Chapter 58: Event Raid (1)
Warriors needed rest.
If I said so myself, not signing up for any classes on Friday was a godly move. Sprawled on the living room couch, I blanked out. I'd been staying too busy lately. I needed some rest. A month had passed since the midterms ended. It was that time of the school season when professors reveled in the complaints of students as they bombarded them with assignments. However, that had nothing to do with me. Unless it was an absolutely important assignment, I boldly skipped them all. I was busy being a dungeon explorer. How was I supposed to find the time to do assignments?
As such, I was resting. Since I was fighting the Giant Ghoul three times a day, I believed I had the right. It was why I got up so early in the morning to quickly do my daily Floor Master battles!
Until the 25th floor, there was no shortage of people to join my party. Even if there weren't a lot of people, I could easily find four or five people to join my party. But the 25th floor was different. There were people who refused to participate unless it was a full party of 10, and there weren't that many challengers either.
20th floor and below was the so-called beginner's area. There were a lot of apprentice explorers who wanted to challenge the boss raid, but things were different starting from the 25th floor. Those with ability had already gone up and those without ability couldn't make it here in the first place. As such, the number of explorers between the 25th and 40th floor was apparently quite small. It's also said that the dungeon's difficulty shot up from the 40th floor, resulting in many explorers who were forced to make meaningless challenges without being able to climb up. Of course, that was not important to me right now.
In a way, since the number of First Dungeon explorers was less than 40,000, it was surprising that I could easily find people to raid with. No matter how famous my Crown Prince name was, there wasn't much I could do with how few people actually wanted to climb.
However, if I didn't find at least one person to join my party, I couldn't obtain Skin Strengthening Elixirs. When I explained my frustration to Loretta, she made a dumbfounded smile, and took out an item to help with my problem.
[This is a Party Member Scarecrow! It increases the number of rewards by one. Ah, you can still only pick one though. Don't be surprised, this miraculous item is only 10,000 gold a piece!]
[Loretta, your sales results have been skyrocketing thanks to me, right?]
[... I, I'll make it 8,000 gold a piece.]
[I love you, Loretta!]
[Uuuu... 5... 5,000 a piece! I'll make it 5,000 gold!]
[... Eh? Why did you lower it again?]
[Eh? ... Ah, Aaaaaah! C-Cancel! Cancel what I just said!]
[A woman's words are worth a thousand gold!]1
I didn't understand why Loretta lowered the cost again from 8,000 gold, but thanks to the Party Member Scarecrows I got for just 5,000 gold each, I was able to get Skin Strengthening Elixirs by doing Floor Master raids alone.
My Giant Ghoul grind was nearing its end. My strength and charm had already gone up by 9 each, and it seemed the Skin Strengthening Elixir's effect was quite noticeable on my skin, as mother gave me stinging glares. It was the kind of glare that said, 'If you have good things, don't keep them to yourself and fork some over.' Sorry, mother, but I wasn't using them as beauty products!
As I was thinking all these things while sprawled on the couch like a lion after its meal, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs reached my ears. It was Yua.
"Ah, Yua, are you going to school?"
"Oppa, today is a national holiday."
When I turned around, she was in her casual clothes. I thought I was looking at an angel for a second, but it really was Yua. Whew, I almost got confused. Yua wasn't an angel, but a reincarnated angel. I had to remember.
"You should rest then. Even students need to let their brains rest once in a while."
"Ah, that's... Oppa, you're not busy today, right?"
Yua asked carefully after a bit of hesitation. I nodded my head.
"Yeah, I don't have classes today, so I'm resting."
"Um, oppa."
"You can just say it."
"I-If it's okay... do you want to go to the movies with me?"
I shot up from the couch immediately. Staying sprawled on the couch or going to movies with Yua. It was clear which was a better way to spend my rest day.
"Of course, oppa is free. Let's go to the movies."
"But oppa, don't you have to go to the dungeon today? You seemed busy lately..."
"Not at all! I already finished what I had to do today, so I was bored. I'm thankful you asked."
"Hehe... Thanks, oppa. Then I'll get changed and get ready."
"Okay, I'll get ready too."
Just like that, Yua and I were at the movie theater 30 minutes later. I could feel the gazes of surrounding people when we were walking with our arms linked, but I paid them no mind. It was because Yua was too pretty.
"What movie are we watching?"
"This one here. My friends said it was fun, but I didn't have anyone to watch it with since they already watched it."
"I see. But Yua, if a boy ever invites you to the movies, I'd like you to discuss it with me first. I can't leave just anyone to escort Yua."
My eyes were genuine and serious. At least, that's what I thought.
"Ah, um... I'm scared of boys, so I'm not really friends with them."
"Really? That's okay then. Remember, all men are evil. Except father and oppa, of course."
"Chii, that's what you always say."
"It's true. Men are evil. Yua wouldn't even believe how evil they are."
It was true, especially teenage boys. As someone who had been one before, I could attest to it! Yua could only enjoy her student life without knowing the ferociousness of teenage boys because of the safety device father and I put in without her knowledge!
"What about oppa?"
"Men like oppa are rare. Oppa will carefully pick out suitable candidates for Yua, so Yua can just choose among them. If you want, you don't have to choose anyone. Oppa will support you your entire life!"
I accidentally went a little too wild. I carefully glanced at Yua, hoping she wasn't looking at me in contempt. Thankfully, she was laughing adorably.
"Okay, oppa. I'll believe in oppa's word and live off oppa forever. I'll be a mean sister-in-law too."
"Of course! Yua is oppa's first priority!"
