Chapter 10
The blood smeared across the back of the blade did not come off easily with just a quick wipe.
Chaeho picked up a piece of cloth from the ground and wiped the sword once more before sliding it back into its sheath.
Clack.
The scraping sound seemed unusually loud in the dead-silent cave.
"Is everyone just going to stand there?"
At Chaeho's calm question, the frozen party members finally flinched back to their senses.
"Ah, yes! Of course we're moving. The boss room isn't far now."
Choi Minseok hurriedly picked up his shield and took the lead.
However, the atmosphere of the formation was strangely different from before.
No one dared speak casually to Chaeho anymore.
At first, the vanguard members had thought of him as nothing more than a former porter who needed their protection. Now, they were quietly watching Chaeho's movements and making room for him whenever he passed.
Even the mage kept glancing back at him with something close to awe in his eyes.
My headache still hasn't completely gone away.
Chaeho pressed his fingers against his faintly throbbing temple.
It was the aftereffect of activating his skill for around 0.7 seconds to distort the monster's charging path.
The pain wasn't severe, but there was no avoiding the wave of fatigue that came afterward.
Ignoring everyone's stares, Chaeho simply continued walking in silence.
Not long after, a heavy iron door appeared before them.
Beyond it was the boss room, where the master of this C-rank dungeon awaited them.
"Prepare yourselves properly. There's no guarantee we won't run into another unexpected situation like before."
At Choi Minseok's firm warning, everyone tightened their grip on their weapons.
Creeeak.
The iron door opened.
The battle began.
The boss was an Armored Bear with an enormous body.
Every swing of its front paw carried enough destructive force to crack the stone floor beneath it.
But in Chaeho's eyes, it was nothing more than a slow and predictable beast.
Time Slow.
For the briefest instant, the world slowed down.
Chaeho didn't bother aiming directly for the boss's neck.
There was no need.
He glanced at the path of the bear's front paw as its weight shifted forward, then lightly kicked a large rock lying on the ground.
Thud!
The rock struck the joint of the bear's hind leg with perfect accuracy and bounced away.
The world returned to normal speed.
The bear's posture suddenly collapsed.
It had been raising its front paw to strike when it lost its balance, leaving its defenses completely open.
"Now!"
Chaeho shouted sharply.
Choi Minseok wasn't someone who would miss such an opportunity.
He slammed his shield upward into the bear's jaw.
At the exact same moment, the spearmen's attacks pierced into the beast's chest like daggers.
"Graaaagh!"
The mage's fireball delivered the finishing blow.
Engulfed in flames, the boss crashed to the ground with a heavy boom.
The battle ended almost too cleanly.
The party members stood there breathing heavily, looking back and forth between the fallen boss and their own weapons.
"What's going on? Why did the boss suddenly stumble like that?"
"Exactly. I didn't expect my spear to go in that easily."
While the confused party members talked among themselves, only Choi Minseok silently stared at Chaeho.
Perfect timing.
An unbelievable angle.
Someone had deliberately created a tiny crack in the exact point where the boss's attack should have flowed most smoothly.
Choi Minseok swallowed dryly.
A certainty settled in his mind.
This hunt that he had supposedly been leading as the party leader...
was actually taking place entirely in the palm of the man standing behind them.
"The situation is over. Let's collect the mana stone and head out."
Chaeho spoke indifferently as he turned away.
Not a single person could argue with him.
By the time they stepped outside the Gate, the sky had already grown dark.
The party emerged into the cold evening wind and gathered in one corner of the parking lot to organize their equipment.
The party members repeatedly bowed to one another and thanked everyone for their hard work.
Some of them approached Chaeho carefully, handed him their business cards, and asked him to please join their party again next time.
Chaeho simply smiled and brushed off the invitations while gathering his belongings.
Just then, Choi Minseok hurried toward him with a tablet in his hand.
"Hunter Lee Chaeho. Do you have a moment?"
The blunt attitude he'd shown when they first met had completely disappeared.
He stood straight and spoke with such respectful politeness that it almost felt unfamiliar.
"Yes. What is it?"
Choi Minseok held out the tablet toward Chaeho.
