Chapter 145

“What should we do about this…?”

Everyone looked utterly defeated as they asked.

They were almost done capturing the White Devourer.

But they hadn’t expected it to flee into the lake, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

“Darn it, isn’t it going to recover? If it does, it’ll be even more cautious…”

Unless it’s a low-grade monster, monsters usually have some level of intelligence.

The White Devourer we were dealing with was no exception.

If we fought it the same way next time, it probably wouldn’t work as easily.

Kim Seok-ho, looking frustrated, spoke up.

“Ugh… this is so frustrating. What are we supposed to do? We can’t just dive into the lake to kill it.”

It’s not like we’re fighting on a boat on the water, and diving in to fight it is just absurd.

“Ha Yu-ri… do you have any ideas?”

“…I don’t know. Even if we freeze the lake, we can’t freeze the entire inside.”

Now, not even the shadow of the White Devourer could be seen in the lake.

‘…Are we just going to let it go?’

I tried to think of a solution, but nothing good came to mind.

As everyone fell silent, unable to find a way, Yoo Ju spoke up.

“What if we all use fire magic to evaporate the lake’s water?”

Everyone’s faces lit up with question marks at Yoo Ju’s suggestion.

“…Evaporate it?”

“Yes, all the mages use fire magic on the lake. If the lake’s water evaporates, it won’t have anywhere to hide, right?”

Those who heard Yoo Ju’s words fell into deep thought.

“That’s true…”

“Evaporating the water…”

‘…That’s a good idea. It’ll consume a lot of mana, but evaporating the lake’s water isn’t impossible.’

I’m sure everyone who heard it thought it was a good idea too.

It’d be such a waste to let it go after coming this far.

With our numbers, we should have enough firepower to evaporate the water.

‘Since Yoo Ju suggested it, it can’t be impossible. The mages will use up a lot of mana, but it’s better than letting it go.’

At least it’s a hundred times better than fighting it again after it’s healed and learned from the battle.

Ha Yu-ri also seemed to think it was a reasonable idea, nodding and speaking up.

“Everyone who can use fire magic, step forward. We’re going to evaporate the lake’s water.”

“Yes.”

Whoosh—!

Soon after, the lake’s water began to evaporate rapidly due to the massive amount of fire magic conjured by the mages.

Sssss—!

The steam from the evaporating water mixed with the cold air, creating a thick fog.

Because of that, visibility was zero.

“I can’t… see anything… the fog is blocking everything!”

“Darn it, I can’t see anything!”

“Just keep maintaining the magic! If that thing shows itself again, we’ll see it!”

‘Damn it…’

That was true, but it was frustrating not being able to see.

Crack—

“What’s that?”

I heard something splitting. And it was coming from beneath where I was standing.

‘Huh?’

The feeling of the ground collapsing and my body falling wasn’t just my imagination.

Hyeon-jin and Wi Ho-yeon were near me, and both of us were about to fall off the cliff.

“Brother! The ground…!”

“Damn it!”

In that moment, my eyes met Yoo Ju’s. She also noticed that Hyeon-jin and I were about to fall.

She immediately ran toward us.

Saving both of us was impossible; she could only save one.

‘I can’t keep my balance…!’

In that instant, Yoo Ju glanced between me and Hyeon-jin and then…

“Grab my hand, Hyeon-jin!”

“Yoo Ju noona! Brother, he’s…!”

‘What…’

I was the one falling.

“Lee Yun-seong!”

The last thing I saw as I fell was Yoo Ju grabbing Hyeon-jin’s arm to save him and Wi Ho-yeon jumping down to try and save me.

******

“Lee Yun-seong!”

“Ugh…”

I came to my senses at Wi Ho-yeon’s voice.

“Are you awake?”

“Ah… wait, ugh!”

Moving my body, I felt a crushing pain as if my bones were shattered.

“Are you okay?”

‘Damn it… where am I hurt?’

“Ugh… Ho-yeon, where are we?”

“It seems like we’re in what used to be an underwater cave. While falling, I held onto you and managed to get us here.”

It was dark, but it seemed like a cave.

The problem was not just that I had fallen into a cave, but that I could feel pain all over my body.

‘Is it just bruises?’

At least there were no visible penetrating wounds.

There were minor cuts and scrapes, but no life-threatening injuries.

‘…A small mercy, I guess.’

Luckily, it wasn’t a straight vertical fall. I had rolled down a wet, sloped surface, which probably saved me.

‘Ha, should I be glad the ring’s ability didn’t activate?’

If my life had been in immediate danger, the ring would’ve activated.

It’s a Myth Grade ring, but since its ability is one-time use, I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry about it.

‘Damn it, why did the ground collapse anyway?’

I could make a rough guess.

From the outside, it just looked like a lake, but there must’ve been underwater caves beneath it. When the lake’s water evaporated, the ground lost its support and collapsed.

‘At least the top… isn’t visible.’

A faint light came through cracks in the rocks and dirt, but the top wasn’t clearly visible.

‘F***…’

Swearing in this situation was only natural.

I never expected to be isolated like this.

