Chapter 121
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‘The Nest Covered by Clouds’ is an undiscovered dungeon that was briefly mentioned in the story.
It was said that aerial monsters appear there, but exactly what kind of monsters come out is unknown.
Moreover, even the discovery location is not revealed, so finding the dungeon itself was a problem in the first place.
“…I should still try to find it.”
I couldn’t just give up because it’s difficult.
The [Forgotten Stone of a Dragon] is an item that will definitely make me stronger if I can just unseal it.
Not even trying one of the powerful guys that seems to be a clue is too much of a loss.
“First, let’s gather party members.”
I left the library and sat down on a bench in the main corridor.
Then I flipped through my phone’s contacts.
To be honest, the party members were already decided.
Park Jin-woo, Kim Chae-eun, Kang Juyeon, Moon Ga-eun.
We’ve partied together before, and they know my abilities best and are deeply involved. Apart from not having a recovery-type, they were the best party members in terms of party balance.
But the world doesn’t always flow as you want.
“You can’t do it? Why?”
– I have a family trip this weekend. We have a long weekend on the following week. It’s the first trip we’ve had in months, so I can’t skip it.
“Ah….”
Park Jin-woo declined the hunt because he had a family trip.
There’s nothing I can do to change his mind about this.
At a glance he looks like a crazy guy obsessed with training and fighting, but for Park Jin-woo, family is the greatest value.
He cherishes his family more than anyone else, and time spent with them is most important to him.
The reason why Park Jin-woo awakened during the ‘Academy Annihilation Operation’ was because the <Villain> touched his younger brother Park Yoon-seo…
That’s the end of that.
I scratched my head and hung up, saying I understood.
“Hmm. It’s okay. I can solo tank everything.”
It would have been better if there was one more warrior-type, but I alone was no big deal.
But Park Jin-woo wasn’t the only one getting tangled up.
“Clan project?”
-…Yeah. For now I’m a senior clan member.
“Ah….”
Kang Juyeon, who had already taken on an important role in <Judgment of Fire>, happened to have a clan project conflict.
Since it was a large project going on after a long time since the ‘Forest Covered by Snakes’, it seemed difficult for her to take time off.
“Chae-eun, you can’t do it either?”
-Huh… My master has a business trip to Busan next week. So I think I’ll be short on exclusive lecture times on the weekend… She scheduled special lectures…
“Ah….”
– I want to go hunting with you too… Should I talk to my master and cancel class?
“No, no, you don’t have to go that far.”
Even trusted Kim Chae-eun declined…
She was regretful and tried to follow me on the hunt, but I firmly stopped her.
Jeong Seon-young is the only real shortcut for Kim Chae-eun’s growth.
I couldn’t get in the way of her growth for my personal business.
“Let’s just go next time?”
With three friends declining me, I wondered if I should postpone the dungeon attack.
Since most of the monsters I’m trying to hunt now are aerial monsters, I needed a solid dealer to support the backline.
I felt like I could somehow manage solo, but there would be limits on the hunting speed.
“No. Next week is too busy.”
But I shook my head.
Starting next week, the operation of the <Anti-Villain> circle would begin in earnest.
I also had to gather information about <Villain>, and prepare for their plans that could happen at any time.
I also had to watch out for Ji Yoon-jae, who joined the circle as a member.
Also, since it was an undiscovered dungeon that could be explored at any time, I wanted to try attacking it this week while I still had time.
I tapped the call button on the last remaining contact.
And I spoke more desperately than anyone else.
“Ga-eun, you can do it, right? Tell me you can. Please.”
-What the, so suddenly.
Moon Ga-eun was confused because I started with the conclusion, but she showed curiosity at my slow explanation.
-Sobaeksan field hunt?
“Yeah. Sobaeksan field is famous for having lots of aerial monsters. I’ve never faced aerial ones before so I want to gain experience and get some loot while I’m at it.”
-I don’t have anything scheduled in particular so I can do it.
“Nice! So we’re going this week?”
At that question, Moon Ga-eun carefully replied.
-But it might not just be us two.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
-This is a bit complicated… You know after the Kim Do-yoon incident, our clan made an agreement with the academy, right?
Of course I knew.
The article Professor Kim Myeong-hyun showed me.
Not only <Royal> but <Judgment of Fire> also said they would support the <Anti-Villain> circle.
I recalled it and nodded.
“Yeah, forming the internal security TF team?”
-Yeah, that’s right. The official name is internal security, but… For people like you and me chosen by the clan, they also guard a certain distance outside. Especially when going somewhere to hunt like now.
