The Sea Dragon Temple (3)

As Im Hyeja finished speaking, a quiet silence enveloped the room.

Most faces were close to disbelief.

That was how incredible the effect of the <Backup> skill she explained was.

“…Wh-what…?”

This reaction was especially pronounced in Moon Bora, who also had the ability to <Backup> like Im Hyeja.

She covered her mouth with her left hand, as if finding it hard to believe.

Moon Bora also possessed the skill known as [Wave of Mind (P)], a proficient skill that continuously restores the magic of a bound <Striker>.

Even this alone was highly regarded, to the extent that many groups wanted to recruit <Snow Ice> Moon Bora.

But even such a great ability paled in comparison to the power Im Hyeja described.

“A skill that absurd exists in this world…”

Im Hyeja shrugged her shoulders.

“…Well, actually, because of this one thing, I received recruitment offers from the [Four Great Clans], but I turned them down.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, may I know why you refused?”
“Maintaining that short stature is too stressful. I also don’t like entrusting my life to others.”
“Ah…”

It was a simple yet fundamental reason, and, at the same time, a fatal drawback.

Moon Bora nodded, empathizing.

Indeed, she also knew better than anyone the hardships of being a <Backup>.

Maintaining it was one thing.
Enduring the overwhelming sense of powerlessness from having her original strength reduced to a tenth was certainly not easy.

It was then…

Clap! A sound of clapping ended the discussion.

The source of the sound was Yu Seha.
He continued speaking, hinting that it was time to wrap things up.

“Alright, thanks to Hyeja noona, we’ll be able to deal with the obstacle in front of the [Sea Dragon Temple]. Now, I’ll lay out our strategy. Moon Bora and Ju Na-young, I need you two to handle the incoming enemies at the front line…”

-Murmur, murmur, chatter, chatter.

Yu Seha’s explanation continued.

As expected from a Supervisor who had played ‘GAL’ for a long time, it was a strategic and excellent command structure.

Even Im Hyeja, who had been listening silently, was impressed enough to think, ‘Oh, this guy knows his stuff.’

Well, of course.
In the end, actual command was clearly more important than theoretical knowledge.

While the ability to respond to unforeseen variables was also essential, from Im Hyeja’s perspective, this level of analysis was almost on par with that of an A-grade hunter who had been active as a leader.

‘…Hmm.’

Im Hyeja continued to watch Yu Seha.

Soon, her gaze subtly shifted.

Not towards him specifically…

But towards the two women attentively listening to him.

“Certainly, distributing stamina that way seems better.”
“Alright, just leave it to me!”

Yu Seha’s words were met with sparkling eyes from two people.

<Snow Ice> and <Flame Dragon>.
To Im Hyeja, they were distant juniors…
Two beauties that could elicit admiration even from another woman.

‘…Sigh.’

Im Hyeja sighed inwardly.

She had wondered since she first saw them…

‘No matter how I look at it, those two. It’s that, right?’

It was obvious at a glance.

Well, as for the cat sitting next to her…

“Meow~ It’s a good plan, Seha.”

She was oblivious to the underlying dynamics, just purring away like a clueless kitten.

But it was clearly visible to Im Hyeja.

The interest of the two women was different from the gaze of a party member simply listening to their leader…

That unmistakable pink aura of infatuation surrounded them.

‘……’

They didn’t want to miss a thing.
They wanted to be helpful in any way they could.
They were even happy to be singled out.
Those sugary-sweet emotions.

The reason why Im Hyeja knew this so well.
There was nothing special.
Because she also had the same experience.

‘…It feels like I’m looking at my past self.’

Ma Hana’s father.

Ma Tae-han.

When the leader explained the strategy.

Im Hyeja also showed a similar appearance to the two.

The memory of a tender girl whose eyes sparkled with uncontrollable emotions rising from deep inside her.

The memory of trembling all over with an overwhelming heart.

Here too…

And, coincidentally, there was even a romantic rival, much like the one she had faced back then.

’…Ah.

Speaking of romantic rivals, she remembered something.
That woman, her rival in love…

‘She said she would be appointed as a professor here, right?’

They had fought a lot, but in the end, she was someone Im Hyeja could call a comrade.

Rumor had it that she was now teaching [Hunter’s Interpersonal Combat Class] at the Academy…

‘…Hmm.’

Just maybe…

She wouldn’t harm Meowi, would she…?

‘No, that can’t be.’

No matter how much they both risked their lives opposing ‘that woman’ and her bloodline.

Ma Hana was the only daughter of Senior Ma Tae-han.

She wouldn’t do such a petty thing.

—Senior! Get a grip. Does that female… does that female look human to you? That’s a monster! And what’s born in a monster’s belly is also a monster!

‘……’

It can’t be, right?

Two days later.

Right after coordinating everyone’s schedules.

The five of us gathered at the entrance of the <Underground Waterway> dungeon.

“…Haah.”

Oh, correction.

Including the cute doll sitting on my shoulder and sighing, we were six in total.

“…Seha, my dear. I’ll make sure to collect this debt.”

Currently, Im Hyeja was perched on my shoulder in her reduced two-foot-tall form.

It reminded me of how I had felt when I first saw Moon Bora’s transformation—fascinated.

It was still hard to believe how someone could shrink to such a cute and lovable doll size while maintaining all their vital functions.

‘…I feel like I want to pinch her cheeks…’

But doing that would probably get me smashed to death with a blacksmith’s hammer.

Luckily, Meowi was there to fulfill that desire for me.

“Meow~ Unnie, you’re so cute!”

Squeeze, squeeze!

“…Meowi. Please, save my dignity a little… It’s so humiliating to be treated as a cheek-pulling doll by juniors.”
“Meow~”
“…Sigh.”

