The Taste of Their Kind

We stepped into the Orc dungeon with light hearts after resolving Baek A-rin's problem at yesterday's party. The boss fight went smoothly, and our clear times kept getting faster. Both A-rin and Jua only needed to drink a single bottle of Irmana's lake water to finish. We were slaughtering three times—no, more than five times as many monsters as other hunters. No one could deny that this dense pace was made possible by my ever-expanding sensory range, which allowed us to move along increasingly intricate and efficient routes.

Of course, it was only after experiencing the 'Abandoned School' dungeon that the party members realized this was all thanks to me. They kept giving me thumbs-up, but to me it was as natural as breathing. Naturally, this led to a sharp increase in our party members' growth speed.

The bombshell came right after we exited the gate in high spirits.

"Hello? Ah, yes. Sis..."

The moment Yeonhee turned on her phone, a call came through. And what Helen urgently relayed was utterly absurd.

"...What? Y-yes?!"

Bang!

"What the—fuck, does this even make sense?!"

Bae Jua couldn't hold back her anger and slammed her fist on the cafe table. Hunters at nearby tables frowned and turned their heads, but after seeing our party's faces, they quickly looked away again.

We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had submitted the contract we obtained yesterday to the Management Agency first thing in the morning. Hunter-related disputes were extremely sensitive and usually involved guilds, so investigations typically took a long time. Still, with solid evidence, we thought this case would be an exception.

"They're saying it will take time because they're entering the contract review process? What kind of bullshit is that? What is there even to review? It's clearly a contract containing an oath that anyone can see!"

"Hinggeuk... How did this happen..."

A-rin looked like she was about to cry. If there was even the slightest discrepancy between the contract and what we submitted, she would receive a heavy penalty for filing a false accusation. The biggest problem was that if the contents leaked to the media and became an issue, the Association would impose sanctions.

But there had been no errors in the contract. I would bet one of my remaining 95 lives on it.

'As long as they don't destroy the evidence, it's impossible.'

No matter how corrupt the Management Agency was, they couldn't erase existing evidence. Especially since the evidence hadn't even been submitted through a person. Once placed on the artifact known as the 'Scales of Judgment'—a monstrous-shaped relic—there was no room for manipulation.

It seemed someone had simply responded to a request to buy time. The submission we made in the morning had been processed right after lunch, and Helen had received the notice about an hour ago.

'Unnaturally fast. Who the hell is it? To exert this much influence, they must be quite a powerful ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠figure.'

It wasn't something even an elder could pull off. At minimum, it would require authority on par with a guild master.

'No wonder they haven't been overrun by the orcs...'

It was a situation that made me sigh, but at least there was one silver lining. Apex would surely obtain this information as well, so they probably wouldn't target us anymore.

'Tsk... I'll have to deal with those bastards properly one of these days. Hiring assassins against fellow hunters? No matter how much money is involved, the timing is ridiculous.'

"I-Ilwol? The contract was definitely solid, right?"

Yeonhee asked me urgently. I nodded vigorously and even sent a message through Ran.

"He says it's certain. He can guarantee it in Irmana's name!"

"See? Right! It was definitely solid. I saw it myself, no doubt about it. So don't worry!"

"Mhm! Got it!"

"...W-who could it be..."

"Oh? Sis is actually speaking up?"

"J-just... curious... It couldn't have been easy... Not just the Management Agency... but the Special Incident Response Team..."

It had been a very long time since Ham Eunyeong had spoken voluntarily. Just as she wondered, although the team belonged to the Management Agency, the Special Team had traditionally been classified as an independent group. They were known for digging only into cases without any compromise. To reach even that far, the person behind this had to be at least from one of the Three Great Guilds or possess equivalent power.

'Political circles? But Heo Min-sol didn't have those kinds of connections. Hmm...'

In the end, it pointed to Ilseom. It couldn't be Uncle Jung-gil, so that left...

'Hyeon Jung-seop? Would that man really bother with something this petty? That doesn't make sense... I don't get it.'

We had fallen into a brief silence when our attention returned to Ham Eunyeong's lips.

"...... Should I... talk to... Grandma...?"

'Whoa... What's gotten into her?'

She had always kept her mouth tightly shut, so I hadn't paid much attention, but it seemed she had developed genuine affection for our party.

"Ooh?! Really?"

"Um... wouldn't that be too much of a bother...? For someone like her to get involved because of me..."

When A-rin muttered in a tiny voice, Jua scolded her for saying something so frustrating.

'That's right. We should use every resource available. And owing a debt in a situation like this might not be so bad...'

Usually, being indebted to someone wasn't pleasant, but if that someone was Ham Eunyeong's grandmother, the story changed completely. Creating any kind of connection with such a person would be incredibly meaningful for our future.

"Then could you please talk to her, sis?"

"Mhm... Okay..."

"Thank you so much. How can I ever repay you?"

"It's nothing... This is just an excuse... for me to see Grandma's face..."

'She's in unusually good condition today.'

She was speaking much more than usual. Come to think of it, she felt very different from when we first met. Not just her appearance, but her aura too. Was Ham Eunyeong slowly growing as well?

