However, my answer was already decided. I immediately chose option 2.
It's called Seongsu. No, anyone would feel sorry seeing someone in such pain. So, if there was a way to save him, I wanted to save him.
[Option 2 is extremely difficult and not recommended. Do you really want to proceed?]
I ignored the warning message and asked.
"How, is there a way...?"
"Let me take a look."
Ki Yoo-hyun suddenly stepped forward.
Ignoring Park Hee-young's grumbling about not having time to worry about a bird, I asked him.
"Can you do it?"
"Probably."
Ki Yoo-hyun cast a skill on the long-tailed phoenix. A beam of white light grew from his fingertips and turned into a curtain of light.
The feathers wrapped in light gradually returned to their original color. White feathers with a faint iridescent sheen fluttered, and the bird soon spread its wings.
"Wow..."
The sigh of relief was short-lived.
The particles of white light that purified the feathers were matched by the darkness that began to consume the long-tailed phoenix again. The bird, which had struggled to rise, lost its balance and fell, once again swallowed by the darkness.
"...Let's try again."
A light flashed in his dark eyes.
The unpleasant smell that filled the air disappeared instantly. A net of light tightly enveloped the bird, erasing the contamination.
The long, golden tail regained its original luster, but only for a moment.
"Chirp, chirp..."
The poison brought by the fragment quickly covered the bird's body.
This was never going to end.
The long-tailed phoenix had lost its original power due to swallowing the fragment. No matter how much purification was done, the result would be the same without breaking the fragment.
'To break a fully integrated fragment...'
[1. Sacrifice: Burn the long-tailed phoenix (Difficulty: Easy) ☜ Recommended]
The notification window flashed again, as if urging me to choose it immediately.
The long-tailed phoenix lowered its head, seemingly sensing its fate.
Swallow...
With a single gesture, I could end this poor bird's suffering, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The bird's tear-filled eyes clearly showed its will.
No, it's too early to give up.
Since this system has brought me this far, there must be a way somewhere. The system has never readily provided information, so if I search thoroughly, there must be a hint somewhere.
There must be. I wanted to believe it.
In the tense silence, I looked at the semi-transparent window in front of me.
'Ether-Wiki'
[Verifying qualifications... Complete.]
[Eligible: Verifying rights...]
'Skip'
I skipped the long text and checked each item, hoping to find a clue, even if it was a straw to grasp.
There weren't many open items, but there might be a hint hidden somewhere.
Then, an unopened notification in the corner opened on its own.
['A-Class Golden Trihorn Cow Ecology' video: Play? Yes / No]
'No.'
I didn't have time to watch a cow documentary right now.
This system window can be manipulated by recognizing the user's gaze, voice, and thoughts.
I used my gaze, voice, and thoughts to choose 'No' with all my might, but it didn't work at all.
If it was going to choose on its own, why ask in the first place...?
[The video will play.]
I felt my body being sucked into somewhere.
And the next moment, I was in a grass field.
...What? A grass field?
I was just inside a building.
* * *
The sparkling sunlight in the blue sky, the leaves swaying in the wind, and the cows grazing in the distance...
It was a pastoral scene.
The peacefulness of a quiet pasture made me blink slowly.
The 'video' had VR capabilities?
The smell of summer grass filled my lungs.
Startled, I looked down. Crushed leaves dyed the soles of my shoes green. When I reached out, I could feel the rustling leaves.
...Where am I?
A chill ran down my spine. There couldn't be a video this realistic. It felt like I had been suddenly summoned to an unfamiliar place.
I looked for the system, which had turned off, but it was really...
While I was slowly looking around,
"!"
A tall tree in the distance. Under its shade, a strange woman appeared.
Her blonde hair, shining in the sunlight filtering through the leaves, and her long dress looked like they had just jumped out of a fantasy RPG game.
【Finally, we meet.】
"Me? Do you know me?"
It was definitely a face I had never seen before. I had never been abroad, and I had no memory of meeting a woman like a fantasy RPG saint.
