Chapter 45
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: A Stranger's Tale (1)
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The sun was setting.
The unicorns had excellent night vision, so we'd be at a distinct disadvantage once it got dark.
We'd already thinned their numbers considerably. At this rate, it looked like we could clear the dungeon by tomorrow morning.
“Got it!”
Eun-young returned nonchalantly after snapping a unicorn's neck with her foot.
Darkness had fallen by the time we returned to our designated base camp.
It seemed we'd pulled back at the right time.
Eun-young and I climbed up into a tree.
The branches were quite large and wide, perfect for lying down.
If there were more of us, we could have set up a tent and taken turns on watch, but with just the two of us, standing guard would be too draining.
From time to time, the cries of unicorns echoed through the darkness.
Eun-young, who had settled on a branch in the opposite tree, swung her legs as she surveyed our surroundings.
“This feels like a dream.”
“It does?”
“Actually, my parents never wanted me to become a Hunter. You know? There are all sorts of people in the world, and some of them definitely don't want to be Hunters.”
The moment you became an Awakened One and were chosen by a god, you were forced to become a Hunter, whether you liked it or not.
I understood what she meant. It had been the same for me.
“At first, when no god chose me, I even wondered if it was because of my parents.”
Eun-young pulled a calorie bar from her bag and took a bite.
I was reminded again that I had to give her credit for her adaptability.
It had taken me quite a while to get used to sleeping outdoors.
“But you know, I just couldn’t give up. It wasn't really about my parents. I just had this feeling. That this was something I had to do. So, thanks.”
It was too dark to see clearly, but I was certain she was smiling at the end.
* * *
We started moving again around sunrise.
This time, we changed our pattern.
While the unicorn’s aggro was drawn to Eun-young, I moved in and sliced off its head.
The severed head fell to the ground, and the body crumpled beside it.
“That was a clean cut.”
“It’s because I used a skill. Let’s move out right away.”
We had collected all the sealed orbs. Only one unicorn remained.
“By the way, where on earth did you learn to use a sword?”
“Huh?”
Wiping the blood from my blade, I sheathed it and turned my head.
“You’re Soter’s first apostle, right? Unlike other gods, Soter doesn't even have a representative guild. And sometimes, when you tell me I have good sense or talent, I can’t tell which one of us is older.”
Eun-young’s question was a valid one.
If anything, it was Park Si-woo and Choi Soo-hyun who were strange for never bringing it up.
Of course, it wasn’t that they didn’t have their suspicions.
It was because they knew I wouldn't answer even if they asked.
They were certainly alike in that regard.
It made sense that they were friends.
“I learned a long time ago. There was someone who helped me when I was really struggling.”
The story was too complicated to tell.
As I gave her a vague answer, something she’d said caught my attention.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“That I’m the first apostle.”
“Choi Soo-hyun told me. Oh, he contacted me a few days before we entered the dungeon.”
She fumbled in her bag and pulled out her phone.
Using a phone in a dungeon would just show that you were out of service range, but you could still look at things like saved messages.
Eun-young showed me a brief glimpse of their chat.
So he’d even contacted Eun-young behind my back.
‘He just can’t be straightforward, can he?’
The chat log was quite long, so it looked like they’d talked about a lot of things. That was all well and good, but…
“Saving him as ‘That Incurable Bastard’ seems a bit harsh, though.”
“Oh? But isn't it true?”
She just shrugged, not seeming to mind at all.
I was a little curious what I was saved as.
I wanted to take a peek, but she quickly put her phone away, so I had to give up.
I used Mana Detection to find the last remaining bicorn.
‘Well, well, what do we have here?’
I sensed an unscheduled presence within the dungeon.
Judging by its movements and the amount of mana, it was definitely not a unicorn.
It was a presence I hadn't felt yesterday.
‘An intruder?’
Whatever they were thinking, this was going to be a headache.
“Found it. That’s the last one, right?”
It seemed Eun-young had spotted the last unicorn.
I nodded, and she charged ahead.
She launched a surprise attack, kicking the unicorn in its flank. The startled creature stumbled back.
The tip of the unicorn’s horn began to glow.
“Wait, noona, it’s dangerous!”
The ground beneath her feet trembled.
Roots shot up from the cracked earth, ensnaring her feet.
Startled, Eun-young froze for a moment, and the unicorn charged, lowering its horn as if it had been waiting for this chance.
I rushed toward the unicorn and activated a skill.
I deflected the horn aimed at her body and then sliced through the unicorn’s torso.
A great gust of wind blew between Eun-young and the unicorn.
Bleeding, the unicorn reared up on its hind legs. I thrust my sword into its chest.
As I pulled the sword out, blood splattered onto me.
The unicorn’s body collapsed to the ground, its life extinguished.
Once the unicorn was dead, the roots binding Eun-young’s feet vanished.
Still shaken, she staggered and then sank to the ground.
“Are you okay?”
She took my hand and pulled herself up.
“I’m sorry.”
“It happens.”
Each unicorn can use its own unique magic.
