The Disaster of Flooding (1)

I smiled and waved at Shin Yooseung and Lycaon, who were staring at me with blank faces. And then—

Drip.

"…Huh?"

Blood spilled from my mouth.

"Uh, uh? Is my body really in that bad of shape right now?"

It was an S-rank skill, sure, but Hiraishin no Jutsu consumed relatively less mana than most others. Activating it just once and immediately coughing up blood? I thought I could handle at least one cast.

Huh…? Looking closer, my upper body was wrapped in bandages?

While I had regained consciousness and extracted skills and byproducts from the Ice Nether Turtle Dragon, I hadn't even noticed the bandages wound around my torso.

Lee Seolhwa must have wrapped them while I was out cold. The way she had bound them so snugly without making them uncomfortable earned a small note of admiration from me.

Still, my condition really was the worst. The bandages around my upper body began to stain bright crimson.

Shin Yooseung and Lycaon, witnessing the sight right in front of them, stared at me with faces full of shock and cried out.

"Oppa!!"

"Hoju!!"

The two of them immediately bolted toward me. I gave a small bitter smile and was about to tell them I was fine when—

Stagger.

Oh? No strength in my legs.

My legs suddenly gave out and my body swayed hard. Aside from motion sickness, this was a first for me, so I was still half-curious about the sensation when the sound of a door flying open came from behind.

Clank!

"Oppa!"

"Jinwoo-ssi!"

"I clearly told you not to move in that condition…!"

I turned my head. Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Seolhwa were charging toward me with the same frantic expressions as Shin Yooseung and Lycaon.

…Am I just a walking nuisance right now?

From Shin Yooseung and Lycaon's point of view, the guy who had left perfectly healthy that morning had come back a blood-soaked patient. From Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Seolhwa's side, they had barely dragged a half-corpse back from the brink of death, only for the patient to ignore the doctor's orders, wander around, and start bleeding again like some problem customer.

I'm going insane.

I made a helpless face at the five people sprinting toward me. The moment they reached my side, their voices stabbed straight into my ears.

"…Oppa! Oppa! Y-you can't die! If you die… waaahhh…!"

"Y-Yooseung? Oppa's body is fine…. I'm just bleeding a little. So stop crying, okay?"

"H-Hoju! Who did this to you?! No—are you all right?!"

"Ah, yeah. I look worse than I am, Lycaon. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Thanks for worrying."

"Jinwoo oppa! Have you lost your mind?! You almost died just now! Using mana in that state?!"

"Jihye? Calling your oppa crazy…. And I figured my body could handle it once…."

"Jinwoo-ssi! You must not lose consciousness! Stay with us!!"

"L-Lee Hyunsung-ssi? I'm fine. My mind's clear. My legs just gave out for a second."

"Jinwoo-ssi! I told you clearly, didn't I?! You are not to move in that condition!!"

"N-no, I really didn't realize it was this bad, Seolhwa-ssi. Sorry for making you treat me only for this to happen."

The five of them crowded around me, firing words nonstop, and my head spun.

Shin Yooseung stared at the blood-soaked bandages and the blood at the corner of my mouth and burst into tears. Lycaon looked down at me with worried eyes and kept talking. Lee Jihye fretted over me with tears welling up. Lee Hyunsung, face full of concern, tried to hoist me up and force me back into My Little Hideout. Lee Seolhwa scolded me for having the nerve to wander around as a patient.

…Fuck. Someone save me.

The five of them hounding me without pause was pure chaos. But since I was the one who had screwed up, I didn't fight back hard and kept trying to calm them in a steady voice.

They weren't listening to a word I said. They just kept spitting out whatever they wanted.

Is there seriously no one who can help me right now?

After what felt like five solid minutes of being swarmed, I wore a look of pure resignation and rolled my eyes around the area—

Three figures stood at the entrance of the abandoned building.

Kim Dokja, Han Sooyoung, and Yoo Sangah. Finally, people who might actually help. Realizing that, I called their names loud and clear while they stared blankly in this direction.

"Dokja! Sooyoung! Sangah-ssi! Help me out here!!"

Kim Dokja had returned to the abandoned building with Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah after gathering food for dinner, heading back to where Shin Yooseung and Lycaon were waiting.

