Chapter 19

Yoo Ju instantly moved beside the monster and thrust her spear. The creature hastily blocked the spear with its halberd, but her figure disappeared again in an instant.

– *Thud*

“Keeek! You filthy bug! Keurgh!”

Perhaps having momentarily lost track of Yoo Ju, the spear pierced the creature’s arm. It let out a painful scream and swung its halberd wildly, shaking off the Returner.

“…. Hup!”

*Bang!*

Yoo Ju blocked the creature’s attack with her spear but was pushed back significantly. It was only because it was Yoo Ju that she withstood it; anyone else would not have survived a direct hit from the monster.

Immediately, Hyeon-jin swung his sword from behind the creature, but it jumped high, dodging the blade’s path.

“How dare you, humans! Keurgh!”

As soon as it landed, it charged at Hyeon-jin and slammed into him. Hyeon-jin couldn’t dodge in time and was knocked down by the impact.

“Keugh!”

The internal shock must have been severe, as Hyeon-jin vomited blood while lying on the ground.

“Cough… Ugh…”

“Hyeon-jin! You damn monster bastard!”

Kang I-seo seemed to be moving toward Hyeon-jin to check on him, firing a few arrows at the creature as she went. However, only one or two arrows managed to hit its body.

“Keurgh…! You, human woman. I’ll chew you up from head to toe. Keurgh!”

The creature lunged at Kang I-seo with incredible speed.

Yoo Ju, who had momentarily lost track of the creature, looked shocked.

‘No, this can’t be…!’

The monster’s speed was too fast. At this rate, there was no way to stop it. Images of Kang I-seo being struck down by the halberd kept flashing in my mind.

As the monster closed in on Kang I-seo, she seemed to sense her impending death and tightly shut her eyes.

“Die, human wench! Keurgh!”

Just as everyone thought Kang I-seo wouldn’t escape death…

“Shield of Protection!”

*Bang!*

A spherical shield formed around Kang I-seo, blocking the creature’s strike.

*Clang!*

However, the shield shattered immediately after absorbing the blow. It seemed the monster’s strength exceeded the shield’s capacity.

The monster swung its halberd again.

“Pathetic…! Keurgh!”

Thanks to the shield buying some time, Yoo Ju, who had closed in, swung her spear to block the creature. Despite being injured earlier, I immediately ran toward Kang I-seo and shouted.

“Crazy woman! Snap out of it! Do you want to die?!”

“Huh… huh?”

She seemed dazed, sitting there blankly, as if realizing she had almost died.

I bit my lip, pulled her up, grabbed her arm, and hurriedly moved her away.

“Pant… pant… Phew…!”

My body started trembling at the thought of a comrade almost dying.

“…. Thank you. I owe you my life…”

“As long as you understand… Phew… Damn it… When Yoo Hyun used the shield to block its attack, you should’ve run immediately! What were you thinking just sitting there?! Do you want to die?!”

I couldn’t help but raise my voice at her.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Her face slightly red, she bowed her head and apologized.

“……”

At least she was alive. I turned my attention back to Yoo Ju and the monster.

“You keep getting in my way, human wench! Keurgh!”

As the creature and the Returner exchanged blows, Ahn Tae-woo successfully stabbed its back with his spear from behind.

*Thud*

“Keeeeek! You…!”

*Thwack!*

“Ugh…!”

The creature, still impaled by the spear, kicked backward, sending Ahn Tae-woo flying, his spear slipping from his hand.

Fortunately, I saw Ho-won catch Ahn Tae-woo mid-air.

If he had hit the wall directly, the impact would have been much worse.

“Are you okay? Take a rest.”

“Ugh… Keugh…”

Even though Ho-won caught him, the impact seemed significant. Probably because he took the monster’s kick head-on.

Yoo Ju had inflicted multiple wounds on the creature, and combined with the magic damage I dealt and Song Ha-eun’s attacks, the monster was clearly exhausted.

“Kehek… Kehek… Am I… going to die to these… filthy humans?”

Realizing it was at a disadvantage, the creature’s pupils began to tremble. Seeing its frightened expression, Yoo Ju spoke to us.

“Phew… The creature’s condition looks really bad. We’ve almost got it, but don’t let your guard down. Yoo Hyun and Yoon Seong, do you have any mana left?”

“I… don’t have any mana left. The shield I activated earlier was my last.”

“…. I think I can cast one more spell.”

Yoo Ju nodded in response.

“Good. Then Yoo Rim, Ho-won, and I will continue to hold the front line. Ha-eun, keep attacking when you see an opening, and Yoon Seong, prepare to cast your spell.”

“Understood.”

Ahn Tae-woo and Hyeon-jin were effectively out of the fight.

They weren’t in any condition to continue.

Kang I-seo was out of arrows.

Yoo Hyun had no mana left.

So, it was down to five of us to continue the fight.

But given the sacrifices we’d made, the monster was also heavily wounded and exhausted. It wasn’t a completely bad situation.

As soon as I answered, Yoo Ju charged at the monster.

“You persistent pest! Keurgh!”

The monster, seemingly desperate to kill Yoo Ju, who kept clinging to it like a tick and inflicting wounds, began swinging its halberd wildly.

