Beep… Beep…
"Ugh…"
My fingertips twitched slightly, followed by a dull pain spreading through my arm. I tried to move it absentmindedly, but it wouldn’t move. I continued to groan as my entire body felt like it was being crushed.
"Uhh, ugh…"
I heard murmuring voices overhead. Is soone nearby? I forced my heavy eyelids open and turned my head to the side, where I saw soone looking at and asking.
“Hunter Han Yi-jin-nim, are you awake?”
“Uh, yes…”
"How many of these do you see?"
“…Two?”
After that, they asked a few more questions, did sothing, and then left quietly. Still dazed, I stared blankly at the ceiling. Seeing the white ceiling, I felt a little disoriented.
Perhaps it was because I had been in the dungeon for so long? I couldn’t quite adjust to waking up in a place with a rooftop. As I thought about it, my eyes widened in sudden realization.
“…!”
Where am I? Did we clear the dungeon safely? What about the others? What happened to the raid team after I was kidnapped?
Suddenly, mories of passing through the portal flashed in my mind. Although soone's words were cut off by a throbbing pain in my head, I still rembered the reassuring ssage telling not to worry.
Click.
The door opened again, and soone entered. I frowned at the IV drip in my arm and turned my head toward the source of the sound.
“Hunter Han Yi-jin.”
“…Guildmaster Park Yoon Sung-nim?"
“I’ve just heard that you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
"Ah…”
When I saw Park Yoon-sung's face, a sense of reality finally sank in. I blinked once and looked around. The IV drip in my arm and the surroundings resembled the hospital scene when I visited Do-gyul. Ah, this must be a hospital managed by the Odin Guild. How did I end up here from Daegu?
“I think… I'm feeling better."
“That’s a relief. I was worried since you hadn’t regained consciousness for three days.”
“…Three days?"
At Park Yoon-sung’s words, I widened my eyes in surprise. It felt like I had only slept for a short ti, but to think I had been unconscious for three days. I blinked in disbelief and tentatively asked Park Yoon-sung.
"Um… We cleared the dungeon, right?"
"…"
"…?"
The corner of Park Yoon-sung's mouth twitched slightly at my question, which only made more anxious. Has sothing gone wrong, perhaps a dungeon break? No, that can’t be. We used the portal, and if we hadn’t cleared the dungeon, I wouldn’t have woken up in the hospital. I also recall that I didn’t use the ergency return scroll.
“The dungeon has been cleared.”
“But why—”
“Hunter Han Yi-jin, you should focus on recovering. It looks like you pushed yourself too hard this ti.”
"Ah…"
Although my mind was clear, my body felt extrely heavy. If I had been unconscious for three days, I must have really overexerted myself.
I had used my S-grade auxiliary skill on many people throughout the day, lost a lot of blood, and was injured. As these difficult mories ca flooding back, I nodded toward Park Yoon-sung.
“I understand.”
“No one will disturb you while you rest here. If you experience any pain, just press the call button.”
"Yes, I understand."
“Then I’ll leave you to rest…”
Park Yoon-sung left the hospital room as if he were in a hurry. I watched him go and tilted my head before turning my gaze away.
Given my condition, I should be fine after a day of rest. I tested my other arm by folding and stretching it. It felt quite stiff, probably due to not moving much.
Still, I was relieved that the dungeon had been cleared. I was worried sothing might have gone wrong because my mory of using the portal was a bit fuzzy, but thankfully nothing happened.
“Phew…”
Not all mbers of the raid team appeared to have returned safely, which likely explained Park Yoon-sung’s reluctance to discuss it. I couldn’t imagine the extent of the damage caused by those villains and Seo Ha-joon.
I thought it would be wise to prepare myself ntally. It seed I would soon be hearing a lot of shocking news from Park Yoon-sung. I also had personal matters to think about. After pondering for a mont, I calmly called up my status window.
"…Status window."
A blue status window appeared in front of . I lifted my unresponsive hand to check it. I had levelled up a bit from clearing the Muspelheim dungeon. I directed my fingers to the skill description section.
