Trust Me and Die
Objective: Defeat the Giant Wyvern.
Reward: Breath Energy Condensation Core
...A special event?
I looked back and forth between the system window and the sky.
From what I knew, a normal wyvern was about the size of a large city bus.
But that thing up there wasn't a bus. It was the size of an airplane.
"It says it's a Giant Wyvern."
"...I just saw the notification as well," Choi Muryeong replied, sounding surprisingly calm.
"A Giant Wyvern is a monster I have never heard of before."
"Really?"
I let out a dry laugh as I watched the Giant Wyvern draw closer.
"Which means either it's never appeared before..."
"..."
"...or everyone who ran into it died."
"Most likely."
We hadn't even killed a normal wyvern yet, and now a Giant Wyvern?
This was turning into a real pain.
Choi Muryeong watched me click my tongue before speaking up.
"Do you have an Emergency Escape Ticket?"
I nodded.
"Then it would be best to use the Emergency Escape Ticket to return for now."
It was a logical choice, very typical of Choi Muryeong.
However...
"..."
Choi Muryeong's face suddenly stiffened.
"What's wrong?"
"...The Emergency Escape Ticket cannot be used."
Huh?
That shouldn't be possible.
The Emergency Escape Ticket was an item that was supposed to work on any map without conditions.
Even Leo White had used one on the 66th floor.
Which meant it should function normally up to the 66th floor.
"Let me try."
I opened my inventory and used my own Emergency Escape Ticket.
A moment later...
The Emergency Escape Ticket cannot be used on this map.
"...Huh?"
What kind of nonsense was this?
Did the system not know what the word 'emergency' meant?
What were we supposed to do if we couldn't escape?!
"Is it a glitch...?"
"I do not believe so."
Choi Muryeong shook his head after trying a few more times.
Then, he spoke.
"It seems we can only leave once we clear this stage."
Choi Muryeong drew his sword.
Sssring.
Four more swords materialized behind his back.
He didn't show a single hint of panic.
He's quick to assess the situation.
Normally, people would stumble and hesitate.
But instead of panicking, he drew his weapons first.
"Tsk..."
Clicking my tongue, I drew the Sword of Disaster.
"Shall I cover you again this time?" Choi Muryeong asked.
I shook my head.
"No. Let's split up, left and right."
First, we had to tear its wings.
If we couldn't tear them off, we at least had to poke holes in them.
Understanding my intent, Choi Muryeong nodded.
"I will take the right."
That naturally left the left side to me.
Rumbleeee...
The Giant Wyvern's wings blanketed the sky.
The shadowed ground beneath it grew as dark as night.
Whooooosh!
Every flap of its wings ripped through the air with a deafening roar.
The sheer force of it shook the earth.
The shadow stopped moving.
It's hovering...!
Which meant...
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
Kieeeeeee!
Before we could even identify what kind of attack it was...
Creeeeak!
A breath of energy shot down in a straight line, engulfing the spot where Choi Muryeong and I had just been standing.
Beneath the rising smoke, the red earth was split clean open.
I didn't even need to think about it.
If that hits us, we're dead.
I glanced back up at the sky.
One...
Two...
Three...
Four...
Five...
Six...
Kieeeeeee!
The time it took for the next breath was exactly six seconds.
Which meant...
We only have a six-second window.
It was too short.
Normally it would be fine, but right now, we were facing multiple overlapping issues.
First, the opponent was a flying monster.
Second, its massive size meant the distance we had to cover to reach it was huge.
Third, the cooldown of Echo Walker was seven seconds.
And finally...
Aside from the Giant Wyvern, there were no other living creatures around to kill, meaning I couldn't activate Killing Time.
Boom!
Without even giving us time to organize our thoughts, we were forced to roll across the red dirt.
"Can you get up there with Quantum Leap?"
"It is impossible. Unless there is some kind of structure nearby."
There was a cliff, but it was too far away.
We would definitely be roasted to a crisp by the breath before we could even reach it.
So we had to settle things right here, but...
Boom!
Had six seconds already passed?
Covered in red dust, we stared at each other.
"Then..."
"I have an idea."
For someone who claimed to have an idea, there wasn't much confidence in Choi Muryeong's eyes.
"What is it?"
"It is impossible to get close to the Giant Wyvern using only Quantum Leap."
"Did you just waste four seconds of our time to tell me that?"
Boom!
The breath narrowly missed us.
"...However, if we use Echo Walker, we might be able to board it."
"How?"
"The maximum distance you can travel with Echo Walker is..."
"Fifty meters!"
"That is enough."
"What do you mean, enough—"
Boom!
Had another six seconds passed already?!
"Puh-ha!"
My mouth felt incredibly gritty from swallowing so much dirt.
"After you teleport to the maximum distance with Echo Walker..."
