Treasure Hunt (3)

I turned the corner and nearly jumped out of my skin.

Cheol-i was slumped against the wall, completely out of it. Had he already been taken out by someone? I rushed over to him in a panic.

That was when Cheol-i, who looked half-conscious, cracked his eyes open.

"Ugh... Ha Yeonjun..."

Before he could even finish speaking, he lost consciousness again. Around his neck was a Magic Shackle. It was the item everyone had received before the start of the exam, meant to be used for the final takedown of an opponent. Thanks to that, Cheol-i was officially out. Our team had just lost a member.

I scanned the surroundings. This was exactly why it was so important to regroup with the team as quickly as possible. If someone with mediocre skills got stranded alone in the dungeon, they'd become a target for the monsters and get killed in an instant. Just like this friend of mine. Of course, this was only training.

"Dude, how do you get eliminated the second the match starts?"

"Uuuuugh..."

The guy really had the worst luck imaginable. I laid Cheol-i down on the floor in the most comfortable position I could manage. That was when his right hand caught the light, gleaming yellow.

My eyes narrowed.

This was...

What Cheol-i was holding was unmistakably a strand of hair. Judging by the length, it definitely belonged to a woman. That narrowed the suspects down to two people: the lion-haired Imp Yu-bin we'd met in the Rift Exploration Department, and her friend Gong Chae-yeon. Whichever one it was, they were probably lurking nearby, waiting for me. After all, they'd already taken down Cheol-i and were likely riding high on their victory.

While I was thinking that, a sharp voice rang out from the other side of the corridor.

"Ha Yeonjun..."

I turned my head. A woman with voluminous hair was slowly walking toward me. I knew instantly it was Imp Yu-bin, but something about her felt different from before. If I had to put it into words, her aura had become... savage.

I answered, "Imp Yu-bin?"

"Why didn't you reply to my texts...? I've been waiting forever."

"...Huh?"

At that moment, Imp Yu-bin jerked her head back, and her eyes looked anything but normal. Her face was completely filled with rage. Come to think of it... I'd received a ton of messages while I was sleeping this morning. I didn't recognize the sender so I'd just ignored them. Guess it was her after all.

I recalled the contents of those texts.

...Maybe I shouldn't have remembered. Looking back, every single one of them was pretty overwhelming.

I said, "Sorry, but I didn't have your number. That's why I didn't reply."

"You didn't have my number...?"

"...I do now."

At that, the rage that had filled her expression slowly began to subside. Huh... did that calm her down a bit?

After that, Imp Yu-bin spoke again, this time in a sweet voice.

"Then it's fine! Anyway... do you want to be mine from now on?"

"What?"

At the same time, a familiar narration cut in and then stopped. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a shrill voice.

Imp Yu-bin continued, "I told you last time, didn't I? I already called dibs on you. So I'll just let you go this time!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Then, out of nowhere, she pulled out a massive scythe and pointed it threateningly at me.

...This girl was completely insane.

What the hell did she see me as?

I answered bluntly, "No thanks."

That was when the shrill narration returned.

...Why are you suddenly doing this?

Imp Yu-bin's expression immediately flipped back to pure rage. Even her voice had grown rough.

"What? You said no...?"

I instinctively activated Insight. It looked like a fight was inevitable.

A message window appeared before my eyes.

As expected, she was pretty strong. She definitely had high potential. It made sense—she'd been evaluated as talented enough to be recruited into the Rift Exploration Department. On top of that, her bizarre unknown unique skill was an extra threat. Letting my guard down would definitely get me killed.

I drew my reinforced dagger. Though at this point, calling it a dagger was a stretch since the blade had grown much longer.

At that exact moment, a hazy sword aura began to rise.

Srrrrng—

Meanwhile, Imp Yu-bin held her massive scythe, bending her waist backward as she stared at me. That posture was almost certainly one of her unique skills—[Madwoman lv.3].

