* * *
In the movie, it wasn’t this cute — it looked more like a giant tree, so I hadn’t recognized it at first.
Sometimes spirits appear during dungeon raids, but they’re extremely hard to find and nearly impossible to capture.
Most people end up dead trying.
“But it’s lazy. It only moves when it feels like it.”
“Lazy?”
It sure didn’t seem lazy, buzzing around me like that.
The spirit, which had been floating at my eye level, landed on my shoulder and returned to its squirrel form — chubby like a winter squirrel, looking quite adorable.
But only for a moment.
Before I could lower my guard, it squirmed into my clothes.
What the hell!
Startled, I stumbled backward.
“W-Wait. That tickles!”
I tried to grab it by slipping my hand under my clothes, but it was far too quick, slipping around like an eel near my waist, forcing me to spin on the spot to chase it.
“Looks like it likes you.”
Woo Jaehyun offered no help, grinning mischievously as he walked ahead.
That bastard.
The spirit eventually settled down, moving to my back where I couldn’t reach it.
…Is this thing really going to be helpful?
I already felt drained.
Giving up on catching the spirit, I followed Woo Jaehyun toward the gate.
“Ready?”
Woo Jaehyun, waiting in front of the gate, stepped inside after seeing my nod.
Very different from someone else I knew.
I stepped in right after him, and just like before, my whole body lurched.
The motion sickness was unpleasant, but what unfolded before me quickly stole my breath.
“A cave?”
It was a cavern dungeon so deep I couldn’t even guess its full depth.
Even for a dungeon, this one seemed absurdly huge.
With not a single light source, I had to rely entirely on my S-rank vision.
But in the darkness, something glowed blood-red.
“Are those all monsters?”
Hundreds—no, thousands of glowing red eyes flashed menacingly at us.
The moment we entered the gate, every monster had locked eyes on us.
“Looks like it,” Woo Jaehyun replied.
Yet his expression was utterly indifferent, as if these monsters were nothing more than minor annoyances.
“You…”
I wanted to ask if he could really handle this all alone, but seeing his relaxed face made me think my worries were pointless.
Yeah, who’s worrying about who here?
In the end, I focused on keeping myself safe and moved to a large boulder.
It was open on all sides, giving me some space to react if anything unexpected happened.
“So I just stay near the entrance, right?”
To sum up our prior agreement:
- While Woo Jaehyun tests his skill, I stay near the entrance.
- We leave the dungeon as soon as the hour is up.
- Woo Jaehyun takes full responsibility for safely escorting my temporarily blind self home.
Basically, we were going to make full use of the skill’s one-hour duration.
Truthfully, I would’ve preferred to wait outside, but the skill would break if I moved too far away, so I had no choice.
“Get some rest for the next hour.”
“Don’t go too far.”
As Woo Jaehyun smiled and casually backed away, I activated my skill.
After about 20 seconds, my vision started to go completely black.
“Ha… That’s too fast.”
Last time, when I used it on Do Soohyuk, I fainted right away, so I hadn’t realized how quickly the side effects would hit.
I swallowed my sigh and leaned against the boulder.
I’d barely even started working…
Originally, I had two days off, but due to various circumstances, it had stretched into a full week.
Even then, I felt uneasy about taking another four days off in a row.
“It’s so quiet in here.”
The cave was completely still.
Occasionally, I heard some unknown sound like something scraping the floor, but otherwise, the silence was eerie.
Knowing Woo Jaehyun’s strength, I wasn’t surprised, but still—how could it be this quiet with thousands of monsters around?
Scraaaaape—
“Hm?”
Then, I heard a strange noise nearby.
It was like the sound of some many-legged insect crawling — something I was too familiar with from my time in cheap dorms.
My ears perked up at the first monster sound I’d heard in minutes.
Judging by the creepy sound alone, I could guess the monster’s size.
Probably something like the giant spiders I’d faced in the desert dungeon.
And from the growing volume, it seemed to be heading this way.
But soon, with a soft snap, the noise abruptly stopped.
“…Savage.”
Most likely Woo Jaehyun.
The image of those kidnappers being pulverized like dust flashed in my head, making me shake it quickly.
