The place Lee Taeseong arrived at with Elder Dam Hopung was the city’s West Gate entrance.
“Let’s wait here for a moment. There’s someone we need to meet.”
“A traveling companion?”
“Yes.”
Lee Taeseong was puzzled.
They were following a map to find treasure, so it was only natural to maintain absolute secrecy.
If someone followed them, they should be dealing with them, not inviting them along.
Noticing Taeseong’s expression, Elder Dam Hopung spoke.
“Most places where treasure lies dormant are protected by formations or magic on the outside. You can’t just walk in.”
Martial arts sects often called them treasure maps, but secret grottos created purely by martial artists were protected by formations, while others were shielded by magic barriers.
If one tried to break in by force, the interior might be designed to collapse, so an expert had to be called in to disarm the protections.
“But isn’t security important? It would be a problem if the secret leaked out.”
“There is a trustworthy place.”
“Where is it?”
“The Red Magic Tower.”
One of the giant powers in the great city of Elrn was the Red Magic Tower.
Their main tower was located in the center of the Western Continent, and the one here was just a branch.
However, even a branch could not be taken lightly.
A branch manager dispatched from the main tower resided there, and beneath them were many illustrious mages.
The Flying Dragon Sect was in an alliance with the Red Magic Tower.
To be precise, since the Flying Dragon Sect lacked sufficient power, they provided gold coins in exchange for a mutual alliance.
“They’ve always been clean when it comes to business like this.”
One of the Red Magic Tower’s main sources of income was this kind of dispatch business.
It was quite expensive, but in return, they were impeccable in every aspect, including maintaining security and suppressing curiosity about the treasure.
They had built such trust with various allies over a long time, and Elder Dam Hopung used them with full confidence.
Furthermore, since this treasure hunt involved stealing the map from the youngest of the Crimson Brothers, it was important to move quickly before the eldest or second brother noticed.
Since they planned to clear everything out in a single day, the relative importance of long-term security was lower.
“Lady Serina.”
When the appointed time arrived, they met a mage from the Red Magic Tower at the city’s West Gate.
She had long red hair, and three red flags were embroidered on the chest of her robe.
“Elder Dam. It’s been a while.”
“I should have visited more often. Once this is over, I’ll bring you a bottle of fine liquor.”
“I’ll look forward to it. And this person?”
Her gaze shifted to Lee Taeseong.
Taeseong immediately performed a fist-and-palm salute.
“I am Lee Taeseong, a second-class disciple of the Flying Dragon Sect. I have come to escort Elder Dam Hopung.”
“Ho. Elder Dam is quite picky, so he doesn’t just take anyone along. Nice to meet you. I am Serina Eldore. I hold the position of Senior Mage at the Red Magic Tower.”
She looked at Lee Taeseong with curious eyes.
It was clear at once what kind of personality Elder Dam Hopung usually had.
Elder Dam Hopung cleared his throat, perhaps feeling slightly uncomfortable.
“Ahem. Lady Serina. Shall we head out immediately?”
“Um… wait a moment.”
Pulling out a pocket watch to check the time, Serina frowned slightly.
Then, she let out a deep sigh.
“…Sigh. I’m sorry. Please wait just a bit longer. I was going to bring a disciple along to give them some experience this time, but they seem to be running a little late.”
Serina lowered her head and apologized.
Dam Hopung was puzzled.
“How can a disciple be later than their master?”
“They’re an Outlander.”
“…Ah. I see. I suppose they donated quite a bit.”
Dam Hopung immediately realized how things stood.
How could a disciple be later than their master?
However, it was possible in several large organizations, including the Magic Tower.
This was because there were disciples who entered by spending money.
The mages of the Magic Tower were always struggling with funding.
And some users targeted that.
Wealthy gamers in reality bought in-game gold with real money.
Among the gamers, there were people who earned money in the game through quests or various methods to sell it for real cash.
Some who were at the level of conglomerates even started at Level 1 with several crates of gold coins.
If they donated those funds to the Magic Tower or prestigious sects, they could join and be placed under an outstanding master.
However, it was too much to expect such disciples to respect their master or take care of various chores.
