Chapter 20: Someone Better than You

[I didn't buy more than I thought, how much is the total?]

Lee Minhwa, who was watching the monitor, turned her head and locked eyes with Team Leader Park, who had a serious expression.

"Team Leader."

"Yeah." Team Leader Park sighed. He was wondering if his worldview had been turned upside down.

"He doesn't care about the legendary quest at all…?"

"Seems like it."

Roina only mentioned red bean jelly and Allon to Minhyuk. With only that, she had gotten around the inhibitions and influence of the God of?Athenae.

"My god…he?actually?wanted to eat red bean jelly, more than obtaining a legendary class, so much that he went straight to see Allon…"

It was so ridiculous to the point where Team Leader Park almost laughed.

"Ah, that's right. Player Minhyuk. Isn't this his first dungeon hunt?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Compared to solo field hunting, aren't you supposed to form a party for your first dungeon hunt? In the first place, Twilight Graveyard wasn't made for party hunting, right?"

Team Leader Park nodded. A party was the requirement for the first dungeon hunt quest.

‘No, by right, Minhyuk would have to meet the hunting NPC, and ask for the hunting NPC's guidance, to trigger the first hunt.’

Most general RPG games had stages. Swinging one’s sword, picking up items, going on one’s first hunt. Once a player completed these steps, they would be able to move on to the next stage. Few RPG games broke away from this tradition.

In the same vein,?Athenae?required players to undertake a party hunt quest. In fact, players were not allowed to enter the dungeon alone before finishing the quest.

"What, it's a party hunting tutorial, so it's not that hard. And, he would be able to get a job after finishing Twilight Graveyard."

"Well…"

‘Maybe he was interested in the items that the boss mob drops?’

"Ah, how is that player doing, the one who received the?Puppeteer?class?"

"Yes, the secret class?Puppeteer. It’s a much stronger class than what we first thought, he’s growing very fast. Anyhow, that player right now…"

.

Team Leader Park was wearing a curious expression, while Lee Minhwa looked back at him with astonishment.

"...He's looking for party members to go to Twilight Graveyard?"

***

Minhyuk finally met with Charlie, the hunting NPC that Roina recommended. She had told him that he would have a smooth hunting quest if he met with Charlie.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Oho, you have already hunted the chestnut demons? Boy, I think you're a bit strong."

"Thank you for your praise. Hehe."

"You're going to Twilight Graveyard… Boy, you have to form a party for your first dungeon hunt."

"Eh?"

"You should know that parties are?very?important in?Athenae, right?"

"Yes, I heard about it."

"That's why it's impossible for you to go on your first dungeon hunt without a party."

Party hunt. A hunt where several people gathered together to attack a dungeon that was hard for them to defeat on their own. The experience, items and gold would be clearly divided between the party members.

'I…I had been too preoccupied with pork. I looked into the Twilight Graveyard, but I didn't look through the rest of the tutorial.’

"Well then, go party hunting. Ah, wait. You don't have to come back to me to get the rewards for the party hunt. Also, unlike other tutorials, you will be able to get experience if you catch monsters."

Ring!

[Quest:?First Party Hunt]

Rank:?Tutorial

Requirements: None

Rewards: +5 bonus points, 10,000 gold

Penalty for Failure: None

Description: Party hunting is a very important aspect of Athenae. Learn the system for party hunting.

Minhyuk thought about it for a moment.

'D…don't tell me…'

He was extremely worried.

'There are other players who want to get pork, like me…?!'

Of course, this was just Minhyuk's personal concern. There would definitely be no other player like Minhyuk.

'Eyy, I don't know if we can share the pork though…'

Minhyuk was genuinely concerned about the things that he did not know about. As he mulled over those things, he bid goodbye to Charlie and moved towards the central plaza.

"Your desired job is close at hand, get them here. Quickly!"

"Who wants to join the Lizard Tail Quest, urgently needed!"