She spoke in a low voice, "Then I guess I have no choice. For a dog that won't listen, the only option is to put a collar on it."

I swallowed hard.

Gulp.

That was when she lunged at me!

Clang!

I deflected her massive scythe with my dagger. But she immediately tried to slap the Magic Shackle around my neck.

"Whoa!"

I twisted my waist to the side, dodging her shackle attack.

"Haaang! Come here, Ha Yeonjun!"

Her attacks were brutally savage. She charged at me like she genuinely wanted to kill me. That wasn't exactly unusual at Raven Academy, where awakened hunters gathered. The problem was that this woman really seemed like she was trying to actually kill me...

Clang! Clang!

We exchanged several more blows. Even in the narrow space, her massive scythe moved with surprising flexibility, slipping into my openings. And thanks to one of her skills, [Madwoman], she didn't lose an inch in our power struggle. If anything, her agility and technique were making things difficult for me.

Imp Yu-bin's face was completely twisted with madness. At this point, she'd probably lost her sense of self and even forgotten why she was fighting.

"Heehee!—"

The lunatic's laughter pierced my ears.

Damn it, I couldn't hold back anymore.

Whoosh!

I first created some distance from Imp Yu-bin. Then, using the traits listed in her profile, I began analyzing her weaknesses. It wasn't obvious at first glance, but she was clearly one-eyed. And from observing her gaze this whole time, her weak point was probably her left eye!

That was when Imp Yu-bin charged again.

"Heeheehee! Where do you think you're going!"

I blocked her swinging scythe head-on.

Kang!

The moment she pulled her scythe back, I launched a counterattack with my right hand. I thrust my blade into the blind spot that only existed for her.

Shuk!

Of course, I had no intention of killing her. But the luxurious lion mane she was so proud of was sliced clean off. While she was panicking over her severed hair, I swept her leg and knocked her down.

Crash!

"Ouch!"

The light in Madwoman Imp Yu-bin's eyes seemed to return to normal. But I couldn't let my guard down. I knocked her weapon aside and immediately pressed the Magic Shackle against her neck.

"Y-Yeonjun...!"

Imp Yu-bin looked up at me with sad, teary eyes as she recalled her memories. Still, I fastened the shackle around her neck and spoke one last time.

"See you later, Imp Yu-bin!"

"Hiiik!—"

The "see you later" was just something I said because we'd still see each other in the Rift Exploration Department. Soon after, Imp Yu-bin, now bound by the Magic Shackle, let out a short scream and collapsed unconscious. The scream... sounded a little embarrassing.

That was when the narration sounded.

No matter how many times I heard it, the sound of points coming in was always pleasant. I stood up and let out a long breath.

"Whew."

Anyway, from now on I needed to focus on finding the flag again. That said...

When I looked ahead, only the same quiet, hazy maze stretched out before me. Still, since I'd taken out Class 2's 'madwoman,' my teammates should have more freedom to move around. With that thought in mind, I turned around.

That was when I heard someone's voice.

[...Jun.]

A very faint voice coming from somewhere. But there was no one visible around me. It wasn't Lens. I perked my ears up again.

And then the voice came once more...

[...Ha Yeonjun.]

It was definitely a woman's voice. I looked around, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. My gaze eventually settled on the left wall of the maze.

I carefully pressed my ear ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against the partition wall.

[...Over here! Over here!]

"Kim Jeong-a?"

The owner of the voice was none other than our class vice-president, Kim Jeong-a. I asked while still facing the wall.

"What are you doing over there?"

[Ha Yeonjun, where the hell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have you—!]

That was when the labyrinth began to shake. Along with a faint vibration, the torches mounted on the walls started going out one by one. The auxiliary lights on the ceiling did the same.

Kim Jeong-a's trembling voice came through.

[I-It's not just me who can't see anything... right?]

Just like she said, I looked around at the now pitch-black surroundings. In the darkness where I couldn't even see an inch in front of me, I answered quietly.

"Yeah. Same here."