"Ms. Jo."

After getting Heejong in the car, I approached Yoonji, who looked as if her world had ended. She didn't respond when I called her name, so I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ms. Jo?"

"Kiyaaaaah!" She jumped and let out a shrill scream. 'What's with her?'

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Yusin was confused. Her face was a mask of terror.

"I'm not usually this twisted, and I wasn't really trying to get more money, I just think I lost my mind for a moment!" she rambled, the words tumbling out unprompted. "Seeing CEO Shin Nara being so deferential to a kid and asking me to look after you… it just got to me! I was jealous! Everyone in the group chat was telling me to teach you a lesson, so I was just playing hard to get, but then Hunter Heejong twisted the conversation, and things got out of hand! I must have been crazy!" She bowed her head. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry…!"

"…I-It's okay. Why are you suddenly acting like this? It's not like I'm going to do anything to you."

She stared at me, tears streaming down her face. 'Ah, right. I did threaten them once.' According to statistics, over seventy percent of players said that people were more terrifying than monsters in a dungeon. In a confined space, anything could happen. The moment opinions differed on rewards or loot, even comrades who had overcome hardships together could turn on each other.

That's why hunters were so sensitive, especially mercenaries like them who weren't part of a dedicated team. Still, Yoonji's reaction was extreme. It seemed like she might have some kind of trauma.

She fell silent. She was clearly hesitating, debating whether to abandon the Labyrinth Dungeon excursion or continue with us.

"If you want to leave, you can. It's okay." Given her panicked reaction, it seemed like the right thing for her to do.

But she lowered her head and said quietly, "I can't… do that."

"Pardon?"

"Because the CEO… asked me to…"

Hmm. I scratched the side of my head. Probing further felt like crossing a line into her personal life, so I decided to let it go. "It's up to you whether you believe me, but if you're going to continue with us, I promise nothing like that will happen again."

She remained silent. Only then did she give a small nod and get to her feet on trembling legs. We stood against the blowing wind, looking out at the scenery. She seemed to have calmed down a little.

"Ugh, I really showed my junior something I shouldn't have…" she said in a self-deprecating tone. "I'm sorry. When my mental state shatters, I tend to completely lose it."

"…Haha."

I got the feeling this woman wasn't quite normal either. To break the tense atmosphere, I spoke as we headed to the car. "Ms. Jo."

"Yes."

"Are you sure you don't need to change your clothes?"

She froze mid-stride. Her eyes followed my gaze down. She whipped her head away, but it was too late. Her face turned an impossible shade of red.

"Waaaah! I really am just going to die!"

I had to desperately hold her back as she tried to jump off the road.

* * *

That was the eventful first day of the Labyrinth Dungeon. Following the Association's orders, we cleared two grade-4 dungeons, three grade-3 dungeons, and one grade-2 dungeon—a total of six. The last one finished at 5 AM. Thankfully, Garam Management had thoughtfully booked us a place to stay nearby, minimizing our travel time.

"Ugh, my body. Every bone aches," Bora groaned from inside the car. Beside her, Eunsol was sleeping soundly. "Yusin! Are you going to shower when we get there?"

"No. I'm going straight to bed."

Of course, I was insanely tired, too. If the Magic Tower's trials were short and intense, this tour of the Labyrinth Dungeon was long and grueling. Seojin also looked exhausted, and the two rank-5 hunters were so tired they could only blink as they leaned against the sofa.

"Hunters! We've arrived," the driver announced.

We dragged our weary bodies out of the car.

"Everyooone! You all worked so, so hard!" Shin Nara was waiting for us. She rushed over, greeting each of us and asking about our condition.

I was taken aback. "…Why are you here, Ms. Shin?"

"I-I'm so sorry! I was supposed to be your manager, Yusin, but I've been so busy I couldn't even be with you…!"

"Haha, I appreciate you coming all the same."

Knowing we were tired, she kept it short and led us inside. The rooms were warmly heated, with showers and meals prepared. Of course, aside from Bora, who insisted she would die if she didn't shower, everyone else went straight to bed.

"Yusin, I'm truly sorry," Nara said to me privately. "I got a little greedy… I should have considered the potential for conflict within the team."

"Don't worry about it. We've already sorted it out." She had clearly been briefed on what happened. Her gaze shifted to Yoonji behind me. "Ms. Jo, I need to see you for a moment."

Yoonji, her head bowed like a sinner, looked ready to drop to her knees. As Nara led her away, I felt a bit more awake and headed for the shower. Soaking in the hot bath melted my fatigue away. I relaxed and turned on my smartphone.

'Exclusive: On Day One of the Disaster, No Portal to the Labyrinth Has Been Found.'

'A Successful First Day. Magic Stone Profits Estimated in the Hundreds of Billions.'

'Death Toll at 32… Many Dungeons Are More Difficult Than Normal.'

