A/N:- Need reviews.
"Huaaah…."
The moment the creature opened its mouth, a chilling sense of murderous intent spread through the air, making my whole body tingle. But I didn't stop running. Every second-floor monster we had encountered so far was nothing but a fake. Even the Spirit Knight had undoubtedly used some kind of trick. Because of that, I could afford to stay composed. After all, there's always a difference between the real thing and a counterfeit. Ah, except for Gigas.
Sensing that my momentum was anything but ordinary, the creature firmly raised its shield and swung its sword. Once again, a deep blue sword aura flared up, radiating an eerie energy as it flew toward me. But there was no way such a simple attack would ever work on me.
If the goal had been to gain experience, then I probably would have called An-Hyun. I felt a little sorry for Yun-Jung, but I had already decided to end this fight quickly.
Sgeong! Srrrk…
With the power of the Sword Specialist, I cut through the sword aura in one swift motion, and I could see the glow inside the creature's helmet burning even brighter.
The two of us clashed head-on. My plan was simple—brace against the shield and break through with force. But then, as I watched the dark energy seep unnaturally into its shield, my brow furrowed.
At that moment, I heard Jung Ha-Yeong chanting a spell from behind.
"Ice Cannon!"
Ice Cannon was a high-tier water-element spell. She had probably cast it to remove the shield before I could engage directly. A long, icy tunnel materialized, shooting forward in a straight line—hitting the creature's shield dead-on. And then…
Patzzt! Patzztztzt!
"…Huh?"
The black energy surrounding the Spirit Knight' shield clashed with Jung Ha-Yeong's Ice Cannon, sparks flying as the two forces wrestled for dominance. But it didn't last long. After a brief tug-of-war, the spell was ultimately absorbed into the shield.
So, the damn researchers really went and pulled some weird tricks again. I heard the confusion in Jung Ha-Yeong's voice, but I didn't waste time dwelling on it. I raised my foot forcefully—whatever trick it had up its sleeve didn't matter. As long as I got rid of that shield, the fight would be over.
Crack!
This time, I put in some real strength, and the Spirit Knight couldn't withstand the impact. It lost its grip, dropping the shield. The creature had no facial expressions, but somehow, I could tell it was flustered.
Then, as the shield spun mid-air, an Ice Cannon shot toward the ceiling from it. Seeing that, I smirked.
So it had planned to reflect the spell back at me? How annoying. Fueled by irritation, I infused my sword with mana and struck its chest with full force.
"Huaaah…!"
Its chest armor caved in, and the creature was sent skidding backward. Seizing the opportunity, Yun-Jung darted forward, charging toward the staggering knight.
"Haah!"
Tch. This time, she didn't let out that weirdly suggestive battle cry. No—wait, that's not the point.
The Spirit Knight, still reeling, slammed hard into the wall, its head bouncing off the stone. Having lost its shield, its guard was left partially open. Yun-Jung wasted no time and immediately swung her daggers.
It was the same rapid-strike dagger technique she had demonstrated before—Drum Barrage Dagger Arts.
"Hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat, hat!"
Yun-Jung swung her daggers like a storm, letting out a voice that was somewhere between laughter and a battle cry—I honestly couldn't tell which. Unlike An-Hyun, who took precise stances and delivered deep, calculated thrusts, she simply slashed wildly. But against an unarmed opponent, there was nothing more effective.
After checking the enemy's condition, I sheathed my sword and turned away. At that moment, our party members, who had been silently watching, all stared at me with wide eyes. Even Vivienne, who had been in the middle of casting another spell, tilted her head in confusion.
"H-Hyung."
"What?"
"Uh… I mean… the monster is still…"
"Hm? It should be over."
I muttered nonchalantly and turned back—just in time to see the Spirit Knight let out a mournful cry before its body crumbled apart. In our first clash, I had already shattered its core, and the immense internal shock had finished the job.
I shrugged and turned back to the party, only to find them all staring at me and Yun-Jung in disbelief. Well, it couldn't be helped. Since I had decided to speed up our dungeon run, we had to sacrifice some of their experience gain.
