CH 25

Those people are hopeless, but since they’re high-level and belong to good guilds, it should be fine.

There was a time when I thought so.

“Your Highness, you will take responsibility for this, won’t you? When will you come to Paradise?” Blacklist number 1, the young and rich and handsome and big You Really Are Crazy, said.

I was horrified thinking it was standing earlier, but it turned out he was the owner of a fantastic size even when it wasn’t.

It’s a size that goes really well with the nickname You Really Are Crazy.

“Finger King-nim, can I bury him?” Blacklist number 2, Loveless, the leader of Paradise’s party, created an ice spear in the air. She was one of the Paradise lunatics who knelt before me and introduced herself as the ninth servant.

“You shouldn’t bury him for now.”

“I’ll bury him when I return then. Thank you.”

Loveless straightened her twin spears with a wide grin.

I grabbed the back of my neck as I watched IRL running from place to place and Loveless chasing him enthusiastically.

You guys indeed listen to everything I say.

“Coincidence-nim, I see three mountain goats ahead. What should we do?” Seobin, who had good eyesight, climbed a high rock and looked ahead and asked. He was the only person here who would call me Coincidence.

“The two ahead will deal with it, so just leave it alone.” 

[The movement of the west is unusual.]

[(Player3) <Letter> (B+)’s ‘shield’ has been destroyed.]

“Finger King-nim, the barrier to the west is broken.”

“The west is a plant zone. Maybe the plant moved, not the monster. Rururung-nim, can you please check?”

Minju nodded and reached out toward the west.

Letter of Paradise Guild has a shield ability, which helps identify nearby enemies.

Seriously, if I had one of those abilities when I first entered this dungeon, I would have cleared it two days faster.

[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) and (Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) have left the “Blessed Zone”.]

Sweet Melody’s, the maintainer of the ‘Blessed Zone’, face crumpled as she looked at the window that appeared in front of her eyes.

Normally, this window only opens for the caster, but why does it open for me too? Is it because I’m the party leader?

I’ve never had a party with another Hunter before, so I don’t know.

I have fought alone from the beginning until now. I’ve never had a colleague, let alone a party this big.

[(Player6) <Rururung> (B+) activates ‘Will of the Seed’.]

[The lesser plant species <Devil’s Vine> devours the ‘Will of the Seed’.]

At the same time as the window saying that the Devil’s Vine had moved appeared, Minju stumbled.

As I supported the faltering Minju, I observed the two lunatics who had run ahead.

[(Player1) <Behind the Scene I Really Like> (S) activates ‘Shadow Slash’.]

[‘Hell Goat’ (3) disappears.]

[(Player2) <Frost Flower Loveless> (S) activates ‘Castle Flower’.]

[‘Hell Goat’ (7) disappears.]

[*Hell Goat’s Burnt Offering – ‘Hell Goat’ (34/579)]

I don’t even need to take care of them because they’re so lively, even though they’re out of the Blessed Zone of Sweet Melody.

The ice made by Loveless covered the whole area. The thick fog felt cold to the bone.

“I’m sorry. Our kids fight too hard, don’t they?” Sweet Melody, the maintainer of ‘Blessed Zone’ that buffs the area by consuming mana, said with an embarrassed face.

I kicked the hard ice on the floor with my foot and devised a way to clear the dungeon.

Shield, buffer, and powerful ice attribute. The combination wasn’t bad.

“You don’t have to apologize. I’m not even the head of this raiding party.”

“Yes? But Finger King is the only one here who knows how to navigate this dungeon.”

“So why do you keep thinking I’m Finger King?”

Hell Goat is a goat-type monster that emits fire breath from its mouth.

As a vassal, it is in charge of protecting the brazier with its fire, and as a monster playing the role of the brazier’s guardian, it has a habit of locking itself in one place and not coming out.

Furthermore, they are currently holding a memorial service festival at the brass temple.

Probably 500 of the 579 Hell Goats in this dungeon are in the temple on top of that rocky mountain.

It means that solo players can’t even dream about reaching it.

Speechless at my answer, Sweet Melody gave up and quietly slumped. She seemed to think it would be better to stop Geranium, who was doing something stupid over there, than to talk to Finger King, who didn’t admit to being Finger King.

It is a natural fact that fire melts ice, but high-grade ice freezes even fire.

So what Geranium was doing right now, squatting on the ground, was the same story as an F-class killing an army commander.

After instructing Minju to deal with Geranium, who was going a one-man show there, I looked into the air.

Tik-tok. It was the sound of the second hand of a clock moving, even though there wasn’t a clock around.

[Until the Fel Goat Army’s invasion begins, 69:54:12]

Dungeon gates become wave gates over time because those monsters come to invade our dimension, not invite us to the outside dimension.

