EFME 36

Of course, the opportunity to talk about the dream didn’t come right away. It seemed like the chance would only come at night.

After finishing breakfast, the party cleaned up the camp. While they were cleaning, Jihyun used a skill.

Light shimmered around Jihyun, then transformed into the shape of birds and flew off. Sunyul watched from the side, amazed.

“I’m connected to them. I send them out for reconnaissance to figure out what’s ahead.”

Jihyun said with his eyes closed.

“That’s amazing. There are several birds, can you know everything they see?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah, am I interrupting you by talking…….”

“Hey, I’m the one who started talking. I don’t need to concentrate. If something is detected, it pops up in the system window. Oh… there’s a lot.”

While Jihyun’s search continued for a few minutes, the camp was mostly cleaned up. Those who had finished cleaning approached Jihyun.

“How is it? Did you find anything?”

“Yes, I did~”

Jihyun giggled and opened his eyes.

“The Irgala is in the 1 o’clock direction from here. There’s one evil god worship statue in the 3 o’clock direction, and another in the 10 o’clock direction. And I also found a Kandiva nest. It’s near the evil god worship statue in the 10 o’clock direction.”

“It would be better to destroy the evil god worship statue in the 10 o’clock direction and then go catch the Irgala.”

“If it wasn’t a snowfield, we could split into two groups, destroy them, and then regroup.”

The sleds were pulled by summoned beasts. If the summoner moved too far away, the summons couldn’t be maintained, so they couldn’t get too far apart. Even if it was somewhat inefficient, they had no choice but to plan an optimized route and move at once.

The raid party briefly discussed their future conquest plans. After a few more opinions were added, it was decided, as Muyoung had initially suggested, to destroy the evil god worship statue in the 10 o’clock direction and then go hunt the Irgala.

Sunyul once again boarded the sled with Muyoung today. Having snuggled up to Muyoung more familiarly than yesterday, Sunyul had reached a state where he could enjoy the high speed.

They destroyed the evil god worship statue, collected a large magic stone they encountered along the way, and hunted a swarm of Kandivas. After about two or three hours of this, the party finally faced the Irgala.

The Irgala was the most difficult S-class monster in this dungeon after the boss monster, but it wasn’t that hard for this group. Sunyul retreated to the back with the gatherers and watched the Irgala fall.

While the gatherer was in the middle of dismantling the Irgala, Muyoung suddenly approached them.

“Pack up.”

“Yes.”

Even though it was a sudden command, the gatherer didn’t hesitate and immediately retreated. It was because Muyoung only spoke so bluntly when a crisis was imminent. Having worked with Muyoung for a long time, he knew well that his sudden warnings were never wrong.

The reason Muyoung could so confidently tell them to retreat was thanks to his [Survival Strategy] trait. This trait, which could detect all kinds of danger, could be called the number one contributor to Muyoung’s survival rate.

The other hunters tidied up the sleds in a disciplined manner. The collapsible sleds were dismantled in an instant and disappeared neatly into their inventories.

Muyoung strode towards Sunyul. Just as Muyoung got right in front of him, someone shouted.

“Avalanche!”

Just a moment ago, everything had been fine, but an avalanche had started on the distant snowy mountain, and snow began to pour down. Warrr. Muyoung picked up Sunyul and immediately used a flight item.

Sunyul, who was suddenly lifted into the air, clung tightly to Muyoung in anxiety. Muyoung held Sunyul firmly and looked down.

The snow swept through the spot where they had been standing just moments before. Watching the massive corpse of the Irgala get easily swept away, Sunyul felt a chill run down his spine.

This dungeon didn’t have trivial traps; instead, natural disasters like avalanches or blizzards would occur. Sunyul had heard about it, but experiencing it firsthand was different.

Feeling Sunyul’s body tremble slightly, Muyoung patted him lightly with his fingertips.

“It’s nothing. Calm down.”

It was too intimidating a sight to be considered “nothing,” but……. Sunyul nodded and suppressed his fear.

The sky, which had been clear, clouded over in an instant. Jaehoon, confirming that a blizzard was about to hit, cursed.

This wasn’t an ordinary blizzard; it was a blizzard that decreased all stats and drained mana. It was not good to be exposed to it for long.

“Hey, what are we going to do.”

“We’re going straight to the temple.”

The temple becomes a safe zone protected from other traps or monsters the moment a tribute is offered. The tribute to be offered at the temple was the heart of the Irgala. As it happened, they had just hunted an Irgala, so the tribute was ready, and the temple was not too far away.

“Park Ilhyun.”

“Yes, Guild Master. I have plenty of mana!”

Park Ilhyun was a B-class hunter, but he was an essential talent for the Seonyudo Dungeon. It was because Park Ilhyun’s skill, [Cumulus Cloud], could carry up to twenty people.

They rode on the [Cumulus Cloud] that Park Ilhyun had cast and crossed the avalanche-stricken area. Around the time Park Ilhyun’s mana was running low, they found relatively solid ground and switched to the sleds.

