#9
Jo Yeon-woo’s backpack didn’t just contain camping items like sleeping bags and food.
A long rod that appeared to be about 1 meter was clearly an item that could be used against mobs at first glance.
If there was such a thing, why hadn’t he used it from the beginning and only now……
Before Seo Yi-young could open his mouth, Choi Do-jun’s voice was heard.
“Let’s quickly raid and get out.”
After saying that, he grabbed Choi Do-jun who was about to leap forward.
“Are you crazy? Where are you going alone? You’ll die like that. It’s a boss, so everyone should work together-“
Seo Yi-young couldn’t finish his words.
In the meantime, the boss mob’s attack had begun.
When the boss mob stomped its foot with a thud, tree vines sprouted from the ground and attacked them. The vines moved toward their targets like living snakes.
“Die? Me?”
A smile appeared on Choi Do-jun’s lips.
It was a perfect sneer, far from anything like gentleness.
It was when Seo Yi-young, who saw that laugh, was about to ask what was so funny.
The vines extended by the A-Class mobs and boss mob rushed toward them. When the sky turned so black with their swarm that it couldn’t be seen, his vision momentarily became distant.
Choi Do-jun extended his hand with his palm facing upward.
He wouldn’t be asking for his hand in this situation, so what was he doing? When he wondered that, bright light was gathering in his palm. The light was tremendously hot. He hadn’t known until now because he had been quite far away, but the heat was enough to make sweat form on his philtrum.
Perhaps because of that, he even felt like the surrounding bustling sounds were becoming quiet.
“Close your eyes. Unless you want to go blind.”
Hearing the cold voice, Seo Yi-young was startled and closed his eyes as told. He thought he heard a small laugh, but since his eyes were closed, he wasn’t certain. He was curious about when he could open his eyes, but it was soon resolved.
Whoosh!
Following the sound of something flying through the air, sounds of things exploding consecutively could be heard, so he could tell that Choi Do-jun had defeated the mobs. When he opened his eyes slightly to check, he could see Choi Do-jun, who had been in front, raising one corner of his mouth diagonally.
“Uh…… Waah!”
But before he could say anything, he was pushed back hard and ended up rolling on the dirt ground. But without time to complain, something flew to where Seo Yi-young had been standing.
What got stuck in the ground with a thunk was a vine.
Seeing the scene of the tree stuck in the ground made his hair stand on end. If he had remained standing there, he would have been pierced by that vine and seriously injured.
“……Tough.”
Choi Do-jun muttered as if annoyed.
And without giving him time to respond, he cut that vine. With a sizzling sound, the cut cross-section of the severed vine turned black and burned, creating a smell.
Even after that attack, the boss mob seemed to be alive.
The boss mob began moving slowly toward them, making a loud “grgrgrk” sound.
“If you don’t want your head split open and die instantly without even having time to use your ability, don’t just lie there sprawled out and get up.”
Though his rude way of speaking remained the same, it was also Choi Do-jun who had saved Seo Yi-young just a moment ago. Moreover, there was nothing wrong with his words, so he couldn’t express dissatisfaction. Furthermore, wasn’t Seo Yi-young currently in a state where he didn’t even know how to use his ability?
Seo Yi-young, who got up awkwardly from his position, looked around and could tell what had happened while his eyes were closed without needing an explanation.
He had eliminated almost all of those many mobs with just one attack. It was truly absurd firepower.
However, without time to feel relieved, he could see A-Class mobs rushing toward them. It seemed there were still more mobs. Having eliminated so many on the way here, he couldn’t even imagine how many mobs were in the dungeon. It was mind-boggling. At this rate, it seemed endless.
He couldn’t just expect Choi Do-jun to solve everything again.
Hoping for him to eliminate even the boss mob while protecting the other hunters including himself was probably too much.
He thought he had to do something himself somehow, but he had no idea what would be good to do.
“Seo Yi-young Hunter-nim!”
“Uh, ah……”
When Seo Yi-young, who came to his senses at Kim A-rin’s shout, barely turned his head, he could see Jo Yeon-woo taking the rod out of his backpack and hitting the ground once with a thud.
“Hey! Hunter Seo hasn’t come yet!”
“What if we get attacked while waiting?! We can’t because of cooldown too! Hunter Seo is S-Class! He’ll figure it out somehow……!”
Jo Yeon-woo responded to Kim A-rin’s urgent shouts. A transparent membrane like a fountain spouting water formed a round circle from the rod he held, surrounding the three people including Kim A-rin and Nam Jun-seok.
Parts of the A-Class mob’s body that had rushed to attack them could be seen burning away with a foul smell. It seemed to be a powerful protective barrier.
He should have gotten inside there.
Though he was S-Class, Seo Yi-young, who knew nothing, was exposed to the enemy alone.
He was so flustered he couldn’t make any sound.