It displayed the settlement statement from the raid.
"This is your payment for today's raid. Please check it."
Chaeho's eyes stopped on the number displayed at the very bottom of the screen.
It was enough to make him question whether he was seeing things correctly.
The amount wasn't even in the same league as the pocket change he used to receive after doing every unpleasant job imaginable as a porter for his old party.
"This is much more than the share we originally agreed on."
"Of course it is. Without your contribution, our party would've either been half wiped out or completely annihilated when we encountered that mutated orc. I've set both the hazard bonus and your additional settlement percentage as high as I possibly could."
Choi Minseok spoke firmly.
"Honestly, even this is too little compared to your ability. I'm sorry that this is the most I can give you with the authority I have as party leader."
Chaeho didn't bother refusing it.
He simply nodded.
It was fair compensation for what he had done.
"I'll accept it gratefully."
When Chaeho turned to leave, Choi Minseok hurriedly called out to him.
"Um, Hunter."
"Yes?"
"What does your schedule look like for the foreseeable future? If possible, I'd like you to join our party as a permanent member."
There was desperation in Choi Minseok's eyes.
For a party leader to find someone with this level of ability and then let him go after only one temporary raid would practically amount to negligence.
But Chaeho had already decided on his answer.
"I really appreciate the offer, but I don't intend to join a permanent party for the time being."
"Are the conditions not good enough? I can adjust the settlement ratio however you want."
"It's not about money."
Chaeho answered calmly.
"I still have a lot of areas where I'm lacking. I want to gain experience by fighting different monsters in different environments. If I tie myself down exclusively to one party, I won't have enough time to train."
Choi Minseok was left speechless.
After showing movements that terrifying, he was saying he still needed more training and experience?
It was absurd.
But Chaeho's gaze was so serious that Choi Minseok couldn't bring himself to pressure him any further.
"That's unfortunate. It really is."
Choi Minseok lowered his head with genuine disappointment.
"If another opportunity comes up, I'll contact you again. You worked hard today."
"Yes. You too."
Chaeho gave him a slight bow before turning away.
As he walked away from the Gate, his steps felt much lighter than they had when he'd entered the dungeon.
After returning home, Chaeho headed straight for the bathroom and turned on the hot water.
Standing beneath the shower, he washed away the smell of moss and blood that had soaked into his body.
After drying himself off and stepping into the living room, he took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drank deeply before picking up his smartphone.
The first thing he did was open his banking app.
The exact settlement amount Choi Minseok had shown him earlier had already been deposited into his account.
Without hesitation, Chaeho took a considerable portion of the money and transferred it to his parents' account.
He had already sent them money for the medical examination and the truck repairs, but this amount would comfortably cover their living expenses and future hospital bills for quite some time.
Less than a minute after pressing the transfer button, his phone started ringing loudly.
The caller was, naturally, his mother.
Chaeho cleared his throat once before answering.
"Yes, Mom."
—Son, what's all this money? Why did you send us so much?
His mother's voice from the other end of the phone sounded more worried than happy.
—You're not doing anything dangerous again, are you? You said you left your old party. You didn't rush into some strange place because you were trying to make money quickly, did you?
A faint smile appeared on Chaeho's lips.
That was what parents were like.
When their child suddenly sent them a large amount of money, instead of celebrating, their first thought was whether he had put himself in danger.
"No, it's nothing like that. Don't worry."
—Then where did all this money come from? It's much more than what you usually send us.
"This raid went really well. We found quite a few good mana stones in the dungeon, and the party leader gave me a bonus because I worked hard."
—You're telling the truth, right? You didn't get hurt anywhere?
"I'm perfectly fine. I even just ate."
—That's a relief. You have plenty of things you need money for too. Why did you send us so much? Don't you need to repair your equipment and things like that?
"I've already set aside everything I need, so don't worry about me. Use it. Check whether Dad's truck was repaired properly, and make sure the two of you buy yourselves something good to eat too."
—All right. Don't skip your meals, always be careful, and don't push yourself too hard.
"I will. I'll be careful. Bye, Mom."
After ending the call, Chaeho placed his smartphone on the table and dropped heavily onto the edge of his bed.
