Chapter 1131: A Comrade Whose Trustworthiness Is Uncertain (16)

“Go away.”

I turned and saw a confused Woo Hyo-Yeol.

‘This jerk… looks really confused.’

The entire continent was thrown into chaos and confusion by the unexpected event, but I was sure no one was as confused as Woo Hyo-Yeol.

The change was too big to call it a mere butterfly effect, and the incident was so big that it completely distorted the future. He looked annoyed and nervous, as it had only been less than a month since he became a regressor, but he already had to face the Demon King of Sunset.

“...”

“...”

“I told you to go away,” Woo Hyo-Yeol repeated.

‘But why is he telling them to go away? He must think that he owns this place. This is just another inn in the neighborhood, man.’

He felt the need to express his discomfort to feel better. The visitors from the Family and Fertility Familia looked annoyed, but they couldn’t just yell at him for his rudeness. If I wasn’t here, they would teach the rookie a lesson.

Fortunately, they didn’t respond to his threat and simply looked at me quietly.

“

Whoo…

”

“...”

“I think it’s best if we contact you later,” they said.

“Okay. I’ll be waiting,” I said.

‘He sure has a way of greeting the guests…’

“Why did they come here?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“They asked if I could attend a meeting. That was all,” I answered.

“...” After striking a cool pose, he sat in his usual spot. He pretended like nothing was wrong, like it wasn’t a big deal, but I was sure he was on the brink of falling apart.

He didn’t seem like a control freak like Ji-Hye noona, but humans disliked situations that were beyond their control. As a regressor, he probably thought that he was controlling the situation, so he wasn’t happy about this mainstream event.

I actually felt the same way, but what mattered was whether we could hide our emotions or not.

‘No matter how much you think about it, it’s pretty shocking.’

I shook my head and felt worthless thoughts disappearing into thin air.

Since Woo Hyo-Yeol and I were both quiet, the mood quickly died down.

Jung Ha-Yan’s guardians were still on their toes, and No Dam-Hye seemed confused as to why she was here. I had no idea why Jung Ha-Yan was happy, but she smiled while sitting beside me, and Raymond Bolt also remained quiet.

I saw No Dam-Hye’s blank expression, and her face seemed to describe our current situation the best.

‘Did she get dragged here like she was getting kidnapped?’

Woo Hyo-Yeol wasn’t the type to explain things, so she had to have come here without knowing anything.

‘Will this work?’

'I don’t think it will. Maybe it’s not too late to join the Flower and Fertility Familia with Jung Ha-Yan. Can this party clear the Demon King of Sunset’s Castle?'

I looked around carefully.

“When… can I… go home?” No Dam-Hye asked with the same blank face.

“Unni… what about us?” Lim Chae-Ryeong asked.

“...”

“Are we allowed to stay here?” she added.

“Just be quiet for now,” Nam Goong-Seon said.

“

Haha

…”

The old warrior displayed a smile that resembled the typical smile of a grandfather.

“...”

I had no idea why Woo Hyo-Yeol was unhappy, but he was frowning.

This party was pretty weak compared to the party I had with Kim Hyun-Sung, Jung Ha-Yan, Park Deok-Gu, Sun Hee-Young, and Kim Ye-Ri. If possible, I wanted Woo Hyo-Yeol to lead the meeting, but sadly, he didn’t possess that kind of talent.

All he was capable of doing was look at me.

“

Ahem… ahem…

”

“...”

“L-Looks like all the party members are here,” I said.

“What? I-I’m a member?” No Dam-Hye asked.

“And we seem to have somewhat of a good formation,” I added.

“W-What will I be doing?” No Dam-Hye asked.

“I think we should do a short introduction first. There are people I have never met before… We're short of time, but I want us to get to know each other,” I suggested.

“...”

“As a heads up, Mr. Woo Hyo-Yeol will be the leader of the party. It’s still too early to discuss what our party is going to do… so I can’t tell you the party’s goal or how he’ll be leading the party in the future, but this will be the permanent party,” I added.

“...”

“Before I talk about the details, let’s introduce ourselves first. You can go first, Miss No Dam-Hye,” I said.

“I-I’m a Level 4 bard… W-Why am I here? Will I be working in the same party? I-I’m not sure why I’m here…” No Dam-Hye said.

“And your name?” I asked.

“I’m… No Dam-Hye,” No Dam-Hye answered.

'Okay, that’s enough.'

I turned slightly and heard a voice.

“I’m Raymond Bolt. As a Level 4 warrior, I mostly wield a large crossbow and a shield; I have basic knowledge of martial arts. I was part of the Shaded Sun Crown Familia, and after accepting a quest from the Adventurer Guild, I met this young man.

"I have a lot of experience, so I’m sure I’ll be really helpful,” Raymond said.

Nam Goong-Seon was next, and the part that caught my attention was her calmness. Earlier, she was confused, but now, she had to have finally realized what was going on.

She turned to Lim Chae-Ryeong and whispered something into her ears, but I could see on her face that she had decided to accept this abrupt meeting positively.

‘A GENIUS must’ve given her a hint or something.’

I was sure the biggest reason was that Jung Ha-Yan wouldn’t let them leave.

“I’m Nam Goong-Seon, a Level 3 priest. I’m currently serving the Gentle Glow that Reassures the Forgotten. I ended up here after meeting Miss Ha-Yan.

