a flute in the distance, and at other moments, like someone was calling my name.

I didn’t turn my head.

I didn’t pretend not to hear.

I just passed by.

If you deny its existence, the dungeon shakes even more.

Acknowledging it, but not reacting, was the safest attitude.

Then suddenly, the space ahead opened up.

The fog thinned, and the texture of the ground changed.

Not stone, but smooth flagstones.

There was a door standing there.

An exit.

More precisely, a door that looked like an exit.

I stopped in front of it.

The thought crossed my mind that maybe I could just leave like this.

A voice echoed inside me, saying that even if I gave up the reward, surviving was what mattered most.

That voice was logical.

And kind.

That was why it was dangerous.

‘Become a great potion maker.’

I grabbed my wish again.

They said that in this dungeon, you must make a wish and find the exit to reach the reward room.

You weren’t supposed to pass through something that merely looked like an exit. You had to choose based on your wish.

I raised my hand but didn’t touch the door.

Instead, I turned my gaze to the side of it.

There was another path there.

A dim gap that I hadn’t noticed from the start.

I stepped into that gap.

At that moment, the door vanished without a sound.

The fog split, and the space expanded.

And I stepped into the reward room.

The room wasn’t large.

It wasn’t flashy either.

The ceiling was high, and the floor was covered in black stone.

In the center of the room stood a single chair.

The figure sitting on it was something I could recognize at a glance.

It was the form of the King of the Underworld.

Exactly as described in folklore.

A black official robe and a neatly groomed beard.

There was dignity, but no sense of threat.

The being looked down at me and spoke quietly.

“You made it here alive.”

I bowed my head.

My knees trembled, but not enough to collapse.

This was not a being to fight.

Nor a being that judged.

It was closer to a manager standing at a boundary.

“You didn’t come looking for the Thread of Reversal, did you?”

At those words, I lifted my head.

The King of the Underworld wore an expression as if he already knew.

“That has already been taken by someone else.”

I let out a short breath.

I already knew that much, so it wasn’t surprising.

‘That wasn’t my goal to begin with.’

The King of the Underworld looked at me for a moment, then asked again.

“Do you desire another treasure?”

I nodded without hesitation.

What I wanted was already decided.

If I changed my desire here, this dungeon would not let me go.

I saw several items placed along one side of the room.

Among them, one caught my eye in particular.

A fan painted with tiger patterns.

It wasn’t flashy, and it didn’t look powerful.

But the moment I reached out, I felt certain that this was what I had to take.

I picked up the fan.

The King of the Underworld said nothing.

He only nodded once.

At that moment, the room blurred, and my vision narrowed as if folding in.

The next instant, I was standing outside the dungeon.

Cold air struck my face.

The moonlight was still dim, and the clearing looked the same as before.

And in front of me stood Hyun Iseo, gripping the rope with trembling hands.

“Hey!”

“Huh?”

“You—ha! No, seriously, ugh.”

“Why, what?”

His face was pale.

“You came out.”

His voice shook a little.

“The rope snapped in the middle, so I kept debating whether I should call someone.”

“Ah! Right. That must’ve scared you!”

I slapped one hand with the one holding the fan and exclaimed,

“Sorry for making you worry.”

He let out a short breath.

“If you’re sorry, don’t make requests like that next time.”

The words were blunt, but relief was clearly mixed in.

We stood there for a while, catching our breath.

I could see the tension slowly draining from Hyun Iseo’s shoulders.

I didn’t rush him.

This kind of dungeon wore down the nerves of the person waiting outside more than the one who entered.

On the way back to the dorms, he glanced at the fan in my hand.

“That’s the reward?”

I nodded.

“What does it do?”

“Localized temperature control.”

He stopped for a moment, then scoffed.

“You risked that much for something like that? Hah.”

I smiled.

“I can make potions more delicately now.”

At that, Hyun Iseo stopped walking.

He looked at me with a strange expression for a moment, then quickly averted his gaze.

“You’re a strange one. I’m heading off.”

He gave a curt farewell and walked toward the men’s dormitory.

I tightened my grip on the fan.

The sensation left in my hand was, strangely enough, warm.