#035
“Ah… Eunseok. Doesn’t your face hurt? Ugh… Your arm is melted too.”
Ji Taeuk said with a frown. Only then did Eunseok glance at his forearm. The flesh had been dissolved by the acidic liquid. Similar wounds were probably on his face as well.
As he became aware of the wounds, the pain finally rushed in. It wasn’t unusual to be unaware of injuries during combat due to the effects of excitement.
Ji Taeuk grabbed Eunseok’s shoulder with his hand and poured healing energy into him. Eunseok watched in amazement as the melted flesh, scratches, and claw marks healed like magic, returning to normal skin.
“That’s amazing, hyung.”
Eunseok expressed genuine admiration. Ji Taeuk, having finished healing, removed his hand from Eunseok’s shoulder with a shy expression.
“No, you’re more amazing. You’re not even a hunter, but a guide, and you’ve made it this far intact. Even fighting and Guiding at the same time.”
Eunseok wanted to say that the healing ability was more fascinating and impressive, but he refrained, thinking it would just lead to them praising each other back and forth.
“It’s out.”
Shin Jeongho, who had been dissecting the giant spider, said as he pulled out a magic stone. Ji Taeuk’s eyes sparkled as he rushed over.
Eunseok examined the cavern walls, which he hadn’t noticed earlier due to focusing all his attention on the monsters. The rock walls, which had been outside his awareness, were now noticeably unusual. Part of the cavern walls reflected a mysterious color in the light from Oh Seongeun’s stick. It seemed likely that not just the cavern, but the entire cave they had passed through contained extraordinary minerals.
As expected of an A-rank gate, even the by-products from this place must be incredibly valuable.
Eunseok touched the cavern wall reflecting the mysterious light with his fingertips. He recalled the incentives for gate by-products that he had overlooked when signing the contract. At that time, he had only thought about the high annual salary, but after using up countless magazines today, he suddenly remembered the danger pay and incentives.
If I prepare twice as many magazines as today, the money spent on each gate run would be…
“What are you looking at with such covetous eyes?”
Choi Hanseo’s voice sounded beside him. Eunseok glanced at him. Was it because of his black attire, or had he really not been touched by a single drop of monster blood? He looked almost the same as when they first entered the gate. Only a few holes in his clothes from the acidic liquid indicated that he had been in combat. It was a stark contrast to Eunseok and his teammates, who were tattered and covered in green and red.
“Just thinking about how much money this could be worth.”
Was Eunseok’s answer unexpected? Choi Hanseo laughed softly.
“I didn’t think you were the type to like money so much, Mr. Lee Eunseok.”
“Don’t I need to at least earn enough to cover the cost of the bullets I used today to enter the next gate?”
For some reason, Choi Hanseo found this amusing and laughed out loud again. There was no trace of mockery in his laughter. Eunseok silently lifted Choi Hanseo’s wrist to check his watch. As expected, the numbers had barely changed. It meant he had hardly used his abilities while facing the giant spider.
“Why? Disappointed?”
Choi Hanseo asked.
“Why would I be?”
“I thought you might have wanted to see me use my abilities.”
“Not really…”
Eunseok trailed off. He felt somewhat disappointed, yet not quite. He was already thrilled by witnessing this man’s physical abilities. If his special abilities were added to that, Choi Hanseo might no longer seem human.
“I’ll show you a little later.”
Choi Hanseo whispered in Eunseok’s ear, leaning in slightly. The tickle in his ear made Eunseok’s brow furrow involuntarily.
“A little later?”
Eunseok asked, suddenly furrowing his brow. Choi Hanseo gestured with his eyes towards the opposite side of the cavern. As Eunseok turned his gaze to the far side of the vast cavern, he finally noticed a stone door attached to the wall.
“Didn’t we just defeat the boss?”
When Eunseok asked, Choi Hanseo smiled with his eyes. It was an affirmation.
Good grief.
Eunseok had to admit that he had significantly underestimated what an A-rank dungeon meant.
Ji Taeuk, after receiving the magic stone extracted from the corpse and putting it in his backpack, healed the team members one by one. The healed team members lightly moved their bodies and checked their weapons.
“Will you enter first?”
