Nevertheless, as he fell asleep hoping for a miracle, when he opened his eyes, Yoon Seo couldn't even begin to imagine how it must have felt to be greeted by such a tragic reality.
[Current number of people: 301]
Even if he had given up living as a human, the fact that the dungeon system still displayed an extra person… was it a sign for him to notice? Whether Lee Domin's consciousness still remained or not, Yoon Seo couldn't shake the feeling that the number 301 was like a scream from Lee Domin, leaving him devastated and pained.
[The God of Life tells you to take your medicine.]
As Yoon Seo's hands began to tremble, the God of Life expressed concern. A truly kind god.
"Hyung, don't be too hard on yourself."
Kwon Jihan covered the back of Yoon Seo's hand with his own.
"To be honest, even if it were me, I'd be completely wrecked, so I don't know what to say, but I really hope you aren't too hard on yourself. It's all over now, and you don't need to blame yourself for what happened. I'm saying this because I think you might feel guilty, wondering if you had told Lee Kangjin about
Yoon Seo flinched and looked at Kwon Jihan. With reddened eyes and a flushed nose, Kwon Jihan continued.
"My conclusion is that even if you had told Kangjin-hyung, nothing would have changed. If you had, Kangjin hyung would have killed Domin-hyung all over again."
"…Since when did he become 'hyung'? You were just calling him by name a moment ago."
"Well, thinking about it, just calling him by name felt a bit too casual…"
Kwon Jihan scratched his head awkwardly, then looked at Yoon Seo seriously again.
"That's not what's important right now. Do you understand what I'm saying? You didn't do anything wrong. Don't ever blame yourself. You did everything you could in that situation, and you've suffered enough because of it. So don't have any weird thoughts."
It was clumsy comfort, but the sincerity behind it was enough to soothe Yoon Seo's wounds. He gave a faint smile.
"Alright. I won't blame myself."
"Hyung…"
Kwon Jihan's eyes widened in surprise, and his expression became touched. Yoon Seo thought the roles of who should be moved by this were reversed, but since it was cute, he let it go.
Peep!
Riceball, who had been feeling down due to his owner's gloom, flapped his wings and chirped. The Gods of Life and Death both praised Kwon Jihan's way of comforting.
"For now, it's best to get some sleep. You can rest for at least three hours."
As Yoon Seo pulled his hand away, Kwon Jihan looked like a puppy that had lost its treat. However, he knew what needed to be addressed immediately, so he didn't insist.
The matter concerning Lee Domin is still just speculation, and there are unresolved parts of the story.
The immediate task at hand is to defeat the three temple bosses and the dragon, and clear the black portal.
Both of them had not forgotten that.
***
Many were curious about what Kwon Jihan, Yoon Seo, and Hwashim had done the previous night. Yoon Seo informed them that the 1 out of 301 was not Lawrence and Rio's baby. Naturally, this made people anxious, but they couldn't be reassured about that 1 person without any concrete explanation. Everything was just Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo's speculation… and even if their guess was correct, it was still unclear if they should feel at ease about Lee Domin's existence.
When the time came, the 300 members of the New Revengers headed to the third underground level of the temple, where the battle against the three bosses would take place. Yoon Seo, Kwon Jihan, and the S-rank hunters took the lead, while the B-rank and lower hunters stayed in the middle, and 8 prisoners from Galaxia along with the healers and supporters took position in the rear.
Alec threw a lighting item into the dark and murky underground space. Startled by the sudden bright light, the lesser monsters hanging around either fled or attacked. The New Revengers didn't bother with the ones that ran but took down the ones that charged at them as they advanced.
The three boss monsters appeared all at once, in the form of a giant scorpion, centipede, and lizard. The strategy had already been laid out. Kwon Jihan and Yoon Seo would take on the giant centipede, the scorpion would be handled by Perfect, and the lizard would be fought by Jo Mani, Chris Kyle, and Furka Futuru. The A-rank and B-rank hunters were appropriately positioned. As for Perfect's team member Hwashim, he was assigned to assist with the lizard, as the Galaxia prisoners were not strong enough to balance the fight.
"Hey, Seo Chaeyoon. Are you really sure it's okay for just the two of you to take on that giant centipede?"
Jo Mani asked Yoon Seo as he visualized the upcoming battle in his head.
"Yes. There won't be any problems."
"…They say it has healing resistance. That sounds like a big problem."
When Yoon Seo collapsed, Hwashim didn't remove his mask, so his face hadn't been revealed, but everyone had learned about his healing resistance. Jo Mani had even told Alec the previous night that he would join the fight against the centipede.
