Three days had passed since Yeoreum entered the dungeon.
Everyone in the guild, including me, began to get anxious.
“Still no contact?”
“Yes. Could something have happened?”
“I’m not sure. This is the first time something like this has happened in a dungeon…”
Some suggested sending a rescue team, others wanted to wait a bit longer, trusting their comrades.
Amidst various opinions, I just looked around hopelessly.
Wondering if she would come back.
“It’s getting late…”
Just a few days ago, I wished they would go away.
But now, worry was all I felt.
What if something had happened in the dungeon?
Feeling frustrated and unable to concentrate on anything, I was wandering near the guild building when Sophia approached me.
“Has Yeoreum still isn’t back?”
“Yes…”
“That’s really serious.”
Sophia tried to cheer me up by patting my shoulder.
But her consolation did little to lighten my heavy heart.
“She isn’t… dead, is she?”
“…I understand how you feel, but try to keep your composure. There’s time for grief after everything is over.”
“I wish I could, but it’s not easy…”
My thoughts kept drifting to the worst possibilities.
I let out a sigh of frustration.
My gaze fell to the ground as heavily as my breath.
“Come on, cheer up, even if you have to force it. Keep your ears up and straighten your back.”
Sophia, seemingly displeased with my listless state, lifted my drooping ears.
My ears perked up momentarily but slumped again as soon as she let go.
My whole body felt weak with worry for the missing guild members.
“Why can’t the Daybreak Guild, even without mana, get out of a horned rabbit dungeon?”
Even I could handle a horned rabbit with just a slingshot.
But it was incomprehensible that they, who had faced many hardships, were struggling with horned rabbits.
Sophia also seemed puzzled by my question, stroking her chin in thought.
“Hmm… Maybe they are struggling because it’s horned rabbits.”
“Because it’s horned rabbits?”
“Yes. They’re creatures anyone can easily catch, so there are no devised strategies for them.”
“Ah…”
Indeed.
Yeoreum could probably kill hundreds of horned rabbits with a flick of her hand.
Even an ordinary person could catch them without much difficulty.
A strategy for catching horned rabbits was naturally unknown to anyone but someone like me.
I was the only one in this world without mana.
Maybe they were late because they were trying to figure out how to catch horned rabbits without mana.
That thought struck me like a lightning bolt when I realized I was the expert in catching horned rabbits without mana.
‘Huh?’
Wouldn’t I be a great help if I went into the dungeon?
With that hopeful thought, I turned to Sophia.
“Sophia, do you know where the horned rabbit dungeon is?”
“The one Yeoreum entered this time?”
“Yes.”
“I believe she said she was going to Sangam-dong, maybe?”
Sangam-dong.
Sangam-dong.
Repeating the location to myself, I ran towards the container.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m just going to Sangam-dong for a bit.”
“…You’re not thinking of entering the dungeon, are you?”
I stopped in my tracks at Sophia’s question.
I considered lying to avoid worrying her, but decided to be honest.
I didn’t want to lie to someone who had been so helpful to me.
“Catching horned rabbits without mana is my specialty.”
“I know, but do you really have to go?”
“Don’t worry too much. I’ve caught hundreds of horned rabbits like this.”
It wasn’t a lie.
Perhaps sensing my determination, Sophia tapped the ground with her cane, her face etched with concern.
“Can you swear it’s not recklessness?”
“Yes. I swear.”
In the matter of catching horned rabbits without mana, there was no one better than me.
If not me, there was no one else to help them.
“…Then go, but be careful.”
“Yes!”
I returned to the container and gathered my bow and arrows.
Just in case, I also took a slingshot and some marbles.
The clothes I was wearing would be sufficient.
They were the dirtiest clothes I had.
It had been a really long time since I last hunted horned rabbits.