Bab 4
Gedebuk.
Kepalanya terjatuh ke bahu Cha Si-hyeon.
“…Apa-apaan?”
Cha Si-hyeon yang secara refleks menangkap tubuh yang terjatuh itu, berkedip kebingungan.
Di antara helaian rambut panjang yang acak-acakan, wajah pucat terlihat. Cha Si-hyeon menatap kelopak mata Yoo Yi-joo yang tertutup rapat.
Dilihat dari pernapasannya yang teratur…
‘Apakah dia sedang tidur sekarang?’
Dia tertidur.
Tawa kering keluar dari sela-sela gigi Cha Si-hyeon.
Spesies monster kelas 7, [Sand Python].
Meskipun hampir cukup lemah untuk menjadi kelas 8, ia menerima peringkat kelas 7 karena kemampuannya yang menjengkelkan untuk membuat orang tertidur saat melakukan kontak mata.
Ular Piton Pasir sebelumnya berukuran cukup besar, tetapi ia merupakan monster yang sering kamu temui di ruang bawah tanah.
Berkat itu, sebagian besar pemburu berpangkat tinggi memiliki kekebalan dasar terhadapnya.
Dengan kata lain, lebih sulit bagi pemburu untuk tertidur hanya dari kontak mata singkat seperti ini. Ini berarti…
“Dia lemah, bukan?”
“Itu benar.”
Dia sungguh lemah.
Baek Doha dengan ringan menyetujui.
Tingkat C bukanlah tingkatan yang lemah, namun hal itu bergantung pada keterampilan individu dan kekuatan sihir.
Bahkan Cha Si-hyeon telah menunjukkan perhatiannya kepada Yoo Yi-joo, yang terlihat tidak memiliki kekuatan magis hanya dari penampilannya.
‘Saya sengaja menusuk lehernya untuk membunuhnya.’
[Ular Piton Pasir] aslinya mengeluarkan racun ketika dibunuh tanpa menusuk lehernya.
Biasanya, Cha Si-hyeon yang kebal terhadap racun akan membunuhnya dengan gegabah, tetapi dia menusuk lehernya karena mempertimbangkan Yoo Yi-joo yang merupakan peringkat C.
Tetapi Yoo Yi-joo justru meninggal karena efek tidur singkat itu, bukan karena racun, sehingga dia pun merasa terkejut.
‘Agar bisa terpengaruh dalam waktu sesingkat itu, betapa lemahnya dia.’
Dipengaruhi oleh spesies monster tingkat 7 berarti dia sangat lemah, bahkan di antara peringkat C.
Cha Si-hyeon menatap Yoo Yi-joo yang sedang tidur dengan mata kesal, lalu mengangkat kepalanya saat mendengar suara gerakan.
“Hyung-nim, kamu mau pergi ke mana?”
Lim Yuchan, yang mulai berjalan, berhenti.
“Untuk mengintai.”
Jawaban sederhana tanpa subjek.
Jika orang lain, mereka mungkin bertanya lagi, tetapi Cha Si-hyeon langsung mengerti.
Pernyataan itu berarti dia akan mencari-cari pintu keluar penjara bawah tanah itu atau petunjuk apa pun tentangnya.
Saat Cha Si-hyeon mengangguk, Lim Yuchan melompat dan menendang tanah.
Pasir tempatnya menendang tenggelam, dan mantel panjangnya berkibar.
Kemudian Baek Doha juga mulai berjalan.
“Aku juga akan pergi.”
“Apa?”
“Semakin banyak orang yang mengikuti, semakin baik.”
“Ya, baiklah, tapi bagaimana dengan dia?”
Cha Si-hyeon menunjuk tubuh Yoo Yi-joo yang dipegangnya dengan canggung.
“Biarkan saja dia tetap hidup. Dia mungkin berguna nanti.”
“Tapi mengapa aku harus merawatnya?”
Baek Doha tersenyum melihat wajah Cha Si-hyeon yang tidak percaya.
“Hei, tunggu sebentar!”
Cha Si-hyeon mengulurkan tangannya ke arah senyuman itu, tetapi ujung jarinya hanya menyentuh udara kosong.
Watching the two disappear in the blink of an eye, Cha Si-hyeon ruffled his hair.
‘They always dump the annoying stuff on me.’
A sigh escaped his lips. To think he had to babysit someone weak enough to be affected by a 7th-grade monster species.
“Well…”
Cha Si-hyeon looked around and finished his thought.
‘I guess I can just throw her anywhere?’
My eyes slowly opened.
The first thing that came into view was the pitch-black night sky.
‘Stars…’
Was it just a feeling? It looked similar to the view from the bench in my neighborhood.
‘Ah, could it be I’ve returned?’
It seemed like I had passed out drunk on a bench somewhere.
No wonder I had such a bizarre dream!
Convinced, I sat up abruptly.
[SYSTEM] Status effect ‘Sleep’ caused by 7th-grade monster species [Sand Python] has been removed.
[SYSTEM] All accumulated fatigue has been recovered.
A blue window blocked my view.
‘Right, it was too vivid to be a dream.’
