Chapter 4
Thud.
Her head fell onto Cha Si-hyeon’s shoulder.
“…What the hell?”
Cha Si-hyeon, who reflexively caught the collapsing body, blinked in confusion.
Between strands of disheveled long hair, a pale face was revealed. Cha Si-hyeon stared at Yoo Yi-joo’s tightly closed eyelids.
Judging by the regular breathing…
‘Is she sleeping right now?’
She had fallen asleep.
A dry chuckle escaped through Cha Si-hyeon’s teeth.
7th-grade monster species, [Sand Python].
Though almost weak enough to be 8th-grade, it received a 7th-grade rating due to its annoying ability to put people to sleep when making eye contact.
The Sand Python from earlier was quite large, but it’s a monster you encounter quite often in dungeons.
Thanks to that, most hunters of decent rank have basic immunity to it.
In other words, it’s harder for hunters to fall asleep just from brief eye contact like this. This means…
“She’s a weakling, isn’t she?”
“That’s right.”
She was pathetically weak.
Baek Doha lightly agreed.
C-rank isn’t such a weak grade, but it depends on individual skills and magical power.
Even Cha Si-hyeon had shown some consideration to Yoo Yi-joo, who seemed to lack any magical power just from appearance.
‘I deliberately stabbed its neck to kill it.’
Originally, the [Sand Python] releases poison when killed without stabbing its neck.
Normally, Cha Si-hyeon, who is immune to poison, would have killed it recklessly, but he had stabbed its neck out of consideration for the C-rank Yoo Yi-joo.
But Yoo Yi-joo succumbed to that brief sleep effect rather than the poison, so he couldn’t help but be surprised.
‘To be affected in such a short time, how weak must she be.’
To be affected by a 7th-grade monster species means she’s extremely weak, even among C-ranks.
Cha Si-hyeon looked at the sleeping Yoo Yi-joo with disgruntled eyes, then raised his head at the sound of movement.
“Hyung-nim, where are you going?”
Lim Yuchan, who had started walking, paused.
“To scout.”
A simple answer without any subject.
If it were someone else, they might have asked again, but Cha Si-hyeon understood immediately.
That statement meant he was going to look around for the dungeon’s exit or any clues about it.
As Cha Si-hyeon nodded, Lim Yuchan leapt up, kicking off the ground.
The sand where he kicked off sank in, and his long coat fluttered.
Then Baek Doha also started walking.
“I’ll go too.”
“What?”
“The more people scouting, the better.”
“Yeah, that’s fine, but what about her?”
Cha Si-hyeon pointed at Yoo Yi-joo’s body, which he was awkwardly holding.
“Just keep her alive. She might be useful later.”
“But why do I have to take care of her?”
Baek Doha smiled at Cha Si-hyeon’s incredulous face.
“Hey, wait a minute!”
Cha Si-hyeon reached out at that smile, but his fingertips only touched empty air.
Watching the two disappear in the blink of an eye, Cha Si-hyeon ruffled his hair.
‘They always dump the annoying stuff on me.’
A sigh escaped his lips. To think he had to babysit someone weak enough to be affected by a 7th-grade monster species.
“Well…”
Cha Si-hyeon looked around and finished his thought.
‘I guess I can just throw her anywhere?’
💎
My eyes slowly opened.
The first thing that came into view was the pitch-black night sky.
‘Stars…’
Was it just a feeling? It looked similar to the view from the bench in my neighborhood.
‘Ah, could it be I’ve returned?’
It seemed like I had passed out drunk on a bench somewhere.
No wonder I had such a bizarre dream!
Convinced, I sat up abruptly.
[SYSTEM] Status effect ‘Sleep’ caused by 7th-grade monster species [Sand Python] has been removed.
[SYSTEM] All accumulated fatigue has been recovered.
A blue window blocked my view.
‘Right, it was too vivid to be a dream.’
Feeling wide awake, I got up.
It was the same scenery I saw just before falling asleep.
The vast sea, the gloomy forest, the sand where the monster appeared.
‘But…’
Suddenly feeling something was amiss, I looked around and realized one thing.
The S-ranks were gone.
‘Where did they go?’
The voices of those three who had been so noisy were nowhere to be heard.
In the silence that was peaceful to the point of being a bit scary, I couldn’t see even a shadow no matter how I looked around.
‘Did they abandon me?’
It was hard to be certain since I had made a promise with Baek Doha.
They might have gone to scout the dungeon or simply abandoned me, probably one of the two.
