Chapter 42
After a few days of rest, raid day finally came.
As expected, the dungeon we were assigned this time was E-rank.
“Why does it feel like it's been forever since we actually fought?”
“Because it has been forever. Last time, we tagged along with another party and got carried. Before that, the A-rank Hunters did everything while we just watched. Are you sure your body's not stiff from lack of use? If it's too hard, you can just stay way in the back and watch.”
“Hah. Stiff, my ass. And you watched too.”
“Ahem! Has your memory gotten worse too? Did you forget that I finished off a D-rank boss?”
Lee Junhyuk proudly puffed out his chest.
My brother narrowed his eyes and turned his head away.
Whether it had been luck or a trick, one fact remained.
Lee Junhyuk really had defeated a D-rank boss.
Seeing my brother fall silent, Lee Junhyuk smiled victoriously.
“No comeback?”
“Why wouldn't I have one? You just got lucky and killed it by accident...”
“If you survived thanks to me, shouldn't you at least say thank you?”
I sighed as the two started bickering the moment we entered the dungeon.
Normally, Han Siwoo would step in after a few exchanges and calm them down.
But today, something seemed off with him too.
“What are you doing over there?”
Han Siwoo was staring into the darkness ahead with an unusually serious expression.
“I have a bad feeling.”
“Why? Because we usually go to F-rank dungeons and now we're in an E-rank?”
“No. I just had a nightmare today.”
“A nightmare? Ah, one of those nightmares you sometimes mention?”
Han Siwoo said he had suffered from recurring nightmares since childhood.
They felt so vivid that it was almost as if he had truly lived through them.
But once he woke up, he could never properly remember what had happened.
On days when he had those dreams, Han Siwoo always looked drained.
He gave a bitter smile and nodded.
“Yeah.”
“I don't know why you have dreams like that, but don't think too much about it. People say what matters isn't the dream itself, but how you interpret it.”
“...I guess.”
“Exactly. Sometimes you have bad dreams, sometimes good ones.”
“Right. I shouldn't be standing around like this. I need to focus on the raid.”
He still looked gloomy, but it seemed he had managed to steady himself somewhat.
I was about to follow him when noisy voices behind me made me frown and turn around.
“You think I'm crazy enough to thank you?!”
“Wow. I save this hyung and look at how he talks!”
“Can you two stop?”
“Hey, listen. This brat was...”
“Noona, hyung was...!”
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
We had barely entered the dungeon.
Why was I already exhausted?
I sighed and started pushing them forward from behind.
“Did we come here to fight each other?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes.”
I'm going insane.
“Fight the monsters, not each other.”
I emphasized every word.
“Yeah, yeah. We know.”
“Of course we're here to fight monsters.”
Only then did they finally nod and start walking on their own.
I really needed to quit being a Hunter as soon as possible.
The first monsters we encountered were slimes.
Slimes were among the gentler monsters.
They lived in groups and usually wouldn't attack unless someone attacked them first.
The moment my brother saw one, he ran over and crouched in front of it.
“Wow. I can't believe I'm actually happy to see one of these. I missed you, Slime.”
“Stop saying useless things and kill it.”
“What's wrong with this? It's only an E-rank monster.”
I let out a dry laugh.
Excuse me.
You're F-rank.
Apparently, he had finally lost his mind.
He started poking the slime's jelly-like cheek with his finger.
Even if slimes were docile, they were still monsters.
I stared at him with my mouth open.
“What are you doing? Did you forget that the boss we fought before was small too, and someone got hurt because we underestimated it?”
“Hey, aren't you being too sensitive? That was a D-rank boss. This is just some E-rank small fry.”
Slash.
“Screech!”
The slime my brother had been poking was cut cleanly in half and died instantly.
Han Siwoo shook the fluid from his blade.
“Still, there's no harm in being careful.”
“Uh... yeah. That's true.”
This guy ignored everything I said, but listened when Han Siwoo said the exact same thing?
Han Siwoo turned away and began cutting down the other slimes one by one.
Lee Junhyuk commented on how unusually aggressive he looked.
“What's wrong with that hyung today?”
“Seriously. He's acting weird.”
If even the others noticed, Han Siwoo must have been genuinely troubled.
At least we were in an E-rank dungeon today.
Compared to the D-rank dungeon we had recently entered, E-rank dungeons were relatively safe.
Even if something happened, my skills should be enough to handle most problems up to E-rank.
“What are you standing there for?”
Han Siwoo gestured at us.
We exchanged glances, then hurried toward him.
