Chapter 58: 58

Swordmaster Healer – Episode 58

TL: Boko

Editor: Ren

Chapter 20 – Isolation (1)

“They’re bodies.”

The bodies were piled up, resembling a small mountain. It was almost as if it were a gruesome offering, meant to summon a demon.

“Team Leader Kim, it’s rare for monsters to play around with the corpses, right?” Sung Joon asked.

“I believe there have been no separate reports regarding this behavior,” Hyun Sung replied.

“I see it as a warning,” Rishubalt said.

Sung Joon nodded his head lightly. Eun Joo stepped back cautiously and approached Sung Joon.

“It doesn’t seem like there’s an ambush but… What do you think, Mr. Kang Sung Joon?”

Even just that statement alone proved that Eun Joo had begun to trust Sung Joon more.

Sung Joon’s sharp gaze pierced through the darkness.

“I don’t sense any presences, but there might be some Shadowless Assassins lurking around, so we should be cautious,” he advised.

Although he couldn’t feel any immediate presences, there might be other monsters lurking around. For example, there might be other monsters besides the Shadowless Assassins that might not have the same level of combat ability, but had stealth abilities. Thus, they had to tread cautiously.

“Let’s clean up the bodies first. I don’t think we should leave the bodies like that,” Eun Joo said.

Everyone was in agreement. While Eun Joo and two other Hunters guarded the vicinity, the rest of the Hunters laid the bodies out, single file.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t cover the bodies since they didn’t have enough cloth.

“This is Yang Dong Jin.”

Hyun Sung confirmed the identity of the S-rank Hunter, Yang Dong Jin, from amongst the bodies.

“Are we going to keep going?” one the Hunters asked.

The gruesome sight had sapped the will of the party. Eun Joo raised her head.

Hyun Sung had said in the briefing room that the Eroding Dungeon was quickly expanding its territory. They had hypothesized that if the underground expanded faster than expected, it might expand aboveground and become akin to a raid.

“Team Leader Kim Hyun Sung…”

Eun Joo glanced at Hyun Sung. Hyun Sung, with a calm expression, said frankly, “You don’t have to push yourselves too hard.”

Although the dungeon was extensively eroding the surrounding landscape, he didn’t want them to push themselves too hard and risk losing the S-rank Hunter, Eun Joo, as well as the rising star, Sung Joon.

“Let’s go back. It’s unreasonable to proceed any further,” Eun Joo said.  

“I agree with your assessment, Team Leader.”

“Phew, I’m saved.”

Everyone agreed with Eun Joo’s opinion.

They wanted to immediately go back the way they came, but soon despair set in.

“The path’s blocked!”

The stairs that led above ground was blocked by a now locked door.

The stone doors didn’t seem like they would open easily. They might’ve had a specialized magic circle etched onto them since Eun Joo’s powerful aura barely scratched them.

“We have no choice but to defeat the Boss,” Sung Joon stated.

Usually, in cases like this, the party would have to clear the dungeon and defeat the Boss before the door would open. Eun Joo bit her lip in chagrin at the fact that they had to continue their run.

“Team Leader*, are we isolated?” (*Both Hyun Sung and Eun Joo are referred to as Team Leader.)

“Nothing will happen. Please don’t worry so much,” Eun Joo comforted.

“Let’s continue on.”

The party proceeded forward once more. The monsters put up a fiercer resistance as they advanced deeper into the dungeon. Although they had fought twice, no one had died, due to Sung Joon.

There had been three injured, but due to Sung Joon’s considerable healing power, they were healed shortly.

Also, Sung Joon had been actively participating in the battles, so his synchronization rate rose to 22%.

During their break, Eun Joo sat beside Sung Joon, and spoke feebly, saying, “I don’t see the end.”

Since this was her first time in this kind of dungeon as well, it was difficult for her to maintain her composure.

The appearing monsters were many, and their ranks were high.

