Chapter 136

“Someone you like?”

“Yes.”

“This is the first time I’ve been rejected like this.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Then Eunbeom Jeon burst out laughing. Suui Kim stared at him with wide eyes, not understanding why. Eunbeom Jeon got up from his seat, plopped down next to Suui Kim, and patted his shoulder.

“My interest in you wasn’t, well, romantic.”

“Huh?”

“I liked that the god you serve seemed the kindest.”

“The god I serve…?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Then what you said about flirting with Guild Master Taehyeok Sa…”

“Oh dear, you have good ears. You heard that too? That was actual flirting, but that’s already settled.”

Upon hearing that, Suui Kim seemed to ponder for a few seconds before his face flushed red. So, he had completely misunderstood and rejected someone who was just sitting there quietly. His face turned bright red as if on fire, and Eunbeom Jeon watched Suui Kim, finding it amusing.

“It’s okay. You rejected me quite gently. You won’t get criticized anywhere.”

“I-I’m so, sorry…”

“Pfft, no. No. It’s really okay.”

Eunbeom Jeon wiped tears from his eyes, then put on a sly face and subtly nudged Suui Kim’s shoulder with his own.

“So, who is the person you like?”

“Th-that was just something I said.”

“Come on, I don’t think so.”

Then Suui Kim shook his head as if it really wasn’t true.

“I just found a good excuse to reject you.”

“Hmm, so that’s what you mean?”

Eunbeom Jeon’s tone suggested he would let it slide this time. A flustered Suui Kim looked troubled, as if to say, ‘But it’s true.’ Eunbeom Jeon, now fully awake, sat cross-legged beside Suui Kim and asked.

“Speaking of which, how long did you say you’ve known Hunter Cho-i Hyeon?”

“…No, no. You’re completely mistaken.”

“They say a strong denial is a strong affirmation.”

“A strong denial is just a strong denial.”

“Well, is that so?”

Eunbeom Jeon grumbled as if bored, and Suui Kim sighed heavily. As the two exchanged meaningless words, time passed, and it was almost time to relieve the next person on watch.

“Ugh…”

And just then, Cho-i Hyeon, who was the first to lie down and sleep, got up. And as soon as Cho-i Hyeon got up, Taeyang Kang opened his eyes like a ghost.

“He’s a ghost, a real ghost.”

Taeyang Kang snorted, pretending not to hear Eunbeom Jeon. Suui Kim looked back and forth between the two of them, then nodded and went to his spot to sleep. Eunbeom Jeon looked at his back with pity.

‘His rival is SS-Rank, so he must be really discouraged.’

So, Eunbeom Jeon was convinced that what Suui Kim kept denying was true. Something about a Shaman’s intuition. And there was Cho-i, who was really asleep and heard nothing, and Taeyang Kang, who had his eyes closed but heard everything. Taeyang Kang scanned Suui Kim, who had settled down to sleep, then looked at Cho-i Hyeon. Cho-i Hyeon was sitting in the same spot where Suui Kim had been sitting guard, and Taeyang Kang sat next to her and asked,

“Don’t you have someone you like?” “Me?”

Cho-i Hyeon began to ponder seriously.

“Well, not really? As long as they don’t betray me, it’s all good.” “Who would betray you?” “Oh, it just happened before~”

Cho-i Hyeon said lightly and sat with her knees together. Taeyang Kang began to wonder who had betrayed her. And perhaps sensing his mood, Cho-i Hyeon laughed heartily and smacked him on the back.

“Most of them are dead now. You didn’t think I’d keep them alive, did you?” “I understand that ‘most’ doesn’t mean ‘all.'” “This guy is quick-witted.”

Cho-i openly stared at the sleeping Nara Shim. Taeyang Kang’s gaze also immediately fixed on Nara Shim. Cho-i giggled, looked at the top of her head, and then said to Taeyang Kang,

“Well, I hardly have any grudges now. I apologized, and actually, teasing her is fine.” “It seemed that way.” “Still don’t like her?” “No.”

Cho-i gently stroked Taeyang Kang’s head, who readily nodded. Then she smiled brightly and said,

“Don’t be presumptuous. It’s between her and me.” “I get that.” “You listen well, too.”

Cho-i Hyeon leaned on Taeyang Kang’s shoulder and filed her fingernails. Taeyang Kang sat upright, tensing his shoulders, in case Cho-i was uncomfortable. Cho-i Hyeon found his posture amusing and chuckled softly before asking him,

“What do you like about me so much?” “My face?” “No, my face is obvious.” “I just liked it…? Your personality too.” “This guy, his taste is peculiar…” “You can’t say anything about my taste.” “That’s true…”

Cho-i Hyeon blinked and looked into the distance for a moment. When Cho-i fell silent, Taeyang Kang also remained quiet. Cho-i Hyeon wondered if his personality was good or bad for her. It was good that he didn’t interrupt her thoughts, but it also seemed to make her think too deeply.

