CH 14

[You use a skill. Skill: Thorn of Sin]

[Activating Thorn of Sin.]

“Tae-beom-ah!”

As soon as I shouted, Baek Tae-beom ran out, leaping forward. Then, he cut down the monster that was entangled in the thorns that couldn’t move properly. The monster split into two, at the same time it spewed out blood and disappeared to dust. Just like that, there were only a bunch of items left.

[Werewolf’s Skin E]

[The tough husk of a werewolf. It seems to be used as a material for something.]

Baek Tae-beom breathed roughly. I felt sorry because it seemed tough for him, but now was not the time to rest. I swung my staff at the monster that came running to me and smashed its head. Immediately after pulling back, a golden arrow flew and pierced the monster.

Lee Myung-won again stretched out his arm and shot an arrow at a new protruding monster. A ray of light burst with a sharp bang, leaving a clear trail. The monster with an arrow perforated in its forehead died quickly, fell forward, and turned to dust.

“Isn’t your stamina too weak, Baek Tae-beom-ssi?”

Lee Myung-won said. It may sound sarcastic at first glance, but his face was sincere. Baek Tae-beom lowered his head while supporting himself with his sword.

“If you rely too much on your skills, you won’t be able to move your body properly.”

[The constellation, ‘One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun,’ tells you that his contractor’s words are right.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The End: Why did you say it like that? Just chat or something.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Did you say you are unlucky to have someone like him right now?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The End: So, did you just say that you’re unlucky?]

(PR/N: So Ga-hyun is acting sarcastically. I don’t know if the translation is right either.)

I ignored the chattering chat window and looked at Baek Tae-beom.

I thought the most urgent thing right now was not to rehabilitate Baek Tae-beom, but to find a way to somehow save his younger brother. Because the novel did not describe how, when, or at what point he died.

In the original novel, Yoo Jin-woo’s gang might have moved from one hospital to another, so moving to a good hospital was an urgent priority. Currently, the majority of hospitals are making a profit due to the flooding of monsters and dungeons.

So, I needed money to move hospitals and I also should contact Lee Myung-won from time to time.

We had to go through Lee Myung-won in order to enter the dungeon in a legal way without reporting that we were Awakened. Lee Myung-won seemed to be bothered, but he was persistent in expressing Baek Tae-beom’s situation, so he had no choice but to take us to the small dungeon.

Even now, Lee Myung-won’s secretary was waiting outside in case of any unforeseen circumstances. Even so…

‘Why do you have such a gloomy face?’

After listening to Lee Myung-won’s advice on using skills, Baek Tae-beom’s face had turned darker, though he kept quiet. This was the third dungeon run, and the expression on his face was not good for the entire time.

Are you sick?

[The constellation, ‘One Who Knows The End’ is concerned about Baek Tae-beom.]

[The constellation, ‘One Who Knows The End’ tells Baek Tae-beom to go and rest if he is sick.]

Baek Tae-beom shook the spears that appeared in front of him and removed them with his hands as if they were annoying. And then he grabbed the sword again.

I didn’t get any good items in both the two dungeons we entered after <Little Purgatory>. Both were scenario-type dungeons with a low level of difficulty, so the total coins we got were only 3,000. There were no items either. However, this time it was a field-type dungeon.

The monsters that appeared were werewolves. The structure of the dungeon was also like a large cave, and it was difficult to find the right path as it was twisted in several branches, so we would have to go back and forth. However, Lee Myung-won was accustomed to such dungeons, so he quickly found a way and took the lead. The problem was Baek Tae-beom, who seemed to be losing his stamina.

I put my hand on Baek Tae-beom’s shoulder. When he slowly turned back at me, I was met with startled and surprised eyes, and they began to unravel docilely.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

“You look tired. Why don’t you step back a little?”

“Ah….”

Baek Tae-beom kept his lips together for a moment, then shook his head vigorously.

“I’m alright, really. I’ll be by your side.”

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: He’s stubborn]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: I can tell just by watching him. He’s doing that because he wants you to like him.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The End: What are you talking about?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Don’t forget that I am the God of love.]

(PR/N: Had to say this, but Apollo isn’t the god of love. Aphrodite is the god of love. But Apollo has a bit of a power to tell the future. A little bit. So, I feel like he’s referring to that knowledge. That those two would end up together. wwww)

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The End: I don’t think you’ve ever been in a proper relationship? You look like an old man trying to weave someone into a romantic relationship with another, one after another.]

I stopped pretending to be subservient to Apollo, knowing that constellations could not fight each other.

[CH: Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: You little….]

I snorted and looked at Baek Tae-beom’s information.

[Summary of Contractor Information.]