Im Hyeja’s passive skill, [Volcanus’s Heart].

As you can see from the description, it’s a passive skill specialized for a typical [Fire Attribute] party.

Its effect was, quite simply, incredible.

‘It’s really amazing…’

Without any special limitations, it affected “all” fire attribute skills.

Even minor skills were influenced by it.

Especially, fire-specialized mage parties like [Pyromancers] preferred her.

Many Supervisors wanted to recruit her because of that passive skill.

Of course, Im Hyeja was a neutral NPC who couldn’t be hired fundamentally, so she could only provide help a few times.

It was useless since it was impossible to permanently include her in the party.

Anyway, the reason I proceeded with a bond with her instead of Ju Na-young, who would have had better results than me, was simple.

‘We won’t need this passive skill anyway.’

Her [Active] skill.
That alone was enough.
Besides, it consumed a massive amount of mana, so I didn’t want her wasting energy on the passive.

Alright!
After stretching a bit, I gave a quick briefing to the group.

“Then, we will now begin the raid on the <Sea Dragon Temple>. First, we will quickly break through the <Underground Waterway> dungeon, and then enter without delay.”

I reached out towards the gate, seeing everyone nod in agreement.

Crackle!

The reverberation of swirling mana spread out.

I immediately activated [Unprecedented Sense].

‘…Hmm, nothing detected.’

Well, I wasn’t worried.

I had already cleared this place once before.

I knew the types of monsters and their skills well enough.

I also knew that the [Boss Room] featured a <Gimmick Boss>, so clearing it wouldn’t be a problem.

I turned to check on the party.

“Mm, good. No issues.”

As I was about to proceed, asking Choi Mari for a [Light] divine spell.

I stopped in my tracks at the information window that caught my eye.

“Huh?”

What?

Wait a moment.

Seven people…?

“Meow? Seha, what’s wrong?”

As I kept looking around, Meowi, who was next to me, looked at me curiously.

Meowi also had an excellent detection ability called [Cat’s Intuition].

But even she seemed completely unaware…

‘…Is it an error?’

Sometimes, in ‘GAL,’ there were cases where the number of entrants would glitch due to a bug.

‘…But this is reality, isn’t it?’

Or is it?

In any case, the <Status Window> was showing the information right in front of me, so maybe there’s no difference.

“Yu Seha?”
“…Seha? Is there a problem?”
“…Huh? Oh… that… No, nothing.”

I shook my head, pondering.

I couldn’t just stay still like this.

I decided to move forward.

‘It’ll be fine…’

I had a certain power that always saved me in moments of crisis, right?

‘I will keep maintaining [Unprecedented Sense], so it will be fine.’

If anything unexpected happened, it would trigger immediately.

As I advanced with such thoughts, Im Hyeja, who was sitting on my shoulder, casually spoke.

“…Seha, you rely too much on <Skills>.“

“…Pardon? What did you say?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Im Hyeja responded nonchalantly, but she glanced behind us for a moment.

“……”

Only she was fixed in a blind spot, unseen by the others.

“Seha, my younger brother.”
“Yes, Hyeja noona.”
“Wasn’t it part of the original plan for you to fight too?”

As if it were unnecessary, Im Hyeja shrugged her shoulders.

“If we leave it to those two, they’ll handle everything.”

She was right.

At the front were Ju Na-young and Moon Bora.

The two were dealing with the monsters as if they were competing.

The targets were the groups of [Frogmen] and [Lizardmen] that had come for a surprise attack and failed miserably.

“Ku-kuwek!”
“…Die!”

Ju Na-young grabbed two [Frogmen].

She created high-temperature flames and turned them to ashes in an instant.

The Rare ability [Burning Flames].

Compared to when we sparred, the firepower was so much stronger that I instinctively knew she had leveled up by at least +3 levels.

‘…As expected, a born 5★…’

Without any particular help, she grew rapidly on her own.

And here, she was showing an even more astonishing ability.

“Kruurek!”
“Ju Na-young! Behind you—”

But my warning was unnecessary.

Already aware, Ju Na-young mumbled something under her breath.

With a crunching sound, roots burst out through the underground waterway.

Unusually, the roots wrapped in flames instantly skewered the [Frogman].

‘…[Flame Forest]?’

A [Druid] [Skill Tree] system skill, [Flame Forest].

A plant summoning skill that peculiarly grows by feeding on fire.

I realized that, thanks to this, Ju Na-young intensely practiced [Nature Magic], which she disliked.

“…Amazing.”

“…Did you say something?”

Yu Seha’s small murmur didn’t escape Ju Na-young’s sharp hearing.

“……”

Her lips twitched into a smile.

She looked like a child basking in the praise of a parent.

Bang!

Then, as if to draw attention, a thunderous noise reverberated, and everyone’s gaze turned.

A cold wave of energy and a powerful surge of magic rippled through the air.
The source of the sound was Moon Bora.

“…Phew.”

Moon Bora twirled the [Guns Weapon] in her hand.

Where she pointed her gun, a giant ice hand had already appeared and was crushing the <Lizardman>.

Blood and guts froze in place.

But something seemed a bit off.

‘…The [Ice Hand] shouldn’t be that strong.’

My confusion quickly turned into a realization.

‘…No way.’

“…Come out!”

The [Ice Hand] responded to Moon Bora’s shout.

The giant hand began to morph.

Soon, a massive ice golem, slightly larger than Moon Bora herself, appeared.

However, its most striking feature was its left hand, which was over three times the size of its body.

‘…No way. She’s already learned that?’

A near gasp of astonishment escaped my lips.

There was no doubt.

It was the Hero grade, [Frozen Tundra]’s [Derivative Skill].

Likewise, it was the same Hero grade, [Big Snowman].