Chapter 58

### Chapter 58: Dungeon Practical Training (2)

When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

I got up from the cold cave floor. Beside me, Baek Ayoung groaned and shifted her body.

Baek Ayoung must have regained her senses as well, as she got up and looked around.

“This, this is... a random battle? This is an unprecedented level of chaos...”

Rumble—

The dungeon itself had grown larger, and the mana density had increased.

Naturally, the monsters that appeared would be a bit stronger.

“Ayoung, calm down first.”

I met Baek Ayoung’s eyes, which were trembling with fear like a wet puppy.

“Ugh, uh-huh. I’m here. Don’t worry, Hoyeon.”

“Ayoung, you can’t fight.”

“W, well, that’s true...! But I can heal well!”

Baek Ayoung couldn’t hide her trembling. I suppose if I were in her shoes, I’d feel just as lost after falling into a dungeon with just one student.

Especially since I have no combat ability, it would be even more unsettling.

“Let’s move for now. I may look weak, but I’m actually quite strong. You’ve seen the news about me capturing a mine, right?”

“Of course. We even received the same award. But, wouldn’t it be better to stay here and not move around? It could be dangerous.”

To quietly get through this chaos, it’s best to stay still.

I know that a rescue team will come in two days.

I need to take Baek Ayoung’s virginity before then. To create the right situation, it’s better to move around.

“We don’t have time to wait for rescue. It’s better to join other students or the healer team.”

“Ugh, okay. Let’s do as you say.”

Baek Ayoung’s expression was still uneasy, but she followed my advice.

Since I had combat ability, she respected my opinion.

However, she couldn’t hide the anxiety on her face, as if she didn’t trust my strength.

Perhaps, she doesn’t trust me as a person. Honestly, while the Baek Ayoung I know from the game feels familiar, the Baek Ayoung in front of me hasn’t known me for long.

I need to build trust with Baek Ayoung.

I took the lead, and Baek Ayoung watched the rear as we slowly explored the dungeon.

“Wait a moment.”

“Hmm.”

Chu-chu-chu!

Crack!

Before long, we heard a tremendous flapping sound at the entrance of the passage.

“This sound... it’s a swarm of cave bats. Let’s retreat for now.”

“Since it’s a straight passage, we can’t run. I’ll take care of it.”

“We need to run. From the sound, there are more than 20 of them.”

“I’m really fine. Just watch.”

I calmed Baek Ayoung, who was anxious about my strength.

I drew a little mana and slowly sent a fireball forward.

Whoosh!

The fireball, which was emitting a weak flame, collided with a massive swarm of bats and dispersed by the mana.

Twenty? More like over fifty. What is this?

“S-Seriously, there are so many! Run!”

Krur! Chu-chu-chu!

The swarm of cave bats started to come into view.

There were more than expected. It would be inefficient to burn them all.

‘This won’t work. I need to go all out.’

Since the only person watching is Baek Ayoung, it should be fine.

Maybe I can use this opportunity to build some trust.

“Sigh, I have no choice.”

“Hoyeon! I’ll block them while you run!”

Baek Ayoung stood in front of me, spreading her arms in a cross and closing her eyes tightly.

Why is she suddenly doing this?

The bats charged at us.

At the same time, I generated a whirlwind from my hand.

A small storm shot forward.

The bats, unable to slow down, were sucked into the whirlwind.

Whoosh!

With my other hand, I created a dozen fireballs and shot them into the whirlwind.

It was a double cast.

The bats, caught in the whirlwind, burst into a massive flame.

A few bats that managed to escape were sniped with a fire spear.

“Eh?”

Baek Ayoung, who had spread her arms to protect me, opened her eyes wide.

Her attempt to take the hit for me was commendable, but the bats didn’t even get close to me and were all burned to death.

However, what surprised Baek Ayoung more was my magic.

I am known as a fire attribute mage because I have intentionally used only fire magic so far.

Moreover, the double casting I can perform is a dream skill that any mage would want to learn. It’s an advanced skill that even active mages struggle to master.

These are secrets I have kept hidden from others.

Of course, they are only a small part of the secrets I have hidden, but from Baek Ayoung’s perspective, they are significant secrets.

It’s understandable that she is flustered after suddenly learning these secrets.

If I were a bad person, I might have killed Baek Ayoung to keep her quiet.

Of course, I have no intention of doing that.

“Ayoung, I told you to trust me, right?”

I smiled at Baek Ayoung, who was too flustered to speak.

Baek Ayoung finally relaxed and spoke.

“Hoyeon, you...! With this, we can definitely make it!”

Baek Ayoung realized I was stronger than she thought and saw hope, smiling.

That’s it. Baek Ayoung now has hope in me.

In other words, she trusts me a bit more.

“Ayoung, please don’t tell anyone about what you saw today.”

Looking at Baek Ayoung, I stiffened my expression.

Honestly, revealing this level of secret wouldn’t cause much trouble. It’s not like I can use all attributes, and having two attributes is relatively common.

Of course, double casting is a bit risky... but Lim Sol can cover for me.

Sharing a hunter’s secrets is not a light matter.

Unique skills and inherent abilities, which could be weaknesses if known by others, are not shared among capable individuals.

Because you never know when they might stab you in the back. You have to hide some of your power.

Now, Baek Ayoung knows my secret.

“I trust you, Ayoung. I haven’t known you for long, but I can tell you’re a good person.”

Baek Ayoung listened quietly to my words.

“I will do my best to escape. So... let’s survive together.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry. I’ll do my best too.”

Baek Ayoung, looking at me with bright eyes, seemed to trust me a bit more than before.

