Chapter 230

Im Haekyung’s words gave me a strange sense of deja vu.

‘Feels like I’ve heard something like that somewhere.’

Even though everyone was so deep in their own fear that they wouldn’t be hearing what they were saying, Im Haekyung spoke softly, as if they were making casual everyday conversation.

‘Their ability really is insane.’

If it was going to be this effective in an S-rank Gate, then it was obvious the one casting the Skill had to be S-rank too.

The black smoke that had been slowly rising from under my feet thinned out little by little. Staring at them, I took a step back.

Maybe the one who fits this Dungeon best isn’t Kwon Taehan, but Im Haekyung.

‘If things go wrong, Im Haekyung might clear it before Kwon Taehan even gets here?’

In a Dungeon where fear is the biggest enemy, doesn’t getting rid of fear basically mean you’ve cleared more than half? Watching the Dungeon Boss—its petal-like mouth repeatedly opening and closing—I pulled the Stealth Orb out of my chest area and put it in my mouth.

‘Then now, slowly....’

-Feeliing... is weiiird....

The Dungeon Boss’s slow voice came through as vibration.

‘It feels weird?’

At those words, I turned my gaze right back and looked at Im Haekyung, and Im Haekyung’s eyes were on the Dungeon Boss. I’d been wondering why that “boss” bastard was staying quiet with its mouth shut even though Im Haekyung was interfering—looks like Im Haekyung had shoved even that thing into the ranks of Mental Domination.

In so many ways, it really was ridiculous.

‘Good.’

Not “good” for those people—just that it was good for me.

Once the other Hunters came to their senses, the fight would start again. No matter how broken Im Haekyung’s ability was, there was no way they could control an S-rank boss and a bunch of A-rank Hunters all at once and see it through to the end. They’d keep the boss from moving first, then wake the A-rank Hunters. That was probably the plan.

And I didn’t particularly want to witness that fight with my own two eyes.

Honestly, it seemed like it’d be fun, but even if my Rank had gone up, getting mixed into the biggest battle in an S-rank Gate was fucking insane. Not only that, I didn’t want to show up for no reason and draw aggro in this situation. And with people from SH in the mix—people I’d already met—if the plan got screwed up, it’d be a pain in a bunch of ways.

‘Even if I end up joining later after watching the timing, it’s not now.’

The intervention I could make in this Dungeon was: pulling forward the timing of meeting the Dungeon Boss. That was it. Any more than that would heavily affect both me and what would flow afterward, so it was right to keep my hands off.

I didn’t even have any obligation to come in here in the first place, so whether other Hunters died or not, there was no reason for me to care.

‘Alright.’

Luckily, Im Haekyung was distracted dealing with the S-rank Dungeon Boss right now.

I stared at Im Haekyung’s back for a moment, then turned my body without hesitation.

‘Hang in there.’

Even if they were the fucking bastard who sent me all the way here, thinking about the past times Im Haekyung had granted my requests, I cheered them on in my head and immediately left the spot.

The Dungeon Boss didn’t even spare a glance at a tiny-fry piece of shit like me in a place packed with S-rank and A-rank—so even as I peeled off, it didn’t show the slightest bit of interest.

Just like that, I successfully carried out the smartest choice I could make: “running away.”

‘Everyone, do your best!’

***

After confirming I’d put a decent amount of distance between myself and the Dungeon Boss, I slowed down.

‘Hmph.’

Since the whole goal from the start was getting away from the combat situation, there wasn’t anything left to do here. At most, just worry I might die?

This was a Dungeon where the probability of dying skyrockets exponentially if you get separated one by one, but that was only true when its unique premise was met.

Up until now, the ones I’d seen fall behind were bastards who’d already been terrified and ran. So of course they’d die easily in a Dungeon that lives off fear.

But for me, who was just waiting for someone else to clear the Dungeon...... there was literally no reason to be scared at all.

‘It’s not like I’m the one clearing it anyway.’

So I really was walking with nothing on my mind, purely with the goal of getting farther away from the Dungeon Boss.

“...Ugh.”

That was when I heard an unexpected person’s voice.

‘What?’

Since I’d been moving to keep distance from living creatures, I didn’t want to run into a person again here.

‘But I have to check who it is.’

I followed the source of the voice ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) and walked over. Not far away—shockingly—there really was a person. And even more, it was someone I knew, and still alive.

