Chapter 41

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 41

Chapter Title: Return

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"I'm back."

"Min-jun! You're here?"

As I left the depths and returned to the rest area, our Saintess spotted me and broke into a wide smile.

Haha, that innocent grin of hers is just too good. It's pure healing.

"Dickhead, you bastard. You're early today?"

Of course, our Crimson Flame Witch was itching to devour me as always.

"Huh?"

But the two women, who had been rushing toward me excitedly, froze when they saw Han So-hee stuck right by my side.

A brief silence fell.

The Saintess blinked in surprise, while Shin Seo-yeon furrowed her brow deeply.

"Argh, I loosen up on this mutt because he's pretty, and he shows up with another bitch in tow?"

Shin Seo-yeon openly showed her hostility. But Han So-hee didn't back down and fired right back.

"How vulgar. Your filthy mouth says it all about your level."

"What? Level? Hey, say that again. What did you just say?"

Whoosh! Shin Seo-yeon ignited with fury, while Han So-hee lifted her chin arrogantly, looking down at her. Their glares clashed in midair.

'Oh no, so it's turning out like this after all.'

Any group goes through some friction when a new member joins. It's not easy to get along from the start.

Shin Seo-yeon strode forward as if ready to unleash her flames any second, and Han So-hee matched her step without flinching, building a tense standoff.

"Resorting to violence at the drop of a hat—your behavior is as frivolous as it gets. I can't fathom why the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lord keeps company with someone like you."

"Lord? Dickhead, what's she talking about?"

I have no idea either.

It came out of nowhere as we walked back together.

-My lord moves too swiftly, and calling you by name feels too casual. But using Kang Min-jun would expose your identity to others, which isn't ideal... So I'll call you 'lord' from now on.

...That was the one-sided declaration from the chaebol heiress.

"Isn't it proper to call the master of this body as such?"

With that, Han So-hee grabbed my right arm and wrapped it around her waist.

Hah? Shin Seo-yeon shot me a fierce glare, and the Saintess covered her mouth, letting out a little gasp.

'...Good thing I sent Kim Yu-rim and Joo Ah-hyun back.'

Even this much was shocking our Saintess. Imagine if they just yanked down my pants and started slurping on my dick and balls, going 'Oppa, let's fuck again today!'

Whew, just thinking about it makes me dizzy.

"Anyway, she's going to be your teammate from now on, so get along."

"Get along my ass! Hey, if you were me...!"

Shin Seo-yeon started to argue, but I reached out, pulled her to my side by her ribs, groped her ass, and gave her a firm look.

Ugh...

Her face flushed as she fidgeted and averted her gaze.

"We're gonna get along, right?"

"...I, I dunno. I'll try."

This is why pussy-whipped is a thing. Who would've thought the Crimson Flame Witch would tame her temper and behave like this?

No doubt, to her, I'm a super useful dildo and an irreplaceable sugar daddy.

"So where'd you pick up this rich girl?"

In a somewhat calmed voice—but still with a face screaming displeasure—Shin Seo-yeon glared at Han So-hee on my right and asked.

From her tone and vibe, she already seemed to know who Han So-hee was. Well, she was always into that kind of gossip, so it made sense.

"Found her stranded down below and brought her along. Couldn't just let her die."

I glanced at the Saintess, and ah...! Her face lit up brightly.

Until now, she'd been too shy to approach, just timidly sizing up the situation from afar. Now she hurriedly pulled a canteen from her backpack and brought it over.

She handed it to me with sparkling eyes.

"Min-jun is too nice! You helped me back then, and now her too! You're always so kind...!"

Those wide, earnest eyes were a bit overwhelming, but they were so sincere—it was pure healing.

Our Saintess's fluffy charm is the best, after all.

"Oh, I'm Song Ha-na. Here, you drink some too."

"Han So-hee. Thank you."

When an utterly harmless-looking creature smiled brightly and offered water, Han So-hee finally let her guard down a little.

After taking a sip, she asked curiously,

"Does your lordship always go around helping others like this?"

"Yes! I was abandoned and alone too, but he helped me! Seo-yeon says he's been helping her since she was little. Whenever she was struggling because her family was poor, he'd come over like it was his own problem and give her money."

...Huh? Did that happen? The story feels pretty distorted.

"Unnie!"

Shin Seo-yeon, who had been glaring daggers at Han So-hee, jumped in shock and stammered.

"W-Why bring up useless stuff like that? With everyone around."

