Illusions of Agony

The people I needed to monitor... This is brutal... The man foamed at the mouth, his pupils shaking violently. In the desperate final moments of a life-or-death battle against those bats, she had cast light-based illusion magic to drag him all the way to rock bottom. It was the kind of method that would only emerge after dedicated research into exactly how to draw out the most painful expressions possible. This wasn't ordinary cunning. If I'd known about this ability beforehand, I would have added far more conditions to the oath. It was highly likely that Ju Ye-seul hadn't breathed a word of this particular power to anyone, not even her own party members. So I couldn't exactly blame Hong Yong-seok or Yeom Tae-seok for the way they'd drafted it.

"Kuhuk... Glurk..."

The man was still foaming, but he was slowly regaining his composure. After scanning the area for a long while, Ju Ye-seul finally noticed the man I'd moved to the back, now lying alone on the floor. She tilted her head, her face twisting in confusion.

Wow. That bitch really held back a ridiculous amount of strength.

She'd had the highest stats among the hunters outside our party, so it made sense that she was holding up well, but she looked far better than any of the others. Ah... It was those chains. The mana chains I'd cast on the man were gradually being absorbed into her body, and her condition was improving in direct proportion. Those chains had sucked up the mana that had scattered into the air from the man suffering under her illusions.

So it's an ability that absorbs mana mixed with dark emotions. For a light-affinity user, that's one nasty trick.

After spotting the relocated man, Ju Ye-seul grew extremely cautious. Naturally. Realizing someone had caught onto what she'd been doing must have sent a chill down her spine. Just do your damn job. I'll let you live until we get out of here.

Still, I wanted to keep a closer eye on her just in case, but the hunters clinging to me after I'd returned from moving the man made that difficult. They stuck to my back like glue, terrified I might slip away again. It was oddly refreshing to see hunters—symbols of strength—hunched over like goblins, bodies drawn tight.

It had already been twenty minutes since potions and Irmana's lake water stopped restoring our party members. The hunters gathered in a circle around me pressed their backs together and held on with everything they had.

How much time passed after that?

Thud!

We finally exterminated every last one of those bat bastards.

"Haa..."

"......"

Normally this would be the moment for thunderous cheers, but the cavern remained deathly quiet. Their eyes shone with joy and the relief of survival, yet the only sounds were the ragged, broken gasps of their breathing.

I had prepared a large supply of brown bottles filled with Irmana's lake water, so I pressed one into the hand of each hunter who had collapsed from exhaustion. Since I'd only ever given these to our own party before, everyone stared at them with puzzled faces.

"Heek... Hack... What is this...?"

"A potion?"

"It doesn't even have a color..."

When I offered no response, the fallen hunters all turned their heads toward Yeonhee at once.

"... Drinking it will restore your body considerably. Unlike potions, it's a medicine that slowly heals internal injuries..."

Even speaking a single sentence seemed to cost Yeonhee great effort, but her kind nature remained intact as she calmly explained.

"Ooh... A potion like that exists in this world..."

"Gulp— Mmm...?! Is this mana?"

Those who had already taken a drink began twisting their bodies and letting out strange moans. It wasn't so bad from the women, but watching burly men writhe like that was not a pleasant sight for me. Right on cue, one man couldn't hold back and let out a loud groan.

"Kuuuugh... Kuhaak! G-going!!"

Aigoo, sir, where exactly are you headed...

Regret flooded me for handing them out, but then Yeonhee leaned against my shoulder and gave me a thumbs-up in approval. I carefully wiped her face—messy with bat flesh and blood—using a wet tissue.

"Hehe... I like this..."

The wiping?

"Keep going... Yeah. Right there."

She lifted the collar of her blood-stained shirt, revealing the skin beneath, and looked up at me with a faintly mischievous expression.

Now she's even pulling pranks like this.

I gently stroked the earlobe I'd persistently nibbled on that dawn.

"Eutg... Hah, don't..."

The seductive glance she'd been giving me vanished in an instant as her face flushed and she returned to her usual expression.

"......"

I could feel No Hayun and Baek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠A-rin's gazes on us from a distance. Our eyes met for a brief moment. No Hayun pressed the back of her hand to her reddened cheek and awkwardly turned her gaze away at an angle.

She has a cute side during moments like these...

Seeing her blush and look away made me think that, but she was dangerous in too many ways. I needed to keep my distance. If Yeonhee were influenced by her... it would be trouble.

...Or would it? Come to think of it, hadn't Yeonhee already stepped far beyond the bounds of normal?