—…oppa…! Die…!!

—Stay conscious…!!

—I'm really fine……!

Kim Dokja frowned at the noisy racket coming from inside the building and looked that way.

Why the hell is it so loud….

Huh?

When Kim Dokja turned her head, she saw Park Jinwoo standing there with blood-soaked bandages wrapped around his upper body and blood dripping from his mouth. Her pupils trembled violently and her expression froze cold.

Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah standing beside her had clearly seen the same blood-drenched, wounded Park Jinwoo. Their faces hardened just like Kim Dokja's.

But Park Jinwoo, apparently not noticing their expressions, beamed a bright smile and called their names.

"Dokja! Sooyoung! Sangah-ssi! Help me out here!!"

At his call the three women turned to look at one another. Then they nodded in unison.

They carefully set the food they were carrying down on the floor and walked slowly toward Park Jinwoo and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠group surrounding him.

"You three came to help me, huh…"

Grab!

Kim Dokja, standing at the front of the three, cut off Park Jinwoo's bright, smiling words mid-sentence and seized him by the collar.

Park Jinwoo stared at her in pure shock, then spoke her name in a trembling voice.

"…D-Dokja?"

Kim Dokja looked down at the corner of his mouth and his body with eyes that had gone ice-cold.

Bright red blood was still flowing from his lips, and the bandages around his torso were soaked completely crimson.

Confirming that, she asked the man in front of her in a voice that had sunk to freezing.

"What exactly was that 'important business' you mentioned this morning? What the hell was so important that your body ended up looking like this?"

"……………."

At Kim Dokja's question, Park Jinwoo's eyes began to dart around. He carefully avoided her gaze—and the gazes of Han Sooyoung and Yoo Sangah glaring at him from behind her.

Thud!

When Park Jinwoo answered her question with nothing but silence, Kim Dokja grabbed his chin and forced his eyes to meet hers.

"I'll ask one more time. What was the important business you had this morning?"

"…Uh. Th-that."

Grit!

When Park Jinwoo stammered and tried to dodge the question instead of answering properly, Kim Dokja ground her teeth.

She rolled her eyes and looked at Lee Jihye, Lee Hyunsung, and Lee Seolhwa, who were staring blankly this way.

"Looks like Jinwoo has no intention of answering me. In that case… Lee Jihye."

"U-uh?! M-me?"

Lee Jihye pointed at herself with a startled face when Kim Dokja called her name in that chilling voice.

"You know why Jinwoo is in this wrecked state, right? What's wrong with him?"

"Uh…. W-well. He got like this fighting the Ice Disaster that showed up in the west earlier…."

"J-Jihye?!"

Park Jinwoo stared at Lee Jihye with a look that screamed how could you when she spilled everything honestly to Kim Dokja.

Lee Jihye glanced at that expression, then turned her head and scratched her hair as she spoke.

"A person who wants to live has to live, oppa…."

"Even so, how could you do this to me…?!"

"Heh…."

Flinch!

Park Jinwoo's body jerked at the voice right in front of his nose. He carefully rolled his eyes and looked ahead—

Kim Dokja was standing there, staring at him coldly with a chilling smile.

"So the important business this morning was going off to subjugate the Ice Disaster? Without telling any of us?"

"N-no, I did say I had something important…."

"Shut up. Don't make excuses. Don't interrupt me either."

"………………."

Park Jinwoo clamped his mouth shut at the look and tone that made it clear Kim Dokja's mood was foul. She shot him a sharp glare, then let out a small sigh and asked,

"How badly are you hurt that your whole body is covered in blood?"

"…I just bled a little from the recoil of firing Der Freischütz…."

Park Jinwoo answered carefully. Right then Lee Jihye, who had been listening from the side, scowled and opened her mouth toward Kim Dokja.

"Unnie. That's only half true. He was hurt way worse than that."

"Is that so? How much worse?"

When Kim Dokja looked at Lee Jihye with a glint in her eyes, Park Jinwoo's face filled with panic and he opened his mouth to stop her.

"Hey, hey! Jihye! Lee Ji— mmph?!"

"Jinwoo-ssi. Please be quiet for a moment."

"Yeah. Just shut your mouth for a second."

