Leon began with more advantages than Yeonhee, as she had not been able to undergo military training like him. Since he had spent eighteen months in the centre, I will require him to do better than Yeonhee did in her first dungeon exploration.
“There is something…”
Leon squinted his eyes as he spoke, his Ranger trait allowed him to sense danger behind doors despite having a low perception level. (EN: Chapter 119)
“Is it a monster?” Leon was half afraid, half still in disbelief.
“See for yourself.”
“What?”
“Go on in.”
I opened the door, and he shuddered at the creak. While Yeonhee and I could see in the dark, he could only see about seven metres. Therefore, Leon could only wait, shivering, clutching a combat knife in his hand.
A Canine Pawn ran up, and Leon instinctively retreated at the sound. For him, it was as if the mutt had suddenly appeared out of the dark. Leon was shivering in fright behind my back, so Yeonhee rushed at the monster to stab it in the nape of the neck and came back.
“It is paralyzed.”
That meant she had not killed it so Leon could finish the job. We both looked at Leon, who was staring at the monster from head to toe. His breathing became rough at seeing blood running from the wound Yeonhee had made.
“Go finish the job.”
“That…that is…”
“That is a monster. A baby could kill it now.”
“How?”
“What do you mean, how? Stab the monster with your knife.”
“It’s still making sounds…”
“That’s the only thing it can do.”
I left Leon still frozen in place and went to Yeonhee to speak to her alone.
“Limit yourself to how we did the first dungeon. No skills. Can you do it?”
“What about the one-on-one quest?”
“That’s an exception.”
“I will try.”
“Wait until there’s danger before you act, as our goal is to observe him.”
“I can sense that he cannot move out of fear right now. By the way, is this a dungeon I can conquer alone?”
“Not quite yet. You’re only asking that because you know how to fight the boss monster. Use this as an opportunity to see how strong an enraged boss can become. It will help in the future.”
“I can dominate the boss before that happens.”
“That’s because you have prior experience.”
That was when Leon came to us.
“Can you please speak in English?” (EN: Obviously that exchange was in Korean.)
The Canine Pawn was still in the same condition. Leon shook his head.
“I can’t do this. Aren’t you two stronger than me?”
“Are you stupid or a coward?” I asked, angry. Yeonhee had more [email protected] than Leon in her first dungeon.
“What?”
“Do you think we will carry to the end of this dungeon if you can’t even take care of that almost dead monster?”
“The monster is incapable of hurting you. Just stab it in the chest or neck.”
Yeonhee tapped Leon’s chest, and he flinched like she had stabbed him. Even though Yeonhee could feel his fear, she was unsympathetic. Which made her colder than me.
“Kill it quickly.”
She spoke in English this time.
**
He succeeded, as he stabbed the monster several times in a frenzy, more terrified of being left alone than of the monster. Leon’s face was splashed with blood, and he almost threw up a few times. We moved after waiting for him to calm down.
We could clearly see with our superior night vision the twelve mutts at the end of the corridor, but Leon did not immediately report as ordered, despite being the designated ‘scout’, because he had a hissy fit due to the number of monsters.
“Focus on the leader’s orders.”
Leon turned his head at Yeonhee’s words.
“There’s more than ten of them!” He hissed despite remembering to whisper to maintain noise discipline.
“I will go in as the tanker, you as the dealer, and Marie as the healer.”
“What?”
“Attack them while I catch and hold their attention. Don’t worry about your wounds as Marie will heal you.”
“……”
“We won’t die as long as you do your job. Remember that we live or die together. Monsters will come running out after I open this door. Get behind me, and prepare yourself.”
Leon seemed like he wanted to say something.
“Speak up.”
“Shouldn’t I be the healer since Marie is stronger than me?”
I saw Yeonhee’s eyes that seemed to say I told you so. She replied to Leon.
“How will you heal us? You lack the skills. Also, I will not only be healing, but also fighting. While we have specific roles, inside a dungeon, we need to be able to improvise. You will understand once we go in.”
“I think I will hinder you guys.”
“While you wouldn’t have known yet, Marie’s skills are optimised for healing. If your limbs are not ripped apart, she can heal you. Thank her.”
Leon stared at Yeonhee in astonishment as I continued to talk.
“Do you understand that it’s better to have Marie as the healer?”
“Do…we really have to do this? Why?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to be in our group? Get out if you want.”
“Can I?”
Leon’s face lit up like he found a light in the tunnel, as he wanted to get out of the dungeon more than anything.
“What do you mean by that? You haven’t fought yet.”
Yeonhee answered his question, but Leon was quick to reply.
“I will get out if you will allow me to, as I think I will be a better asset to the group in a different field.”
“You will regret your words.”
“Neither you nor anyone else have explained anything to me for the past eighteen months. I will keep my mouth shut, and…”
“Be quiet, as you will really regret your words.”
Leon became silent like he felt something in my words, and now he looked at Yeonhee and me as I continued to explain. I explained the conditions one needed to meet to get out of the dungeon and showed him the insignias in my chest. He brightened when I spoke about the Escape Insignia but fell into despair when he realised he had no way of getting one in his present state. Leon’s decision was to…
“I will remain in this room.”
“You’re going to wait until we conquer this dungeon? This will be a big setback to your development, and what will you do if we die?”
Yeonhee put in a word.
“Not only that, but since there are three doors here, a silent alarm will sound when the two of us go in through a door. This will summon a wandering monster. Can you take on a monster by yourself?”
“What do you mean by a silent alarm? Can’t you see I have no choice? If you want to drag me in, please explain.”
His eyes were filled with despair, but no tears.
**
Yeonhee was the one who did the lecture.
“Any questions?”
“Why do we have to go against such dangers?”
“Because someday soon, Earth will be invaded by monsters. Also, this is the weakest dungeon. If we cannot go through here, we will be helpless on the Day of Advent. Do you get it?”
“Other prior awakened…”
“You’re lucky as our group is ahead of everyone else.”
“That’s enough. What’s your decision?”
“I will go with you. I will try my best…”
Leon did say that, but…
**
“Ahhh!”
He was struggling amidst monster corpses, his hands shaking while finishing off the wounded mutts as ordered. He had been useless in the fight, I had to massacre the 12 mutts myself. Yeonhee looked at him with disdain.
“Do we have to observe him more?”
“That’s a natural reaction for a ‘civilian’. What I want to see…”
“All right. When will you test him?”
“When the boss fight ends. Let’s decide then.”
“I bet he won’t pass.”