“For now, I think the most important thing is delivering results,” I[1] said.

“...”

“I received a lot of funds from Fertility, the Slender Tentacle, and other mid-sized familias, but there probably aren't a lot of familias that can keep investing in me. More importantly, if we don’t show any results, the attention we received in the beginning will eventually disappear. It applies to both of us. They’re hoping that we grow into a party capable of taking important roles, like leading major expeditions,” I continued.

“...”

“The reason I chose Harizel as my first destination is that I thought this was a good start for people like us. The warp gate is directly connected to the central region, but it’s not stable and still underdeveloped. High-quality equipment is also widely available in this place, and you can get items at a low price,” I explained.

“...”

“More importantly, most of the people working in Harizel are talented people who want to advance to the central region. It’s good to train players who have potential, but what the party needs right now are veterans who can become immediate assets,” I said.

“...”

“We should be able to recruit Level 4 and 5 players who couldn’t advance to the central region. They will probably be a bit uncomfortable at first, but if we show potential… they’ll beg us to join our party. What I’m looking for are unpolished gems that have yet to see the light,” I said.

“...”

“

Ah!

The only variable… is the tension between the Kirian Kingdom and the Brittinian Kingdom. I’m not sure if this information is accurate, but the Brittinian Kingdom is claiming that they were attacked with a spell cast by someone from the Kirian Kingdom. It happened yesterday, so we’ll probably get the details tomorrow,” I informed him.

“...”

“It’s too early to draw any conclusions. Even if a war breaks out right now, there’s no guarantee that the players in Harizel will join the war. Of course, if the war between these two nations ends up becoming a mainstream event… it’ll interfere with my plans… but looking at Rohen’s current situation, that probably won't happen,” I explained.

“...”

“If we move fast, we shouldn’t have any trouble creating a party,” I added.

“...”

“

Ah!

I’m thinking about having four to five people in our party. We’ll get a priest who can support you, a mage specializing in support-type magic, someone with a ranger-type class such as a thief or archer, and a tank who can take care of the frontline. Obviously, the party will be centered around you,” I informed him.

“...”

Woo Hyo-Yeol looked at me quietly while crossing his arms. He looked kind of arrogant and annoyed, and he seemed to be questioning what I was doing here.

‘It was as natural as the flowing water.’

Upon using the warp gate in the academy to reach Harizel, we registered at the Adventurer Guild, and then we checked in at an inn.

By the way, I was the first to follow Woo Hyo-Yeol. Since the accommodations were limited, it would be more advantageous to stay somewhere close to each other for basically the same price.

It was also great that we could meet every morning and talk to each other.

Of course, the wild dog tended to take a step backward whenever I took a step forward toward it, but the wild dog couldn’t leave my side at all.

‘That's a given.’

Of course, it wasn't like I welcomed him to my place, nor did I suggest that we do something together. I also wasn't calling him my comrade.

The most important thing was to make sure that everything happened naturally. I also had to eliminate the things that made him feel uncomfortable. He had communication issues, after all.

It wasn’t the best example, but living together would be a start. At some point, we’d leave our stuff in each other’s houses, and we would eventually suggest living together to save on rent. By then, we’d inevitably spend more time as we live together, which would lead to us having a stronger bond.

As time went on, we’d become like family.

It would be an ideal method to change him.

As I mentioned earlier, I never told Woo Hyo-Yeol that we could work together, as there was still a faint distance between us. We were jealous of each other’s abilities, but ironically, we respected each other. I didn’t want to let this script go to waste.

Moreover, the small incident that happened at the academy caused me to like him a bit, but only by about ten points. I liked him enough to talk to him or work with him whenever we met.

I was sure he had realized that I liked him a little bit.

If that hadn't been the case, I wouldn’t have shown him kindness when I had been cold to him all this time.

We ran into each other at the cafeteria attached to the inn for breakfast. We sat at the same table and chatted idly, but by the third day, we had started making plans together.

‘I’m sure he thinks I asked him to work together from the start.’

Of course, it wasn’t easy to break down the wall in Woo Hyo-Yeol’s heart.

“...”

“I'm sure…” Woo Hyo-Yeol paused.

“...”

“I told you I had other business,” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

‘Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you do. I already know that. Who said I didn’t know? I understand.’

“I don’t have any plans to make a party. There must’ve been a misunderstanding. Did you think I would start working with you just because I saved you once? You think that alone is enough? I just didn’t like those bastards. I came to Harizel because…”

‘Yeah, you did. You had personal business to take care of, right? Yeah, I get it.’

“I didn’t tell you this because I’m suggesting we create a party together. I just think we can help each other,” I told him.

“...”