"I'm Blue Palm's Powerade Flavor!"

"Looking for?Athenae?GF! I'm thirteen years old, and they call me Fire Fist Ace in school! Not too long ago, I defeated Shanks of Eunpyong Elementary School!"

The central square was still as lively as ever.

Minhyuk looked around to find people recruiting party members to raid the Twilight Graveyard. He squeezed through the gaps between players and continued to look around.

At that moment…

"Twilight Gathering, quickly looking for members. One spot left!"

"Oh."

Minhyuk walked towards the voice and saw a cheerful-looking man. The player was wearing the Beginner’s Leather Armor and holding a spear.

"Your Twilight Gathering party is going to the Twilight Graveyard, right?"

"Yes, you're right," He nodded at him kindly.

"Can I join your party?"

"What's your class?"

Minhyuk's words got stuck in his throat.

‘Come to think of it, I heard that everyone can change their class once they reach Level 10.’

Of course, anyone could switch from their regular class, if they satisfied the conditions for a Special class in the future.

"I don't have one yet. Ah, but I'm already at Level 10."

"Hmm…" The man groaned at Minhyuk’s words.

"Is this your first party hunt quest?"

"Yes."

"Well, it doesn't really matter. It would be the last Twilight Gathering, so one more person is fine. We'll bring you along for the ride."

He then stretched his hands, which were held in a fist, towards Minhyuk. If two players bumped their fists lightly, they would be notified of a party formation.

Tap—

[Would you like to join the Twilight Gathering Party?]

[Yes / No]

"Yes."

[You have joined the Twilight Gathering Party.]

"Then, this way please. I'll first introduce you to the two other party members who joined before you. Ah right, my name’s Roy. I'm a spearman, and I'm at Level 15."

"I'm Minhyuk."

"Oh, your name is cool."

Athenae?only showed the nicknames and the levels of the players in the party window, hence it was necessary for people to report their job classes to one another.

The two men walked together until they saw a man and a woman sitting on one of the benches in the central plaza.

"I've brought the last party member. Say hello."

The woman had brown bob hair and a shabby beige robe. It was quite obvious at first glance, that she had just changed class to a novice Mage. The man was about 170cm in height. He had red hair, and was holding a shoddy hatchet while wearing a shoddy leather armor, to nobody’s surprise.

"Hello. I'm Rakku, a mage. I'm Level 13."

"I'm Minhyuk. Level 10. I have no class yet."

"Ah, no class…"

Before Rakku could help it, she shot a quick glance at Roy, the party leader. She did a double-take when she realized what she had said.

"Ah, ah, sorry," Rakku quickly apologized to Minhyuk. She was probably apprehensive because Minhyuk had a low level and had no job class. However, she recollected herself and apologized, because she thought that Minhyuk would take offense with her words.

"Ah, it happens. It's fine."

'It's just a game but she has manners.' Minhyuk thought to himself.

"Party Leader."

"Yes?"

"He has no class and he's a complete novice, wouldn't it be too risky for us?"

"This would be the last Twilight Gathering, so it's fine. Besides, I can deal with the attacks so it should be fine. Actually, we should be able to break it with just the three of us, but I still got another one, just in case."

"Is that so?"

The man did not even bother introducing himself properly. He just said his name curtly at Minhyuk and stared at him.

"I'm Ver."

"Hello, I'm Minhyuk."

"...?"

Chew, chew?

Minhyuk believed that he did not need to consider being kind to someone who was unfriendly to him. That was why he just ate his bread without any concern.

As for Ver, he did not like Minhyuk the moment he saw him.

'Ah… He's handsome. Annoying.'

Ver was an ugly man. When he stood next to Minhyuk, he somehow looked like a hobbit. And even though they had only just met, he had already decided that he was in love with Rakku. To be exact, he was a man who was quick to fall in love with any woman he met.

‘Tsk.’

