Free Web NovelThe ice blade, honed razor-sharp, pierced the gargoyle’s heart and melted in an instant. The ice wall did the same.
“You’ve got good aim.”
“Thank you.”
With Song Hwayoung’s compliment, the situation wrapped up cleanly.
'Works in real combat.'
No matter how much I mimicked B-rank, if it couldn’t last, I’d be in trouble—so I’d trained to trade power for duration. Good thing it worked. I calmed the sigil burning my palm and snuck a glance at Joo Seowon.
A minute ago he’d been cursing when the gargoyles rushed us; now he’d gone quiet again.
'He does seem anxious, though.'
Which was bizarre. A B-rank hunter had no reason to be scared of F-rank monsters. While I was wondering about that, Seowon adjusted his gloves—then stopped dead.
Tracking (B) has been activated.
At least he was doing his job. He spoke quietly.
“I think we just need to take down the dungeon boss.”
“Location?”
“If we call straight ahead twelve o’clock, then it’s at five o’clock.”
He paused, then turned his body and pointed precisely.
“This way.”
Both Hwayoung and I turned toward where he indicated.
“Let’s move.”
“Yes.”
“......”
We walked a fair distance in that direction and came upon a massive stone structure.
'Looks like a temple.'
Several pillars held up a ceiling, the spaces between blocked with crumbling walls. The building looked like an ancient, abandoned temple—so precise it felt like an artificial construct.
“Feels like a ruin.”
At my brief impression, both Hwayoung and Seowon glanced over.
Hwayoung peered into the pitch-black interior, clicked her tongue, then stepped inside as she spoke.
“There’s a ceiling.”
Light tone, but easy enough to catch the subtext.
Hwayoung worked with shadows. In a lightless, enclosed space where the ceiling blocked illumination, her abilities would be somewhat restricted. And there was no way a place like this had lighting.
'She knows that, so she brings light-related items anyway.'
Worst case, even a phone has a flashlight, so it was a stretch to call it a real limitation.
And even without that, someone like Song Hwayoung could handle D-rank monsters one way or another.
I followed her into the temple. Seowon came along quietly behind.
“Hunter Joo. Where’s the boss?”
“Deeper in.”
Inside was all gloom. The temple was so old that parts of the walls and ceiling had collapsed, letting some light in—but not enough to brighten the whole place.
I pulled out my phone and shone the flashlight. Hwayoung glanced at me and shrugged.
“Primitive.”
“It’s the latest model.”
“...That’s not what I meant.”
We walked for a while. From the way footsteps echoed, the interior space was larger than expected. Too dark to gauge the full scale, though.
Then Seowon clamped a hand around my arm and stopped me.
“Seo Jehyun, wait.”
“......”
Did he sense something? He muttered, suspicion threading his voice.
“...It feels close. Why? It was definitely farther just now....”
Measuring the depth, he trailed off, drew a breath, and spoke quietly.
“...It came closer.”
The words had barely left his mouth when the ceiling collapsed with a colossal roar.
—KWA-AANG!!!
“Get clear!”
Before her shout fully reached me, my body was already moving. The problem was, it was pitch-black—I had no idea which way to move.
Thud!
Huge chunks slammed into the floor one after another, turning the scene into chaos in seconds.
Status Window.
Big Gargoyle (D)
A massive statue within the desolate temple.
Awakens when it senses another lifeform entering.
Instinctively, I threw up an ice wall nearby to block the debris raining from above. I raised my light toward the ceiling—saw a massive slab coming down our way.
'Fuck.'
I dove aside and fired ice upward. The sharp spikes shattered the slab to pieces before it ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) crashed to the ground.
KRANG!
Pebbles and dust pattered down over me, stinging as they peppered my skin.
“Seo Jehyun! Joo Seowon!”
Hwayoung’s voice came from some distance.
I was alive, sure, but I couldn’t answer. Who knew when the gargoyle would home in and wreck me—why advertise my position?
Keeping my back to a wall, I brushed off debris and looked up. With the ceiling blown open, the space had turned pointlessly bright.
From outside, the walls looked like they crudely partitioned the interior, but inside, the walls broke off in awkward places—like a maze, guiding you in.
'The gargoyle statue was probably in the center.'
A big monster—looked like it had spread its wings moving toward us. The walls and ceiling had been pierced at once and it had dropped.
