Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Greed and Collapse
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Everyone was stunned by Yuhyeon’s rapid attacks and defenses. It was a speed they could barely follow with their eyes. Dun turned his head to check the expressions of the remaining survivors, and they all wore dumbfounded looks.
Yuhyeon, who had stabbed her sword into Remirina’s neck, drove it even deeper with her elbow. A critical hit triggered, and the HP that had been just under half plummeted all at once.
To complete the finisher quest, Yuhyeon pulled out her sword again and relentlessly hammered away with attacks.
With its wings completely pinned, Remirina couldn’t mount any real offense or resistance and let out a shriek.
[Keieeeek!!]
Remirina, whose life thread had thinned in an instant, unleashed a final death cry in a desperate frenzy. Yuhyeon stayed glued to it without pulling away, steadily gnawing down its HP.
Boom!
In the end, the massive Remirina let its body slump powerlessly. The impact of its bulk hitting the floor sent tremors through the ground for a moment.
[C-Grade Quest: Land the Finishing Blow on Boss completed!]
[Boss monster, Remirina defeated!]
[Leveled up!]
Yuhyeon, drenched in Remirina’s blue bodily fluids, swept back her dark hair with both hands.
After catching her breath for a moment, she swiftly dealt with the Remirings that had hatched earlier.
The survivors held their breath, simply watching as Yuhyeon dispatched the Remirings and Remirina with surprising ease.
“Huff…….”
A lot of people were still alive. Their HP was hanging by a thread, but they had survived thanks to Yuhyeon in the nick of time. The silence didn’t last long, soon giving way to low murmurs.
“Uh, what did you use to tie up Remirina’s arms just now?”
“Just a bird trap I made and set up.”
Yuhyeon answered with a bright smile.
“You were insanely fast…… Are you from the production guild?”
“Even at level 49, how did you take down level 60s…….”
Disbelief colored their voices.
The reason Yuhyeon could effortlessly kill the boss monster despite her lower level was simple.
Thanks to the potion she’d drunk earlier, her agility stat was currently near level 100. It would wear off soon, but even then, her agility would remain far superior to her level.
Yuhyeon just gave an awkward smile amid the flood of attention.
“How should we handle item distribution?”
The people, who had been gazing at Yuhyeon with eyes full of awe, hardened their expressions as the sensitive topic of “item distribution” came up, their reverent stares turning cold.
“You shared EXP with us all the way here, so the items should be distributed according to our prior party agreement.”
They seemed to think that even if they skimped, she’d still give them their share, but Yuhyeon’s face stiffened.
“But didn’t I pull at least one person’s weight?”
“That’s because we wore down the boss monster’s strength first. Honestly, you snagged most of the boss EXP with that finisher. And this dungeon? We poured money and manpower into finding it the hard way. Haven’t you already sucked up plenty of honey?”
There were all sorts of human types, and this party included someone extraordinarily shameless.
“Hey, but she’s the one who took down the boss monster. Shouldn’t we give her a little…….”
One person timidly voiced an opinion, glancing at Yuhyeon and the other team members.
“No, but she had the skills yet hung back the whole time without helping, just leeching EXP, and then swooped in for the finisher after we exhausted the boss.”
“Yeah, that’s true…….”
Mid-sentence, they suddenly recalled how Yuhyeon had diligently made shields on the way to the boss room and handled the charging Remiring packs from the side, but since they’d already staked their claim, they pretended not to know.
Even those with a shred of conscience ended up going along with the louder voices.
Among the silent ones were people who knew Yuhyeon had soloed the ambushing Remiring hordes from behind.
“…….”
Yuhyeon wore a frosty expression for a moment at the absurd logic and stayed quiet.
It wasn’t that she’d hung back without helping—they hadn’t even noticed before she’d preemptively cleared all the monsters. And their combined efforts had barely scratched Remirina’s strength from the start.
In a situation where Yuhyeon had carried them, they were insisting they’d done nothing and thus owed her no items.
Dun let out a hollow chuckle.
He’d already been irritated at the unwanted adventurers when they entered the dungeon, and their unpleasant attitudes only soured his mood further.
“……That.”
“When are you taking me home?”
As Yuhyeon parted her lips to speak, Dun grabbed her collar and cut her off.
“I’m sleepy and tired. Mom’s probably worried about me too.”
“That guy’s still alive, huh.”
No, come on, that’s too much.
The party members had assumed Dun was swept away and killed by the poison stingers. They murmured loudly upon seeing him crawl out from somewhere to speak. Dun pouted.
As Dun signaled to abandon the items and head home quickly, Yuhyeon quickly suppressed her rising anger and let out a long sigh.
