episode_0178

She chewed her lower lip in the raging snowstorm.

The emotions that surge in my heart are anger and regret.

‘The preparation was inadequate.’

The insufficiency in the preparation stage came as an even more painful regret.

If only I had packed more winter gear and had more information about the harsh winter forest.

At the end of her gaze, she saw Elena leaning against her body with her head hanging down.

The fairly deep cut on his side was a sign of insufficient preparation.

It was heartbreaking more than anything to leave such a terrible wound on the stomach of a friend I had barely made.

‘It would have been better if I had been hurt… .’

She shook her head.

‘No, no.’

It was just a meaningless assumption.

Even if he had been injured instead, he would have been reduced to a burden holding onto her ankles, so it wouldn’t have been much different from the current situation.

The weather in the dungeon she entered with a light heart far exceeded her expectations.

The cold wave that seemed to seep into my bones made me cringe, the fiercely swirling snowstorm disturbed my vision, and the accumulated snow rose up to my ankles, impeding smooth movement.

Add to that the ice troll’s pure white body, and it was truly a total mess.

They had an extremely difficult time as they couldn’t tell whether what was flying in front of them was snow or an ice troll.

Another problem occurred here.

‘I let my guard down.’

Body temperature dropping rapidly and stamina slowly drying out.

The urgency created by insufficient preparation led her to make the wrong decision.

Let’s put off conquering the dungeon and eliminate the explorers who came here first.

So the two people used the thick trees as cover and succeeded in finding the searcher.

and… , defeated.

‘It was too strong.’

The power of the explorers encountered here was so powerful that it was on a different level than before.

It was not an opponent that could not be defeated.

If it’s a joint attack with Elena, it may take some time, but you can be sure of victory.

While they were calmly leading the attack and gaining victory, a problem that had been put off came to the two of them.

The ice trolls, attracted by the noise caused by the long battle, made a surprise attack.

Explorers in front, seven ice trolls in the back.

Although he struggled in a difficult situation, he was unable to overcome the numerical inferiority and gave up Elena’s side in the coming crisis.

Seeing that blood was flowing from a wound deeper than expected, she used all the magical energy in her body to create a large amount of steam by throwing the flame magic onto the snow-covered ground.

And in the meantime, he ran away with Elena on his back and arrived at this very place, the base of a large tree.

I squeezed myself into that empty space and blocked the entrance.

Thanks to this, I was able to evade the chase and protect myself from the cold to some extent… .

‘I can’t just stay here forever.’

There are two cases in which a rescue team is dispatched to a dungeon.

This occurs when an emergency rescue signal is sent or when the average attack time exceeds three times.

Among them, the former became unusable.

In order to send an emergency rescue signal, hunters need a disposable magic tool commonly called a signal flare, but it seems to have broken during the battle and is completely useless.

In the end, all that’s left is to wait for three times the average attack time to pass… .

‘If I do that, Elena might die.’

The wound from the ice pick held by the ice troll is deeper than expected.

Although he managed to stop the bleeding, he had already lost a lot of blood.

If time continues like this, there is a high possibility of death from hypothermia or excessive bleeding.

“ha… .”

The regret that spewed out along with the white breath made her eyes blush.

She looked at Elena with two bright eyes and parted her quivering lips.

“I’m sorry, Elena… .”

Everything happened because of me.

If he hadn’t dragged her into his very personal business of eliminating the seekers, he would have been the only one who would have gone through this situation.

It was around the time when a certain amount of magical energy was filled in the empty circuit that she raised her head with eyes filled with determination, as she laid her head on her knees hugged with both arms and pondered regrets.

“like this… , I can’t die.”

Even if he doesn’t know it himself, he has to save Elena’s life.

You can’t engrave your ugly friend’s greed as her signature.

After carefully turning Elena, who was leaning on my shoulder, to the side, she exited the stump.

‘I do not have time.’

The lips that have turned pale and the cold body that continues to tremble remind us that there is not much time left.

You can’t send a signal, and you can’t wait for a rescue team to arrive.

Then there is only one way left.

All you have to do is finish the dungeon you had been putting off and escape on your own.

‘Can I do it?’

A cold body, lost stamina and magical power lapping on the floor.

There were even small cuts and bruises here and there.

Her poor physical condition amplified her anxiety.

She tapped her cheek vigorously to calm the anxiety creeping through her body.

It is something that must be done before questioning whether or not it can be done.

Only then will my friend be able to survive.

“Whoa… !”

She shook off all her tension and anxiety in one breath and ran through the snow.

Wow!

After cleanly cutting off the waist of an ice troll that suddenly appeared in the swirling snow, the only thing that came to mind was the origin of swordsmanship.

His beautiful and majestic swordsmanship, glimpsed behind his huge back, is constantly replayed.

And one by one, I melt them into my sword.

‘Just like shaking it off more gently here and then harder!’

The sharp sense of crisis, as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff that she had never experienced before in her life, made her growth more and more steep.

My senses were at their peak and I was no longer nervous about the appearance of the ice troll.

Because I was able to detect his perfect surprise attack faster than that.

“haha… !”

dump!

After slaying the last remaining ice troll, she faced the seeker again.

The safety room is located behind him.

In other words, you can only leave this dungeon by killing the explorer.

“Ugh… !”

