The Straggler
The Straggler. That bastard... He told me to just trust him with the rear support, but his flames are completely useless against the big guys. In the end, after clearing three dungeons today, I was the one who took down every single boss monster. Come to think of it, my head stayed quiet the whole day. (Could this be connected to the adjustment somehow?)(Or is there some other activation condition I don’t know about?) I have no idea if it’s broken or if I’ve been abandoned by God. I don’t know what the right answer is. Still, honestly, for dungeons of this difficulty, it probably doesn’t matter if it doesn’t activate anyway. With a cigarette between my lips, I stare at the horizon burning red as the sun sets.
“Hyung-nim. You worked hard today.”
“Yeah. You too. Want a smoke?”
“...”
What’s with him? Doesn’t want to smoke? If you don’t want one, then don’t. I push the cigarette I’d pulled out back into the pack. What’s that look on his face? It’s practically screaming that he has something to say. Got something on your mind?
“No… it’s just…”
“What do you mean ‘just’? It’s written all over your face that you’ve got something to say.”
“Don’t tell me it’s homesickness? It’s only been a day and you’re already missing the human world?”
“No… it’s not that. It’s just that you seem even stronger than last time, hyung-nim.”
“...?”
What the hell? Suddenly? This guy… The look on his face doesn’t seem like he’s just saying it to butter me up. Now that I think about it, this is the first time we’ve gone into a dungeon together since those wolves, isn’t it?
“Well… I guess so? You rack up experience points the more you fight.”
“I’m jealous… I don’t seem to gain experience as easily as you do, so I’m worried.”
“Maybe you’re just a natural-born hunter, hyung-nim.”
“...”
No, seriously, what is this? The guy was perfectly fine this morning. What the hell does he want to say, acting like this? I don’t get it. Looks like seeing me knock down elephant-sized monsters with a few punches gave him some kind of reality check.
“Maybe I don’t even qualify to become S-rank…”
“If you hadn’t been there earlier, it would’ve been a pretty rough fight.”
“Hey… what are you talking about?”
“Even in games, clearing out the small fry is important, right? Everything has its purpose.”
A tank might be stronger than infantry, but that doesn’t mean modern warfare doesn’t use infantry. Of course I got stronger thanks to God’s generous favor, but there’s no need for him to know that fact. I brush it off by saying everyone has their own specialized strengths and offer him a cigarette from my pocket again.
“Here. If you’re going to keep saying stuff that kills your motivation, at least smoke.”
“If you say unlucky things like that, even things that could succeed won’t.”
“...”
Being extra nice, I even light it for him and hand the cigarette over. He takes it with a reluctant smile and puts it between his lips. Well, I guess that means the operation was a success.
“Understood.”
“Good. By the way, what about those mana stones? Can we just take them?”
“No… We’re supposed to go to Ferid periodically, exchange them for money, and send the profits to the company…”
“Really? Then should we fudge the numbers a bit and skim some off the top?”
“No, hyung-nim… How would that even work? It all shows up on the terminal.”
“...”
This guy… Just from his expression you’d think I asked to borrow a hundred million won. Yeah, yeah, I get it. I get it, man. Since it’s all linked to the company server we can’t pull that kind of stunt, so stop nagging already. I clamp a hand over his mouth and stand up.
“No… hyung-nim… I’m being serious?”
“I know, man. I know you’d get screwed, so let’s just hurry up and head home.”
The manager dropped me off at the lodging first, saying he had to handle the settlement, then left. The settlement probably meant meeting with that Oz or Ode guy… Maybe dropping me off first was his own small consideration. Still, I wasn’t sure whether it was right for this uncomfortable friction between me and the village militia captain to keep dragging on. With my slave in my arms, I lie staring at the ceiling of the large room, lost in thought.
“What? You wanna have sex?”
“No.”
“Should I go change clothes?”
“No.”
“Want to try using that commemorative condom we bought?”
“...”
No… what exactly are you hearing when I speak? I clearly told her to stay still like a body pillow for about thirty minutes… This bitch can’t hold it in and starts talking about sex again. Desperately, I yank the slave—who said she was going to change—with my right hand.
“What… why? You just want to do it in this outfit?”
“...”
No, I said I’m not having sex. No matter how deliberately she shows off her cleavage or how teasingly she strokes my arm with her tail, I’m not doing it. I twist my body away from the slave who’s actively putting on a full-court press for sex.
