Arrival

The world had changed, but some things never did. Oh, a level-up after all this time. Even after my four women had slaughtered so many monsters, my level had stubbornly refused to budge. I opened my status window.

Nothing particularly exciting, but my gold had jumped significantly. The people heading to the event dungeon must have been carrying at least fifty gold each. That explained the sudden windfall of over two hundred. And one more thing—my skill points had reached eighteen. Enough to level up Rise, my level-ten skill.

Hmm. Should I upgrade Rise, or invest in the others?

The higher a skill’s level, the more points it demanded. Even with eighteen points, I could only raise a single skill by one level. After some thought, I decided to pour everything into Rise. I wasn’t feeling any particular shortage with Siphon Hand or Gate of Rest right now.

Ooooh! A ridiculous derived skill had appeared. To be honest, giving orders through one-way telepathy had been pretty inconvenient. Now it worked both ways? And if the thralls could talk to each other too, this was going to be insanely useful.

I tested it immediately.

‘Everyone, can you hear me? Don’t speak out loud—answer me in your minds.’

They all turned to look at me. A few seconds passed in silence.

Huh? Why isn’t it working?

‘Try picturing me clearly and sending your thoughts toward me.’

A moment later, voices bloomed inside my head.

‘Uhh… like this?’

‘Can you hear me?’

‘M-Master?’

‘Is this right?’

‘This is quite fascinating.’

Perfect. It worked.

“Good job. I can hear you all clearly. I just leveled up the skill. We’ve gained two-way telepathy as a derived ability. Now we can stay in contact even when we’re far apart. We’ll be splitting up into different dungeons soon, so this came at the perfect time. Go ahead and test it among yourselves.”

Everyone looked thrilled, marveling at the new ability. While they were busy exchanging thoughts with the people next to them, Daejang-ajeossi approached me.

“Min-gu-ssi. I checked the vehicle. There wasn’t much. Just some food and bedding in the back seat.”

“Hmm. So the car itself wasn’t special. That means the guy who drove straight through the obstacles must have used a skill.”

“Yes, it seems that way.”

I looked at the dead man slumped in the driver’s seat. The ability to phase through obstacles had clearly been his. In that case…

After a brief moment of thought, I used my skill.

“Rise.”

Black energy flowed from my hand and wrapped around the man’s body. Once he had absorbed every last wisp of it, the corpse slowly stood up.

Ju Si-eun, Jeong Ji-yun, and Seo Ji-su all frowned and turned away. I couldn’t blame them. Juniel’s axe had nearly severed his head; it was dangling loosely from a thin strip of flesh. Ugh, that looks nasty.

I used Form Restoration on the corpse. The black energy swirled around him again and vanished. When it did, he looked exactly as he had in life—clean and intact. A short, chubby young man. No need to waste mana on memory restoration.

I opened his status window.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Yes! Just as I thought. It really was this guy’s skill. Thank god. If he’d had some useless ability, I would’ve ended up with nothing but dead weight.

I examined his skills one by one.

This is it. I clenched my fist in excitement. A skill that let us drive straight through any obstacle? Absolutely perfect. No more walking everywhere. We had a dedicated driver now.

I gave Seong Dong-seok an order.

“Go find us a suitable vehicle.”

He staggered off in search of one. While watching his retreating back, I suggested the group take a short rest. We sat down on the ground, and I explained Seong Dong-seok’s skills to them.

Ju Si-eun’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Wow, so we don’t have to walk anymore?”

“That’s right. Once he brings back a car, we’ll ride the rest of the way. It’ll be a lot more comfortable.”

Everyone looked delighted. This would be incredibly useful for long-distance travel.

We were chatting and resting when the sound of an engine approached from afar. Soon a fairly large van pulled up right in front of us. Of course, Seong Dong-seok was behind the wheel.

“Alright, everyone get in. We’re moving out.”

The group excitedly climbed aboard. I had Daejang-ajeossi sit in the passenger seat, then joined the others in the back. It was an eleven-seater van, so there was more than enough room.

I spoke to Seong Dong-seok.

“You know where we’re going, right? Head for the area where the event dungeon is opening.”

The van immediately lurched forward, carrying us swiftly toward our destination.

Riding in the car was surprisingly fun. Especially the thrill of phasing through obstacles—it felt like watching a 3D movie. When we charged straight at a massive fallen tree and slipped right through it, Daejang-ajeossi exclaimed in an excited voice.

“This is actually pretty fun, isn’t it?”

The old man chuckled with genuine delight. Hmm. Maybe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I should have sat in the front. Next time, I’d take the passenger seat.

Traveling by car dramatically increased our speed. Instead of detouring around obstacles, we simply drove straight through them. As a result, Seong Dong-seok’s mana drained quickly, forcing us to stop and rest until he recovered. Even so, the difference between walking and driving was enormous.

We reached the event dungeon’s appearance zone a little after lunch—far earlier than the evening arrival I had expected. If we hadn’t stopped to recharge his mana or if we had ignored the monster packs, we would have arrived even sooner. But there was no way I was going to pass up free experience and gold. Every time we spotted a group of monsters, we stopped to hunt. Thanks to that, we earned quite a nice profit.

