“What is this?”
“It’s a candy that relieves fatigue. If you are not going to sleep, eating it will help you for tomorrow.”
The light sky-blue item really resembled candy. I sent a thankful look to him and put the candy in my mouth.
“…you really just ate it without doubting me.”
It was sweeter than I expected for something that relieved fatigue. Rolling the candy in my mouth, I asked Woo Seo-hyuk, “Should I be suspicious?”
“It’s not like that, but… do you like sweets?”
“Yes. This seems to be a lot sweeter.”
I walked around the gate all day and had a slight headache just from thinking about it, but after eating the candy, my mouth felt cooler and my head felt lighter.
“Then that’s a relief. It’s an easy-to-find item, but sometimes it doesn’t work for some people.”
It was quite an interesting item: if you ate this candy, your fatigue would fade. Since my body was A-rank, if I held on, I might be able to walk around without sleeping for a week.
“Where do you get it?” I asked Woo Seo-hyuk, thinking that I should buy several and bring them with me.
“Even if it is made to be as safe as possible, it is not an item that is completely free from side effects,” Woo Seo-hyuk said with a weird expression on his face, not answering my question.
“Yes, well… that does make sense.”
Coffee and beverages containing caffeine had side effects. So of course, this item would have side effects too. I looked at him with confusion.
“I can give you more candy, but somehow I think that Han Yi-gyeol-ssi will overuse them.”
How did you know? Brushing the back of my head in embarrassment, I asked, “Then, places where they’re sold…?”
“They do indeed sell them. I think there are about 20 places that sell them.”
“Haha, no way. Please don’t do this; please tell me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m still A-rank, so eating a few of these won’t cause any major problems, right?” I asked for it one more time, but Woo Seo-hyuk was adamant.
“I’m sorry.”
“……”
If you were going to be like this, then you shouldn’t have given it to me at all. You made me so excited—so unfair.
I grumbled inwardly, thinking, ‘I’ll have to ask Cheon Sa-yeon to help me.’
For some reason, I felt like there were more and more things that I needed from Cheon Sa-yeon.
* * *
While the guild members were making their beds, Park Geon-ho, Woo Seo-hyuk, and I got together once again. It was to decide what to do with the hidden path next to the entrance to the second floor.
“To be honest, I still think it’s worth a visit, but I’m not going to insist.”
“I don’t mind if we do look around there, but as the person in charge, I can’t send you alone… This time, it would be better to just clear up to the third floor as usual.”
“We’re on the same page. We don’t have to go looking for a problem.”
At the end of the discussion, it was decided that we were not going. As much as I thought it was unfortunate, it would be better to come back later.
“Eh, that’s not fun.”
“It’s been boring because the monster level has already been lowered.”
“I want to meet new monsters in new places!”
“How about going all the way to the third floor?”
“Right. Except for those who are having a hard time~”
Rather, it was the guild members who resisted the decision. The non-combative team watched with a tired expression as the combative team, who had regained vitality after a good rest, chatted with excitement.
“Rejected. It’s bad enough to change the plan and extend the schedule in the first place.”
“What? You’ve changed your tune. Until yesterday, Team Leader was the first to say ‘let’s go’.”
“Are you selling me out?” Park Geon-ho said pitifully to the protesting guild members. “Stupid bastards. Do you think I changed my mind because I’m afraid of being reprimanded?”
“You’re not?”
“Then what?”
“Anyway, the reprimand is just a matter of writing a reflection. It wouldn’t even be my first time writing one. What I’m really afraid of is…” Park Geon-ho lowered his voice and said with a serious face, “getting called in by the Master. Not a good idea. I got a feeling. If you act recklessly, you’ll get called into the representative office…”
I sighed. Of course. It was bullshit from start to finish.
It was funny to see the disappointment in the guild members’ eyes. Looking to the side, Woo Seo-hyuk was also looking at Park Geon-ho with contempt.
The guild members who were persuaded by Park Geon-ho followed the orders silently. As we went up the stairs to the second floor, a huge door made of sandstone appeared.
“Let’s see.”
Park Geon-ho, who roughly pushed the sand piled up in front of the door with his foot, firmly stepped on the stone engraved with a triangle. To open the door, we had to touch a hidden device.
Kugugugung!
The sand fell softly and the door went up as if it had opened its mouth. At the same time, a sharp arrow flew towards Park Geon-ho’s head.
“Hm?”
Park Geon-ho, who slightly bowed his neck to avoid the attack, threw the iron ball he was holding inside.
Kieeeek!
The screams of the monster were heard along with the sound of an explosion. After a while, dozens of arrows flew towards us this time.
“Stand back!”
A guild member, who ran out in front of Park Geon-ho, opened a white curtain. Tiing! Fortunately, the arrows did not penetrate the shield and fell to the floor.
“This is the first time this has happened. The monsters didn’t stay inside and came out to the front door?”
Park Geon-ho tilted his head, frowning. The monsters were knocked down like dominoes by the long-distance team.
