By Zephyria 
Lee Chan-ha, having heard the story of what had happened and about the mysterious core located at the center of the Black Mountain, which had now become the Mottled Mountain, fell into deep thought.
“So, my role is to protect Yohan-ssi?”
Yohan felt a flutter of excitement. Lee Hyun-muk, Yoon Seung-ryong, Seo Yakrin—three Dealers—and Joo Ho-young, one Supporter. And finally, Lee Chan-ha, the Tanker, and himself, the Healer. It was a perfect composition, with no role missing. Let’s organize everyone’s abilities once more, as follows:
Team leader Lee Hyun-mook, Dealer. Main ability: lightning strike.
Yoon Seung-ryong, Dealer, main ability: toxic miasma, secondary ability: space manipulation.
Seo Yakrin, Dealer, main ability: Psychokinesis, secondary ability: Eternal Stone refining.
Joo Ho-young, Supporter, main ability: enhancement buff, secondary ability: ice magic.
Finally, the newly joined deputy team leader Lee Chan-ha, Tanker. Main ability: defense, secondary ability: self-healing, meaning exceptionally high regeneration compared to others.
Of course, there were other abilities as well, such as Lee Hyun-mook’s formidable shadow, Joo Ho-young’s speed, and Lee Chan-ha’s illusion. Yohan thought it seemed doable. Perhaps… maybe this time they could successfully clear the dungeon and escape the Abyss, his heart already pounding with anticipation.
“Yes. If I can reliably protect Yohan-ssi, you’ll be able to focus on attacking. You’ll be able to inflict much more damage. Consequently, the chances of reaching the core before the Flood causes everyone to lose their minds will increase.”
Yohan knew well that during the last attempt, everyone couldn’t go all out to protect him, who was relatively vulnerable. But with Lee Chan-ha joining this time, if Yohan no longer had to worry about being attacked by monsters, everyone could focus solely on clearing a path to the core.
“Then, before we go in, shall we practice coordinating our attacks?”
After resting sufficiently within the Purification Field Yohan had maintained for several days, the party members slowly got up. Curious about what coordinating attacks would entail, Yohan headed towards Lee Hyun-mook. As they descended from the mottled Black Mountain and stepped out of the Purification Field, Lee Chan-ha sent a look of deep regret.
The group headed towards the brine lake. The lingering stench from last time was only a trace, but the damp, humid, and fishy atmosphere remained.
“Ho-young, inside the barrier. Seung-ryong, outside the barrier. Everyone else, stand by.”
Following his instructions, everyone except Lee Chan-ha, Joo Ho-young, and Yoon Seung-ryong stepped back. Lee Hyun-mook scanned the surroundings with an electric field. A faint, tingling sensation brushed past, making Yohan flinch. Soon, finding a suitable target, Lee Hyun-mook turned his head to one side.
Rumble…. The sky groaned low, and the air split as a bolt of lightning struck the ground near the brine lake. KWAANG! Even though the lightning was significantly weaker than usual, it looked terrifying to Yohan.
‘It was just a light strike….’
Yet, the fact that it was comparable to an attack from a High-level Awakener at full power was frightening. As frightening as it was, it was also reassuring, so Yohan moved even closer to Lee Hyun-mook. Naturally, Lee Hyun-mook’s forearm wrapped firmly around his waist.
The ground where the lightning struck began to move erratically. Yohan gripped his spear tightly, tense. What would emerge? A goby? A clam? What kind of creatures lived near the sea? As he searched his memory, the worst possible form, one he had never imagined, sprang from the wet sand.
A colossal, long, and winding body, its brown hide constantly writhing and shifting, an opaque mass with countless leg-like appendages that groped the ground and air disgustingly….
In an instant, Yohan’s face turned pale. He thought he was accustomed to most disgusting monster forms, but this was truly a horrific sight. He stammered, asking,
“W-w-what on earth is that?”
“Hmm… doesn’t look like a fish, does it? Not a clam either. Hmph, doesn’t look like an octopus or a crab either? It looks unappetizing, so maybe we shouldn’t eat it?”
Saying that, Yoon Seung-ryong gripped his spear and charged forward. Lee Chan-ha, who had been glancing at the dirty mud on her shoes with a displeased expression since earlier, followed suit. Her mysophobia, which remained even after escaping the Corruption, was evident as she took a deep breath, glanced at Yohan, and muttered. Terrifyingly, her whites were bloodshot.
“I’m counting on you, Yohan-ssi.”
“Y-yes. Just… count on me….”
Meeting her desperate gaze, Yohan nodded absently. Upon hearing his reply, Lee Chan-ha, along with Joo Ho-young, lunged towards the monsters whose forms were enough to induce dizziness. Trying to suppress the nausea, Seo Yakrin, who had been glaring at the writhing, disgusting monsters, clapped his hands.
“Ah! I know. It’s probably like an earthworm?”
An earthworm? He disliked regular earthworms, let alone marine ones? For some reason, the name itself sounded incredibly repulsive, even for its uncorrupted original form. It was also a name he would never search for on the internet.
“There’s no better bait for catching black sea bream. Wow, maybe I should go fishing for a bit? With an Eternal Stone fishing rod, I think I could fish even here.”
