Dungeon Raiding Is Politics (1)

Because the schedule had been thrown together rather suddenly, things had become rather hectic.

Our mother in all but blood, Lee Sanghee, took charge of training our party herself, and even in the hours that remained, it was a constant cycle of being dragged around by Kim Hyunsung all day long.

In truth, our party had never even worked together through basic hunting before.

The experience in the Tutorial Dungeon could hardly be called meaningless, but the Tutorial Dungeon was not even ranked as a proper dungeon.

In other words, our party had skipped the usual growth process a beginner was supposed to go through.

Normally, a party would start by heading into the outer edge of the Monster Forest and dealing with small monsters.

Of course, to a party as broadly powerful as Kim Hyunsung’s, that might seem trivial. But no matter how you looked at it, that sort of growth mattered.

There were things that built up unnoticed, only to become obvious much later.

Since we had to enter a dungeon immediately, we were busy learning the fundamentals with no room to spare.

At most, we practiced formations to keep our movement from tangling up when a party moved together, and memorized the various types of monsters and their traits.

Honestly, the preparations needed for a dungeon raid were being shouldered by the other guilds’ parties.

It was, in other words, a privilege.

The other guilds’ parties were accommodating ours.

Not sure whether it’ll work out well, though...

Just the fact that each newly formed beginner party could enter a Rare-grade dungeon was an incredibly fortunate situation.

Moving with another party might be inconvenient, but if you thought about it differently, it meant that much more safety was secured.

I could watch how they moved, and I could observe how a dungeon raid actually progressed.

Of course, the level of the party traveling with us wasn’t especially high either, but simply being able to watch our seniors operate right beside us was useful in itself.

To put it plainly, we were lucky in more ways than one.

"But... are you really planning to take her?"

"Yes. It may be dangerous, but it’ll probably be a good experience. Being young can be a disadvantage, but it can also be an advantage."

"I see."

Even so, Kim Hyunsung’s decision to bring Kim Yeri along was a little surprising.

It would be safe, of course.

He would try to exclude any stray threats, because she was a talent into which he had poured so much effort.

In any case, time kept moving, and the party was gradually taking shape.

Especially as Kim Hyunsung kept leaving for meetings more often, I could feel the day of the Blue Guild’s Seventh Unit and Kim Hyunsung’s first expedition drawing closer.

And then, on the day of the expedition.

A morning busier than usual began.

"Deokgu, did you pack everything?"

"Of course. A few of the guild members even packed some of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠luggage in advance, and..."

"Sun Heeyoung, could you check whether anything’s missing? And if anyone isn’t feeling well..."

"Yes, Kiyoung-nim."

"Hayan, check the food, water, and potions. Make sure everything’s in order."

"Yes, Oppa."

Truthfully, I was the busiest one of all.

Normally, the person who moves before being told is the one who gets a superior’s favor.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was sticking my nose into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expedition’s planning itself, or talking about anything that would put Kim Hyunsung on edge.

The basics mattered most.

Checking the necessary supplies, finishing the expedition’s preparations in advance, and so on.

That is to say, it was the sort of work that had nothing directly to do with the dungeon raid itself.

There was no need for our lovely regressor to worry about such things.

I’ll handle everything, Hyunsung. You don’t need to think about a thing.

As expected, the one I’d wanted to look satisfied at me was now in sight.

It wasn’t like I could compete with him in stats or attack power, so being the one who stood out in this sort of area was important.

This bastard... he’s weak, but I really feel like he’d be impossible to do without.

That was the impression I needed to plant.

"Check one more time in case there’s any equipment we forgot. Hayan, if you’re done, go and bring over the gear we rented from the guild warehouse too..."

"Yes, Oppa."

"And don’t forget the arrows Yeri will use."

"Yes!"

It was important to look busy, even busier than necessary.

This was our first expedition, after all, so I needed to nail down my position in advance.

If the party’s father was Kim Hyunsung, then the party’s mother was Lee Kiyoung.

Not a bad ring to it, really.

The amount I would gain from it would probably be considerable compared to the actual work involved.

All I was doing was checking the list and making sure the overall preparations were complete.

When I saw how pleased Kim Hyunsung looked, a smile slipped out before I even noticed it.

"It looks like we’re more or less ready. Shall I do a final direct check..."

"No, that’s all right, Kiyoung. I don’t think there’ll be any problems. The other parties are waiting outside. Let’s get going."

"Yes."

Receiving the regressor’s trust was more enjoyable than I’d expected.

That look that said he trusted me completely.

Simply seeing that he didn’t even feel the need to do the final check himself lifted my mood for no good reason.

"Let’s depart."

"Yes."

Even as we slowly made our way outside, I could feel attention converging on us.

Of course, some people were just staring without thinking, but most of them were probably focused on our party.

"That’s Sun Heeyoung."

"So that’s the party Blue picked up this time?"

"Well, I hear they paid a pretty high price to bring them in... we’ll have to see what they’re really worth."

"Lucky bastards. Ha... they’re starting from a completely different line than we are. Those guys..."

"They’ve got the ability to back it up."

"What, they haven’t even shown anything yet, have they?"

