“Aaahhh!”

Yeoreum screamed as she ran across the vast meadow.

Dozens of horned rabbits were chasing her.

As she ran, she looked around but couldn’t see her colleagues or the other adventurers from the guild they had come with.

Had everyone lost their way?

No, it was more likely that I was the one who had gotten lost.

Yeoreum, panting heavily for the first time in a long while, clung to a tree.

“Ah, damn it.”

Although it was hard without mana, her regularly trained muscles allowed her to climb the tree with ease.

‘This is crazy.’

Now I understood why the horned rabbit dungeon was rated as level five.

The moment you enter, all your mana is blocked—a downright vicious dungeon.

How are you supposed to catch horned rabbits without mana?

While complaining, Han Yeoreum’s thoughts involuntarily drifted to Gyeoul back at the guild.

‘…Am I being punished?’

No, that couldn’t be it.

She shook her head as she watched the dozens of horned rabbits surrounding the tree.

At least here, no one was mocking her for not being able to catch even a horned rabbit.

It was sadly better than Gyeoul’s situation.

“Ugh.”

If I get out of here alive, I need to be a hundred times nicer to Gyeoul.

Just as Yeoreum resolved this, she heard the sobbing of a woman from somewhere.

“Huh…?”

Was it because of the lack of mana?

She had been slow to sense her surroundings.

Yeoreum, gripping a branch, looked around for the source of the sound.

“Yu, Yu-na?”

Jung Yu-na was hanging onto a tree trunk like a cicada, slowly sliding down as she struggled to hold on.

“Ye, Yeoreum, help me up…”

Jung Yu-na looked up at Yeoreum with a tearful, pitiful expression.

It was similar to the terrified expression I once saw on Gyeoul.

“Just climb up.”

“My body is too heavy, I can’t climb.”

Screech-

Jung Yu-na’s body slowly slid down.

A horned rabbit below, sensing an opportunity, leaped up towards her.

Poke!

The rabbit’s horn pierced Jung Yu-na’s left thigh.

Fortunately, the horn wasn’t long enough to go through her thigh.

“Qui, quickly…”

Jung Yu-na trembled.

Yeoreum hastily reached out to her.

“Yu-na, grab my hand.”

Yeoreum pulled Jung Yu-na up.

It was a bit heavy lifting her, but neither of them showed it for the sake of the other.

“…Thanks.”

Sitting on the branch, Jung Yu-na stroked her forearm.

Her delicate skin was scratched and raw from rubbing against the rough tree.

“I didn’t know we wouldn’t be able to use mana in the dungeon.”

“Yeah, really.”

Their eyes met in the air, both instinctively understanding what the other was thinking.

The child who had naturally caught horned rabbits without mana.

That child kept coming to my mind.

Jung Yu-na bit her lip with guilt.

“Yu-na, let’s focus on clearing the dungeon for now. That’s how we can atone to Gyeoul.”

“Yeah…”

That seemed like the right thing to do.

Jung Yu-na nodded weakly.

As Yeoreum said, the priority was to find a way to clear the dungeon.

Though she wasn’t sure if she could be of any help without magic.

“Yu-na, have you seen Jinhyuk nearby?”

“No, I haven’t. I ran away because I was being chased.”

“What about the other adventurers?”

“Um… I saw people from the Eunha Guild near the lake earlier, but I don’t know if they’re still there.”

The lake.

It was definitely to the north.

Yeoreum cautiously jumped down from the tree after making sure the horned rabbits were gone.

“Yu-na, it’s safe now, come down.”

“……”

Jung Yu-na couldn’t bring herself to come down, not knowing how to descend a tree without magic.

“Yu-na?”

“…Yeoreum, can you catch me?”

“Ah, okay.”

Yeoreum caught Jung Yu-na’s body as she dangled from a branch.

Embarrassed, Jung Yu-na turned her blushing face away, looking out over the distant fields.

‘I’m so powerless.’

Without mana, her body was weaker than that of an ordinary person.

She couldn’t even properly climb a tree.

She felt utterly useless.

In this bitter situation, Jung Yu-na thought of Gyeoul in the container.

That child must have spent most of her life feeling this way.

Lamenting her powerlessness and uselessness.

It was dreadful realizing this only now, in this situation.

She wanted to slap herself for not understanding earlier, but she couldn’t make any noise, fearing the horned rabbits would hear and come.

From now on, she resolved not to brag about her abilities and to be kind to everyone.

Yeoreum whispered as she approached Jung Yu-na.

“Let’s move along the trees for now. Keep an eye out for horned rabbits.”

“Okay. Got it…”

Gyeoul had done her best even in her powerless situation.

Jung Yu-na decided to follow her example and find something she could do.

—

—

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 Yeomyeong 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.

—

3/5 Enjoy the chappy!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep