Together Forever (3)
It wasn’t just Jung Hayan who was acting this way.
I couldn’t say that the others were doing better than her, but they still exhibited signs of paranoia and anxiety even after their illusions had gone.
Kim Ye-ri was one of them.
That kid had always expressed a calm disposition, but now she was tightly clinging onto Kim Hyunsung, and fear was evident in her expression.
As she was still just a child, I could understand why she would react that way. I didn’t know what she had seen, but I was almost sure it had been one of her most traumatizing experiences.
The same went for Jung Hayan. I could almost guess her illusion was taking the form of me abandoning her. Because of this, I realized that the curse was made to target the weak points of every individual present.
Slowly, however, everyone awakened. Though they had escaped the influence of the curse, no one dared to speak.
As I soothed a trembling Jung Hayan, gently stroking her hair, Lee Sang-hee spoke up.
“Phi, please report the damage situation.”
“Ah, the curse seems to be purely mental. It creates hallucinations for anyone who comes across it.”
“Is there anyone who can’t move?”
“No one has been injured.”
No physical damage had been inflicted. However, it had caused a great toll on everyone mentally. Now, I was beginning to understand why the previous Blue Guild parties had been annihilated here.
If the curse continued to haunt everyone here, or if it would begin to get worse…
‘That’s when the situation can get out of hand.’
Lee Sang-hee massaged her temples for a moment before speaking once more.
“Can anyone hear voices inside their head?”
She received no answer.
When it was apparent that no one dares to speak up, I did.
“I can.”
“I see…”
“I think it will be the same for the others.”
“I don’t think the divine cleansing spell is effective. The curse is probably built into the dungeon itself. It’s most likely triggered when entering a certain area, or when one has stayed for some time.”
‘That’s a good line of reasoning.’
Lee Sang-hee had gone back to her poised self. I glanced at Kim Hyunsung and saw him nodding, which meant that she had given a correct hunch.
“However, the symptoms might get worse later on. If this kind of curse is activated when we’re facing the undead…”
She didn’t need to explain further. It would cause severe damage to the party. However, I knew the undead wasn’t the real problem here; the curse was.
Undead or ghost, it didn’t matter. They were trivial appetizers. As the dungeon’s name suggested, the real obstacle in this place would be the curse inflicted upon us.
Eventually, you will be left alone.
‘Shut your mouth.’
I knew we would not be able to control the situation unless we got used to the curse. Though Lee Sang-hee, Kim Hyunsung, and I had already adjusted, I knew Hyunsung’s situation was different from ours.
However, it was well known that Kim Hyunsung’s party was growing fast. It would be no exaggeration to say that our growth speed was incomprehensible. Even I had been able to catch up, thanks to Tucker and my resources.
It went without saying that our specs could reach up to legendary. However, just because we had high potential didn’t automatically mean we were strong.
Our party had a load of mental problems. The growth of one’s mind can’t possibly be on par with the growth of the body.
‘Was this Kim Hyunsung’s goal all along?’
Perhaps Kim Hyunsung had brought us along for this very purpose? However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed unlikely. I knew he wasn’t the type to disregard the possibility of people losing their lives. If this were a normal dungeon, he wouldn’t have hesitated to send us in.
‘The situation is serious now.’
Our party wasn’t the only one suffering. The rest of the group was, too.
In this kind of situation, there were only three options available.
The first was to return.
There was too little information about the dungeon itself. It didn’t matter if our main focus was to rescue our guild members. If the previous expedition leader had been more cautious, he would have chosen this option.
The second was to continue.
This was not recommended. As we didn’t know our survivors’ condition, there was a sense of urgency that couldn’t be ignored.
The third one was…
“First of all, it would be better to set up a camp here.”
‘Right.’
“For melee workers, please form a group and search the surroundings. Try to find information that can help with our next strategy. The rest of the people will set up camp here. Please prepare a meal. It’s about time for us to take a break. The second unit should take charge.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Ah… But are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why, but I don’t seem to have been heavily influenced by the curse. Although I can hear the voices… It’s not enough to bother me.”
“Ah. If so… Then please do, Mr. Hyunsung.”
I think this was the best option we could have taken. Even before we had been cursed, the entire party already felt exhausted.
It had been over half a day and six hours since we had entered the shrine. If we continued to push ourselves to search in this state, we’d reach our limits and burn out faster than we’d think.
In particular, our priests and sorcerers were the ones who had worked themselves out the most, so it was only proper to give them ample time to rest.
“After we rest here, we can resume tomorrow morning. If we don’t find anything or anyone after three days, we’ll retreat. And…”
“Yes?”
“It’d be better for all of you to find a way around your curse.”
“Is that even possible?”
I felt like it wasn’t. Usually, a curse was semi-permanent.
“Yes, it is. For now, please focus on recovering your body. The countermeasures will be formed after the search team returns.”