Anyway, we stopped about five hundred meters away from the Neighborhood Park Plaza where the event dungeon was supposed to open. We planned to stay here until the day of the event, then move to the plaza when it began.

After parking in a suitable spot and stepping out of the van, I looked around. Just like everywhere else, the area was filled with moderately damaged buildings and desolate streets. Not a single person was visible on the road, yet…

…My scalp is tingling.

I could clearly feel multiple gazes watching me. They could at least hide properly. Peeking out like that makes them so easy to spot. Or maybe my eyesight has just gotten that good?

I sensed eyes on us from inside buildings and down alleyways. It made sense. A large vehicle had just rolled up through the dangerous roads and a whole group had stepped out. Of course people would be curious. They were all here to participate in the event dungeon. The entire area around the Neighborhood Park was probably packed with people hiding like this. As time passed, even more would gather.

“Oppa, there are quite a lot of people around…”

Since I had noticed them, there was no way my women—with their much higher stats—hadn’t as well. I nodded.

“Yeah. They’re all here for the event dungeon. As long as they don’t mess with us, we won’t have any reason to clash.”

From what I could see, everyone was doing their best to avoid conflict with other groups. They stayed hidden and simply observed. Smart. Anyone who had survived long enough to reach this event knew exactly how dangerous other humans could be.

But of course, there were always idiots who stood out.

Like those two.

“Whoa, for real? Is that really Ju Si-eun?”

“I told you it was her, dumbass. You think my eyes are normal?”

“Wait, hold on… maybe it’s not… or is it??”

The two men bickered as they slowly approached. Both were tall and lanky. They looked about the same age as me.

Hmm. Even if it really was Ju Si-eun, only two kinds of people would approach a completely unknown group like this. Either complete morons who still hadn’t learned how dangerous other humans could be, or confident experts who trusted in their own strength. These guys didn’t look like experts, though…

The two men, who had been hesitating a short distance away, finally made up their minds and spoke.

“U-um, excuse me. The woman over there… are you… Ju Si-eun?”

How should I handle this? Well, they hadn’t done us any harm yet. I gave Si-eun a small nod. She smiled brightly at the two men.

“Hello. Yes, I’m Ju Si-eun.”

The moment they heard her voice, the two men exploded with excitement.

“Waaaaaaaaah! It really is Ju Si-eun?!”

“N-Noona!! I’m a huge fan! We both are members of ‘Sweet Syrup’!! We went to all your fan meetings and autograph sessions!!”

Huh. Actual fans, then. Sweet Syrup. I used to be a member too. Should I feel a little nostalgic?

The two men, still practically vibrating with excitement, suddenly spoke in a rush.

“Ah, hello to the rest of Si-eun-noona’s party! I’m Park Jin-su. This idiot is Shin Dae-gwang. If it’s not too much trouble, would you like us to show you around? You’re here for the event too, right? All the nearby buildings are already full, so it’ll be hard to find a place to rest. Our clan has secured a building. Would you like to come with us? We’ll treat you very comfortably!!”

What the hell is this guy saying? Buildings were saturated? And their clan had “secured” one?

At my silent command, Daejang-ajeossi stepped forward to speak with them. It was only natural for the oldest-looking person to act as the leader.

“Hello. I’m Kang Yun-su. What do you mean the buildings are saturated? And what exactly is a clan…?”

The man who had introduced himself as Jin-su answered.

“Right now, every building in the area has been occupied by people who came for the event. It’s difficult for two groups to share one building, so each structure is currently controlled by a single group. That’s why most of the buildings around here have been claimed by larger clans like ours.”

I understood. If another group tried to move into a building where I had already set up camp, there was no way I’d be able to relax. It would be lucky if it didn’t end in bloodshed.

Jin-su continued.

“Until yesterday, there were constant fights between ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠groups trying to seize buildings. Things have calmed down a bit today, but it’s still hard to find a decent place to stay nearby.”

Daejang-ajeossi asked another question.

“I understand the situation. But… why would you invite complete strangers into your clan’s building? We only just met today.”

At that, the man called Shin Dae-gwang stepped forward and declared loudly.

“Because you’re Si-eun-noona’s party!”

“...”

Wow. Are these guys even sane?

Daejang-ajeossi seemed to share my sentiment. He looked at Dae-gwang with an expression of pure disbelief.

“You’re saying you trust her unconditionally just because she’s Ju Si-eun? What if the Si-eun you admire so much stabs you in the back?”

Dae-gwang immediately flared up.

“Si-eun-noona would never—!!”

He suddenly froze. Then he turned to Jin-su.

“What if Si-eun-noona did stab us in the back?”

“Hmm… wouldn’t be so bad? Then I’d be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the guy who got backstabbed by Ju Si-eun.”

“Right?”

I watched the two of them whispering in low voices and thought to myself.

…These guys are completely insane.