Chapter 308 – Side Story Part 2. Naked Newbie Life (20)
After finishing the interview, I returned to my accommodation.
“Are you going to pick that girl?”
“Well, I’ll have to think about it slowly in the future. But it’s positive.”
Li Yan’s face is still full of dissatisfaction.
“You can’t just pick someone like that!”
“I know.”
I know that much better than you, baby.
“By the way, Lien. It’s your freedom to be that jealous, but if you want to hang out with me in the future, you better be prepared. Our party will eventually be filled with all women besides me.”
“… I know. Me too.”
“And how about picking a strange girl? Just try it once and if you don’t like it, you can just throw her out.”
“That’s true, but…”
The guy who was so excited about one skill stone is now feeling anxious about his position as if he had never been like that before.
Well, that can only be the case.
Even though Li Yan hasn’t seen the woman’s abilities before, he already knows that she is a grade A and a wizard.
Since wizards make up less than 5% of all adventurers in this town, it is inevitable that they will be the object of envy and jealousy.
If you were her colleague, you would be dependable, but if she had to compete for a position, she would probably be pushed out.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
A face that seems to be pleading, ‘Promise me you won’t abandon me no matter what!’
“No…”
“If you worry about it from now on, you’ll be the only one losing money. You can have up to five party members, so even if you take her, two seats are still empty. Think positively.”
“Yes…”
There is only one reason why I didn’t pick a woman named Joan today.
Because you noticed Li Yan?
I’m sorry, but is that possible?
‘A certain amount of background investigation is necessary.’
An environment where many people have no choice but to contact me just because I am a stranger.
However, blindly accepting anyone as a colleague can end up strangling her.
It’s just a small percentage, but there are dozens of powerful wizards living in this town, and I’m not the only stranger with paranormal abilities.
‘I said there are only three in the Depay Clan…’
So there is no harm in being careful.
I’ll just have to take Dick and his group with me for the time being. In the meantime, I’ll have to interview a few more people and do some background research.
‘For that to be possible…’
First, we need more information sources.
Right now, I want to know information about the Depay Clan and the strangers who belong to it, but I’m holding back because I feel like if I ask around openly, I’ll only attract useless aggro.
‘Anyway, it’s quiet.’
Depay Clan.
I thought he would be the first to come because of what happened last time, but it was surprisingly quiet.
Aren’t they in control of most of this village?
I confessed my curiosity to Li Yan and got this answer.
“It’s probably because the payment of the next tier mobility ticket is approaching.”
“Did you say sand?”
“Yes.”
A class mobility ticket given every fifteen days.
Since you have to be in the top 5 in Grade A by that time, there is actually only one day left until tomorrow for people to accumulate points.
“It seems that risking one’s life there is no different from the Depay Clan.”
“Of course. In the last few months, the Depay Clan has probably been almost monopolized. I don’t know the details, but I guess.”
Well.
In order to have a profit, you have to have what everyone wants.
Or it is the interest itself.
“But then, what about that guy? If he’s been monopolizing for several months, shouldn’t he have moved up first?”
Li Yan shook his head vigorously.
“I heard about it from Morton, and that guy named Depay is very smart. He said he would send his colleagues first to take advantage of the next floor and create the same clan on the next floor.”
“Hmm…”
“So I heard that he is selecting his most trusted executives and subordinates and sending them first.”
“Is that possible?”
“Isn’t it possible? We can just focus on providing equipment and skill stones to those people. There are a lot of strong people and a lot of money there.”
What that means is that they are using their power and wealth to steal all good skill stones and equipment?
I heard it from Dick as well.
It’s very difficult to find useful equipment or skill stones.
I think they said 2,000 gold per Stone Strike skill stone.
‘In the end, they were the culprits of it all.’
For some reason, there is no exchange or auction house that sells skill stones.
Oh, is that why?
Why did Li Yan make such a fuss over just one smoke bomb skill stone?
“I…”
“Why?”
While I was thinking about the future, Li Yan came up to me and hesitated before opening her mouth.
“I have a favor to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“That’s it…”
“Speak quickly and don’t hesitate. I hate being frustrated.”
