“They're coming again! Everyone, get ready!”

After moving forward some distance, the monsters attacked once more.

“Kieeeeek!”

“Everyone, stay alert. Iseo, take down the ones with bows first!”

“I know, old man!”

Whoosh

Thud!

“Keeeek!”

Kang Iseo skillfully began eliminating the ones using bows first. Just like before, Ho-won blocked with his shield while the melee fighters took care of the monsters in front.

I gripped my mace and shield, ready to swap places with anyone who got tired in the front line.

“…Kuh!”

Before long, Ahn Tae-woo, who had been thrusting his spear through the gaps, was nicked by a monster's swinging blade, causing blood to spill from his arm.

“Tae-woo, fall back!”

Switching places with Ahn Tae-woo, I started blocking the monsters' attacks with my shield. Unlike Ho-won ajusshi’s large shield, mine was a smaller variant, making it difficult to rely on for complete protection.

‘I just need to hold on!’

As long as I stalled for time, Seo Yu-ju and Kang Iseo would continue cutting down the enemy numbers.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up from my foot. Gritting my teeth, I looked down to see one of the monsters had stabbed my foot with a dagger.

‘I can't back down here.’

If I retreated due to the pain now, our front line could collapse. Without hesitation, I swung my mace at the creature's head.

Thud

“Keek!”

With limited space to move, I couldn’t put much force into my strike, so the monster wasn’t killed but just sent flying.

“…Kh…”

The pain was unbearable. If it had been my arm, it would’ve been manageable, but with my foot stabbed, even standing was difficult.

“…Yun-seong?!”

Seo Yu-ju must have noticed something strange about my stance. She scanned me quickly and found the wound on my foot.

Biting her lip, she thrust her spear twice in rapid succession, exploding the heads of two charging monsters.

‘H-Holy shit!’

“Yun-seong, fall back! You need treatment—!”

“…No… If I retreat now, our formation…”

Kang Iseo, who had noticed my condition mid-shot, ran over and took my shield and mace away.

“Hey! Stop trying to act tough. I’ll cover the front for now, so get to the back and get treated!”

Before I could argue, Yu-rim and Yu-hyun grabbed me and helped me move back.

“Hyung! Just hold on! I’ll…”

Tap.

I grabbed Yu-hyun’s wrist before he could begin healing me and spoke up.

“…Yu-hyun. How much mana do you have left?”

“…Hyung.”

“Not much, right? Then don’t heal me.”

“Oppa! What are you saying?! Your foot has been stabbed through!”

“…I’m a Dark Mage anyway, if I can’t fight in the front, I can attack from the back. Don’t waste precious mana on me.”

We only had one healer, and if Yu-hyun used his limited mana on me, things would become more difficult when we had to face the Boss Monster.

The others might not know about the Boss Monster yet, but after hearing Seo Yu-ju’s reasoning, I was almost certain it existed.

‘At the very least… We need to save healing for the front-line fighters.’

A mage like me could attack from the back. Worst case scenario, if a boss capable of targeting the rear appeared, I could get healed then.

‘It’s not just healing. If Yu-hyun heals me now, he might not have enough mana left to cast a protective barrier later.’

I had considered the possibility of receiving healing now, spending a night in the dungeon to recover mana, and then facing the boss. But that was too risky.

‘…We have to assume the longer we stay, the more ambushes we’ll face.’

“Forget healing, just stop the bleeding… Haa…”

Yu-rim and Yu-hyun, looking grim, eventually nodded in agreement.

When the battle ended, Seo Yu-ju looked at me, still untreated, and burst out in shock.

“…Yun-seong?! Why haven’t you been treated yet? Yu-hyun?!”

“I told Yu-hyun not to heal me.”

“What?”

Seo Yu-ju looked bewildered. Next to her, Kang Iseo also turned to me in disbelief.

“Hey?! What the hell are you saying? Why refuse treatment? I told you to stop acting tough!”

“Yu-hyun doesn’t have much mana left.”

At my words, both of them fell silent.

“I can fight from the back. If we use healing now, we won’t have enough for the front liners when they get seriously hurt.”

Seo Yu-ju probably realized this, but the fact that I was injured made it hard for her to think rationally.

She had a tendency to lose composure when it came to anything involving me.

Yu-rim, thinking along the same lines as me, spoke up.

“Oppa, then why not heal up and rest in the dungeon for a day to recover mana before continuing?”

I watched Seo Yu-ju closely to see her reaction. As expected, she immediately answered.

“…No, that’s too dangerous. If we take too long to clear, we might face continuous ambushes.”

‘Just as I thought.’

This dungeon seemed to be a type of time attack. The faster we cleared it, the better. The longer we delayed, the harder it became.

