The Agonizing Return
Fuck… mental pain was bad enough, now that my body's hurting too, it's double the agony…
Having gone through Agony once before didn't mean I woke up any faster this time. Even if I'd experienced it, that was just once—twice now, at most. In any case, escaping Agony brought a flood of pain crashing through my entire body all at once.
But something was off. I'd figured I'd be sprawled on the frigid dungeon floor, so why did the back of my head feel so soft?
My eyelids were crusted shut with gunk and dried blood, and it took real effort to pry them open. The first thing I saw was gray hair soaked in blood.
Gray hair, hanging vertically. Soft sensation at the back of my head.
"Ka… ya…"
No response. But there was warmth, and faint breathing.
What's going on here?
Just opening my eyes was exhausting, so sitting up took an eternity. My bones and muscles felt like they were moving independently, but weirdly, I wasn't anxious.
I'm not dead. Kaya's not dead.
Shae… where's Shae?
Ignoring the creaking sounds from my body, I turned my head.
"Haaa…"
I'd wondered where she'd gone, but there was her blood-matted golden head resting on Kaya's left thigh. Her back rose and fell faintly, so Shae was alive too.
A deep sigh of relief escaped me.
Kaya did it.
We'd escaped later than I'd hoped, but with everyone still breathing, it looked like Kaya had landed the killing blow, knelt down to cradle our heads, and passed out.
She must've been on death's door herself, but she stayed conscious long enough to finish it off and look after us too…
Oh, King God Emperor Majesty Kaya.
Carefully, I shifted Shae's head to my left thigh and laid the awkwardly passed-out Kaya across my right. I brushed away the dried blood flaking from Kaya's eyelids and the smears covering half her face. Her expression was peaceful—thankfully, no nightmares.
Stroking both their heads with my hands, I checked the combat messages.
[Yujin has entered Agony.]
[Unyielding Spirit breaks.]
[All effects of the mental abnormality 'Unyielding' are removed.]
[All stats reduced by 33%.]
[Any damage taken in Agony will kill Yujin.]
[Terror fills the hearts of the heroes as their comrades fall.]
[Shae Mentality –33]
[Kaya Mentality –33]
Mentality -33? For real?
Our comrades' Mentality had plummeted due to the 'Lethargy' debuff and 'Fear of Darkness'.
[Brightness: 0]
[Light fully extinguished. Terror and darkness completely corrupt the dungeon.]
[Heroes lose fighting spirit faster.]
[Monsters gain greater terror power.]
When the magic torch went out as we passed out, debuffs hit our hero party while buffs empowered the monsters.
[Terror fills the pitch-black darkness.]
[Shae Mentality –6]
[Kaya Mentality –6]
[Yujin Mentality –5]
Mentality took another hit from the darkness penalty midway through.
All According to God's Will
[Kaya deals 4 damage to Terror Hand.]
[Remaining HP –3/99]
[Terror Hand has died.]
As expected, Kaya had smashed its head with her mace.
Srurluk— Srurluk—
Her hair was matted with blood, but I kept stroking anyway. It was the only thing I could do right now.
Thank you. Sorry. And I'm proud.
With excitement bubbling up, I moved to the next messages.
[The Long Terror Extreme Difficulty 'The Longest Terror' Dungeon Zone 1 cleared.]
The message confirmed Zone 1 clear.
[Hero Party HAT may skip Zone 1 and proceed directly to Zone 2 if desired.]
I skipped past the standard The Long Terror message I'd been nervously awaiting here.
Oh. Ohhh!
Like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents one by one, I savored the reward messages. First up, the rewards from 1-10, Terror Hand: solid stuff.
Double the 1-10 gold, plus a useful artifact. By The Long Terror standards, this was already near jackpot territory.
But wait—still one more.
[No one died.]
No-death clear bonus. Clearing was a total bitch, but the rewards were so sweet I couldn't quit The Long Terror—and this proved why.
Here it comes?
"Ho-ly…"
198 gold coins, 2 random skillbooks, 3 artifacts, and some high-grade consumable I couldn't identify yet.
"Hahaha… hahahahaha! Cough! Pffft-hahahaha!!!"
Laughter turned to choking pain as my ribs danced a tap routine, but I couldn't stop laughing.
Whew, time to get the fuck out of this shithole. Finally!
Reaching into my bag for the Return Stone, I confirmed Kaya and Shae were still against me and shouted,
"To Seilroom!"
"Why the death glare?"
"Ugh, you haven't heard?"
"Heard what?"
"Guilds are showing signs of jacking up prices again."
"What? Again? How much?"
"Across the board. Just scraping the entrance won't turn a profit anymore."
