None of Your Business
"It's not something you should be interested in."
"Haha. I see!"
"Because it's an incredibly amazing piece of equipment, far beyond your level."
"?"
"Let me tell you what kind of gear this is..."
Despite having just said it wasn't something they should be interested in, Jang Ssu-an started blabbing all on his own! Tae-hyun was momentarily taken aback.
What is wrong with this guy?
He was spilling all the information before anyone even had to pry. But Jang Ssu-an, having advanced to the tournament finals and even obtained the gear he was looking for, was in an exceptionally good mood. Thanks to that, his bragging engine was running at full throttle!
"...The moment you equip this, your firepower multiplies several times over. Of course, it's a story far too distant for you guys to truly grasp."
"That's so true! Hahaha!"
At this bizarre sight, the Power Warrior Guild members whispered among themselves.
They stared at Jang Ssu-an with eyes full of suspicion. Tae-hyun was already a legend within Power Warrior, but Jang Ssu-an also had a decent reputation of his own. He was a ranker and an invited player to the main tournament of the Arena, after all. It was only natural for such a player to be highly regarded.
But seeing him in person... he was a bit... no, a lot... weird!
With their own hidden agendas, the players began to venture deeper into the dungeon.
"The path splits here. For a dungeon with such low-level monsters, it sure is annoying. Are you marking the map?"
"Yes, I am."
"Good. Let's check the left side first."
As they passed through the corridor and encountered several branching paths, Jang Ssu-an and his guild members responded with practiced ease. While some novice dungeons were straightforward, linear paths, the terrain of a dungeon naturally became complex once the level requirement increased even slightly. Naturally, players who had leveled up by clearing these dungeons possessed various strategies.
Normally, they would have checked each path one by one, but Jang Ssu-an and his guild members couldn't do that. Because Tae-hyun was right beside them.
"No! That's the wrong way!"
"Really?"
"Yes, our party went that way earlier and confirmed it was a dead end!"
Even if it was a dungeon he was visiting for the first time, Tae-hyun could use his skills to determine which paths were good and which were bad. Naturally, Tae-hyun actively interfered to prevent them from taking the correct path. He had to drag out the time in this dungeon as much as possible!
"Then we'll skip that one and check the next entrance."
Unaware of this, Jang Ssu-an naively took Tae-hyun's bait.
"Wait, we're going to do some cooking."
"What? Cooking?"
"Well, shouldn't we eat some food to get buffs before we fight?"
"No... I obviously know that. But you guys aren't even fighting anyway, are you?"
Dumbfounded, Jang Ssu-an stared at Tae-hyun's party. Right now, almost all the hunting was being done by Jang Ssu-an and his guild members. All Tae-hyun's party did was say things like:
"We'll help too!"
"Here we go!"
"Ah, we wanted to help, but the fight's already over! We'll just take the trash loot!"
They were the textbook definition of a low-level party getting carried! And now they wanted to eat food to "help with the fighting"? But Tae-hyun was passionate.
"No! We are fighting too! How could you misunderstand us like that?!"
"No, it's not a misunderstanding..."
"We are doing our absolute best to fight! *Sob!* It makes me so sad to hear you say that, Lord Ssu-an!"
"..."
Tae-hyun was successfully framing Jang Ssu-an as the bad guy! Normally, Jang Ssu-an wouldn't be swayed by such pleas, but Tae-hyun's acting was flawless. The guild members also whispered from the side.
"Al-Alright. We were going to take a short break anyway, so go ahead and cook."
"Thank you!"
With reluctant expressions, Jang Ssu-an and his guild members sat down to rest. They hadn't brought a chef or a blacksmith with them. Repairs were handled with simple repair scrolls, and they didn't bother with special buffs. For a dungeon of this level, buffs weren't necessary.
Whoosh—
"?"
While they were resting, a mouth-watering aroma tickled their noses. Tae-hyun's group had lit a fire, set up their cooking equipment, and begun preparing food.
"?!"
Jang Ssu-an's guild members were taken aback. They thought "cooking" meant preparing something simple, but they hadn't expected such a full-scale, professional setup.
"Are you a chef player?"
"I'm not a chef by class, but I've put a lot of points into my cooking skill!"
"Ah, I see..."
Jang Ssu-an's gaze grew even more pathetic. Why on earth would anyone waste skill points on cooking when they should be investing in their class skills?
No wonder they can't even clear a dungeon of this level on their own.
His guild members thought the same. However, that thought didn't last long.
"..."
Nom, nom, munch, munch!
Slurp, slurp, gulp!
The sound of enthusiastic eating filled the corridor, making everyone's mouths water! It was the sound of Tae-hyun and the Power Warrior Guild members feasting.
"This is absolutely delicious, Party Leader! You're the best!"
"To make bear meat taste this good! As expected of our Party Leader!"
"You know I only joined this party because of your cooking, right, Leader?"
Tae-hyun's cooking skill was Intermediate. On top of that, he had various synergy skills and his absurd Luck stat correcting the results. It was at a level that wouldn't lose even to professional chefs with Advanced cooking skills! Although they had been instructed to act, the Power Warrior Guild members were being completely sincere. Bear meat was usually tough and gamey, but with every bite, a fragrant aroma and tender, juicy fat burst in their mouths. It was practically a top-tier steak!
I want a bite!
It looks so good!
I'm suddenly starving...!
