Chapter 126

Where the pistil and stamens should have been.

“Are those teeth?”

“Uh… they look like it.”

Thousands of teeth were visible. Cho-i Hyeon dashed forward with his Sword and Shield, and Taeyang Kang followed closely behind him. As soon as they moved, the flowers bent their stems downwards, revealing their teeth towards them.

“Wow, I don’t think I’d be happy to receive flowers like those.”

“…Do you like flowers?”

Taeyang Kang asked out of the blue. Cho-i Hyeon pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“I’ve never received any on Beondo Island, so I think it would be nice to get some.”

“I see…”

While Taeyang Kang was nodding his head, several flower monsters suddenly bared their teeth and rushed towards them. Cho-i Hyeon jumped high and cut the flower’s stem, and Taeyang Kang summoned Ice Spears into the air, piercing the center of the flower. The area around where the Ice Spears penetrated slowly froze, eventually killing the flower completely.

“Nice!”

“It seems we have good synergy.”

“Then it won’t be difficult.”

Cho-i Hyeon instantly let out a shout. -!!! With that sound, the flowers that had gathered around instantly bared their teeth and became aggressive towards Cho-i Hyeon. Taeyang Kang shouted as he watched Cho-i Hyeon, who was instantly surrounded by flowers.

“Cho-i Hyeon!”

“Don’t worry about me, just hurry up and destroy them all!”

“Damn it.”

He launched Ice Spears at the back of the flowers’ heads to pull out Cho-i Hyeon, who was barely visible, surrounded by flowers. Clang! Clang! Boom! Each time an Ice Spear struck, the plants froze and withered instantly. Cho-i Hyeon, who was being bitten by the flowers and sticking her sword into their maws, still whistled amidst it all.

“That’s fast~”

The hunting speed was fast. It’s convenient to be with an SS-Rank. Cho-i Hyeon thought so and swung her sword horizontally. Kagagagagang-! The sword, hitting the teeth of the flowers, made a loud noise and split the entities in half. Whether they felt pain or because they were cut in the middle, the injured flowers retreated and writhed violently. And the one who took care of the entities in one go was Taeyang Kang. As expected, ice is the best for killing plants. Cho-i Hyeon thought so and drew aggro in the center. As Taeyang Kang continued to generate Ice Spears and kill the flowers, Cho-i Hyeon was looking beyond, visible through the flowers.

‘There seems to be something over there too.’

Numerous vines, stems, and leaves were wrapped around something as if protecting it. Cho-i Hyeon was sure that what she saw in the distance was a hidden item. So, to get closer to it, she immediately used a skill.

[Casting skill Pushback!]

Boom-! She pushed back several large flower monsters with her shield, then jumped up onto one of the flowers. She then plunged her sword into the flower’s maw, twisted it to the left, and pulled it out. The flower split lengthwise and withered immediately.

“Cho-i Hyeon!”

“What!”

“It’s dangerous, come down!”

“You’re the first one to overprotect me like this!”

She leaped off the withering, curling flower and vertically severed another flower stem. It seemed the flowers in this vicinity were cleared.

“Let’s go that way. There’s something there.”

“It looked like it.”

So the two began to walk towards where the vines and leaves were clustered. On the way, many flowers threatened them again, but most were dealt with by Taeyang Kang’s Ice Spears. And when they arrived there, Cho-i Hyeon realized that those leaves were not just ordinary leaves.

“That…”

“The ones we saw before entering the hidden dungeon.”

“Right. The fluttering, jellyfish-like things caught between the Golems and the Yetis.”

The Ice Fairy Monsters, which Cho-i Hyeon had thought were particularly strange, were now not ice but leaves, fluttering and dancing nearby. The entities didn’t attack; they approached them and started fluttering and dancing again. Cho-i Hyeon frowned, feeling uncomfortable, and Taeyang Kang also created an Ice Spear and went into an attack stance. But soon. Poof-! An unknown powder spread in all directions from the bodies of the entities.

“Don’t breathe!”

She didn’t know what it was, but being plants, it was highly likely to be poisonous. This was a hidden dungeon. Most poisons wouldn’t affect S-Rank and SS-Rank, but she thought it would be different here. In fact, even without breathing, covering her mouth and nose, the powders were being absorbed through her skin. However, Cho-i Hyeon soon felt that it wasn’t poison, as it wasn’t difficult to breathe.

“What is this?”

She reached out her hand to try and catch the powder. But the entity was just absorbed into her skin. The problem was that nothing happened.

“Hey, this has no effect…”

Cho-i Hyeon looked at Taeyang Kang. But Taeyang Kang’s condition was strange. His pitch-black eyes were strangely vacant, staring into space.

“Hey, hey. Snap out of it.”

Cho-i Hyeon shook his shoulder. Taeyang Kang flinched, then looked at Cho-i Hyeon.

