I hesitated for a long time, but finally slowly withdrew the hand that was holding his arm.
The fact that I said I didn’t want to be selfish just moments ago, yet didn’t even think of pushing him away, showed how hopeless I was.
‘Would it be okay to lean on him just for a little while, one last time?’
Just for about 30 minutes…
Rationalizing it this way, I quietly closed my eyes.
In the deep darkness, I completely surrendered myself to the warmth that slowly spread over me.
*
I woke up again immediately after hearing a faint conversation.
My consciousness returned as I shifted my body, and I slowly lifted my eyelids.
While staring blankly at the green tent wall, I was startled and sat up.
‘What? When did I fall asleep?’
Just like last time, I had only intended to close my eyes for a bit but ended up falling asleep completely.
It seemed my body was more exhausted than I thought.
‘By the way, I clearly heard a sound of talking.’
For some reason, the area around the tent was completely silent, and not even a faint presence could be felt.
I tilted my head, wondering if I had misheard, and looked around.
Since it was a deep cave, the darkness inside the tent was still thick.
Judging by how refreshed my body felt, I must have slept for at least two to three hours.
‘Where did Do Soohyuk go?’
I placed my hand on the empty blanket, but no warmth was felt, indicating he had left quite some time ago.
Only Chirpy was purring on the sheepskin cushion, deep in sleep.
I considered letting him sleep, but I shook awake Chirpy, who was lying with his belly completely exposed.
“Chirpy, wake up.”
At that, the little bird, who had been snoring with his mouth slightly open, twitched and sat up with a flutter.
He seemed to have slept soundly, as his feathers were flattened, and he couldn’t even properly open his eyes.
Chirp.
In that disheveled state, Chirpy stumbled as he flew up, and then immediately began to emit bright white light.
‘Is this almost a conditioned reflex?’
I hadn’t woken him up with that intention, but the view was certainly much clearer.
“Are the others still sleeping?”
I cautiously moved forward on my knees toward the entrance.
I didn’t want to wake them up unnecessarily since they must have been just as exhausted, even if they didn’t show it.
However, I had to pause while pulling up the tent zipper as quietly as possible.
“Hyung, are you awake?”
My eyes met Woo Jaehyun’s, who was sitting curled up just outside the slightly opened entrance.
He flashed his unique gentle smile, as if he had been waiting for me to come out.
Not only Woo Jaehyun, but Do Soohyuk and Cha Rui were also ready and waiting.
Do Soohyuk had returned to his usual calm self, as if nothing had happened.
‘What is this…?’
I peeked my head out and saw that the tents that had been set up in a row were already dismantled.
This situation, with only my tent remaining, was quite perplexing.
‘No, if they woke up, they could have at least told me.’
“What? When did you all wake up?”
“I’m not sure… maybe about three hours ago.”
“What?”
Seeing Woo Jaehyun calmly checking his wristwatch, I involuntarily jumped up from my seat.
I immediately hit my head on the tent, but I waved my hand as if annoyed and rushed outside.
If they woke up three hours ago, it meant I had been sleeping for much longer than that.
“Why didn’t you wake me up!”
I quickly lifted one leg and hurriedly slipped my foot into my shoe.
Perhaps because I was still half-asleep, my body wasn’t following my intentions.
Cha Rui grabbed me as I swayed precariously and put the other shoe down in front of me, as if telling me to calm down.
“You won’t be able to rest for a while, so you should recharge properly when you can.”
My hand, which was tying my shoelaces, paused at his words.
‘They waited for three hours just for that reason?’
Honestly, for an S-rank, two to three hours of sleep is usually enough to recover stamina to some extent, so there was no need to rest for so long.
They must know that fact, so I couldn’t understand it at all.
‘Did I look too tired?’
I quietly swallowed a sigh and finished putting on my shoes, but then suddenly sniffled.
I tried to ignore it, but the slightly acrid, stinging smell kept bothering me.
“But doesn’t it smell like something burnt?”
The black flame had long been retracted, so there was no reason for this smell to linger now.
There were no flammable objects around either.
I looked at Do Soohyuk and Woo Jaehyun in turn, wondering if, but they just shrugged.
That gesture seemed awkward, as if they were hiding something.
Feeling suspicious, I quickly scanned Cha Rui up and down, searching for the source of the smell.
He subtly averted my gaze.
“…Well, I don’t know.”