No matter how much the world has changed, its essence hasn’t changed.

Even if you attack dungeons like a game and clear dungeons to earn money, it’s still a battlefield.

You must close the dungeon door before the dungeon gate turns into a wave gate.

Since it’s a simulation, there won’t be any casualties or property damage, but once it becomes a wave gate, the difficulty level increases rapidly.

“Coincidence-nim, the two people in front are running in different directions.”

“Really?”

“Can we leave that alone?” Seobin, whose lips turned blue from Loveless’ coldness, said. I stopped him from raising his bow and lit a spark.

“Just leave it as it is.”

“But-“

“Those lunatics must go through it first.” How painful it is to meet a flock of Hell Goats and be hit by those horns.

While adjusting his collar, Seobin lowered the hand holding the bow and looked puzzled.

I kept moving while eavesdropping on the bitter-faced Sweet Melody and Letter whispering. Since this raid wouldn’t end in one day, I had to find a place to spend the night.

“Isn’t Finger King acting like she’s not Finger King? But she’s using Finger King’s skills naturally, isn’t she?”

“Sis, just stay calm. Think of Finger King’s rating.”

“It’s S++.”

“That’s right. Then, what about the stinker?”

“He’s S+.”

“Exactly.”

Sweet Melody seemed to realize something after hearing Letter’s words, although I didn’t know what she had realized from that conversation.

“I see. Juha and Saetbyeol, who are both S-class, are not normal either.”

“That’s right. It is an established theory in the academic world that the higher the rank, the lower the mental state. Finger King is an S++ class and one of the world’s top players. From what I see as the 1st generation of Finger Technician, I think Finger King couldn’t get out of the yoke of lunacy. Should I say that’s why the chairman deems her worth following?”

“Which chairman? Our guild leader? Or the stinker?”

“I think it applies to both,” Letter whispered with a very solemn look. 

If it’s Finger Technician, isn’t it the name of my fan club? Was he a member of that fan club too?

“Anyway, I think it’s better to follow Finger King-nim’s instructions for now, sis. Didn’t you see that IRL follows her like a dog? That guy who ignored all guild members other than the guild leader crawled like a dog. He even appealed using his super junior, his strong point.”

[T/N: The super junior here isn’t Super Junior the boyband. It’s IRL’s…dXck. It was a bit vague, but in the previous chapter, Yeonhui unconsciously sat on his lap and felt his…size]

“So why?”

“That guy is someone who has animal instincts engraved deep in his heart, even though he seems to live his own way. He’s someone who knows best who’s strong. According to my prediction, soon he’ll start fawning right next to Finger King’s side, right? It is said that a group member favored by the highest power is the second-in-command of the group. That guy cannot bear the life of a bourgeois proletarian. Sooner or later, he will use his innate strengths to seduce Finger King and win the position of bourgeois.”

“Letter” Cha Sehyeong, a genius who became a hot topic after solving the CSAT questions with the perfect score at the age of 7 on a broadcast, spoke nonsense.

People predicted that he would be nominated for the Fields Medal if he studied math, the Oscar if he was interested in movies, the Pulitzer if he was interested in the media, and Nobel Peace Prize if he lived a beautiful life.

“Oh, is that so?” Sweet Melody, the only sane person and eldest member of the current Paradise party, opened her mouth with a bitter face.

At first glance, she seemed to think, “This punk is starting again.”

“Yes. Having seen that guy for 13 years, I’m sure of it. He’s someone who uses his natural strength very well. Of course, he’s shy and has never used his natural strength, but wouldn’t it be different with Finger King? It’s his chance to become the king’s—no, the emperor’s man.” Letter’s black eyes sparkled. Anyone who saw them would think they were the eyes of a mantis that had found its prey.

“If he’s never used it before, how could you say he’s good?”

“He looks better than others even if you merely glance at him. Doesn’t that mean he’s good at it?”

“At what…?” Sweet Melody’s pupils trembled greatly. When Letter saw her like that, he smirked.

“Pillow talk, I mean.”

Shit. Don’t kill him.

I held back the urge to kill and clenched my fist.

It was a very embarrassing comment, but since he was the one who said it, it wasn’t that I didn’t understand at all.

“I saw a court lady who became the sun while playing hooky last time. Oh, I also saw the princess’ husband. I dared to gaze at the king’s envoy. I asked him to follow me for a moment because he looked talented.”

Cha Sehyeong, the god of study. The idol of students whose problem-solving YouTube has reached a whopping 1 million subscribers.

The study villain who made the exam examinees suffer for years because the expected questions were really questions about the CSAT.

… is actually a historical romance drama maniac.

It is a fact known to everyone who’s about to take any test, including college entrance exams, public examinations, and certifications.

Looking at him now, he’s a total lunatic. No wonder he belongs to Paradise.