Jang Ssu-an's guild members had enjoyed plenty of luxuries in Pan-On, but food eaten in a place like this was a special delicacy. While players carried potions and recovery items in their bags, very few carried actual meat dishes! Unless you traveled with a chef, eating such food on the spot was impossible.
"Ah, this is truly delicious, Party Leader! Oh, wait. Shouldn't we offer some to those guys over there? They did help us out!"
Nice!
At the Power Warrior Guild member's words, one of Jang Ssu-an's guild members unconsciously clenched his fist. It was too embarrassing to ask for a bite themselves, so they were incredibly grateful that someone else had brought it up. What a thoughtful fellow!
But Tae-hyun wasn't about to let it go so easily.
"What are you talking about?! Don't be so rude! There's no way esteemed players like them would enjoy food like this!"
"Ah, I-I suppose so...!"
No, you're wrong!
I want to eat it! I want to eat it so bad!
If they were in a city where chefs were easy to find, it would be different, but they were currently inside a dungeon. Furthermore, they had been watching Tae-hyun and the Power Warrior Guild members eat with absolute relish. It was impossible not to feel hungry!
"Ah, n-no. We can eat it too..."
"No! We are so sorry! This idiot spoke out of turn..."
"No! Really, it's fine!"
"You don't have to be polite! This food is far too humble for people of your stature to eat!"
"I said it's fine, you bastard!"
Finally, one of Jang Ssu-an's guild members exploded!
Gasp!
As everyone's eyes fell on him, the guild member turned his head in embarrassment.
"I-I mean, we can just eat it. We aren't that picky with our food."
"Yeah! We usually eat whatever!"
Once one person spoke up, the other guild members chimed in.
Let us eat!
"Well, if you insist..."
Tae-hyun handed over the food with an apologetic expression. It wasn't Tae-hyun offering it; he had manipulated them into begging for it themselves! With this, the other party would completely let down their guard.
Chomp, chomp, chew—
For a while, only the sound of tearing meat echoed through the corridor.
"This is amazing. I think it's better than what they sell in the city."
"What level is your cooking skill?"
"Hehe. It's actually Intermediate."
Tae-hyun replied with a proud face. There was no need to lie about something like this. The best lies were always mixed with a bit of truth!
"Intermediate?!"
"How does someone who isn't even a chef have an Intermediate cooking skill..."
"Hey, that's rude."
Perhaps because of the delicious food, the attitude of Jang Ssu-an's guild members toward Tae-hyun had completely changed. Regardless of how efficiently they cleared dungeons or gained experience, nobody hated delicious food!
"Should we suggest bringing a chef with us next time? This is great."
"The Guild Master would lose his mind. He'd ask why we're wasting time."
While the guild members chatted and ate, Jang Ssu-an glanced over at Tae-hyun. Jang Ssu-an had remained still while his guild members ate. All because of his damn pride!
These jerks, they aren't even going to offer me a bite?
If his guild members had said, "Guild Master, you should try some," he would have reluctantly accepted. But his guild members thought, "The Guild Master hates this kind of stuff," so they didn't offer. And the other party thought, "If he doesn't like it, we shouldn't force him," so they didn't offer either...
And this was the result! The sound of chewing tickled Jang Ssu-an's ears and made his stomach growl.
Once this dungeon is over, I'm finding a chef...
Jang Ssu-an resolved.
"But wait, did our stats go up a bit after eating?"
"That's normal when you eat food."
"No, I think they went up way more than usual. I couldn't check properly because I was too busy eating."
Tae-hyun flinched at the guild members' words. Even though he had tried to make it carelessly, his Luck stat wouldn't let the final product be mediocre. A magic hand that, even when trying to slack off, defied the odds to produce the absolute best results!
Tap—
The group returned after finishing their inspection of one corridor.
"This area is clear. Let's move to the next."
"Wait, there are some traps here."
"Traps? Really?"
Up until now, it had been an easy dungeon with no traps, so the sudden appearance of traps made the guild members look expectant.
"Disarm them."
"Yes."
Watching them work in perfect harmony, Tae-hyun thought to himself:
They progress so fast because they have a well-balanced party with diverse classes! It would be so convenient if I could lead a party like that...
Tae-hyun smacked his lips in envy from behind.
Jang Ssu-an and his guild members disarmed the traps and quickly pushed forward. Even in the corridor with traps, the monster levels weren't very high, so they were easily swept away with just a few skills.
"Guild Master, over here..."
"What is it?"
The rogue player moving at the very front discovered something and called out to Jang Ssu-an.
"It looks like the entrance to another dungeon."
"Really?"
Jang Ssu-an looked intrigued. Indeed, the difficulty of this dungeon was far too low. It was too easy to be a dungeon related to the main quest! But if this was just an entry dungeon leading to another, much harder dungeon, the low difficulty made perfect sense.
"If we break this wall a little, a new entrance should appear. Shall we break it?"
"Do you think the others know about this?"
"Probably not. I only found it because of my specific skill. With the level of those guys behind us, there's no way they'd spot this entrance."
"Then the people outside won't know about this entrance either."
Jang Ssu-an nodded. Tae-hyun's group was lagging slightly behind, slowly picking up trash loot. Seeing this, one of Ssu-an's guild members whispered in a low voice.
"...Should we ditch them and go?"
Entering a dungeon for the first time granted various bonuses. Since other parties had already frequented the current dungeon, and the monster levels were low, they hadn't felt the need to chase bonuses or experience here. But a brand-new dungeon? It could yield far better rewards than what they had seen so far.