27
* * *
Veritas System nickname Rain Work. Real name Do Hyeonwoo.
A magic-type A-rank hunter hovering around 32nd place in the domestic rankings and serving as Yeoun Guild’s main dealer, he gripped his staff while watching the back of Magnetic, the hope of fellow magic-type hunters.
‘…What the hell.’
His thoughts stuttered for a moment at the scene that unfolded in just a few seconds. He had sufficiently anticipated the situation up to Magnetic using his frequently deployed Stigma. But the problem came after that.
The moment the breathless ice giant collapsed, he could sense the movement of a massive horde of magical beasts charging toward them as if they had been waiting.
‘Shit.’
It was too short a time to even gauge the number of entities. He had barely managed to perceive that magical beasts with smaller builds than the ice giant that had just become a corpse were targeting this location in a pack.
Not only Do Hyeonwoo but all the guild members’ minds were filled with warnings that they needed to respond to this emergency situation. However, before all the guild members could respond, the entire crisis situation was resolved in an instant.
Blink.
It was the result of one person’s skill captured in everyone’s field of vision as they closed and opened their eyes in the bitter air. The man standing tall on the now quiet snowy field where only the presence of his comrades could be detected was breathing steadily without moving a muscle.
‘I need to get it together.’
Do Hyeonwoo focused his eyes and shook his head slightly. Brilliant fragments of light mixed with the faintly falling snowflakes were pouring down over his entire body. In that moment, he faintly felt the imagery contained in the light particles that seeped into his face.
Panic. Responsibility. Firm resolve. Slight affection. Protection.
It was a strange sensation that could only be expressed with the vague term of what instinct perceived. An abstract lump of emotions struck his mind hard.
“Are you…”
Do Hyeonwoo began with a slightly trembling voice and read a clear sensation from the face of the man slowly looking around at the guild members, including himself.
“Are you alright?”
Guilt.
Lee Doun standing before him was blaming himself right now. Despite the fact that the instantaneous annihilation had been accomplished solely by that man’s fingertips.
The brilliant swarm of light that had devoured the magical beasts that attacked suddenly broke into small pieces, seeped into his body, conveyed strange emotions, then scattered.
It was literally perfect annihilation that left not even corpses behind.
‘Why does he have that expression? And what was that skill just now?’
Everything was full of questions.
The crisis that struck in the brief moment of taking just one breath and the situation where that crisis was resolved didn’t feel real.
They had conquered floor 46 and checked many videos from other alliances, but this was the first time seeing such a variable. Even though he had been excited about conquering the same floor as the #1 ranker before coming here, searched for conquest videos from other guilds, and thoroughly completed advance preparations, he hadn’t been able to respond quickly to the emergency situation.
‘Could it be that they appear when the ice giants are all annihilated at once?’
Do Hyeonwoo continued his thoughts while still in a dazed state. The entrance to the ice giant colony at the beginning of floor 46, which was supposedly the greatest obstacle. Since there had been no cases of killing the ice giants guarding it all at once like this, it was quite a plausible deduction.
‘But what the hell was that skill? This is really insane. I shouldn’t think this way, but I can see why those bastards tried to prevent him from going anywhere.’
While Do Hyeonwoo remained silent in admiration and confusion, Doun’s complexion began to darken gradually.
* * *
‘In that situation earlier, that skill was the best choice. Even thinking about it again, it would be the same result. But still…’
Doun’s pupils repeatedly turned a vivid blue color then returned to black. From what he could see with his naked eyes, none of the guild members appeared to be injured. Relief washed over him. And immediately he faced another problem.
‘…They’re gone.’
Doun paid no attention to things like the light that had already disappeared leaving only faint traces. He was only pondering how to compensate the guild members for the 21 magical beasts that had vanished without a trace, aside from the five corpses he had just killed instantly.
‘First, I’ll explain well that it wasn’t intentional…’
“…Doun hyung.”
‘Next time I won’t use it…’
“Doun hyung.”
‘I had no choice…’
“Lee Doun.”
A familiar voice pierced through his endlessly overflowing thoughts and lodged in his mind.
“Doun.”
Only then did Doun move his bright blue pupils to look at the face of the man standing before him.
“…What? ‘Doun?'”
As he muttered while chewing over the voice etched in his mind, Samin frowned.
“What were you thinking so hard about that you don’t answer when someone calls you?”
“I was just thinking about something for a moment…”
Doun trailed off while reading the situation. A variable had occurred due to his skill, and not only had he nearly put his companions in danger, he had completely blown away dozens of magic stones.
‘This is why I didn’t use this.’
