Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Once again, Kim Sangyoon's party members all gathered around their Bard to counter the Mourning Slime.

The Bard began to play the flute; a graceful melody flowed out. A shiny ring formed over the heads of the party members standing near. That ring effect was so famous that even I knew what it was-one of the Bard's most difficult buffs, [Sacrificial Blessing], had been applied.

The skill was quite effective: preventing the enemy's physical attacks up to 120% of the User's own stats while keeping the User's stamina from being consumed.

The skill, befitting its beneficial effects, was particularly tricky to perform and had a long cooldown. Many parties saved this buff for an emergency, but Kim Sangyoon's party used it not 10 minutes after the Mourning Slime was engaged.

They had little choice-the slimes began to occupy all sides of the hallway and spat acid at the party.

At first, I thought it weird for Sangyoon's party to use this powerful blessing so early. Soon enough, however, I saw the acid saliva bounce off the protection buff and ricochet onto the walls, creating white smoke and leaving behind pockmarks in the stone. The hairs on the back of my neck began to raise in fear.

Furthermore, since Necromancers received no benefits from holy-attribute buffs, I retreated even farther away, afraid that errant acid slime would hit my unprotected self. If Seo Dawon had not blocked my way, I'm sure I would have jumped to quickly escape.

"The Mourning Slime has no eyes and, instead, tracks its prey through the vibrations caused by movement," Seo Dawon said as he threw a fist-sized stone near the slime. As the stone touched the ground, the slime enveloped the rolling rock in an instant. The stone melted from the slime's poisons; when it disappeared, the slime continued to pace around the area, searching for more.

"So when dealing with a group of slimes, you need one damage dealer to draw their attention as bait. It's good to establish the direction....." Seo Dawon paused in his explanation while watching Kim Sangyoon's party deal with the enemy.

I naturally followed his gaze, and, unlike Seo Dawon's clear explanation, Kim Sangyoon's party was all clumped in the same location.

At the scene, Seo Dawon laughed openly, "As expected of their rank, they cling together."

Though his attitude was a bit despicable, even I could see that Kim Sangyoon's party had no strategy; the fight was more akin to a street brawl. 1 . Though the party currently had the advantage due to Sangyoon's outstanding individual ability, victory would not have been guaranteed if there were just a few more Mourning Slimes.

Seo Dawon didn't stop commenting, focusing, this time, on the Animist who had called his water spirit, Undine, to fight the slimes. "Is he using a water spirit to deal with slimes...? Fundamentally, they should know to attack with fire spirits like Salamander..."

He didn't hide his disdain for the Treasure Hunter either. The Treasure Hunter had been attacking the slimes with a crossbow but had missed all his shots. Instead, his opponent stunned him in one blow.

"It should be common sense that plain physical attacks, without skill empowerment, wouldn't work...What are they doing?"

"......."

Why, as I listened to Seo Dawon's words, did I also feel embarrassed? I was only there to get carried?!

"This party must have gotten to this point by trusting that red-haired User," Seo Dawon finished. The red haired User, Kim Sangyoon, was certainly showing the most noticeably effective performance within this party. He stood at the forefront, wielding his greatsword [Berserker].

"Chest Slash!" Kim Sangyoon held his sword high above his head and struck across, triggering the skill attached to his blade.

The huge slime in front of him was hit directly by the red skill that flew out from the end of the blade. It split into two pieces, dying with a chilling scream, [kyaakk!] One blow dealt enough damage to kill it instantly.

"I'm jealous...." I muttered casually.

"Of what?" Seo Dawon asked.

"I wish I had that kind of item..."

"Are you serious?"

"...."

Seo Dawon looked at me, his expression questioning whether I could truly be content with such an item.

Honestly, I understood his confusion. Before he died, Seo Dawon was a guildmaster of the best Guild in Korea. He had never failed a raid, except for the <Tower of Command>, so he must not have lacked financially. For such a person, an item like 'Berserker' would not have registered as something desirable... 2

Perhaps Seo Dawon temporarily forgot about his circumstances, his death. All of his plentiful bank accounts would have disappeared.

And I, his contract partner, still had many student loans left to pay. I earned less than a million won per month while dungeoneering, and I struggled to accept help from back home. Therefore, Seo Dawon was also penniless now.