“Cho-i Hyeon….” “Yeah, it’s me. I don’t know what this is doing, but it doesn’t seem to be working on me? So….” “Cho-i Hyeon, it’s really Cho-i Hyeon.”

At his words, Cho-i Hyeon questioned him.

“Of course it’s the real Cho-i Hyeon, is there a fake Cho-i Hyeon… Hey!”

While Cho-i Hyeon was muttering, Taeyang Kang stepped forward and hugged her. Cho-i Hyeon, bewildered, just let herself be hugged, then Taeyang Kang buried his nose in Cho-i’s neck and took a deep breath.

“Ah…, it’s the real Cho-i Hyeon.” “What? What’s wrong with you? Is this an aphrodisiac? Is that what it is?”

He inhaled, and her neck tickled. Cho-i Hyeon wondered, ‘What do I do? I can’t just punch him,’ so she stayed still for now. The surrounding leaf monsters, whether they had no intention of attacking them or if this *was* an attack, just fluttered and danced, continuously spewing out that powder.

“Haa…. I love it so much.” “Uh-huh, I like you a lot too.”

As Cho-i Hyeon remained still, awkwardly embraced, Taeyang Kang soon…

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, this is crazy.”

He fumbled at Cho-i’s waist. From then on, Cho-i Hyeon pushed Taeyang Kang away. Taeyang Kang then looked dejected and was pushed back. Well, at least he’s not forcibly clinging this time.

“You stay still.” “Okay.” “Don’t touch me.” “……” “Oh, now you’re not answering.”

It doesn’t seem like an aphrodisiac, so does it just make him obedient? Or does it only work on men? Or are there other conditions? Cho-i Hyeon kept thinking as she looked at Taeyang Kang, who was standing still. At least he seemed to be doing as he was told.

“Let’s deal with those first.” “No.” “Why?” “Because I don’t want to….”

Ah, so he doesn’t completely obey either. It seemed clear that he was intoxicated by the powder those things were spraying. He seemed to be aware of it himself, as he showed reluctance to deal with the leaf monsters. Cho-i Hyeon reluctantly swung her sword and stabbed one of the monsters. Kiiyaaaak-! One monster was impaled by the sword and fell to the ground. And as it fell, it spewed out even more powder. Cho-i Hyeon wrinkled her nose and immediately approached the fallen leaf monster to pull out her sword.

“Once we deal with all of them, I’ll be back after a certain amount of….”

And in the meantime, Taeyang Kang had again clung to Cho-i from behind. He wrapped his arms around Cho-i Hyeon’s waist and buried his nose in the back of her neck. He buried his nose, but Cho-i Hyeon suddenly felt something touch her back and broke into a cold sweat.

“Hey….” “Yes.” “You said you don’t carry weapons, right?” “Yes.” “…Wow. This guy, he’s confident.”

Cho-i Hyeon stared into space for a moment, then asked Taeyang Kang.

“You want to do it?”

“No.”

“Then what is this?”

“I won’t do it because you’ll hate it…”

“Do you like me?”

“Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Since the beginning…”

Once we get out, I’ll have to interrogate him a bit. Cho-i Hyeon chuckled at Taeyang Kang’s reaction and, carrying him, went around slicing leaf monsters. The entities, apparently lacking attack power, simply crumbled one by one, releasing powder. Although the powders filled the air as if a dust storm had hit, they were gradually dissipating. Cho-i Hyeon sighed briefly and sat down with Taeyang Kang. Cho-i Hyeon’s seat, of course, was on Taeyang Kang’s lap.

“Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“Since when did you say you liked me?”

“…Since I first saw the video…”

“That was a while ago, then. So why did you frown at me when you first saw me?”

“The juvenile monster was too ugly.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“It doesn’t suit you. You should be with something prettier and cuter…”

“Hahahaha.”

This was Cho-i Hyeon’s first time receiving such a confession, so she sat quietly, chuckling like an old person. How old was Taeyang Kang? She knew he was roughly the same age as Taehyeok Sa.

“Hey, we’ll stay here for a bit, and once things are better, we’ll continue with the strategy.”

“Okay.”

“I can’t tell if he’s listening or not.”

She sighed deeply and said. Cho-i Hyeon decided to rest for a while. She leaned her back against Taeyang Kang’s chest and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Cho-i Hyeon didn’t know it, but what the leaf monsters had spread was the Scent of Affection, which maximized one’s feelings for what they loved. If what they loved was actually nearby, they would react like Taeyang Kang, and if it wasn’t, they would see what they loved as an illusion. And if they considered themselves the most important person, they would be unable to fight, fearing injury to their own body. But Cho-i Hyeon was different. Since she loved nothing, she saw nothing. And she didn’t know that.

“I like you so much.”

“Hahahaha.”

That’s why she couldn’t understand Taeyang Kang’s current state. For now, she just wished he’d do something about the hard thing pressing against her back.

“It’ll be a sight to behold when he comes to his senses.”

It was a relief that it would probably be funny.