By the time they arrived at the temple, everyone was exhausted from the effects of the blizzard.

As soon as they arrived, Muyoung took the Irgala’s heart and placed it on the altar in the center of the temple. Then, a blue flame ignited on its own, burning the heart and disappearing.

At the same time, a faint light enveloped the entire temple. The temple had become a safe zone.

Unlike yesterday, Sunyul didn’t know what to do as he looked at the downcast party. He was also worried that a bad situation would arise.

“Don’t worry. The situation is pretty good right now.”

“Good?”

“Yes. We’re in the temple now, so we can just recover and leave.”

Muyoung reassured Sunyul. Fortunately, although they were low on energy, the raid party was not in a desperate mood.

“We’ll gather again in four hours, so for now, everyone rest.”

At Muyoung’s command, everyone limply entered their tents. Sunyul also decided to rest in the tent with Muyoung.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine at this level.”

Perhaps because he had been held quietly by Muyoung, Sunyul wasn’t very tired. Muyoung nodded but still spread out a sleeping bag and laid it on the floor.

“If you’re tired, get some sleep.”

“What about you, Guild Master?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m fine too.”

“Alright, then do as you please.”

After saying that, Muyoung brought up a map on his hunter watch and started looking at it.

Sunyul stole glances at Muyoung. In the morning, he had decided to tell Muyoung about his dream, and now that they had four hours to rest, it seemed like the perfect time.

‘I’ll tell him after the Guild Master is done looking.’

Sunyul’s gaze, filled with firm resolve, was so intense that Muyoung eventually looked up from the map.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, no. That is…….”

“I don’t need to look at it right now, so if you have something to say, say it.”

After saying that, Muyoung put away the map altogether.

Now that the stage was set, Sunyul’s eyes darted around. Degul-degul. He was a little scared to speak. And that fear was completely obvious.

Muyoung didn’t make a big deal out of it or rush him, but waited patiently for Sunyul to open his mouth.

“I… keep having dreams.”

Sunyul managed to get the words out.

“The thing is, whenever I have a dream, I get strangely anxious.”

“Did you have a dream today too?”

“…Yes.”

“What kind of dream.”

“People I know appear in it. But it’s, kind of, an absurd story every time. I’m an S-class hunter, and I’m on friendly terms with everyone else…….”

As he spoke, Sunyul’s voice trailed off. Wasn’t it a story close to a delusion? His face turned red with embarrassment. He felt like Muyoung would just dismiss it as a funny dream, just a meaningless dream.

But Muyoung took Sunyul’s words seriously.

Anyone who had seen Sunyul’s condition after waking from a dream would never dismiss it as a meaningless dream. Sunyul’s condition had looked that serious.

“I’ll look into everything when we get out.”

“…Thank you.”

Sunyul’s eyes, filled with emotion, sparkled. Muyoung ruffled Sunyul’s hair with his hand. Even though he was stroking it rather roughly, like petting a dog, Sunyul had a smile on his face as if he liked it. Muyoung fixed the messy hair and took his hand away.

As Muyoung was thinking about Sunyul’s dream, a question suddenly occurred to him.

“Did you by any chance have a dream about me?”

“Ah… ah, yes. Today, I had one…….”

It was a little embarrassing to tell Muyoung himself that he had dreamed about him. But Muyoung’s face grew serious.

“What kind of dream.”

“…Do I have to tell you the content?”

“I had a dream about you today too. I was wondering if there was some kind of connection.”

Muyoung had a dream about him. For some reason, his face flushed hot.

“A dream about me?”

“Yes. If it’s the same dream, it means our dreams are connected.”

“Can dreams be connected?”

“Dream connection itself is a phenomenon that sometimes occurs. There haven’t been any cases of people suffering like you… but still, it could be a hint.”

He didn’t want to reveal the content of the dream, but……. There was a point to what Muyoung was saying. Sunyul, not knowing what to do, hesitated before finally starting to recount his dream.

“I… had made some kind of mistake and was crying alone…….”

“What mistake?”

“I was some kind of, team leader. I let my guard down, and a member of my team got hurt. So I was crying secretly in a corner alone…….”

“Yeah.”

“But then the Guild Master came and comforted me.”

“What did I say to comfort you?”

“That, just… that it wasn’t my fault, and that I should train more instead of blaming myself.”

“I see.”

“What kind of dream did you have, Guild Master?”

“A different dream from yours. It seems our dreams aren’t connected.”

“Ah… I see.”

Muyoung nodded. Sunyul asked again.

“What kind of dream did you have, Guild Master?”

“I told you it was a different dream.”

“No, I’m just curious…….”

“It was nothing.”

“…….”

If it was nothing, he could have just told him.

For the first time, Sunyul thought Muyoung was being petty. But no matter how many more times he pleaded, Muyoung absolutely would not open his mouth about the dream.