00583 Everyone has a time in their life when they shine.
Shin Jaeryong called out to Go Ohwan.
“Huh?”
Go Ohwan, who had been staggering along with a careless gait, immediately turned around, wearing a reluctant expression. Shin Jaeryong, who had been smiling warmly just moments before, now fixed him with a serious gaze. As Jaeryong took a step, then another, striding closer, Go Ohwan blinked in slight confusion. Both men were big guys, but Jaeryong was just as imposing.
When Jaeryong stopped right in front of him, Go Ohwan swallowed hard. He had thought Jaeryong was just a kind-hearted, gentle guy, but standing face to face like this, the pressure was intense.
After a brief pause, Jaeryong lowered his eyes slightly and spoke quietly.
“Are you hurt, by any chance?”
“What…? Huh?”
“I mean, did you get injured during the fight earlier?”
“…….”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Go Ohwan’s face went blank for a moment.
Jaeryong patiently waited for a reply. But when no words came, he finally said, “Excuse me for a moment,” and slowly reached out his arm—toward Go Ohwan’s right thigh.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Go Ohwan instinctively tried to step back, but suddenly winced and twisted his body sharply. A faint groan escaped from between his clenched teeth. Jaeryong sighed softly.
“I thought so. If you were hurt, you should have told me. I’m a priest, you know.”
“Hey, hey! I think there’s some misunderstanding. The injury was minor. And I got proper treatment from a priest after the fight.”
Go Ohwan protested, clearly feeling wronged. But Jaeryong shook his head calmly and pulled out his staff.
“───. ───. ───. Cure.”
A white light flowed from the staff, seeping into Go Ohwan’s thigh. Not stopping there, Jaeryong cast another spell.
“───. ───. ───. Aura of Faith.”
This time, a radiant light enveloped Go Ohwan’s entire body, glowing softly as it circulated in a gentle sphere.
“I reinforced the healing with a buff spell. It primarily boosts stamina, but when combined with healing, it also enhances regeneration.”
Having cast both spells, Jaeryong finally relaxed his expression and spoke in a gentle voice.
“Honestly, making such a fuss over a minor injury. But fine, I get it. Let’s get moving.”
Go Ohwan, who should have been grateful for the proper treatment, instead grumbled with a sour face. Jaeryong shook his head again.
“No.”
“What? What do you mean, no?”
“We seven will rest here for a bit. Of course, not long—just about five minutes. That should be enough…”
“Wait, wait. Did I hear you right? Rest here? Are you out of your mind?”
“Divine magic isn’t a cure-all. Unless it’s a minor injury or a major healing spell, it’s standard to rest after treatment. Not just the surface, but the damaged parts need time to recover their function.”
“But I told you, it was minor… and I already got treated.”
“I acknowledge you were treated. But if it really was minor, you wouldn’t have been staggering like that earlier. A penetrating wound through your thigh, or deep bites causing continuous bleeding—that’s the minimum I’m seeing here.”
“…….”
As Jaeryong explained, Go Ohwan’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, filled with shock as if he’d seen a ghost. He fell silent like a mute, but Jaeryong smiled calmly as if it was no big deal.
“Alright then, five minutes of rest. We’ll need our strength to take down that monster in one clean cut.”
Winking one eye, Jaeryong plopped down on the ground first.
Go Ohwan made a gesture of disbelief, but none of the others reacted. Every word Jaeryong said made sense, and as the party’s priest, he was responsible for their health. In that light, Jaeryong proved to be a very capable priest, and Go Ohwan was just being stubborn.
“…Damn it. I don’t care anymore!”
With no one backing him up, Go Ohwan flopped down in defeat. Still, he kept glancing at Jaeryong, who said nothing more—so maybe he had a shred of conscience left.
“Oh.”
Watching all this, Ahn Hyun couldn’t help but feel a small sense of admiration.
Just moments ago, he had been missing Lee Yujeong. He had worried that Jaeryong’s easygoing nature might let Go Ohwan run roughshod over the group. But Jaeryong had a different way of keeping Go Ohwan in check than Kim Suhyun or Lee Yujeong did. Seeing the usually loud Go Ohwan suddenly quiet was almost surprising.
Anyway.
Feeling less worried, Ahn Hyun looked around during the five-minute break and suddenly stopped at one spot. Helena was staring endlessly at the ceiling, her expression one of deep fascination. His legs moved on their own.
“Helena, what are you looking at?”
When he spoke softly, Helena’s eyes flicked down to glare at him briefly, then returned upward with a smile, pointing at the ceiling.
“The ceiling?”
Ahn Hyun tilted his head in confusion and slowly leaned back to look up. The ceiling was made of earth, like a cave, but there was nothing unusual. The rough, vein-like bumps were the same as when they entered the pit. What was she trying to show him?
Snap!
Just as Ahn Hyun was about to ask, Helena lightly snapped her fingers. Suddenly, part of the ceiling caved in, chunks of earth crumbling and falling. Instinctively, Ahn Hyun focused on the hollowed-out section. After a moment, faint wrinkles appeared on his usually smooth forehead.
“Huh…?”
It was empty. Beyond the hollowed part, there was no earth filling it—just a void, as if something inside had vanished. Dust still drifted down, tickling his cheeks, and Ahn Hyun snapped back to full alertness.
“Helena, why is that…?”
