The Lure of the Shadows
Here, I would die. The Skeleton Assassin offered stat growth ten points higher than either the Skeleton Pyromancer or the Skeleton Bomber. 'Well, that's nice and all, but... it means completely straying from the path toward the Bomb of Ruin and the Archmage who dreams of immortality. Choosing this would mean cutting ties with magic entirely... That's a bit disappointing.'
Of course, fighting while stealthed was what I did best—the style that suited me most. Even in my previous life, I'd spent the latter half of it practically living in stealth. 'Still, it feels like I'm throwing away all the work I put into the bomb skills. That leaves a bad taste.'
Yet the mention of having the stealth restrictions lifted stirred my curiosity. 'So there were restrictions after all? That's why it never leveled up even once?'
Having finally resolved one of my lifelong questions, I nodded in satisfaction—only for another question to rise. What would happen if the stealth restrictions were removed? A few possibilities came to mind. 'The duration would increase, and other stats might rise while stealthed. The ideal outcome would be growth that makes me undetectable to anyone.'
The image of the red-haired elf casually dismantling my abilities resurfaced. My current stealth was at about that level—blatantly visible to powerhouses like her. Once I reached D-rank, I'd encounter mages using Detect. Still, stealth operated on a different principle from magic, so sensing it with Detect wasn't easy. The two mages beside me right now couldn't detect my stealth at all.
'Can't I just focus on developing stealth alone...? I don't want to give up the joy of stabbing from behind...'
When I'd first heard the term "Shadow Lord," the shadow cloaks of the Blue Eye organization had come to mind. Walking this path might grant me abilities like the thorns that once burst from those cloaks. Or perhaps the power to travel through enemies' shadows and strike from behind—flashy skills like that could appear. Moreover, the new skill I'd acquire was called Blink. If skill names truly manifested in the most intuitive form for Awakeners, then [Blink] could only mean one thing.
'Combined with stealth, I'd be flying all over the place.'
The more I thought about it, the more this option appealed. 'If I had to pick one of the three... yeah, it'd be this.'
"Can you sense them, Ilwol?"
'Hm?'
Snapping out of my thoughts at Yeonhee's question, I quickly shook my head and refocused on the waves. 'They seem pretty far now. I can't detect them.'
I signaled to Yeonhee.
"It looks like we've shaken off the pursuit for now."
"L-let's rest for a bit. Hahk—"
The second guitarist, who had been carrying the injured Sangcheol while running, finally requested a break.
"Phew... Let's catch our breath for a moment."
As Yeonhee sat down first, the others collapsed to the ground like felled trees. We'd been sprinting like mad for nearly ten minutes. They had every right to be exhausted.
"How's Sangcheol doing?"
"He's not dying right away, but the damage is significant. If we leave him like this... we don't know how his insides are affected, so the longer we wait, the more dangerous it'll get. He's been unconscious for several minutes already. We need proper treatment soon..."
"Haa... We only have low-grade potions, so they probably won't help much."
"C-could you spare some anyway? You can bill the guild for the cost! I'll make sure it's taken care of."
Helen and Jin-gyeong handed over every potion they had. Of course, such low-grade potions couldn't heal injuries like his, but they might at least slow the deterioration a little.
'Hmm...'
Yeonhee and I exchanged glances. We both remembered confirming a few days ago that the water from the Ancient Kettle artifact also had wound-healing properties. Though the effect wasn't dramatic, it would surely help.
Seeing the pitiful look in Yeonhee's eyes, I reluctantly slipped away from the group while stealthed. Pop—! I opened an empty potion bottle I'd been carrying, took out the kettle, and filled it with water from the other world. 'Might as well prepare a few more bottles while I'm at it.'
After filling the bottles, I returned and poured the water over Sangcheol's injured body.
"W-what are you doing?!"
The second guitarist, who had been nursing him, cried out in alarm. Yeonhee quickly explained the situation.
"One of my summons can produce a liquid with healing effects. Don't worry—it's that liquid."
"R-really? I've never heard of anything like that... Well, summoners are a class that didn't even exist before..."
"Just wait and see. Don't be rude to someone showing goodwill."
No Hayun frowned and scolded the second guitarist.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's fine. I would've reacted the same way."
A short while after pouring all the water, Sangcheol—who had been unconscious—miraculously woke up.
"Sangcheol!"
"Huh? Uh... Hyungjik hyung... Where am I...?"
"Your body—how do you feel?"
"Ugh... It hurts, it hurts like hell...! Hmm? But what's this? Lake water blessed by Irmana...?"
"How is it? Does it have any effect?"
