Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Smoke and Mirrors
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“A smoke bomb?”
“Yes.”
“Do we need something like this for hunting?”
Arin asked again.
Her expression was more one of genuine curiosity than suspicion.
After all, this wasn't a tool typically needed for hunting.
But Lee Shin nodded without batting an eye.
“Of course.”
“Won’t it just obstruct our vision…?”
“It’s fine. I have a skill that lets me see through it.”
“Oh, really?”
Of course, he had no such skill, but it didn’t matter. Lee Shin didn’t need to distinguish everyone; he only needed to be aware of Jeong Yu-ra and Gillaim.
For that much, it was perfectly possible even without a skill.
“Besides, I’ll be doing all the fighting myself anyway.”
“Then we’d feel too bad….”
“Pardon?”
“We’d just be leeching experience without doing anything.”
“Ah, that’s fine. In fact, it would be a problem for me if you stepped in.”
The true purpose of this outing was to assassinate the Count, but on the surface, it was presented as an opportunity to showcase his skills as an adventurer.
It was a kind of showcase, or a special recruitment audition.
In such a situation, it would be stranger for other users to offer their help.
“Ah…”
“If you really want to help, I’ll only ask when things get truly dangerous.”
“If it’s just that… okay.”
Arin had no reason to refuse.
Tossing a single smoke bomb and sharing the experience was a good deal for her too.
She returned to her party and relayed her conversation with Lee Shin.
“…is what he said. I think we just need to hang back a bit.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I think he’s doing this to give us some experience since we won’t be doing much.”
There wasn’t a hint of suspicion toward Lee Shin in her demeanor.
If anything, she misunderstood his request for a trivial task as an act of generosity to share experience points.
While she was fundamentally lacking in caution, it was more accurate to say she was confident in her party’s abilities.
Who would expect someone who didn’t seem that strong to betray a party of fairly high-ranking users?
‘Perfect.’
Lee Shin smiled in satisfaction.
Jeong Yu-ra, on the other hand, looked dumbfounded.
“Uh, um…”
“What.”
“…Nothing.”
Her expression suggested she had a lot to say, but in the end, she didn’t voice it.
She didn’t think her words would have any effect on Lee Shin anyway.
And she now knew all too well that Lee Shin was the type to just tell her to leave the party if she really didn’t want to do it.
Ultimately, after much deliberation, she chose the easy way out.
‘…Not my problem.’
She turned her gaze away from Arin’s party, who were smiling, oblivious to everything.
With that, all potential obstacles to Lee Shin’s plan were completely gone.
All that remained was to execute the plan as well as possible.
* * *
The hunting ground was close.
[You have entered the Thornwood Forest.]
[This is your first time entering this area.]
[Blessed by the forest's aura, your movement speed will increase by 3% for one day.]
[The minimap function cannot be used here.]
‘Hm?’
At the last message, Lee Shin opened his status window.
[The minimap cannot be activated in this area.]
It seemed that because it was the Count’s private property, it was treated as a type of dungeon rather than a normal field.
It didn’t matter to Lee Shin.
He had been memorizing the path from the moment he entered the hunting ground anyway.
It wasn’t that he had anticipated things turning out this way; it was just something he did as naturally as breathing.
‘Even better.’
This completely eliminated the possibility of Arin’s party escaping on their own.
Of course, it would be a different story if they were also memorizing the path, but Lee Shin didn’t think that was likely.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounded.
Plus, they weren’t expecting to be betrayed at all.
Whatever the case, it was hard to imagine them going through such a hassle for no reason.
Activating his detection skill, Lee Shin set out to find monsters.
* * *
[Enemy detected ahead.]
[Be careful!]
It didn’t take long to find the monsters.
Guoooooh…!
“……”
A pack of monsters in the shape of trees.
They weren’t particularly strong, but…
“Buff me.”
“Huh?”
“Buffs.”
Lee Shin received a full set of buffs from Jeong Yu-ra and, true to his word, went all out, tearing the monsters to shreds.
So much so that it seemed needlessly excessive.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Swoosh!
[Critical Hit!]
[Critical Hit!]
[Critical Hit!]
[…]
“Guoooooh!!?!?”
The monster let out a desperate scream!
Even though the outcome was certain, Lee Shin didn’t let up on his assault.
On the contrary, he mixed in even flashier techniques, mercilessly carving up his opponent.
Flick!
Flick-flick-flick!
[You have struck the grain perfectly!]
[The same spot has been struck precisely…]
[Precisely…]
[The same spot has been struck precisely 7 consecutive times! The ‘Sever’ effect has been activated with a low probability.]
[The enemy has been instantly killed!]
“Guh.”
The monster collapsed after a short cry.
Lee Shin proceeded to deal with the remaining monsters one by one.
After he had taken down all several dozen of them, the Count approached.
Glancing Lee Shin up and down, the Count let out a quiet exclamation of awe.
“…Hah.”
A clean appearance.
There wasn’t a single speck of dust on Lee Shin’s clothes.
It was a dramatic contrast to the chaotic scene of monster corpses strewn about.
Of course, this was the image Lee Shin had intended to create.
‘…Impressive.’
In truth, the Count hadn’t expected much from Lee Shin, an adventurer by trade.
Although he had defeated Cedric, the Count believed it was a stroke of luck, not a result of skill.
But the level of combat Lee Shin had just displayed far exceeded the Count’s expectations.
His level seemed low for his talent, but that was a problem time could solve.
“Remarkable.”
“Thank you!”
In the end, the Count had to acknowledge Lee Shin.
But this still wasn’t enough.
He was better than expected, but not yet at the level of a must-have talent.
Lee Shin knew that as well.
“This is nothing.”
“Nothing, you say?”
“I still have much more to show you.”
