Chapter 78

Cho-i, having entered the sea, tightly gripped Zhu Rui’s waist. Zhu Rui also held Cho-i Hyeon tightly and began to swim. Cho-i thought for a moment. Taehyeok Sa’s waist was about this size too. And not far away, the dungeon entrance was visible. The dungeon, with its huge maw open, looked to be in poor condition at first glance.

How long has it been neglected?

The dungeon, which should have glowed blue, was radiating red, asserting its presence. There wasn’t a single fish in sight. They were swimming far around, as if avoiding it. Cho-i and Zhu Rui, along with the organization members who followed them, immediately rushed into the dungeon entrance.

Phew!

Upon passing through the dungeon entrance, they immediately reached the surface. Cho-i and the others came up for air. The sea was cold, and the surroundings were full of cliffs. Fortunately, there was a low cliff nearby, so the group decided to climb it.

Follow me closely~

Cho-i said as she climbed the cliff. A low cliff wasn’t much of a problem for an S-Rank. However, for the other S-Rank, Zhu Rui… Her dress shoes slipped. Her suit was soaking wet, and her long hair, which covered her shoulder blades, was no different. Cho-i Hyeon considered whether to hold back her laughter and offered her hand.

Seriously, why are you wearing a suit in a place like this?

Of course, that’s all equipment. Cho-i grinned, and Zhu Rui, frowning as if displeased, still took her hand and climbed up. After helping the organization members up one by one, Cho-i dusted off her hands.

Are you trying to look cool even here?

She grinned, teasing the unfamiliar man, who frowned with an expression that could be displeasure or embarrassment. It didn’t look like an embarrassed face no matter how she looked at it, but Cho-i interpreted it that way. People who aren’t in their right minds tend to approach the world with a different perspective. There was a path along the cliff that led straight ahead. Cho-i walked along it and asked the men, who were dripping water from their suits but making no effort to wring them out:

So, among one, two, three, and four, who’s the dealer and who’s the healer?

Cho-i laughed heartily and extended her hand.

What?

Meanwhile, outside at that very moment.

Ugh, it’s cold.

Hyori Hyeon shivered from the cold, then turned her head as if something suddenly occurred to her.

Did I… give her the sword?

She didn’t.

…You’ve got to be kidding me.

Only the Black Box was neatly placed on the ship they had been on. The two, unaware that Hyori Hyeon was frantically running towards the ship, were only thinking of going out and killing Hyori Hyeon.

“What are you thinking?”

“Thinking about killing someone.”

“You’re thinking something similar to me.”

“Hahahaha.”

Cho-i at least pulled out a shield. It was dented here and there from whatever happened last time, but it wasn’t so damaged that she couldn’t hold it.

“Why don’t you have proper equipment?”

Zhu Rui asked. Cho-i answered confidently.

“Because I went into an SS-Rank dungeon.”

Zhu Rui frowned. Come to think of it, she had heard that Paehyeok had cleared an SS-Rank dungeon in the USA recently. She hadn’t been able to look into it in detail because she was busy.

“You must have participated in that, right? How was the SS-Rank boss monster?”

“Hmm…”

Cho-i smiled ambiguously and tilted her head.

“It was terrifying, wasn’t it? Though I didn’t see it for long.”

“Not seeing it for long means Paehyeok’s Guild Master was stronger, then?”

“No. He was in the hospital for a while.”

“…Then why are you saying you didn’t see it for long?”

“Because I didn’t see it for long?”

Zhu Rui looked at her as if she didn’t understand, and Cho-i shrugged. And at that moment, a sound came from far away. Whoosh- It was a loud sound. Splash, and then the sound that followed was something coming up to the surface of the water and hitting the sea. Cho-i and the Black Society group immediately got into battle formation.

“The monsters here are?”

“Nothing has changed, so…!”

Something was swimming towards them at high speed from afar.

“It’s a whale.”

“A whale…”

Whoosh-! With a loud sound that vibrated their eardrums, a whale poked its head above the surface of the water. Splish, water flowed down the whale’s head, and streams of water poured down from the sky as if it were raining.

“Surely not several of these?”

“So far, only one has appeared at a time…!”

But another one was seen approaching from afar.

“Damn it, the rank must have gone up, so there are more!”

“Wow, we’re screwed!”

As soon as Cho-i raised her shield, a whale slammed its entire body into her. Zhu Rui and the gang members scattered to both sides in an instant, and only Cho-i remained to confront the whale. Crash! The shield and the whale’s head collided with a loud sound. Cho-i blocked the whale with her shield and raised her other arm. And then she brought it down towards its head. Crash-! A second noise. The whale’s head was deeply dented, and a deep wound appeared on its skin.

