Chapter 54

In the end, we accepted the request. We thought that if Yoon Yeon participated directly, we could clear the dungeon with almost 100% certainty.

I don’t know what kind of guy Bahan is, but even if Charis fought him directly, Yoon Yeon would probably smash his head. So, I figured Bahan, who’s weaker than Charis, wouldn’t be able to handle Yoon Yeon and the Myth Clan members alone.

Yoo Ju seemed to think the same way, as she accepted the request the moment Yoon Yeon’s name came up.

“…I can’t believe the Myth Clan Master is coming herself.”

I brought it up, but Yoo Ju seemed distracted, muttering something under her breath.

“No… no way… even so… coming because of Yoon Seong…”

“…?”

“…What is this? No, just now, that girl too… is she some kind of incubus or something…?”

“Yoo Ju?”

“Ah… yes, yes. Yoon Seong…”

“…Are you okay?”

“Ahaha… yes. Just thinking for a moment…”

“Are you worried about the dungeon?”

“No. With the Myth Clan Master participating… honestly, I think the strategy itself will be very easy.”

‘…Of course.’

I can guarantee that Bahan or whoever will get wrecked by Yoon Yeon’s punches. Her stats are on another level.

“Don’t worry about it, it was nothing. By the way, Yoon Seong…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Yoo Ju’s expression darkened as she asked me.

“…Do you like Tierra?”

“Cough! Cough…!”

I didn’t expect this question and choked in surprise.

“What… what are you talking about?”

I asked Yoo Ju, but Kang I-seo answered me with a disapproving look.

“Well, damn, you’ve been buttering her up like crazy, so of course.”

“What, what?”

“Hey, what’s with the cringe? Damn… should I mimic you?”

Kang I-seo suddenly started mimicking my voice with a mocking expression.

“Lady Tierra. You look beautiful today. That outfit suits you very well.”

“……”

“Your hands… they’re very cold. You might catch a cold. Warm hands mean a healthy body.”

‘…Damn.’

“Ah, your personality is very delicate. Thank you for your consideration, miss.”

“Stop, stop…”

“…Damn, do you get it now? How much we’ve been cringing?”

The really annoying part was that I felt a sense of self-loathing while listening to Kang I-seo’s mimicry.

Since we didn’t have much time, I hurriedly buttered up Tierra, and it seems I earned the party’s resentment.

“Wow… I was never wrong. I said from the first meeting that this girl was a total flirt… sigh…”

Looking at the others’ reactions, it seemed I had no allies.

‘Damn, this is unfair.’

She was the one who approached me first. I just… gave her the reaction she wanted. Of course, there was some selfish calculation involved, but it still felt unfair.

“What’s ridiculous is… that girl, the atmosphere is completely different when she talks to us versus when she talks to you. If she wasn’t a noble lady, we would’ve just flipped her off, damn it.”

“…I admit that.”

Honestly, her attitude was enough to make our party members feel bad. Unless it was about the request, the difference in tone when she talked to me versus others was clear.

It was even worse with Yoo Ju and Kang I-seo. I don’t know why, but when Tierra talked to them, her tone felt very cold.

“…Yoon Seong. You haven’t answered my question yet.”

‘Ah…’

I wasn’t stupid enough to not know what answer to give in this situation.

“…It’s a misunderstanding. Tierra isn’t my type. I was just catering to her.”

“…Really?”

“The more I talked to her, the more I realized you and Kang I-seo were right. She doesn’t seem like a good person.”

They say even the king gets cursed behind his back. Now that she wasn’t here, I could curse her all I wanted.

“She seems… quite promiscuous. Honestly, talking to her was torture.”

“…Is that so? Hmm, hmm… then what is your type, Yoon Seong?”

“…Huh?”

‘My type…’

Honestly, I don’t even know. When I was on Earth… I was too busy. No, being busy was a blessing… I was struggling just to survive, so I don’t even know my own ideal type.

“…I don’t really know.”

“Come on, you can’t just say you don’t know.”

“Damn, saying you don’t know is just a lie, isn’t it?”

“Well… I guess it’s the same as everyone else. Pretty and nice personality, that’s good enough.”

Judging from their reactions, they weren’t too pleased with my answer.

‘Damn… I don’t even know, what do you want me to do?’

While we were having this pointless conversation, Ha-eun chimed in.

“Um, so when are we starting the strategy?”

“We’ll probably leave within three days. The Myth Clan said they’d arrive within two days.”

“Is that so…”

******

Two days later, the Myth Clan members arrived at the mansion. Judging by the number of people, it seemed Yoon Yeon and one party had come.

‘Well, with Yoon Yeon here, one party should be enough. More would be overkill.’

One thing that puzzled me was how Tierra managed to call the master of a large clan.

‘…Is the mansion overflowing with money?’

The cost of summoning her couldn’t have been cheap. Calling the master of a large clan would be very expensive.

