Wearing a mask anywhere always draws attention. The magic pouch placed on the table surely helped catch some eyes as well. The 21st-floor conference room, capable of holding a hundred people, was filled with many attendees.
Their gazes were all directed toward me. Not openly staring, but sneaking quick glances while talking among themselves.
They seemed curious about who I was, why I was here, and what the magic pouch was.
Would it have drawn less attention if I hadn’t worn the mask?
“Are you okay?”
Kim Minju whispered softly.
I tapped my mask lightly and replied quietly.
“Ironically, yes.”
Because of the mask, I attracted attention, but it also concealed my face, sparing me from embarrassment.
Still, if I had been sitting all alone, I would have felt awkward.
I should be thankful to her and her companions for making sure I wasn’t alone.
Kim Minju glanced down at the smartphone I was tapping with my right index finger and smiled faintly.
“That’s a relief.”
“So, you’re part of the expedition team?”
The reason I was here was to be introduced to the expedition team. It was also to hear explanations about the Hong Yurung Gate expedition.
That’s why she and the front desk staff I saw in the lobby were here.
There was only one conclusion: as I expected, they were all hunters. No wonder their eyes looked so familiar.
“We’re not on the combat team. Me and the others belong to the supply team.”
“Supply team?”
I looked at Kim Minju and her companions.
Supply teams in expeditions usually handle simple manual labor.
They didn’t look like the type to handle such tasks.
“Oh? Have you ever participated in an expedition?”
“Hm?”
I hadn’t.
How could an ordinary office worker participate in an expedition?
The only related experience I had was seeing Dohee and Taechun off at the gate to cheer them on.
“Well then, I’ll explain briefly.”
Huh?
She seemed to have misunderstood something.
Although I hadn’t participated, it didn’t mean I didn’t know how things worked.
I had been a team leader in an A-rank guild, after all.
“Explanation—”
“The supply team carries ‘portable mana generators.’”
Kim Minju spoke faster than I could.
Without giving me time to clarify, she began explaining about the supply team.
Wait, that’s different from what I know.
What do they carry?
“This time, dismantlers were excluded. The expedition’s goal is to collect Udamhwa flowers.”
“Wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“What did you say? Portable mana generators?”
“Oh, yes. The Hong Yurung Gate is a place with strong poison and cold, so without portable mana generators, our supply team couldn’t survive.”
The Il-Dae Group…
What a ridiculous place.
As she said, mana generators are devices that allow ordinary people to safely move around inside gates.
They’re convenient but not something anyone can carry.
The magic stones used for mana generation are astronomically expensive, so only large guilds managing dismantlers can afford them.
And they modified them into portable versions to carry on expeditions?
“Is that so…”
“Yes?”
I began to understand why Il-Dae Group’s guild grew rapidly.
Excluding dismantlers implied they usually join as well.
In other words, while other guilds hauled hunted monster corpses back from the gate, these people conducted hunting and dismantling simultaneously.
“… It’s nothing. Then, the rest must be the combat team?”
“Yes. The combat team consists of six A-rank hunters, including Yeonhu oppa.”
“Then—”
Bang!
Just as I was about to ask about the members, the door opened.
It was Woo Yeonhu.
He strode in with a man I hadn’t seen before.
The masked man, with his mask hanging on his nose, looked at me the moment he entered.
Not in a hostile way, but with a hint of surprise, as if to say, ‘You’re really wearing a mask?’
“That’s the vice guild master of Il-Dae Guild, Oh Juhan.”
Kim Minju stood up and briefly introduced him.
The companions sitting beside her and others gathered in small groups all stood up as well.
I was the only one still seated.
Woo Yeonhu, standing right at the center, looked around the conference room and spoke.
“You don’t have to stand. Thanks for gathering so quickly despite being busy.”
People in the room responded with “It’s fine,” and “Of course, we had to come!”
Kim Minju and her companions beside me nodded along.
There was a clear sense of hierarchy, but everyone seemed to get along well.
I was surprised that no pretenses or awkwardness lingered.
“Let’s get straight to the point. The reason I gathered you all is that we’ve finally found a plant collection expert.”
All eyes turned to me.
Because the plant collection expert Woo Yeonhu mentioned was me.
Was it because they already knew why I was here?
Curiosity in their gazes had now shifted to surprise and admiration.
“Um, ‘Jion,’ please stand up.”
He pointed at me.
The name was newly created because I couldn’t carve ‘Warm Finger’ on the certificate.
I wanted to use it as it was, but if ‘Warm Finger’ was on the certificate, anyone would know it was forged.
Jion.
‘Ji’ meaning ‘finger,’ and ‘on’ meaning ‘warm.’
I didn’t come up with it; it was suggested by Chairman Woo’s secretary, Eom Jua.
I took my hand off my smartphone and slowly stood.
“The plant collection expert introduced by Lee Seonghun of Baekwooncheon Guild, Jion.”
“… Jion.”
I just said my name and bowed slightly.
No need for flowery words.
Some people in the conference room clapped.
Why applaud…
Good thing I was wearing a mask.
