Chapter 135

Cho-i Hyeon clapped for Suui Kim, who had just cleared a horde of monsters. Suui Kim had a dazed expression, and so did Nara Shim. Nara Shim blinked as she looked down at her hands.

“What did you do? Can I stack skills again now?!”

“No?”

“You just did!”

“But only for Suui Kim.”

“Why!?”

“Why?”

As Nara Shim asked urgently, Suui Kim, who was next to her, also asked. The two had only met a few days ago, and they were curious why stacked buffs could only be used on Suui Kim. Cho-i Hyeon pondered how to explain it before honestly revealing,

“I have a window called ‘Supporter’.”

“Oh.”

“You have something like that?”

Suui Kim sighed, saying she had something peculiar again.

“No, just listen first. Anyway, there’s something like that, and you and Suui Kim are in it.”

“Why am I in there?”

“It seems like people I’ve helped grow are being added one by one.”

“Grow?”

“Perhaps, helping with the hidden dungeon, feeding magic stones, etc., were recognized as ‘raising’ them and added.”

“You’re in my supporter window? That’s ridiculous.”

“Ah, so to reiterate, it’s not just Suui Kim, but me and Suui Kim.”

“Do you have anything there that can make you stronger?”

“I’m not SS-Rank yet either. I’ll take a stacked buff and get a taste of SS-Rank myself.”

“Still, my buff isn’t enough to make you SS-Rank.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“It makes me angry when you admit it like that.”

“What are you going to do if you get angry?”

Cho-i Hyeon chuckled and ruffled her hair. Nara Shim pulled her head back, telling him to stop. Cho-i immediately turned to Suui Kim and said,

“Oh, and there’s something important.”

“What is it?”

“There was a phrase attached that said, ‘Can be used as food in an emergency.'”

“What did you say?”

“Food…?”

Suui Kim understood. Although she hadn’t seen it directly, she knew of the existence of ‘the Entity’ inside Cho-i Hyeon. The same went for Nara Shim. Suui Kim’s expression became serious for a moment as she fell into thought. Cho-i stood in front of him, waiting for his 고민 to end.

“First…, I don’t know what that emergency is, but…”

“Yeah.”

“You shouldn’t overdo it.”

“When have I ever overdone it?”

“You’re always overdoing it.”

“Hmm, alright. For now, I’ll try not to overdo it here.”

Suui Kim nodded. As Cho-i Hyeon slowly started walking forward again, the party also moved along with her. Cho-i Hyeon spoke in a slightly louder voice to Myeongok Shin, who was following behind her.

“You came to the dungeon after a long time, how can you be bored~?”

“I don’t mind coming out for a stroll like this.”

“Ahahaha.”

Cho-i laughed loudly.

They continued to move forward along the path. All the regular monsters were taken care of by Suui Kim and Nara Shim.

The party walked for several hours like that, then decided to take a break. This was because Suui Kim and Nara Shim were quite tired.

“I think we can rest around here.”

Taeyang Kang looked around. Being an SS-Rank, he could see farther and confirmed that there were no monsters nearby. Everyone agreed with him and sat down with their backs against stalagmite-like stone pillars, beginning to unpack their belongings. Cho-i Hyeon was the first to plop down on the ground, and the rest of the party began to gather in a circle. Taeyang Kang sat to Cho-i Hyeon’s right, Suui Kim to her left, and Nara Shim, avoiding her, went to sit next to Myeongok Shin. Eunbeom Jeon naturally sat next to Suui Kim. As soon as Eunbeom Jeon sat down, Cho-i Hyeon asked him,

“So, why did the Shaman and the equipment crafter suddenly decide to come to the dungeon?”

“Lately, the voices I hear are getting more and more numerous.”

“Voices?”

Nara Shim immediately asked back.

“Yes, if they were just mischievous spirits, I would ignore them, but they’re not just random things, so I came to find out why.”

“Why did you say you wanted to enter the hidden dungeon?”

“The voices have increased quite a bit in the past few days.”

“Do you think those voices are related to the hidden dungeon?”

“To be precise, I think they might also be related to regular dungeons. The problem is, I don’t know what the connection is…”

He drew out the end of his sentence, then silently stared at Cho-i. Cho-i tilted her head, looking at him. He looked at her, then turned his head to each of them in turn. It was Cho-i Hyeon, Suui Kim, then Taeyang Kang.

“Now that I’ve gathered you all like this, I think I understand…”

“All three of you have been to a hidden dungeon, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“All of you are currently serving a god.”

“Excuse me? Us?”

“Yes. It doesn’t seem like you’re serving them like I do. It’s ambiguous, you could say you’re sustaining the god.”

“Is it really a god if it relies on humans?”

