Songs in the Void

ICDS Universe, Earth, South Korea, Yeongdeungpo.

"Tatsuo~~~~~~! You bastard!"

Hwaya's angry shouts were the first thing any of the Explorers heard after they regained their senses from entering the Event Dungeon. And the first thing they saw was exactly what they expected, as well.

Currently, Hwaya was holding Tatsuo by his collar and trying her best to shake him violently. However, unlike last time, Tatsuo did not move in the slightest. Instead, Hwaya was rocking back and forth thanks to her own violent movements. Meanwhile, Tatsuo wore a smirk on his face.

"*Giggle* Tatsuo-Kun, that wasn't very nice." Sumire said, trying her best to scold Tatsuo. Though, her suppressed laughter was not making her scolding very convincing.

"It wasn't supposed to be." Tatsuo replied with that smirk still present on his face. "She needs to understand that there are consequences for saying things she shouldn't."

With that, Hwaya stopped trying to shake Tatsuo, as a guilty expression appeared on her face. In fact, ever since Tatsuo stopped her from telling Shin about the [Skill Extraction], she knew she had gotten carried away.

"Anyway, we should stop playing around." Shin, who had just been watching the show, said after things calmed down a bit. "We're in enemy territory right now."

That's when Tatsuo, Sumire, and Hwaya finally took a look at their surroundings. Yungoong, on the other hand, had been looking around with child-like curiosity ever since they regained their senses.

Currently, the group of five was standing just outside a dark and gloomy forest. And based on the name of the Event Dungeon, they could tell that they would have to deal with spiders of all kinds while traversing the forest in front of them.

"I wanna go home..." Hwaya whimpered. "I hate spiders... I hate them so much."

"Then, this isn't gonna be too fun for you, is it?" Tatsuo asked with a smile as he flicked his wrist towards a tree in the forest.

In the next instant, a dead spider, about the size of a human head, fell out of the tree with a long needle impaling the center of its head.

"Kya!" Hwaya yelped in surprise.

"Impressive.' Shin and Yungoong said in unison.

Meanwhile, Sumire looked at Tatsuo with sparkling eyes.

"Anyway, Yeon-San is right." Tatsuo said as he turned away from Hwaya. He then continued as he pulled up his cowl. "We should get going. I'll scout ahead."

"Wait!" Hwaya yelped once again as she reached out to stop Tatsuo.

Unfortunately, Hwaya missed as Tatsuo vanished from everyone's sights. A moment later, several more spiders fell from the trees in front of the group.

"He's good." Yungoong said with his eyes narrowed. "Fighting him might be fun."

Shin could only shake his head at his father's antics. Then, he looked back at Hwaya, who seemed down, and Sumire, who was trying to console her.

"Let's go, Mastiford-Ssi." Shin said as he turned towards the trail of dead spiders. "I doubt Tatsuo-Ssi can kill them all by himself."

Nodding in response, the group started moving to follow Tatsuo. With Shin and Yungoong in the vanguard, Sumire was the next to follow, her role to protect Hwaya. And that left Hwaya to bring up the rear.

Before the group could travel too far, however, a stream of spider webs flew towards them from the trees.

"Master, they're poisonous!" Peika, who only Shin could hear, shouted as soon as she identified the incoming spiderwebs.

"We gotta burn those up!" Shin shouted, relaying Peika's message to the rest of the group. "Those things are poisonous."

With that said, Shin used one of his Skills as an Elementalist, [Spirit Aura], which allows his Elementals to inhabit his equipment, imbuing them with their properties. Then, he threw a punch at the spiderwebs. And that punch led to a bolt of lightning being fired at the webbing, burning it to ash on contact.

The next to act was Yungoong, who carried a silver spear, the same one that the Lizard Knight dropped. With incredible skill, Yungoong consecutively stabbed his spear at streams of webs. And with every stab, a shockwave would be fired from the tip of the spear, splattering the webs all over the place at a safe distance from the party.

Lastly, Hwaya, who was scared out of her mind, created several balls of fire that floated around her. Then, with excellent control, she moved them to intercept the webs, burning them to ashes like Shin had.

Meanwhile, Sumire, who had no means of attacking at long range, stood guard, ready to act should a spider sneak up on Hwaya. And she did not have to wait long for her chance to act, as several spiders that had burrowed underground, attacked.

"Kya~~~!" Hwaya screamed when the spiders jumped from the ground.

Despite Hwaya panicking and sending her fireballs in all directions, Sumire, who had trained quite a bit with Tatsuo over the past few months, danced between the flames while blocking the legs and fangs of the incoming spiders with her shield before sending a powerful stab into their heads and abdomens to finish them off.

"Nee-San! Calm down!" Sumire shouted, bringing Hwaya out of her panicked state. "I'll protect you. So, just focus on the webs."