Han Cheolyong asked Choi Hanseo. Choi Hanseo nodded lightly and walked towards the stone door on the opposite side of the cavern. The team members followed in their original positions.
Eunseok loaded his last remaining pistol magazine and performed area Guiding on the team members. The team members’ numbers were already quite high. To face the final boss, he needed to lower their numbers even a little. He no longer had any firepower to contribute to the battle anyway. Focusing on Guiding was Eunseok’s current important task.
As he unleashed the area Guiding at maximum output, extreme mental fatigue hit him. This was the first time he had felt fatigue from Guiding. Eunseok gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his concentration.
The stone door, seen up close, was over 3 meters tall. It wasn’t just his imagination that the door, engraved with geometric patterns, looked like the gates of hell.
Choi Hanseo lightly kicked the stone door with his toe. The incredibly heavy stone door crumbled with a deep sound.
A cloud of dust rose. Oh Seongeun waved his stick, creating a light wind that pushed the dust aside, clearing their view. Eunseok’s eyes widened as he saw what lay beyond the door. He had expected at most another large cave or cavern. But beyond the door was a massive stone colonnade with an eerie atmosphere straight out of a fairytale.
“Looks like the concept is a demon king’s castle, huh?”
Moon Bora snorted.
She was right.
The ceiling was incredibly high, and along both sides of the vast colonnade were large statues resembling gargoyles, spaced out as decorations. The pillars supporting the massive colonnade were engraved with bizarre designs. Between the statues, large flames blazed in braziers, adding to the gloomy atmosphere of the colonnade.
Choi Hanseo began walking forward without hesitation. The team members followed behind. Eunseok maintained the area Guiding while observing his surroundings. Whether due to the atmosphere or his instincts warning him, he had a very ominous feeling.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of Choi Hanseo’s footsteps leading the way was particularly striking to the ear. The menacing appearance of the statues they passed made Eunseok’s body tense up involuntarily. Despite feeling as if they might come alive and attack at any moment, the statues remained motionless as the team passed by.
After walking about two hundred meters, they finally saw the end of the colonnade. At the end of the massive colonnade, like a king, sat a statue even more ferocious and grotesque than the gargoyles they had passed. It was so large it was almost the size of a small three-story building.
“Are you ready?”
Choi Hanseo asked, stopping in front of the giant statue.
“Yes.”
Han Cheolyong answered. The other team members spread out in a circle, placing Ji Taeuk and Eunseok in the center, and gripped their weapons.
Suddenly, Choi Hanseo glanced back. His gaze fell on Eunseok. Their eyes met briefly in the air. And in the next moment, Choi Hanseo’s figure vanished like the wind.
Kwang-!
A thunderous sound like a sledgehammer striking a massive rock rang out. Looking up to the source of the sound, they saw that Choi Hanseo had stomped on the head of the giant gargoyle statue. But despite the tremendous noise, the statue didn’t break. Instead, the two eyes of the giant statue flashed with light.
Gwaeaeaeaeae-!
The giant gargoyle spread its wings wide and let out a monstrous cry. With that single cry, a gust of wind blew, making their hair whip wildly in the air. But that wasn’t the end. From the colonnade they had walked through, numerous monstrous cries rang out in response. All the gargoyles along both sides of the colonnade had awakened at once.
The experienced team members seemed to have anticipated this situation. That’s why they had formed a protective circle around Ji Taeuk and Eunseok, who lacked combat ability.
Even without seeing it, Eunseok could clearly imagine the scene of countless gargoyles flying towards them. The team members maintained their positions and engaged the incoming gargoyles all at once.
Kwang-! Kwang-!
Tremendous sounds rang out each time the team members clashed with the gargoyles. Eunseok, back-to-back with Ji Taeuk, constantly scanned with his eyes to see if any creatures were breaking through the defense. Of course, he didn’t forget to maintain the crucial area of Guiding.
After observing for a while, it seemed that due to everyone’s incredible skills, no creatures were breaking through. Any gargoyles that weren’t blocked were being intercepted by Han Cheolyong, who was drawing their aggro. After confirming this, Eunseok was finally able to turn his eyes towards Choi Hanseo.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
