Chapter 10: Another(2)

Hong Suyeon, pinned down, and me, an apparent F-rank, surrounded by higher-ranked hunters. All escape routes to the gate’s exit were blocked.

In this clearly disadvantageous situation, Min Kyuhyun stepped forward confidently.

“You think you can handle the consequences of this?”
“Anything that happens in a dungeon gets written off as an accident. Besides, our country lacks the tech or will to dig into the truth.”

I wasn’t interested in Min Kyuhyun’s long-winded speech. My priorities were Hong Suyeon’s safety and preparing for any potential beast attacks.

At best, they’re led by Kim Mandeok, a barely B-rank, and the rest don’t even reach that level.

“Since you seem to agree, Suhyun, shall we get started?”

Min Kyuhyun’s slimy hand slithered onto my shoulder. Seeing this trash unable to control his desires, anger surged within me.

“You won’t walk out of here today. Heh.”
“Funny, I was about to say the same.”
“Wow, Suhyun, you’re a fiery one.”

He clearly misunderstood my intent. Seeing me as an F-rank with no gear, Min Kyuhyun and his crew snickered.

But what can they do?

I gripped his hand on my shoulder, channeling strength. Enhanced by the mana stimulator, his face contorted in pain.

“Argh…!”
“Sorry, you picked the wrong person.”
“How’s a girl this strong…!”

Back when I fought the stars, I crushed fortresses barehanded. A mere human overpowering me? Impossible.

As I loaded a punch with my other hand undoing, a massive figure suddenly tackled Min Kyuhyun out of nowhere.

My name is Kim Mandeok.

Born with autism, I might seem like an idiot, but it’s just a slight expressive impairment. Thanks to awakening during the cataclysm, I can think clearly.

My past is blurry—I was in a lot of pain back then.

What I do remember clearly is the conversation Min Kyuhyun and his crew had yesterday.

“Dongha, looks like two girls are joining as porters tomorrow.”
“For real? They hot?”
“Voice sounded decent, but we’ll see. The name LoaderGirl’s a bit worrying…”

Overhearing them at their drinking session, thanks to Park Dongha keeping watch, their talk of treating new victims as playthings disgusted me.

If not for my mother’s hospital bills, I’d have smashed their heads with my shield right there.

“Mandeok, want a drink?”
“Alcohol… no good…”
“Ugh, pathetic. No wonder you’ll never get a girl.”

With Kim Minji, the healer, by his side, chugging drinks, I felt nauseated. Then Kim Minji crossed a line.

“Oppa, it’s not the alcohol. Who’d date an autistic freak?”
“…!”

My body shook with rage. The humiliation of being powerless in that moment was unbearable.

But this was the only place that’d take an autistic tanker like me.

Min Kyuhyun, the leader, usually robs new hunters of their items or, if they’re women, toys with and kills them in the dungeon.

Newcomers, spurred by Park Dongha’s instigation, mock and belittle me before becoming their prey, so I felt little sympathy.

Trash preying on trash—who’d pity that? Even an autistic like me gets it.

When the day came, the new victims arrived.

Two cute girls. Min Kyuhyun’s grin stretched wide. As he approached them to build fake rapport, I looked at them with pity.

Two more gone today.

As I watched them sadly, the black-haired girl locked eyes with me. Unlike most who recoil at my gaze, she stared back unflinchingly.

Min Kyuhyun intervened, breaking our gaze, but something felt off.

With the girls in the party, the gate raid began after a brief briefing. Months with Min Kyuhyun’s crew taught me Kim Minji never heals me, so I tanked to minimize damage.

“Kim Mandeok, push forward!”
“Dangerous… no…”
“Goddamn slowpoke, I’ll do it myself.”

Park Dongha, the mage, recklessly demanded a faster pace and unleashed skills on the enemy horde. Monster flesh splattered, and the skill’s recoil hit our party.

‘This dungeon’s narrow—high-risk for that kind of firepower.’

Realizing his mistake, he demanded I tank.

“Hey… hey! Kim Mandeok, block that!”

Cleaning up Park Dongha’s mess, I shielded the party from the blast and monster chunks. But a surviving goblin with a dagger lunged at Park Dongha.

“Aaagh!!”

I crushed the goblin’s head with my shield as Park Dongha screamed and fell. But his injury meant I’d face the fallout, regardless of fault.

As expected, Park Dongha’s blows rained on my head—purely to vent his frustration. Min Kyuhyun’s shield for his image-making settled it, but I knew worse would come later.

Forced to tank relentlessly due to the rushed pace, we reached the boss room. Unhealed, blood trickled from my ear. I needed to finish fast and get Kim Minji’s heal.

Then.

“The tanker’s badly hurt. Shouldn’t you heal him?”

The girls from earlier were urging Kim Minji to heal me. Naturally, she refused, but the blonde girl started arguing with her.

I couldn’t understand why.

They were clashing with the party over me, a stranger, disrupting their harmony. It made my chest tight with an unfamiliar urgency.

Min Kyuhyun and Park Dongha arrived, looking troubled. That expression meant one thing.

At Min Kyuhyun’s signal, Park Dongha understood instantly. He tackled the blonde girl with the big bag, slamming her to the ground. My heart ached seeing her fall.

The black-haired girl, supposedly F-rank, was surrounded with no escape.

For the first time since joining, I felt something for these girls who treated me like a person. Despite not getting healed, I was happy. Being treated as more than an autistic case—besides my mother, this was a first.

Could I just let this happen?

I’d only met trash until now, but ignoring this would make me no better than them.

Inner conflict drove me mad.

And then, I lunged.

“Hey, stop Kim Mandeok!!”

Kim Mandeok, suddenly tackling Min Kyuhyun, pummeled him relentlessly. Too injured to counter, Min Kyuhyun was helpless.

Thanks to this unexpected variable, Park Dongha, who’d pinned Hong Suyeon, let her go to help Min Kyuhyun.

I quickly helped Hong Suyeon up, checking her condition. Red handprints marked her wrists, and her body was scraped from the ground.

Her pain was palpable.

“You okay?”
“I’m fine… but him…”

She pointed at Kim Mandeok, mid-fight. Mounting Min Kyuhyun, he landed blow after blow, but Choi Gunwoo and Park Dongha bombarded him with massive fireballs.

Whatever his reasons, he’d helped us.

If those deadly spells kept coming, Kim Mandeok wouldn’t survive.

“I’ll—”

“Wait!!”

I was about to aid Kim Mandeok, under concentrated fire, when—

—Grab.

Hong Suyeon seized my wrist.

“What are you doing?”
“Just wait. I might… be able to fix this…!”

Claiming she could turn the tide, Hong Suyeon ran to her fallen bag and rummaged through it. Soon, she pulled out a strange horn flute.

“This is it!”
“What’s that flute?”
“Just watch!”

Puffing her cheeks, Hong Suyeon blew the horn with all her might. A strange mana emanated, and white figures materialized around us.

Activating my Star Eyes to analyze the flute’s magic, I recognized it as a high-tier mage’s summoning spell.

How does a D-rank like Hong Suyeon have such an item?

The white figures solidified into lifelike forms.

“Who… are you?”

Hong Suyeon grinned confidently.

“I’m a returnee, you know!”