Chapter 164

 

“What does that have to do with me?”

“…Haah.”

‘What’s with the sudden talk of sacrifices? No way… does he know Cloud is the sacrifice?’

I eyed him warily as Tae Jae-heon pinched the bridge of his nose like I was hopeless. Then, with a disgusted look, he gave me a once-over and turned his back again.

“Sheltered brat… Tch. Well, I guess it’s time you got a taste of it yourself.”

“What kind of bull—ah!”

Without warning, Tae Jae-heon pulled on the rope and started walking ahead. I cursed under my breath as I stumbled to follow.

Relying on the faint, directionless light, my eyes adjusted fully to the darkness. As we continued, the dungeon’s details came into focus—like the cursed cluster of Wongjeo mushrooms from earlier, most of the materials scattered along the way were abnormal. 

The gathering items looked off, and even the small monsters Rune and Root hunted and carried around were strangely dull in color, exuding a weird aura.

Tae Jae-heon even clicked his tongue to stop them from eating one.

‘It’s affecting the entire dungeon ecosystem… What kind of place is this?’

I wanted to run off and investigate right then—but if I did, Tae Jae-heon would definitely notice. I had to be careful—this place could hold the key to healing Seong San-ha’s hand. At least the materials seemed to be everywhere, so I could check them later when I had the chance.

In the distance, I saw a group of hunters gathered. As we approached to rejoin them, something felt off. The tension in the air was sharp, like a fight might break out at any moment.

I scanned the crowd. Tae Jae-heon’s subordinates from Nox approached him with serious expressions. Among them, a woman was dragging two bodies behind her.

“Ugh…”

Oh—it wasn’t a corpse.

The guy groaned and writhed before getting smacked back to the ground. One wore a Nox uniform, the other looked like a regular hunter. The woman dragging them dropped both in front of us, then bowed her head to Tae Jae-heon.

“Guildmaster. We found a spy.”

“We caught them just as they were transmitting our location, but there’s a high chance the information’s already leaked. It might be safer to relocate—”

“So you’re suggesting we run.”

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

Tae Jae-heon let out a cold laugh. The man flinched, clearly realizing he’d said the wrong thing.

‘Must be a new guy. Dumb move, trying to advise him…’

I clicked my tongue inwardly. With eyes sharp enough to freeze blood, Tae Jae-heon looked like he’d do something if left unchecked. I stepped in.

“Are you planning to stay here? If we’re not moving, then at least untie this.”

“…Why? Are you planning to run?”

“I just want to craft something for a second.”

I shook my bound wrist in frustration, and Tae Jae-heon’s brow arched.

“You’re not thinking of anything stupid, are you?”

“For fuck’s sake, no!”

Tae Jae-heon stared at me for a moment before flicking his hand. I placed my hand onto his large palm, and as I glanced to the side, I locked eyes with a Nox lackey looking at me with something like… admiration?

It had been ages since I’d seen a Nox guild member without open hostility toward me, so I stared back, wide-eyed. The guy gave me a small bow, only to get elbowed hard by the female guild member standing beside him. She threw a quick glare in my direction.

There it is. That’s the look I’m used to.

Tae Jae-heon cut the rope binding my wrist and looked over a beat too late, but the others—already disciplined—pretended to be busy and averted their gazes.

“Don’t go far. It’s dangerous. Those bastards—”

“—could be anywhere, yeah. I know.”

I turned away, leaving Tae Jae-heon behind, and made my way past the gathered people, scouting for a good crafting spot.

“Here’s good.”

It was a slightly lower terrain surrounded by boulders—enough to shield me from view, with a rock wall at my back to prevent sneak attacks. There was even a narrow path between the cliffs that almost looked like a trail, but it seemed safe enough. The wind flowed inward, meaning smoke from a fire would be sucked away instead of rising—perfect.

I pulled Cloud out of the bag and laid him gently on a soft patch, then took out my crafting tools and spread them out.

When a few small pebbles fell from above, I looked up to find Rune and Root perched on the cliff, lying with their front paws crossed, watching me.

“What the—did you seriously make yourselves at home?”

Of course, I hadn’t expected Tae Jae-heon to just leave me unwatched. Still, having surveillance wasn’t ideal. I waved a hand, telling them to scram—I was staying put anyway—but Rune just turned his head, totally ignoring me.

“You seriously can’t see that Cloud’s hurt? I need to treat him. You took my potion and got better once, remember? What, you paying me back with suspicion now?”

“…………Woof.”

“What? What! What do you want me to do?”

Rune hesitated for a moment, then started chewing with a chomp chomp sound. I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the obvious ploy. Eventually, with a sigh, I rummaged through my inventory and pulled out a bundle of jerky. 

Rune and Root’s eyes lit up as they jumped to their feet. I split the jerky in half and tossed a piece to each of them. Without a second glance, they snatched their treats and trotted off to chew.