When conquering the floor 20 boss, Doun had cast the skill as the best choice at the time and succeeded in clearing it, but had to listen to reproach in the name of feedback.
‘Doun. What are we supposed to do if you blow away even the floor boss’s magic stone without consulting anyone?’
‘I’m sorry, Jeongwook hyung.’
‘You know the floor boss magic stone is the most valuable, yet you make such a mistake? I understand, but there might be complaints among the other guild members, so I’m saying this because I’m worried about you.’
‘…Yes.’
Even though his vision was dizzy from the fatigue and exhaustion accumulated throughout his body, at that moment he was more tormented by the guild master’s reproach saying ‘I have a headache about how to make up for the boss’s magic stone that was just blown away.’
‘I made a mistake again.’
Doun lowered his gaze while putting slight weight on his staff.
‘Not even on a training floor, but in the field again…’
The training floor Samin had told him about left no magic stones, bloodstains, or flesh no matter how many magical beasts were killed. So he could readily agree to Samin’s request to show him his skills.
But the actual tower was different. Magic stones that could be exchanged for real currency and converted to currency used in the hunter system Veritas had disappeared without a trace.
“Hyung.”
At Samin’s worried voice, Doun’s lips moved slightly. He didn’t think he’d have to say these words again. This was a moment when he wanted to kill his past self who had decided to join a guild.
“I’m sorry.”
“…What?”
“…You can’t harvest magic stones because of me. I’ll somehow make up for that…”
As Doun continued speaking, misty breath scattered between his red lips. Normally he would have been busy secretly stealing glances at those lips, but Samin was too busy calming the anger that had risen to his head to notice Doun’s pretty face.
Because the reason he was saying such things was obvious.
‘That bastard who should be ground up and fed to dogs must have acted up on floor 20. Saying he blew away magic stones too. Looking at how he’s saying he’ll make up for it, shit, our hyung covered for that. Haa…’
Samin exhaled and irritably ran his hand through his hair, then inhaled. What was important right now wasn’t controlling his own emotions, but Doun’s condition. He swallowed and muttered while being careful with his voice.
“Hyung. You just coolly used your skill to protect us, and now what are you saying?”
“…”
“We said we’d help hyung first, but you did everything so we couldn’t do anything and just had to twiddle our thumbs, and now suddenly you’re talking about magic stones and whatnot…”
To Doun’s ears, it was truly a puzzled voice that seemed to not understand at all. It was the complete opposite of his attitude of roughly running his hand through his hair.
There was a reason Samin had to come out like this. He stared at Doun’s hands with eyes full of worry.
The tips of Doun’s fingers, leaning on his staff to stand, were trembling finely. Moreover, he was breathing irregularly with a pale, bloodless complexion – there was no way he could reasonably raise his voice in this situation.
Samin forcibly buried his bubbling anger toward that piece of trash and led Doun toward himself.
“Siwon and Chansol, keep watch for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Given the atmosphere, the two quickly distanced themselves and kept watch of the surroundings. Samin embraced Doun’s precarious shoulders and faced him on the snowy field a little distance away.
“Hyung.”
“…”
“Calm down a little.”
“…Yeah.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for, so what exactly are you so sorry about? We’re the ones who should apologize. We said we’d help hyung conquer the tower safely and quickly, but our reaction was slow earlier too.”
“That’s…”
Before Doun could object, Samin cut him off.
“I’m the one who should apologize. We said we’d handle everything but couldn’t do anything. I bragged so much to hyung that our guild was strong, and it turned out like this, so I’m even more sorry.”
“…No.”
Doun muttered while breathing in fine tremors, then raised his hand. As he reflexively covered his mouth, bright red blood gushed out between his fingers.
“Uh…”
“Hyung!”
“I’m, fine…”
“Suyeon noona! Quickly, over here!”
At Samin’s shout, who had been gently saying it was his fault until just moments ago, Doun looked up.
While healer Seong Suyeon, who had been waiting in the distance, ran over in surprise, Samin frowned as he looked at Doun looking up at him.
‘I’m the one who wants to cry, so why is he crying…’
Samin clenched his molars and raised his hand to gently wipe Doun’s cheek. Startled when the hand touched him, Doun tried to bow his head to Seong Suyeon, who was approaching him to calm his backflowing mana. But Samin held Doun’s cheeks with both hands and fixed his head in place.
“Don’t move.”
“That’s right, Doun-ssi. Just stay still.”
As the mana that had been backflowing violently enough to turn his insides upside down slowly settled, Doun quietly closed his eyes.
The moment the scattering snowflakes touched his eyelids and melted, he suddenly thought:
‘I really just want to disappear too…’
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
