I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 49

[ Chapter 49: Dungeon Strategy (3) ]

Oh Hyun-wook suddenly lifted his head.

The strategy was going smoothly. So far, there hadn’t been any incorrect information in the exploration report, and no one had gotten injured. The only mishap was Yoo Hye-eun tripping over a rock. In fact, it was a stretch to even call that an injury.

It was peaceful, to say the least, which seemed odd for a dungeon strategy.

Oh Hyun-wook had previously entered a dungeon where Pixies appeared. This was a C-rank dungeon, and that one had been B-rank, so it was a bit of a stretch to compare the two, but Pixies were essentially the same monster. The Pixies he had seen back then weren’t this… young.

A dungeon left alone with no hunters clearing it since the gate appeared, and only young monsters inside? It made no sense.

As he had told his friends, it was undoubtedly a dungeon that the principal had once cleared out.

Oh Hyun-wook chuckled as he tore off the wings of a Pixie that didn’t even reach his waist.

The principal tended to protect the kids. The fact that he had spent his own money to establish the school and the time and effort he had put in to pull himself and Seo Han-seong out of the guild…

That person would never throw them into a deadly situation without any protection.

Crunch.

“Eek….”

The Pixie screeched, raising its claws.

No matter how easy the dungeon, it was a bad idea to get distracted during the strategy. Oh Hyun-wook refocused his mind. Unlike his days in the guild, he was surrounded by relaxed people, which might have caused him to slack off.

Just before the claws touched his body, a translucent barrier appeared between them. It was already a dying creature, so it wouldn’t have inflicted serious damage anyway.

Still, appreciative of the gesture, Oh Hyun-wook nodded slightly at Park Seo-hyun. When their eyes met, she smiled brightly. Ever since Myeong-dong, she had been in a perpetual state of gloom, refusing to speak, but now, for some reason, she was smiling cheerfully again.

It was nice to see her brighten up, but it was hard to get used to. Her beaming face made Oh Hyun-wook feel embarrassed, so he turned his head.

Back in March, Park Seo-hyun wasn’t someone who smiled so easily. The change was so extreme that it was impossible to ask her the reason.

Oh Hyun-wook had no way of knowing what changes had occurred in Park Seo-hyun’s mind. But he knew when she started smiling again.

That man.

It was after she talked to Woo Hee-jae.

He appreciated being rescued in Myeong-dong and acknowledged that thanks to him, his friends had escaped safely.

‘Oh Hyun-wook? Hmm, continuing the rune classes might get boring.’

‘…….’

‘How about going to continue training like the other kids?’

At first, he tried to force a conversation, but after being ignored several times, he frowned and stopped approaching.

After that, he awkwardly spoke to Oh Hyun-wook whenever their eyes met. It was clear from his face that he didn’t want to, but felt he couldn’t ignore a student in his position as a teacher.

‘Well… is there something you don’t understand?’

Seeing his awkwardly smiling face reminded him of someone. Though their actions and speech were completely different, Oh Hyun-wook couldn’t understand why that person came to mind.

But at some point, he suddenly realized why Woo Hee-jae made him uncomfortable and why he had been so on edge.

Sometimes, the gaze that bore down on him felt like… he was being appraised like a piece of butchered meat.

It was a look that went beyond simply evaluating a student, as if he were observing an inanimate object.

That reminded him of his former guild master.

Objectively, there was no way that someone the principal brought in could be a fraud. After all, even Grand Mage Kim Chae-min stuck close to him and talked to him. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought they were close from the start.

But still…

That gaze.

Those eyes.

‘Kid. Are you alright?’

Unfortunately, most of the world’s tragedies stem from dungeon breaks.

Being eaten by a monster didn’t even count as a tragedy in this world. What happened to Oh Hyun-wook could be considered a personal tragedy, but compared to many others, it wasn’t something to boast about.

He wasn’t trying to compare misfortunes, but, well, Oh Hyun-wook thought all of it happened because he was stupid.

‘Oh… did you just awaken?’

It was inevitable to idolize the person who saved your life.

‘There’s a saying that people awaken when their lives are on the line. So it’s good if you can survive, right?’

He was deceived by that kindly smiling face.

‘You see, I run a guild… would you like to come by sometime? It’d be a waste to leave you alone now that you’ve awakened. You need to learn how to use your body.’

He thought it was a good opportunity. He had heard that hunters made a lot of money.

‘Usually, there’s a training fee… but between us, there’s no need for that. When you succeed as a hunter, just take a few jobs for our guild.’

So he signed the contract without hesitation.

It took a long time to understand what that cold look behind the smiling face meant.

After that, it was hell.

From one to ten, there was no similarity between his former guild master and Woo Hee-jae.

But that look made Oh Hyun-wook hesitate. He hadn’t intended to be wary from the start. Woo Hee-jae had saved him in Myeong-dong, and when he heard that Woo Hee-jae had been swept up by a horde of monsters while rescuing Lee Seung-yeon, he was worried.

He wanted to thank him and show his gratitude.

If not for those cold eyes directed at him.

He missed the chance to say thank you and started to keep his distance, which made it harder to approach him again. It was an instinctive aversion.

“The number of Pixies has increased.”

Yoo Hye-eun said quietly. Oh Hyun-wook bit the inside of his cheek. He needed to focus.

“It’s because we’re getting closer to the dungeon core.”

Han Eun-young replied calmly.

