Chapter 187: The Path of Four Days and One Second (4)

Eyes welling up.

Even when she was met with a cold scolding about wasting minerals, Esther couldn't stop her tears. It wasn't just sadness—it was a complex expression of frustration and fear.

"What did you say?!"

Esther was shocked to realize that Kim Giryeo had been starving all this time. At the same time, she felt anger bubbling up. If he had told her from the start that their food supply was too scarce for two people to share, she wouldn't have just taken it so easily. She would have tried to give some back, no matter what!

Did that man dislike even the worried arguments over food? He was terrifyingly rational, yet selfish at the same time.

"No! Someone who's already unwell from the aftereffects..."

Even loan sharks don't create debts without mutual consent. But how can that person do something this cruel?

***

What? Why are you crying? Wait, don't tell me... Are you crying because you feel guilty about consuming the food alone?

"Huh."

I was taken aback when Esther suddenly started crying, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be amazed by the kindness of Earth creatures. Who would have thought she could be so selfless, feeling sorrowful over not being considerate of others?

"If it were me, I would've shaken them down first to check if they were hiding any more food..."

Gasp.

If even half of the modern Alphaurians had taken after Esther, the planet wouldn't have ended in such ruin.

"Hmm."

Well, anyway, I felt a little sorry interrupting her while she was sobbing, but there was actually a valid reason why I hadn't eaten.

First of all, my body operates more efficiently than that of primitive humans, allowing me to stay active for a long time with minimal energy. Most importantly, I had already realized the dungeon's full length at the beginning of the expedition.

At first, no matter how much I sharpened my senses, I couldn't detect anything unusual, and I thought we were in trouble. But after walking for about four more hours, the boss entity finally appeared within my detection range. That was on the first day.

'This body would take at least three weeks to starve to death, so I'm well within the safe zone.'

The initially estimated time to clear the dungeon was 5 to 7 days.

But since that S-rank hunter had carried me and sprinted multiple times along the way, even my initial estimate had been significantly shortened. Now, the boss was only a few hours away.

That's why I knew for certain that I wouldn't starve to death—and so I gave up my share of food.

"Uhm."

Sniff.

But Esther bursts into tears in shock, wondering what was so sad about it. It seemed like she would stop once she was informed that the dungeon would be over soon. However, for that to happen, I would have to reveal my detection abilities, which were beyond the realm of Earthlings.

'Looking back, clearing the Magic Tower's labyrinth that way was quite a reckless move.'

I had no choice but to remain silent. Moreover, this wasn't the only thing I felt guilty about toward my fellow raider.

"Ahem."

A few minutes later. As we walked, I cautiously glanced at Esther beside me before suggesting we take a short break at the next fountain. While she was calming her swollen eyes with the water from the fountain, I took a few steps back.

"Cough, cough-! Ahem. Keheum!"

As can be inferred from the forced coughing, this is a method to buy some rest time by pretending to be a patient whenever my stamina drops... No matter how efficiently I try to manage it, this body can't match the physical abilities of an S-rank. After walking for a few hours straight, there's bound to be an unavoidable breaking point.

"Oh, my legs are numb."

At first, I grumbled about being trapped at the exact moment when the side effects of the (Sacred Tree Seedling) were manifesting, but after some thought, I realized this was actually a good thing. The hemoptysis symptoms had long since stopped, but by openly pretending to be in poor condition, I could naturally avoid situations that would expose my physical abilities—such as sprinting.

"No matter what, I absolutely have to hide the fact that I'm only F-rank."

Phew.

I let out a small sigh and returned to the fountain. There, I find Esther with a much calmer expression.

She suddenly became quiet again, whether she was hungry or had a lot on her mind, but that wouldn't last long anyway.

A few hours later, we finally reached the end of this seemingly endless tunnel.

"Wait a minute, Hunter Esther."

"Yes?"

"Over there, beneath the ground. There's something else, a monster. Its energy feels stronger than usual monsters... Could this be—?"

Boom, boom, boom!

The finger pointing forward slid down after hearing a loud noise. Before I could even finish my sentence, Esther launched an attack. She clearly didn't have any magic related to close combat, yet just by throwing a straight punch, the ground split apart, and the surroundings crumbled. The shockwave alone wiped out the monsters lurking beneath the earth in an instant, their screams cut short. And, just as expected—among them was the F-rank gate's boss, the one I had detected earlier.

Woong.

At last, with the familiar glow of light, the exit finally revealed itself before us. Finally—at long last!

"Huh?"

Even I, who had guessed the length of the dungeon, was so happy, how much more excited must they be?

"Oh my, oh my, oh my!"

Esther showed an awkward reaction as soon as she saw the exit that had been created.

"Oh! I'm not dreaming right now, am I? My God, Giryeo! We're alive! We really made it out alive! How did we even survive such a nightmare?"

Esther grabbed my hand without warning and dashed toward the passage ahead. Honestly, I didn't feel the same desperate urge to rush out, but as an F-rank, how could I possibly resist the pull of an S-rank?

"Huh?"

"Gasp!"

"They're here!"

By the time my eyelids shut briefly from the glare of stepping out of the dark passage into a bright room, a loud burst of auditory information had already struck my brain first.

"Guild Leader!"

"Oh my God, CEO!"

"Hunter Kim Giryeo!"

It turned out that this passage had formed in the exact same location as the gate entrance we had originally entered. As I opened my eyes, I was met with the sight of numerous figures standing before us—heavily armed hunters. They weren't walking around with their affiliations plastered on their foreheads, so I couldn't tell where they were from just by looking. But considering the unique circumstances of this place, most of them were probably from the Korean Magic Tower.

"CEO, are you okay?"

