"Everyone, take your positions!" Hyunwoo shouted, giving directions to the others.
Minho took his stance from behind, while Soyeon and Jinho buffed him.
"Hurry! I can't hold on much longer," Taejun said, restraining the wyvern with his chains.
Everyone was ready. With one powerful leap, Minho jumped into the air, then dove down toward the wyvern that was nearly going berserk.
This is it, Minho muttered inwardly. He truly felt every second of that moment with all his senses. The world seemed to slow down, the sensation of blood mixed with the smell of monster corpses filling the room. With one sure strike, Minho aimed for the wyvern's heart.
"Perfect Slash!"
His expression changed instantly. He couldn't speak because what he feared and avoided most had happened right before his eyes.
[DAMAGE 0]
Taejun could no longer hold back the wyvern's rampage, and his chain spell shattered.
Now, right in front of Minho, a monster three times the height of an adult man, less than two meters away, was going wild.
"Kiieeeeekkkk!"
The wyvern's shriek as it entered berserk mode was deafening. It brought every party member to their knees.
Minho's expression said it all. This might be the end of his life. His only regret was that his friends might get caught in the aftermath.
The wyvern moved its tail to attack Minho. But Minho could only stand frozen, unable to do anything—even blocking was impossible.
In that split second, Hyunwoo stumbled and threw his shield, then ran and leaped toward Minho.
"Nooo, Minho!" Hyunwoo shouted, reaching for Minho's hand, making himself take the hit from the berserk wyvern's tail swipe.
Minho saw it very clearly—Hyunwoo was hit by the tail right at his waist, sending him flying into the wall.
"Hyunwoo!!!"
Minho screamed in panic and suddenly woke up in a quiet, clean room filled with the smell of disinfectant.
As he tried to sit up, pain shot through his entire body before he realized he was in a hospital after seeing the bandages wrapped around his hands.
"Please don't force yourself, sir," said the nurse standing beside Minho. She appeared to be replacing his empty IV.
Minho's heart pounded. Past trauma often haunted him in his dreams. But what was more shocking was that he was still alive.
With stabbing pain throughout his body, he moved his hand to touch his face, stomach, and...
This is real. I'm still alive, but how? he thought, confused.
While Minho was still absorbed in his confusion, unable to find answers, the hospital door opened, and a tall, middle-aged man entered his room.
"Oh, thank god you're awake," Mr. Han said to Minho while pulling a chair and sitting beside the bed where Minho was being treated.
With precise movements, Mr. Han took out a knife and began to peel an apple. Minho watched with slight admiration, but it was very clear on his face that he still hadn't remembered everything.
Before Minho could ask Mr. Han anything, Mr. Han spoke first.
"Don't push yourself. For now, just rest," he said while placing piece after piece of peeled apple on a small plate.
Mr. Han's small, affectionate gesture made Minho feel a bit calmer. Not because of any greatness or authority, but because Mr. Han's words were always simple, and that was more than enough for Minho, who hadn't received attention in a long time.
Mr. Han then stood up and said goodbye. "Rest first. I've taken care of the medical bills," he said while walking toward the exit.
Now Minho was alone in that room. His phone was dead because he hadn't charged it since last night.
In the midst of that boredom, Minho grabbed the remote on the small table beside his bed and turned on the television.
|Breaking News|
"An unexpected incident occurred at the city's subway station. A gate break, estimated to be B+ rank, claimed several lives and property. Losses are estimated at around 200 million won. According to eyewitness reports, a hooded ranker came and eradicated everything."
Minho began to remember what had happened after seeing the video footage from the subway station's CCTV.
But he was still confused. He should have died from the Twin Head Ogre's last attack. The pattern was almost the same as his first raid ten years ago. He lost consciousness, and the monster was just killed. That was the only memory he had.
Days passed. Now, Minho had recovered and was allowed to go home.
With heavy steps, he left the hospital heading to his residence. Yes, the narrow alley where rats grew and bred. A squalid place barely fit for living, but cheap—Minho's choice to keep surviving in this cruel world.
Now he was lying on his beloved shabby mattress. Worn out, noisy, and ugly. But he always chooses to relieve stress. Or rather, his only choice.
With a cracked screen, he turned on his phone that had been inactive for several days.
Sometimes Minho laughed at his phone. Because no one ever called or messaged him. If I were to disappear, it seems that no one would look for me.
But right after he turned on his phone, a message came in, pulling him back to the bitter reality of life. A message from his landlady informing him of the payment deadline for this month's rent, along with the arrears from the previous two months.
Minho just stared at the ceiling of his room, thinking about what he had to do to survive. As if giving no choice, the only way he could make money was by being a ranker.
For the umpteenth time, he opened the drawer in his room's small table, taking out and staring at a ranker ID card.
"Looks like you won't let me go," Minho said while staring at the ranker ID card.
.....