That Face Is the Problem - Chapter 72.2
Jae-gyeong also knew what kind of dungeon that was. For high-grade dungeons, it was legally mandated that a briefing regarding the strategy, the types of appearing monsters, and dungeon information must be shared without exception after a successful raid. A few years ago, in an S-rank dungeon dungeon, monsters spawned endlessly no matter how many were killed, leading Jeong-eon to overexert his abilities.
Initially, it was announced that Hee-ro had delivered the final blow, but it was later revealed that Jeong-eon had used his power-word skill while under a debuff status (it was said that until then, everyone believed Jeong-eon was just a B-rank guardian hunter).
“Ah, what are you talking about, Guild Master! The numbers are massive, but they’re also damn strong! Look at him subtly showing off just because he’s an S-rank. Sheesh, it’s exhausting as hell.”
Ri-na threw a tantrum. Her magical energy had noticeably dropped after a certain point. Pulling out and shooting ten arrows at a time, it was only natural that her magical energy would deplete much faster.
It was evident that not just Ri-na, but everyone had become sensitive and anxious.
Jae-gyeong pulled out a watch from the small item box hanging at his waist to check the time. The watch, which functioned even inside dungeons, was an item that informed them exactly how long they had been inside.
7 days, 14 hours, 25 minutes, 31 seconds. 32 seconds. 33 seconds…
Jae-gyeong closed the item box after checking only up to that point. Seven days was long, but it wasn’t excessively drawn out. Especially considering that this place was an S-rank dungeon, it was even more standard.
However, because the types of emerging monsters were numerous, and their frequency and strength were high, it felt as though more than ten days had passed physically. On top of that, there was no proper place to rest or sleep here, so everyone had reached their physical limits.
‘I must stay calm.’
Jae-gyeong told himself internally. In this kind of situation, an ordinary hunter would seek a path to clear it as quickly as possible.
But Jae-gyeong did the opposite; he took a deep breath and settled his mind. Jae-gyeong knew that the more one tries to rush, the higher the probability of failure becomes.
The reason was simple. Hunters were human too. The moment they felt psychological pressure and began to whip themselves, the probability of being consumed by their own mentality was entirely too high. That was the nature of human existence.
If it were a short-term battle, it might be possible to muster up strength instantaneously, but right now, this was an unpredictable, long-term war where no one knew when the boss monster would appear. If one lost composure here, it was over.
Jae-gyeong looked around anxiously at the other team members. Fortunately, Hee-ro and Jeong-eon seemed like composure personified, and though the remaining team members were overwhelmed, they were veterans after all, so they seemed to be harboring similar thoughts to Jae-gyeong.
However, Yi-hyeon was continuously drinking mana potions; he looked as if he might crumble at the slightest touch. It was a relief that his role was strictly limited to guarding Da-sol.
And Da-sol…
Jae-gyeong swiftly glanced at Da-sol out of the corner of his eye and looked forward. Da-sol was looking at Yi-hyeon. He had also noticed that Yi-hyeon was struggling the most out of everyone here.
“Hunter Yoon Yi-hyeon. Come over here for a second.”
From behind, Da-sol’s voice drifted over. Jae-gyeong kept walking while facing forward, but he focused all of his senses on Da-sol. It was truly a relief that his ears didn’t perk up or move broadly like an animal’s. If they had, it would have completely exposed how intently he was listening to Da-sol’s words.
“[Heal].”
Da-sol provided a separate heal to Yi-hyeon. The sound of Yi-hyeon replying in deep gratitude, “Ugh, thank you, Healer-nim…” could be heard.
But Yi-hyeon didn’t stop there. He asked half-seriously, half-jokingly:
“Can’t I just hold hands with you while we walk, Healer-nim?”
Thump. The moment he heard those words, Jae-gyeong almost tripped over a tree root right in front of him.
“Mr. Jae-gyeong, are you okay?”
“Be careful. It isn’t because your strength is failing, right?”
Hee-ro and Ye-jin took turns showing concern. His face completely flushed red, Jae-gyeong waved his hands frantically toward the two of them.
“I-I am alright… I am sorry… I just didn’t see it and tripped, that’s all…”
As he did, Jae-gyeong’s eyes locked with Da-sol’s at the very back. Da-sol looked at Jae-gyeong expressionlessly once, then turned his gaze back to Yi-hyeon. It seemed that even his glance at Jae-gyeong was simply because a noise had been made, not out of any genuine worry.
Jae-gyeong’s shoulders slumped heavily.
“Healer-niiim…”
A sweat-drenched Yi-hyeon weakly pestered Da-sol.
“Can’t you just heal me one more time? It’s seriously so exhausting…”
“Ah, really. But it’s exhausting for me too.”
“Yes…”
Naturally, Da-sol rejected Yi-hyeon’s ridiculous suggestion. Yi-hyeon would have been even more shocked if Da-sol had actually accepted it. That was just the usual texture of their conversations and their way of killing time.
Jae-gyeong knew this too, but the moment he imagined the scene of Da-sol and Yi-hyeon holding hands while walking, the strength momentarily drained from his legs. Therefore, telling Hee-ro and Ye-jin that he was fine was a complete lie. He was not fine at all.
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