"Ugh…”
My head was ringing. I stumbled and managed to get up. I felt dizzy as if I was on a roller coaster. Something surged up from my chest, and I bent over, vomiting it all out.
"Blech, ugh."
After vomiting for a long time, I raised my head. Even after emptying my stomach, I still felt uncomfortable. I felt like there was something in my nose too. I wiped my mouth with a tissue I took from inventory and blew my nose, and sand came out.
"What is this… Ugh."
I had a headache again. I pressed my hands to my forehead and closed my eyes.
Then I remembered the memories before I passed out. The Muspelheim dungeon desert, Seo Ha-joon fell into the hole, a sign of the sandworm coming out, I fell into the hole before Eden and Yong-sik could save me, and the last thing I heard was the system’s voice…
–[Muspelheim–SS207. Hidden area, ‘Realm of Fire', opens].
I opened my eyes and looked around. This is the Realm of Fire? It doesn't look like it…
Above all, it wasn't a desert here. The scene before me looked like something out of a movie set in ancient ruins. The large brick building looked like a pyramid."Ha… What is this place?"
I looked up at the ceiling, which was blocked on all sides by solid stone, and my jaw dropped at its endless size.
There was a place this big under the desert? The scale was enormous, even for a hidden area in a dungeon.
“The others… Ugh.”
It seemed like once again I had ended up in a different place all alone. Does that mean Seo Ha-joon is safe? Suddenly, I remembered Seo Ha-joon's strange condition when I tried to cast a skill on him.
I didn't feel like he'd intentionally ignored me, so I wondered what was going on with him? However, pondering alone here wouldn't solve anything. I looked around and got up from my seat.
"Eden! Yong-sik!"
I shouted, but there was no answer. I took a deep breath and started walking. First, I need to get out of here and rejoin the team.
But if this is a hidden area, isn't this the same as a dungeon? If so, there will be monsters and boss monsters…
"Gasp…!”
When I came to my senses, I stopped moving and froze. This is a dungeon that has been upgraded to SS-rank, and I'm wandering around alone? This is the perfect place to die.
"Holy shit…"
It was suicide to wander around this historic site alone. To reach the portal, I had to kill the boss monster and clear it, which I could never do alone. Distressed, I called up the status window.
"Status window!"
I looked anxiously at the blue status window that appeared in front of me. I lifted my finger and clicked here and there. Then, I found what I was looking for.
[6 people have been successfully influenced by ‘Shake the Catnip (S)’]
[Eden, Kang Yoo-hyun, Hae Song-yeon, Han Yeo-reum, Kang Soo-hyun, Sung Yoo-bin]
[Number of available random summons: 2]
"This is it!"
I clasped my hands happily. I thought I could do something with the Catnip skill even if only one of them came. Of course, it would be very uncomfortable for them to be summoned out of nowhere and forced to clear an unknown area alone…
I'll pray about that later, and for now, saving my own life is more important. Taking a deep breath, I looked for the part where I could do random summoning. However, no matter how much I searched through the status window, there was no question asking if I wanted to do a random summon. The system window didn't appear, and there was no sound either.
"What? Why is this happening?"
I still have two summoning chances left. This shouldn't be happening!
I clicked here and there with my trembling fingers and shouted in the quietest voice.
“Random summon! Random summon quickly! Damn system! Hey!"
However, the system remained silent, as if it was teasing me. Just as I was about to explode with impatience and frustration, I heard a rustling sound in my ear.
“…!”
I turned my head toward the sound. All I could see were old bricks. But the atmosphere felt strange. I quietly took out my gun from my inventory.
Could it be a monster? I hope it's a low-level monster. My heart was pounding because I never killed a monster alone.
“…”
But it was quiet as time passed. I was nervous and held it at gunpoint.
What could it be? Was it not a monster?
I looked around with a puzzled expression.
Kwang!
"Hugh…!"
In an instant, my body was thrown into the air. I landed in a pile of rubble behind me.
“Kugh!"
Stars twinkled before my eyes. I struggled to open my eyes and see what had attacked me. But it wasn't a monster that attacked me. My eyes widened when I saw an unexpected person.
"Baek… Si-hoo?"
"It's been a while."
"Ugh…!"