Feeling wide awake, I got up.
It was the same scenery I saw just before falling asleep.
The vast sea, the gloomy forest, the sand where the monster appeared.
‘But…’
Suddenly feeling something was amiss, I looked around and realized one thing.
The S-ranks were gone.
‘Where did they go?’
The voices of those three who had been so noisy were nowhere to be heard.
In the silence that was peaceful to the point of being a bit scary, I couldn’t see even a shadow no matter how I looked around.
‘Did they abandon me?’
It was hard to be certain since I had made a promise with Baek Doha.
They might have gone to scout the dungeon or simply abandoned me, probably one of the two.
I tapped my lips out of habit.
If so, I had two options.
“Should I wait here, or look for them myself?”
[Skill ‘Extraordinary Brain (E)’ has been activated.]
[Due to low fatigue, the efficiency of skill ‘Extraordinary Brain (E)’ has increased.]
The deliberation didn’t take long.
I started walking towards the forest.
“It’s definitely not because I’m scared to be alone.”
I muttered to myself, nodding, words that no one could hear.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.
Not long after entering the forest, I encountered what I least wanted to meet.
‘No way…’
Growl.
Two white eyes gleaming even in the darkness, huge teeth, boulder-like muscular shoulders.
Seeing the brown fur with spots, I frowned.
‘…A hyena?’
It seemed a bit off to be a normal beast, as it had no pupils. Then, was this a monster?
Having only seen the [Sand Python], I couldn’t distinguish monsters well.
In the midst of confusion, I suddenly remembered the skill I had. If I could use this skill not just on people but also on monsters…
[SYSTEM] Skill ‘Peek (S)’ is being used!
[SYSTEM] Using ‘Peek (S)’ on monsters consumes a large amount of mana. Do you want to cancel the skill?
‘What?’
An unexpected message popped up. I couldn’t afford to use my already scarce mana here.
‘Nothing ever goes easy, does it?’
I forcefully hit the cancel button.
It’s a monster anyway, right?
Behind the hyena I thought was alone, two more of the same size came out, sauntering.
‘Damn it.’
At that moment, I hesitated,
Crack, I stepped on a branch.
The sound echoed clearly in the quiet forest.
‘I’m screwed.’
With a chill running down my spine, I looked up. I met the terrifyingly gleaming white eyes in the darkness. At that moment, the creature that had been on guard leaped up with a fierce sound.
The only thing I could do now was grit my teeth and run.
Huff, gasp!
The sound of breathing filled the dungeon.
I ran like mad, despite my breath rising to the tip of my chin.
I had no choice.
Behind me, huge hyenas were chasing me!
Who would have thought I’d be chased by hyenas, not even loan sharks? Even I found this situation absurd.
Of course, I had a weapon called a mana gun.
The real problem was…
‘Why are they chasing me in a pack!’
The fact that there wasn’t just one, but six of them.
The snake that popped out of the sand was at least big enough to aim at easily.
These are smaller than the snake but quick and agile.
In other words, not only could I not guarantee accuracy, but it was obvious I’d be torn apart by those things before I could even shoot.
‘Don’t I have any attack skills?! Hey, profile!’
I desperately called out, thinking I might have missed an attack skill.
[SYSTEM] Opening profile.
[Name: Yoo Yi-joo
Title: None
Rank: F
Trait: Relentless Growth (-)
Skills: What’s Yours is Mine (-), Peek (S), Extraordinary Brain (E)]
Right, nothing’s changed.
As I ran, cursing internally a thousand times, suddenly one word caught my eye.
‘What’s Yours is Mine?’
The glowing letters inside the blue window caught my attention.
It was a skill I hadn’t noticed due to the chaos.
Just from the name, it didn’t seem as impressive as the skills of those cool S-rank hunters.
[SYSTEM] Do you want to check the information for skill ‘What’s Yours is Mine (-)’? (Y/N)
Just then, a system window popped up in mid-air. With the mindset of at least checking it out, I pressed ‘YES’.
To be honest, if it’s not an attack skill, it won’t be helpful right now…
[SYSTEM] Checking information for skill ‘What’s Yours is Mine (-)’
▸What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is mine.
Take something from your desired target and make it yours. Even skills. (However, you must know the exact name of the skill you want to steal.) (Skill duration: 15 minutes)
…Wait.
‘Steal?’
The target’s skill? For 15 minutes?
For a moment, my mind went blank. Not believing it, I read it again from the beginning.
Even while panting with breath rising to my chin, I read it over and over.
I came to my senses when I heard the sound of water flowing from across.
I don’t know how long I had been running, but when I looked up, a lake filled my view.
‘Ah, damn it.’
Right, it was a dead end.
Feeling cold sweat running down my spine, I looked back.
Three muscular hyenas were slowly stepping towards me.
Now, I couldn’t even run away.
I immediately grabbed my gun.
[Unique skill ‘What’s Yours is Mine (-)’ is activated.]
[Successfully stole skill ‘Pillar of Fire (A)’ from target ‘Lim Yuchan (S)’!]
It’s now or never.
