Chapter 26: On the Edge

Boom! Crash! Kaboom!

Leaving only flashes of light, another figure left a trail of monster corpses: Jin Seongha.

“Man, Jin Seongha’s unreal. Taking down house-sized beasts in one swing. Makes me wanna check his strength stat,” a Hunter remarked.

“Yeah, a bit wild, though,” another added.

Ion’s strength, mismatched for his rank, drew attention, but Jin Seongha was undeniably the strongest.

Each swing of his Black Cloud Sword obliterated dozens of monsters’ heads. His ferocity kept everyone but Ion at a distance, wary of the sword’s indiscriminate dark aura.

Though Hunters planned to stay clear, combat rarely went as intended. Yet, the team maintained distance skillfully—they were all elites.

“Let’s wrap up the battle!” Team Leader Lee Jina shouted, brushing back blood-stained hair.

Combatants confirmed kills and withdrew. The waiting collection team moved in swiftly.

While fighters battled, the collection team set up tents and treated injuries. After combat, they swapped in to gather byproducts.

“Team Leader Kwon, make sure to scrape up every green mineral,” Lee Jina instructed.

“Already on it. Guildmaster’s orders. Do you know what these are, Team Leader?” Kwon replied.

“No clue, just that Aide Daon said to collect them thoroughly.”

“Hm, wonder what they are. But if Daon says so, I’d collect monster dung if asked.”

Ion, overhearing, watched the porters’ deft movements—handling venomous fangs, poison sacs, and discarding useless innards with expertise.

So different from D-NATE.

The term “porter” felt derogatory for such professionalism.

Ugh…

A headache hit from briefly watching. As Ion moved, Hong Insu called out.

“Hey, Ion! You okay? Come have a potion.”

“I’m fine. You drink more, hyung.”

Ion hurried to the cargo truck.

The group traveled in five military trucks, the smallest carrying non-inventoried byproducts and gear.

Grabbing his bag from the cargo hold, Ion rubbed his cheek against his Sansevieria’s leaves. The cool, green touch restored his mana.

Huff. Haa. Huff. Haa.

His stifled chest cleared, and the throbbing headache vanished. Ion bit a long leaf, resisting the urge to chew it off.

His odd behavior might startle others, but he sensed someone behind him.

Holding his Sansevieria, Ion stayed still.

“…”

Jin Seongha approached, tossing off his shirt and chugging a mana potion. He seemed uninjured.

Unlike others, he didn’t cover his skin under the scorching sun—not to show off, but because his “Five Elemental Resistance” included protection from sunburn.

The reason he thrived in this searing desert.

Not just his skills—his body’s protagonist-buffed too, Ion thought, slightly envious of Jin Seongha’s thick, chiseled physique: massive pecs, defined abs, broad shoulders, sculpted biceps, and veined forearms.

Those muscles likely formed effortlessly, probably even before his S-rank awakening. Protagonist privilege.

After refilling mana, Jin Seongha pulled a black V-neck short-sleeve shirt from his inventory, accentuating his developed chest and arms. Rummaging through the cargo, he said, “You hug that weed after every battle.”

Ion’s eyebrow twitched.

“Not a weed—it’s a Sansevieria, as I’ve said multiple times.”

“Hard name to remember.”

“Don’t lie, Jin Seongha Hunter. You’ve memorized entire texts since childhood. And with your perfectly landscaped garden, you must know Sansevieria. As a perfectionist, you’d have studied every plant thoroughly.”

“Thanks for always praising me.”

Damn it.

Ion swallowed a curse. Every talk with Jin Seongha turned into praise. But what could he do? The man was perfect.

Jin Seongha grabbed a pet carrier from the cargo.

Pru!

Unzipping it slightly, Pippi poked out its face.

Pru! Pru! Prrrr!

Pippi puffed up its round body, ears flat, blatantly sulking. It tried squeezing out, but Jin Seongha blocked it.

“No. The sun’s too harsh.”

Prrru.

“Stay in.”

Prrrr!

“Don’t come out.”

Prrrrr!

Pippi had been confined since entering the dungeon, only allowed out at night, and was clearly displeased. Once, when Jin Seongha let his guard down, Pippi tried escaping.

Prrruut!

