Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of metal being struck in a steady rhythm, and a wave of green swept through the forest. It was as if the entire dungeon, Carmel’s Forest, was coming alive.

It was like the Pied Piper leading the children in the forest and disappearing far away, but this was far from a fantastical and whimsical scene.

It was a brutal and horrific sight.

“Kek!”

“Ker-rurk!”

“Ker-rur-rur-rur—”

The green-skinned goblins moved relentlessly, drawn by the sound of Lee Yoo-ri’s shield.

Bang!!! Bang!! Bang! Bang… Bang……

The sound of Lee Yoo-ri’s dagger tapping her shield grew fainter.

We were all stunned into silence by the overwhelming sight of the goblins moving in hordes.

It was all so sudden.

Lee Yoo-ri had shouted for us to retreat and then charged forward herself.

The contradiction between the ‘order’ to retreat and her ‘action’ of rushing forward caused a momentary blankness in my mind.

The first to break the silence was Yuna.

“……Unni?”

Yuna’s eyes widened, and her mouth hung open.

“Soup……?”

“……Team Leader!”

Go Yoon-seo contorted her face and swore.

“You, you crazy bitch! Who does that!”

Only then did I realize Lee Yoo-ri’s intention.

‘This idiot…!’

She had run forward alone to save us, sacrificing herself to draw the monsters’ attention.

She wanted us to escape and survive while she distracted the monsters.

Of course, Lee Yoo-ri had considered all the factors before making such a decision: our party’s capabilities, the current state of the party members, the number of goblins, and the presence of a boss monster.

She had quickly assessed the situation and concluded that ‘we didn’t stand a chance.’

‘She must have thought it was better to take it all on herself than to die together as a party.’

I clenched my fists, frustrated at her foolish decision.

But…

There was something she didn’t know.

Namely,

‘I have an S-grade swordsmanship specialization.’

An S-grade swordsmanship specialization was more than enough to handle an E-grade gate.

I could easily take on the boss monster by myself.

So, I needed to step up now.

It had to be me.

Thump, thump.

My heart was pounding as I anticipated my first battle.

Whoosh.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and sharpened my senses by gripping and releasing the hilt of my sword.

‘……I didn’t expect my combat debut to be so dramatic.’

My original plan to slowly get accustomed to combat by dealing with goblins one by one was out the window.

It was time for the real deal.

I needed to get used to it quickly.

That was the only way to save Lee Yoo-ri.

Swish.

I drew Moonlight from my waist. The blue blade glistened with sunlight.

Just then…

“Jin Yuha—?”

“Yes?”

As I was steeling myself, I heard my name being called and turned around.

There stood Go Yoon-seo, checking her weapons.

“Thank you so much for today. You followed our schedule without any complaints, and your Perception was a great help. I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated for today’s work.”

She spoke without looking at me, her voice colder than ever before.

“But this is our situation. I’m sorry, but please step aside.”

Go Yoon-seo glanced back, and Yuna and Choi So-yeon seemed to agree, their expressions unchanged.

“That’s a bit disappointing.”

I didn’t bother with formalities either, as there was no need for them now.

Go Yoon-seo glared at me, annoyed.

“Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger? You don’t have to help us or feel any loyalty to us. Just get out of here and let the guards know what’s going on. That’s the best you can do for us.”

“Can you save her if you go?”

“Look, Jin Yuha. We just met today. Soup is family to us, but to you, she’s just a stranger.”

Go Yoon-seo glared at me, clearly frustrated.

Her blunt drawing of the line annoyed me.

‘…… are you saying that she is Soup only to you guys?’

“Well, I’m sorry, but Lee Yoo-ri—”

At that moment…

“Kek!”

A goblin appeared from behind a tree.

As soon as I saw it, I channeled my mana and gripped the hilt of my sword.

Then, I turned and casually…

—Swung my sword horizontally.

Sssshh.

A beat later, the air was sliced by the wind.

The goblin was clearly out of my sword’s reach, and it had laughed mockingly at my empty swing.

But, still laughing…

Screech!

“Keck?!”

Puff!

The goblin’s body was split in half, upper and lower, and bright red blood spurted out.

Bang!

Even the tree it had been hiding behind was sliced in two.

It was a manifestation of my swordsmanship skill.

I turned back to the party members.

Go Yoon-seo and Choi So-yeon stared at me with wide eyes, and Yuna’s mouth hung open.

I finished my sentence.

“I’m sorry, but Lee Yoo-ri has been Soup to me for a very long time.”

.

.

.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang…! Bang……!

Lee Yoo-ri stopped tapping her shield and running.

“……I think I’ve drawn enough attention now.”

Well, to be precise, she had run out of mana to continue using [Shield’s Resonance].

Lee Yoo-ri scanned the goblins surrounding her, weapons at the ready.

“Looks like all the goblins in Carmel Forest are here…”

Wherever she looked, there were green heads as far as the eye could see.

There were so many of them that one might wonder if there was a goblin-producing factory nearby.

Perhaps, over time, the monsters in this forgotten part of the dungeon had accumulated, never being fully exterminated.

The sight of so many disgusting creatures made my stomach churn.

“……Well, they’re just goblins, though.”

To be fair, if it had been only goblins, Lee Yoo-ri might have suggested tackling them together as a party.

If they had stayed and fought day and night for three or four days, or even a week, they might have survived or waited for the Dungeon Management Bureau to send a rescue team.

But among the sea of green, there was a reddish-skinned goblin.

He crossed his arms, smirking contemptuously, looking down on her.

He was undoubtedly a C-grade monster, a Blood Goblin.

