A Feast and an Ambush
Bong Sang-hoon dropped his spoon after shoving the meal I'd prepared into his mouth. "Hey, you little punk, eat nicely."
"It's so good····!"
The food must have tasted incredible, because Bong Sang-hoon and the Silver Wing guild members were tearing up. No matter how delicious rice is, it's still just rice. There's no need to make such a fuss over it.
"Our supporter's cooking is the best in the world."
"Mm." Noah and Shin Yong nodded at Kim Chan-yong's words.
"Alright, now that you know it's good, hurry up and eat before it gets cold. I made plenty, so just say something if you need more."
"Oh!"
After that, only the clinking of spoons echoed inside the tent.
Ding!
"Here, Baek Seol. Your food."
"Okay!"
When I placed my hand on Baek Seol's head as she diligently picked at flower petals, I felt her round little back of the head. Slowly stroking downward, my hand passed over her soft back and reached her fluffy, plump tail. Her body was so small that it didn't take long to go from head to tail. The last stop was her cotton-candy-like, bouncy rear.
"Aang!"
When I pretended to bite her fluffy-looking tail, Baek Seol's eyes widened as she turned to look at me.
"You ate it!"
"I ate Baek Seol's tail?"
"Yeah!"
"Ah, I'm full after eating Baek Seol's tail. You eat a lot too, Baek Seol."
"It's delicious!"
Baek Seol went back to plucking petals. She must have liked the snowy dungeon, because she'd been playing around all day and was probably starving. Clink, clink. The sound of the men scraping their empty bowls on the folding table reached my ears.
"You're going to put a hole in those bowls. Anyone who needs more rice, bring your bowl over."
"Me!"
"Me too!"
"Where the hell did you all starve?"
They had healthy appetites, as expected of combat-class hunters. They ate well.
Clack. After flicking the blood off his sword, Shin Yong sheathed it.
"I hit level 10."
"Me too."
Everyone except Shin Yong had reached level 10 and awakened their skills. Their eyes sparkled with anticipation. At the same time, a gate leading outside appeared.
"Gaeul."
Shin Yong, who had sliced off the Ice Orc Chieftain's head, handed something to me.
Rarity: High-grade
Effect: Cold Resistance +3%
"Hmm, this is pretty trash. It only gives three percent cold resistance."
"Oh!"
When I read out the item description, the others reacted differently.
"Is this a good item?"
"Items with resistance to specific attributes are quite valuable."
I understood what Bong Sang-hoon meant. I hadn't experienced other dungeons, but if the environment was this messed up, it made sense that such items would be precious.
"I don't need it. Give it to whoever gets cold easily."
The three of them exchanged glances.
"Don't fight. Decide with rock-paper-scissors. All three of you, turn around."
The moment I finished speaking, the trio stood with their backs to each other in a triangle formation.
"Rock, paper, scissors."
At my signal, they changed their hands.
"Kim Chan-yong wins."
"Yesss!"
He was so happy he started jumping around.
"You two can get something good from the next dungeon, so don't feel too bad."
"Not really disappointed."
"Haha."
They looked extremely disappointed. As front-line swordsmen, they had a strong desire for good equipment. It would be stranger if a hunter didn't covet gear. Equipment was something precious that protected your one and only life.
"Let's head out now."
When I threw myself into the shimmering gate, the environment changed in an instant. Darkness had already fallen outside.
"Hmm?"
Bong Sang-hoon tilted his head left and right as if something was off.
"What's wrong?"
"Silver Wing always stations backup before clearing a dungeon. In case someone gets seriously injured inside or we fail to clear it."
"Then why is no one here?"
"····I don't know."
Bong Sang-hoon's face darkened. It seemed like a big deal that no one had come to meet us.
—Chik, chik.
"Huu—"
After whispering among themselves for a while, the Silver Wing guild member returned to where we were gathered.
"We're departing immediately."
"Why? No contact?"
Bong Sang-hoon's expression had grown even darker than before as he nodded.
"This has never happened before. We need to hurry."
"We're in Daegwallyeong. It'll take at least three hours to get there."
"There's no choice but to move fast."
Realizing the seriousness, Bong Sang-hoon's subordinate quickly brought the car around.
Bong Sang-hoon's subordinate must have floored it, because we arrived in front of the academy in less than two hours.
"We're here. Get out."
"You look busy, yet you still drove us all the way here."
"I'm just doing my job."
The Silver Wing car that had dropped us off vanished in an instant.
—Chik, chik.
"Huu— You guys worked hard too."
"Everyone did well."
"I was thinking of treating everyone to samgyeopsal and soju, but I'm too full to fit anything else in."
"Haha, right."
"Just rest well today."
"Thanks to that rare item, I'll sleep like a baby."
