Chapter 42

The next day, when we arrived at the dungeon entrance, we could see the faces of the Hwashin Clan members who had arrived earlier.

“Hello. I’m Lee Jae-hyo from the Eternity Clan.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Park Da-rim from the Hwashin Clan.”

Lee Jae-hyo and what seemed to be an executive from the Hwashin Clan exchanged greetings.

Given that both were executives from large clans, I thought they might know each other, but judging from their reactions, it seemed like they were meeting for the first time.

When I checked the status window of the woman who introduced herself as Park Da-rim, it was similar to or slightly lower than Lee Jae-hyo’s.

“These people… must be the new members of the Eternity Clan. Nice to meet you. These are our first-year members.”

She introduced her clan members. I couldn’t just stand there awkwardly, so I greeted them as well.

“Nice to meet you. We’re the new recruits who just joined the Eternity Clan.”

‘Excluding the clan executives, they have three men and three women, totaling six members.’

The Hwashin Clan executive didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts about us, but one of their male members was giving us a look that seemed… off.

‘Why is this guy’s gaze so annoying?’

The man chuckled and spoke to us.

“Ah… so you’re the ones who were supposed to join our clan this term but ended up joining the Eternity Clan instead. Nice to meet you.”

‘…Is this guy crazy?’

The situation at the training facility is a sensitive topic for both clans. It wasn’t something to bring up so casually.

Park Da-rim, the woman, seemed surprised by the man’s comment and spoke up with a flustered expression.

“Myung-jun, that topic is…”

“Ah, my apologies. I misspoke.”

He didn’t look apologetic at all.

I opened his status window.

[Name: Kim Myung-jun]

[Age: 28]

[Job: Light Mage (Hero Grade)]

[Title: None]

[Unique Traits]

Light Attribute Magic (Hero Grade) – You can use light attribute magic more easily than others. Additionally, your magic power is permanently increased by 3.

[Traits]

Intermediate Magic Comprehension (Rare Grade) – Your understanding of magic is somewhat increased.

[Stats]

Strength – 35 | Agility – 30

Stamina – 49 | Luck – 41

Magic Power – 59 | Resistance – 30

‘This guy… he’s not entirely without reason for his confidence.’

Since he joined last term, having these stats as a first-year is pretty good. Especially with a Hero Grade job, that’s probably why he’s acting so cocky.

Park Da-rim seemed to notice the chilly atmosphere and tried to lighten the mood with an upbeat tone.

“Well, now that everyone’s here, let’s get going.”

Lee Jae-hyo didn’t look too pleased either, but he nodded at Park Da-rim’s suggestion.

The dungeon entrance looked like an overgrown ruin. And so, we entered the dungeon.

[You have entered the Dungeon – Ruins of the Eyeball and Wraith.]

‘Eyeball probably refers to Evil Eye… but what does Wraith mean?’

Putting aside my curiosity about the dungeon’s name, after moving a bit, the Evil Eye monsters we encountered yesterday started appearing.

Thanks to our experience from yesterday, the party members handled them more skillfully this time.

“Hyeon-jin, two on the right!”

At Kang I-seo’s words, Hyeon-jin immediately slashed the one approaching from the right with his sword. The other one was finished off by Kang I-seo’s arrow.

The ones that popped out from the left were blocked by Ho-won and the spirit summoned by Ha-eun.

‘Not bad.’

The difficulty wasn’t too high, fitting for a normal-grade dungeon. It was actually easier than I expected.

‘But since they said there would be stronger monsters than Evil Eyes, I shouldn’t let my guard down.’

From what I’ve heard, dungeons rarely have only one type of monster. Usually, there are at least two or more types.

‘There might even be a boss monster.’

Not every dungeon has a boss monster, but the chances are high.

Our party seemed to have some breathing room, so I glanced at the Hwashin Clan side, but they had already finished cleaning up.

‘Clearly… there’s a difference between zero-year and first-year members.’

Except for Yoo Ju, our party’s specs were slightly lower than theirs.

