The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C51
$51
It wasn’t difficult to pretend to be injured and fall back briefly, but it didn’t feel natural. Just as I was thinking I should exchange signals with Halo and turning my body slightly to the side, Seo-heon’s hand touched my back.
“You want to end this quickly?”
He must have sensed my urgency. It seemed he noticed after I used big skills consecutively.
“Stay at the front for just one minute.”
Though we were both at the front, Seo-heon, who had been constantly blocking my way, moved back slightly. He seemed to be focusing at a point where the mid-to-long range positions were.
Looks like he’s going to use a big skill. For Seo-heon, who uses large-scale attacks as easily as breathing, to ask for one minute says it all. As Seo-heon moved back, Ihan was moving to the front line. I stopped Ihan with my hand.
[Using S-rank skill, Sword of Immortality. S-rank item Excalibur has been summoned through skill linkage.]
[Using A-rank skill, Song of Flames in conjunction. While the song continues, everything your sword touches will burn.]
A sword wreathed in flames soon appeared in my hand. The more strongly I gripped the sword, the larger the flames grew, and with each swing, fierce flames burned the monsters.
Most of the monsters there were dealt with, but fire-attribute monsters maintained consciousness even in my flames.
“More are coming from six o’clock.”
Moreover, as Halo warned, monsters were surging in again. It was like an ant colony dungeon.
“Everyone fall back.”
Having finished his preparations, Seo-heon was exuding cold air with every step. People didn’t know what Seo-heon was planning to do, but they moved back.
“Woo-hyun, move back a bit more.”
Seo-heon warned once more, probably seeing that I was sticking out. After confirming I had moved away, Seo-heon touched the ground and instantly released his power.
“Gasp.”
The entire path visible from where Seo-heon stood froze over. Not only that, but the monsters that had been standing on that ground turned into ice pillars on the spot.
“This is just a simple skill…”
Literally, the skill Seo-heon used was a basic freezing ability that all ice-attribute users employ. The important thing was that when combined with his tremendous ability, it produced an explosive power hard for ordinary people to imagine.
Watching Seo-heon fight, you really feel the truth in the saying that if you don’t have power, your brain suffers.
“Let’s go to the lull area.”
But even the great Kang Seo-heon seemed to get tired after using a lot of power at once, as his breathing was somewhat rough. He rarely used such stamina-consuming skills because he considered it a principle to maintain his best physical condition at the most critical moments.
Is it because of me?
I couldn’t know if it was really because I showed signs of impatience, but thanks to that, we were able to enter the lull area before that time.
“We’ll take a twenty-minute break for maintenance before moving to the next area.”
Seo-heon announced. This was usually time to treat weapons, skills, and minor injuries. I slipped away from the crowd.
Many people liked to rest alone during break times, and nothing dangerous usually happened in lull areas. It meant there wouldn’t be a commotion even if I disappeared for a moment.
“Are you okay?”
As I was sitting in a secluded spot waiting for the pain to come, Halo approached. He seemed to have followed after a time lag.
“Yes. As I get used to it, it’s fine.”
No sooner had I spoken than the status window popped up. Meeting it every day, I was almost glad to see it.
“Is that so.”
Halo stood in front of me in case anyone suddenly came looking. While he was usually talkative, he was quiet at important times. Thanks to that, I could curl up freely and wait for the pain to pass.
After about a minute, the strongest pain subsided, and pain like gentle waves repeatedly washed over my body and receded. A familiar pair of shoes entered my blurry vision. They were Seo-heon’s.
“What are you doing here?”
I didn’t know whether to be thankful he didn’t come when I couldn’t properly control my body due to pain, or consider it unfortunate to be caught when I wasn’t fully recovered.
“Um… he says the smell of the lizard-type monsters is terrible and it’s making him feel a bit sick.”
What Halo said wasn’t a completely unacceptable excuse. The stench of the monsters themselves was terrible, but it created a bad synergy with the sticky green slime, creating such bad conditions that ordinary people without equipment would vomit within ten minutes of entering.
“Woo-hyun usually has a strong stomach though.”
The obstacle was that Seo-heon had a lot of information about me.
“People can change in any way.”
Listening to their conversation, I was recovering faster than before.
Is it becoming an awakened state rather than recovery? Maybe it’s just the adrenaline making me think my body is okay.
“I usually don’t get like this, but today is tough.”
