Since it was awkward to receive help when my hands were perfectly fine, I quickly took the towel.
While I was wiping off the water, I somehow ended up being surrounded by the three people.
I couldn’t understand why they were all looking only at me, while they themselves looked like drowned rats.
Anyway, even though I had recovered my body somewhat, I still felt listless.
It seemed the fatigue accumulated until now had rushed in all at once as the tension eased.
The stamina potion only served as a stimulant and couldn’t resolve the fundamental problem.
It was obvious that drinking it again in this state wouldn’t be very effective.
I really didn’t want to be a burden, but pushing myself further was dangerous considering the remaining floors.
“Well… how about we rest here, dry our clothes, and get some sleep?”
‘How pathetic must I look?’
I had forced myself to come along, and now I was the first one to collapse absurdly.
However, the reaction of the three people a moment later was different from what I had expected.
I thought they would at least show a look of ‘I knew it,’ but one by one, they got up as if they had been waiting.
“That’s a relief. I was hungry anyway.”
Woo Jaehyun moved forward, rubbing his stomach as if it were the most welcome news, and Do Soohyuk conjured a black flame.
They immediately began preparing for camping as soon as the words left my mouth.
Cha Rui, standing beside me, was concerned about my wet appearance, worried about something.
‘Was he perhaps waiting for me to speak first?’
Although I thought no way, their attitude made it seem as if they had been waiting for this very moment.
“Hmm…”
Feeling unnecessarily awkward, I scratched the back of my neck and looked around belatedly.
The place we were in was empty except for the isolated lake.
It was a kind of rest area.
Perhaps because of this, the monster wave seemed to have temporarily paused.
First, I wanted to change my wet clothes, but the area was so open that there was no suitable place to cover myself.
The three men seemed to be planning to just dry their clothes while wearing them, but I simply couldn’t endure the sticky, damp feeling.
After some contemplation, I finally turned to face the wall and began to take off my clothes.
After carefully spreading the S-rank jacket on the ground, I pulled the soaking wet top over my head from the back.
I threw the squishy hoodie onto the ground and was just about to unbuckle and pull down my pants, but my hand hesitated for a moment.
Whether it was just a feeling or not, I sensed a piercing gaze from behind.
“…”
I didn’t have the courage to turn around, so I just blinked while standing awkwardly.
However, leaving only my pants on now felt extremely uncomfortable with the clothes constantly sticking to me.
After a brief internal debate, I finished unbuckling my pants and pulled them down.
I changed my clothes as quickly as ever, and when I turned around, I saw Do Soohyuk and Cha Rui with their heads bowed low.
They weren’t doing anything particular, but the sight of them nervously kicking the ground was highly suspicious.
‘What is this awkward atmosphere…?’
In the midst of all this, only Woo Jaehyun was smiling and looking at me.
The subtly unnatural situation made me feel strange, but I sat down near the black flame for now.
“What is that?”
As I was taking out various ingredients from my item pouch, a low voice was heard beside me.
I looked up and saw that the three of them had sat down in a circle with me in the center.
“…It’s galbitang (beef rib soup). We need to eat properly since the journey ahead will be tough.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t skipped a single meal over the past week.
I even made sure to eat nuts with Chirpy because they were supposedly good for the body.
The SS-rank Dungeon was essentially a fight of endurance, so I needed to quickly restore any lost weight and boost my stamina to the maximum level.
As a result of combining this with exercise, my body and stamina were now significantly better than before.
The reason I could achieve results in just a week was thanks to the natural constitution of ‘Seo Inho,’ who was born with exceptional strength potential.
If not for that, I wouldn’t have been able to run non-stop until the 11th floor and would have collapsed long ago.
That was why I had gone so far as to bring vacuum-packed galbitang.
Since we were going to rest anyway, consuming a proper meal was much better for recovery than merely snacking on energy bars.
It was a nourishing food slow-cooked for three to four hours with herbal medicines—what more explanation was needed?
“There’s plenty, so tell me if you want more.”
I took out the galbitang, made using my father’s recipe, and poured it into a pot.
I worried that the black flame was too hot and might burn the whole pot, but Do Soohyuk subtly reduced the intensity of the fire, having understood the situation.
The small sparks gathered together somehow resembled a gas stove.
I had seen him handle black flames freely many times, but I didn’t know such delicate control was possible.
“I think this is enough.”
Thanks to the excellent heat, the galbitang quickly boiled vigorously.
The rich broth smell spread everywhere, likely because of the various ingredients stewed in it.