‘Hey, hey. Are you sleeping?’

Cho-i Hyeon closed her eyes and inwardly called out to ‘the Entity’. But there was still no response. He used to answer about twice out of five calls, but recently, the frequency had decreased.

‘Is he preparing something…’

Ugh, she felt strange in her stomach as soon as she thought about it, and her eyes shot open. Cho-i idly spoke to Taeyang Kang, who was sitting next to her, to clear her head.

“Why don’t you date me?”

“Because you don’t like me.”

“I don’t dislike you.”

“That’s not enough.”

“Hmm~ it’s difficult.”

“It’s not difficult. It might be difficult for you, though.”

“What does that mean?”

“It seems like you’re lacking something.”

“……Is that so?”

Cho-i blinked. Taeyang Kang said to Cho-i:

“If you’re sleepy, sleep more. I’ll stand guard.”

“Really?”

She then leaned on Taeyang Kang’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She thought she vaguely heard Taeyang Kang’s voice saying, “sleep well,” but Cho-i fell into a short sleep again without being able to answer.

***

The group, who had taken turns sleeping, woke up again and began to follow the path. With Suui Kim’s efforts and Nara Shim’s buff, Cho-i Hyeon and Taeyang Kang didn’t particularly need to step up when dealing with regular monsters. Minor injuries were easily treated by Myeongok Shin. It was better to treat even minor injuries in advance, just in case there was poison.

Thus, at the boss monster room, Cho-i clasped her hands behind her head and looked at Suui Kim.

“Can you do it?”

“I’ll have to try.”

“It’s amazing that you broke through here alone in the first place, isn’t it?”

“You can’t say alone.”

“Well, I did the tanking and Taeyang Kang provided support, but it was almost like Nara Shim and I broke through it alone, right? This is almost a Tower-level achievement wherever you go.”

“I know that, but…”

“Well, I know who you’re comparing yourself to, but the rank itself is different, isn’t it?”

Then Suui Kim looked at Cho-i Hyeon once and sighed.

“Yes, that’s true.”

“What, it was me, not Taeyang Kang?”

While Cho-i Hyeon looked at Suui Kim with a bewildered expression, Nara Shim was looking over the boss monster room from behind.

“It looks disgusting.”

The boss monster was a giant scorpion with dozens of eyeballs, and where the scorpion’s legs should have been, there were hundreds of human arms. As Nara Shim looked at it, frowning, Cho-i Hyeon also looked at the monster with a hum.

[Dosglade (A-plus)]

“Are you okay alone again this time?”

“Even if I were, you’d be with me.”

“Wow, that sounds romantic.”

“……”

As Suui Kim chose to remain silent with a speechless expression, Cho-i grinned and pulled out her shield. She didn’t need a weapon. After all, she only needed to tank. If she accidentally swung a sword, that A+ Rank monster would be cut in half instantly.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, I am!”

“Done.”

Nara Shim and Suui Kim replied. As soon as Cho-i Hyeon heard their answers, she immediately lunged at the boss monster. Bang! The huge boss monster and Cho-i’s shield collided. The Entity let out a growl and swung its front paw at Cho-i. Cho-i Hyeon immediately raised her shield and blocked the attack. CRASH! It was a tremendous sound. But Cho-i Hyeon held her shield and blocked the attack without even flinching. As she smirked, Suui Kim, seeing her smile, immediately charged at the monster. CRACK! The sound of a blade splitting a hard shell was heard. But perhaps because it was a boss monster, regular attacks only cracked its shell. Then Nara Shim, who was behind, stepped forward.

[Using skill attack power increase! The attack power of a specific target increases by 18%!] [Using skill attack power increase! The attack power of a specific target increases by 18%!]

This time, Nara Shim, who used the same buff repeatedly, looked at Suui Kim, who was attacking the monster. Agility was fine since Cho-i Hyeon was tanking anyway. And the effect appeared at once. When Suui Kim once again kicked off the ground and leaped up, slashing his sword at the boss monster. Kagagagak-! In an instant, the shell cracked open, and the bumpy, red-veined inner flesh popped out. Suui Kim didn’t stop there and plunged his sword into the dark red flesh. Kieeeek-! With a loud scream, dozens of eyeballs turned to Suui Kim. Cho-i Hyeon gave the boss monster, who had turned its head away from him, a solid kick to its lower jaw!

“Where are you looking, you ill-mannered creature? Where?”

When their eyes met, Cho-i Hyeon grinned at Suui Kim. Suui Kim nodded and raised his sword once again.

“Nara Shim, debuff!”

“Okay!”

[Casting Defense Weaken! The defense of a specific target is reduced by 8%!]

Nara Shim applied the Defense Weaken debuff to the boss monster.

“Go, Suui Kim!”

“I’m going without you telling me to!”

Suui Kim instantly split the boss monster in half. Kieeeek!! With a loud sound, the boss monster fell with a thud.