Her face was full of panic. Can't blame her. As I stared at her pointedly, our Crimson Flame Witch avoided my eyes, looking away.

Guess she has a conscience.

Anyway, the tense atmosphere in the group evaporated thanks to that.

'From the start, Shin Seo-yeon was the only one who could play house boss in our party.'

The Saintess was too kind to dominate anyone who joined, and Yi Sera was like a ninja—barely there, so no clashes.

"I see. A man of character as well... You're truly captivating."

Not knowing the full context, Han So-hee gazed at me with heated eyes for a moment, then gently placed her hand over mine and interlaced our fingers tightly.

She cleared her throat with a hem-hem and formally introduced herself.

"As I said earlier, I'm Han So-hee. I look forward to working with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you. I'll strive to be a comrade you can trust with your back."

"I'm Song Ha-na. Let's get along."

"...Shin Seo-yeon."

The Crimson Flame Witch gave a curt intro while subtly probing, but Han So-hee acted like she couldn't care less and didn't bite.

Tch, Shin Seo-yeon clicked her tongue and turned her arrows on me instead.

"Anyway, spill it straight. Is this one the last? No other bitches?"

...Her instincts are spot on.

I beat Han So-hee to the punch, making a fuss and herding everyone to a corner.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to prep for hunting. Respawns are coming up soon, right?"

"Oh, yeah!"

We headed to the corner of the rest area. The barricade we'd set up there was mostly wrecked, so Shin Seo-yeon didn't throw fireballs.

Flames erupted from Shin Seo-yeon's open palm like a flamethrower, engulfing the skeleton and incinerating it in an instant.

"No more fireballs, huh?"

"Yeah. Too much gear on the floor—throw one and it's chaos. Shrapnel flies everywhere from the explosions. Annoying, but this way's safer all around."

Right then, a skeleton popped up right in front of us.

I instinctively reached for my sword hilt but held back to see how my teammates handled it.

Whoosh!

The Saintess swung her club, smashing the skeleton's skull.

Thud thud thud!

A flurry of follow-up strikes sent it crumpling to the ground, never to rise.

"Nice one, unnie."

"Yeah!"

"......"

I silently stared down at the skeleton wreckage sprawled on the floor.

To die so pathetically from a healer's club massage. A sight even I never saw in my first run.

"Impressive."

And Han So-hee—who'd witnessed the scene, or more precisely, the Saintess and Shin Seo-yeon hunting—let out an exclamation.

No wonder. Taking down over a hundred skeletons this easily was a rare spectacle anywhere.

I pulled a longsword from my inventory and handed it over.

"You join in too. Your job is protecting these two."

Han So-hee gripped the sword and swung it a few times experimentally before nodding.

"Party comp-wise, I'm the tank."

"Spot on. Right now Ha-na's swinging a club instead of healing, but going forward, you're on your own to protect them no matter what."

"Got it."

She nodded, clearly understanding her role.

...Truth be told, I had someone else in mind for tank. But no telling when we'd meet. Couldn't run the party tankless till then.

'But this woman with [Sword Master] can handle protector duties just fine.'

Whoosh—the Saintess clubbed one skeleton aside, but another appeared right next to her.

Slash.

In that split-second gap, Han So-hee slipped behind the Saintess and thrust her sword through the armpit opening.

"Eh?"

The Saintess belatedly noticed and spun around, but by then the sword had already withdrawn from the armpit and returned to position.

'Stabbing into someone else's armpit gap is insanely risky, but support from a [Sword Master] is trustworthy.'

All the more so because, at least with swordsmanship, she knew everything.

When to swing, how to balance— the moment she gripped the sword, she mastered and adjusted for it all perfectly.

'No wonder it's a cheat-level complete ability.'

The hunt kicked off smoothly and ended without a hitch.

"It was shaky with just two of us, but together it's super stable."

The Saintess beamed, feeling the same. Shin Seo-yeon glanced at Han So-hee and chimed in.

"...Hmph, you're somewhat useful."

"You're both quite capable yourselves."

"Obviously. I'm the core DPS in this party. Couldn't hunt like this without me."

"True enough."

Huh? Han So-hee nodded readily, leaving Shin Seo-yeon a bit thrown off.

"Your heals, your fire magic—I see why I need to tank. Better efficiency than me fighting all day."

"Uh..."

"Anyway, your safety's on me from now on, no matter what. Don't worry about it."

"Er, uh..."

The woman she'd been bickering with moments ago was now praising her and vowing protection—Shin Seo-yeon stared at her in stunned silence.

