Chapter 70: D-rank Prospect (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: D-rank Prospect (3)
"From now on, I am the party leader. No honorifics, and all orders come from me."
As Jeong Yeon-woo’s now-famous line signaling the start of a dungeon raid played out, exclamations erupted from the crowd watching the giant electronic display.
Some let out erotic moans of excitement, others cheered, and some even shouted the line in perfect synchronization with the Jeong Yeon-woo on the screen.
Though only a D-rank Hero, the Unicorn Party had already secured a massive fanbase that reacted to their every move.
"As expected of Square Garden. They know exactly what’s important."
A woman wearing plain clothes and thick-rimmed glasses adjusted her spectacles to get a better look at the screen.
The situation room at Break Line had been incompetent, but the staff at Square Garden’s situation room were all high-level professionals.
The drone pilot filmed the scene smoothly, and the operator, knowing exactly what the audience wanted, gave Jeong Yeon-woo a solo shot just as he was about to deliver his opening line.
"They filmed him in a bust shot at eye level. Then, they used a zoom so slow it’s almost imperceptible to build tension. They started with generous headroom to make it feel comfortable, but by the time Yeon-woo-chan finished his line, they tightened the headroom to focus entirely on his expression."
"...Uh... you don't really need to explain all that."
Seeing the glasses-wearing woman explain things as if talking to herself, her friend stopped her with an awkward smile.
The constant glances from the people around them were becoming a burden.
However, the woman didn't care whether people stared or not; she remained focused solely on the screen.
"He was cool with the dual pistols, but he looks sexy as hell holding an assault rifle."
"That’s not an assault rifle; it’s a submachine gun. It’s the 5.56 caliber version made by FE Corporation with a shortened casing..."
As the woman began to nitpick the other women nearby, her friend quickly covered her mouth and bowed to the onlookers, apologizing and telling them not to mind her.
The woman pouted at the screen, clearly dissatisfied at being unable to finish her explanation.
Kwon Ye-jin’s role as the Defender remained the same, but this time, Jeong Yeon-woo had taken over as the main Attacker.
Yoon A-young, the Unicorn Party's sole Attacker, supported Kwon Ye-jin and focused on keeping the monsters at bay, creating space for Jeong Yeon-woo to fire comfortably.
The crowd felt a sense of catharsis as monsters were mowed down by the flashes of fire erupting from Jeong Yeon-woo’s submachine gun.
To people accustomed to monsters being killed with melee weapons, arrows, or magic, the sight of them dying helplessly to gunfire was refreshing.
"O traveler standing on the boundary between life and death..."
The 'Pharaoh’s Question,' a line so famous even ordinary citizens knew it, began.
It was a massive statue that exuded an aura of intimidation, but in the public's mind, it was nothing more than a pushover.
"Rest, Resurrection, Recreation."
Even before the Pharaoh could ask, one of the spectators muttered the answer with a bored expression.
"Seriously, even I could clear that. I don't get why they're hyping it up so much."
People turned to look at the man who had complained.
No matter how lenient society was toward men, such comments were not easily tolerated.
The man, however, didn't back down and met the women's glares head-on.
"What? I'm right. They only went to a safe place for their final dungeon because they didn't want to make a mistake. Protecting us from monsters, my ass. He's just a show-off full of vanity."
Even as people scowled, the man didn't stop talking.
Those who had already fought countless battles over this in online comment sections didn't bother responding.
Because the Unicorn Party's track record had been so incredible, expectations were high; thus, a part of them also questioned why Jeong Yeon-woo had chosen such an easy dungeon for the finale.
The 'Pharaoh’s Question' had become a mandatory course for any D-rank Hero aiming for C-rank, but because the expectations were so high, it made the Unicorn Party look bad for no reason.
When no one responded, the man, emboldened, looked at the screen with a sneer.
The drone captured the three of them from the front.
Flanked by Kwon Ye-jin and Yoon A-young, Jeong Yeon-woo looked up at the Pharaoh and smirked.
Clack—
There wasn't an actual sound, but their movements were so perfectly synchronized that the audience felt as if they had heard one.
Standing with their legs shoulder-width apart, the three of them simultaneously raised their left hands and flipped the bird at the Pharaoh.
