HG Ch 38

<38>

He had already expected it after recalling the contaminated Baengnokdam, but Jirisan, swallowed by darkness, was giving off a musty aura. It felt so much more desolate than when he had entered during the Chang-gwi dungeon incident that he even doubted whether this could truly be one of Joseon’s famed mountains. The once fertile soil was now damp like wastewater had pooled in it, and every time he stepped on it, he felt a strange sensation as if he were treading on a corpse. On top of that, the clammy atmosphere made even breathing uncomfortable.

“Tear this talisman first.”

“A protection talisman?”

“Yeah.”

Only after counting the number of talismans and carefully checking their patterns did Yoon Iseo hand Eunho one bundle. He was currently wearing the armor given by Cheongryong, and perhaps because of that, he looked far sharper than he did when he usually walked around leisurely in a robe. The contrast between the pitch-black armor with a faint blue sheen and Yoon Iseo’s pale face made it even more striking. When Yoon Iseo lowered his gaze, Eunho’s heart pounded as if he were watching a vivid historical drama right in front of his eyes.

“My face is going to melt off from embarrassment.”

At some point, after finishing sorting his own bundle of talismans, Yoon Iseo spoke while facing Eunho.

“I was looking at that armor. The Cheongryong armor I yielded to you.”

“Mhm.”

Yoon Iseo’s expression was clearly teasing. No, if he reacted to that, Yoon Iseo would only find it more amusing. Having reached that conclusion, Eunho snapped his head away so he wouldn’t feed him any more reaction.  

“If we’re done preparing, should we go hunt Baekho?”

But Yoon Iseo didn’t follow after him.

“Before that, there is something I’m curious about.”

Then he asked something strange.

“Is there a reason you don’t use evasive skills?”

Not use evasive skills?

“I do use evasive skills. Like ‘Roll’ and ‘Agile Footwork’.”

“You can use the shooting skill for evasion, too.”

How was he supposed to use shooting skills for evasion? Eunho looked at Yoon Iseo with that very expression.

Yoon Iseo casually tossed a gun to him. Why such a gun item was coming out for a melee spear-user, he truly had no idea.

Eunho picked up the gun given to him. Since it looked different from his offensive gun, he examined it from various angles when Yoon Iseo told him to try shooting toward a nearby tree trunk.

He fired at the tree trunk.

From the muzzle shot out an anchor-like object attached to a long rope, and it embedded itself deeply in the tree Eunho had aimed at. Yoon Iseo explained that if he pulled it back, the tension in the retracting rope would allow him to move.

What was this familiar feeling?

Isn’t this Spider-Man’s technique?

When Eunho stared blankly at him, Yoon Iseo said, “Use it to evade like that.” It was bewildering.

How am I supposed to do that…

Even if strength was automatically adjusted because it was a game, the difficulty of that kind of evasion was still way too high. To evade like that, he would need excellent situational awareness and the ability to grab footholds using everything around him, but to do that… Him?

Eunho stared at Yoon Iseo vacantly, like a college student listening to a professor’s lecture.

To be honest, Eunho thought he was good at games. Of course, ever since he started reading game novels, he began thinking, Wow, even if I don’t play games, someone compiles all the highlight-reel moments like a montage, so why should I bother enduring all the frustrating parts by playing myself? and quit gaming. But before he got into game novels, Eunho had also been a competent gamer who had never even gone near the ore-farming zones^[1].

But seeing what Yoon Iseo was asking of him… he realized he was just a greenhorn beginner.

They had agreed to clear this dungeon together, but at this rate, it seemed he might end up being carried by Yoon Iseo again. Feeling a sense of crisis, Eunho quietly said to Yoon Iseo, “My aim’s pretty good, isn’t it?”

Yoon Iseo answered with a look that said, ‘What’s he talking about now?’

“You invested that many stat points into guns. It should be good.”

Then Eunho promoted himself again.

“I mean, my judgment and reasoning are solid, too. And I’m good at reading dungeon mechanics. I used to enjoy headbutting my way through raids until clear, so I was part of some first-clear raid groups too.”

But then, when he remembered Yoon Iseo running along Cheongryong’s body like a martial-arts master, his confidence faded again. His once-confident voice shriveled.

“But VR games… Honestly, I don’t really know them. It’s my first time, and I’m still not used to issuing commands just with my mind… And as you know, my weapon stat allocation… is kinda screwed.”