“What is it… what’s wrong? Huh? Did something happen today?”
“No… it’s just… I was wondering if it’s really okay for us to keep living like this…”
“What? Did you fight with that big orc who hates me again?”
“It’s not that… just, how should I say it…”
I’m worried you’ll end up suffering too much. As your master, I want to somehow take off that frustrating hat for you, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll work. As if possessed, I stare at the white wall and speak.
“Me getting along with that big guy… is ultimately for your sake…”
“Thinking that way, maybe I should’ve held back my temper yesterday…”
“No. You needed to show your temper once so they wouldn’t take us lightly… You did well.”
“And you don’t need to worry about me. To begin with, I actually find it more comfortable to wear the hat when I go outside.”
“...”
Liar. Still, thank you for saying that while thinking of your master. I pull my slave closer and lay her down beside me.
“What? Now you’re in the mood for sex?”
“No. Just because I’m grateful.”
“Grateful? Then how about showing that gratitude with your body?”
“...”
Crazy bitch… Anyone watching would think I’m the slave here. Enough with the sex talk. Go get the book you were reading yesterday and finish it. I desperately push away the slave trying to climb on top of me, when suddenly a loud phone ringtone cuts through the room.
“What? Whose call is it?”
“I don’t know… Who could it be?”
I don’t know who it is, but… thanks to them I was saved. With a grateful heart I shove Elphy off me and scramble off the bed, but the moment I see the name on the screen, that feeling vanishes completely.
“What… Kim Minhyuk?”
Even now the manager’s urgent voice seems to echo inside my head. I sigh and run down the pitch-black road. (Ah… damn it…)(What the hell did that bastard do to end up trapped in a dungeon…?) Usually when someone can’t get out of a dungeon like this, the outcome isn’t pretty… If that big guy dies here, it’s obvious they’ll throw every kind of tantrum about bringing a demon onto the island and inviting disaster. The navigation voice announces I’ve reached my destination. I slow down with a heavy heart. What the hell is all this?
“Hyung-nim… sorry for calling you in the middle of the night…”
“No… there’s nothing to apologize for… but what is all this?”
Starting with the lights, tents, chairs, food… It doesn’t look like a village festival, so I can’t understand why they’ve dragged all this stuff out here. Don’t tell me he’s already dead?! Are the villagers preparing a funeral?
“No. He’s still just missing… but the villagers insisted on holding a memorial rite, so…”
“A memorial rite? So all of this was brought out for a memorial service?”
“Yes… well… I don’t really understand it either, but if they want to do it, what can I do?”
“...”
This is insane… Fuck… No matter how hard I try, I can’t wrap my head around how these otherworld people think. Anyway, what about the people who went in with him? Was that big lump the only one left behind in the dungeon?
“Yes… well. They said a giant golem appeared…”
It’s a touching story about how the militia captain bought time for the rest of the team to escape… Thanks to that, the atmosphere at the scene is on the absolute verge of exploding. If anyone starts crying here it’s really going to be a mess. I ask the manager, who’s standing there with a serious expression as if he has some kind of plan.
“I’ve contacted the company first, but…”
“Company personnel probably won’t arrive until tomorrow morning at the earliest.”
“Morning? By tomorrow morning won’t there only be bones left?”
“Sigh… I don’t know… It would be nice if there are at least some bones left to recover…”
“...”
With that truly hopeless statement, the manager fell silent. I put a cigarette in my mouth and ask him what the odds are that the big guy can hold out until sunrise tomorrow.
“Well… since miracles do exist, maybe around 0.3 percent?”
“What? 0.3 percent?”
“It’s customary to declare someone dead if they get left behind in an upper S-rank dungeon.”
“Strictly speaking it violates the law… so why hasn’t anyone said anything about it until now?”
“...”
I’m losing my mind… My head hurts… No, what the hell was that big guy thinking, walking into an S-rank dungeon? I can’t understand it at all. The manager’s answer was that it seemed like an accident caused by equipment malfunction.
“An accident?”
“Yes… from what the militia members said, the measuring device was probably faulty.”
“There’s a device here that measures dungeon danger levels… It seems it was old and malfunctioned.”
“...”