But Yoo Ju was a Returner. Thanks to her countless battles in the first round, she managed to block the monster’s attacks without getting hit.

As the creature dodged Yoo Ju’s spear, a spirit’s wind sliced through its arm.

“Keeeeeeek!”

The creature was definitely exhausted. Attacks it had easily dodged earlier were now hitting it.

Annoyed by Ho-won approaching, it swung its halberd, but Ho-won blocked it with his shield.

*Crash!*

*Clang!*

“….!”

Having taken so much damage so far…



The shield started to crack and break.

Boom!

The monster immediately swung its halberd down, but thankfully, Ho-won rolled to the side and dodged it. Even though the shield suddenly shattered, Ho-won reacted quickly, which was impressive.

Every time I see Ho-won, I think that even though his job or traits might be ordinary, his combat sense is no joke. Except for Yoo Ju, he might be the best.

Taking advantage of the monster attacking Ho-won, Yoo Rim stabbed her dagger into its thigh.

“Keeeeek!”

Yoo Ju didn’t miss the chance and immediately thrust her spear into the monster’s other leg, shouting, “Yoon Seong! Use your magic now…!”

I immediately used all my remaining mana to activate the magic I had prepared.

“Burn, flames.”

Realizing it couldn’t dodge the magic with both legs pinned by the dagger and spear, the monster seemed to sense its impending death and started screaming.

“Kek! No! This can’t be…!”

Just before the magic hit, Yoo Ju and Yoo Rim moved away, and the magic struck the monster directly.

Whoosh!

“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”

The monster screamed as it burned. Unlike before, it kept burning, probably because it was already injured.

Not long after, the burning monster stopped moving and collapsed to the ground.

Seeing the fallen monster, everyone relaxed, either sitting or lying down on the floor. Me too.

Thud.

“Phew… Damn. This is really exhausting. How is this even a tutorial?”

It really felt that way. The difficulty was unbelievable for a tutorial. If it weren’t for Yoo Ju, some of us might have died trying to clear it.

‘Maybe… this difficulty was designed with the expectation that about half of the participants would die.’

“…. Still, it’s good that no one died, sis. I really thought someone would die.”

“Damn, yeah. We cleared it, so that’s what matters. Whew! By the way, how are you feeling? Are you okay?”

“Ugh… I feel better after resting. It still hurts, but… I’m not dying or anything.”

“That’s good to hear. Ah! Yoo Hyun, thank you. We survived because of you. You’re amazing!”

Kang I-seo went over to Yoo Hyun, patted his head, and thanked him. It was natural for her to feel grateful since Yoo Hyun essentially saved her life.

“No problem, sis! I’m just glad you’re safe. Hehe.”

After resting for a while, Ahn Tae-woo spoke up.

“…. But why hasn’t the clear notification appeared yet?”

The Returner, sounding exhausted from the battle, replied.

“….. Maybe… if we search this room, something… might come up?”

“Phew… Damn it, forget about clearing or whatever, let’s rest for a bit! This is so exhausting!”

I remembered something and teased Kang I-seo with a smirk.

“Pfft… Sure. You must be really tired. Honestly, it wouldn’t be surprising if you peed yourself just now. Pfft…”

“…. Well, why don’t you check if I really did?”

“…….”

“Why so quiet now? Huh? Come on ~ check it out ~ ?”

‘Damn…’

“Who was it that came rushing to get the person who almost peed themselves, looking like they were about to cry? Huh?”

“…. I didn’t make that face.”

“In a hurry, even cursing! What was it? ‘You crazy bitch, snap out of it! Do you want to die?’ or something like that?”

“…. Ahem, let’s forget what I said back then. The situation was urgent, so I guess I cursed.”

“Eh, what’s wrong with cursing? I actually feel better when I get cursed at.”

“What…?”

“Curse at me more in the future, okay, Yoon Seong?”

“Crazy…”

“Oh, you can call me a crazy bitch. It’s fine!”

Talking with Kang I-seo always ends up like this. It’s probably best not to engage with this insane woman.

Listening to our conversation, Yoo Ju clapped her hands lightly and spoke up.

Clap!

“…. Let’s stop the chit-chat and start searching the room. Everyone, please investigate the room.”

‘…. Did she deliberately cut off the conversation, or is it just me?’

Anyway, everyone started searching the room as Yoo Ju suggested. Yoo Ju probably didn’t plan to find anything herself this time either. She seemed to be pretending not to find anything.

After some time, Yoo Hyun found something and started calling us over.

“Here! I think it’s here!”

As everyone gathered around Yoo Hyun, he started pushing the throne with effort.

Creak—

After the throne was pushed aside, a treasure chest appeared underneath it.

“…. I’ll open the chest.”

The Returner opened the chest, revealing a necklace and two rings inside.

Yoo Rim asked everyone, “What are these…?”

Everyone seemed puzzled. They expected weapons like swords or spears, but the sudden appearance of a necklace and rings left everyone bewildered.

“First… I don’t know what they are, but I’ll take them. They must be helpful.”

As Yoo Ju took the necklace and rings, a notification appeared for everyone.

[Congratulations. You have cleared the tutorial. Those who have cleared the dungeon will be transported to Eras. Those surviving outside the dungeon will be transported in about 30 minutes.]