“Can you stand it?”
“For now.”
Drops of cold sweat ran down my temple. Huuung, the five iron balls in Park Geon-ho’s palms flew all at once. Park Geon-ho and I floated, Woo Seo-hyuk avoided the attacks from the monster and even the iron balls. I started to get a headache from each sudden drain in energy.
Haaak!
Kuuung!
He threw an iron ball at the monster that was about to open its mouth again. The monster, which was briefly shaken by the shock of the explosion, came out with a bizarrely distorted face and looked at Park Geon-ho. No, it was staring at me. Apparently, it noticed that I was assisting Park Geon-ho and Woo Seo-hyuk.
“Ugh!”
The monster swung its arms with great speed. Park Geon-ho, noticing the movement, quickly pushed his body back. Kwagagak! The monster’s sharp claws barely passed us and scratched the wall.
Woo Seo-hyuk did not miss the opportunity and jumped in. With his mouth wide open, the wolf mercilessly bit the monster’s neck. Kururung, the cry of the beast and the scream of the monster rang out at the same time. The monster swung its body and arms at random to tear off Woo Seo-hyuk, but Woo Seo-hyuk dug his claws into the monster’s body and held out.
Meanwhile, Park Geon-ho and I sent an iron ball flying, being careful not to get Woo Seo-hyuk caught up in the explosion.
Kiiiik!
Argh! At the scream of the monster, some B-rank guild members and the healer team covered their heads and screamed.
Park Geon-ho didn’t care and continued to use his ability. Kuuung, kung! As more bombs exploded, the room shook as if an earthquake struck.
“Haa, haa…”
I was breathing heavily. Park Geon-ho readjusted my limp body and hugged me.
“Hold on a little longer.”
As if I had hit the limit, my energy pierced my heart sharply. I endured the constant blurriness of my vision, forcefully refocusing my eyes.
The monster, which barely removed Woo Seo-hyuk, was wet with the black blood that flowed from its neck. The fatally wounded monster opened its mouth and tried to absorb energy, but there was nothing left to absorb as the guild members succeeded in clearing all the monsters.
The monster was significantly smaller, having been bitten in the neck and hit several times with bombs. Realising that its life was in danger, the monster began to target me more tenaciously than ever.
Hihihik! Hihik!
The monster, which ripped its mouth open and laughed strangely, began to spit out thick fluids. As soon as the black fluids hit the wall, the wall melted, emitting smoke.
It was possible to kill the monster with one proper attack, but it was not easy to narrow the distance between us and the monster that was constantly spewing fluids. In the end, I suggested another way.
“Team Leader. I will be the bait.”
“What?”
“There is no end to this. Everyone is exhausted and if we continue to be dragged along like this, we’ll take on more damage.”
Park Geon-ho frowned at my words but did not respond. I called out to Woo Seo-hyuk, who was hovering around the monster, unable to approach due to the fluids.
“Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi. Can you carry Team Leader on your back?”
Woo Seo-hyuk blinked his eyes and growled. Rejection could be seen all over his body. I’m sorry, but I can’t help it even if you don’t like it.
“Team Leader and Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi, please move as a team. I will stand apart and draw the attention of the monster.”
Woo Seo-hyuk, who was waving his tail, bowed his back slightly with a dissatisfied face. Park Geon-ho, who got on top of Woo Seo-hyuk, grabbed some iron balls and gave me a wink to start.
Away from them, I flew high. As expected, the monster turned towards me and swung its arms. If I let my guard down even a little, I would be caught by the monster’s huge hands.
Kiiiik! Kiiik!
I increased my speed to confuse the monster as much as possible. I calmly avoided the monster’s arms that cut through the air and its fluids. However, it was impossible to completely avoid all the attacks and the number of wounds gradually increased.
While the monster looked at me, Woo Seo-hyuk, who had Park Geon-ho on his back, moved behind its back, out of the monster’s sight. Woo Seo-hyuk, who jumped high and used the wall as a foothold, shot towards the monster.
“Ugh…!”
The monster’s claws cut my shoulder. At the same time, Woo Seo-hyuk, who had landed on the monster’s head, dug his claws into the monster’s forehead.
Kkiiiiik—!
Its mouth widened with a painful scream. As if Park Geon-ho was waiting, he threw iron balls into its long, open mouth.
“Haa, haa.”
I shakily turned off my ability and sat down on the floor, almost collapsing. Hot blood gushed out of my shoulder. Finally.
Kwaaang!
A bright white light burst outward; it was an explosion stronger than the rest. Kkiiii! Successive explosions burned the monster’s mouth and its body. The disgusting smell of burning flesh spread.
Woo Seo-hyuk and Park Geon-ho, who stood back just before the explosion, also fell to the floor. When the explosion that did not stop for about a minute finally ended, the monster’s charred body fell to the ground.
Kuung!
Black blood spread under the monster’s corpse. I then breathed a sigh of relief.
It was finally over.
“Woohoo!”
“We won!”
The guild members, worn out after the fierce battle, cheered with excited voices and celebrated their victory. I leaned my back against the wall and watched them. My fluctuating energy slowly stabilised with the power of the bracelet.
“Wow, I thought I was in real big trouble.”
“Team Leader and the Secretary are great, but Mercenary Han Yi-gyeol is no joke. Surely there is a reason why people are calling for him here and there.”
“Great job, everyone!”
