The giant horned rabbit stomped its feet like a bull.
Its distinctive red eyes appeared bloodshot with excitement.
Gulp
Someone swallowed at the sight of the grotesque horned rabbit.
That tiny sound made both the horned rabbit's and my ears perk up simultaneously.
Ah.
It reacted to the sound of swallowing.
As the horned rabbit turned towards the adventurer, I also aimed my bow at it.
Paang—!
The horned rabbit twitched its ears at the rough sound of the bowstring's tension.
It stopped its charge towards the adventurer and leaped like any other rabbit.
Thud!
An arrow struck the spot where the giant horned rabbit had been.
It had dodged the arrow by leaping away, guided solely by the sound of the vibrating bowstring.
A skilled fighter indeed.
In terms of combat experience, it was several levels above me, who had only hunted goblins and horned rabbits.
I sighed at the overwhelming difference in skill.
"Grr."
If only the other adventurers had mana, a creature like this wouldn't have been a challenge.
I gripped the bow tightly, frustrated, but then shook my head.
There was no need to resent the loss of what I once had.
What mattered was what I could do in the given situation.
I had lived like that so far and planned to continue doing so.
'Let's check it out.'
Jung Yu-na had mentioned it.
The horned rabbit, specialized in hearing, had degenerated eyes.
I decided to see if the giant horned rabbit shared this trait.
'Focus on the eyes and ears first.'
I pulled the bowstring without notching an arrow.
Paang–!
The moment the bowstring vibrated and made a sound, it reflexively jerked its body.
Even without an arrow shot, it reacted just to the sound.
Clearly, it relied on hearing over sight due to poor vision.
Like other horned rabbits, it meant there was no mana in its eyes.
I looked over at Yeoreum to share this discovery, and she gave me a thumbs up.
"······!"
Had she understood without words?
I was slightly excited that I had been of help to her.
Pat-!
I was too late to notice the giant horned rabbit charging at us.
By the time I heard the sound and turned my head, it had already rammed its massive body into the tree I was on.
Kwaang-!
The tree tilted with the impact.
Unable to maintain my balance, I tumbled down with it.
"Gyeoul—!"
Yeoreum reached out to me.
I also stretched out my hand towards her, but we couldn't grasp each other.
"Ah."
I'm falling.
I wondered if it would hurt a lot when I hit the ground.
As I entertained such pointless thoughts, Yeoreum suddenly threw herself at me.
"Gyeoul!"
She wrapped her arms around me.
Whether to soften the impact of the fall or to protect my head, she even covered it.
Thud!
Together, we hit the ground.
Falling onto the giant horned rabbit's back dispersed the impact, but being so close to it, my fear only grew.
"Uh..."
Its horn was as big as my forearm.
Would I die instantly if I got impaled by that?
As I was entertaining such silly thoughts, Yeoreum picked me up and started running desperately.
"Yu-na!"
"Come here!"
Jung Yu-na's voice came from a nearby tree.
Behind us, the horned rabbit was getting ready to jump.
Its leg muscles swelled up.
Alone, I would have rolled away to dodge, now I was in Yeoreum's arms.
"Duck down!"
We needed to duck to avoid it.
The moment I reflexively pushed down Yeoreum's head, she threw my body upwards.
Thwack-!
Accompanied alongside the sound of something being pierced, my body soared into the air.
I was thrown so high that Jung Yu-na, perched in a tree, managed to grab the back of my collar.
"The–the horned rabbit—!"
Hanging by Jung Yu-na's hand, I rolled my eyes searching for Yeoreum and found her below me, bearing a pained expression.
"Uh...?"
The giant horn of the horned rabbit protruded through Yeoreum's abdomen.
The blood-stained horn looked more unreal than ever.
Without mana, a normal person like Yeoreum impaled like this would have no chance of survival.
It was a death that came without warning.
And by the weakest monster, a horned rabbit.
"Yeoreum...?"
Jung Yu-na's arms, holding onto my collar, trembled.
I, too, shivered just like her.
What could I do right now to save her?
I racked my brain, but no solution came to mind.
Even a top-grade potion wouldn't work in this situation.
'It's over...'
There was no way out.
Overwhelmed with despair, I slumped when Yeoreum groaned and grabbed the horn protruding through her abdomen.
