The Worm King was swift, sensitive, and troublesome.
Peudeudeuk!
The moment its teeth collided with the sword, the Worm King flapped its wings. As the air vibrated, insect-type monsters summoned by it instantly covered Sa-yoon’s face, biting into his flesh. Some even attempted to invade his body through openings like the nose, mouth, and ears.
Hweeik!
Sa-yoon shook them off with a sweep of his arm and strongly activated his frost skill. A chill that would make even mediocre monsters hesitate to take flight swallowed and froze the air.
Hudeuduk, ttuduk.
Most of the insects fell, unable to function, and only the most tenacious ones remained on Sa-yoon. They struggled with all their might to tear at his flesh.
Ignoring them, Sa-yoon twisted his sword, ravaging the Worm King’s mouth. The twisted blade passed between its teeth, shredding the soft mucous membrane.
―Kieeeeek!
The Worm King had suffered more damage in this exchange. It retreated in an instant with a scream. It was a speed that would have been difficult to track with the naked eye if one weren’t careful. Sa-yoon crushed the insects still clinging to his face in his hand, then swung Spring’s Dawn in a wide arc.
As he swung the frost-coated sword, a chilling beam shot towards the Worm King.
Chaeng!
The Worm King twisted its body, deflecting the beam with its sharp stinger. Sa-yoon swung again without concern, and it quickly deflected that too. It was an astonishing display of reflexes.
Kang, kagang! Collision after collision followed. As the battle of endurance and energy consumption continued without either side giving an inch, the Worm King changed its tactics.
Realizing this wouldn’t work, it flew up as high as it could in the low-ceilinged room and plunged down like a bee. It opened its mouth and spewed out hundreds of insects. The sound of their wings filled the space.
Sa-yoon reacted nimbly to the noise interfering with the battle. He cut down the incoming insects so quickly that afterimages were left behind.
Narrowing his eyes, Sa-yoon spotted and cut down all the insects attacking him, then threw the sword he was holding into the air as the Worm King suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Kwaaang!
What followed was a collision.
His frost-coated hand grabbed the Worm King’s plunging face, and the momentum of the Worm King’s body pushed Sa-yoon back. Deudeuduk, Sa-yoon’s feet slid backwards. The creature, caught in his firm grip, screamed and twisted its head.
Deopsok!
In a split second, the Worm King succeeded in counterattacking. It bit Sa-yoon’s hand and shook it violently. A prolonged standoff ensued between the creature trying desperately to tear off the hand and Sa-yoon attempting to freeze the entire giant monster solid.
―Kieeeeek!
The Worm King let out an irritated cry. It tried several times to aim its abdomen at Sa-yoon to sting him, but each time, Sa-yoon kicked it away, preventing it from attacking as it wished.
The Worm King’s face, still in Sa-yoon’s grip, gradually froze. Wudeuduk! Just as the sound of one of Sa-yoon’s hands breaking in the Worm King’s mouth was heard.
Sswaeeek!
Spring’s Dawn, which Sa-yoon had initially thrown, flew to the farthest point from the Worm King, then changed direction in response to the ‘Formless Dagger’ skill. The sword, which had torn through space with a vicious sound, pierced the Worm King’s chest.
―Kiyaak!
The creature thrown its head back, caught off guard. Not missing this momentary opening, Sa-yoon pulled his bitten hand free and grasped the sword that had penetrated the creature’s body. Some fingers on that hand were already broken. At this point, gripping the sharpened blade couldn’t make it much worse.
Ignoring the blade digging into his hand, he gripped the sword and pulled it upwards. Jiiiiik! With a tough sound, the Worm King’s muscles tore.
―Kueeeeek!
The Worm King thrashed violently. Sa-yoon, holding the creature in place with his free hand, raised one foot.
Ppeoek!
Twisting his waist slightly, he struck its head, and with a dull sound, the Worm King’s head turned. Sa-yoon’s physical assault didn’t stop there. Once again holding the Worm King in place with all his might, Sa-yoon kicked its head with a spin.
―Kiik!
Finally, the Worm King’s head separated from its body. The severed area began to bubble. Like most dungeon bosses, the Worm King had exceptional regenerative abilities. If left alone, its head would regenerate in no time, necessitating a second round of battle. So Sa-yoon called Spring’s Dawn back to his hand.
