The party members all gathered around Seo Ye-in.
With a faint smile, Dang Gyu-young spoke.
“You’re already A-Rank. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Though the two always seemed close yet distant, at this moment, the congratulations were offered with genuine sincerity.
Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa also shared in the joy, even as they showed a hint of envy.
Meanwhile, I found myself staring closely at Seo Ye-in’s face, feeling a sudden sense of incongruity.
Having seen her every day for nearly a year, I noticed a subtle change.
She looks a little less sleepy than usual.
Her gray eyes seemed clearer than normal.
Then a thought followed.
After sleeping for over 48 hours straight, of course she’d look less tired, right?
But even taking that into account, she looked different from how she usually did.
Maybe it’s because her Core leveled up?
It was a solid hypothesis.
Since her total mana capacity had increased dramatically, it likely affected her sloth-battery-like tendencies too.
That said, one thing still didn’t quite add up.
For someone who just reached A-Rank, she doesn’t seem all that different.
Given the difference between a B-Rank and an A-Rank Core, Seo Ye-in should be wide awake right now.
But seeing her eyelids gradually drooping again, it seemed like drowsiness was already creeping back in.
Still, I couldn’t completely rule out a connection to the Core level-up.
As I was running through various theories in my head, Seo Ye-in walked up to me and stared up with steady eyes.
“…You promised.”
“Promised what?”
“The crow.”
While talking to the Underworld Dragon King, I had promised to bring Seo Ye-in along when I went to meet the dimensional crows soon.
There was no guarantee those creatures would willingly hand over spatial-type skills, but there was always that slim chance.
Now that she had met the condition of reaching Core A-Rank, I nodded without hesitation.
“Yeah, a promise is a promise. Let’s go together.”
At that, Dang Gyu-young pouted and butted in.
“Hey, what about me?”
“You already have something nice, don’t you?”
“Wouldn’t hurt to learn more.”
“There’s probably nothing there for you right now. And like I’ve said, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually teach us anything.”
In fact, it wasn’t even certain the dimensional crows would bother dealing with us at all.
Seo Ye-in and I were exceptions, not the norm.
In other words, tagging along would likely just be a waste of time.
So I added,
“Wouldn’t it make more sense to finish your Hardship Quest instead?”
“That’s true, but still, I feel kind of left out. Is it really okay to treat Number One like this?”
“Left out? Are you saying all the time we spent here meant nothing?”
We’d spent over two days sitting together doing mana cultivation, and whenever we were awake, we practically stuck together.
At that, Dang Gyu-young withdrew her pouty lips.
“…It meant something. I just want you to care a little more.”
“You’re so greedy.”
“Yeah, I am greedy. Wonder who I got it from.”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the obvious answer….me.
Then, Seo Ye-in threw in a quick jab.
“…Player.”
“Yes, I’m a man of many sins. We’ll go together next time. For now, let’s finish the Hardship Quest.”
“Pfft, fine.”
Apparently, Dang Gyu-young hadn’t been too serious about pushing the issue, because her expression relaxed.
Next, I turned my head and looked at Hong Yeon-hwa.
“Oh, and for the record, you’re coming too.”
“M-Me too…?”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes widened in surprise.
Her invisible tail was practically wagging.
Then, as if something occurred to her, she asked,
“But… I haven’t…?”
“You haven’t reached A-Rank yet?”
“Mhmm…”
There was no way she’d be able to raise her Core rabk in just a few days, so what was the point of her coming to meet the crows?
But that was an unnecessary worry.
“You’re not coming for the crows.”
“Then…?”
“That place is an ice-themed dungeon.”
Time to rank up Aqua Flame.
At that, Hong Yeon-hwa’s invisible tail resumed its eager wagging.
On the other hand, for Seo Ye-in, this wasn’t exactly welcome news.
Cold places weren’t exactly ideal habitats for sloths.
Still, she asked, just in case.
“Is it cold?”
“Very. It’ll wake you right up.”
“…Change it.”
“Change what?”
“The dungeon.”
“I can’t grant unreasonable requests.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not the one who decides.”
The dimensional crows sometimes jumped from F-rank dungeons to A-rank ones, or disappeared entirely for weeks before reappearing elsewhere.
According to the stagnant water players’ big data,
The one I was looking for was expected to vanish from the current ice-themed dungeon after a few hours and then reappear in the next one two weeks later.
The problem was two weeks from now is a Duel Battle Week, and the week after that, it’s final exams.
If we missed this chance, we wouldn’t be able to see them again until next year.
“……”
I could feel Seo Ye-in’s motivation plummeting.
I asked her with a smirk,
“Should we just go without you?”
“…I’ll go.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay in the cold?”
“…I’ll endure.”
Seo Ye-in clenched her fists determinedly.
But the next second, the thought of the cold seemed to hit her, and she shivered slightly. Then she reached out and tugged on Hong Yeon-hwa’s sleeve.
“…Help.”
“Huh? Oh. I’ll prepare something warm for you.”
“Thanks.”
She’s basically treating her like a portable heater.
Honestly, not wrong.
***
Even after Seo Ye-in raised her core rank, we continued taking turns every six hours to cultivate mana, just like before.
Places this efficient are rare, so we might as well push ourselves as much as we can while we’re here.
As time passed like that, our third and final day in the dungeon was already drawing to a close.
Screeech—!
A stinger the size of a forearm cut through the air with a sharp whine.