This is driving me crazy… Of course, he’s a guy whose face I hate to look at… If he just died like that maybe I should consider it good riddance… but seeing the heavy atmosphere, my heart doesn’t feel good at all. More than anything, I’m worried the fallout might hit my slave. I sigh and keep blowing acrid cigarette smoke into the dark sky. At that moment, a familiar face approaches us.
“@#@$%$%^... @#@#...!!!”
“No… Chief… We’ve already requested support, so it’ll be fine…!”
“So please calm down a little… alright?”
“...”
His pronunciation is so slurred I can’t understand a word, yet somehow I feel like I know what he’s saying. Looking at the desperate old man’s face, I remember the elder who once showed me kindness. With a sigh, I grind out the cigarette I was smoking.
“Hey, in what level of dungeon does a Draff usually appear? Should I think of it as around S-rank?”
“Yes? Draff? You mean the monster?”
“Yeah, that fat red lizard. It’s not a small fry, right?”
“Yes… it is a boss monster… but why are you suddenly asking…”
“Just answer the question.”
“...”
At my demand for an answer, he looks at me with an expression that says ‘what the hell is this guy thinking?’… but as long as I get the answer, it’s fine. I throw a bombshell proposal at my manager.
“Excuse me?! You want the two of us to go rescue him?”
“Yeah. You said a Draff appears in dungeons around S-rank.”
“No… hyung-nim… I don’t know what you’re thinking, but let’s talk for a second.”
Now you want the death count to go from one to three? I look at the manager who’s staring at me with a sullen, unbelieving expression. Yeah… well. I must look insane… But it’s a plan worth trying. After making sure no one else is around, I open my mouth.
“Hey. Then why did you call someone who already went home?”
“If you were just going to sit here twiddling your thumbs, you didn’t need to contact me.”
“I didn’t know he was trapped in such a high-rank dungeon back then…!!”
“No… Hey. You said making achievements here was important.”
“It is important. But still, not more important than our lives…”
So this is crazy. Even if we go, the guy’s probably already dead, and on top of that we’d be risking our own lives. Why risk everyone dying? He pleads with me, but I simply push my opinion through.
“I know. I know how precious life is.”
“But going in to rescue him and at least bringing back some bones ourselves versus sitting here until the mood is completely ruined and then rushing in together—which has more impact?”
“No, I know… I know…!! It’s S-rank, okay? It’s dangerous…!!!”
It’s suicidal. This is impossible. Even if it’s just pretending to rescue him, it’s dangerous. Do you even know what an S-rank dungeon is? Instead he questions me back… Yet I was confident. Because—
“Excuse me? You took down a Draff by yourself, hyung-nim?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“No, hyung-nim… Please stop joking… okay?”
“I’m not joking. Remember the day we drank together? I told you. Why do you think I got hurt that day?”
“No… ha… So where exactly did you fight the Draff?”
Where, and how on earth could you fight a monster like that? The guy clearly doesn’t believe me at all… When I say I fought it in the arena his expression turns strange.
“The arena…?”
“Yeah. Well… I heard it’s Ferid’s pride, famous for its history and tradition.”
“If you’re really suspicious, ask Elphy.”
“No… It’s fine. I’ll check on the internet. Okay?”
“...”
Does that stuff come up on the internet? Interesting… Well, as long as it can be proven. The reception is bad here though… I have to go all the way to the beach, which is annoying, but it looks like he managed to confirm it.
“A nameless man who isn’t even a hunter defeats a Draff with his bare fists…”
“No… and this is you, hyung-nim?”
“Yeah. I’m not an official hunter yet, and I’m nameless. I fight with my fists.”
“...”
Ha… Is this guy still doubting me? If you really can’t trust it, look at this. I pull a piece of paper out of my wallet.
“What… what is this?”
“The receipt that says I properly received the money I won from the toto.”
“You see it in the article here? 100 times. And look at this receipt.”
“...”
I went out myself and bet on myself. Now he finally looks like he believes me. I press the advantage.
“If it seems dangerous we’ll pull out immediately. Let’s just go in, smoke a few cigarettes, and come back. Okay?”
“The vanguard already cleared the front anyway, right?”
“Sigh… Understood. But hyung-nim, do you really need to go this far?”
“...”
That’s what I’d like to say. But… I want to see my slave confidently take her hat off in front of the people in this village. Without another word I hand a cigarette to my little brother.
“I made a promise with my cohabitant.”
“It’s been a while since I wanted to act like a proper master, you know…”