“Efficiency is the issue. If we have the same goal, there’s no reason to work inefficiently. Investigating dungeons and going on expeditions are more effective as a group than doing it alone. I don’t even need to mention battles, and what about keeping watch during an expedition?

"You may not need help or feel uncomfortable working with others, but I’m not saying that comfort is what makes things efficient. You can’t do everything alone. You may be able to do things alone in the beginning, but you'll eventually need people to help you,” I explained.

“...”

“I won’t stop you if you really want to waste your time… but do you have a lot of time?” I asked.

“What?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

'Take this!'

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“I only have three years left,” I reminded him.

“...”

“It’s three years at most,” I said.

“What… does that have to do with me…” he asked.

“I’m not suggesting that we create a party and grow stronger. It might be better to think of them as people we recruited from an employment agency to help us handle tasks efficiently rather than call them comrades.

"We won’t build a familia house nor will we register our party to a guild. We won’t even have time to do social activities or give feedback after the expedition,” I explained.

“...”

“Obviously, you won’t need to keep in touch with the party members, and you don’t need to work with them if you feel that you don’t need them. You just need to tell me whenever you think you need people to work with, or you can also work on the tasks I found,” I told him.

“

Hmph.

”

He scoffed, but I was sure that…

‘He can’t deny what I said.’

If he hadn't picked Harizel as his starting point, then he would have worked alone, but Harizel was a place that encouraged people to go on dungeon expeditions. Since he was already here, he needed to have a party.

‘A dungeon raid can't be done in one day…’

It could take anywhere from a week to a month.

Even if one had helpful artifacts, artifacts couldn't be compared to an entire party.

A ranger capable of finding the fastest and safest path to somewhere and a mage with knowledge of esoteric languages and rune spells could be really helpful in the dungeon.

With his brain, I was sure it was difficult for Woo Hyo-Yeol to solve even basic puzzles, which was why he thought of many ways to grow stronger by himself, but…

‘That all went down the drain.’

Why?

It was all because he had decided to come to Harizel.

He had no choice, as he already wasted a lot of time at the academy.

‘It’s not bad, though.’

There was no need for him to worry about keeping in touch with his comrades. Everyone would also go their separate ways after the raid as if they were employees at a company. I had to leave the Rohen Continent someday, so there was no point in making new connections, so this was a good thing for me as well.

‘There’s no point in getting close.’

“I’m sure I told you that I had business I needed to handle,” he reminded me.

“Take care of your business. I have a lot of work as well,” I said.

In the beginning, Kim Hyun-Sung had been wandering around a lot as well. He was killing his enemies and was doing his best to find the masked scum.

I was sure Woo Hyo-Yeol had a lot on his plate as well. Regressors were always busy in the beginning. I had no reason to get involved in his personal matters, nor did I want to get involved.

“...”

I wasn’t sure if he was done talking to me or if I got on his nerves, but he stood up.

“...”

“Come back by 10 o’clock. I have things I need to tell you,” I said.

“

Hmph,"

he scoffed, but it was a positive answer, which meant that he was somewhat interested.

“What… are you going to do?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“I’m going to head to the Adventurer Guild,” I replied.

‘I need to create a party.’

“I’m going to look for people and create a party with people that fit the requirements I mentioned earlier,” I said.

‘This asshole is leaving despite the fact that I’m still talking. He has no respect for his elders. I really need to teach him a lesson.’

“I’ll come back by 11 o’clock,” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“What?”

“I’ll just listen to what you have to say,” he added.

“...”

He acted tough at the entrance before finally walking away.

I really felt like smacking him in the head.

‘He’s the type who requires a lot of attention.’

The way he fought reflected his personality.

It was meaningless to think that I could create a normal party with him.

Despite being a swordsman, he needed a lot of space, and his specialty was running rampant, so I was sure it was impossible for him to work with other vanguards.

His movements were based on instinct, and there weren’t many vanguards who could keep up with his unexpected movements.

Actually, it was safe to say there weren’t any vanguards like that out there. It was the same for the mages. I was sure some were worried that Woo Hyo-Yeol would reflect some of their spells toward them.

‘I should look for those with specialized roles.’

With my Mind’s Eye, it was an easy task.

My first real task was creating comrades for the regressor of Rohen, who was both distrustful and capable of trusting anyone at the same time.

I grabbed my belongings and headed outside.

I saw Woo Hyo-Yeol walking toward me.

“...”

“...”

“Let’s just…” Woo Hyo-Yeol paused.

“...”

“Let’s just meet at 10 o’clock,” he mumbled.

“Yes, sir!” I nodded while smiling.

‘We’re close now, right?’

“...”

‘We’re best friends now.’

1. Lee Ki-Young’s POV ☜