As we finished off the remaining monsters, Park Da-rim approached us.

“You’re quite skilled for this term’s recruits, even compared to first-years.”

Park Da-rim, unlike that Kim Myung-jun guy, seemed genuine in her praise as she complimented us.

It’s hard not to respond to praise, so I thanked her.

“Haha… thank you. I don’t know what to say. We still have a lot to improve…”

“No, Mr. Lee Yun-seong. For just coming out of the training facility, you’re doing great. You really live up to being the hottest party in Baronia.”

I figured she knew my name since the Hwashin Clan probably had information on our party, but what did she mean by “the hottest party in Baronia”?

“The hottest party in Baronia?”

“Oh, you didn’t know? The party that cleared the tutorial in record time, the party with legendary talents—it’s already a hot topic in Baronia.”

‘…Word spread even in the neutral country?’

It made sense, but it was also a bit overwhelming.

‘Why are they hyping us up so much?’

Even if we’re allied clans, there’s no need to butter us up this much. Especially since they’re also one of the three major clans.

‘There must be a reason.’

There could be a complicated reason, but it might just be that they’re trying to build rapport early, seeing our potential.

Kim Myung-jun, seemingly annoyed by Park Da-rim’s praise, chimed in.

“Hmm… you do seem skilled for new recruits, but there’s still room for improvement. Not bad, though.”

‘This idiot…’

It was ridiculous for a first-year to talk like that, as if he was graciously acknowledging us. It was infuriating.

Yoo Ju also seemed annoyed, glaring at Kim Myung-jun like he was an idiot.

Looking at the others’ status windows, excluding Park Da-rim as an executive, it seemed Kim Myung-jun was effectively the party leader for their first-year group.

When we didn’t respond to his comment, Kim Myung-jun looked slightly displeased.

As we continued moving, taking down monsters along the way, we soon came across a staircase leading underground.

Yoo Ju spoke up.

“Hmm… it’s getting dark since we’re going underground. We’ll need some light. A lamp…”

“Light.”

As the party members rummaged through their bags for a lamp, I activated Light Source Magic.

*Snap*

“Oh, Mr. Yoon Seong? You’ve learned Light Source Magic too?”

“Yes. I thought it would be helpful in the dark.”

Of course, we could have used a lamp instead of magic, but if we were holding a lamp and got ambushed by monsters, it would be harder to react quickly.

This is so annoying.



The situation was as follows.

“Light.”

Kim Myung-jun smirked at me and cast a stronger Light Magic spell.

Even though I had already cast Light Source Magic, his smirk and subsequent casting of the same spell made his intentions obvious.

Sure enough, Kim Myung-jun started talking to me.

“Haha… Since I have my Light Magic, Mr. Lee Yun-seong, you can probably turn off your magic.”

I don’t know if Kim Myung-jun is aware that I have no talent, but it seems like I’m his target for bullying today.

“I heard you’re a Dark Sorcerer… but it seems like you use convenience magic more than offensive magic.”

Most Dark Sorcerers focus on offensive magic, but since you have no talent, you only use convenience magic, huh?

I get where he’s coming from. It’s not like he can see the flaws in the other party members. Kim Myung-jun is just a first-year rookie, and what can a rookie chick like him really see?

Since I’m also in the mage class, he probably thought it would be easy to show off compared to me and give me advice.

Of course, as someone who values my mana, I was grateful for his words.

‘It’s a waste of mana, but since he’s offering to cast it for me, I’m grateful.’

I’m not stupid enough to care about every little thing like this. The problem is that Yoo Ju and some of our party members were glaring at Kim Myung-jun like they wanted to kill him.

‘Oh man…’

I started to worry about Kim Myung-jun.

“Ah, thank you. Then I’ll leave the Light Source Magic to you. As expected, you’re different, senior. Hahaha.”

‘He’s asking for trouble.’

Kim Myung-jun frowned, probably because my response wasn’t what he expected.

“…. Yes.”

