CH 41

His sword pierced the body of the phoenix. When I saw the writhing giant bird, I came to my senses and shouted urgently.

“You have to aim for the heart!”

It would be useless if you didn’t aim for its heart accurately. It was a creature that continued to resurrect even after it’s been killed over and over. Baek Tae-beom, who paused for a moment at my words, pulled out the sword he had penetrated with. An arrow shot by Lee Myung-won dug into the spot.

Initially, the boss’s heart was aimed at using a false attack* with many people, but now there were no such people. We were in a situation where we had to suppress it purely and forcefully.

*A false attack, a camouflage attack

“Where is the heart?”

Kang Si-hoo looked down at me and said without even the slightest trembling.

When asked if I knew the location, of course, I answered with a contorted expression.

“On the left wing.”

I felt the urge to smash that mask.

Upon hearing that, Kang Si-hoo ran out. He cut the wings of the bird, which was struggling and trying to emit flames again. He was about the same speed as Baek Tae-beom, and even cut down the flames as if it was nothing.

‘He can’t be any less than an A-class hunter.’

However, his blade narrowly missed its heart. The phoenix stepped backward towards the wall. Baek Tae-beom growled.

“Get out of here, I’ll catch this one.”

“Get a grip.”

Baek Tae-beom’s eyebrows rose at Kang Si-hoo’s informal speech. Despite making an expression of surprise, Kang Si-hoo calmly looked at the phoenix with a masked face.

“I know you’re trying to look good, but you’re like a wild beast trying to wear a leash for a small dog.”

“What?”

“I’m not saying that you don’t look cool doing so, rather….”

Kang Si-hoo turned his head and slowly looked over Baek Tae-beom.

“You look childish and stupid.”

“What did you just say?”

Baek Tae-beom’s blade reached the tip of Kang Si-hoo’s neck, but Kang Si-hoo said with a smiling voice, without even moving.

“I said you look stupid.”

“You punk….”

But the atmosphere, which seemed to be clashing at any moment, disappeared as the flames soared. In the meantime, I rushed into the shop page.

[Don’t Mind The Heat! Flame Resistance Potion E]

[If you drink this potion, you will be free even in the heat! Feel free to walk through the flames! (Duration 10 seconds)

Price: 4,000 coins

Would you like to purchase this item?

( Yes / No)]

[You purchased Don’t Mind The Heat! Flame Resistance Potion E.]

[Remaining coins: 600]

[You sponsored the item to your contractor.]

As soon as I gestured over the transparent window, a small potion fell into Baek Tae-beom’s hand. He stared at the little potion in his hand absurdly, looked back at me, and then looked back at the phoenix again, and smirked.

“Hey.”

“……?”

“Look who the idiot is.”

And Baek Tae-beom, who drank the potion at once, rushed straight toward the phoenix. The startled phoenix blew out flames. However, irrespective of the flames, he pierced his sharp sword into the bird. Precisely cutting off the left wing and stabbing the heart hidden inside.

And then resounded an ear-splitting cry.

I collapsed, covering my ears in a hurry. I was dizzy from the cry that rang out with the goal of a direct hit. It was the sound of the original soul that had been revived dozens of times.

[Congratulations on clearing the dungeon! Rewards have been distributed.]

[A new title will be given by clearing <Tomb of the Awakened>.]

After the phoenix disappeared, what we saw was a roulette wheel that filled the ceiling.

“A roulette?”

Lee Myung-won muttered ridiculously.

This roulette gives a random reward to one of the characters in the dungeon, and in the original story, Kang Si-hoo received the reward. The reward was a skill that can summon the phoenix for a certain period of time.

Like in the novel, Kang Si-hoo was here, so I was not worried about the reward going to a distant place. Thinking so, I was startled to see Baek Tae-beom getting up, striding towards Kang Si-hoo, and grabbing him by the collar.

“Tae-beom…!”

“Who are you?”

And a low, cracked voice.

“Why did you do something stupid to get your hyung’s attention?”

“…….”

“Furthermore, it is you who encouraged Kim Ki-won. There were clear traces of someone using a skill to intensify Madness. You can’t deny it, can you?”

“Did you notice?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t have recognized it unless my eyes were damaged.”

My eyes widened and I shut my mouth for a moment.

‘What do you mean?’

So, Kang Si-hoo didn’t pretend to be friendly with Baek Tae-beom through me, but set his target as me from the beginning?

“It was certainly strange. No matter how stupid Hunter Kim Ki-won was, he wasn’t that bad.”

Even Lee Myung-won nodded, and I seemed to be the only one who was dumbfounded.

“Am I the only one who didn’t know?”

“Did you not know?”

“I didn’t know?”

“I thought you knew, but….”

Baek Tae-beom shook Kang Si-hoo’s collar hard. Kang Si-hoo, who hit the wall, flinched and slowly looked toward me.

“I….”

At that moment, the roulette wheel was spinning just in time. A loud and bizarre sound came from the ceiling.

<Who is the reward for? Round and round roulette!>

Just when I thought that our eyes met through the mask, a strange message appeared in front of my eyes.

