[Woo Yeon-Hee has joined the party.]

“Remember this before you go in. The leader…”

Woo Yeon-Hee, who carried a backpack as big as her body and held a crossbow in one hand, didn’t stumble as she did in Gim-je. She answered in a trembling voice while balancing herself, “The leader’s orders must be followed.”

“If you die, I die, and if I die, you die. Keep in mind that all my instructions are for both of our lives,” I responded.

“I’m ready,” she said.

“Okay, let’s go.”

I stretched out my foot into the blue barrier and went into the darkness. I heard Woo Yeon-Hee’s tense voice behind my back.

“I got it. F-class skill Night Eyes and three quests.”

“We’re entering the entrance room,” I said.

Squeak. I hated that noise. Similar to the previous time, entrance rooms were generally safe, and only terrible darkness awaited us. I checked the number of doors first along the wall. As the dungeon was reset, there was only one door, so I had no choice but to open it. Woo Yeon-Hee was drawing a map with crooked lines, and her pen was shaking. I spoke to her.

“It’s natural to feel nervous and anxious. You’ll cry or scream when you run into the mutts, and that’s normal for your first battle. But don’t go out of my sight. That’s all I’m asking you right now, nothing big.”

“Okay,” she answered, looking over my shoulder, and became quiet.

“We’ll enter the first corridor,” I said as I pushed the wooden door that Woo Yeon-Hee was staring at, and there was no trap. The corridor was quiet for a little bit. When I took a few steps, I heard footsteps running toward us. I counted three or four at maximum, which was not a lot. I had a dagger in my left hand and a long blade in my right, so I waited calmly.

Soon, a mutt’s head with hideous teeth appeared, and I stabbed my dagger right between its eyes. The mutt threw itself at me with the dagger stuck on its forehead, and, as I stepped back, it rolled over the spot it had targeted. I stomped on its head when it stared at me and heard a female gasp at the loud crunch behind me.

The sound of mutts running towards me got closer, but I couldn’t see anything. This gave me time to prepare. I stepped on the mutt’s floundering hand and pulled out the dagger. Since the death message didn’t appear, I trampled its face and looked ahead.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

[You have defeated the Declan scout.]

[You have gained 1 point.]

[Total points: 163]

[Declan Extermination: Defeat Declan scout 33/60]

The two rushed me at once, and I jumped towards them. While I was holding a sword and a dagger, I had no intention of using them simultaneously. I pierced one of their chests with a sword. Instead of retrieving it, I pulled my hand off it promptly.

As soon as I stepped aside, the other mutt’s hand approached me, and it was too late to avoid it. It was running too fast. The hand targeting my face and my hand trying to thrust a dagger into its face crossed each other. I was dazed for a moment as my head took the hit, but I felt my dagger hit and raked its face as I toppled backward from the body blow.

Thump!

I was able to overturn the situation at the last minute. Its hand was large enough to cover my face, but I could see how it was trying to bite me and push me back between its long claws. However, I used my dagger to rip its face off mercilessly.

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Physical Healing.]

[Your injury will be slightly recovered.]

I managed to sit up after shoving away the mutt’s arm. Then, my dagger went into its chest, and blood splashed in the air every time I pulled it out. I thrust it into its chest once more after the death message popped up and stood up. I wiped the blood on my face and looked at Woo Yeon-Hee.

She stood firm and didn’t blink, and she hadn’t overcome her revulsion and fear. Her frozen eyes were moving little by little along with my movements, but she managed to use her skills in that condition. While it wasn’t necessary, it didn’t matter since the cooldown time was short anyway. Using her skill proved her dignity as a healer.

I pointed behind me with my thumb at the mutt that was barely breathing with my sword stuck in its abdomen like the collapsed hedge funds and banks.

“Finish it with your own hands,” I said.

I didn’t have to hand over my dagger as Woo Yeon-Hee had her own on her thigh. She just had to pull it out and kill it as I had taught her how to use it. It was easy to kill a mutt, but it was difficult for her because it had a human body. Even if its body wasn’t human-shaped, killing a huge creature was terrifying for civilians.

However, Woo Yeon-Hee had to. She slowly took out the dagger, following my gaze. Then, she slowly moved next to the wriggling mutt. Although I couldn’t see her face, I knew what her expression would be. I spoke as I stared at her.

“It doesn’t matter which part you stab. Just push it in as hard as you can.”

I didn’t speak very loudly, but my voice echoed as our surroundings were silent. Woo Yeon-Hee was frozen, and I thought maybe it was too early. If she forgot her role as a healer, she could get used to this. Well, if the dungeon would wait for her. I walked up to her when she spoke in a loud voice.

“Wait!” her voice cracked.

“Wait for a second…”

She knelt down and put the tip of the dagger on the mutt’s squirmy abdomen as she had in the washroom. She put her weight on the dagger.

[You have gained 1 point.]

[Declan Extermination: Defeat Declan scout 35/60]

Woo Yeon-Hee was quiet as she leaned toward the mutt, but it seemed she was sobbing.

“Get your act together and follow me,” I said.

I saw a dungeon box farther away, and the skill Iron Skin came out from it, not a curse. Iron Skin strengthened one part of the body, and it would block the mutt’s sharp teeth better.

***

Woo Yeon-Hee was paying attention to the sticky texture on her fingertips. Every time she put her fingers together and took them off, viscous blood dripped.

“Their blood is red. Just like us…”

What was I supposed to reply? Did she think that it was green? In science fiction or fantasy movies, the monster's blood was often depicted in green to avoid being censored. In this case, the movie would go from R-rated to PG 13. However, this was reality and we were in a dungeon. We were back in the entrance room, and I was installing a more intricate trap than I had before.

“Woo Yeon-Hee.”

She stared at me in silence instead of answering.

“Well done in the corridor. You successfully used your skill,” I continued.

She looked surprised, but her performance was good enough. There were various reactions from people who first saw monsters for the first time in the Trial Tests. Some ran around shouting crazy things, cried for their mothers, and clung to those who were trying to fight. Everyone was shouting at the men to do something with the monsters.

I finished setting up the trap, and there was no need to warn Woo Yeon-Hee from stepping on it. She seemed to recall my instruction before entering the dungeon, and her eyes seemed to be aware of the trap’s danger. We moved again toward the door that led to the first room. Last time, nearly twenty mutts poured out of this room. Since I had told her that, she was shaking like a child standing naked in the cold.

She was merely holding her bow, and I whispered into her ear.

“If you can’t control yourself, what did I tell you to do?”

Concentrate. She answered silently with only her lips.

“Don’t forget about your mental skills,” I added.

Hunters like Woo Yeon-Hee found their greatest strength by sharing the emotions of others.

“Focus on me.”

Her trembling body began to calm down after my words.