Chapter 110
Chapter 110
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Soochan swung his hammer . However, like its namesake, the Blue Mane Lion moved with feline grace, using the unique agility of an animal to dodge the hammer . However, Sungyoon had been aiming for this .
Too-hwahk!
Even though the Blue Mane Lion was agile, when it landed, for a split second, it became vulnerable . Sungyoon used his long reach to stab with his spear .
Poo-oo-oohk!
Even if its rank had gone up, the spear was only from an Indigo rank Gem . The Blue Mane Lion was one of the most difficult monsters to fight in the Beginner’s Labyrinth . Of course, the spear wouldn’t work well against it . However, Sungyoon had activated the Gem that enhanced his strength by three-fold . He half-forced the spear to pierce through the monster"s leather .
-Kyahhh!
A deep puncture wound appeared in its front right leg, and Sungyoon immediately retreated after extracting his spear .
Hoo-oong!
Sharp claws swiped at where Sungyoon used to be . If the claws had met his flesh, his muscles and blood vessels would have been sliced . His body would have become a ragged mess .
However, Sungyoon wasn’t afraid . In fact, he was like a starved predator . He only thought about hunting down the injured Blue Mane Lion .
“Ha-ahp!”
“Oryahhh!”
The other party members saw the injured monster approach them once again, so they swung their weapons . But they didn’t break their formation at all cost . The sword and hammer came out from behind the s.h.i.+elds at opportunistic moments . It kept the monster occupied . The spears stabbed either from the back or at an angle, and inflicted small wounds .
“Please get out of the way!”
They heard a shout from the back . It was like the miracle where Moses parted the red sea . The four Connectors jumped to either side, and a red fireball flew through the opened path .
Puh-uhng!
The head-sized fireball hit the Blue Mane Lion .
-Koo-ahhhhng!
Its scream rang out . Its proud blue mane was engulfed in fire . The high heat had damaged its fur and leather . The damage extended below its epidermis .
Tah-tah-taht!
Hweeyae ran forward . She held her large battle-ax, and in a flash, she was in front of the Blue Mane Lion .
“Ha-ahhhhhhht!”
Kwah-jeek!
It was a Yellow rank battle-ax . Amongst the Gems in the party, it was one of the higher-ranked ones . She split open the Blue Mane Lion’s head without much difficulty . However, she was interfered with by an unexpected source .
Ggah-ahg!
“Kyahhhhk!”
While she had been solely focused on the Blue Mane Lion, something clashed against her axe . She was sent flying to the side .
“Koo-oohk!”
Another scream could be heard . It was the rough and deep voice of a man . Soochan was sent flying to the opposite side of Hweeyae . The Blue Mane Lion stood between the two .
The new development had happened in a flash, so almost everyone in the party was stunned . Only Sungyoon moved to confirm the kill of the Blue Mane Lion . Fortunately, the Blue Mane Lion was dead .
“s.h.i.+t . Don’t suddenly run out from behind like that!”
Soochan yelled at Hweeyae, whose eyes widened . Then her gentle eyes became sharp .
“I said to get out of my way!”
She was an introvert, but it seemed she was too angry right now . She shot back in a harsh voice .
“What!”
Soochan stood up as Hweeyae continued to glare at him .
“Please! Let’s all calm down!”
Wonho quickly got in between the two . As he did so, he gestured towards Sungyoon and Mina with his eyes . They both gave a small nod, and Sungyoon moved to Wonho’s side, while Mina moved to Hweeyae’s side . They were there to make sure nothing happened .
On Earth, they would probably get into a fistfight at the worst . However, right now, they were armed to the teeth in a labyrinth . If they weren’t careful, the two might swing their weapons against each other . If things went really awry, one of them might die .
Fortunately, the two of them didn’t come to blows . They just glared at each other .
When it became clear they weren’t going to explode in anger, Wonho patiently listened to both sides of the story .
The opportunity to hit the final blow had appeared . The Flame magic had landed on the Blue Mane Lion, and Hweeyae had moved to apply the finis.h.i.+ng blow . It was as planned . Her battle-ax was the highest rank weapon in the party, and it had the highest killing power . This was why she had been dealing the finis.h.i.+ng blow against most monsters up until now . This was also their general strategy .
However, the only problem this time was that she had been a bit too far away from the monster when she shot the flame magic . Soochan didn’t believe she could close the distance in time, and he had swung his hammer in order to keep the monster in place . When Hweeyae planted her ax, his hammer hit it, and the rebound sent them flying back .
From a certain point of view, the mistake happened because both of them were trying to help the party . However, Soochan and the introvert Hweeyae refused to back down . If Hweeyae’s last blow hadn’t killed the Blue Mane Lion, one of the two of them would have died under the monster"s large front paw . It didn’t matter that they were strong . There was a high probability that one of them would have died . This thought chilled both of their spines .
Hence, this argument couldn’t be ended easily . If they trusted each other, it might have been resolved . However, trust was yet to develop within this party .
Wonho had to work very hard to calm the two grumbling party members .
* * *
The argument between the two had come to a close for now . No, it looked like that on the surface . Thanks to Wonho’s intervention, the two of them shook hands, but the chilly atmosphere refused to go away .
To make matters worse, the fights on the 5th floor were tough . It wasn’t something they were unable to handle, but it was unlike before where they could easily kill the monsters . They had less room for error now .
Previously, there had been a good amount of conversation between the party members . But now, only a deep silence surrounded the party .
Wonho tried very hard to change the mood, but it was useless . In the end, even he became tired and shut his mouth .
‘That guy isn’t too bad . ’
Sungyoon looked at Wonho in a new light . As a leader, he was trying to make his party members move past this incident . Sungyoon could clearly feel his intent . Moreover, his leaders.h.i.+p skill wasn’t bad at all .