The worst-case scenarios I had imagined were all related to monsters, not the ground collapsing and leaving me in this mess.

“Ugh…”

“Lee Yun-seong, let me help you…”

“It’s… fine.”

I gritted my teeth and stood up, feeling even more pain.

‘Damn it… I can handle this…’

Even if I couldn’t, I had to.

Because…





I couldn’t just sit here and wait to die.

‘And I hear sounds.’

It seems like the battle with the White Devourer has started again above, with the sounds of various magics falling and monsters roaring.

‘It seems like we’ve drawn out the White Devourer, but the problem is here.’

The White Devourer was already heavily injured, so taking it down would just be a matter of time.

“Are you okay, Ho-yeon?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s Lee Yun-seong who I’m more worried about…”

Wi Ho-yeon looked at my injuries with a worried expression.

“…I’m fine. Just some bruises, and thankfully, I fell into a cave halfway down the lake, not the bottom.”

If I had fallen to the bottom of the lake, even rolling down the slope, it would have been hard to survive.

“Still, what were you thinking, jumping down after me? What if you got seriously hurt…”

“As your guard, I couldn’t leave you alone.”

“…Thank you, Ho-yeon.”

I was genuinely grateful to Wi Ho-yeon.

As for Seo Yoo-ju…

‘No, no. She lost her memory, so saving Hyeon-jin was the right thing for her to do. These thoughts are useless right now.’

Some indescribable emotions welled up, but that’s not important now.

“Let’s move first.”

“Okay. Do you need help…”

“I’m fine. I can feel the pain, but I can still walk.”

While reassuring Wi Ho-yeon and walking slowly, my vision suddenly went dark.

‘Huh, what, what’s going on?!’

Thud!

“Ugh…”

As I fell, Wi Ho-yeon touched my body and spoke worriedly.

“Lee Yun-seong? What’s wrong? Did you injure your leg?”

It was natural to fall when my vision suddenly went dark.

‘Why, why is it so dark? I can’t see anything…’

A chill ran down my spine.

‘Wait… Could it be…’

Even in a dark space, you should be able to see a little.

Thanks to the bioluminescent moss in this space, it wasn’t that dark earlier, and this isn’t just about it being too dark to see.

‘…Could I have lost my vision?’

It was a terrifying thought, but reality was cruel.

‘Damn it! Fuck! Why now…!’

This situation couldn’t be any worse.

‘Of all things to lose, my vision…! Damn it, what should I do?’

Isolated, injured…

…and now blind.

This absurd situation made me want to laugh.

“Fuck…!”

In this situation, there’s nothing a blind person can do.

“Lee Yun-seong? Could it be…”

Wi Ho-yeon seemed to have noticed something.

“Could it be… you’ve lost your vision?”

“Damn it, it seems so. I can’t… I can’t see anything.”

“That’s…”

Wi Ho-yeon must be feeling just as lost, though not as much as me.

If this place turns out to be a monster’s den, Wi Ho-yeon won’t be able to protect me in this state.

Escaping from monsters while blind is almost impossible.

Of course, there’s no guarantee this is a monster’s den, but losing my vision is the worst-case scenario.

Suddenly, I felt a touch on my arm and shoulder.

“For now… I’ll help you. Lee Yun-seong, please walk carefully.”

“…Yes, thank you, Ho-yeon.”

With Wi Ho-yeon’s support, I moved slowly and spoke.

“Ho-yeon, have you lost any of your senses yet?”

The reason I asked is simple. If Wi Ho-yeon also loses her vision, it would be a disaster.

“Ah… I’ve lost my sense of taste.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes, there are no cases of losing more than two senses. I probably won’t lose any more.”

Losing the sense of taste is almost no loss.

“Damn it, more than that… this is overwhelming. What should we do here…”

“Wait a moment, Lee Yun-seong.”

Wi Ho-yeon’s voice sounded serious.

“…What is it?”

“I hear something faintly.”

‘Sound?’

Given her heightened senses, Wi Ho-yeon must have heard something.

Wondering what she meant, I focused, and after a while, I started to hear it too.

‘This is…’

“Lee Yun-seong, it seems like there are many Shapes here.”

‘Fuck, there are monsters here?’

“Is this the only passage? I can’t see…”

“Yes… from what I’ve seen, this is the only one…”

“Then…”

Just as I was about to speak to Wi Ho-yeon.

Crack!

‘What’s that?’

“Hyahhh!”

Crash!

The sound of a man’s shout and Shapes fighting reached us.

“Ho-yeon, just now…”

“Yes, I heard it too. It seems… someone else fell here besides us.”

“…Then let’s go. Please guide me.”

“Okay, got it.”

As we moved, the sound of battle grew closer.

‘Not being able to see is so damn frustrating.’

“…Lee Yun-seong, I’ll go help that person for a moment.”

“Yes, okay.”

Without being able to see, I could only judge the battle situation by sound.

‘Is it over now?’

When the monster’s sounds almost disappeared, and footsteps approached, a man spoke to Wi Ho-yeon.

“Thank you for your help. Eternity owes you again.”

‘That voice…’

The owner of the voice was none other than our reliable Seok-ho hyung.