But her voice was familiar. This voice, resonating directly in my mind, was definitely from somewhere...
As I tried to recall, my vision suddenly blurred. The scenery, losing its color, looked as if the edges were smudged.
What's happening?
【It's due to the interference of causality.】
【It's not a good situation to have a long conversation.】
【Just one. You can ask me one thing you're curious about.】
Her words snapped me back to reality.
I can recall the blurry memory later. There was only one thing I wanted to ask this fantasy RPG saint.
"I want to know how to save the bird, the long-tailed phoenix."
【You will know the answer.】
"Me?"
I asked because I didn't know.
Just as I was about to argue, a large bird flew from the blue sky. The bird circled in the air and landed on the fantasy RPG saint's shoulder.
The bird looked sick. Its once-lustrous wings hung limply, and its weak chirping lacked energy.
The saint picked a fruit from a tree behind her and offered it to the bird. It was a deep red fruit, slightly larger than a thumbnail.
The bird opened its beak and swallowed the fruit.
Soon, the bird turned into light from the tip of its beak and disappeared. Only white feathers scattered by the wind remained to prove its existence.
"!"
My surprise was short-lived.
Soon, a new long-tailed phoenix appeared in the same spot.
Flap! The white feathers sparkled in the sunlight, and the bird flew off into the sky.
Particles of light poured from where the long-tailed phoenix had been.
"Ah..."
Here, my senses were incredibly sharp, and information I wouldn't normally know naturally came to mind. It felt like receiving knowledge directly into my head.
The long-tailed phoenix, purified of the pollution in its body, returned to the light ether, and a new bird's body was formed from that ether.
This is the meaning of the name 'phoenix.'
The 'light ether' existing in the dungeon is the bird itself.
As long as the ether cycle continues, death is absent for this bird. That's why it's called a phoenix.
The mysterious scene captivated me, and the saint called out to me. She picked another fruit and handed it to me.
The moment I placed the cold, soft fruit in my palm, the space completely collapsed.
My vision went dark.
Just before it shattered, her voice lingered in my ear.
【How about it? The second life?】
"!"
【We will meet again.】
【I hope you can obtain the life you desire by then.】
It was a deeply meaningful tone. I've seen this in games a lot.
A character appearing in a peaceful village in an RPG game, looking wistful and saying incomprehensible things to a beginner character who is just doing errands or hunting slimes.
A character who says things like 'I've been waiting to meet you again' or 'Your power is needed,' full of deep meaning, but doesn't actually provide any help.
Whenever such a character appears, something troublesome always happens. I don't like that.
They say they'll give you a cafe. Rest! Don't you know what rest means? I can understand if the cafe has more customers than expected, but I don't want to get involved in something big I don't know about.
What does that saint want to use me for?
"..."
As I grumbled inwardly, a strange memory flashed through my mind.
I remembered.
Where I met that saint.
It was definitely then...
My thoughts stopped there.
A storm of light covered my vision.
* * *
"Huff, huff..."
Sweat trickled down my face, stinging my eyes. I blinked blankly.
"Lee Eul?!"
"Kwon Eul, what happened?"
The surroundings were a dark room. It was indeed the sealed room from earlier.
I didn't know how much time had passed. I could feel Kwon Ji-won and Ki Yoo-hyun's worried gazes, and the stern hunter Park Hee-young's presence.
What just happened?
The scene that was too vivid had suddenly gone dark, and I still couldn't grasp reality.
"Are you okay?"
"Uh, uh... I was just... surprised."
They said it was a video of an A-Class Golden Trihorn Cow, but there wasn't even a cow, and it wasn't even a video. If there was a system support officer, I'd want to file a complaint.
[Thank you for using.]
A message appeared immediately.
It's not like it's rubbing salt in the wound...
Ki Yoo-hyun reached out and wiped my forehead with a handkerchief. As I got closer to Ki Yoo-hyun, I could see Kwon Ji-won's expression stiffen over his shoulder.
Ki Yoo-hyun, tilting his head, asked in a low voice.