Lee Sojeen's POV
The Double Dungeon was a mistake from the moment we stepped inside.
I felt it in my bones.
The air was heavy. The silence was wrong. The statues were staring at us like they were alive.
Jinwoo was already bleeding.
He was barely standing, but he still tried to smile at me.
Idiot.
When the giant statues moved, chaos broke loose.
People screamed, ran, died in seconds.
The smell of blood hit me so fast I almost threw up. My legs froze. My hands shook.
I couldn't even cast a simple healing spell.
Then Jinwoo grabbed my arm.
"SOJEEN! GO!" His voice echoed through the chamber.
"I'm not leaving you!" I yelled back. "Stop saying that!"
Another hunter died behind us. The floor was now slippery from blood.
Jinwoo pushed me toward the open door.
His body was shaking, but his eyes were determined.
"If you stay, you die too!"
"I can help you-"
"You can't!" he shouted. And for the first time, he sounded angry.
He looked at me…with those tired, soft eyes he always had.
"Live, Sojeen. Please."
My heart dropped.
I wanted to grab him and force him through the door, but the statues were already raising their swords again.
In the end… I ran.
He shoved me out, and the door slammed behind me.
The regret didn't hit me a second later, it hit me instantly, like someone punched me in the chest.
"…I'm sorry," I whispered to the closed door. "I'm so sorry, Jinwoo."
I stood in another stone room, breathing hard.
It was quiet.
Someone earlier said there was an exit door somewhere. I prayed this was the right one. But when I walked deeper inside…
I saw another door. It was small and half open. Maybe the survivor had exited it.
Something in me said not to go in but I was panicking and stupid…like always.
I pushed it open.
And walked straight into my nightmares.
At first, it looked empty. Then my eyes adjusted.
There were statues lined against the walls.
But these weren't giants. They were human-sized. Human-shaped.
One statue looked like Jinwoo.
The other looked like a girl I didn't know. All statues left were either my used to be party members but now all dead. Dead because I was useless.
All of them held stone swords pointing at the center of the room. Right at me.
A chill shot up my spine.
"What… what is this?"
I stepped back. Their eyes lit up bright blue. And then they moved.
"No-NO-!" I screamed as the first sword swung at my head.
I dodged barely, falling onto the cold floor.
The second statue slashed at my arm, blood splattered everywhere.
The pain was sharp and blinding.
My heart raced. I tried to summon healing light but nothing came out. My hands shook too much. My mana felt locked.
"Please… somebody… help…"
Nobody came.
Another slash hit my side. I cried out, clutching the wound.
This can't be real.This can't be happening again. I already ran once… I can't die again-
But the statues didn't care. They attacked me over and over, like they were punishing me. For running. For failing. For being a coward.
My knees hit the floor. My vision blurred.
My breath came out in short, scared gasps.
One statue lifted its sword straight toward my chest.
I whispered the last name I had in my heart:
"…Jinwoo…"
And then the sword went through me.
Everything went cold. My body collapsed.
The world faded. I died.
I don't know how long I was gone.
It felt like floating… or falling… or nothing.
I feel no pain. I was floating in an empty darkness.
That was what I thought until light hit my eyes.
I gasped and sat up so fast the IV almost ripped out of my arm.
"W-Where-?!"
A nurse rushed toward me.
"Oh my god! Miss Sojeen!? You're awake! We thought… we thought you wouldn't make it!"
Awake? Alive? That didn't make sense.
The last thing I remembered was a blade stabbing through my chest. I grabbed the spot where the sword killed me. There were no wounds and scars. Nothing.
My hands started shaking uncontrollably.
"I… I died," I whispered but no one heard me.
The nurse kept talking, but her voice was far away, muffled, like I was underwater.
I stared at my hands again. They were real. They were warm and alive.
I lay back on the pillow with wide eyes, heart pounding, whispering to myself:
"…How am I alive?"
No one answered. And that scared me more than dying.
I stayed in the hospital for three more days. I barely talked. I barely ate. I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the statues again.
The blood, the statues faces, the sword going through my chest, hunters screaming and Jinwoo shouting for me to run.
I cried silently every night.
And when the doctors finally said I could go home, I didn't feel relieved.
I felt empty.
My grandma came to pick me up.
She was small, old, strict, and probably stronger than me emotionally.
The moment she saw me, she hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe.
"My baby… thank god you're alive…" she whispered, her voice shaking.
I didn't cry. I didn't say anything. I didn't have the energy.
We went home by taxi.
Grandma held my hand the whole ride, but I barely felt it. My chest was heavy with guilt.
I died. I died and left Jinwoo alone.
Jinwoo visited on the first day, he survived. I was thankful. He stood at our front door, holding a basket of fruit awkwardly.
He looked tired, injured and he looked like he needed me.
My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I wanted to run to him, to hug him but the moment I saw him…my legs froze.
All the warmth in my body disappeared because I remembered:
how I ran
how he pushed me away
how he almost died
how I left him to suffer alone
I slammed the bedroom door and hid behind it like a coward.
