Chapter 44

We informed everyone that the inside of the gate was unstable. Cheon Sa-yeon said to be especially careful and decided to get enough rest at the end of each room in case of an accident.

It was good for me. Anyway, the injury didn't heal, so I was uncomfortable.

I was resting with my back against the wall, swallowing the painkiller I had received beforehand, and Cheon Sa-yeon, who came to see the condition of the guild members once in a while, said to me.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"......?"

What a different kind of shit this is. I answered, feeling my body slightly heavy due to a slight fever.

"I don't have one."

"Too cold."

Cheon Sa-yeon gave Woo Seo-hyuk, who was standing behind him, with a sad look.

"I've been being treated like this lately. What do you think?"

"It's amazing."

Woo Seo-hyuk responded calmly with an expression not in the slightest surprised.

"I've deceived everyone for your sake..."

"No, wait a minute."

I wrapped my forehead, which was starting to itch.

"What do you mean by deceiving?"

"I didn't expect you to be this tactless. Woo Seo-hyuk, please explain it instead."

"Yes. The Master took care of Han Yi-gyeol-ssi to rest under the pretext of preparing for an accident."

"Do you think that if I'm not the reason for it, it will be all over? It is true that we have to be prepared for accidents." (갖다 붙이면 다인 줄 압니까?, I don't understand this)

"The Master never delays the breakout time. This is unusual."

"Did you hear that?"

I had to listen to it. I don't know what to say.

When I looked at him sullenly without answering, he put on a sad expression like Cheon Sa-yeon was teaching a student who couldn't study.

"Do you still have something to say, Han Yi-gyeol?"

"Oh, yes. Thank you."

Cursing that he was a madman inside, I bowed my head. Do you avoid it because you are afraid or because it is dirty? (똥이 무서워서 피하냐, 더러워서 피하지, what the... forgive me.)

In my experience, it was best for a crazy person like Cheon Sa-yeon to do what he wanted to do and turned around quickly.

As I expected, Cheon Sa-yeon put on the expression that he was lacking in the thanks. That's what you have to do then. Gradually the headache subsided and the pain from the wound improved.

"Now let's go."

"Yeah."

While looking back at Cheon Sa-yeon, who was looking for a device to open the door, someone poked me in the back. When I looked back, it was the healers.

"Han Yi-gyeol-ssi, would you like to eat this?"

"You must not take painkillers on an empty stomach!"

I already ate.

It wasn't that tactless to reply like that, so I smiled slightly as a token of appreciation and accepted what they were handed to me. On my hand was a cookie wrapped in a pretty wrapper.

"I, I made it. I've made it a few times, so it should taste good."

"I get tired easily in places like this, so I need sweet snacks. If it's okay with you, please have some."

"Thank you for the food. I have a sweet tooth."

The two healers, who appear to be of the same age as Han Yi-gyeol, smiled brightly at my thanks, promised to make them next time, and went back to their seats. Received a cute gift, I couldn't hide the heartwarming smile that leaked from my lips.

'Yes. Sometimes this happens.'

I want to stop dealing with crazy people. I held the cookie bag with a fragrant scent in my arms. Everything was good, but there was no bag to store the cookies.

As I was contemplating whether I should carry it or just eat it, Cheon Sa-yeon who opened the door smiled and held out his hand.

"Give it to me. I'll keep it."

"In the inventory?"

"Yes."

I pondered for a while. Can I leave it to you? Cheon Sa-yeon's brightly smiling face bothered me, but I couldn't keep carrying it around, so I handed the cookie bag to Cheon Sa-yeon.

When Cheon Sa-yeon tapped his watch, the cookie bag disappeared.

"Still, more than half came."

That's true because this is the 6th room. I could feel the A-grade energy through the open entrance. A spider monster (거미 몬스터) that used to be a B-grade was upgraded to an A-grade.

Syaaaak!

Kkureuk, kkureureuk!

Dozens of tiny spiders that looked the same flashed their eyes on the back of the hairy spider. The guild members took out their weapons with a tired expression. No matter how many gates you go through and encounter monsters, it was not easy to get used to these spiders.

Spiders, the size of a large dog, came down one after another from the ceiling on a web. Dagak, dagak. The sound of hard legs hitting the wall could be heard from all directions.

"Han Yi-gyeol-ssi, you can't do that this time!"

"It's terrifying to imagine that you will bump into a spider flying in the wind!"

"Just let us take care of it!"

"The wounded, back off!"

The guild members were terrified and stopped me as I was about to step forward. While I was bewildered because I did not expect such a reaction, the guild members rushed out to deal with the monster. There was nothing to worry about because the big spider was an A-grade and a small spider hanging from its back was not even a C-grade.

"Dog skeletons are okay, but spiders aren't..."

"I understand to some extent."

"It's because I'm not that delicate." (이렇게 섬세하지 못해서야)

Woo Seo-hyuk and Cheon Sa-yeon seemed to sympathize with the opinions of the guild members. I smoothed the back of my head in embarrassment.

'What does it have to do with being delicate?'

Anyway, the wounded was beaten, so I did not step forward and stood by Cheon Sa-yeon, waiting for it to be dealt with.

As expected, it didn't take long to deal with all the monsters. The person with the ability to measure the body while walking around then reported in a very gloomy voice.

"It has risen from 11.6% in B-grade to 56.8% in A-grade. For some reason, the more I pass through the room, the higher the grade rises up."

