Chapter 82

He thought having sex would end with the first time. However, in their first experience, both Tae-un and himself were more excited than they had expected... The two 1st-grades in their prime, overflowing with energy, couldn't resist the urge from the intense memories when they met in the dormitory afterward.

When they had sex for the second time, although it was a bit unfair to think that he was being pushed down by another man, he also wondered if this was what it meant to have good compatibility.

Rather than defining their relationship in any form that existed in the world, Tae-un and Soram naturally recognized that they were in a special and unique position to each other.

Even Tae-un, who had confessed his feelings first, didn't expect any answer regarding the change in their relationship to having sex. It was unknown what he was thinking, but Soram didn't find the current form of the two of them bad.

Having sex with Han Tae-un was so intense that it felt like he would lose his mind. When he entered and thrust his hips as if to break his back, he could only cling to him and cry at the sensation that spread from his stomach with a bang.

Tae-un was also greatly excited by such sex with Soram. Passion was evident on his usually stoic face, and he expressed how good it felt while calling Soram's name several times. He probably spoke more words while having sex than he did all day in the office.

While being shaken under his excitement, all thoughts were erased from Soram's mind. Thanks to that, he was now able to escape through sex, which he had previously done by sleeping.

Soram rested his head on his raised knees with a thud.

"So is that why I've been sleeping a little less these days...?"

Recently, the occasions where he had to turn off the switch in his head to run away from his thoughts had decreased. Surprisingly, he could even recall the memories of the previous Great Rifts once in a while.

It seemed like it wasn't an easy dispatch, as Tae-un's return was late. In the room where he was left alone, the sound of raindrops hitting the window was heard more loudly. Soram looked out the window, gripping and releasing the blanket Tae-un had covered him with. Then he wrapped his naked body with the blanket and stepped out of the bed.

He dragged the blanket, crossed the middle door of the dormitory, and went to the living room of his own room. There, he took out a pen and a sheet of paper and sat down.

Let's think... just a little bit.

The tips of Soram's fingers tapped on the table. Fortunately, his eyes didn't close as if he would collapse on this table at any moment.

The pen in his hand drew lines. At the same time, information based on what he had experienced in his previous life flowed through Soram's mind.

The 3rd Great Rift

Origin: Southwest coast of Seo-gu, Busan Metropolitan City

Type: Flood Dungeon

Mutant Form: Lava

Major Casualties: Director of Field Operations Bureau Park Jae-seon, Busan Branch Director Shin Gi-hyeon, Chief Hunter Seo Min-ki

What was drawn on the paper where the pen had passed was a map depicting the boundary between land and sea.

The 3rd Great Dungeon begins from a rift that formed in the water near the coast. Considering that rifts usually formed in places where people gathered, it was an unusual location.

The lava spewed from the underwater rift meets the cold seawater and air, solidifying into black rocks that cover the rift. The rift continues to erupt lava on top of it like a volcano, and as new lava piles up on the hardened lava, its volume gradually increases. In this way, a black island is formed on the coast.

The black island gradually increases in volume and approaches the land, and the bright red lava also spreads little by little, riding on the heated seawater.

There was only one memory of stopping it.

The 3rd Great Rift in the life just before, which was resolved only once. It was resolved at the cost of the lives of dozens of hunters, including Seo Min-ki, Branch Director Shin Gi-hyeon, and Director Park Jae-seon.

Moreover, Soram didn't even know exactly what the method was. Because Director Park Jae-seon threw his body into the center of the rift, and after a long time, the rift disappeared with an explosion.

"..."

Soram's eyes sank heavily.

Before disappearing with the rift, Director Park Jae-seon left a final message through the in-ear connected to the team leaders. The beginning was a combination of words, so he couldn't properly grasp the meaning. However, the sentence conveyed at the very end was clearly delivered to everyone.

Due to his last words, Soram took the vacant director's seat.

Soram's face, recalling the memory he had brought up after a long time, was completely distorted. However, it was nothing compared to the appearance of apologizing to someone who was no longer in this world in the director's office he had inherited.

'I'm sorry, Director-nim. I was wrong. I, hic, should have died instead...'

Like that, he cried and pleaded for a long time in front of the desk that was too big for him to use, so that no one could hear him. He had finally revealed the emotions he had hidden to the point where people whispered at the funeral when he was left alone.

"Haa..."

Still, back then, although the situation at the time of the Great Rift was at its worst due to the conflict between the headquarters and the Busan branch, the recent 1st-grade dungeon in Bukhansan ended with a meaningful change...

The pen Soram was holding began to cross-hatch one side of the paper. It represented the estimated point of the rift's occurrence. And the path the lava had flowed was marked in red.

"Maybe a different method..."

However, even when he said it out loud, he didn't particularly feel hopeful.

Soram rested his chin while looking down at the picture he had drawn. It begins without the relationship between the headquarters and the Busan branch being bad. Was there anything he could do with this advantage?