I tapped my lips out of habit.
If so, I had two options.
“Should I wait here, or look for them myself?”
[Skill ‘Extraordinary Brain (E)’ has been activated.]
[Due to low fatigue, the efficiency of skill ‘Extraordinary Brain (E)’ has increased.]
The deliberation didn’t take long.
I started walking towards the forest.
“It’s definitely not because I’m scared to be alone.”
I muttered to myself, nodding, words that no one could hear.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.
Not long after entering the forest, I encountered what I least wanted to meet.
‘No way…’
Growl.
Two white eyes gleaming even in the darkness, huge teeth, boulder-like muscular shoulders.
Seeing the brown fur with spots, I frowned.
‘…A hyena?’
It seemed a bit off to be a normal beast, as it had no pupils. Then, was this a monster?
Having only seen the [Sand Python], I couldn’t distinguish monsters well.
In the midst of confusion, I suddenly remembered the skill I had. If I could use this skill not just on people but also on monsters…
[SYSTEM] Skill ‘Peek (S)’ is being used!
[SYSTEM] Using ‘Peek (S)’ on monsters consumes a large amount of mana. Do you want to cancel the skill?
‘What?’
An unexpected message popped up. I couldn’t afford to use my already scarce mana here.
‘Nothing ever goes easy, does it?’
I forcefully hit the cancel button.
It’s a monster anyway, right?
Behind the hyena I thought was alone, two more of the same size came out, sauntering.
‘Damn it.’
At that moment, I hesitated,
Crack, I stepped on a branch.
The sound echoed clearly in the quiet forest.
‘I’m screwed.’
With a chill running down my spine, I looked up. I met the terrifyingly gleaming white eyes in the darkness. At that moment, the creature that had been on guard leaped up with a fierce sound.
The only thing I could do now was grit my teeth and run.
💎
Huff, gasp!
The sound of breathing filled the dungeon.
I ran like mad, despite my breath rising to the tip of my chin.
I had no choice.
Behind me, huge hyenas were chasing me!
Who would have thought I’d be chased by hyenas, not even loan sharks? Even I found this situation absurd.
Of course, I had a weapon called a mana gun.
The real problem was…
‘Why are they chasing me in a pack!’
The fact that there wasn’t just one, but six of them.
The snake that popped out of the sand was at least big enough to aim at easily.
These are smaller than the snake but quick and agile.
In other words, not only could I not guarantee accuracy, but it was obvious I’d be torn apart by those things before I could even shoot.
‘Don’t I have any attack skills?! Hey, profile!’
I desperately called out, thinking I might have missed an attack skill.
[SYSTEM] Opening profile.
[Name: Yoo Yi-joo
Title: None
Rank: F
Trait: Relentless Growth (-)
Skills: What’s Yours is Mine (-), Peek (S), Extraordinary Brain (E)]
Right, nothing’s changed.
As I ran, cursing internally a thousand times, suddenly one word caught my eye.
‘What’s Yours is Mine?’
The glowing letters inside the blue window caught my attention.
It was a skill I hadn’t noticed due to the chaos.
Just from the name, it didn’t seem as impressive as the skills of those cool S-rank hunters.
[SYSTEM] Do you want to check the information for skill ‘What’s Yours is Mine (-)’? (Y/N)
Just then, a system window popped up in mid-air. With the mindset of at least checking it out, I pressed ‘YES’.
To be honest, if it’s not an attack skill, it won’t be helpful right now…
[SYSTEM] Checking information for skill ‘What’s Yours is Mine (-)’
▸What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine.
Take something from your desired target and make it yours. Even skills. (However, you must know the exact name of the skill you want to steal.) (Skill duration: 15 minutes)
…Wait.
‘Steal?’
The target’s skill? For 15 minutes?
For a moment, my mind went blank. Not believing it, I read it again from the beginning.
Even while panting with breath rising to my chin, I read it over and over.
I came to my senses when I heard the sound of water flowing from across.
I don’t know how long I had been running, but when I looked up, a lake filled my view.
‘Ah, damn it.’
Right, it was a dead end.
Feeling cold sweat running down my spine, I looked back.
Three muscular hyenas were slowly stepping towards me.
Now, I couldn’t even run away.
I immediately grabbed my gun.
[Unique skill ‘What’s Yours is Mine (-)’ is activated.]
[Successfully stole skill ‘Pillar of Fire (A)’ from target ‘Lim Yuchan (S)’!]
It’s now or never.
💎
Thank you for reading! ♡
