“You, Jin Yuha… want to help with the goblin extermination?”

Lee Yoo-ri raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled.

“Ah, I’m not saying I won’t use Perception anymore. I’ll continue to report the Nakki appearances. But in addition to that, I want to help with the goblin extermination.”

“Hmm… there’s no need to go out of your way…”

“As you know, Team Leader, traits don’t consume mana. To be honest, so far, I’ve just been taking a walk.”

This was the truth.

All I had done on the way here was use my neck to report the Nakki locations and my legs to walk.

I had done less than Yuna, the porter, who was carrying a bag almost as big as herself and sweating profusely.

I had offered to help carry her bag, but she had refused, saying, “This is my job!”

“First of all, Jin Yuha, let me be clear. My hesitation has nothing to do with not trusting you.”

Lee Yoo-ri paused, choosing her words carefully.

“Yoon-seo, So-yeon, and I have been a team for a long time. And the dealer who bailed on us yesterday was also someone we’ve worked with for a long time.”

“I know, I’ve been watching you from behind. The whole time.”

“……You’ve been watching me?”

“Yes, there were moments when you were alone during the battles. Especially when you knocked the goblins with your shield and passed them to the dealer. I think that’s when the dealer who bailed on you yesterday would have been taking care of the monsters. And it’s usually when Yoon-seo gets hurt.”

Lee Yoo-ri’s mouth fell open in surprise.

“Huh! You noticed that!?”

“I told you I have a good eye for people.”

“No, I don’t think those obeservations are normal… ….”

“I won’t get in the way of the party.”

I interrupted her and spoke firmly, meeting her gaze.

“So, please give me a chance.”

Lee Yoo-ri looked away, unable to maintain eye contact.

“Are all the male students at Velvet Academy like this…? Ha, you’re really charming.”

Lee Yoo-ri muttered under her breath, then sighed and slowly nodded.

“Okay, if you insist… but only ‘on the way back.’ There’s usually less monster activity on the way back, so there’s more room for error.”

“……On the way back? Are we going back now?”

I was confused, and Lee Yoo-ri gave me a look as if to ask if I was stupid.

“We came, so we have to go back, right?”

“Oh.”

This was another difference from the game.

In the game, dungeon raids were all about pushing forward. There was no going back once you cleared the stage and defeated the boss.

“……Hmm, but I’m not sure how this will work.”

“Hmm?”

Lee Yoo-ri opened the plastic bag she had been holding, revealing a mixture of gochujang and various side dishes.

A small smile appeared on her face, but she quickly composed herself and continued in a businesslike tone.

“Anyway, Jin Yuha. I’m sorry, but could you go while I finish my meal now? And also, could you gather the party members? I’ll be there soon.”

“Yes, I will.”

I left Lee Yoo-ri to her meal and went to gather the party members.

“Huh? Soup is gathering us? Why?”

“I wonder what it’s about.”

“Maybe she wants to take care of you, Yuha Oppa.”

“Yuha… Oppa!? You! When did you get so close to him!”

“Ouch, that hurts!”

As I waited, listening to Go Yoon-seo and Yuna’s banter, Lee Yoo-ri returned.

Everyone’s eyes turned to her.

“First of all, we’ve achieved today’s goal. Despite some uncomfortable situations, everyone did well.”

Lee Yoo-ri spoke with a satisfied expression.

A small round of applause broke out.

“But we have a lot of time left. So, we have a choice to make.”

Lee Yoo-ri suddenly brought up an unexpected topic.

We had extra time.

What did that mean?

The route we had taken in the Carmel Forest was supposed to be a 10-hour round trip.

The goal was to reach this base camp in 5 hours and then head back.

However, thanks to my Perception, which allowed us to ignore the Nakki, we had arrived at the base camp in 3 and a half hours.

In other words, a 10-hour round trip had been reduced to 7 hours. It was an astonishing achievement, especially considering we were missing a dealer.

“……Wow, that’s crazy. No wonder lunch was early today! You’re insane, Jin Yuha! What the hell are you!?”

Go Yoon-seo kept rubbing her arms, exclaiming, “So creepy!” I couldn’t help but chuckle at her antics, which were becoming familiar.

“Hem, hem.”

Lee Yoo-ri cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We can be satisfied with what we’ve achieved today and just head home. We finished the raid quickly, so we can just go home and rest.”

“But… that means we’ll have three extra hours.”

Choi So-yeon fiddled with her lips.

“Yeah, Unni. So, we need to decide whether to end the raid here or head towards the ‘unknown’ route ahead.”

