EFME 34

The dungeon exploration proceeded smoothly. They destroyed two evil god worship statues and confirmed the location of the temple where they needed to offer a tribute. Tomorrow’s exploration was scheduled to focus on finding the tribute to offer at the temple.

He had been extremely nervous because it was an S-class dungeon, but it wasn’t as difficult as he thought. In fact, it felt easy.

It was thanks to there being three S-class hunters. And what’s more, those three were ranked 1st, 4th, and 5th among hunters in the country.

Perhaps because no one was injured and the gathering was going smoothly, the atmosphere was warm as they prepared to camp for the night.

While Muyoung was away, Sunyul sat near the campfire, which was fueled by magic stones instead of wooden logs, and listened to the hunters’ stories. One of the hunters, who was in the middle of a story, glanced at Sunyul.

“How about you. Was it bearable today?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah.”

Sunyul, who hadn’t expected anyone to talk to him, was surprised for a moment but soon nodded his head.

“Yes. It was okay. All I did was follow you guys.”

“It’s tough enough for a non-Awakened just to do that.”

“That’s right. Besides, you weren’t just playing around. Awakened Go Yoonjae kept bringing you monsters.”

Sunyul smiled awkwardly. It was true that Yoonjae had kept bringing him monsters, saying it would be problematic if his contribution was too low.

Looking at the amount that Muyoung or Jaehoon were hunting, it seemed like however many he killed would be insignificant. Anyway, he was told to do it, so he did as he was told.

“I was just killing them from my spot……. You all worked much harder than me.”

Sunyyul felt awkward being praised when he hadn’t done anything, so he gave the credit to them. It was true that they had worked harder. The hunter who heard Sunyul’s words looked quite pleased.

“Ah, well. That’s true. Everyone’s working hard.”

“Still, this run is going pretty smoothly. We usually run with two S-class members. We’ve only added one more, but the difference is huge.”

“Is there a big difference between A-class and S-class?”

“Of course. Obviously.”

The hunter who said it was obvious was Shim Chaeyoung, who had a pretty high hunter rank even among A-classes.

“Even with the same skill, the power is different. You saw the Guild Master use [Shadow Needle] earlier, right? The thing where a black, pointed pillar-like thing appeared out of thin air.”

“Yes, I saw it.”

“That’s an A-class skill, you know? Originally, it’s not that big, like a whole tree has been pulled up. At most, it’s about the length of an arm. But because the amount of mana is different, it gets that big.”

“They say S-classes have a lot of unique skills, and having at least four or five traits is the standard.”

“Yep, yep, that’s right. We have two at most.”

“There are many cases where there isn’t much of a difference between A-class and B-class, but the difference between A-class and S-class is enormous.”

“Must be nice.”

“I’m jealous.”

The end of the conversation somehow concluded with a sigh. Saying that they were losing energy and should just eat something delicious, Chaeyoung took marshmallows out of her bag.

“You brought something like that?”

“What’s wrong with it? It doesn’t even take up much space.”

“Good grief…….”

“Then you don’t have to eat any.”

“I was just thinking you did a really great job.”

Chaeyoung snorted and generously handed out marshmallows to everyone. Sunyul also received one in the confusion and imitated what the person next to him was doing. However, he burned one to a crisp and ended up getting another marshmallow from Chaeyoung.

Sunyul, who pulled his marshmallow out when the outside was lightly browned, put it in his mouth. It was incredibly soft and sweet. As Sunyul’s eyes widened, Chaeyoung smiled with satisfaction.

“It’s good, right?”

“Yes. It’s delicious.”

“Worth bringing it.”

“What are you guys eating that’s so delicious without me?”

A shout was heard from behind them. It was Jihyun, who had returned from reconnaissance with Muyoung and Yoonjae. Chaeyoung handed Jihyun a marshmallow.

“Of course, I saved one for you, Jihyun.”

“Sweet!”

“There are still some left. Should I give one to the Guild Master and Awakened Go Yoonjae-nim too?”

Chaeyoung asked the two who followed behind him. Sunyul answered before Muyoung could.

“Guild Master, I’ll toast one for you. I can do a good job.”

Muyoung, who was about to naturally refuse, paused. Sunyul’s eyes were twinkling with expectation and motivation. It was an ardent gaze that made the words “I don’t need it” get stuck in his throat.

“…Alright. Do as you please.”

“I’ll have one too, please.”

Yoonjae, standing beside them, said while holding back a laugh. Chaeyoung handed a marshmallow to both Sunyul and Yoonjae with an awkward face.

