Chapter 41

Before I knew it, a week had passed, and the day for our party’s first expedition had arrived.

“Hyeon-jin, did you pack everything? Don’t forget the potions and camping gear.”

“I packed everything, bro.”

Kang I-seo, standing next to me, gave me a look of disbelief.

“Hey, why are you preparing so meticulously? Isn’t this… a bit excessive?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Do you know what could happen during the expedition? If you don’t have the necessary items, you won’t be able to get them during the expedition.”

“Well… that’s true, but…”

“Wait a second. Did you pack travel clothes? What about cold-weather gear?”

“Huh?”

“…. Hey, you crazy girl! Do you want to freeze to death? Who’s going to camp with these clothes?”

“S-sorry.”

“Damn, what’s in your bag? You packed useless stuff but forgot the essentials.”

“Ugh…”

“You know we’re not traveling by carriage this time, right? We’re walking to toughen up the new recruits.”

“…Yeah.”

“So, we need to recover as much stamina as possible when camping or resting. Got it?”

“……”

“Yoo Rim… don’t sneak away. Bring your bag here.”

“…Oppa.”

“Sigh… get rid of this and this. You should pack thick travel clothes too.”

“…Got it.”

“Yoo Hyun.”

“…Yes.”

Yoo Hyun, who had been sneaking away, stiffened and approached when I called.

“Your bag.”

“…Here.”

“…You packed your clothes well. But where’s the mana potion?”

“…I don’t know. I’m sorry…”

“Sigh… Yoo Hyun, you know preserving your mana is crucial, right? Whether you have enough mana to use your shield or not is really important.”

“……”

“I have some extra mana recovery potions. Fill your bag with these.”

“…Thanks, bro.”

‘Sigh… damn.’

Checking the party members’ preparations, it was a mess. Except for Yoo Ju and Ho-won, everyone seemed to think they were going on a picnic.

For some reason, Yoo Ju was watching me with a satisfied look, as if I were a wife preparing her husband and kids for their first day of school.

Thankfully, I had told the party members to wake up an hour earlier than usual. If this chaos had happened at the usual time, we definitely wouldn’t have made it on time.

After checking Ha-eun’s preparations last, I spoke to Yoo Ju.

“Sigh… we’re all set, Yoo Ju.”

“Hehe… good. Let’s head down to the first floor.”

As we went down to the first floor, a clan member who was joining us on the expedition was waiting.

“Hello. Nice to meet you.”

I greeted the man and opened his status window.

[ Name: Lee Jae-hyo ]

[ Age: 35 ]

[ Job: Advanced Spearman (Hero Grade) ]

[ Titles: Hard Worker, Participant in the Matters Canyon War ]

[ Unique Traits ]

Training Addict (Hero Grade) – The longer you train, the greater the effects of training.

Flexible Movement (Hero Grade) – You can move your body more flexibly. Permanently increases Agility by 8.

[ Traits ]

Divine Spear Unity (Legend Grade) – Greatly increases understanding of spearmanship.

Master of Martial Arts (Hero Grade) – Significantly increases understanding of martial arts.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 84 Agility – 87

Stamina – 85 Luck – 70

Mana – 81 Resistance – 83

‘His status is a bit unique.’

His job is an advanced version of a regular spearman, and his traits aren’t particularly special, but his stats are noticeably high.

‘No wonder he’s called a hard worker in his title.’

The man introduced himself after our greetings.

“Nice to meet you, new clan members. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Lee Jae-hyo, the leader of Party 6.”

‘A senior member…’

Being the leader of Party 6 means he’s one of the clan’s executives.

The man’s appearance was ordinary except for the armor he wore, but his white hair and the scar near his eye stood out.

“Anyway, since everyone’s ready, let’s head out.”

And so, we followed Lee Jae-hyo and began moving outside the city.

******

After walking outside the city from noon to evening, I had a question and asked Lee Jae-hyo.

“I have a question, may I ask?”

“Of course. Feel free to ask. This expedition is ultimately about you all. Think of me as a bodyguard to prevent any unforeseen events.”

“Understood. I heard we’re entering the dungeon with the Hwashin Clan members. Are we meeting them inside the dungeon?”

“Ah, not inside… exactly at the dungeon entrance. The dungeon isn’t that far, so we should arrive by tomorrow.”

“I see.”

“We’ll need to camp along the way. Just in case, did everyone pack camping gear?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then there shouldn’t be any major issues. By the way… from here on, monsters might appear, so be careful. Even though it’s a developed area, there are monsters that wander away from their groups.”

“Yes, understood.”

Sure enough, after about 30 more minutes of walking, a grotesque, apricot-colored humanoid monster with a body slightly larger than a human and a big eyeball on its face appeared.

Everyone except Lee Jae-hyo and Yoo Ju was shocked by the monster’s appearance.

Not only was it larger than a human, but its overall appearance was grotesque.

“Wh-what the hell is that?! This crazy…!”

Kang I-seo couldn’t help but curse at the monster’s ridiculous appearance.

Lee Jae-hyo remained still even as the monster appeared, seemingly uninterested in intervening unless it was a dangerous situation.

We couldn’t disappoint the clan executive watching us. I quickly regained my composure and shouted to everyone.

“Everyone, focus! Ho-won has already blocked the front with his shield, so everyone take your positions!”

We set up the basic front, middle, and rear positions. Since it was our first time seeing this monster, we needed to understand its behavior.

