Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: 1st Floor (4)
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Elena felt her heart sink without warning, and at the same time, a question arose in her mind.
'Why... me?'
To her, Lartania's lord was someone she was truly grateful for.
She couldn't be sure how much of his words were genuine, but ultimately, her growth to this point was all thanks to Kim Hyunwoo.
That said, their acquaintance—strictly speaking—had only lasted about a month at most.
No matter how grateful she was, it wasn't enough time to build deep affection.
And yet...
'Why does this feel so... bad?'
Elena felt as if something precious was being forcibly taken from her.
The sensation was utterly unfamiliar.
This wasn't like her at all.
If she'd been in a similar situation before, her usual self would have felt disappointed but accepted it with a simple, 'Oh, I see. It sucks, but what can you do?'—just as she always had.
Over the past few years, Elena had learned to adapt to reality.
That was why, despite the mocking title of "Failed Hero," she had steadily kept working like a mercenary.
By simply accepting the abuse and insults thrown her way, her mind found some peace.
Of course, it hadn't started that way. But after repeated failures and years of hardship, that defense mechanism had eroded her confidence and eventually become her fundamental way of thinking.
Until just moments ago.
"..."
Elena realized that her mood had plummeted the instant she heard Alto's voice.
And with that realization came another: she valued her relationship with the lord far more than she'd thought.
The moment that subconscious truth surfaced, her spirits sank even deeper.
As if she knew Elena...
Elena knew Alto as well.
And the Alto she knew was far stronger than Elena had been before being recruited by the lord.
That realization brought a wave of anxiety, making her hand tremble slightly on the doorknob.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of doing that."
The lord's voice rang out.
The moment the message appeared before his eyes as Elena and the expedition team exited, Kim Hyunwoo—who had been waiting for their report—was approached by Alto.
"So, you're saying you want me to hire you?"
"If that's what you desire, my lord."
Kim Hyunwoo stared blankly at Alto, who spoke in a seductive tone with a captivating expression, then opened her info window.
Traits
Clear Intuition: You can instinctively glimpse and estimate what you want to know without properly going through processes like experience, judgment, or reasoning. Keen Sight: If the target possesses talent beyond "monstrous," you can perceive the most ideal "path" for attack.
Talents
Average talent in daggers. Exceptional talent in claws. Exceptional talent in dual claws.
[View Skills]
'Oh.'
In Kim Hyunwoo's eyes, Alto's stats were decent overall.
She could even be considered quite strong among 2-stars, and the combination of her stats and talents was solid.
Her dagger, claw, and dual claw talents relied heavily on agility, after all.
In Arteil, there were heroes whose mismatched stats bloated certain abilities or had oddly high luck.
Compared to those, Alto had grown quite well.
But...
"Sorry, but I have no intention of doing that."
Kim Hyunwoo rejected her offer outright.
"...Pardon?"
Alto visibly faltered, clearly unprepared for such a swift refusal.
Looking at her, Kim Hyunwoo repeated himself.
"I appreciate the offer, but as I said, I'm not interested."
Alto's expression soured noticeably.
She looked genuinely displeased.
But Kim Hyunwoo didn't care.
He'd never intended to recruit her in the first place.
'Even if the stats synergize well, her talents don't match.'
He knew her traits were excellent, but in Arteil, traits and talents had to align properly.
No matter how overpowered Keen Sight was, it meant nothing without the talents to utilize it.
'No point in raising her like this.'
As he pondered while eyeing the displeased Alto...
"I hate to say it, but I'm far stronger than that hero. If you help me like you did Elena—"
Her words suddenly made the reason for her visit clear.
'She saw the "Failed Hero" Elena get strong and assumed I'm the reason.'
Kim Hyunwoo thought it was a reasonable misunderstanding.
'Not entirely wrong, either.'
But the one thing she missed was that Elena's rapid growth came from her "Heavenly Talent" and "Hard Worker" trait far more than from him.
Alto's talents, at least three tiers below, could never match that.
As Kim Hyunwoo opened his mouth to politely decline...
"Honestly, I don't get what you're hesitating for. Isn't it obvious that helping me would be way better than that 'Failed Hero'?"
Her words irritated him, drawing an involuntary smirk.
Alto's face twisted further, and she opened her mouth to retort.
"Not at all."
"What?"
She reflexively shot back at his response.
"In my eyes, you have far less growth potential than Elena. Plus, I don't like whiny brats who throw tantrums when they don't get their way—man or woman."
"Ha..."
Alto let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Whatever. Time will show the difference between you and Elena anyway."
With that...
"We're done here. I'll handle your reward as discussed last time, so see yourself out."
Kim Hyunwoo dismissed her.
Right after Alto left with a defiant glare that said "just watch"...
'Hm, did I come on too strong?'
Kim Hyunwoo wondered briefly but soon shook his head.
He wasn't some 5-star hero; 2-stars were a dime a dozen. He wasn't the type to tolerate someone subtly insulting his judgment.
A moment later.
"My lord, ahem... here's the report."
As Elena entered for the debrief, Kim Hyunwoo started to reply but paused, giving her a puzzled look.
"You seem unusually cheerful today?"
It was because a suppressed smile tugged at her lips, and her cheeks were faintly flushed—unlike her usual emotionless demeanor.
"Oh, uh, well—we cleared the 1st floor without any casualties this time..."
Elena averted her gaze, her voice growing softer as she explained.
Kim Hyunwoo just nodded and responded casually.
"That's great news."
"Yes, it's all thanks to you, my lord. We took no losses. Thank you so much."
She bowed deeply.
A moment later.
"...As instructed, we placed 'vacancies' in all four spots. And as you predicted, there were variants at the end."
Now somewhat composed, Elena gave her full report. Kim Hyunwoo nodded, organizing his thoughts.
'Just as expected. The 1st floor was in overrun state since I hadn't visited in ages, and the boss hasn't changed.'
Hearing confirmation of the overrun mechanic and the unchanged variant orc boss—which he'd killed hundreds of times for achievements—satisfied him.
With the labyrinth functioning as he remembered, his options expanded.
'Not 100% sure, but now I know it's working like the one I know. Time to check rewards and plan the 2nd floor.'
As he moved to sort his thoughts...
"Also, we found this on the 1st floor."
"?"
He glanced at the item placed on his desk, furrowing his brow in surprise.
"This is...?"
"Well—"
As Kim Hyunwoo picked up the blue bone with a questioning look, Elena began recounting the events, her eyes distant as if reliving them.
Soon, having heard everything...
"...So, to sum it up, this blue bone helped take down the boss?"
"That's what I think. As you know, my lord, variant orcs don't have blue bones, and it wasn't even an orc."
He stared at the blue bone while listening.
"...Do you have any idea what it might be, my lord?"
After a moment's silence to her tentative question...
"No clue."
No.
That wasn't true.
'Honestly, it rings a bell.'
The moment he saw the blue bone, a certain someone came to mind.
Out of nowhere, but unmistakably.
'...The Necromancer of the Blue Forest.'
He recalled the nickname he'd given her.
This blue bone looked just like the ones she summoned with her skills.
He'd only seen it in the mobile game, but as far as he knew, she was the only one who used blue bone summons.
Yet that was exactly why he was puzzled.
'...But she's dead.'
The Necromancer of the Blue Forest was already gone.