“Alright, five minutes are up. Let’s get moving.”
Before Ahn Hyun could finish, Jaeryong gave the order to move. Helena shrugged and started walking, leaving Ahn Hyun no choice but to follow, curiosity unsatisfied.
Just before entering the passageway, Ahn Hyun glanced up at the ceiling once more. That strange feeling he’d had since leaving the square kept nagging at him.
How much time had passed?
After entering the central passage, Jaeryong’s group was still wandering in the darkness. Or rather, “walking” might be too generous. There were about three branching paths along the way, but as promised, Jaeryong didn’t split the group. They stubbornly stuck to the central route, marching steadily.
The passage was silent. No one spoke. Only the occasional clatter of their footsteps on the mining railway tracks echoed faintly.
Thud!
About a hundred meters further, a sudden loud bang echoed through the tunnel. The group tensed instantly, then sighed in relief when the man walking to Jaeryong’s left signaled an apology.
“What was that?”
Jaeryong asked quietly.
The man tilted his head, crouched down, and seemed to examine something before standing slowly.
“I’m not sure, but it looks like a mining cart.”
“A mining cart?”
“Yes. I think it was used on this railway. It’s about the size to hold three or four people, but it looks very crude—like a basket attached to the front of a bicycle. It’s pretty worn out, too.”
“Doesn’t seem important.”
The man nodded as if to confirm, and Jaeryong nodded back, signaling to resume the march.
After about five minutes, a faint sound came from somewhere.
The group stopped again, tension settling over them. Ahn Hyun strained his ears to locate the source but saw a slender woman step forward. She carried a bow on her back—definitely an archer—so he decided to wait quietly. She would hear better than he could.
Meanwhile, Jaeryong pulled out a communication crystal and checked in with each squad. All reported no issues. Putting the crystal away, Jaeryong turned to the woman still scanning the area.
“Well? What is it?”
“Hmm… I think I hear someone shouting. Or maybe screaming?”
“Shouting? Screaming?”
“Ah. The line just cut off. Now it’s quiet… Anyway, I can’t hear well from here. We’ll have to move a bit further to be sure.”
The woman, who had been staring ahead for a while, turned around with a puzzled expression. Shin Jaeryong paused to think but realized there was no other choice. In the end, he decided they should press forward.
“I think it’s better if I lead from here.”
At the suggestion to go further, the archer woman tied her hair back tightly and nodded in agreement. Shin Jaeryong readily gave his consent.
After advancing for about ten more minutes, faint flickers of light began to appear ahead. The corridor remained eerily silent. There was another fork in the path along the way, but everyone’s attention was fixed on the lights ahead. The man who had tampered with the mining train earlier was already raising a large shield.
Then, suddenly—
“Damn it! You bitch! Hurry up and give birth to Hyungshik already!”
“Ahhh…!”
As the group cautiously approached the light, a sharp voice suddenly shattered the stillness of the corridor.
The silence broke. The footsteps stopped. The archer woman at the front moved swiftly, almost instinctively pressing herself against the wall.
“Goddamn it! You useless sow of a woman!”
“Ah, not yet… The baby… The baby…”
Despite the harsh words, the woman’s pleading voice continued to echo pitifully.
After a moment, as the others also pressed themselves against the wall, the woman slowly raised her hand to signal. She held up three fingers, clenched her fist tightly, pointed forward, then gestured to the right. The voices were coming from about thirty meters ahead, to the right.
Just as the group tried to move quietly—
“Damn it! The pursuers are right on our tail! You cursed woman!”
“Hah… Hah…”
Hack, hack! “Damn it! No choice now. Even if it’s too soon…!”
“Ah, ah…?”
For a moment, the archer woman bit her lip hard. Whatever the rest of the words meant, the fact that the pursuers had already arrived meant they’d been discovered. And hearing “no choice” sent an inexplicable wave of dread through her entire body.
Before she could blame herself, wondering when and how they’d been found out, the woman quickly glanced at Shin Jaeryong. Her eyes silently asked for permission to charge in and take control of the situation. Without hesitation, Shin Jaeryong nodded. The users drew their weapons and sprinted toward the direction she indicated.
They covered the thirty meters in an instant. Just as the archer woman was the first to turn right—
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Suddenly, her long scream pierced the air.
Thud!
The sound of something heavy and soaked hitting the ground echoed.
Meanwhile, at the same time—
“Huh?”
Ansol, who had quietly fallen back, suddenly snapped her head up. She began scanning the area as if searching for someone. Her eyes were filled with an unexplainable mix of anxiety and worry.
But had she failed to find who she was looking for?
“O-opp…?”
Ansol spoke softly, her voice tinged with longing.
“Oppa.” Ansol usually calls Kim Suhyun “older brother” (오라버니), not “oppa” (오빠). And many users call someone “oppa.” So who exactly was she referring to?
“Sir…?”
Then Ansol spoke again.
Within the mercenary clan, there was only one user she called “sir.”
It was Shin Jaeryong.
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
I’m truly sorry for the delay today.
Especially to those who waited until this late hour, I am endlessly grateful and apologetic.
Also…
I have a small request for readers. If you’ve noticed any flags or important foreshadowing in this chapter, please hold off on sharing your theories until this part concludes. This is especially important for this chapter. Please consider other readers who may not yet be aware.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. (__)