HG Ch 33

<33>

A torrential downpour poured down on Joo Eunho so fiercely that even the auto-clean system was rendered useless. Eunho repeatedly wiped his face with his sleeve, but it did little good.  

The trees that had looked so lush from the outside now drooped, their leaves weighed down by the heavy rain. Eunho swept his rain-soaked hair back over his forehead in a rough motion, then pulled out his gun.

Flicking away the water that pooled and blurred his vision, he opened his mouth.

“…You’re really going to behave and help from now on, right?”

Yoon Iseo gave a slight nod.

“Why do you seem so suspicious?”

Despite his words, Eunho raised his gun and took aim at Cheongryong, which had revealed its full body.

“Since Hyung-nim is melee DPS, you go in first and draw aggro. I’ll cover you.”

At that moment, Yoon Iseo glanced down at Joo Eunho, who looked like a drowned rat in the pouring rain. His gaze lingered on the gun miserably drenched in the storm.

When Yoon Iseo only smiled without answering, Eunho grew anxious and spoke again.

“Hey? If I get betrayed again, I swear I’ll never forgive you, not even in death. Even if I die. I’ll reset every single day, forget about the ending or whatever, and make even Hyung go nyang.”

On the other hand, Yoon Iseo simply replied calmly, “Nyang.”

Eunho’s expression twisted.

“I’m not joking. I mean it.”

“I said I got it. You wanted to raid, so why are you talking so much? Joo Eunho, did your tongue finally loosen?”

“You were the one who laughed first.”

“How could I not? You’re so soaked you look like an angry country mutt.”

Thanks to the wide-brimmed hat he wore, Yoon Iseo’s hair remained perfectly neat despite the downpour. He threw out another irritating remark, while Eunho’s hair, drenched into a seaweed mess, left him scowling.

“You said let’s raid. Go on and pull the aggro with your first strike!”

“Mm.”

Yoon Iseo swung his massive spear as lightly as if it were a wooden flute, then suddenly tossed a bundle of papers to Eunho, as if remembering something.

Before Eunho even had the chance to ask what it was, Yoon Iseo launched the opening strike at the shadow.

Kwaaang!

The spear Yoon Iseo hurled slammed into the shadow but bounced back as if it had struck an impenetrable wall. As if he had anticipated it, Yoon Iseo effortlessly caught the falling weapon and fixed his gaze once more on Cheongryong.

In Cheongryong’s pitch-black eyes, a flash of crimson light sparked.

Ding!

[SYSTEM] Cheongryong Raid has begun. [SYSTEM] Raid clear time limit (00:59:59)

At the same time, the ground rumbled even more violently than before.

The downpour grew heavier still. Now, when Eunho raised his gun, he couldn’t even clearly make out the circular target indicator floating above the monster. Shaking off the raindrops in haste, he refocused.

[SYSTEM] The corrupted Cheongryong rages at your intrusion.

In that instant, a pitch-black shadow spread out like a massive net. It fell directly over Yoon Iseo, who stood unmoving.

Boom!

Then came a thunderous roar that shook the very ground. Yoon Iseo, switching his spear to the other hand, leapt high into the air. The net-shaped shadow followed his jump, rising like a towering column of water. Then it transformed into the shape of a giant dragon.

Soon, the shadow unfurled. A hardened horn jutted from its head, a long snout stretched forward, and whiskers floated in the air as if defying gravity along with its body.

It had taken the perfect form of a dragon, but it was not Cheongryong.

[Why do you torment me?]

Its voice echoed heavily across the field.

[Because of you, I have come to know. Life, it is eternal suffering. An incomplete state that has failed to reach true death.]

With every word it spoke, its pitch-black scales, utterly devoid of luster, rose up and rattled as though threatening its enemy.

The black dragon whispered coldly.

[Become complete.]

At that moment, the target reticle on the black dragon’s head grew sharp and clear.

Eunho seized the opportunity and lit the fuse of his gun. A reticle this clear on the head was definitely a critical hit.

But—

[SYSTEM] Due to weather effects, the fuse does not ignite. [SYSTEM] Gunpowder weapons cannot be used on rainy days. [SYSTEM] Please use a different weapon.

What?

* * *

“No, what the hell. Nothing like this has ever happened before!”