[A certain power is drawn to you.]

“I’m interested in Choi Ga-hyun.”

<You win! Congratulations!>

[A new skill has been acquired.]

[Skill: Link of Flame]

[Connects the individual and me with flames. When the link is formed, my life energy can be transferred to the individual.]

Why is this coming to me?

What about the phoenix? Where’s the phoenix skill?

Fireworks then fell above my head and a congratulatory message rang. I couldn’t say anything for a while.

[The constellation, ‘One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun’ whistles.]

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun] : A love triangle?

These jokes, really.

***

After stopping Baek Tae-beom from unilaterally trying to defeat Kang Si-hoo, Lee Myung-won sorted out the loot from the phoenix, and we went out to the dungeon with the people who were caught inside. Even though they controlled it, I was tired of seeing bustling reporters and people, but the others had an attitude that showed they were accustomed to it.

“Mom!”

“Oh my, how, how did you get so thin….? Oh, my daughter, really… How much, heuk….”

As the families reunited, reporters pressed their shutters at random. The people of the Hansung Guild blocked the front and prevented them from coming in, but a man dug in and shoved a microphone in front of me.

“You are Choi Ga-hyun, who has an ungradable class, right? How was the dungeon this time?”

“Yes?”

After taking a step back in embarrassment, the reporter took two steps closer. Then he shoved the mic in front of my mouth.

“How do you feel… Oh!”

Baek Tae-beom reached out from behind and grabbed the microphone. The hard, expensive-looking microphone lost its shape like liquid in his hand in an instant and shattered with a crackling sound.

“Ah, my microphone! Again!”

Again?

When I looked up at Baek Tae-beom, he looked as if he didn’t know anything about it. Lee Myung-won raised his glasses and said.

“First of all, it would be better to switch locations. Let’s go report to the association first. And… The two of you can go in first. Choi Ga-hyun-ssi, we’ll talk about what happened earlier later.”

At those words, Baek Tae-beom pulled my shoulder.

“Then I’ll go in. You, come with me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll follow you even if you don’t say anything.”

Kang Si-hoo changed his mask and replied in a bright voice. Baek Tae-beom, who walked to one side, scrambling through the crowd, got into the parked car. What was ridiculous was that people who would have flocked to see Baek Tae-beom, slipped out of the way and did not say anything when Baek Tae-beom passed by.

There was silence before the man who appeared to be the driver started the engine and started driving. I licked my lips. I didn’t like this situation where I had to be close to two large men sitting next to me on both sides.

“Baek Tae-beom.”

Baek Tae-beom replied calmly to my voice.

“Yes, hyung.”

“Why didn’t you listen to me earlier and run away? Others would have been severely hurt. You knew that there weren’t many people who could stop it.”

Baek Tae-beom slowly opened his lips. I tried not to look at his face. Because if I did, I knew that I would easily forgive him.

“I can see the bastard next to hyung hiding his power. He rubs against my hyung as if he wants him to see it, but he looks ugly and childish.”

“Who is ugly…!”

“Be quiet for now.”

When Sihoo Kang closed his mouth, I sighed. My head was complicated. I couldn’t understand why these grown-ups acted like children.

“From now on, if you find out about that, tell your hyung first. Why didn’t you tell me in the first place?”

“But my hyung—”

“Your hyung what?”

Baek Tae-beom slowly turned his gaze out the window. I could see his ears burning red.

“You looked so friendly with him… You were treating him like how I used to be, and it’s so….”

“Are you jealous?”

“…….”

“Pfft.”

Kang Si-hoo held back his laughter and his shoulders trembled. Baek Tae-beom gritted his teeth and muttered.

“You son of a….”

“Baek Tae-beom.”

Baek Tae-beom shut his mouth.

“Don’t curse so much.”

“Yes, hyung….”

“And Kang Cheol-su-ssi.”

Kang Si-hoo, who paused at my words, responded cautiously.

“Hm?”

“What is your real name?”

“What?”

“You’re using an alias.”

“How did you know…? Ha.”

Kang Si-hoo, who had been hesitant, exhaled. His voice sounded a little resonant because of the mask he was wearing.

“Kang Si-hoo.”

Hearing his name with my own ears made me realize it anew. The fact that this really is a fictional world, and the fact that the protagonist and the villain of the novel are sitting next to each other.

“Okay, Kang Si-hoo-ssi. Why are you interested in me?”

Well….”

Well?”

Kang Si-hoo turned his head to the side. I could see his reddish brown hair and masked ears. His adam’s apple moved greatly, as if he were swallowing a lie.

“Because you are an ungradable hunter.”

“I don’t think it’s just for that reason, is it?”

I caught sight of the back of Kang Si-hoo’s hand flinching. Of course, the most plausible guess here is.

“Is it related to the constellations?”

“How do you…!”

“It is true.”

“…….”

“I was stabbed.”

“…….”

“Don’t do anything like acting from now. You’re too obvious.”

There was a moment of silence in the car. This time, Baek Tae-beom couldn’t help but shrug his shoulders.

“He’s not very good at acting….”