That, I could swear on the heavens! I mean, I doubted anyone would want to marry me in the first place.
After watching the movie, Yua and I headed to a nearby fast-food restaurant. Although I wanted to bring her to somewhere more expensive, or even buy her the entire restaurant, Yua was a girl who knew how to find happiness in small things. Perhaps she wasn't the reincarnation of an angel, but the reincarnation of an archangel!
"These fries are great!"
"But don't eat too much. You might end up like someone I know."
"Who?"
"Potato witch."
I retorted as I sipped on my cup of coke. It was then that I heard the sound of a tray falling on the ground. When I turned around, the potato witch was there. With a pale face, she was shaking.
For the record, the fallen tray didn't have a hamburger, only piles of fries. As always, her actions weren't really hiding her presence, though she was covering herself with a hoody.
"S-S-S-S-S-Shin."
"Is there a monster nearby? Why are you shaking so much?"
"... Oppa?"
With Yua calling me, I turned back around. She had a very kind smile on her face.
Something was strange. It was undoubtedly a kind smile, but it also felt chilling. Something had to be wrong with my eyes.
"What's wrong, Yua?"
"Who is that?"
"Shin. Is this your g-g-g-g-g-girlfriend?"
Unlike Yua's calm smiling face, Su Ye-Eun was almost tearing up. Was she that sad about dropping her fries? I wasn't surprised. With a helpless sigh, I let Su Ye-Eun sit down. After all, just letting her stand there would only lead to more bothersome things.
"Hello, I'm oppa's younger sister, Yua."
"Ah, hello. I'm Su Ye-Eun."
After I introduced them to each other, the chill I was getting from Yua disappeared. Su Ye-Eun stopped crying, but was still noticeably tense. At the same time, I felt a bit uneasy. Something always happened when I met Su Ye-Eun outside school. Was today going to be the same?
"You said you were oppa's college classmate?"
"Ah, yes. My relationship with Shin has been healthy without anything for you to worry about, yet..."
"Yet? Relationship?"
"Hiik!"
Yua made a beaming smile, but for some reason, Su Ye-Eun started to sweat and was unable to meet Yua's eyes.
"You're his college classmate, right?"
"Y-Yes."
"You're not dating him, but just classmates."
"Y-Yes, that's right."
"Then relationship wasn't the right word, huhu. I worried for nothing."
Dimples appeared on Yua's face. Eh? A chill swept over me again. Did Yua awaken? When I was seriously contemplating the possibility that Yua became an ability user, Yua interrupted.
"Take good care of oppa, Ye-Eun unni. As you can see, oppa is very pure and unwavering. If a bad woman approaches him, he'll easily get entangled. I hope you can take care of oppa, purely as a friend."
"Y-Yes."
"And I'm younger, so you don't have to talk so politely."
"Y-Ye... Okay."
While Yua and Su Ye-Eun exchanged words I couldn't comprehend, I simply ate my hamburger. Girls really talked in some secret code. I couldn't understand a thing. However, I did understand two things. One was that Su Ye-Eun was powerless against Yua for some reason, and another was that Yua might have an ability to control cold.
By the time their conversation ended, I was crumpling up my hamburger wrapper.
"Do you want to go back, Yua? Is there anything you want to buy?"
"Mm... Oppa, can we go window shopping for clothes?"
"Sure, of course we can!"
When we left the restaurant after throwing away our trash, Su Ye-Eun was silently following us. With her stealth ability that would make even government top-secret agencies want to scout her, it was no surprise. Yua gave her a glance, but only made a small smile.
Soon after, the uneasy feeling I had from seeing Su Ye-Eun came true. When we were passing by a store with a TV by the window, a breaking news came on.
[Breaking news. The Gate located in China's Guangzhou city shopping mall disappeared, and a giant boar over 50 meters tall appeared. The Chinese government has already deployed Guardians to stop the boar's rampage, but there have already been over a thousand confirmed casualties...]
[Giant monsters likewise appeared at the Gates in Shanghai and Beijing, causing massive civilian casualties. The Chinese government has explained that this incident was caused by rogues who sneaked into the Gate without their permission. However, given that all five Gates located in China disappeared within a short period of time, and that large number of Guardians were gathered at the Gate locations, their words are likely untrue...]
I stopped walking. On TV, I saw a giant boar the size of a building running around in Guangzhou city. Several buildings had already fallen, making the scene look like something from the movies. The Giant Boar's relentless running was causing buildings to collapse and the asphalt road to tremor. In front of it were small dots, which I assumed were Chinese Guardians. Of course, they weren't a match for the Giant Boar. Civilian casualties? It would probably be easier to count the number of people that survived.
Immediately afterwards, three messages rang in my ear.
[An Event Raid has broken out! C+-rank 500-man Raid, 'Giant Boar.' Any dungeon explorers from Earth may participate. Would you like to participate? The moment you express your desire to participate, you will be teleported to the corresponding location. You will return to your original location after clearing the Event Raid.]
[An Event Raid has broken out! C-rank 1,000-man Raid, 'Mini Kraken Wave.' Any dungeon explorers from Earth may participate. Would you like to participate? The moment you express your desire to participate, you will be teleported to the corresponding location. You will return to your original location after clearing the Event Raid.]
[An Event Raid has broken out! C+-rank 300-man, 'Giant Swordtiger.' Any dungeon explorers from Earth may participate. Would you like to participate? The moment you express your desire to participate, you will be teleported to the corresponding location. You will return to your original location after clearing the Event Raid.]
1. A modified version of the Korean proverb, a man's words are worth a thousand gold