"Isn’t that why they’re going out hunting now?"

"They’re probably heading into a dungeon the guild supported."

There were people who were jealous, and others who were exchanging all sorts of opinions.

Given the equipment we were carrying, envy was only natural.

They were rented from the guild warehouse, but the reality here was that most people couldn’t even properly equip normal-grade gear.

The equipment worn by the people looking at us with obvious envy was mostly little more than rags.

They were bound to be compared.

Park Deokgu alone made the difference obvious.

Instead of the splinter-prone wooden shield he had used in the Tutorial, he now carried a steel shield that looked fairly decent.

The same went for the chainmail he wore instead of the leather armor stitched together with shoelaces.

If Park Deokgu’s strength stat had been just a little higher, he might even have been able to wear plate armor.

And in place of the crude sword that should have been in his hands, he was holding a heavy blunt weapon.

There were no Heroic-grade items, but even this much made him look like he’d shaken off his beginner’s costume.

As I walked along with all sorts of thoughts in my head, what came into view were the members of each guild, all wearing their insignia.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

The party leaders had already met a few times beforehand, so they were exchanging handshakes comfortably.

The other party members were the same.

The ones wearing red insignia on their chests were, naturally, Red Mercenary.

I could see them sending friendly glances our way for no particular reason.

Right. Right.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Choi Youngki of Red Mercenary. I’ve heard a lot about you from the Master. The..."

"Ah, likewise. I’m Lee Kiyoung."

Publicly, Red Mercenary’s guild master, Cha Heera, was practically hanging on our side, so it was only natural that they’d want to make a good impression.

Seeing that they had dressed themselves entirely in red, their identity was pretty unmistakable.

The ones greeting Jung Hayan were surely the party from the Mage Guild.

They wore insignia that looked like magic circles, and they had already started peppering Jung Hayan with questions out of curiosity.

The people greeting Kim Hyunsung were from the Black Swan Guild.

They, too, wore guild insignia, and the party consisted of five women and one man.

Just like I heard...

Most of them seemed to be women. There were some differences, but they clearly looked like a single party.

The red types ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a solid front line, the bookworms with strong backline capabilities, the black swans with an overall well-balanced setup. Their stats were all somewhere in the low forties to fifties.

It was exactly what you’d expect from parties supported by their guilds.

With so many people, greeting everyone individually was a problem in itself.

And, of course, the one drawing the most attention was the priest, Sun Heeyoung.

"So you decided to take part after all."

"Yes. There was a bit of a situation... so I ended up joining Blue. Please take good care of us, everyone."

"That’s very reassuring. Haha."

"No, not really. I’m not actually all that used to dungeon expeditions myself, so I think I’ll be leaning on everyone a lot. Please take care of me."

"Of course. Then let’s be off."

From the atmosphere alone, the one leading this strike force was Choi Youngki of Red Mercenary.

His guild was the largest, and more importantly, his stats were the best.

He didn’t have Legendary-grade abilities, but he did possess Heroic-grade potential.

As a tank, his endurance and stamina were obviously in the fifties. Even his agility stat was by no means low.

If I had to describe him, he felt like an upgraded version of Park Deokgu. If Deokgu developed ideally, he would probably end up looking something like that.

"It’s an honor to see the famously talked-about party in person, Hyunsung."

"Not at all. We were just lucky. This is our first expedition, too, so we came in with the mindset of learning by watching rather than trying to prove anything."

"Hahaha. I actually watched you during the demonstration event we had before. You really made it seem like genius was a real thing. Too much modesty can be poisonous."

"I’m truly grateful you’d think of us that way."

"I can’t help but think that way. Jung Hayan, too, was absolutely amazing."

Choi Youngki of Red Mercenary was quite an easygoing man.

The Mage Guild, by contrast, had a generally quiet atmosphere.

I couldn’t quite tell what the Black Swans were thinking, but at the very least, they didn’t seem to be guarding themselves against us.

That said, it wasn’t as if they had no complaints at all. Naturally, the reason was Kim Yeri.

The Black Swans’ leader, who had been walking in silence, finally opened his mouth with the expression of someone who had decided he had to say this much at least.

"You never said you were bringing a child on the expedition, Hyunsung."

"She won’t be a hindrance. She’s a talented archer before she’s a child. I’ll make sure she doesn’t become a burden."

"Even so..."

"I’ll keep a close eye on her."

"Haa..."

It was certainly a situation where he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could have said something, but the fact that he let out such an openly exasperated sigh made him seem less than gracious.

It was the kind of thing that put the other side on the spot without even trying to hide it.

Actually, I’d already checked his stats when we first met, but I thought I should look again, so I quietly activated the Mind’s Eye.

Not bad.

I’d seen too many monstrous stat sheets for this to leave much of an impression, but just as the overall evaluation said, her growth potential wasn’t bad.

Her disposition also seemed well suited to the assassin’s class.

If I judged her stats as being sufficient to clear a Rare-grade dungeon, that seemed about right.

Trap disarmament, rear-line disruption, that sort of role, probably.

I could already see what kind of person she was.

"We’re not nannies or anything, haa..."

That impression only grew stronger when I heard the low mutter as they passed by.