Grandma opened the front door instead.
"Oh? Jinwoo? You're here again?"
"Yes… I heard Sojeen was home… I wanted to check on her."
"She's resting," Grandma said with a firm voice.
"But can I just-"
"No." Her tone was final. "She doesn't want visitors. Go home and rest, child."
I could hear him from my room.
"...Please tell her I'm glad she's alive."
My chest twisted painfully. I covered my mouth to stop myself from making a sound.
Grandma came in later and sighed.
"You love that boy, don't you?"
I froze. Heat crept up my neck.
Grandma shook her head and sat beside me.
"You heal him every time he gets hurt. You look at him like he's your whole world. And now that you're alive, you're scared to face him."
I looked away.
"…I'm not scared."
"You are."
I clenched my fists.
What was I supposed to say?
I love him and failed him. That I watched hunters die because I couldn't heal fast enough. I died like a useless healer.
I don't deserve to stand in front of him.
Grandma sighed again and rubbed my back.
"You don't have to talk to him yet. But don't hide forever, okay?"
I didn't answer. I didn't know if I could face him ever again.
That night, I tried to sleep.
I laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
The room felt too quiet. My thoughts kept circling back:
How did I survive?
Why do I feel… different?
Why does my heartbeat feel wrong?
Why didn't I die… properly?
And as if the universe heard me, a sound echoed in my room.
Ding.
My eyes shot open.
A glowing blue light appeared right above my face.
I jerked back with a scream.
"What the-?!"
Words floated in front of me, shining bright in the darkness:
[Welcome, Player.]
[Your survival has been confirmed.]
[Would you like to activate your Status?]
My breath stopped.
My room was silent except for my racing heartbeat. Then another message appeared:
[If you refuse, all progress will be lost.]
[Death will repeat.]
My blood turned cold.
My hands shook.
My voice came out in a whisper.
"…What is happening?"
The blue screen didn't disappear.
It stayed floating in front of me like it owned my whole room.
[Would you like to activate your Status?]
My hands were shaking. My heart was racing. Everything felt unreal.
[Would you like to activate your Status? Y/N?]
I swallowed hard and whispered,
"…Yes."
My finger touched the glowing button.
The screen exploded into light.
Then new words appeared instantly:
[Status Activated.]
[Daily Quests Will Now Begin.]
"Daily- what?!"
Before I could finish complaining, another window popped up.
[Daily Quest: First Training]
– 20 Push-Ups
– 20 Sit-Ups
– 1 km Run
Refusal will result in punishment.
Punishment!?
I jumped off my bed and stared at the screen like it was insane.
"Are you kidding me?! I just got out of the hospital!"
But the screen didn't care.
It blinked again, reminding me it was serious.
[Quest must be completed before midnight.]
I groaned loudly and grabbed my hair.
"Why is this happening to me…?"
But I already knew the answer.
Because I survived something I shouldn't have. If this was the price for staying alive… I had no choice.
I waited until Grandma fell asleep, then quietly snuck outside.
The night air was cold. The house was quiet. The province was always like this- peaceful, calm, far from the craziness of the city.
Honestly, it helped.
Especially because Jinwoo wasn't here anymore.
He moved to the city for work, so I didn't have to face him every day.
I didn't have to pretend to be okay around him.
I didn't have to hide my feelings or my guilt.
It was easier this way.
I took a deep breath and started the quest.
"Okay… push-ups first."
I dropped to the ground.
1 push-up.
2 push-ups.
3 push-ups.
By the tenth one, my arms were burning.
By the twentieth, I collapsed on the grass, sweating and gasping.
The screen blinked proudly:
[20/20 Push-Ups Completed]
"Great… now sit-ups…" I muttered.
I held my legs and started.
Up.Down. Up. Down.
My stomach felt like it was being stabbed, but I kept going.
If I refused, there would be punishment.
And I REALLY didn't want to find out what that meant.
After sit-ups, the screen showed:
[20/20 Sit-Ups Completed]
"Last one… one kilometer."
I looked down the quiet road.
There were no cars and people.
It's just me, the moonlight and the silence.
"One kilometer isn't that long," I told myself.
It was a lie. I ran like a dying puppy.
My lungs burned. My legs screamed.
My heart felt like it was punching my ribs.
Halfway through, I almost fainted but I kept going.
I pushed, and pushed, and pushed
until finally, my foot touched the front of our gate again.
The screen chimed:
[1 km Completed]
[Daily Quest Cleared]
I dropped onto the ground, gasping for air.
[Reward: +3 Strength, +2 Agility]
And suddenly, all the pain vanished.
My muscles relaxed. My breathing steadied. I felt lighter. Stronger.
A shiver ran down my spine.
"…This is real."
This system wasn't a hallucination.
It wasn't a dream. It wasn't trauma.
It was turning me into someone else.
Someone faster and stronger. Someone who didn't die like a coward.
I looked up at the moon.
Snce the dungeon, my chest didn't hurt as much.
"I guess… this is my second chance," I whispered.
Whether I liked it or not.