Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Chapter 6. Each One's Reason
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“Yes, you bastard!”
The moment he saw Lee Woo-yeon, the lord shouted at me in a voice completely different from the one he’d used before—a scream filled with so much hatred it made my energy falter for a second.
It was a voice no stranger could ever draw out.
The knights around him also began screaming in shock and loathing.
“How dare you even think of coming here!”
“You weren’t dead after all?”
“What’s with that welcome? Do you two know each other?”
I brushed the hand I’d been holding with Lee Woo-yeon against my pants and asked. Lee Woo-yeon tilted his head, looking puzzled too.
“No way. Seems like it’s because of the person I ‘possessed’?”
Ah, right. That was the setup.
Come to think of it, the moment I recognized the ‘wings,’ a system message had popped up saying the vision restriction was lifted. So to me, he looked like Lee Woo-yeon himself, but to everyone else… what did he look like?
“Who did you possess?”
“The castle lord.”
“Oh, damn.”
An exclamation slipped out before I could stop it. The battlefield was already full of mysteries, and possessing the castle lord at the center of it all explained their intense reaction.
“How dare you, how dare you!”
The king was trembling with rage. Lee Woo-yeon stared at him blankly before raising an eyebrow.
“What’s with that guy?”
His tone was seriously pissed. Scary as hell.
“A relic from a bygone era. Calls himself the king.”
“Ah, that explains it! I was wondering why I felt like hives were breaking out all over my body.”
“That’s all? No other info coming up?”
“Memory inheritance barely worked. Something about restrictions. Why, you think it’ll be needed to clear this dungeon?”
“……No, just curious.”
So Lee Woo-yeon hadn’t inherited much of the castle lord’s memories.
I’d thought that since he possessed the castle lord, some of the mysteries might get cleared up.
I glanced at the empty air where no messages appeared. What info were they blocking so thoroughly?
“Your Majesty! You mustn’t overexert yourself!”
“Silence!”
The boss monster coughed up blood but still gripped his king’s scepter, glaring at Lee Woo-yeon—or rather, the castle lord from his perspective.
Just like I’d taken a nerf after using Return from Death, he was probably in a similar state, but he was pushing himself hard.
Of course, so was I.
If it were just the two of us, I’d end up skewered.
But now there was Lee Woo-yeon here, fresh and ready.
“At that state, it might be worth a shot.”
Annoyingly, the one guy who was my lifeline right now lifted Leviathan with a grin. He was clearly trying to rile me up.
“If I take down an SS-grade monster like this, who’d get first place in achievements?”
“Me, obviously, you asshole.”
“Man, with that mouth of yours, how am I supposed to survive? No wonder it’s scary being number one.”
He joked, but his decision was quick. As the king raised his scepter, Lee Woo-yeon’s spell completed.
A translucent hemispherical shield appeared around us.
Crackle!
Sparks flew as their mana clashed. Lee Woo-yeon frowned at the shield.
“Shield activation time is ridiculously short. Seems like it nerfs mages within a certain radius of the boss monster. Hard to control the mana.”
When mana control was dominated by a monster far superior to players, that was the first problem.
Against the lich, I’d cut off its life supply and disrupted the mana flow, letting Lee Woo-yeon cast big spells, but that wasn’t possible now.
“Then movement magic’s out too.”
“Unfortunately. Can’t even manifest incantations. Sucks, but achievements can wait—best to cover you and retreat.”
Our opinions matched. I nodded.
“Yeah, let’s pull back for now.”
This field spawned a boss monster tough for mages, based on Lee Seon the mage. Even if Lee Woo-yeon was fresh, the matchup sucked.
I’d planned to smack him if he tried attack magic without gauging his power, but he’d already crunched the numbers despite his “might be doable” talk.
If I were in good shape, maybe, but he couldn’t solo it either.
I’d only just learned the clear condition: wipe out 30% or more of the minions.
A hundred thousand troops meant thirty thousand by simple math.
Not a number Lee Woo-yeon could handle alone, and even if boss-killing became possible, I couldn’t tackle it again in my state.
So regrouping and retreating was best.
“How much time left on the shield?”
“Five minutes like this? Enough for you to potion up and recover.”
The king, unable to break the shield, hurled his scepter at us in fury.
Crack!
Lee Woo-yeon glanced at the cracking shield—like glass—and corrected himself.
“No, three minutes twenty seconds.”
Even a magic barrier could shatter under physical force, especially with the boss nearby. It wouldn’t last long.
“Fragile, us mages.”
“I’m a magic swordsman.”
“Half-assed at both, then.”
“Wanna test that later?”
Tempting, but recovery first.
I rubbed my numb hands and chugged potions fast.
Potions had limits, but better than nothing.
I exhaled deeply, finally snapping back to focus.
Lee Woo-yeon stated the time matter-of-factly.
“Two minutes left.”
I stomped my feet, prepping Nymph’s Wind.
With his cover, we could make it to the castle.
Lee Woo-yeon, wings spread, chuckled dryly at me.
“Hands okay, but not that, huh?”
“What?”
“Nothing. One minute till release. Get ready.”
The boss, realizing he couldn’t break it alone, called knights. They rushed in, stabbing the barrier with swords and spears.