"Eat shit."
As fire spewed from Jeong Yeon-woo’s submachine gun, the man’s face turned to one of shock, and the crowd erupted in a cheer loud enough to shake the surroundings.
The lingering negative feelings in their hearts were instantly swept away, and the crowd worked themselves into a frenzy of excitement.
Boasting the Unicorn Party's signature teamwork and tactical movement, they began to dismantle the Pharaoh.
"Yoon A-young, save your mana."
At the sound of Jeong Yeon-woo’s serious voice, the women in the crowd looked dazed.
A man giving orders to women so confidently—some women in the audience were even trembling, as if his words alone were enough to make them come.
"I wish Yeon-woo-chan would give me orders in bed like that."
"Kneel. Suck it."
"Hnn... Fuck, stop it. I'm throbbing just imagining it."
A few rough-looking women laughed loudly, making lewd comments without a care for those around them.
However, the people nearby didn't scowl at them or tell them not to speak vulgarly about a Hero.
In truth, they all felt the same way.
There was another scene that brought the collectively excited women to a climax all at once.
Flash!
A red flash fired from Jeong Yeon-woo’s gun pierced through the massive Pharaoh.
"Yeon-woo-chan shot his load!"
Accompanied by a woman's cheer—though it was unclear exactly what she meant by "shot"—the Pharaoh’s body crumbled.
As the massive Pharaoh collapsed in front of Jeong Yeon-woo, who was calmly dusting off his hands after discarding a melted pistol, the previous roar of the crowd was absent.
Most were looking at the screen with satisfied expressions, their faces subtly flushed.
"I'm spent."
"Me too."
Muttering nonsensical things, the women looked at each other with warm, knowing smiles before turning away in embarrassment.
"I wonder if Yeon-woo-chan’s 'condensed milk' shoots out like that too?"
"If it did, your pussy would catch fire."
"I wouldn't mind it burning if I could just taste it once."
The woman in glasses frowned at the rough-looking women making sexual jokes.
Turning her gaze back to the screen, she saw Jeong Yeon-woo being spun around in Kwon Ye-jin’s arms, looking annoyed.
'I have to buy Jeong Yeon-woo’s Hero Card the moment it comes out.'
She had been a fan before, but this was the moment a true die-hard fan was born.
Stepping out of the dungeon, I felt the cool air hit me.
I hate maze-type dungeons; they're too dusty and suffocating.
As soon as we emerged, the crowd began chanting our names with ear-splitting intensity.
Even the usually calm Yoon A-young looked around in bewilderment, clearly not expecting this level of fanatical noise.
"The press conference is in thirty minutes. For now, please hide yourselves inside the van."
The Square Garden staff, also realizing the public's reaction was beyond imagination, quickly ran over and guided us to the van.
Thunderblue isn't great for resting because it doesn't have tinted windows.
I felt bad for comparing, but as I stepped into the spacious van, the soft seats and ample room felt incredibly comfortable.
"Please let us know if you need anything."
The staff member told us to rest comfortably and closed the door.
The soundproofing was excellent, and the interior of the car became silent in an instant.
I could see the people outside still shouting something through the window, but with the noise blocked out, fatigue began to set in.
Kwon Ye-jin was excitedly pressed against the window watching the crowd, while Yoon A-young was unbuckling her gear.
"We're C-rank now. Master, Senior, good work."
"Don't get too excited over just C-rank. We're going to keep going up."
"Ehehe—just imagining it makes me happy."
Kwon Ye-jin smiled adorably and bowed her head slightly.
Her excited expression, filled with overwhelming emotion, was both sexy and innocent.
Damn, this is the kind of atmosphere where I should be making a move.
The high of achieving a goal, the public clearly visible outside the window...
It had all the elements for excitement, yet I couldn't do anything.
I should have gotten intimate with Yoon A-young sooner; this is my punishment for being too relaxed.
Well—even excluding Yoon A-young, there were the staff members.
Though they were keeping their presence minimal to avoid disturbing us, there were three support team staff members in the van.
One in the driver's seat, one in the passenger seat, and one at the very back collecting the gear Yoon A-young and I had taken off to put into bags.
Nothing I can do about it.