After removing the shield and going through the door, I saw monster corpses that littered the floor. Black skulls and old bows. As an A-grade monster archer, it was not an easy opponent to just kill like this.
The identifier, who checked the archers’ level with a serious expression, said to Park Geon-ho, “Team Leader. It’s higher than the first floor.”
“Did it become B-grade?”
“Yes. 78.4% of B-grade. Previously, it was 21.54% of A-grade.”
“The grade went down, but they’ve become so aggressive that they even came to the door…”
Park Geon-ho looked uncomfortable. The grade had been lowered. This was a problem I expected from the first floor. But attacking as soon as we appeared, like they were waiting for us, was very different behaviour from before.
‘Yeah. Like… as if they were intelligent enough to know when we were coming.’
However, I didn’t know about S+-grade monsters, but would monsters that had fallen to B-grade have that much intelligence?
Perhaps having similar thoughts to me, Park Geon-ho gathered the guild members.
“Did you notice anything strange?”
“I found nothing.”
“Things are a bit ambiguous.”
“If they were still alive, we would have been able to see if they were under some kind of spell, but we killed them…”
A number of cases had been investigated, but no specific conclusion had been reached. There was no other way, so in the end, we moved on despite our discomfort.
“The atmosphere is strange.”
“Be careful. Kim Woo-jin, you too.”
I looked around, paying attention to Min Ah-rin, who looked worried, and Kim Woo-jin, who was next to her.
I felt an unfamiliar, unpleasant sensation sticking to me.
The second type of monster that appeared was a large caterpillar monster, the B-grade Great Larva (그레이트 라바). Despite their slow body, they were one of the most difficult monsters to deal with in close range because they sprayed poison everywhere from their back.
“What’s this?”
However, the Great Larvae didn’t budge at all, not spewing poison either. I wondered if they were dead, but their torso moved slightly. They were still alive.
The Great Larvae, who were bigger and chubbier than most adult males, shrank back as guild members approached.
“Just in case, close-range team, step away. It could spray poison,” The long-distance team said, stepping forward. I also got stuck in the middle and used my ability to attack the Great Larva.
The Great Larva, whose body was cut, died without even screaming. So did the other Great Larvae. The identifier confirmed the grade level of the corpse.
“Grade C, 69.2%.”
“This is so…”
Park Geon-ho, who was thinking about something with his arms crossed and his brows furrowed, ordered the guild members to burn all the bodies of the Great Larvae. Since they didn’t react normally, he was worried that their bodies would come back to life or be manipulated by some power.
The corpses of the Great Larvae, which had been lowered to a C-grade, burned even with a normal fire. After clearing up, the team continued to move forward.
* * *
The team, which cleared up the monsters faster than originally planned, unpacked their luggage to rest before the stairs to the third floor.
Even after the Great Larvae, monsters with even lower grades continued to appear. It was a trivial situation for those who were worried that an S+-grade monster would appear.
Park Geon-ho and the team members of Special Operations Division, who came in expecting a hot clash with a strong monster, were dying of boredom, but other than that, the non-combative team and Woo Seo-hyuk thought that it was a relief.
As for me, it was good to see the grade dropped. I was able to relieve some of my worries about Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin.
‘More than that, the problem isn’t the grade…’
It must be an abnormal movement of the monster. Not only me, but also Park Geon-ho and Woo Seo-hyuk felt the seriousness, and unlike the first floor, I continued to look around sensitively.
“Yi-gyeol-ssi.”
Min Ah-rin handed over what she was holding in her hand. It was a cup of steaming hot barley tea.
“Thank you.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“It’s all right.”
When the situation went like this, the desire to sleep disappeared. Having an A-rank body was really useful at times like this. Even if I didn’t sleep for two days, I could endure it somehow.
On the other hand, Min Ah-rin and Kim Woo-jin, who were non-combative ability users, had rough skin. We had been moving all day, and the bed wasn’t comfortable, so they were always fatigued.
“You look very tired, Min Ah-rin-ssi.”
“I kind of am, but… the second floor has been cleared. We just have to work hard until tomorrow.”
“That’s right. Let’s cheer up a little bit more. Kim Woo-jin, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Woo-jin quietly nodded at my question. After yesterday’s conversation, Kim Woo-jin behaved as usual, but the subtle sense of distance was still there.
I felt bitter and pretended not to know about it. If I couldn’t take responsibility and explain it properly, I had to accept this.
Min Ah-rin seemed to have noticed this situation to some extent, but she decided that it was not a matter for others to interfere, so she said nothing and said goodnight with a smile.
“See you tomorrow, Yi-gyeol-ssi. Woo-jin-ssi.”
“Good night.”
As time passed, everyone fell asleep with the exception of a few who stood by the watchman. Park Geon-ho and Woo Seo-hyuk constantly walked around the team in case of an invasion.
I stayed by Kim Woo-jin and Min Ah-rin without falling asleep.
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