She had a mindset of acknowledging what deserved it.

Shin Seo-yeon scratched her head and muttered,

"Hmph, do whatever... But Dickhead! Why've you been slacking since earlier? Just gonna stand there watching?"

"As if."

I shook my head as she turned her ire on me unjustly.

"Heading to another rest area to pull mobs. Get ready."

"What? No need to go that far, right? I could use a break."

"No time for our Seo-yeon to slack. Gotta fill that backpack with gems."

She froze.

Then Shin Seo-yeon yelled,

"Fuck yeah, let's go!"

And so the money grind began.

We farmed mobs like mad, looted items like mad.

"Off again."

Over a hundred skeletons per rest area meant hundreds per hour.

And so...

The achievement alert popped up after surpassing a thousand skeleton kills. But that wasn't all.

A title too.

Another goal down.

'Most dungeons are crawling with undead. And harder Trials mean bigger rewards.'

Point is, plenty more undead farming ahead, and this makes it way easier.

Not just me—my teammates chattered in mild surprise, checking theirs too.

"Achievement?"

The Saintess and Han So-hee widened their eyes like they'd seen something new.

"Hah. What, you two just got yours? Next comes titles. That's the real jackpot."

"Really?"

Shin Seo-yeon, veteran undead slayer, puffed up proudly.

"I got mine two days ago!"

"Seo-yeon, amazing...!"

"Heh. This much is nothing."

Basking in the Saintess's genuine praise, Shin Seo-yeon flexed her neck proudly, glancing at me expectantly. I sighed and obliged.

"Yeah, yeah, impressive."

"See? That's the kinda woman I am. Dickhead, count yourself lucky to party with me. If you want, I can hold back and let you land the killing blows."

She sidled up, rubbing her chest against me with sly eyes, so I said,

"Already got one. No need to brag."

"What? W-When did I brag?! And you barely killed any mobs—when'd you get a title?!"

'Cause I slaughtered tons of specters.

Achievements are for racking up one type; titles are broader.

Skeletons, specters—hit a thousand undead total, and you get it.

For non-special cases like us, titles might come faster than achievements.

"Call it here for today. Let's head back."

"Huh? Not more? Still two hours left—early finish."

At my call to end the hunt, the group wrapped up farming and prepped to leave.

Heading along the rest area wall toward the exit, Shin Seo-yeon whistled.

"Damn, so much junk."

The floor—scarred by blasts, scorch marks, and debris—was buried in items, barely visible.

Piles of cheap daggers and clubs we'd ditched for lack of inventory space had turned into a massive trash heap.

So much that respawned undead tripped over the unlooted gear charging at us.

...And my inventory was full too.

Longsword × 99

Spear × 99

Two-Handed Sword × 99

Mace × 99

.

.

Thought it was infinite, but no—stack limits. No more room for loot.

"Food's running low too."

Back at the moonlit banquet hall, the Saintess noted while prepping dinner.

Time to leave was near.

Shh.

I snuck chocolate from my bag away from prying eyes; hidden Yi Sera snatched it and slipped a pouch into my pocket before vanishing.

The pouch felt way lighter than yesterday. Stat shard farming done.

'Still, stats rose plenty.'

Name: Kang Min-jun

Level: 1

Nearly all stats except Intelligence jumped nearly 20. Total +59—six levels ahead of normals.

"Dickhead, time to move on, right?"

"Yeah. Everyone prep. We leave this place tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

Shin Seo-yeon stopped the Saintess from rinsing rice and said,

"Need to wait? We got the waypoint. Why not now? We've farmed plenty."

She grinned wide, fetching her hidden gem sack from a banquet corner and patting it proudly.

Apparently weighed a ton.

"Huh? Feels lighter?"

Even after Yi Sera took nearly half, it still felt heavy. Brief puzzlement, but the weight reassured her, and she beamed happily again.

"So let's go now. Dinner fancy-style. My treat—let's push tonight!"

"Woo!"

The Saintess cheered. I waved it off, tamping the excitement.

"No. Got something to do here first."

"What? More important than good food? Can't skip?"

"Yeah, must do it. Then we go."

That's why I went to the depths. Confirmed it's doable.

'Boss difficulty predictable from nearby mob levels.'

Raid boss hunt—our party could handle it. With some prep, of course.

"So rest up tonight. No wasting energy."

Flustered looks.

Perfect timing—one more for night watch.

I kneaded the ass of the chaebol heiress glued to my side, brimming with curiosity, as I double-checked the plan.