Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: A New Beginning (4)
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A week had passed before we knew it, and the day of our party's first expedition had arrived.
"Hyun-jin, got everything packed? Don't forget the potions and camping gear."
"All set, hyung-nim."
Kang I-seo sidled up beside me with a weary expression.
"Hey, why'd you pack so meticulously? Isn't this... a bit much?"
"Don't talk like you've got it easy. You never know what'll happen on an expedition. Out there, if you need something, there's no way to get it."
"Yeah, that's true, but..."
"Hold up. Did you pack spare clothes? What about cold-weather gear?"
"Huh?"
"...Hey, you crazy bitch! Wanna freeze to death? Who the hell packs like this for camping?!"
"S-Sorry."
"Shit, what's in your bag? All junk. You skipped the essentials for useless crap."
"Ugh..."
"You know we aren't taking a cart this time, right? They said newbies train hard, so we're walking."
"...Yeah."
"So you need to recover as much stamina as possible when camping or resting. Got it?"
"......"
"Yu-rim... where you sneaking off to? Get over here with your bag."
"...Oppa."
"Tch... Ditch this, this, and this. Pack thicker clothes for spare."
"...Got it."
"Yu-hyeon."
".....Yes."
Lee Yu-hyeon, who had been quietly slipping away bit by bit, shuffled over when I called him.
"Bag."
"...Here."
"...Clothes look good. But where's your mana potion?"
"...No idea. Sorry..."
"Sigh... Yu-hyeon, you know mana conservation is your top priority, right? Whether you have mana left for shields is a big deal."
"......"
"I've got spare mana recovery potions. Fill your bag with these."
"...Thanks, hyung."
'Sigh... damn it.'
Checking the party's prep, it was a mess. Except for Seo Yu-ju and Ho-won ajusshi, everyone acted like it was a picnic.
For some reason, Seo Yu-ju watched my fussing with a pleased smile, like a wife seeing her husband prep the kids for their first day of school.
Good thing I'd told them to wake up an hour early. If we'd woken on time and dealt with this chaos, we'd have missed departure for sure.
After checking Song Ha-eun last, I turned to Seo Yu-ju.
"Sigh... All set, Yu-ju-ssi."
"Hehe... Good. Let's head to the first floor."
Down on the first floor, one clan member joining our expedition waited for us.
"Hello. Nice to work with you."
I greeted the man and opened his status window.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
⚡ Strength:84
💨 Agility:87
✨ Magic Power:81
💪 Stamina:85
🍀 Luck:70
🛡️ Endurance:83
[Name: Lee Jae-hyo]
[Age: 35]
[Job: Advanced Spearman (Hero Grade)]
[Title: Hard Worker, Participant in Maters Gorge War]
[Unique Trait]
Training Addiction (Hero Grade) - The longer you train, the greater the effects.
Flexible Movement (Hero Grade) - Move your body more fluidly. Agility permanently +8.
[Traits]
Unity of Spear and Soul (Legend Grade) - Greatly increased spear arts comprehension.
Master of Hand-to-Hand Combat (Hero Grade) - Significantly increased hand-to-hand comprehension.
'Interesting status window.'
Job was Advanced Spearman, an upgrade from regular Spearman. Traits weren't standout, but the stats were impressively high.
'Guess that's why the title says Hard Worker.'
The man accepted our greetings and introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you, new clan recruits. I've heard a lot about you. I'm Lee Jae-hyo, party leader of Party 6."
'Executive...'
Party 6 leader meant one of the clan executives.
His look was average aside from armor, but notable: slicked-back hair and scars around his eyes.
"Anyway, you're all set, so let's head out."
And so we followed Lee Jae-hyo out of the city.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After walking outside the city and time changing from day to evening, I asked Lee Jae-hyo something I was curious about.
“I have one question. May I ask?”
“Of course. Please speak comfortably. In the end, this expedition’s protagonists are you. Think of me as a bodyguard to prevent unforeseen situations.”
“Understood. I heard we would enter the dungeon together with members of the Incarnation Clan. Will we meet them inside the dungeon?”
“Ah, not inside… more precisely, we agreed to meet at the dungeon entrance. The dungeon isn’t that far, so we’ll probably arrive tomorrow.”
“I see.”
“We’ll have to camp midway. Just in case I ask… did everyone pack camping tools?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then there shouldn’t be a big problem. For reference… from here on, monsters may appear, so please be careful. Though it is a frontier, there are occasionally monsters that have strayed from their groups.”
“Yes, understood.”
Sure enough, after about 30 more minutes of movement, a grotesque apricot-colored humanoid monster appeared, slightly larger than a person, with one large eyeball embedded in its face.
Everyone except Lee Jae-hyo and Seo Yu-ju looked shocked at the sight of the monster they were seeing for the first time.
Not only was it larger than a person, but its overall appearance was grotesque.
“Wh-what the fuck is that?! This crazy…!”
Kang I-seo blurted out a curse, unable to contain admiration at the monster’s shitty appearance.
Seeing that Lee Jae-hyo remained still even after the monster appeared, it seemed that unless it was a dangerous situation, he had no intention to intervene.
We couldn’t disappoint a clan executive watching. I immediately regained my composure and shouted to everyone.
“Everyone, get a grip! Mr. Ho-won has already blocked the front line with his shield, so take your positions!”
We matched basic front line, middle line, and rear line positions. It was a monster we were seeing for the first time, so we needed to understand its behavior pattern.