*

How long have we been walking? We’ve been exploring for quite a while, but we haven’t seen anyone or found an exit.

‘Damn, is it supposed to be like this?’

I only know that I was transferred due to a terrorist attack, but I’m a bit anxious because I don’t know the details. However, there are no monsters in this dungeon that can threaten me, so I continued moving forward.

“Huff... huff...”

The breathing of Baek Ayoung, who was following behind me, became increasingly rough.

Healers are naturally weak in stamina. We had to stop for a short rest in an open area.

“Ayoung, you seem tired. Can we rest here for a moment?”

“Yeah, thanks. Phew...”

“No problem. I’m tired too.”

I sat in the middle of the open area and started meditating.

We had a few battles on the way, so I used quite a bit of mana.

Cough... Grumble...

As soon as my meditation ended, goblins approached the open area as if on cue.

“I just replenished my mana, and now I have to use it all again.”

Boom!

The goblins were incinerated before they could even get close.

“Hoyeon, are you okay? You’re not overexerting yourself, are you?”

“No, I’m fine.”

The dungeon has been strengthened, but there’s no opponent that can threaten me.

However, that’s the problem.

Baek Ayoung has a unique preference.

She wants a ‘male’ who is severely injured and, due to the healing, is so weak that he can’t move a finger, to overpower her.

Moreover, the setting requires that the male, despite being healed by Baek Ayoung, can’t control his rising libido and acts on instinct.

Putting aside the mental issues, there’s a physical problem.

Baek Ayoung needs to use all her strength to heal me, which means I need to have a significant injury.

That would mean most of my internal organs are ruptured.

Fortunately, Baek Ayoung’s stamina has dropped significantly from our journey, so a major injury might be enough, but it would be strange to suddenly get hit by the bats I burned earlier. I need to think about it.

“How did we end up like this...?”

Baek Ayoung, hugging her knees, spoke gloomily.

I know we’ll be rescued in two days, but from Baek Ayoung’s perspective, it must be very unsettling.

We don’t have any food, so we’ll have to starve.

I tried to bring food to prepare for this situation, but the item check prevented me from doing so.

“It’s okay. I’m here, the future great mage. We’ll find a way to survive.”

“... Haha. Yeah. I trust you. Sorry for showing a less mature side.”

“No, I would have been very anxious if I were alone. Thanks to you, I don’t feel lonely.”

Baek Ayoung still seemed a bit out of breath.

However, I can’t let her fully recover her stamina here.

She needs to heal me and collapse from exhaustion.

To do that, I need to reduce her stamina a bit.

“Should we start moving again? I don’t know what time it is, but we should hurry. Monsters are starting to come this way.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Baek Ayoung got up without showing any signs of difficulty.

We started walking again.

As we moved forward, we only saw the same cave walls.

Even if we don’t know the exact time, we must have walked for a few hours. It’s strange that we haven’t encountered anyone.

The dungeon must have become extremely large, or there’s something I don’t know about. I’m not sure.

The occasional conversations between us also disappeared.

The cave forced a static atmosphere upon us.

Just as we were only hearing each other’s breathing,

“Kaaaaaaah!”

A human scream suddenly echoed from a distance.

I turned to Baek Ayoung, and we ran in that direction.

“Kaaaa! Aaaaaah!”

Squish! Squish!

A terrifying scream was followed by the sound of something being crushed.

“Kaaaaaaah!”

After a moment, the terrifying scream stopped.

But another sound was heard.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound of a giant creature approaching reached my ears. The steady footsteps suggested it was a humanoid monster.

It was coming from the front, and the distance was quickly closing.

Baek Ayoung, now aware of the sound, stuck close behind me.

“Grrr-!”

“Oh, it’s an ogre!”

An ugly, massive figure filled my vision.

It’s a high-level monster with a bad head but strong power and vitality.

In one hand, it held the torn body of a student. It was a gruesome sight, but my mental strength wasn’t that weak.

“Grrr-!”

The ogre’s brutal killing intent was directed at me.

Whoosh!

The ogre threw the student’s body at me.

‘Cotton Guard.’

I blocked the dirty corpse and looked back at Baek Ayoung.

“Hoyeon, are you okay?”

Baek Ayoung, being a current hunter, wasn’t shocked by the sight of the corpse.

She was more concerned about my mental state.

But I was more alert than ever.

Thump.

A familiar sensation.

Thump.

The combat sense filling my body was telling me that the ogre in front of me was extremely strong.

Thump. Thump.

My body was as hot as when I faced Felix, if not more so.

The ogre was stronger than Felix, who had two horns.

In the game, ogres are often portrayed as strong. Honestly, how strong can a dumb, strong guy be? But in reality, it was quite terrifying.

The pressure from the ogre’s massive body and fierce face was intense.

If I were hit, I’d probably turn into a pancake.

Damn. Why make it so strong and difficult? Why not make it weaker?

“Hoyeon, we really need to run this time. Really!”

“Can we survive by running?”

“I’ll block them. You run. You need to survive, being younger!”

“Enough. How much of a difference is there?”

This person really wants to appear mature. She’s not that old.

I pushed Baek Ayoung behind me and stood in front.

“Hoyeon...!”

I don’t know why such a monster is in this dungeon.

It’s probably because the mana density has increased, leading to stronger monsters.

I can’t leave Baek Ayoung behind and run.

If the heroine Baek Ayoung dies, the main quest fails, and I die.

So, I have to fight.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll take care of it quickly.”

Thump.

‘Kaien’

I channeled mana throughout my body.