Dun had worried she might turn aggressive since every item was precious to her cash-strapped self, but surprisingly, she went along easily.
“Alright then. Enjoy the items. I’m outta here. Let’s never cross paths again.”
Yuhyeon gave up cleanly and left. The group was momentarily thrown by how readily she forfeited the items but soon laughed and thanked her for her hard work.
They even threw in the gallingly shameless line about regretting it and running dungeons together again sometime.
Yuhyeon supported the feigning-sleepy Dun as they staggered out of the boss room.
Shallow water pooled underfoot, making the splashing sounds echo especially loudly in the silence.
“I could feel it. You’ve got a plan, right?”
“Of course. Those motherfucking bastards.”
She hadn’t liked them from the moment they met in the dungeon.
Yuhyeon’s eyes went wide at Dun’s crude cursing, asking where he’d picked up such filthy language.
“You just run when I give the signal—don’t look back. I’ll handle the rest.”
Dun pulled out his fists first. He slightly loosened the power he’d been suppressing to avoid overexerting himself and shook out his hands.
Boom!!
Dun struck the dungeon wall with moderate force. A deafening explosion rang out, and the ground began to quake.
He grabbed Yuhyeon’s wide-eyed shoulders and hopped onto her back in a piggyback.
“Yuhyeon, run!”
Whether she hadn’t grasped the situation yet or not, her face was still blank, but she bolted on reflex at Dun’s command.
For Yuhyeon with her sky-high agility stat, navigating the collapsing dungeon was a breeze.
She dodged the falling cave debris with room to spare, sprinting at terrifying speed.
“Burying them alive ‘cause they pissed you off?”
“Yep.”
Yuhyeon burst out laughing even as she ran at Dun’s hearty reply.
“How’d you know I’d do this?”
“Dun’s the type who can’t let shit slide, so it was weird when you suggested retreating so easily.”
Right, right. Gotta read people well to make guild master or Hunter Association president. Dun retracted his prior doubts about Yuhyeon’s leadership potential.
“But…… big trouble.”
“What.”
Yuhyeon, who’d been escaping the dungeon smoothly, suddenly stiffened.
[Drug effect duration has ended.]
Her running speed slowed dramatically, and a chunk of falling rock debris clipped her head. Her HP dropped by about 50.
“We’re about to get buried alive here too, y’know?”
“…….”
Of all times, the drug effect wore off right then. She was faster than before, sure, but it was still too slow to weave through the endless barrage of debris.
Dun hoisted Yuhyeon onto his back and bolted while cursing up a storm.
Moving faster than his own top speed, he reached the dungeon exit in no time. Yuhyeon clamped her mouth shut, apparently motion-sick.
“If you, huff, puke on my clothes, huff, even once…… I’ll log you out too.”
After wrapping the water-fearing Yuhyeon’s face snugly in his clothes, Dun poured every ounce of strength into his legs—veins bulging—and leaped in one go through the hole leading to the lake.
Somehow swimming out of the lake with Yuhyeon on his back, Dun collapsed flat on the ground for a moment to catch his breath.
The insane activity load had his lungs working nonstop, and his heart pounded like a machine gun firing rounds.
He muttered curses nonstop while gasping for air.
* * *
With the utterly spent Dun showing no signs of getting up, Yuhyeon had busily brewed stamina recovery potions in the meantime and brought them over.
“Good work. Here, a bit rushed, but stamina potion.”
Yuhyeon trickled the stamina potion into the “dead” Dun’s mouth, but lacking the strength to swallow, it dribbled out.
The tasteless sludge nearly made him puke, but thankfully, he didn’t even have the energy for that.
“No! Don’t die!”
Yuhyeon knelt beside the limp, melted Dun.
“G…….”
“!! If there’s anything you need, just say it.”
“Dogg…….”
“Dog?”
No, that’s not what you’re calling.
“Dog…… poop. Kim Gaeddong…….”
The words slipped out like a sigh, and an object bobbed up from the lake at his feet, sluggishly slithering toward Dun.
[Comin’…… comin’……]
Way off in the distance, Gaeddong approached, stuffed to the brim with items in its embrace, wriggling along.
Dun had given Gaeddong a task.
Right before the dungeon collapsed, he’d ordered it to farm every item, including those from the dead players.
The clanking sounds came every time it moved, weighed down by all the items crammed on its body.
Gaeddong dumped the pile of those players’ items in a heap beside the dying Dun, then crawled into his bosom.
[Dun…… tired……? Givin’……?]
The slime wailed pitifully, then bit the nearby Yuhyeon on the arm.
Yuhyeon’s HP got shaved off by more than half.