"Yahoo! I took it down! An-Hyun, did you see that?"
Seemingly in high spirits, Yun-Jung cheered and hopped around excitedly. Jung Ha-Yeong let out a sigh, followed by Shin Sang-Yong doing the same. But the two of them must have already discussed this beforehand since they didn't say anything.
An-Hyun, however, was a different story.
"T-This is ridiculous!"
"Huh?"
I turned to An-Hyun, surprised by his sudden complaint. His reaction was unexpected.
"Hyung!"
"What."
I responded in a cold voice, and An-Hyun, eyes blazing with frustration, shouted at me.
"That wasn't Yun-Jung's kill! You were the one who did everything—she just landed the last hit!"
"Hmm… and?"
As I countered with a question, his face instantly brightened. He turned to Yun-Jung with a smug grin, as if he had been waiting for this moment.
"See? Even Hyung agrees. You just landed the last hit, so stop bragging."
"...."
I had momentarily forgotten how childish these guys could be.
That's not the issue here, you idiots.
I wanted to say that, but honestly, I had nothing to say in this situation, so I simply let out a sigh instead. Jung Ha-Yeong glanced back and forth between us, her expression becoming increasingly complicated.
On one hand, she looked utterly incredulous. On the other hand, she seemed… almost pitying.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked.
"…Raising kids must be really exhausting for you."
"Haha… haah."
I could only laugh and sigh at the same time.
As I let out a bitter smile, Jung Ha-Yeong finally allowed herself a small grin. Meanwhile, An-Hyun and Yun-Jung continued their bickering.
"Oh, come on! Did you not see my flashy dagger skills?"
"Flashy, my ass. You were just flailing around randomly."
"Pfft. At least I don't prance around with a spear like it's some kind of dance performance."
…Was she talking about the fight against the giant back on the first floor?
Back then, An-Hyun had almost lost his grip on his spear while supporting me in battle. She was probably teasing him about that. And judging by how his face turned bright red, he definitely remembered it.
The two of them launched into another round of petty insults, their argument growing more heated by the second. Occasionally, I even heard a few curse words slip out.
Great. The atmosphere was getting unnecessarily tense.
Did they completely ignore what I said earlier?
I hadn't wanted to embarrass them in front of other players since we'd been together for so long. But just as I furrowed my brow, ready to raise my voice—
"Enough!"
At that moment, Sol stepped forward and shouted.
Her sudden outburst made both An-Hyun and Yun-Jung freeze, their mouths snapping shut. The usually quiet and reserved Sol raising her voice in anger was enough to shock them into silence.
She wore an expression she probably thought was fierce and scolding, but from my perspective, with her lips tightly pressed together, she just looked adorably determined.
"What are you two even doing right now? Did you already forget what Su-Hyeon oppa said earlier?"
"Uh… well…"
Since she brought me up, both of them instinctively glanced in my direction, then awkwardly lowered their heads.
Yeah, they had nothing to say.
I folded my arms and decided to watch how this played out.
These two never listened when I scolded them, but maybe getting reprimanded by someone younger would actually make an impression.
"We're in the middle of an exploration right now. If you two keep ruining the atmosphere like this, it's going to make things difficult for me, for oppa, and for both of the mages. Don't you realize that the more you act like this, the more you're tarnishing Su-Hyeon oppa's reputation as the leader of this caravan?"
Well, damn. She's got a way with words.
This wasn't like Sol at all—she was never the type to speak up so confidently. Had she been waiting for the right moment all this time?
An-Hyun and Yun-Jung both looked frustrated, but they couldn't argue—everything she said was spot on.
Yun-Jung, who had been gritting her teeth, finally opened her mouth with a grumbling tone, unwilling to back down completely.
"But… An-Hyun kept picking a fight first. I fought hard too…."
As if acknowledging her point, Sol gave a slow, dignified nod.
Wait a minute. Who does she think she is, acting like a judge here?
"You're right. That was definitely An-Hyun oppa's fault."
"Hey! She started it by bragging about something so ridiculous!"
"That's not the issue. You overreacted. Would it really have been so hard to just say, 'Good job' and move on?"
