CH 9

Lee Myung-won looked unhappy. Maybe it’s because he’s about to go into a dungeon where some passerby blamed him for his work and it might be dangerous.

However, after that, Lee Myung-won acted quite politely.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Choi Ga-hyun. This is….”

“Baek Tae-beom.”

“Okay, you two. Please listen to me from now on.”

Lee Myung-won said as he crumpled his gloves off his hands and put them into his pocket.

“When my boss comes, I will try to do my best to do what I am in charge of, but I can’t ignore the loss of life, so you must tell him that I had entered the dungeon with you. I’ll be writing an apology letter anyway, but it’s still better than not telling him at all.”

He had a rather unlucky tone, but Baek Tae-beom nodded innocently. He must be impatient to save the young man’s Dongsaeng quickly.

Could it be that you are empathizing as a Hyung yourself?

I glanced at Baek Tae-beom’s expression. His golden eyes were trembling.

‘I see.’

You live in this world so innocently, that you don’t get hurt by it. I clicked my tongue briefly and looked at Lee Myung-won again.

“First of all, this dungeon is a field-type dungeon.”

“Field-type dungeon?”

“Unlike a scenario-type dungeon with forced orders, this is a dungeon in which you can go in or out at any time. If you catch solely the boss, the dungeon collapses.”

“Then we’ll have to try to rescue the survivors first.”

Baek Tae-beom said calmly. Lee Myung-won nodded.

“And since monsters can come out as well, the monsters at the entrance should be sorted out first.”

“Alright.”

“You can’t stay away from my side.”

Thinking about how to stay away, I nodded my head outwardly. I was thinking of leaving the rescue of the survivors to the two and looking for something else.

And that is, the <Magical Conch Shell> that Lee Myung-won originally had in the novel.

It may seem like a trivial item because of its name, but the true value of <Magical Conch Shell> lies in its ability to make predictions. Once a year, when asked a question that could distinguish between right and wrong, it made a prediction with an answer of ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ The content of the prophecy was valid for one year from the time the question was asked.

I was going to ask every year whether Baek Tae-beom would destroy this world with the item. This issue was important to me as well because if the world is destroyed, I will die too.

“Well then, let’s go in.”

As soon as I entered the cave-like entrance of the dungeon, a cold energy swept over me.

[You have entered a dungeon that has just opened.]

[Dungeon <Silent Oasis>]

[Survive in a dark cave with only the sound of water dripping from the stalactites.

Reward: ???

A special item is hidden.]

After all, the <Magical Conch Shell> came from here.

Convinced by that, I wrinkled my eyebrows at the messages that popped up one after another.

[You have entered channel #643nj5. Current number of spectators: 2]

[Since there are more than two spectators who have entered the channel, you can use the <Constellation Communication Net>.]

‘… Constellation Communication Net?’

What’s with this stupid name?

It is a description that has never appeared in the original. That is because the novel has never been developed from the point of view of a constellation.

Judging from the fact that there are two spectators, it seems that Lee Myung-won’s constellation and I are in.

‘Is it like a chat?’

I tried sending a random message.

[CH.#643nj5/One Who Knows The End]: MAMUㅡHHOYA31ㅣ

TL/N: keyboard spam lol

[CH.#643nj5/One Who Knows The End]: Hello?

[CH.#643nj5/One Who Knows The End]: Anyone there?

But there was no answer from the other party.

“Hyung, what are you doing?”

“No, nothing.”

I shook my head nervously and followed Lee Myung-won ahead of me. At the same time, I opened the shop.

‘There was something I had seen in advance….’

I couldn’t hide behind Baek Tae-beom forever, so I needed a weapon too.

[Thorn Staff of the Guilty E]

[It is said that if the name of the person who bears sin is called, death will return. New skills may be acquired when used. (Cannot be duplicated)]

[Price: 7,500 coins

Would you like to purchase this item?

( Yes / No)]

Since I am both an Awakened and a constellation, I could have bought items used by ordinary Awakened people, but what I chose was a ‘toy’ in the constellation-only shop.

The reason for saying that it’s a toy was simple. The constellations do not use these things themselves, and after buying them, they just throw them away to their contractors as if they were just playing around.

But I needed the toy.

This <Thorn Staff of the Guilty> was a weapon used by one of the minor characters of the novel. Of course, the words used in the description were grand, and the character died quickly after using this weapon only a few times, but the ability was worth it.

[Purchased the Thorn Staff of the Guilty E.]

[Remaining coins: 400]

Why do the coins feel like a salary?

A penny or two, like a salary that isn’t spent with much but runs out in an instant….

The cane with the decoration that looks like a skull wearing a laurel crown came into my hand. As I swung it lightly a few times, a notification window popped up.

[A new skill has been acquired.]

