Chapter 45

Chapter 45

We had barely managed to defeat a single monster.

But I wasn't confident we could defeat another one.

And since the Wolf had appeared near the entrance, it was probably one of the weaker monsters in this dungeon.

If something stronger appeared...

We would have no answer.

“Hey. This won't work. Let's drink some Elixirs.”

I agreed with my brother and nodded.

Everyone was exhausted.

We needed to check our condition.

[Current Health: 243/500]

[Current Mana: 630/900]

Not bad.

I should use Healing first, just in case...

“Hey. What's wrong with this?”

My brother, who had been gulping down an Elixir, stared into empty space in disbelief.

Han Siwoo asked,

“Something wrong?”

“No, I... fuck.”

My brother repeatedly exhaled in shock.

But I had seen him do stupid things plenty of times.

I wasn't especially curious.

Instead, I focused on Lee Junhyuk.

[Lee Junhyuk] [Remaining Mana: 13%] [Remaining Health: 14%]

My brows tightened.

He had burned through almost all his mana and Health.

Seriously. This guy is way too stubborn.

Recovery became much harder if either value dropped below ten percent.

He should have known that.

I clicked my tongue and looked at his pale face.

Then I hurriedly used Healing.

[Skill 'Healing Lv.9' activated.]

[Recovery amount reduced due to 'Curse of the Ice Phoenix'.]

[Lee Junhyuk] [Remaining Mana: 13%] [Remaining Health: 16%]

“...What is this?”

“Hey. You weren't listening to me, were you?”

I stared at the system window again, thinking I might have misread it.

We had received the debuff from the Ice Phoenix earlier.

But that...

“Why is this curse still active?”

Normally, a dungeon debuff should disappear once you left the dungeon.

“I think it's because we haven't technically left a dungeon yet.”

“So the debuff is still active because of that?”

My brother stared at Han Siwoo with his mouth open.

“Oppa. How much Health did the Elixir restore?”

“Restore? Barely anything. Maybe six percent?”

Our low-grade Elixirs normally restored around sixty percent of Health.

Six percent meant only one-tenth of the normal amount.

Considering how expensive they were, it hurt.

But lives mattered more.

I pulled two Red Elixirs from my Inventory and poured both into Lee Junhyuk's mouth.

[Lee Junhyuk] [Remaining Mana: 13%] [Remaining Health: 28%]

His uneven breathing became more regular.

A little color returned to his pale face.

Still, I couldn't relax.

I took out the Red Orb and placed it in Lee Junhyuk's hand.

“Junhyuk. If something happens, activate its skill immediately. Got it?”

“...Yes.”

Lee Junhyuk answered weakly.

Han Siwoo carefully peeked outside the rock we were hiding behind.

Then he pulled his head back.

“What do we do now...?”

“Seriously. Kim Jia, don't you know anything?”

I was silent.

I knew a lot.

But there was nothing I could say in this situation.

What was I supposed to tell them?

That everything had happened exactly like in the novel?

Or that I would eventually sacrifice myself so the rest of them could escape?

My head was a mess.

There was nothing I could say.

“You know something, don't you?”

“I don't know either.”

“...”

“How am I supposed to know? We thought we cleared the dungeon, and then this impossible situation happened. How am I supposed to...!”

My throat tightened.

I couldn't continue.

I couldn't even properly define the emotion boiling inside me.

So I simply stared at the floor.

“...Why are you getting angry?”

My brother scratched the back of his neck.

When had I gotten angry?

Right.

This isn't the time.

I was trying to think of a way out when...

“Ah! If the Center notices we're taking longer than usual, won't they come looking for us?”

“Hyung, that's impossible. Time flows differently inside dungeons than outside.”

“Ah. Right.”

It didn't look like any brilliant solution was going to come from them.

I sank into thought.

A way.

There had to be a way.

A method where I didn't die and everyone else escaped safely too.

Then my eyes suddenly widened.

Oh my God.

How had I forgotten this?

I almost shouted the word in excitement.

“White Hole!”

“White Hole? That was the thing back then...”

The passage that had allowed Lee Dohyun and Kim Taeyoon to enter during the Dome phenomenon.

My brother's eyes widened too.

I nodded seriously.

“If we find it, we can escape this dungeon.”

“But how do we find it?”

I froze at Han Siwoo's question.

Then slowly looked around.

The dungeon stretched so far that I couldn't tell where it ended.

And because we had been moving carefully while avoiding monsters, our progress had been slow.

