Gifts in the Ent Dungeon
The Level 3 dungeon briefing covered precautions inside the dungeon, the weaknesses of the monsters that appeared, and more. Kang Jin-ho's explanations stood out even when compared to other top-ranked adventurers. As expected, those at the pinnacle were different. He would probably be even more impressive in actual combat.
Just as the novice adventurers were murmuring in admiration, Kang Jin-ho's gaze turned toward Winter.
"You won't get hurt, so don't be too scared."
"Okay. I won't be scared."
"Good. Any more than this would just be nagging. Do your best."
"Yes."
At Kang Jin-ho's encouragement, Winter's tail swayed. Holding the tail in his hand, Kang Jin-ho could tell she was in a positive state. What a relief. He had been worried the child might be terrified.
Just as Kang Jin-ho felt relieved, Winter released her tail and approached the adventurers. The nearest female adventurer was her first target.
"Um... excuse me..."
"Uh, y-yes?!"
Winter drew closer. Shin Seo-yeon's heart, still just stepping out of novice adventurer status, began to race. Winter gazing up with those pure eyes was adorable. Even without meaning to, she seemed to be letting out soft mewls like a kitten.
"This is a gift..."
What Winter offered was a strengthening potion. Shin Seo-yeon's eyebrows shot up at the rare item.
"W-why are you giving this to me...?"
Her words tumbled out in a nervous jumble. Shin Seo-yeon bit her lip.
"It's my first time in a Level 3 dungeon... so I hope you won't get angry even if I mess up..."
Winter's ears drooped. Her tail clung tightly to her stomach. The sight of her looking like a frightened kitten stirred protective instincts.
"O-okay."
Shin Seo-yeon knew a little about Winter's past—the child's heartbreaking history that had spread through internet broadcasts. The child who had suffered so much at human hands and feared people. The plea not to get angry clearly came from those experiences.
What should I do?
She wouldn't have gotten angry even without receiving this. Should she refuse and say it was fine? As Shin Seo-yeon hesitated, she felt a piercing gaze and looked up.
—Take it.
Kang Jin-ho's eyes conveyed the message. It was directed at every adventurer present.
Only Winter, oblivious to everything, fidgeted with the hand holding the strengthening potion.
"Th-thank you...! Let's promise not to get mad at each other even if we make mistakes, okay?"
"Yes...!"
Was she that happy just because the potion had been accepted? Winter's ears and tail perked up energetically. Only then did Kang Jin-ho look away, and Winter went around distributing strengthening potions to the adventurers while asking for their help.
What kind of awful person could have treated
this angelic child so terribly? Shin Seo-yeon cursed those people in her heart. She would never use this strengthening potion for the rest of her life.
With that thought, Shin Seo-yeon stepped into the dungeon.
**
I entered the dungeon first alongside the Master. The beginning was always the most dangerous, but with the Master here, it didn't matter. Borrowing Levinas's favorite phrase, we were practically invincible.
"Wow..."
The dungeon was a forest blanketed in green grass. It resembled the goblin dungeon, so there was nothing particularly novel about it.
"Don't stray too far from the tail."
"Okay."
I stayed close to the Master's tail and scanned our surroundings. Raising my senses to detect monster locations, I watched as the adventurers began filing in one by one.
After confirming everyone had entered, the Master continued his careful explanation.
"As you know, this is the Ent Dungeon. It's a place where spotting monsters disguised as trees is especially difficult."
The Master let out a soft breath and spoke again.
"Today, you'll be learning how to search. Knowing how to find camouflaged monsters will come in handy in many situations. Does anyone here know how to distinguish hidden ents?"
The Master looked around at the adventurers. The one carrying a greatsword raised his hand brightly.
"Can't we just stab every tree one by one?"
"...It's not entirely wrong, but there's a better way."
"Oh, so it does work?"
Satisfied that his idea hadn't been dismissed, the adventurer fiddled with the greatsword's hilt. He looked ready to go around stabbing every single tree.
"Anyone else?"
At the Master's question, a female adventurer raised her hand. It was Shin Seo-yeon, the first one I had given a strengthening potion to.
"I... I heard you use fire."
"Correct."
Use fire? Surprised, I looked up at the Master.
"You set the forest on fire?"
"No, you use the heat from fire. Ents panic even if a match flame gets close."
"Ah..."
So they used what the monsters disliked to locate them. I found the adventurers' methods fascinating.
"Of course, a truly skilled searcher wouldn't need to go that far."
