The Sea Dragon Temple (7)

“…Wow!”

The notification list that flowed up in front of me was a sight to behold.

And there was even more.

‘Oh… even a bow?’

I didn’t expect to get it right away…

Ah, of course.
I did shoot well, even if I say so myself.
Although, it was possible thanks to various skills.

With this, I had a total of eight weapon skills.

‘Sword, hand-to-hand combat, blunt weapon, axe, dagger, spear, shield, bow.’

Good, everything was going smoothly.
The conditions to obtain ‘that’ which the <Rank 1> mentioned were almost satisfied.

Ding!

Another new option appeared.

“…Hmm.”

I didn’t have to think long.

[Penetrating Dash] had an option that significantly increased movement speed when passing through narrow spaces.

Well, how often would such situations arise?

Instead of choosing that, it was better to pick [Reckless Dash], which was faster than [Dash] without any conditions.

‘Satisfactory.’

I reassured myself once again.

That the path I was taking was not wrong.

That if I continued to grow like this, I could definitely reach the ending I desired.

―Seha~
―Yu Seha!
―Seha!

Ah, darn!

I must have been staring for too long.

I waved my hand at the voices of my party and turned around.

Or, I tried to turn around.

“Huh?”

I belatedly noticed something reddish rising from the corpse of the .

Hmm?
Could it be…?
Really?

“What?”

Is it really a ?

“I’m back.”
“You’ve worked hard.”

Landing amidst the welcome of my comrades.

Questions like how I resisted the song were being thrown at me from all directions.

“…Seha?”
“Yes?”

Moon Bora looked at the sphere in my hand with a surprised expression and asked.

“That is…?”
“Oh, it’s the rune of the . Perfect timing. Moon Bora, you have a special container for runes, right? Could you store this for me?”

naturally disappear within 30 minutes to an hour.

Moon Bora, who took out a pouch, answered with a bewildered expression.

“C-Congratulations. As expected from a . The rune drop rate is high. By the way, what skill did it have? Maybe a top-tier skill like [Song of Enchantment]—”

“No, it’s [Beauty Enhancement].”

“…What?”

“It’s called [Beauty Enhancement].”

Silence fell over the group.

If it were the usual me, I would have noticed the ominous meaning of this silence even a little bit.

But perhaps because I was excited to explain something I knew well, my tendency to explain everything kicked in.

And, of course, I was still riding the high from having defeated the .

“Really? I heard it’s extremely rare…”
“Yes, honestly, I don’t know why it gets such high regard, but in terms of rarity alone, it’s a very rare rune.”

[Beauty Enhancement].
As a type of passive skill, it was a rune that received quite a bit of appreciation.
As the name suggests, its effects were simple.

“It makes your skin smoother, gives your voice an attractive tone… and also enhances your figure. I’ve heard it even has anti-aging properties to eliminate wrinkles. It’s practically the dream ability that every woman desires.”

“……”

I personally found it completely useless, but apparently, it was treated quite differently among women.

In the past, I saw it on the .

Sure enough, it was a very expensive rune, easily surpassing two billion won.

‘Seriously… I don’t understand why this is so expensive…’

Personally, I would have preferred something that directly helps in combat over such cosmetic effects.

Anyway, I should be thankful for whatever I get.

‘I’ll sell it later and buy some gear for our Meowi.’ Just as I was thinking that—

Grab!

Someone grabbed my arm forcefully.
Very strongly… indeed.

“…Ju Na-young? That hurts a bit.”
“Yu Seha. Sell it to me.”
“Huh?”
“No, sell it to me.”
“…Moon Bora?”

The two who spoke glared at each other once.

Soon, they started bickering.

“Guys…?”

“Hey, Moon Bora! You already have a big chest and butt; why do you need more of this stuff?”

“J-Ju Na-young! Everyone looks at you when you walk down the street… There’s no need to decorate yourself more! You said you have dragon’s blood flowing in you! That means your youth will last longer, right?”

“Hah, you don’t get it! You have to take care of things in advance! Do you think dragon’s blood is a cure-all?”

“That’s what I should be saying!”

“Um, excuse me…”

In the burning heat, something felt wrong.

I glanced behind me.

Oh my god.

Even Meowi and Choi Mari were swallowing their saliva, staring at the [Beauty Enhancement] rune.

“…Meow. A nice body, voluptuous… One of the conditions to oppress and dominate men…”

“…Meowi? Did you secretly take that class?”

“Meep… Now that I think about it, I’ve heard of it. There is certainly a holy art based on a woman’s beauty…”

“…Senior Mari?”

I stepped back, sweating coldly.

“Seha, my little brother.”
“Oh, yes?”

Suddenly, I heard Im Hyeja’s voice.

Could it be, my noona too?! But fortunately, it wasn’t.

She looked at me as if I were foolish, shaking her head slowly.

“…It seems it’s already too damn late. Let me say one thing. Behave yourself.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Otherwise, you really won’t be able to handle it later.”

“…Pardon?”

A moment later.