"Hmm."

Cheon Sa-yeon was probably thinking the same as me now.

This gate is an S-grade gate. That meant that an S-class or higher monster could appear at any time.

'There is a high probability that an S+ grade monster will appear.'

Measuring ability and other guild members were also concerned. Fortunately, there was Cheon Sa-yeon, so everyone was calmly breaking through.

'If only one S+ grade monster appeared, it would be fine...'

I remembered the Spectre I was dealing with yesterday. It was not enough that the grade was raised from A-grade to S-grade, and the number also increased. Even a new ability that wasn't there before was added.

As I recalled Spectre's nails that had been stained with poison, I reflexively felt a throbbing pain in my shoulder.

S+ grade monsters would have to deal with in a small room, but could they handle it without any damage?

"Han Yi-gyeol."

Cheon Sa-yeon, who had sent back the person with a measured ability, beckoned me to come closer.

"There are four rooms left."

Cheon Sa-yeon, who had his arms crossed and his fingers flicked, asked.

"Which monster do you think is the most troublesome?"

I slowly recalled the contents of the data. After examining the list of monsters that did not appear one by one, I answered carefully.

"...Ghost (고스트)."

The remaining monsters were two grade S and two grade A. Among them, I chose the S-grade Ghost.

"The reason is?"

"If it continues as it is now, there is a high probability that not only Ghosts but also Banshee (벤시도) will become S+ grade anyway. Then the problem will be the number of monsters, not the grade."

Banshee appeared alone, but there were five Ghosts. If the number increased and abilities were added like the Spectre, the Ghost would be more difficult than the Banshee.

"There are more than 5 S+ grade monsters. The only people who can actually go into battle are Master and Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi."

Woo Seo-hyuk, who was standing behind Cheon Sa-yeon's back, nodded.

"We need a countermeasure."

Cheon Sa-yeon, who was quietly listening to the conversation, opened his mouth.

"My thoughts are the same. Ghosts are probably more difficult than Banshee."

He gazed down at me. To see it simply because he had something to say, his black eyes contained a strange light.

"Han Yi-gyeol."

"...what is it?"

"I know you're not feeling well, but I need you to move with me."

"Are you playing a role?"

"Yes. So Woo Seo-hyuk, stay far from the guild members. You will face the monsters that Han Yi-gyeol and I missed."

"I understand."

"If it was a different gate, I would have come up with more diverse methods, but this is the one. If you use a half-measure for nothing, you will do more damage."

I agree with that. The space was too narrow and limited to fight comfortably.

"Even though I'm wearing the bracelet, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to handle the Master. Do it while watching my condition."

"Hmm. That's a bit disappointing. There's nothing we can do about A-rank."

"The item you gave me as a gift must have been decorated."

I replied harshly.

I wanted to hide my true feelings because of being looked at by Woo Seo-hyuk, but after two days, I couldn't stand it any longer. How can I just stay still after being teased by you?

Fortunately, Woo Seo-hyuk did not respond to any conversation between me and Cheon Sa-yeon.

"Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi, are you okay? This plan."

"Yes. I'm fine."

"It's not SS-grade, but it's still an S+ grade higher than the S-grade. If you are not careful, you may get hurt."

"I've wanted to deal with it at least once."

"Yeah..."

He was just blunt as if he had no emotions, but Woo Seo-hyuk must be an S-rank too. Or maybe it's the inevitable instinct of a man who wants to meet a strong opponent at least once.

"You never know when or where they will appear in the rest of the room, so always be careful."

* * *

In spite of the countermeasures, an A-grade monster appeared in the 7th room.

"89.34% of A-grade. It didn't make it to S-grade."

"That's a relief."

I said to the guild member who was cleaning up the moth monster corpses that were scattered around and Cheon Sa-yeon said.

"That's it for today. Let's pack up and rest."

Everyone sat down with a sigh of relief. Perhaps it was because of the tension from the cramped air of the underground and the constantly rising monster grades, everyone seemed very tired.

"I'm going to die..."

"Anyone who has a clean cloth left over?"

"When burning a corpse, remove the wings. If you bring the wings, the research team kids will be delighted."

As I looked at the guild members taking a break, a healer team with a new bandage approached me.

"Han Yi-gyeol-ssi, how are you feeling?"

"I will treat you. I brought you a new bandage."

"Thank you."

I unbuttoned my shirt and sat down. Still, if I received treatment this time, the wound would heal to some extent. Since we had to deal with S+ grade monsters, we had to reduce the burden on our bodies to a minimum.

"It's A-class bandage. Master took care of it."

Looking at the bandage in the healer's hand, I really felt the energy of the item. I thought it would be a regular bandage this time. It seemed that Cheon Sa-yeon really liked the A-class bandage.

"I don't need an A-class bandage for treatment, do I?"

"Ei, still. It's a waste since I got it."

"That's right."

Is that so?

That was then I was persuaded to nod my head and take off my shirt.

Kugugugung!

The surrounding area shook violently and there was a roar. Stone dust fell from the ceiling, and the candles shone anxiously as if they were about to go out at any moment.

"Wh, what?"

"What do you mean?"

The guild members who were resting were surprised and quickly prepared for battle. I also got up while re-buttoning my shirt.

Uuuung—!

Kugung!

An ominous cry could be heard over the still-unopened entrance. I found the purple smoke slowly spreading through the darkness.