99 Percent Love

“How much further do we have to go?” 

Once again, the endless walk began, and the tired Espers began to complain one by one. It would have been better if monsters had appeared during the descent, but instead of monsters, they were walking with a heightened tension that was beginning to irritate them.

“I wonder how powerful the boss is that’s waiting for us to make it drag on like this.”

“But isn’t it a bit scary? There are gates where the rating is affected by the boss, but I’ve never heard of a gate where monsters don’t appear like this.”

“Why worry? If it were just us, or if only an A-grade guide came with us, it might be different, but we have Rion with us.”

Although some of them were worried, they quickly relaxed when the mention of Rion reassured them.

“I think we’re almost there.”

At that moment, Rion, who had been leading the group, suddenly stopped walking. There was an undeniable surge of energy coming from beyond the wall.

“…I think I understand why no other monsters have appeared.”

Rion nudged something trapped underfoot and showed it to the group. It was one of the legs of a monster they had seen in the desert, or to be more precise, one of the legs of that monster was lying in the underground dungeon.

The cut was not clean; it looked as if it had been gnawed on. Something was clearly using other monsters as food to fuel its own strength.

It was a monster that could easily be handled by a C-grade guide alone, but the number was enormous, so it must have stored up a lot of power.

As they turned the last corner in suspense, the boss of this gate was there, as expected.

“This position is too bad…”

Someone muttered quietly. The area where the boss stood was a little wider than the stairs, but it was still narrow, and the height was not very high either.

The head of the boss, which was about two to three times the size of a human, barely touched the ceiling. The location was not very favourable for Rion, who preferred aerial combat.

Since the underground dungeon was narrow, it would basically be a one-on-one battle between Rion and the boss, but with his teammates behind him, this dungeon was extremely disadvantageous for Rion.

“What kind of unfriendly gate is this?”

“We should keep our distance for now.”

One of the espers retraced the path to make sure the guides were taken care of. They had been sent to the Chungcheong Gate as a matter of urgency, not knowing when it would end, so they had no choice but to enter without considering their synergy.

Most of them were specialised in attacking, so if a battle broke out, the leaders could easily be wiped out.

Bang—!!

At that moment, the sound of something collapsing echoed through the underground dungeon.

The boss of this gate, who had been concentrating on devouring the smaller monsters, had begun to move.

“How many legs does it have?”

The boss, with a human head and a spider’s body, stretched out its long legs to block the way. Rion preferred aerial combat, but with the space so confined and the damn legs hindering his movements, he had no choice but to keep his feet on the ground.

Flick—.

Something shot out of the boss’s mouth. It was like saying mountain after mountain – poisonous stingers from its mouth and close combat with its legs.

Rion bit his lip and stared at the boss.

In a normal situation, he would have cut off its arms or wings and joined his teammates in attacking the boss. But in this room, Rion had to take the responsibility of attacking alone.

Moreover, despite its spider-like appearance, the boss’s skin was as tough as a crustacean’s exoskeleton, probably because it had been constantly consuming the scorpion-like monsters they had seen in the desert.

“It’s so annoying when you try to go into melee… those legs.”

Gwanghyun muttered in frustration. As Rion thought about the best way to deal with the boss while blocking his attacks, he shouted.

“Everyone, fall back for now. The path is narrow anyway, and the movements will get tangled up. I’ll handle this.”

Apart from Rion, everyone else was either B or C class. Not that he disregarded them, but in front of a boss who looked at least A-grade, the other Espers were practically dead weight.

Bang—! Bang—!

Loud noises shook the underground dungeon. After pushing the others back, Rion released his power without looking back.

“Ah, those legs…!”

He had one body, but eight legs. Even if two of them were used to stay on the ground, six legs were still in use. On top of that, it shot sharp stingers out of its mouth, causing Rion to lose his bearings.

Even if it was a bit risky, it was best to deal with it quickly. He wasn’t without confidence in a violent fight without a plan.

Rion took a deep breath and released all his strength.

With a loud noise, the boss let out a terrifying scream.

“Kieeek!”

Because the upper body was human-shaped, it felt strange, as if a real person were screaming in anger. But Rion continued his attack.

“Damn…!”

For a moment of carelessness, one of the boss’ legs rushed towards Rion from behind. If he had noticed it too late, it could have been a disaster.

