Chapter 298 – Part 2 – Moderately Weak

“Team Leader, fighting!”

“It’ll be tough with just the two of you, but hang in there!”

Team A members Bang Tae-man and Sim Seong-jin entered the Worwolf dungeon with encouragement from their juniors.

Of course, the D-rank supervisor accompanied them as well.

“They’re gone…”

Team B members Eom Jeong-sik, Do Eun-jeong, and Choi Seong-min waited at the entrance.

Only the lowest-ranking people in the team remained.

That didn’t mean the three were close friends though.

Only two of them were constantly talking, excluding one person.

“Junior Seong-min, I heard you were called an elite at the training camp?”

“Ah, yes.”

“I heard you became E-rank in just one week. You must fight incredibly well – can we see your skills this time?”

“You saw my skills last time. I was just running around covered in blood…”

“That was because the boss appeared.”

“Are regular Worwolves very different from the boss?”

“I heard they’re completely different dimensions. Junior Seong-min, you encountered the boss back then, right? How was it?”

The conversation with Do Eun-jeong continued endlessly.

Though inwardly annoyed, Choi Seong-min pretended to be a newcomer and played along.

However, there was someone watching the two with jealous eyes.

“What are you two talking about so much?”

“Ah… Senior Eom.”

“Why so formal calling me Senior Eom? When it’s just us two, just call me oppa.”

“Haha, you’re joking…”

Do Eun-jeong seemed uncomfortable, but whether he was oblivious or not, Eom Jeong-sik kept talking to her.

Then, perhaps bothered by Choi Seong-min beside them, he threw out a comment.

“Hey, Choi Seong-min. When the seniors went in earlier, why didn’t you cheer like everyone else?”

His tone was completely different from when talking to Do Eun-jeong, but Choi Seong-min didn’t particularly care.

“Ah… I didn’t know I was supposed to cheer. I thought the two of them could handle the conquest just fine…”

“Hey, you must not know well, but Worwolves aren’t such easy monsters.”

Eom Jeong-sik seemed to want to play the senior role and began explaining about Worwolves.

Of course, Choi Seong-min, who already knew everything, let it go in one ear and out the other.

“The seniors who went in now have good skills, but that doesn’t mean Worwolves are monsters that fall down with one hit. Unless you’re D-rank level, it’s tough to catch them one-on-one. The monsters you caught at the training camp were basically a tutorial. Got it?”

“Excuse me, Senior Eom.”

As the nagging seemed to intensify, Do Eun-jeong changed the subject.

“Do we have to wait here until the seniors come out?”

“That’s right. We can’t go in by ourselves without a supervisor.”

“How long do we have to wait?”

“Normally it would take 3 hours, but since two people went in, it might take longer. Anyway, they’ll come out within 4 hours.”

“There’s no chance they’ll fail the conquest, right? If they fail, the supervisor would get penalized too.”

“Supervisors don’t care whether they get penalized or not. The supervisor position is one that only cares about money to begin with.”

After waiting like that for nearly 4 hours:

“The seniors are late…”

“Don’t worry, Junior Seong-min. Nothing bad will happen.”

He meant it was boring because they were so late, but Do Eun-jeong seemed to think he was worried.

“Speaking of which, Junior Seong-min.”

Do Eun-jeong looked around before speaking.

After confirming Eom Jeong-sik wasn’t there, she spoke secretly.

“When will you come to my house?”

“Ah, that’s…”

“What? Were you two in that kind of relationship?”

Eom Jeong-sik, who had apparently been eavesdropping from right behind, made an angry expression.

“N-no, senior.”

“What do you mean no? I heard everything about coming to the house.”

“I was going to treat him to a meal as thanks for saving me. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“Ah, was that it?”

Hearing the reason, Eom Jeong-sik’s anger subsided.

“Can I join too? I want to eat at Eun-jeong’s house too.”

“Ah, that’s a bit…”

Just then, the portal color changed and the three who had entered walked out.

“Huff, huff…”

“We barely made it.”

Team A completed the conquest 10 minutes before the time limit.

That meant it wasn’t easy for two people to catch 80 Worwolves.

Seeing this, Eom Jeong-sik sighed.

“What do we do? If the team leader and Senior Sim barely managed to conquer it…”

“We’re three people, so won’t it be a bit easier?”

“No. In terms of combat power, we’re at a disadvantage. Let me calculate. Me 5,000, Eun-jeong 4,000, newcomer 3,000. That’s a total of 12,000. Meanwhile, the team leader and Senior Sim are 7,000 and 6,000, totaling 13,000. We have more people, but in terms of combat power alone, we’re actually at a disadvantage.”

It wasn’t wrong.

But there was something they didn’t know.

Choi Seong-min’s combat power.