“…Hah!”
The Count let out a short laugh at Lee Shin’s bold reply.
But it was a laugh laced with interest and anticipation rather than reprimand.
After all, Lee Shin had already shown him something.
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
[Your affinity with Count Narik has increased.]
[The Count is now beginning to take an interest in you.]
* * *
Lee Shin did his utmost to curry favor with the Count.
Every time a monster appeared, he ruthlessly crushed it.
And his efforts quickly bore fruit.
When Lee Shin had dispatched the seventh group of monsters he encountered.
The Count approached and said.
“That’s enough.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve seen enough. This hunt wasn’t the main purpose from the start, was it?”
[Your affinity with Count Narik has increased.]
“It seems your skills are as sufficient as you claimed. Your background is a bit of a concern, but well, it shouldn’t matter much.”
“Does that mean…?”
“I will give you the chance to become my knight.”
“……!”
[The Count has offered you a knighthood!]
[If you accept, you will immediately acquire the rank of ‘Count’s Guard Knight.’]
“……!”
The offer came as soon as his deliberation ended!
At this, Arin’s party, who had been watching the situation with interest from behind, looked at Lee Shin in surprise.
A few of the warrior-class users among them muttered under their breath.
“…Wow, amazing.”
“He hit the jackpot.”
The jackpot.
For a common user to enter a Count’s service, that’s generally what it meant.
They would gain a powerful backer and enjoy numerous benefits in places where the fief’s influence reached.
No matter how bad Count Narik’s reputation was, considering these benefits, it was an offer one must accept!
…But Lee Shin’s response was different from what they expected.
Instead of answering, Lee Shin asked a question.
“Is this enough for you?”
“What did you say?”
“I still have more to show. A guard knight isn’t bad… but I desire a higher position.”
“……!!”
A bold declaration.
“Give me a chance. I will prove I have the ability for it.”
“And how do you intend to prove that?”
“……”
He paused for a moment.
Lee Shin made brief eye contact with Gillaim before answering.
“I will show you myself hunting the strongest monster in this forest.”
And with his answer, he made his decision.
It was time to end the quest.
* * *
Having easily obtained the Count’s permission, Lee Shin continued deeper into the forest.
It didn’t take long to find the boss monster.
‘Found it.’
A single, colossal monster was visible at the bottom of a hill.
Since it was only detected by his skill, no status window appeared, but Lee Shin was certain this was the boss monster.
Just its appearance alone gave off an aura far superior to any of the other monsters he had seen so far.
Lee Shin spoke to the Count.
“I think I’ve found it.”
“Will you take it down immediately?”
“Yes.”
“…I’ll be watching.”
The Count nodded and took a slight step back.
“……Hoo.”
This was the crucial part.
Lee Shin turned his head and met Gillaim’s gaze.
“……”
The meaning was understood without words.
Gillaim moved slightly away from the Count’s side, his eyes furtively scanning the positions of the nearby knights.
It was to suppress the knights’ forces with a surprise attack the moment Lee Shin made his move.
‘Good.’
Seeing that Gillaim was ready, Lee Shin raised his sword.
At the same time, he turned around and gave a casual wave of his hand.
“…!”
Though they hadn’t arranged a signal beforehand, Arin understood the gesture perfectly and threw a smoke bomb toward the bottom of the hill.
Whoosh!
A knack born from countless party plays!
This quick thinking and intuition were among her key strengths as the party’s healer and buffer.
She would instinctively grasp her allies’ conditions and cast buffs and heals at the right time and place.
…But now, that very intuition had become her downfall.
Swaaaaeek!!
Poof!
“……Oh my god!”
The smoke bomb exploded right in front of her the moment she threw it!
Arin and her party members behind her screamed in shock.
“Cough! Cough!”
“W-What was that!? So sudden!”
“Smoke? Why is there…?”
Arin’s party scrambled in confusion as the smoke billowed out.
The truth was that Lee Shin had shot a tentacle to detonate the smoke bomb the instant Arin threw it, but…
“……?”
The forest was quite dark, and it happened in a split second, so no one except Arin had seen it.
“Just now…”
She opened her mouth, bewildered.
It wasn’t a mistake, she was sure of it. Something black and swift had just zipped past her eyes… right?
But Lee Shin cut her off, shouting toward the Count.
“Something just passed in front of me…”
“Your Excellency!!! This person is the culprit!!”
“…Excuse me?!!?!?!”
First to fabricate, first to win!
Whether the statement was true or not, making the first accusation forced the opponent to spend several times the effort and time to refute it.
It was a truth of the world Lee Shin had learned from mastering numerous games.
“……”
He could see Jeong Yu-ra covering her face in embarrassment and turning away, but Lee Shin paid her no mind and continued to shout at the top of his lungs.
“These people are the culprits!”
At Lee Shin’s cry, the Count and his knights, who had been flustered by the sudden smoke, shouted back toward him.
“What?!”
“They are the culprits! I saw them!”
“No, what are you talking about…!”
“Be careful, I think they’re up to something! They might be after you, Your Excellency!”
“…What!?!!?”
The Count was shaken.
Though the truth had not been confirmed at all, he reacted sensitively, as there had been an actual assassination attempt recently.
Finally coming to her senses, Arin pointed a finger at Lee Shin and yelled.
“…Hey! Are you crazy!? Why would I be the culprit!”
“She says she’s not…”
“That’s a lie! Your Excellency! You must trust my words completely!”
“Hey! You’re the one who told me to do this!!”
“What nonsense is that! I didn’t say a thing!”
“You just told me to throw it… huh?”
At Lee Shin’s last words, Arin, who had been furiously protesting her innocence, froze.
Looking back, Lee Shin hadn’t actually said a word.
“……Huh?”