"I have no idea what's going on… Anyway… I’m sure we were fated to meet. I'm looking forward to… working with you all for the time being,” Nam Goong-Seon said.

“I’m Lim Chae-Ryeong, a Level 3 thief. My specialties include lockpicking and finding traps. I wield daggers, and I have basic knowledge of poison.

Ah!

I also know simple spells. I was managing a small party with Goong-Seon unni… and…” Lim Chae-Ryeong trailed off.

‘She’s a classic thief.’

She would become useful once she had received proper training.

I was also convinced that she had more potential than Nam Goong-Seon.

Next was Jung Ha-Yan...

“I-I’m Jung Ha-Yan… a Level 4 mage. I-I’m oppa’s… N-No, I’m not supposed to say anything… Anyway… I look forward to working with you,” she said.

And then.

“I’m Lee Ki-Young, a level 3 priest. I was recently summoned, and I recently graduated from the academy,” I introduced myself.

“I know you! You’re the genius commander, right?” Lim Chae-Ryeong asked.

“It’s embarrassing to say… but you’re right, Miss Chae-Ryeong,” I answered.

“It’s amazing that I get to meet a famous person. Don’t you agree, Goong-Seon unni?” she asked.

“Chae-Ryeong, quiet…” Nam Goong-Seon mumbled.

The party leader was the last one to go.

“Woo Hyo-Yeol, a Level 3 swordsman.”

Of course, I wasn’t expecting much from him.

“Looks like the boring introduction is finally over.”

His words were ruining the mood.

“...” “How amusing,” he commented.

“What?”

“It's absurd. A dying warrior, a priest, and thief who have been Level 3 players for years, as well as a bard who doesn’t even know why she’s here. Were these nameless players the ones you were saying will fight with us?

"I think the only one who can be called a player here is that mage. You can easily find people on the same level as them if you just walk around the square,” he explained.

‘Ah, why is he acting grumpy again? Are you worried all of a sudden?’

'And you’re the one who brought No Dam-Hye here…'

“I want to ask the priest and thief something. How much actual experience do you have? Have you cleared a dungeon before?” he asked.

“I don’t have experience clearing a dungeon yet, but she did it once! We have a pretty high success rate… when it comes to party hunting…” Lim Chae-Ryeong answered.

“

Haa.

”

Woo Hyo-Yeol immediately looked at me and showed me an arrogant face. It was like he was trying to prove a point. He looked like he was asking me about how we were going to clear a dungeon with members like them.

“It’s obvious what kind of monsters you've hunted so far,” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“T-Then do you have experience clearing a dungeon? From what I know, you graduated from the academy recently as well, Mr. Woo Hyo-Yeol,” Lim Chae-Ryeong asked.

“...”

“You’re being rude. Technically speaking, we arrived in Rohen before you, so we're more experienced than you,” Lim Chae-Ryeong complained.

It sounded ridiculous to him, but I was sure he couldn’t argue because he was a rookie.

“Damn it. I shouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

All he could do was talk to himself, but I was sure he didn’t mean his words, as he had decided to listen to me for now. He was just nervous because it was noisy outside.

‘I would have a hard time keeping my composure as well if I were in his shoes.’

No one would remain sane upon hearing the chaos outside and knowing the fact that the world had changed overnight. I was sure he didn’t want to discuss working as a party and preferred growing strong as soon as possible. I was sure he wanted to go out there and find out more about this mainstream event as well as why it even happened.

The fact that he was even here was surprising. I wouldn’t be surprised if he suddenly packed up his things and left, but he had to have realized that this was his home now.

For now…

‘I need to calm him down for now.’

If I were to leave him like this, he'd keep looking at me with that annoyed face of his.

“I’m sure you’re confused, and the Demon King of Sunset mainstream event must be the reason behind it. It’s kind of messy, but our party won’t get involved in this event,” I announced.

“What do you mean?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“It’s like I said. Until we've stabilized things between us, we won’t get involved in the mainstream event at all. There’s too little information about this event for us to contribute by going around the outskirts.

"When you look at the bigger picture, it’s not so bad for our party. The continent will focus on the Demon King’s Castle, which means the majority of the dungeons and hunting grounds will become open.

"Small and mid-sized familias will sell information about dungeons at a cheap price in order to get funds, so getting information will be easy,” I explained.

“Do you know how foolish it is not to get involved in a mainstream event?” Woo Hyo-Yeol argued.

“We won’t miss it. We’re just going to wait. I guarantee that the familias going on an expedition to the Demon King of Sunset’s Castle will fail. We’ll be raiding a dungeon nearby either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow,” I said.

“Forget about the dungeon. Do you have proof? Proof that they’ll fail? The Flower and Fertility Familia that you love so much are probably going to join this expedition. Don’t you think that’s the reason those idiots from earlier are still waiting outside?” he asked.

“The Flower and Fertility Familia won’t be participating in this expedition,” I revealed.

“What?”

“The Flower and Fertility Familia, as well as all the familias that are in alliance with them, will not participate in the expedition,” I said.

“...”

“...”

Perhaps it was because I said it so shamelessly and confidently, but he seemed to calm down a bit. The annoyed face he had shown to me earlier was disappearing slowly.

“They’re going to do the same thing as us,” I added.

“...”

“...”

Obviously, this wasn’t easy because…

“

Ha!

Don’t make me laugh! Genius commander? Master William, are you really going to entrust the fate of our alliance to this lunatic?”

There was always someone who would make ridiculous remarks.