When I served the appropriate amount into the prepared ceramic bowls and handed them out one by one, they accepted them without any sign of rejection.
Having seen and experienced things so far, the atmosphere was one where they would accept whatever came out of my item pouch.
I wasn’t worried about Cha Rui and Woo Jaehyun, as they had eaten my food before, but Do Soohyuk made me slightly nervous.
After all, tastes differ from person to person.
“…”
Sure enough, while the two guys ate well, Do Soohyuk quietly looked down at his bowl.
‘Was the herbal medicine scent too strong?’
The memory of the ‘First S-rank Dungeon’ suddenly came to mind, making me unconsciously watch him.
It was then that Do Soohyuk slowly put down his bowl with a clatter and spoke.
“May I ask you something?”
I happened to be glancing at him at that moment and almost choked.
I tensed up, thinking the food didn’t suit his taste, but the words that followed were completely unexpected.
“What is your reason for insisting on coming with us, knowing your life might be at risk?”
At his words, Woo Jaehyun and Cha Rui also looked up mid-meal.
Their gazes, staring intently, were quite serious as they waited for my answer.
I thought I had explained enough while persuading them, so I was merely surprised why they were asking again now.
“I know it’s not because of public opinion. You are not the kind of person to leave your father’s side for such a reason.”
I quickly understood the reason.
They had only pretended not to know until now, but the three of them had already noticed that my words were a lie.
Perhaps I had considered this matter too simply.
When chasing and persuading them, I had persistently clung to the excuse of ‘public opinion.’
The logic was that if all the S-rank members entered and I alone backed out, I would face public criticism.
I thought it sounded plausible at the time, but in truth, I was so caught up in the obsession to enter the dungeon that I failed to properly judge the situation.
Perhaps I had merely concluded that their reactions were what I wanted them to be.
I briefly considered offering a different excuse, but then let out a small sigh.
It wouldn’t work anyway, and there was no point in lying to guys who clearly knew my situation.
“I was hoping an Elixir might appear.”
At my calm words, the eyes of the three people wavered.
They seemed to have never thought that the reason I risked my life to follow them was for an Elixir, whose very existence was uncertain.
“I know it’s a pipe dream, but I can’t just give up.”
A more complicated emotion was visible in Do Soohyuk’s expression, in particular.
He, too, had searched for an Elixir for his younger sibling for several years and knew well how debilitating it could be.
Perhaps it was just a meaningless obsession.
At this point, he was seriously contemplating whether what he was chasing was an illusion.
His belief had been shaken after discovering the oasis water.
He had hoped that his younger sibling might awaken since it was a quasi-Elixir, but the oasis water only had the effect of extending life.
His relief at having bought time was brief, and Do Soohyuk fell into a deeper sense of emptiness.
He thought that all his efforts until now might have been a meaningless struggle.
“Did you truly set foot in this place for that reason?”
“Yes.”
But I knew the conclusion of the story, so I felt no anxiety about it.
I just wanted to reach the 71st floor as quickly as possible, and I was confident in the existence of the Elixir.
The atmosphere somehow became solemn, and when I put down my bowl and got up from my seat, the three people’s gazes followed me.
“If you’ve finished eating, let’s start preparing to sleep.”
“Preparing to sleep?”
Cha Rui, who also put down his empty bowl, tilted his head in confusion.
For the others, lying down on a hard stone floor might be fine, but not for me.
Perhaps because I had spent my entire life in a narrow goshiwon (small one-room apartment), I could only sleep when the minimum environment for sleep was created.
It wasn’t about being picky about the place, but about peace of mind.
‘Rustle.’
What I rustled out of my item pouch was none other than a camping tent.
It was a relatively expensive item that I had bought upon the recommendation of a store clerk.
A tent in an SS-rank Dungeon might seem absurd, but to me, it was a crucial piece of equipment for managing my condition.
However, as I rummaged through the item pouch again, my hand stopped.
“What? Why are there only three?”
I had clearly bought one for each of them when I purchased mine, but I only held two in my hand.
I was flustered and took out all the tents, but no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find the remaining one.
‘Did I forget to pack it by mistake?’
While I was fumbling through my item pouch, the three people were looking at the tents as if they were seeing something fascinating.
They might have accepted the galbitang, but the tent seemed to be outside the bounds of their expectation.
Sensing the developing situation, Woo Jaehyun quickly raised his hand.
There was indeed no one who could match him in grasping the situation.
“I’m the shortest, so I’ll sleep with Hyung.”
