S Chapter 54

“Damn it,” Yang U-dam swore, his face contorted.

“I’ll stop the bleeding.”

“Don’t, haa, touch me…”

“Quiet.”

If there was even a small cut on his brother’s hand, the poison would spread. If he got hurt here too, Shin Jukyeong would truly be in despair. Hiding his true thoughts, Shin Jukyeong forcefully pushed Yang U-dam away as he tried to examine the wound.

“Don’t touch it. It’s dangerous.”

When he said that with a pale face, Yang U-dam looked stung.

“Are you kidding me? Why is it always okay for you, but not for me…! Hah, no. Never mind. Let’s stop. You need to save your energy for talking right now.”

He was truly resolute, as expected of his brother. Shin Jukyeong didn’t respond. He knew Yang U-dam’s opinion wasn’t wrong. Wounds were best treated quickly.

“Do as you please. I’ll do as I please too.”

Perhaps expecting Shin Jukyeong to keep refusing, Yang U-dam stopped trying to persuade him and began tearing his own clothes. They probably both thought the other was being incredibly stubborn.

Well, that aside. Shin Jukyeong realized anew that his brother’s composure and judgment were not bad. He had expected him to be more agitated. Hmm… he really seemed like a suitable candidate to become a Hunter.

‘I can’t lose a future talent in a place like this.’

Let’s do our best for my brother’s brilliant future. Hmm!

“You’re making jokes?”

Eve, who had been listening silently, finally spoke. Her tone was displeased. Shin Jukyeong chuckled briefly.

‘I’m reasonably okay. Don’t worry, Eve.’

Still, with two people clinging to me so I wouldn’t die…

“If Shin Jukyeong dies, who will feed Eve? I’m hungry!”

…Oh. Right. …I was hoping for too much. Yes. A skull-shaped bomb exploded on Shin Jukyeong’s face. His eyes were pure emptiness.

‘So that’s why people say it’s useless to raise children.’

“I’m not Shin Jukyeong’s baby.”

‘Quiet.’

“Anyway, only Shin Jukyeong can hear Eve’s words.”

‘Exactly.’

“???”

‘I said, quiet.’

“o(｀ᾥ´)o…!!”

‘Hmph.’

“I hate you! Die!”

Thanks for the pleasant greeting. I won’t forget it.

After their childish conversation, Shin Jukyeong held out his hand to Yang U-dam, signaling his intention to wipe the wound himself. Since he had so strongly refused touch earlier, Yang U-dam no longer insisted. Instead, he kept a sharp eye on him, constantly nagging: “The left side isn’t clean enough,” “I’ll give you a new cloth,” “You need to tie it tighter,” and so on. The nagging was endless.

“Haa…”

“Rest longer before you go.”

“It’s fine… This much, huff… is enough. If we keep hesitating, the kids will, ugh…”

“Kids?”

Yang U-dam’s eyes widened. Oops.

‘I didn’t come in to save kids; I came in by accident.’

Damn it, he had completely forgotten while suffering through this hell.

“Ah, uh… The kids… are also captured, so… while we’re at it, to save them? Hmm…”

He mumbled, turning his head, and Shin Jukyeong could practically hear a dismissive “Huh!” and a snort. That stung Shin Jukyeong’s pride. What? Is he scoffing? If you lined up all the people this hyung has saved, they’d stretch from Seoul to Busan! …That brat, he doesn’t know anything.

‘How frustrating. So frustrating.’

Yang U-dam, who had no way of knowing Shin Jukyeong’s thoughts, merely raised an eyebrow and snorted.

“While we’re at it, what? Who can you save looking like that? You’re just asking for a suicide pact.”

Shin Jukyeong’s brows furrowed together. His face looked like a crumpled potato. That’s right. He was sulking, a thirty-year-old man.

“Am I wrong? If I’m wrong, refute it. No, just don’t open your mouth. I don’t want to hit a patient.”

Yang U-dam spoke savagely. Look at his tone? Feeling unfairly treated as a child, Shin Jukyeong shot him a glance. Then Yang U-dam threatened him to “look down.” Honestly… Well, Shin Jukyeong did look down, wanting to avoid further argument.

“Shin Jukyeong, snap out of it. What are we, Hunters?”

‘I was a Hunter.’

“Are we apostles of justice?”

‘I have been treated as a hero a few times.’

I was quite amazing, wasn’t I? Shin Jukyeong’s nose bridge stiffened, oblivious.

“Don’t delude yourself. Right now, we’re in the state of ‘Oh, you came to save me? No, I got caught too.’ Understand?”

‘If you hadn’t interfered, I would have already saved them and more.’

Shin Jukyeong’s lips pouted out about 0.5mm. In his mind, he rebutted every single word without backing down. Of course, he didn’t show it outwardly. Shin Jukyeong knew very well that he wasn’t eloquent. If he added another word, he’d only get more nagging.

