The Kill House was a course in Whitewater that trained people to wipe out enemies indoors and use live ammunition to fight in close combat. Leon had actually been quite an excellent trainee in that course. It was important to make proper use of shelters and team members, but explaining the reason why the trainee shot each bullet to the instructor was more significant. There was no education on suppression fire in this course. Leon was also good at shooting and running away in teams, giving cover fire, and shooting after going around a corner.

However…

‘Everything I learned was useless. Shit, shit, shit…’ Leon thought.

His enemies weren’t rebels in Africa. They were nightmarish monsters that he was only allowed to fight with a dagger. He remembered the hierarchy among trainees from the young men who yearned for mercenaries, retired police officers, veterans, the FBI, the Navy, the Ranger Corps, the Marine Corps Special Search Team, the Seal 6 team to the Delta Force. Those at the top of the pyramid were like beings in the movies as they were very tough. Leon recalled a man from the Delta Force and wished he was here instead of himself. He wanted to put the man against the monster and see which was stronger. Of course, Leon thought the man would obviously lose because the monsters were called monsters for a reason.

Leon shuddered as he thought of the mutt’s saliva that stretched out from its jaw, its sharp teeth, its bulging muscles, and its glistening rabid black eyes. This was why he thought of Woo Yeon-Hee and me as worse than monsters. Despite Woo Yeon-Hee’s petite and fragile appearance, she changed completely in battle. Leon had noticed that she wasn’t an ordinary woman from the first meeting.

What kind of woman looks into people’s minds, controls them and handles knives skillfully?

To Leon, Woo Yeon-Hee was simply a monster hunter who had gone through intense training. As for me, the leader, he didn’t need to say anything more.

Leon then realized that he had done nothing in the previous battle. He had fallen and been unable to move, only capable of staring blankly at Woo Yeon-Hee and me fighting the monsters. He finally came to his senses and recognized the hell in front of him.

Ah!

Every time he blinked, the pile of corpses got taller.

“Aaaaahhhhh!”

Leon shouted as the monsters’ limbs and faces blocked his movements when he tried thrashing them. He screamed again when the monsters’ long intestines wrapped around his legs.

“Stop looking at me, and take it off! Fuck! Take them off!” he yelled at us when we were looking down at him, and he barely managed to get up.

“Calm down,” I said.

“I…told you. I’ll just hold you back. This isn’t something a human can do.” He was close to tears.

“What is so different here from what you had been trained for? You just don’t have a gun. The first time is hard for everyone, but it’s something you have to go through once. Listen up. There were only twelve this time, so it was easy. However, we can’t expect this next time,” I explained.

He gaped. “Only twelve?”

‘This place is fucking crazy. I should get out right now!’ Leon realized that he was trapped in hell with a madman and a madwoman. However, he couldn’t flee into the dark.

The fact that we were so calm agitated Leon even more.

If I didn’t tail him in Las Vegas…

If he had remained in his room, he wouldn’t have lost all his property, been locked in a training camp, or suffered from the worst nightmares.

***

He was on the verge of losing his mind and barely managed to stumble behind us, keeping up. However, his eyes became dim and he started murmuring indescribable words.

“Look, his mind is breaking,” Woo Yeon-Hee said.

“It’s different from your first time, Mary.”

She smiled when I called her by a code name, and she seemed to like it a lot.

“I agree with that, Odin.”

We didn’t call each other by real names in front of Leon as it was unnecessary for him to know our true names.

“He didn’t have time to take care of himself, and we’ve been moving without a break. We shouldn’t leave him like that. I’d like to use Valder’s Silence on him as a test. What do you think?” she asked.

“The name of the skill and effect will be revealed,” I said.

The Valder’s Silence was one of the highest mental healing skills, and Woo Yeon-Hee had raised it to C-class.

“He can’t even take a test like this. He’s like a zombie, barely coherent. Don’t you want to see how he will act when he is pushed to his limits?” she questioned.

“Yes,” I answered.

“I’ll do it, then.”

When I nodded, aura poured out of Woo Yeon-Hee’s body and it transferred to Leon. His eyes immediately brightened, and he blinked at the sudden change. Then, he seemed to have seen the notification message that popped up.

[Mary has used the Valder’s Silence.]

