* * *
Since I got involved in this world, I knew the movie’s storyline had changed significantly.
But as long as it still led to the same ending, I didn’t care how it got there.
But landing in a completely new situation like this?
I wasn’t thrilled.
“What’s wrong?”
Sensing something off, Woo Jaehyun tilted his head and clenched his fist.
“My abilities… they’re gone.”
“What?”
Now that he mentioned it, I couldn’t feel any mana inside my body at all.
No wonder I felt so sluggish, even accounting for being drenched.
Losing mana alone made this much of a difference…?
I glanced over at Cha Rui just in case, but he was frowning down at his hands too, clearly displeased.
“So we’re… all unawakened here?”
I vaguely remembered hearing that abilities disappeared inside an EX Dungeon.
It wasn’t a plot point I paid much attention to, but now here I was, living it.
If a monster appeared right now, we’d be screwed.
Hell, even a bear showing up would have us running for our lives.
“What kind of…”
“Hey! There’s more people over there!”
Suddenly, from the dense forest, someone came running out.
She looked like an ordinary woman in her 20s, followed by a nervous-looking man in black-rimmed glasses.
“You were on the plane, right? Did you fall into the sea too?”
The unexpected appearance of strangers left the three of us staring at her, speechless.
It was understandable—we never imagined there’d be anyone else in this dungeon.
Of course, they probably weren’t real people, but that only made it harder to know what to say.
Seeing our stunned expressions, the woman scratched her head awkwardly.
“You’re not Korean?”
“We are.”
Woo Jaehyun shamelessly smiled and answered.
Watching that radiant face, I thought—this guy could survive anywhere, no problem.
“I knew it! You all looked so… extravagant, I wasn’t sure~”
The woman clapped her hands cheerfully, relieved that she didn’t need to speak English.
Meanwhile, the man behind her kept glancing at us nervously and pointed back toward the forest.
“There are more survivors that way.”
We turned our heads in that direction and sure enough, black smoke was rising in the distance.
The smoke was faint, but clearly more than just a small campfire.
“Did… some kind of accident happen?”
At my question, the woman widened her eyes in surprise, tilting her head as if asking what I was talking about.
“Did you hit your head or something? The plane’s ceiling ripped apart, and we crashed onto this deserted island.”
“……”
“Anyway, just follow me.”
With that, the woman turned and walked ahead.
Watching her back, I narrowed my eyes.
The plane’s ceiling ripped apart?
That doesn’t even make sense.
“Could it be… a monster?”
A monster disguised as a human to lure people into lowering their guard before devouring them…
That sort of thing.
From the way this situation was unfolding, I could roughly tell this was some kind of dungeon storyline, but I still found it hard to believe.
Next to me, Woo Jaehyun chuckled and playfully bumped his shoulder against mine.
“I don’t think that’s the case. If this were a movie, they’re probably just extras. You and I, we’re the leads.”
“……”
“Hah.”
Cha Rui, who was naturally excluded from that statement, let out an obvious scoff and walked ahead with quick steps.
Honestly, I wanted to yell, ‘I’m just the pathetic villain who dies thirty minutes into the film!’, but of course, I kept my mouth shut.
Now that I had fallen into this world, it was a secret I’d be taking to my grave.
“Maybe the mission is to save the survivors.”
“Who knows. We might have to kill them all.”
Woo Jaehyun casually said something terrifying with a completely straight face.
But knowing the nature of EX dungeons, it wasn’t entirely ridiculous, so I anxiously pressed my lips together.
I really hoped that wasn’t the case…
Following the woman through the dense forest, I started to hear people’s voices nearby.
“That’s all the drinkable water we’ve got?”
“We can make water as long as we have plastic sheets. I learned it from watching ‘Rules of the Jungle’.”
“That show ended ages ago…”
We soon arrived at the crash site—a half-destroyed airplane that left me wondering how anyone even survived.
Around it, the survivors were busily moving about in an organized fashion.
There were maybe ten people, including the injured.
Fewer than I expected.
There was even an old couple who seemed to get along well, and a man frantically trying to calm down a crying child.
I stared at the sobbing child for a moment before shifting my gaze as I sensed someone approaching.
A woman, part of what looked like a couple, noticed us first and came over.
She had a face that reminded me of a Maltese dog.
“New people?”
“Yeah! Found them by the beach,” the woman who guided us chirped brightly.