“For Pixies, this is a small number. I’ve heard they usually move in groups of about ten. As Oh Hyun-wook said, it seems the principal did clear them out.”

“Or they might be clustered near the core.”

Seo Han-seong muttered.

Though his voice was low, everyone heard it, and tension flashed across their faces. It was better than being too relaxed, so he let it be.

“Are we supposed to clear this?”

“They said it was a strategy team…”

“Then we have to destroy the core, right?”

“To complete the strategy, we must destroy it.”

“What about Teacher Woo?”

When the dungeon core is destroyed, the dungeon collapses as well. To return safely, you have to find the gate you entered through and get out.

“That guy will survive on his own,” Oh Hyun-wook sneered. Surely, he was listening to this conversation somewhere nearby.

“Anyway, let’s finish this quickly and get out. The dungeon isn’t hard, but you never know what excuses that guy will come up with to dock points.”

“That seems likely….”

Seo Han-seong shivered. One by one, the others chimed in.

“Did you see him laughing whenever we rolled on the dirt? He’d tell me how many laps I’d done while evaluating our class. Honestly, I wanted to punch him….”

“If I could, I would have punched him.”

“I once talked to the principal about it.”

“Really? What did you say?”

“I asked him to speak to Teacher Woo.”

Han Eun-young pouted as she grumbled.

“I said that while training is good, he could tone it down a bit.”

“…I doubt the principal would have listened.”

Han Eun-young puffed her cheeks.

“But still! It’s too much not to have showers!”

“Did you mention that too?”

“…Yeah.”

Having grown up without any lack, Han Eun-young showed her refined upbringing in moments like these. Lee Seung-yeon, the epitome of someone who grew up refined, didn’t seem to care whether he ate dirt or not.

Oh Hyun-wook himself had never paid attention to such things, so it felt a bit novel. He could also guess what Hong Seok-young’s response had been.

“He probably said, ‘What kind of luxury are you expecting in a dungeon?’”

“…Right.”

“He probably added that you’d see worse as a hunter and shouldn’t make a fuss over a bit of dirt.”

“…Right.”

“If you’re dissatisfied, fight and earn it yourself?”

“Right! It’s so annoying!”

Han Eun-young stomped her feet in frustration. To Oh Hyun-wook, who had survived worse, her complaints were amusing enough to make him chuckle… but it was good. It meant she had overcome her past enough to laugh about it.

“Eun-young. Wait a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Be quiet for a bit….”

Park Seo-hyun, who had been giggling with them, suddenly turned serious. The others fell silent as well.

“…Don’t you hear something?”

“A sound?”

“A screeching, screeching… sound.”

Oh Hyun-wook furrowed his brows and sharpened his senses. He heard the rustling of leaves. If it weren’t for the sparkling trees befitting the nickname “Fairy Forest,” it would have felt like a peaceful camping trip.

But through that, he heard what Park Seo-hyun was talking about.

A raucous noise, like a monkey screeching. It was distant at first but gradually drew closer. There was only one thing in this dungeon that made that sound. In fact, there was only one living creature here.

“Pixies! Prepare for battle!”

Oh Hyun-wook shouted through gritted teeth.

* * *

Pixies swarmed in. Some flew through the air, while others leaped between the trees. With their green skin, they looked like a swarm of locusts.

“Kyiaaak!!”

Their wild rampage confirmed that they were not much different from locusts either.

Young Pixies were weak. Even in a group, they weren’t much of a threat. But that was when they came in threes or fives. When dozens, even hundreds, of them appeared like now, it was a completely different story.

“Kyah!”

“Protect Hye-eun!”

When such a large number went berserk, it was hard to find a way to deal with them. They defeated each one that rushed at them, but there was no end in sight. Oh Hyun-wook’s mind was in turmoil. Why now? What’s going on?

How do we get out of here?

Should he destroy the dungeon core? Or wait for them all to pass by?

In unexpected situations, the mind searches for familiar solutions.

‘If it were the former guild master… he would throw a scapegoat to divert attention and continue the strategy.’

He snapped the neck of a Pixie charging at him and spun around to grab the ones heading towards the mage and the healer. In that instant, Yoo Hye-eun caught his eye.

‘Scapegoat.’

In other dungeons, a healer might be useful, but not in this one. Here, she was just a burden with weak physical abilities….

Nausea welled up.

He felt sick at himself for having such thoughts.

Not long ago, he had been the one thrown as a sacrifice to monsters. What? A burden?

Later, he wanted to create a guild, a place where hunters could be worth ten, even twenty people. He wanted to show that even kids like him could make it. He wanted to prove that it was possible to survive without throwing someone to the monsters like a piece of meat.

…With this kind of mindset?

“Hyun-wook!!”

“Oh Hyun-wook!!!”

The voices calling his name seemed distant. Oh Hyun-wook lifted his head with a dazed expression. He saw the sharp teeth of a Pixie. Its claws dug into his shoulder, and its teeth were about to sink into his neck.

Thud!

A sword pierced through the Pixie’s head.

The tip of the sword stopped just in front of Oh Hyun-wook’s forehead. It was close enough to touch, but his forehead remained unscathed.

The sword moved sideways, skewering the Pixie. Its body slid off the blade, falling to the ground with nauseating blood.

“Why are you spacing out?”

Woo Hee-jae’s indifferent eyes fell on Oh Hyun-wook.

Under that gaze, Oh Hyun-wook trembled like a pig heading to the slaughterhouse.