Behind her, I saw Choi Jinhyuk and other adventurers rushing towards the horned rabbit.
"Hang in there!"
Choi Jinhyuk and other physical-type adventurers clung to the giant body of the horned rabbit.
Whether it was trying to shake them off or not, the horned rabbit bucked and kicked, flinging its body around.
Even with their muscular strength, without mana, they could only hold the horned rabbit for a few seconds.
It was a futile effort.
Caught in a sense of helplessness, unable to do anything, I locked eyes with Yeoreum, who struggled to raise her head.
'Ah...'
She was dying because of me.
I'm so sorry.
I wanted to apologize, but my lips wouldn't move.
Perhaps I was destined to be a burden all my life.
Why am I so powerless?
As I was engulfed by self-loathing, I noticed a faint smile on Yeoreum's lips.
'She's….smiling...?'
It wasn't a smile to reassure me.
Nor was it a final farewell smile.
It was a smile of firm resolve, one that only someone who has trusted others could show.
And her trust was in me.
Was there a way to save her now?
I bit my lip hard, forcibly waking up my numbed senses.
I went through everything I had learned about dungeons from Yeoreum and Sophia.
'To save someone whose stomach is pierced...'
Immediate treatment was needed.
But in a dungeon where mana couldn't be used, the dungeon had to be cleared first to receive treatment.
Mana would return once the dungeon was cleared.
Then, we could use all the potions we had.
'Dungeons with bosses are cleared by defeating the boss.'
When my thoughts reached that point, I understood the meaning behind Yeoreum's smile.
It was a smile saying, 'We are suppressing the horned rabbit, you just have to shoot the arrow.'
Even being impaled, she trusted me enough to smile like that.
"—!"
I quickly notched an arrow to my bowstring.
Aiming at the giant horned rabbit, I shouted to Jung Yu-na, who was holding me.
"Don't shake your arm!"
"Okay!"
Had Jung Yu-na thought the same?
With a single deep breath, she stopped all trembling.
It was as if everyone had become one.
In that moment, I shot the arrow at the giant horned rabbit.
Paang-!
The arrow flew straight towards the horned rabbit's eye.
It tried to react to the sound and jerk its body, but about a dozen adventurers were clinging onto it.
"Argh!"
Cough!
Some adventurers rolled on the ground due to the rabbit's bucking, but their sacrifice made the rabbit only twitch in place.
Thump-!
The arrow hit right in the horned rabbit's eye.
I could sense the sharp arrowhead had reached its brain.
Beeep—
The giant horned rabbit let out an almost cute death rattle, uncharacteristic of its size, and slumped down.
Yeoreum, too, knelt along with the horned rabbit, still clinging to its horn.
Cough
A mouthful of blood burst from Yeoreum's mouth.
As I shook to get down, Jung Yu-na let go of my hand.
"Yeo–Yeoreum—!"
I cautiously approached, calling her name.
Her eyes were tightly closed, almost like she was dead.
Did we run out of time?
As my hands trembled while stroking her face, Yeoreum cracked a feeble smile.
"Ah, I'm dying."
"You–you're alive—!"
"Yeah. I just saw the River Styx, but now that the mana is back, I feel a bit better."
"That's a relief."
The mana had returned.
As I sighed in relief, Yeoreum weakly raised her hand and tapped my cheek.
"If you leave me like this, I might see the River Styx again..."
"Ah! Just, just a moment!"
I frantically searched through her bag.
Since she had told me where she kept the potion in her bag, I quickly found and pulled it out.
"Drink this quickly!"
I poured the potion into Yeoreum's mouth.
When she unexpectedly resisted the potion, I forced it into her mouth.
"Ugh! Mmph!"
Pffft-!
After finishing the potion, Yeoreum let out a strange laugh.
"Gyeoul, we need to remove the horn first..."
"Ah! Ahhh—!"
The slowly regenerating stomach was obstructed by the giant horn of the horned rabbit.
Caught in a tricky situation, I racked my brain, then suddenly remembered the day we first met.
The way she had forcefully fed me soup.
'Ah.'
When people get overly worried, they become forceful like this.
I only just realized this obvious fact.
I let out an awkward laugh, looking at Yeoreum, who was barely regaining her vitality.
"Ah, I'm dying..."
I decided to save Yeoreum first before getting caught up in my emotions.
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