Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Special Training (1)
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To Sa-yoon's eyes, Geon-ju was a truly ridiculous guy.
He'd sent him down here thinking it might be dangerous to leave him up top with S-rank monsters swarming around, but in that short time, the fool couldn't hold back and provoked an imoogi into fighting.
Did he have some special talent for screwing up his own fate?
The imoogi was hissing viciously, and at a glance, it looked like too much for Geon-ju to handle. It was only natural—a B-rank wagging its tail in front of an S-rank.
At least he'd picked an imoogi; if it had ascended and become a dark dragon, things would have been dire. Dragonkin ranked at the top even among S-ranks, so Geon-ju would've been devoured before Sa-yoon could even rush to save him.
Then Sa-yoon would've had to belatedly slice open the dragon's belly and pull out Geon-ju, soaked in stomach acid, before hosing him down with potions.
Sa-yoon grimaced at the image of Geon-ju covered in sticky slime. Just thinking about it was unpleasant. He'd been splattered with dragon gastric juices before, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all.
"Should I call this reckless, or be grateful he likes it hard?"
Judging by how he deliberately provoked the imoogi and tangled up his own fate, their tastes seemed similar, but the skill gap was huge. Sa-yoon clicked his tongue, noting it was still too much for Geon-ju to fight alongside him, and checked the recruit's reddened ears.
He seemed aware of how pathetic he looked, dangling from that arrow like a fish on a line.
It was rare to see Geon-ju's ears turn red, so Sa-yoon stared shamelessly. Avoiding his gaze, Geon-ju's face flushed as he finally muttered to stop staring and help him out. Sa-yoon hadn't been expecting those exact words, but hearing them felt good anyway.
This was why they'd entered the field.
It was going perfectly according to plan.
Come into the field together, teach him how to fight, save his life when it's in danger. Bond even deeper that way.
By the time they left the field, Geon-ju would surely be the type who couldn't live without him.
As he declared this inwardly, the forgotten imoogi interrupted Sa-yoon's fantasies.
—Kieeeek!
Ignored until now, the imoogi shrieked to announce its presence.
Spotting Sa-yoon, it bared its sharp fangs and charged. "Oh, come on," Sa-yoon groaned instinctively, staring down the lunging imoogi.
He'd just been playing around with top-tier S-rank dragonkin moments ago. Their scent still lingered on him, yet it was charging with eyes rolled back in rage. That meant one of two things.
First, it was so starved it didn't care about prey rank. Second, it was so furious it couldn't tell front from back.
Sa-yoon glanced at Geon-ju, then back at the imoogi's face.
Definitely the latter.
He'd thought Geon-ju was just screaming and running away, but apparently the hunter had taunted it a bit.
Well, even Sa-yoon would get mad if prey screamed bloody murder in his territory, wriggled around annoyingly, and he finally caught it only for some stranger to swoop in and snatch it away.
Two stressful events in a row with just one intruder—how could its eyes not roll back?
He'd thought his empathy was worn to nothing, but being able to guess a monster's feelings meant he still had some humanity left.
But understanding its feelings was one thing; letting it climb on him was another. Sa-yoon twisted his body to dodge, then placed his hand on its slippery hide.
Craaaack.
—Kick, keee, kiieek!
The imoogi twitched, realizing its body was freezing from the middle down, and looked up at Sa-yoon. By the time its gaze reached him, ice already covered 80% of its body.
Still some mana left. Much easier than swinging a sword around. Sa-yoon flash-froze the valley-dwelling imoogi and kicked its massive body.
Splash!
The heavy corpse sprayed water everywhere as it sank into the valley. Having safely returned the imoogi to its home, Sa-yoon turned to find Geon-ju still hanging from the tree, looking like he'd witnessed cheating.
Feeling a sense of deprivation, was he?
Sa-yoon could read the emotion on his face. It wasn't an incomprehensible feeling, but what could he do?
Rank differences were such that even one step apart made it hard to look at each other, and he and Geon-ju were two steps apart.
