Our top priority was securing an Escape Insignia. In front of the dungeon box, I said, “Stay away.”

Woo Yeon-Hee moved to the farthest point in the room as she knew the leader could get cursed and attack her. Therefore, she seemed quite nervous. If the worst-case scenario became a reality, would she be able to do what I instructed her?

“I’m going to open the dungeon box.”

She nodded as she was ready, and I stretched out my arm while looking away from her. A notification message popped up.

[Would you like to open the box?]

“Yes.”

A flash of light appeared.

[Your Health has increased by 9.]

[Strength: F (23)]

It was impossible to ask for another Escape Insignia, so I was content with the reward as my stat had risen by nine. Considering that the dungeon box had a higher chance to give negative results than positive and that the numerical rate of stat increase was limited between the number one to ten, I was actually fortunate.

I sent the all-clear signal to Woo Yeon-Hee, but she stopped at a distance instead of coming to me. Then, she began to look at me suspiciously as I had warned her about curses. After a little bit, she became more relieved since she felt my inner peace.

I had never formed a party with someone with her skills and I had avoided the Second Evil as he had mental skills. They were rare and formidable, so it was a smart choice that I didn’t include those with mental abilities. There was no need to explain anything to them as they saw through my emotions before words. If someone with those powers had joined the party maliciously, the situation would’ve been tragic.

Woo Yeon-Hee’s body trembled at that moment.

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Anxiety Healing.]

She was panicking as she aimed her bow toward me. I said calmly, “Yes, that’s how you do it. You wasted your skill, but you did a good job.”

She looked at me as if she needed an explanation.

“I was thinking about the old days. I didn’t know you’d react to that,” I confessed.

“Sorry, I should’ve waited calmly a little longer,” she replied.

Woo Yeon-Hee’s crossbow tilted toward the ground.

“No, you’re doing just as well as I taught you,” I responded.

“But…” she hesitated.

“We have enough time since my skills are on cooldown,” I said.

Healers were rare in the era and were double-edged swords. The teamwork and trust with them were something so precious that we couldn’t even get from the challenger box. I didn’t have to be afraid of dungeon boxes anymore since Woo Yeon-Hee wouldn’t betray me. She was aware that she couldn’t survive without me.

“What doors do you see?” I questioned.

“They are all over the place, including the direction we came in,” she answered.

Of course, she didn’t open any of the doors by herself as she stood nervously in front of me. We had to be wary of traps, but F-class traps were so primitive that they were perfect to earn points. We found a trap at the second door, the same one as before. Woo Yeon-Hee was leaning against the wall behind me.

“Do you see the string on the doorknob? We’d better finish this off,” I said.

She gave a quick nod.

“It’s your turn now,” I switched places with Woo Yeon-Hee.

She stared at her dagger and looked as if she was praying devoutly. Meanwhile, I was holding onto her backpack strap with both hands.

“I’m cutting it now.”

Woo Yeon-Hee moved her arms as she announced.

[You have gained 1 point.]

I pulled her to my side with all my strength as soon as the notification popped up. We fell together in a heap.

Thud!

The door exploded and fragments showered over us. I got up first and reached out to Woo Yeon-Hee. She was breathing heavily and must have been recalling the huge stone ball that just swung on the chain above us. She grabbed my hand, and her hand was weirdly cold. I raised her up.

“Congratulations. You have completed the hidden quest ‘Declan Extermination’ second.”

I recited the message that Woo Yeon-Hee was reading.

“You have gained a bronze box as a reward for completing.”

Then, her eyes chased something in the air, and I saw a bright light flash in her eyes as the box opened. I could tell what she got without her explanation. There were no insignia or items as her gaze remained in the air instead of her chest or hands. Her lips slowly opened.

“My skill stat has increased. Mary’s Hand is now F(6).”

***

Odin’s Wrath was a formidable skill that had S-class potential, but its flaw was the long cooldown period. I could only use it once a day and only for thirty minutes. However, opening the next door without the skill would be the same as commiting suicide.

[Remaining cooldown time: 21 hours 30 minutes 21 seconds.]

[Remaining cooldown time: 21 hours 30 minutes 20 seconds.]

We were waiting for Odin’s Wrath to recharge. Woo Yeon-Hee was lying down and her breathing sounded quite stable. When I tried placing a blanket over her, she opened her eyes.

“I’m not sleeping,” she said.

“I know. Rest up while you can,” I responded.

She asked, “How long has it been since we came here?”

“Four hours,” I replied.

She closed her eyes again after hearing my response, and she must’ve thought that time went by really slow. I would’ve trained her combat skills if she was a damage dealer, but taking rest was training for healers like her. Also, it was impossible to turn her into a warrior due to her weak innate physical condition.

When I was practicing my dagger, Woo Yeon-Hee was looking up at me. I had removed my shirt and was sweating all over. I was training, assuming that my agility had been raised to E class after using the insignia and activating The Man Who Overcomes Adversity. This practice was for the Double-Headed mutt, not for the boss monster.

“If you want to say something, say it,” I said.

“Are you sure this is okay?” she questioned.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m not doing anything behind your back. You fight hard for both of us, but I just step aside and watch,” she replied.

“That’s what healers do. All you have to do is support me, and the rest is my responsibility. Don’t try to do anything more because it’ll be more dangerous,” I said.

“Did your former comrades do that?”

It was a random question, and she quietly waited for my answer. I had never mentioned anything like ‘former comrades’ to her, but I immediately realized why she had such a question. If I had known people would be rewarded for being the second person to discover a dungeon, and the second person to remove a trap, the implication was that someone else had been with me before. As she knew all the System’s rules, she had no doubt in the fact that I had comrades with me in the past.  

Woo Yeon-Hee rummaged through the bag and stood up with a towel in her hand. I was ready to get it, but she shook her head.

“Let me help you. Just stay like that.”

She went back behind me and started wiping the sweat off my back. Not only the towel, but her fingers were also cautiously touching my back. Her breath was warm too. This could have never happened before as I only felt the glares from the freelancers I gathered to enlarge my party.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“What?” she asked.

I pointed out, “You haven’t asked what you actually wanted to.”

“I’m sorry for bringing up your painful memories. That person…must’ve gone against your orders.”

Her answer was unexpected.

“Don’t worry. I’ll follow whatever you say if that’s for both of our survival.”

She said with a serious look as if she was going to die right away. I patted her on the shoulder quietly, then sat down. It wasn’t too bad to have someone to talk to even though that wasn’t the reason I had her join me. The dungeon was silent, but the sound of her rustling and breathing filled the air. That made me forget about my past in the darkness.

***

“Clear.”

There was nothing in the corridor beyond the room with a trap, and I stopped in front of the door to the next room. Woo Yeon-Hee knew what to do as she saw what happened before opening the other door. There was nothing to tell her since she aimed her arrow at the door, and I slowly approached the door. There was no sign of a trap, so all I had to do was open the door.

My heart began to beat faster, and this had continued in my past life until I entered A-class. Not just me, but all hunters preferred gate battles due to this reason rather than dungeon conquests. I pointed at the door, and Woo Yeon-Hee nodded.

“We’ll enter the second room.”

I could feel the tension in my voice and slowly pushed the door open. I got goosebumps when I saw what was beyond the door.

[You have activated Iron Skin.]

[You have activated Odin’s Wrath.]

I shouted to Woo Yeon-Hee while looking ahead to the room beyond the door.

“Don’t heal me until I tell you so!”