"… Hyung, are you okay?"
That guy said. His side was ripped open and his guts were spilling out, and he was asking if I was ok.
He was on the verge of death yet his face was only a little pale. His calm look annoyed me. I sat on the floor and looked up at my brother without saying anything.
He was always interfering with my work. He was better than the dirty me, so people had always told me to stay put and behave, to not hold onto his thigh. They weren't wrong to say that because eventually I had broken this big and reliable thigh.
However.
"...Why are you here?"
A blunt voice came out of my mouth on this old subject.
Why did you come to such a shit place for someone you don't even know?
We were anything but close. If we ever ran into each other, there would only be a cold breeze. When my leg bones had been shattered, he did not come to the hospital to see me even once. When I went to him to request for help to fix my broken leg, he coldly turned me down and had me dragged out. That day, after being kicked out I was forced to take the money he gave me. I have never talked to him ever since.
He laughed bitterly at my question.
"Why are you here, fuck."
Even though I thought he was the type of person who would bite the hand that feeds, a curse still emerged from my mouth. He had a lot of expectations on his shoulders but he still gave his life to save a useless family member. Crazy son of a bitch.
Since when were we that friendly? If you're dead and on the news, damn it, I'll just swear a few times and then forget about it.
But what did you do?
I was angry. I was angry and irritated by my patheticness, not him.
Yes, I've always been an ugly older brother. Even in this situation, I'm still a person with a garbage brain filled with complaints and an inferiority complex.
So just let me die in a corner of a Dungeon! Why did you come?!
"Listen to me, hyung."
That guy said, avoiding my question.
"Lauchitas falls asleep within five-hour cycles. If you hide for an hour, it will eventually go to sleep. Then you just have to get out through the entrance. I've taken care of all the lesser monsters so as long as you do not touch Lauchitas, you will be safe."
He then held out a small blue stone to me. It was a gatestone that provided a way out of a closed dungeon. It can only be used near the entrance and is a very valuable item that could only be used one time by one person.
I did not take the gatestone and pretended to be uncaring.
"Good for you. Now use it."
He laughed at my words.
"I've got mine. I won't use this."
…Now that you're one of the best Hunters in Korea, you're carrying several of those precious gatestones. I reluctantly accepted the gatestone.
It was only then that he took his eyes off me and looked at his wounds. Without the strength of his skills, he would have long collapsed and died.
"...You have gatestones, do you have anything like elixirs?"
"No, I don't. I have a small potion, but I don't think that's going to work. Lauchitas has a powerful curse on its claws."
He laughed again. I didn't know how to laugh with him.
But that kind of calmness soon reached its limit. His knees bent and his body fell forward. I reflexively caught the upper half of his body.
The smell of blood that I hadn't felt so far stung my nose. It was awful.
I thought I got used to the smell of blood as I walked around the dungeon but it brought me to my knees. I felt sick.
I was tempted to throw away the body in my arms and flee.
"...hey."
I could hardly hear the sound of breathing.
There was no answer.
I couldn't laugh.
"...are you dead?"
My voice was shaking. It's none of my business whether this asshole dies or not.
"Han Yuhyun. Are you dead?"
Damn, this stupid son of a bitch. I'd be damned if I survived by myself. I'm sure that there were a lot of guys who would want to burn the scumbag who killed his younger brother.
"You're going to screw with me to the end?"
I muttered in vain.
Up to this day, he's been interrupting me in everything I do. It is now time to hide. Dirty to the end, really.
[Effect of 'Caregiver' title has been activated.
Caregiver's Additional Skill — Final Reward
The skills and abilities of Awakened 'Han Yuhyun' have been transferred with twice the efficiency.
Duration — 01:00]
A notice popped up, confirming his death. As one of the Additional Skills of my title, when a target who had been given the growth buff died, the target's skills and abilities can be transferred for one hour
It also doubled in power.
As his power filled my body, some of his memories were also passed on.
'My brother is an F-Level Awakener."
This son of a bitch even to the end—
'So he cannot be involved with me.'
Yuhyun was talking to someone. He seemed a little sad.
'It's already damaged, but in the future we need to be even more distant. Because Awakeners who qualified to become Hunters are not protected by the law.'
'If my brother becomes my weakness, they will no doubt go after him.'
…who the hell are they?
'Damn it, dispose of all of those bastards!'
It was when my leg had been broken. He was angry. And then he was sad again.
'No. Tell him… healing is not possible. It would be better for him. I kicked him out… But he's still my brother, I cannot help but help him...'
'Hyung, I'm sorry.'
'Sorry…'
'Please don't go into the dungeon.'
'Hyung.'
My brother's memory tightened my throat. The entire area was silent, but the sound of "hyung" still hurt my ears. The body was cold and stiff.
I was going crazy.
As expected, this fellow had covered for me until the very end. What are you protecting me for? The older brother is me. I had lost my parents at an early age, dropped out of school, and took care of my younger brother, raising him.
"Damn him! Did he think I was going to regret this?"
It's your fault that you didn't say a word.
I carefully laid my younger brother's body onto the floor. His face looked relaxed. If I leave alone, it would be the same as when I came in.
"I'm not going to cry."
Until the end, that selfish guy just did whatever he wanted; why would I cry for him? It was a waste of tears.
I got up. When I looked at the status window, I saw the increased number of skills. They were all top quality, even the double buffs.
Laughter broke out.
Just one hour. For just an hour, I had become the strongest person in the world at the cost of my younger brother's life.
"Damn it, what can you do with only one hour?"
It would be better for Han Yuhyun to be live longer for 40 or 50 more years. Even if Yuhyun became a grandfather, he would still be a lot stronger than me. How could it be compared to this one-time, one-hour presentation?
"Stupid bastard. That stupid fucking bastard."
My brother's stupidity brought tears to my eyes. The title of 'genius' was a waste on him. He was the world's biggest fool.
"Gigant Shield."
As soon as I used the skill, a faint golden light wrapped around my body. Originally, it was a shield that couldn't stop Lauchitas' claws, but now that it received the double buffs, I would survive even if I was bitten by the creature itself.
This, is all yours. So I am going to avenge you.
I walked slowly out of a gap in the wall where I was hiding. I could see a giant monster lurking at the far end of the wide corridor.
Lauchitas. Grade 1 polyp. The Dragon King of Poison and Curse. It had only appeared twice so far and both times were deemed as a non-combatant because its Dungeon door was closed.
The red dragon with three heads was looking at me. Among the three heads, the middle one's eyes had been burnt out. The Lauchitas was very resilient, but it seemed that even it could not recover in such a short period of time from the injuries caused by Yuhyun's blood.
Yeah, my younger brother's great. Now I have double the abilities of that great younger brother
Fuck. You're dead.