Unknown.

Exploring uncharted routes was inherently risky.

In a normal situation, it would be unwise to attempt it.

We had already expended a lot of energy just getting here, and the unfamiliar terrain made it even more daunting. Usually, there wasn’t enough time or energy left to attempt it.

But now, with ample time to rest and recover, the prospect of exploring the unknown route was quite appealing.

“Unknown route… hmm… Soup, do we get a bonus for exploring it?”

Go Yoon-seo, with her arms crossed, pondered.

“Well, to be honest… I’m a little tired because we went faster than usual… But the thing is… there are hardly any monsters on the way back, right?”

“Yeah, and Jin Yuha will be helping with the goblin extermination on the way back too.”

“Huh? Really, Jin Yuha?”

Go Yoon-seo turned her head sharply and looked at me with wide eyes. I nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, traits don’t consume mana, so I haven’t used much energy so far. That’s why I asked Team Leader earlier.”

“Wait, wait a minute, this is a no-brainer. Let’s go! Let’s explore the unknown!”

Go Yoon-seo raised her arms and shouted.

Choi So-yeon, who had been deep in thought, agreed, and Yuna, who had been packing her already full bag, created some space. “I think I can fit a little more now!”

The fact that they accepted my decision to join the battles without any objection made me feel like I had been accepted as a party member. It felt good to be recognized as one of them.

“What about you, Jin Yuha?”

Lee Yoo-ri asked me.

“I’m fine with it. As I said, I have plenty of energy left.”

When all the party members agreed to explore the unknown route, Lee Yoo-ri nodded.

“Okay, then. We’ll decide to explore the unknown route for the remaining time. Everyone, take this time to rest and recover your energy.”

And after the party members had a chance to rest and recover their energy…

Lee Yoo-ri raised her shield and shouted.

“Everyone, form up! We’re starting the unknown route exploration!”

.

.

.

“I’m sorry, Jin Yuha, but I think you’ll need to continue your previous role while we explore the unknown route.”

Lee Yoo-ri, leading the way with her shield, spoke.

“Yes, that’s fine. It’s better to minimize variables when exploring unknown areas.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“But I don’t see any goblins. Or Nakki.”

We had been walking for 30 minutes since entering the unknown route, and the only monsters we had encountered were two goblins at the entrance, who had immediately fled into the forest upon seeing us.

Since then…

Nothing but the endless green forest.

The silence was filled with the sound of the party members’ nervous heartbeats and footsteps, and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

‘This is too quiet.’

“Hehe, if we get through this without a hitch, it’ll be a day of incredible luck!”

Go Yoon-seo broke the silence.

‘Kuh, that’s a death flag right there.’

I had been feeling uneasy for a while, as if something was tickling the back of my mind. It wasn’t a sense of danger from Perception, but a general sense of unease.

‘Maybe it’s just because we’re in an unfamiliar place, and everyone’s tension is affecting me.’

Suddenly,

‘Hmm, wait a minute. Could this be… Intuition?’

The three random traits I had obtained with the ‘Trait Recommendation Letter’ were:

[Perception], [Awakened Eye] and [Intuition]

[Perception], allowed me to detect monsters within a 100-meter radius.

[Awakened Eye] enabled me to see in the dark as if it were daytime.

And the last one, [Intuition]…

‘In the game, it warned me of boss monsters before they appeared.’

In the real-world version of Velvet School Life, I didn’t know if [Intuition] worked the same way. It might not give me a warning message like in the game, and I didn’t know how it would manifest.

It could just be an overreaction.

But I couldn’t ignore it. We were all exhausted from the excessive tension, and we weren’t prepared, in terms of numbers or energy, to face a boss monster.

It would be best to turn back now.

Tap, tap, tap.

I tapped Lee Yoo-ri’s shoulder.

“Jin Yuha?”

As she turned to face me…

Rustle.

‘Shit.’

In the distance, I spotted a red goblin.

The moment I saw it, my intuition set off alarms.

Sssshh.

At the same time, I became aware of other monsters thanks to my Perception.

I looked around, and…

We were surrounded by goblins holding various weapons.

“……”

My face went pale as I looked around. Lee Yoo-ri slowly turned her head as well.

The party members stared in dismay at the monsters surrounding them.

Lee Yoo-ri’s face hardened.

She took a deep breath.

“Everyone━━━━!”

She tightened her grip on her shield.

“Retreat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Lee Yoo-ri shouted, ordering the party to retreat.

While she told the others to retreat…

She…

Charged forward alone.