“How would I know that? I’m just saying what I see.”

Cho-i Hyeon tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. And in her mind, she called out to ‘the Entity’ once.

‘Hey, hey.’

But there was no answer. Well, he only answers when he wants to, so I didn’t have high expectations. The Entity seemed to be asleep again. Cho-i Hyeon called out a few times, but when there was no response, he quickly gave up.

“Let’s stop talking about stressful things for now and rest a bit.”

As Cho-i Hyeon quickly lay down on the floor, everyone stopped talking and fell into their own thoughts. Perhaps Cho-i Hyeon was the only one not thinking anything right now. Even Nara Shim was thinking about the hidden dungeon with a serious expression.

“I want to go to a hidden dungeon too…!”

So Nara Shim subtly asked Myeongok Shin.

“Excuse me, Hunter Myeongok, are you also interested in hidden dungeons?” “I’m too old for that kind of thing. My goal is to live a full life.” “Ah, I see!”

Nara Shim felt a momentary embarrassment, realizing she had reacted too enthusiastically. Then, scratching the back of her neck, she apologized to Myeongok Shin.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” “No, it’s fine. I know young people are ambitious about hidden dungeons anyway. Besides, everyone else except you has been to a hidden dungeon, so how ambitious must you be?” “Ahahaha.”

Nara Shim scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

“Being next to him, it gets a bit like that.”

Nara Shim looked at Cho-i Hyeon, who was sprawled out, sleeping peacefully. He has such a good heart. Sleeping in a place like this. Well, they had to take turns sleeping, though.

“He and I were originally on the same level, but when I came to my senses, he was far ahead of me.” “Have you been friends for a long time?” “No! We’re not like friends. Hmm, more like victim and perpetrator…”

Nara Shim said that and lowered her head slightly. Myeongok Shin thought something must have happened between them, but like an older person, she listened quietly without interjecting carelessly.

“When he was C-Rank before, I abandoned him in a hidden dungeon and ran away.” “Really?” “Even now, I sometimes wonder why I did that. Well, he doesn’t seem to think anything of it now, but people’s hearts are like that, aren’t they?” “Well, Hunter Cho-i probably isn’t thinking nothing.” “Is that so?” “Yes, he’s thinking something, which is why he still keeps you by his side and takes care of you.” “I don’t quite understand that. Why does he take care of me?” “It’s one of two things.” “What are they?” “One, he’s completely forgiven you.” “Yes.” “The other is that he’s keeping you close to torment you.” “Ah…”

For a moment, Nara Shim’s face turned bitter. If it’s the latter, it makes perfect sense. Of course, he’s a bit soft on her, but keeping her close and poking at her might mean that. Nara Shim sighed with a smile.

“Either way, I’m just, well, next to him. Until he’s satisfied.”

Myeongok Shin smiled faintly.

“Oh really?” “Yes, he seems to get lonely more than you’d think. Like holding onto me. Hmm, and getting along well with Hunter Suui Kim, and just leaving Hunter Taeyang Kang alone.”

Then Suui Kim and Taeyang Kang, who had been lost in their own thoughts, looked at Nara Shim with expressions that seemed to ask why their names were being brought up. Nara Shim shrugged and looked at them as if to say, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Well, even though Hunter Suui Kim and I haven’t known each other long, didn’t you take pretty good care of Cho-i when you were in the same party?” “I did, didn’t I?” “And Hunter Taeyang Kang, you told Cho-i Hyeon that you liked him?” “That’s right.” “Isn’t it obvious when you see him trying to hold onto everyone who’s nice to him?” “But isn’t everyone like that?” “He takes it too far. Who asks someone they just met who likes them if they want to date right away?” “Well, that’s true…”

Taeyang Kang nodded as if he understood, and Suui Kim scratched his cheek. He didn’t think he had done anything big for Cho-i Hyeon. He thought that as he looked down at the sleeping Cho-i Hyeon. She was sleeping soundly without a care in the world. Suui Kim chuckled at her face.

“Alright, alright, I said something silly. Let’s all sleep for now, except for one. Who wants to take the first watch?”

“I will.”

When Suui Kim stepped forward, the others nodded and lay down on the floor to get some short sleep. Suui Kim sat in a spot where his view wasn’t obstructed by a pillar and kept watch of the surroundings. After about ten minutes, Eunbeom Jeon spoke to him.

“Do you always take the initiative like that?”

“Oh, not always, but usually, yes.”

“Really? Is that why?”

Eunbeom Jeon had not hidden his liking for Suui Kim since last time. It was the same now. Suui Kim had been thinking a lot in a short time about how to deal with the Entity, and so the conclusion was.

“Thank you for liking me, but—”

“Huh?”

“I have someone I like.”