“Shit, I have to finish this as soon as possible…”

At that moment, the boss began to move quickly, as if looking for prey. His legs extended towards the back in an instant.

Seeing that it was targeting the Espers behind him, Rion quickly turned around, but at that moment, the boss’ stinger barely missed his arm.

“Crazy, it’s smart too.”

Rion grinned bitterly and looked back at the boss. He had told them to retreat, but the Espers probably hadn’t gone too far. They were probably waiting for an opening behind that corner wall.

If it was just the legs, he could have dealt with them somehow, but the sharp stingers it shot out of its mouth were more troublesome.

‘I’ll have to dodge carefully and keep removing its legs.’

Rion continued his attacks, looking for openings.

How much time had passed? One by one, the boss’s arms began to fall to the ground. The space was narrow, making aerial combat difficult, but on the other hand, the limited area made it easier to defend.

With only two legs left, it seemed that victory was now definitely in Rion’s favour.

“Hah, if I hadn’t come in, there would have been a big accident…”

Why is this a B-gate? Rion cursed inwardly as he gathered his strength for the final blow.

Bang—!

Now that he no longer had to worry about the remaining legs, his attacks became bolder. Rion stretched out an arm and focused his strength on the boss’s head.

“Kieeek—!”

“Damn…”

But that was the problem. The boss dodged just in time, causing Rion’s attack to hit the wall of the underground dungeon with great force, and with a loud noise, the ceiling began to collapse.

As Rion used his power to support the falling debris from the ceiling, the dying boss shot a stinger from its mouth.

The same stinger was the problem.

“Rion!”

With a loud shout, his teammates appeared from around the corner. Time seemed to slow down and Rion’s mind raced.

The sharp stinger flying towards him at high speed and the collapsing ceiling about to fall on his teammates – there was not enough time to deal with both.

Besides, while Rion was skilled in handling simultaneous movements, he wasn’t particularly confident in his abilities compared to other powers.

‘Of course, there are other Espers over there, so it might not be a big deal… but I can’t play with something like that.’

In the end, Rion chose the safety of his teammates. He sacrificed one of his arms to support the collapsing ceiling, and despite the excruciating pain in his arm, he collapsed right there.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“What do you mean you’re fine?”

Yuwon, pushing through the others, rushed over to check on Rion. The boss’s last stinger, which had gone through Rion’s arm, was embedded in the ground.

“Isn’t that a poisoned stinger?”

At someone’s scream, Rion looked down and saw the spot where the stinger had embedded itself, bubbling gently. It seemed that the boss’s last stinger wasn’t a normal attack.

“The top is open. We have to go up there.”

“I’m not as strong as Rion, but I’m telekinetic… I think I can lift at least one person at a time.”

Heejoo said while looking at the collapsed ceiling of the underground dungeon. But Yuwon didn’t pay attention to the escape route and concentrated on Rion.

“Are you crazy? We have espers and guides here, but you can’t even take care of yourself. Why are you doing this?”

“Then what? Just sit there and watch the ceiling collapse? Anyway, I’ve already taken care of the boss. All that’s left is to get out of the gate… Ugh.”

Rion, angered by the sarcastic tone of Yuwon’s words, tried to disagree, but the dizziness hit him and he let out a painful sound.

“Don’t talk. If you have the energy to argue, just close your eyes and rest.”

Yuwon said and took Rion in his arms. Was he out of his mind? Lifting someone like a princess in front of everyone? Rion tried to push Yuwon away with his arm, but his body wouldn’t obey.

Sunlight began to pour down from the collapsed ceiling, stinging Rion’s eyes. The pain and brightness made him squint as he silently made a vow to himself.

Because of the blazing sunlight, Rion couldn’t see Yuwon clearly, but he wanted to express his determination.

“You, I…!”

But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. Even though he had been guided, the poison spreading through his arm and the accumulated fatigue and mana overwhelmed him.

* * *

Rion opened his eyes a day and twelve hours later. As soon as he woke up, he checked the time and called urgently to the centre director who had come to check on his condition.

“The pair adaptation period isn’t over yet, right?”

“Uh, uh? Yes. Three more hours…”

“Cancel it immediately.”

It didn’t matter how Rion had gotten out of the gate or what his physical condition was. He shouted again.

“I’m not pairing up with that guy, so please cancel the paperwork!”