Not long after Eric and the others left, the Dragon King departed the ancestral shrine and returned to the great river.
Soon after, the fish-headed beings in the derelict building heard the same summons. One by one, they leapt from the crumbling structure, thrashing into the rain-swollen creek below.
Before midnight, the sound of water stirred once more at the ferry crossing. The lifeless and deserted village of Great River seemed to awaken from its slumber, as though roused by the call of the current.
Lamps flickered on, hushed murmurs stirred in the dark. The village chief stepped out of his room and called to his son,
"Come! Let's fetch the offerings from the dock. If we hurry before dawn, we can send them across and be back by first light."
Gathering a group, they made their way to the riverbank. Under the flickering torchlight, they saw a dense swarm of fish gathering at the ferry dock. On the backs of the fish lay seven naked infants.
With practiced ease, the villagers scooped the babies up, wrapped them in swaddling cloths, and placed them aboard fishing boats.
On the way back, the chief patted his son's shoulder with satisfaction.
"This year's offering to the Dragon King is complete. Peace shall reign over Great River Village for another twenty years."
By the time they returned to the ferry, dawn had broken. Some villagers were already repairing nets, preparing for a day of fishing.
From the stilted houses, a young boy ran out shouting,
"Grandma, I'm going out to play!"
His grandmother replied with gentle affection,
"Be careful. Don't go near the water."
In the ancestral shrine, the gatekeeper—head wrapped in gauze—was carefully wiping dust off his trident.
Nora's mother had been weaving cloth since early morning. Beside her, Nora chattered on,
"Mother, it's been so long since Sister got married. When will she come back?"
"When I finish weaving this bolt, I'll send word to your sister. She'll come home then. This cloth will be made into a dress for her…"
Under the curse of the Dragon King, the villagers had long forgotten that they were already dead. Perhaps during some earlier cycle of the game, players—like Eric's group—had acquired the sacred trident that once protected Great River Village and brought the Dragon King's wrath upon it.
Perhaps... everything had ended the year it began.
Even in death, the villagers remained bound by the Dragon King, trapped in a land where time had ceased. Time in Great River Village flowed falsely, its people "living" within an illusion, endlessly enduring the Dragon King's vengeance.
---
Back in the Stone Pillar Forest, Eric purchased a supernatural healing kit. The injury on her neck, left by Nora's mother, healed completely. The cold that had seeped into her bones dissipated, and for the first time in days, she felt whole again.
Even after deducting the cost of the healing kit, this dungeon run had been profitable.
Though mentally drained, Eric forced herself to perk up and went outside to find Delilah.
Delilah was speaking with Brooks at the door. Brooks gave a nod and left.
"Eric!" Delilah waved Brooks off and turned with a smile. "Come on, I'm buying you dinner."
"It should be me treating you," Eric said.
"Oh, hush. Let's not argue about who saved whom. What matters is—we survived! That alone deserves a celebration."
At the restaurant, Eric ordered garlic shrimp and two bowls of rice. Delilah got fried ribs and a bowl of seaweed soup. Together, they shared a hearty celebratory meal.
Their conversation was lively and easy. They exchanged contact information.
As Eric stepped out to say goodbye, she noticed Kevin coming out of the restaurant too.
"Out for a meal?" Kevin asked with a smile.
"Yeah, just ate with some players who cleared the dungeon with me. What about you? You look sharp—new clothes, new hair?" Eric teased. "Had a date?"
Kevin rubbed the back of his head, sheepish. "No, I just finished a dungeon myself. I helped a couple of players out, and they insisted on thanking me. One gave me a haircut, the other bought me this outfit. I couldn't turn them down, so I accepted—and treated them to dinner in return."
Eric chuckled. "Your new friends sound adorable."
"They're genuinely kind," Kevin said, smiling. "If our guild wasn't limited to five members, I'd ask Justin to invite them in."
He said this with a flicker of something in his gaze, as if testing the waters. Eric sensed it and seized the moment.
"Come, walk with me. Good to stretch the legs after a meal."
"Sure."
The transit hub was much quieter now. The crowds had thinned, and for once, a walk actually felt like a walk.
Their voices lowered naturally as they strolled. Unless someone leaned in, their conversation would remain private.
