38
Unlike Baek Woo-jin, who felt a level of gladness akin to meeting an old school friend after becoming an adult, the rest of the party who entered with him felt nothing of the sort.
"Ha?"
The first to react was Jang Hye-na, who had entered right behind Baek Woo-jin. She briefly set down the hammer she was holding and repeated the action of rubbing her eyes twice and looking ahead again, but there was no way doing so would change the reality before her eyes.
"Fuck."
If Jang Hye-na denied reality, Hong Yeon-ha threw off her mask refreshingly the moment she saw the Goblin Warrior.
"Stepped right into shit."
Glaring at the creature that, despite being a goblin, had a larger and more muscular physique than an adult male, Hong Yeon-ha roughly swept back her innocent bangs.
"Eek."
Last was... did I introduce her? Anyway, the thief woman was shivering all over with an expression that screamed 'I'm scared right now!' like a puppy just taken out after being washed at a basin somewhere.
'Anyway, this structure.'
I thought it was a familiar structure I'd seen somewhere before, but this was very similar to the structure of the Room of Mind and Training that Schulodin had created.
Of course, comparing the overall background was meaningless since the materials were different, but the composition of lines drawn on the floor and the Goblin Warrior standing at the center of the space was identical enough to immediately bring back memories of that day.
'If he could foresee the future... he wouldn't have needed to demand a conversation when he met me.'
Or perhaps the range he could see was extremely limited.
I was a bit curious, but even if I were to ask, it seemed like something I'd only ask in the distant future after building a closer relationship with him.
Right now, I was undeniably nothing more than a burden who had only received help, and wasting even a tiny bit of time to satisfy personal curiosity against someone who had even reduced conversation time to help me grow pricked my conscience, no matter who I was.
"Hye-na, Hye-na. Snap out of it."
"Heop?!"
I had left her alone thinking she'd face reality on her own, but when I lightly patted the cheek of Jang Hye-na, who was endlessly rubbing her eyes, she finally flinched her shoulders and looked this way.
"I'd appreciate it if you could rub your eyes after we deal with that thing in front of you first."
When I pointed at the Warrior drooping a massive greatsword close to a blunt weapon, Jang Hye-na's head, which had been facing this way, naturally followed my finger toward the Warrior.
"That, thing?"
"Yes. That thing."
Following me in pointing at the Warrior, she brought that finger back to herself.
"Us?"
"Yes. Us."
"Deal with it?"
"Just snap out of it already. Or should I slap you one more time?"
"Aaaargh!!"
When I casually raised my right hand, Jang Hye-na even dropped the shield she was holding and recklessly tousled her hair with her freed hands.
"It's distracting, so stop."
"Heogeok, heok..."
When I reached out and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was tousling her hair, Jang Hye-na obediently stopped her movement. Considering the pure difference in physical strength between her and me, it was closer to her stopping on her own.
"Anyone have any objections?"
As expected, no one in the party raised their hand to speak.
With the atmosphere having become incomparably heavier than before they entered, Baek Woo-jin belatedly realized just how threatening a existence that green lump standing over there glaring at them was to this party, excluding himself.
'If中途abandonment were possible, the atmosphere wouldn't have sunk this low.'
In the heavy silence, Baek Woo-jin alone casually rolled his eyes and surveyed the Goblin Warrior, which was shooting intense hostility toward them.
His skin stung a little, but that was it.
Far from feeling tense, his hands itched with the desire to clash with it right away.
'Still, letting my guard down is out of the question.'
There were 4 humans capable of fighting right here, but their skills all differed. And there was no rule written anywhere that said this wouldn't apply to monsters as well.
"Let's go with a direct approach."
"Haa, fine. Let's do that."
The first to answer was Hong Yeon-ha.
She rearranged the hair she had swept back and continued speaking.
"Sitting here like this will only put us at a disadvantage. It's better to try while we still have some stamina left. You there."
Having thrown off her mask, Hong Yeon-ha called Jang Hye-na while deliberately omitting her name despite clearly knowing it.