"Yeah, there's a message saying it's healing my internal injuries... What the heck is this?"
At those words, Yeonhee covered her mouth with her hand, and I found myself clenching my fist without realizing it.
The lake water's healing effect wasn't as immediate as when it replenished mana, but it slowly began restoring the injured body. It was hard to judge from just one person, but unlike regular potions that mainly healed external wounds, this seemed far more effective at recovering internal damage.
'When I tested it on the Lizardmen, it healed wounds so slowly that I didn't expect much... Irmana, just who are you?'
My favorability toward the being called Irmana was steadily rising. Considering I offered prayers every single day, it was only natural in a way...
Anyway, we took a brief moment to recover our stamina while discussing our next plan. Yeonhee came over to my side and told me about a few changes. Just then, a group of about thirty hunters approached us.
They weren't heading straight for us—it just happened that their path led this way. 'Hmm... Are they previous entrants? There are still people who haven't made it this far?'
It was surprising in its own way that some were retreating slower than our pace while holding back the orcs. Soon the group revealed themselves, and the second guitarist—Hyeongjik—who had been with the injured Sangcheol, had his shoulders twitch. He dashed toward them as if propelled, exchanged a few quick words, then returned to us.
"Lady Hayun, why don't you go straight to the exit with them?"
"What?"
Lee Yeonhee and No Hayun both explained that heading to the exit now would be extremely dangerous. But Hyeongjik and Sangcheol seemed to believe reaching the exit was the better choice than facing the orcs alone. Of course, joining a group of thirty probably made them feel their survival odds were higher than staying with us.
'Everyone will gather near the exit, so the orcs' targeting will get diluted with so many people around.'
The problem, however, was the possibility of being caught before even reaching the exit. We'd already experienced that the orcs' tracking skills were no worse than hunters', and their speed was terrifyingly fast.
"Lady Hayun. This is a matter of life and death. Why should we sacrifice ourselves for others? If we go to the exit and it gets dangerous, we can just escape through the gate... Besides, fighting a monster that can accurately throw that giant boulder from dozens of meters away is—"
The group of thirty began moving toward the exit without delay. Hyeongjik, growing impatient, urged No Hayun once more to join them, but she refused.
"I already told you. Do you really think you can make it there with them? Especially while carrying an injured person? At this speed, it'll take at least an hour and a half. It's impossible."
And she swallowed the words that among those thirty, they would be the first to be sacrificed, but she didn't voice them. The men ahead were adults. Their judgment might be correct, so she didn't want to argue further.
"There's no helping it. We'll head straight to the exit with those people! Lady Hayun, I'll accept whatever punishment awaits when I return to the guild."
"Do as you like. And I'm not in any position to punish you anyway."
"Thank you..."
"Mmm..."
The Helen duo simply sat and listened to their conversation. Of course, their feelings were complicated as well.
'This is pure luck and chance. No one can guarantee anything, so there's nothing to say.'
Of course, I firmly believed our choice was the right one, but I didn't have a solid counterargument against Hyeongjik's talk of sacrifice either.
"I'll just die here."
Surprisingly, the earth mage Bae Jua chose to stay with us.
"You could just say you're staying—why say you'll die here? You're making people nervous."
"Hehe—it's just a figure of speech."
In the end, No Hayun and Bae Jua decided to remain with us, while the second and third guitarists chose their own path. As for the Helen duo—
"Us? We'd rather fight and die together than follow those people. There are a lot of them, but honestly, they don't look that much stronger than us. And my gut's telling me this is the way."
"Well, maybe our skeleton can do something about it. Right, Ilwol? Huh?"
Shiver—
Jin-gyeong, now calling my name affectionately and even linking arms with me, was desperately suppressing the immense fear hidden beneath her bright voice.
"Huu... If we make it out alive this time, I might really quit."
"I don't think I can do this anymore either... Dungeon breaks and all. The atmosphere these days is just too weird."
"I should think about it too."
They'd always joked about quitting being a hunter, but today their words carried real weight.
'We wasted time meeting other hunters for no reason.'
Over the past ten days running the C-course, we'd memorized several specific locations. Among them was a very narrow canyon where we could fight with our backs to the wall. We planned to head there, buy time by facing the orcs, and survive. It felt like walking into a dead end and trapping ourselves, but for us—who would soon be caught and surrounded anyway—going to a place where we only had to worry about one direction was the best chance we had. And that kind of blocked terrain was exactly what I needed right now.
Of course, we still had to reach it first. It was another thirty minutes of running away. There was a chance we'd be caught before then. If that happened, it would all be over.
"Let's start running soon."