"I remember you once said that killing a player inside a supernatural dungeon would mark you as a target. Do you still think that's true?" Eric began, easing into the topic by recalling their first meeting.
In the Beast Lab, she had lost control under the influence of drugs, transforming into a monster and slaughtering players. She didn't even remember how many. But strangely, in the past ten dungeons, none of those players—or their avengers—had come after her.
Kevin asked for details, then pondered. "If your mind and body had been altered, and the other players were similarly changed… perhaps none of them knew who killed them. If they died without knowing the cause, how could they seek revenge?"
Eric's eyes widened with understanding. "That makes sense. If a player has the skill to kill undetected, they might never face retaliation. I'll need to be even more cautious from now on."
She had hoped that fear of retribution might deter player-on-player violence, but this loophole—if true—was a dangerous exploit.
"Exactly. You should watch your back," Kevin said solemnly.
Eric nodded, then smoothly shifted the topic. She asked how Kevin met Justin, what he thought of him, and what hopes he had for their guild.
Kevin smiled faintly. "No need to test me. Since joining Mingyang Mutual Aid, our fates are tied. Only through unity can we escape. You and Sarah… you've discovered something, haven't you?"
Since he was so forthright, Eric didn't hedge. She shared what they knew about the 444-point supernatural dungeon.
"So that's what Justin's after…" Kevin murmured. His sister had never mentioned 444-point dungeons, which meant they either didn't exist during her time, or she wasn't high-ranking enough to learn about them.
With Justin rushing to assemble a five-man team, and Eric's intelligence from Vincent, it was clear: the 444-point dungeon was perilous.
"But danger often hides opportunity," Kevin mused, visibly tempted.
Eric, too, was intrigued. Four hundred forty-four points—who wouldn't be?
But it could also be a death trap.
"We've got our team. Justin will probably bring it up soon. When he does, we'll probe further. If he's hiding something, he'll slip. Then we'll decide whether it's worth the risk."
"Agreed. I'll see what I can find out from Wesley," Kevin offered. Eric nodded.
As they spoke, the inn came into view. Their talk drifted to lighter topics as they returned to the presidential suite.
Sarah and Wesley were out, but Justin was back early. He hadn't gone out that morning, it seemed.
"Mingyang Mutual Aid is finally assembled in full," he declared cheerfully. "Let's hold a short meeting tonight. I'd like to talk about the future of our guild. Strength in numbers, after all."
He handed out two notebooks—one to Eric, one to Kevin. Eric was to share hers with Sarah; Kevin with Wesley. They'd swap afterward.
Eric thanked him and returned to her room to study it closely.
Knowledge of more dungeons was always an advantage. She never allowed herself to slack.
After reading three entries, she felt drained and took a nap. Upon waking, she completed her daily exercises and headed to the mission hall as usual.
Upon entering the new dungeon, she found herself at a bus stop.
In her mind, a familiar notification chimed.
> \[According to urban legend, Bus 144 crosses between the worlds of the living and the dead. Tonight, you and your classmates wait at an abandoned stop for its arrival. What awaits at the end of Route 144? Be brave and find out.]
Brave, my foot.
Eric felt the message had an annoyingly smug tone.
"Where is this? The underworld?"
"No way—did I enter an infinite flow dungeon? Do I have to complete tasks to revive?"
A dozen or so players had already arrived, including a few newcomers. One of them, Parker, was quick to adapt:
"Wow, I'm so lucky! This dungeon has ghosts, right? That voice in my head must've been the mission prompt. Just like in the novels!"
His upbeat nature was oddly contagious, and Eric felt her tension ease—if only briefly.
Then her heart sank again. There were too many players in this dungeon.
More kept appearing. In the end, there were eighty of them—twenty-seven were new.
Eighty players in one supernatural dungeon?
The sheer number chilled her.
She instinctively stepped back, leaning against a cold advertisement board, distancing herself from the crowd.
So many people… Were they *all* players?
Eric scanned each face rapidly, clenching her palm tightly.
With numbers this high, either some weren't real players—or the death rate would be catastrophic.
Either way, she had to be ready.
What time was it?
Was Bus 144 coming yet?
She looked to the left, then right—nothing but desolate land. Only one lamppost at the abandoned station was still lit. Beyond it, everything was swallowed in darkness.