As Luna’s team arrived in Trinium, a commotion broke out at the entrance.
“Wow!? No way!!! That’s... that’s Rapid Guild, isn’t it!?”
“No... no way!!!”
“Wait?! Isn’t that Luna’s team, the one leading the Rookie Team?!”
“No way!? It’s really her! Luna! Please look over here!!!”
“Eldzahar is with them too!!! Eldzahar!!!”
“Gasp! It’s Hwa-Wol!!!”
“Ahhh! Longfeng is here too!!!”
It wasn’t because Rapid Guild was particularly popular.
It was because Luna’s team was already famous within the Rapid Guild.
People couldn’t help but go wild.
They were the most well-known party at this level.
The crowd rushed over, eager to catch a glimpse of them, swarming like clouds.
“I’m a fan! I saw the Cloud Giant Raid last time!!!”
“I also saw the Goblin Assault Leader episode!!!”
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“I saw the Glacier Warrior video too!!!”
“I’m a fan!!!”
“Wow, to think I’d see Rapid Guild’s Luna Team in real life!!!”
“You came to Trinium!!! Are you here for a raid?!”
“Of course, you idiot!”
However, despite the chaos and the excited crowd,
Luna’s team moved toward their appointment location.
Ignoring the welcoming users, Luna’s team continued on.
Among them, Longfeng, with a smirk, muttered,
“Ah, the new kid’s slacking, coming in last. I’ll have to give him a real lesson.”
The woman standing in front of the party, wrapped in a robe, glared at Longfeng, who casually spoke, and said coldly,
“Longfeng, watch your words.”
“Yeah, yeah~ Whatever you say, Team Leader~”
Longfeng replied with a grin.
The woman, who was in front of the robe, Luna, furrowed her brow.
She wanted to retort, but there was no time for that.
Though it wasn’t too late yet, she had to head to the meeting point early.
So, she quickened her pace.
They were soon to arrive.
“I’ll report in first,” Luna said as she sent a message to Rapid.
Just as Luna was reporting, Longfeng asked, intrigued,
“Hey, how do you think the Binding Mage will handle this?”
“Hmm, what?”
The seductive woman, wearing revealing mage gear and a large-brimmed hat, yawned lazily, hearing the mention of the “Binding Mage” title.
She was Luna’s team’s mage, Elzahar.
When she asked back, Longfeng didn’t seem surprised.
Elzahar was always laid-back, so he knew she would answer casually.
That’s why he asked directly,
“Don’t you think the new guy’s a bit too cocky?”
“Huh?”
At Longfeng’s comment, Elzahar let out a condescending snort, showing mild interest.
But that was as far as it went.
She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, as if saying it wasn’t a big deal.
It was Elzahar’s habit to meditate when something bothersome arose, staring at the sky.
Seeing that, Longfeng turned his attention to another team member, visibly frustrated.
The woman, dressed in typical ranger gear, had a fierce expression.
“Hey, opposite Archer. What do you think?”
The ranger, called the opposite archer, looked down at Longfeng, her eyes full of disdain, as if she had just seen something disgusting.
Her sharp gaze and fierce expression made an undeniable impression.
This fierce-looking ranger was Luna’s team’s ranger, Hwa-Wol.
Hwa-Wol, either angry at Longfeng’s words or always angry, responded sharply,
“Because it’s trash. Don’t talk to me, you failure thief. You’re just as arrogant. Is there anyone in this team, other than Luna, who isn’t a damn fool?”
Longfeng, feeling a bit taken aback by the insults, shrugged his shoulders.
Longfeng, called the “failure thief,” was Luna’s team’s thief position.
Though the words were offensive, they weren’t far from the truth.
And it seemed he wasn’t the only one bothered by the new recruit.
Looking at Hwa-Wol’s attitude, it didn’t seem like she was fond of the new guy either.
Normally, she might have just thrown one insult, but hearing so many this time made Longfeng wonder,
‘It seems like the opposite archer is also bothered by the new guy?’
After all, they had managed to maintain a good team dynamic with just the four of them.
But now that an outsider had joined, it was understandable that they weren’t thrilled.
Their teamwork wasn’t perfect, but they managed just fine without any extra idiots in the mix.
Longfeng smirked and muttered,
“Have you heard? We’re not going to do the raid with the new guy, but we’re supposed to play the role of interviewers. So the new guy will do the raid alone this time?”
“Huh?”
“Shit, what a hellish world we’re living in.”
“Right?”
Both Elzahar and Hwa-Wol reacted to Longfeng’s words.
Even Elzahar, who had been indifferent, now seemed intrigued.
They couldn’t help but react.
The fact that the new guy was doing the raid alone meant they were being compared to him.
If the higher-ups had made that decision, it was fair to follow, but Luna’s team—no, the so-called ‘fool team’—couldn’t just accept that.
Both Elzahar and Hwa-Wol exchanged silent glances, as if they agreed, and Longfeng laughed slyly.
‘No matter how good he is, this is unacceptable.’
Unfortunately, they didn’t know yet.
They didn’t know that Seong had already cleared the past fortress.
It wasn’t that Rapid hadn’t informed them.
It just so happened that everyone was busy with joint hunting at that time, and they didn’t hear the news.
If they had known, maybe things would have been different.
Perhaps it would have been slightly different.
For now, all they knew was that Seong was a necromancer, resembling the Demon King.
They acknowledged that his videos were impressive.
