For the first time in a long while, many people gathered at my dining table.
It was because today was the day of the strategy meeting to secure the Trnalpria.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went in first?”
Minjun slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
“I said no. Have you lost your mind?”
“Brother, regardless… you are a Non-combat Superhuman.”
Jinsu is opposing me too?
After all the times I fed him and gave him a place to sleep…!
“I told you. We don’t know how many Monsters have invaded or how far they’ve come, and besides, I won’t be attacked.”
“You said before that it might have just been a one-time thing. Besides, I’m S-rank.”
- He is right. Just leave it to Domo Minjun.
Even Kasia stopped me with a firm expression.
I had hoped at least one person would be on my side.
I looked at Kasia with disappointment, but she immediately avoided my gaze.
Of course, I knew it was right for Minjun, the nation’s best Tank with vast experience, to lead the way.
But in a way, securing the Trnalpria was happening because of my request.
So, I felt a bit guilty about putting Minjun in the front.
As the older brother, putting my younger brother forward for something I wanted….
“I’m S-rank. Honestly, I want to leave you behind entirely, and I’m barely holding myself back.”
“A-alright, I get it.”
Minjun clenched his fists tightly.
He looked like he might actually hit me if I said anything more, so I had no choice but to back down.
Nothing can be done.
After the brief commotion, everyone stood before the Portal.
“Whew. I’m nervous.”
It’s been a while since I’ve been in a Dungeon….
Although we call it Eliya, its essence is a Dungeon where Monsters appear.
Sweat was already trickling down my spine from the tension.
“There’s no need to be nervous. You’ve been a Porter before, haven’t you? Just stay in the back.”
A situation like back then… it won’t happen again, right?
“Alright, we’re going in now.”
I mentally went over the rules once more.
One. Enter sequentially in 10-second intervals.
Two. Do not step forward no matter what happens.
Three. Stay close to Suyeon, the Healer, along with Kasia.
The second and third rules could be summarized in one sentence: just follow quietly from behind.
Still, the Party Leader’s orders are absolute inside a Dungeon, so I had to obey.
After the group entered the Portal one by one, led by Minjun, I also calmly stepped forward.
‘Ugh, I feel nauseous.’
Along with the nausea, my vision gradually brightened.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Monsters frozen solid and shattered into pieces, as well as charred remains that were hard to identify, scattered about.
That shell… a Pill Bug?
It’s something I usually only see in our Farmland.
Though they aren’t that big.
“Four of them were wandering around this narrow passage. I’ve taken care of them all, so don’t worry!”
Jinsu looked at me and flashed a V-sign with his fingers.
To deal with four Monsters in just 10 seconds.
Reassuring.
- Let us take this passage first.
The direction Kasia pointed was not toward the stairs leading to her room, but the opposite way.
“We’re not going into Eliya?”
- If Monsters have made it down to this basement, there must be even more of them above.
To Kasia, Eliya is a land she has already left, yet it is still her home.
She looked upward once and bit her lip.
I’m not sure if it would help, but I should suggest clearing out the Monsters in Eliya when we return to Earth later.
Come to think of it, this is the direction the Fireflies came from.
I had been curious about what was beyond the passage, but I never expected to go this way.
“Sister, the passage is longer than I thought. I still can’t see the end.”
- We are almost there.
Suyeon stuck close to Kasia’s side.
They seem to have become quite close since Suyeon treated the Elves when they were injured during a Monster Wave.
As we neared the end, the width of the passage widened and the ceiling grew higher.
Just as Kasia said, after walking for about five more minutes, we reached the end of the passage.
But it’s a dead end?
“Is there a secret hidden in this wall?”
Like a true Tank, Minjun stepped forward alone and felt along the wall.
Then, Kasia pointed toward the very top of the wall near the ceiling, which was hard to see because of the darkness.
- We can exit through there.
“There was a passage at that height? That’s where the Fireflies were coming and going.”
“Fireflies? So there are insects like that here too~ I bet they’re super cute and pretty!”
“Uh… I think they were…?”
I hope we meet the Fireflies.
I wonder how Suyeon, who is so full of anticipation, will react.
