* * *
‘What did he just say?’
‘He’s going to buy something?’
‘For the trash?’
‘What?’
It was already shocking that Kang Yigeon had held a long conversation with Seohwa.
But the fact that he had even promised to buy him something left everyone speechless.
Even Kang Yigeon himself looked horrified, as if he had instinctively blocked a flying rock only to realize what he had done too late.
His expression practically screamed, ‘What did I just say?’
Even Seohwa didn’t dare tease him.
“An interesting sight.”
Gaius Jung’s icy blue eyes glimmered with amusement.
But that gaze was directed at Kang Yigeon, which made Seohwa uneasy.
It was never a good thing to attract that lunatic’s interest.
Seohwa immediately began typing again at lightning speed—800 keystrokes per minute.
“Gaius Jung. It’s your turn.”
“Do not say my name, trash.”
“If you don’t hurry up, I’ll say it 200 more times.”
Gaius Jung quickly moved his fingers.
At last, the oath was completed.
Gaius Jung pricked his thumb with a needle, letting a droplet of blood fall onto the semi-transparent screen of [Magna Carta].
The foldable tablet flipped and floated toward Seohwa.
Just as Seohwa was about to do the same—
‘Gaius Jung has invited you to [Magna Carta]’s Secret Chamber.’
FLASH!
In an instant, a brilliant light engulfed everything, and the entire scene changed.
A cool, silent space surrounded them.
Walls of shimmering ice, tinged with blue and silver, stretched in every direction.
Sunlight filtered through wide, crystalline windows, casting mesmerizing rainbow hues across the room.
A massive ice-flower chandelier hung from the high ceiling, its meticulously carved petals glistening in the light.
Four towering pillars stood at the corners, draped in blue banners embroidered with the system’s mysterious symbols.
Between Gaius Jung and Seohwa, a grand marble table sat adorned with exquisite crystal and ice sculptures, shaped into the most aesthetically perfect forms.
Even the chairs had changed—now resembling regal thrones fit for an ice kingdom.
The entire space sparkled as if someone had scattered silver stars throughout the air.
Seohwa, momentarily entranced by the breathtaking sight, snapped out of it and immediately stood up.
Summoning his wand, he glared at Gaius Jung.
“Where are we? Where did you take me?”
“You are speaking to me informally?”
“Why would I be polite to someone who just abducted me without warning?”
“This is a misunderstanding. Not kidnapping. You are hostage of the oath.”
“That’s the same thing!”
“[Magna Carta] brings signers here upon final signature. A private space outside the system. Time outside is frozen. This is my skill.”
Seohwa’s wand emitted a faint purple mist.
“If [Magna Carta] had a secret space, there’s no way it wouldn’t be known.”
“GAG ORDER. You cannot speak about this place outside. The system keeps the secret.”
“…And why exactly did you bring me here?”
“Because I have a proposal.”
“Stop using weird Korean. Just speak in English.”
Gaius Jung flared up.
“Do not look down on my Korean! You must be considerate to foreigners speaking a non-native language!”
Seohwa dismissed his purple mist.
“Fine. Then say it again, slowly. What proposal?”
“A proposal. A proposal for you.”
“So you brought me here because you have a proposal for me.”
“Correct. When we communicate calmly, we can actually have a conversation like this. Never look down on a foreigner again.”
Seohwa let out a sigh and took a seat.
He didn’t dispel his summoned wand.
He still held it firmly in his hand, waiting for Gaius Jung’s proposal.
Even to a stranger, the man looked like he belonged in this ice palace—cold and breathtakingly beautiful.
He briefly removed his silver-rimmed glasses before putting them back on.
His piercing blue eyes locked onto Seohwa’s face.
“Seeing your face again, it’s truly beautiful.”
“At times like this, the word you’re looking for is ‘disgusting,’ not ‘beautiful.’”
“No, that face can only be described as beautiful. You could even say pretty.”
Seohwa felt a flicker of confusion.
Only then did he properly take in Gaius Jung’s face.
Eyes no longer filled with hatred.
Lips curled into a soft smile.
A body leaning slightly toward him.
“…No way?”
Where was this again?
Right.
He had said it was a space just for the two of them.
That time stopped around them.
Did that mean… this place existed outside of time?
