Chapter 8: The First Dungeon (4)
Chapter 8: The First Dungeon (4)
The soft, supple touch of a woman’s body.
Han Shin never would have imagined that the female knight, who had been slaughtering giant black Serpents in the dungeon just moments ago, possessed such a body.
She was the one who had moved at speeds the eye could barely follow, swinging her sword to kill every Serpent in a single strike. Her beautiful appearance left an impression strong enough to fully mask the sheer power she wielded.
That was why Han Shin felt a flicker of flustered confusion at the sensation of her body as he held her to keep her from falling. Aside from his sister, Kang Yujin, this was the first time he had ever been in such close physical contact with a woman—at least, as far as his memory served.
‘Her body is like a furnace. First, to the bed...’
However, Han Shin had no time to dwell on the feel of Grace’s feminine form. Even through the thin fabric of her clothes, her body felt scorching hot. She was radiating heat so intensely it reminded him of someone suffering from a severe case of the flu. His expression grew grim.
Han Shin moved Grace onto his bed right next to them. Even earlier, when she was clad in armor, she had felt lighter than expected. He found himself able to lift her and lay her down on the bed with surprising ease.
For nearly two years, he hadn't been able to move his own body properly, let alone lift anything heavy. Even if she was light, the fact that he could effortlessly hoist an adult woman like Grace and settle her onto the bed was a feat that surprised even him. He felt a renewed sense of gratitude toward Tiamat for restoring his health.
‘Hmm... at this rate, I might be able to find a job right away.’
It might have seemed absurd, but for Han Shin, who had been stressed about job hunting for a month, it was a natural train of thought.
‘Ah... what an idiot...’
He immediately scolded himself. Grace was in a state of total exhaustion because she had pushed herself to protect him, yet here he was, foolishly thinking about his own personal affairs. He quickly went to prepare a wet towel for her.
He had towels ready to use because of the long period he had spent bedridden after his accident two years ago. His sister, Kang Yujin, had used them to wipe him down while nursing him, never once showing a hint of displeasure.
As he soaked the towel and brought it back, Han Shin couldn't help but feel a strange sensation.
‘The day has finally come where I’m using this for someone else.’
If he hadn't signed the contract with Tiamat, he probably would have been using this towel to wipe himself down instead of taking a shower this evening. The reality of the monumental change in his condition hit him once again.
“Ngh...”
When he returned to the room, the platinum-haired knight was lying on the bed with her eyes tightly shut, a faint groan escaping her lips as her brow furrowed. It was only natural that there would be a backlash after forcing her body to its absolute limits, and it was something Grace herself had expected to some degree.
Still, now that she was actually in this state, she couldn't help the groans that escaped her. It was clear she was trying to suppress them, likely because she didn't want to worry Han Shin. Beads of sweat rolled down her face, causing a few strands of her platinum hair to stick to her forehead.
Han Shin carefully wiped her face with the towel he had soaked in cold water. As the cool moisture touched her skin, Grace’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him.
“...Thank you...”
Even in her suffering, Grace made sure to express her gratitude.
‘Sigh... how pathetic...’
Han Shin was the one she was supposed to serve and protect. It was just a single dungeon—a measly place with only two Serpents—yet she had overexerted herself and was now showing such weakness in front of him. She felt ashamed.
Though her reaction was understandable given the circumstances, Grace was strict with herself. At the same time, she felt a peculiar emotion at the sensation of Han Shin’s hands as he nursed her with such care.
She was, quite literally, a hero of unparalleled talent. She was a female knight with the capability to leave her mark on history and become a legend that everyone would recognize. In fact, to the people she had saved after contracting with Tiamat, she was already a legend.
Throughout her life, no matter how grueling the battle or how injured she became, she had never been nursed by anyone like this. To begin with, Grace rarely got hurt. During her time as a page and a trainee knight, she had won every duel and successfully hunted every monster.
The only time she had truly struggled was during the aftermath of the world being destroyed by the war between the gods. No matter how strong she was, she could not oppose a god, and she had fought desperately while watching her world crumble.
While the Evil Gods didn't always deploy their direct subordinates, they brought monsters to bolster and flaunt their power. Furthermore, the existing monsters had been driven mad and strengthened by the Evil Gods' demonic energy. It became common for monsters that usually lived in isolation to swarm together, and continuous combat became a daily reality.
