Chapter 55
We walked in silence for several minutes.
Just like before, the same scenery stretched endlessly around us.
Lee Junhyuk stared at the walls and spoke.
"These walls aren't monsters too, are they?"
"Who knows? They might be monsters, or they might just be walls."
"What kind of answer is that?"
Lee Junhyuk grumbled, apparently deciding there was no point asking.
Then he changed the subject.
"Noona, by the way, why did you ask us to come to another dungeon?"
"Huh?"
I was a little surprised.
I hadn't expected Lee Junhyuk to ask something like that.
"I mean, it hasn't even been two months since we nearly died. And here we are, entering another dungeon already. It just seems a little strange."
"Well, I guess you could see it that way. But I have my own circumstances."
What was I supposed to do when refusing to enter dungeons meant dying?
"Aren't you scared, Noona? If I were you, I'd be so terrified that I'd quit being a Hunter immediately."
Of course I was scared.
How could risking my life in battle not be frightening?
If it weren't for this damned quest, I would have retired already.
But I couldn't exactly tell him that.
Instead, I made up an answer that sounded reasonably convincing.
"Of course I'm scared. But can I really quit just because I'm afraid? Who knows what will happen to the world if people like us stop fighting? I can't just run away because of my own selfishness."
Even I had to admit that sounded pretty impressive.
Lee Junhyuk seemed moved too.
He stared at me blankly.
His mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally lowered his head.
I had been preparing to follow up with something like, That's why we should keep doing our best together.
His unexpected reaction made me feel awkward.
He's not secretly laughing at me, is he?
Because he remained silent, I swallowed the words I'd prepared.
Should I just tell him I was joking?
While I was still considering it, Lee Junhyuk finally broke the silence.
"Actually, I saw it."
"...?"
"What the Center employee said to you. Until now, I thought you were really timid and cowardly, Noona. I figured you weren't suited to being a Hunter at all. But after everything that's happened recently, I realized I had you completely wrong. I'm sorry."
He had clearly brought this up because it was important to him.
Unfortunately, I had no idea how to respond.
"Junhyuk..."
"Yes?"
"I think we'll have to finish this conversation later."
Something in my voice made him realize there was a problem.
He raised his head.
[Skill 'Shield Lv.10' activated.]
HISSSSS.
A monster had finally appeared.
"Th-That thing...!"
[Nepenthes of the Ruins]
The monster resembled a Nepenthes, a well-known carnivorous plant.
Inside its enormous pitcher-shaped trap was something else.
A person.
A strange thrill ran through me.
There couldn't be anyone else inside this dungeon besides us.
"Found him."
We had found Choi Jiwoo much sooner than expected.
But it was too early to celebrate.
The Nepenthes noticed us and spat.
Pfft! Pfft!
HISSSSS.
"Eek!"
The moment its saliva touched the Shield, smoke rose along with a revolting smell.
Thank goodness I had activated Shield.
If that attack had struck us directly, there was no telling which part of our bodies would have melted.
"Fire..."
"Wait."
I grabbed Lee Junhyuk's staff before he could activate his skill.
He looked at me.
"Why?"
"If you use your skill, you'll hit that man too."
"Ah..."
Only then did he seem to remember Choi Jiwoo was trapped inside the monster.
...Was this guy really okay?
"Then what do we do?"
"Shiriririri."
The Nepenthes made a strange noise and waved its enormous leaves.
Then it fired another round of acidic saliva.
Pfft! Pfft!
HISSS! HISSS!
Neither Lee Junhyuk nor I was particularly fast.
The attacks we couldn't dodge struck my Shield directly.
[Durability of 'Shield Lv.10': 90% remaining.]
Maybe this was the advantage of reaching Level 10.
Even after taking several attacks from a D-rank monster, my Shield was still in excellent condition.
I had plenty of mana too.
The real problem was Choi Jiwoo, who was trapped inside the Nepenthes's pitcher.
"Should I try using Wind? That hyung said he was a tanker, right? Even if he gets hurt, you can heal him immediately."
...That wasn't a bad idea.
Since we didn't have any particularly effective offensive skills, our options were limited.
I nodded.
Lee Junhyuk immediately activated his skill.
"Wind!"
WHOOOOOSH!
A powerful gust of wind rushed toward the Nepenthes.
But our opponent was a D-rank monster.
A skill attached to an item wasn't powerful enough to deal with it so easily.
FWOOSH.
The Nepenthes waved its enormous, arm-like leaves several times.
The Wind skill lost its force and dispersed into the air.
I knew it wouldn't be that easy.
After thinking for a moment, I spoke.
"Junhyuk, I'll cover you from behind. Can you get close enough to rescue that man?"
"...I'll try."
I was about to activate Shield again.
Then...
You're not supposed to do it like that.
...?
An unnaturally calm voice sounded in my ears.
I looked at Lee Junhyuk.
"What did you just say?"
"Huh? I didn't say anything."
What was that?
Had I misheard?
I suppressed the uncomfortable feeling.
Maybe the stress had caused me to hear things.
"Hyaaaaah!"
With an energetic shout, Lee Junhyuk charged forward.
He wasn't as fast as Han Siwoo or my brother, who specialized in physical combat.
Still, he was moving faster than I had expected.
Maybe he really could get close enough.
The Nepenthes fired another glob of saliva at him.
Pfft!
HISSSSS.
[Durability of 'Shield Lv.10': 85% remaining.]
"Hah! That won't work on me!"
Lee Junhyuk smirked and stepped forward.