It got sunburned, losing patches of light-green fur on its upper right side—not just a few strands, but dozens, leaving a bald spot. Monster healing skills didn’t work, so Jin Seongha applied emergency ointment, blaming himself for not securing the carrier.

Now, he was overprotective.

“It’s shady here—can’t it come out?” Ion asked.

“Just a tent layer, and it’s peak sunlight. Wait till evening.”

“Why not build a sterile room at home and lock it up instead of bringing it to a dangerous dungeon?”

“Honestly, I’d love to. Maybe a big cage.”

Seriously?

A champion of animal freedom?

Ion glanced at him. Jin Seongha’s golden eyes were earnest, sparking another character-break moment.

Prrru!

“Pippi, no.”

Jin Seongha gently pushed the struggling Pippi back with his palm, though he could easily force it in.

That’s the real Jin Seongha. But what’s with these character breaks?

To get rid of him, Ion decided to help.

Simple method.

Swoosh.

Behind Jin Seongha, Ion made a throat-slitting gesture visible only to Pippi.

Prut!

Pippi dove back into the carrier in panic.

“…”

Jin Seongha, zipping the carrier almost shut, sighed.

“What did you do?”

“…”

“Ion Corps Leader.”

“Me? Didn’t notice you talking to me. Just hugging my Sanse, as you can see.”

Jin Seongha silently turned. Ion clung to his Sansevieria like it was his lifelong habit.

“Ion Corps Leader, is your weed okay?”

He meant in this boiling heat. Ion smirked.

“Not a weed. Sansevieria’s native to deserts. It stores water in its leaves when scarce. Unlike animals needing constant water and food, it thrives anywhere—desert, jungle, city.”

“Sounds boring to raise.”

This guy.

Ion bristled, but then—

Prrrr.

Pippi, unable to tolerate the tiny gap, shoved its round body into it. Jin Seongha said no, covering it with his palm. Pippi nibbled his fingers, its toothless bite soft.

“Wow, so much fun to raise. My Sanse stays put quietly, never ignoring or rebelling. Your monster’s full of defiance—jealous,” Ion said sarcastically, turning away with his Sansevieria.

Jin Seongha, watching Ion head to the mercenaries’ rest area, chuckled—a stunning sight that would make anyone cured of depression kneel in awe, thanks to his looks.

Ten days passed—245 hours and 11 minutes.

The team still hadn’t reached the forest.

Strange. The novel said Spec-1 set the world’s fastest S-rank dungeon clear record. The current record is 38 days, so we should be in the forest by now.

Exploration skills indicated they’d need to travel the same distance again to exit the desert. The forest, smaller but monster-dense, might slow them further.

Even reaching the gate stone miraculously fast, collecting all the scattered Moshi would take days.

Was it the S+ record, not S-rank?

The author wrote too carelessly.

“Hm, at this pace, we’ll clear in under two months,” a Hunter said.

“How many days was Japan’s S+ record?”

“71.”

“Smooth sailing.”

“U.S. was 59.”

“Forget others. Beat Japan. Just Japan.”

“Right. Let’s move.”

Only Ion found it odd. Others were content with the pace.

They had reason to be. Of 21 combatants, three had healing skills, two A-rank, easily treating sunburns. Thanks to aces Jin Seongha and Ion, no one was seriously injured or left behind. Supplies were ample, and the diligent collection team loaded byproducts onto trucks.

Why’s Horizon such a great guild?

Unlike D-NATE’s A-rank dungeon raids, everyone here was diligent and responsible—no “trolls” or “villains” causing trouble.

I might end up the troll.

Sitting on the truck’s cargo hold, Ion hugged his Sansevieria.

Everything was smooth, but Ion alone was in crisis.

A non-awakened, he couldn’t draw mana from potions, relying solely on his Sansevieria. His vision was blurring. A week more, if he was lucky.

If “mana depletion” hits…

During training with Teacher, he’d endured mana depletion often, but not since her passing. Carrying his plant and filling cars with greenery ensured his mana never ran dry.

Depleting mana and using vitality brought excruciating pain and… awkward side effects.

I can’t lose it in front of Jin Seongha. I need the forest—now.

Ion bit his lip, gauging his dwindling mana.