The day before…

After the party launch event, Shin Se-hee called me immediately after completing party registration with the Hunter Management Bureau.

“…Joo Tae-rin?”

– Yes, that woman is likely to harbor considerable ill feelings towards me. She might try some trickery… We should definitely head to the Thorny Plains, right…?

“That place seems like the best place to test our current level, doesn’t it? Besides, she said the other available places are unavailable.”

– Well, that may be the case, but…

At Shin Se-hee’s hesitant voice, I chuckled.

“Don’t worry about it. Even if you don’t know, I know about this woman called Joo Tae-rin, especially if it’s about the Darkness Guild. And I have a rough idea of how they might come at us.”

The Darkness Guild.

While not as large as the Shen family, they were a sizable guild here. They often interfered with user-controlled parties’ dungeon raids, causing disturbances or making villainous moves.

Back to the present…

I looked coldly at the bob-haired woman in front of me and the Black Hedgehogs swarming behind her.

“These monster have been dragged quite a long way.”

Let’s try throwing a word in.

“What are you guys? This is the route we originally reserved. Why bring monsters along?”

At my words, the bob-haired woman, Joo Tae-rin, who had been wearing a surprised expression, shrugged with a twisted smile on her lips.

“We were curious about how impressive a new party managed by Cheonhwa could be.”

“So, you’re curious about our party’s abilities? Bringing an audience along like this…”

I gestured towards the Black Hedgehogs standing behind her like zombies.

“Hmm… It’s not that you are stupid so you can’t understand the situation enough to be bewildered. I understand why Cheonhwa is interested in a man like you. He’s got guts and seems quite relaxed?”

Joo Tae-rin spoke with a voice full of mockery.

“Yeah, except for the big things, I’m just a corpse. Probably popular with organ traders too, huh?”

Then, the party members standing nearby twitched their eyebrows, giving me a disapproving glare, as if to say

“Did you really joke about that?”

Pffft!

However, my joke seemed to suit Joo Tae-rin’s taste perfectly as she burst into laughter.

“You’re good with words and have guts. But isn’t it a shame to end it here? How about joining our side instead of Cheonhwa?”

She suddenly made an unexpected recruitment offer.

“Am I not better than a sneaky woman like Cheonhwa?”

A sinister desire gleamed in Joo Tae-rin’s eyes.

“If I switch to your side, will the other party members be spared?”

“Ah, that’s difficult. I have to teach Cheonhwa a lesson today.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll decline.”

When I flatly rejected her offer, Joo Tae-rin’s expression stiffened.

“…Are you really that stupid? Or just a common hero? Giving you a last chance here, and you choose suicide?”

“Well, whether it’s suicide or not remains to be seen…”

I looked at her squarely and smirked.

“I prefer a woman who’s sneaky on the inside rather than on the outside.”

At my comparison between Shin Se-hee and her, Joo Tae-rin’s face hardened, and the dealer standing beside her raised her weapon.

“This guy is really…”

“Enough.”

“…But, Captain!”

“Why did I bring you guys again?”

Turning my cold voice towards the party members, Joo Tae-rin sighed heavily and turned away.

“I wonder how long that arrogant pretty face of yours will last.”

As I watched her, I organized my thoughts.

‘In a game, it would have been fine to settle it right here, but…’

Today is the official first event for the Utopia Party. However, I couldn’t let this unsavory business with the this guild slide. So, I chose the Unknown Route.

Unknown Route is a hard mode that connects to all other routes. Even though I knew this well, why did I know about it at the Camelot Forest?

Originally, it’s common practice to skip the hard mode of low-level dungeons. The rewards aren’t great, and the experience bonus is negligible compared to running another dungeon in the same time. So, even though I had some experience as a newbie, I didn’t bother memorizing routes like the E-grade Camelot Forest.

‘But from here on, starting with the B-grade Thorn Prairie, it’s a different story.’

Even though I’ve diligently learned all the routes and shortcuts, it’s like the feeling of satisfaction after emptying a wallet, not to mention the endless grinding.

Despite the fact that hard modes for low-level dungeons are typically skipped, I’ve decided to start with the Unknown Route.

Originally, even if you’re diligent, you need to grind to fill your wallet.

“Soup, let’s get started.”

After gathering my thoughts, I spoke to Yoo-ri. Then, she nodded confidently, raised her shield, and drew her dagger.

“Are you ready, everyone?”

“Y-Yes!”

Then, with a roar, we began our sprint, using Yoo-ri’s shield as a signal.

And the horde of Black Hedgehogs, who were under the spell of Yoori’s shield skill, began to move with a fierce momentum.

Just then, standing behind the dumbfounded Joo Tae-rin, I couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Run as fast as you can. Otherwise, you might get overwhelmed by the guys you brought along.”

“Kyaahhhh!!!”

And the Darkness Guild party, who were caught between us and the monsters, had no choice but to chase after us to avoid being crushed.

.

.

.

