Her face was visible this time. I fell unconscious while showing an expression of relief.
***
Anna looked back. But there was no one in the room except for several dead bodies, Lee Seonyeon, and me. The person in the Murim dress was gone, like he never came.
The damages were the same, but his entire presence wasn't. His presence seemed to have been swallowed—or it was like he never existed in this world.
Anna let out a breath of relief and looked at the destruction he had caused.
She thought… he wasn't someone ordinary.
She looked at me again.
At first, I thought this guy was being bullied… but when I came here, the scene was completely different. I thought I would save him, but…
Gulp.
When I stood in front of that being, I felt like I'd die the second I blinked. I was scared.
She came a bit closer to check on my condition.
I wouldn't have lasted a minute against him… but this guy was holding on for so long. I appreciate your hard work.
***
Anna Eun-ha. The main protagonist of my novel, Desired End. She lost everyone—again and again—throughout the whole story. As she kept losing everyone around her, she changed into a cold person who stopped caring about anyone. In other words, there wasn't anyone left alive she could care about.
Everyone in the Endless Dream ended up dying, as that was the fate of this dream. The population count of humanity touched 'one' in the final parts of the dream.
Anna knew 800k people throughout the whole story. Which means 800k people close to her heart ended up dying.
The people she loved, the people she laughed with, the people she hated. Everyone died—slowly but surely.
In the end, she committed suicide during her final battle with The Void. She was traumatized by the dream. She wanted to end it forever.
That's why she decided to die.
That's where Desired End truly ends.
It's not the ending I wanted—
It's the one the inner me wanted.
That's why I'm working on changing this ending.
...
I opened my eyes slowly. I was in a medical facility. There were several facilities like this in the hunting ground to heal the dreamers.
Papers, books, syringes—everything was scattered across the floor. I was alone in the room. I slowly tried to sit up straight.
"Ugh…"
Pain shot through my back. I sat up. There was a mirror in front of me. I looked at it.
"Huh?!"
My eyes widened. I was touching my right cheek. My whole right face had regenerated—including my eyeball.
"H-How…? Did someone cast healing magic on me?!"
I looked down at my legs, which were covered by a blanket. I quickly removed it and was shocked.
My leg… the one I lost in the dungeon… had regenerated.
I let out a breath of relief and looked around the room.
"Seems like you're awake."
A voice came from the door. A hand pushed it open, and a person walked in.
I smiled.
"Seonyeon…"
Seonyeon entered and ran toward me in tears. She looked happy and emotional.
"Hong~—"
Then she froze.
"AAAAHHHH WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!!??!"
I stared at her like a statue… then slowly looked down.
I had been naked the whole time.
Seonyeon started throwing books at me.
"I knew it! I knew you were a creep!! Creep! Perv!! Go away!! Die! Die!"
I kept dodging the books, though some hit me.
"Seonyeon! You've—got it completely—wrong!! Someone did this—to me!!"
"Who would make you naked…?! YOU CREEP!!"
A book hit me.
I hate my life.
She saw everything…
Anna was laughing—aggressively laughing—while trying to hold it in.
It was obvious from her expression… she was the one who did this.
…I won't forgive her!!
...
I was covering my whole body with the blanket while Seonyeon stayed behind a curtain.
"I'm not naked anymore."
"Shut up. You're a creep, and a creep can do anything anytime."
I looked down at my legs.
"Who healed my wounds?"
"It was me."
Anna came out and said that in front of me.
The main protagonist of Desired End was now standing in front of me. I felt uneasy thinking about what'll happen to her in the future.
"Sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
Ahh, I said that without thinking… I need to say something!
"Well, for troubling you with saving me."
I said sorry because I felt guilty about the things I did to her. It can't be helped.
"It wasn't much of a problem, so you don't need to apologize for it."
I looked at her and…
A dream hit me. The dream where I saw her swearing she'd kill me.
I saw it just before waking up in this Endless Dream.
My heartbeat grew uneasy. The guilt—of ruining everything and killing Anna—buried itself deeper inside me.
I collapsed on the bed.
Anna rushed toward me.
"Hey?!"
I fainted.
...
I opened my eyes again after some time.