As Seo Yakrin nodded, reminiscing about old times, the three were suddenly attacked and faced a swarm of angry marine worms. Lee Chan-ha was the first to deploy a barrier. A transparent, glass-like barrier with a bluish hue enveloped Lee Chan-ha and Joo Ho-young. Then, Yoon Seung-ryong unleashed a dense fog of toxic miasma.
Gurgle, gurgle…. As Yoon Seung-ryong’s toxic miasma seeped in, the marine worms writhed and dripped foul-smelling mud bubbles. The sight was so nauseating Yohan forced his eyes open and endured. He had learned through experience in the Abyss that he couldn’t look away from the disgusting and terrifying.
Yoon Seung-ryong’s purple toxic miasma spread densely all around, but it could not penetrate the barrier around Lee Chan-ha. This was the barrier’s greatest advantage. It allowed allies inside to unleash their abilities freely while blocking all external elements.
While now everyone except Yohan was strong enough not to need to be inside the barrier, Seo Yakrin and Joo Ho-young used to attack primarily from within the barrier. Attacks splashing onto allies were as dangerous as monster attacks.
While Yoon Seung-ryong’s toxic miasma dealt continuous damage from the ground, inside the barrier, Joo Ho-young safely shot ice arrows. The attacks were somewhat perfunctory, as this fight was to test Lee Chan-ha’s abilities. The marine worms’ tails and sharp, hook-like teeth pounded against the barrier, but it remained unshaken.
Yohan’s expression brightened. He had always been scared when participating in battles in the Abyss, but he endured it. He felt it would be a little less scary inside Lee Chan-ha’s barrier. As he watched the battle, an ominous thought suddenly occurred to him.
‘…But I don’t think black sea bream are the only ones that like marine worms.’
Just then, a few marine worms shattered, scattering disgusting bodily fluids everywhere. And as Yohan expected, something was drawn by the commotion and the scent of prey, writhing and crawling out of the brine lake. Yohan’s eyes widened.
It was a monster with dozens of infinitely large and long tentacles. Was it a cephalopod? Or a jellyfish, or a sea anemone? Whatever it was, a horrifyingly grotesque monster descended upon the spot where the marine worms had died. It slurped the dead marine worms, mud and all, into its body, and then set its sights on the three people.
Yohan felt like he could faint just watching. The creatures that crawled on land or flew were like angels compared to the monsters that lived in the water. Meanwhile, the monster relentlessly attacked Lee Chan-ha’s barrier. It grabbed with its rough tentacles, slammed with its body, trying to pull them into its own mass. Sticky mucus dripped down the barrier.
Now Yoon Seung-ryong stepped back and watched. Joo Ho-young also stopped attacking, gauging how much Lee Chan-ha’s barrier could withstand. The monster eventually swallowed the barrier, the glass-like sphere and all. Yohan was worried and fidgeted, but the others were nonchalant. They seemed to think it could withstand that much.
After watching for about 10 minutes, Lee Hyun-mook stepped forward. Seo Yakrin quickly scooped up Yohan and moved him far away. As Lee Hyun-mook strode forward, black electricity crackled from his body, and only then did Yohan realize that the greatest trial for testing Lee Chan-ha was not this disgusting monster.
“Just a light one,” Lee Hyun-mook muttered, and black lightning erupted from his body. FZZZZZT! The monster, engrossed in feeding, writhed and thrashed its stiffened tentacles. But with the successive attacks, its nervous system and muscles were roasted crispy, convulsing in pain.
Black and hazy smoke rose. As it was roasted alive, the monster emitted a foul odor. It tried to escape belatedly, but it was too late. Lee Hyun-mook’s lightning strike pierced the monster’s body once more with a roar. Finally, the monster collapsed onto the ground with a THUD.
Inside, Lee Chan-ha and Joo Ho-young were enduring within the barrier. Lee Hyun-mook seemed quite satisfied that the barrier had withstood his lightning strikes multiple times. Only Lee Chan-ha and Joo Ho-young looked pale. Soon, the flickering barrier disappeared.
“You held up well.”
Lee Hyun-mook praised Lee Chan-ha as she crawled out, covered in waste. But Lee Chan-ha, regardless of his praise, scrambled towards Yohan. And desperately clung to him.
“Y-Yohan-ssi. Yohan-ssi…. Please, have mercy on this pitiful me….”
“I’ll purify you, so please don’t kneel!”
Yohan quickly poured light onto Lee Chan-ha, who was half-crazed, her eyes glowing with a red glint. Only after the waste covering her entire body disappeared could Lee Chan-ha finally calm down. Watching the scene, Lee Hyun-mook’s eyes curved into crescents.
“I like it very much.”
Confused by his words, Yohan looked up in surprise. Lee Hyun-mook smiled and said,
“The more desperate they are, the harder they’ll try to protect you. Chan-ha will prioritize protecting you above all else. It’s good.”
Yohan felt that he was speaking sincerely and was greatly flustered. Even Lee Chan-ha, who heard the words, had no particular complaints. Thinking that telling him not to say such things might be useless, Yohan replied with a firm voice.
“Then I will also do my best to protect you diligently!”
While he didn’t possess overwhelming offensive power like them, instead of envying it or feeling burdened, Yohan resolved to diligently do what only he could. He knew well how important his role was here. Hearing Yohan’s resolve, Lee Hyun-mook smiled gently.
“Yes, Yohan. I’m counting on you.”
Saying that, he cupped Yohan’s head with his large hand and kissed his forehead, making Yohan’s face turn bright red.