Chapter 17

“If I had competed and lost, that would be one thing, but I can’t accept this kind of trial!”

Just then, Cho-i cut in.

“What if I don’t accept it?”

At her words, Deoksu Lee felt his anger rise to his head. How dare this young girl speak to him so disrespectfully? He puffed out his already broad shoulders even further and said,

“What are you going to do? I’m asking. Mister.”

“You impudent brat. What did you just say?”

“Did I contribute to you being impudent?”

The girl slowly approached Deoksu Lee. Her gait was like a well-fed beast, and Deoksu Lee faltered for a moment when he saw her eyes. Her black eyes glowed with a strange light, so much so that her pupils were invisible. Her seemingly foolish face instantly contorted into a maniacal smile. He unconsciously flinched and soon felt ashamed of having backed away. He gathered his courage, raised his finger, and pointed at her.

“Do you know who I am…! Ah, ahh. Ah!”

Cho-i instantly grabbed and twisted Deoksu Lee’s pointing finger. No matter how much he tried to pull his hand away, her grip was so strong that he couldn’t. Cracks and pops, the sound of bones dislocating, began to come from his finger. He felt his arm trembling. He pretended not to notice the fear slowly consuming him. Foolishly so. He simply didn’t want to believe that he was being pushed around by this small girl.

“Le-let go of me!”

His twisted finger hurt terribly, and Deoksu Lee groaned and leaned over. There’s no way I’d be pushed around by a girl like this. He squeezed out his last bit of defiance and raised his leg to kick Cho-i. But Cho-i raised her leg first and stomped hard on his instep. Crack, something broke.

“Aaaagh!”

“Ahahaha.”

Cho-i’s short laugh somehow sounded louder than the man’s scream. Deoksu Lee felt terror at the woman’s laughter as she stomped on his instep. Her eyes were still unfocused, but Cho-i’s face, smiling with teeth bared, was terror itself.

“I’m asking. Aren’t you going to answer?”

Cho-i continued to grind her foot on his broken instep, and Deoksu Lee’s screams were endless. His eyes were filled with fear and pain. She bent down, grabbed Deoksu Lee by the hair, and made eye contact with him.

“I’m already annoyed, so let’s not provoke me, mister.”

He nodded his head frantically. He felt as if it wouldn’t end if he didn’t nod here. Whether it was because of the pain in his instep or the strangeness of the eyes he was currently looking into, he finally accepted the creeping fear and nodded his head like a madman.

“Participant Cho-i Hyeon.”

One of the guild members, unable to watch any longer, approached her. She looked at him with an expressionless face, then released his finger and stepped back. The man whose foot had been stomped on began to roll around, clutching his instep.

“M-my instep. I think my instep is broken!”

“Don’t be such a drama queen.”

“Participant Cho-i Hyeon. This is a warning. Please step back.”

“Yes~ I apologize.”

She casually stepped back and returned to the left. When she returned to the left, everyone was looking at her. Nara Shim subtly avoided her. Cho-i, of course, smiled brightly and put her arm around her shoulder. Nara Shim was disgusted but had no intention of backing down. After the guild members carried away the person with the broken instep, the situation calmed down. Since there was someone who had been hit once, or rather twice, by Cho-i and carried away, no further dissenters appeared. The guild member looked at Cho-i with a face that seemed to wonder whether to scold her or thank her, then returned to his spot, at the very front. And picked up the microphone again.

“Now, the eliminated participants may leave, and for those remaining, we will form teams.”

As about one hundred and fifty people left, the space that had seemed cramped earlier now looked empty. The remaining individuals had already shed their excited expressions and were seriously looking forward. This was the moment where teammates for the next trial would be decided. They couldn’t help but be cautious.

“Let me tell you in advance, once a teammate is decided, they cannot be changed. No objections will be accepted. We choose the party members who are most likely to work well together based on the data we have, so please don’t worry.”

Cho-i thought. Please, the first team. Please. Please. Please. She glared straight ahead. The person holding the microphone looked at Cho-i once, perhaps because her gaze was so intense. He sighed into the microphone, as if he had known Cho-i for a long time, and then called out.

“Participant Cho-i Hyeon.” “Yes~!”

Cho-i’s face instantly brightened, and she trotted forward. Her steps were so light, like someone going on a picnic. Everyone looked at her as if she were an oddball, and indeed, she was. After that, the names of other people began to be called.

“Hoyeon Kim!” “Yes!” “Yeonsu Nam!” “Yes!” “Maru Dan!” “Yes!” “And finally.”

The guild member sighed once more and said,

“Nara Shim!” “Yes!”