The Maltese-like woman scanned the three of us from head to toe, which I found slightly irritating.
A man, presumably the boyfriend, rose to his feet with a wary look.
“None of you seem injured… Judging by your wet clothes, did you fall into the sea?”
Well, that’s close enough.
I nodded, going along with it, when suddenly, a man who resembled a grasshopper approached with a disapproving glare.
“You’re all… really tall.”
Then, as if waiting for this moment, he jerked his chin toward the thick bamboo grove.
“We’re trying to salvage anything useful from the wreckage. We’ll also need to set up a temporary shelter before sunset. Mind lending a hand?”
It almost felt like they were purposely trying to send us away, but there was no need to stir trouble right off the bat.
Besides, we needed to assess the situation anyway.
I glanced at the two standing beside me—neither seemed to have any objections.
“Sure, why not.”
But once we stood in front of the bamboo, it became clear this wouldn’t be easy.
How were we supposed to cut this without any equipment?
Maybe if we had a machete or something…
Feeling stuck, I fidgeted with my item pouch, not expecting anything to work—but to my surprise, my hand slipped right inside.
“Huh?”
What the—?
The item pouch still works?
Ecstatic, I immediately pulled out an S-rank dagger.
With this, water wasn’t going to be an issue for a while.
Knew it.
This is exactly why I always carry random crap in my pouch.
All for moments like these.
“Woo Je—”
I turned to tell the others, but awkwardly shut my mouth.
They were already cutting bamboo with equipment they’d pulled out.
Judging by the pile of bamboo beside them, they figured it out way earlier.
Would’ve been nice if they told me…
Grumbling to myself, I lightly tapped the bamboo with my dagger, and it sliced through like tofu.
I almost made things harder for myself for no reason.
But that smug feeling didn’t last ten minutes.
Cutting bamboo was easy—but gathering and carrying them was practically hard labor.
‘Seo Inho’, this bastard, without his abilities, had garbage stamina.
These decent-looking muscles? Nothing but useless fashion muscles.
Panting, I wiped sweat off my forehead and drank some water.
That’s when my eyes drifted to Cha Rui, who was working alone.
With an expressionless face, he effortlessly lifted five or six pieces of bamboo at once, showing no signs of strain.
For a second, I wondered if his powers had returned—that’s how absurd his strength was.
The fact that Cha Rui and ‘Seo Inho’ knew each other in the past…
Judging by their interactions, they were probably close once.
How did things go so wrong between them?
I couldn’t help but wonder.
Maybe… they fought over a girl?
Lost in thought, I stood there like an idiot before snapping out of it and shaking my head.
Wait, why do I even care?
Even if they were blood brothers, it had nothing to do with me.
“Please, let’s not get involved…”
I muttered under my breath and focused on chopping bamboo again.
“You doing this on purpose to piss me off?”
A sharp voice growled right beside me, and I stiffly turned my head.
Cha Rui was glaring at me with fiery eyes.
Crap.
I’d promised myself not to get involved, but my body must’ve unconsciously drifted closer to him.
That’s the scary thing about the subconscious.
Flustered, I couldn’t say a word.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Cha Rui turned and walked off.
For a second, I worried he’d grab my throat again, but luckily, nothing happened.
“Hyung, just ignore that bastard. Let’s do our thing.”
Woo Jaehyun, who’d approached at some point, dumped an armful of bamboo onto the ground with an annoyed expression.
Despite the sweltering heat, not a drop of sweat stained his white shirt.
“You that strong even before awakening?”
At my question, Woo Jaehyun simply smiled.
Figures.
Cha Rui too—they were S-ranks.
Even before awakening, they must’ve been different.
“So unfair…”
‘Seo Inho’ was supposed to be S-rank too, but what a difference.
All show, no substance.
“Chirpy, help me out here.”
Chirp.
Dragging the bamboo, I muttered complaints to the little bird in my pouch, but the cold, indifferent response made me sigh.
Maybe I looked too pitiful because Woo Jaehyun gently patted my shoulder.
“Hyung, if you’re tired, rest. I’ll handle the rest.”
Tempting offer, but my conscience wouldn’t let me dump everything on my younger teammate.
He might look fine, but he had to be struggling too.
“It’s fine. We’re almost done.”
Wiping the sweat dripping from my chin, I took out a water bottle from the item pouch and tossed it to Woo Jaehyun.
* * *
