The Shadow Stalker's Feast
The two shadows moved through the pitch-black cave.
One was Yoo Hwa-young, with vivid red hair that seemed to burn like flames and ruby-red eyes that gleamed like gems. The other was Cheon Seong, black hair like polished obsidian and eyes as dark as the void itself.
They had been trapped in this dungeon by the sudden emergence of a dungeon erosion-type eater without any warning. To escape, they pushed deeper, slaying monsters along the way and heading toward the boss at the end of the dungeon.
But the cave-like dungeon was a labyrinth inside, leaving the two of them completely lost in their search for the boss.
“Uaaaaah! Dead end again!”
“Don’t yell. More monsters are coming!”
“I know that! How many dead ends have we hit already?!”
Thirty-seven.
That was the number of dead ends they had encountered so far. In other words, they had found thirty-seven branches and dead ends since entering the dungeon.
It had been about an hour since they entered.
For a dungeon that had appeared in the academy, the monsters that came out were mostly low-rank goblins, and there weren’t many—barely ten at most. They had made it this far without much damage, but at this rate they wouldn’t have enough stamina left to reach the boss.
These weak mobs meant the dungeon’s real strength was concentrated in its boss, so they had to preserve their energy as much as possible. Hwa-young’s frustration was understandable.
“I understand how you feel, but stay calm. If we keep running into monsters like this, we’ll only be delaying our arrival at the boss.”
“Hah— I know that too. How can you stay calm in this situation? You must feel it too. The further we go, the stronger the monsters get.”
Cheon Seong knew that the monsters grew stronger the deeper they went. At first he thought he was just tired and mistaken, but that wasn’t the case. He didn’t know why, but the monsters were steadily becoming stronger.
Compared to the monsters he had encountered at the beginning, these were roughly twice as strong. On top of that, the types of monsters had shifted. Earlier it was only low-rank, but now mid-rank ones started appearing—one or two at a time. Maintaining calm in that kind of situation was harder than anything else.
He could stay calm because of memories and experience from his previous life. Yoo Hwa-young, a genius fire mage who had entered the academy just recently, was a greenhorn in every sense. Maintaining composure under these conditions was absurd.
“Even if that’s the case, you’re just wasting your strength. If you can’t stand it, ask me. I’ll answer as much as I can.”
Questions like that made him feel interrogated, but looking after his teammates was part of the leader’s job. He wasn’t exactly a leader, but right now the only one who could support Hwa-young’s mental state was him. There was no other choice.
“What’s wrong with you? The usual you would have asked everything without hesitation.”
“That’s because you only ever ask about the same things.”
“That sounds like an insult.”
“It’s not an insult. If you have questions, ask them. When monsters appear I won’t be able to answer even if I want to.”
Given the limited space, combat required constant awareness of allies’ damage and restricted movement. With his orders ringing in her ears, Hwa-young hesitated for a moment, fidgeting with her fingers before asking.
“Then why did you come to me when the dungeon first appeared? Yuna had already left, didn’t she?”
She considered him a friend, but she didn’t know how he really felt about her. She couldn’t understand why he had come to her instead of to Yuna, whom he had already abandoned.
If she had been hurt or not, or if Yuna had left or not, Seong would have gone to Yuna. Why had he come to her? That was what she asked. Seong answered calmly, as if it were nothing.
“I don’t know. It just felt like no one else was there at the time.”
“Eek—”
The casual words that only she existed for Seong made Hwa-young feel as though blood was rushing to her head. She touched her cheek and felt the heat from his hand, startling her. She shook her head vigorously, thinking.
‘Crazy girl, what are you doing?! He’s already taken!’
She had convinced herself to give up and accept her fate, but when she realized the guy had risked his life to protect her, the words she had repeated—“just friends”—melted away like snow in the sun.
She froze.
Seong, who had been leading, suddenly stopped and took a fighting stance before speaking to her.
“Listen, this time I won’t protect you.”
“What? What do you mean all of a sudden—”
Before Hwa-young could ask what he meant, Seong pushed her body away with force. The impact sent her tumbling backward, leaving her speechless.
