#71
Not long after entering inside, something red and glowing approached them from a distance. With everything blocked around them, there was nowhere suitable to hide.
“It’s fire! Defense formation!”
A giant bird-shaped fireball came crashing down on them.
Even though they were surrounded by ice, it wasn’t as safe as it seemed. The flames inflicted burns on the hunters in their own way. Although the second preliminary investigation team had informed them to bring cold and heat resistance items, hunters who weren’t sufficiently prepared suffered damage. The ice that had melted from the flames quickly refroze, hindering movement and amplifying the cold.
This was also why Seo Yi-young had entered this dungeon. Seo Yi-young immediately healed everyone’s wounds. When he applied the group heal, their injuries returned to their original state as if they’d never existed, which seemed to amaze the hunters.
However, amid this, he detected a different atmosphere.
“But how can he predict things like that?”
“Yeah. If he has future sight, shouldn’t he have predicted this too?”
Grumbling voices were loud enough for others to hear.
Seo Yi-young cleared his throat with a “hmm,” and the muttering stopped. It seemed they weren’t completely tactless. At times like this, he couldn’t crush them while taking Joo-in’s side. Though Seo Yi-young’s reputation might suppress any issues for now, these were people who could meet Joo-in in dungeons again someday. It was better not to intervene rashly, to prevent their relationship from souring. Besides, while he could quiet them outwardly, that wouldn’t eliminate their inner discontent.
Problems weren’t solved just because visible resistance disappeared. That wouldn’t be wise. But he could prevent the criticism from spreading.
“It’s fine for now since I can heal this level of injury. I’ll use my ability when it’s truly dangerous. That’s why I was deployed for this dungeon conquest after all.”
He looked at Joo-in as if seeking his agreement. Though it might seem like he was one-sidedly taking Joo-in’s side, he was also reminding him to use his ability properly when needed. Seo Yi-young created an atmosphere where other hunters with less influence couldn’t speak up.
Joo-in nodded with a resolute expression, his lips pressed firmly together.
“Yes, I will.”
After Joo-in said that, everyone seemed to accept it to some degree.
“I’ll be in the rear. Don’t worry about recovery,” Seo Yi-young added, driving in the final nail. Honestly, his heart was pounding as he spoke. He wasn’t sure if such words would be effective. But it worked better than he’d expected. The hunters nodded silently in acceptance, determination rising in their faces.
To be honest, it felt strange to reconfirm his influence like this. Seo Yi-young resolved to work harder to keep his word. There was nothing more unsightly than making impressive statements but failing to fulfill your part.
Seo Yi-young clenched his fist.
The cave was quite long. According to the preliminary investigation team, it was about 25km in length. Even with protective gear, the fact that this place was an unfavorable environment for hunters remained unchanged. Moving diligently to escape this place was the top priority.
Meanwhile, the fire bird’s attacks continued intermittently. The attacks grew more intense as time passed. Fighting against the fire bird was dangerous in itself, but the bigger problem was that the ice cave was melting and on the verge of collapse.
No one knew what would happen if the ice cave collapsed. It would be fortunate if they could land on the ground, but they might face other dangers.
The fire bird mob wasn’t attacking. It just opened its mouth and rushed at the hunters while roaming the cave. Since they only needed to avoid it at the moment of charge, they decided to evade rather than fight. The ability of a support hunter who could create protective walls proved invaluable.
“Seems like it’s not time to use your ability yet?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Joo-in smiled slightly at Seo Yi-young’s question. The reason Joo-in didn’t take offense was because Seo Yi-young’s question came from genuine curiosity, not mockery.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Of course. I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”
It was important for hunters not to reveal everything about their abilities. Seo Yi-young apologized immediately, which made Joo-in flustered.
“No, no. It’s not that. I’m just sorry. I’m still not used to dungeons, so I’m cautious about saying one thing or another. …Actually, I got scolded yesterday during dungeon conquest practice because I couldn’t use my ability properly.”
His shoulders slumped as if the memory came back to him. Well, it would be more strange if someone who had just awakened could immediately use their ability skillfully. Seo Yi-young understood how difficult it must be, having experienced it himself.