“But it’s a relief that you’re with us, Mr. Sung Joon*.” (*This is not a typo. She omits his last name, which means she’s being more familiar with him.)

Since Sung Joon remained calm, she, and the rest of ‘Dike’ could remain composed.

Another part of it was that Sung Joon’s incredible healing power kept their death count low. If their death count had been high, the party’s spirits would have been down in the dumps.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. We didn’t have any hopes for your combat abilities because you’re a Healer, but your healing power is considerable, and it seems that you fight better than the average mid-tier A-rank Hunter. This is the first time I’ve seen a Healer fight so well,” Eun Joo said.

Sung Joon smiled softly. It felt great to be complimented.

“Also, we’ve gotten out of more than one crisis due to your Presence Detection, Mr. Sung Joon. Everyone in ‘Dike’ is thankful to you.”

“I’ll listen to your thanks later,” Sung Joon said, standing up and drawing his sword.

“It seems like monsters are coming.”

“There wasn’t anything in the vicinity…” Eun Joo said, shocked.

They had retreated back a distance of thirty minutes worth in order to rest safely. There weren’t any enemies in their periphery, so the appearing monsters must’ve been pursuing the party.

“It truly is different from a normal dungeon,” Eun Joo muttered.

Most of the time, monsters wouldn’t leave their designated areas in normal dungeons. However, on the contrary, these monsters had left their designated areas.

“They’re coming!” someone yelled.

The spirits that lay in the darkness emitted a strange light. They gradually came closer and Sung Joon went forth.

“Slash!” Sung Joon recited.

Sung Joon swung his sword in a large arc and shot his aura slash in a straight line. The Flame Berserkers raised their shields, but his aura slash cut through their flame-wreathed shields and bisected them.

Three Flame Berserkers were felled with one strike.

“Blessing!” Young Mi’s yell echoed throughout the dungeon.

The Hunters’ weapons gleamed with aura. All of the ‘Dike’ team members were aura-users.

“Absorb.”

Sung Joon absorbed the mana and retreated a few steps back to the party and got back into position.

“Heal!”

The battle had begun in earnest and Sung Joon became busy. Whenever someone was injured, he would busily use his ‘Heal’ on them.

When they finished their battle, the party advanced once again.

“Everyone is extremely fatigued. We have to attack the Boss as soon as possible.”

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This was the third day of their dungeon assault and the party members were getting increasingly fatigued. However, Sung Joon could use his Mana Absorption to recuperate his mana and stamina, but the others couldn’t, so they were nearing their limit.

There were also limits to taking a break in the middle and healing the party.

Hyun Sung walked towards the area where Sung Joon and Eun Joo were sitting. He didn’t want the hopeless news to spread, so he whispered, but the other Hunters were well aware of how bad their situation was.

“There’s a regular assault team that’s supposed to enter the dungeon today, but since the passageway is blocked… it’ll be difficult to hope for any aid,” he said.

“Everyone’s exhausted. We shouldn’t drag this out for very long,” Eun Joo said.

They had brought plenty of drinking water and supplies when they had heard about the vastness of the dungeon, but there was a limit to their stamina. Sung Joon nodded his head in agreement as Eun Joo expressed her concern.

They wanted to proceed quickly, but the Hunters were way too exhausted.

“Let’s proceed,” she announced, and as her voice spread, the Hunters stood with great difficulty.

Although they were very tired, everyone trusted and followed Eun Joo, so no one voiced their complaints or dissatisfaction.

“W-What is this…?”

Eun Joo and the other leading Combat Hunter stopped. She spoke with an expression of disbelief.

There were two passageways before her.

It was a forked road.

“T-There’s a forked road…?”

“Weren’t dungeons all a one-way street?”

The Hunters were also flustered. Normal dungeons only went one way, and didn’t contain any forked roads.

“Rishubalt.”

Sung Joon stepped back, moving out of position. From a location slightly distant from the group, he called for his loyal aide. Sung Joon thought that Rishubalt would be able to scout out and determine which road was the right one.