They looked cute to me, but I wonder if she could still call them cute and pretty after seeing the giant Fireflies.
I had already instructed the group never to attack the Fireflies.
It was to prevent a disaster where they might attack them, thinking they were Monsters.
“Anyway, the exit is quite high. Janghyun, is it possible?”
“Hmm. Even if I set up an Ice Pillar, I don’t think it will reach that far.”
In Minjun’s Party, instead of a mage, there are two melee damage dealers who handle different attributes.
But in a situation like this, Skills that merely added attributes to attacks were not enough.
“Maybe we should recruit a mage.”
Kasia, who had been quietly watching this, stepped forward.
- Hehe. Guiding you is not the only thing I can do.
As Kasia lightly waved her hand, her body floated gently into the air.
Looking around, the rest of the group also began to float.
Except for Minjun.
“Why am I…?”
Minjun did float too. Maybe about ten centimeters off the ground?
- Relax your body. If you entrust yourself to the wind, you will float.
Hearing Kasia’s words, Minjun took a small breath, and his body tilted, floating into the air in a lying position.
“Pfft!”
- You relaxed too much. You really don’t know the meaning of ‘moderation.’
“Captain, pfft! Hahahaha!”
Minjun took another breath.
This time, he must have adjusted well, because Minjun’s body floated in the air while standing upright.
Though his face turned bright red as if it might explode.
Our group floated leisurely through the hole high up in the wall and carefully exited the passage.
“So this is Eliya…”
“It is a beautiful forest, but…”
“I was really looking forward to coming to Eliya. …But there’s a chilling energy in the air?!”
Only the trio of Minjun, Park Janghyeon, and Jinsu, who were visiting Eliya for the first time, shared their impressions.
Only Suyeon, who had been to Eliya briefly before, bit her nails and looked around with anxious eyes.
“It feels different from the Eliya I know. Everyone, be careful.”
- Wait.
I felt something strange, so there was no way Kasia hadn’t noticed.
Kasia closed her eyes and seemed to focus on the surroundings for a moment.
“It’s eerily quiet.”
Following Minjun’s command, the Hunters stood guard until Kasia finished concentrating.
A moment later, Kasia opened her eyes.
- I checked with the spirits, and fortunately, there are no Monsters nearby. However….
“Kasia, if it’s fortunate, it’s fortunate. Why the ‘however’?”
- If we leave this spot even by a little, we will encounter an army of M-monsters…!
Kasia looked around nervously, but not a single Hunter was trembling.
“We are Hunters who catch those kinds of Monsters.”
“That’s right, sister. We aren’t scared at all.”
“How many are there?”
The Hunters of the Minjun Party reassured Kasia, telling her not to worry.
- Hundreds, or perhaps even more.
At Kasia’s words, the Party Members’ expressions stiffened instantly.
Minjun’s eyebrows twitched, and Suyeon took a small breath.
Then Jinsu spoke.
“…That’s quite a lot. Sister, Eliya is a truly terrifying place.”
Elder Crea was right.
To think there were so many Monsters piled up over time.
In the end, we decided to move carefully, avoiding combat with the Monsters as much as possible.
“Then, let’s move.”
We followed sequentially behind Minjun, who had started walking, according to our positions.
- Turn right there.
- Shh! Be quiet from here on!
After entering the forest, we walked carefully, following Kasia’s guidance.
If we wasted our Stamina on unnecessary battles, we might lose later in a truly critical moment due to a lack of it.
Defeat in a Dungeon means someone’s death, so managing Stamina is one of the keys to a successful raid.
Kieeeek-!
“It’s a Monster! Get into formation!”
With Minjun’s shout, Jinsu and Park Janghyeon split to either side of Minjun, while I moved behind Minjun with Kasia and Suyeon.
While being protected by Minjun, the two melee damage dealers would eliminate the Monsters.
We were trying to avoid encountering Monsters, but since they are living creatures that move, we couldn’t avoid them perfectly.
Instead, we repeatedly took them out as quickly as possible and moved on before other Monsters could swarm us after hearing the noise.
“Kasia, how much longer?”
At Minjun’s question, Kasia looked around and folded her fingers, calculating something.
- We only need to go for about ten more minutes.