One thing that’s puzzling is that even though we’re both in the mage class, I don’t know the exact reason why this guy is so fixated on bullying me.

From the moment I met the Hwashin Clan members until now, this guy has been particularly hostile towards me.

A thought occurred to me by chance.

‘This guy… Could he be friends with Joo Seung-hwan?’

It was a sudden thought.

If he and Joo Seung-hwan were friends, he might blame me for Joo Seung-hwan’s punishment.

After all, birds of a feather flock together.

‘I need to test this.’

As I went downstairs, I pretended to look at him with respect and started talking to him.

“Can I call you senior from now on?”

Kim Myung-jun looked at me like I had just eaten poison when I suddenly acted friendly.

“…. Huh?”

I almost burst out laughing at his expression, but I held it in, licked my lips, and started speaking.

“I’ve been having a lot of trouble learning magic. Watching you cast magic, I couldn’t help but be impressed.”

Our party members were confused by my sudden behavior. Complimenting someone who was bullying me? They were looking at me like I was some kind of weirdo.

I ignored their stares and continued.

“How can I use magic like you, senior? If it’s okay, could you share your secret…? I’m really not talented…”

“….. Uh…”

He was completely caught off guard by my words and just stood there dumbfounded.

‘Now’s the time…’

I acted like I had no ulterior motives and spoke to him.

Of course, I added a hint of sarcasm to my voice.

“Actually… when I was at the Training Facility, I learned about mana manipulation from someone in the Hwashin Clan.”

“……..”

“Sadly, I can never learn from that person again…”

If he’s who I think he is, he should definitely react here.

“What the hell, you bastard?!”

The problem was that his reaction was way more intense than I expected.

‘What, what’s going on? Why is he like this?’

He suddenly grabbed me by the collar and shouted, freezing the atmosphere.

Immediately, Park Da-rim and Lee Jae-hyo came over and started asking what was going on.

They probably thought a fight had broken out since there was shouting.

But I was also quite shocked because I didn’t expect him to react this strongly.

“Why, why are you… If I did something wrong…”

“You… f*ck, hey! Say it again! What did you say?!”

At this point, I thought he should have the title “Anger Management Disorder” just like Joo Seung-hwan.

I wondered why this guy didn’t have that title.

We were halfway down the stairs when everything stopped and things got noisy.

Lee Jae-hyo saw Kim Myung-jun grabbing my collar and spoke up.

“What… what are you doing?!”

Park Da-rim immediately stepped in to mediate.

“Wait, hold on! Let me talk to our clan member…! Myung-jun, why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

“This bastard…! About Seung-hwan hyung…!”

As soon as Joo Seung-hwan’s name was mentioned, the atmosphere in our party turned icy.

I quickly started talking.

“Huh? What are you…”

“You… you just mentioned Seung-hwan hyung…!”

‘Nope. Sorry, but I didn’t mention that guy.’

And even if I had mentioned Joo Seung-hwan first, he should have stayed quiet. Protecting Joo Seung-hwan, who broke the continent’s laws, is a direct violation of those laws.

Not to mention, he’s the one bringing up the perpetrator to the victim of attempted murder.

“What, what are you talking about…? I was talking about what I learned from Instructor Kang Seong-jun…”

“…. What?”

I had actually asked Kang Seong-jun about mana a few times, so it wasn’t a lie. He must have realized his mistake by now.

‘Because I never directly mentioned him.’

I only said it was someone from the Hwashin Clan, but I never mentioned Joo Seung-hwan.

‘Right now, I’m the victim, man.’

Kang I-seo couldn’t hold back her anger when Joo Seung-hwan’s name was mentioned and started cursing at him.

“You f*cking bastard! Joo Seung-hwan?! What the hell are you doing?! Why is that damn name coming up here?!”

“Hyung! Are you okay?!”

Yoo Ju, with a terrifying expression, demanded an apology from Kim Myung-jun.

“…. Apologize.”

“What…”

Kim Myung-jun seemed to have frozen up from the sudden situation. His bewildered expression was clear to me.

“I said apologize.”