Chapter 75

Chapter 75

Come to think of it, I did have one last resort. In fact, I had already used it once before, and even confirmed its effects. Without waiting any longer, I clenched my fist and immediately activated my final card.

“Ruler’s Garden, skill activation!”

My voice rang out sharply through the dungeon, which had been wrapped in complete silence except for Yoon Juyeong’s suppressed, ragged breathing and the grotesque sounds the monster was making.

But it was only my voice that spread out. I widened my eyes in bewilderment and looked around. What was always there under normal circumstances was gone.

In the end, I slowly loosened the fist I had been clenching tightly.

‘The light isn’t coming out.’

The light that was like proof that the Ruler’s Garden skill had been activated was absent. Not only that. I had no idea what was going on, but…

[That target is not a valid target for this skill.]

A vivid blue notification window was glowing brightly, as if telling me to accept this despairing reality.

‘It’s not even a valid target for the skill? Not that the conditions for applying the skill are insufficient, or that it failed?’

No matter how I thought about it, the situation was suspicious beyond belief, but I had no time to think about it further. That was because Yoon Juyeong’s dry cough had finally started to show traces of blood. Without weighing the pros and cons, I grabbed hold of Yoon Juyeong and shouted.

“Cancel the skill right now! Let’s keep running and think of another way to catch that thing!”

“Cough, no, Master. Just give me a little more time. It will take some time, but if I hold out a bit longer, I’ll surely—”

“A little more or not, you’re going to die before that!”

“My death is nothing…”

“If you die, I die too!”

Aside from not wanting to accept someone else’s sacrifice for me, it was an undeniable fact that if Yoon Juyeong died, I would likely die as well.

Honestly, let’s say Yoon Juyeong somehow managed to take that monster bastard down with him. Even if that happened, how could I be sure that this kind of monster was the only one?

Yoon Juyeong seemed to catch what I was trying to say right away, and a clear resolve filled his eyes, which had been somewhat hazy.

“I’m sorry, Master. I was foolish.”

“Foolish or not, it doesn’t matter, just cancel the skill already. You’re going to make me even more upset…!”

Yoon Juyeong nodded once at my words, then immediately raised his hand and swept it through the air.

For a moment, I wondered what kind of gesture that was, but it seemed to be for canceling the skill. The shadows surrounding the monster were being withdrawn.

As soon as the monster realized the shadow barrier around it had disappeared, it charged at us again. Of course, Yoon Juyeong didn’t allow it to approach.

Kwaaang.

In an instant, Yoon Juyeong created a thick black thorn, as tall as an adult man’s height, which blocked the monster’s approach head-on. The monster let out a gurgling, boiling sound from the other side of the black thorn, then began charging at us again.

Kwang, kwang, kwang.

This time, I had no idea what it was doing, but every time the monster moved its arms and legs, a thunderous roar erupted.

From what I could see, the creature chasing us was repeatedly slamming its arms and legs into the ground and pulling them back out. It seemed to be putting too much force into each limb in its attempt to chase us.

“Cough, hup, hoo….”

“Yoon Juyeong, are you okay…! No, just don’t answer. Focus on running for now.”

It was better to let him focus on running than to make him waste energy trying to answer me. I clung to him as much as possible so as not to hinder his running, while scanning our surroundings.

‘That’s not a monster meant to be caught. No, it doesn’t even seem like a monster in the first place.’

If so, that thing is almost certainly a monster meant to be ‘avoided.’ And for a dungeon that spawns this kind of monster, the clear condition is usually not ‘hunting the monster.’

‘There must be another condition.’

And the hint for that ‘other condition’ would also be inside this dungeon. That’s just how dungeons were.

Of course, dungeons are teeming with lifeforms hostile to humans. Not only that. In fact, even the very structure of a dungeon often acts as a threat to humans.

From various traps that threaten the lives of those exploring the dungeon, to places that throw out environments that are fundamentally impossible for humans to adapt to as a challenge.

But despite all that.

A dungeon is a space that exists ‘to be conquered.’

It’s a place filled with nothing but threats to humans, and it actually does threaten them—but even so, a dungeon exists to be conquered, and in reality, it keeps getting conquered.

In a dungeon, there are monsters that threaten humans. And, as if to match that, the world brought forth ‘Awakened Beings’—beings optimized for taking down monsters.

Also, dungeons contain all sorts of traps. But at the same time, hints on how to disarm those traps exist within the dungeon as well.