Saying that, the Master stared straight at me. I understood the intent behind that gaze. The ability to read presences—it was my greatest strength.
Following my hunch, I pushed my senses to their limit and began reading the surrounding trees.
Thud—! Thud—!
Among the ordinary trees, one was throbbing violently. Its exterior looked just like any other tree, but inside it pulsed with life. The sound was louder than a normal person's heartbeat, making it easy to distinguish.
"There's a tree with a beating heart."
"Which one."
"That one over there."
A massive tree stood about ten meters away. The Master gestured toward it with his chin.
"Try shooting it."
Shoot it? Where exactly? After a moment's thought, I aimed at the pounding section that felt like a heart and loosed an arrow coated heavily in strengthening potion.
Whoosh—! Thud—!
The arrow buried itself deep into the tree's heart. Since my strength was weaker than the other adventurers', I had thought it would be lucky if just the tip stuck in—but to my surprise, everything except the fletching sank in completely.
"Wow..."
Was this the power of the strengthening potion? As I stared in amazement at the destructive force beyond my imagination, green blood began to trickle from the tree's heart.
"......!"
The tree I had assumed was deeply rooted toppled sideways. It had been standing on its own feet, not anchored by roots.
Thud—!
With the sound of the great tree falling, the Master's hand gently patted my head. Knowing it meant I had done well, I felt pleased.
"Good compatibility."
"Compatibility?"
"Yeah. Ents don't move until someone gets close. They're almost impossible to tell apart from real trees... But since you find and shoot from a distance, Winter, they're just sitting targets."
"Aha."
It was an overwhelming advantage, like fire against water. My tail swayed gently as a pleasant feeling washed over me.
"We're here today to train the adventurers' searching skills. So you shouldn't search, Winter."
"Huh..."
Then what was I supposed to do? I looked up at the Master with a bewildered expression.
"Practice support. Shoot arrows one at a time to break the enemy's flow. Timing is crucial, so it might actually be harder than taking monsters down yourself."
"Ah! Yes...!"
A more advanced technique, then. Worth practicing. I detached the tail I had been keeping attached to the Master. To shoot arrows freely, I would need to move around. The Master, understanding this, said nothing about keeping the tail attached. It was permission to move as I pleased.
**
A massive ent swung its branch at an adventurer. The long limb whipped through the air like a lash. Small twigs jutted out like thorns; a direct hit could easily pierce flesh.
That was dangerous. In the slowed world, I loosed an arrow. Two arrows flew in rapid succession. The first was an ice arrow I had received from Jeong Yu-na. The second was an ordinary arrow.
Thud—!
The arrow embedded in the branch froze the nearby ent's limb. Jeong Yu-na could have created magic arrows capable of freezing an entire ent, but the materials for those came from the goblin magic stones I had gathered. This one only froze about thirty centimeters around the branch. That was why I had fired the second arrow.
Thud—!
The delayed second arrow shattered the frozen branch.
"Thanks!"
The adventurer who had nearly been struck thanked me and drove their sword into the ent's heart.
Thud—!
The ent collapsed, spilling green blood. My heart pounded with an indescribable sense of accomplishment.
Amazing.
Hunting ents carried a different thrill from goblins. Was it because this was a higher-level dungeon? I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
It was then that the adventurer who had introduced herself as Shin Seo-yeon approached.
"Winter, your contribution to the hunt is really high. You're going to make a lot of money."
"Yes...!"
"Doesn't that mean Winter should treat us to a meal?"
Shin Seo-yeon chuckled behind her hand. My pounding heart came to a sudden stop.
I had to earn money to pay off my debts. Was it customary for the one who earned the most to treat everyone? I fidgeted with my fingers, unsure what to do.
"W-well..."
"I'm just kidding. I wouldn't actually ask you to buy us anything."
My expression must have given me away, because Shin Seo-yeon quickly waved her hands. I felt guilty, as if I had become someone without a conscience.
"I'm sorry... I have debts."
"Debts? You have debts, Winter?"
"Yes..."
Shin Seo-yeon looked me over from head to toe. She seemed about to reach for the torn part of my clothes but pulled her hand back.
"A lot?"
"Yes... I'm really sorry... I'll at least buy everyone a drink instead..."
I couldn't afford a meal. I pleaded with her to understand, just this once.
"N-no! It's fine! You don't have to buy drinks!"
"No, I earned the most today."
As Shin Seo-yeon said, showing at least some sincerity was the right thing to do. I never could have earned this much on my own. Money was tight, but I decided not to be stingy when it came to things like this. That was part of living in society.