Chapter 10
The cave we moved to was in the forest area, so there were quite a few things we could find around.
Roaming animals, nearby berries, and so on.
The best thing among them was…
“Phew!”
There was a very clean lake not far away.
‘This is the taste of victory…!’
After thoroughly wetting my face, I raised my head, enjoying the coolness from the water.
Yes, I won.
It might be an exaggeration to say ‘easily’, as I used too much magic power, but I won anyway.
Since I didn’t intentionally run too far away, I could find my way back to where I originally was.
I roughly brushed off the water dripping from my hair with my hand.
Looking ahead with a refreshed feeling, I could see a waterfall flowing inside the lake.
“If it weren’t for the monsters, this place would be quite pretty.”
Here, you could often see stars that are rarely visible in the city, and clean forest air. Even this untouched water was very clear. I dipped my hand into such water.
As I swirled it around, small waves formed.
By the way, Baek Doha kindly confirmed for me that there were no monsters in this lake and that it was well purified, probably out of concern for my fear. He was extremely kind in such aspects.
‘Should I dip my feet in too?’
It seemed refreshing, but the deliberation didn’t last long.
‘Let’s not, I might catch a cold.’
It wasn’t because I was scared. I dusted off my seat and stood up, then turned around. It probably hadn’t been 20 minutes yet.
But that’s when it happened.
Rustle.
The sound of stepping on grass came from the darkness.
My ears perked up. …Stepping sound?
‘No.’
This sound was more like sliding on leaves…
Before I could complete the thought, a chill ran down my spine.
‘Damn it.’
A huge shadow emerged from the bushes.
I thought it was over, but another monster with a different appearance was approaching, flicking its tongue.
‘I knew it. The quest completion notification didn’t appear…!’
I stepped back in shock, my mind going blank again at the sudden turn of events.
‘S-Skill…’
Screeech!
At that moment, the monster opened its mouth. Seeing its sharp fangs aiming at me, I hastily raised my hand.
“Hah, seriously…”
A familiar voice spread through the air.
[Skill, ‘Spear of Hell (S)’ is being used.]
A low resonance.
Simultaneously, bang!
A long sword, enveloped in pitch-black sword energy, stabbed right into the back of the monster’s head. The monster writhed in pain, shaking its head.
But that didn’t last long. Thud! The monster, unable to withstand the S-class power, collapsed to the side.
[SYSTEM] Congratulations! You have completed Main Quest-4 [Protect the Dawn (1)]
“Good thing I came to check.”
It was Cha Si-hyeon.
💎
‘It’s fortunate he killed the monster from afar…’
That was my first thought.
Although unintentional, luckily, I could avoid unnecessary suspicion as the corpse of the monster I killed was over there.
“Please, be more careful.”
Cha Si-hyeon, who was examining my face closely, sighed in relief.
“I was being careful…”
“Weren’t you about to die just now?”
“I didn’t die, so it’s fine.”
When I smiled brightly, he made a face like he was getting a headache. It’s true that it would have been dangerous without Cha Si-hyeon, but I wasn’t without options.
If I had jumped into the lake behind me, those creatures would have been more likely to sink. I probably could have managed to save my life somehow. No, and also.
“You said this dungeon was D-rank in the first place, right?”
I don’t understand why he’s so worried when the rank I lied about was C.
Moreover, the monsters I killed are clearly here.
“That was just a prediction. Who knows if an S-rank boss might pop up somewhere.”
“Is that possible?”
I asked in surprise, and he answered.
“No.”
So he was just trying to scare me. I gave him a cold look, and Cha Si-hyeon corrected himself.
“It’s not common, but since this dungeon itself is different from the usual ones, we can’t be sure.”
“Hmm…”
“You readily believed Baek Doha’s words, but you’re doubting mine first.”
Feeling a bit caught off guard, I turned my head away.
Huh. I heard an exasperated chuckle from the opposite side. But this isn’t my fault.
“I guess he tends to make more trustworthy statements…”
“Not because of his face?”
“What do you mean, his face?”
I immediately refuted in shock.
“I’m not the kind of person who shows favoritism just because someone’s face is a bit prettier.”
“I didn’t say he was pretty.”
Cha Si-hyeon’s eyes narrowed. Anyway, let’s move past that.
“What should we do with this corpse?”
“Leave it. Hyung-nim will probably burn it himself.”
Is this statement based on trust, or is he just passing the buck? Probably the latter, I thought as I shifted my gaze to the return path.
Only the third quest has just ended. Looking at the gradually increasing difficulty, I couldn’t even imagine how difficult the upcoming quests would be.
No, it would be more accurate to say I didn’t even want to imagine it.
