Chapter 37
The darkness inside was so deep that I couldn't see anything ahead.
Before anyone even had time to look around, the torches lit up.
Even though time had been reversed, my memories were still painfully clear.
Especially the moment my teammates had died.
I deliberately clenched my hands tightly and lifted my chin.
It's okay.
Nothing has happened yet.
I repeated those words to myself.
“Things like that are usually traps. It's better not to get close.”
Kim Taeyoon took a rifle from his Inventory and pointed the barrel toward the torches.
At that exact moment...
CLANG!
Lee Dohyun raised Shirnt's Claw and struck something in midair.
The sharp scraping sound snapped me fully awake.
I immediately activated Shield and looked around cautiously.
“W-What was that?!”
“Everyone, don't move.”
At Kim Taeyoon's words, everyone instantly shut their mouths.
He slowly scanned the area as he searched for the boss monster.
Back then, the monster was stuck to the ceiling.
“Over...”
But before I could finish speaking, Kim Taeyoon was already looking upward.
Then...
CLANG! CLANG!
Something repeatedly attacked Kim Taeyoon.
The Shield I had placed on him broke before long.
WHOOSH.
The moment the Shield disappeared, blades of wind rushed toward him.
My brother shouted in horror.
“Kim Taeyoon!”
But Kim Taeyoon didn't dodge.
No.
He didn't need to.
The boss monster's attacks merely brushed against his clothes and skin.
They couldn't penetrate him deeply enough to injure him.
Ignoring the sharp winds scraping against his body, Kim Taeyoon raised his rifle toward the ceiling.
Click.
The sound of a bullet being chambered rang sharply through the roaring wind.
“Screech!”
Maybe the creature instinctively sensed danger.
The rapid sound of wings flapping came from above.
A huge shadow fell over us.
I immediately prepared Healing in case something went wrong.
But there was no need.
BANG!
The bullet pierced through the wing of the boss monster as it tried to take flight.
The Bat Goblin lost its balance.
It desperately flapped its wings to stay airborne.
But moments later...
THUD!
It crashed onto the floor.
“Screeech...!”
The Bat Goblin tried to lift itself up, scraping the floor with the long claws attached to the ends of its wings.
That effort was useless too.
BANG!
The second bullet pierced straight through its head.
The Bat Goblin stopped moving.
For a boss monster, it had suffered a pitifully simple death.
“I-Is that it?”
My brother sounded as if he couldn't believe it.
There was no need to answer him.
The shaking beneath our feet had stopped.
[01:10:45]
The countdown timer had also stopped.
[Dungeon Raid Successful.]
A system window appeared.
The darkness covering our vision disappeared, and the torches that had illuminated it went out.
Bright light began shining from the far end of the cave.
It was an effortless victory.
None of us had even been scratched.
I felt strangely empty.
No.
Not just a little empty.
I felt extremely empty.
But before I could even enjoy the feeling of victory...
Ding.
A large number of system windows appeared and covered my vision.
[Congratulations! Quest 'Work together with your teammates and clear the dungeon before the Dome phenomenon occurs!' completed.]
[Quest rewards will be granted.]
[Quest Reward: Indestructible Immortal Body, 3,000 Skill Proficiency.]
[All skill levels will be adjusted due to proficiency gained.]
[Healing Lv.9 → Healing Lv.9]
[Enhancement Lv.7 → Enhancement Lv.8]
[Shield Lv.8 → Shield Lv.9]
[Area Healing Lv.8 → Area Healing Lv.9]
[Multi-Shield Lv.4 → Multi-Shield Lv.6]
[Lag Lv.7 → Lag Lv.8]
[Debuff Removal Lv.5 → Debuff Removal Lv.7]
[Sacrifice Lv.1 → Sacrifice Lv.1]
[Mana capacity has increased due to level increases.]
[800 → 900]
I had worried that the quest might fail because I hadn't personally done much.
Apparently, though, the only thing that mattered was clearing the dungeon itself.
More importantly, what is 'Indestructible Immortal Body'?
“Wow. How much is all of this worth?”
I turned away from the system windows at the admiring voice behind me.
The others were collecting items from the Bat Goblin's corpse.
It had dropped one staff, five Red Elixirs, three Blue Elixirs, and one C-rank Mana Stone.
Our gazes fixed on the glittering Mana Stone.
Mana Stones represented a monster's rank.
I suddenly felt dizzy.
“...That thing was C-rank?”
We stood there holding the shining C-rank Mana Stone, unable to speak.
I had definitely felt that it was strong.
But I hadn't imagined it was this strong.
At most, I had thought it would be a particularly powerful D-rank monster.
We never had a chance from the beginning.