He argued back at the system window, but it was like talking to a brick wall.

[SYSTEM] Due to weather effects, the fuse does not ignite. [SYSTEM] Gunpowder weapons cannot be used on rainy days. [SYSTEM] Please use a different weapon.

There was no doubt this damned system window understood every word the player said. And when it thought, Ugh, this nuisance is annoying, it just repeated the same line over and over.

While Eunho stood there frozen, not knowing what to do and simply staring blankly at the system window, a thunderous roar shook the air again.

In the distance, Yoon Iseo was fighting the massive Cheongryong alone. Even with his huge build, he was barely the size of one of the dragon’s claws, making the battle look all the more daunting. Compared to that, Eunho’s fights with Chang-gwi and Taejagwi suddenly felt like nothing more than child’s play.

Though he had always daydreamed about a sweet, effortless life, the truth was that when others worked hard, Joo Eunho, a petty commoner, felt compelled to muddle through diligently too, just to feel at ease. The realization that he had become useless in this situation made him shudder.

On top of that, of all times to become useless, it had to be now. Yoon Iseo was bound to misunderstand this as intentional trolling. The only intentional trolling he had ever done in the game was after being trapped here, when he had gone overboard with crafting too many “Threads of Fate.” The thought left him bitterly resentful.

“Of all things, you even gave me protection talismans before leaving…”

On top of that, Yoon Iseo had handed him a pile of high-grade barrier items so he wouldn’t get hit by stray fragments, and then went off on his own.

No, he felt like he was going crazy with guilt even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. Was this why suckers naturally became suckers? Eunho was the type who could never sit still after someone did something for him. He always felt uncomfortable until he repaid it, whether it was kindness or a grudge.

As Eunho nervously looked toward Yoon Iseo, their eyes met. Startled, Eunho reflexively raised his gun again and tried to light the fuse.

[SYSTEM] Due to weather effects, the fuse does not ignite. [SYSTEM] Gunpowder weapons cannot be used on rainy days. [SYSTEM] Please use a different weapon.

Of course, it didn’t work.

Damn it! Damn it!

Eunho, desperate and lost on what to do, rummaged through his inventory.

But then… when he saw his inventory, filled with nothing but self-healing items and self-buffs, he couldn’t help but feel humbled once again. It screamed of someone determined to survive on his own without trusting anyone else. Didn’t he look exactly like a loner who wasn’t cooperating with anyone? Meanwhile, Yoon Iseo, a melee player, carried stacks of protection talismans that were especially useful for ranged dealers. The thought made Eunho’s conscience ache even more.

And then—

Kwoooaang!

“Uwaaah! I’m sorry!”

A sound like the sky collapsing rang out, and a panicked Eunho shoved his bag aside, glancing again at Yoon Iseo.

Yoon Iseo was darting across Cheongryong’s enormous body like some kind of acrobat. The sight of him wielding a spear over one jang and five cheok^[1] long with such flawless control looked almost supernatural. Wait, was this a wuxia story? How the hell was that possible? Was this the true difference in style between a melee DPS and a ranged DPS? Eunho should have realized back when Yoon Iseo had scaled Seoraksan like a crazed mountain goat. Compared to this majestic battle, his own fights had been utterly petty and small-minded.

Even then, unwilling to risk his body, Eunho tore open a protection talisman and wrapped himself in a thin barrier. But worry gnawed at him.

What should he do? What if he were so useless that Yoon Iseo had to carry double and ended up falling, causing them to lose? Sure, Eunho had been angry at Yoon Iseo’s reckless antics, but he had never wanted to truly troll to the point of pushing him to his death. Besides, if Yoon Iseo died, he died too. What kind of zero-sum revenge was this supposed to be?

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Yoon Iseo was struck by Cheongryong’s tail and went flying, crashing into a tree right beside Eunho.

Yoon Iseo stood back up. He easily snapped his twisted left arm back into place, then popped a recovery item into his mouth.

“The firing delay is longer than I thought.”

“……”

“So you’re going to end up sulking instead?” Yoon Iseo said, passing by Eunho.

“Ah, no—” Eunho hurried to confess, ‘It wasn’t on purpose, I just became useless because of the rain.’

“Do whatever you want. I’ve got sins of my own, so it’s fine.”