“This is for when a body part gets cut off, to hold it in place.”
“...What?”
Yohan doubted his ears at the terrifying words. Lee Hyunmook wrapped the tape around his arm in demonstration as he explained.
“Intermediate Awakeners—if they keep it on for a few days, it’ll reattach. Lower-tier Awakeners—while it won’t fully connect, keeping it fixed like this can preserve the severed part until surgery at a hospital. The adhesion is so strong it can peel off some skin, but that heals in no time. Of course, civilians must never use this kind of medical item.”
“Wow...”
Yohan carefully slid the tape back into the medical pack, letting out another awed sound. Narcotic painkillers or stimulants in an emergency kit he could accept, but this was a little frightening. After all, he had never lost a body part before. Then he remembered: not just Lee Hyunmook, but even the intermediate-tier Awakeners among their team had shown frightening regenerative ability in the Abyss.
‘So the others have all surpassed intermediate-tier Awakeners too.’
He nodded in understanding, then suddenly recalled something.
“Right, I wanted to give some of the fruit my family sent me to Seungryong-hyung. He’s been feeding me all the time lately, so I should at least show some thanks.”
These past few days Yoon Seungryong had been tirelessly cooking and bringing food nearly every day. Yohan had enjoyed it, but his conscience pricked him. Hyunmook and Seungryong both told him not to worry about it, but how could he not?
“Shall we? He hasn’t left for work yet.”
Hyunmook agreed in a warm voice. Knowing Seungryong’s appetite, Yohan carried an armful of fruit and went downstairs. Ding-dong—the intercom buzzed, and a cold, curt voice answered.
-Who is it?
The tone startled Yohan, but he quickly replied cheerfully.
“Seungryong-hyung, it’s me, Yohan.”
-...Oh, Yohan?
Inside came the sound of someone fumbling in a rush. Yohan tilted his head. Was the place messy? He didn’t mind a little filth. Nothing could be worse than their Abyss dwellings. Unlike Yohan, Hyunmook sensed something off and narrowed his eyes.
“Seungryong. Open the door, before I stop asking nicely.”
The voice was gentle, but the warning in it was sharp. The frantic noises halted. Slowly, Yoon Seungryong shuffled to the door and opened it, wearing a wide grin.
“Yohan! And even Team Leader! What brings you?”
“I just came to give you some fruit... but what about you, hyung?”
Startled, Yohan asked. Seungryong’s clothes and hands were smeared with dirt-like filth. Worse, a stench stabbed at his nose.
“Is something... rotting in here?”
“Uh... maybe not?”
Seungryong gave a vague reply, desperately avoiding Hyunmook’s gaze. Hyunmook stared into the apartment’s depths, then asked softly,
“Mind if we come inside, Seungryong?”
“Y-yeah...”
Reluctantly, Seungryong took the fruit and thanked Yohan, opening the door. Yohan, too, now sensed something strange. From one of the rooms came a writhing, unsettling presence. A particular door—smeared with dirt—was tightly shut. Hyunmook dropped the gentle tone and issued an order.
“Open it.”
With the face of a guilty child, Seungryong obeyed. Yohan’s jaw dropped. Inside, the monstrous fruits and vegetables they had cultivated in the Abyss squirmed with stems and leaves. Yohan realized at once: when escaping the Abyss, Seungryong’s subspace had carried the seeds out with him.
“Seungryong-hyung! How could you grow these here?!”
“Well... I was only keeping them at home... They don’t contaminate here, I put pet-cams in, wired fences around them... And whenever I left I kept them in subspace...”
He babbled excuses—after all, they didn’t have legs to run away—but Hyunmook still ordered him to put them back in subspace and deliver them to the guild’s research lab immediately. Pouting, Seungryong stroked the seeds affectionately before sealing them away. Yohan helped clear the foul stench from the apartment, and in return got a few fruits Seungryong had nurtured.
Since Seungryong had caused trouble, Hyunmook took the chance to make surprise inspections of the other team members’ homes. In Lee Chanha’s, walls gleamed with white polish and dozens of bottles of disinfectant. In Seo Yakrin’s, piles of burst sandbags and hundreds of shredded photos of Go Jaewon covered with ominous scribbles. In Joo Hoyoung’s, mountains of cup noodles, energy drinks, and gaming consoles. Unlike Seungryong, the others received only light ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) warnings.
“Are you out of your mind?”
Seo Yakrin smacked Seungryong’s back as they left for work.
“Damn...”
Seungryong started to mutter but shut his mouth when he caught Hyunmook’s eye. Yohan, meanwhile, considered looking up what vegetables could be grown hydroponically at home—or maybe he should find a nearby field.
At least, aside from some peculiar obsessions, everyone seemed to be doing well.
* * *
The vehicle buzzed with nervous silence. Clutching guild-issued weapons, the members of Little Sheep Team stole glances at Lee Hyunmook and Seo Yakrin.
Today was the scheduled rift exploration. The new recruits, most with little experience, were tense but eager. And the mentors guiding them were none other than Hyunmook and Yakrin. It was one of the guild’s duties: to inspire loyalty by letting rookies follow in the footsteps of their idols.
Not only Little Sheep Team, but also Any-Sheep Team and all future newcomers would undergo the same trial.
“Don’t be too nervous. If you act as trained, today won’t be dangerous.”
Seo Yakrin smiled reassuringly at the trembling chicks. He even sent a particularly affectionate glance at Yohan, who pretended not to notice.
“Yes, senior!”
The recruits responded with overly loud voices. Failure today could mean demotion to probationary guild members—or expulsion. Their faces were set with resolve.
Yakrin looked each one over with the gaze of a shepherd intent on raising them to toil for the guild forever. Each recruit swallowed dryly when their eyes met his.
The van rattled down the rough road and soon halted. Yohan and the others stared out the tinted windows. A towering concrete wall loomed, enclosing the rift zone. Its purpose: to keep outside life from wandering in and turning into monsters.
Between the walls stood a great iron gate. Hyunmook pulled his Awakener registration card and scanned it. The machinery rumbled, the gate shifted. Guards had been considered once, but no one wanted to linger near a rift, so automation had prevailed. The van rolled through, and with a heavy clang the gate shut behind them. Several recruits glanced back nervously.
The van stopped again just short of entering the rift zone. Seo Yakrin disembarked and gestured for Little Sheep Team to follow. One recruit trembled so badly his knees knocked, and Yohan encouraged him.
“Don’t worry. We’ve got seniors with us.”
“R-right. It’ll be fine...”
Bolstered, the recruit steadied himself, staring with awe at Yohan, who seemed oddly unshaken. After all, they stood before a rift: a contaminated zone, a place where monsters could spring from anywhere, like radioactive wasteland. Yet Yohan, not-quite-a-newcomer, looked out and thought—
‘Even if I wanted to be nervous, I can’t anymore.’