However, as if he had not realized his current financial situation, Seo Dawon gave me a head to toe glance and said, "When we leave, let's pick out a combat uniform first. Before we can find a suitable item from a Dungeon, we can buy something basic, ready-to-wear, from DAA."

"DAA? Are you talking about the workshop, DAA?"

"Yeah. That still exists, right?"

That's not the problem...That workshop's brand was the most famous of those that processed fabric and leather.

In terms of design, the workshop collaborated with famous contemporary fashion designers. Streamers unboxed their products live on broadcast as a way to flex. In particular, the uniform that Seo Dawon had mentioned costs 100 million won per part-the brand justified the price by highlighting the raw material: 100% dragon leather.

Is he expecting me to buy that sort of luxury right now?

"I'll wear it if you buy it," I said sarcastically, hoping to convey the absurdity of his statement.

However, Seo Dawon casually continued as if he perceived nothing wrong, "Also, buy yourself some accessories. You look broke right now."

I told him again, "Hey, I don't have any money." Seo Dawon just looked at me as if I spouted gibberish.

"What you're saying is impossible with my bank balance...."

"Hey! Choi Lee-kyung! The material you want appeared!"

Before I could further explain my financial situation, Kim Sangyoon called out to me in a loud voice and cut me off. In the end, our conversation was halted in lieu of more pressing matters.

Kim Sangyoon placed his sweaty arms around my shoulders as he escorted me to the ingredient I needed and said, out of nowhere, "Hey, write a good review for us, okay? I'll believe in you!" He gave a seemingly friendly smile and continued, "I even gave you a mask right?....Anyways, it all ended well." His heavy hands patted me on the shoulder.

I was flustered at his words; what was he talking about? I asked, "A review...?"

"Don't you know? It's common etiquette to leave a review on 'User Alert' after getting carried by a party."

"Ah....."

"Write well, okay?"

"Ah...yeah."

"And maybe...You could also post a good review on places like Ranking Gods. All right?"

".....Yes."

While nodding meekly, I recalled similar posts on the Ranking Gods community. Similarly, there were many comments that urged users to report carry-related disputes to the 'User Alert' app.

I mentally revisited all our past interactions in <The Tower of Command>. Perhaps the threat of a bad review had greater impact than I thought; Kim Sangyoon eagerly pushed for a nice write up.

My heart felt a bit bitter-his friendliness and his thoughtfulness with the mask was not truly sincere....but, whatever his motive, I had gotten what I desperately needed thanks to his assistance. He and his party had saved me in multiple meanings of the word.

"I'll write good things," I reassured him.

≿——————- ❈ ——————-≾

'Normal Mode' boss monster Lich Lord (Normal) has been killed by 'Ahn Juseong' and 63 others!

'Hard Mode' boss monster Lich Lord (Hard) has been killed by 'Bae Jaemin' and 33 others (all from a single party)!

≿——————- ❈ ——————-≾

My answer and the system alert blended into each other. The notification informed us that another party had defeated the boss.

As we haven't even made it to the boss's door yet, our raid ended in vain. The other members also looked slightly embarrassed and dejected at the unexpected alarm.

In particular, Kim Sangyoon's expression was frightfully distorted.

"....Ahn Juseong? Ahn Juseong, that bastard, was supposed to inform me before he defeated the boss!"

Huh? What's this?

He's not disappointed at the boss being stolen away...but he's angry at something else? Did something go wrong?

Kim Sangyoon suddenly raised his finger in the air and moved it violently. Though his body hid his precise actions, somehow I thought I saw a message interface-not unlike the exchanges shared between Seo Dawon and I. Kim Sangyoon seemed to be speaking to Ahn Juseong, the User who defeated the normal mode boss.

However, as soon as he confirmed the raid's completion, the Bard walked up to Kim Sangyoon tactlessly. "I think it's over...Why don't we get out of here, for now?"

Ah, the bard must be a hired mercenary. As his job was finished, he didn't seem to want to wait and waste time as Kim Sangyoon worked through his anger.

No one could find fault with his polite tone and courteous expression. Eventually, Kim Sangyoon gritted his teeth and told us, "Let's leave."

A small, "Go to Hub," message appeared, and my surroundings distorted.

"We're finally getting out of this place." Seo Dawon murmured.

I closed my eyes.

TL: Thanks for reading, despite the sedated update schedule~ Exams period is T_T