Reuniting with the Four

"Since Ilwol shares Yeonhee's knowledge, I can guess why he's so reluctant to use items." Jua nodded as if she could read my every intention, then continued. "Still, it's not like we're trying to become kings of all hunters, right? Let's take it easy for once. Please? Pretty please? Okay?"

A small, hollow chuckle slipped out of me at her words. A faint sense of self-mockery washed over me, but I found myself nodding before I could stop.

Yeah. I've been so fixated on Jo Giman that my goals have quietly climbed way too high. What's the big deal about using a few items? I'm overthinking this again...

There was no need to force my personal methods onto the rest of the party. They each had their own goals and ways of doing things.

Thanks for loosening my head up every now and then.

When I gave a positive response, Jua let out a small sigh of relief. Then, as if a new thought had struck her, she clapped her hands together.

"Speaking of which, Apex really didn't show up today, right? You think they'll actually start working tomorrow like they promised?"

"Seems that way. Still, those people always keep their word."

"True. Even villains keep their promises. We should be just as strict about ours."

"...Ugh... L-late again. I really won't do it anymore..."

When Jua spoke as if the words were meant for someone in particular, Ham Eun-yeong whimpered like she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

Four consecutive tardies. That's impressive. She could just take a taxi, but she insists on public transportation... What a character. More importantly, is this really the entire roster for the boss ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fight?

Looking over the hunters grouped with us, a sigh escaped me. I'd thought their level was a bit low yesterday, but today was even worse. Hunters who couldn't even handle the Wolf Cave on their own—why were they flocking to a mid-tier boss raid?

Hmm... Does it even matter? It's their loss. We're actually better off.

Of course ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was a good opportunity to easily clean up the stragglers they left behind, but could they really achieve meaningful growth that way? It felt like they'd missed the point somewhere.

Simply challenging a dungeon above your rank doesn't trigger any special events...

No matter how lax the System was in places, it wouldn't allow such cheap tricks. These people might gain immediate levels and money, but they were only shackling their own future growth.

"Registration complete! On the way back I ran into some unexpected faces."

"Huh? Who?"

Where Bae Jua pointed after finishing registration stood the members of the assassin organization Veil. The ones who called each other Black Fang, Blue Fang, and Red Fang. Their skills were so outstanding that even I had stayed wary of them.

Among them was the man bigger than Lizard No. 1, with the boy called Black Fang perched on his shoulder as always. He was controlling it well, but the mana leaking from his body was considerable.

Black Fang... That kid is truly exceptional. In terms of pure potential, he might even be ahead of A-rin.

Even back then I remembered him being stronger than the rest of our party except for me, and that gap still remained. Considering how explosively we had grown, that was remarkable. It meant they were growing at a similar pace.

On top of that, they had a hidden trump card. The ability they had mentioned about "coloring" was comparable to Baek A-rin's Lightning Step.

So we're not the only ones risking our lives.

When we stared at them, the boy called Black Fang fidgeted as if debating whether to raise his hand. He had a cute side to him.

After looking at us, they gathered together and began talking among themselves.

They seemed to have taken quite a beating from the incorporeal Wraith monsters. Their compatibility really was the worst.

The four of them exchanged opinions on how to close the gap between their combat power and ours. With that much talent and drive, it was inevitable they'd get stronger.

They seem to feel some rivalry toward us... but I don't have time to play along with kids like that.

Getting caught up competing with them could ruin the rhythm we'd built by moving at our own pace. So I walked forward, blocking their view, and pointed to the opposite side of the chamber.

"Ah... I get what Ilwol is saying this time. He doesn't want us getting tangled up with them unnecessarily, right?"

"I guess so... Ilwol, sometimes you scare me, you know? Is there actually a person inside that skull?"

"Clack!"

We stood up and put as much distance between us and them as possible. When I glanced back, the boy called Black Fang couldn't take his eyes off A-rin's back.

Looked like he was interested in our A-rin. My sensory eyes couldn't be fooled. Leaving the disappointed Black Fang behind, we soon entered the boss battle.