Spring’s Dawn, having exited the Worm King’s body, flew towards Sa-yoon. Catching its handle, Sa-yoon plunged the sword into the severed area. Even with its head separated, the body, still alive through its nerves, struggled and tried to escape from the sword. Perhaps because it was facing death, its strength was formidable.
I didn’t want to use this in a cave, but…!
Simply stabbing it with the sword wasn’t enough. To render it completely incapacitated, Sa-yoon clicked his tongue and quickly changed weapons. Spring’s Dawn went into his inventory, and a dagger appeared in his hand. Without a moment’s hesitation, Sa-yoon thrust the dagger into the Worm King’s wound.
“Heris’s Repentance.”
At the quietly uttered activation words, a radiance enveloped Sa-yoon.
Kwaaaaaang!
An explosive sound engulfed the dungeon boss’s room.
“Kugh!”
Sa-yoon, too, was caught in the explosion’s aftermath and blown backward. Spinning once in the air, he landed safely and surveyed the surroundings after the dust cloud cleared. The Worm King’s remains were scattered everywhere. The lack of even the slightest twitch suggested that using Heris’s dagger earlier would have been the right answer.
<You have cleared the high-level dungeon ‘The Worm King’s Burrow’!>
A blue system window appeared, and the dungeon boss kill count on the clear condition window increased by one. The neatly closed door opened, and Geon-joo peeked his head through the gap, surveying the room.
His appearance reminded Sa-yoon of both a meerkat and a raccoon. Sa-yoon walked towards the jewel box placed where the Worm King had been sitting. Realizing the battle was over, Geon-joo quickly moved behind Sa-yoon. Noticing Geon-joo’s cautious look, as if wondering if something was still left, Sa-yoon lightly tapped Geon-joo’s head with the jewel box he was holding.
“It’s over, pretty boy. Let’s go.”
“Is it over already?”
It doesn’t seem like it even took 10 minutes. Geon-joo added quietly. Sa-yoon clicked his tongue at Geon-joo, who still couldn’t gauge his level even after seeing all that.
“If it takes 10 minutes to defeat the Worm King, you can’t be S-rank.”
If you can’t even do that, you might as well go die. It’d be too embarrassing to live.
Geon-joo lightly ignored the acerbic words he had now grown accustomed to.
“Looking at the clear condition window, only the boss kill count went up. So we haven’t discovered a dungeon yet, right?”
“Yeah. We need to fill the boss kill count anyway, so it doesn’t matter much if we didn’t discover one. We’ll have to enter at least two more dungeons, so manage your stamina well.”
“Is that it then?”
“Yeah. It looks like we’ll be out in two days at most… Are you that happy about it?”
As soon as Sa-yoon mentioned leaving, Geon-joo’s expression brightened. Seeing him smile warmly, which was rare, Sa-yoon asked incredulously, to which Geon-joo replied, asking if he shouldn’t be happy. Sa-yoon placed the jewel box on his shoulder and tilted his head to the side.
“Once we’re out of here, we won’t be able to be alone together anymore.”
“That’s the best part.”
Oh, really now.
Look at him answering without a moment’s hesitation. As if he were an automatic answering machine, he replied immediately. Sa-yoon tilted his head a bit more and hummed in a low voice. His dark blue eyes moved from Geon-joo to the jewel box resting on his shoulder.
“Looks like our pretty boy doesn’t want any items.”
“Items?”
Kkadak. Instead of answering, Sa-yoon shook the jewel box. Geon-joo’s eyes widened for a brief moment.
“…Were you planning to give that to me?”
“My answer might change depending on your response.”
“……”
Originally, he had planned to just give it to him, but Han Geon-joo’s attitude made him change his mind. Being indulged in everything made him fearless and unappreciative. Deciding to exact a price this time, Sa-yoon watched as Geon-joo looked back and forth between him and the jewel box. Ssiik, the corners of Sa-yoon’s mouth turned up.
After a long pause, Geon-joo finally let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“What do you want?”
“That’s for you to figure out. Don’t try to get something for nothing.”
“Can’t you just tell me…”
His grumbling continued in a small voice. Pretending not to hear, Sa-yoon picked at his ear while Geon-joo seemed lost in thought. His eyes deepened, and his gaze lowered. He even furrowed his brow, appearing to be seriously pondering, which quite amused Sa-yoon.
