Chapter 155

 

I hurriedly reached out, but Cloud had quickly fled to the corner. With a snap, the sound of a branch breaking rang out clearly, and before I could stop it, the cursed dreaming twig completely disappeared into Cloud’s mouth.

‘Is… it okay?’

Just as I was about to feel relieved seeing Cloud seemingly fine, black smoke began to fill the spaces between Cloud’s white, fluffy fur.

“Cl-cloud!”

“Mehhh?”

Black clouds also puffed out from the slightly opened cute mouth. As I tried to run toward Cloud, who had turned completely black in an instant, someone grabbed my arm from behind.

“Seong San-ha, right now Cloud is…”

“No. It’s dangerous.”

“We just need to make it throw up! Cloud! Come here, hurry!”

“It’s already too late. If you touch that energy, you won’t be safe either.”

Seong San-ha, who had suddenly pulled out a long rod, held me tightly so I couldn’t run forward and cast a shield over Cloud.

“No!”

I was shocked looking at the shield interior already filled with acrid smoke.

Too late? I couldn’t accept that. There must be some way. I can’t leave Cloud like this. Just as I was about to shake off Seong San-ha’s hand and run forward, I heard Cloud cry.

“Meeeeh!”

Cloud stomped its feet vigorously in the smoke. Then the smoke swirled and was instantly sucked into the air. Even the slight black energy tangled in its fur flew away cleanly when Cloud shook its body with a shudder.

As I stared blankly at it, Seong San-ha’s hand holding my arm fell away. When I turned to the side, Seong San-ha was also looking at Cloud with a surprised expression.

“How did it…”

“Meeeeeh!”

Cloud proudly jumped up and down, raising its head. When Seong San-ha removed the shield, Cloud came running out, and I lifted and embraced it. I immediately tried to check Cloud’s condition using the Eye of Flamel, but nothing appeared.

“Right. Emotions don’t work… Cloud, are you okay?”

It was frustrating not being able to check its status. As I turned it around to check for any abnormalities, Cloud just maintained a carefree expression, licking its lips. Seong San-ha, probably also finding it curious, carefully lifted Cloud’s chin and turned it around.

“Did it purify itself?”

“Meeeh.”

Cloud flapped its ears as if annoyed. Seong San-ha, who seemed to be contemplating something, withdrew his hand and muttered quietly.

“I’m glad it’s safe. Make sure to manage it well so it doesn’t eat things like this in the future.”

“What are you talking about? It’s going to keep eating these. Right, Cloud?”

“…What?”

A look of confusion flashed across Seong San-ha’s face. I spoke as I put Cloud down on the ground.

“It purified the ‘cursed’ modifier. Cloud’s attribute is holy. It will definitely help with the research.”

“Research? You’re colder than I thought.”

“You haven’t forgotten what Cloud is, have you?”

Why is he acting so unlike himself? I looked at him strangely as I approached the table. Cloud was eyeing the materials under the table eagerly. I need to clean up quickly before it picks up and eats something random again.

I was really shocked when Cloud ate that thing, but the result was something I never expected.

‘Purification, purification…’

I seemed to be on the verge of finding a clue. Perhaps I could even heal Seong San-ha’s hand. I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.

***

I glanced at Tae Jae-heon’s figure visible in the distance. Even though I couldn’t see him clearly due to the distance, I felt our eyes meet.

‘What the hell is that bastard thinking?’

As if showing off that their only target was me, the Nox bastards showed no interest in dungeon subjugation and just kept following us around. With two black dogs wandering nearby, and clearly hostile guys maintaining a certain distance while following us, it was impossible not to be bothered. Complaints occasionally erupted among the hunters.

“Damn, are they getting a free ride? Look at them casually walking the path we cleared by risking our lives.”

“Those shameless bastards, what are they doing hiding behind us?”

While happily listening to the Nox curses coming from all directions, I surveyed the surroundings. Unlike before when I would pick up any unfamiliar material without hesitation, now I had a clear goal. I needed to find cursed materials hidden among ordinary ones.

“Zero, I’m going over there!”

Zero went ahead in the direction I pointed. Following behind Zero, who was casually waving his hand to deal with monsters, I arrived at the large rock I had been aiming for. I knelt down and carefully dug out a small flower blooming in the crevice of the rock and examined it.

“…Damn, not this one either.”

“What exactly have you been looking for all this time?” Zero asked curiously as he bent over.

I carelessly answered while putting away the collected material, “There’s something, like a mutant.”

I thought it would be easy to find since it would have unusual colors and different energy, even though I hadn’t noticed it before. But I’d been coming up empty-handed for a while now.

