Chapter 25: The Sak’s Displeasure

[The Sak advisor did not listen to me and became noticeably sulky.]

I didn’t follow the orders, and Sak’s expression visibly darkened.

The two ants drooped completely, even slowly swaying as if they were shedding tears.

To soothe them, I kept gently stroking Sak’s antennae while we warped to the Muju Ant Nest Dungeon.

The drooped antennae showed no intention of returning to their original state.

Was it strange that their pitiful appearance made a smile linger on my lips?

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

The snake-eyed man asked an unnecessary question.

Well, since he was grinning at his smartphone, it was understandable to assume that.

Tapping on the screen to give mana might’ve looked like sending a chat message.

“Haha, it’s not like that.”

I gave an awkward laugh and denied it.

I slipped the smartphone back into my pocket and stepped off the warp gate.

At this rate, I might end up with the image of a fool who’s head over heels for a girlfriend, even though I’ve never had one in my life.

“You don’t have to be shy.”

“Really, it’s not like that.”

“Hmm, alright.”

[Sak was displeased with the snake-eyed man’s gaze.]

Every time the snake-eyed man spoke, Sak voiced his complaints.

Not long ago, he didn’t respond even when called, but today he was the one continuously conveying his intentions.

Could it be that the warm touch and continuous mana supply allowed communication?

Or maybe the experience through the world’s mana circulation made him feel some familiarity?

“Jeongcheol Kim! So it was you after all.”

A man came out from the dungeon management office in front of the ant nest dungeon and walked toward us.

Then, he greeted the three men walking ahead like old acquaintances.

He boasted about being a veteran who had kept the place perfectly clean for two years, and seeing the manager’s bright smile in response, it seemed true.

“Manager, long time no see!”

The stout man was the head of this dungeon management office.

Jeongcheol Kim glanced at us once and ordered, “Finish your preparations by 25.”

Then he strode quickly toward the manager.

He acted like he was the party leader, and one of my eyes twitched involuntarily.

Kind of annoying, huh?

“Watch your eyes.”

One of Jeongcheol Kim’s group, a large man, glared at me.

Just as I was annoyed with Jeongcheol Kim, they seemed annoyed by me as well.

Hmph, I don’t like this guy’s tone of speech either.

I probably picked the wrong party.

It was my fault for rushing my feelings, trying to bully Taechun too quickly.

I should smooth things over before it gets more troublesome.

“If I don’t watch them, are you going to scold me?”

“Whoa.”

But my mouth betrayed me with words unrelated to my intentions.

I was definitely going to smooth things over, but curses slipped out instead.

Hoo, it’s too late now to explain I didn’t mean it that way…

[The Sak advisor quietly suggested to throw dirt on the snake-eyed man even now.]

The suggestion made me laugh because I wanted to do exactly that.

Should I really just throw dirt on him and leave?

I’d get a failure penalty, but I could just sincerely complete another association quest instead.

“Huh?”

Is this guy crazy?

My laughter didn’t sit well with the two men, who glared at me even more fiercely than before.

Then they moved forward as if trying to grab me.

A novice hunter standing nearby tried to stop them, stepping between us, but was pushed back by the larger man’s strength.

“Uh, um…”

Even as he was pushed back, the young man didn’t stop trying to intervene.

Seeing the youngest among us struggle so hard to stop the conflict made me feel a bit sorry.

What are you doing instead of clearing the party quest?

I felt a twinge of guilt.

For now, I’ll have to show some maturity here.

“Hoo, I…”

“What is it? Why is everyone standing around without preparing?”

I pulled up the little maturity I had from deep inside.

But that maturity couldn’t show itself.

Because Jeongcheol Kim had returned.

He looked over me and the juniors alternately, sighed as if understanding the situation at once, then glared at the juniors.

“I told you to prepare, so why are you picking a fight again?”

“W-what? That’s unfair!”

“That’s not it, this guy’s being—”

“Oseok Kwon, Gihae Han, are you talking back?”

“~I’m sorry.”

“I’ll correct it.”

Sorry? Correct it?

This isn’t some kind of military drill.

I watched them with disdain, and Jeongcheol Kim nodded slightly to me.

He displayed the maturity I was trying to muster.

“I apologize if I upset you.”

“~It’s alright. It wasn’t a big deal.

Hmm, then I’ll get straight to the point.

According to the manager, it’s a tight situation. They’re asking to start the excavation immediately.”

A tight situation.

That means the ant nest is overrun with Ant Kings.

If we leave it a little longer, Ant Kings will spill out from the nest.

The foreign mana will spread, expanding the dungeon’s territory.

This was definitely not the time to bicker and fight.

Perhaps thinking the same, they each began equipping weapons and armor from their magic pouches.

Jeongcheol Kim wielded a longsword and wore light armor; Oseok Kwon and Gihae Han took greatsword and one-handed sword respectively, both in medium armor.

The novice hunter drew a spear and only wore armor on upper and lower body.

Judging by the many scratches on the armor, other parts were either left to repair or broken.

I strapped a longsword on my right hip.

Since my armor was being repaired by Jae’s blacksmith, I only wore a leather vambrace on my right arm.

Jeongcheol Kim glanced at me.

The novice hunter looked at me and smirked.

“You’re not wearing armor?”

A brace.

I wondered why they kept staring at me.

“It’s being repaired by the blacksmith.”

“Really? Then—”

“It’s fine.”

Even while maintaining a faint glow from the light crystal, I was in no mood for faltering.

Unless the S-rank gate monsters flooded in, a swarm of Ant Kings in a grade 6 dungeon was nothing to fear.

“But…”

The novice hunter looked at me worriedly, not knowing that.

