An Unforgettable Day
Yeonhee poked my ribs as she walked, teasing me in that playful voice of hers. "Today is going to be a day I won't forget. Finding two artifacts! Ilwol, your senses amaze me every single time. How do you do it so well? Huh? Huh?"
I shrugged as if it were no big deal. She kept humming a little tune and skipped along like a rabbit. Every now and then she'd pause, lost in thought, muttering things like 'Those people with the one-eyed symbol...' It seemed the Blue Eye had started to weigh on her mind too. Who knows—maybe she'd even get a reward if she took them out.
Those things... do the robes lack the shadow attack function? The cloaks almost reflexively lash out with shadows to strike. As we walked, I replayed the fight against the Blue Eye members and found myself wondering. I'd learned that not every Blue Eye follower possessed one of those cloaks, but did that mean the ones in robes were so low-ranking they didn't even qualify for one? Or did they have some other role? There was no way to be sure. It was all speculation.
Their branch is structured like a cell network, so we can't pinpoint and raid them... I guess we'll just have to hope we run into them by chance inside a dungeon? Of course, if their goal was hunting artifacts, our paths would cross often. But judging from how they behaved today, their search ability didn't seem anywhere near as good as mine.
Still, the fact they were lurking around the tombs suggests they had some idea where artifacts might be. Hmm...
"Ah, there's the exit."
Before we knew it we'd reached the gate. We said our usual brief goodbye.
"If you wore full-body armor that could cover your face, we could keep going together, couldn't we?"
Some hunters did walk around town in full gear, but none of them covered their faces. We'd definitely get stopped for inspection. Leaving behind Yeonhee's reluctant, longing expression, I was sucked back into the Dark Space.
·········
Sometimes, after spending time with that chatterbox of a girl and then stepping into this silent void, I catch myself wondering if I was only dreaming. Being this quiet once in a while isn't so bad, I suppose... I comforted myself with that thought and, as usual, began moving my body while gripping the dagger.
Swish—slash—
Yeonhee seems to have found her stride now... Once we check that hidden space in the Fire Monkey Dungeon, we can challenge the Lizardman Swamp or the Hobgoblin Dungeon right away. That's when I'll change classes...
Sure, it would be safer to grind the Ent Forest and Fire Monkey Dungeon thoroughly and grow stronger first. But we don't have that kind of time.
Swish! Thrust!
I recalled my movements from when I was alive and sparred against imaginary enemies. It was the only thing I could do right now.
* * *
The Giant's Dungeon. One of the world's eight great uncleared dungeons, located on Geoje Island. Jo Giman and his party members were resting on the stairs leading down to the fifth floor after clearing the fourth.
This place earned its reputation among the eight because no one had ever reached the deepest level. The same was true for the other seven. And that included Jo Giman, who was now living his seventh life.
This time, I'll reach the end no matter what.
It was astonishing that a man who had once been a worthless F-grade hunter without a single decent skill had grown this strong. Yet even after six lifetimes, the fact that he had never cleared this dungeon still embarrassed him.
The deepest floor discovered so far was the sixth underground level—a record set by Jo Giman himself. But that had been in his seventh loop. In his sixth life, he had reached the ninth floor. Just remembering the overwhelming power of those colossal monsters made his head spin, and he instinctively pressed a fist to his forehead.
Even the Seven-Headed Dragon grew cautious whenever the giants were mentioned. If it weren't for those damn Blue Eye bastards, I could focus more on this dungeon. Damn them!
The Blue Eye organization had interfered with his plans in every loop. He couldn't ignore them, but they hid so well that even after six lifetimes, the number of their bases he'd identified could be counted on one hand.
That's why he'd come up with the idea of using the genius summoner Lee Yeonhee to keep them in check.
If I leave her alone, she'll grow too powerful. That monstrous woman...
In the third loop, when he'd supported her fully, she had gone beyond merely checking the Blue Eye and risen to become the ruler of all hunters. She was not someone he could leave unchecked. The Seven-Headed Dragon wanted its avatar—Jo Giman—to become the most influential being in this world. So he would let her grow just enough to be useful, but not enough to climb all the way to the top.
The Orc Legion Commander... that's when I should use her. No later.
