"What's with you?"
"That, that…"
"Ah, this?"
Eden's finger trembled and pointed at my head. I answered while touching the invisible cloth I felt in my palm.
"I received the sunshade item because it was too hot."
"…"
"Why? Is it weird?"
I asked, wondering if it was strange to see me wearing the cloth alone, but Eden remained silent.
What's wrong with him? Did he get heatstroke? Secretly concerned, I reached out and tapped Eden's stiff cheek.
"Are you okay? Are you using a cooling item?""…"
"Hey!"
Eventually, I slapped Eden's cheek with both hands. It wasn't until his cheeks turned red that Eden came to his senses and grabbed my hand.
"Let's get married! I'll make you happy!"
"Are you crazy? Why are you talking nonsense again?"
As if Eden wasn't already in his right mind, the heat made him even crazier. I clicked my tongue inwardly and swatted Eden’s hand away.
"I think you're suffering from the heat. Why don't I ask Hunter Guseul to heal you?"
“Kkyau!”
"Yong—Yong-sik-ah!"
Yong-sik, who followed the fluttering cloth with sparkling eyes, stretched his front paw forward. Yong-sik, who was hanging on my shoulder, jumped from his place and snatched the sunshade cloth with his mouth.
"Kkyauu, kkyau~"
"Oh my goodness…”
Maybe it's because I always play with him using toys at the accommodation. The fluttering sunshade looked like a great toy to Yong-sik. I chuckled seeing Yong-sik rubbing his body with the thin cloth wrapped around his body.
"Sigh, alright. You can play with it."
"Kkyaau!"
When I saw Yong-sik rolling on the ground, he screamed loudly and found the dungeon recording item. Then, I turned my head towards the gaze I suddenly felt from the side.
"Ah, I'm sorry. You were so considerate when you gave it to me."
"…"
Lee Geun-ho, who gave me the sunshade cloth, looked at Yong-sik before turning his gaze towards me.
For a moment, his brown eyes sparkled. Was it because of his light-coloured eyes? I blinked when I met his bright eyes that looked like they had just been bathed in sunlight.
"It's okay. Let him play with it."
"Still…"
"It's not expensive anyway. I have extras, should I give you one too?"
"Oh, no, it's okay."
I shook my head and glanced towards the front line. It seemed like the combat team battle was about to end. I glanced at the combat team in the distance as they continued to kill the swarming scorpion-like monsters and the monitor lizard-like monsters endlessly.
Kwaaang!
Sung Yoo-bin stood out in the desert field. In the Sæ dungeon, which was located on the beach and in the deep sea, her fire power seemed to be insufficient to be called an incarnation, but here, she was like a fish in water.
Her power shown here might be similar as in the Sæ dungeon with her reversal skill, but the visible impact and sensation were different. Anyway, because of that, it was thrilling to watch from behind. I felt like I was watching a superhero movie from behind the scenes. I turned my head while watching her with excitement.
Once that battle is over, we will soon arrive at the neutral zone. The Muspelheim dungeon's neutral zone was an oasis. There must be water around, because I feel a little cooler.
"Ackk!"
"…!"
Just as I was feeling relieved, I heard a scream from one of the combat team members. When I turned my head in surprise, the sand around them began to sink, forming a large hole.
"It's sandworms!"
"…Sandworms?"
I frowned when I heard someone shouting. Aren't sandworms high-level monsters that appear around the area where the boss monster is? Why has it appeared…
However, that was a foolish thought. Blinded by such a dungeon rating anomaly, my learning ability must be lacking too. I bit my lip and looked towards where Sung Yoo-bin was.
"Hunter Sung Yoo-bin!"
"Ugh…!"
I saw Sung Yoo-bin jumping up from afar. Sandworms appeared around her. She leapt up, kicking at the shrinking sand, creating flames in the air and stepping on them. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that she was safe.
"Phew…"
However, it wasn't time to relax completely yet, because something huge suddenly emerged from the sunken ground.
"Kkii– Kkiii!"
"Ugh…!"
The huge sandworm's screeching sound echoed throughout the field. An ear-piercing sound came out from a mouth as big as its body.
This is a big problem. Sandworms had a habit of calling for reinforcements by shouting. If we left it as it is, other sandworms would flock in an instant.
But why wasn't anyone attacking? I widened my eyes when I saw the oddity of the combat team.
"…!"
Could it be that the huge sandworm's shriek gave off some sort of abnormal status skill? Except for a few S-rankers, the combat team’s hunters were immobilised.
"…Hunter Sung Yoo-bin!"
Song Yoo-bin's body shook violently in the distance, and the huge sandworm flashed its terrifying teeth at her.
"No!"
