However, it wasn’t by my choice that the ‘Great Beings’ were watching her.

The only thing Suji could do was mute the window.

She listlessly glared at the rising numbers in the log before pulling the blanket over her head.

Though not sleepy, she closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep, and before she knew it, her consciousness drifted away.

After a shallow sleep that didn’t feel like real sleep, she suddenly realized she had entered a dream.

Because her mother was standing before her eyes.

Her mother was looking at her with a smile.

Her mother’s face wasn’t that of an ordinary person remaining in her father’s photo album.

It was the face of Hunter Penaeus.

With purple hair just like the current Suji.

‘Mom.’

Suji said that title, now awkward to even utter.

Because it was a dream.

Because this was a safe place.

Because it was okay to say it anytime.

But instead of answering, her mother quietly shook her head. And placed her hand on her shoulder.

How warm it was just to have her mother’s touch somewhere on her body, Suji burst into tears uncontrollably at this one thing that might be natural for someone else. Even knowing it was a dream, it was so precious.

Like someone who hadn’t learned how to cover her face, Suji stood facing her mother and endlessly let tears fall. The crying wouldn’t stop.

“Mom, I don’t know… what I saw. What should I do now?”

She saw her mother’s face contort.

As if it pained her to see Suji’s tears.

But the two hands that had been resting on Suji’s shoulders for a while slowly but firmly turned her around.

“…Mom. I don’t want to go anywhere. I just, want to stay. I want to stay by your side.”

At that stern gesture indicating she must return to reality, Suji shook her head while swallowing her choked sobs.

If it had been her old self, she would have undoubtedly obeyed.

The firmness of the mother created by her subconscious was Suji’s own strictness towards herself. Following it would have made her feel at ease.

But now it was a little different.

The weak part of herself was also herself.

Of course, it’s good to work hard for the future.

But a person couldn’t keep trying forever, nor could they always move in a good direction.

That takes energy.

And when all that energy is consumed, sometimes you need to rest. Until your mind and body recover, you need to rest until you’re sick of resting before you can finally be okay.

She felt that now was such a time.

Suji turned around.

She collapsed into her mother’s embrace, who was sternly pushing her back.

‘Can’t go. Can’t go… For now, I want to stay here. Just a little. Just a little longer.’

This time, her mother didn’t push her away anymore.

As if understanding Suji’s feelings, as if knowing well enough, she nodded with a face accepting her childish whim.

When consciousness returned, she thought it had taken a really long time, but when she checked the clock, it was only 2 hours later.

Suji smiled dejectedly, amused by her own needless diligence.

She wasn’t the type to rely on others.

But such a personality probably wasn’t there from birth.

Whether she wanted it or not, after her mother disappeared, she was just forced to learn how to stand on her own two feet.

‘I know I shouldn’t, but…’

On days like this, she couldn’t help but resent her mother.

Even if it was something her mother couldn’t solve, there were moments when she just wanted to be held in arms that seemed like they could solve everything.

If only she could have stayed in those arms a little longer.

If only her mother had just turned a blind eye even in the moment someone lost their life.

Such unreasonable, selfish thoughts come to mind.

Thinking like that, the doom wasn’t entirely frightening.

Because dying might just mean meeting her mother sooner.

There were many things she wanted to say when she met her mother.

About what the world was like after her mother’s great exploits. About how easily people talked about hunters when life became a bit more livable. About how easily people forgot her mother’s name. And about how lonely she was after her mother left like that, and even her father forgot half of her mother.

About how ridiculous the ‘Great Beings’ were.

What kind of favor is it to warn humanity about the impending doom after conquering the ‘Bay Laurel’? It’s more like a punishment.

Suji frowned and unfolded her arms that had been hugging herself.

‘…It would be a bit shameful to meet Mom and say I came early because Earth was destroyed.’

Thinking that way suddenly made her feel like her curved back was straightening.

Really.

‘How can I tell her that all the people Mom risked her life to save, and even those who continued to support the foundation after her death, were all destroyed together?’

Thinking this way, even the grand topic of doom somehow felt a bit lighter.

