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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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The door swung open.
The world seemed to slow down.
The door opened in slow motion.
Just as they were about to see Shin Su-yeon and me, both naked…
Creak.
The door stopped.
‘What?’
A second passed, then two.
The door didn’t budge.
Finally, after three agonizing seconds, it closed.
“He’s not here. Must have gone out.”
“Figures. Hurry up and get ready.”
“Okay!”
I heard rustling, then the sound of the front door closing.
Silence returned to the dorm.
‘Holy shit… that was close.’
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and replayed the scene in my head.
‘Did she see us?’
From their angle, they shouldn’t have. But…
‘She must have smelled it…’
The room reeked of sex, sweat, and urine.
Choi Ah-hyun was perceptive.
She probably pretended not to notice.
I’d thank her later.
‘I need to clean this up.’
I frantically started cleaning before they came back.
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The next morning.
Choi Ah-hyun and Han Yuri, back from their all-nighter, were rubbing their tired eyes and changing clothes.
“Those bastards! Changing the schedule at the last minute!”
“Ugh… I know, right? I’m so tired…”
The emission-type dungeon clearing, originally scheduled for the day after tomorrow, had been moved to today.
And they’d been informed that very morning.
They hadn’t slept a wink and were scrambling to get their gear ready.
‘How petty.’
Was this revenge for not introducing him to Choi Ah-hyun?
I’d hoped not, but Kim Seong-ho really was that narrow-minded.
We rushed to the meeting point.
The emission-type dungeon, which should have been closed, was wide open.
They’d started without us.
We hurried over, and Kim Seong-ho greeted us with a smirk.
“Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show up. The first-year newbies are the last to arrive?”
“…We apologize.”
“Oh, you should be sorry. Now stop with the innocent act and get to work. You don’t meet your quota, you don’t go home.”
His attitude had done a complete 180.
Choi Ah-hyun and Han Yuri looked taken aback.
I nodded at them.
We needed to focus on the hunt.
But they were clearly not at their best.
“Hya! Huh?”
Choi Ah-hyun missed her attack.
“Tsk.”
Even Han Yuri’s Meteor missed its target.
I had to step up.
“Let’s slow down the tempo. Just stay calm.”
“Okay!”
“Got it.”
I kept Aggro active and used Lightning God constantly, practically herding the ogres.
I pushed myself, taking down one ogre at a time, and the hunt stabilized.
‘We’re finally catching a break.’
At this rate, we’d be fine.
I let out a sigh of relief.
“Seong-hyun!”
“Lee Seong-hyun!”
I heard their shouts and quickly dove to the left.
“Ugh!”
An ogre’s glaive grazed my back.
Thanks to my quick reflexes, it was only a shallow wound, but…
“Oops! My bad! My mistake!”
Kim Seong-ho chuckled.
He’d deliberately sent one of his ogres after me.
They were B-rank.
They wouldn’t make such a rookie mistake.
‘He’s lost it.’
We were in the middle of a fight.
I’d deal with him later.
We continued the hunt.
But Kim Seong-ho’s interference didn’t stop.
He kept sending ogres our way.
A dagger even flew towards us, disguised as an accident.
Finally, the hunt ended.
We approached the student council team.
Kim Seong-ho swaggered over.
“Oh dear, you look angry. I’m so sorry, I’ve been making a lot of mistakes today.”
“You call that a mistake?”
Han Yuri’s voice dripped with venom.
She wanted to curse him out, but his senior status held her back.
“Hey, everyone has off days. Sometimes skills just don’t work the way you want them to.”
“Ha. Seriously.”
His blatant lies made Han Yuri’s face turn red.
She’d reached her limit.
“You son of a…”
I raised my hand and stopped her.
She bit her lip, suppressing her anger.
A significant improvement.
In the past, she would have yelled at me for interrupting her.
“Fine. Let’s say that was a mistake. Everyone makes them.”
“Exactly. I’m only human.”
“So, next time there’s a schedule change, please inform us the day before. So we can be properly prepared.”
“Hmm. Sure.”
He frowned.
He’d wanted to provoke me, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.
Only an idiot would show their hand.
“We’ll be going now.”
“Alright, alright. You kids must be tired. Go get some rest. Slow to arrive, but quick to leave! Kids these days…”
His continued sarcasm almost made Han Yuri snap, but Choi Ah-hyun calmed her down.