In the end, we decided to break the ’s rune and divide the final rewards at the end.

The continued.

Thirty minutes passed.
One hour.
Then an hour and a half.

After two hours, I felt certain that we were close to the [Boss Room].

The reason?

We were now facing a < Mid Boss>.

“Kwueeeeee!!”
“Seha. To your side!”

At the sound of that voice, I ducked like lightning.

Crunch!

The massive tail brushed past above my head.

Bang!

The destructive force that shattered the cave wall like styrofoam made my knees tremble.

“Little bro, it’s coming!”
“Yes!”

There was no time to rest.

Even before Im Hyeja finished speaking, black liquid came flying.

A poison bullet that causes [Status Effect: Petrification] upon contact.

I sliced through it with the [Overlord Sword Technique] and fixed my gaze forward.

A black snake, clad in what seemed like full-body armor, glared menacingly.

At least 15 meters in length.

.

A creature known as the king of snakes, it was a boss monster barely making the A-grade cut.

Normally, it wouldn’t be easy to deal with something of this size.

Even with a party this large, taking down such a creature would be a serious challenge.

‘The fortunate thing is that it’s also blessed with <Poison’s Blessing>.’

Thanks to that, it was weaker in every aspect compared to the I knew.

At best, it would rank in the top tier of Grade B.

Our steady and methodical fighting gradually gave us the upper hand.

And soon, the opportunity to strike the final blow arrived.

“Yu Seha! Go!”

Ju Na-young’s shouted as she stabbed the Basilisk’s eye with [Forest Fire].

I tensed my legs and leaped explosively.

With the manifestation of [Free Charge], my body dashed forward like a flash of lightning.

In an instant, I climbed up the ’s torso.

I gripped the [Saint’s Sword] with both hands.

“[Overlord Sword Technique]!”

A red lightning spread out with my will.
The surging sword energy became a storm of fury, starting to slaughter the .

There was one more surprising point.

It was the attack speed of the [Overlord Sword Technique].

It was already a fast swordsmanship technique.

As time passed, my body moved as if performing a sword dance.

It was like watching a video at double speed.

So fast that even faint afterimages appeared.

Im Hyeja’s eyes on my shoulder widened in surprise.

“…What, little brother. Did you implant a or something?”

As expected, Hyeja noona.
You figured it out right away.

The favor I asked Divine Light Garam when we first met at .

The result was now manifesting.

Shuk!

The final slash beheaded the , ending the situation.

‘Good…’

I clenched my hands.

This level of attack speed.
This much destructive power.
Even the final damage.

With this, I was convinced that I could inflict damage even if the dungeon boss here was truly a .

All battles were over, leaving only the [Boss Room].

Rumble!

The sudden vibration caused everyone, including me, to freeze.

What the hell?

‘As if the gimmick wasn’t enough…’

There was an gimmick too?

What kind of insane is this?

‘And there wasn’t even any warning about this?’

I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected event.

Everyone looked at me.

We need to form the party precisely and leave someone behind…

‘Who should stay back?’

While I was contemplating.
Im Hyeja, who was on my shoulder, landed on the ground.

“…Hyeja noona?”
“Perfect timing.”

Before I knew it, Hyeja noona was reverting to her original form.

Her [Restoration], a Hero-grade ability, forcibly deactivated her [Backup] state for one hour.

“Leave this to me and go.”
“But…!”
“Don’t worry. If it gets dangerous, I can use the .”

Im Hyeja, who answered with a smile, swung her hammer at the approaching .

The was instantly smashed into a pulp.

With such great prowess, I felt confident that we could trust her.

‘Still…’

I couldn’t help but worry.

“Little brother, one thing I’ve learned in life is that you can’t hesitate in the . Go. Quickly break the ’s head and come back.”
“……”

She was right.

Hesitation was a luxury you couldn’t afford in a dungeon.

After a brief silence, I bowed my head and shouted.

“Everyone, leave this to Hyeja noona and let’s move forward!”

“Finally gone.”

Im Hyeja twisted the neck of a and smiled faintly.

In the distance, she could see the younger ones running toward their dream.

She had long finished her own adventures.

Her job now, as senior, was to support those younger than her as they pursued their own journeys.

“…Don’t you think so?”

Suddenly, she spoke into the empty air, as if addressing someone.

Of course, no one responded.

There was no one here but Hyeja and the oncoming monsters.

But as if she already knew, Im Hyeja handed over another [Antidote Herb] she received from Yu Seha.

“Though it doesn’t seem necessary since there’s no smell of blood, if you want to take it, go ahead. It’s an item prepared by a precious cadet.”

Her tone was half-respectful, half-casual.

Then, surprisingly, a response came.

“…You knew.”

“Of course, I noticed from the beginning. How many years have I been doing this?”

“…I didn’t intend to deceive—”

“I know. Take off that cloak. We should at least see each other’s faces properly.”

As Im Hyeja finished speaking, the figure of a woman appeared in the empty air.

The woman grabbed her hood.

Slowly, carefully…
She revealed her face.