Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Waking Up
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Remaining Survival Time: 31 hours 59 minutes 17 seconds]
Letters of light appeared.
His mind was hazy, and it took him a moment to understand their meaning.
31 hours.
A little over a day.
How could this be?
Hadn't he used up all his remaining survival time?
His eyes flew open. Kang-seok shot up, like someone waking from a nightmare.
He saw the face he'd hoped to see. On the verge of tears—no, already sobbing—Seong Yu-jin threw her arms around him.
“This is ridiculously inefficient!”
It was a strange thing to say, but Kang-seok understood.
His remaining survival time, which should have been nearly depleted, had increased. Seong Yu-jin's words about inefficiency.
Kang-seok's gaze shifted to the air. Beside Seong Yu-jin's head, nestled in his embrace, he saw more letters of light.
[Party Member's Remaining Survival Time: 28 hours 12 minutes 41 seconds]
Seong Yu-jin's remaining survival time, which had been over 400 hours, was drastically reduced.
Now he was certain. He realized what had happened.
Kang-seok shut his eyes tight and wrapped both arms around Seong Yu-jin. He lost his balance and fell back onto the floor, but he didn't care.
Seong Yu-jin laughed through her tears. Still on top of him, she pulled back slightly to look at his face. Her voice was strained, as if from an explosion of emotion.
“I poured in all my time and Kron. Do you have any idea how worried I was? Twenty seconds of survival time, what the hell is that? Twenty seconds!”
Trading Kron between Players.
It was a known feature; he and Seong Yu-jin had even tested exchanging Kron between themselves before.
The efficiency was poor. If you sent 100 Kron, the other Player would only receive about 50.
But trading Kron with an unconscious Kang-seok was impossible.
So, Seong Yu-jin had literally poured her own remaining survival time into him.
Just as she'd said, it was ridiculously inefficient.
Despite buying additional time with Kron and pouring in nearly 1,000 hours, she had only managed to secure him about 30.
Kang-seok reached out and caressed Seong Yu-jin's cheek.
He didn't chide her for not using the time more efficiently, for not just giving him enough to last until he woke up. He was simply, purely touched.
Seong Yu-jin's remaining survival time was now only 28 hours.
It meant she had disregarded her own safety to save him.
Kang-seok sat up again. Seong Yu-jin, still on top of him, momentarily lost her balance and swayed, but only for an instant. Kang-seok pulled her into another embrace, stroking her hair.
He was alive.
He had survived.
And he would continue to survive.
Whether from relief or a sudden bout of shyness from the repeated hugs, Seong Yu-jin didn't move an inch in his arms.
Kang-seok held her and looked into the air. A series of notifications appeared.
[Dungeon Labyrinthos - Named Monster Aden, King of Gnolls, Defeated]
[Achievement: King Slayer]
[* You can now use the King Slayer title.]
[MVP: Choi Kang-seok (Male)]
[You have been promoted from Novice to Warrior.]
[Kron Acquired: 4,000]
He saw many unfamiliar terms like 'title,' 'MVP,' and 'promotion,' but they didn't register at first.
The most urgent matter was the Kron.
The Kron he had before was almost all gone. It must have been spent along with his remaining survival time when he achieved his first transcendence.
But now he had 4,000 new Kron.
This was enough to get them through the immediate crisis, even after sharing it with Seong Yu-jin.
Relieved, Kang-seok dismissed the notifications. Sharing the Kron with Seong Yu-jin could wait. After all, they both had nearly 30 hours of survival time.
Kang-seok let out a long breath and tried to close his eyes again, wanting to share their warmth a little longer. But he couldn't. Just as his eyelids were about to close, he caught sight of Park Han-yeong gulping nervously.
“Huh?”
As he let out a dazed sound, Park Han-yeong, who had been pressed against the wall, darted her eyes around. She scratched the back of her head and said.
“I, uh, saw everything from the beginning.”
For a moment, Kang-seok choked out a dry cough. What did she mean she saw everything? They hadn't done anything but hug.
At the sound of his cough, Seong Yu-jin quickly pulled away. She covered her face with both hands and ducked her head, her earlobes a vibrant red.
“Uh, um. Should I use stealth for a bit?”
Park Han-yeong asked. Seong Yu-jin ducked her head even lower, and Kang-seok let out a long sigh. Not leaving the room, but using stealth? Shaking his head, Kang-seok stood up.
This wasn't the hallway where he had fought Aden, the King of Gnolls. It was a small room, similar in size to the temporary shelter he and Seong Yu-jin had set up on the 6th floor.
Park Han-yeong was alive. That meant Kim Kang-san was likely alive as well. As if to prove his guess, the door to the room opened and Kim Kang-san appeared.
“You're awake.”
Kim Kang-san smiled brightly upon seeing Kang-seok. For a moment, Kang-seok wondered if he should be wary of him, but then he returned the smile.
The trading of Kron and time between Players.
Kang-seok had known about this for a while from his experiment with Seong Yu-jin, but he hadn't told the three bloggers or Park Han-yeong. The reason was consistent: he didn't fully trust them.
But now, Kang-seok let go of his suspicions.
Besides, while he might have been vulnerable while unconscious, now that he was awake, he was confident he could take on three Kim Kang-sans at once.
Having settled his thoughts, Kang-seok looked at Kim Kang-san again. He was smiling, but his eyes were filled with sorrow. They were red-rimmed, and his shoulders drooped, unlike usual.
The three bloggers.
Ahn Jae-min and Kim Nam-yeong, who were always with Kim Kang-san.
The two of them were dead. And their deaths had been so futile, right before his eyes, with no way to help.
No one in the room could bring themselves to speak. It was Kim Kang-san who broke the silence, comforting the others first.
“I'm relieved you're safe, Kang-seok. And thank you, again. You've saved my life twice now.”
Kim Kang-san bowed his head to Kang-seok. Park Han-yeong shot up from her seat and mimicked him, bowing deeply.
“I-I'm grateful, too.”
Although Seong Yu-jin's help at the critical moment had been crucial, it was no exaggeration to say that Kang-seok had defeated Aden, the King of Gnolls, all by himself.
Instead of boasting about his own achievements, Kang-seok just scratched the back of his head.
He hadn't fought a life-or-death battle with Aden for Kim Kang-san or Park Han-yeong's sake. He did it to survive.
“I'm grateful too.”
Wiping away her tears, Seong Yu-jin sniffled and smiled. Without thinking, Kang-seok pulled her into another tight hug.
“S-should I really use stealth?”
Park Han-yeong said cluelessly. Kang-seok let go of Seong Yu-jin again. Suppressing the urge to pinch her cheeks, which were as red as ripe persimmons, he asked everyone.
“What floor are we on right now?”
“The 7th floor.”
Seong Yu-jin answered, fanning her face repeatedly. Kang-seok blinked and asked again.
“Yu-jin, did you move me all the way here by yourself?”
“No, of course not. Kang-san woke up relatively early, so we moved together.”
“Hmm, so how long was I out?”
“About three hours?”
Considering he'd been completely unconscious, it wasn't a very long time, but it wasn't short either.
“We should probably hurry then.”
At Kang-seok's mention of hurrying, Seong Yu-jin tilted her head.
“To buy time with Kron?”
The first thing that came to mind was buying more survival time. Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong thought the same.
But that wasn't what Kang-seok had in mind. He stood up, did a light stretch, and spoke in a deliberately cheerful tone.
“We just took down a super strong boss, right? It's time to go collect our items.”
Seong Yu-jin's eyes widened, and Kang-seok grinned again. A smile spread across the dazed faces of Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong as well.