Three tankers take the main skills while preparing for a counterattack. The guys in front definitely have abilities like [Provocation] or [Telekinesis] to bind the opponents. The ones in the back are all dealers, with one being a sorcerer… The woman who used skills on me probably has other abilities too, right? It’s clear that fighting will be tiring.
Fighting those guys isn’t a problem, but considering the potential support from Apex and the enhanced orcs, now is not the time to act recklessly.
“……”
As I came back from my thoughts, I felt the tense gaze of the hunters watching us intently from behind. They must be praying that we don’t fight.
Given the state of the hunters in the front line, it’s understandable.
Since I took out a bomb, I hadn’t made any other moves. Instead, I blocked Joo-ah, who tried to step forward, signaling that further action was unnecessary.
“Cheh…”
Luckily, she heeded my intention, and the Apex guys couldn’t provoke us any further.
No matter how powerful their ten-man party might be, they couldn’t continue their antics under the gazes of all the other hunters.
Though they seemed still a bit frustrated, they turned away, showing a demeanor of restraint for the upcoming boss battle.
It was absurd to see the instigators behaving this way, but I refrained from saying more; it would only tire us out.
“Did Il-wol block for me because those guys have some hidden abilities? They just seem like a bunch of show-offs to me.”
“Well, I don’t know for sure… but that one woman in the back clearly possesses some unknown powers. I’ve felt her invisible magic power since earlier.”
“Huh? Really? I was too focused on those guys to notice… I didn’t feel anything.”
‘Yeon-hee noticed [Reconnaissance] too. How does someone with no sense know about that?’
Looking back, I figured she had picked up on Jeong Hyo-chan’s ability to determine truth from lies, given that he is a government employee. She must have some innate talent for everything related to mana.
Anyway, only after some distance between us and the orcs did Joo-ah and Ah-rin turn to stare at me again.
“That could be a summoned creature.”
“Sounds like a joke…”
‘……”
I deliberately ignored their gazes and keenly observed the reactions of the Apex party, which had moved to the opposite side. They were talking animatedly while casting noise-cancellation magic over themselves.
However, it didn’t seem like their magical capability was strong enough to block my sensory waves. My territory easily penetrated theirs, allowing me to eavesdrop on their conversation.
– Crazy! Are you sure?
The guy with the snake tattoo on his face was incredulous, repeatedly asking the woman who targeted me.
– You’re telling me her total attributes exceed 900? Is that even possible? I’m barely in the 800s.
‘800s, huh… that’s higher than it seems.’
– Hah… What do you want me to do? It showed like that when I used my skill. Go argue with the system…
– Hyung Junho. She said the skill showed 900, so why are you freaking out?
– No, that’s just way too high. Even if we assume those guys can wear runes…
– There was no summoner class before, so how are we supposed to know if there are monsters beneath that?
– Oh, look at you, defending your girlfriend.
– No, I’m not defending her; someone said she came out with a 900 score after using skills, who’s not believing that? So you’re saying Seon-jung lied or what?
– At least pretend to sympathize, we’re on the same team after all.
– Damn it, what’s the point of pretending? This isn’t some plate spinning contest.
– … What? Weren’t you some low-life? Want to die?
– This is an old thought. Isn’t it cleaner than eating from women’s backs?
– … Let’s meet after the dungeon. I have someone whose mouth I want to rip open.
– Just look now. What are you dragging it out for?
– Everyone, stop-!
‘What a mess. Whether it’s a low-life or a creepy one, they’re all the same. Tsk-’
I thought they might have some semblance of order, but looking deeper, it was different.
They weren’t a cohesive team at all. It was a typical representation of an interest group, easily fracturing over the slightest provocation.
Of course, our party isn’t much different, but having a certain mentality makes it easier to withstand.
Despite wishing for them to fall apart as they are, they began to focus on the present again.
– Well, fine. Even if we assume it’s a 900 score, it was barely close. Monsters might also have some different stats we don’t know about. That’s the downside of [Reconnaissance], where you can only see rough comprehensive stats. Anyway, I think we should act based on the pre-established criteria.
The sum of all my attributes under Irmana’s imperfect blessing is 978. So that guy was off since the beginning. Even without the sense attribute, it’s already over 900.
Plus, right now, that achievement isn’t even activated.
Orc Competitor
– When fighting orcs, all attributes +20.
Once the battle starts, Yeon-hee, Bae Joo-ah, and I will all have our attributes raised by 20. My overall attribute will soar over 1,100.
‘Still, that man got closer to the answer than I thought.’
His expectation that there would be stats different from other hunters was precisely right.
The ability to figure out total stat sums [Reconnaissance].
Of course, [Reconnaissance] has more than that, but it explains why they approached us so closely, causing us to lose focus while stirring up trouble.
They were smarter than I thought, accurately assessing the opponent’s capabilities and deciding whether to engage in battle. They looked far better than those idiotic guys from Ilseom Guild.