It felt like a child worrying about getting scolded by parents for not doing homework.

Like losing face.

‘If that happens… if I meet Mom… I still want to tell her I protected the world she saved.’

Suji pushed aside the blanket and cushions she had been hugging tightly.

The blanket seemed to feel heavier not because of its physical weight, but because of the comfort it provided when buried in it.

Come to think of it, Suji had been living with the threat of death as she climbed the tower, except for the moment when her thoughts stopped briefly due to overwhelming fear.

She had witnessed too much. Death was already a part of life from the moment she graduated from the academy, too much to struggle and try to stay away from out of fear.

It was a level of fear that humans could hardly face, but Suji’s journey and the longing left in her inner self made her accept it all.

‘Yes. Whether this really happens or not, even if I die trying somehow.’

Suji, who had sorted out in just a few hours what no one could easily accept, jumped up, opened the door, and went outside.

Unlike the interior space with blackout curtains drawn, outside the living area was already dimly brightening like dawn.

Team members were drinking beverages and talking about something at the table where they had played board games.

“Oh, Team Leader?”

“Did you rest a bit?”

Peace and Saint turned around with wide eyes noticing Suji’s presence, while Elaine just looked at her quietly without saying anything.

Suji met Elaine’s gaze and smiled faintly.

“It’s just delaying the inevitable.”

“I thought where the delay was, but now I’m really sick of it. I’d rather just die.”

“…Daphne.”

The conversation she had seen as a reward from the ‘Bay Laurel’ came to mind involuntarily.

But that alone wasn’t enough to know what she and Elaine had been doing in the tower, or what was happening.

The doom scenario pointed out by the ‘Great Beings’ wasn’t to her liking, and Elaine looking at her fondly and calling her Daphne… Doesn’t it not suit him at all? She didn’t want to peek at people’s relationships in advance like that, whether it would really happen or not. Really.

So.

She hoped her attitude towards him wouldn’t change in any way because of seeing such things.

Something inside her was stirring, but that wasn’t important right now.

The story about Elaine could wait until later.

What needed to be done first now was about the sudden doom approaching, covering the sky.

“Everyone stay where you are, don’t get up. I have something to talk about.”

She stopped the team members who were about to stand up. They all ended up in awkward postures, half-risen.

“Is it a meeting?”

“It’s not like that. Just…”

Suji squeezed in between the team members gathered at one table.

As she sat down, she suddenly felt the early morning sunlight piercing through the leaves and pouring down, making her back feel hot.

As Saint said, it might be good to go to another dungeon and uproot a few palm trees. The poor landscaping here wasn’t enough to fully block the sunlight.

She laughed at herself for suddenly having such leisurely thoughts. Then she opened her inventory and took out all the items received from the final floor, placing them on the table.

Time Crystal, Imagination Crystal, Self-regenerating Enhancement Fragment, Hexagram Demon’s Bone and Wing, Hexagram Demon’s Wing, Guardian Stone, Necklace.

10,000G

2 Rare Random Boxes

1 Ring of νόμος (Hidden), 1 Secret Box of νόμος (Hidden).

Not a single item wasn’t valuable.

“Wow, the ‘Bay Laurel’ rewards aren’t bad.”

“If you consider climbing the Sage’s Tower, this would be at least equivalent to the first-clear rewards for 3 floors above the 70th floor? Maybe even more? Usually, you can’t get items like these without destroying parts, right?”

“I’m sure the Team Leader knew what she was doing.”

“Anyway, this is everything. You can take what you want.”

After placing all of them on the table, Suji spread out both hands.

Usually, Suji tended to give more good items to her team members. Regardless of the rarity or tier of the items, she always readily distributed them to those who suited using them.

That was part of why Team Daphne had maintained such strong cohesion until now.

But while that might work for other common items, with two hidden items, the distribution wasn’t easy.

“Isn’t hidden one grade higher than random?”

“Forget about grade, it has the name of the ‘Great Beings’ attached. It’s bound to have an amazing function.”

Saint carefully picked up the ring.