Why is Baek Si-hoo here? Baek Si-hoo grabbed my neck with one hand and glared at me. The menacing aura he exuded made every hair on my body stand on end, as if he could tear me apart at any moment.
“This… Let go of me!"
I struggled with all my might, but it was futile. In front of an S-rank, my resistance was nothing more than that of a child. Baek Si-hoo's cold gaze scanned me from head to toe.
"It seems like this time you don't have a summoner to protect you nor a bothersome pest, huh?"
"Ugh."
Baek Si-hoo's face, which had melted due to Yong-sik's poisonous breath, looked fine. Even with all the potions poured into him, it would be difficult to fix it, but his face had already healed completely. It seems the guild master of the Laufey guild is quite capable.
‘Damn, I'm screwX…"
Of all people, why did it have to be Baek Si-hoo, the best of the best who hates me the most in this world, who ended up alone with me in this hidden area? Isn't this the perfect death flag? How can I survive this?
Tears welled up in my eyes as I realised how unlucky I was. But even in this situation, like the name of my passive skill, my tongue was well-oiled1 before I even realised it.
"Wait… Baek Si-hoo!"
"…?"
"If you kill me now… Won't you regret it?"
I gasped, struggling to breathe. However, the grip on my neck remained as strong as ever. However, he raised one of his eyebrows as if he was urging me to continue speaking.
This bastard. I cursed inwardly as I managed to speak with great difficulty.
"Did you know that this place has been upgraded to SS-rank? Hu… Do you think you can handle the boss monster alone?"
"…"
"It's impossible for you alone… Ugh."
My thrown body roughly fell onto the rubble. A cough escaped my throat as I suddenly inhaled oxygen.
"Cough, cough…!"
"…"
Baek Si-hoo looked down at me with an expressionless face. I don't know what he was thinking. His demeanour was so menacing that it almost seemed like he was angry, but his face was as cold as ice, that I couldn't understand his intention.
When I looked at him warily, Baek Si-hoo's mouth slowly opened.
"Don't try to do anything stupid."
“I didn’t do anything… Ugh!”
Baek Si-hoo's big hand grabbed my wrist. I was immediately pulled towards him helplessly. Click, something stuck to my wrist. It happened so fast that I couldn't even resist. I looked at the thin bracelet on my wrist in surprise.
"Wh—what is it?"
"It's an item."
"What kind of item?"
I felt an ominous feeling. When I looked closely, it looked like two snakes biting each other's tails. The black snake bracelet gave off an unsettling aura just by looking at it. And at that moment, the system window appeared.
[The unilateral contract, ‘The Serpent’s Fangs" has been established.]
[It can be unlocked with an S-grade unlock item.]
“…!”
An S-grade unilateral contract item. It was a nasty item that created a one-sided contract just by wearing it. If I were to stray a certain distance from Baek Si-hoo, I would likely face severe punishment.
This bas—. Swearing rose to my throat. But, I managed to hold it in without spitting it out.
"I mean, you don't have to do this to me…"
"How can I trust you?"
"That…"
"Listen to me if you don't want your wrists cut."
"…"
After my ankles, next are my wrists?2
I couldn't get annoyed and closed my mouth at Baek Si-hoo, who was filled with distrust. Still, I'm glad he didn't hit me in the face in a rush out of revenge.
He seemed to be barely holding back, probably because I was a B-rank and if he hit me hard enough, I would be in such a critical state that I wouldn't even be able to use my auxiliary skill. However, this item seemed to have been prepared deliberately. Could it be that the Laufey Guild is already targeting me? And Park Yoon-sung anticipated that and formed a guild alliance in advance?
I let out a long sigh inwardly as I finally understood the inside story. In the end, it was my fault that the plot changed from the original story again. Maybe this is my karma that I met Baek Si-hoo and was threatened like this.
"Sigh…"
"Follow me."
"I'll go on my own, so let go of my hand…!"
I shouted at Baek Si-hoo, who grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me along. Then, Baek Si-hoo stopped in his tracks. And he slowly turned to face me.
"You."
"Why, why?"
"…"
I shouted and cowered in fear. Baek Si-hoo’s black eyes glared at me fiercely. He opened his mouth and only uttered one word.
"Don't talk informally to me!"
“…”
This boomer bastard.
I cursed inwardly.
- Excessively smooth-spoken.
- Refer to chapter 29-30.
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