“You can’t hold it too close to the fire. It’ll burn black.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Sunyul, who had given Yoonjae a piece of advice, completed a marshmallow that was even more perfectly golden-brown than before. Then, with a proud face, he handed the stick with the marshmallow on it to Muyoung.

“Here you go!”

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Muyoung.

A white, fluffy marshmallow for the Guild Master, who looked like he wouldn’t even eat dark chocolate. It was a truly mismatched combination.

Muyoung stared at the marshmallow for a moment before taking it. Under Sunyul’s expectant gaze, he put the marshmallow in his mouth in one bite.

“It’s delicious, right?”

“You toasted it well.”

A sense of pride bloomed on Sunyul’s face. Muyoung finished the marshmallow with an indifferent face. Then, as if nothing had happened, he opened his mouth.

“I’ve taken care of most of the monsters roaming around. The night watch will stand guard in order. Everyone, pack up and disperse.”

At those words, the chattering hunters scattered to their respective places. Sunyul also got up from his seat, finished preparing for bed, and went into the tent.

Most used personal tents, but Sunyul ended up sharing a tent with Muyoung. This was partly because he was anxious about leaving Sunyul alone, and partly because Sunyul was still a subject of surveillance.

Sunyul looked around the tent he had entered earlier to change clothes, once again with fascinated eyes.

The tents brought into dungeons were specially made items.

First, they used dungeon-sourced materials so they could fit into an inventory, and they also had the effect of preventing light or sound from leaking out from the inside to avoid being detected by monsters.

In addition, various skills were cast on them, making them sturdy and providing some protection from cold and heat.

Muyoung put the coat he was wearing and Sunyul’s jumper into his inventory and prepared for bed. Sunyul stood blankly, watching what Muyoung was doing.

“Come here.”

Muyoung, who had spread out a sleeping bag widely, beckoned to Sunyul. Sunyul checked his own unrolled sleeping bag in the corner.

“What about my sleeping bag?”

“You’re shivering from the cold. It’s better to sleep close together.”

“That’s true, but…….”

“If you’re uncomfortable, you can sleep separately.”

“Ah, no! I want to sleep together.”

Sunyul didn’t refuse any further and quickly approached Muyoung’s side. Then, he slipped into the spot Muyoung had made for him. Muyoung grabbed Sunyul, who had awkwardly created a gap between them, and pulled him closer.

“You won’t be cold if we’re pressed together.”

“Yes. Yes…….”

As he ended up burying his face in Muyoung’s chest, Sunyul’s mind went completely blank. Even though he had been splattering so much blood since the afternoon, a very nice scent came from Muyoung. But one familiar scent was missing.

“You didn’t smoke?”

“I’m planning to quit.”

“Why?”

Muyoung fell silent at the thoughtlessly thrown question.

“Ah, you don’t have to tell me.”

“No. It’s not a reason I can’t talk about. I smoked because I felt so suffocated.”

Ever since the rift incident occurred, Muyoung had begun to suffer from an anxiety of unknown cause.

Anxiety often surged, as if he had missed something important. The contextless anxiety made him feel suffocated inside and filled with anger. Medicine was no use. His nerves on edge, Muyoung drank alcohol and, at someone’s suggestion, started smoking.

Neither alcohol nor cigarettes were of much help. But they felt like they made him feel a little better, so it became a habit and he continued.

But from a certain point, the feeling of anxiety disappeared. To be precise, it was after he started keeping Sunyul by his side. As if Sunyul was the thing he had been missing all this time, Muyoung’s anxiety symptoms subsided.

“I’m okay now, so I’m trying to quit.”

“I’m glad.”

Sunyul, unaware that he was the reason he was okay, smiled brightly. Muyoung patted such a Sunyul and tried to fall asleep.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

Kwon Muyoung was Sunyul’s idol. Most kids Sunyul’s age were the same.

A person who, at seventeen, an age when others were going to school normally and thinking about playing, risked his life and jumped into dungeons.

The fact that Sunyul chose his real name as his hunter name was greatly influenced by Muyoung, who had chosen the two characters of his first name as his hunter name. In fact, because of Muyoung, there were quite a lot of people in Korea whose hunter names were the same as their real names.

‘You’re truly amazing. The way you handle monsters you can’t even see properly, I don’t think I could ever imitate that.’

Sunyul, who was going through a dungeon with Muyoung, couldn’t suppress his overwhelming emotions and conveyed them directly. Muyoung turned to look at Sunyul with an indifferent face.