Yggdrasil (3-20)
Han Yeoreum stammered as she watched the empty water bottle drifting far away in the distance.
"H-Hayeon... th-that water..."
"Yeah? What about it? Haah... Don't tell me you're pissed because I drank your water?"
"N-No! That's not it! Th-that water is!"
"Ugh..."
Min Hayeon pulled a bottle of water from her inventory and tossed it to Han Yeoreum.
"Here. You're making such a fuss over water... What a petty bitch."
"P-Petty!? You just called me petty?"
"What else would you call it? In all my life, I've never seen a guy make a stink over a single bottle of water."
Han Yeoreum forgot all about spiking the water with hallucinogens and flew into a rage at Min Hayeon's words.
"After all the love I've shown you, how can you talk to me like that!?"
"Hahaha... love? Is cheating love too?"
"Y-You gave me permission! Why are you flipping out now!?"
"...You fucking dog."
"F-F-Fucking dog!?"
Unable to hold back any longer after hearing Min Hayeon's curse for the first time, Han Yeoreum started spilling everything about Seong Su-ho.
"You weren't like this before! Something's off! You changed after meeting that bastard!"
"Haah... That's hilarious. If anything, meeting Su-ho brought out my true self."
"Do you know what kind of guy Seong Su-ho is? You'll regret ever liking a fucking dog like him later."
"..."
"See? You thought he was decent because he's got some skills, but look at what he's doing now!"
"...What are you talking about?"
Excited at the chance to tell Min Hayeon about Seong Su-ho's sleazy deeds, Han Yeoreum blurted it all out without holding back.
"Do you know what he did last night? He went to Han Bom. And with you gone, they started biting and sucking at each other, showing their true colors."
Min Hayeon's face twisted in a mix of anguish and fury as she muttered.
"...Stop."
But seeing her expression, Han Yeoreum thought her words were hitting home and grew even bolder.
"I mean, what's so great about a guy like that? Why was Han Bom panting like a bitch in heat?"
"Stop..."
"The girl who swore she'd never care about guys, moaning like a whore just because he's skilled..."
"I said STOP IT, YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!"
Min Hayeon's lion-like roar turned Han Yeoreum to ice. She floundered in panic, mumbling incoherently.
"I-I just thought you should know about him..."
"Don't make me laugh! And you call yourself Bom's brother? You shitty bastard!"
"H-Hayeon! Calm down... I mean..."
"Why the hell would you tell me that!?"
As Min Hayeon scolded Han Yeoreum, the other party members arrived and started calming her down.
"What's going on with you two?"
"S-Sis! You okay?"
Min Hayeon, suddenly surrounded by the others, couldn't vent her boiling rage and just huffed in frustration.
"Hah... hah... It's nothing."
Even as she caught her breath, trying to calm herself, her eyes caught sight of Seong Su-ho.
'Why did it have to be Bom...'
While Min Hayeon stewed in silent fury, Seong Su-ho approached with concern.
"Hayeon, you okay?"
"..."
Min Hayeon made a pained face for a moment at the sight of him worrying about her, then walked off to another spot.
"Sorry for the noise."
With those words, she left the area for a quieter place.
Her anger from earlier still unresolved, Min Hayeon inwardly cursed Han Yeoreum.
'Fucking bastard! And you call yourself Bom's brother? Instead of covering for her...'
Despite her rage at Han Yeoreum's actions, Min Hayeon felt a grim certainty settle in.
'So I was right after all...'
Tears welled up as she recalled the worries she'd been nursing for days.
She could have understood if it were another woman.
Her heart had opened to the point where she thought she could just steal her back.
But not Han Bom.
'How do I even bring this up...'
Min Hayeon wiped her tears, steadying her resolve.
While she was alone, the others finished eating and began packing up.
In the meantime, she slipped over to Yang Ji-hyeon and whispered.
"Um... I have a favor to ask."
"Yes?"
"About the group members..."
Min Hayeon named the members she wanted to travel with, and Yang Ji-hyeon nodded readily.
"Sure, I'll swap them as you said later. But... are you really okay with that?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Thanks."
Hearing Yang Ji-hyeon's reply, Min Hayeon expressed her gratitude and thought.
'This time... let's talk it out properly.'
With that in mind, she waited for the dungeon exploration to resume.
But the exploration time she awaited never came—instead, the one person she didn't want to see approached.
"H-Hayeon."
"Haah..."
Unlike before, Han Yeoreum awkwardly gauged Min Hayeon's mood.
"H-Hayeon... Sorry about earlier. I was too thoughtless..."
"Haah... Whatever. Just leave me alone."
"...Hayeon, take this."
"Huh?"
The item catching Min Hayeon's eye was a sharply honed dagger.
Despite its keen edge, the decoration was crude, the kind that would gather dust on a shop shelf forever, unremarkable and plain.
In Korea, shoving it in someone's face might intimidate, but here, it felt utterly harmless and cheap.
"What's this?"
"I-I picked it up by chance. Use it if you're in danger."
"No thanks."
Min Hayeon wanted nothing from Han Yeoreum, not even a single point right now.
Especially not after that weird look over one sip of water—she couldn't forget it if she tried.
But ignoring her cold rejection, Han Yeoreum forced the dagger into her hand.
"It looks rough, but it's actually pretty good."
Min Hayeon took it, shoved it into her inventory without checking the stats, and said.
"Haah... Fine. Just leave me alone."
"...Okay."
Han Yeoreum slunk away, and as she left, Min Hayeon felt a headache coming on, inwardly fuming.
'Haah... I have to stick with her anyway. Once I sort out the Bom issue, I'll dump her ass.'
Until now, she'd kept dating Han Yeoreum under the pretext of revenge while staying with Seong Su-ho.