Yoon Yeon and her subordinates entered the mansion and faced our party.

“…Lee Yun-seong trainee… no, not a trainee anymore, right? And Yoo Ju? Anyway, it’s been a while, everyone.”

“…Nice to see you, Myth Clan Master.”

I greeted her.





I crossed over. I didn’t expect to meet again so soon, but meeting outside the training facility definitely felt different.

“I heard the story. It’s been all over the rumors lately? They say you conquered a rare-grade dungeon right after leaving the training facility. And not just tagging along, but making a big impact.”

“…It’s probably exaggerated.”

“Pff… Still cautious as ever, huh? Why not be more confident? It’s not good to inflate your achievements, but being overly humble is also a problem.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Meeting her outside the training facility, I could really feel her imposing presence and the fact that she leads a clan. It made me shiver.

“Don’t be so stiff. Relax. We’re going to conquer a dungeon together, after all.”

“…It’s not as easy as I thought. It definitely feels different from what I saw in the training facility…”

“Kick… I get it. Anyway, how’s Yoo Ju doing? I heard she’s been making waves lately. Impressive, especially right after leaving the training facility.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Myth Clan Master.”

“Anyway… I need to talk to the client, so I’ll be going now.”

“Yes, Myth Clan Master. Then…”

It felt like a storm had passed.

“Whew…”

“Shall we go to our room and rest? Since the Myth Clan members arrived today, we’ll probably head to the dungeon tomorrow.”

“Yes, Yoo Ju. That sounds like a good idea.”

—

A day passed, and as we prepared to head out with the Myth Clan members to conquer the dungeon, we gathered in front of the mansion.

Yoo Ju spoke to Yoon Yeon.

“Shall we… head out? Since our party knows the location of the dungeon, we’ll take the lead and guide you.”

“Sure, Yoo Ju. We’ll follow from behind.”

Although Yoon Yeon is the master of a clan, we’re members of a different party, so we’re not obligated to follow her orders. We’re an independent party carrying out the request.

Of course, that’s just how it sounds. Given her experience, it’s better to respect her opinions.

Yoon Yeon also seemed to respect our party, not bossing us around.

If I had to guess her thoughts, it felt like she wanted to test how much we, the newbies, had adapted to this place.

Given that our exploits were written in the promotion log, she probably wanted to see how we would lead the conquest.

Looking at the status of her clan members, except for one, they all seemed to be first-year rookies. Their stats were similar to the first-year members of the Hwashin Clan.

She probably accepted this request to give her first-year members some experience.

On the way to the dungeon, we encountered some undead, but the Myth Clan members didn’t make a move. It seemed like Yoon Yeon had given them a heads-up.

‘…Are they giving us the experience?’

Since they’re first-years, defeating these low-level undead wouldn’t be much help. It felt like they were yielding to us, the zero-year party.

“Ho-won, uncle! Take care of the two on the left!”

“Got it…!”

The strange thing was that there were more undead than last time.

Kang I-seo also noticed something odd and spoke up while shooting arrows.

“Hey, what’s going on? There seem to be more than last time. Am I imagining it?”

“No, there are more. Though it’s just ghouls…”

After the battle ended, while everyone was regrouping, Yoon Yeon approached and asked.

“Hmm… It’s a bit different from what I heard. Did the undead usually appear in such numbers? I heard they only come in twos or threes in the forest.”

Yoo Ju answered her question.

“No, it’s strange. There were significantly fewer before.”

“Really? Hmm…”

“We’ll continue guiding you.”

As we continued guiding them, more ghouls appeared. The frequency was definitely higher than before.

This time, since there were more of them, even the Myth Clan members started to join in.

*Slash*

“Keeeeeeek—!”

*Crash!*

Sounds of something being cut and magic being activated echoed from all directions, and the battle began to settle.

‘…There’s almost no difference compared to the first-years of the Hwashin Clan.’

Compared to the Hwashin Clan, one of the top three clans, there was almost no difference in skill. In fact, they seemed even more agile.

‘…The Myth Clan isn’t one of the top three clans, but… they seem no different from the top three.’

From a rookie’s perspective, it might not seem like much, but to me, there was no difference in skill between the top three clans and the Myth Clan.

Of course, I haven’t seen the senior members of the Myth Clan, so I can’t be sure, but if the upper echelon is strong, the lower ranks should be too.

‘Were they hiding their strength?’

It’s a plausible assumption.

My impression of the Myth Clan is that, despite not lacking in any area compared to the top three clans, their recognition isn’t as high as it should be.

People’s perception of the Myth Clan is just that of an average large clan.

‘That’s nonsense.’

Seeing how they fight and Yoon Yeon’s stats, I can’t think of it so simply.

As I pondered this, we arrived at the entrance of the cave we had discovered before.

The difference from last time was… the number of ominous decorations around the cave had increased.

“…This is the place.”