Hoping for a wild party in the van later, I pulled off my sweat-soaked shirt.
"Whoa, Master. Not here."
"I'm not doing anything. Can you give me a towel?"
"... ..."
Kwon Ye-jin giggled as she looked at my body.
Yoon A-young and the staff members also stared at me blankly.
I took the towel from the staff member’s trembling hand and took my time wiping myself down.
It actually felt pretty good to tease them while being the center of attention like this.
After resting for thirty minutes and snacking on the refreshments provided in the van, we headed to the press conference hall.
We couldn't keep ignoring the reporters forever, and since we had reached C-rank, we had pre-agreed with Square Garden to make an appearance for publicity.
Questions poured in from reporters who had been desperate for our comments, but surprisingly, there wasn't much of substance.
"Why did you fight the Pharaoh when you could have cleared it easily just by answering the questions?"
"There are many quest-type dungeons. Some, like the Pharaoh, allow for a clearance through agreement with the monster. However, we are Heroes. We have no intention of compromising with monsters that threaten people's safety. I'm not saying we'll blindly charge into everything, but it is a declaration of our Unicorn Party's will not to yield to monsters."
It was convenient having Yoon A-young handle all the potentially sensitive questions.
Answering in a way that fit the image of a beloved and respected Hero made for a great narrative.
In reality, we beat him up because I needed the materials that drop from the Pharaoh’s body.
By the way, are you naturally calling us 'Unicorn' now?
And what’s with the questions directed at me?
The best question I got was whether I would continue to use firearms.
The rest were weird questions like which female Heroes I’m close with, asking me to appear on TV more often, or asking for a word to my female fans.
"You showed talent as an Attacker in the Pharaoh’s Question dungeon. Can we expect more such performances in the future?"
Finally, a proper question.
I picked up the microphone in front of me and smiled at the reporter who asked.
"No."
"... ..."
The reporter blinked in confusion, her eyes darting around.
"I am a Supporter, not an Attacker. People are focusing on me because I landed the final blow, but before that, Hero Yoon A-young froze the Pharaoh to create a weakness in its abdomen, and even before that, Hero Kwon Ye-jin kept the Pharaoh’s attention so we could move freely."
"... ..."
"This was the strength of our party; it wasn't because I was good at attacking that we defeated the Pharaoh. The reason I took the main Attacker role this time was simply because of a technique I wanted to test. Originally, there were many better tactics available. I’m just grateful to my party members for humoring my stubbornness."
When I looked over while giving them the credit, Kwon Ye-jin beamed with joy.
Though she tried to remain stoic, Yoon A-young’s gaze as she glanced at me was soft.
"In the future, I will continue to support my party members as a Supporter."
Since I, whose stock was currently at an all-time high, publicly declared myself a Supporter, people would start paying more attention to the role.
The more I continued to perform well, the more the perception of Supporters would change.
Since the Belarus incident, large clans have been researching Supporters, and if public perception improves, the balance of positions in this world will naturally stabilize.
No matter how many Jewels of Life there are, if I don't raise the overall level of the Heroes, we won't be prepared for what’s coming.
The Jewels aren't infinite, so if people keep dying, we'll eventually run out of supply and reach a point where we can't clear dungeons.
After finishing the press conference, we returned to the clan in Thunderblue.
Kwon Ye-jin and Yoon A-young were chatting in the front seats, while I rested comfortably in the back.
Perhaps excited about becoming C-rank, Yoon A-young was responding well to Kwon Ye-jin, creating a warm atmosphere that I watched with satisfaction.
Once the dungeon clearance results are processed tomorrow, we will officially be C-rank.
Once Lee Yu-na joins, I’ll have to scout for a decent Attacker as well.
With four party members and two of them being Supporters, this party is actually the most unbalanced of all.
As I was comfortably planning our future roster, a small dot caught my eye.
The dot was gradually growing larger, and Kwon Ye-jin and Yoon A-young, busy talking to each other, didn't see the projectile flying toward us.
"Kwon Ye-jin, look out!"
The moment I shouted, Kwon Ye-jin and Yoon A-young looked forward and lunged toward me.
BOOM!
Struck directly by a massive boulder, we were sent flying into the air along with Thunderblue.