“Why?” Not only did he risk his own life, but also put them in danger.

Was there a reason? With her mind in a calm state, she wondered what led to this action. However, she couldn’t deny that this could have ended in a tragedy.

“It is training.” A simple answer, but that was not enough.

“What training?” What could this help them with? This seemed like a bluff for his thoughtless actions. But it wasn’t.

“Betrayal Training of course,” He said with a well-mannered smile.

Eun-Young wanted to punch him. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself right now, but she stopped herself. Another set of footsteps rushed towards them as soon as the Serpent’s body came to a stop.

“Since Byung-Ho is here now, I’ll tell you why this lesson is an important one.” Do-Yun planned for it since the start.

They became a three-member team today. Most people would try to settle the new person in the improved attack pattern and get used to it themselves. After all, why would someone invite a new member and not use their abilities to make things easier? But, Do-Yun had different ideas about this.

“What if you get betrayed by the new team member in the middle of the raid? How will you stick to a pattern if you are missing a piece? How long will it take you to make your decision?” From the moment Do-Yun saw the hyenas in this Gate he knew that the Boss would be the Amethyst Serpent.

‘There was a 30% chance that a different monster popped up. But, it isn’t like any of these would kill them.’ While making a Gate, Boss Monsters were picked first, and then the monsters around it’s area became the mob.

If they cleared this Gate the normal way, things would become too easy. That is why Do-Yun took things into his own hands and created this challenge for them.

“So, it was an adaptability test under a stressful condition?” That is what Byung-Ho understood. And it made sense, a little too much sense.

“Don’t put words in his mouth.” Eun-Young frowned as Byung-Ho moved back with an awkward laugh.

“He isn’t wrong you know. Moving forward we will get other teammates, or we’ll have to team up with people to clear the Tower. Something like this has a high chance of happening at those points. After all, you cannot prevent betrayal. That is why it is better to prepare for it in advance.” Do-Yun didn’t do this without any thought. Even if he wanted to die, such reckless behavior would not give him that result.

If it was that easy, he wouldn’t have lived for so long.

“Will you always be vigilant against everyone?” Eun-Young asked that question to understand more of his thoughts. Would such distrust always be a part of their team?

“Everyone has different goals that they want to achieve, that is why they get up every morning and work hard for it. Can you stand there and tell me that you wouldn’t betray us if we got in the way of your goal?” A straightforward question that had a straightforward answer.

“If you keep up such shenanigans then yes, I will do that without regrets.” This was a no-brainer for her.

“Heh. You are sweeter than you look.” Do-Yun smirked.

“Respectfully, shut up.” Eun-Young’s voice became dryer by the second.

“Anyway, you two did great. You made your plans according to the situation, and your instantaneous decisions were incredible. Especially the last part. Byung-Ho you did well with your skills and Eun-Young-Ah did well to not target the head.” They did better than he expected, and Eun-Young deserved her flowers with this one.

“I learned how to catch snakes from my gramps. So, I thought it might have a sac for that acid somewhere near his head.” Remembering that at the last moment, she changed her target. If she had followed through the acid would’ve splashed on her.

“Impressive, but you two have clear flaws too.” Do-Yun could feel their gazes, Byung-Ho was nervous but Eun-Young frowned. She already felt this would come.

“Byung-Ho your movements are too restricted and stiff. Even if your shield is impressive if you are stuck in one place you won’t be able to use your full potential.” Byung-Ho understood that too, that serpent almost broke out of his Aggravate. So, what about stronger monsters?

‘If I can’t fix this then my shield would be useless too.’ But if he could move that would change the story.

“I’ll work on it Hyung.” Byung-Ho knew that he had to overcome this somehow.

‘Is he not going to say anything about me?’ Perplexed, Eun-young saw him trying to get to his feet.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Alright! Let’s start with gathe-Cough! Cough! I should avoid moving around too much…” Do-Yun sat down again as Byung-Ho rushed over in panic.

Blood seeped out of his lips. With no aura shield around to protect himself, he took considerable damage from that full-blown attack.

“Hyung we should get you to a hospital first!” Eun-Young shared the same opinion as Byung-Ho.

Awakened were tougher than normal humans. They hold on with life-threatening injuries for much longer. But, they could still suffer permanent damage if they don’t receive proper treatment within a few hours. Although, leaving the loot behind did feel like a loss.

‘But, if something happened to Do-Yun, that would be a bigger loss.’ Helpless, Eun-Young sighed.

“Don’t worry I called someone to handle this. She is on her way.” Do-Yun words confused the two of them.

Who would he call inside a Gate to give him treatment? But soon they got their answer. Heels clicked against the cold stone floor and came in their direction.

“There you are.” They turned around and saw a familiar face. The only healer in Seoul, Dan-Eun walked over with a frown.

‘Calling for me on such a short notice without even stating his injury.’ Do-Yun asked her to come through Ryu Ji-Hu. They didn’t know what he was up to, but she arrived as promised. However, she had to wait outside the Gate for around an hour before she could enter.