A unique individual known for its ability to command goblins and possess exceptional strength and speed.

Because of this goblin, Lee Yoo-ri had chosen to stay behind alone, away from the party members.

Lee Yoo-ri frowned.

“……I mean, who would’ve expected a C-grade monster to be hiding in an E-grade gate?”

Then…

“Kek.”

The Blood Goblin let out a short cry, and…

Sssshh.

The goblins closed in from all sides.

“Hmm. The longer I hold them here, the safer the party members will be, right?”

Lee Yoo-ri tightened her grip on her shield.

“Then, what. I’ll stay here all day if I have to.”

Swords and rusty old clubs began to fly towards her from all directions.

Whoosh! Screech!

The only tactic she could employ against the goblins was to rush into their midst and disrupt their attacks.

Thud!

Lee Yoo-ri charged forward, pushing the goblins back with her shield.

“Anyway, no matter how many of you there are, only six of you can attack me at once.”

She spoke as if to herself, killing time since there was no point in talking to the goblins, who couldn’t understand her anyway.

“What, the rest of you will have to just stand back and watch or shoot arrows or poison darts… Hmm…”

Sssshh!

Puff!

“Kieeek!”

As she spoke, an arrow whistled through the air, and she pushed a goblin aside, embedding the arrow in another goblin’s shoulder.

“Kek. See, that’s how it is. Numbers don’t always guarantee victory, huh?”

Lee Yoo-ri smirked, looking at the red goblin in front of her.

The goblin’s lips curled downward, and she felt a little pleased.

“Haa, I’m really sorry……”

Ting!

Ting!

Lee Yoo-ri continued to deflect the incoming swords with her shield.

“That person just came to help us today, and now this happens…”

Jin Yuha.

Suddenly thinking of him, Yoo-ri  sighed.

“……He seemed strangely close from the moment we met.”

—Ah, I was worried that your phone was broken. Sorry, I got a little too close.

Lee Yoo-ri’s face turned as red as the Blood Goblin as she recalled their first meeting, when their lips had almost touched.

“……Weird guy.”

Despite meeting him for the first time today, he had somehow managed to close the distance between them.

Of course, she had defended him against the other party members’ distrust, but in truth, she had been the most suspicious of him.

So, she had kept her distance, speaking bluntly and formally. Lee Yoo-ri had drawn a line from the very beginning.

“And he played strange pranks…”

—If you’re the team leader, I can show you my status window anytime.

Thud, thud, thud!

Lee Yoo-ri slammed her shield into a goblin.

“Damn, I really showed him a lot of weird stuff. Hiccupping, offering to pat my back when I choked on my food…”

—Hic!

—Ack!

Lee Yoo-ri’s face reddened with embarrassment, and she subconsciously put more strength into her shield-wielding hand.

“But, well… he wasn’t a bad person.”

To be honest, today’s dungeon raid had been a forced march.

The pace had been unusually fast.

Even Yuna and Yoon-seo, who usually kept up without complaining, had struggled.

Of course, he had only used his traits and claimed he hadn’t expended much energy, but it couldn’t have been easy for him as a man to keep up with the pace.

Yet, he had volunteered to take on the task of dealing with the goblins, saying he wasn’t doing enough.

—I’ve been watching you from behind. The whole time.

—So, please give me a chance.

” Keep on, with that face! Uh!? Just like that! Can you really do it!?”

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Lee Yoo-ri punched a goblin in the face.

“And he kept feeding me! Without my permission!”

— You are a woman. You have to take care of your body.

Thwack!

“Damn, why do you care that I need to eat better!?”

Thwack!

Somehow, she had ended up thinking about Jin Yuha, a man she had just met today.

Perhaps she was looking for a light topic to avoid thinking about heavier things.

If I died, what would Yuna, So-yeon, and Yoon-seo’s expressions be?

Who would pay the gate fine?

What about the debt at home?

What would happen to the Academy?

How would my family react to my death?

And so on…

Once she started thinking about heavy topics, there was no end to them, and she couldn’t fight properly.

Of course, it wasn’t just Jin Yuha who was a light topic…

“Hmm, I guess he made quite an impression on me…”

Lee Yoo-ri tilted her head.

“Or maybe it’s just because he’s handsome…”

Now that she was thinking about a man as she faced death, she supposed she was a woman after all.

They say women’s brains are full of such thoughts.

Whoosh.

Lee Yoo-ri took a deep breath.

She was starting to feel the fatigue in her body.

‘I haven’t been at it for that long, but… it’s definitely not easy to fight hundreds of goblins.’

To be honest, she wasn’t in her best condition right now.

She had already expended a lot of energy during the five-hour-long raid march.

As a tanker, her offensive capabilities were limited.

She always carried a dagger, but it was a very short blade that couldn’t even cut through goblin skin.

She relied on the dealers to kill the goblins, while she could only push them away with her shield or punch them.

When she punched a goblin and drove it away, another goblin took its place.

In the meantime, the exhausted goblins recovered their strength.

It was a vicious cycle.

“That’s unfair. How long can I hold out…?”

Lee Yoo-ri’s voice wavered for the first time.

And the Blood Goblin, who had been biding his time, was about to make his move.

“Tsk… I really wish I could have gotten closer to Jin Yuha and become good friends at the Academy.”

“Then, let’s go to the Academy together, Soup.”

Suddenly, a voice that shouldn’t have been there sounded from the side.

“……Huh?”

“Why, are you still suspicious that I’m not an Academy student?”

Lee Yoo-ri turned her head, and there he was.

A man with a mischievous smile on his lips.