“You arrived just in time, huh?”
They had just passed by.
The first familiar face I saw upon arriving at the Hong Yulong Gate was Assistant Manager Lee.
Even though I had left the guild, why did I have to see Assistant Manager Lee’s face first thing in the morning?
Was it because I kept seeing a familiar face?
It didn’t feel like I had truly quit the guild.
Standing beside Assistant Manager Lee, tapping on my smartphone screen, it felt as if I was still on a business trip for the Baekwooncheon Guild.
I asked as kindly as possible.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I thought you might be standing around awkwardly by yourself, so I came to see you off.”
Assistant Manager Lee standing next to me didn’t look at me.
Where his gaze was fixed was obvious.
At the end of his line of sight was Kim Minju, gathering supplies with her teammates.
She glanced this way repeatedly as she organized the provisions.
Couldn’t they just be together?
“Your eyes are on Minju.”
“Ah, but your heart’s with the team leader, you know.”
“My heart seems to be over there too.”
“That’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”
“Ugh, you’d be better off not speaking.”
I shook my head and looked around.
The area in front of the gate was bustling with members of the Iltae Group preparing for the expedition.
The supply team Kim Minju belonged to was organizing the gathered provisions.
They efficiently checked for any missing items.
A little distance away from the supply team, six men and women, including Woo Yeonhu, were maintaining their gear.
Just a casual glance at their equipment made it clear their minimum value would be equivalent to a whole building.
The capital power of the Iltae Group was truly terrifying.
Even though Dohui and Taecheon were in the same A-rank hunter party, they couldn’t afford such expensive gear.
Dohui, I’ll earn a lot of money for you.
I think I finally can!
“Oh, by the way. Team leader, what have you been doing all this time?”
“If you’re not curious, why ask?”
“I am curious.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Seriously. I’m very curious.”
You only look at the woman you like but talk well.
If you’re going to stare like that, at least pretend to help and stay with her.
I didn’t understand why he was standing next to me, provoking my temper.
“I got my gear fitted.”
“Oh? You actually did something productive. I thought you’d just be lying around playing games.”
“Of course, I also spent time playing games lying down.”
“What brand?”
“J.Y. Blacksmith.”
There was a small “J.Y.” engraved on the side I tapped.
For the first time, he turned his head toward me.
He scanned my gear and opened his eyes wide.
“Is that really J.Y.? Did they sell you gear there?”
“You know them?”
“They’re one of Korea’s top 100 blacksmiths, though at the bottom of the list.”
“No wonder they charged 50 million won for a set of light armor.”
“50 million won? That’s a bargain. Almost like a war-grade set.”
“… Really?”
“Yeah. Is it second-hand?”
No, it’s a prototype.
I almost said that but stopped myself.
I suddenly remembered that the guy next to me was Lee Seonghun.
The one who had drawn up a business plan to sell the World Tree fruit.
If I told him, he might desperately try to find J.Y. Blacksmith to get a set for himself.
Yoo Jae was already annoyed by the crowd of people.
I couldn’t add another troublesome person by stepping in.
Still, hearing 50 million won was a cheap price made me feel the money I spent wasn’t wasted.
“That’s right.”
“You were lucky. They’re currently preparing a new release and aren’t taking orders.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The price’s gone up recently. Kim Muyeon, ranked 47th, was even refused a commission not long ago.”
“… Is that so?”
The prototype of that new release was what I was wearing.
It was a relief I hadn’t mentioned it was a prototype.
If he had known, I didn’t want to imagine what Assistant Manager Lee would have done.
But why would they sell such an important prototype to me?
It wasn’t out of pity, since the sale happened before all that.
What had I done?
I thought about it but couldn’t recall anything.
“Looks like people are gathering.”
“Yeah. I should get going too.”
“Alright, have a safe trip. Oh, and watch out for evolved monsters, ‘Pulling Hands,’ and ‘Break’!”
… How can someone give warnings in such an obnoxious way?
I stopped walking, turned my head, and stared at Assistant Manager Lee.
“Are you trying to make sure I get hit by all three?”
“Oh, team leader, you always misunderstand me. Look into my eyes. Don’t you feel my sincerity?”
“Well, you should at least look over here before talking about looking into my eyes or not.”
“My sincerity toward you won’t change no matter where I look.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
Just as I was about to argue,
“In ten minutes, the expedition will depart! All expedition members, please gather here!”
I heard a man from the Iltae Group shout.
Yeah, it’s better not to deal with him at all.
Ignoring Assistant Manager Lee, I walked toward where the expedition members were gathering.
As I walked, I slipped my smartphone inside my armor.
I couldn’t keep tapping the screen even after entering the gate.
Upon entering the Hong Yulong Gate, a dense forest spread out.
The forest was shrouded in a mist filled with cold and poison.
The Iltae Group’s expedition hunted skeletons and ghouls that appeared sporadically as they slowly advanced through the forest.
The expedition was divided into three teams: combat, gathering, and supply.
