The day after the second teleportation incident.

Lumina, Meiling, and I were pulled out of our morning classes and summoned to the conference room.

Inside, the only teacher present was the vice-principal. The other two were strangers—a man and a woman.

The man looked haggard, like someone who hadn’t slept all night. A rough, unshaven beard shadowed his jaw. In stark contrast, the woman beside him wore a bright, lively expression.

“Vice-principal. Would you step out for a moment so we can speak with the students?” the man said.

“Ah, of course.”

The vice-principal left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Sorry to take up your time.”

The man turned his tired eyes on us.

“We’re Hunters from the city’s Public Security Division.”

Public Security Division, huh.

A department run by the city of Seoul, staffed entirely by Hunters. Their main work was investigating Hunter-related crimes, though they could take direct action when things turned bad. If we hadn’t dealt with Vallahal or Persilla, they would have been the ones to step in.

“Nice to meet you.”

The woman smiled brightly and even threw in a wink.

A second later, the man’s fist slammed into her cheek.

“Keuk!”

The blow knocked her right off her chair and sent her sprawling onto the floor.

“W-Why’d you hit me, Senior Lee Seon!?”

“Jang Hayun. How many times have I told you to take this seriously?”

“I am being serious!”

“Then why the hell are you winking?”

“T-that was just a high-level technique to help ease the kids’ nerves bef—”

He raised his fist again, and she immediately shut her mouth.

Once his junior quietly climbed back into her chair, the man let out a long sigh and looked back at us.

“Sorry. My junior still lacks discipline. A shameful display.”

“…Says the guy who lectures about being serious while punching his junior in front of the investigation subjects,” Hayun muttered under her breath.

One sharp glare from him silenced her at once.

“Anyway, sit down. There are some things we need to ask about yesterday’s teleportation.”

At his words, Lumina, Meiling, and I sat across from him.

“First off—I hear you’ve been through two teleportations now. Is that correct?”

Lumina and Meiling glanced at me.

“Yes,” I answered, meeting his eyes. “Specifically, Meiling and I were dragged into the first teleportation inside the Spirit Forest dungeon. The second one happened yesterday, in Magongham, and involved the whole class.”

Lee Seon nodded.

“I’d like to hear more details about both incidents. Let’s start with the first.”

He lifted a sheet of paper. It wasn’t printed—it was covered in messy handwriting. Clearly, he’d already spoken to the teachers beforehand.

“From what I hear, the first teleportation sent you to another floor of the same dungeon?”

“Yes. From the second floor straight down to the seventh.”

“What!? Seriously!?”

Hayun burst out before I could continue, eyes wide, jaw hanging open.

“First-years are low-level, right? The Spirit Forest’s seventh floor has monsters over Level 60! How are you even alive right now!?”

“Luckily, the boss room was nearby. I acted as bait to get my companions out first, then blocked the boss’s line of sight and escaped. According to the vice-principal, I was extremely fortunate.”

I added that last part deliberately—better to make it sound like luck than invite suspicion.

“Blocked its sight? How?”

Lee Seon’s tone was calm, unlike Hayun’s shocked outburst.

“My ability. A barrage of explosive spikes. I used it to blind the boss for just long enough.”

“I see. Then it was indeed luck, as the vice-principal said.”

“Right? Normally a boss would immediately counterattack the one who provoked it,” Hayun muttered in disbelief.

Lee Seon nodded, then asked, “And the second teleportation?”

“We entered Magongham dungeon, and within minutes, we were warped to another location. This time, many students were caught up in it.”

“I heard from the teachers that it was a dungeon none of them had ever seen before.”

His gaze fixed on me. As expected, he’s asking about that.

“Yes. A massive stone altar… more like a stage, really. Unlike other dungeons, there were no doors or corridors—just monsters appearing in waves.”

“And the three of you defeated all of them.”

“That’s correct.”

“I already heard this from the teachers, but it’s strange. How could just three of you defeat hundreds of monsters? You’re all first-years, aren’t you?”

Hayun leaned forward, suspicious.

“We’re on a special curriculum to prepare for HAUT. Our levels are higher than our peers’.”

“Special curriculum? What’s your level, then?”

“Around 33.”

I shaved about six levels off my real number.

“Thirty-three!?”

Hayun shot to her feet, absolutely stunned.

“A first-year at Level 33!? Don’t you dare lie! We’re government officials, you know—aaaaagh!”

“Sit down.”

Lee Seon grabbed her ear and yanked her back into her chair.

“Eeeek! Senior! My ear’s going to tear off!”

She whined and sulked as he finally let go.

“How are you not shocked, Senior!? A first-year at Level 33! Back in my day, the highest I’d ever seen was 18!”

“The vice-principal already confirmed it. These students are HAUT selections, and all over Level 31.”

“…she did?”

Lee Seon sighed heavily.

Good thing my squad doesn’t have any idiots like her.

If I were in his shoes, I’d have snapped by now.

“Alright, more specific questions now. First—the conditions before the teleport. Any warning signs?”

And so the questioning went on.

Had we noticed anything unusual before the teleportation? What were our physical conditions after? Detailed descriptions of the second dungeon?

The interview lasted over thirty minutes. They didn’t only question me—Lumina and Meiling were asked as well. Hayun kept butting in with nonsense and was silenced by her senior’s fists more than once.

