A Skeleton's Stealth
"Are we in that much of a hurry? 'Just point with your finger, you idiots...'"
Five women turned their heads toward me at once, like a scene straight out of a horror movie. Especially Ham Eun-yeong, clutching her hand mirror in an all-black outfit, which only amplified the eerie atmosphere. I was definitely going to figure out what that damned mirror really was someday.
"But Eun-yeong hasn't said a single word all day. That's actually impressive."
While I remained unresponsive, Bae Jua, who had been quietly wiping the condensation off her beer glass, spoke up as if she'd just realized something remarkable.
"Wow! A skeleton soldier with both stealth and detection abilities just happens to be standing right in front of me!"
"Ah...!"
Only after seeing Bae Jua's exaggerated reaction did Lee Yeonhee's eyes widen, as if the puzzle pieces had finally clicked into place in her mind. I shrugged indifferently, signaling that the decision wasn't mine to make. I thought it best to cut this messy tail off quickly, but my master might see things differently.
The others seemed to notice I'd passed the ball, shifting their gazes to Lee Yeonhee and waiting for her to speak.
"Isn't it strange to check for monster reactions in the first place?"
Was I the weird one for having that doubt? As I tilted my head, Lee Yeonhee swallowed once and said, "Maybe... um, what kind of danger could there be..."
Our schedule had always revolved around dungeons. Occasionally we operated in the city at the association's request, but even then it mostly involved fighting monsters. This time, however, there was a decent chance of running into people. Breaking into someone else's house was illegal, after all. Given Lee Yeonhee's usual honest nature, she might not have been too keen on the idea. That's why she was testing the waters, trying to ease her own anxiety.
Helen rolled up her sleeves neatly and answered, "Like I said earlier, we can't rule out accidentally running into Heo Min-sol or clashing with possible bodyguards. Of course, that would only be possible if someone there could detect Ilwol's stealth ability."
"Meeting Heo Min-sol shouldn't be a problem, right? Her combat power is probably lower than a regular person's right now."
Jin-gyeong answered casually, but Helen immediately disagreed. "If we were going to kill her on sight, we'd have to go looking for that bitch Heo Min-sol. But are we really going to do that?"
......
After a brief silence, Baek A-rin shook her head. Even though she'd suffered terribly at Heo Min-sol's hands, she'd looked up at me with a complicated expression when I crippled the woman, as if wondering if it had gone too far. Killing her had never been an option.
"Exactly. If we're not going to kill her, we can't let Heo Min-sol find out about us. By now, anyone who matters knows Ilwol is Lee Yeonhee's summon. What if the White Knight Guild's Lee Yeonhee tried to assassinate Ilseom Guild's rising star? That absolutely can't happen. It wouldn't end as a personal matter."
"Ugh..."
Everyone naturally crossed their arms at Helen's words. This wasn't something we could think about lightly.
"What about the possibility of barriers around the house?"
"Looking at the size of the house, we'll know if they can afford to maintain that level of spellwork constantly. If they're that rich... it might be a bit of a headache. Let's buy ourselves a few days first. I'll dig everything up and sort it out."
"They might change their plans and move tomorrow."
"Hmm... A few days. That won't work. Baek A-rin, you're staying at our place for the time being."
"Huh? Well, I guess... but what if they go after my little siblings?"
"Unless there's a bounty on your siblings, I don't think that's likely. If the attackers have no abilities, it wouldn't be efficient for them to resort to such dirty tactics anyway."
"Right? Whew..."
Bae Jua looked at Baek A-rin with pity as the latter let out a sigh of relief, sweat still beading on her forehead, then continued her questions.
"But according to those guys, they'll start tailing Baek A-rin from the day after tomorrow. If we just wait and smash a few Apex guys, won't they back off on their own?"
Helen shook her head again. "A few guilds, including Apex, take on shady requests, so people don't think much of it, but from their perspective, it's a matter of honor."
"Honor for those kinds of people... In a way, that makes sense."
"Think about it. It's just a 500 million to 1 billion won request. If they keep failing and eventually give up? Do you think they'd allow that? The underworld is just as competitive. If word gets out that Apex handles jobs like that, clients will start looking elsewhere. It could determine whether the guild rises or falls."
"So even if we fend off their attacks, they'll find some way to complete the request no matter what."
"That's what I think. If brute force really doesn't work, they might resort to the method Baek A-rin was worried about earlier."
After listening carefully to the conversation, Lee Yeonhee finally agreed to using me. The fact that I'd given her a slight nod while she was hesitating had been decisive, but if she'd refused, no one could have forced her.
"Thank you! Hing... I keep only receiving help."
"No, don't think like that."
Lee Yeonhee told her not to worry, and Helen, unable to hold back while watching her sincerely comfort Baek A-rin, pulled her into a tight hug and nuzzled her for a while.