‘My combat power currently exceeds 8,000. And it’s still rising.’

Because of that, Eom Jeong-sik’s calculation was wrong.

Of course, Choi Seong-min had no intention of telling them that fact.

‘I need to appear moderately weak.’

He planned to show some skill to appeal that he was an elite, but he had no intention of using his full strength.

‘If I did that, I might raise suspicion about killing the supervisor before.’

Team leader Bang Tae-man called the team members together.

“Now it’s Team B’s turn to enter, but we’ll move to another nearby Worwolf dungeon. The supervisor needs to enter too.”

Re-entering the same dungeon takes 12 hours.

They had to move dungeons because of the supervisor.

Fortunately, there was a Worwolf dungeon nearby, so it didn’t take much more time.

“Team B! Equip your gear and get ready!”

Before entering the dungeon, Bang Tae-man bowed his head to the supervisor.

“Then supervisor, please bear with us one more time. Please take good care of our kids too.”

“Don’t make such requests. My only job is to monitor items.”

Bang Tae-man gave a bitter smile.

He had asked again in case the team members faced dangerous situations, but was flatly refused.

‘You’re saying if I want to ask, I should bring bribes, right? Damn.’

Thinking that supervisors really had no compassion, Bang Tae-man waved his hand toward Team B.

“Be careful and make sure to come back alive, you brats!”

* * *

As soon as they entered the dungeon, the supervisor crossed his arms.

His intention to remain an observer no matter what happened was evident.

‘I have to consider the supervisor as non-existent…’

Eom Jeong-sik looked at Do Eun-jeong and Choi Seong-min.

Looking at the two made him sigh automatically.

‘One has caught them before 10 years ago but it’s hazy, and one is completely new…’

When waiting, he had asked if they had experience catching Worwolves, and as expected, they were beginners.

‘How am I supposed to hunt with kids like this…’

He had explained how to conquer Worwolves, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious.

‘Too little experience, too little.’

Combat power is important, but experience is most important.

You could say life and death depends on how many times you’ve caught that particular monster.

That’s why Eom Jeong-sik, who entered the dungeon, was more serious than anyone.

“You saw it too, right? Even our team’s two strongest seniors had a hard time. Never let your guard down and keep your wits about you. Absolutely obey what I say, got it?”

“Yes, senior!”

They answered, but to Choi Seong-min it was just ridiculous.

‘I who have even caught the Red Dragon Karmygas should be nervous about mere Worwolves?’

Honestly, Choi Seong-min was confident he could win one-on-one even if a boss appeared.

Not only was his combat power that high, but above all, his accumulated experience was on a completely different level from others.

Of course, the three people here couldn’t know that fact.

So he followed without complaint.

“First, I’ll show you an example, so follow me.”

Eom Jeong-sik took the lead and looked for a Worwolf.

A Worwolf that happened to be wandering around spotted Eom Jeong-sik and bared its teeth.

Grrrowl-

“Watch carefully. How to catch it.”

Eom Jeong-sik, who used a spear as his main weapon, rushed at the Worwolf.

He stabbed, dodged, swung, and used skills while facing the Worwolf for a while.

Thunk-

Grrowl!

Whether by chance or not, the spear tip pierced the Worwolf’s throat and took its life.

“Huff, huff. Did you see? You catch them like this by reading attack patterns and dodging while attacking.”

“That’s really amazing, senior!”

At Do Eun-jeong’s praise, Eom Jeong-sik smiled for the first time since entering the dungeon.

Apparently he thought he had scored some points with Do Eun-jeong.

‘From what I can see, it just seemed like a polite comment…’

Regardless of how Do Eun-jeong saw it, the recent battle didn’t look particularly impressive to Choi Seong-min’s eyes.

‘The attack power isn’t bad, but there’s a lot of waste and the accuracy is poor.’

Perhaps due to poor reflexes, he missed several opportunities to deal fatal damage.

Moreover.

“Let’s rest for a bit. Huff, huff.”

Even catching one monster tired him out, as Eom Jeong-sik sat down on the ground.

‘He has enough strength, but poor accuracy makes hunting take longer, ultimately leading to stamina consumption.’

It wasn’t particularly impressive skill.

‘Yet he dodged attacks well.’

The only thing worth learning was how well he dodged attacks after grasping patterns.

“Senior, could I try catching one one-on-one too?”

Eom Jeong-sik was surprised by Do Eun-jeong’s bold statement while resting.

“No, it’s dangerous! How could you catch one when I had such a hard time?”

“I’ve actually caught a Worwolf one-on-one before.”

“Ho, you caught one by yourself?”

“Yes. Though it was 10 years ago so my memory is hazy, I think I’ll remember if I face a few.”