[Skill: Thorn of Sin]

[I bind the enemy with the thorn that carries their sin. Depending on the type of enemy, the properties of the shock that can be given to the enemy vary. (Can be used when the correct weapon is equipped.)]

And just as I turned the corner, a monster popped out. Lee Myung-won shouted.

“Get back!”

Baek Tae-beom held my shoulder and stepped back. As we distanced ourselves, a dazzling light wrapped around Lee Myung-won’s hand. Lee Myung-won took a stance as if he were shooting an arrow without a bow, then grabbed an arrow-shaped light and pulled his arm back, and released it. Arrows poured out at the monster in an instant.

An arrow pierced the forehead of the monster, who was in the shape of a bat. And with the blast of an explosion, the bat-shaped monster screamed and fell to the floor.

“Wow….”

I naturally had to admire it.

‘No matter how much you are called the main character’s assistant, isn’t it too much?’

That was the skill called <Hand of the Golden Sun>. A skill inherited from the power of his constellation, a skill that Baek Tae-beom, who has a constellation like me, cannot even dream of.

I felt sorry for Baek Tae-beom, so I glanced at him. His high nose bridge, abundant eyelashes… And his sharp eyes were looking at Lee Myung-won as if somewhat surprised.

Lee Myung-won approached the dead monster’s corpse and picked up the item that appeared after the monster disappeared into dust.

“The monsters in this dungeon drop mana stones.”

“Mana stones?”

When Baek Tae-beom reflexively asked, Lee Myung-won slowly looked back at us.

“It is an item that can strengthen the body or can be used for other uses.”

After finishing his speech, Lee Myung-won lightly threw a mana stone at me. I calmly grabbed the stone that felt like a small marble.

Baek Tae-beom looked at the magic stone in my hand curiously. I grabbed his hand and placed the mana stone on top of his palm.

“Can you really use it to strengthen things?”

“It has not been officially revealed yet, but that’s what we believe. We are doing an experiment.”

An experiment. Did the Hansung group do anything like that? It’s not like human experimentation, is it?

Perhaps he might have noticed my gaze, as Lee Myung-won added calmly.

“We are experimenting with hunters, but safety is our top priority. It is not dangerous.”

“Absolutely not,” Lee Myung-won emphasized once more.

“How do you use this mana stone?”

“It’s simple. You can eat it yourself or crush it into powder and sprinkle it on the desired item. But with a magic stone of that size, at most, it’s only going to be as effective as a bottle of nourishing tonic.”

Lee Myung-won was right. In order to see a clear effect, it had to be at least the size of a fist.

Later on in the story, there are guilds that mainly monopolize field-type dungeons with mana stones. Consequently, ordinary hunters had no choice but to have a setback in the supply of mana stones, and as a result, they often fought each other as the days went by.

Baek Tae-beom looked visibly disappointed. His puppy-like face and drooping eyes were so cute. Lee Myung-won said with a sigh.

“That’s not what’s important. Our first priority is to rescue the survivors.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And the road just had to be like this.”

The road was divided into two, but the fact that it was divided was insignificant, as the left side was just a ridiculously small passage. Baek Tae-beom and Lee Myung-won wouldn’t be able to get in. It was a passage just large enough for a person like me to fit in alone.

If this was the case, isn’t the process of work set? I spoke calmly.

“I’ll go left by myself, so you two go right.”

“Hyung.”

Baek Tae-beom immediately protested.

“You’re going alone?”

“Then, are you going to crumple up and come with me too?”

“I can get in if I fold my shoulders.”

“Do you think you can just fold your shoulders and somehow crawl at the same time?”

I said as if it was absurd. But Baek Tae-beom was persistent.

“I’ll just hold in my breath.”

“Why are you so stubborn? In the midst of an urgent hour.

“What if Hyung goes alone and gets hurt?”

[Your contractor feels anxious.]

Is it because of the last time I got hurt?

Lee Myung-won looked at us and sighed.

“Didn’t you say you were going to rescue the survivors, Baek Tae-beom-ssi?”

At Lee Myung-won’s words, Baek Tae-beom kept his mouth shut. And in the end, he bowed his head and said to me as if he were begging me.

“If it becomes dangerous, please start shouting.”

“All right then, hurry up and go.”

He was almost half dragged away by Lee Myung-won, but he kept looking back at me. I waved my hand holding the staff and tucked myself into the narrow passageway.

I didn’t know my skinny body would help me this much, since I couldn’t get muscles even if I worked out.

I barely turned around and trotted carefully out the narrow passage. Thanks to this, my body was covered with stone debris and dust, but I was fine except for a small scratch on the back of my hand.

By the way….

What kind of place is this? I did want to be separated and be by myself, but that was what I was going to do after I checked where the <Magical Conch Shell> was. I looked up at the spiky stalactites, the walls covered with unknown minerals, and the huge lake.

And a message appeared as if waiting for me to be alone.