With a loud bang, the sandworm's huge body collided with Sung Yoo-bin.
"Kugh!"
A myriad of status windows appeared before Sung Yoo-bin's eyes.
[A fatal error has occurred!]
[The effectiveness of Incarnation's Blessing (S) has been reduced by more than 50%.]
[You are affected by the status ailment ‘Panic'.]
[The effect of Indomitable Will (S) is weakening.]
[The party members are affected by the status ailment ‘Panic'.]
[The effect of Leadership (A) is not activated.]
"Shit…!"
The flames rising around her blocked her view. But she didn't feel as strong as before. It was because of the advanced sandworm monster that appeared at the end of the battle.
If it were the Valkyrie members who were usually in sync with her instead of the other hunters around her, the situation would be different. However, right now, she had come alone to provide support from her guild. She couldn't expect such a quick response from the team members.
Sung Yoo-bin's eyes lit up. Even in this situation, she never gave up the fight. The huge sandworm instinctively felt Sung Yoo-bin's presence, and rushed towards her.
Kwagwagwang!
"Kugh…!"
The flame in front of her barely stopped the sandworm. Countless intimidating fangs began to scratch at her fire barrier. Sung Yoo-bin gritted her teeth seeing that. What about other hunters? Are there no S-rank hunters who can move their bodies?
With her eyes wide open, she scanned the surroundings amidst the sight of monsters that filled her sight. If they continued like this, they wouldn't last long.
Even her ability was fading away. Perhaps due to the effects of the status abnormality, the fire ability that always made her entire body hot slowly cooled down.
‘Damn it…’
‘Is this the end?' She never thought she would think of such a clichéd line. A self-deprecating smile formed on Sung Yoo-bin's lips.
"Hunter Sung Yoo-bin!"
“…!”
A voice that shouldn't be heard here interrupted her thoughts. Before she could turn her head in surprise, something grabbed her hand.
Their clasped hands became hot. Like pouring oil on a dying fire, the fire inside Sung Yoo-bin reignited in an instant.
[The fatal error has been resolved.]
[The Incarnation's Blessing (S) is activated.]
[You are no longer affected by the status ailment ‘Panic'.]
[The Indomitable Will (S) is activated.]
[All skill levels are temporarily increased.]
"…!"
It was a familiar sensation she had felt many times before. A sweet scent wafted past her nose, and in an instant, the stats numbers in the status window boosted up. She subconsciously squeezed the hand she was holding tightly, and she could feel that the man was struggling.
“Kieeek.”
"Ah."
Perhaps sensing the threatening atmosphere, the big sandworm screamed and used its skill again. However, it didn't work on Sung Yoo-bin, whose stats had reached their limit.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome! Eden, let's go!"
When she let go of his hand with a calm voice, his sweet scent was quickly dispersed into the air, accompanied by a gust of wind. Sung Yoo-bin widened her eyes as she savoured his lingering scent. Soon, a dark red flame rose from her.
Sung Yoo-bin, who had received auxiliary skill, killed all the sandworms that suddenly appeared. Fortunately, she finished it up quickly and no other sandworms appeared. What a relief.
After the healers removed the status ailment and poured in the potion, we were finally able to move again.
When the party arrived safely at the neutral zone, Oasis, Sung Yoo-bin finally unleashed her suppressed anger.
“You bastard! I certainly warned you!"
"…"
Seo Ha-joon kept his mouth shut in the face of a crisis that could have potentially led to the annihilation of the party. Sung Yoo-bin glared at Seo Ha-joon and continued to shout at him.
“Even in the Sæ dungeon, high-level monsters that only appear in Zone 3 appear in Zone 1! If you were a vice-guildmaster, you should have anticipated this situation!”
"…"
"That auxiliary skill? So, how's it feel to have been saved by ‘that’ auxiliary skill? Huh?"
Seo Ha-joon bit his lip at her scathing words. Then, he opened his mouth with an aggrieved look on his face.
"Anyway, if you could have held on a little longer, I could have handled it."
"Sigh…"
"I'm serious. I was already working on dispelling the status ailment."
My head tilted slightly at those words. It was because Seo Ha-joon looked unusual to make such an excuse. Sure enough, Sung Yoo-bin also looked at Seo Ha-joon coldly.
"A bastard like you, can't come to your senses until you reach the neutral zone?"
"…"
Seo Ha-joon just remained silent.
T/N: Thank you for the wait! See you guys next Friday ^•^!!
I think I don't mind if HYJ ended up with SYB 🤔 even though their interactions is awkward wwwww I just want to see more from SYB's perspective. Anyway, feel free to check out my R19 BL, I haven't had time to introduce this yet so here is it. No fixed schedule yet for this. Still working on short story project.
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