“…But now that I’m in a real dungeon, I need to focus and do my best.”
Seo Yi-young silently patted Joo-in’s shoulder.
The cave was quite long. Though it would have taken about 6 hours just walking, it took nearly 9 hours to finally escape the ice cave while avoiding the fire bird.
After leaving the ice cave, they found themselves facing a desert with sand storms. The end of the ice cave was like a cliff, with a dizzying height. If they fell, there would be no guarantee of survival.
Though the environment was a bit different from the new-type dungeons they’d entered before, they could still tell it was a new-type dungeon because of the purple vortex floating in the red sky. Such an environment couldn’t exist naturally.
Everyone was speechless at the scene before them. Seo Yi-young unhesitatingly restored the energy of the hunters, whose exhaustion was evident from the dark circles under their eyes. Hunters who directly experienced Seo Yi-young’s healing didn’t hide their amazement.
“…Wow, at this rate, we could continue without resting.”
“That would be nice, but natural rest is better. We’re not here for fatigue recovery. Think of this healing as for emergencies only,” Seo Yi-young said with a bitter smile. Honestly, Seo Yi-young’s healing could eliminate physical fatigue, but it couldn’t restore the brain. This was something Seo Yi-young had learned through personal experience. He hadn’t figured out the exact principle behind it yet. But there was no need to explain this explicitly, so he just responded that way.
Besides, people might appreciate energy recovery the first couple of times, but as time passed, they’d get used to it and complain about why it wasn’t being provided. When he knew nothing, he might have been happy just being needed and providing recovery, but now he declined such treatment. He’d just become a convenient tool.
If he’d said this much, there wouldn’t be further discussion on the matter.
Seo Yi-young’s prediction was accurate. After his words, no hunter stepped forward to ask for energy recovery.
“Well, how do we solve this? There’s no way out.”
Oh Seong-yeon, an A-Class combat hunter, smiled in difficulty. The vertical scar on her face moved with her smile.
It seemed the preliminary investigation teams, with their limited time inside the dungeon, couldn’t discover what lay beyond this point.
Oh Seong-yeon habitually fiddled with the arrowheads in the quiver on her back. At forty-three, she was one of the old hunters who had awakened in the early days of dungeon formation. As such, she had participated in numerous dungeon conquests and was an experienced hunter.
“What do you think? As an S-Class hunter.”
“I’m just a support hunter, come on.”
“Such modesty.”
Oh Seong-yeon burst out laughing.
“I wonder if shooting at it would end things. …Oh.”
Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the desert.
“My eyesight is 4.0 in both eyes, you know?”
“Yes.”
It was a conversation that started without context, but it clearly wasn’t intended as a joke. Seo Yi-young nodded, listening attentively to Oh Seong-yeon.
“But at that end, something strange is flying toward us.”
“What?”
“Defense wall! Jung Si-young, Seo Woong-jae! To the front!”
Everyone moved in unison at Oh Seong-yeon’s command.
“It’s fortunate though. With a healer like Hunter Seo Yi-young accompanying us. We can conquer this without anyone getting hurt or dying.”
“We will.”
Seo Yi-young nodded.
Oh Seong-yeon chuckled as she pulled her bowstring taut. A blue energy that started from her arm began to gather at the arrowhead. It was clearly extraordinary.
“…Hmm!”
With a shout, she released the arrow. One shot, two shots, three shots, she fired five consecutive arrows. “Fired” might be a more accurate description than “released.” It wasn’t hard to predict that her arrows would show terrifying destructive power.
As the arrows flew, a gust of wind arose around them. Even though Seo Yi-young was somewhat prepared, the wind was so powerful that he staggered. Oh Seong-yeon caught him.
“Our healer needs to watch his step.”
“…Thank you.”
Such a weak body that couldn’t even withstand this. Seo Yi-young’s face reddened with embarrassment.
Thwack!
The rapidly flying arrows must have hit something, as the air reverberated with a dull impact sound. It felt like an earthquake. The problem was that the ice floor they were standing on began to collapse. As they slid downward, a sand mass in the shape of a dragon charged at them.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
