The dark cave brightened and a shadow of a bird with long plumage became visible. Its body slowly emerged behind a huge rock, clearly towering over the hunters.
Its vibrant feathers with hues of red and purple but glimmering with golden accents made its appearance very majestic to behold. Baek Haemin, who quickly hid in a corner, almost dropped his jaw.
"Kyaaar!"
The phoenix squawked at the hunters, regarding them as trespassers on its territory.
Ding!
[System:
{Warning! Boss monster has appeared!}]
[Monster identified.
Name: Phoenix (A)
Attribute: Fire]
"A, amazing…"
Haemin muttered in awe.
Is it possible for a bird to look so pretty? No, maybe it's because this is a fantasy novel. How could something so beautiful be a monster?
He was totally captivated by the image of the phoenix. It shook its feathers in front of the hunters, glaring at them until it screamed.
"Kyaaaaarrr!"
Fire came out of its beak, and the feathers on its wings ignited.
"Cast a shield!"
Park Hanwoo shouted and a barrier formed to shield everyone fighting up front.
The hunters with fire-resistance skills and equipment went ahead to launch an attack after the phoenix closed its beak. Haemin's hands became sweaty while watching the fight full of tension.
Everyone's so amazing… How could they stand up when they're fighting against something like that?
Everybody in the cave except him had experience fighting monsters. Baek Haemin couldn't even begin to imagine just how intense they were living their lives.
They all looked so determined to fight that beautiful creature…
He could feel the urge to crack his knuckles but he couldn't take his eyes off of the hunters fighting.
A hand then came to his vision.
"Young master? Are you alright?"
Han Jiwon waved her hand to his face. She saw her young master staring at the hunters and phoenix as if he were in a daze.
He blinked twice before speaking.
"Oh, yeah… sorry, what's wrong?"
"The heat must be getting into you, young master. You should sit far in the corner, over there. It'll be cooler."
Jiwon pointed behind, but he couldn't see anything. It was too dark and far from the fight where everything seemed bright from the blazing flames coming from the phoenix.
He just nodded his head and Jiwon walked with him. She later stood at a distance to make sure no basan would reach him.
Is this really how a support hunter joins a raid? But they all seemed useful in the novel, though. Am I the problem?
He hadn't done anything apart from healing the hunters whenever they got injured. They always kept him out of the fight, shielding him from anything that could possibly cause harm. He even got his own tent when camping while everyone else was sharing theirs.
It feels like I'm being babied too much. Even when they're fighting the boss monster, no one asked me to move. Is it because they're still not comfortable asking me? Even though I have enhancement skills… huh?
Now that I think about it, no one really asked me to enhance their stats or even their weapon. But they all seemed to know in advance about my healing skills. Why is that? Isn't Baek Haemin known for doing other stuff than healing? Am I wrong? No, I'm sure I read it in one of the articles before.
His face scrunched and he started pulling his hair out.
Dammit, why did Shiro not give this guy any sort of background story anyway?
All the novel said about Baek Raehwan's younger brother was that he was a stalker, and he died from Ryu Jinmu's hands. Nothing else was mentioned about him after that.
He made his online research about Baek Haemin but it's almost always about his scandals and negative behavior. Not one article mentioned his skills at all.
He's hiding his true rank, so is it possible that he's also hiding his skills? But that doesn't line up with his reputation of being more than a healer. Does the public know about my enhancement skills, then? I mean, they have to, right? Should I test it out? Uh, what was its name again? Something about a maiden…
[System:
Answer. Maiden's Sanctuary.]
"Right, right. Maiden's Sanctuary."
He nodded when he finally got the name of the skill he was thinking of.
Just then, a warm sensation suddenly enveloped his body. The dark spot he was resting on immediately brightened and a golden circle on the ground came to life with him in the center.
"Wha, what is this…?"
[System:
Skill: Maiden's Sanctuary (S)
Activated.]
Wait, are you kidding me?! Why? Did it activate because I was thinking about it? But what am I going to do with this?!
The light went from the ground to the ceiling of the cave. His eyes went from dark brown to bright gold inside the sanctuary.
"Haemin-nim?!"
Han Jiwon ran to her young master to see what was going on.
He frantically waved his hand and shook his head to her.
"J, Jiwon-ah! This is… I, I didn't mean to…"
Jiwon's eyes widened as she tried to reach for her young master. He could see her mouth moving like she was shouting but he couldn't hear anything.
The cave rumbled and the stone behind him moved. The hunters fighting the phoenix felt the disturbance in the air and looked in his direction. Soon, their faces stretched in horror and Kang Minho rushed to him while saying something, but they were all too far.
What? What is everyone saying?
"What are you guys…?"
He took a step to move closer, wanting to ask what they were saying.
He saw a purple light coming from behind him. He turned his head around and saw a glowing purple marble with a slit in the middle.
"Hmm? What is this?"
His hand reached out but then the glowing marble disappeared for a moment until it appeared again. The slit in the middle moved around and stopped in front of his face.
Rather than a glowing marble, he was late to realize that it was an eye of a species ruling the dungeon. It raised its head and slowly stood up.
Baek Haemin's mouth opened wide but no voice came out. His whole body trembled and his mind was telling him to run but his legs wouldn't move.
What in the hell… is this?
Ding ding!
[System:
{Warning! Immense pressure detected!}
Skill: Soul Calming Cleanser (L)
Activated.]
"Oh…"
The creature tilted its head and opened its beak. It sucked the air around it as its chest puffed up.
"Kyyyaaaaaaaaaaaarrrr!"
The cave shook with its roar, causing the stones on the ceiling to fall.
The air vibrated so strongly that his body shivered. He covered his face with his arms, trying to resist the pressure from the creature but he could only gasp in horror until a hand embraced him. He hit a firm set of muscles, only to realize who it was.
"Ah… Jinmu…"
Ryu Jinmu, who was tightly holding his waist, clicked his tongue.
"Tsk."