“If I had known this would happen, I should have exercised…”
“What?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to say thanks for coming.”
I brushed off my muttering and expressed my gratitude.
If it weren’t for him, it wouldn’t be strange if I were in a chase with the monster right now.
After looking at me for a moment, he said abruptly,
“That’s enough.”
It was a typical response from him. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Let’s go now. The other two must be waiting.”
As I was about to move, feeling a sense of relief or something indescribable,
“Wait a moment.”
Cha Si-hyeon stopped me. When I turned around, he slightly furrowed his brow.
“Come closer.”
“Pardon?”
“I said, come closer.”
It was a sudden request. I approached him with a questioning look.
“More.”
When I took another step closer, he narrowed his eyes.
“All the way.”
“What’s this about?”
At least explain why. I grumbled but approached as he wanted. When the distance was considerably reduced, he suddenly lowered his head.
I hesitated at his approaching face, but Cha Si-hyeon grabbed my waist to prevent me from moving away.
Then he lowered his head further and buried his nose in my shoulder.
My whole body stiffened. What, suddenly…
“Hey.”
“Y-yes?”
“You smell of blood.”
…Blood smell?
‘Could it be the monster’s blood?’
I turned to look at the monster’s corpse in confusion but stopped. No, the barrier should have blocked even the blood from splattering.
Come to think of it, when I was lying sprawled out after the tension eased…
I quickly felt the back of my neck. There was moisture that was less sticky than sweat. It seemed to be a mixture of sweat and blood.
No wonder it had been stinging a bit…!
“Are you hurt?”
“J-just a little. It’s not a serious injury.”
Thinking about it now, I might have been grazed by one of the creatures that lunged at me from behind.
“How can I believe that? Take your hand off.”
“……”
“Take your hand off, Yoo Yi-joo.”
His voice resonated low in the darkness. The first thought that came to mind upon hearing that voice was just one:
‘I’m doomed.’
“Hey, hey.”
“…”
“Yoo Yi-joo.”
Cha Si-hyeon kept calling my name in the silence.
I unconsciously became scared and hesitated, and he raised an eyebrow.
Fine, I won’t move.
“Take it off quickly.”
I’ve always felt pressure from Baek Doha’s fierce smile and Lim Yuchan’s silence, but this was the first time I felt scared of Cha Si-hyeon.
I fidgeted silently but eventually lowered my hand, unable to resist his determined gaze. He then lowered his head to examine my neck.
“You…”
“It’s fine, right?”
I asked, desperately hoping so.
He silently reached out and placed his hand on my neck.
“Ah…!”
Are you crazy!
I jumped at his sudden pressing touch, and Cha Si-hyeon smiled crookedly.
“You dare say you’re fine?”
“Anyone would hurt if you press on a wound like that!”
“Oh, really.”
Cha Si-hyeon removed his hand as if it wasn’t his concern and raised his arm to bite hard on his sleeve.
‘…Huh?’
Rip! There was a sound of tearing fabric.
Cha Si-hyeon put the torn piece of cloth in my hand, made me raise my arm, and carefully placed it on my neck in that position.
“Use that to cover it.”
“Ah…”
The warmth of his palm on the back of my hand faded, and after blinking a couple of times, I realized he had helped stop the bleeding.
“Thank—”
“You’re pathetically weak.”
He grumbled before I could finish my thanks.
“…It’s not that bad, you know?”
Isn’t it not entirely weak to have faced a monster alone and only end up with this much injury?
When I made an aggrieved expression, he tilted his head.
“Are you really C-rank?”
“……”
“Even a C-rank without attack skills shouldn’t be this weak.”
“……”
“I don’t even understand how you managed to shoot a gun.”
“I’m already feeling down because of that.”
So please stop adding insult to injury.
It wasn’t a perfect hit rate, quite a few shots were missed.
Naturally, a considerable amount of magic power must have been drained.
I was already having a headache because of that, and the consecutive facts made me dizzy.
I sighed involuntarily. To think half of my magic power was wasted.
Watching me like that, Cha Si-hyeon said offhandedly,
“If it’s that bad, ask Baek Doha to teach you.”
“Doha-ssi?”
“Yeah. He uses a bow that comes from magic power too.”
Come to think of it, Baek Doha only carried a bow.
The arrows that formed at his fingertips were clearly made of magic power.
It’s a similar situation to me creating bullets with magic power.
Should I ask him once?
“Think about it later. Let’s go now.”
Before I could think further, Cha Si-hyeon gestured toward the inner part of the forest with his chin.
I nodded in agreement.
‘Baek Doha…’
As I thought about the green arrows blooming from Baek Doha’s fingertips.
💎
Thank you for reading! ♡