"Seo Chaeyoon, I agree with him. If this is about pride, you should let it go. Should I join you against the centipede?"
Furka Futuru, who had been silently following the strategy so far, also chimed in.
Yoon Seo glanced at Furka and Jo Mani from behind his mask and shook his head.
"We've already planned the strategy. If anyone else intervenes, it will only cause confusion. You don't need to worry about me. Just wait until we're ready to join you."
It was a rather arrogant statement. Jo Mani and Furka seemed like they had more to say, but they kept their mouths shut.
In fact, Yoon Seo only suffered bruises on the second basement floor, but Furca and Jo Mani had parasites invade their bodies and cut into their flesh. The difference was that both received healing and fully recovered, while Yoon Seo healed solely through his own regenerative ability.
As the two fell silent, Yoon Seo ran the battle simulation once again.
Ten years ago, when he faced the giant centipede, they had reached Phase 3 for the first time. But this time, he would finish it in Phase 1. It was impossible to do alone, but with Kwon Jihan and the items they brought from Earth, it was possible.
***
Tsss.
A gigantic centipede crawled across the ceiling. Yoon Seo, holding the
Boom!
The dagger bounced off the centipede's body. The thick shell of this boss didn't allow any blade to pierce through. Normally, a centipede's shell wasn't this tough, but this monster's shell was like an armored carapace. It would require either tremendous force or a skill-assisted attack to break through. Knowing this already, Yoon Seo aimed for the centipede's leg joints with the spirit weapon. Even the joints were tough, so he infused the attack with
[Using the skill
Yoon Seo knew from his experience ten years ago that the severed legs would act as if they had their own will, attacking his comrades. Several had died back then because of a moment's distraction. Yoon Seo used
[Kwon Jihan has used the skill
The centipede was so massive that Yoon Seo was hanging on its head while Kwon Jihan was fighting from its tail. Yoon Seo quickly checked on Kwon Jihan. The red glow gathering at the tip of his sword was aimed at a joint, just like Yoon Seo had done. As the red energy seeped into the joint, the leg started to fight against the others.
'What a fascinating skill.'
Worrying about Kwon Jihan was pointless.
"Argh, you monstrous bastard!"
"Watch out for the scorpion tail!"
"The lizard's breathing fire!"
While their side of the battle was progressing quietly, the giant scorpions and lizard monsters on the other side were causing a commotion.
[The God of Life tells you to focus only on your own fight.]
How could he not care? Not a single person could die. I have to protect them.
…In the past, he would have only thought about things like this.
But not anymore.
We have prepared thoroughly, and they are strong enough.
Following the plan, once we calmly take care of this side, we'll join forces. Yoon Seo had already discussed helping out with the scorpions, while Kwon Jihan would handle the lizard monsters.
Sssk. Tsss!
The giant centipede extended its antennae, longer than Yoon Seo's height. These couldn't be cut with a sword either. Yoon Seo adjusted his grip so that the blade of the Existing Spirit faced forward. As the antennae stretched out towards him, he stepped back. The centipede, irritated, extended its antennae again, and Yoon Seo took another step back. He repeated this a few times while continuously delivering electrical shocks with
Tsss!
The centipede's head followed him, and for a moment, their eyes met—the centipede's glossy, black eyes were as large as boulders. Yoon Seo considered stabbing one with his dagger but decided against it. Instead, he leaped over the centipede's shell, dodging its antennae. Tss! The centipede spat venom. He could have avoided it, but he didn't, fearing that someone on the ground might be hit instead.
[Durability of
"Hyung, be careful!"
At the same time as Kwon Jihan's shout, the centipede began twisting its body. Yoon Seo quickly used
[Durability of
The centipede's antennae and legs were coated with poison, causing his shield's durability to drop even when they merely brushed against him.
After several dangerous moments, its underbelly was finally exposed.
[Using item 'Seokyoung Water Bomb 1'.]
[Using item 'Seokyoung Water Bomb 2'.]
.
.
.
[Using item 'Seokyoung Water Bomb 9'.]
[The God of Death is intrigued by the new item.]
These water bombs were made by the Seokyoung item production team, who stayed up all night to complete them.
Yoon Seo threw all nine bombs at once toward the centipede.
Boom! Bang, bang, bang!
Part of the temple ceiling collapsed as the centipede hissed loudly and fell to the ground. The giant centipede's weakness was water—something they had only learned after many sacrifices in the third phase of the battle in the past.