If anything, it was laughable that Sa-yoon, who mainly tackled uncharted gates, was struggling against a freshly S-rank imoogi. He shrugged once, then walked through the air with heavy steps and squatted right in front of Geon-ju's face.
"You're hurt."
He grabbed Geon-ju's chin and twisted it side to side—wounds everywhere he turned.
Since he'd given him potions, these weren't from the fall. The imoogi's doing.
Melt that thing down again? Nah.
As he pondered whether to go after the imoogi for damaging someone else's property, Geon-ju jerked his head away. His chin slipped from Sa-yoon's light grip.
"Just let me down."
His voice had shrunk.
Sa-yoon clicked his tongue and stood, wondering if he should call out the arrogance. He'd left the guy alone, so it was partly his fault—might as well let him sulk a bit.
"Still alive, so you did pretty well."
Of course, he'd been on the brink of death just moments ago.
He didn't add that. Was it because he'd gained a status window and was searching for a way out of his cursed fate? Having someone who could change his life right in front of him seemed to make him endlessly forgiving.
Even after the praise, Geon-ju showed no joy. Sa-yoon started to explain how rare his compliments were but stopped. From the mood, he wouldn't listen properly anyway.
He grabbed Geon-ju's arm, wrapped it around his neck, and reached for the arrow. The one in his arms squirmed.
"Just pull it out."
"If I do, you'll fall."
"I'll handle the landing."
"Sure, sure. Rolling around your favorite hobby?"
He'd have to roll a few more times ahead; no reason to waste stamina needlessly. Ignoring the request, Sa-yoon yanked the arrow free with force. Whoosh—Geon-ju plummeted. Sa-yoon, who'd been holding him, caught his waist and descended to the ground.
Damn it.
Having to be carried down by Sa-yoon, Geon-ju needed an escape from the humiliation and opened the gate-related system window—then doubted his eyes.
The counters, all zeros before, had changed slightly. Geon-ju turned to Sa-yoon, staring at the monster kills now over 10% complete.
How much time had passed since he'd fallen off the cliff, hit the water, healed, and fought the imoogi? Barely three hours. To wipe out over a hundred monsters alone in that short span was astonishing.
Plus, A-rank and below were rare in this gate, and the monsters swarming Sa-yoon right before he'd fallen were mostly S-ranks.
Well, freezing an imoogi in one shot wasn't surprising, but it still felt absurd. He'd said his body ached and he was taking a break, but three more breaks and he'd exterminate every monster in the gate.
"What're you staring at so intently?"
Geon-ju's gaze lingered not on him but in empty air, so Sa-yoon waved a hand. Only then did those black eyes fully focus on Sa-yoon.
"Thought you were just scratched up, but did you hit your head too?"
His eyes still looked dazed, so Sa-yoon rummaged through his inventory, concerned. He scrolled for something good for mental issues. Pondering options, Geon-ju finally spoke up a bit later.
"Hit my head? As if. It's not that. You're treating a sane guy like a lunatic."
And you're the crazy one...
It was the kind of grumble that would've made other guildmates whisper he'd lost his guts entirely. Seeing the bratty mouth and sullen face, Sa-yoon could tell his head was fine and smiled satisfactorily.
Even in front of him, tossing barbs so freely—yep, his pretty boy was still himself.
"Must be from all that rolling; your clothes are filthy with dirt."
"Ah..."
Geon-ju checked his outfit at the remark. It was torn here and there, stained with dirt and blood. Sa-yoon flashed a service-industry smile and grabbed his collar.
"...?"
Geon-ju's eyes widened as his collar was seized.
As a sense of déjà vu hit and he opened his mouth, Sa-yoon hefted him up and tossed him into the valley.
Splash!
A refreshing sound echoed, water spraying.
"Go wash your clothes and cool your head."
Keeps crawling up when I indulge him.
Scolding him inwardly, Sa-yoon watched Geon-ju's head pop up urgently above the water and dusted off his hands.
The thought of overlooking a bit of sulking since he'd left him alone had long since evaporated from his mind.