“Alright, calm down. You were really good in the game.”

With that, Yoon Iseo tore his own talisman with a soft rip.

[Main Quest: Guardian of Jirisan (In Progress)]

Now the two of them, wrapped in the protective energy emanating from the talisman, were staring toward the peak of Jirisan.

Eunho recalled what he had read in the prophecy text.

[SYSTEM] Jirisan’s energy is firm, swift, and powerful. It is said to be the most valiant and the strongest of the four mountains.

Baekho…

Suddenly, Eunho asked, “The Baekho raid. Do you think it’ll be similar to Chang-gwi?”

“It shouldn’t be. If raid concepts overlap, players will dislike it.”

It was so logical that he accepted it immediately. While nodding, Eunho belatedly went, “Ah,” and gave Yoon Iseo a light smack. Maybe because they had shared a bed, the contact felt much more natural than before, and Yoon Iseo quietly looked down at him.

“Right. If you mess up during the Baekho raid like you did with the Chang-gwi, there won’t even be scraps left of you.” 

Then Yoon Iseo asked, “What if I do well during the Baekho raid?”

“Huh?”

“Even if I make two mistakes… If I do well twice, you should let it slide, right?”

Eunho paused, wondering what he meant, then let out a small, incredulous laugh.

“Isn’t that something to think about after you do well twice? Why are you bringing it up already?”

“Because I definitely will do well.”

Yoon Iseo answered that. His voice was full of certainty.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

Yoon Iseo naturally began to hike upward, so Eunho hurriedly stopped him.

“We need to go to the peak.”

“You’re not riding the Cheollima? I thought we were going to fly straight to the peak.”

Joo Eunho, who had picked up bad habits during the first raid, frowned as if wondering how Yoon Iseo could even consider otherwise. 

“You can’t ride animal-type mounts. What do you think beasts would make of someone called the Hero of the Mountains^[2] riding on them?”

“Then you’re saying we have to walk?”

Eunho stood at the entrance of Jirisan and looked up at the mountain. The trees, which should have been lush with foliage, shook their pitch-black leaves. As if climbing the already steep and rugged Jirisan wasn’t enough, he had to step on that mushy ground to get up there. 

Hating the idea, Eunho thought for a moment and suddenly remembered that his embarrassingly dorky-looking mount wasn’t an animal-type.

“Hyung-nim, can we ride my cart together? It looks a bit weird, but it has 200% movement speed.”

He tried to tempt Yoon Iseo. Riding it alone would be unbearably embarrassing, but it seemed like if the two of them rode together, he could maybe get away with it.

“We can ride together. We have the Century-Vow title after all.”  

Yoon Iseo ruthlessly shortened their tacky “Vow of a Hundred Years” title and answered.

“But judging from what my mount looks like, someone has to pull it. Is that really okay?”

“This isn’t reality, it’s a game. Physical force isn’t an important concept here.”

So it was something like a cart that moved on its own without any power source. After thinking for a moment, Eunho summoned the Choheon and climbed onto it. Honestly, it wasn’t a cool sight. It was narrow and tall in design, and since it was a one-seater, it looked too small for Eunho’s build. But at least because it was tall, the view was good…

Sitting on the Choheon, Eunho looked at Yoon Iseo. He was embarrassed, so he urged him.

“You said you could ride with me. Hurry up.”

“Invite me.”

Eunho was about to send a “ride together” invite when he suddenly froze and spoke.

“But Hyung-nim, you know…”

“What.”

With a serious expression, Eunho continued, “I’ll send the invite, but I’m going to climb onto you.”

“What?”

Seeing that Yoon Iseo didn’t understand, Eunho declared it again.

“I said I’m going to climb onto you.”

“…Why?”

Could he not tell just by looking at the seat? Eunho pointed at the seat he was sitting in and explained.

“There’s only one seat, so it’s too narrow. But if Hyung climbs onto me, it’ll look weird. My knees will get smashed.”

He seriously said, “I’m going to climb onto you,” while sending the “ride together” invite. But once Yoon Iseo accepted the invitation, he answered right next to Eunho.

“What are you climbing onto?”

“What? What is this!”

It turned out that the one-seater seat stretched sideways the moment Yoon Iseo boarded and transformed into a two-seater. Sitting beside him, Yoon Iseo looked at Eunho with exasperation.

“You are already talking about climbing on people…”

Damn it, how was I supposed to know it would change into a two-seater like this?