‘…Seriously, how the hell did the me in the first round clear this?’

At that moment, Ho-won spoke up.

“…Regrettably, I think Yun-seong is right. I also believe we should save our healing.”

“…Let’s move forward. Yun-seong, be careful in the back. Ha-eun, can you help him walk?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Let’s move out.”

As we walked, Kang Iseo smirked and nudged me.

“Hey, if you really can’t walk, just say so. I’ll carry you.”

“Pfft… What nonsense are you speaking now, no thanks. You should stop acting tough yourself.”

“Oh? Now you’re speaking casually? What brought on the change of heart?”

“…Ahem, just worried about your back, Iseo. You might hurt yourself with how tense the string of your bow can be.”

Sensing my teasing, Kang Iseo leaned in and whispered.

“Oh? Then how about I hurt my back in another way?”

It took me a solid ten seconds to understand what she meant. My face turned red.

“Pffft! Look at you blushing! Haha! That’s what you get for messing with me. Got it, cutie Yun-seong? Puhuhu…”

Watching from the side, Song Ha-eun interjected with a stammer.

“W-What are you doing to an injured person?!”

“Oh wow… You’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

“They’re coming again! Everyone, get ready!”

After moving slowly for about thirty minutes while engaging in trivial conversation, a massive black iron door appeared in front of us.

“This is…”

Everyone was in awe at the sight of such a gigantic door underground.

‘This is where the boss monster is.’

“Whoa... damn... this thing is huge. Just by looking at it, you can tell something’s behind this door.”

Everyone instinctively realized that something was waiting behind the door. Seo Yu-ju stood still for a moment before addressing the group.

“This is probably the end of the dungeon and likely our final battle. Everyone, be careful.”

Everyone swallowed nervously. As we all braced ourselves, realizing we had finally reached the end of the tutorial, Ho-won spoke up.

“Alright... I’ll open the door.”

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung.

The door was so enormous that the sound of it opening echoed throughout the entire cave.

After the door fully opened, what appeared was a throne. And sitting upon the throne was a creature slightly larger than a human.

Its body was black, and aside from its size and color, its overall appearance was nearly identical to the monsters we had encountered before.

One notable difference was the massive halberd it wielded.

The creature opened its closed eyes and spoke in human language.

“Humans, it has been a while, kerek.”

Everyone except Seo Yu-ju was visibly shocked that the monster could speak.

“What the?! Shit, this thing can talk?!”

“Silence, human wench. Kerek.”

“......”

Kang Iseo was so shocked by the fact that the monster had told her to shut up that she stood there with her mouth agape.

“How dare you interrupt while I speak? You, of all creatures? You are nothing but insects, kerek.”

The monster rose from its throne and began walking slowly toward us.

“I will tear you all apart, insects, kerek. It has been so long since I have tasted fresh human flesh, kerek.”

Seo Yu-ju tightened her grip on her spear and spoke up.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! It appears to wield a halberd, so instead of blocking, I recommend dodging. Yun-seong, Ha-eun, and Iseo, attack from the rear. Ho-won, please watch over the rear guards in case of any threats.”

Ho-won nodded in response.

“Understood.”

As soon as our conversation ended, the creature launched itself toward us.

‘It’s fast!’

Seo Yu-ju narrowly dodged the creature’s halberd swing and immediately countered with a thrust of her spear.

Slash

“Grrr... human woman! Kerek!”

The creature had not expected Seo Yu-ju to react so quickly, and a shallow cut appeared on its waist.

Immediately, Song Ha-eun’s summoned wind spirit sent a gust of wind toward the monster, but it rolled to the side to evade and charged straight at Song Ha-eun.

“Die, you insect! Kerek!”

Boom!

“Ugh!”

Ho-won leaped in just in time to block the halberd strike. The impact was severe, and a trickle of blood escaped from Ho-won’s lips.

“Ho-won!”

“I’m fine! Shoot it, now!”

Kang Iseo fired an arrow, but the monster let go of its halberd, dodged the arrow by retreating, and then charged at Ho-won, kicking his shield.

Thud!

“...Ugh!”

Unable to withstand the force, Ho-won fell backward. The monster retrieved its halberd and swung it down toward Ho-won.

“Burn, flames!”

Fwoosh

At the perfect moment, I cast my prepared fire magic, striking the creature on its back.

“Graaah! Kerek! You damn pest! Kerek!”

Unlike the weaker monsters we had faced, this one did not flail around in agony as the fire engulfed it, but it had clearly taken damage. It stepped back, now wary of us.

With the battle temporarily at a standstill, Hyun-jin spoke up.

“This thing... it moves a lot faster than its size would suggest.”

Everyone agreed. The creature wasn’t just powerful—it was incredibly fast and agile for its size.