“You really got clobbered, huh.” Pissed, Da-Eun used her skill not wasting more time. A warm golden glow left her hands. It wrapped around Do-Yun’s body like a fuzzy and gentle blanket.

Eun-Young and Byung-Ho watched as wisps of this golden energy entered his body. This was the first time they saw healing in person. And it looked so strange. The cuts and scrapes on Do-Yun’s body came back together at a slow speed. Like the skin had a mind of it’s own. With their heightened senses they could see the process in detail.

‘It is like watching a bunch of worms move over each other.’ Eun-Young saw it in even more detail than Byung-Ho. Even if it looked creepy because of her interest, she didn’t look away.

After 3 minutes, the golden glow vanished altogether.

“You are healed, the bones and the internal injuries too. But the blood you lost is not repl-Hey listen to me!” She shouted as Do-Yun skipped over to the Serpent’s corpse with light steps.

“I know what you want to say, but time is precious.” He said gathering Aura on his fingers.

Using Aura Control he created a thin blade at the tip of his index finger. It took incredibly precise control that came with years of training and experience with Aura to do this because even the smallest mistakes could lead to serious damage to the user’s body.

Do-Yun had years of experience with Aura. So, this was as natural as breathing to him. He used the blade to make a ten-meter-long horizontal cut along the serpent’s huge body. With his left hand, he lifted the flesh up and with extreme precision, made another cut under the skin to separate it from the flesh. With the Aura blade dispersed, he pulled on the flap of the skin and pulled it back by a few inches.

“Eun-Young-Ah, help me peel this skin off.” Byung-Ho left to handle the Essence stones and corpses by the entrance. Da-Eun did not have the strength to do this either. So, to finish this faster he’d need her help.

“I’d consider helping if you stop with the ‘Eun-Young-Ah’.” From what the healer was trying to say, he should have less blood in his body right now. Letting this opportunity go would be a waste, so she tried to strike a bargain.

“Well, I wanted to take this skin back because it can make some comfortable and durable armor for you. But, if you don’t want it, then I guess there is nothing I can do.” Do-Yun sighed as the chance for an upgrade in their defense would have to wait.

However, a blur appeared next to him in the instant.

“Why are you wasting time standing around? Get to work.” Eun-Young started to pull the skin off the serpent with unmatched enthusiasm.

She knew the durability of the serpent’s skin, it was like a steel wall and it would provide an extra level of protection for them like he said. On top of that, the flexibility and lightness wouldn’t weigh them down. The positives were too many to leave any of it behind. So, that is what they did.

‘They stripped the entire serpent of that skin.’ Da-Eun watched the two pile up many rolls of the skin. Touching it once she understood how valuable this material was.

And Do-Yun didn’t spare a moment talking about how useful this would be. Hearing that and confirming it for herself, she had to agree that this item indeed had value. If the First Awakened Squad could get it, they’d be able to leave the bulkier and inferior armor behind and use this. But it would not be that simple.

After Byung-Ho’s return, the three moved their loot outside. They loaded it in the trucks that Byung-Ho called for, and within minutes they were ready to leave. But, before that Do-Yun had something to do.

“I feel a bit sorry for calling you out like this without paying you.” Da-Eun snorted at his words.

As raids became commonplace within the Awakened, injuries that occurred in Gates also saw a sharp incline. As a healer, she often visited the sites to heal such serious injuries during her free time. Of course, they paid her according to the rule set by Ji-Hu.

Although she didn’t like the rule, Da-Eun understood that if she didn’t take anything. It wouldn’t be long before people swarmed her like the Healer in the USA. She had her duties as a healer of the First Awakened Squad too. Reluctant, she agreed to it and always donated the money to charities in return.

‘But taking money from him doesn’t hurt.’ However, Da-Eun didn’t like Do-Yun very much. That is why, she didn’t mind taking money from him, if anything she would like to charge him double. But money wasn’t the only valuable thing he had on him.

“If you can, pay me with that serpent skin.” As she expected before, he didn’t plan to sell that to the Association. He had the privilege to do as he pleased and used that to the extreme level.

So, if she could deliver it to Ryu Ji-Hu, he would understand the value of this more than her describing it.

“Totes,” To her joy, he agreed with her proposal and paid her in serpent skin. However, the amount he left her with wasn’t something she expected.

‘What the Fuck?!! I can’t even make half of the armor with this shit!’ Fuming, Da-Eun stomped the ground in anger. She couldn’t throw a tantrum in public, but it became a challenge to reign it in.

‘He has around 20 rolls of that material all for himself. Why did he have to be so stingy about it? AHhh FUCK!!’ Da-Eun got paid around 2 million Won for one heal. And it would double if someone called her for an emergency like today.

“Did he take advantage of me because I look young?” Thick veins appeared on her forehead. But she soon simmered down. She’d get him next time for sure. Now that she had the sample, it would be better to contact Ryu Ji-Hu.