- I vote for entry. - Mr. Song stated after a while observing the lack of opposition from the hunters.
Song raised his hand.
And then, one by one, the other Hunters began to raise their hands.
Baku was the first to raise his hand, followed shortly by Kim and several other Hunters.
- We go there.
- I'm in favor.
- Let's fight.
Of course, there were also many who disagreed.
- It's better not to go further.
- I think it is better to wait for the Association's decision.
- Let's go back.
The two opposing camps went head to head and in the end, the only people who hadn't voted yet were Ji-Hee and Jin-Woo.
- I'm sorry... But I don't think going there is a good idea. - Ju-Hee admitted
Thus, there were eight votes for entering and eight votes against it.
Song then asked the hesitant Sung Jin-Woo.
Only he hasn't decided yet. And his vote was supposed to influence one of the sides.
Jin-Woo's fingers closed tightly around the category E magic core in his hand. His only catch today.
He felt the waiting eyes of the other hunters on him.
In fact, Jin-Woo was torn inside. Normally he would never try to take unnecessary risks. Not only did he not have the skills to do it, but he was also not brave enough.
However, Jin-Woo had a younger sister who was going to college in the coming months.
He didn't have money for it. No savings. He earned so pitifully little that he could barely pay for everything and buy food. He had nothing to save.
Currently, Jin-Woo is twenty-three years old.
He was at the age when he should have been concentrating on his studies, but he gave up on this dream because he had no money. He certainly didn't want his little sister to go through the same suffering, the same pain as him.
And she ended up like him, with no education.
Every penny was precious to him at the moment.
But... he didn't want to drag the team down again. He didn't want to be stuck again.
He had always been a burden and a disappointment to the hunters he currently went on a raid with.
He was aware that many of the hunters voting to move forward looked like they had swallowed a rotten lemon.
They already expected that Jin-Woo would chicken out and vote to leave.
After all, how else could the "World's Weakest Hunter" decide?
Just a coward and the laughing stock of the industry?
On the other hand, those who wanted to leave looked as if a stone had fallen from their hearts.
As if they were already sure of winning and leaving this place.
After all, every other group thought the same.
How else could someone like Jin-Woo vote?
Both of these two groups' reactions made Jin-Woo feel even worse.
He promised himself that this time he would give 100%.
Would deciding to run away be giving it your all? Or a simple tuck of the tail?
Jin-Woo raised his hand high.
- I vote to move forward.
That's when he heard a soft sigh of resignation coming from his side.
Ju-Hee wasn't too happy with his decision.
Most, however, seemed surprised by his decision.
Positively or not, depending on the group.
For some reason, this realization gave Jin-Woo a lot of satisfaction.
***
The corridor stretched on forever.
Up front, Mr. Song and the other stronger hunters took the lead. Song summoned a small flame on the tip of his hand to light the way forward, thus dispelling the ever-present blackness.
"We've really come a long way, haven't we? Shouldn't we also take into account the time we need to escape from here?
Kim looked at his watch.
- We walked for about... thirty minutes.
- The gate closes completely an hour after killing the boss, so we have about half an hour left.
Baku looked around, which didn't help him much as Mr. Song's flame only illuminated a small area around them. And everywhere else was black.
- If we don't find the boss in the next twenty minutes, I suggest we just give up.
- You're probably right. If the path to the boss is longer than an hour after killing him, we will not be able to get out.
Song nodded for a moment. Getting stuck into a dungeon after closing the gate meant certain death. Without water and food, they would quickly die here.
At the very back of the group was a spot reserved for Sung Jin-Woo, who had recently been seriously injured, and Ju-Hee, who had no fighting skills.
They both walked in uncomfortable silence.
Jin-Woo scratched the back of his neck, aware of the burning feeling of guilt as he kept glancing at the worried and irritated companion next to him.
- Hey... I'm sorry.
- What for?
- You know... It's my fault we came in here.
- Hmm. It's nothing, don't worry. - The girl said bitterly.