At Sol's words, Yun-Jung flinched, looking guilty. Sure, she had been teasing An-Hyun, but having Sol defend her so seriously made it impossible for her to argue back.
Because if she now admitted, "Okay, fine, I was just messing with him," then she'd be the one getting scolded instead.
Meanwhile, An-Hyun, seemingly in shock that Sol wasn't taking his side, just stood there with a blank face before abruptly turning his head away with a scoff.
"Hah. There's nothing to praise. I can't do it. No, I won't. What's the point of praising something that isn't even impressive?"
"Haa… Oppa, that's not the point."
Just as Yun-Jung was about to snap back, Sol stepped in again, blocking her and taking another step forward.
"She just wants you to praise her. You always criticize Yun-Jung unnie, but you've never once given her a compliment or a kind word, have you?"
"...."
An-Hyun remained silent.
Sol, with a gentle, almost motherly smile, slowly reached for his hand and held it softly. Though he still refused to meet her eyes, he didn't pull away either.
The scene unfolding before us was oddly reminiscent of a mother consoling her upset son. Naturally, the rest of us fell quiet, the atmosphere suddenly somber.
With endless patience, Sol reached up with her other hand and gently patted his head.
"There's a saying that even whales will dance if you praise them. If you just danced, Yun-Jung unnie would surely… no, wait."
"?"
Halfway through her sentence, Sol suddenly paused.
A question mark practically appeared above her head as she tilted it in confusion, seemingly realizing that something had gone horribly wrong.
We had all been completely focused on her, but at that moment, a strange sense of unease washed over us.
And then—
We understood.
"...."
"...."
A crushing silence fell over the group.
I shut my eyes, desperately trying to suppress the laughter bubbling up inside me.
But I couldn't.
It had been a long, long time since I'd struggled this hard to keep a straight face.
…Damn it. Holding back this laughter might actually kill me.
As I cracked my eyes open, I saw that even Jung Ha-Yeong was struggling. Her lips were pressed tightly together, but the faint sound of her teeth grinding gave her away—she was barely holding it in. Shin Sang-Yong, too, kept opening and closing his mouth, fighting the same battle.
Only Vivienne, who had never lived on Earth, simply tilted her head in confusion.
But Yun-Jung? Yeah, she was never the patient type.
"Pffft."
"Ahem. I, uh, misspoke for a moment—"
"Pfft-kek!"
"Ahem. Anyway, unnie, you—"
"Puhuhu—AHAHAHAHA!"
Yun-Jung lost it first.
Sol desperately tried to maintain the conversation, but every time Yun-Jung's laughter slipped out, she faltered. The rest of the group was hanging on by a thread, but Yun-Jung was long gone, rolling on the floor and slapping the ground in pure hysterics.
Sol's face burned bright red, and she stammered before letting out a frustrated yell.
"I-It was a mistake! Stop laughing!"
"Aha! Dance—ahaha! Praise—AHAHAHAHA!"
"I-I said stop laughing!"
Yun-Jung, still gasping for air, suddenly shot up from the ground, gripping her twin daggers. With an exaggerated flourish, she let her arms go loose, twirling the weapons around before turning toward me—
—and then she started wiggling her hips.
The movements were ridiculous, somewhere between a failed belly dance and a dying fish flopping around.
With a mischievous grin, she cackled,
"This isn't a dance. I'm just praising you, oppa! KYAHAHAHA!"
That one sentence.
That was it. That was the breaking point.
"KYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"PUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The entire group exploded.
Jung Ha-Yeong and Shin Sang-Yong couldn't hold it in anymore. They burst out laughing, their composed facades shattering in an instant.
An-Hyun, who had been gritting his teeth, gave up and let out a wheezing laugh. And me? Yeah, I was done for too.
After all that serious, solemn buildup, only for it to be completely ruined by one slip of the tongue… It was just too damn funny.
Meanwhile, Sol, her face burning red, desperately tried to regain control of the situation.
But the more she panicked, the harder we laughed.
And then—
"Uwaaaah! Waaaahhh!"
She finally broke down into tears.
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