Park Geon-ho, who got off of Woo Seo-hyuk, high-fived the guild members. Woo Seo-hyuk, took out new clothes from his inventory and put them on after transforming back.
“Don’t relax, take a good look around you. How is the identifier?”
“Fortunately, he’s come to his senses.”
“Tell him to start measuring as soon as he feels better.”
“Team Leader, we have finished checking the exit. It opened normally, and there’s no sign of monsters or traps.”
“Great. We’ll take a breather and start moving right away. Until then, check your weapons and treat the injured.”
At those words, I looked down at my right shoulder, still bleeding. I had to be treated, but my energy did not recover, so it was difficult to move my body.
“Yi-gyeol-ssi!”
After resting for a while, I was going to visit the healer team, but Min Ah-rin found me and ran to me. Behind her was Kim Woo-jin.
“Oh my god, look at all the blood!”
“Are—are you hurt?”
I looked closely at Kim Woo-jin’s face as he approached me. Fortunately, his complexion was fine and there wasn’t any blood flowing from his ears.
“Kim Woo-jin, are you okay?” I asked just in case anyway. Even if you looked fine, you could have a hearing problem.
“……” Kim Woo-jin’s eyes reddened, looking upset. “I—of course I’m fine. You’re the one who’s hurt. Your shoulder…”
“Woo-jin-ssi is right. Is Yi-gyeol-ssi in a position to worry about others now? Take off your clothes. I will treat you.”
“Haha…” Smiling awkwardly, I unbuttoned my shirt. The pale beige shirt I was wearing was half wet with blood.
The wound was worse than I thought. Min Ah-rin, who saw my shoulder all torn up, said with a frown, “You’ve become a complete rag.”
What do you mean by rag… That’s mean.
Kim Woo-jin knelt down on one knee in front of me. His expression, head slightly bowed, was not very good.
“If I were stronger… If I had the strength to fight like everyone else, instead of using this useless ability, would I have been able to protect you from getting hurt?”
“……”
I couldn’t answer him hastily and kept my mouth shut.
Kim Woo-jin’s words were not unfamiliar. At one time, I also thought like that every moment. Every dawn, when I felt driven to insanity by my loneliness, I longed for it, swallowing down the resentment that soared to my throat*.
So I couldn’t tell Kim Woo-jin not to think foolishly. After a brief silence, I opened my mouth.
“Kim Woojin. As you are, you are enough.”
“……”
“Like Min Ah-rin-ssi, who heals me when I get hurt, you are also helping me a lot. That’s it.”
Above all, thanks to Kim Woo-jin, I had access to information that was troublesome to get. These were not empty words to console him.
“I agree. Yi-gyeol-ssi gets hurt whenever I look away. I can’t look after him all on my own. I need Woo-jin-ssi.”
Min Ah-rin, who was watching me and Kim Woo-jin, helped me out. Feeling embarrassed, I looked at my shoulder and wiped my sweaty bangs. Before I knew it, the wound had stopped bleeding with Min Ah-rin’s ability and was slowly healing.
“Han Yi-gyeol.”
Park Geon-ho and Woo Seo-hyuk, who came after looking around the guild members, walked up to me. For some reason, both of them seemed to have finished a tough battle, but their expressions were bright and they looked refreshed.
“It was hard on you. Thanks to you, I was able to kill it quickly without taking too much damage.” At Park Geon-ho’s words, Woo Seo-hyuk nodded his head from behind. “And yet, it’s also unfortunate. Do you really not have any thoughts of joining my team?”
“Not joining, not joining. Do you think I’d want to work so hard again?”
“It was as much hard work as it was fun.”
I looked up at Park Geon-ho with a cold expression on his face. Fun, my ass. Really, you had a weird personality.
“Don’t you like all the team members? It would definitely be nice if we could work together.”
“I decline.”
Perhaps because his ‘scouting disease’ reared its head again, Park Geon-ho did not give up and began to recite the benefits that I would receive if I joined the team. Kim Woo-jin, who was sitting in front of me with his gloomy face, gradually grew colder, and Min Ah-rin covered her mouth and laughed.
‘Haa…’
This was my life. While sighing, I looked over Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder to find who was looking at me.
The monster’s red eyes were facing me. I felt a chill as my heart began to beat hard.
The monster, making eye contact with me, ripped its bloody mouth open and laughed.
“……”
The sound that filled the surroundings became faint, and the sensations of my whole body became more sensitive. An unpleasant intuition ran up my cold fingertips.
The monster slowly opened its mouth as if teasing me. Something stretched out through the gaps full of teeth.
“N…”
No. My body moved before I could think. I grabbed Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder, who was sitting in front of me, and pushed him roughly to the side.
Puuk!
I felt a burning pain as I heard my flesh being pierced. The black tentacle protruding from the monster’s mouth pierced my side. My body, which had been leaning forward to push Kim Woo-jin, fell to the floor as I coughed something out desperately.
“Cough!”
The blood was so black that I couldn’t believe it came out of my mouth. From the side I reflexively grasped, red blood and black smoke leaked out. It was poison.
“Yi—Yi-gyeol-ssi!”
“Han Yi-gyeol!”
Hihik… Hihihi…
Through the screams that filled my ears, I could hear the monster’s laughter. Shim Soo-yeon grabbed his spear and cut off the monster’s head at once. Thud, the last thing I saw before my eyes shut was the monster’s head rolling on the floor.
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