Seeing how well Sumire was handling the role as her protector, Hwaya sighed in relief. Then, as if to hide the embarrassment she felt from showing such a display, the intensity of her flames grew as she sent them flying at every spider she could sense.

"She's better than I expected." Shin muttered to himself as he kept track of the battlefield. "It looks like she's really talented with the spear."

Meanwhile, many spiders continued falling from the trees with a single, fatal stab or slash wound. But no one other than Shin seemed to notice. Everyone else was too engrossed in defending against the spider's sneak attacks.

At the end of the onslaught lasting about fifteen minutes, the area was strewn with the bodies of man-sized, dead spiders. And most of them were almost as big as Hwaya, despite the few that attacked at first only being as big as her head.

"I hate it here.' Hwaya said while hugging Sumire tightly with tears streaming down her face. "I hate it so much."

"It'll be okay, Nee-San." Sumire replied while patting Hwaya on the back.

At that moment, Tatsuo, who had been killing the spiders silently, appeared near the rest of the group.

"Well, there were a lot more of them than I expected." Tatsuo said with a smile. "But you all did a good job."

"And just where the hell wee you?" Hwaya shouted indignantly after noticing that Tatsuo had returned. "You just left us to fight all these spiders by ourselves. And you talk about being so strong! You're just a---"

As soon as Hwaya started shouting, Tatsuo's eyes narrowed as a dangerous aura started leaking from him. Quick to notice the situation, Shin spoke and cut off Hwaya's next words.

"Take it easy, Mastiford-Ssi." Shin said, stopping Hwaya before she could say something she would end up regretting. "If it weren't for him, we would have had to face even more than we did. I'm honestly surprised he was able to kill so many, so fast."

As he spoke, Shin gestured all around. That was when Hwaya saw all the spider corpses that were outside of the range she had set to defend. And the fact that there were just as many as she, Sumire, Shin, and Yungoong had killed together shocked her to the core.

"Oh my God." Hwaya said in an astonished tone.

"Hmph!" Tatsuo snorted. Then, while trying to restrain his anger, he turned around and started approaching the three corpses he could sense had a mana stone. "Anyway, you guys can go ahead. I'm just gonna pick up my loot. I'll catch up with you in a little bit."

"Wait! Tatsuo, I'm sorry..." Hwaya said in a sincerely apologetic tone.

In response, Tatsuo did not even turn around, causing Hwaya to think that he was well and truly done with her after that outburst.

In actuality, Tatsuo was only not speaking because he did not want to say anything too harsh. Because logically, he could understand how someone's phobia could make them say or do things they would not usually say or do. However, the fact that he was disrespected like that made him angrier than he had ever been.

'What's going on with me?' Tatsuo asked himself as he used the [Thunderclap Daggers] to dig out the mana stone from one of the spider's heads. 'I was put through such strict training to control my emotions no matter the situation. But lately, it's been getting harder and harder to do so. Especially when I feel like my pride is being provoked.'

Meanwhile, Shin and Yungoong could only watch, hoping this incident would not turn into some kind of internally conflict. At the same time, Sumire was trying to console Hwaya, though she did not know how to.

"Why are you guys waiting around?" Tatsuo asked as he dug out the mana stone from the second spider. "I told you I would catch up.

"Actually, I'm waiting here because I want to see how you really fight." Yungoong said with a smile. "Your stealth killing is great, but I want to see how much of your father's skill you inherited with those blades."

Hearing that, Tatsuo could not help but smile. But he did not reply.

"Actually, we're waiting for you because none of us want to get overwhelmed if that many spiders show up again.' Shin said while rolling his eyes at his father. "Though I don't want to admit it, without you, that would have been a lot more dangerous."

Nodding at that reasonable response, Tatsuo stood up after collecting the second mana stone. Then, he looked at Hwaya.

"Hey, can you extinguish your flames whenever you want?" Tatsuo asked in an indifferent tone.

"Huh? Uh... Yes." Hwaya replied, not thinking that Tatsuo would speak to her so soon. "I just have to stop supplying them with mana."

"Then, just set all the trees on fire as you go." Tatsuo said with a shrug as he walked towards the last spider with a mana stone. "That way, all the spiders hiding in them should burn up with the trees. After that, just put out the fires and keep it moving."

While Sumire and Yungoong, especially Yungoong, looked impressed by Tatsuo's suggestion, Hwaya wore a completely dumbfounded expression, evidenced by how wide open her eyes and mouth were. It was obvious she had never even considered Tatsuo's idea, which made sense. Starting forest fires was frowned upon, after all.

"I was just about to suggest the same thing." Shin muttered. "Still, that's the best plan I could think of, too. That way, we'll only have to worry about the ones that pop out of the ground."

