TL NOTE:

I am excited to announce that moving forward, I will be taking over the translation of The Strongest Guild Kidnapped Me from Korean to English. My goal is to ensure the translation remains faithful to the original while making it as enjoyable and natural as possible for readers.

Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to bringing you more of Gyeoul’s adventures!

Sincerely,
[Santos]

 

 

***

The giant horned rabbit stomped its foot like a bull, its characteristic red eyes appearing bloodshot from excitement.

Gulp.

Someone swallowed nervously at the grotesque sight of the horned rabbit. At that small sound, both the rabbit’s ears and mine perked up simultaneously.

Ah. It reacted to the sound of swallowing.

As the horned rabbit turned its body toward the adventurer, I also aimed my bow at the creature.

Whizz—!

The bowstring’s tension made a sharp sound, causing the horned rabbit’s ears to twitch. It halted its charge at the adventurer and, like any normal rabbit, leaped into the air.

Thud!

An arrow embedded itself in the spot where the giant horned rabbit had been. The creature had dodged the arrow just by reacting to the sound of the vibrating bowstring.

It was an experienced fighter.

In terms of combat experience alone, it far surpassed me, who had only fought goblins and regular horned rabbits. I let out a frustrated breath at the overwhelming difference in skill.

“Ugh.”

If only the other adventurers had their mana, a creature like this wouldn’t even be a challenge. I gripped my bow tightly in frustration, but quickly shook my head.

There was no point in complaining about what we didn’t have. The important thing was figuring out what I could do in this situation. That’s how I had survived until now, and that’s how I planned to keep living.

‘Let’s test something first.’

Jung Yu-na had mentioned that horned rabbits, being specialized for hearing, had underdeveloped eyesight. I decided to check if the same applied to the giant horned rabbit.

‘Let’s start with the eyes and ears.’

Without nocking an arrow, I pulled back the bowstring.

Whizz—!

As soon as the string vibrated, making a sound, the creature reflexively jerked its body. Even without an arrow being fired, it reacted purely to the sound.

It must be prioritizing sound because its vision is poor. This also meant that, like other horned rabbits, it had no mana protecting its eyes.

I glanced at Yeoreum beside me to signal what I had discovered, and she gave me a thumbs-up.

“…!”

Did she figure it out without me even saying anything? Feeling a bit pleased that I had been helpful, I momentarily let my guard down.

Thud—!

I realized too late that the giant horned rabbit was charging at us. By the time I turned my head, it had already slammed its enormous body into the tree I was sitting in.

Crash—!

The impact made the tree tilt dangerously, and I lost my balance, tumbling toward the ground.

“Gyeoul…!”

Yeoreum reached out to grab me. I reached back, but we couldn’t catch each other.

“Ah.”

I’m falling. Will it hurt a lot when I hit the ground? Such pointless thoughts filled my mind until, suddenly, Yeoreum threw herself at me.

“Gyeoul!”

She wrapped her arms around me, even shielding my head as if to soften the impact.

Thud—!

We crashed to the ground together. Although the fall was cushioned by the giant horned rabbit’s back, the fear of having the creature so close only grew stronger.

“Uh…”

Its horn was as thick as my forearm. If it pierced me, I’d die instantly, right?

As that foolish thought crossed my mind, Yeoreum picked me up and started running desperately.

“Yu-na!”

“Over here!”

Jung Yu-na’s voice came from a nearby tree. Behind us, the horned rabbit crouched, preparing to leap.

Its leg muscles swelled. If I had been alone, I could have rolled out of the way, but now I was cradled in Yeoreum’s arms.

“Duck your head!”

Instinctively, I pushed Yeoreum’s head down, but she responded by tossing me into the air.

Whack!

There was the sound of something being pierced as my body soared upward. Yeoreum had thrown me so high that Jung Yu-na, perched in a tree, was able to grab the collar of my shirt.

“The, the horned rabbit...!”

Dangling from Jung Yu-na’s hand, I frantically searched for Yeoreum. Below, I saw her grimacing in pain.

“Huh...?”

The giant horn of the horned rabbit had pierced through Yeoreum’s stomach. The sight of the blood-soaked horn was more surreal than anything I’d ever seen. Without mana, Yeoreum couldn’t survive such a wound.

It was truly an unexpected death. And at the hands of the weakest monster—a horned rabbit.

“Yeoreum...?”

Jung Yu-na’s arm trembled as she held onto me. I, too, was shaking uncontrollably.