Thus, a total of five people became party members. Nara Shim approached Cho-i, saying it was amazing. At that moment, the guild member who was calling out the party members was thinking of something else. Specifically, the warning Yeonhan and Dongju had given him.

“Try not to separate Cho-i Hyeon and Nara Shim if possible. It seems like no one else can control Cho-i Hyeon like she can.” “But isn’t she just a C-Rank?” “That’s true, but there’s just something about it. I’m counting on you, okay?” “We don’t usually ask for favors like this, you know?” “I know, but I can’t help you inside the dungeon.” “Of course not. Do you think we’d recommend some random person like that?”

Yeonhan Kim bared his teeth and smiled.

“One of them is definitely useful. So keep them together.” “Yes… So you’re asking me to commit some kind of hiring fraud, right?” “We’re picking based on skill anyway, aren’t we? Then there’s no problem. She’ll probably be the best among the C-Ranks this time.”

In fact, even if they hadn’t asked, she was a talent who would have been chosen. Her skills had good synergy with other dealers, and her stats were top-tier among C-ranks.

‘If that’s the truth, of course.’

He hadn’t actually been able to verify it because she was wearing an item that obscured her profile window. But if two S-Ranks were so confident, it couldn’t be a lie. And the display she had just given definitely confirmed that she was among the top C-Ranks. He sighed inwardly once more and began calling out the names of other groups.

Meanwhile, Cho-i, whose group had been formed, was grinning as she held up the number 1 tag. It was her first time. She could go in first. As she grinned, everyone subtly distanced themselves from her, as if avoiding her. Nara Shim put her arm around Cho-i’s shoulder to do her best and greeted her.

“Hello! I’m Nara Shim! I’m a C-Rank buffer!” “Oh, hello. I’m Hoyeon Kim. I’m a dealer.”

The person named Hoyeon Kim was the man who had passed first earlier. He had the appearance of a delinquent with dyed blonde hair. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. And then the remaining three introduced themselves in a row.

“I’m Yeonsu Nam. I’m a healer.” “I’m Maru Dan. I’m a dealer.” “Ah, then…”

Everyone’s eyes wavered uneasily. All gazes fell on Cho-i. Cho-i was still grinning, holding the number.

“That person, is she the tank…?” “It seems so…”

Everyone’s eyes began to waver. What was a tank? Wasn’t it the role that held the party together, the guide who would lead them from the very front? But with a woman who seemed so out of her mind—no, no, that’s rude—a woman who seemed so hot-headed and out of her mind as the tank, everyone couldn’t help but feel uneasy. And Nara Shim stepped forward as if to defend Cho-i.

“I’ve gone to dungeons with this kid a lot, and she’s a really good tank!”

Of course, the Cho-i she’d partied with was the timid Cho-i, not the current one. She had no idea how the current Cho-i would tank, but she defended her anyway. Since her personality had become more outgoing, she must be much better than before. In reality, Cho-i’s problem was her timidity, not her tanking ability. As long as she didn’t get scared by insect-type monsters. Yes, as long as that didn’t happen.

“So don’t worry too much!”

As the kind-faced Nara Shim said that, people seemed to relax little by little. Only then did Cho-i stuff the number one tag into her pocket and speak.

“Our turn is number one, so the day we enter the dungeon is the day after tomorrow. What do you think?”

“Ah, being number one has its downsides as well as its upsides. Time is tight.”

“First, how about we research the dungeon we’re going into and practice working together? They say we can use the practice area inside Paehyeok during the trial.”

“That sounds good!”

Everyone, despite being strangers, spoke up to do their best. Only Cho-i remained silent.

‘Can’t I just go in and sweep everything away?’

And as if she read her face, Nara Shim poked her in the side.

‘Control your strength. Control your strength.’

And she said that with her eyes. Cho-i, as if understanding, made an OK sign with her fingers and whispered.

“I’ll sweep everything away.”

“Not that!”

Nara Shim, exasperated, yelled, and the others looked back and asked.

“Is there a problem?”

“Oh, no. Hohoho.”

She feigned innocence, pressing down on Cho-i’s shoulder. And with surprising skill, she spoke in ventriloquism.

“Control your strength. Control your strength.”

“Oh, that.”

“Yes. Please.”

“Got it.”

Nara Shim was somehow worried. Had she been too complacent? They decided to leave the spot and gather at a nearby cafe to research the dungeon they would enter on their smartphones. Since there were five of them, taking a taxi was a bit awkward. So they called two taxis to the same destination on their smartphones and traveled. The people gathered at the cafe took out their smartphones. But Cho-i and Nara didn’t need to. Because they had the materials given by Dongju and Yeonhan.