Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

Seong San-ha finally stopped acting like a mad bull when we reached the 15th underground floor. Unfortunately, he decided to stop in the middle of a rocky outcrop cleverly hidden among stalactites and boulders, which meant I had to climb a rock face I never expected to in my life.

 

When I reached the top, I saw a white-gloved hand extended toward me. I swallowed my curses and grabbed it.

 

“You followed well.”

 

The characteristic feeling of a healing transferred through our clasped hands. The fatigue vanished in an instant, but I still felt dirty and immediately let go, collapsing onto the ground.

 

“

Ha

…

Huff

… You crazy… bastard.”

 

“You did well. Thanks to the collar, it shouldn’t have been too hard. How was it? Want to try going a bit faster?”

 

Too exhausted to swear anymore, I closed my eyes and raised my middle finger in Seong San-ha’s direction.

 

Sensing that we were alone, Cloud appeared and started rubbing its head against me. I petted its fluffy yet firm head and gently scolded it.

 

“Cloud, you’ve become pretty bold around Seong San-ha lately. Don’t trust him! He’s a bad guy.”

 

“Baaa-!”

 

“I know, I know. Just stay up here and don’t go down.”

 

I tapped its head, and Cloud started wandering around, sniffing and licking the rocks. Over my head, Seong San-ha’s incredulous voice echoed down.

 

“You’re talking to it like it’s a dog.”

 

“The one treating me like a dog was you, dragging me along at full speed. At this rate, we could go back tomorrow, let alone in three days, right?”

 

“That would be nice, but it’ll be hard to maintain this speed as we go deeper.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Seong San-ha hadn’t shown any signs of struggling the whole way here. I’d bet all my potion recipes he hadn’t used half his abilities yet. I didn’t understand and asked again. Seong San-ha replied nonchalantly.

 

“This dungeon has had slight wave fluctuations detected in its lower floors.”

 

“Ah, wave fluctua… what?”

 

I jumped up in shock. Wave fluctuations! Having already experienced how crazily monsters behave in unstable dungeons, I couldn’t stay calm.

 

“Hey, Cloud! Don’t eat anything weird, come here.”

 

I hurriedly called for Cloud, anxiously flitting around.

 

“We need to get out before something happens… No, more importantly, what about the people above?”

 

“They’re temporarily sealing off the deepest parts first. It’s only been detected, so there’s no need to worry too much. No more hunters will be entering either.”

 

“But still…”

 

I looked at him, full of confusion when Seong San-ha stepped closer and ruffled my hair.

 

“What’s there to worry about when you’re with me? We’ll just go in briefly to get the Abyssal Crystal and come back before the sealing is complete. No need for unnecessary thoughts. Got it?”

 

Was I feeling uneasy because I wasn’t a hunter? 

 

Under Seong San-ha’s pressing hand, I couldn’t help but nod.

 

We ate the dungeon meal kits Yeon Seung-yeon had packed for us and extinguished the campfire that had been warming us.

 

I thought I’d fall asleep quickly because I was tired, but lying on a stone floor with just a scrap of cloth was uncomfortable, and I couldn’t sleep. My eyes remained wide open, staring into the pitch darkness. Listening to the mysterious rustling sounds from afar, I spoke.

 

“… Seong San-ha. Are you asleep?”

 

“…”

 

“Asleep…? I guess you are sleeping.”

 

“…”

 

“Fine, sleep tight.”

 

“What?”

 

I flinched at the sudden voice, not expecting him to be awake.

 

“Jeez, if you were awake, you should’ve answered sooner…”

 

I heard rustling sounds. Feeling Seong San-ha’s gaze prickling my left cheek, I rubbed it hard and muttered.

 

“Don’t look. It’ll wear out.”

 

“Even if you can’t sleep, try to rest. Starting tomorrow, we’ll need to stay alert. We won’t find another place as comfortable as this.”

 

“When was I not alert? I did well today, especially for my first time in a stage-type dungeon.”

 

A light grumble was followed by silence. However, the quiet was welcome as drowsiness quickly overtook me. Just as I was about to fall asleep, Seong San-ha’s low voice reached my ears.

 

“…First time? You’ve been here before.”

 

“What… are you talking about? It’s my first time here.”

 

“Are you lying on purpose?”

 

Half-asleep, I gave a mumbled answer but chuckled lightly at his absurd claim.

 

“Hey. What do you know?”

 

“Your friend Ryu Su-yoon died in a stage-type dungeon, didn’t he?”

 

“…”

 

Shit.

 

Seong San-ha’s words made my skin crawl, instantly banishing my drowsiness. Staring blankly into the air with wide eyes, I heard his voice again.

 

“Joo Ho-hyun.”

 

“…Don’t talk to me when I’m trying to sleep.”