Jeongcheol Kim, like the novice hunter, also asked anxiously, “Are you really okay with that?”

Meanwhile, Oseok Kwon and Gihae Han muttered in low voices: “Acting all high and mighty over rank,” “Let them be, they’ll get hurt if they’re reckless.”

Ugh. They’re loud enough to hear everything, you fools.

“I really am okay.”

“Hmm… if you say so.”

Even as he replied, Jeongcheol Kim added with concern.

“We’ll enter first. You two wait here for five to ten minutes, then come in. Oseok Kwon, Gihae Han, let’s go.”

“What? Us?”

Oseok Kwon and Gihae Han looked at Jeongcheol Kim with confused faces, wondering why they had to go first.

Of course, their protest didn’t last long.

When Jeongcheol Kim frowned, they immediately complied and ran toward the ant nest.

Their sheepish sight somehow felt a bit endearing.

“Well then, I’ll go in.”

With that, Jeongcheol Kim chased after the two juniors into the ant nest.

The novice hunter beside me asked nervously,

“Do you think it’ll be okay?”

“It should be. They’re S-rank hunters after all. They said they could handle it themselves from the start.”

“…I guess.”

Maybe it’s because he’s a first-year novice hunter.

He’s such a worrywart.

An A-rank hunter wouldn’t be in danger in a grade 6 dungeon.

Mistakes or carelessness could cause injuries, or they might meet evolved monsters, but they wouldn’t fail outright.

“Oh, by the way, I don’t know your name. I’m Baek Dowoon.”

“I’m Jaesik Kim. Twenty years old.”

“I’m twenty-six.”

When I reached out my hand to shake, Jaesik Kim winced, gripping his spear with his right hand.

While shaking hands, he laughed.

“Oh, Baek Dowoon? Are you someone we know?”

“No, not at all.”

I denied it, but Jaesik Kim began scrutinizing me closely.

Not wanting to cause trouble by getting recognized, I quickly turned my face away.

After waiting about ten minutes outside, we entered the ant nest.

It was dark inside, but Jaesik Kim took out a light crystal from his magic pouch and illuminated the surroundings.

He also gave me a one-hour light crystal to prepare for any unexpected situation.

A thoughtful friend.

“Alright.”

The ant nest was filled with Ant King corpses.

They were all swiftly cut down and stabbed to death.

Quite impressive.

Honestly, I was surprised by their skill.

Jaesik Kim next to me also marveled at the dead Ant Kings.

But it wasn’t just admiration.

He seemed to be motivated by a competitive spirit, wondering if he could do the same.

[The Sak advisor shudders in disgust.]

Disgusted?

That’s more than just disliking them.

Even the Sak didn’t detest one of the most impure monsters—the Skeleton Lord.

Yet, he found the Ant King corpses repulsive?

…Is it because they’re insects?

Usually, plants and ants have a symbiotic relationship, but the Ant Kings might be monsters, not ordinary insects.

Feeling a strange suspicion, I kept walking until we reached a fork in the path.

Jeongcheol Kim’s group was waiting for us there.

“Have you waited long?”

“No, both of you came quickly.”

Speaking of forks, it really felt like an ant nest.

Jaesik Kim nodded in agreement.

Jeongcheol Kim pointed back the way we came and said,

“You might have noticed, but there are too many. We can’t go together.”

“Are we splitting up?”

“Yes. We have to thin them out one by one. Everyone must choose their own path.”

It was sudden.

Sudden, but I couldn’t blindly oppose it.

According to Jeongcheol Kim, mana was soon to overflow here.

We had to reduce the ant numbers as quickly as possible.

Probably, only after wiping out the whole nest and killing the queen ant would the cleanup be complete.

So accepting his proposal made the most sense.

If I were alone, that’s what I’d do.

I turned to look at Jaesik Kim.

His face turned pale upon hearing that he would have to fight the raging Ant Kings alone.

He seemed to want to protest that this wasn’t what he signed up for.

He knew the situation was bad, so he didn’t actually protest.

Looks like I have to step in.

Jaesik Kim had just become a hunter.

Leaving him to hunt the rampant Ant Kings alone was too harsh.

“You three go on ahead. I’ll go with Jaesik.”

“B-brother, help…”

Suddenly “brother”?

Jeongcheol Kim’s group gave me disapproving looks.

But given the situation—

“Jaesik Kim is a first-year, grade 6 hunter.”

I cut off Jeongcheol Kim’s attempt to persuade me.

He was about to say the situation was bad, but it wasn’t worth listening to.

Three S-rank hunters and one A-rank hunter couldn’t stop the rampage of a grade 6 dungeon and needed the novice’s help?

It’d be better to turn back to the management office, give up the quest, and request support from the association hunters.

If you’re human, you should know shame.

Sending someone alone is like a death sentence. Are you trying to kill him?

“That’s not the case.”

Jeongcheol Kim bowed his head to Jaesik Kim while responding.

But Oseok Kwon and Gihae Han standing beside him wore grim expressions.

Their faces were obviously showing they wanted to throw a tantrum.

“My thinking was short-sighted. I apologize.”

“Ah, no! I’m sorry I’m weak…”

“We each go separately, and the two of you go together. That’s best.”

Though agreeing with my opinion, Jeongcheol Kim’s expression was displeased.

Unlike the juniors whose faces were flushed red and blue, his was stiff.

It looked like he wanted to say, “How dare you talk back to me?”

From that look, I understood why Oseok Kwon and Gihae Han called him ‘brother.’

People stick to their own kind.

[The Sak advisor reports that the human man’s gaze is disgusting.]

Right, I was thinking the exact same thing.