Even though Minhyuk was not interested, Ver still thought there was a feeling of rivalry between them, albeit one-sidedly!

"You're very tall."

Chew, chew. "Thank you!" ?Minhyuk replied happily to Rakku's compliment.

'Ah, as expected I hate him…' ?Ver's forehead wrinkled in disgust. It was a common case of inferiority complex.

"Then, let's depart now."

"Yes!"

"Depaaart~"

Four players walked to the exit of Isbin Village and headed for the forest.

"Is your fullness low?"

"No, I'm eating because it's delicious."

"Deli…cious?" Rakku tilted her head in confusion at Minhyuk's calm response.

'I think he has already eaten about ten of those.'

It was normal for a character to feel full after all of that. However, Minhyuk was still eating the castella cake diligently.

'It's really delicious…!'

Minhyuk had already earned lots of gold, that was why he was rich enough to buy many pieces of castella bread. He had even bought milk, and as he drank it with the soft castella, the combination melted gently in his mouth.

'I hate castella, but when I watch him eat it… I…I feel like I want to eat one.'

Rakku tilted her head in confusion.

"Rakku, have you seen the movie?'A Man's Story'?"

"Yes, I’ve seen it."

Her forehead creased because of Ver. She knew when a man was interested in her, compared to a man who was not. Ver was very obvious with his flirting. While she was not a person who was sold on looks, Ver was coming on too much, just?too?much.

"Do you like spaghetti?"

"I hate it."

"Then what type of rice do you like?"

"I don't eat rice because I have allergies."

"...You're allergic to rice? Then, did you watch the movie?'Bad'?"

"Yes."

"That's right, it hasn't been released ye… Huh?" Ver looked at her blankly.

Rakku, who did not want to put up with his pestering, quickly went over to Minhyuk's side. With stars in her eyes, she watched Minhyuk eat deliciously. Meanwhile, Minhyuk had just gulped down the white milk after stuffing half of the castella in his mouth.

Her throat bobbed.

Gulp.

"Can I have some of tha…"

"Impossible."

'He stopped me with a no in an instant…'

Rakku pouted in dismay, while Minhyuk smiled brightly. He was kind, but that did not mean that he would share his food with just anyone. He truly was a peculiar man.

"Today's party sure is lively." Roy grinned. "We're near."

The other players nodded at his words. They exchanged a few words here and there as they walked. It was mainly Roy and Rakku who talked, while Ver and Minhyuk stayed silent.

"Ah, you're doing this for the quest."

"Yes, if I finish this quest, they will give me a novice staff."

‘Well, it was one of the usual reasons.’

Not long after, they arrived in front of the Twilight Graveyard. The entrance to the dungeon was quite similar to the entrance of a cave. They saw a guide written on top of it.

[Limited to Level 10-15 players, up to 4 party members only.]

Some dungeon instances would have such a thing written, while some did not.

"Then, let's get in positions. Me and Ver will pull aggro on it and strike it, while Rakku will shoot at it with magic. Minhyuk, you can help us out when we really need it. Don't overdo it."

‘A Level 10, plus it’s his first party quest.’

In fact, sometimes, novices could make mistakes and ruin a party hunt. That was the reason why Minhyuk became someone who he would call on, only when needed.

"Yes, I understand."

"I have activated the automatic distribution system; we're splitting the drops into 4 equally. If you obtain a good item, you can sell it separately."

As soon as the automatic distribution was activated, all the gold and items would be divided into equal parts. For example, if they obtained 40 gold, then each of them would receive 10 gold. In the case of items, it would be given randomly, and if anyone was lucky, they would be able to get a lot.

However, there was not much difference to the items that each individual could receive. Furthermore, they would not know who would receive what item, unless they were willing to divulge.

"I don't think anyone would eat and run. Let's go."

They walked into the Twilight Graveyard dungeon.

[You have entered Twilight Graveyard.]

[There will be a penalty for leaving the instance without completing the raid.]