“…That should be enough.”

By the end, Lee Seon looked twice as exhausted as when he’d started. No doubt 99% of that fatigue came from the woman sitting beside him.

“You three did well. Thank you for answering sincerely.”

As he gathered his notes, I spoke up.

“May I ask a question as well?”

“Hm? Go ahead.”

“Oh! If it’s my number you want, maybe once we’re a bit closer I could—kyaaah!”

Lee Seon kicked Hayun’s chair, sending her sprawling again, then looked at me.

“Well? What’s your question?”

“…I’ll never hit my juniors if I ever have one,” Hayun muttered bitterly.

I ignored her.

“Were there others who experienced teleportation, aside from us?”

“Ah, yes. Two cases so far. Both involved full-fledged Hunters, not trainees. But you three are the first to be warped into an entirely different dungeon.”

“Then… is there a chance the government might restrict access to dungeons because of this?”

At once, Lumina and Meiling gasped.

“So that’s what you’re worried about,” Lee Seon said, nodding in understanding.

“It’s unlikely. Stopping Hunters from entering dungeons would be like taking away their livelihoods. Besides, their work already involves risking their lives—safety arguments won’t hold. But for trainees like you, things may be different.”

As I thought.

That was my greatest concern.

“The government and the Academies still have a duty to protect those who aren’t licensed Hunters yet. Measures will almost certainly be put in place. Does that answer your question?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You may go now.”

The three of us left the conference room and climbed the stairs.

“I didn’t even think of that,” Lumina said. “Teleportation could actually shut down dungeon access.”

“But it doesn’t matter for us,” Meiling said, almost smug. “We’ve already been through it twice and survived, haven’t we?”

“No. It does matter.”

Meiling’s sharp gaze turned toward me.

“No matter if we’re HAUT selections or not, at the end of the day we’re still just students—first-years at that. Of course we fall under the group they’ll want to protect.”

“So what, you’re saying we might really not be able to enter dungeons anymore?”

“Yesterday the teachers were only talking about suspending practice runs. But now that the city knows about it, they might go as far as banning all trainees from entering dungeons.”

Considering the Seoul mayor’s past, the odds were even higher.

“Nothing’s been officially decided yet… but some kind of measure will definitely be taken.”

“…Tch.”

Meiling clicked her tongue in frustration.

What a headache.

Originally, the teleportation incidents weren’t supposed to happen until near the end of the first year. After that came a major event, which in a way resolved the issue.

The problem was, that major event was part of the main scenario. It only triggered after completing all prior main events and moving into the second phase—and always at the end of first year.

Unlike Persilla, who had intruded prematurely, or Vallahal, which I’d chosen to confront, this was something that couldn’t be forced forward.

And now, with the Demon Cult’s event looming who-knows-when, we get this mess piled on top…

Even though defeating Persilla had left me with a comfortable level lead, being barred from dungeons until winter would be a massive setback.

And on Friday morning, my fears became reality.

“Starting today, all Hunter trainees are temporarily prohibited from entering dungeons.”

The homeroom teacher announced it the moment he stepped into class, and everyone reacted with shock.

“The government’s investigation revealed multiple incidents similar to yesterday’s teleportation happening in other dungeons. This measure was put in place to prevent any casualties among Hunter trainees.”

“Then does that mean no more self-practice runs either?”

One student raised a hand.

“That’s right.”

“Until when?” another asked.

“That hasn’t been decided yet. As soon as there’s an announcement, I’ll let you know.”

After the teacher left, the classroom erupted in noise.

“So if dungeons are banned, does that mean all our practice runs are canceled?”

“Then what do we even do on Wednesdays and Fridays?”

“Maybe they’ll make us train inside the Academy?”

The commotion lasted until class finally began and quiet settled back in.

At lunch, our squad’s topic of conversation was, of course, the dungeon ban.

“Guess we won’t have anything to do in the evenings for a while,” Seo Yui muttered, eyes half-shut with drowsiness.

“……”

Meiling sat with her lips pushed into a pout the entire time. No doubt sulking at the thought of not being able to slay monsters.

“How long will the ban last…?” Lumina whispered.

If the story followed the main scenario of Latesai, it would be until February next year.

What should I do?

Even if I forced the main scenario to progress, there was no guarantee I could bring the world’s timeline forward. And the main scenario wasn’t something one person could push alone.

I was lost in thought when suddenly the cafeteria grew noisy.

“What’s going on?” Seo Yui looked up, scanning the room.

“Who are they?” Meiling’s voice dripped with annoyance.

Following the students’ stares, I spotted several adults standing nearby—one woman and two men.

“Huh? A camera?”

Just as Lumina said, one of the men was carrying a large camera.

“Isn’t that a broadcast camera?” Meiling muttered.

A sticker on it read PBC.

“There he is!”

The man without the camera suddenly pointed straight at me and shouted.

The three of them rushed forward, then stopped right in front of me.

“You’re Student Nam Yein, correct?”

The woman leaned in, her face full of excitement.

“We’re from PBC. Would you be willing to give us a short interview? Just a moment, it won’t take long. Is that okay?”

Great. What now?

First the Public Security Division’s investigation, and now this—an event I’d never seen before.

(End of Chapter)

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