Name: Seok Jiwon

Age: 28

Rank: A

Title: -

Main Skills: Dolpung (A), Heuteojineun Pokpung (A), Ganpa (B)

Growth Limit: A

‘.......’

It was the Haeseong Hunter who’d run off alone earlier. I’d assumed they were dead, but I didn’t expect them to still be alive. And I definitely didn’t expect to run into them here.

I lowered my gaze and checked that Hunter’s condition. Face-down on the floor, twitching, the bastard was bleeding like crazy, like something had beaten the shit out of them. The eyes forced open had no focus, and the limbs were convulsing in a bizarre way. Still—breathing. That’s what it meant.

I stared for a moment, then passed by without hesitation.

‘I’m not a healer, so... can’t help it.’

I did feel kind of bad, but leaving the spot had been their own choice. They’d brought it on themselves.

Im Haekyung was giving fervent support, so if luck held, there was a chance they’d run into other Hunters while still alive. In that case, survival was possible. If I had to put it in percentages, it felt like about 0.3%, though.

I deliberately avoided them and kept walking, and then a tornado about my height suddenly formed and blocked my path.

‘Ah, you fucking—.’

After barely managing to stop myself from getting swept up, I immediately turned my head and looked at the half-corpse sprawled on the floor.

‘This bastard’s really going to grab my ankle from the underworld.’

Since they were about to die, were they planning to make someone else die too?

I had the Stealth Orb in my mouth, but they’d still noticed—so they must’ve used the Ganpa Skill in the middle of all that. Even while dying, they fired off two Skills in a row. So even if fear was fucking them up, A-rank really was A-rank?

I tried a few times to leave even after running into the tornado, but every time I moved, the tornado followed, so I had no choice but to give up. I blew out a rough breath and strode over to the bastard lying face-down.

“Hunter Seok.”

The moment I called out, they reached out like they’d been waiting and grabbed my shoe with a firm clunk.

“Sa....”

“Save you?”

Maybe even nodding was too much, because instead of answering, they blinked a few times.

‘Why would I...?’

Of course, that was a separate matter from whether I’d grant the request.

After thinking for a moment, I crouched down in front of them and met their eyes. They lay on their side, and only the gaze followed me.

“I’m not a healer. I came here suddenly, so I don’t even have potions.”

Instead of answering, they just rolled their eyes around.

‘So what... do you want me to do?’

I stared, then a beat late, I realized what those eyes meant.

“Ah....”

“.......”

“You’re saying you have potions.”

They blinked violently like that was right.

“Where?”

“.......”

“If you just roll your eyes, how am I supposed to know. You can’t talk at all? Doesn’t look like it. Try a little harder to talk.”

Then the hand grabbing my foot tightened subtly.

‘Yeah, there’s still strength left.’

After a long effort, they moved a tongue that seemed stiff like it had hardened.

“Inside... clothes. Cube.”

“You put it in there? How do I unlock it?”

“No....”

“Okay.”

Like they said, I rummaged around and pulled out a cube-shaped space-saving box. It wasn’t the same as what I used, but handling it itself wasn’t difficult. I smoothly took out potions from inside, then checked the injury.

“Want to drink it? Or should I pour it?”

“.......”

“Looking at you, you can’t drink.”

Clicking my tongue in my head, I poured the potion over the wound. White steam immediately hissed up, and the injury sealed up fast.

Fuck. I got dragged into a Dungeon because of the Haeseong Guild Master, and now I’m rescuing a Haeseong guild member. Even I thought I was a special kind of sucker.

I carefully dumped everything I could out of the potions and poured them over the wound, and even while wheezing, they slowly came back to life.

“Are you okay?”

After confirming the body had recovered a bit, I sat them up, opened their mouth, and stuffed a potion inside.

“Ghk...!”

“Yeah. For now, drink, and let’s talk.”

Their glare hit me viciously, but I didn’t really care. The end result was a good deed, so what.

A little later, after panting for a long time, the revived bastard slowly met my eyes.

“I almost died because of you.”

I ignored the bullshit from someone who’d just crawled back from death and spoke.

“How did you end up like that?”

I had a rough idea of what happened, though.

But instead of answering, they suddenly inspected my face closely and threw out nonsense.

“You... our Guild Master... hidden....”

After “hidden,” they spent a long time choosing a word, then barely spat it out.

“...person?”

What the hell are you talking about?