Chapter 54

As they reached the end of the stairs, mutants rushed towards them again. The two ran upwards, slicing the mutants one by one.

Just as they thought the oncoming heat was getting fiercer, they had already climbed to a height close to the mountain peak. Minor wounds increased on Soram and Tae-un's bodies. Both could no longer hide the signs of lacking stamina on their faces.

Finally, what the two faced was a huge rift that soared up to the height of a dead tree. Various plant tendrils surrounded the rift like a birdcage. The mutants near the rift didn't move even when the two made a sound. They seemed to be guarding the two with the sole purpose of defending the rift.

Next to the rift, there were debris that looked like the remains of a half-destroyed car. The mindless mutants, thinking they were invaders that hadn't disappeared, kept striking them down with a thud. Every time an attack hit, a crunching sound came from the car body.

It looked like a warning to the two that they were safe outside the cage for now, but the moment they entered, they would suffer the same fate.

"From here, we'll have to break through head-on."

Soram took off his outer clothing. Wondering what he was trying to do, Tae-un saw him use the clothes to wipe off the sap on his sword. Then Soram handed it over to Tae-un with a look of disgust. With that, Tae-un also removed the things that had dried and dulled his attacks on his sword.

Soram then said, glaring at the rift,

"Since we've come this far, I have no choice but to use my second hidden special move."

"What else do you have?"

"Yes. It's a type of spell that increases the survival rate."

"...Spell?"

Tae-un's eyes widened. He had heard that rarely, among awakeners who were religious or leaders, there were abilities that temporarily increased the abilities of others. It was said to be in the direction of influencing adrenaline or dopamine in the body through eloquence.

Some people called that ability a spell, adding a slightly pseudo-religious meaning to it.

How... In addition to the ability to freely fly objects, he could even do that. Tae-un realized that the daytime confrontation had been going easy on him. It was understandable that Soram was annoyed at him for saving him.

Soram let out a long sigh and said,

"I'll cast it on Han Tae-un ssi first. Can you give me your hand again?"

Soram, who took Tae-un's hand, rolled up his sleeve to reveal his wrist. Then he took something out of his pocket. And he bit the end of the object he took out with his teeth.

Pop.

The cap of the black marker remained between his teeth, and only the body was pulled out. Tae-un's reverent gaze wavered slightly.

The marker touched Tae-un's bare skin.

"Han Tae-un, are you falling for this, you idiot..."

As Soram muttered and moved the marker, the remaining trust completely disappeared. This was just going to be doodling.

"Don't do it."

"Stay still. I'm casting a spell!"

"Don't lie. Do you want to joke around in this situation?"

"It's true!"

"What, are you trying to raise my combat power by annoying me?"

It was a mistake to worry about Soram when his condition seemed strange earlier. Jin Soram was Jin Soram no matter where he was.

As Tae-un tried to shake off his arm, Soram even tucked Tae-un's arm under his armpit and stubbornly wrote the message he wanted on his skin. Tae-un yanked out his arm after the doodling was finished. He couldn't even see a hint of Soram's ability, let alone a spell.

Tae-un looked at the arm Soram had doodled on.

192cm, Rh+A

"..."

The furrowed brows slowly rose. Soram also scribbled on his own arm with the marker.

181cm, Rh-O

"It doesn't seem like we'll get appropriately injured while breaking the rift those mutants are guarding."

"..."

"This way, we can save a few minutes even when we go to the emergency room. If Han Tae-un ssi lacks blood, I'll give you mine."

"...Don't give it to me. How can I receive a rare blood type?"

Tae-un thought he could quickly find a blood donor, but Soram, if unlucky, might not even be able to find someone to donate blood to him.

"The headquarters wouldn't have known my blood type and not prepared for it. I have a pack of my blood drawn and stored every month. This doesn't go to other patients and is completely for my own use."

"..."

Tae-un didn't answer. He thought Tae-un would be looking at him with an expression that he was talking nonsense again.

"What is it? Did I get the blood type wrong? I wrote it as you told me before."

"No."

Tae-un looked at his bandaged hand and the writing on it, then gripped his sword tightly.

"I don't think it's time for Jin Soram ssi to worry about someone else's slightly injured palm."

He wanted to tell Soram to gather all that worry and worry about himself instead. Soram just shrugged his shoulders.

There was nothing more the two could do here even if they delayed time. The two pressed their feet firmly on the ground, facing forward.

"I'll give the signal. I'll go in front, so, patient Han Tae-un ssi, follow me."

"...Yes."