But Yoo Sangah and Han Sooyoung clamped a hand over his mouth, and the attempt failed completely.

"He got stabbed through by ice spears a few times saving me. Then after he fired that weird gun, blood came out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears and he lost consciousness. At the end he even went into cardiac arrest."

"“What…?”"

"Pardon…?"

Hearing Lee Jihye's words, Kim Dokja, Han Sooyoung, and Yoo Sangah slowly turned their heads like rusty machines and fixed Park Jinwoo with freezing stares.

When Lee Jihye dumped everything without holding back, Park Jinwoo just wore a look of pure resignation and gave a tiny smile.

Hehe…. Fuck, I'm completely screwed.

I never in my wildest dreams imagined Jihye would betray me and spill every last detail to the three women in front of me.

I looked at the three women staring at me coldly and offered an awkward smile.

"Um… if all three of you keep staring straight at me like that, I get really embarrassed…."

"Hey, Park Jinwoo. Do you seriously want to die?"

"You're still joking in this situation?"

"Jinwoo-ssi?"

But none of the three were easy. They treated my attempt to laugh the situation off like a pebble on the roadside, ignored it completely, and kept glaring at me with full force.

No—they looked even angrier than before. Seeing that, I let out a small internal sigh, bowed my head a little, and apologized honestly.

"Sorry. I'm really sorry for heading off alone to the Ice Disaster without any proper explanation."

Because I had taken down the Burning Hell Disaster Ignir and the Disaster of Questions Myeong Ilsang so easily, I had gotten a little arrogant. I never imagined that instead of the Frost Giant that was supposed to appear in the west, a dragon-type monster called the Ice Turtle Dragon would show up—and with its penalties partially lifted at that.

But whether it was carelessness or arrogance, getting hurt was getting hurt. There was no changing the fact that I had worried the party by getting badly injured. So this time I put real sincerity into it and apologized seriously to them—to the whole group.

…………………….

A heavy silence fell for a moment. Even after my apology, the party stayed quiet and just looked at me. But soon they let out small sighs and began scolding me while saying they had been worried.

"Oppa… is your body okay?"

Shin Yooseung clung tightly to my leg and fretted over me with teary eyes.

"Hoju. You were far too reckless. But I am truly glad you are safe."

Lycaon had been agitated at first, but after some time and hearing my circumstances, he lightly scolded me for being too reckless while showing relief that I was unharmed.

"Jinwoo-ssi. Please don't push yourself like this next time. I was truly worried."

Lee Hyunsung looked at me, sighed softly, and fretted.

"Oppa. Don't feel too betrayed. If I don't do this, you'll just pull the same stunt again. And… thanks for saving me earlier. Really."

Lee Jihye gave an awkward smile and thanked me.

"If you're a patient, please act carefully like one, Jinwoo-ssi."

Lee Seolhwa scolded me this and that, then wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, unwrapped the bandages around my body, and rewrapped them fresh.

"Hey, pay some attention to the people around you. Don't try to handle everything alone. Got it?"

Han Sooyoung scowled and poured scolding on me. It was a little unexpected. I never thought she would worry about me this much.

"Jinwoo-ssi. If something like this happens again, you'd better be prepared for real next time?"

Yoo Sangah smiled sweetly at me. But her eyes weren't smiling at all, so the look was terrifying.

"There won't be a next time. Understand?"

Finally Kim Dokja crossed her arms and fixed me with a cold, sunken stare. Since I was the one who had messed up, I nodded several times at her words.

"Th-this time I'm really sorry. I was wrong. Truly."

And I smiled bitterly at the party looking at me and begged for forgiveness until my hands were raw.

After several minutes of apologizing and pleading, I finally received their forgiveness. Once I had it, I put a little distance between myself and the group, plopped down in a corner of the abandoned building, and let out a small sigh.

"…Today's been mentally exhausting."

Why did today feel so long? Should I just go into My Little Hideout right now and sleep with my legs stretched out?

The thought that crossed my mind looked far too sweet, but there was still work I had to do right now.

"Huu… Check system log."

…A ton of system messages piled up while I was out cold.

I had earned plenty of coins, and thanks to good luck this time I had managed to extract every skill from the Ice Nether Turtle Dragon. And—

This item was the real jackpot. I never dreamed I would get my hands on something with the same effect as the elixirs that appear in murim novels.