I spotted the mage I’d talked to beyond the shield. He was now prone, muttering like in prayer.
Prepping a spell?
He’d stalled the boss’s revival with talk, just like me.
They truly believed in their ‘Your Majesty’s’ resurrection.
“So they’ve got mages too. Sieging back at the castle won’t be easy.”
As I muttered, Lee Woo-yeon piped up like he’d just remembered.
“If the mobs excluding the boss are only this level, there might be a counter.”
“Huh?”
“It’s not just me who came in.”
I turned to the walls.
And saw it.
A black dot bobbing above the walls, waving desperately. A person? Couldn’t make out details, but that was magic.
Only one candidate.
“……Hunter Lee Seon?”
- Player name: Lee Seon recognized. Vision restriction lifted.
Sure enough, system message. Lee Woo-yeon nodded.
“Yeah, came in together. Took a bit to assess after possessing and find each other, but glad we synced up.”
My throat tightened.
Why the hell?!
“What if something went wrong barging in like this…….”
“You’re one to talk. Most reckless one here. Even told the other hunters to stay put, right?”
I clamped my mouth shut. I knew I’d been reckless.
Lee Woo-yeon added,
“I get you were considering they’re newbies, but finding and using them as backup would’ve been better.”
“……How, when I don’t even know who they are?”
I’d considered it.
But vision lift required recognition, and I didn’t know the new hunters’ faces, names, or traits.
Couldn’t actively search as my character.
Telling newbies to clear missions solo risked them killing each other unrecognized—worst case. So I told them to stay put.
“And I can’t take responsibility if anyone dies.”
I grumbled. Lee Woo-yeon chuckled. He knew why I’d acted that way.
Even in the worst case, use them to help me.
“No one can take responsibility for someone’s death.”
“Lecturing without a plan.”
“That’s why you don’t need to. Ah, time’s up.”
Before he finished, I felt the mana disperse.
Shield gone, I triggered Nymph’s Wind and leaped up. Lee Woo-yeon spread wings and followed into the air.
The boss yelled something, but his scepter’s mana was weak. The spell he fired vanished against Lee Woo-yeon’s new shield.
Soldiers loosed arrows, but I batted them away.
“■■■!”
Noise in my ears.
Different for Lee Woo-yeon?
I glanced—he tsked, uninterested.
“Bugs buzzing.”
I nearly lost balance.
That’s how you describe ominous system noise…?
Birds of a feather.
Attacks rained from behind, but we widened the gap fast.
The flight back wasn’t smooth.
Nymph’s Wind needed ground kicks, unlike his wings. My stats were wrecked from charging the boss, so output sucked.
I had to land among soldiers each jump. Lee Woo-yeon covered me every time.
I slashed sword aura wide on landings, thinning them. Best to reduce numbers while boss couldn’t move.
He’d skipped movement magic for the same reason.
Good we synced.
“They’re not pursuing.”
Lee Woo-yeon blasted fire at charging soldiers and checked behind.
I’d wondered too.
Siege was on day six. Boss was dead set on this castle.
If SS-grade had hit day one, unprepared mages would’ve fallen in a day.
Surviving six days meant they’d waited for surrender, holding the boss back.
Conclusion: one.
“SS-grade can’t act directly until a certain point—restricted.”
This damn system gave brutal missions but balanced cleverly.
Missions killable after dying and reviving.
Twenty hunters in an SS-grade dungeon? Fair patch.
And another.
“They can’t pursue far, even now—range limit.”
“Hmm, yeah. Fitting for this difficulty.”
Lee Woo-yeon agreed.
Retreating stung, but gains: damage on boss bought time, learned movement limits.
Harvest made it bearable.
“Damn.”
Why so pissed? Solo, even original me couldn’t clear. I’d gambled.
But withdrawing felt like heartburn.
If my stats weren’t reset…
“Pay it back.”
I must’ve looked furious mid-air. Lee Woo-yeon whispered teasingly beside me.
I glanced—he smirked foxily.
“Now I’m here.”
“One flimsy magic swordsman won’t make this easy.”
“Yeah, true. Dungeon that nearly killed Rank 1 in hours? Pathetic Rank 2 changes nothing.”
“Wanna die?”
I half-meant the fist raise, but he spun mid-air laughing.
“Don’t be so pessimistic. Lee Seon Hunter’s here—can gather the rest.”
“…….”
“No need to shoulder it alone.”
I looked away from his grin.
Wall figures sharpened in view.
Funny.
Situation hadn’t improved much.
I’d used my biggest weapon, the cloak. Return from Death on cooldown.
Boss needed 30k+ kills, limits loosening as siege dragged.
System blocked my finisher with some stabilization crap.
Reality’s harsher than thought. His words didn’t spark hope.
Still.
“……Thanks.”
Lee Woo-yeon’s eyes widened briefly, then he grinned. No reply.
Just words.
Powerless.
But words connect people.
Always had.
Lucas, Ariadne—they’d scold when I charged ahead.
“Stop rushing solo. Look who’s beside, behind you.”
“Don’t feel lonely. I’m always here.”
Those words calmed my impatience.
Yeah, I’m not alone.
So… still okay.
I repeated to myself.