"Are you good now?"
I looked at Anna and Seonyeon sitting beside me. I started to sit up.
"Yeah."
"Kang… Hong, was it?"
"Yeah, I'm Kang Hong."
I looked at Seonyeon.
"Seonyeon, are you okay? Do you remember what happened to you?"
"I—I was talking to you, and suddenly I fell into a hole. I don't remember anything after that."
"I see."
I looked back at Anna, showing an uneasy expression.
"How'd you end up in that dungeon?"
"I don't know."
She replied quickly, like she had been waiting for that question.
It wasn't easy to talk to the main protagonist of my novel—because I'd done a lot that led to her breakdown.
I'm basically a bully to her.
"Kang Hong, do you know anything about that person?"
"I don't know. He suddenly appeared when… I almost finished the dungeon boss."
I said it in a stylish way.
Anna and Seonyeon looked at me like they didn't believe a single word.
Sigh.
"Whatever. I'm just glad you guys are safe. Especially you, Kang Hong."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"You were badly injured. All of my energy got used up healing a useless guy like you."
"...I'm not useless."
"Yeah yeah."
"Everyone isn't here."
Seonyeon spoke up. Anna looked at her like she already knew what she was going to say.
"Hong… Chaeyoung wasn't in the dungeon."
My eyes widened as I clenched the blanket.
"Huh?"
...
"Seonyeon told me everything. I even went back there, but the whole dungeon was gone. There was only a big cave room. It was like the dungeon never existed."
It was a glitched one, so of course it vanished.
But the main issue is—where did Chaeyoung go?
Was she captured by some other dungeon?
Or… was she in the dungeon, but I couldn't see her?
No, that's not possible.
She must be in another glitched dungeon.
"I've got a theory."
"What, Kang Hong?"
"Maybe she was captured by some other dungeon… and that dungeon vanished the moment she got pulled in."
Seonyeon and Anna looked at me doubtfully.
"It's possible, but… will we find her alive?"
"Anna, Seonyeon is like my sister. We have to find her."
Anna and Seonyeon looked at each other.
"Yeah."
"So she's captured by another dungeon. But how do we find that dungeon now?"
It's not like glitched dungeons won't spawn again.
They will—at random times.
"We just need to wait for it to spawn again."
Anna stood up, then Seonyeon too.
"Well then, let's—
I was trying to stand up too, but Seonyeon noticed me.
"AAAAHHH YOU'RE STILL NAKED??!?"
She slapped me and I hit the ground.
I hate my life.
***
I wore my clothes back again and stood in front of the mirror. My cloak had gotten more tattered. I still decided to wear it because it kinda felt cool to wear a tattered cloak.
I was now wearing a new black T-shirt and black trousers, which Anna gave me. I touched my hair, which was reaching my eyes.
"They've gotten way too long."
I always had a messy-type haircut, but now my hair had gotten long, which was affecting my vision.
I should look for a new haircut.
"Store."
The store opened, and again multiple ads popped up on my screen. I removed those ads and went to the search button.
"Good haircut for a cool handsome guy."
That's right—you can change your haircut in the store. Your physical appearance can be improved by using the dreamer's benefits. You can get a free haircut once.
[ Which type of haircut do you want? ]
Hmm..
"Maybe a messy fringe.. I don't know. Do what you like."
[ Changing your haircut ]
[ Success ]
I got my haircut. I looked at the mirror and… nothing much had changed. My hair was only looking messier, which looked good.
"Sigh, my free trial got wasted."
I then started going out of the room. Everyone was waiting for me outside the facility. I got out and saw other rooms filled with other patients.
They were all crying in pain over the injuries they had gotten. Some had lost their leg, hand, face—or their life. The dead bodies were scattered in a corner of the hall of the facility. They were stinking a lot. Basically, the facility was a complete mess.
I walked out of the front entrance and got out of the facility. Anna, Lee Seonyeon, and there were two more men waiting for me.
Anna saw me and moved her hand, then shouted, "Kang Hong! Come fast!"
Seonyeon and the other men looked at me. I ran slowly and got to them.
"You took too long in there."
"I was collecting my equipment."