From behind, the cries of the black hedgehogs and the sound of collective footsteps could be heard. The monsters, who had been quietly following under the influence of the pheromones, were now greatly excited, as if they had been given drugs.

Upon seeing this, Joo Tae-rin and her party members’ expressions turned pale.

“Shit!”

“Run!!!”

“Fuck!!! Run for your lives!!!”

‘What’s going on…?’

Despite moving her feet, Joo Tae-rin was engulfed in confusion.

Originally, her plan was to attack the Black Hedgehogs brought by those guys after encountering the Utopia Party. While the monsters, intoxicated by the pheromones, would wake up due to their attack, there would still be a lingering scent on Joo Tae-rin and her party members, resulting in relatively less aggro towards them.

In the meantime, it would be an easy task to slip away.

However, the moment she confirmed the rumoured party leader, greed welled up within her. A new plan emerged, aiming for the title of saving the party leader who barely escaped the failed Utopia Party.

It was a calculated move; she could both outwit Cheonhwa and potentially gain favor from the Shin.

Because of these calculations, she never expected Jin Yuha to reject her proposal outright. There was nothing he could do in this situation.

However, this crazy bastard poured gasoline onto the burning straw.

Even if she wanted to step aside at this point, she couldn’t.

With excited monsters all around and poisonous arrows raining down from above, it was an urgent situation.

There was no time to hesitate. The only option was to chase after the Utopia Party’s rear.

‘Why are those bastards so fast!!!’

With Jin Yuha in the lead, the tanker pounded his shield from the rear. Even the woman who seemed to be a supporter in the middle looked exhausted, but their running speed was remarkable.

They were even avoiding the arrows raining down from above.

“Ugh!!!”

Then, one of the darkness  party members running beside her got pierced by a thorn.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck…!!!”

Despite the curse, the party member clenched the part hit by the thorn and continued running.

After running for a while,

Jin Yuha’s party came to a halt.

Huuk—

Huuk—

Huuk—

Although no more arrows were raining down from above, as if a thicket of thorns had been shot out, Joo Tae-rin ‘s party was already in shambles.

The bodies of the party members were covered in green bruises from the thorns, and while Joo Tae-rin herself didn’t have thorns stuck in his body, she couldn’t avoid the scratches all over her body, oozing blood.

Now, even though the black hedgehog bastards weren’t rushing in to attack, it was just a brief respite. They would soon fill their thorns and charge in.

“Damn it.”

In Joo Tae-rin ‘s field of vision, a man who seemed to have done a fair amount of exercise was seen wiping sweat off his forehead. Thick veins stood out on her forehead.

“That bastard… How dare he do something like this!!!!”

Joo Tae-rin shouted at him with a voice filled with anger.

Then, the man’s cold gaze turned towards her.

“What are you saying? Aren’t those guys the guests you invited? You brought them here without permission and are now talking nonsense without a conscience?”

“Think you’ll get away with this? Do you really think you’ll be safe from the black hedgehogs?”

“Uh, well… we’ll be fine?”

The man scratched his cheek and replied casually.

‘He’s crazier than I imagined…’

Joo Tae-rin chewed her lip.

‘If I provoke him further here… it could really be the end…’

Right now, she had to somehow persuade the man. Despite feeling a surge of anger at his shameless face, Joo Tae-rin swallowed it and spoke to him.

“We need to join forces.”

“Join forces? Why?”

Jin Yuha gave Joo Tae-rin an uncertain look.

“Because otherwise, you won’t be safe either. And if you help us now… I’ll make sure to provide sufficient compensation later.”

Joo Tae-rin bowed her head as humbly as possible, although she was thinking completely differently inside.

‘…First, we have to get through this crisis and take advantage of an opportunity on the way back somehow.’

However…

Ha ha ha ha—

The man laughed. Joo Tae-rin raised her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“You seem to be mistaken about something.”

“…?”

“Look around you.”

At his words, Jin Yuha glanced around, and her eyes widened.

‘When…!? No, how…?’

A landscape that was all too familiar.

Suddenly, she found herself on the route she had planned to conquer today.

A feeling as if possessed by a ghost.

“I suppose you guys should clean up your own mess, shouldn’t you?”

The man said so and ordered his party members.

“All right. Everyone, take out the monster perfume from the emergency kit.”

‘Monster perfume…? For anti-aggro purposes…? Isn’t that really expensive…?’

‘And that… is that a spatial tattoo?’ Joo Tae-rin could only watch in dismay as they sprayed perfume on their bodies.

Sss—

Sss—

The smell of the perfume sprayed on their bodies wasn’t particularly pleasant, and the man furrowed his brow.

“Ugh, this smell is really awful. Anyway, we’re going now. You guys, work hard to clean up your mess.”

The man waved cheerfully towards Joo Tae-rin.

“Since you were planning to do something to us anyway. No complaints, right?”

Deep despair was evident on Joo Tae-rin ‘s face as she looked at him.

The pheromones from her hand, which had already worn off, fell to the ground.

Thunk.