'Most Casualties are Provisional License Players… Overeager Rookies Show a Tendency to Rush.'

'Korea Academy Professor Oh Yeonhee Predicts Competition Will Intensify on Day Two: "There are plenty of dungeons, so please don't rush and take your time."'

'So no one found it on the first day.' There were deaths and injuries, but that was common in this line of work, so it drew little attention. Online, players were in a frenzy over the abundance of free dungeons. They were heatedly discussing their first-day profits, and those spurred on by the talk vowed to make a killing on the second day.

'Everyone's gone crazy.' The Labyrinth Dungeon incident had sent the country into a fever pitch.

* * *

Disaster, Labyrinth Dungeon - Day Two.

I only managed about three hours of sleep. We were immediately sent to a nearby dungeon, and as soon as we cleared it, we headed to the next one without a break. The tight schedule left not only Bora and Eunsol but also the two professional hunters unable to hide their exhaustion. Seojin had his 'Iron Man' ability, but even that only reduced fatigue, not eliminated it. Already worn out from his work at the Magic Tower, he was twice as strained. We slept in the car between dungeons, everyone passing out the moment we got in. After finishing the second day's schedule, I checked my phone on the way back. Still no news of a portal.

Disaster, Labyrinth Dungeon - Day Three.

I checked the news as soon as I woke up. Again, no word of a portal. Voices of concern were beginning to emerge, but they were easily drowned out by the enthusiasm of the frenzied players.

— I'm so happy these days. I wish the Labyrinth Dungeon were here 365 days a year.

— Just living for payday. How much will I make once I sell all these magic stones?

— Try the magic stone calculator app. Link is on the side.

— I should be able to afford a new suit after this week.

People still saw the Labyrinth as a jackpot, a chance to strike it rich. Few were wary of the disaster itself.

Disaster, Labyrinth Dungeon - Day Four.

Still no portal. The number of players collapsing from exhaustion or getting injured began to increase exponentially. A new term, 'drowsy hunting,' was even coined in the online communities. Finally, parties began to refuse the Association's orders, deciding it was better to survive than worry about a future handicap. Their departure placed an even greater burden on those who remained. The fervor for the Labyrinth, which had ignited so quickly, was now cooling just as fast.

Meanwhile, on social media, anxiety about what would happen if the dungeon wasn't cleared in time was rearing its head. Examples of failed clearances could be found in developing countries where the hunter system was not well-established. The rules were the same everywhere: if the boss wasn't defeated within seven days, monsters would pour out like a tsunami from every open gate.

To put it simply, every region that failed to clear a Labyrinth Dungeon became a 'Monster Land.' Experts warned that a catastrophe would occur if it weren't cleared by day seven. Some scholars predicted that not only would the territory be devastated, but the country would cease to exist in its current form. The estimated death toll was a staggering one-third of South Korea's entire population.

However, a vocal group of optimists countered this.

— Come on, this isn't some disaster movie. The end of the world? These conspiracy theorists are the biggest problem.

— Let's not get fooled by the fearmongers.

— Think logically. This is a rank-4 disaster, not a 7 or 8. You think the country is going to fall over this? Are our rank-1 and -2 hunters just for show?

— Got this from a reliable source, but apparently the Association already found the Boss Zone. They're just not announcing it because they're wary of radical players and Chinese hunters.

Disaster, Labyrinth Dungeon - Day Five.

The optimists vanished.

All roads in the country were paralyzed. Order collapsed. Supermarkets were looted, and lawlessness reigned. The Honam region was thankfully outside the disaster's range, so citizens packed their belongings and fled toward the safe zone. The President and the 'Emergency Response Committee' evacuated from Seoul less than three hours after giving a public address on maintaining civil order, setting up a temporary base on Jeju Island. The news caused an uproar. More than half of Seoul's population was still there, and the government could not escape criticism for abandoning its people.

The President and the committee stated that they were requesting help from all over the world, but the response was lukewarm. The general attitude was, 'You pushed us away when we offered help, and now you're asking for it?'

The United States, the UN, and the European Union stated their intention to dispatch additional hunter teams, but considering assembly and travel time, they would likely be too late. Neighboring countries like Japan and China, which could send forces the fastest, were slow to move, seemingly still holding a grudge. They repeated platitudes like, "Since Korea disbanded the support teams once, it will take time to reassemble them."

Naturally, the online communities were in an uproar.

— All you people who were against foreign support, come on out. The country's about to be ruined because of you.

— Blinded by immediate gain, they can't see the bigger picture. Pathetic.

— If I were them, I'd be so pissed off I wouldn't want to send help either.

Of course, the opposition party, the media, and the players who had stirred up public opinion against foreign hunters didn't stop their criticism. They simply reversed course, intensifying their attacks with slogans like, "Did you really have to block them just because we told you to?" and "The President's Lack of Judgment."

Well, that's just how it is. As always, no one took responsibility for their own words.

* * *

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