In the Name of God - Chapter 75.2
I had heard they possessed stealth abilities, but perhaps because they are such cautious monsters, I couldn’t catch even a momentary sense of displacement or a presence that might occur when they move.
‘I can’t just let them keep swarming like this, though…’
Echo’s information was certainly reliable, but I was in a state where I couldn’t prove the source to others.
Even if I disguised the scan information as coming from Hawkeye and launched a counter-ambush, if the monsters continued to just watch as they were doing now and never revealed themselves, I would end up losing trust in my own ability.
Above all, even the team leader, who was said to have conquered this dungeon several times, was staying quiet. Even if I, a rookie on his first trip, spoke seriously, there was a possibility it would be taken as a needless overreaction.
I was contemplating because staying still like this was also a problem, when someone stepped up right behind me.
“Seong Do-yoon.”
When I turned my head at the unfamiliar voice calling my name, the brilliant blond hair exposed to the white sunlight was the first thing to daze my vision.
I looked at the man, unconsciously furrowing my brow slightly.
It was Kwon Jeong-han, who had been examinee Number 15 when we met at the promotion exam site and was now affiliated with the Association.
“You noticed, didn’t you?”
He looks to be about my age, but he’s speaking informally right off the bat.
“Noticed what?”
I responded to Kwon Jeong-han’s words with the same informal speech.
Kwon Jeong-han scanned the surroundings briefly, then lowered his voice further.
“I heard your eyes are incredibly good. Then aren’t you seeing things that we can’t see?”
“You seem certain that I’ve seen something.”
“That’s right. Because in our team, only you and I are keeping our nerves on edge.”
Conviction was harbored in Kwon Jeong-han’s eyes as he nodded. Does he perhaps have a search ability similar to Echo’s scan?
Instead of answering obediently for fear of causing confusion, I asked back.
“Even the team leader, who said he’s been to this dungeon several times, hasn’t said a word. Isn’t it just your imagination?”
“Stop pretending you don’t know.”
Clicking his tongue as if dissatisfied, Kwon Jeong-han furrowed his brow.
“My gut feeling is bad.”
“Your gut?”
“Not long after we set out, I felt a stinging sensation on the back of my neck. Now it hurts so much I suspect someone might have struck me there.”
Kwon Jeong-han massaged the nape of his neck as if it were truly stiff.
“That must mean it’s getting that much more dangerous.”
Whether he had been stroking it the entire time we walked, the side of Kwon Jeong-han’s neck was already flushed red.
‘That’s a fascinating sense.’
Is it that his innate energy sensitivity is so outstanding that he can instinctively sense danger?
Considering the monsters that were swarming, Kwon Jeong-han’s sense was good enough to be called a talent.
On the other hand, I was puzzled.
Kwon Jeong-han was clearly tense, but that seemed to be for the purpose of responding immediately no matter when or where a monster might ambush us. No trace of anxiety regarding the invisible monsters could be seen at all.
“You don’t seem very anxious for someone who sensed danger.”
“Because you’re with me.”
“Me?”
When I widened my eyes at the out-of-the-blue statement, Kwon Jeong-han spoke indifferently while still rubbing his nape.
“I heard you handled monsters that even high-ranking Awakeners couldn’t completely suppress. If you possess that level of skill, you’re trustworthy.”
“The articles spread on the internet are all exaggerations. Seong Do-wan…, no, the Vice Clan Leader of Horizon just talked me up for no reason.”
“It’s not necessarily because I saw the articles. Of course, it’s true I became certain after seeing them, but I’ve thought you were an extraordinary guy since the promotion exam.”
The look in Kwon Jeong-han’s eyes as he watched me was quite serious. Since his eyes were exceptionally clear and vivid, I could intuitively tell he was speaking sincerely.
‘Since the promotion exam… that’s probably because he saw my fight?’
Kwon Jeong-han must have also seen the battle back then when I fought the Black Golem inside the barrier. Since I was a guy with a Grade 9 tag who utilized mana while using my abilities and even jumped two ranks in promotion alongside him, it wasn’t strange for him to have kept an eye on me.
However, the words that came out were completely different from my expectations.
“How can you still keep a guy like that around you so casually?”
“…What?”
It wasn’t difficult to guess who the “guy like that” Kwon Jeong-han was referring to was.
Because there was only one person who was with me at the promotion exam and has been sticking close to my side until now.
“I’ll give you one warning while I’m at it.”
Anxiety that hadn’t been visible until now formed in Kwon Jeong-han’s eyes as he looked at me.
“My gut has never been wrong, not even once.”
I felt a very heavy irritation, quite different from his wariness toward the invisible monsters.
“That guy next to you—it’s best to distance yourself from him as soon as possible.”
“Distance myself… from Lee Sunho?”
Kwon Jeong-han, who was nodding, was now stroking his entire neck instead of just the nape.
It was as if, beyond mere stiffness, he felt an extreme anxiety, like his entire neck was being severed.
“At this rate… you’re going to die because of him.”
I was dumbfounded by the unexpected curse.
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