Chapter 10. First Mission (3)
The Yoo-seong twins.
Two children raised like flowers inside a greenhouse, never knowing true hardship.
And now...
“Urgh!”
“Do we have any more healing potions?”
“That was the last one.”
“Just hold on a little longer!”
They were pouring every healing potion they had into a C-Rank mercenary.
Kim Young-gyu.
His entire body was practically torn apart.
“Aaaaargh!”
The Dark Elf arrows must have been poisoned.
Even the potions weren't healing him properly.
“This won't work.”
Yoo So-ha, the older twin sister, reached inside her clothes.
“Noona, not that!”
Her younger twin brother Yoo Seong-ha immediately tried to stop her.
But Yoo So-ha ignored him.
She pulled out a beautiful ceramic bottle containing purple liquid.
An item known as an Elixir.
A legendary-grade item said to be capable of reviving even the dead.
Their father, Chairman of Yoo-seong, had given it to them for emergencies.
It couldn't truly revive someone who was already dead, but it could save someone on the very edge of death.
Only a handful existed in the entire world.
Even the twins had only one.
“What? Is there a problem?”
Yoo So-ha glared at Yoo Seong-ha.
“We brought him here because we wanted to become Hunters. He ended up like this trying to save us. Obviously we have to save him.”
The item was worth tens of billions of won.
Possibly even more.
Was Yoo Seong-ha really hesitating to use it on a mercenary who only earned a few million won per day?
Yoo So-ha narrowed her eyes, beginning to question her brother's character.
Then Yoo Seong-ha stared at her as if she were an idiot.
“That's not the Elixir.”
“...What?”
“That's Hydra poison.”
“Ah!”
Yoo So-ha hurriedly searched her clothes and pulled out another bottle.
The liquid inside was a similar color, but the design on the ceramic bottle was slightly different.
It was another emergency item their father had given them.
“S-Sorry.”
She had nearly killed the man instead of saving him.
“Please hold on a little longer. People will come rescue us soon.”
Yoo So-ha poured the Elixir into the mercenary's mouth.
His expression immediately relaxed.
“Haah. Thank goodness.”
Yoo So-ha and Yoo Seong-ha finally breathed a little easier.
But neither looked optimistic.
“...Will they make it in time?”
Yoo Seong-ha asked.
They had planned this operation for a long time because they wanted to awaken as Hunters.
But the result couldn't have been worse.
An abnormal Gate.
“It won't be easy. It's an abnormal Gate. We have no idea what kind of entry conditions it has.”
Yoo So-ha shook her head.
Their desire to become Hunters wasn't just empty talk.
Hunters.
Gates.
Monsters.
They had studied all of it extensively.
The most infuriating part was that despite all their effort, they still hadn't awakened.
“Kieee.”
The cries of Dark Elves echoed from nearby.
“You know what Dark Elves are like, right?”
Yoo So-ha looked at Yoo Seong-ha.
“...I know. And I know they're hunting us right now.”
Starting from A-Rank Gates, monsters generally possessed a certain level of intelligence.
Their individual behavioral traits also became clearer.
Dark Elves enjoyed hunting by slowly driving prey into a dead end.
All for entertainment.
Then Yoo So-ha stood up.
“They might already know about this cave. We have no idea when rescue will come.”
“What are you planning?”
“I'll go outside and draw their attention. You escape while I do.”
Yoo So-ha touched a ring.
Countless items poured out instantly.
It was an extremely high-grade spatial storage item usable even by non-Hunters.
“Maybe we underestimated this from the start. With items like these, an Elixir, and a mercenary escort, how were we ever supposed to feel genuine danger inside a D-Rank Gate?”
“...Hey, Yoo So-ha.”
“Maybe being close to death right now is actually our chance.”
Yoo So-ha began equipping items one by one.
Without a Hunter's physical enhancement, the equipment felt heavy.
But she could handle it.
“I'll go.”
Then Yoo Seong-ha stepped in front of her.
“I'll distract them. Noona, you escape.”
Yoo So-ha's eyes widened.
They had been born only one minute apart.
Yoo Seong-ha had always complained about having to call her Noona.
This was the first time he'd ever done it willingly.
“What are you talking about?!”
“...You're injured.”
Yoo Seong-ha pointed at Yoo So-ha's leg.
Blood had soaked through her clothes.
“We used every potion and even the Elixir on that mercenary. And you got hurt earlier because you protected me.”
“Hey!”
“So I'm the one who should go...!”
At that moment...
Both Yoo So-ha and Yoo Seong-ha instinctively lowered their bodies.
Neither understood why.
They simply felt something strange approaching from far away.
And then...
“...The Dark Elves stopped crying.”
The mocking cries of the Dark Elves had completely disappeared.
“...Shh.”
They fell silent and held their breath.
Thump. Thump.
Their own heartbeats sounded impossibly loud.
Step. Step.
Footsteps came from the cave entrance.
The twins looked at each other.
Two pairs of eyes filled with fear.
Without saying anything, both stood up.
Then...
THUD!
Yoo So-ha hooked Yoo Seong-ha's leg and knocked him down.
“What are you doing?!”
“Shut up.”
Whatever had entered the cave...
Her instincts told her immediately.
That was not the rescue team.
No.
“Live. Stay alive and avenge me. If you understand, nod.”
“Mmph...!”
“Nod. You have to save him too. We can't let that man die because of our selfishness.”
Tears covered Yoo Seong-ha's face.
Slowly, he nodded.
There was no other choice.
“Good. That's my little brother.”
Yoo So-ha steeled herself.
Then she slowly walked toward the cave entrance.
She held a unique-grade spear and shield worth tens of billions of won.
“...DIEEEE!”