"If you've snapped out of it, slowly pick up everything you put down."
"...I somehow thought my luck was good in the beginning."
Having finally accepted reality, Jang Hye-na picked up the shield and hammer she had dropped and held them in different hands, rearming herself as Hong Yeon-ha had said.
"If you, Hye-na, receive the first strike, I'll immediately try to exploit the opening."
"Can I speak honestly? One strike? I'm confident I can receive it. Follow-up? Of course I'm confident. The problem is that my mobility is low. Moreover..."
Jang Hye-na's gaze turned toward the Goblin Warrior.
"Goblin Warriors are among the bosses with very high intelligence. If Woo-jin doesn't create a proper opening, the moment Hong Yeon-ha manifests her magic, that thing will ignore us and charge at Hong Yeon-ha, the only threat."
"Probably. More importantly, can you stop with that honorific?"
"My choice."
"That person over there is calling you 'you there' instead of your name."
"What?"
When Jang Hye-na widened her eyes as if asking if that was true and turned her head, Hong Yeon-ha, whose expression had been dark, slightly furrowed one eyebrow as if to say 'So what?'
"No way."
Whether shocked, Jang Hye-na blankly blinked and couldn't take her eyes off Hong Yeon-ha for a while.
"Just in case that thing charges, you need to hold it off even for a moment."
"I-I have protective magic, so if it's just for a moment... I-I can hold out."
I swept my hand across Jang Hye-na's face, who was still looking at Hong Yeon-ha, and continued.
"How long does it take for you to cast?"
"20 seconds."
"What should we watch out for?"
"When I signal, get away from that thing."
"Understood."
It was flame magic of all things, so aside from its power, the simple fact that it was fire was reason enough to follow her words.
"Then let's loosen up our stiff muscles and start right away before more time passes."
"...Aren't you nervous at all, Woo-jin?"
"It doesn't particularly help to do that, so why would I."
Jang Hye-na, who was stretching following Baek Woo-jin, let out a small sigh.
"Are you really twenty? Whenever I talk with you, Woo-jin, I feel like I've become the younger sister."
"Then let's just say I'm your oppa."
"You must be crazy."
While she was rambling about who needs to be socially buried, Hong Yeon-ha intervened between them.
"You're twenty?"
"Come to think of it, you two are the same age? Wow, young people these days, their talent is really scary."
"Are you really twenty?"
Now openly treating Jang Hye-na as if she didn't exist, Hong Yeon-ha asked Baek Woo-jin.
"We don't know if we'll live or die right now, so what does that matter? If you're really curious, ask again after we get out of here."
With that heavy fact, Hong Yeon-ha, who had been briefly excited, seemed to regain her reason and nodded, returning to her original position.
As preparations were wrapping up, Baek Woo-jin massaged Jang Hye-na's shoulder once, which still seemed to have too much tension in it.
"I understand the intention. But touching without saying anything like this actually has the opposite effect, so please be careful next time."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Sigh. It's my fate."
After lamenting her lot in life with a sigh, Jang Hye-na held her shield forward and fixed her gaze on the Goblin Warrior.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"I'll give the signal."
Baek Woo-jin casually flicked the long-hanging halberd and counted down.
"One."
"Heup!!"
At the count, Jang Hye-na charged at the Warrior with all her might like someone with no way back.
'I can't keep up with a straight charge without enhancement.'
Maintaining exactly five steps behind, when I was running after her.
Kyaahhh──!!
The creature roared at us, brimming with murderous intent.
'It's not even as good as an alarm now.'
It was exactly that moment when Baek Woo-jin, who had been protecting his ears with magical power in advance, was making a bored commentary to himself.
Jang Hye-na's stride, which had been rushing straight toward the creature, staggered for a moment, and unlike the one he had faced in the Room of Time and Mind, the green mass before his eyes charged at Jang Hye-na just as they had, the moment her stance broke.
The distance closed in an instant.
As if knowing exactly the length of the greatsword in its hand, the creature immediately swung its greatsword at Jang Hye-na.