“Uh…Huh?”

“Isn’t it refreshing? That’s the power of a Healer,” I replied.

“This is awesome.”

Leon had become a completely different person as his face was now filled with confidence.

“I feel like I can do anything. Oh my gosh…Thank you,” he added.

“Don’t thank me,” I said.

“Thank you, Mary. How long has it been since we came in?” He looked toward Woo Yeon-Hee.

“How long do you think it has been?” I questioned.

“Three days?” he asked.

Woo Yeon-Hee said, “No, just six hours. The time will go slow, especially in your case. When you’re having a hard time, focus on me and the leader. You’re not the only one fighting, and that’s a big deal.”

It looked like Leon had not expected such words from her, and he looked at her with mixed emotions before nodding. I asked Woo Yeon-Hee in Korean.

“Did you feel pity for him?”

She responded, “I’ve never seen anyone so afraid. Let’s give him a chance until he takes the exam. We shouldn’t force him to make a decision, but if he doesn’t pass the test…”

“Why, are you worried that I would kill him? I’ll just leave him in the dungeon, and I wouldn’t need to kill him by myself,” I replied.

“I hope he passes the test. He kept looking for his mom during that state like a baby.”

That was why Woo Yeon-Hee suddenly felt bad for him as family was a trigger for her. There had been no improvement in her relationship with her family even after she became rich. Leon was staring at us without understanding, but his expression became anxious as he sensed that we were talking about him. Woo Yeon-Hee said nonchalantly in English, “Leader and I were talking about how well you’re holding up. Better than we expected.”

“I’m…”

“Come on, you’ve been through military training. I was placed in a dungeon without anything, so you can do much better than me,” she encouraged him.

“Thank you, Mary.”

***

Woo Yeon-Hee had completed the combat quest, and Leon was completely astounded at her prowess. She approached him, and when he flinched and stepped back, she nodded as if she understood him. Then, she washed away the blood on her face with bottled water.

“You will be able to do this one day.”

She was noticeably nicer to him, and she was correct. Since it was not my previous life, it had been too harsh to bring him here without some preparation and companionship.

“A message popped up about the first and second place,” Leon said.

“Mary gets the first place since she killed the monster, and I get the second since I’m a leader,” I described.

I had renewed my contract with Woo Yeon-Hee long ago.

“You just have to agree so we can get points,” I added.

“What do you get for being first and second place?” he asked.

“You receive reward boxes,” I replied.

He seemed to have many thoughts on that issue. However, he grimaced when we entered the next room. When the battle was over, the room was filled with his painful groans. His skin was ripped off and blood was flowing out to the point that he would die soon. With Woo Yeon-Hee’s healing skill and one day of rest, his wounds fully recovered. However, the pain left him fearful of his surroundings again. He became nervous and startled by our small gestures and sounds. He didn’t even touch the dungeon boxes.

The next room was his test site. At that time, all of us were nasty and bloodied. When we arrived in front of the boss monster’s room, he grinned at the thought of getting out of this dungeon soon. However, the smile soon disappeared and he crumbled while wrapping his hands around his head with a stiffened face.

“There are too many…” he muttered.

“Speak clearly,” I said.

“There are too many. The room is filled with so many of them,” he panicked.

Woo Yeon-Hee’s patience seemed to have run out and she slapped his cheek. His neck would have been broken if she had loaded all her strength, but his head was just slightly turned to the side.

“Are you going to kill all of us? That room is…so important to us and you. If you want to survive, you have to focus more. We are all in this together. We live and die together. Nod if you understand me,” she said.

He glanced at me and nodded.

“I’m gonna say it one more time. Your life depends on that room.”

Leon would have to keep her words in his mind.

“...I’ll try,” he hesitated.

She patted his shoulder. “We’ve got this.”

“Remember that you will survive if you follow my instructions,” I said.

“Okay.”

I opened the door, then saw a herd of mutts and the boss monster lying on the high platform. This was Leon’s ‘Trial Test.’ When we were on the edge of survival, our companionship and goodwill would vanish. For hunters, how one acted in moments of life and death decided the entire team’s fate. Therefore, Leon’s choice here would decide our future.

Will he run away by giving up on his team? Or will he fight for the team?