“I didn’t raise you both like that… must’ve picked it up from someone else.”

When they were pups, they listened well and were well-behaved. Whatever happened, it’s all Tae Jae-heon’s fault.

With the spectators gone, I plopped down and checked on Cloud again.

< Cloud>

An entity imbued with the will of a constellation fragment

Currently bound to [Kang Eui-jin]

• Level: 81 

• Species: Monster 

• Type: Divine 

• Grade: B+ 

• Status: Unconscious 

• Skills: Headbutt (B), Lion’s Roar (A), Intimidation (B) 

• Stats:
  .
  . 

「Suitable candidate detected. Would you like to view hidden settings?」

“No need.”

Cloud was still unconscious, no surprise there. I waved my hand to close the status window and pulled out all the potions I had.

‘Right now, it’s technically a monster… but wait, Cloud belongs to the divine class, right?’

Healing potions usually act like poison to monsters, but divine-type creatures actually respond well to them. I’d never encountered a monster like this before—actually, I’d never even had to treat a monster until now—so I had no idea whether I should use a potion or not, or which ones would be safe.

I tried everything from “Healer’s Touch” to “Flamel’s Insight,” but the results were always the same.

After some thought, I ended up grinding up the ingredients Cloud used to like and squeezed out the juice to drip into its mouth. The effect wouldn’t come close to that of a potion, but I couldn’t risk anything more dangerous.

After who knows how long, thankfully, Cloud finally started to stir. Its soft pink ears gave a little twitch, and its right paw flicked ever so slightly. I held back my excitement and waited as Cloud slowly opened its eyes and met my gaze.

“…Cloud.”

“Baahhhhhhhhh.”

I hugged Cloud tight. How could anyone even think about calling something this sweet and adorable a sacrifice? They could all go choke on it.

But before I could fully enjoy the joy of reunion, Cloud wriggled free the moment I set it down and darted around, munching madly on every strange plant and material growing nearby. 

I already knew Cloud had immunity to anything labeled “cursed,” but the materials looked so suspicious that I couldn’t just sit back and relax.

Worried that some of them might be mutated, I trailed right behind Cloud, constantly using appraisal magic on everything it tried to eat.

With its face buried in the ground, Cloud’s little white butt wiggled as it munched away, and I couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh.

“So you were starving, huh…”

The first time it ate a Cursed Dreaming Branch, it had gone completely wild, but now it looked like it had figured out its own way to purify things. After snacking for a while, it paused and opened its mouth. 

Pong! Little puffs of black smoke bubbled out. I was admiring how impressive it looked when I suddenly realized—it was dark. Way too dark.

I turned around and spotted a sliver of light seeping through a narrow gap far behind me. That’s when it hit me: I had wandered deep into the crevice between the rock walls without even noticing.

“Mm… this is bad. Cloud, come here.”

“Baahhhhh?”

Cloud looked between me and the path it had been heading toward. Its hesitation was obvious—its hooves fidgeted in place.

I got it. Totally. The dark path ahead held a purplish-black flower unlike anything we’d seen before, radiating an incredibly powerful energy. It gleamed, smooth and shiny—and to be honest, I kind of wanted it too.

My internal debate didn’t last long. Why would it? When you’re torn between a bad feeling and new materials, the answer’s obvious.

“So, should we just grab that one and head back?”

“Baahhhh!”

“Hey, we’re already here. What’s the worst that could happen if we stay a bit longer? Tae Jae-heon probably won’t even notice.”

“Baaahhh!”

Cloud started hopping in place, clearly just as excited as I was. Smiling from ear to ear, we boldly took a step deeper into the darkness…

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

“Baaaaaaaaaah!!”

The ground suddenly gave way beneath our feet, and I plunged straight down with nothing to catch myself on. Instinctively, I reached out and scooped Cloud into my arms. Thankfully, the pit wasn’t too deep. The moment I curled into a ball and braced for impact, we hit the bottom with a dull thud.

“Cloud, are you okay?”

“…Baaah.”

I quickly unfolded a glowstick. Cloud blinked wide, startled eyes at me—definitely shaken. This was my fault. I should’ve been paying more attention. Stupid. Just stupid…

At least the moss covering the rocks cushioned the fall, so neither of us seemed hurt. I waved the glowstick above my head, trying to gauge the depth of the pit.

“Ugh, seriously? How deep is this…? And how the hell am I supposed to climb back up there?”

It was about three times my height—not impossible, but climbing out without a proper foothold meant I’d probably fall a few more times trying. As I felt around for any ledges or handholds, Cloud suddenly started tugging at my pant leg with its teeth.

“Cloud, no. If Tae Jae-heon sees me like this, he’ll definitely slap a leash on me for real… Cloud!”

But Cloud just turned, glanced back at me like it wanted me to follow, then darted off into the darkness.