That was why Serina could only sigh, feeling there was nothing she could do.
A moment later.
“I’m sorry I’m late, Master.”
A man arrived and bowed his head slightly in greeting.
It was the disciple, Zhang Xuan.
“…No. You aren’t that late, so it’s fine.”
Serina wasn’t particularly pleased, but she nodded.
Since the amount of gold this disciple provided was enormous, she couldn’t easily scold him.
“Then, let’s head out.”
***
The destination the map pointed to was deep in the mountains.
Elder Dam Hopung hiked as if he were flying, with his hands behind his back, while Lee Taeseong used the Dragon Shadow Wind Step to the best of his internal energy’s ability.
He considered all of this to be training.
He had to practice hard to raise his skill level.
“There’s too much strength in your toes. It’s not about raw power. Move as if you’ve become a mollusk.”
Elder Dam Hopung occasionally threw out advice, and it was truly pearls of wisdom.
As Lee Taeseong moved according to the advice, he could immediately feel the change.
-Ding!
[Proficiency in Dragon Shadow Wind Step increases.]
[The skill level of Dragon Shadow Wind Step has increased.]
[Dragon Shadow Wind Step (Lv.1) -> Dragon Shadow Wind Step (Lv.2)]
Thanks to that, his skill level went up by one.
And naturally, a notification appeared in reality as well.
-Ding!
『Proficiency in Dragon Shadow Wind Step increases.』
『The skill level of Dragon Shadow Wind Step has increased.』
『Dragon Shadow Wind Step (Lv.1) -> Dragon Shadow Wind Step (Lv.2)』
“Thank you for the advice. I will work harder!”
Naturally, Lee Taeseong could only become even more polite!
He didn’t just say it; he showed it through his actions.
Taeseong had brought a separate backpack, which contained water, cloth to wipe away sweat, and light snacks.
Throughout the climb, Taeseong watched Dam Hopung’s mood and handed items over one by one, and he did the same for Serina next to him.
“Thank you. I really envy Elder Dam.”
Serina said as she took a piece of taffy and chewed on it.
She was sincerely envious of the relationship between Dam Hopung and Lee Taeseong.
She wanted to have that kind of relationship with her disciple, but her disciple was not very social.
Her disciple, who went by the name Zhang Xuan.
From what Lee Taeseong could guess, he was a Chinese user, and he was quite eccentric.
He was a person with a lot of curiosity about various things.
Even now, he was using magic to move around and look at the interior of the mountain.
Since the natural environment in Dream World was spectacular, Taeseong could understand being absorbed in hiking or sightseeing, but weren’t they on a mission right now?
However, Serina didn’t say anything.
As long as they arrived at the destination correctly, there was no problem.
“Are all Outlanders like that? It’s… hard to grow close to them.”
“Most Outlanders are like that. But then again, not all of them are.”
“I don’t know. All the Outlanders I’ve seen at the Magic Tower had similar personalities.”
Serina shrugged her shoulders.
“……”
Lee Taeseong remained quiet beside her.
What could he say here?
Elder Dam Hopung glanced at Lee Taeseong and continued.
“No. There are Outlanders who aren’t like that. There are those who are polite, respect their superiors, and bow their heads to their elders.”
“What? Is there really such an unbelievable Outlander?”
Serina shook her head as if it were impossible.
Then, Elder Dam Hopung smiled proudly while looking at Lee Taeseong.
“This fellow right here is the prime example.”
“…Wait, he was an Outlander?”
Serina was so surprised she covered her mouth with her hand.
In Dream World, there was no way to distinguish between users and NPCs.
Even among users, if they didn’t reveal it, they wouldn’t know.
Serina had seen Lee Taeseong’s helpful attitude and his natural way of attending to his superior, so she had naturally assumed he was a local.
Good heavens.
To think an Outlander could act like that.
From then on, Serina began to watch Lee Taeseong closely.
***
As they shared various stories and practiced the Dragon Shadow Wind Step, they soon arrived at the location indicated by the map.
Between the cracks in the rocks, they could see a cleverly hidden cave opening leading downward.
It was a place so well-hidden that it would be difficult to find unless one knew it was there.
