I'm the Porter, Though? (3)

Hidden quest?

The noise had come from the hidden quest.

If you clear this, the Constellations give you sponsorship.

What the sponsorship would be, he had no idea. The last one had been a massive dump of experience points. Without that boost, even if Junil had spent the entire night grinding goblins, he would have barely scraped together enough to hit level 10.

Let’s clear this one too.

The reward was clearly valuable, so Junil was determined to see it through.

What the hell? Why is everything mosaicked?

Nothing was legible. Last time the objective “VIP Rescue” had shown up clearly.

After breaking free of the goblin swarm, Kim Chaeyoung let out a wild cheer.

“We made it! We’re alive!”

She flopped flat on her back, chest heaving. They had punched through the rear while collapsing the floor ahead to block the incoming wave, completely shattering the encirclement.

“Haa… we barely survived,” said the paladin Jeon Insoo, wiping cold sweat from his brow as he dropped onto a rock.

Beside him, a baby-faced young man collapsed to the ground. Another mage like Chaeyoung—Kim Seongwu.

“Ugh… I almost pissed myself. What the hell was that weird goblin? Damn it.”

Seongwu looked toward Kang Hae-il.

While the rest of the party panted on the verge of exhaustion, Hae-il alone leaned against a boulder with surprising composure.

His answer was blunt.

“No idea.”

Hae-il honestly hadn’t paid much attention to the strange goblin.

That’s not what matters right now.

His gaze drifted to the man standing a short distance away—the porter, Moon Junil.

How did he know?

Junil’s suggestion to break through the rear had been a solid call in the middle of that chaos. Even if he was only F-rank.

“Haa… Hae-il, you think we can actually clear this place?”

Seongwu asked, sounding a little scared.

“If you want to leave, leave now. The guy we rescued earlier already bailed.”

The person who had first posted the dungeon photos in the community had chosen to exit rather than push forward.

“Ugh…”

Seongwu flopped onto his back beside Chaeyoung and shook his head.

“I’ll stick it out. Since we’re already here, I at least want ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to see that giant goblin bastard’s face.”

“Oh~ I thought you were just a kid. You’ve got balls.”

When Chaeyoung teased him, Seongwu answered with wounded pride.

“Kid? I’m an adult, you know.”

“Really? Weren’t you a high-schooler?”

“No. I’m twenty-one.”

“Then after this, let’s grab some fried chicken and beer with noona. I’m starving.”

“…R-really? I’m in!”

Meanwhile, Junil was staring at the Constellation chat.

He was checking whether anyone had noticed him using Mana Punch on the ground earlier.

A few sharp-eyed viewers were convinced, but most weren’t. The general stance was “impossible to tell.” Even the Constellations were on the fence, which meant he had used it perfectly.

Your skills haven’t dulled at all, Julian.

By channeling mana into a structurally weak patch of ground and detonating it, the result looked no different from an ordinary sinkhole. The fact that he had recreated the technique flawlessly even in the modern era left Junil quietly proud.

But…

At the same time, something strange was happening.

Why are they fighting?

This kind of thing had never happened before. It seemed the Constellations who had crossed over from Kang Hae-il’s channel were clashing with the ones who normally watched Junil’s stream.

The Constellations insisting Junil was Sagosul were being treated like conspiracy nuts.

They still don’t know.

Junil was an extra. Only the seven hundred Constellations who had entered his channel cared about him. Most Constellations only received edited information through the protagonist. Since the protagonist refused to acknowledge Junil as Sagosul, they naturally thought the same.

They’ll figure it out little by little eventually.

If he kept performing near Kang Hae-il, more Constellations would realize the porter was Sagosul.

Once enough of them know… Hae-il is going to start feeling the pressure.

The longer Hae-il remained oblivious, the more frustrated the Constellations would become with him. His own viewer count would drop. Just like how, back when he was Julian, countless Constellations had abandoned the party because they couldn’t identify the traitor among them.

“Shall we reorganize and move out again?”

Paladin Jeon Insoo stood up, suggesting.

“Sounds good.”

Kang Hae-il nodded and took the lead.

“Hey. You.”

Suddenly Hae-il turned to look at Junil.

“…Me?”

“Yeah. Have you seen swarm goblins before?”

“Huh? Why?”

“You reacted like you had earlier.”

Junil thought for a moment before answering. Better to be clear than risk a misunderstanding.

“Ah… yes. The phenomenon happened in the direction I came from.”

“I see. I’ll be counting on you going forward.”

“Oh, yes. Just leave it to me.”

It really was about leaving the luggage.

“I’ll take care of the items!”

Whoosh. Whoosh.

Junil swept up everything the goblins had dropped and stored it all in his inventory.

The Constellations were losing it.

Good grief.

Junil deliberately ignored the chat and followed after the party members. The public opinion was noisy right now, but he couldn’t let it shake him.

Just concede the small stuff and take the important things.

What was important?

What was the reason this dungeon existed?

A few quick-witted viewers had already figured it out. They understood why Junil was enduring all this humiliation and still following the party.

The boss monster.

I’m taking that Champion Goblin’s experience.

When the dungeon boss appeared, Junil would show his true colors.

Yet his eyes kept lingering on certain comments in particular.

Magnet pet is a bit much…

Even a seven-time regressor could only take so much continuous bombardment from the Constellations.

