HG Ch 25

<25>

“…Is this right?”

Ugh, my whole body aches. I’m really about to die.

Eunho mumbled, sprawled out like a starfish in the center of a cavern as wide as the open sea.

He opened his profile window for the first time in a while.

[PROFILE] Name: MwonGaeSori Spiritual Power: 69 Class: Gunner HP: 150/3640 MP: 1800/2970 Strength: 156 (+177) Agility: 149 (+81) Intelligence: 67 (+23) Defense: 106 (+103) Recovery: 49 (+66) Distributable Points: 21 Exclusive Traits: <Even If a Tiger Bites You, Stay Calm and You’ll Survive>, <Two-Faced>, <Unyielding Spirit> Passive Traits: <A Bond Like Glue and Lacquer[1]> Abilities: <Basic Shooting> Lv.24, <Rapid Fire> Lv.20, <Aerial Shot> Lv.14, <Tracking> Lv.11, <Ignition> Lv.7, <Keen Sense> Lv.6, <Teleportation Spell> Lv.1 Special Notes: <■■■>, <■■> Currently Active

Some traits had changed, and he had new stat points to allocate…

I don’t care. I don’t want to think about anything. I just want to sleep for two days without thinking.

The fact that he had left 21 points unassigned said it all.

If a psychiatrist saw Joo Eunho’s profile window right now, they’d definitely say, “This patient is suffering from mental exhaustion. These are early signs of burnout. A gamer who’s not even working on a character build and has left over ten stat points unallocated? That’s not normal.”

Eunho closed his dazed eyes.

This dungeon… I knew it was big, but was it always this quiet?

Ah.

It’s nice. The silence.

It was still amazing that he was alive. It was just a game, so why was he feeling things like this?

Maybe it was the euphoria of surviving after wiping out the wraiths that had filled the dungeon.

It actually worked. He had no idea why, but it worked.

Then his eyes popped open.

Wait… Am I the protagonist of a game novel? The type who’s secretly a gaming genius with hidden powers?

And on top of that, just a bit more EXP and he’d hit max level…

All in just twenty in-game days.

“Sniff.”

Just as Eunho was on the verge of being overcome with emotion, a tear ready to fall—

“If you’re done resting, get back to work. You can get all emotional when you’ve reached the ending.”

Yoon Iseo sprayed cold water on him like a firefighter.

“Ah, just a moment. Just a sec. I’m in a state where I’m overwhelmed with emotion right now.”

It was strange. As Eunho got more excited with every level-up, fueled by hope that he might escape, Yoon Iseo’s expression grew darker. Like someone facing an unsolvable problem.

Eunho was clearly the one suffering, yet Yoon Iseo was the one visibly on edge.  

Anyone would think Yoon Iseo was the one going through hardship.

“Well, it’s not like I’ll get to see Joo Eunho overcome with emotion all the time. Go ahead, knock yourself out.”

He seemed more on edge than usual today.

“You’re really throwing shade.”

Just as Eunho tried to lift himself up, his body gave out, and he burst into a fit of coughs.

He had forgotten how wrecked his body was after fighting nonstop, even at level 69.

It happened when Eunho, panting for breath, was down on all fours, pressing against the ground.

“What about the tonic I gave you?”

When he raised his head, he saw Yoon Iseo. The latter was crouched down, locking eyes with Eunho.

“Gasp, gasp… You’re asking now? I licked that clean ages ago.”

“You’ve still got enough energy to yap, huh.”

Yoon Iseo was fanning Eunho with a bamboo fan, as if trying to cool his sweat-drenched body. He let out a soft hum, then rummaged through his sleeve.

What he pulled out was a vivid red fruit, one so rare-looking that even Eunho, who knew nothing about it, could tell it was something special. Its color and shape resembled a cornelian cherry, but it was larger and gleamed with a glossy sheen.

Even though this was just a virtual reality game, and taste wasn’t fully rendered, the fruit’s delicious appearance sparked curiosity.

“Eat.”

Yoon Iseo held out the fruit the way one would feed a pet, prompting Eunho, who had been staring at it, to reach out without hesitation.

“Ack!”

But then he tumbled forward with a thud.

Yoon Iseo looked down at him with a mix of exasperation and disbelief.

Still, Eunho didn’t have the strength to retort. His body ached all over, like someone who’d been trapped in a cramped space for 24 hours.

As Eunho groaned on the ground, something hard and forceful nudged him and rolled him over half a turn.