Once Lee Sang-hee finished speaking, a few people with high agility stats, including Kim Hyunsung and Kim Ye-ri, stood up and went out.
Meanwhile, the rest of us did our best to set up camp.
Seeing that he was so willing to head out, it seemed that Kim Hyunsung had some sort of plan as to how we were going to tackle this situation.
‘Maybe he knows of another hint.’
If their task was to risk themselves searching for more information, then our task wasn’t just to set up camp. It was also to help ease everyone’s mentality.
I didn’t even have to ask for confirmation—this task was up to me.
Contrary to Sun Hee-young, who had quickly found stability, Deokgu, who still had a blank expression plastered on his face, looked like he needed some help.
I didn’t need to do much with Jung Hayan. She’d be alright as long as I was beside her.
Seeing that people were having conversations as they worked, I thought that would be my best course of action.
“Deokgu.”
“Oh, Hyung…”
He had on a remarkably shaky expression as he looked up at Jung Hayan and me.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“W-Well, of course,” Deokgu replied.
“I’m asking you seriously,” I said firmly.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me, Hyung. Take good care of Hayan because I can’t.”
‘This pig…’
“What did you see?”
“Nothing special.”
Park Deokgu seemed to think that opening up would mean he would become even more of a burden. As I quietly assessed him, I could see the anxiety written on his face. So, I took the initiative.
“I heard the voices of those I killed or those who died in front of me.”
“Ah…”
“I saw Yoo Seok-woo and Park Hyaeyoung, who could not be saved. Of course, I also saw the faces of Jung Jinho and his men. He told me I was going to die soon. They even told me not to rationalize their deaths.”
He fell silent.
“How about you?”
Park Deokgu’s expression shifted into worry, to the point where I wondered if it was right for me to push him into telling. Perhaps it was about his weakness or trauma, so it was only natural for me to be careful.
However, I knew it was necessary for him to speak, so I could help him out.
“Well, I… Hyung, I saw you and the other party members die. I was fighting a giant monster… I wasn’t able to do so because I couldn’t hold onto it. I also hesitated upon seeing both of you injured… I… Ugh…”
It was quite a shock to see tears forming in Deokgu’s eyes as he spoke, and he stuttered in a way that one would think he was choking.
I knew Park Deokgu was weak, but I didn’t think he’d be this weak.
“Even when I killed Yoo Seokwoo…”
Park Deokgu couldn’t find it in himself to look at the scene.
“Then I saw all of you blaming me, that you all died because of me… It’s all because of me… I wasn’t doing anything, just shivering… The same situation came again, but I couldn’t move…”
“And after that?”
“It was the same after that… Never changing…”
“Can you still hear the voices?”
I could see him nodding.
“What?”
“I can hear all of you.”
“Who?”
“The voices of Hayan and you. I can also hear the voice of Hyunsung Hyung, and the voice of Hee-young Eunni, as well as Kim Ye-ri. Are you experiencing the same?”
“Of course, even now. But it doesn’t hurt me much.”
“As expected of my Hyung…”
“You can do the same. What you’re seeing are simple hallucinations.”
I did not mean to say this for Park Deokgu only, but also for Sun Hee-young and Jung Hayan.
“There is no reason to be shaken, and there is also no need to worry. It’s all just bullshit anyway. Don’t let it bother you. Focus on what you see now.”
“Ah…”
“If I can do it, you can do better, Park Deokgu.”
“A-Ah…”
“Remember that. If I can do it, you can do better.”
Of course, I didn’t mean that. However, I knew it would help him to an extent.
After that, we delved into discussions covering various topics. We had a short talk with Sun Hee-young, and we had a meal with Lee Sang-hee, Hwang Jeong-yeon, and Kim Hyunsung to discuss our next strategy.
Of course, it was only natural that I invested the most time in comforting Jung Hayan. I needed to keep her mind off things by keeping up the conversation. I thought about talking to her the way I had talked to Park Deokgu, but I knew that tactic wouldn’t be as efficient.
In fact, I didn’t even want to recall what I had seen again. Just talking about it meant I had to do my best to seem unaffected once more.
Anyway, her situation was different from Park Deokgu’s.
Although everyone was sensitive to the situation, I knew they could survive through it. All we had experienced were hallucinations, after all.
‘Anyway, everyone has taken a short break…’
It can be said that this was the best choice. It would be difficult to get some proper sleep, but because I was tired of the long journey, it didn’t become a problem for me.
‘Ah…’
At some point, however, I could sense Jung Hayan staring my way, heightening my senses.
“We’ll be together forever. Yes… no. Oppa won’t do that. You are stupid. My Oppa told me to ignore your words. You are not real.”
I didn’t know who she was talking to, but she eventually leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“I won’t listen to you, stupid idiot. My Oppa shouldn’t die. I’m going to live with him forever.”
‘Shit…’
“We’ll be together forever. We can stay here for all time, Oppa. Hehehe…”
Her creepy voice sent shivers down my spine.