“Can you scout it?” Sung Joon whispered.

Rishubalt shook his head.

“My apologies, my lord,” he said. “There is a shroud of mana, so I cannot separate from you, my lord.”

Due to Sung Joon’s increased synchronization rate, Rishubalt had gained the ability to move autonomously and scout far off distances, but if there was an interference in the mana, he wouldn’t be able to move far away from Sung Joon.

“It’s fine.”

Rishubalt felt a feeling of helplessness, since he was of no help to Sung Joon. After he comforted the bowing Rishubalt, Sung Joon walked over to Eun Joo.

Hyun Sung and Eun Joo were discussing the current situation.

“Ms. Eun Joo,” Sung Joon called carefully.

She turned her attention to Sung Joon.

“I’ll go on and scout it out.”

“You will, Mr. Sung Joon?”

“Yes. I also have a stealth item, so if things become dangerous, I can retreat immediately.”

Sung Joon showed her the ring on his left hand, the ‘Veil of Darkness’.

“You can’t. I cannot send you alone. It’s too dangerous.”

Eun Joo shook her head in opposition.

“If we move together, it becomes too difficult for the party to escape immediately the moment we encounter danger. Even if I encounter a lot of enemies, I can retreat since I have a stealth item, and I can handle myself if I manage to get isolated.”

Despite Sung Joon’s explanation, Eun Joo shook her head. She was silent for a while, but she looked like she had made a decision.

She said, “I’ll go too.”

“Team Leader?”

The Hunters were astounded by her announcement.

“I also have a stealth item. Besides, we’re in the same party. I can’t allow you to bear the danger alone, Mr. Sung Joon. I’ll go with you too,” Eun Joo said firmly.

The Hunters were astonished, though none one of them dissented. Was it because they were well aware of her nature?

“Are you really going to accompany me?”

“The Dike team members are my family. I can’t just hand over the responsibility of protecting my family to someone else. Also, wouldn’t two people going together be better than you getting isolated alone?”

“I understand. Let’s go together,” Sung Joon consented.

Eun Joo smiled and said, “I won’t slow you down.”

She was an S-rank Hunter. Thus, there was no way she’d slow him down.

While Eun Joo was hurrying her preparations, Hyun Sung approached Sung Joon and asked, “Mr. Kang Sung Joon, will you be alright?”

He was truly worried about Sung Joon.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Of course. Please don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Nothing will happen.”

Sung Joon finished his short conversation with Hyun Sung and inspected his gear. As soon as he finished his inspection, Eun Joo joined up with him.

“Everyone, stay here and rest. I’ll be back soon.”

After Eun Joo gave orders to the Hunters, she accompanied Sung Joon into the right passageway. The two drones lit up the darkness.

Had they walked for around thirty minutes?

The long corridor continued on, seemingly endless. They thought about going back, but the two decided to scout a little bit more.

“Let’s go back now,” Sung Joon said.

They couldn’t discover anything and they didn’t see an end. Sung Joon proposed that they go back and Eun Joo nodded in agreement.

“Let’s go back,” Eun Joo responded.

The two returned the way they came, but they stopped walking after just a short time.

“There’s something there, right?” Eun Joo asked.

“There’s something guarding the way back,” Sung Joon responded and nodded his head.

Sung Joon turned off his Light Drone.

“It seems like the monsters took a detour and are guarding the way back. I’ll go scout out the area.”

“Be careful.”

Eun Joo glanced at him worriedly and Sung Joon simply nodded his head. Also, Sung Joon poured mana into the ‘Veil of Darkness’ on his left hand.

“Stealth.”

He melded with the darkness and walked calmly. As his eyes became acclimated to the darkness, Sung Joon could see the outlines of the topography. Also, not much later, he discovered a group of lights guarding the way back.

He could make out their appearance because they were peculiar luminous spirits.

‘Damn it all,’ Sung Joon cursed.

He was definitely stealthed, but their eyes had met.

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