“Ack! That hurts!”

Cho-i teared up from the pain, as if her fist had gone through, and made a fuss. Meanwhile, Zhu Rui was giving orders to her subordinates.

“Healer! Buffer! Focus on the tank! Dealer! Attack the flank with me!”

“Yes!”

“What are you saying?! Say it so I can understand!”

“He said to attack!”

“Okay!”

Cho-i raised her fist again and simultaneously cast a skill.

[Using skill, Pain Sensation!]
[Your stats temporarily increase proportional to the pain you feel. Pain Sensation becomes twice as sensitive while the skill is active.]

Wham—!

Cho-i’s fist struck the Whale’s head again. The fist once again made a dent in the Whale’s head, and then Cho-i’s stats temporarily increased due to the damage inflicted by the punch.

[Measuring intensity of pain…]
[Pain Intensity Lv1]
[Additional stats +1204]

Splat! The fist, which had penetrated in an instant, pierced the Whale’s head like an awl. And at that moment, the Whale’s head burst like a balloon from the damage it took from the punch. Plop, plop, brains and flesh gushed from its head and rained down into the sea. Zhu Rui and the guild members who were watching the scene just stood there with their mouths agape.

“…I heard he was a tank?”

“He is a tank, though?”

Cho-i Hyeon made a V-sign with her hand, which was covered in Whale blood. But there was no time for that.

“Here they come again!”

“Damn it!”

Crash—! A Whale of similar size crashed into Cho-i again. As if not to be outdone by Cho-i, Zhu Rui jumped from the cliff and immediately climbed onto the Whale’s body. Then, he drew his weapon, a sword, and plunged it into the middle of the Whale’s body, running along its body until it emerged above the water.

[Using skill, One-Sword Cleave!]

Slice, splat! Blood instantly gushed out, dyeing the sea red. As the split Whale sank below the sea, Zhu Rui fell into the water again, but he quickly swam close to the cliff. Cho-i looked at the chunks of organs falling into the red-stained sea, then extended her hand toward him as he slipped again.

“So, wouldn’t it be better to take off your shoes?”

“No.”

“Anyway, you really care about your style.”

She laughed and pulled Zhu Rui up, and he grabbed her hand and began to climb onto the cliff.

Then, a window appeared before her eyes.

[Sanity Paralysis 2 times]
[Pain Sensation 2 times] [NEW!]

“What is it?”

“Hey!”

Splash! When Cho-i accidentally let go, Zhu Rui fell into the sea again. He floated in the water, looking up at Cho-i with a disgruntled expression, but Cho-i was staring blankly into the air.

[□□□□□’s □ is □□ed!]
[□□□□□’s □ is □□!]

“Huh?”

Cho-i grabbed her stomach, saying “Uh-oh,” as the sudden pain in her abdomen returned, just like last time. Just then, Zhu Rui, who had climbed up, approached her, dripping water and with a furrowed brow.

“What’s wrong?”

“My stomach, my stomach….”

“Your stomach?”

“My stomach hurts….”

She collapsed. The pain tearing through her stomach, the Entity, had returned once more. When Cho-i fell, Zhu Rui and the syndicate members looked flustered. She tried desperately to regain her senses, but the movement of something dominating her insides forced her to curl up even more. What’s coming out? What the hell is coming out?

“Wait, just….”

Cho-i grabbed Zhu Rui and pointed at him with her finger. Wait. Until I regain my senses. Saying that, she immediately lost consciousness. Yes, Cho-i lost consciousness.
But soon, she stood up and said,

“I’m fine now.”

Her voice was a grating, unpleasant sound that seemed to scratch her eardrums. Zhu Rui thought something was odd, but Cho-i Hyeon soon smiled brightly as if she truly was fine.

“Shouldn’t we complete the strategy before this place explodes?”

Although her voice was a bit strange, what she said was quite rational. Zhu Rui could only nod awkwardly.

“…Let’s go.”

“Ahaha.”

Her inexplicable laughter followed, but Zhu Rui didn’t detect anything unusual. He knew nothing about her, after all.

* * *

How much time had passed? Cho-i Hyeon slowly opened her eyes. She was standing on two feet. She clearly remembered collapsing from stomach pain, so this situation was strange. It was like when she used Sanity Paralysis.

“……”

The sea she saw when she opened her eyes was entirely dyed red, and the exit was wide open. Cho-i looked around. No one was visible. She couldn’t understand the situation. She had expected to pass out from stomach pain like last time and then wake up, but it was a little different from what she had anticipated.

“Zhu Rui?”