Chapter 106

Of course, if you’d shown up while I was looking for something to cover my face, you would’ve found me dead already.

“As expected, there’s something off about that woman!”

The moment I thought Ephe’s sword was moving even faster.

The blade that had been clashing with Shin Jae-heon suddenly turned toward me.

“Even if this body dies, Her Ladyship’s command must—!”

“!”

Who the hell is “Her Ladyship”? Come on, clue us in!

I had a pretty good guess, but there was no time to ask. I raised my sword.

Just as his sword was about to slam down onto my overlapping afterimages.

Damn, one thing after another!

The moment I gritted my teeth.

—Clang!

Along with the protection skill, Shin Jae-heon’s sword slipped in between me and Ephe.

“Whoa, how were you handling this guy solo?”

He said, frowning.

He must have noticed Ephe’s severe wounds. Those weren’t from Shin Jae-heon—they were mine.

Luckily, they kept him from using his full strength.

“Can’t even see his rank.”

He glanced up at Ephe’s head.

Is it okay to blab about ranks in front of a local?

“What’s it matter if he hears? I’m gonna kill him anyway.”

Shin Jae-heon shot back quickly. The moment I hesitated.

—Swoosh!

Shin Jae-heon’s body shot forward.

Maletia’s sword, wrapped in red aura from all the buffs, whipped toward him.

—Boom!

The narrowly missing sword gouged the ground. Ephe had leaped far back to dodge.

—Hummm!

Behind him, a pale green light formed.

A barrier.

And it didn’t look like it was meant to protect anyone.

“!”

The moment the sudden barrier in midair threw off his balance.

Shin Jae-heon’s sword was still stuck in the ground, leaving only me free to move.

I didn’t miss that opening.

Instant Acceleration stacked atop countless afterimage buffs.

I thrust my sword at him with that speed.

B-Rank or not, I had a blade, and he was human—unprotected, he had to take the hit.

—Stab!

The sword pierced his body. And right on cue.

The instant I buried my sword in him, it shattered.

Of course, the fragments dug into his body too.

“Guh…!”

—Crash!

His grip on his sword went slack.

Shin Jae-heon couldn’t see his rank, so he had to be SS-Rank or higher.

But that didn’t make him immortal.

Thud. He dropped to his knees, slowly toppling sideways as he muttered.

“For the Dong Empire…”

At that moment, the world tinted gray.

The gray-tinted world snapped back to color with a flash, and he collapsed fully, drained of strength.

—Thud.

A gauntlet dropped beside him.

“How was the barrier placement?”

Needless to say, Hunter So Yeri hopped down from above.

The one who’d completely shattered his balance earlier.

I silently gave her a thumbs-up.

She looked at me and let out a soft sigh.

“Do you have any idea how scared I was!?”

She rushed over and hugged me tight.

“Ughhh, my stamina!”

“It doesn’t drain! B-Ranks can handle hugs!”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“It does!”

She hugged me even tighter.

“Ow, my wounds!”

I yelped, and she finally let go. Despite her smiling face, she was panting hard.

She must have rushed here in a panic.

—Crack!

Shin Jae-heon, scanning the area and confirming no more threats, finally slammed Maletia’s sword into the ground and collapsed onto the dirt.

“Took ten years off my life.”

“You have no idea how shocked I was.”

Joo Yian’s face was pale too. I nodded.

“Who’d expect to run into something like that on a casual outing?”

I said, settling onto a tree stump cleanly sliced by Ephe’s sword.

Hunter So Yeri, inspecting Ephe, spotted something that had rolled off him.

“What’s that?”

“Hmm.”

She raised an eyebrow and said.

“Something Hunter Joo Yian would hate?”

“?”

Obviously equipment, right?

As our eyes focused, she handed it to Joo Yian.

Up close, it was a gauntlet.

Joo Yian examined it and frowned.

“Definitely something we don’t need.”

“What is it?”

“?”

Mine and Shin Jae-heon’s gazes followed the gauntlet.

L-Rank dungeon hidden route boss drop being useless? No way.

Until… death?

In short, with these gauntlets, you could move fine even with broken bones.

Though you’d still take the bodily damage from moving shattered bones.

Hence “until death.”

Basically, gear for going all-out till you drop.

“You never know, we might—”

Shin Jae-heon reached out. Joo Yian cut him off firmly.

“No.”

He tossed it into his inventory, no intention of handing it over.

Then he used a diagnostic skill on us.

Shin Jae-heon’s results were clean. Our eyes met in that moment.

He frowned.

“You were gonna take him on yourself.”

He nailed it out of nowhere.

“Couldn’t just let him walk away unscathed.”

I answered a beat late. I could see his eyes narrow.

“And get yourself killed in the process?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came.

I mean, with resurrection skills, if I just inflicted severe wounds, we could finish him off and revive him later, right?

…No way I could say that out loud so shamelessly.

Not in front of people who’d rushed to save my life.

Especially since Shin Jae-heon had nearly died for real.

If Joo Yian hadn’t arrived at the perfect moment, he couldn’t have broken through that charge skill’s barrier. He’d have minimized the damage reaching me however he could.

That’s the kind of guy he was.

‘I’ll die in your place.’

“…I was gonna tank it with damage reduction skills.”

‘I’m Always in Front of You (SS).’ That cuts damage by 50%, so somehow—

Wait, wasn’t it 99% earlier?

The moment my eyes widened.

“Let’s find a place to rest first.”

Joo Yian’s gentle voice cut through our stares.

Breaking Shin Jae-heon’s glare at me.

He knew I couldn’t stop myself, even knowing it was reckless.

He’d know what I was aiming for, charging a SS-Rank-plus foe with B-Rank stats.

‘You need to look after yourself more.’

‘The scariest thing in the world to me is everyone else dying and me left alone.’

I’ve been like this for ten years.

“…I know a place to rest.”

Finally, Shin Jae-heon turned away and stood.

A rest spot around here?

I glanced at the distant Edelweiss estate.

“…My mansion?”

Turning the penalty into a full-day party?

“Edelweiss knights are coming. We should hide out here for now…”

Hunter So Yeri paused, looking far off.

She must have set up a people-detection barrier.

“They’re quick.”

Can’t they be late for once?

This is why goody-two-shoes are trouble!

As I frowned.

“Follow me.”

Shin Jae-heon stood, tossing Maletia’s sword into his inventory.

The place we reached after crossing the forest was, surprisingly, a royal safehouse.

Empty. But well-hidden and cozy.

I couldn’t help feeling relieved yet shocked.

“Wait, why’s there a safehouse next to my mansion?”

“It’s a vacation home.”

Shin Jae-heon replied offhandedly.

What kind of vacation home do you build in your friend’s backyard?