She launches herself right away.

It took quite a while to kill all the ice trolls that were constantly attacking me.

I had to kill the searcher as quickly as possible and open the door to the safety room.

A series of sharp attacks were launched that were incomparably sharper than before.

But none of them could harm the explorer’s body.

“haha… !”

This was because the physical strength and magical power that had fallen to the ground could not support the rapidly developed technology.

From childhood to now.

Her father, who covered his body with metal and ran dozens of kilometers every day, said.

‘Skills that are not supported by physical strength are nothing but floundering.’

Only then did she painfully realize what those words meant.

“Haha, haha!”

The technology that took her to the next level actually held her back.

As she continued to show this, her stamina was depleted and she finally fell to her knees.

dump!

The sword falls from my loosened grip, and my bent knees roll around in the snow.

Soon, even his upper body collapsed on the cold snow.

‘I have to wake up… .’

The sad will is spinning like a treadmill in my heart.

A searcher approaches through the blurred, slanted vision.

Is it to deliver the final blow?

‘I’m sorry, Elena… .’

I wanted to save you somehow.

The feeling of weakness crawling over my body makes me feel like tears are pouring down my face.

The two words ‘what if’ are deeply embedded in her head and heart.

‘If I had learned the sword from my father… , Was it different?’

I wish I had received my father’s teachings directly, rather than secretly learning from behind my back.

If each of my shortcomings had been pointed out by a kind voice, and my poor posture corrected with a gentle touch… , I think I could have easily defeated the explorer in front of me.

Floating in a vain delusion, the light in my eyes is gradually fading due to the approaching death.

Kwaaang-!

Suddenly, a loud noise came from right in front of her, forcing her to stop her mind as it was moving away.

What I could see beyond my hazy vision was the back of a man standing holding a sword.

It looks infinitely spacious and reliable, but it also seems to have a familiar warmth.

His sword swings lightly at the seeker who was pushed away upon his appearance and then lunged at him again.

She felt a strong sense of déjà vu and muttered in a low voice.

“dad… ?”

* * *

The entrance to the dungeon was blocked.

“Oh, well, I can’t!”

It was the manager who blocked my path materially, but what truly blocked me was not him, but the law.

The extremely heavy clause that no one can enter the dungeon until an emergency rescue signal or three times the average attack time has passed stands like a solid wall.

But I can’t stop either.

“I have a really bad feeling… .”

As I get closer to the dungeon, an ominous feeling gnaws at my head.

I am filled with the conviction that something bad is happening inside me.

Seoyeon Son and Elena.

I can’t let these two people die.

If the law stands in the way of saving life… , I was about to make a decision to break it.

“All responsibility will be taken by Director Kim Seong-tae of the Association’s General Affairs Department.”

“Second, General Affairs Department… ?!”

“That’s right. So come on out. “If something bad happens to the party that entered earlier, neither you nor I will be safe.”

“Hi!”

The manager, who is obsessed with bad thoughts, hurriedly clears the way that was blocking the path.

“Mr. Dojin? You may enter now.”

Looking at her, who paved the way by selling the name of her superior, I am filled with admiration.

“Mr. Jian is really… .”

I don’t think so, but I’m saying it’s quite reckless.

As I trail off, Yoon Ji-an tilts his head and asks.

“really… , What’s next?”

I whispered into her ear.

“It’s sexy.”

“hot… !”

I quickly pass by her blushing face while holding her ear.

“I’ll be back soon, I’m waiting for you.”

With those words, I immediately place my hand on the crack and enter the dungeon.

[You have entered the frigid forest.]

As soon as I check the information message, the biting cold penetrates my entire body.

He converted some of his magical power into fire-attribute magical energy and wrapped it around his body, then began to walk quickly through the forest.

Every time I walk, the snow-covered corpse of an ice troll catches my eye.

“When I see snow piled up… “It looks like he died not long ago.”

That means someone passed by here just a moment ago.

I walk a little faster, using the scattered corpses as a guidepost.

How long did it take to walk like that?

Kaaaang!

The violent sound of metal clashing against each other penetrated my ears without mercy.

“It’s over there.”

I ran straight in the direction of the sound.

When I finally arrived at the source of the sound, I saw the fallen Seo-yeon and a searcher approaching the guy.

As soon as I saw it, I was filled with indescribable anger.

Why, there is such a thing?

The feeling I had when my younger brother, who I constantly tease and hit, went out and came back getting beaten up by someone else.

Even though I am a daughter who only knows her father, I am the only one who can curse and criticize her.

I immediately jumped up and kicked the side of the guy who was raising the great sword, sending him flying.

Pow!

The guy who stumbled backwards lunged again with an unpleasant expression on his face.

“Kaaak!”

A nimble movement that was completely different from the explorers he had faced earlier.

But that’s it.

You can’t escape my eyes even if it’s just that fast.

Especially avoiding my sword.

Suddenly!

Break the distance between the approaching guy and swing your sword to cleanly cut off his head.

Tuk!

Even though I see my neck falling into the snow and rolling around several times, I don’t feel any better.

While I was being overcome by the urge to grind the corpse of the person who was gradually disappearing into powder with my own hands.

“dad… ?”

“… … .”

A low muttering came from behind me and I poured a bowl of cold water on my heated head.