episode_0157

Boom, boom…

Footsteps continued to echo. Each boom caused the cave to tremble in response; the giant’s crude footsteps were heavy.

Lee Seo and I hid deep inside the cave, slowly catching our breath.

Judging by the occasional thunderous roars, it seemed Cheon Soyul was likely the main force currently facing the giant.

However, neither Lee Seo’s condition nor mine was very good for helping him right now.

I still had the lingering effects of being caught in a landslide, and Lee Seo was considerably exhausted from fighting monsters after being separated from her other teammates.

Awakened Ones don’t have infinite stamina. Being this exhausted, we couldn’t help but take time to recover.

Crackle, crackle. On the collected firewood, I created a bonfire by snapping my fingers.

Lee Seo and I sat facing each other, basking in the flames with our whole bodies.

As I said, I had cold resistance, but Lee Seo didn’t. If I didn’t make a fire like this, it would be difficult to endure the night’s cold.

To conserve our strength, we were both conserving our words.

“…That’s amazing.”

Perhaps the excessive silence was too difficult to bear. Lee Seo cleared her throat with a slightly embarrassed expression, breaking the silence.

“I know that most mages specialize in only one type of magic. Our Captain is like that, and so are the other two Archmages. Lightning and Ice.”

Lee Seo, who was referring to Cheon Sehee and Seol Hayeon while folding two fingers, cast her gaze at me as if looking at a very unusual fellow.

“Wasn’t Lee Hyunjin an ice mage?”

“…Well, yes?”

She asked, and I replied with an awkward voice.

I was certainly an ice mage.

“Then… may I ask how this flame came to be?”

But now, I was a very unique and gorgeous mage, with lightning and flame to boot.

Lee Seo asked carefully, and I scratched the back of my head with an uncomfortable laugh.

It seemed Ryu Seeun hadn’t revealed anything about my unique trait. I was grateful that this provocative(?) unique trait wasn’t widely known, as I didn’t want it to be.

Ahem.

Still, it wasn’t something I couldn’t talk about at all, so I awkwardly cleared my throat and began to speak. Since we were trapped in a mountain cave anyway, it might be good to use it as small talk.

“Actually, my unique trait is…”

I slowly explained the ‘ability to copy powers through sexual intercourse’, a trait that had given me complex feelings in many ways since childhood.

I didn’t bring up the story with Hong Yeonhwa unnecessarily, but merely explaining the trait would be enough for her to understand the cause and effect.

“…Huh.”

As expected, with a look as if she had heard the most absurd story in the world, Lee Seo glared at me as if I were a lecher.

“Does that mean, in the end… you’ve also been intimate with a flame-type mage? Isn’t our young lady and your fiancée enough?”

“Haha.”

I tried not to answer directly and smooth things over with a laugh, but it had no significant effect. Lee Seo’s expression, as she looked at me, had already turned utterly disillusioned.

“Seriously… I don’t know how you can live like that and still have women around you. How can someone be so… easy?”

“…I guess I shouldn’t say it’s a privilege of capable men, right?”

“People call men like that enemies of women.”

At my jokingly retorted words, Lee Seo chuckled and retorted back at me.

I certainly had no words to refute that.

Still, it was clear the atmosphere had eased up a bit. Lee Seo relaxed further, leaning against the stone wall in a comfortable posture. She undid one of her shirt’s top buttons to allow air to flow, and asked me.

“What are you going to do now? Even if we spend tonight in this cave… we can’t just leave that giant alone indefinitely, can we?”

“…Right.”

I fully agreed with that. Who knew what might happen if we left a creature that looked like an S-class monster by all accounts? Rather than just waiting for reinforcements from Seoul, it would be better to deal with it with our full strength here. After all, the people gathered here in Cheorwon aren’t exactly weak, are they?

Starting with Ryu Jinseong, who is an Archmage even if he separated his realm, as well as me, Cheon Soyul who has grown close to special A-class, and Ryu Seeun, who will soon inherit the name of Black Heaven. I heard there were about three or four A-class Awakened Ones among the Border Defense Corps. Lee Seo, right in front of me, was one such person.