"Those fucking pigs, already gouging us and now more? Pigs sucking blood from fleas!"
"They see us as total shit. Plenty of other suppliers and buyers out there~ That's the game. Outsiders don't know the inside story, still think it's a one-shot jackpot city. So day-laborers like us keep pushing in. Guilds crank up their cut. Vicious cycle."
"Fuck, maybe it's time to seriously consider retiring…"
"Retire? No way, no way. Unless you're bailing to another city—if you retire here, you just get more pathetic, and anyone who knows that wouldn't say… Huh?"
"What now?"
"People! Call someone, quick!"
"What's the sudden fuss… Holy fuck!"
Like any day-laborers griping about the guilds that ran one corner of Seilroom, the two men freaked out at the sudden appearance of three blood-soaked figures.
"Hey! Hey! Snap out of it!"
"Ugh…"
"They're alive! Alive!"
"This is…"
"Seilroom, where else! Looks like you barely escaped some super dangerous depth. My buddy went to fetch help, so no worries about bleeding out on the street."
"Thanks…"
"Ah! Any inn you stayed at before? We could take you there."
"Hero's… Roam…"
"Decent enough place. Rest up, and when folks from the castle show later, make sure to say Akeruman helped!"
The bloodied man barely managed a reply before his head drooped.
Soon, four men hoisted the trio toward an inn.
"Grooo…"
A familiar ceiling. My skin and armor reeked, my body ached, and nausea roiled inside.
"Urp."
Dry heaves hit. If I'd eaten much, it'd be full-on puke from the motion sickness.
Goddamn Return Stone. Can't you just send us back gently?
Shouting "To Seilroom!" so cheerfully, only to feel like slamming soju on an empty stomach then riding a rollercoaster. My body was already trashed.
I'd fought to stay conscious post-return—who knew what could happen—but kind strangers got us to our old inn.
'When castle folks come, say Akeruman'? Yeah, sounded like he wanted a reward, but whatever. No harm done, gear intact.
In murderously expensive, cutthroat Seilroom, that made him a saint.
First things first, wash up.
Even trying to gather thoughts, the stench kept triggering gags. My body screamed for rest, but cleaning up first would let me crash refreshed.
Staggering to the bathroom, I spotted my comrades in worse shape.
…We all suffered like hell. Can't just chill alone.
Zombie-stepping back, it took over a minute to cross the room.
With trembling limbs, I stripped the armor off Kaya and Shae, who lay awkwardly still clad.
Ngh!
A wave of thick blood and sweat stench hit. Their underclothes were soaked solid red. No exaggeration—I nearly hurled and blacked out.
Can't leave 'em like this.
Bathroom was cramped, but no choice. Barely holding myself up, I'd wash them while washing.
Stripped their blood-slick, stubborn clothes completely. Carried each one by one, propped against the wall, turned on the hot water.
Shwaaaa—
"Haa…"
My body melted. Wanted to liquify into the bed right then. But endless bloody water and their stained bodies kept me alert.
Beautiful bodies, but no time or stamina for arousal.
After roughly cleaning myself, I washed Shae first—her scar-covered body—summoning messages to stay awake.
Applicable: Heavy Armor Knight, Guardian, Crusader
Defense +1
Defense +1 vs. humanoid monsters
Pitch-black crit damage -1
Slightly increased awakening chance
Speed -1
Artifact space overflowing anyway—might as well eat the trash one.
Focusing kept me kneading Shae's breasts unwittingly. Panicked, I soaped elsewhere and checked another artifact.
No! Eyes closing!
Applicable: Bounty Hunter, Plunderer, Treasure Hunter, Assassin, Dungeon Merchant
+1 Gold per room cleared
+1 Gold per elite monster kill
+4 Gold per boss kill
Discount at dungeon shops by sacrificing artifacts
Zone 1 clear artifact Golden Long Live. Money-maker. Useless, pocket change, or golden goose depending on build—but money's always good. Never bad.
If we add a fourth as Treasure Hunter like planned, effects double—juicy. Even without, one shop discount was worth it.
"Hng…!"
Finally cleaned Shae, dried her, laid her in bed, covered her. Wanted to dress her in undies and civvies, but…
Still Kaya left. Sorry, Shae.
Moving heavy Shae drained my last dregs of stamina. Back in the bathroom, the world spun.
No… gotta wash Kaya too…
Twice through Agony's brink, plus Return Stone nausea—my body refused more.
Shwaaa—
At least Kaya off the cold floor!
Right before collapsing, I barely redirected the hot water toward Kaya and faceplanted.
Sorry, Kaya.
Of all places, into her inner thigh—apologizing in my heart.