[Contractor – Baek Tae-beom Who Bent The Mist]

[Title: One Who Bent The Mist

Status: Anxious

Constellation: One Who Knows The End

Coins possessed: 21,100

Skills possessed: [Dark Sword Dance] [Hermit]

There are skills that have not been developed because the conditions have not been met. His current state is quite poor, it is recommended to rest first.]

I couldn’t help but frown. No matter how much Baek Tae-beom tried to hide it, his poor condition was revealed in notes like this. When my face became distorted, Baek Tae-beom became restless like a startled puppy.

“I can’t do this. You get some rest.”

“Hyung.”

“Since only the same monsters keep coming out, Lee Myung-won and I will be able to fight. Alright? You just take a break.”

I patted Baek Tae-beom on the shoulder and walked ahead. Lee Myung-won, who was trampling on a werewolf that had appeared, looked at me.

“Are you okay?”

“As you can see, I’m fine.”

“That’s surprising. I thought it was the exact opposite.”

“Do I look so sloppy?”

“I think you need to eat a little more.”

After hearing those words, I couldn’t just say that I had lived my life with ramen and triangular gimbap. I raised my shoulders awkwardly in lieu of answering. Lee Myung-won smiled briefly and glanced at Baek Tae-beom behind him. (PR/N: Gimbap- a Korean dish made from cooked rice and ingredients such as vegetables, fish, and meats that are rolled in gim—dried sheets of seaweed—and served in bite-sized slices.)

“Are you two friends?”

“Um… Something like that?”

“That’s good. There are some friendships you can only have when you’re young.”

I thought that Lee Myung-won in the novel was the type of person to do things quietly, but this person was actually quite talkative.

Does he resemble his constellation?”

“By the way, let me give you a piece of advice…. I would like to recommend Baek Tae-beom not to go to dungeons anymore.”

“Why is that?”

“Like I said, he’s a bit too dependent on his skills.” 

Lee Myung-won said, as he pierced the forehead of the fallen monster with the arrow he was holding.

“His movement is almost skill controlled. It’s not something you can consciously fix. If he keeps fighting like that, there will be a day when his body’s energy will run out first and it’ll become dangerous.”

“You’re saying he’s better off not being a hunter?”

“To put it bluntly, yes. It’ll become self-deprecating.”

“Did you tell Tae-beom that as well?”

“I’ve already told him… And he refused.”

Perhaps, this is what they had talked about the other day. That’s why Baek Tae-beom didn’t seem to like Lee Myung-won.

“What do you think is the cause?”

“Well, wouldn’t you know that yourself?”

I sighed at Lee Myung-won’s words.

Lee Myung-won and his constellation… Both of them were negative about Baek Tae-beom. And I thought I knew why at first glance.

In the novel, Baek Tae-beom is the villain who destroys the world. So, naturally, the characters in the novel may have negative feelings for him. Like someone who can guess without knowing the ending.

Because Lee Myung-won, who was Kang Si-hoo’s assistant, was also killed by Baek Tae-beom.

‘Even so… What does it mean?’

To be skill-dominated.

If he does well, he may be able to explain why he was abandoned by the constellations in the novel. It was strange just looking at it. Baek Tae-beom has good physical strength and is smart. So, of course, you should have been born with good abilities and become a high-ranking Awakened, right?

However, after being abandoned by the constellations and suffering for two years, he only vowed revenge, but failed to respond properly. The skills he had were only the skills of the items I gave him, and the unknown skill called [Hermit].

Maybe that skill is the problem.

“I think we should concentrate from now on, Choi Ga-hyun-ssi.”

Interrupting my thoughts, Lee Myung-won spoke.

I couldn’t help but look in front of me. Before me was a huge door that didn’t quite suit the dark cave. It was the boss room in a field-type dungeon.

Baek Tae-beom, who was resting behind us, limped towards me. I looked at him with a worried gaze, but Baek Tae-beom kept looking straight ahead and kept quiet.

“A werewolf monster will appear here too, right?”

“Maybe. Let’s get it over with and get back.”

Lee Myung-won answered briefly and opened the door.

[The last room of the dungeon has been opened.]

[A new quest has been updated.]

[Dungeon <Cry of the Wolf>]

[There is a huge werewolf living inside a dangerous cave.

Stop that werewolf.

Reward: ???]

“I wonder who took down my servants!”

As soon as we opened the door, I heard the voice of an angry werewolf. Naturally, my head tilted upwards. A face grimly distorted with red eyes, thick fur, sharp teeth, and….

Lee Myung-won muttered in a frustrated voice.

“I wish we had returned early.”

A body so huge that it almost filled the entire room.

I sympathized with Lee Myung-won’s words and clenched my staff tightly.