Shin Yong's smiling face at Kim Chan-yong's words suddenly twisted.
"I'm gonna go smoke a cigarette, so you guys head in first."
The trio nodded and quickly disappeared into Wisdom Academy. They must have been exhausted from accumulated fatigue.
"Huu— Baek Seol, want to go for a walk?"
"Okay!"
When I put my hand in my pocket, Baek Seol, who had been inside, rubbed her face against it. So soft.
"Let's go squeeze some info out of Purple Pot and gather alchemy materials quickly."
"Yeah!"
Anyway, her answers were always the best among rabbits.
"Floor it harder!"
"Team Leader Bong, we're already speeding."
"This isn't the time to worry about that. Even the hotline to Deputy Leader Bit-na isn't working. Step on it!"
Only then did Bong Sang-hoon's direct subordinate sense that something was wrong and slammed the accelerator until the dashboard shook. After some time passed, a sharp metallic sound reached Bong Sang-hoon's ears.
"Over here!"
Screeech!
The car stopped abruptly and slid sideways because the brakes weren't applied properly. The metallic sound was coming from a dungeon next to a busy commercial district. The one fortunate thing was that there were no civilians around, probably because it was late at night.
After hurriedly getting out of the car, Bong Sang-hoon heard the metallic sound even more clearly.
"Combat ready!"
Like the seasoned Silver Wing guild members they were, they drew their weapons without hesitation at Bong Sang-hoon's command and started running. In Bong Sang-hoon's vision appeared a woman with purple hair swinging countless sword trails through the air. Long sword wounds were carved into her forearm. His chest burned and he felt like he was losing his mind.
"Deputy Leader Bit-na!!"
Bong Sang-hoon resented how unusually slow his legs felt today. Even so, he kicked off the ground with all his strength.
—Clang!
"Haa, haa."
He barely managed to block an unknown black object just before it reached Yoo Bit-na. Even though he'd squeezed out every last bit of strength, the casual swing of the creature's claws made his insides churn.
"Haa, haa·····. Bong Sang-hoon."
"Deputy Leader Bit-na, are you okay?"
"Now's not the time to worry about me."
Blood was spreading from the wounds on Yoo Bit-na's forearm, which had seemed unbeatable. Grind. Bong Sang-hoon's face twisted like a demon's.
"How dare····."
Yoo Bit-na was both his guiding light and his idol. She was also the woman he secretly loved. He could never forgive the one who had injured her.
"I'll kill you."
"Kuhuhu. Even the proud Deputy Leader Yoo Bit-na has a prince on a white horse?"
The monster, looking like a fusion of human and beast, laughed. Its pitch-black, elongated claws and blood-red pupils made it clear it wasn't human.
"Bong Sang-hoon, there are five enemies. Quickly support the others."
"Huh? What are you saying! What about Deputy Leader Bit-na?!"
"Bong Sang-hoon!!"
At Yoo Bit-na's loud shout, Bong Sang-hoon felt his heart sink.
"Trust me."
He could never win against Yoo Bit-na's calm yet powerful voice, as always.
"····Deputy Leader Bit-na. I'll be right back."
"I'll be counting on you."
Bong Sang-hoon forced himself to turn away, and his retreating back was etched into Yoo Bit-na's memory.
"Kuhuhu. Is the farce over?"
Ping!
Instead of answering, Yoo Bit-na raised her sword to chest level.
'Damn it. If only he hadn't taken hostages····.'
A dark, sticky energy from the wound on her forearm was rapidly consuming her body. Despite her outward appearance, her insides were already in ruins. There was no time. It was obvious that if she delayed any longer, her body wouldn't move.
"Huu."
She steadied her breathing and refined her energy. Even though it was still immature, she performed the opening stance of the Superlative Crescent Moon Sword Art that had brought her to this position.
"So that's the famous Yoo Bit-na's Crescent Moon Sword?"
During her brief opening stance, the creature's body had transformed in an instant. The glossy skin starting from its pitch-black arm burned upward and covered its entire body.
'Moonlight Phantom Step.'
Like faint moonlight, Yoo Bit-na's body left afterimages as it slid forward. At the same time, the creature's eyeballs shook as if an earthquake had struck.
'Superlative Crescent Moon Sword, First Form — Spectral Slash!'
From Yoo Bit-na's elegantly extended thin rapier, sword energy bloomed like flowers. It was a sword art focused on illusion and speed—in other words, deception and swiftness.
Crack!
The creature's large mouth tore open in a smile as grotesque wings sprouted from its back and wrapped around its body.
Ting-ting-ting!
Not a single scratch. Instead, the recoil sent her body flying backward.
"Uwek!"
The blood that poured from her mouth was pitch black.