But there was no one in Rapid Guild who wasn’t excellent.
They too were considered some of the best among the new recruits of Rapid Guild.
They had strong egos, and their pride was second to none.
There was only one person they respected.
That was their team leader, Luna.
Naturally, since Luna was disrespected, the entire Luna team was being insulted.
Could they just sit by and watch?
“Then, I guess we all agree—finally showing up like this~”
Longfeng added with a grin.
The others, already insulted, said nothing in return.
The priority was now to discipline the new recruit.
“The team leader won’t get involved, though.”
“Huh? You think Team Leader won’t be involved?”
“Damn, do you really need Team Leader Luna to deal with some punk? We can handle it ourselves.”
All of them reacted similarly.
Even Elzahar, who had been relaxed before, now spoke with a harsher tone.
Finally, Longfeng smiled, satisfied.
Luna, who had just contacted Rapid and Seong, sensed the strange atmosphere.
“... What’s going on here?”
“Huh? What do you mean, ‘what’s going on?’ We’re just bonding and strengthening teamwork~”
“You expect me to believe that? Are you saying that out loud, or are you really just an idiot?”
“Huh? Team Leader, you don’t trust us enough~”
Longfeng, Hwa-Wol, and Elzahar all had similar reactions, making Luna feel a headache coming on.
But they probably wouldn’t cause any major trouble, right?
If all of them went off at once, Luna wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Still, since Hwa-Wol and Elzahar weren’t ones to get involved in petty matters,
‘If I can just stop Longfeng, we’ll be okay.’
Luna thought as she calmed her nerves.
Then, a cold wind suddenly blew from afar.
As everyone turned to look, they saw a figure in a black robe slowly approaching.
The atmosphere felt unusual.
But since they were all experienced, they didn’t think much of it.
As the figure drew closer, he asked,
“Are you Rapid Guild’s Luna Team?”
Seong had arrived.
5.
[Welcome to another world, Eternal World.
May the luck of the unknown be with you, Player Seong.]
As Seong logged in, the familiar phrases appeared on the screen.
However, there was a slightly unfamiliar addition.
[‘Shapeshifter’ has not awakened yet.]
[‘Shapeshifter’ hatching is incomplete.]
[Until hatching, ‘Shapeshifter’ cannot receive any damage.]
‘Ah.’
So, that’s why it hadn’t awakened yet?
The fact that it couldn’t take damage was a relief.
He could still keep it in his front pocket.
Seong pressed on the Shapeshifter again, and it began to ripple like a slime, sending waves throughout its body.
The squishy sensation felt quite nice.
Since the Shapeshifter didn’t need any attention, Seong thought, Should I head out right away?
To the third village, Trinium?
Since Seong hadn’t completed the quest yet, it took him a little longer to get there.
But it didn’t take too long.
The quest was simple enough.
As soon as Seong arrived at the third village, he registered Luna’s friend code, given to him by Rapid, and contacted her.
The meeting point was one that Rapid had told him to get from Luna.
When Seong reached out, he got a response.
[Seong – Hello. This is Seong, the new recruit. I look forward to working with you. I’ve arrived in Trinium, and Rapid said I should get the meeting point from Team Leader Luna.]
[Luna – Ah! I received the message. Nice to meet you. There’s a hill in Trinium village. Can you come to the entrance of the hill?]
[Seong – Yes, understood. Thank you.]
[Luna – No problem. Let me know when you arrive.]
The conversation ended there.
Since Trinium was close to a small city, it took a fair amount of time to move around.
But the hill was clearly visible, so Seong didn’t lose track of the location and arrived safely.
As Seong got there, there were several people around, but only one group wore the emblem of Rapid Guild.
Seeing the team made up of four members, Seong couldn’t help but admire them briefly.
They look strong.
There was no status window or information visible.
But based on the memories and experiences from the many ghosts he’d interacted with, it was clear that they looked strong.
Kim Che-geon was one of them as well.
Naturally, Seong walked over to them and asked,
“Is this Rapid Guild’s Luna team?”
At Seong’s question, Luna was the first to nod and respond,
“That’s right. I’m Luna, the one you contacted.”
“Ah! Team Leader, nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
“No, it’s me who should be thanking you, Seong.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Seong cleared his throat awkwardly, and for a moment, the stares from the other team members felt particularly sharp.
Why were they looking at him like that?
Before Seong could figure out why,
Longfeng spoke first, cutting in with a remark.
“Well, we don’t really have a name to call such a cocky rookie.”
“Hmmm, I’ll agree this time~”
“Shit, I didn’t expect to agree with the failure thief.”
The three of them reacted aggressively, and Luna was caught off guard.
What were they doing?
Why were they so in sync today?
Was the “unity” Longfeng mentioned earlier for real?
For a brief moment, Luna had some strange thoughts, but she quickly composed herself.
Though she was still confused, she urgently shouted,
“What’s going on...?”
Well, she tried to shout.
But it was Seong who surprised them with an unexpected response.
“Ah, well, shall we go? It’s like an initiation, right? They say there’s a duel arena from the third village, so we can head there.”
“...?”
“???”
“Eh???”
“Hmm???”
Luna, Longfeng, Hwa-Wol, and Elzahar all stared at Seong, bewildered.
Seong, as if it was normal, said,
“Huh? Let’s go already.”
What in the world was going on?
There was no one on Luna’s team who understood the situation.