Thud!
“Ouch, you! What the heck are you doing?!”
Thud—!!!
Seong’s sudden push sent her crashing, but he answered her shout with a massive boom right beside her.
“…Eh?”
Kiirireireek!!!
Seong’s figure had vanished from sight, and an eerie howl echoed from behind. Hwa-young turned around slowly, as if her neck were rusty. In her ruby-red eyes, she saw Seong pinned against the dungeon wall, and right in front of him stood a monster that looked like a mix of a black panther and a bat—clearly the one that had let out that strange cry.
Shadow Stalker.
A high-rank monster that lurked in shadows and ambushed its targets.
Its defense and regeneration were inferior to those of other high-rank monsters, but the reason it was classified as high-rank was its unique ability.
Ability to hide in shadows.
Irregular appearances. Ability to avoid attacks and retreat into shadows to recover whenever someone got close. That was how the Shadow Stalker was classified as high-rank.
But that also made its weakness crystal clear.
Fire and light.
Because it hid in shadows, destroying the shadows around it would prevent it from using its ability. The Shadow Stalker was also weak to fire and light. Hwa-young, whose main specialty was fire magic, held the advantage in that matchup, but the location was terrible.
The dungeon was narrow and humid. Using fire magic was difficult, and even if she managed it somehow, the fire would consume the surrounding oxygen. The Shadow Stalker usually appeared in dark, humid, enclosed spaces like caves and was defeated with light magic in most cases. Unfortunately, Hwa-young didn’t know any light-attribute attack magic.
She could use basic light magic, but not enough to use it as an attack spell because of her poor affinity.
‘Damn it, I still have to try!’
Light.
Whaaah—!
Kiirireireek!!
The Shadow Stalker, which had been trying to attack the pinned Seong with the light magic, retreated into the shadows, screaming in agony.
Just summoning a small sphere of light wasn’t enough to deal serious damage, but it was enough to make the monster miserable.
“Hey, get up. I don’t know any light-attribute attack magic.”
Hwa-young used several Light spells to keep the Shadow Stalker at bay and woke the fallen Seong.
It was a guess, but since she could use various magic including healing and buff spells, and she knew Seong could use light-attribute attack magic, she had done what she thought was best.
She had been watching him in her mind—imagining him guarding the Shadow Stalker and finishing it off with attack magic. But the words that betrayed her expectations came next.
“Can’t.”
“What? You don’t know light-attribute attack magic either?”
When Hwa-young asked in a panic, Seong said it wasn’t that and that he did know the magic. When she asked what the problem was, he stood up and answered.
“Mana… is lacking… That’s why I can’t… ugh… use magic.”
He had been maintaining the defense spell he had cast on Yuna during sparring sessions to prepare for dungeon erosion, but the mana he had used to approach the collapsing Hwa-young meant that all his mana had been drained by body reinforcement. Only a tiny amount remained.
Hooong— Kwajik!
Before Seong could even finish saying he lacked mana, the Shadow Stalker emerged from the darkness, shattered the Light, and vanished back into the shadows.
The monster had sensed there was no way to attack him and was trying to drag the fight into a war of attrition.
“Tch, too smart for its own good. Fine. I’ll hold out until my mana recovers. Hurry—”
“A day.”
“…What?”
“I need… a day… to use light magic… Hah… to recover my mana…”
Seong’s words were despairing—he didn’t mean full recovery, just a day to cast one spell. Hwa-young’s voice trembled as she tried to speak, but it shook without any hiding.
“N-no, don’t lie. J-just do it already.”
There was a plea in her voice begging him not to lie. But Seong’s words were the truth. Because of his Five Colors, his mana recovery speed was tens of times slower than others. He had been using mana only for body reinforcement to save it as much as possible.
Kwazik!!
Kwazik!!
The Shadow Stalker, now slightly accustomed to the light, reappeared from the shadows and shattered two Lights before retreating again.