The boss mob, whose vines had been cut by Choi Do-jun’s attack, didn’t miss the brief gap and extended its branches toward Seo Yi-young once more. The whip-like long vines flew as fast as bullets, leaving no way to dodge.
Perhaps sensing death, his spine froze cold. It felt like a black curtain was approaching to cover his vision and envelop his entire body in despair.
I’m dying.
Here?
So futilely?
It ends like this?
It’s a lie, right?
This isn’t why I moved dimensions.
Though he couldn’t believe it and it didn’t feel real either, at this rate he would definitely die.
Various thoughts flashed and passed in a short time.
In his head, he thought he should dodge, but his body wouldn’t move. Not only that, he couldn’t even blink.
When he thought he would die like this, Choi Do-jun, who had somehow come this way, knocked it away with one arm while holding him and leaped high.
“……Hik.”
Seo Yi-young, who wasn’t used to the feeling of his body floating without any safety device, shuddered and hugged Choi Do-jun.
Is this a height a human can jump?
He easily cleared the boss mob and then some.
But in the midst of that, strangely, he noticed that there were thorns on the vine, as it was wrapped around Choi Do-jun’s arm and wouldn’t fall off.
Choi Do-jun arrived at a place a little away from the boss mob and released the arm holding Seo Yi-young.
“What are you doing?”
“……Huh? Ah. ……Uh.”
Only then did Seo Yi-young realize he was tightly hugging Choi Do-jun and quickly stepped back.
Perhaps because he had just narrowly escaped death, his words came out dazed. That wasn’t all. His hands and legs were trembling. Seo Yi-young looked down at his shaking hands and realized what the saying about trembling like an aspen tree meant.
When his head, which had been completely blank like a broken machine, began to work little by little, he felt Choi Do-jun’s gaze and crossed his arms with clenched fists.
He must have clearly seen his hands shaking, but he said nothing. He had expected at least one nasty remark. Choi Do-jun kept his mouth shut and pulled off the vine wrapped around his arm.
While he was wondering if he should say thank you for saving him just now, a strange sizzling sound was made.
When he turned his gaze wondering what it was, he saw an unbelievable scene.
“Uh, wait. ……You……! You’re bleeding……!”
Seo Yi-young was horrified.
The sound when the vine fell off was the sound of Choi Do-jun’s skin surface being peeled off. The white clothes Choi Do-jun was wearing had melted in the shape where the vine had stuck, and even the remaining clothes were turning bright red with blood. Yet there was no change in Choi Do-jun’s expression.
Seo Yi-young, who was watching, was the one who felt disgusted and distorted his expression.
The visual shock was so severe that he even felt like blood was draining out of him. While Seo Yi-young couldn’t react at all, Choi Do-jun silently grabbed and tore the sleeve on the bleeding side. There was a ripping sound of cloth tearing.
“……That’s at least A-Class defense gear.”
The voices of the hunters inside the protective barrier could be heard as clearly as if they were standing right next to him.
At that sound, Seo Yi-young came to his senses.
Being at least A-Class defense gear meant it protected the wearer’s body from attacks of a certain level. To damage it like this. The boss mob was one thing, but Choi Do-jun was also quite something.
“Ugh……”
Seo Yi-young unconsciously frowned upon seeing the fully exposed arm.
It wasn’t just bleeding from the wound. The skin was turning purple centered around the wounded area. It looked almost black. It wasn’t a normal reaction.
He wondered if there might be poison.
Whether the poison was spreading through the bloodstream, the skin color was changing following the shape of blood vessels. The poison was spreading at an unbelievably fast speed even to the eye. It was like dropping paint on wet tissue.
He had definitely been hurt because of him.
Though the attack just now had been threatening, if he hadn’t been there, Choi Do-jun would have easily dodged without getting hurt. Even if he didn’t expect to be immediately helpful, shouldn’t he at least do his part? But far from doing his part, he had received help from others and was just holding them back. Especially against Choi Do-jun.
Seo Yi-young gritted his teeth hard.
“Don’t just talk, heal.”
At Choi Do-jun’s blunt words without taking his eyes off the boss mob, Seo Yi-young came to his senses. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen his own wounds, but now that he was actually looking at wounds from someone being attacked by a mob, his body froze from the visual shock. Seo Yi-young, who urged himself like whipping himself that this wouldn’t do, immediately placed his hand on Choi Do-jun’s wounded area.
He had practiced using his ability whenever he had time until now. However, when the moment actually came, he couldn’t concentrate properly. Would he be able to heal properly? What if he made a mistake? It wasn’t just a wound but a poisoned state. Anxiety about himself rose and his mind became scattered. No. This won’t do. Seo Yi-young rather closed his eyes tightly. When he felt like he was exerting force while using his ability, Seo Yi-young opened his closed eyes. It was clearly slower than when he practiced. In such a situation, Choi Do-jun sighed in disbelief.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