‘Anyway, the kids will be towards the boss monster. I’ll just pretend to agree.’

“Uh-huh… Yeah. Got it.”

Only after repeatedly warning him not to think useless thoughts did Yang U-dam change the direction of his anger.

“Damn it, those idiot Hunter Association bastards. What are they doing, not coming to save us yet?”

He was quite good at talking like that, the fellow who would soon become the face of the ‘idiot Association’.

“Ah, haha, this is what I built my career for.”

Eve snickered. Shin Jukyeong agreed.

“…Let’s get out of here first.”

Shin Jukyeong stumbled to his feet. He had rested enough; any more rest would be a luxury. Most importantly, he had stayed in one place for too long.

He frowned, looking at the pool of blood on the floor. Monsters might be drawn to the smell of blood. If that happened, they’d be screwed. His fatigue was already accumulated, so he had to run as much as possible to recover his condition before facing the boss monster.

As he hobbled along clumsily, a short sigh came from behind him. Then, a large back suddenly appeared in front of Shin Jukyeong.

“…”

Not understanding the intention, he just blinked, and then he heard words that completely shattered his pride as an older brother.

“Get on my back.”

…Huh? What, back?

“Quickly.”

Uh. No. Hmm. No matter what, this wouldn’t do. A thirty-year-old, former professional Hunter, waking up to find himself on his younger brother’s back? Was he out of his mind? He’d rather bite his tongue off.

“Didn’t you understand?”

“No. I did.”

“…”

“Why? What?”

“Get on my back, I said.”

“I refuse.”

“Didn’t you understand?”

“No. I did.”

“Is a Dungeon a joke?”

“…!”

‘Who’s the one to say that?!’

As they were squabbling, the ground suddenly vibrated. Soon after, it began to undulate. Even at this bizarre phenomenon that would normally scare anyone, Shin Jukyeong remained calm. He hadn’t experienced it often, but he had enough experience to know why this was happening.

The reason? Simple. It was the host’s summons.

‘Oh… looks like it tested the waters.’

A privilege only a Dungeon boss possessed. There wasn’t a specific name for it, but Hunters called it ‘Calling In’.

As you know, the reason Dungeons are so convoluted is as a mechanism for the boss monster to hide from its natural predators. If so, ‘Calling In’ can be understood as the opposite concept. It’s deliberately pulling an intruder who seems easy to deal with, from within the Dungeon, right in front of itself.

Yes, that’s right. To devour them.

‘Meaning, I was seen as a small fry, huh.’

The ground, oddly twisted and spiraling like a snail shell, sucked Shin Jukyeong and Yang U-dam in.

‘Am I lucky?’

He thought placidly as he was swallowed whole. Being regarded as a pushover was quite unpleasant, but being able to save time wasn’t bad.

‘Let’s see its face.’

Grinding his teeth as he rapidly descended, he thought of the insults and humiliation he’d endured here. He’d return it, no more, no less, exactly ninety-nine times over. Shin Jukyeong intended to unleash his simmering rage to his heart’s content. Although his less-than-fully recovered stamina was a pity… Hmm. It was fine. He could just overcome it with sheer willpower. It wasn’t as if he could always enter a battlefield in peak condition.

It was by accumulating such crises that experience was forged, and one learned how to overcome them. Shin Jukyeong engaged in a bit of mental victory. It was a method he often used whenever his mind became cluttered during his life. His so-called “it’s actually better” philosophy.

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

They landed with a thud on their behinds. So it was going to mock them till the very end, huh? With his angry thoughts, Shin Jukyeong lifted his head and saw gigantic legs. They were insect legs, dripping with sticky mucus. And a heavy, damp humidity wafted over them. Even for a C-grade, it certainly had an aura that couldn’t be compared to a poisonous toad.

The only hope was that Shin Jukyeong knew the boss monster’s reverse scale.

“Ah, haha, this is what I built my career for.”

Eve snickered. Shin Jukyeong agreed.

‘First, I need to hide Yang U-dam safely.’

Before starting the main fight, he was scouting the area. He found two cocoons wrapped in white silk. Huh? They were exactly the size of small children.

‘Could it be?’

A twitch. The cocoon moved. It was faint, but not an illusion.

“…!”

Doubt turned into certainty. Shin Jukyeong’s eyes widened.

‘…Nice.’

Fortunately, it hadn’t devoured them right away. Was it a light eater? For once, it was helpful. Even as he was being sarcastic, his lips foolishly curled upwards.

‘Well done, you held on. Little mammals!’

Shin Jukyeong wholeheartedly praised the children’s tenacity and endurance. He felt like clapping for them.

‘When we get out, I’ll buy you ice cream. Eat as many cups as you want, two or three.’

He was grateful that they had struggled to the very end without losing their will to live, despite surely having suffered greatly.