“Still, it’s dangerous…”

“When it’s dangerous, you can help me, senior. Of course, getting your permission comes first…”

“Hmm…”

After thinking quietly, Eom Jeong-sik finally gave the okay sign.

He probably thought it was a good opportunity to score points.

“If it looks dangerous, I’ll intervene immediately. Got it?”

“Yes, senior. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.”

Soon they found a Worwolf, and Do Eun-jeong stepped forward with her sword.

Eom Jeong-sik also waited a few steps away in case of emergency.

“Hah!”

As Do Eun-jeong confidently rushed at the Worwolf, several exchanges unfolded.

And then.

Kyaaang!

The Worwolf fell faster than expected.

“Wh-how did you do it faster than me…”

Eom Jeong-sik’s surprise was natural.

Compared to himself who took 3 minutes to catch one, Do Eun-jeong only took 1 minute.

Despite having 1,000 less combat power.

Eom Jeong-sik was making a dumbfounded expression as if he didn’t understand the reason, but Choi Seong-min knew.

‘Almost every attack landed as an effective hit. Her accuracy is considerable, probably due to high reflexes.’

She also seemed to have decent strength, as her damage wasn’t low either.

‘With that level of skill, she’ll climb up quickly.’

Choi Seong-min was certain.

Within a month, Do Eun-jeong would surpass Eom Jeong-sik’s combat power.

“Am-amazing, Eun-jeong! Aren’t you really a genius?”

“Thank you for the praise, senior.”

“No, I’m not just saying that! How is Eun-jeong so pretty and good at everything?”

Eom Jeong-sik was busy praising Do Eun-jeong enthusiastically.

He might be sincere, but to Choi Seong-min’s eyes, it just looked like desperate attempts to win her favor.

‘Anyway, I should show my skills too.’

Since he had the reputation of being an elite, there was no need to hide his strength.

Though it would be troublesome if he showed all his strength.

“Since everyone went one-on-one, is it my turn now?”

As Choi Seong-min stepped forward confidently gripping his dagger, a sneer escaped from Eom Jeong-sik’s mouth.

“Haha, Seong-min. Just because Eun-jeong caught one easily doesn’t mean Worwolves look easy… You’ll get hurt badly like that. Eun-jeong is a genius, but you’re…”

“I also heard I was called an elite at the training camp. I’m confident.”

At Choi Seong-min’s words, Eom Jeong-sik snickered.

“Fine, give it a try. But if you get hurt, it’s not my responsibility.”

While saying this and crossing his arms to take a bystander’s stance, Choi Seong-min inwardly cringed.

‘Unlike before, he’s not even saying he’ll help?’

He knew the guy was jealous of him, but acting like this in a potentially dangerous situation was ridiculous.

‘Petty bastard. Well, I wasn’t hoping for help from someone like you anyway.’

“Junior Seong-min. Don’t worry. If it looks dangerous, I’ll step in.”

Instead, Do Eun-jeong offered to help.

Grrrowl-

A passing Worwolf spotted them and approached, so Choi Seong-min gripped his dagger properly.

‘Nothing more, nothing less – I’ll show myself as slightly stronger than Do Eun-jeong.’

To do that, he had to hold back as much as possible.

Choi Seong-min’s gaze turned to a message floating in the corner.

[Number of nearby awakened: 3]

[Pack Instinct trait increases Agility by 25%.]

‘I can’t help the Agility increase from Pack Instinct, so I shouldn’t use the assassin’s mark at least.’

Choi Seong-min deliberately waited for the Worwolf to attack first.

This was to avoid receiving the First Strike effect as well.

‘I need to be careful about attack timing too. It would be troublesome if Counter accidentally activated.’

While thinking about holding back as much as possible, the Worwolf rushed to close range.

Until then, Choi Seong-min didn’t make any attacks and only aimed with his dagger.

Swish-

He lightly twisted his body to dodge the creature’s front paw strike.

‘First Strike is over.’

After dodging the second attack too, he lightly stabbed its eye with his dagger.

Thunk-

Grrrowl!

The suffering Worwolf rushed to bite with its teeth.

Step-

After lightly dodging, he used a skill aimed at its head.

‘Slash.’

It wouldn’t die from one skill hit, but he planned to drain its health first by swinging his dagger.

He couldn’t cut off its head with this level of attack anyway.

But then.

‘Huh?’

An unexpected situation occurred.

Scrape-

The dagger tore through its head and scraped the skull.

[Sharp Blade trait ignores the opponent’s defense.]

Thud-!

The Worwolf with brain damage collapsed in one hit.

Unexpectedly, the 10% chance of defense ignore had activated.

‘Damn.’

But that wasn’t why Choi Seong-min was surprised.

‘Combat Sense tells me about this too?’

Because he had felt it before attacking.

That defense ignore would activate.