"Actually, I have an idea about that, too." Tatsuo said as he knelt next to the last spider corpse he intended to cut open. "Kang-Ojisan, you should be able to take care of the ones underground. Just stick your spear into the ground and use your shockwaves."

Hearing that, Yungoong opened his eyes wide. Then, he smiled brightly.

"I can do that." Yungoong replied. A moment later, however, he frowned. "But fighting them head on would be more fun."

In response, Tatsuo only shrugged his shoulders. With his [Perception], he would be able to sense the spiders underground. So, he was fine either way. In fact, he would actually prefer it if Yungoong did not take his suggestion. That way, the chance of getting more mana stones would increase.

"Don't play around, Ahjussi!" Hwaya shouted in an agitated tone. In fact, she was so agitated that she spoke Korean instead of English.

"Oh, that sounded a bit different." Shin said as he glanced at Hwaya. "I mean, you've been speaking Korean the whole time, but that sounded more natural."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hwaya asked in a confused tone. "I've been speaking English the whole time, just like you? Like everyone here."

"Huh?" x 3

Hearing Hwaya's response, Sumire, Shin, and Yungoong were all surprised. Tatsuo, on the other hand, only continued digging the last mana stone out of the spider while shaking his head with a smile on his face.

"I was wondering how long it would take you all to notice that." Tatsuo said. "But we're all speaking different languages. Me and Sumire-San are speaking Japanese, Mastiford-San is speaking English, while Kang-Ojisan and Yeon-San are speaking Korean. I'm betting the Dungeon is translating for us."

"Really?" Hwaya asked in a shocked tone. "but how did you notice it so quickly? I mean, I've spent the last couple days with you and Sumire, but I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary."

That question made the others curious, as well. So, they turned their attention to Tatsuo, who had just placed the last mana stone in his [Inventory].

"Oh, that's because I'm fluent in ten languages." Tatsuo replied casually. "Japanese, English, and Korean are among the ones I can speak. So, even when I was speaking to your mom, I was speaking Korean, not Japanese."

That only made the group look at Tatsuo in amazement. Especially since he was the youngest member of the party by at least a few years.

"Tatsuo-Kun, you're amazing." Sumire said with her eyes sparkling.

Tatsuo only smiled at that. Then, he turned towards the rest of the forest.

"Anyway, let's get going." Tatsuo said. "This Event Dungeon isn't going to clear itself."

Shaking off their senses of amazement, the group followed Tatsuo deeper into the forest. And just as he suggested, Hwaya began shooting flames at every tree in sight. As a result, many burning spiders fell to the ground. However, Hwaya did not retract her mana from the flames until they had been burned to ashes, burning any remains and mana stones along with them and the trees.

Meanwhile, Yungoong had also used Tatsuo's suggestion. However, that was only for a short while. No more than ten minutes. Then,, he got bored, allowing the sneak attacking spiders from underground to attack. However, they did not pose much of a threat to the group. Especially since Tatsuo was fighting with the rest of the group this time.

"Why aren't you going ahead to clear the path this time?" Hwaya asked in a genuinely curious tone.

In response, Tatsuo rolled his eyes without looking back.

"Because I have no desire to get flame-broiled." Tatsuo replied.

Just then, Hwaya realized that scouting ahead would be impossible with her setting everything ablaze. Then, she blushed slightly at asking such a dumb question. At the same time, she felt even more depressed, thinking that Tatsuo's evaluation of her would get even lower.

'I don't' even know why I care so much about his opinion.' Hwaya said as she glanced at Tatsuo while continuing to bathe the forest in flames. 'I mean, it's not like I've fallen for him or anything. He's only fifteen, for God's sake. So, why?'

The answer to that was simple, though Hwaya would have no way of knowing. Tatsuo's high [Charm] made him more eye-catching to everyone that met him. Though, that could be either good or bad. Those who had a good impression of him would find themselves gravitating towards him. Those that hated him, on the other hand, would find their hatred amplified.

While Hwaya continued to think, the group travelled for an hour, leaving swaths of forest burned to ashes in their wake. And after about an hour, with Tatsuo, Shin, and Yungoong walking up front, Tatsuo and shin both called the group to a stop after sensing something up ahead when they reached a clearing in the forest.

"There's something ahead." Shin said in a solemn tone. "They're much stronger than the others, too."

"Let's see, there are… one… two… three…" Yungoong said while concentrating to pick up the presences Shin mentioned. "Yup, there are three of them."

"Hold on, I'll use [Detection Magic]." Hwaya replied as she started agitating her mana.

"No need." Tatsuo said with a grin. "They're…

*Bang!* x 3

"… underground."

While Tatsuo was speaking, before he could finish his explanation, three giant spiders, each standing at about ten feet tall, broke through the ground not even fifteen feet away from the party.

"Kya~~~~~~~~~!" Hwaya screamed at the top of her lungs while her face paled rapidly.