I belonged to the gathering team, accompanied by the bodyguard hunters assigned to protect me.
I was about to say protection wasn’t necessary, but Woo Yeonhu smirked and winked, so I kept quiet.
“Although it’s not necessary, this is to conceal your identity,” he seemed to say.
“Wow, I’ve seen this a few times already, but it still amazes me every time.”
Kim Minju was admiring the combat team, who instantly took down six skeletons.
She had transferred from the supply team to the gathering team because of her few conversations with me.
I agreed with her.
The expedition had been inside the gate for half a day, yet hadn’t stopped once, advancing toward the place where the Udamhwa grew.
Thanks to the portable mana generator, the number of monsters approaching was small.
But even more important was Woo Yeonhu’s team’s hunting skill.
Skeletons and ghouls that suddenly appeared from the mist turned into corpses in less than a second at their hands.
Could I do the same?
Skeletons were like an army.
They had an organized system and attacked and defended cooperatively.
Because of that, facing skeletons was on a different level than facing mindless mobs head-on.
Yet the six skeletons were killed instantly by Woo Yeonhu’s team as soon as they appeared.
A-rank hunters really are amazing…
“… Six?”
“Huh?”
Something was off.
Why did it seem like I kept seeing six of them?
I couldn’t understand and quickened my pace.
“Uh, uh? Jion, you can’t leave your position!”
The expedition became chaotic.
Kim Minju chased after me as I walked quickly ahead, and the bodyguards assigned to protect me followed to stop me.
But I shook off the bodyguards and walked forward.
Because of me, the expedition’s formation completely fell apart.
Even if I was called a tyrant, I couldn’t argue.
Woo Yeonhu, who had been standing with his spear like a staff, noticed me walking briskly and asked.
“Jion, what’s the matter?”
“I need to check on some skeletons.”
“Huh? These ones?”
I immediately walked toward a skeleton broken in half beneath his feet.
Seeing that, he quickly made a judgment.
He halted the expedition’s movement and granted me the right to inspect the skeleton.
I nodded in thanks once and examined the skeleton.
“Just an ordinary skeleton.”
“……”
The skeleton only carried a sword and shield.
It wore no helmet or armor.
The other five were the same.
Even if this gate only had cold and poison as advantages…
How could this be?
The gate’s rating system was due to mana strain.
Also, the quality of monsters varied.
The assessment included the equipment monsters wore.
Seeing this, I’d believe they were not B-rank skeletons but F-rank skeletons.
“Minju, what’s wrong? Why are you like this?”
“I don’t know. Suddenly like this…”
“Minju, did you say anything before this?”
“Juhan? Say anything?”
“I’ve seen this style before. They have to act on instinct.”
“Instinct?”
“Uh, uh… ah! She said ‘six’.”
“Six?”
“Skeletons appearing at 12 o’clock!”
Lost in thought while inspecting, the noise around me barely registered.
But I heard a woman from the combat team shout.
It was because of the word “skeleton.”
I lifted my gaze from the skeleton on the ground and looked toward 12 o’clock.
In front of the woman holding out her spear stood six skeletons approaching.
Six skeletons carrying only sword and shield.
“Oh… interesting. Six of them.”
“Aha. So the same number kept coming.”
“Jion, can I kill them?”
Woo Yeonhu asked me.
Can you ask that?
“Is there a reason not to kill them?”
“No, Juhan.”
“Got it.”
Joo Han, who was called by name, clenched his dagger tightly and charged forward.
He killed all six skeletons in less than 30 seconds.
His smooth and agile movements caught people’s attention, but my gaze was more fixed on the skeletons.
Their movements were like those of the weak facing an unbeatable enemy.
They split into attack and defense groups to make use of their numerical advantage.
That was not the behavior of a mere skeleton soldier.
“……”
Skeletons are like an army.
They are organized and cooperate.
Skeletons appeared in groups of six.
In other words, well-organized skeletons came consistently, dividing into attack and defense groups in battle…?
This is…
“A vanguard?”
I seemed to understand what was happening.
I stood up and stomped on the head of a skeleton lying on the ground.
The skull crushed to pieces.
“These guys are vanguard soldiers.”
“Vanguard? Skeletons?”
Woo Yeonhu asked incredulously.
Others around him looked the same.
I understood.
Skeletons are a hierarchical monster but follow orders mechanically because of their ranks.
They are not intelligent.
They only receive coarse orders like start attack or retreat and cannot give detailed commands such as sending the same number of soldiers carrying only swords and shields to one place.
Then, was what happened just a coincidence?
Once, maybe.
Twice could be coincidence.
Thrice is suspicious. Four times…
“Skeletons appearing at 12 o’clock! Number: six…”
The woman who first noticed the monster’s approach shouted again.
Looking forward, six skeletons carrying only sword and shield were running toward us.
“It’s certain. This is the evolved ‘Skeleton Lord,’ the boss monster of this gate.”
If it repeats more than four times, it’s conclusive evidence.