“Just checking, but you guys weren't actually planning to clear this place by yourselves, were you?”
At Kim Taeyoon's casual question, the three people beside me flinched.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at them.
“Ahem. Well, everything turned out fine, didn't it?”
“R-Right! Everything worked out in the end.”
My brother and Lee Junhyuk awkwardly spoke in perfect agreement.
It was a rare sight.
Han Siwoo, apparently still possessing at least a little conscience, kept his mouth shut.
The whole scene looked so ridiculous that I couldn't help smiling.
That time was something only I remembered.
We had already walked into a different future.
Now, those memories were nothing more than a nightmare.
I pushed aside my bitterness and placed a hand on the staff.
[Staff of Wind]
[Magic Power +30]
[The wearer can use the 'Wind' skill.]
Items that granted additional skills were extremely valuable.
If we sold this, we could probably make a lot of money.
However...
“...?”
“Take it.”
I pushed the staff into Lee Junhyuk's arms.
He stared at me blankly, clearly unable to understand.
“Why... are you giving this to me?”
“Hey! Why are you giving that to him?”
“It's my decision as party leader.”
Our party's rule was to divide all dropped items fairly.
In other words, what I was doing was technically breaking that rule.
But during the mid-boss fight, our main damage dealer had been almost useless simply because the enemy had fire resistance.
That might have been an unusual case.
But there was no guarantee something similar wouldn't happen again.
Of course, I didn't know how much stronger giving Lee Junhyuk another staff would make our party.
It might not help much at all.
Maybe it would even be a loss.
Still, it was better than having nothing.
“In exchange, I'm adding a new rule starting today. If an item suits a specific person in the party, we give it to that person. How does that sound? Any objections?”
“I'm in favor.”
Han Siwoo raised his hand first.
“Me too!”
Lee Junhyuk, obviously delighted after receiving the staff, raised his hand without complaint.
Only my brother remained.
The moment I looked at him, he immediately answered.
“F-Fine. Fine! Since all of you are agreeing, I'm going to look like some petty bastard if I complain.”
He was petty.
I was genuinely surprised it had taken him this long to realize it.
“If everyone's finished, should we head out?”
Lee Dohyun, who had been watching, pointed behind him with his thumb toward the exit.
My brother immediately brightened and started humming.
“So we're a D-rank party now. Doesn't everyone want meat? Since I'm in a good mood, should I buy premium beef?”
He came over and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
I casually looked elsewhere and said,
“I feel like eating gopchang today.”
“Gopchang sounds good. Hey, you two should come too. Consider it payment for your work.”
My brother waved at Kim Taeyoon and Lee Dohyun.
Considering the two of them had basically cleared the entire dungeon for us, trying to pay them back with one meal was pretty shameless.
But I didn't point it out.
...What were friends for?
“You really squeezed every last drop out of me.”
“You're the one who offered to pay.”
“Still! Never in my life did I think I'd spend several hundred thousand won at a gopchang restaurant.”
I clicked my tongue while watching my brother complain as he took off his shoes at home.
We had made a fortune today, and he was still whining about a few hundred thousand won.
“When we sell the Mana Stones, it'll more than cover that. Stop being cheap and move.”
I nudged his back with the tip of my sock.
My brother turned around with an expression fierce enough to resemble a monster.
“You little...! Haa. Forget it. Let's stop. More importantly, did something happen to you?”
I froze while taking off my other shoe.
“...What do you mean?”
“The expression you had earlier looked like the one you made a year ago. And you suddenly started talking about that prophecy thing again after not mentioning it for so long.”
I couldn't believe my brother was actually asking something like this.
I had assumed he sold his ability to notice things years ago.
When I stared at him in surprise, he scowled.
“Why are you looking at me like that? If nothing happened, forget it. Go inside and rest or whatever!”
Suddenly, I remembered something from a year ago.
When everything had ended and we returned home...
This felt strangely similar.
“Oppa, you also seem the same as you were one year ago.”
“What?”
“You're still annoying.”
“Hah.”
Leaving my brother behind as he let out a disbelieving laugh, I entered my room and closed the door first this time.
He seemed to mutter a few complaints from the other side of the door.
I ignored them.
Ugh, my whole body hurts.
Only a single day had passed.
Yet somehow, it felt like I had been outside for several days.
I lightly stretched my stiff body and sat at my desk.
Honestly, I wanted to collapse straight onto my bed and sleep.
But there was something I needed to do first.
I had to put the items we obtained from today's raid up for auction.
I pulled the laptop from the corner of my desk and opened the Hunter item auction website.
Countless items listed by other people filled the screen.
I opened my Inventory and checked what we had obtained today.