We returned to the dorm, washed up, and gathered around the table.
“That asshole! He thinks he’s some kind of ranker! That crazy bastard!”
“Haha… Yuri, calm down.”
“Calm down? I’ll calm down in hell! That son of a…”
Han Yuri chugged a glass of ice water, while Choi Ah-hyun fanned her.
I watched them with a wry smile. Han Yuri turned to me.
“Aren’t you even angry? He’s treating you like an idiot!”
“I am angry.”
“Then why are you acting like some saint?! Curse him out like you do to me!”
I wasn’t going to let him off the hook.
‘Instead of just targeting Kim Seong-ho, I’ll bring down the entire guild.’
I was D-rank while he was B-rank.
Normally, a fight between us would be impossible.
But Kim Seong-ho was a water ranker, his strength solely based on opportunities and elixirs.
An empty B-rank.
I could take him down, but it would take time.
And even if I did, the Baekho Guild would come after me.
‘Instead of dealing with the minions one by one, it’s easier to just collapse the entire sandcastle.’
The Baekho Guild was rife with hidden corruption.
All I had to do was leak it to the Association or other guilds.
Han Yuri, unaware of my thoughts, pounded her chest in frustration.
“Ugh, I feel like I swallowed a hundred sweet potatoes. Ah-hyun, some soda, please.”
“Coming right up!”
“I have a plan. Just wait.”
“Don’t you need help?”
Normally, I would have refused her offer.
But this time was different.
Speed was key.
I’d hand over the evidence to the Portan Guild as soon as it was ready.
“I have something in mind. I’ll tell you when it’s ready.”
“Make sure you do. Don’t suffer in silence for the sake of your pride.”
“Yeah, yeah. I have an appointment, so I’ll be going now.”
“What? Again?”
“Yeah. Been busy lately.”
“You don’t even have any friends.”
“Don’t be so harsh. See you later.”
“Hey! Lee Seong-hyun!”
I left before they could interrogate me further.
I planned to introduce them to Shin Su-yeon eventually, but not yet.
I headed towards the main building.
Support students were leaving their classes.
One woman stood out.
Shin Su-yeon.
She was glowing.
Not quite on the level of Lee Seol or Han Yuri, but close.
She was definitely eye-catching.
I’d been worried about her fitting in, given her timid personality, but…
…she was surrounded by people.
‘As expected, pretty girls attract attention.’
“Su-yeon-ah, we found a great place. Lots of fun people. You should come.”
“Ah, sorry…”
I’d thought she’d have trouble saying no, but she was surprisingly firm.
She bowed slightly and excused herself from the group.
Then she ran towards me.
Playfully, I turned and walked away quickly.
“S-Seong-hyun-ssi! Wait!”
I ignored her and kept walking.
I heard her panting behind me.
She wasn’t a good runner.
The distance between us wasn’t closing.
“Seong-hyun-ssi! Haa… haa… Wait!”
I stopped, not wanting to push her too hard. She caught up and grabbed my sleeve.
“Haa… haa… Why… why did you do that?”
“I was bored. Just a little prank.”
“A… prank?”
She looked stunned, then…
“…Meanie.”
She puffed out her cheeks like a hamster.
I chuckled.
“Are you mad?”
“I’m not mad.”
“You are.”
“I’m not!”
She stomped her foot, and I smiled wryly.
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”
“…Fine.”
After that little incident, we headed to a cafe.
“You had your first class today, right? How was it? Manageable?”
“Yes. The professors were great, and my classmates are friendly. And when they used that round crystal ball, it glowed…”
She chattered excitedly, a wide smile on her face.
I couldn’t help but smile back.
‘I made the right decision enrolling her.’
Feeling a sense of satisfaction, we arrived at the cafe, ordered our drinks, and sat down.
Just then…
Ring.
My phone vibrated.
[Ah-hyun: Emergency!]
What was it now?
“I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.”
“Okay.”
I went to the restroom and checked my phone.
[Ah-hyun: I’m sorry! I tried to stop her ㅠㅠ]
What was she talking about?
I was about to call her when I heard familiar voices outside.
I quickly stepped out.
“…”
Lee Seol was smiling brightly, and Shin Su-yeon looked relaxed.
Across from them, Han Yuri had a sour expression, and Choi Ah-hyun looked anxious.
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