From the silence after Seong’s words, Hwa-young sensed it was not a lie but sincerity. Her body shook like aspen leaves. Her legs finally gave out and she began to collapse.
Tap.
‘It’s really true… Hwa-young, you really can’t do without me.’
“M-Master?”
‘You only call me Master when you truly need me. It’s so hard to hear “Master” from my own disciple.’
Beatrice—Cheon Hwa-young’s original ability lived within her. Since childhood she had protected Hwa-young and taught her magic. The figure that appeared behind her was no longer a small character doll. It was the form of a flame woman, taller than herself with features that looked exactly like her. Beatrice, trembling, gently helped Hwa-young sit beside Seong and stroked her head to calm her.
‘I’ll help you. Stay here and wait.’
Stroke after stroke, Hwa-young’s red hair faded from red to brown, and the blurry figure of Beatrice grew clearer. But Hwa-young offered no resistance.
She knew Beatrice’s actions were meant to help, not harm her.
‘Well then, you beast, you’ll pay for making my disciple cry?’
Flame, flare!
Beatrice’s now-clear figure waved her flaming clothes and sent a message to the Shadow Stalker watching them from the darkness. She clasped her hands together.
‘The price is your death.’
Clap—!
Flare! Flare!
A flame orb appeared along with the clap that announced the prayer.
Kiirireireeek!!!
The light created by Beatrice forced the Shadow Stalker out of the shadows in agony, screaming.
Even though it was an advanced monster, the light from flames was enough to make it unable to endure the pain and flee to safety.
‘It may not be enough for a beast, but I offer this as a gift for the afterlife.’
Beatrice slowly thrust her fist toward the flame orb. The entire dungeon was engulfed in red light.
When the light faded, only a single glowing gemstone remained where the Shadow Stalker had stood.
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…
…
…
…
…
‘Ugh… what… what happened?’
She felt a pleasant touch behind her head.
She had passed out from using too much mana at once and reaching her limit, but what had happened?
Hwa-young had been guarding the Shadow Stalker and trembling, but after that she had no memory. Her mind had stopped working.
‘I… I have to get up…’
At the end she felt she had seen the previous Hwa-young. She needed to confirm it, but her mind and mana were completely drained. Without mana left to reinforce her body, her strength wouldn’t return, yet she felt a pleasant touch behind her head. She didn’t want to get up.
Behind that pleasant touch, a sweet strawberry scent seemed to waft. Whatever this touch was, it felt incredibly familiar.
Where had she felt this before?
It was definitely familiar to her…
Scrub.
“Eek…!”
Thinking hard about the touch behind her head, Seong moved his body and heard a familiar voice. His eyes snapped open.
When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Hwa-young’s face looking down at her.
Blink, blink blink.
Seong, unable to understand the situation, blinked and looked up at Hwa-young, who was staring down at him.
Now that he looked, Hwa-young’s face was flushed red.
But he felt something hard and rough behind his back. He had been lying on the dungeon floor. Why was he looking at the ceiling? And why was Hwa-young’s face so close?
Seong kept blinking as Hwa-young spoke in a voice full of embarrassment.
“If you’ve come to your senses, stop lying there.”
“Eh, ah… s-sorry…?”
“…If you’re sorry, get up already.”
The pleasant touch behind his head had been Hwa-young’s thigh. Looking at Hwa-young’s embarrassed gaze, Seong felt awkward and sat up.
Stagger!
“Ah…”
Tap.
“Hah… Rest a bit first.”
But even though his body was still weak, when he tried to stand he staggered. Hwa-young caught him, sighed, and gently lowered him back onto her knees.
He realized the pleasant sensation was her lap pillow, and the discomfort of lying on a bed of nails filled him. While Seong was looking at her with questioning eyes, Hwa-young spoke first.
“You said there was no mana, right? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s nothing. There was no need to mention it—”
“Why does it not matter?”
Before he could finish, Hwa-young asked again.
“Why are you trying to carry everything alone? Do you know you almost died just now? In situations like this, we can rely on each other.”