The magic itself isn't powerful enough to be a major threat, but you never know which creature will use what kind of magic until you experience it.
It was simply a mistake born from not expecting it to use a binding spell.
It was a simple error due to a lack of experience. Despite my reassurance, she still looked a little down.
‘It was a close call, though.’
If this experience gave her a greater sense of caution, then it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
“Let’s hurry and go get the boss.”
“Okay.”
Her reply sounded a little calmer.
The stone slab on the hill had five holes.
“Don’t you think you should do it?”
“You do it. You don’t have many contribution points, do you?”
Assuming she started at C-rank, her accumulated contribution points were significantly lower than other Hunters.
It would all come back to me anyway, so it didn’t matter if I let her have this.
Eun-young placed the sealed orbs into the holes on the slab, one by one.
As she inserted the last orb, dark red clouds gathered in the sky.
‘Something feels off.’
The clouds parted, and through the opening descended the boss, a Bicorn, along with several other unicorns.
“Han-gyeol, that thing…”
The Bicorn’s horns were red.
I couldn't tell if this was good luck or bad.
The Bicorn landed and scraped the ground with its massive forelegs. A single kick tore up the earth as if a shovel had been at work.
*Hweeeeing.* The Bicorn let out a cry. The unicorns protecting it charged forward.
Just before using [Wings of Blessing], Eun-young ducked down and picked up a stone from the ground.
Then she leaped high into the air, evading the unicorns' attacks. Small wings had sprouted from her heels.
The unicorns were flustered by her sudden flight.
One of them cast a lightning spell.
Eun-young dodged the falling bolt and, seeing the unicorn stunned from the magical backlash, swung her leg at it.
The moment her foot touched the ground, roots shot up from below.
She kicked out forcefully, shattering the rising roots.
“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!”
It seemed I didn't need to worry.
She threw the stone at a unicorn that was targeting me.
It was a method I often used to draw aggro when I was bored.
The Bicorn, which had been watching, charged at me.
[The energy of Soter blesses you.]
[First-Tier Protection has been activated.]
I activated the protection skill and blocked the Bicorn’s charge.
Normal unicorns possess one unique magic spell.
A Bicorn, with its two horns, could use two.
Because it had two horns, it didn't suffer from a stun effect after using just one of its unique spells.
On top of that, the red horns meant its unique magic had a significantly shorter cooldown.
‘If it’s just using magic, I can just dodge it.’
The Bicorn’s weakness was, naturally, its two horns. A Bicorn with its horns cut off was no different from a regular unicorn.
I dodged the Bicorn's attack and raised my sword toward its horns.
In that instant, the Bicorn’s movements changed. I narrowly avoided its attack.
“This bastard.”
The Bicorn’s body crackled as if wreathed in red lightning.
Its unique magic seemed to be a physical enhancement type.
The already annoying creature was now even more of a pain with physical enhancement.
I didn't have an opening to use Meteor Slash.
The Bicorn pressed its attack, giving me no room to breathe.
I tried several times to cut off its horns, but it was no use.
The physical enhancement seemed to have hardened its horns as well.
Eun-young landed a side kick, pushing the Bicorn back.
“Finished already?”
“It was a bit of a struggle, but I’m fine.”
Its physical enhancement having worn off, the Bicorn slammed its forelegs into the ground.
Black hands rose from the ground beneath it.
The elongated black hands lunged toward us.
“Get back.”
As Eun-young retreated, I swung my sword in a wide arc.
With a flash of light, the hands were sliced away.
As the black hands dissipated, the Bicorn came into view, and Eun-young charged forward.
Having two horns didn’t change its vitals.
Her fist struck the Bicorn’s heart.
The Bicorn flinched and used its physical enhancement to attack her.
Eun-young quickly ducked, and I vaulted over her, using a skill as I aimed for the Bicorn’s horns.
As if drawn with a line, the Bicorn’s red horn was cleanly severed.
I kicked off the Bicorn’s body, using the momentum to leap backward.
The Bicorn was stunned by the loss of its horn. Eun-young, who had been crouching, seized the opportunity and swung her leg toward its neck.
The Bicorn was sent flying from the impact.
Closing the distance again, she wrapped her legs around the Bicorn’s neck and brought her foot down hard.
She and I approached the fallen Bicorn and looked down at it.
Without a shred of mercy, Eun-young’s foot stomped on its neck.
With the Bicorn’s death, the dark red clouds around the hill dispersed.
Sunlight bathed the hill. The stone slab where the Bicorn had been summoned distorted and transformed into an exit gate.
While Eun-young was trying to tear off the Bicorn's other horn, I moved quietly.
“Who are you? No, who sent you?”
The man hiding under a cloak turned in surprise.
“H-How did you…”
He scrambled backward, wary, as if he thought he wouldn't be noticed.
“I’m a nice guy, so I’ll give you three seconds.”
“…”
“Three.”
As the man tried to flee, I closed the distance and struck him in the chest with the flat of my sword.
The man lost consciousness and collapsed in front of me.
“Where did one and two g—”
“Are you an idiot?”
Who in the world would actually wait for that countdown?