The way his eyes rolled was quite suspicious.
‘What is this atmosphere?’
As I circled around him and examined him closely, my eyes landed on his neck.
It was hard to be certain because of his black turtleneck, but the surface of the clothing seemed slightly singed.
I reached out my hand to check more closely, but Cha Rui immediately grabbed my wrist.
“So, how are you feeling?”
“…”
Then, a water bottle was placed on my hand, which was naturally pulled down.
It was clearly an intentional change of subject.
Whatever it was, something definitely happened while I was asleep.
‘Did they fight, perhaps?’
I wanted to press them immediately, but I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
Most importantly, they weren’t the type of guys who would meekly answer if I cross-examined them.
“…Refreshed.”
In the end, I decided to put the question aside for now and quickly packed my belongings.
Although I felt very uneasy, I ended the rest period, which had been longer than planned, and stepped forward again.
As soon as we passed through the only passageway, monsters began to rush at us.
Perhaps because I was well-rested, my body felt much lighter, and the required number was filled quickly.
After about two hours, the last monster was finally ground down.
Ku-gu-gu-goong!
At that moment, the cave vibrated, and the final Boss of this floor appeared, as we had been waiting for.
But just like before, it turned into dust and scattered into the air futilely before it could fully reveal itself.
With this, the 11th floor was also cleared without difficulty.
“Ha.”
A sigh naturally escaped me when I saw the red gate rising before my eyes.
How many more days of the same pattern would have to be repeated for that gate to turn blue?
The fatigue already seemed to be creeping in at the thought of continuing this for a while.
*
Kieeeek—!
The remains of the monster that had let out a final shriek were scattered widely onto the ground.
With a single, light gesture, its massive body had exploded like a bomb and dispersed everywhere.
The head, which maintained its shape somewhat, rolled onto the floor with a dull thud.
That monster, which met a tragic end, was none other than the final Boss of the 60th floor.
It was just annihilated by Cha Rui, who was in charge of this turn.
Even though it was a relatively high-level A-rank monster, it was utterly powerless before him.
“Is the 60th floor over now?”
As soon as the words were spoken, a gate slowly rose.
Its color was a pale purple. It was still an ambiguous light, standing on the border between blue and red.
The remaining floors felt daunting, but the gate was finally starting to show a blue hue.
It was a sign that the end of the long journey was approaching.
It had been ten days since we entered the SS-rank Dungeon.
However, the number of times we had set up the tent was only five.
That is, we had eaten and slept about once every ten floors.
It might seem like a tight schedule at first glance, but surprisingly, it was infinitely more relaxed compared to the original plot’s progression.
I didn’t know how this was possible, but the three people were still full of energy.
I also tried my best to keep up and not fall behind, but that was easier said than done.
There was already a difference in level, and since my endurance was also lacking, I eventually reached my limit.
If I showed even the slightest hint of fatigue, the guys would notice it like ghosts and immediately stop in their tracks.
My condition was far from okay, so I couldn’t tell them to just go on, and ultimately, I had to look for a place to set up the tent.
In any case, this unspeakable suffering was now coming to an end.
Since the clear method changed starting from the 61st floor, blindly pushing forward as we had been doing would no longer work.
In short, the real challenge was starting now.
“How is everyone’s condition?”
I collected the reward items and looked at the three people in turn.
It was honestly a funny question coming from me, but I was asking it every 10 floors just in case.
As expected, it seemed like an unnecessary concern, and Woo Jaehyun lightly jumped in place as he answered.
“I feel the same as ten days ago.”
“…”
“I could even carry Hyung up to the 70th floor. Want me to show you?”
“No thanks…”
Ever since he carried me once on the 11th floor, he kept offering his back whenever he had a chance.
Honestly, the impulse to let him carry me sometimes arose, but I managed to regain my composure.
I still had S-rank pride; I couldn’t just climb onto his back because I was tired.
I pushed him away again and walked toward the gate, when Cha Rui approached me.
He seemed to be rechecking the remaining potions and equipment, as if preparing for the S-rank monster that might appear.
“If you’ve run out of stamina recovery potions, tell me. I’ll give you some.”
And at the words he casually tossed out, my head snapped toward him.
I had been secretly drinking them, avoiding their eyes all this time, but it seemed they had all been watching.
‘Did they know from the beginning?’
My eyes, which were half-relaxed, widened in embarrassment as the realization sank in.
“How did you know?”