We were probably still near the entrance.

Han Siwoo continued.

“Do you really think we can avoid the monsters long enough to find the White Hole?”

I couldn't confidently say yes.

That assumption was already unrealistic.

My brother interrupted.

“Hey, we don't have another option. What, are we supposed to stay here and die?”

“That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying we need to be careful. Everyone's life is at stake. Junhyuk's condition is bad too...”

Han Siwoo looked at my brother and Lee Junhyuk.

Then his gaze settled on me.

“Can we do it?”

Lives were at stake.

We needed caution.

Those were good words.

But even if we waited until we had certainty, that certainty would never come.

Inside a dungeon, there was nothing we could ever be completely certain about.

I clenched my fist.

“I don't know. But staying here isn't the answer.”

Han Siwoo breathed out softly and nodded.

“That's true. Still, don't do anything reckless.”

What did he mean by that?

For some reason, I felt slightly guilty.

Even though recklessness had never been part of my life philosophy.

“Well, either way, we've decided, right?”

My brother straightened up as though he wanted to leave immediately.

I checked the Party Window one last time.

[Party Window]

[Kim Jia] [Remaining Mana: 66%] [Remaining Health: 67%]

[Kim Jihoon] [Remaining Mana: 54%] [Remaining Health: 38%]

[Han Siwoo] [Remaining Mana: 65%] [Remaining Health: 55%]

[Lee Junhyuk] [Remaining Mana: 13%] [Remaining Health: 28%]

Han Siwoo and I were still in acceptable condition.

My brother and Lee Junhyuk were not.

“As long as Elixirs don't work properly, staying inside this dungeon for too long puts us at a disadvantage. Our goal is to find the White Hole, but the most important thing is survival.”

If even one of us died here, everything would be meaningless.

“Obviously.”

“Agreed.”

Then a faint Wolf howl traveled through the narrow cave passage.

It wasn't loud.

But because everything around us was so quiet, it sounded painfully clear.

Were they still searching for us because we killed one of their pack?

I looked toward the sound.

Then stood.

“Let's go.”

Avoiding monsters inside the dungeon wasn't easy.

And these weren't anything like the monsters we normally fought.

They were much stronger.

That also meant they were sharper and faster.

The only possible advantage was that stronger monsters had much more noticeable presences.

Thanks to that, we moved forward more easily than expected.

Still, tricks had limits.

“...Which way?”

We stopped at a fork.

My brother stared down both passages.

Then pointed left.

“Let's go left.”

Was he insane?

How could someone lose a fifty-fifty choice this badly?

I shook my head.

“No. We go right.”

“Why?”

“The mana coming from the left is so strong it's making my skin sting.”

“Whoa. You can feel that?”

My brother sounded genuinely impressed.

Maybe it was because I was a healer.

I was fairly sensitive to different kinds of energy.

Or maybe my brother was simply too dull.

We immediately entered the right passage.

It was narrow.

About as wide as a hallway in an ordinary building.

Cold, damp air filled my nose.

As we walked, unknown droplets fell from the ceiling.

Drip. Drip.

The liquid hit the ground.

HISSS.

It melted the nearby stone.

It wasn't an unusual sight inside a dungeon.

But because the surroundings were so quiet...

Or maybe because I knew something was hunting us...

It felt far more chilling than normal.

After walking for around ten more minutes, we reached a large open area.

My brother pressed his back against the cave wall and looked outside.

Then nodded at us.

I'll go first.

He mouthed the words.

The moment he tried to step forward, I hurriedly grabbed the back of his clothes.

What are you doing?

He frowned and mouthed the question.

Instead of answering, I raised a finger and pointed toward one side.

[Black Wolf]

A black wolf was lying there.

It was roughly one and a half times larger than the Wolf we had fought earlier.

Han Siwoo looked at me.

“What do we do?”

The only fortunate thing was that the Black Wolf had curled into a ball and was sleeping.

Still, simply looking at it gave off such dangerous energy that I had no confidence we could quietly pass beside it.

“Obviously...”

We should go back.

That was what I was about to say.

Then...

“Awoooo.”

“Awoo.”

“Awo.”

Wolf howls drifted toward us on the cold air.

Going back now would be insane.

But moving forward was impossible too.

What do we do?

We were completely trapped.

I bit my lip anxiously.

Then noticed a crack in the cave wall.

It looked large enough to squeeze two or three people through.

“Hey. What are we doing?”

My brother tapped me.

Everyone was looking at me, waiting for a decision.