Amidst the solemn atmosphere of the group, a familiar face emerged. It was the personal secretary from the Korean Magic Tower. With a trembling voice, they began to explain the summary of the events that had transpired so far.

On the first day we were trapped inside the F-rank Gate, the Korean Magic Tower personnel outside discovered that the dungeon entrance had suddenly vanished. Since then, they had been desperately searching for a way to resolve the situation, running in all directions to find a solution.

"If you had been even a little later, a missing persons report would have aired on the 9 o'clock news today!"

The hunters gathered here seemed to be a reserve force prepared for any potential emergency. After all, as seen now, there was a high likelihood that the gate's exit would open at the same location where the entrance had appeared.

"Everyone worked hard. Write up a report on what happened outside and have it on my desk by the weekend. Wait, what day is it today?"

"It's Thursday, boss."

It was over. Thus, we had finally completed our dungeon exploration, which had taken a total of... approximately four days and one second.

While Esther was chatting with the guild members, I turned my head to glance out the window of the representative's office. The spring weather looked no different from when we had entered the dungeon. No, it would soon be summer, wouldn't it?

"_ _"

Although shaken by the unexpected incident, the Guild Leader of the Korean Magic Tower quickly regained composure as befitting someone who leads an organization. And with this regained composure, they reassured the tense guild members.

"– Step, step.

However, as someone approached her, she stopped all conversations and turned around.

"Esther-ssi, please have everyone step back for a moment."

"Yes?"

Since my sudden request caught Esther off guard, she blinked in surprise. Fortunately, she didn't take long to decide.

"Oh my, guild members. Now that I think about it, I haven't even properly washed yet, have I? In that sense, let's save I his emotional reunion for about three hours later. You'll probably need some time to change into your casual clothes as well."

Now that the distractions have been cleared away, it's time to start wrapping things up on this side as well.

"...Here. Is this good enough? Hmm, by the way, why did you suddenly ask the guild members to step back?"

Just a few hours ago, I was certain I could endure just fine without that measly bit of food. It seems my calculations were slightly off. Perhaps the aftereffects of the hemoptysis took a greater toll on my body than expected—my eyelids have felt heavy for a while now. Fixing my trembling eye muscles in place, I straightened my posture and conveyed my intention.

"My arm."

"Yes?"

"I've already adjusted it so the injection needle can go in smoothly. So there's no need for an expensive potion—just any kind of nutrient supplement will do for now..."

It was a truncated explanation, but it was the best I could do. Immediately after that, my body couldn't handle the limit and I lost consciousness.

***

When I opened my eyes, the ceiling I had seen before was right in front of me.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo!"

The Korean Magic Tower's recovery room. Lying down on the same recliner sofa that Seonwoo Yeon had used during the Labyrinth of the 13th Month, my first impression was a common one—this sofa is comfortable. The next thing I noticed was the dull pain settled all over my body.

The IV in the right arm was slowly dripping yellow fluid mixed with vitamins.

"Giryeo-ssi, are you awake?"

By the way, is it really okay for the leader of a guild to be wasting time like this? The curse sorcerer, who seemed to have been keeping watch by my side until I woke up, suddenly stood up from a small chair. Even when I turned my head, I couldn't see anyone else besides her.

"Don't worry, I know that letting word get out about an S-rank Awakened collapsing wouldn't do any good. I sent all the guild members away and only brought in a single healer I could truly trust."

"Aha."

"The only ones who know that Giryeo-ssi passed out are me and that healer."

I left out a lot of words because I was in a hurry, but fortunately, it seems that the other person interpreted my intentions well. Right, it's not enough to freeze threats by bluffing, so why advertise this weakness?

"Anyway, living as a swindler really isn't easy."

I watched the inside of my elbow where the needle was inserted before slowly lifting my upper body.

"You're going to leave right after you wake up?"

And at that moment, Esther's voice came from the seat beside the sofa.

"No, I just got up because I felt stiff."

"Really?"

She hesitated for a long time, like someone who had something to say. For a moment, I wondered if she was about to charge me for the IV drip.

"...Anyway, thanks for what you did in the dungeon."

The words that followed were far from what I had expected. That S-rank curse sorcerer lowered her head deeply and muttered before someone far weaker than herself.

"Thank you for being considerate."

Esther averted her gaze somewhere else. At the end of her line of sight were someone's blue veins and a cold needle. Drip. Drip. She silently watched the IV fluid trickling through the tube for a long time.

And at that moment, I realized.

"Aha."

It wasn't intentional, but somehow, I ended up making the Guild Leader of the Korean Magic Tower owe me a huge debt. Esther must have genuinely felt her life was in danger back in that F-rank dungeon. And the series of side effects I experienced—at least on the surface—seemed quite severe and potentially fatal.

'Did Esther think I risked my life and gave up my food?'

Given the nature of a curse sorcerer, there was a high chance that she would readily comply with any future requests I in order to repay this debt.

"Oh!"

Of course, demanding a trillion won in exchange for just a snack would be a bit excessive.

"Honestly, if I got down and begged, I might actually get it... but I can't guarantee what our relationship would be like afterward."

I didn't want to buy a lung at the current price that was full of bubbles. After all, there's a chance that dragons might suddenly become common in the near future due to some whim.

'A dragon's nest is like a bait box that easily lures in hunters, so there's no need to worry about it going out of stock.'

I decided to keep the guild leader's debt from this incident as a hidden trump card and take my time considering how to use it. The opportunity to freely ask an S-rank for favors was something that couldn't easily be bought, even with wealth. So wouldn't it be better to choose caution rather than hastily changing it to material?

'What is this, a windfall?'

Of course, it wasn't like I would suddenly have a reason to make a once-in-a-lifetime request to a powerhouse anytime soon. But this was more than enough to make up for the loss of revealing the weakness of the Sacred Tree.