We still had a way to go, but since we had avoided the most threatening groups of Monsters, no one showed signs of exhaustion.
We just needed to gather plenty of Trnalpria and return.
Just like this, safely.
- We have arrived. This is the place Elder Crea spoke of.
“Just as Elder Crea said, the elevation is definitely low.”
On the day I went to Elysium to ask about Trnalpria, I was able to hear about its habitat from Elder Crea.
- It seems they grow in lowlands like this because the air is thin at high altitudes. I didn’t know they would be gathered in a place like this pit, though.
“Then, let’s head down.”
It looked almost like a crater. It seemed as if a grassy field would unfold if we went deep past the ledge.
“Wait!”
Everyone was about to take a step when they stopped in their tracks at Minjun’s shout, waiting for what he would say next.
“Everyone, check your shoes.”
At Minjun’s command, I checked my shoes without knowing why. Then, I realized why he had told us to check.
“My shoes…!”
“The surface has melted. As if it’s been corroded.”
As their reactions showed, the leather shoes had turned purple and were slowly melting. Even the metal shoes had turned black and were emitting faint wisps of smoke.
“I think it’s poison.”
“Then this isn’t mist, it’s…!”
We just needed to gather the Trnalpria and return, but poison?
At first, I thought it was simply mist filling The Pit. But upon closer inspection, I finally noticed a shallow purple haze clinging to the ground.
So that was the poison. The place where we were standing was higher than the surroundings, so we were less affected by the Poison Mist.
I wasn’t sure if I should call it lucky or a near-miss. If we had just gone down into The Pit… the thought alone was horrifying.
“Then, how do we get past this?”
Then Minjun took a torch and shone it on the mist. The mist moved sluggishly away from the torch as if it were alive.
“Captain, it seems to hate fire.”
“Then can you burn it away with your flames?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
When you think of flames, you think of Jinsu, and when you think of Jinsu, you think of flames.
As Jinsu ignited strong flames on his sword, the surroundings instantly brightened even though we were holding torches.
“Haap!”
With a shout, Jinsu swung his sword powerfully in a horizontal arc.
Sswaaaek-
Then, along with a flashing light, the purple Poison Mist appeared to split apart.
I had seen that technique during the battle with Yeongjin Jeon. It was a powerful Skill that had severed that guy’s arm from a distance.
“Hmm. It’s not working.”
It seemed effective at first, but as Jinsu said, it failed. The Poison Mist split, but after a burst of flames, it fizzled out with a crackling sound.
“Kasia, do you think you can clear this mist with the Spirit of Wind?”
- I understand.
At my request, Kasia concentrated and whispered softly.
- O Spirit of Wind that exists everywhere. Create a powerful gust and blow this harmful mist far away!
As soon as Kasia finished her incantation, the surrounding trees began to shake violently, shedding their leaves. Those leaves gathered and swept through The Pit on the wind.
“Did it work this time?”
The wind stopped. I lowered my arm, which had been shielding my eyes from the strong wind, but the purple Poison Mist was still there. To remain unchanged even after such a powerful wind.
“It seems to have scattered a bit…?”
“Captain, I saw it. It seemed to scatter slightly on the surface, but then it pulled back together.”
“It’s less effective than I thought.”
If it filled The Pit, it means it’s heavier than air. I don’t know how heavy it is, but to not scatter even in a gale.
“What should we do…”
To be in a situation where the goal is right before our eyes, yet we are helpless.
Just then, I heard Pa-rongee’s voice for the first time in a while.
(Looks delicious, piyu-piyu…)
“Huh? What looks delicious… Wait! Pa-rongee! No! That’s poison!”
Pa-rongee didn’t seem to have any intention of waiting for an answer and jumped down to the ground. It was a side of him I hadn’t seen since he was born.
He’s a fellow who never leaves my shoulder, or at the very least, Kasia’s shoulder.
(Hmph! Whew. Hmph! Whew.)
“??”
The little guy, who had jumped down confidently, was breathing hard with his belly bulging. In my haste, I reached out to pick him up, but I stopped when I noticed what was happening around him.
The Poison Mist was gradually disappearing, and transparent air was filling its place.