Anyway, we'd proceed as soon as Helen could make contact. She said it could be as soon as three days. That meant we wouldn't be able to challenge Nargul's Dungeon for those three days. We couldn't afford to tackle a tough dungeon and then get attacked while exhausted.
"Stealing a piece of paper will be a piece of cake."
I'd snuck into Jo Giman's house before. Of course, that had been a trap, but fixed detection barriers were no threat to me—only ability users with Detect skills were annoying.
After finishing our hearty meal, we wrapped things up with iced Americanos as usual.
"By the way, what about No Hayun?"
Bae Jua asked Lee Yeonhee again, her expression clearly suggesting they should just refuse. But given her personality, that had to be an act. Nargul's Dungeon was a high-ranking C-class dungeon that paid well. She probably wanted to enter as soon as possible to gain experience.
"Yeah... Until we wrap up Baek A-rin's situation, we'll keep running the Orc Dungeon... and then try Nargul's Dungeon afterward. Honestly, even today didn't seem that easy... Even if Hayun comes, if our strength drops, we'd only be a burden... and exploration would be difficult too."
"True... The orcs were stronger than expected. I mean, I'd heard orcs were getting stronger lately, but I didn't think it'd be this bad. Especially those intermediate warriors that appeared during the boss fight..."
"Yeah, yeah."
Helen and Jin-gyeong looked at us in shock after hearing the conversation. Our dungeon progression speed was certainly steep. Normally, people spent over a month gaining experience in the Wolf Den and Harpy Dungeon before moving on. We were skipping ahead after just one look.
"Is there a reason you're in such a hurry? I felt it even when we were running dungeons together... like you're being chased by something."
"Huh? No... not at all..."
From an outsider's perspective, it was understandable to be curious. There was a standard, methodical route—growing safely while earning money, using that money to buy equipment one piece at a time, building reputation, recruiting skilled party members, and coordinating with them. Helen hadn't said it out loud, but following us must have been exhausting for her. But Lee Yeonhee had always been the center of the party, and once she comfortably cleared a boss fight, she naturally moved on to the next dungeon. That's all it was.
"Am I going... a bit fast?"
"Not a bit. A lot faster. Honestly, after the Harpy Dungeon, we were at a level where we could have gained more experience. At our current level, even if we stayed there for two weeks, we'd probably level up two or three more times."
"Ah... I see."
This was largely my intention, so I pretended not to know. Whenever Lee Yeonhee scribbled notes about dungeons in her notebook and we discussed them together, I was the one subtly encouraging her to move to the next dungeon.
"Taking a little risk is the right call."
The results proved it. We were growing faster than anyone else. I knew from experience that growth came from navigating situations that were dangerously close to crisis. It was a well-known fact in general, but when it came to risking one's life for dungeon exploration, the fact that a person only had one life always held them back. That's why large guilds had hunters who only served as assistants for important dungeons needed for rank advancement. Even if you pushed yourself a bit, if things got truly dangerous at the end, there were people nearby to help. You could attempt it without worry.
The system possessed god-like abilities, but it had unexpected blind spots when it came to such loopholes.
Lee Yeonhee muttered "I guess so..." to herself, but didn't seem inclined to change what we'd been doing so far.
"If we try one more time tomorrow, I think we'll get a feel for it. Honestly, today the people who fought the boss fight with us were just... too low level."
"There are a lot of anomalies happening worldwide these days. With all these news stories coming out, hunters are probably getting impatient too."
"I heard the ratio of hunters is increasing as much as the accidents are happening."
"At this rate, I wonder if we're heading toward a world where everyone awakens. There was even an article yesterday about an 80-year-old man awakening. Conversely, it might happen with young children too."
"Really? Would young kids even be able to control it..."
"Exactly, that would be a real disaster. Imagine kids who can't even tell right from wrong using skills."
"Wow... Helen gets more impressive the more I see her."
Helen was practically at the level of a prophet, accurately predicting future events. Maybe it really was a matter of experience. Though she was only in her thirties.
After that, we chatted a bit more about Helen's honeymoon before it was time to part ways.
"Um... will you two be okay?"
We stopped while preparing to say goodbye outside the store at Lee Yeonhee's worried question. Bae Jua and Baek A-rin glanced at each other before speaking.
"Well, if they come at us with real intent, it would be dangerous. But since it's an apartment where only hunters live, there should be some security, so we'd have time to escape. And the real problem would probably be while moving, not at home..."
"Hmm... Then should I escort you?"
"Huh...? ... Pfft... Puahahaha!"
Lee Yeonhee had asked out of genuine concern, but the situation was somehow too funny, so Bae Jua and Baek A-rin burst into loud laughter.
"If it really seems dangerous, I'll ask for your help. Then."
"Yeah... Be careful on your way home."
Lee Yeonhee and I couldn't leave right away and watched them go for a long time. Even with two people gone, there were still eight of them. If the Apex guys came at them seriously, those two probably wouldn't survive.
"It would be safest to just let them sleep at our place..."