It came flying from a huge writhing caterpillar up ahead.
As I leaned slightly to dodge it, a shadowy figure lunged at me from the left.
“Grahh—!”
A hulking black panther.
But in the next instant, my body blurred, and both the panther’s claws and the caterpillar’s stinger tore through empty air.
Moments later, blasts of cold erupted across their bodies.
Boom boom boom!
Ghost Dance, Mysterious Yin Jade Demon Finger, Frozen Spirit Shot….they all chained together in a series of explosions.
In just a few breaths, the enemies were completely frozen solid.
Not far off, another battle was in full swing.
Squelch!
Qyu-Shadow Lord skewered a giant caterpillar like a kebab with its shadow longsword.
Dang Gyu-young was doing her part too, hammering away at a rainbow-colored frog with her shadow club.
As the difficulty kept increasing, monsters were now swarming the pond in groups.
Just a moment ago, six or seven had shown up, and we split them evenly between Dang Gyu-young and me.
But of course, this too was finally coming to an end.
Having taken down the last of the poisonous beasts, Dang Gyu-young walked over, brushing her hands off.
“That’s about it, right? Six hours.”
“Yeah, just a few minutes left.”
The rest of the team member were also wrapping up their cultivation and cleaning up the area.
Go Hyeon-woo smiled faintly as he gazed at the pond.
“Feels like a shame to leave. If we could, I’d have liked to stay longer.”
“There’ll be another chance.”
“Of course. I trust you, Kim-hyung. So this is the end?”
“It is. Boss time’s coming up.”
The default boss, the giant serpent, had already fled and gone into hiding somewhere. We had no intention of chasing it down.
What we were after was the hidden boss.
The condition for its appearance was spending 72 hours at Poison Serpent Pond.
And in just a little while, those 72 hours would be up.
“……”
“……”
With everyone watching, the pond began to fill with thick black poison.
Only this time, it was far more intense.
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
The surface boiled violently, churning as the poison began to evaporate and spread.
Watching this, I muttered to myself.
“Why does the poison rise and fall? And so regularly, too.”
Even for a dungeon where all sorts of strange things happen, wasn’t this a bit too odd?
Soon, everyone understood the reason.
The surface, bubbling with poison, suddenly bulged. Then from that spot, a huge serpent burst forth.
Compared to this, the first serpent we saw felt more like a worm.
This thing was the hidden boss and the true master of the pond: Poison Serpent.
Go Hyeon-woo’s face lit up with interest.
“So this thing was the source of the poison.”
“It’s been breathing in and out this whole time, making the pond filthy. Its breath is no joke.”
Sure enough, the moment it appeared, poisonous fog began spreading in all directions, and all the plants in the area started to wither rapidly.
Even with some degree of poison resistance, we couldn’t hold out.
If I delayed even a little, Go Hyeon-woo and Hong Yeon-hwa would’ve been affected, so I quickly activated my skills.
[Activated ‘Octopus Limbs’.]
[Activated ‘Enchantment’.]
[The target has been granted ‘Poison Immunity’.]
[The target has been granted ‘Poison Immunity’.]
[Duration: 00:19:59]
[Cooldown: 01:39:59]
“But? To us, it’s just a big snake, right?”
“Haha, Kim-hyung makes everything seem easy.”
“More like I just pick the easy fights.”
If there’s a fight you’re guaranteed to win, is there any reason to go looking for trouble?
I don’t think so.
Soon, we faced the giant serpent and got into battle stance.
“Just be careful not to get pinned.”
“Got it.”
As its mouth opened wide, Seo Ye-in’s magic gun also lit up with blue flames.
Ratatatatata!
***
And so, after each of us handled the giant serpent in our own way—
The battle ended before the duration of the buffs wore off.
Wounded all over, it staggered and sank deep into the pond.
It had basically earned a lifetime free pass to the pond, but unfortunately, this was a dungeon.
Rumble…
The whole area began to shake like there was an earthquake, and a teleport portal opened up to lead us out.
Near it, a few small chests were sitting.
[Poison Serpent Random Box (C)] 1
[Poison Serpent Random Box (B)] 2
[Poison Serpent Random Box (B+)] *1
Normally, a C-rank random box drops according to the dungeon’s difficulty, but since we used the Book of Chaos twice and defeated the hidden boss, the rewards had been upgraded.
Seo Ye-in walked ahead with slow and heavy steps, then picked up the B+ rank chest.
“Can I open it?”
“Why not wait and open it outside?”
“Just feel like it.”
“Wouldn’t that bring bad luck?”
Seo Ye-in shook her head.
“Superstition.”
“Really?”
“Mhmm.”
“So then, is lucky charm’s luck also just superstition?”
Seo Ye-in shook her head again.
“Faith.”
“Look at that confidence.”
“Can I open it?”
Well, there’s no harm in opening just one now.
Besides, it’s not often the lucky charm herself takes the initiative like this.
I gave a small nod.
“Go ahead, open it.”
The moment I gave permission, Seo Ye-in threw open the random box without any preparation.
A burst of light exploded out.
Flaaaaaaaaash—!
“Argh, my eyes.”
“A little warning, maybe?”
It was so intense that everyone had to cover their eyes and look away.
That blinding light lingered for a while, and as soon as it faded, we all turned to look at Seo Ye-in’s hand.
A tightly rolled magic scroll.
I checked the item description and couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.
“Why is this dropping here?”
[Slot Plus]
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