“Damn… If Yumi were alive…”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“Why are you angry? It’s the truth.”
“Who was it that seduced me to get rid of it, damn it…”
“What? What did you just say?”
“Isn’t it true… Thanks to that, who only got the benefits…”
“The one who got the title of guild elder is lucky. What do we have…?”
“It’s only been two days. Pathetic beings! If I see you anywhere… Crunch…”
Yeon-hee frowned heavily as she watched the Bear Beastman Party arguing and blaming each other for a long time, seemingly displeased.
So they gained benefits by eliminating that woman who died in the Wolf’s den, and those guys conspired in advance… And what they gained from that was the position of guild elder.
If a guild has that level title, it must be at least of a medium-large scale. An already D-rank Hunter is a definite rapid promotion.
But…
“Just as dull as that face, it’s boring.”
I kicked the head of the Bear Beastman out of irritation.
Smack-!
– Cough!
“Ugh…! S-save me!”
“Ugh… Never mind. You all, let me go.”
“Huh? Wh-what do you mean?”
“That’s something you guys know. How would I know? Damn it!”
Bae Joo-ah really isn’t someone who has only robbed once or twice. She was exceptional at figuring out where people feel fear, and what kind of profits could be gained without backlash from that.
In the end, we managed to get four High-Rank Potions and five Runes from them. Unfortunately, all five Runes were useless to me, but hey, that’s all money.
“I swear, I might just become a saint from this.”
“What nonsense…”
“……”
Does Bae Joo-ah think she’s being too merciful? We don’t see it that way, but if she thinks so…
Rustle—
The defeated Bear Beastman Party suddenly vanished, and we stared blankly at the four-member party’s battle.
Perhaps they were exhausted from the fight with the middle-aged party, as they seemed to have a rather dull battle for ten minutes with a party that lacked any specific traits.
‘…Those guys. They’re holding back quite a bit. What are they hiding?’
– Everyone… is adding color.
– Ah! Damn!
– I told you to just take that Skeleton from the start!
– Shut up! We’re discussing this after we get back!
The four-member party spaced out and began to draw blood on their fingers, marking lines across their faces.
As the lines were drawn, geometric tattoos began forming on their faces, their Magic Power surged abnormally, and they quickly overpowered the opponent with explosive combat power.
‘…Comparable to Baek Ah-rin’s Lightning Step? There are still so many techniques I don’t know about.’
“······”
“The four of them won, huh?”
“They did win, but they don’t look like winners at all.”
After the opponents surrendered, they collapsed onto the ground and stared blankly at us for a while. They looked somewhat disappointed and seemed to be smiling slightly too.
“You guys! Let’s have a proper match next time! We’re good anytime tomorrow!”
As the boy-shaped man from the four-member party said that, Ah-rin responded immediately.
“Okay! See you again!”
“Huh?! Th-thank you…”
The boy was flustered, scratching his face, not expecting such a cheerful reply.
Swoosh—
In the end, the four-member party vanished, and we were left alone in the isolated space.
We had expected to clash with them once, now feeling a bit dazed as we looked around the empty clearing again.
“How ridiculous. Why didn’t they use that technique from the start?”
“Clearly, it must have a heavy backlash. They probably saved it for us. I can understand their mindset.”
“If the Bear Beastman Party had engaged with them… they might’ve met us.”
“In the end, not assessing their capabilities was their party’s downfall.”
‘True… If you simply look at numbers, the Bear Beastman Party would appear more exhausted. By the way, where did that guy go?’
The moment we teleported the four-member party, the Brown Mimic Tiny also disappeared.
“Huh? Where did the Mimic go?”
“Ah! Could it have run away?!”
“What have we been doing until now? Ugh…”
The party members also couldn’t hide their panic upon realizing the Mimic was gone.
‘Hm…? When did that come out?’
But at that moment, a golden wooden box suddenly appeared where the Mimic used to be. It exuded an air like a real treasure chest, not moving an inch.
“Um, um… it’s right there.”
―!!
“Aaaah! It’s a treasure chest!”
“Idiot, no way that’s true!”
Joo-ah scolded Ah-rin before biting her nails, deep in thought.
“I can’t help but think that’s Tanya or something, connected to that earlier Brown Mimic boss.”
“Ah! Is that what it was?!”
“I think we have to go see it?”
In the end, we carefully approached the golden treasure chest.
As we drew near, the Mimic vividly illuminated, radiating light. It looked like a treasure chest you’d drool over.
“Who’s fooling around? I know that’s not a treasure chest.”
