"I found this."
"And I found this..."
"I couldn't find anything."
What Yoo Sangah and Gilyoung brought back were a bracelet and a shield, respectively.
[ITEM]
[Mana Recovery Bracelet]
[Grade: D]
[ITEM]
[Old Iron Shield]
[Grade: D]
Unfortunately, they looked like pieces of equipment that didn't suit me at all.
The Mana Recovery Bracelet was essentially a fashion accessory since I rarely used mana, and a shield simply didn't fit my fighting style.
Besides, there was already someone in the group who seemed far better suited for a shield.
"Nothing useful here."
"It's fine. The main prize is still left."
As if she had expected this, Dokja smiled—as if she had a different objective entirely—and walked toward the box.
[ITEM]
[Mana Brazier]
[Limit: Only one may be possessed per person.]
"What is this?"
"It's a brazier. Considering the sub-quest, it seems to be an item that allows us to cook monster meat so it's edible."
"Ah! That makes sense...!"
[Nice explanation!]
[Spot on as always.]
The skill had now been reduced to a tool for idle chatter.
It was being used like a personal messenger, but even so, I felt deeply how valuable such a skill was.
Sssizzle—
"It sounds just like grilling pork."
"You're right. Looking at it now, it looks like ordinary meat."
As Sangah said, if we hadn't personally torn this meat from a mole cricket, we would have mistaken it for normal meat.
"I'll try it first."
Crunch!
"Go ahead and eat. I think it's safe."
Perhaps everyone was hungry from the fighting, because for a while, we grilled and ate the meat in complete silence.
Ah, of course, that included me.
I could confidently say I was the most exhausted person here.
Unlike me, Han Myeongoh—who had done nothing but put on airs—must have been starving too. After receiving Dokja's permission, he barely managed to get a piece of meat.
If I stepped in, I might have been able to use the [Oath of Existence] to lift Asmodeus's curse, but I didn't feel like doing that much for Han Myeongoh.
More than anything, I felt that even if I helped him, he'd likely react with anger rather than gratitude.
"But you've been staring at that box for a while. Are you planning to use it for something?"
Wasn't that box called a random box?
Since it was a random box, something great could come out, but the probability of getting something useless was much higher.
That was why I wondered why she viewed the box as a valuable item.
My doubts were short-lived. Dokja placed the demon species core carved from the Dark Sentinel's corpse and the [Broken Faith] into the box and closed it.
Fwaaash!
A brilliant light began to leak from the box, and soon, a radiant glow burst forth completely.
Judging by Dokja's expression, this was clearly intentional.
"Open it already. It's yours."
"Okay!"
At my urging, she opened the box as if reluctantly, revealing a perfectly intact sword.
As if faithfully fulfilling the name [Broken Faith], the sword that had been severely damaged was now a brand-new blade, looking as if it had just left the forge.
"That looks really good. Lucky you, getting such a great weapon."
"Want it?"
"I'm not really the sword type."
"Then suit yourself!"
The [Mana Brazier] that allowed us to eat monster meat.
And a weapon that would allow Dokja to protect herself.
I considered this expedition a resounding success.
"Now, let's head back. If we just use Gilyoung's ability..."
"Hyung, um... there aren't any insects nearby at all."
Come to think of it, when the Dark Sentinel appeared, all the insects had been obliterated.
The sensation of those deaths had flooded into Gilyoung, causing him to vomit.
"Not even one?"
"Well, actually... there is one I can control, but..."
Gilyoung answered Dokja's question with hesitation.
"You don't need to push yourself."
"No. I'll try."
Gilyoung closed his eyes and focused every sense in his body.
Flash!
He suddenly snapped his eyes open and muttered words I couldn't understand.
Immediately after, his eyes rolled back and blood began to stream from his nose.
Boom!!
"Is that a vibration coming from above...?"
"Gilyoung, snap out of it! Gilyoung! Lee Gilyoung!"
"Uh... Noona?"
When Dokja grabbed him and called his name, realizing the danger, he came back to his senses.
A vibration reaching all the way down here from the surface meant that whatever was coming was no pathetic mole cricket.
And the problem was that such a creature was now heading our way because of Gilyoung's skill.
"Stop the skill! Now!"
"Hyung? Noona? Yes, yes!"
Rumble...
At our shouting, he hurriedly stopped the skill, and the vibrations gradually subsided.
The ability to summon a monster powerful enough to shake the earth to this depth was undoubtedly an incredible talent.
The only drawback—and a severe one—was that Gilyoung had not yet grown enough to control it.
[Dokja, what on earth did Gilyoung just call??]
[Probably the insect king species we saw on the surface.]
[Insect king species?]
[That giant praying mantis from above.]
Everyone has heard that an incompetent ally is more terrifying than a capable enemy.
Gilyoung was currently that 'incompetent ally.'
Power that cannot be controlled is nothing more than a threat to the team.
[I think it's best to seal Gilyoung's skill for a while.]
[Agreed. It seems to be putting too much strain on him.]
"This skill is sealed for now. Do not use it until either I or Oppa tells you to. Got it?"
"Yeees..."
Now the problem was how to return safely.
Did we have to wait for smaller insects to approach?
"Um... if it's just a matter of returning, I think I can take Gilyoung's place."
"Pardon?"
"I have a similar skill."
[The Constellation, 'Goddess of Love and Beauty,' urges you to trust her, saying it is safe to believe.]
Nod.
Nod.
.
.
.
With the support of the 'Goddess of Love and Beauty'—the Constellation most favorable to me—and Dokja's agreement, Yoo Sangah began to guide the way.
"It's a skill that finds a path using thread. I was worried this might happen, so I tied a 'thread' when I was being kidnapped earlier."
The skein was not made of ordinary string, but of brilliantly shining golden threads.
I couldn't identify exactly who Yoo Sangah's Constellation was.
More accurately, I couldn't narrow it down to just one.
The true name of the 'Goddess of Love and Beauty' is Aphrodite.
Based on her reaction when Yoo Sangah was kidnapped, she seemed like a likely Sponsor, but the ability itself didn't align with Aphrodite.
Considering the thread-based pathfinding, the most likely candidate was Ariadne.
The Fable of Theseus escaping the labyrinth using Ariadne's thread is, after all, legendary.
However, considering the 'deus ex machina' of the early scenarios and Aphrodite's behavior, it was possible that the Olympus nebula was supporting her as a whole.
Am I overthinking this?
Perhaps the person I should be most wary of in this group was none other than Yoo Sangah...
Hm?
"Do I have something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I just wanted to test something."
"Test wha—"
[The #BI-7623 channel has reopened.]
[Damn it! That bastard messed with my channel....]
Before I could finish my sentence, Bihyung appeared along with the notification that the channel had reopened.
.
.
.
"Wow, this is seriously delicious! That said, I'm not forgiving you for making me worry for seven hours."
[Bihyung: You pulled off some ridiculous feats again while I was gone, didn't you?]
[Kim Dokja: So the reason we couldn't get back was actually because of us?]
[Bihyung: Well... it's not like you had nothing to do with it.]
[Dokkaebi Communication], which became available after the contract, displayed several messages.
Since I had no interest in them, they only blocked my view, so I simply waved my hand to clear them away.
And so, we began our journey back toward Geumho Station.
Completely unaware of the chaos that awaited us there.
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