"The two of us definitely have a chance of winning. Still, as the leader, I want to give Han Tae-un ssi, who is experiencing a 1st-grade dungeon for the first time, an incentive for victory..."

Nine airplanes flew up. Soram's eyes trembled, enduring the overload.

"Is there anything you want to do when we return?"

"Do you have something in your mind, Jin Soram ssi?"

"Well... Since we've been through a lot in the fire, I might ask Min-ki to go to Busan. It would be nice if Ga-eul doesn't forcefully tag along and drag me parasailing or something."

"..."

Tae-un slightly hardened his lips upon hearing the answer. Seo Min-ki, Kim Ga-eul, Jin Soram. The three had been tied together since 8 years ago and had been through numerous scenes together. Even Tae-un, who hadn't experienced them many times, could feel the bond between the three from the first day he saw them.

It wasn't simply a close friendship, but a solid relationship built up by 8 years of time and special circumstances that couldn't be caught up with no matter how hard he tried right now. His heart raced like when he was looking at Soram's room as he slept first. However, this time, not only perplexity but also a slight sharpness came along.

"So, what about Han Tae-un ssi?"

A gap that couldn't be bridged. But because of that, Tae-un was willing to step on whatever came his way.

"I have a request I want to make when we get out."

"To me? Will it be something I can grant? Shouldn't it be something better to cheer you up?"

Tae-un opened his mouth while looking at Soram.

"I want to drop the formalities when we're in private outside of work hours."

"...Huh?"

"Without the 'ssi', I want you to call me by my name."

"Uh..."

"And I'll go first."

Having finished speaking, Tae-un leaped forward. Ah! Soram kicked the ground a beat later, but since they were both 1st-grade, it was difficult to catch up with that one beat.

Tae-un's raised sword tore one side of the birdcage tendrils first.

Swish―...

The tendrils vibrated as if alerting the danger caused by the intruders. The tendrils that rushed in were torn apart by the airplanes in the air. Soram followed Tae-un's back, dumbfounded.

In this life, the relationship with Tae-un was clearly very different from the previous lives. Soram was well aware of that fact. However, this unexpected request evoked another novel sentiment. Han Tae-un, who seemed to have "Yes." and "No." as default responses, asking to drop the formalities.

Ha. A dumbfounded smile appeared on Soram's lips. Every time Han Tae-un showed such an unexpected side, it felt like living in a new time, not the fourth repeated life.

"Do as you please, Han Tae-un ssi!"

And looking at the request alone, it was such a trivial matter that it would be embarrassing to refuse.

Soram and Tae-un ran towards the inside through the open gap. Dozens of tendrils stretched out in an instant. Some were fended off, some left wounds on their bodies, but now the urgent task was to reach the rift.

"Anyway, it's not like, you couldn't say what you wanted, just because you used honorifics!"

Soram and Tae-un's swords simultaneously drew semicircles in opposite directions. The black smoke from the dying mutants was so thick that it blurred their vision. It meant that many mutants had gathered here.

"Ugh...!"

Dozens of tendrils twisted together to form a huge pillar. One with a diameter as long as Tae-un's sword lunged at him. Tae-un blocked the attack, jumped up, and sliced the tendril while stepping on it. Once again, strength began to pour out unconsciously, and a white aura spread out in front of his eyes.

"This is on a different level, from earlier."

"Originally, ugh, the front of the rift is the most dangerous in a dungeon. The previous 4th-grade dungeon was mediocre everywhere by our standards, so you didn't know!"

Not only where Tae-un and Soram were, but also from various parts of the mountain, the sound of explosions and impacts from the battle could be heard. The ground team hunters were climbing the mountain. The two continued the most intense battle among them. Swords were thrust at the mutants that relentlessly charged at them even after defeating one. Sticky blood rose to the end of their throats, beyond being out of breath.

"Ugh...!"

Tae-un dodged the tendril that struck the ground and reflexively fended off the thorn bush behind his back while leaping upward. Now, rather than calculated movements, it was closer to survival instincts fighting. The black gaping rift approached a few steps ahead.

Swish―!

The rift, sensing the danger, didn't remain still either. A number of mutants reminiscent of a black tidal wave poured out in front of Tae-un. There were so many black rushing tendrils that he didn't know which one to strike first.

At that moment, a barely-shaped metal lump passed by, fiercely pushing the mutants as if stepping on the accelerator.

Kwang!!!

"Go!"

Soram shouted.

It was the car that Soram had sent flying at the beginning that cleared the way in front of him. Even in a tattered state, the car body that had been thoroughly used was shrouded in blue mist. He didn't expect Soram to have kept that as his final card.