“I see….”
-I’ll have to talk to my dad to know for sure, but they’ll probably send guards with us when hunting too.
This much was inevitable.
Not just for me, but Moon Ga-eun is an important figure in <Royal>.
She’s the daughter of Moon Jung-hyuk, a core executive of the clan, and the niece of clan master Hwang Geon-wook.
Especially since master Hwang Geon-wook has no children, Moon Ga-eun is treated almost like a princess in <Royal>.
After experiencing Kim Do-yoon’s attack before, it was natural for the clan to strengthen protection and security.
“Okay, got it.”
-It shouldn’t interfere too much, so don’t worry about it too much.
“What’s there to worry about. It’s the clan guarding us.”
-That’s right! Anyway… it’s set for Saturday then!
“Okay. Let’s meet up again in a couple days and talk in detail.”
-Yup!
***
Ippotranslation
***
Time passed quickly and the weekend arrived.
A warp gate located in Yongsan, Seoul.
Since it was the first day of the long weekend, the Seoul warp gate was bustling with people trying to move to other warp gates around the country.
Among that crowd, I could easily spot Moon Ga-eun.
Ash blue hair and decent body proportions.
A bow and armor that looked high-end at a glance.
Above all, a striking appearance that stood out in the large crowd.
At this point, it would be harder not to spot her.
Moon Ga-eun also quickly found me and waved.
“When did you get here?”
“Not long, maybe 10 minutes? But there are so many people.”
“I know. It’s a long weekend so I guess everyone’s going on trips or hunting.”
“Since they’re equipped, it looks like more are Holders. Could be students like us too.”
It was obvious, but warp gates were expensive.
A massive amount of high-grade magic stones were used every time you moved, so the fees were astronomical.
Even very wealthy ordinary people hesitated, and unless the Holders were high-rank with ample capital, they tended to prefer other means of transport.
Yet it was packed with people like this….
It seemed many people were spending big to move, or Holders going out to party hunts.
I looked at the crowd with a tired face.
Then I suddenly recalled the previous call and asked.
“How did that go? The guard team joining us?”
“Oh right. I talked it over well with my dad… Having the whole team follow us would lower efficiency and burden us too, so they decided to just send the team leader.”
“Team leader?”
“Yeah. You probably know them too. Ah, there he is.”
Moon Ga-eun pointed in one direction.
When I turned my head, a female Holder was walking toward us.
Long, straight purple hair in a loose style and lightly equipped gear.
Tall with slender limbs.
She had the appearance of a model.
And the closer she slowly approached, the wider my eyes grew.
As Moon Ga-eun said, I also knew this person.
“Oh, that’s…”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Seong Na-yeon, a senior clan member of Royal Clan and team leader of the ‘Anti-Villain Protection’ task force.”
She was one of the Holders representing <Royal>.
A-grade multi-holder wielding wind and sword, Seong Na-yeon.
I nervously shook her hand.
“I’m Do Jae-hyun. It’s an honor to meet the renowned Senior Seong Na-yeon.”
Seong Na-yeon smiled at the greeting and replied.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. It might be a burden to have someone following you, but please think of it as comfortably as possible. My role is protection in case of potential risks. So don’t mind me too much and just do what you were going to do. And if I happen to participate in the hunt, I’ll be excluded from all spoils and conquest results.”
She probably won’t participate in the hunt much to begin with…
But even if she did, she was giving up all rights.
It was quite a bold statement.
It seemed Moon Ga-eun had made it clear when reporting to the clan.
This could have led to <Royal> taking the undiscovered dungeon results, but this was Moon Ga-eun handling it very well.
“Oh! And I heard it from the Director too.”
“Huh? What…”
I made a puzzled expression at her sudden words.
Director.
It probably referred to the director of <Royal> Clan’s Operations Headquarters, a position higher than vice-master.
And this director was…
Moon Jung-hyuk, Moon Ga-eun’s father.
She heard something from Moon Jung-hyuk?
An unknown anxiety began to wash over me.
And that anxiety soon became reality.
“It’s a secret externally, but that you two are dating….”
“…Ah.”
“Ah.”
I let out a foolish gasp.
And so did Moon Ga-eun.
She also didn’t expect this.
“As I said earlier, my role is solely protection. Please think of me as if I don’t exist. I mean… feel free to show skinship and such. Act freely. I will move so as to never interfere with your date.”
With an expression as if resolute about something…
She passed over her words decisively.
No matter how you look at it, she was prepared.
“….”
Seeing that, I stopped thinking any further.
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