Grace had protected others through those bitter struggles. But even then, she had never collapsed and received treatment like this. Even if she suffered a minor injury, she would immediately return to the battlefield after being physically restored by high-level healing magic.
Therefore, lying on a bed and being cared for by Han Shin was, surprisingly, a first for her. A feeling she wasn't used to tickled her chest. She didn't quite know what it was yet, but...
‘It... doesn't feel bad...’
Grace liked this strange sensation. Though she was only whispering it to herself, she was too embarrassed to say she felt "good," so she phrased it indirectly even in her own mind.
Suddenly, Grace felt a sudden urge to fall asleep. Her eyes began to close slowly. Before she knew it, the sandman had arrived, and she drifted off.
Part of it was her body’s demand for rest to recover, but... it was also because she felt a sense of relief and comfort in Han Shin’s care. Grace fell into a peaceful sleep on Han Shin’s soft bed.
“She’ll be okay, right...?”
Han Shin wiped her face and arms once more with a fresh towel before finally placing the last one on her forehead. After confirming that Grace’s expression was relaxing and her burning body was returning to a normal temperature, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew... thank goodness.”
He would have to keep an eye on her, but feeling that she would be alright, Han Shin headed to the bathroom to wash the used towels.
‘Hmm... Noona must have had it much harder than this.’
The act of preparing towels and wiping someone down, even for a brief moment, naturally made him think of his sister, Kang Yujin. Once again, he felt a deep sense of gratitude and apology toward her.
After washing the towels and hanging them on the drying rack, Han Shin finally checked his own condition. For someone who had just come out of a dungeon, he was perfectly fine. Not only were there no injuries, there wasn't even a scratch. In truth, the only intense movement he had made in the dungeon was diving forward once to avoid a Serpent’s attack.
‘Wait...?’
However, Han Shin felt something was off when he realized his clothes weren't dirty at all. He should have been at least a little dusty from rolling on the ground, but there was nothing.
‘What is it...?’
As he pondered the reason, he belatedly realized that even though he had been summoned from his room, he hadn't faced any restrictions inside the dungeon. He had been too tense and distracted during his first dungeon crawl to notice, but he had definitely been barefoot in his room, yet that wasn't the case in the dungeon.
‘It looks like Tiamat automatically equipped me with gear.’
Han Shin’s hunch was correct. Just as Grace could freely summon her armor and weapons, Tiamat had made arrangements that activated when Han Shin entered the dungeon.
Though he hadn't realized it, Han Shin had been wearing form-fitting leather armor made from Dragon Scales. Specifically, Tiamat’s own scales. Since a dragon can immediately regenerate its scales after they are removed, she could produce as many as she wanted to create armor for the lower intelligent beings who followed her.
Because there were no mirrors and the cave was dark, Han Shin hadn't noticed, but he had been fully clad in a set of Dragon Skin Armor made from Tiamat’s scales. The reason Grace could take such a risky gamble was that she knew exactly what kind of armor Han Shin was wearing. It was a decision she could make because she knew that even in the worst-case scenario, if Han Shin were attacked by a Serpent or any other monster, he would never die.
Han Shin pulled out his smartphone and opened the Manager App. In the top left corner of the screen, Tiamat’s character was still fast asleep. He felt grateful that she had made such preparations for someone as insignificant as him compared to a goddess.
‘Let’s wash up first.’
It was true that he had sweated from the exertion. After checking on Grace one more time, Han Shin took a shower. Sitting on the sofa and drying his wet hair with a towel, he felt a pleasant sense of refreshment.
“Yaaaawn~.”
Perhaps because a major event had just passed, he couldn't stop yawning.
‘Ah... should I sleep for a bit...?’
Unable to resist the overwhelming drowsiness, Han Shin lay down on the sofa and fell into a deep sleep.
This, too, was part of Tiamat’s arrangement.
A faint light began to emanate from the smartphone Han Shin had left on the coffee table, and the mark symbolizing Tiamat on the back of his left hand began to glow. It was the process of allowing Han Shin to fully assimilate the mana he had gained from clearing the dungeon.
Though his body was now healthy, he was still close to an ordinary person, and he needed to become stronger. Since he would be entering dungeons, he needed to be at least strong enough to protect himself, making this an essential step.
While he slept, Han Shin’s body was undergoing a form of physical reconstruction through the Manager App.
Inside the house where both Han Shin and Grace had fallen asleep, only the sound of their soft, rhythmic breathing remained.