Glancing at Yoo Ju, she didn’t seem inclined to join the fight either. She probably wanted to see how we’d perform in actual combat.

Certainly, if Yoo Ju joined the fight, the battle would…



It’s getting too easy. It’s clear that this side will definitely help us grow.

‘That guy has one eye.’

Also, his eye is incredibly large. It’s almost the size of his entire face.

“First, let’s take away his vision! Kang I-seo!”

Kang I-seo heard me and immediately shot an arrow, but the monster raised both hands and blocked it.

Clearly, compared to the monsters in the tutorial, the monsters here seem to have basic defense.

I don’t know if it’s instinct or what, but they seem to know how to block threatening attacks.

Everyone seemed to think they had to stop the monster from using its arms, so Hyeon-jin and Yoo Rim jumped out from the left and right behind Ho-won and attacked the monster.

“…. Hup!”

As soon as Yoo Rim stabbed the monster’s right arm with a dagger, Hyeon-jin immediately slashed its left arm with a sword.

Swoosh —

“Grrrrrrrr — !”

“Damn, this monster bastard. Not only does it look weird, but its howl is also freaking strange.”

I agreed with Kang I-seo’s words. As soon as she spoke, she shot an arrow into the monster’s empty eye socket.

The monster, with an arrow stuck in its eye, grabbed its face with both hands and rolled on the ground. When Ho-won smashed it with his shield, it couldn’t dodge, and its eye exploded, killing it instantly.

“Phew…”

As everyone caught their breath after the battle, Lee Jae-hyo spoke up.

“Hmm… You newcomers are quite skilled. Especially the decision to shoot the arrow into its eye was a great judgment.”

Even though the monster blocked the arrow, Lee Jae-hyo seemed to think the decision itself wasn’t bad.

“Especially Ho-won did really well. He was the one who immediately took position as soon as the monster appeared.”

Indeed, excluding Yoo Ju, Ho-won was the most experienced in combat among us.

“Overall, everyone did great. Of course, this monster was too weak, but Lee Yun-seong, who shouted to quickly regain composure and take position, also did well.”

“…. Thank you.”

“Honestly, for newcomers, this level is impressive. I can see why the Clan Master recruited you all and is so pleased.”

Honestly, I didn’t expect to receive this much praise, so it was starting to feel a bit overwhelming.

“Of course, don’t get too complacent. This monster is called an Evil Eye… a very weak monster. When we enter the dungeon, it will be different from this case, so don’t let your guard down too much.”

“Of course.”

“Good. Let’s move on.”

As we moved, I asked Lee Jae-hyo.

“By the way, will the Evil Eye monster we just encountered appear in the dungeon we’re heading to?”

“I can’t say for sure, but probably not just the Evil Eye, but stronger monsters as well. The Evil Eye is a common monster outside the city.”

Somehow, even while fighting it, it felt too weak. Of course, it might be because we’ve grown, but it felt only slightly stronger than the monsters we faced in the tutorial.

“The dungeon we’re heading to is a normal-grade dungeon. At most, it might be a rare-grade dungeon.”

“Can’t you tell the dungeon’s grade exactly?”

“Usually, we judge by the monsters at the entrance or the beginning of the dungeon. We don’t know the dungeon’s grade for sure; players estimate and assign a grade.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry too much. The reason I said it’s at most a rare-grade dungeon is that even if there’s an error in the players’ estimation, it’s usually only one grade off.”

I understood what he meant. If players estimate a dungeon to be rare-grade, even with an error, it would at most be a hero-grade dungeon.

After hearing Lee Jae-hyo’s words, I think I understand why there’s a gap between large clans and other clans.

If a large clan decides to tackle a hero-grade dungeon, they’ll probably prepare for the possibility of it being a legend-grade dungeon and send enough manpower.

On the other hand, smaller clans that don’t have the resources will tackle the dungeon with just enough manpower for a hero-grade dungeon.

‘Because they lack both manpower and resources.’

They don’t have the capacity to prepare for the worst.

‘Well, that’s not our concern.’

We had moved quite a bit, and night was approaching. Thinking it was time to set up camp, Lee Jae-hyo spoke to us.

“We should start looking for a place to camp. From what I remember, if we move a bit further, there’s a wide open space where we can set up camp.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Lee Jae-hyo said, after moving a bit further, we found a wide open space. It seems he had scouted the route we would take on our expedition and found a camping spot in advance.

‘… This is why they sing praises of large clans.’

From the starting line, we’re so different from others. While others have to grow while risking their lives on a tightrope, we can grow almost risk-free, following a guideline.

“Everyone has their camping gear, so let’s set up camp here. The watch order is…”

I interrupted Lee Jae-hyo and spoke up.

“I’ve learned the alarm spell, so maybe we don’t all need to take turns on watch?”

Lee Jae-hyo seemed surprised that I, a Dark Sorcerer, had learned the alarm spell.

“…. You’ve learned the alarm spell?”

“Yes. I thought it would be useful while camping… Honestly, since the others handle the combat, I wanted to take care of the party’s convenience.”

I had to score points here. I needed to make them see me as someone who thinks broadly for the party or clan, not just for myself.

Sure enough, I could see his opinion of me rise a notch.

Even the party members were surprised, their eyes wide open, as they hadn’t expected me to learn the alarm spell.

‘You guys… I learned it for you. You should be grateful, right?’

“Good. If you’ve learned the alarm spell, then we don’t need to take turns on watch. Let’s set up camp like this.”