Best not to think about it.
Since standing around was getting uncomfortable, I crouched down and held out my palm.
“Come here.”
The spirit, wriggling near my shoulder blades, slid down my arm and landed in my palm.
A gentle warmth spread from my hand.
“Do you have a name?”
Squeak.
“So, Squeaky it is.”
I casually gave it a name and fiddled with it playfully.
Its soft, squishy feel was oddly addictive.
But apparently annoyed, Squeaky bit my finger lightly with its tiny teeth.
Feisty little thing.
I let out a helpless laugh.
“Alright, I’ll stop.”
At that moment, Squeaky slipped out of my hand like smoke.
I was about to coax it back when a threatening presence loomed above me.
I quickly looked up in alarm — but whatever it was, it was already right in front of me.
BOOM—!
“W-What the hell?”
With a deafening crash, something collided and went berserk in front of me.
From the looks of it, a monster had tried to sneak up and ambush me, only to be intercepted by Squeaky.
I reflexively shot up to my feet and pulled a dagger out of my item pouch.
Never thought the day would come when I’d be drawing this again.
Bang—!
The monster blocking the path let out a grating screech as it scratched at the shield.
The sound, like nails scraping against glass, made me wince.
Whatever it was, I figured it’d be faster if I took care of it myself rather than staying locked in this stalemate.
If it was just a regular monster, it would be at most A-rank.
Just like when I faced that muscle monster last time, I focused entirely on the energy I sensed.
Before long, I felt a sharp presence approaching from my left and instantly reached out my hand.
Crunch!
My fingers dug into a surface that reminded me of an insect’s exoskeleton.
Judging by its writhing movements, it had to be some kind of centipede-like monster.
“Disgusting…”
And so, the ruthless butchering began.
As much as I didn’t want to admit it, my experience in that “first S-rank dungeon” had helped quite a bit — both physically and mentally.
What the hell is Woo Jaehyun even doing?
Given the situation, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
So much for “I’ll protect you.”
“They always say supporters need protection, but I guess he’s no exception.”
After some time, thanks to the help of Chirpy, the flailing monster eventually went limp.
Every time I looked like I might get attacked, Chirpy swooped in like a phantom and blocked it for me.
For someone supposedly lazy, he was incredibly diligent.
I grabbed the monster’s corpse and threw it far away.
Just in case, I stayed alert for a while, but there were no more signs of danger.
Most likely, while Woo Jaehyun was busy slaughtering monsters, one that had been hiding noticed me and charged.
How it figured I was the weaker one, I had no idea…
I pulled out a towel from my item pouch and wiped the dirt off my hand and dagger.
“Good job.”
I rubbed my finger against Chirpy, who had perched on my shoulder, and he rubbed his cheek against me in delight.
While we played around for a bit, the promised hour passed by quickly.
“He should be back soon.”
I stood up and listened carefully, but heard nothing.
Maybe he had gone farther away after clearing the area.
Chirp! Chirp chirp!
Then suddenly, Chirpy started flitting around on my shoulder, looking anxious.
Sensing that something was off, I refocused my senses, but nothing seemed different from before.
“What’s wrong? Is there a monster?”
Now, he even tugged at my clothes with his beak, urging me to flee.
What’s going on?
As I instinctively reached forward, my hand brushed against something, making my entire body freeze.
The thought of it being a monster flashed through my mind for an instant, but as I felt around, it felt strangely familiar.
“Woo Jaehyun?”
Soft, yet firm—there was no mistaking it.
It was Woo Jaehyun’s chest.
But the heat radiating from his body was almost scorching, like touching open flames.
“Hyung.”
His flat voice echoed through the cave.
He had been standing right in front of me this whole time, and yet I hadn’t sensed him at all.
Even now, I couldn’t feel his presence.
“What the—when did you get here?”
But no answer came.
My heart started pounding for some reason.
What is this feeling?
“Woo Jaehyun.”
I instinctively pulled my hand back from his chest.
My palm was still burning, and I clenched my fist without realizing it.
The guy who always acted so casually was now standing there, completely unresponsive, which only made me more uneasy.
* * *
