Cooperation Comes First

The world heaved and lurched, churning up a wave of nausea.

"When the environment shifts, there won't be any monster attacks. So don't focus on your senses — that'll only make the dizziness worse. Cutting them off entirely for a moment is a good approach."

Seong Ha-ri offered a tip. A tip that arrived far too late. Her voice only made the nausea worse.

Cut off my senses...? Like that's something you can just do on command.

I didn't voice the complaint. She'd only answer that she could manage it herself.

Lee Si-eun closed her eyes, shutting off one of her senses — sight. It was a solid method. She stood relatively steady.

Choi Dayeon, on the other hand, kept both eyes wide open, staring straight into the heaving space. Her reason was obvious. Pride. Choi Dayeon had a habit of clinging to her pride in the strangest places.

She staggered. I reached out for her. I'd meant to catch her shoulder, but I was reeling just as hard, so my hand found her waist instead. Choi Dayeon's eyes turned toward me. She tried to pull free of my grip and her leg buckled. Her body fell into my arms.

"……!!"

Choi Dayeon sucked in a breath. I thought of the hug we'd shared last time and ran my hand along her waist. It was a waist that felt good under my fingers.

The heaving space stabilized. We stood on rocky terrain. A stream trickled between the stones.

Thump-thump.

I could hear a heartbeat — coming ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from Choi Dayeon's body. Holding her waist made it even clearer. I met her gaze steadily. Face flushed, lips pressed tight, she didn't look away.

"Hey!! What do you think you're doing right now?!"

Seong Ha-ri's voice. She'd said it playfully, but there was a strange edge underneath.

Choi Dayeon hurriedly pulled free of my arms and put on a prim expression, as if nothing had happened. Lee Gang-hu rushed to her side.

"Ah, young lady, are you all right?"

"Shut up. Be quiet."

"...Pardon? Yes. I'll be quiet."

The party pressed on.

The deeper we went, the more rabbit monsters poured out. The two vanguards couldn't handle them alone. Lee Si-eun and I joined the fight as well.

A rabbit with a twisted face charged.

I swung my sword and cut it down. The rabbit split in half — then the split body regenerated and multiplied into two. Cut those, and more multiplied from the corpses.

Fighting them wasn't hard. The rabbits just charged in, simple and stupid.

...This is getting old.

I killed the rabbits that multiplied like machines.

I glanced around. Nobody else seemed bored the way I was. Everyone was locked into the fight, and the multiplying rabbits were making things harder. Hot breath streamed continuously from expressionless Ryu Hana's mouth. The others were the same.

Seong Ha-ri was fine, but that didn't mean she was taking it easy. The exhausted students started making small mistakes, and cleaning those up fell to her.

"Lee Gang-hu, fall back! Choi Dayeon! Your accuracy is dropping bit by bit. Take a rest! Seong Yujin! Get your head in the game! Coordinate with the others!"

The scolding poured onto me too.

Coordinate with them...

Including me, everyone else's personalities were way too strong. I almost thought it'd be easier fighting alone. Surprisingly, I synced pretty well with Kim Cheonwoo.

"Yujin! Hana's in trouble!"

At Kim Cheonwoo's call I turned toward Ryu Hana. She was surrounded by multiplied rabbits — six of them total. Exhausted as she was, she wouldn't break free easily.

I flicked a glance at Seong Ha-ri. She understood Ryu Hana's situation but wasn't stepping in. Meaning there was still room to spare.

"I'll go. Kim Cheonwoo, cover my position."

"Hurry back. I can't hold long. You're the center of this formation."

Cutting down rabbits as I headed for Ryu Hana, I shouted.

"Ryu Hana! Hold on and fall back!"

Ryu Hana looked at me. A thick bead of sweat slid down her cheek and dropped. She nodded. Unlike when she'd clashed with Kim Cheonwoo, she was obediently listening to me — I felt a small swell of pride.

Three rabbits split at once. Of those, only one multiplied. So even the rabbits' multiplication had a limit.

I swung my sword again.

Clang!

My blade and Ryu Hana's sword struck each other as we both cut a rabbit. Completely unexpected. The unprepared impact hit me hard — my hand buzzed and rang. Ryu Hana even stumbled back.

A new pack of rabbits locked onto her.

Shit — Charna!

I moved to save Ryu Hana, but Seong Ha-ri's spear flew first. The aftershock alone of the spear's passage tore the rabbits' bodies apart.

"You lot! What a mess! Even without an operator, your coordination is terrible!"

I looked around — the fighting was already over. Seong Ha-ri stood at the center of it, hand on her hip, letting out a sigh.

"Even as first-years you should have learned the basics of dungeon raiding.... This won't do. Your problem isn't the raid itself. Let's start by practicing cooperation."

Going against Seong Ha-ri's will was impossible. She pointed out each person one by one. I couldn't escape her critique either.

...The space is heaving again.

I narrowed my eyes and watched the lurching space. It changed. We were now in something like an ancient temple deep in a forest.

I clicked my tongue quietly.

Another dud.

White rabbits hiding in the temple peeked out. Sick of them already.

"The important thing is cooperation. Fight while keeping track of your teammates' positions! Especially you, Ryu Hana! Don't try to do everything alone!"