It had been forced, but now she felt ready to cut ties without regret.
As she pondered, she remembered the dagger, pulled it from her inventory, and checked it.
Unremarkable exterior belies deadly power
Effect:Inflicts unhealable bleeding + curse
"...What the? Bleeding? Curse?"
The dagger's abilities were far more dangerous than its plain looks suggested.
"Where the hell did she even get something like this... Her luck is insanely good..."
Min Hayeon was turning it over, inspecting it, when...
"Hayeon-ssi. Time to head out."
Yang Ji-hyeon's voice called from afar, ending her examination.
"Yeah, coming."
Min Hayeon carefully stored the dagger without nicking herself and thought.
'Well... might come in handy.'
With that, she headed to Yang Ji-hyeon.
..
..
"Alright, see you at the next point."
At Yang Ji-hyeon's words, everyone nodded and split off at the fork.
One group: Yang Ji-hyeon with the trio.
The other: Seong Su-ho, Han Bom, Min Hayeon, and Han Yeoreum.
The mood difference was stark on the surface.
The trio chatted amiably, while Min Hayeon's group exchanged not a single word.
Even so, one person approached Min Hayeon to speak.
"Sis..."
"..."
Han Bom whispered so no one else could hear.
"Sis, did Oppa do anything weird earlier?"
"...No."
Min Hayeon snapped curtly without thinking, then inwardly winced.
'Haah... That's not how I meant to respond.'
But despite her cold reply, Han Bom sighed in relief.
"Good... I was worried he'd done something strange to you."
"..."
Feeling guilty at Han Bom's relieved expression, Min Hayeon took the lead.
"Let's go."
The moment Min Hayeon stepped into the central passage...
A blinding light flooded in.
Shwaaaaa...
"Ugh!"
The light vanished quickly, altering the surroundings.
No... They'd been moved to a new environment.
"Where are we?"
Min Hayeon panicked at the sudden forest replacing the fork.
Realizing they'd teleported, she frantically scanned for Seong Su-ho and Han Bom.
But as she looked around, a massive headache tore through her skull.
'Kugh... What is this? Did coming outside trigger it?'
Guessing at the cause, she forced herself to survey the area.
And then...
"Hngh!"
Her vision rippled like waves.
Min Hayeon, who had the focus to become a national archery representative as a kid, was utterly bewildered by this alien sensation she'd never felt before. She clutched her head in terror.
As she did, garbled voices seeped into her ears from around her.
"—_—_—!?"
"—!"
Min Hayeon whipped her head toward the sounds.
Maybe Seong Su-ho and Han Bom? But what she saw made her recoil in horror.
"Wh-What!?"
Red Summoners.
In that moment, no calm rationality existed for Min Hayeon.
Just the instinct to survive—and to shoot her bow.
Defying her fear, her body reacted. She nocked an arrow and fired at one Red Summoner.
Shwaaaaak!
The Red Summoner panicked, crossing his arms in an X over his face.
Min Hayeon was certain.
'Hit first, run later... What!?'
Her arrow, flying true, was intercepted by another Red Summoner nearby and shattered.
"Fuck! What the—another one!?"
Min Hayeon spun around in shock. Another Red Summoner stared back at her.
Shwaaaaak! Crackle!
"—____———!!"
To break the encirclement, she swiftly nocked and loosed another arrow.
Her precise shot embedded in the Red Summoner's shoulder like ornate jewelry.
"—_——__-!!!"
The Red Summoner crumpled, writhing on the ground with strange cries.
'Run for it!'
Judging the odds poor, Min Hayeon trampled the flailing one and sprinted away.
'Why the hell are these guys here!?'
Her mind couldn't distinguish reality from hallucination.
Yet one thread of reason pierced through: a single thought.
"Where are Bom and Su-ho!?"
Even as she ran, she searched for Han Bom and Seong Su-ho.
Fear gnawed that she'd left them behind, but she had no choice but to flee from potential pursuers.
"Th-They weren't at the last spot! They must've been summoned elsewhere! Gotta find them fast!"
Like her escape from the 0th floor boss, she ran without pause.
But she couldn't spot Han Bom or Seong Su-ho anywhere.
'Hah... hah... Dizzy... At this rate...'
Dizzy to her core, Min Hayeon hid in a rock crevice.
Even huddled there, her mind fixated on Han Bom and Seong Su-ho.
'I don't want it to end like this! Find them first...'
That's when she heard it.
Step, step, step.
'Coming again... What do I do? Can't run forever... Ah!'
Remembering Han Yeoreum's dagger, she drew it from her inventory.
'Right. Let's use this!'
Steadying her breath, she waited for the Red Summoner to draw near.
Step.
The moment she sensed it right beside her...
'Now!'
Gripping the dagger with both hands, she lunged at the passing Red Summoner.
Crunch!
'Got it!'
She plunged the dagger deep into the Red Summoner.
"—!"
The man yelped and staggered back.
Min Hayeon had no dagger experience, so it missed the face—stabbing his arm instead.
'If the curse works on these guys too, continuous damage is better. Run again!'
As she stored the dagger and prepared to bolt...
"Again!?"
Four more Red Summoners blocked her path.
'Th-This is bad!'
As panic crossed her face...
"—__——-!"
The arm-stabbed Red Summoner stepped forward, raising his wounded arm to aim at the others—as if targeting them with an arrow.
'Wh-What? Is he... protecting me?'
Even in her irrational state, the Red Summoner in front felt like a shield.
But then, her brain cells quieted, draining the tension from her body.
Strength ebbed away, drowsiness set in, her eyes grew heavy.
'N-No... Can't lose focus now...'
Her body ignored her desperation, and she collapsed on the spot.