Since we kept stopping at places that weren’t warp points, even Nox was sending guild members to subtly assess the situation.

‘If I let Cloud loose, it would find it right away, wouldn’t it?’

As I got up from my spot while thinking this pointless thought, a dark red smoke briefly flashed behind the rock.

“Huh? Wait!!”

As I quickly ran around behind the rock, there were small mushrooms growing densely together. What I had just seen was spores flowing from the mushrooms. Among the blue-green mushrooms, I carefully collected the dark red one in the middle, making sure not to damage it.

When I used the Eye of Flamel, an item window appeared.

<Cursed Wongzher Mushroom> 

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ 

■■■■■■■■■■■■

“Found it!”

It was a great achievement after a day and several hours.

“Like this, ones with different colors are mutants… Zero?”

Zero was staring at something. 

Following his gaze, I saw there was a warp.

“That’s strange. I never heard there was another path.”

It was a warp that didn’t emit light, surrounded by collapsed entrances and desolation. Though it couldn’t be used right away, I had a feeling there might be some hidden quest related to it.

“Could it be a shortcut? For instance, if we pass through there, it might take us directly to the 21st floor…”

“I’m not sure? But I do know one thing. In dungeons, you shouldn’t expect good luck. Hehehe.”

“Tch.”

It was a universal rule that secret spaces hidden in dungeons contained rare materials, items, and special monsters. Excited by the possibility of discovering a new space, I immediately ran to Seong San-ha to inform him about the newly found warp.

However, Seong San-ha’s response was utterly dry.

“That’s a restricted area.”

“But there weren’t any signs.”

“A monster must have passed through. It’s just a closed warp, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

Somewhat surprised by his completely unexpected response, I grabbed Seong San-ha’s arm and pulled him behind a tree.

“It could be a shortcut! If we check it out, I’m sure an entry quest will appear! Think about it. It’s a place no one has ever been to. Let’s just go for a bit.”

“We need to finish quickly and return. The next floor is more valuable than that place.”

“Nothing bad will happen if we delay for just a day, right?”

Unable to give up on the materials in the secret location, I did my best to persuade Seong San-ha, but he remained silent. After a moment, Seong San-ha spoke in a low, subdued voice.

“I’ve been there before.”

“What? You’ve been there? When!”

“Yes. There’s nothing like what you’re expecting, so just forget about it.”

“Tch, what’s this? Boring.”

My disappointment was as great as my expectations. With my lips puckered in disappointment, I rejoined the group. Even as we passed the large rock, I looked back at where the closed warp had been, still feeling regretful.

***

As we ascended the tower, traces of closed warps occasionally appeared. I wondered if all those similar-looking ones might lead to the same space. 

Though I wanted to check, Seong San-ha dismissed them as nothing special just like the first time and steadfastly continued his way toward the next floor. 

After passing by several of them, even my initial curiosity faded, to the point where I would just walk past one even if it appeared right in front of me.

“I’d like to visit an underwater dungeon sometime. There aren’t many materials coming in because hunters don’t go there.”

“Jeju would be perfect for that. It’s surrounded by ocean on all sides. I believe there are three or four nearby.”

“What’s the use when we’re stuck in this tower, unable to even see the ocean?”

As I grumbled, Cheong’s expression grew serious as well. Lim Dan, standing next to us with arms crossed, snickered.

“You sound so carefree. Do you have any idea how tricky underwater dungeons are? If you want it that badly, I’ll take you there. Just don’t cry when you get scared.”

What’s up with Lim Dan? Saying things like that. After spending a few days together, has she finally decided to acknowledge my status as master?

“Well, since you’re begging, I’ll let you join my team. But you’ll be the youngest. Zero and Cheong joined first, so they’re your seniors.”

“That’s not what I meant! Argh!!”

When I looked at her with satisfaction, Lim Dan became furious and abruptly turned and left.

I understand his reluctance to become Cheong’s junior, but rules are rules.

Scratching my head, I continued walking and chatting with Cheong and Zero when the hunters ahead stopped in their tracks.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m wondering the same. It’s not time to set up camp yet…”

Looking ahead, everyone had gathered in one place, murmuring among themselves. I immediately approached Seong San-ha, who was always easy to spot.

“What’s happening?”

“A tamer’s bird discovered this place.”

“Why here?”

It was just a forest surrounded by trees. As I looked around, Seong San-ha knelt down and gathered some soil from the ground. Strangely, only the soil under Seong San-ha’s gloves was particularly fine and dark in color. 

Recognizing the familiar scene, I asked.

“…Don’t tell me that’s ash?”

“Someone else was here. Until very recently.”