Seeing his pretty boy so absorbed in thought because of what he said filled Sa-yoon with a subtle satisfaction.
Geon-joo, who had been sighing, finally spoke up just as the cleared dungeon was starting to vibrate slightly, about to close again.
“…Hyung.”
“…?”
Sa-yoon thought he had misheard. He put down the jewel box he had been intermittently shaking to provoke Geon-joo and twitched his eyebrow. Geon-joo opened his mouth again, confirming that what Sa-yoon had heard wasn’t an auditory hallucination.
“…Please give me the item, hyung.”
Oh my.
Sa-yoon barely held back a sneer by biting the inside of his cheek. Even if told to call him hyung, Geon-joo had stubbornly stuck to impersonal titles like “Guild Master” or “you,” except for the time he spat out “hyung” like a curse in the Tower of Disbelief. It was amusing to see him reluctantly say it now that an item was at stake.
Well, at least he accurately grasped what I wanted.
He seemed to have a talent for figuring out what Sa-yoon wanted. Knowing that if he handed it over right away, Geon-joo would surely revert to calling him “Guild Master,” Sa-yoon tossed the jewel box up, caught it, and smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth.
Now that it had come to this, he intended to milk it for all it was worth this one time.
“Please give it to me, hyung.”
“…?”
His expression said, “What kind of absurd statement is that?” Sa-yoon shrugged at Geon-joo, who still didn’t seem to understand.
“You’re not going to do it? Then say, ‘Please give it to me, hyung-ah.'”
“…Ah, shit.”
A small curse escaped through Geon-joo’s teeth, which he barely managed to swallow. He scrunched up his face. Even scrunched up, his well-proportioned face was still pretty.
Sa-yoon counted to three inwardly, but when Geon-joo still said nothing, he turned his body towards the exit without regret.
“If you don’t want it, fine. Let’s go, pretty boy. We still have many dungeons to clear.”
“……”
“It looks like I’ll be killing the bosses from now on too, and seeing how you’re acting, all the remaining drop items will be mine as well.”
Implying that if Geon-joo did it properly this time, he could hand over future items too, Sa-yoon could feel Geon-joo flinching. He was probably clenching his fists tightly and trembling with frustration.
Should I just turn around and watch?
As he considered whether to observe this rare sight, Sa-yoon heard Geon-joo sigh. He knew very well what that sigh meant.
At the sound of that breath, reminiscent of a declaration of surrender, Sa-yoon turned back to face Geon-joo. Geon-joo, his eyes darting back and forth, revealing his complex emotions, ran his hand through his hair. It was taking an absurdly long time to prepare for just one word.
Resisting the urge to hurry him, Sa-yoon waited patiently. Finally, Geon-joo, his face troubled as he repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, uttered the words Sa-yoon wanted to hear.
“…Please give it to me, hyung.”
“Seems like something’s missing.”
“…Ah.”
“You should say it all together. If you say it like that, how can I tell if you’re sighing or calling me?”
Don’t think that adding “ah” belatedly makes it “hyung-ah.”
As Sa-yoon persisted, Geon-joo frowned.
“Ah, really…”
“Oh?”
“…Ha.”
It seemed like the beginning of a curse, “shi,” followed the sigh. Sa-yoon grinned amusedly, watching Geon-joo fidget and get irritated, yet clearly unwilling to give up on the item. Geon-joo, glancing at Sa-yoon’s expression, lowered his head. His face turned red.
“Please… hyung-ah…”
Ah, really…
A tiny voice, as quiet as an ant crawling, was followed by shame. Geon-joo covered his face with his arms, embarrassed, and groaned that it was mortifying. Sa-yoon chuckled, letting Geon-joo sink into deep despair for a moment before patting his pretty boy’s shoulder.
It was quite entertaining to observe Geon-joo’s reddened face and ear tips, but unfortunately, time was running short now. As promised, Sa-yoon cheerfully handed over the jewel box he had been holding to Geon-joo, then picked him up in the dungeon, which had started to vibrate more intensely.
“We’re going to ascend to the surface in one go, so hold on tight to hyung-ah, pretty boy!”
Shouting this as he started the dungeon escape, Sa-yoon heard what sounded like a curse mixed with a groan from Geon-joo in his arms. It was a sound that pleased Sa-yoon.