However, that was it . This current situation was beyond his leaders.h.i.+p skills .
After exploring the labyrinth until a predetermined date, the party exited the labyrinth . The cold mood was reflected in everyone"s actions . No one said much as they all headed towards their respective Moon Surface Vehicle .
‘This party is on the verge of falling apart . ’
Sungyoon had that thought as he lay on his bed .
As time pa.s.sed, the divide within their ranks was becoming apparent . It centered around Hweeyae and Soochan as they had started to argue more and more .
‘There are still seven days left . ’
There was one week left until the month requested by Wonho .
‘I hope nothing bad happens . ’
Sungyoon closed his eyes .
***
The party was once again exploring the 5th floor . The discord between the party members continued . Wonho had become tired of it all, so he focused on drawing the map of the labyrinth . He decided not to interfere unless the fighting became severe .
It could be directly attributed to the fact that the bickerings had increased on a daily basis .
“This is why you should time your attack!”
Soochan’s rough voice rang out . Wonho gripped his head as another argument had broken out . Sungyoon crossed his arms as he watched the sight . Hweeyae, who didn’t get along with Soochan, glared at him .
“You just have to match what I do! You should be the one that should work around me!”
This time Mina was yelling at Soochan . Unlike her haughty and prim appearance, she was going toe to toe with Soochan . They both yelled at each other in anger .
“What happened this time?”
Wonho wasn’t going to stop the argument, but he still wanted to know what caused it . He asked the question to Hweeyae and Sungyoon .
“In the last battle, Ms . Mina stabbed her spear over Mr . Soochan’s s.h.i.+eld . It seems he didn’t like that . ”
“This again . . . ”
Wonho grabbed his head . He didn’t know how many times they had fought in the past couple weeks regarding this same topic . Mina"s primary weapon was a long spear, and there were times when she had to attack past Soochan"s s.h.i.+eld . It seemed the man felt that the spear got in his way .
‘This all comes down to practice and skill . ’
The person with the s.h.i.+eld blocked from the front, and the person from behind used the long spear to attack one’s enemy . However, both combatants had to be on the same page . This party had formed only three weeks ago . Of course, they couldn’t pull off this synergy in so short a time . In the beginning, they had complaints, but there had also been margin for error . So they were more tolerant of each other’s actions . However, past the 5th floor, the margin for error became razor-thin . It caused ill feelings to develop, and the party members started to argue .
‘It isn’t as if I don’t understand why this is happening . ’
They were putting their lives on the line for this work, and a single mistake might cost them their lives . Of course, their nerves were frayed . Moreover, the disagreement was with Soochan, who fought closest to the monsters . The pressure he felt was higher than the other party members .
‘It really makes me appreciate Mr . Tim . He’s an amazing person . ’
Sungyoon thought about his ex-party member who was as big as a bear . He always moved to the front to confront the claws and teeth of monsters . He protected his party members and never lost his happy-go-lucky and relaxed att.i.tude . He was even considerate of Sungyoon’s feelings . Sungyoon probably wasn’t imagining it . His good feeling towards his ex-party members had increased after he joined this party .
After a while, Mina and Soochan got tired of fighting .
The party started to move once again . Sungyoon could see Wonho making an a.s.sessment of his party members .
‘Is he going to terminate the party early?’
At this point, it might not be a bad idea . Of course, they had made a promise to party up for a month . Even if one member didn’t want to break up the party early, Wonho would be put in an awkward position . However, Sungyoon doubted Wonho had to worry about that .
“s.h.i.+t!”
After killing another monster, Soochan cussed . His eyes were unkind as he looked at Hweeyae and Mina . Of course, the two women weren’t looking kindly at him either . However, it wasn’t just Soochan against the two women . Hweeyae and Mina would sometimes turn their cold gazes on each other too .
‘This isn’t going to work . ’
Sungyoon had that thought . He could see Wonho shake his head from side to side . The promised end date was several days away, but Sungyoon predicted the party would come to an end today .
“Why are you always in the back?”
Sungyoon heard the disgruntled voice of Soochan that was clearly directed at himself . Sungyoon moved his gaze away from Wonho and looked toward Soochan .
Soochan had been in a war of nerves with Hweeyae and Mina . Now, in a flash, he had approached Sungyoon .
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you always staying in the back, being so timid?”
“Hold up, Mr . Suh Soochan!”
Soochan was clearly picking a fight with Sungyoon . Wonho quickly approached them, but Soochan didn’t show any signs of stopping .
“Is this all for show?”
Soochan pressed his finger into Sungyoon’s armor . The Scale Mail was made out scale-shaped steel meshed together . The armor clinked .
“This looks incredibly st.u.r.dy, yet why are you swinging spear from the back?”
‘Ah . Is that how he sees it?’
Sungyoon was wearing a really st.u.r.dy armor, yet he was using his spear from the backline . It seemed Soochan had a problem with this .
“I don’t have a s.h.i.+eld . ”
“Then you should let me use that . ”
“I refuse . ”
Everyone’s face stiffened at Soochan’s unorthodox request . However, Sungyoon didn’t look offended . He spoke in a calm manner .
“If you let me borrow your s.h.i.+eld, I’m willing to stand in the front . ”
This time Soochan’s face crumpled . It looked as if Sungyoon was trying to live the good life from the backline, so he had tried to antagonize Sungyoon . However, Sunyoon had given the perfect retort . Of course, Soochan wouldn’t let a stranger borrow his precious Gem .
He couldn’t let Sungyoon borrow his Gem for the same reason that Sungyoon wouldn’t let Soochan borrow his Gem .
‘It seems Emily put a lot of trust in me when she let me borrow her mace . ’
His good feeling towards the Ross siblings was at an all-time high right now . It was rising in an endless fas.h.i.+on .