While I carried on a pointless internal debate, the wall blocking the passage opposite the one we'd entered slowly split apart from left to right, revealing a space we had never seen before.

"Uwooooooh! Finally!"

A hunter lying on his side in a fetal position shouted with wild excitement. It made sense—when a door like that opened in a dungeon, it usually meant their business here was finished.

The message that popped into everyone's heads announced that the massive stone wall would close in three hours. Several hunters twitched and looked ready to sprint down the passage, but the others quickly stopped them.

Hong Yong-seok looked at the ones trying to run and spoke calmly.

"Settle down. In other words, it won't close until those three hours are up."

The hunters, their judgment clouded by exhaustion, gave small nods at his explanation.

"We can rest properly for about two and a half hours."

That's right. We had been granted safe resting time until the door closed. A break guaranteed by the System. This was something to enjoy.

Yeonhee dismissed all her summons except me, then dropped heavily onto the cushion I'd laid out. I sat beside her and smiled with satisfaction at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the message floating in my mind.

One of the job-change conditions was finally complete. The greatsword requirement would be done soon, and only the dagger condition remained. If I transformed the greatsword attached to my left hand into dagger form and used both hands, the pace would pick up considerably.

At this rate, I already have more than enough.

My current level was 53. Since I needed to reach 60 before the job change anyway, there was no need to get anxious even if the dagger quest progressed slowly. I just needed to pay more attention to experience gain from now on.

The problem is that this place is going to close...

Usually when a top-tier dungeon of a certain rank closed and disappeared, the monsters in the dungeons below it would grow stronger and take its place.

So that's why the orc dungeon became so difficult?

When I thought about it, everything was connected in a chain. My one worry was whether the experience gained from hunting monsters here would be the same once the orc dungeon was upgraded.

Hmm... Not sure.

If it came down to it, it might be faster to find one of the villains and slit his throat for quick leveling. Cha Jin-hyeok... I'll need to gather some information on him soon.

Cha Jin-hyeok—the villain who hunted other villains, known as the Mad Judge. If experience gain proved too difficult, he would be my next target.

While I was tidying Yeonhee's disheveled hair, another message appeared.

Hm?

I quickly checked the Mimicry target list. No Hayun and Baek A-rin's information collection had shot up dramatically. No Hayun had already passed seventy percent. Ham Eun-yeong climbed all the way to fourth place...? And it wasn't just a simple bard—she had an epithet attached to her class.

I glanced over at Ham Eun-yeong.

Hehe... R-right...? I think I'm pretty amazing...

......

Ham Eun-yeong was muttering incomprehensibly to the demon inside her hand mirror. When I examined the mana surrounding her body, it was clearly different from before we'd entered the cave.

Now that I look... I can see it faintly.

I turned to check on the people who had been exhausted. The mana in their bodies had been a chaotic mess, but now it was recovering rapidly. Irmana's lake water alone couldn't produce this kind of effect. From the hunters' expressions, they themselves didn't seem to understand why they were recovering so well. The gentle mana glow was so faint that even I could barely see it. It seemed Ham Eun-yeong had either awakened a new ability or dramatically strengthened an existing one.

An ability that restores allies without them even noticing the effect... Her growth is fast. Dangerous...

The reason I attached the word "dangerous" to an ally-recovery ability was because a bard's growth wasn't limited to support alone. Hunters capable of inflicting status abnormalities without triggering messages were extremely dangerous. They could end up under special division surveillance even if they never committed any crimes. People like Jeong Hyochan from the Hunter Administration Office, who could distinguish truth from lies, were prime examples.

......

The massive two-horned demon that had emerged from the hand mirror and Ham Eun-yeong, who carried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the blood of an early-stage awakener. I should keep her close... She was someone I needed to manage by keeping her at my side. It would be good to gather more information on her as well.

But she doesn't talk much. I need to create at least some connection.

Come to think of it, ever since we'd entered this dungeon, Ham Eun-yeong had been hovering around No Hayun. Normally No Hayun would have noticed immediately, but because they had been so far apart, there had been no progress at all.

She seems to want to get closer...

If I helped the two of them become friends, wouldn't her information collection rise significantly? I pondered how I should go about it, then realized I didn't need to overthink something like this. If I just acted, something would work out.

I stood up abruptly.

"Hm? Where are you going, Ilwol— eugh...!"

After lightly pinching and stroking Yeonhee's ear, I walked over to Ham Eun-yeong.

"... Uh?"

Why does this girl always talk like that...?

Sometimes she spoke fluently, but most of the time she used this incoherent, almost mute-like speech. There must be some story behind it. I gestured for Ham Eun-yeong to follow me.