This makes it hard to view Ilseom Guild losing to Apex as simply due to the mistakes of their lower ranks.
‘So, they’ve been crumbling since then… well, whatever. At 800, they’re not some pushovers.’
Judging opponents solely based on total attributes isn’t always accurate.
The outcome can vary drastically based on the runes they wear; assuming an average-level hunter with the normal Rune of Giants reaches level 50, their total stats would be in the 700s to mid-range.
Even accounting for the substantial growth that comes every 20 levels, if you’re in the 800s, you’d be considered reasonably competent and valued in a guild. Reaching the 900s would earn you comments about talent and luck as you grow.
‘Didn’t think about it at all, but my stats have risen considerably. I’ve gone from the weakest to a decent level.’
The rise from job change, achievements, and taking out bad guys added up into this difference.
– Hmm-hmm—let’s summarize.
Returning to their conversation, the guy’s pre-established criterion was surprisingly simple.
– If there’s even one person with over 900 stats, we avoid fighting?
– That applies when there are more than five. When it’s four, we avoid fights if there are two with 900 or above.
– Exactly. Seon-jung, you can’t see the other people’s stats right now, can you?
– The cooldown is still a long way off.
– I bet Baek Ah-rin is close to 900. Her ‘Lightning Step’ isn’t something the tankers can handle.
– Plus, the other summoned creatures should be quite strong too.
– Well, that settles it. We’ll focus solely on the boss battle this time. Okay?
– Damn, it seems like we could just brush this off. What was the point of provoking us? Just to get some glares from people. Annoying.
– Don’t complain. If you were going to do whatever you wanted, there’d be no point in setting criteria or roles.
– No, it’s obvious that if we take those things down, they’d fall in the hundreds of millions.
– Fine. We’ll do it by the rules. Everyone, focus on the battle.
‘These punks are really just making noise while they’re going to extract us in the end.’
I decided to draw back my senses from the noise-cancellation territory. But then, an unavoidable remark slipped from one guy’s mouth.
– So, are we just leaving that rabbit year alone? You said we should take care of it if possible. Isn’t Heo Min-sol the one with a hefty bounty?
– Hmm… I said to do it if the chance arises, but I didn’t specify that it had to be done within the dungeon.
‘… What nonsense is this?’
– Why even take requests from those rookies? The way they handle things is just pathetic for our guild.
– You’re spitting on my face. Calm down. As long as we get our money, it doesn’t matter.
– Hah, true.
– Still, our guild’s reputation rose quite a bit thanks to that rookie. You wouldn’t believe how scary a woman’s jealousy can be.
– So, we handle it after this, right?
– Yeah. Let’s follow her after we finish up.
– That would be better. As soon as the cooldown’s over, I’ll set [Reconnaissance] on her.
When I heard about the process Arin experienced after being expelled from her guild, I had roughly guessed it, but it seems like the Apex guys had planned ahead.
I glanced over at Arin. She was looking slightly excited, staring at the hill where blood would surely flow soon.
‘A bounty… trailing behind after it’s done… that could get risky.’
Heo Min-sol, whose arms and legs I had severed, had placed a bounty, and from the Apex guys’ relaxed demeanor, it seemed there wasn’t a set timeframe.
‘I might have needed to kill her… I didn’t think she’d have the money to place a bounty.’
No, if I had killed her, other issues would have arisen. The bounty was likely her last desperate effort.
Even if Arin managed to avoid the anger by being with us today, she could fall into danger again tomorrow. I couldn’t help but worry, given that I couldn’t deny responsibility.
As intended, Ilseom Guild had kept quiet, but a bounty… didn’t expect that at all.
The biggest issue was that the instructions had come from the higher-ups of those guys. Given Apex’s stance of doing anything for money, they wouldn’t hesitate at all. Even if we dealt with these guys, more would come.
How long did it take? To give orders to that amount of personnel, it had to be at least over a billion.
‘I need to cut off their money supply. The easiest way to do that would be to eliminate Heo Min-sol.’
But I don’t even know where she lives, let alone reach her.
At times like these, the restrictions on me feel a bit cumbersome. I am gradually becoming freer, but I still live within limitations.
Of course, living alongside Yeon-hee, bound to her, is something that brings a smile to my face, but the path to get to that point feels overwhelmingly tough.
‘… Nothing I can do. I’ll finish the boss battle first. Once that’s done, I need to inform her.’
By now, both Yeon-hee and the other party members must feel that I’ve reached a boundary between monsters and people. Once I inform Yeon-hee, she can then warn Arin again.
Then, Joo-ah and I can figure something out together. That should be enough of what I can do… I’m also slightly risking info by giving it out.
“My teacher’s first lesson starts now, so I’ll specialize in Lightning Step.”
Suddenly, I recalled what Arin had said earlier, blushing. Teacher… I used an unnecessary title.
‘Hmm… As a disciple, should I take care of at least one [Reconnaissance] user?’
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