Having finished my calculations, I narrowed my eyes sharply and spoke.

“Once night passes, let’s first move towards where the giant is. We’ll probably be able to rendezvous with the others in that vicinity. And then.”

I added briefly, summoning frozen lightning onto my palm. The strongest and greatest single fusion magic I could use right now: Ice Lightning.

My voice sank even colder.

“Let’s subjugate that giant. It shouldn’t be impossible if we focus our full strength at once.”

“…”

At my decisive declaration, Lee Seo swallowed dryly. The slight bob of her throat caught my eye.

I chuckled lightly, and casually diffused the atmosphere that had been held until just now.

“Well, it’s a blessing in disguise that the gate appeared in the middle of the mountain range. If a wave had erupted in a city or a densely populated residential area, the damage would have been immense.”

“…That’s true.”

Lee Seo also smiled weakly and nodded. I flicked my fingers again, adding more embers to the firewood.

“Mmm…”

Along with the quiet crackling of the burning firewood, Lee Seo was the first to stretch.

“Should we get some sleep soon? Staying up all night due to excessive tension will only… not help us move tomorrow.”

“Then I’ll take the first watch.”

I nodded as if I had been waiting, and replied. Compared to Lee Seo, who had been actively moving around fighting wild dogs, I, who had been trapped in ice, was certainly in better physical condition.

Lee Seo seemed to understand my consideration as well, and responded with a wry smile.

“Two hours should be enough. No, if you get tired, feel free to wake me up right away, so don’t doze off for no reason.”

“Don’t worry.”

I gestured to the ground with my eyes, indicating she should lie down soon. Lee Seo, quickly adopting a languid expression, slowly settled into position.

“…Then I’ll get some sleep first.”

“Alright.”

“Don’t pounce on me when I’m asleep.”

“Alright, alright… huh?”

I, who had unthinkingly become a ‘yes-man’, suddenly felt something amiss and raised my head. Lee Seo, who had just laid down as if to fall asleep, gave me a faint eye-smile with half-opened eyes.

“If you really can’t endure your urges, I can let you touch my chest, at least.”

“…”

“Want me to take it off?”

“Just go to sleep already…”

Lee Seo chuckled and closed her eyes again. As I let out a hollow laugh, wondering what was so amusing, her breathing soon became even, and the surroundings quieted down.

I briefly glanced sideways at her alluring chest, then returned my gaze.

“…”

Should I sing the national anthem or something?

*****

“I’ll lie down now.”

“Yawn… Ah, yes. Lie down comfortably.”

Lee Seo stretched her arms upwards, then handed her military uniform top to Lee Hyunjin, who was preparing to sleep.

“It’s colder here than I thought. Cover yourself with this while you sleep.”

“…”

At this gift that wasn’t quite a gift, Lee Hyunjin stiffened slightly.

He certainly had cold resistance, but—.

“…I’ll gratefully accept it.”

He didn’t bother to refuse. Embracing the clothing, which held a woman’s warmth, with a comfortable expression, Lee Hyunjin lay down on the ground.

At Lee Hyunjin’s obvious reaction, Lee Seo tossed out a remark with a mischievous smile.

“You can smell it, you know.”

“…No thanks.”

Lee Hyunjin replied immediately. In reality, he was deceiving himself into thinking he had replied immediately, while erasing the memory of his momentary hesitation from his mind.

Anyway, Lee Hyunjin closed his eyes, and likewise, quickly fell asleep.

Lee Seo, who had been watching Lee Hyunjin with a silly smile, began to relax her body again.

Was it because she had been fighting monsters constantly before entering this cave? She felt a considerable amount of fatigue accumulated throughout her body.

“…Ugh.”

What simultaneously overcame her was the sleep demon, which she couldn’t easily ignore.

Though she hadn’t said it, short periods of sleep hadn’t been enough for her to recover from all her fatigue.

Blink, blink. Lee Seo’s eyelids kept fluttering.

‘…This shouldn’t be happening.’

Even as she had a ‘Oh no’ feeling, there was a moment when she truly dozed off for just a moment.

[…]

One eye of the giant blocked the cave entrance.