"...Yes, Auntie."

Ryu Hana wiped sweat with the back of her hand and snuck a glance at me.

What. Is she telling me to match her pace?

It wasn't hard, so I fought in sync with Ryu Hana.

"Ma Jin-bae! You pushed too far forward! Kim Cheonwoo! You need to step up more and secure space!"

From behind, Seong Ha-ri's voice boomed.

After a few more battles the party was completely spent. We sank to the ground.

"This isn't working. Let's call the raid here for today. There's another chance tomorrow, so don't be too disappointed. We'll still need more practice coordinating once we're back, but..."

"......"

Nobody could argue with Seong Ha-ri. The teamwork really was a disaster, and we were genuinely too exhausted to keep fighting.

"Having a purification skill makes leaving a contaminated zone like this much easier. You use purification like this..."

She waved a glowing hand. Part of the contaminated space purified, revealing the outside.

"Then you just walk out. A purification skill is essential when raiding contaminated zones. If you don't have the skill, you need to bring an item with purification ability at least. Well, twisted contaminated zones like this one are rare."

We followed Seong Ha-ri out.

Naturally, countless rabbits attacked us. But a few swings of Seong Ha-ri's spear sent them flying.

It's not just raw power. There's a high-dimensional principle woven into that spear that my current skill can't even perceive.

With Seong Ha-ri's help we arrived safely at the guesthouse.

"We've got four hours until dinner. Let's start by practicing coordination somewhere reasonably open."

Evening came.

After washing off the sweat in the shower, we gathered in the courtyard. Everyone looked exhausted, but satisfied smiles hung at the corners of their mouths. As hard as it had been, we'd learned a lot from Seong Ha-ri.

On one side of the courtyard, pork belly was sizzling on a pot lid.

"Ahh. Cider after a day's work hits different. Right?"

"I'm partial to the meat."

"Why am I even hanging out with you guys..."

Kim Cheonwoo, Ma Jin-bae, Lee Gang-hu, and I sat on the raised wooden platform.

"Yujin. Want a glass?"

"Nah, I'm good."

My gaze went toward the women. They were busily preparing food. Seong Ha-ri and Lee Si-eun were leading, with Ryu Hana and Choi Dayeon assisting. All of them beauties — a feast for the eyes.

"Yujin! Can you run to the mart and grab some soy sauce or salt?!"

Seong Ha-ri called me.

"What a pain."

"Auntie! I'll go! I'll go!"

Kim Cheonwoo shot to his feet.

"Cheonwoo? Sure. Thanks. Get the money from Yujin."

"No need. I've got enough for that. Anything else you need?"

"Something else? Ah, we might run short on drinks."

"I'll buy plenty!"

Kim Cheonwoo left on the errand. With the atmosphere-maker gone, things got extremely awkward.

I left the awkward guys behind and watched the women.

Helping Seong Ha-ri was Ryu Hana. Surprisingly, she wore a faint smile as she got along with Seong Ha-ri.

Lee Si-eun, in charge of grilling the meat, was bickering with Choi Dayeon. Seemed they were fighting over how done the meat should be. Choi Dayeon had accidentally burned a piece, and Lee Si-eun scolded her for burning the one I was supposed to eat. With Choi Dayeon's personality, she wasn't going to let that slide.

I'd love to insert myself among the girls... but I'd just get branded as the guy who can't read the room.

Seong Ha-ri seemed to be enjoying dealing with the girls too.

Late at night, I stepped out of the room. We'd split rooms by gender, and falling asleep in the guys' room was proving seriously difficult.

That bastard Lee Gang-hu's feet stink, and Ma Jin-bae snores like a chainsaw. I'd rather sleep outside.

I stretched out on the wooden platform and looked toward the women's room. I wanted to go in there. Probably smelled nice. But Ryu Hana and Choi Dayeon's presence made sneaking in look bad. I closed my eyes on the platform. The night breeze was quite cool.

Rattle.

The sound of the women's door opening. I cracked my eyes to see who came out.

Choi Dayeon. Heading for the bathroom? This house has the toilet separate outside, which is pretty inconvenient. Looks like the owner used to use a chamber pot, but...

No way Choi Dayeon would use a chamber pot.

While I was lost in thought I missed the timing to get up. I decided to pretend to sleep.

Choi Dayeon seemed about to pass the platform, then suddenly stopped. And quietly lay down beside me. I could faintly feel her breath against my cheek.

...She lay down next ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to me...? What?

A soft rustling sound that sparked the imagination. Should I crack my eyes open? If Choi Dayeon was staring at my face, the moment I opened them even a slit she'd catch me.

I can just use Heavenly Eye.

Heavenly Eye had a see-through effect. I could look through my eyelids without opening my eyes.

Choi Dayeon appeared before me. She was looking at me — face flushed, lower lip bitten hard. Her body trembled faintly.

...No way.

I used another ability of Heavenly Eye. The third-person view — looking down from the sky, or seeing behind my head, for example.

I looked down at Choi Dayeon from above. Lying beside me, she had quietly slipped her right hand into her loose pajama pants. The fingers between her thighs were fidgeting.

She's masturbating.... Is she out of her mind?