“……”
Seong had no answer for Hwa-young’s words.
He had heard it from Yuna and Beatrice, and from the teammates in his previous life too. Every time someone sacrificed everything to protect the others, it ended in death. But he wasn’t that stupid yet to say it now.
The awkward silence spread through the dungeon. Seong avoided Hwa-young’s gaze as she stared at him. Hwa-young turned his head so he faced her and urged him to answer.
“Don’t avoid it. Answer me. Or are you saying you don’t trust me?”
“That’s not true.”
When he stayed silent again, Hwa-young’s expression looked as if she might cry. Seong answered, and Hwa-young grabbed his cheek and spoke with strength.
“I won’t ask you to always trust me. But before we leave this place, trust me and rely on me… Please.”
Hwa-young’s plea for him to trust her even in the dungeon made Seong hesitate for a moment. Then he forced himself to stand up.
Squeak.
“Hey! Don’t push yourself. Rest a little longer—”
“That’s fine. But do you have the Shadow Stalker’s gemstone?”
“Ah, you mean that. I have it, but… why are you asking now?”
While trying to stop him from resting, Hwa-young asked Seong if he had the gemstone. Seong leaned against the wall and asked her if she had it. Hwa-young handed him the gemstone she had picked up after he fainted and asked.
“You said to trust and rely on me, right?”
“Y-yes? Uh, yeah.”
“No matter what you say, you probably won’t believe it. So I’ll show you what I’ve been hiding.”
When Seong said he would show her what he had hidden, Hwa-young stared at him in silence. Seong smiled faintly and toyed with the Shadow Stalker’s gemstone in his hand before swallowing it right in front of her eyes.
Then.
Swallow!
Seong’s throat moved. Hwa-young pinched her own cheek as if she were seeing something impossible and smiled at him.
“This is my secret.”
“Y-you crazy—! Spit it out! Gems contain poison!!”
It was basic knowledge that gems contained poison and couldn’t be absorbed. Hwa-young shook Seong, face pale, telling him to spit it out. Seong calmed her and materialized the mana recovered through absorbing the gem’s poison a little.
Hwa-young’s eyes widened in amazement. Seong smiled again and spoke to her, mouth wide open like someone who had seen a miracle.
“The poison in the gem. I can purify and absorb it. That is my secret.”
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…
The absorption of gems, something the world’s greatest scholars had declared impossible, had been casually achieved by Seong.
Hwa-young could not hide her shock. Watching him laugh while using recovery magic with the restored mana made her truly realize he was alive.
Of course, since the Shadow Stalker was not the boss, the dungeon was not cleared. But the single fact that Seong could recover mana with the gemstone brought a ray of hope that had felt distant until now.
“Ugh… sorry, Hwa-young… I don’t think I can help anymore.”
Even Beatrice, who had defeated the Shadow Stalker, was in no condition to help after using her power to the limit for the first time in a long time.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Seong’s gaze as he laughed at her made her heart race.
She had thought he had given up, but maybe humans truly became honest in the face of death. She finally understood exactly what she felt toward him.
I like Cheon Seong. I love him.
That man in front of me—I love as a woman.
I love the cold Seong who always looked at me and protected me.
“Hey, Seong.”
“What? Is there somewhere else that hurts?”
His injury was worse and his mana was recovering, yet he had healed her first and asked if there was anywhere else that hurt. His tone was cold, but the warmth and worry for her in his words made her heart flutter again. She gathered her courage and moved.
Tap!
“What the— suddenly—”
Click.
Hwa-young lifted Seong’s head and looked into his eyes. She leaned in and kissed him.
Surprised by the sudden action, Seong widened his eyes and tried to push her away. But he still lacked strength, so he couldn’t escape Hwa-young’s grip.
Time passed only for her. The dungeon, once cold and dark, filled with the warmth of crimson light.
When Hwa-young slowly pulled away and stepped back, Seong blinked in disbelief. Smiling gently, she spoke to him.
“I like you. I love the man named Cheon Seong.”
Even with her bright smile, Seong had no words.