"..."

After thinking for a long time, all that came out was a sigh. Honestly, it was just that the situation had improved from 30 to 35 when a disaster of 100 was coming.

Shallow hope only brought about greater despair. Should he just endure each day, praying that the Great Rift would come a little later?

...Endure?

That didn't seem to fit with his current life of living sluggishly. Soram tapped the paper with the tip of the pen.

"What are you doing?"

A voice suddenly approached from behind and asked. It was Tae-un.

"Oh. When did you come?"

"Just now. But I was surprised that you weren't in the bedroom."

"Ah, for a moment..."

Tae-un's gaze turned to the picture Soram had been drawing. As his serious gaze stared intently at the picture, Soram felt pricked for no reason. Even though he knew Tae-un wouldn't be able to figure it out, he actually had a little expectation, wondering if he might intuitively feel something.

Tae-un, who had been closely examining the picture, opened his mouth.

"A hot dog?"

And Soram still couldn't draw.

"If you want to eat it, tell me to buy it."

"It's not a hot dog."

"Then what is it?"

"What does it look like?"

"...Give me some time to think."

When Soram showed a sulky look, Tae-un bent his body and looked at the paper more seriously. The smell of rain came from him, who had come closer. Soram thought the cool temperature mixed with his body scent suited Tae-un well.

"..."

Seeing Tae-un while thinking about the Great Rift, something inevitably welled up inside him.

Soram's arms wrapped around Tae-un's neck, who had come close. To find another escape from the despair that had newly formed in him.

He wanted to run away just for a very short moment, at least now when he was face to face with Han Tae-un.

"Enough, let's finish what we started. You might have cooled down, but I've been in this state here the whole time."

Tae-un lifted Soram's thigh with one arm and supported his back with the other. Soram's body floated up very lightly.

Whenever Soram asked for something, even with a single word, Tae-un answered with a bigger action.

"I haven't cooled down."

He answered bluntly, but definitely.

* * *

Swish―

Team 7 all came to the scene wearing the same black raincoats. The road was submerged in water due to a sudden river flood. The height of the water instantly rose to the waist level of the cars passing by, and the drivers who were passing through there late at night were caught in a predicament.

The citizens who were trapped on the road were swiftly rescued by the abilities of the three members of the flight team. Tae-un and Ayoung took the people out of the cars and handed them over to the paramedics, while Soram flew the empty cars to higher ground.

Fortunately, there weren't many people driving on the road late at night in the heavy rain, so the rescue of lives was quickly completed.

The three of them finished the rescue operation and flew over the dam that had released a large amount of water, the main culprit of the river flooding. Raindrops continued to fall on the shoulders of the three people floating in the air, checking the scene.

Looking at the water that filled the huge dam to the point of overflowing, Soram muttered.

"Why the hell did a dungeon burst here?"

"What did you say?"

Ayoung, who was only about four steps away, spread her arms and shrugged her shoulders greatly. If it weren't for that gesture, Soram wouldn't have been able to understand what Ayoung had said either.

"It's nothing!"

"I can't hear you! I don't know what you're saying!"

Ayoung pointed to her ear and shook her head vigorously. In response, Soram raised his arms and drew an X. She finally understood the meaning of 'it's nothing'.

Due to the sound of pouring water, not only their voices but even the sound of the in-ear they had plugged into their ears was not clearly audible. Below the three people and one dog, the dam was dropping water with a fearsome force.

The dam, unable to withstand the water level that had risen due to the rainy season, decided to release water into the river. However, a problem arose here.

Kwakwakwa―!!!

A waterfall that shouldn't have existed in the air above the dam was created. The waterfall poured an additional stream of water on top of the dam, whose water level was already precarious.

A 2nd-grade flood dungeon occurred above the dam. The form of the mutants was water.

From the rift, a stream of water so strong that it would bounce off if approached without even being able to attack was pouring down. They had to continue releasing water as they couldn't let the dam overflow.

However, the amount of water pouring down along with the rainy season was too much, and even the river couldn't handle the amount of water being poured. As a result, the water had risen and flooded the nearby roads as well.

Soram looked down at the stream of water rushing in with a roar, his hands in the pockets of his raincoat. The electricity that had gone out with the flooding had not been restored yet, so the only light was from the lights shining from afar. Water mist rose, making the already dark surroundings even more invisible.

Until now, Soram had been inwardly and familiarly analyzing most of the dungeons he had faced. The cases where there was a difference from the memories of his previous life were mostly the ones where he didn't necessarily have to be dispatched. His memory of those aspects was also vague, and the changed situation was not of much significance.

But this case was different.

If it was a situation where a dungeon was created in the air and there was a risk of many casualties, there was no way he wouldn't have been called. Even if there were variables, he should have been summoned at least once in his three previous lives. At the very least, the result report should have reached his ears.

However, Soram saw this dungeon for the first time.

"..."

What the hell was it? What kind of omen was this?