Standing before it, Serina, who had been muttering while forming hand seals, looked at Elder Dam Hopung.
“It seems we found the right place. There’s a barrier.”
“Can you dispell it?”
“Yes. It’s not that complicated. I think it’ll be over soon.”
“That’s a relief. Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
Serina began the work of dispelling the barrier with her disciple, Zhang Xuan.
Unlike the attitude he had shown on the way here, Zhang Xuan was serious when it came to magic.
‘Well, I suppose all of this is related to increasing proficiency and raising skill levels.’
No matter how much money one had, effort was required to grow skills.
Since they had come all the way here early in the morning, if it wasn’t a waste of effort, he naturally had to focus.
And in less than thirty minutes, the barrier was dispelled.
At that moment—
-Zap!
Something shot out from inside like a bolt of lightning.
The things flying like rays of light were dark red daggers, four in total, targeting the entire party.
-Clang!
-Thud!
Elder Dam Hopung and Serina blocked them without much difficulty, and Lee Taeseong also instinctively used the Dragon Shadow Wind Step to dodge.
‘I almost died!’
A chill ran down Lee Taeseong’s spine.
If the level of his Dragon Shadow Wind Step hadn’t increased on the way here, he might not have been able to dodge.
He must never let his guard down, no matter the time or place.
Even if it was inside Dream World, if he died, wouldn’t his skills be deleted?
“Urgh…”
However, Serina’s disciple, Zhang Xuan, failed to dodge.
Zhang Xuan fell to his knees with a dagger embedded in his lower abdomen.
“Oh dear. Are you alright?”
Even if it wasn’t a typical master-disciple relationship, Serina wasn’t worried about him just because he was a disciple.
Since he was an Outlander, even if he died, he would resurrect a day later, so what was there to worry about?
But what if the disciple came to dislike the Red Magic Tower because of this and left?
Since the money going into Serina’s research was no small amount, she couldn’t help but be worried.
Then, a man with a bushy beard jumped out from between the rock crevices.
Yi Wongwang, the second of the Crimson Brothers, quickly scanned the area.
‘What’s going on? Why did an elder of the Flying Dragon Sect and a mage from the Red Magic Tower come together?’
This place was where the youngest of the Crimson Brothers stored the treasures he had collected.
Yi Wongwang had known about this place by tailing his younger brother before and had even stolen the method to enter, so as soon as he heard the news that his younger brother had met his end at the hands of the Flying Dragon Sect elder, he had rushed here.
He had been greedy for it before but couldn’t come because of his brother’s scrutiny, so he was curious about what the youngest had hidden here.
However, just after he entered, he felt something strange outside and came back out, only to find this situation unfolding.
‘First, I have to get out of here.’
He couldn’t win a fight.
He focused on returning to the city alive.
Yi Wongwang’s entire attention was focused on Elder Dam Hopung and Serina.
Since he recognized the emblems representing an elder of the Flying Dragon Sect and a Senior Mage of the Red Magic Tower, he realized he would lose even if he launched a surprise attack.
‘I’ll take a hostage!’
Looking at their attire, that injured guy seemed like a brat from the Red Magic Tower, and the other one was presumed to be a low-level member of the Flying Dragon Sect.
He didn’t need to care about a low-level member, but the Magic Tower brat was different.
If he succeeded in capturing him, there was hope!
-Swish!
Yi Wongwang rushed toward Zhang Xuan while scattering daggers once again.
Elder Dam Hopung and Serina hesitated while blocking them, and in that gap, Yi Wongwang successfully approached Zhang Xuan.
Just as the two of them looked on, realizing their mistake—
‘What’s with this guy?’
Lee Taeseong was bewildered.
Yi Wongwang had fully exposed his wide-open back to him.
It was an unavoidable choice because Yi Wongwang lacked the leisure to check Taeseong, and he simply hadn’t cared about a low-level member.
However, from Lee Taeseong’s perspective, this couldn’t be more enticing.
-Crackle!
Lee Taeseong stepped forward toward Yi Wongwang’s back using the Dragon Shadow Wind Step, then thrust out a fist surging with lightning.