"Alright. This isn't actually a big deal. I just messaged an acquaintance, and they said there aren't even that many false accusation cases filed with the Special Division."

"Ah, that's a relief. Jua, you really know a lot of people..."

"In this country called Korea, isn't everything about school ties and regional ties?"

Jua gave a bitter smile and changed the subject.

"Anyway. The Orc dungeon feels pretty easy now, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. But I still feel like there's room for improvement."

"I think it's plenty..."

Yeonhee seemed eager to move on to the next dungeon. This was partly due to class differences. Although Yeonhee used a bow, she wasn't fighting in close quarters, so it might feel boring for her. On the other hand, A-rin was still taking minor injuries while breathing the same air as the enemies on the front lines. The difference between someone who could die from a single mistake and someone sitting safely at the top.

"Either way, we can't delay any longer. No Hayun only has time until this week. Since we've already decided to do it, there's no point dragging our feet, right?"

"The Dungeon of Nargul... is completely different in concept from the dungeons we've done so far. Once you enter, you have no choice but to reach the exit... That's a whole different story."

A-rin remained cautious. She was like a parent taking care of several younger siblings, so that was part of it, but not all. While every dungeon so far had been the same entrance and exit, the Dungeon of Nargul had its entrance on the first underground floor and its exit on the complete opposite side. Only after reaching the exit could you decide whether to descend to the second underground floor or leave the dungeon. The risk level was like heaven and earth compared to hunting near the entrance and retreating to the gate if things got dangerous.

"If Hayun joins us, do we not need to recruit any more temporary members? I heard that for the first attempt at Nargul, people usually bring in quite a few extras."

Of course, Yeonhee wasn't the type to slack on preparation. She was always fiddling with her phone before bed, diligently gathering dungeon-related information.

"One Hayun should be enough, right? Or maybe not? Her magic power might run out... There are just so many of them."

"Getting one more temporary person wouldn't hurt. The pay should be decent anyway."

"Compared to other guilds, we have way less stress about finding people. It's all thanks to the summons."

"Hehe~"

"It'd be better to have Hayun bring someone."

"Yeah, that sounds good. Better than us finding someone."

"Right? It'll be easier to let them go too. Shall we go with that?"

"Yes~!"

"Okay. I'll text her right away."

Our party had already figured out each other's personalities, so coordinating opinions was easy. Yeonhee was the most proactive about pioneering, while A-rin was surprisingly the most passive. Jua acted as the mediator collecting opinions, and Ham Eunyeong... was basically just a nodding seasoning. No Hayun would definitely do her part. The important thing was what kind of person the last member would be.

It'd be nice if it was a man. During yesterday's Mimicry, some memories had flashed by—quite a few scenes of being burned in all-female parties. Women fighting over me, or guys watching their girlfriends blatantly hit on me and causing chaos. Looking back now, it seemed my party life hadn't exactly been ordinary either.

'Hmm...'

I lightly touched my lips, which had stretched out like melted cheese.

... Yeah, this wasn't something I needed to worry about right now.

"... Yeah, she says she understands. But the fact that it shows as read the second I send the message is seriously creepy. What is No Hayun?"

"Does that mean she's been waiting for your texts this whole time?"

"Heh... That is a bit scary."

Yeonhee made a genuinely uncomfortable face. Just because they'd overcome life-and-death situations together didn't mean their terrible first meeting would be completely erased.

"Actually, I've run a few dungeons with No Hayun before, and she's kind of... weird, you know?"

Bae Jua rarely engaged in gossip, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she began sharing some advance information about No Hayun's peculiarities. She wasn't badmouthing her, just giving context.

"You know how sometimes you get hit by monsters in a dungeon?"

"Of course. It shouldn't happen, but it does."

"But she actually gets stronger the more she gets hit... Sometimes she laughs like a crazy bitch. It was pretty creepy at times."

'So that's why I felt so dirty after hitting her...'

"... D-does she have masochistic tendencies?"

Ham Eunyeong suddenly interjected with sparkling eyes. Her tension today was suspiciously high.

"Something like that... I'm not sure. Anyway, she shows her true power in crisis situations like the canyon, so it's not bad for us. Oh, A-rin and Eunyeong unnie didn't see it, right? You should've seen her holding Yeonhee's orb and spamming ice spears or whatever. She's a monster among monsters."

'So that's what happened...'

"Aah... I'm getting excited..."

"Huh? About what?"

"... Nothing..."

Ham Eunyeong, who had finally opened up after so long, gave a small nod with a mysterious smile. The other party members looked at her curiously but didn't think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much of it.

'Well, Eunyeong has her own quirks too...'

I recalled how she had stomped on the men who followed us in the Wolf Den dungeon. That was probably when Ham Eunyeong had been the most energetic. Her interest in No Hayun might be simple curiosity toward someone with the complete opposite personality.

'They'd probably get along great. Let them become best friends.'

Our party composition seemed to be heading deeper into unknown territory, but as long as they had the skills, personality was something that could be adjusted.