Before reading the item description I was going to put the Grade 4 Ice Turtle Dragon core, other grade cores, and various other parts up on the Dokkaebi Bag exchange and commission a weapon made with this heart.

I was eating this myself. But one thing bothered me.

What the hell are the special methods and conditions….

Do I have to grind up the other parts and eat them together? Or do I need some other item? Or an elixir? I had no idea what method and condition that line under the item info was pointing to.

"Mmm…."

Should I just try something random? Even eating it plain looked like it would have a good effect….

I pulled a plastic bottle filled with Ice Nether Turtle Dragon blood out of My Little Hideout. Then I took out the Mana Heart and sprinkled the Ice Nether Turtle Dragon blood over it. After that I took a small mouthful of the blood.

I'll enjoy this elixir well.

Whoosh!

The moment I put the Ice Nether Turtle Dragon's Mana Heart into my mouth, it melted instantly.

When the heart-shaped elixir dissolved the second it entered my mouth, I made a startled face, but since it was a common setting in murim novels and webtoons I composed my expression and swallowed the blood mixed with the melted Mana Heart.

Gulp!

"Ugh, it felt a little warm when I touched it from the outside, but it's cool going down my throat."

At the contradictory sensation I gave a small shiver and waited a while, checking my body. But even after three full minutes, no special system message appeared.

What, why isn't the effect showing—

Thump!

Right then my heart began to pound fast and loud.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Uh… my heart's racing way too hard?

Was it because of the Ice Nether Turtle Dragon blood? Or just the Mana Heart? Honestly I had no idea. This was my first time eating an elixir.

…Jackpots keep exploding one after another.

I smiled deeply at the system messages filling my vision. My body and mind had suffered a lot today and I was exhausted, but the rewards were double.

Especially the part at the very bottom of the system messages.

That message probably meant that once the Lesser Dragon's Mana Heart reached level 10, it would evolve into a higher-grade skill.

But is it okay to be this lucky?

Now I was starting to get a little worried. Usually when luck runs this good, misfortune comes next.

…Not that worrying about it this early means anything.

I set the complicated feelings aside for a moment and was about to register the Grade 4 Ice Turtle Dragon core, claws, fangs, scales, and bones on the Dokkaebi Bag exchange to have a personal weapon made.

"Hm?"

A Constellation I had never seen before through indirect messages suddenly sent me one. I tilted my head and looked at the message.

Blacksmith of the Volcano? Hephaestus, one of the twelve Olympian gods Ariadne had mentioned? Why was he suddenly contacting me?

I was pretty startled for a moment when he spoke to me through an indirect message, but I composed my surprised expression and continued.

"And? I could make a weapon with my Synthesis skill too, but the quality would be worse than what professional blacksmiths produce."

"…I'd be grateful if you did, but I only became a Constellation recently so I don't have many coins I can give. Is that still okay?"

"That much is fine. Then how about I send 100,000 coins as a deposit and a few packs of Galala Gator meat?"

Before Hephaestus could say anything else, I quickly opened the Story Shop and bought 30 kg of Galala Gator meat.

"Yeah, got it."

After receiving the 100,000-coin deposit, Galala Gator meat, and the materials for the weapon, Hephaestus sent another indirect message.

"Hmmm…."

Weapon form, huh. Should I just casually ask for a dao form? Or a sword? Or maybe a greatsword ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠form?

It was a bit of a dilemma. Before coming here I had happily played Monster Hun★ as a greatsword user, and in Elden★ I had always handled colossal weapons, colossal swords, and greatswords well.

Of course I had never actually handled them in real life.

After thinking for a while about Hephaestus's question, I organized my thoughts and looked up at his indirect message as I spoke.

"Just make it a simple dao form."

"Alright. I'll trust you and wait, God of Blacksmiths."

In the myths he was a god who was serious about making things, so I didn't particularly suspect he would pull any tricks.

"Park Jinwoo!"

I had finished everything I needed to do and was leaning against the wall resting for a moment when Kim Dokja, who had been talking with the party in the middle of the abandoned building, suddenly called my name.

I pushed myself up from where I had been sitting and walked toward her.