Otherwise, I would have been standing there, my face flushed bright red.
“Jion, please show us that.”
“That?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
They meant the Seolji grass.
They wanted me to prove my ability.
Understanding the intention, I immediately took the magic pouch from the table.
It was the pouch he gave me to carry Seolji grass.
He said it would be dangerous to carry it around openly.
Fair enough—I accepted without a word.
In return, I had one simple request.
“Here you go.”
I took Seolji grass out of the pouch and showed it to the crowd.
Gasps of admiration escaped their lips.
They recognized the mushroom in my right hand.
“Jion passed the test in front of me and my father.”
Their gazes shifted to my hand and face.
Several people exclaimed loudly in amazement.
“I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. Thanks to Jion, we can finally enter the Hong Yurung Gate for my sister.”
Saying that, Woo Yeonhu bowed politely.
Was he such an honest person to act so seriously?
No way.
His behavior was calculated showmanship.
“We will enter the Hong Yurung Gate after these people. To save my sister, Woo Chaeyeon!”
That’s why I quietly sat back down, not wanting to draw attention.
I wasn’t the main character here.
The expedition leader was Woo Yeonhu, and he was the star.
He pulled out a scroll sealed with sealing wax.
“The expedition will last ten days! We will collect Udamhwa flowers and exit the Hong Yurung Gate within that period.”
There was no explanation of the scroll, but its purpose was obvious.
It was a map showing a shortcut from the entrance to the Udamhwa.
It was probably purchased from the Bio Guild and Parmes Guild, who had ventured into Hong Yurung Gate nine years ago.
Kim Minju whispered an apology.
“I’m sorry.”
“Hm? Oh, no, it’s fine.”
“But Yeonhu oppa…”
She trailed off.
She called him oppa so familiarly.
She probably couldn’t say, ‘You used me to raise people’s morale.’
I tapped on my smartphone and shrugged.
Honestly, I wasn’t upset.
“You already apologized. If you add your apology, it’ll be too much to bear.”
“… Ah!”
Right.
Woo Yeonhu using me was a matter already discussed between us.
If he’d acted on his own, I’d be mad…
I looked at the magic pouch containing Seolji grass.
“I’m sorry, Warm Finger.”
Woo Yeonhu handed me the pouch and suddenly apologized.
I tilted my head, not understanding why.
Had he done something to me?
Even after putting the Seolji grass in the pouch, I couldn’t recall anything.
“… Suddenly?”
“We might need to use you a bit in the 21st-floor conference room.”
The 21st-floor conference room was where his expedition team gathered.
So that was it.
I realized what he wanted from me.
His expedition team had probably been waiting for someone like me for a long time.
Long waits would have worn everyone out.
What he wanted by using me was to raise the team’s morale.
“It’s fine to use me, but will I be useful?”
“Is it fine…?”
“What’s the big deal?”
It wasn’t a difficult task.
Having worked as a guild executive, I knew how hard it was to raise people’s morale.
We often used each other to lift the guild members’ spirits.
Dohee usually took advantage of us, while Taechun and I were on the receiving end.
It looked better and was more persuasive that way.
Above all, I couldn’t imagine Taechun or me ever taking advantage of Dohee.
“… Huh.”
I really couldn’t picture it…
I fled the Il-Dae Group building.
The expedition team had gathered all at once.
If Minju and her companions hadn’t acted as shields…
The thought alone was terrifying.
As soon as I left the building, I headed to Namsan Forge.
I needed to pick up the arm guards I had commissioned.
Since I was going into an A+ rank gate, I planned to get some equipment too.
I considered asking Woo Yeonhu, but judging by his personality today, he’d probably spoil me with too many things, so I gave up.
“Welcome!”
The forge owner greeted me loudly as I entered.
He was wiping dust off armor with a dry towel.
“I came for my equipment.”
“Equipment? What kind of equipment?”
“What kind? The arm guards. I brought the leather yesterday—”
“Ah! The one with great dismantling skills! I didn’t recognize you because you were wearing a mask.”
“Huh? Mask?”
I raised my left hand and touched my face.
I couldn’t feel my skin at my fingertips.
What I felt was the smoothness of the mask.
So I’d come this far still wearing it.
No wonder people had been giving me strange looks…
“Here you go.”
The forge owner brought out one arm guard.
I immediately put it on.
It had adjustable straps, so it felt comfortable.
“Do you have B-rank equipment?”
“I have D-rank equipment.”
The forge owner scratched his thick arm.
Right, looking for B-rank equipment at the forge near an E-rank gate was unreasonable.
“If you need B-rank, I can introduce you to a blacksmith. Want me to?”
“Oh, that would be great.”
“Wait a moment. I’ll write down the address for you.”
As soon as he finished, the forge owner pulled out a notebook, scribbled an address, tore off the page, and handed it to me.
“But you might not be able to buy equipment there.”
“Hm? Is it a forge with restrictions?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“…?”
“They’re skilled, but not exactly good-natured.”
Why would you introduce me to someone like that, you old man?