Glancing at Seo Yu-ju, it seemed she also had no intention of stepping in directly. It looked like she wanted to see how we performed in real combat.
Certainly, if Seo Yu-ju joined the battle, it would become too easy. For our growth, this way was definitely more helpful.
‘It has one eye.’
And that eye was extremely large. Almost occupying the entire face.
“First, take away its vision! Kang I-seo!”
Kang I-seo immediately shot an arrow after hearing my words, but the monster raised both hands and blocked the arrow.
Certainly, compared to the monsters in the Tutorial, the monsters here seemed to perform basic defense.
Whether instinct or not, it seemed to know how to block threatening attacks.
As if everyone thought they needed to prevent it from using its arms, from behind Mr. Ho-won, Hyun-jin and Yu-rim sprang out from left and right respectively and attacked the monster.
“…Hup!”
Yu-rim immediately stabbed a dagger into its right arm, and Hyun-jin immediately cut its left arm with his sword.
Slash—
“Kuooooooo—!”
“Fuck, this monster bastard. Not only its looks, but even its scream is fucking weird.”
I agreed with Kang I-seo’s words. At the same time she spoke, she shot an arrow into its empty eye.
With the arrow embedded in its eye, the monster grabbed its face with both hands and rolled on the ground. When Mr. Ho-won struck down with his shield, it failed to evade, and the eye area burst as is, dying instantly.
“Phew…”
As everyone caught their breath after battle, Lee Jae-hyo spoke.
“Hmm… certainly, for rookies, your skills are good. Especially identifying the weakness immediately and shooting an arrow at the eye was very good judgment.”
Although the monster blocked the arrow once, Lee Jae-hyo seemed to evaluate the decision itself positively.
“Especially Mr. Ho-won did very well. The one who immediately took position as soon as the monster appeared was Mr. Ho-won.”
Certainly, excluding Seo Yu-ju, Mr. Ho-won was the most accustomed to combat among us.
“Overall, everyone did excellently. Of course, this monster was excessively weak, but quickly regaining composure and shouting to take positions, Mr. Lee Yun-seong, you also did well.”
“…Thank you.”
“To be honest, at this level for rookies, there’s no need for me to intervene yet. I understand why the Clan Master recruited you and was so pleased.”
Honestly, I didn’t expect this much praise, so it was becoming burdensome.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean you should become arrogant. This monster is called Evil Eye… a very weak monster. Inside the dungeon, it will be different from this case, so I hope you don’t loosen your tension too much.”
“Of course.”
“Good. Let’s move again.”
While moving, I asked Lee Jae-hyo.
“Will the Evil Eye monster we just faced appear in the dungeon we’re heading to?”
“I can’t say for certain, but probably not only Evil Eye—stronger monsters will appear as well. Evil Eye is a monster commonly seen outside cities.”
While fighting it, it did feel excessively weak. Of course, that was partly because we had grown, but it felt only slightly stronger than the monsters we faced in the Tutorial.
“The dungeon we’re heading to now is a Normal-grade dungeon. At most, it would be a Rare-grade dungeon.”
“The dungeon grade isn’t known precisely?”
“Usually, it’s judged by the monsters appearing at the entrance or early area. Players estimate and assign the grade.”
“……”
“You don’t need to worry too much. The reason I said at most Rare grade is because even if there is an estimation error, it’s usually within one grade.”
I understood what he meant. If players estimate a dungeon as Rare grade, even with error, at most it would be Hero grade.
After hearing Lee Jae-hyo’s words, I felt like I understood why there was a gap between large clans and others.
If a large clan decided to raid a Hero-grade dungeon, they would dispatch manpower prepared for even a Legend-grade dungeon.
On the other hand, small and mid-sized clans without such capacity would raid with manpower suited exactly for Hero grade.
‘Because they lack manpower and lack supplies.’
They have no capacity to prepare for the worst.
‘Well, that’s not our concern.’
We had moved quite a bit, and night was approaching. Perhaps thinking it was time to camp, Lee Jae-hyo spoke.
“We should find a place to camp soon. From my memory, if we move a little further, a fairly wide clearing will appear. We’ll camp there.”
“Yes, understood.”
As he said, after moving a bit more, a wide clearing appeared. It seemed they had pre-surveyed the route and camping location in advance.
‘…This is why people keep praising large clans.’
The starting line itself is completely different. While others must grow while risking their lives walking a tightrope, in our case almost all risk factors are excluded and we can grow following guidelines.
“Since everyone packed camping tools, we will set up camp here and stay overnight. As for night watch order—”
Though presumptuous, I interrupted Lee Jae-hyo and spoke.
“I learned Alarm Magic, so wouldn’t it be unnecessary for everyone to stand night watch?”
As if he hadn’t even imagined that I, a Dark Sorcerer, would have learned Alarm Magic, Lee Jae-hyo asked back.
“…You learned Alarm Magic?”
“Yes. It seemed necessary for camping… Honestly, since other party members handle combat power, I learned it to handle the party members’ convenience.”
I needed to score points at times like this. I needed to imprint the recognition that I was someone who thinks broadly for the party or clan, not just for myself.
Sure enough, from his expression, I could tell his evaluation of me had risen a level.
Even the party members widened their eyes, as if they hadn’t thought I would learn Alarm Magic.
‘You brats… I learned it thinking of you. Aren’t you grateful, hyung?’
“Good. If you learned Alarm Magic, there’s no need to stand night watch. Let’s camp as is.”