Sometimes, dungeons even present environments where it’s fundamentally impossible for humans to survive. But even those dungeons have a clear solution.

For example, the ‘Ifrit’s Dungeon,’ which is filled with lava from start to finish, becomes unaffected by the environment if you enter carrying the ‘Ice Core’ obtained from the ‘Ice Fairy’s Dungeon.’

So, this dungeon too must have a solution. Because a dungeon is a space that exists to be conquered.

I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes wide, scanning the surroundings. Surely, it had to be here. The condition, the hint for conquering this dungeon…

“…Mr. Yoon Juyeong.”

“Yes, Master.”

*Kwaang.*

The sound of the monster stomping its hands and feet, and the sound of Mr. Yoon Juyeong throwing shadow-made stakes and Black Thorns to hold it back, erupted with a thunderous roar.

Through the pale light emitted by the mana orb, dust and the creature’s grotesque appearance flickered in and out of view, repeating over and over.

Leaving all that behind, I clutched Mr. Yoon Juyeong’s collar tightly and stared at the ‘wall.’

“Can you… attack that thing with all your strength? Just for a moment. Long enough for me to observe it—”

“Of course.”

The answer came without a single moment of hesitation. I pressed down the words I was about to say, clamping my mouth shut at that resolve.

Honestly, I wanted to ask whether he said it was possible because it really was an easy task, or because he intended to push himself to the limit just because I asked.

But whichever reason lay behind his firm answer, I wasn’t in a position to tell him ‘don’t overdo it.’ In the end, I gritted my teeth in pain and wrapped one arm around his neck.

“I’m sorry, and I’m counting on you.”

With my other hand, I rummaged through the inner pocket of my jacket. My fingertips felt the texture of a round case made of luxurious material.

“If it is what you wish.”

*Kwaang.*

With a tremendous roar, another massive thorn blocked the monster’s path. And at the same time, the man who had been running nonstop stood upright on the ground.

“Anything at all.”

Suddenly, a sharp sensation like my hair standing on end washed over me, and I took a deep breath.

Wind began to blow inside the vast cavern that had been filled only with darkness and silence. But this space was inside a dungeon, completely sealed off from the outside, and the original environmental composition of this dungeon did not include air movement.

Therefore, this wind was not natural.

Rather, it was an artificial result created by a human using the resource known as mana.

—*Dbrh skzlfffallll……*

The monster seemed to have noticed the existence of the wind, which should not have been there. Even after smashing through the barrier of Black Thorns Mr. Yoon Juyeong had created, it hesitated to approach us and paced around the area.

I stayed in the position of having climbed down from his embrace so he could focus more, and watched the monster’s movements.

For a brief moment, a strange silence persisted, and beneath that silence, the flow of wind gradually grew stronger and rougher, beginning to turn into a gale.

The wind, which had originally been at a level that gently stirred my hair, had now become strong enough to make it hard to even keep my eyes open.

—*fllqldzlfwmtjaa Elddeot.*

“Master, don’t let go of me.”

Amid the clamor created by the raging gale, a low voice suddenly dropped quietly. Instead of answering aloud, I gripped the hem of his clothes tightly. Mr. Yoon Juyeong gave a slight smile, as if that was enough.

And right then.

—*dlwmskkktqhs!*

As if declaring there would be no more delay, the monster broke through the raging gale and charged at us.

Of the monster’s five arms, three were clenched into fists and swung at Mr. Yoon Juyeong, while the remaining two, with pitch-black, rotting nails extended, aimed for me. Of course, Mr. Yoon Juyeong wasn’t just watching.

*Bang!*

With a thunderous crash like a heavy object plummeting from a great height, the monster that had been charging at us was slammed into the ground, as if crushed by something. Naturally, the arms that had been reaching for us also lost their trajectory mid-swing and were driven into the earth.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The current of air that had turned into a solid mass of rock, pinning the monster down, began to change shape. Following the flow of mana, the violently raging gale started to move with a clearer sense of purpose.

Before I knew it, the fierce storm had vanished, leaving behind only a gentle breeze that softly brushed against my cheeks.

But only Mr. Yoon Juyeong and I could feel this gentle wind.

—……! —!!

Barely ten steps away, the monster, still crushed under the immense current of air, was shrieking as it dripped purple slime. Yet its cries, nearly screams, did not reach us at all.

“That’s a blessing in disguise, Master.”