Anna moved her hand and pointed at the two men.
"Well then, I'll introduce them to you. They are my party members. We've been together since Quest 1."
One of them spoke up.
"I'm Choi Hyunwoo."
Choi Hyunwoo—he's one of the main side cast of Desired End. He actually survived till the end of the Endless Dream. He died in the fight against a higher deity. He got so strong that he was able to kill a Sin himself.
The man next to Hyunwoo spoke.
"Han Minjae."
Han Minjae—he can be called the squad leader, as he has a talent for leading a squad perfectly. His intelligence is the only thing that was able to hold him in Anna's squad. Otherwise, he would've already been expelled because of his lack of fighting skills.
I was now meeting two of the main side cast of Desired End. It was a strange feeling, but it was making me excited. They were the characters written by me, and now I was going to fight alongside them.
"I'm Kang Hong."
I raised my hands in front of them, and Minjae rushed and grabbed my hand.
"Nice to meet you, Hong-ssi! I wish we get along."
It felt like he always wanted to say that. He's really friendly.
"Nice to meet you too."
Then Hyunwoo shook my hand.
"Hong-ssi, we're companions from now on, so let's survive together."
He said it in a good manner.
Anna's squad was really friendly at the beginning, but it changed drastically as they kept losing more members. It's good that I got into this group early.
I'll use this group for my goal.
Anna clapped her hands for us to look towards her.
"Hong and Seonyeon, for your knowledge, we've already cleared a D-rank dungeon till now."
Seonyeon gasped.
"D-rank? Why didn't you start from E-rank?"
"We realized that we're too strong for E-rank, so we gave up on it and left it for newbies. D-rank was also easy."
"So which rank are we going to raid?"
Anna looked back at the jungle.
"We need to end this delusion fast. So we should be raiding a C-rank one, but—"
She looked back at me.
"I'm not going to put my party members lives on the line. I might be able to survive in a C-rank, but you guys are still weak."
"So we'll raid D and E-rank dungeons for today."
"That's a good decision."
Hyunwoo said in a satisfied manner.
I scratched the back of my head. Only Anna can slay a C-rank dungeon guardian easily. Everyone except her is unable to do this in the current party. Of course, I can do it.
Probably not.
Anna looked at her screen.
"There's a D-rank dungeon nearby."
A sword appeared in her hands. It was a normal sword that cost 800CC in the store. She pointed the sword in the direction of the dungeon.
"Let's go."
Anna had bought a digital device called "Maps." This helped her look at the map of the hunting ground. This device can only be used for four days after buying it.
***
We were walking through the forest while Seonyeon looked at me.
"Hong."
She whispered to me.
"What?"
"Should we trust these guys? We just met and now we're in their party."
I looked at the surroundings of the forest.
"I already know that. We can't trust them. But—"
I looked straight into her eyes.
"We need stronger guys in order to rescue Chaeyoung."
"We can do that ourselves!"
"We can't."
Seonyeon looked disturbed by my words.
"What if they betray us?"
"They won't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well, they look trustworthy."
"Hong."
"Hm?"
"They are also murderers. They've also taken other lives."
I stopped at her words.
How'd I forget this? What are the chances that I'll survive by sticking to the main protagonist?
How can I say that she'll treat us like others? We are just some randoms she met in a dungeon. Moreover, what if they abandon us in a dungeon?
Multiple questions started roaming around my head, which led to no answer. As I walked, I realized that maybe I was at a disadvantage here. Anna was specifically the only one who was stronger than me.
In simple words, mine and Seonyeon's survival wasn't guaranteed.
Gulp
Maybe she's just testing us by making us raid a D-rank dungeon. If we're weak, then she'll just kill us, or if we're strong, then she'll let us be in the party.
Anna's the leader of this party. At this point, even I—the only person who knows Anna the best—don't know what's going on in her mind.
I was simply in a rattrap. If I don't do things correctly here, then death is just gonna come for me.
We stopped in front of a cave.
Anna looked back and swung her sword.
"This is the dungeon."
The cave was giving off a different aura. It could be easily felt that it was a dungeon. This time, it wasn't a glitched one. It was a—
A real one.