A space unaffected by the timeline…
That’s why all the hatred and hostility toward him had vanished…
If… If that were really the case…
“Ah, I am foreign man. My Korean not good. I made mistake. You are disgusting.”
“…What the hell? Why are you messing with me?”
Seohwa felt all the strength drain from his body.
Someone from the reset timeline who didn’t hate him.
Something he never dared to wish for—just for a fleeting moment, he had let himself dream.
“What’s your proposal? We’re both tired, so let’s wrap this up quickly. I have a mountain of work waiting for me.”
“Mountain? What does that mean?”
“It means I have a ton of things to do. Like a mountain. Now, your proposal?”
Gaius Jung tilted his head.
His silver-blue hair shimmered under the light, strands brushing against his ear.
“It’s a simple proposal. But first, I have a question. Did you really kill your expedition members because you wanted the Hidden Reward?”
‘Guild Leader Seohwa. From now on, we will fully cooperate with you. You must never die, so retreat to the rear. And once we deliver information to you, return to the past and lead us.’
Ever since he had revealed [Flight of Time], he had known what choice the expedition members would make.
Not just in the first round.
Even in the second, third, fourth, and fifth rounds—every single time, the people who had hated him made the same decision.
“This dungeon is impossible to clear. If we want to let him live and send him back, we have to sacrifice ourselves.”
“Damn it…! We have to die for that murderer?”
So his answer wasn’t wrong.
“Yes. I manipulated them. Made them die for me.”
“You’re an idiot. A complete idiot.”
“The worst kind of idiot. I admit it.”
Seohwa let out a bitter laugh. Gaius Jung blinked.
“Don’t smile like that. You’re trying to look pretty.”
“You really suck at Korean.”
“You’re ignoring a foreigner again!”
“Whatever. Just get to your point.”
Seohwa was eager to put an end to this meaningless conversation.
“One more question.”
“Make it quick.”
“Why did you turn back time five times?”
“Because the world kept ending…? You already know that. Why even ask?”
“That makes no sense. Saving the world from destruction is something only a good person would do.”
Seohwa scoffed.
“Then I guess I must secretly be a good person.”
Even as he said it, the idea felt absurd.
Gaius Jung trembled again.
“I told you to stop smiling!”
“Why? Do I look pretty? Even though I’m a human cockroach, a human woodlouse, a human water flea?”
“You’re deliberately using words a foreigner wouldn’t know. You’re the worst. A nasty idiot. A devil.”
Gaius Jung cursed him out thoroughly.
Seohwa, ready to end the conversation, gave him the answer he wanted.
“Fine. That was a lie. I was just so obsessed with the Hidden Reward that I turned back time over and over again. Satisfied? Now, get to the point already.”
“You really are an idiot. A complete idiot.”
He was used to being insulted everywhere, but hearing it twice in a row to his face was getting annoying.
“Alright. Here’s my proposal. I want an additional contract. The same terms, but with one extra clause. Two contracts instead of one.”
Yep. This was definitely a mistake.
Seohwa sighed.
“You should’ve discussed that with the committee. I don’t have the authority to agree to that.”
“No one will know about the contract we make here.”
“You’re asking me to tamper with a contract in secret?”
Was this lunatic trying to pull some kind of cult leader stunt? Seohwa’s wariness spiked.
The explanation that followed was even more dangerous than he had expected.
“I find your skill interesting. [Flight of Time.] A skill that stops time and allows you to travel into the future. I want it. If you disappear after clearing the 6th-grade dungeon and break the contract, then your skill will become mine. That is my proposal.”
There was no way in hell he was giving a time-travel skill to a sex-crazed cultist.
But even before that, the premise itself was unbelievable.
“You’re saying skills can be traded?”
“I am an S-rank Covenant. [Magna Carta] is powerful. If you and I agree to the terms and write them down, the system will enforce it.”
He knew that breaking a contract could result in a skill disappearing.
But he had never heard of skills being transferred like items.
“In some ways, that’s even more incredible than [Flight of Time].”
Gaius Jung’s nose went sky-high.
“That’s not all. Skills can also be erased. It’s truly amazing. Absolutely incredible.”
“You’re handing out useful information left and right today. But still, my answer is no.”
“I expected that answer. So I’ll add a condition of my own. Once the 6th-grade dungeon is cleared, the Hate phenomenon will disappear.”
* * *