I forced out the words. It was a reaction that should look like I wasn’t in great condition but not exactly in pain, so I felt reassured.
“If that were the case, I would have noticed. Why didn’t I?”
Seo-heon’s voice had no inflection. Thinking back, I realized I seemed to be frequently caught alone with Halo lately.
No, it’s strange to say “caught” when we weren’t doing anything wrong, but that was the atmosphere Seo-heon was giving off.
“It came on suddenly when the tension eased after the battle. I guess I should go ask Ihye-ssi to cast a status recovery on me.”
Seo-heon stared at me for a moment, then took off the equipment attached to his mask and handed it to me.
“Use this too.”
It was a filter that everyone carried as basic equipment to somewhat block poison and bad smells. My equipment naturally had one too.
“What about you…?”
“Do you think I care about poison or bad smells?”
While he might feel uncomfortable due to his fastidious nature, neither of them was the type to harm Seo-heon’s body.
I’m not even sure if there’s any attack Seo-heon can’t handle in the first place.
“Thanks. Shall we go? Halo-ssi too.”
At this point, it would look stranger to refuse further.
It felt like my condition would fully return in about a minute. Looking at Seo-heon now, it seemed like he would use the full rest time before moving, so today’s worry was over. I passed by the stiffly standing Seo-heon and headed to the gathering place. As I was moving away, Seo-heon’s warning stopped me.
“Don’t think I don’t know you’re hiding something.”
Seo-heon’s eyes, when I looked back, were saying this:
‘I’m waiting for you to tell me.’
Unfortunately, I couldn’t respond to that wait.
***
Rejoining went smoothly. Thanks to resting about five minutes longer than the usual break time, my body was gradually loosening up. The monsters were similar to previous battles, and the subjugation was progressing smoothly.
“We’ll take a brief nap here. Teams 1 and 2 will take turns sleeping for two hours each before moving.”
Upon reaching the third lull area, it was time to rest. While no one looked noticeably tired, considering the battle with the boss monster tomorrow, it was wise to get some sleep.
Judging from the route and data so far, it seemed we could finish the battle before the alarm went off tomorrow. I sat down and briefly looked around. The team sleeping first quickly tidied up their spots and lay down to get as much sleep as possible.
There was no need for a night watch as everyone would instantly wake up if they sensed anything, but it was a precaution.
“Hyung, I’ll take your place so you can sleep. I can’t sleep well outside.”
Ihan, who hadn’t been able to talk much due to our somewhat distant positions, approached and spoke to me. Perhaps concerned about my illness, he was cutting into his own sleep time to consider me, which I found deeply touching.
“What do you mean you can’t sleep.”
Someone from Ihan’s team whispered softly nearby, but it reached my ears too. It seems it was also said to give way to me. Ihan’s eyes, narrowed to triangles, turned sharp.
“Thanks for thinking of me. It’s okay. You go back to your spot and sleep too.”
Ihan made a few more offers, but I refused. As I sat there saying nothing, my mind became cluttered. Since I said I was quitting the guild, I felt like I had started getting caught in a huge storm. People I thought I knew showed sides I didn’t know. It was hard to tell if I had changed or if my surroundings were changing.
“Get some sleep.”
Seo-heon, who had set up a simple defensive wall, plopped down next to me and covered my eyes with his hand.
“What sleep. You should at least pretend to rest.”
Even though we had done quite a few conquests together in the past, I had never seen Seo-heon try to sleep inside a dungeon. Even in the last S-rank dungeon we did together, which took a full five days to conquer, he was like that. He didn’t even close his eyes for ten minutes.
“You’ll die early at this rate.”
Seo-heon laughed with a deflating sound.
“You’re the only one who worries about that.”
It was true, so I felt embarrassed. It was somewhat foolish to worry about overwork for a hunter ranked in the top five in Korea.
“Seo-heon.”
I called Seo-heon with my eyes closed. We weren’t close, but with people nearby, we couldn’t have a deep conversation.
“What should I do?”
I wanted to keep pretending not to know, but I couldn’t help asking.
“If you really want to do something, do what I want.”
I didn’t know what you wanted. Neither just staying still nor moving as you wished was easy.
“I’ll let you know when the time comes.”
All I could do was hope that time wouldn’t be too late. If I had to close my eyes without being punished, I didn’t think I could smile at the end.