What could I possibly do to save her? I racked my brain, but no solutions came to mind. Even the best healing potion wouldn’t work now.

‘It’s over…’

There was no hope. As despair gripped me and my body slumped in defeat, Yeoreum let out a groan and grabbed the horn sticking out of her stomach.

Behind her, I saw Choi Jinhyuk and other adventurers charging at the horned rabbit.

“Just hold on a little longer!”

Choi Jinhyuk and the physical fighters clung to the massive body of the horned rabbit. The creature kicked wildly, trying to shake them off.

No matter how strong their muscles were, without mana, they couldn’t hold on for more than a few seconds.

It was a futile effort. As I stood there, paralyzed by helplessness, Yeoreum lifted her head with great effort and made eye contact with me.

‘Ah…’

She’s going to die because of me.

I wanted to apologize, but my lips wouldn’t move. Maybe I was destined to be a burden my whole life.

Why am I so useless?

Just as I was drowning in self-pity, I noticed a faint smile on Yeoreum’s lips.

‘She’s… smiling?’

It wasn’t a smile meant to reassure me. Nor was it a final farewell. It was a smile of determination, one that only someone who truly believes in others could make.

And her faith was in me.

Was there really something I could do? I bit my lip and forced myself to think. I recalled everything Yeoreum and Sophia had taught me about dungeons.

‘To save someone with a stomach wound…’

She needed immediate treatment. But in this mana-less dungeon, the only way to heal her was to clear the dungeon first. Once the dungeon was cleared, mana would return, and I could pour all the potions I had into her.

‘Dungeons with bosses are cleared by defeating the boss, right?’

The moment I had that thought, I understood the meaning of Yeoreum’s smile. She was telling me, “We’re holding down the horned rabbit, so all you have to do is shoot your arrow.”

Even with a horn through her stomach, she still believed in me.

“...!”

I quickly nocked an arrow and aimed at the giant horned rabbit. Then I shouted to Jung Yu-na, who was holding me.

“Don’t let your arms shake!”

“Got it!”

Had Jung Yu-na realized the same thing I had? She took a deep breath and steadied herself completely.

It was as if we were all moving as one. In that moment, I released the arrow, aiming for the giant horned rabbit.

Whizz—!

The arrow flew straight toward the rabbit’s eye. The creature instinctively tried to dodge, but with a dozen adventurers clinging to its body, all it could do was shudder.

“Aaah!”

“Ugh!”

Several adventurers were thrown to the ground by the rabbit’s thrashing, but thanks to their sacrifice, the creature was unable to move from its spot.

Thud!

The arrow pierced the rabbit’s eye. I could feel that the sharp arrowhead had reached its brain.

Squeal…

With a surprisingly cute death cry, the giant horned rabbit collapsed. Yeoreum, still impaled on its horn, fell to her knees with it.

“Cough.”

A mouthful of blood spilled from Yeoreum’s lips. I struggled to free myself from Jung Yu-na’s grip, and she released my hand.

“Ye, Yeoreum…!”

I carefully approached her, calling her name. With her eyes tightly shut, she looked as if she were already dead.

Had we missed the golden time?

With trembling hands, I reached out to touch her face, and Yeoreum let out a faint chuckle.

“Ah… I’m dying over here.”

“You’re… alive!”

“Yeah. I saw the afterlife for a moment there, but now that mana’s back, I’m feeling a bit better.”

“Th-thank goodness.”

Mana had returned.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, I watched as Yeoreum weakly raised her hand to poke my cheek.

“If you leave me like this, I might see the afterlife again...”

“Ah! Just a moment!”

I frantically rummaged through her bag. Since she had told me where she kept her potions, I quickly found one and pulled it out.

“Drink this quickly!”

I poured the potion into Yeoreum’s mouth. For some reason, she refused at first, so I forced it in.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

Puh! After drinking the potion, Yeoreum let out a strange, relieved laugh.

“Gyeoul… you should probably take the horn out first…”

“Oh! Right…!”

Her slowly healing stomach was still blocked by the giant horn. Panicking, I tugged at my hair, suddenly recalling the first day I met

 her when she had force-fed me soup.

‘Ah.’

When people worry too much, they tend to become forceful. It was such an obvious realization, but only now did I fully understand it. Looking at Yeoreum, who was on the verge of recovering, I let out an awkward laugh.

“Aigo... I’m dying over here...”

Before getting too sentimental, I needed to save Yeoreum first.