The Orc Legion Commander possessed power comparable to the monsters on the ninth floor of the Giant's Dungeon. When the monster army led by the commander appeared, the righteous Lee Yeonhee would reduce their numbers somewhat. Of course, without his support she had never defeated the commander before, so she would struggle and die. Then, just before Seoul fell completely to the orcs, he would appear, resolve everything, and imprint the image of an absolute hero upon the people.
Jo Giman gave a small nod as he finished outlining the scenario in his head.
"What are you muttering about by yourself?"
The one who snapped him out of his thoughts was Kang Yeonsu. Her fiery personality matched her abilities, and she was just as uncomfortable a presence for him as Yeonhee. While he could easily overpower her in force, her influence and role were irreplaceable. Of course, the main reason he found her inconvenient was something else entirely.
"I thought I told you not to bother me inside a dungeon."
Jo Giman answered as calmly as he could manage and shot her a glance.
"Can't you stop paying attention to me? Guild. Leader. Sir?"
The way Kang Yeonsu deliberately emphasized each syllable of "guild leader" made it obvious to anyone that she didn't think much of him.
"Hoo— By the way, Master? Have you still not found any hidden spaces?"
Jeong Ju-in—Jo Giman's most loyal subordinate, secretary, and search specialist—silently nodded. The versatile A-grade hunter handled everything from dirty work to exploration.
"If we could get just one more artifact, today would be an absolute jackpot. Tsk—"
Kang Yeonsu clearly wanted to put a nice cap on an already successful raid.
"Kahaha— If we push through to the sixth floor today, I'm sure something good will drop. My gut is telling me so!"
S-rank tank Cha Mu-yeol, who had recently risen to that rank, burst out with a hearty laugh. Kang Yeonsu let out a sigh and muttered, "Please."
Since she was in charge of the guild's finances, she was always hungry for results. The others simply took it as her usual grumbling.
"Aww~ I miss our cute little Yeonhee."
"You mean that summoner?"
"Yes! She's so adorable. Hehe—"
"Don't tell me that's your type?"
"What are you saying? Want to die?"
"S-sorry..."
When Kang Yeonsu glared at him with a growl, the healer Gu Sang-min who had dared to joke scratched his head and bowed.
"If she can control monsters, she'd definitely be a huge help to the team."
"I heard before we entered the dungeon that she already has more than five summons. I'm really looking forward to it."
As he watched Kang Yeonsu chat with Cha Mu-yeol about Lee Yeonhee, Jo Giman thought to himself, Not bad... The gap from other loops is large, but maybe that's a good thing? I can let her grow a little more.
To make his plan work, he needed to overlook a certain amount of her growth. Besides, when he'd checked with [Search], her summons' potential didn't seem much different from a permanent F-grade hunter, so there was nothing to worry about. Just because a skeleton soldier used a few fireballs didn't mean it could evolve into a lich. The other summons would be the same.
"Let's head down again."
As Jo Giman descended the stairs, something that looked like scales briefly flashed across his face before vanishing. No one noticed.
* * *
The closure of the Fire Monkey Dungeon continued for one more day, so we cleared the Ent Forest Dungeon once again. We didn't level up, but we finished the run smoothly and earned around three hundred thousand won. Back at the studio apartment, we held a strange discussion where only one person was actually speaking.
"So you're saying we should try the Fire Monkey Dungeon one more time. Doesn't it feel too disappointing to only go once? And the officials dispatched by the Investigation Bureau didn't find anything unusual, so it should be fine, right?"
Shouldn't the fact that they couldn't find anything make you more anxious, Yeonhee?
Thirty people had been massacred, yet the cause remained completely unknown. That was impossible. The people sent by the Bureau weren't incompetent, which meant they truly hadn't found anything. That was extremely suspicious.
I drew a simple picture on the notebook she always left on the floor and circled it several times.
"Mmm... You mean we'll only move around near the entrance?"
I nodded.
"Ilwol, you're such a scaredy-cat. Hehe."
She's got me pegged.
When I deliberately tilted my head as if embarrassed, her eyes curved into big arcs and she giggled.
I've lived my entire life prioritizing safety, so she isn't wrong.
But this time I couldn't back down. There was no way I could wander freely in a place where we didn't know what danger might be lurking.
Crack—crunch—
While watching Wangwang's eating show, Yeonhee's noticeably plump belly jiggled up and down. She finally nodded and agreed.