Ah, this sensation… That’s Yoon Iseo’s spear. I’ve missed it.

Exhausted to the point of near-disintegration, Eunho was rolling over and entertaining such nonsense in his head when—

“Open.”

Something bright red was suddenly thrust right in front of his face. There was a faintly sweet scent, or at least it seemed that way.

Wondering why this was here, he forced his blurry vision into focus. And that’s when he saw Yoon Iseo’s pale fingers delicately holding a fruit the size of a fist-sized grape.

A wave of hunger surged through him.

Eunho instinctively opened his mouth and leaned in to take the fruit.

Just before his lips could touch Yoon Iseo’s fingers, the fruit was pulled away.

Left biting at air, Eunho was devastated.

“How could you… You’re not even a kindergartener, and yet you’re pulling a prank on someone who’s practically dying…?”

But Yoon Iseo only snapped back in a voice more irritated than usual.

“I’m not trying to mess with you, so stop rushing it and stay still. You almost touched me just now.”

“So what?”

“Don’t move. Just open your mouth. I’ll put it in.”

At that, Eunho, running on fumes and on the verge of passing out, obediently opened his mouth.

Yoon Iseo’s gaze hovered briefly over Eunho’s tongue.

His pitch-black eyes seemed to sink even deeper.

And then—

“Gahk!”

With a motion that seemed like he was venting his frustration, he shoved the fruit roughly into Eunho’s mouth.

While marveling at how the virtual reality game even replicated gag reflexes, Eunho was too busy silently cursing out Yoon Iseo.

What kind of person feeds someone like this?! Why not just stuff it all the way down my throat while you’re at it!

[SYSTEM] You have consumed a Bodhi Fruit infused with spiritual energy. HP increases by 3,500.

But Eunho’s body was honest.

In an instant, he shot to his feet, feeling light and energized. He bounced in place with a thump, thump, just to test it.

Holy crap, I feel like I could fly.

Eunho’s face lit up.

“But Hyung-nim.”

“What?”

“If you had such a great recovery item, why would you only give me healing herbs before? Can I get a few more of those Bodhi fruits?” 

Yoon Iseo frowned.

“I saved your life, and now you’re trying to rob me?”

But just hear me out. A healing herb only restores 700 HP, while a Bodhi fruit recovers 3,500. That’s insanely good.

Basically, instead of chomping down five healing herbs, you could just eat one fruit for the same effect.

And since this game also had item consumption delay, eating five herbs with a 30-second delay each took two whole minutes.

No wonder Eunho was drooling over the Bodhi fruit.

“…You know, it’s usually the slightly sly people who survive until the end.”

“The selfish ones usually start trolling mid-game, whining about not wanting to die, and end up dying anyway.”

What started as an attempt to score a few more healing items had only earned him a grim prediction: “You’ve got the personality of someone who’ll die early.”

That got his stubbornness going.

“Hey now, I’m not that selfish.”

“Just a second ago, you were demanding my whole stash like a full-blown bandit. Is that what counts as selflessness these days? The world keeps getting stranger.”

Still, Yoon Iseo just kept provoking Eunho with that same flat expression.

He didn’t hand over any more Bodhi fruits. Instead, he dumped about fifty healing herbs at Eunho’s feet.

Eunho’s face fell, his eyebrows drooping like a kicked puppy.

“Come on, those with more resources could show a little generosity. You’re so stingy. If it were me, I would’ve given some. At least three!”

While he sulked openly, Yoon Iseo tapped Eunho’s forehead with his fan.

“Like I haven’t been tricked a dozen times already. Look at you, trying to manipulate people again. The sprout is yellow^[2], you know.”

How did he know Eunho was just pretending to be upset?

Whenever he was truly hurt or sad, Yoon Iseo would comfort him gently. But the moment Eunho started pushing boundaries, he was cut off without hesitation.

Sometimes it made Eunho wonder if Yoon Iseo could read his mind.

Anyway, pushing further here would probably just make things worse.

Knowing when to back off, Eunho clicked his tongue and looked around the area as Yoon Iseo instructed.

“Why? Didn’t we clear everything already?”

“Then a dungeon clear message would’ve popped up.”

Now that he thought about it, there hadn’t been any flashy notification like when he defeated the Chang-gwi. Eunho furrowed his brows.

The dungeon looked empty, so why hadn’t it been marked as cleared?

Were there still a few lurking in the corners?

While scanning the surroundings, something caught his eye. A soft yellow glow was flickering in the distance.