Jin-Woo looked closely at Ju-Hui's expression. She definitely didn't look like she thought the situation was "no big deal" at all.
Jin-Woo tilted his head, trying to better read her mood before asking her again, even more carefully than before.
- Really?
This question prompted Ju-Hee to turn her gaze to him.
When their eyes met, Jin-Woo realized what a bad question he had asked.
- Honestly? No, of course not! Have you lost your mind?! You were stabbed a second ago!
One centimeter and you would have a hole in your heart! I won't even mention the wounds on your arms and legs! And those from the earlier rally! I just cured you! What made you decide to vote this way? Did you get hit in the head too?!
She spoke so fast that Jin-Woo felt like his mind was going numb from listening to her.
But he couldn't say she was wrong.
If it weren't for the presence of the outstanding B-rank Healer, Lee Ju-Hee, Jin-Woo would have been dead long ago, let alone continued his work as a hunter. It's no wonder why such high-ranking and hard-to-find Healers were so highly regarded in the halls of the Association.
Jin-Woo owed a lot to the girl next to him.
Starting with health and ending with life.
Ju-Hee was a healer-type hunter, the rarest of all hunter classes.
Not only that, she had a B rank.
The Society always asked her to heal wounded hunters whenever the Gate opened. Whenever Jin-Woo participated in a raid, she almost always participated in the raid as well, keeping an eye on him.
"Does anything hurt? Please wait a moment and I'll help you."
"Haven't I seen you before. ? Are you by any chance the person from the last rally?"
"Are you hurt again?"
"Wait, don't touch. That wound looks nasty."
"You really are very unlucky."
"We run into each other quite often, don't we?"
"You said your name was Jin-Woo? So, well... How are you feeling?"
"You know, this life of a hunter doesn't suit you somehow."
" Oh... I see you again."
"Show me your arm. No, not that. I meant the second one, the one with the fracture."
At that moment, Jin-Woo felt grateful for everything she had done and firmly apologized to her for causing her trouble.
He was paying her back beautifully at that moment. Dragging her to some unknown, potentially dangerous place.
How ungrateful of him.
After a few moments of silence, when Jin-Woo's expression darkened, Ju-Hee sighed softly, seeing the depression and guilt on Jin-Woo's face.
- Are you really sorry?
- Very.
Ju-Hee fell into deep contemplation for a moment before she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and slowly curled her lips.
- If you're really sorry, maybe you could invite me out for some food to make it up to me?
Oh, well...
Jin-Woo blinked in surprise. This offer was definitely unexpected.
Offer? More like... forgiveness.
Jin-Woo looked at her with a surprised expression and saw a teasing smile etched on her face like a teenager.
The truth was that Ju-Hee was still a young girl, barely in her twenties.
Didn't she say she would be twenty-one next year?
Sometimes... Well...
She always seemed much more mature and serious than her age would assume. Maybe that's why Jin-Woo was so surprised by her slight mischievousness.
If her long hair were replaced with something shorter and her current outfit was replaced with a school uniform, she would look just like a high school student.
So similar to his younger sister.
Probably if he felt attracted to women this image would make his face become Red.
When Jin-Woo hesitated to answer, Ju-Hee's cheeks began to swell like a balloon.
- What? Don't you want to eat with me?
- NO! Why! Of course, I want to...
Their conversation was interrupted by a commotion in the group of hunters walking just ahead of them.
- Is!
- It worked!
- This must be the boss's chamber!
Jin-Woo and Ju-Hee's gazes automatically moved forward.
And they saw a huge metal door blocking the passage.
The door was navy blue with rusty silver accents and two knockers that seemed to serve as door handles.
However, the doors were so large that the knockers were at the tops of their heads, instead of at the height of their torsos.
The hunters immediately surrounded the massive door.
- What is? Why is there a door at the end of the cave?
- Are there any boss chambers with... doors?!
- Uh... I expected everything... But not the door.
- Maybe they are here because there is something very dangerous hidden behind them.
- Or very expensive.
- They look solid...
The hunters began to express their doubts and fears one by one.