“······”
As soon as I said that, the Mimic’s chest opened wide, and a golden sphere floated out. Then familiar letters appeared before us.
– I am the Golden Mimic Tanya.
– Qualification has been verified.
– ? challengers have been confirmed within my range.
– One representative among the ? challengers, please toss the coin.
– It will be decided whether all challengers will participate or if just one random challenger will enter the space to duel.
The voices, seeming like multiple people speaking at once, were captivating, but the content itself was shaking us.
“Huh? What is this? I didn’t hear this from that earlier Brown whatever!”
“Challenger…”
“Wait, we’re not all going in, are we?!”
“If we’re unlucky, it seems that way.”
“No, that can’t be… I can’t do it alone…”
“Seriously, what could they possibly give that’s so great?”
‘Ah, so that’s what it was. Just like that person said.’
Memories of what experienced Mimic challengers shared came to mind.
While there wasn’t a story about the Brown Mimic, it matched exactly with the situation where they toss a coin to decide whether all party members can enter or only one randomly selected person enters the duel.
‘Is the Brown Mimic an option that comes out when there are many people… sometimes present, sometimes absent?’
*Inhale— Hah… I’ll give it a try.*
Bae Joo-ah looked astonished by the unforeseen situation, while Yeon-hee nodded, seemingly unfazed by any unfolding event, and stepped forward.
Every time I see Yeon-hee show her bold side, it gives me mixed feelings.
With the message, a coin the size of my fist floated in the air. Yeon-hee caught the coin with both hands and threw it up with all her might.
The coin shot up fast, as if it were on fast forward, then came down, stopping a certain distance above the ground.
The image on the coin depicted a person deep within a robe, facing upwards to the sky.
“Robe? What is that?”
As I wondered what that design signified, Ran exclaimed as if he discovered something.
(Ah! Master! Isn’t the front and back of this coin the same?! It’s a scam!)
“What?! H-Hey! The front and back of the coin are identical! Why tell us to toss it?!”
Yeon-hee tilted her head down to check the coin’s back side and got offended, as if she had been scammed.
– …… The result will be determined the moment the coin is tossed. The front and back are merely shapes.
“Hah- Don’t joke with me. You’re just backpedaling because you got caught, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. Let us do it properly.”
– ······ The coin has already been tossed.
– I am the Golden Mimic Tanya. Only one existence may enter my space. A new challenger will be chosen by tossing a coin again.
――!!!
“M-Make no sense! That’s too harsh!”
Yeon-hee protested vehemently, but it was no use.
‘Isn’t there just one entry in the first place? The coin is just a trivial game.’
If the Mimic had a capricious personality, that could certainly be the case. I could feel its gaze fixated on our faces when the coin was tossed.
Regardless, only one can challenge. Then who should ideally be chosen?
‘It’s risky, but… I should hope it’s Yeon-hee.’
We protested briefly to the Mimic, but soon gave in, clasping our hands together like in prayer, waiting for the Mimic to toss the coin.
The Mimic floated temporarily in the air, then silently moved toward Arin and Eun-young, taking a step back.
――!!
The two of them were lifted into the air by the Mimic’s unknown power. They struggled for a moment but soon floated toward us.
“Nooo…!”
Arin looked as if she was about to cry and stuffed all the pills left into her mouth.
While Eun-young might be fine with that, why is Arin so frightened about the challenge? She’s someone who has confidence in her own strength.
“I can’t… I have a younger sibling… no… please… I’ll fail if I’m alone!”
“Ughh…”
‘She had a younger sibling…’
That would be somewhat understandable.
– Now all beings within my range have gathered. The previously tossed coin shall be thrown again. As you have seen, the front and back of the coin are identical, and one being will be chosen randomly.
“Me again…”
Yeon-hee seemed slightly regretful about stepping up earlier. Now she’s in charge of deciding our fate with the coin toss yet again.
*Inhale— Hah…*
Ting-!
With a deep breath, Yeon-hee flicked the coin upward. As it spun in the air for quite some time, it eventually dropped onto the ground with a thud.
Yeon-hee, Joo-ah, Arin, Eun-young.
Who among the four will be the challenger?
All eyes were fixed on the coin that fell to the ground.
The figure of the robed person on the coin was now gone.
In its place was a different engraving of some kind.
―――?!
‘A skeleton…? This is strange.’
It was a cracked skull.
‘Hmm…’
“Uh? What? What is it? Tell me, Mimic!”
“A skeleton… Don’t tell me it’s a bust? Are we all gonna die?! No!! Please save me!! We just barely made it up!!”
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