"Hye-na!!"
"Keuk?!"
Did calling her name have an effect?
Even from an unstable stance, Jang Hye-na twisted her body with astonishing skill and barely blocked the creature's greatsword that had flown in aiming for her waist.
However, because both her feet had left the ground, Jang Hye-na had to pay a heavy price.
Kwaaang──!!
Unable to disperse the impact, Jang Hye-na flew at a speed difficult to follow with the eyes and crashed straight into the wall.
'Not enough to kill her.'
If the creature had charged to finish cutting off Jang Hye-na's breath, I would have immediately bisected the red lines engraved on its body.
Kung!!
Confirming that the aggro had been drawn to him, Baek Woo-jin skillfully received the Warrior's attacks to check Hong Yeon-ha's level, holding onto the creature's ankle until the promised time.
"Get down if you don't want to die!!"
At Hong Yeon-ha's shout, Baek Woo-jin instantly created distance by using the halberd's shaft to push away the Warrior's greatsword as if using it as a wall.
"Just die!!"
Along with a cry full of emotion, a massive fireball surged toward the Warrior at tremendous speed.
Preparing for any possible aftermath, Baek Woo-jin covered his entire body with magical power, ignoring efficiency, and tracked the fireball with both eyes.
Kwaaang──!!
Perhaps intending to slash through the fireball, the moment the Warrior's swung greatsword touched the flame filled with murderous intent, an incredible roar that was hard to believe came from just a sword and flame meeting echoed, and the creature's surroundings were instantly engulfed in massive flames.
'Impressive.'
Even with his body protected by magical power, the flames were so intense that he couldn't completely block the searing heat.
Kyaaaahhk!!
The problem was that, whether it had truly slashed through Hong Yeon-ha's fireball or not, the creature burst out of the flames with only the finger portions of both hands and forearms charred black, and immediately charged at Hong Yeon-ha.
Baek Woo-jin immediately ran toward Jang Hye-na, who had crashed into the wall.
First, her stance was broken, making it impossible to pursue the Warrior.
Second, he trusted the protective magic stored in the magical tool the thief woman possessed.
And third, while it was a bit disappointing on Hong Yeon-ha's side, in reality, both the thief woman and Hong Yeon-ha were people he'd just met today, so whether they lived or died wasn't his concern.
"What kind of tank gets knocked out in one hit just because they were hit in mid-air?"
Baek Woo-jin poured a potion into the mouth of Jang Hye-na, who fortunately still had her breath intact, and stood up while picking up the shield she hadn't let go of even in her unconscious state.
"Hiek?!"
At the desperate scream, when he turned around, the scene of a translucent barrier shattering like glass from the greatsword swung by the creature, whose eyes seemed to have rolled back halfway, caught his eye.
"You horny bastard!! Whether it's your lover or whatever, shouldn't you protect me first!!"
As if sensing death, Hong Yeon-ha abandoned her incantation and hurled all kinds of curses at Baek Woo-jin, who was looking at her.
Pukeok!
And the thief woman, who had been frozen with two daggers drawn, was struck by the Warrior's massive fist and rolled powerlessly across the floor before crashing into the wall and collapsing.
Krrrrr...
When the Warrior, standing before Hong Yeon-ha who had burned its flesh, burst with red gleam in its eyes and slowly raised the greatsword in its hand, Baek Woo-jin threw Jang Hye-na's shield with all his might.
Kang!
As if it had eyes on the back of its head, the Warrior turned its body and easily deflected the shield.
"That won't do."
Krrrk!!
The Warrior, which had been trying to turn around to finish off Hong Yeon-ha first, had its actions interrupted once again by a hand axe flying toward it.
Kyaaahk!!
When Baek Woo-jin chuckled while feinting a throw of another hand axe, the Warrior ultimately left Hong Yeon-ha behind despite having her right there and charged toward Baek Woo-jin.
"Hey! You better hold onto that damn thing tightly!!"
The eyes of Hong Yeon-ha, who had barely returned from the threshold of death, were completely flipped.