Out of one hundred participants, our party and the Veil quartet were clearly the strongest teams. The rest were far below their level. The four seemed to have gained quite a reputation already—hunters were starting to gather around them.

The other hunters should at least try to provide some minimal support...

A few of them looked so fragile that a strong breeze might blow them away. If possible, it was right to preserve these precious hunter resources. Even if they were only D-rank, wasting talent that had climbed this far was unacceptable.

The battle began. It was another chaotic melee like yesterday, but the formation was slightly different. Our party and the Veil party were placed at both ends, with a wing-shaped formation spreading out from us. It looked far more organized than yesterday.

Word must have spread that crumbs fell from the table when you stood near Lee Yeonhee's party, because people were desperately trying to stick close to us. Thanks to that, controlling the battle became much easier.

I leisurely worked through the boss fight while occasionally testing the barrier Yeonhee had created around my neck. After taking a few hits to test it, my impression was simple.

This... will be incredibly useful. It reduces physical damage by about a third. Amazing.

If equipment or artifacts nullified attacks below a certain threshold, Yeonhee's barrier reduced incoming damage by a fixed percentage before the hit even landed. Used together with good armor, it would maximize defensive power and become a powerful weapon that greatly enhanced our overall strength.

I remembered how during the promotion test, even after taking an attack from the examiner, she had avoided serious injury thanks to Lime's ability. If she had been aiming for this kind of effect, she had already succeeded.

I wonder if this could be applied to the other party members too?

It was labeled as summon-only, but if Yeonhee put her mind to it, she could probably create variations like that. Of course, I wasn't sure if she was even thinking that far. Unexpectedly, she didn't pay much attention to anyone except her summons—including me.

"Clack clack clack!"

"Hmm? How is it? Useful? Okay?"

I nodded.

"Kyaa! I knew it! Great! Now all that's left is to expand it."

When I pointed at my neck and gave a thumbs-up, Yeonhee jumped with joy and cheered. She rarely showed such intense reactions, so I could tell how much effort she had put into preparing it.

As Yeonhee hopped around cheering, the others looked puzzled but smiled warmly. It seemed they were happy to see the usually quiet Yeonhee—second only to Eun-yeong—express her emotions so openly.

Today I took a step back and played a supporter role. Though in reality I was closer to a commander, to the others I probably just looked like a crazy skeleton randomly hurling bombs and fireballs at odd times and places.

"Krrgh..."

Thud!

The last remaining orc intermediate warrior was finished off by Black Fang. That kid seemed to lack strength just like A-rin. Something he could have ended quickly took him several minutes.

The gap between the two quests had narrowed considerably. I took the lead with skeleton bombs and fireballs, then finished with daggers, which helped balance the numbers. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was also beginning to truly appreciate how good the Obsession trait was. Being able to completely ignore loot collection let me fight with far more composure than before. Thanks to that, I could secretly help the surrounding hunters too.

Clink.

Heavy.

The weight of the mana stones in the leather pouch was substantial. Just the stones I had earned today were worth ten million won. I hadn't gotten lucky with runes, but this income was more than enough to be satisfied with.

"Ahem..."

After the boss fight ended, just before heading to the exit, during the short break for reorganization, the four members of Veil walked up to us. They weren't approaching with any obvious threat, but just in case, I prepared a skeleton bomb, hid it with stealth, and kept it ready.

"Uh... L-long time no see."

The boy in the form of Black Fang greeted us shyly. The same guy who had boldly declared we must fight next time was suddenly acting like this. It was a little disorienting.

"Hi? But it's only been a few days, hasn't it?"

A-rin kept her ears perked straight up, not even trying to hide her wariness. The boy showed goodwill, the girl showed caution. With flower petals mysteriously drifting around the handsome man and beautiful woman radiating such opposite emotions, it was practically a drama scene.

Must be nice to be young.

It was a world that had nothing to do with me, so I simply wanted to go home.