“They’re here again!”

The party soon ran into another wave of goblins.

“Grrrrr…”

“Graaaah!”

Swarm goblins with bloodshot eyes, charging on all fours.

BOOM!

Kang Hae-il’s flames wiped out the first group, but this time there were even more.

Slash!

Goblin blades scored across Hae-il’s upper body.

“Ugh.”

“Hae-il! Get behind my barrier!”

Paladin Jeon Insoo stepped forward to buy time, but—

“Kiiiiaaak!”

“Grrrrk!”

Crack—

The barrier shattered almost instantly. With the frontliners faltering, the mages grew anxious.

“Damn it, why are there so many!?”

“W-we’re screwed. Shouldn’t we just leave, noona?”

When the mages started whining, Junil spoke up beside them.

“It’s not a complete encirclement like before. If we hold formation and fight properly, we can win.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Use big spells. Those work best on swarms.”

“B-big spells? They all rush you the second you start casting.”

Seongwu looked at Junil with clear distrust.

“Just cast it already! Stop listening to that guy!”

Chaeyoung didn’t even turn around as she launched her magic. In her panic she only used small, rapid-fire spells.

Bang! Bang!

Those will all get dodged, you idiot.

Swarm goblins might have lost all reason, but their reaction speed was terrifying. Trying to win with speed was pointless. The correct move was to use wide-area high-tier magic so they couldn’t dodge.

“Big spells…”

Junil tried to advise again, but it seemed to break their concentration.

“Aagh! Shut up already!”

Whoosh! Pew!

The mages stubbornly kept spamming low-tier spells.

Getting interrupted while focusing was annoying whether you were studying or casting magic.

This is frustrating.

Junil was the one who felt stifled. Swarm goblins couldn’t interrupt big spell casting because their minds were broken. That made large-area magic several times more effective.

That was when—

“Mages.”

Kang Hae-il spoke while wrapping a bandage around his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wound.

“Yes?”

“This guy has fought swarm goblins before. Listen to him.”

Seongwu finally burst out.

“But Hae-il! How can you trust an F-rank’s judgment!?”

“…Hm.”

Crack.

Hae-il rolled his neck once, then stepped outside the barrier again as he answered.

“Just.”

“Huh?”

“Just trust him. What else can we do? We’ve never fought them before.”

“…”

It was illogical, yet somehow the correct judgment. When Hae-il put it that way, Chaeyoung seemed willing to accept it.

“So we should use big spells, right?”

“Noona!? You’re really going to?”

Seongwu looked at her like she had lost her mind. He had seen countless mages die while taking too long to cast.

She simply shrugged.

“Seongwu, prepare your water magic. I’ll handle the big spell.”

“Ugh… fine.”

Crackle!

Chaeyoung and Seongwu began casting. Several blue magic circles overlapped.

Big spells took a long time to cast and shone brilliantly, practically screaming “hit me,” but swarm goblins didn’t understand that.

“Grrrk! Grk!”

They simply charged whatever was in front of them.

While Hae-il and Insoo held the line, Chaeyoung and Seongwu finished casting.

“Here it comes!”

Seongwu’s water-attribute magic shot forward. Dozens of highly pressurized water bombs flew out, turning the goblins into pincushions.

“Over here too!”

Chaeyoung’s lightning spell joined in. Powerful bolts bounced between targets, and—

CRACKLECRACKLECRACKLE—!

The goblins were charred black and collapsed. Explosions followed.

“…Wow.”

Chaeyoung’s mouth fell open unconsciously. Seongwu glanced at Junil and muttered.

“B-big spells really do work. Sorry, porter hyung. I was rude earlier—”

“Shh.”

Junil raised a finger to his lips.

“?”

Thud.

A heavy footstep echoed.

It’s here.

Junil had already mentally prepared himself, but the others had not. They had forgotten one crucial thing.

This world might look like a game, but it wasn’t actually a game. Bosses didn’t give polite warnings or wait obediently in their rooms.

Especially not the Champion Goblin—the smartest and strongest of an already cunning race.

“KRRRRAAAAAAAAH!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The footsteps grew louder.

No way that guy would show up honestly. Where is it?

“What? S-side?!”

“Side? The wall is—”

CRASH!

“—huh?”

The wall exploded as a massive figure burst through.

CRACK!

One party member was smashed by the Champion Goblin’s iron mace. The body flew like a baseball hit by a bat and slammed into the opposite wall with a deafening boom.

Thud—

Damn it.

It had happened in the blink of an eye.

“S-Seongwu…?”

Chaeyoung tried to run to him in disbelief, but—

“Don’t.”

Junil grabbed her shoulder.

“Let go! Let go of me!”

“You can’t. We can’t lose another mage.”

“What?”

Ding.

Chaeyoung’s eyes trembled violently.

Kim Seongwu was dead.

Of course he died right after promising to get chicken and beer.

It was a flag Junil had seen hundreds of times. He wasn’t particularly surprised.

“N-no way!”

“Hic… Seongwu!”

The party’s morale was collapsing.

“He’s… dead?”

Even Kang Hae-il’s eyes were shaking.

This is…

Crack.

Junil loosened his wrists.

It looked like he might have to step forward sooner than planned.

Just taking the last hit won’t be enough anymore.