 

“What did you mean by what you said earlier?”

 

Persistent bastard. I turned away, showing my back to Seong San-ha, and mumbled.

 

“I made a mistake… It’s just something I don’t want to remember.”

 

Seong San-ha didn’t say anything else until I finally fell asleep.

***

 

When we warped down from the 15th floor, a sky appeared above us once again. A crimson sky we had never seen before, with purple storm clouds pouring down blood-red rain. It was a disturbing sight, but escaping the suffocating cave gave us a bit of relief. Seong San-ha also seemed more free and quick in dispatching monsters than he had been in the cave.

 

A day and a half had passed, and it was now the last day of the three days Seong San-ha had promised. We were standing right in front of the warp point to the 20th floor.

 

Seong San-ha and I stood side by side, looking down at the magical circle carved into the rock and the waves of energy rippling above it.

 

“…This feels really ominous.”

 

“The abnormal phenomenon has begun.”

 

“They said it would start from the Abyss. We’re only on the 20th floor…”

 

“It’s progressing twice as fast as expected. We need to request containment first thing when we return.”

 

Amidst the blue waves, crimson lines flickered sporadically. As I looked at them seriously, Seong Sa-nha asked me,

 

“Foul energy is seeping out even here. What are you planning to do?”

 

“Of course, we’re going in. We can’t back out now.”

 

Even if the energy waves were changing, it didn’t mean immediate danger. I knew this from experience.

 

Seong San-ha nodded at my words and looked down at the warp point.

 

“No other hunters are likely to make it this far. Let’s finish this quickly and return.”

 

Fortunately, we had a return scroll. If we had to go back the way we came, I might have fainted from the shock. As I shivered, thinking about the dungeons we’d passed through, Seong San-ha extended his hand to me.

 

“What’s this for?”

 

“You can’t seprate from me at all on the next floor.”

 

“…This better not be dangerous.”

 

I placed my hand on his white-gloved one. As he held my hand firmly, he playfully spun the ring on my finger. Following Seong San-ha, I stepped onto the final warp point.

 

***

 

Since the dungeon was experiencing a wave change, the sky, which was already unsettling, now writhed to the point of making me feel physically uncomfortable. It felt like we had entered something’s body and were now observing its organs.

 

Unlike the previous floors where Seong San-ha moved around freely, he was very cautious here. He maintained a distance of no more than a meter from me, leading the way carefully. To keep up with him, I quickened my pace. The monsters were indeed stronger than before, but they were no match for Seong San-ha. Even when the monsters swarmed, Seong San-ha dealt with them cautiously and discreetly, as if trying not to provoke something.

 

Rumble!

 

The sky, which had been flickering earlier, seemed odd. Soon, a purple storm cloud spread across the land, covering everything. Knowing what would fall from the clouds, we quickly searched for shelter from the rain.

 

“Seong San-ha, there’s a cave over there!”

 

“Well done.”

 

As soon as we squeezed into a small hollow in a cliff, the rain started with a refreshing sound. The world turned red under the rain pouring from the sky. We couldn’t do anything until the rain stopped. Sitting closely together in the small space, we stared blankly at the alien rain.

 

“…Did you say the Abyss Crystal is the heart of a golem?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Golems are just rocks, right? How do we tell which rock is a golem?”

 

As I asked while looking at the rocks turned red by the rain, Seong San-ha chuckled softly and shook his head.

 

“Those are just rocks. Golems are beneath the ground.”

 

“Then how do we find them?”

 

“We need to find naturally formed pits or tunnels that golems use. Once we catch one, we tear the scroll and return immediately.”

 

Nodding at Seong San-ha’s explanation, I visualized the situation in my mind. I felt a tickling sensation and weight on my shoulder. When I looked beside me, I saw Seong San-ha with his eyes closed, leaning his head on my shoulder. Before I could say anything, Seong San-ha spoke first.

 

“I’m tired.”

 

“You…”

 

“Wake me when the rain stops.”

 

I wanted to shrug him off, but recognizing Seong San-ha’s efforts, I decided to lend him my shoulder just this once. Before I knew it, I dozed off as well. It was the sound of voices—voices that shouldn’t be heard here—that woke me from my light sleep.

 

“Over here! Let’s take shelter from the rain here! Everyone, come this way!”

 

“Wow, what is this? We’re all soaked.”

 

“Ugh, it’s not just red, it smells like blood too…”

 

Startled, I opened my eyes and saw a group of people entering our small hiding spot. They were drenched and looked just as surprised to see us. Seong San-ha, sensing the commotion, lifted his head and glanced at the newcomers with a calm but wary expression. 

 

I tensed up, ready for whatever might come next, as the strangers settled in, oblivious to the danger they were in.

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