I drew out a Stealth Orb and shoved it into my mouth.
'Damn it, should’ve just come in with it already between my teeth.' frёeωebɳovel.com
Not like Hwayoung could’ve predicted this, either. I stood and took stock calmly.
The fragments weren’t strong enough to be lethal—an impact like that might fracture a bone on a B-rank, but it wouldn’t kill them. Sure, if you got pummeled into paste, maybe—but Seowon had enough brains to gauge that much.
I opened the Status Window steadily.
Hwayoung would get herself out; I needed to find Seowon.
'He can’t get hurt.'
I’d worded the covenant vaguely—“guarantee Seowon’s safety”—so I didn’t know how it would judge things. Minor injury? Serious injury? Would it count psychological harm?
'So this is why you draft contracts carefully.'
Sudden clarity in the middle of a mess. Great.
I used Seowon’s Status Window to confirm his location and began closing the distance, picking my way over debris.
The inner temple had collapsed, but the outer walls forming the maze remained intact. The farther I moved through the breached passages toward the outside, the darker it got—the layered walls blocked light, unlike the relatively bright interior.
The ceiling, which I’d thought was completely destroyed, was intact the farther out I went.
I took the phone back out, flashlight up, stepping over rubble carefully, holding my breath as I moved toward Seowon.
'Is it normal to nearly die every time I enter a dungeon?'
This time it wasn’t even the boss’s direct attack—almost got brained by a rock.
I climbed over wreckage for a while, searching—and finally, there he was.
'Found you.'
I halted. Even amid the debris, his presence was clear.
Nice to see—except there were two presences, not one.
Big Gargoyle (D)
A massive statue within the desolate temple.
Awakens when it senses another lifeform entering.
Name: Joo Seowon
Age: 26
Rank: B
Title: —
Key Skills: Blind Spot of Trust (A), Tracking (B)
Growth Limit: B
You’ve got to be kidding me.
“A—no....”
Then the italics etched on my index finger flashed, and a tight pain shot through my chest. No—was that pain?
My heart started pounding, fast. Like contagious suffocation-level fear spreading through me.
'Shit, Seowon....'
I knew by instinct. The covenant between us had activated.
Without a second thought, I slammed my palm to the ground. Ice spread outward in steady waves, surged up before Seowon, and speared toward the ceiling. freewebnσvel.cøm
Shhhhk!
Mimic (S) has been activated.
'No. I’m raising the skill grade right now.'
The mana I’d been deliberately throttling, I opened all at once, pouring it into my palm. I wasn’t going for an attack—just a tougher wall.
'A penalty occurs due to rank difference between you and the target.'
Mimic (S) Duration: 450 seconds
Good.
The ice bulwark rose and hardened in an instant. BOOM! The Big Gargoyle slammed into it, but with this thickness, I felt sure it wouldn’t break through easily.
And yet my heart wouldn’t slow down at all.
'Is the covenant’s condition psychological safety?'
If so, that meant Seowon was in a panic. But why the hell would a B-rank hunter panic at a D-rank gargoyle?
His physical rank alone should let him tank this much.
I pushed off the floor and moved closer to him. I could make out his outline, but it was still too dark to see his face well. Sensing me, he turned his head and found me.
“P-please save me.”
“......”
“S-Seo Jehyun. Y-you have to save me.”
He was curled up, back to the wall, body folded tight.
I pressed right up to him, pinned him to the wall, and crouched down to face him.
“Se—”
Before he could say anything, I covered his mouth. There was a monster right in front of us—what the hell did he think he was doing, talking?
'Yeah, he’s not in his right mind.'
I tightened my grip to say shut up. Thankfully, he got it and gave a small nod.
With the orb in my mouth, I couldn’t speak either, so I used another way.
I took my hand off his lips, then stroked down the length of his throat from top to bottom. He shivered under my touch and lifted his head.
He was probably staring at me, confused.
I stroked his neck once more, then traced an X over his throat.
'Got it?'
He was quick on the uptake. He should understand.
A downward stroke over the throat, then an X. Nothing fancy—just don’t swallow.
Right after—
I gripped his jaw, gently tilted it up, turned my head, and pressed my lips to his.
“......!”
Then I pushed the Stealth Orb straight through his parted lips.