Shake the Catnip (S): Increases the designated target's stats by 20%
Duration: 1 hour
Cooldown for reuse on the sa target: 1 day
※ Effectiveness UP after casting
※ There may be side effects
※ Special conditions are required for higher ranks
※ The duration of the skill will be extended if special conditions are t
※ The extension of the skill’s duration due to special conditions will be set randomly
“…”
I frowned as I read the updated skill description. I moved my finger to find another section. It was the ‘Blood Contract' section—where Hae Song-ha and Baek Si-hoo were listed together. During this dungeon raid, I had discovered sothing new about Catnip's skill, which left a bad taste in my mouth.
I discovered that my blood amplifies the effects of my auxiliary skill. As a result, during the Sæ dungeon raid, Hae Song-ha’s ability was significantly boosted, allowing him to detect an SS-grade dungeon. Baek Si-hoo also beca strong enough to match the SS-ranked Kang Yoo-hyun.
The problem was that Baek Si-hoo was the one who discovered this. Although I didn't know what happened to Baek Si-hoo and Evan, given their roles as major villains, they were unlikely to die easily.
If Baek Si-hoo were to reveal what he knows about my blood to Raisu, the Guildmaster of the Laufey Guild… I didn’t want to think about the possible repercussions.
"Ha, damn it."
Another point was that the Catnip skill could remain active even after its duration had ended.
「※The duration of the skill will be extended if special conditions are t.」
“…”
Ah, the special conditions clearly refer to skinship. It seems that applying the auxiliary skill with more intense physical contact can further extend its duration. Furthermore, a higher intensity of skinship seems to boost the stats more significantly.
The only minor drawback is that I can use the skill on only about four people per day. However, this is a manageable problem that can be addressed by improving my ntal strength and MP.
The Muspelheim Dungeon has made realize the nurous threats out there. I must remain vigilant and never take things lightly in the future to ensure my own safety.
"I’ll need to inform Park Yoon-sung about this…"
The situation was already bad enough because of the Muspelheim dungeon, so I could only imagine how shocked Park Yoon-sung would be upon hearing these details. Still, it would be better to tell him the truth for my own safety.
This dungeon conquest was brief but chaotic from start to finish. And I was certain Park Yoon-sung had not received a proper report. He would definitely ask what happened.
In the anti, I'd better do what Park Yoon-sung said and focus on recovering my health. I closed my status window and let out a long sigh before closing my eyes.
It had been four days since the Tyr Guild cleared the Muspelheim Dungeon. The general public was unaware that the Tyr Guild had previously failed to clear the dungeon, as the Association had controlled the information.
However, it beca a hot topic that Jin Sang-hyun, the Guildmaster of the Tyr Guild, had not participated in the dungeon raid. Additionally, Seo Ha-joon, the Vice Master, also did not make an appearance imdiately after the dungeon was cleared. Rumours also circulated that most of the hunters who participated in the raid had either died or suffered severe injuries.
The cleanup of the Tyr Guild’s aftermath was almost entirely managed by Park Yoon-sung, the Guildmaster of the Odin Guild. There were rumours that without the Odin Guild’s intervention in clearing the dungeon, the damage could have been significantly worse. However, none of this information was officially released.
"What are you looking at, Liam?"
"Hmm…"
The man, who had been intently focused on the tablet screen, looked up. The private jet was flying smoothly without any turbulence. Although he had been on the plane for quite a while, Liam appeared as energetic as ever.
"I was looking up information about the country we’ll be arriving in soon."
"Aha."
The man nodded and glanced at the tablet screen, which had moved on to a new video. The YouTube algorithm had quickly switched to a clip featuring the Odin Guild's hunters, who had recently made headlines across the U.S. mainland.
"Korea, huh? I never expected the Prophet to ntion that place again."
The man's voice held a hint of displeasure, which was understandable considering that Korea was also a rival.
Even after gates opened around the world and the world was turned upside down, Arica still believed that they would lead the world. However, that belief was being shattered by a small, peripheral country that they had previously overlooked.
"Don’t say that, Andrew. I’m actually looking forward to it."
Unlike the displeased Andrew, Liam’s eyes shone with excitent. His heterochromatic eyes sparkled in the light.
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