Chapter 93:
Seo Jae-yi, as if she hadn’t just been coughing up blood and collapsing, jumped to her feet and lunged at the monster.
Her heat-infused eyes targeted his neck.
“Tsk!”
The man clicked his tongue, dodging her attack, and waved his hand. Green vines erupted from the ground, entangling her neck, arms, and legs.
She had thought she had burned everything in this area; how were there still plants?
Seo Jae-yi stared at the vines in surprise, but only for a moment.
The vines, unable to withstand her heat, burned and fell to the ground. She raised her hand, aiming for his neck.
“Ah!”
Her movement faltered as something grabbed her feet. She missed her target and looked down, annoyed.
A giant flower, sprouting from the ground, was holding her feet captive.
She felt a hot, sticky liquid seeping through her torn clothes. It seemed to be a flower that secreted digestive fluids.
Boom! But it couldn’t hold her for long. She easily crushed the flower with a single stomp and jumped towards the man, who had retreated further.
This time for sure!
Her hand, aiming for his face now, not his neck, shot forward.
Crack! A fragmenting sound echoed through the air, and debris rained down.
Seo Jae-yi frowned in frustration. She missed again. The man had turned his head and swatted her hand away, so her hand, instead of piercing his face, pierced the thick tree trunk he was leaning against.
“What? Stay still. Then I can kill you quickly and painlessly.”
“You’re talking about piercing my neck and face, and you call it painless? I guess you don’t feel pain when those parts are pierced.”
“It’s painless if you die instantly!”
The man looked at her incredulously, as if she was spouting nonsense.
“So stay still. I’ll take care of it quickly and efficiently, so you won’t even realize you’re dying.”
Seo Jae-yi pulled her hand out of the tree trunk and clenched it into a fist. She grabbed his collar with her left hand, preventing him from escaping again.
The man’s fatigued face turned pale, seeing her ready to crush his nose and skull with a single blow.
“Wait! Let’s make a deal.”
Her fist, which had been hurtling towards him, stopped abruptly.
The hot wind, carrying her heat, slapped his face. His face paled even further.
“A deal? This is the first time I’ve seen a monster propose a deal.”
Seo Jae-yi seemed interested, perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps because she was confident she could kill him at any moment.
“You want me to spare your life, right? What will you offer in return?”
“Not only my life, but also your safe passage out of this dungeon. You’re causing me a lot of trouble by constantly burning down this place.”
“Why would you care? Are you afraid of being next?”
“I’m the master of this dungeon. All the plants here grow using my power, and you’re depleting it by constantly burning them.”
Ah… She hadn’t known that.
Seo Jae-yi looked a bit sheepish. Her grip on his collar loosened.
“I’ve never heard of a being like you existing in this dungeon, even though it’s been around for a while. That’s why I came here.”
“I was hiding. I want to stay here. I had no intention of encountering you Espers.”
He was saying he had to come out because Seo Jae-yi was burning down the entire forest.
“I’ll die if the forest burns down, so let’s make a deal. Your body doesn’t seem to be in good condition. I can heal it for you.”
Seo Jae-yi was startled by his offer.
“You? You can heal my body? You, a monster?”
“I have the ability to regenerate. That’s how I can restore the forest. It’s not impossible, even for an Esper’s body.”
“An S-rank Esper’s body, damaged by overloading?”
The man’s face contorted.
“I just found out about the overloading, but I know you’re an S-rank. That’s why I’m proposing this deal. If you were A-rank or below, I would have killed you without hesitation.”
He wasn’t bluffing, and he wasn’t lying.
“So you’re saying you’re stronger than an A-rank, but not quite S-rank?”
“There are different levels of S-rank. You’re not a particularly strong S-rank.”
He was perceptive. Or perhaps he had quickly realized it because her ability was currently raging out of control.
“I assume you’re accepting the deal since you’re not killing me right away.”
“I’ll see if you can actually heal my body first.”
Seo Jae-yi released his collar and lowered her fist.
She stepped back and finally got a good look at him.
He was incredibly handsome, almost to the point where she wondered if it was a tactic to lure in and devour humans.
His skin was still fair despite the heat, his eyes and lips were as sharp and beautiful as a painting, and he was wearing clothes that resembled traditional Korean hanbok, the era unclear.
Espers tended to be attractive, perhaps to appeal to Guides, but this man was far more handsome than any Esper she had ever seen.
“Follow me.”
The man straightened his clothes, disheveled from being grabbed by the collar, and led Seo Jae-yi away.
She briefly wondered if he was leading her to a dangerous place to kill her, but the thought quickly vanished.
“Wow…”
Green sprouts sprung up from the burned, devastated ground with every step he took.
The grass, growing rapidly as if absorbing life force, pushed aside the charred trees and took root.
The forest couldn’t be restored instantly, but the ugly burn marks started to disappear.
“That’s incredible speed. Even an S-rank Life Force Esper wouldn’t be able to grow plants this fast.”
Seo Jae-yi touched a sprout, thinking of Guild Leader Kim Yoo-sung, who would be anxiously searching for her outside. Her blood stained the delicate grass.
Ah, shoot. She quickly pulled her hand away, but the bloodstain remained. She didn’t touch any more plants after that.
“Wouldn’t it be embarrassing if my speed was comparable to an Esper’s, considering I’m the master of this place?”
Unlike Seo Jae-yi, who was covered in blood and heat, plants grew wherever the dungeon master walked.
It was something she could never do, even in her dreams.
She was envious.
For the first time in her life, Seo Jae-yi envied someone. It was absurd that the object of her envy was a monster, a dungeon master, the very being she was supposed to eliminate.
She had never imagined she would envy a monster.
“Come in.”
He stopped before a cave. It was hidden from view by the thick foliage.
“There was a place like this?”
“Nothing can reach this place without my permission.”
That was probably why his identity remained unknown, despite their repeated subjugations.
“It’s surprisingly cozy.”
The cave was quite deep. And the floor was covered with soft leaves, making it feel like a cushion. There were even glowing stones scattered around, and the air was fresh and clean, not humid like a typical cave.
“Cough.”
Seo Jae-yi coughed, and blood trickled from her mouth, dripping onto the leaves that covered the ground like a blanket.
The leaves withered slightly from the heat of her blood.
“Oh, sorry.”
The red stains were very noticeable on the green leaves.
“Sit down.”
But the man didn’t seem to care. He gestured towards a spot with a bored expression, and she sat down.
“Let me tell you one thing first. I can’t completely heal you because you’re stronger than me.”
Seo Jae-yi had expected that much.
“But I can help you recover somewhat and control your ability.”
“That’s enough. How are you going to help me?”
“Swallow my power. The regenerative power embedded within you will slowly heal your body, preventing the worst from happening.”
It was an unexpected method.
“It’s like Guiding.”
“It’s similar to a Guide’s ability in some ways.”
The man held out his hand, palm up. A bright green orb, emitting light, appeared.
“Swallow this. But I can’t help it if you think it’s poison.”
Seo Jae-yi grabbed the orb, as if he had said something ridiculous.
“Poison doesn’t work on me. I can burn away even toxins with my fire.”
“…I hope my power doesn’t burn.”
Seo Jae-yi burst out laughing at his dry remark.
Ah, she realized this was the first time she had laughed since entering this dungeon.
She felt good. Her body was in terrible condition, but she felt strangely refreshed.
So she swallowed the orb without hesitation.
It was fine, even if it was a trap. She would consider it the price for burning down his forest.
“Gasp.”
But all her suspicions vanished the moment she swallowed the orb.
A refreshing, invigorating sensation washed over her from the moment it entered her mouth. It was like eating dozens of mint candies.