"Speak faster!"
"If I use consecutive leaps, I should be able to reach the Giant Wyvern!"
"That's actually possible?"
"Perhaps!"
Boom!
Ah, damn it!
I couldn't take this anymore.
I sprang to my feet and extended my arm to Choi Muryeong.
"Hold on tight."
Then, leaping lightly into the air...
Zzzzt!
I blinked forward using Echo Walker.
Whoosh!
We were suspended in midair with absolutely nothing to step on.
The Giant Wyvern was still incredibly far away.
...What the hell is he planning to do from here?
Just as anxiety began to creep in...
Tap!
Choi Muryeong leaped, using one of his own swords as a stepping stone.
Whoosh!
And then another.
Swish!
And another.
Whoosh!
Even after leaping using all four of his swords as stepping stones, the distance between us and the Giant Wyvern was still too wide.
Unless the cooldown of Echo Walker finished right now, this was impossible.
What awaited us was either a fatal fall or the wyvern's breath!
Tap!
It was then.
Choi Muryeong summoned his final sword into the air.
Whoosh!
He used it as a final foothold to leap forward.
And...
Thud!
I drove Jeoldanchamgeuk into the tip of the Giant Wyvern's wing.
The twin daggers lodged precariously between the claw and the wing membrane.
Riiip...
The relatively thin wing membrane began to tear slowly under the blades.
"Hurry, climb up!"
Grab!
Choi Muryeong scrambled up, grabbing onto the claw.
The moment he reached his hand out to me...
Riiip!
The wing membrane tore completely.
And at the same time, we began to fall—
Grab!
...Or so I thought, but Choi Muryeong caught me.
Drip...
Drip...
No, to be precise, he hadn't grabbed me.
Not me.
Slide...
He had grabbed Jeoldanchamgeuk.
Choi Muryeong pulled me up, his hands mangled and shredded by the blades.
"..."
"Haa... haa..."
We survived.
But that wasn't the important part.
Gush...
Blood poured like crazy from Choi Muryeong's half-severed hands.
"What the hell..."
I hadn't anticipated this.
I didn't expect my skills to apply to Choi Muryeong as well.
Whether it was good luck or bad luck, the damage had registered as a critical hit.
The Vampire's Necklace had inflicted the bleeding status effect.
On top of that, the Short Life effect of Jeoldanchamgeuk had blocked all health recovery.
At this rate, he was going to die of blood loss, not from the Giant Wyvern.
Gulp...
I swallowed hard and looked at Choi Muryeong.
His face was rapidly turning pale.
To make matters worse...
Whoosh!
As if realizing we had boarded it, the Giant Wyvern began to fly at breakneck speed.
For something so damn big, it was also incredibly fast.
Thud!
Holding onto Choi Muryeong, I drove Jeoldanchamgeuk deep into the monster's bone.
Thanks to that, we barely managed to hang on, but...
...We can't just keep hanging on like this.
Fortunately, it seemed it couldn't maintain that extreme speed forever.
The Giant Wyvern slowly began to decelerate.
But it would surely try to shake us off again soon.
We're running out of time.
I helped Choi Muryeong up and ran toward the wyvern's torso.
"Haa, haa..."
My breath was ragged, but strangely, my mind grew cold and clear.
Indeed.
Even in this situation, I was calculating how to kill the Giant Wyvern.
To put it coldly...
It was impossible to kill the Giant Wyvern while carrying Choi Muryeong.
Since he couldn't even heal, he was practically dead weight right now.
"..."
Even if I summoned both Belle and Imir, it would barely be enough.
And I was supposed to kill the Giant Wyvern while dragging a liability along?
That was...
...fucking inefficient.
Whoosh!
The Giant Wyvern accelerated to high speed once again.
This time, too, I held on by driving Jeoldanchamgeuk into the wyvern's hide.
Choi Muryeong managed to hold onto me, but...
I could feel it.
The strength was gradually draining from Choi Muryeong's arms.
It was only natural, considering he was bleeding out with no way to heal.
Choi Muryeong undoubtedly knew this as well.
Whoosh...
The Giant Wyvern slowed down once more.
"Haa, haa..."
Catching my breath, I looked to my side.
Choi Muryeong was quickly wrapping his hands with an item that looked like a bandage.
"Whew..."
Wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, I called out his name.
"Choi Muryeong."
"...Yes, Hunter Lee."
"You said it before, didn't you?"
"..."
"That you trust me?"
Choi Muryeong looked at me, clearly confused as to why I was bringing this up now.
"...Yes. I do."
Well, at least he answered.
Good.
"So here's the thing."
"..."
"I don't ask just anyone for this kind of favor."
I pulled out a normal dagger, not Jeoldanchamgeuk, and faced him.
"We're short on time, so..."
"..."
"Could you trust me and die for a bit?"