When I look at him with a sullen expression, Li Yan gets straight to the point.
“Now, we’ve finished conquering the tiger’s den.”
“Uh.”
Dick and his group have not yet obtained the Smoking Tiger’s skill stone, but unfortunately, it is said that it will take about ten days for the tigers in the dungeon to respawn.
So we won’t go there again.
In ten days, we will have already started preparing to head to the next floor, and the party will be filled with women other than Dick.
“So, I was wondering if we should go to the ancient ruins in the Goblin Forest for the next dungeon.”
“Why are you there? Are there any other skill stones you need?”
“Yes? Oh, no. That’s not it. Actually…”
The guy shared information about his father.
“Where did you get that information?”
“I heard it from someone I know.”
“Who do you know? Mr. Drok?”
“No. That… At the restaurant…”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Li Yan.”
“Yes?”
“I told you, don’t hide anything from me.”
“…”
I started asking him one by one what he was hiding.
* * *
“Ancient ruins in the Goblin Forest?”
“Uh. Do you have any information about that?”
“Why are you there all of a sudden?”
The next morning.
I asked Dick for information about the dungeon that Lien had mentioned.
‘Anyway, why does this guy know so much? On a topic that was only grade C…’
Dick may or may not have known that I was secretly looking at him with suspicion, but he started talking while gently massaging the buttocks of the two women next to him.
“It’s one of the least popular dungeons. It’s very intense.”
“How tall is it? Is it stronger than those tigers?”
“Um… I don’t know exactly. As you know, that’s all I’ve heard.”
Well, if I followed this guy’s words and followed him, I almost got wiped out by the Smoking Tiger.
“Isn’t there any information about the monsters that appear?”
“As the location is the location, of course there are goblins at the beginning. They are much stronger than the ones in the forest. However, if you go further in, things will completely change. I think mummies and skeletons mainly appear.”
“It seems like a pretty big dungeon.”
“It’s big. It’s huge. And since it’s not a field, it’ll be difficult to find your way around. You could even say it’s a labyrinth.”
“Labyrinth… Is that why it’s not popular?”
“Both. The monsters are strong, it’s difficult to find the path, and I don’t know, but it’s very wide.”
When I looked at him as if I was bluffing too much when I didn’t know much, Dick shot back with a serious expression.
“Not much information about the dungeon has been released, but this is solid information. It means that there are more than one adventurer who went there and failed to return.”
“Hmm.”
“And then…”
“…?”
Dick glanced around at his surroundings, then leaned his head forward and whispered softly.
“It looks like a few strangers died too. I went there.”
“What?”
“This is really solid information. Since that rumor, I have never heard of anyone seeing those strangers anywhere.”
“You didn’t move class?”
“No. Everyone knows the party that went up during that time. So this rumor is true. The stranger who went there is dead.”
While talking like that, Dick suddenly leaned back in his chair and stretched.
“So it’s better to give up there. It’s a dungeon with no options for most paranormal abilities.”
“Even if I ask you to go?”
“I’m sorry, but then our relationship ends here.”
Dick and his group didn’t see much profit during the time they were partying with us.
Of course, your level has risen, and you have accumulated a lot of adventurer grade points, but that is not enough to put you in the top 5 of A grade.
I couldn’t even get the skill stone I wanted.
So, you might think there’s still something for me to pick, but seeing as he declared that he would leave the party cleanly, it looks like that dungeon is really dangerous.
Even though it was a comment from a guy who thought lightly of the powerful Smoking Tiger, I couldn’t ignore it.
My eyes turned to Li Yan, who was silent.
It may be obvious, but her gaze was more serious than anyone else’s.
‘But it’s not like I didn’t have the heart to help…’
I am already of the opinion that there is no hope for Li Yan’s father.
But you won’t be able to understand it until you see it with your own eyes.
It’s not that I don’t understand the feelings of a guy who is obsessed with his family, as I lost my parents in a Gate explosion, but even confirming it will be difficult as it is.
“Still. Still, I have to go.”
“Lee Yan…”
“It’s not necessarily necessary to conquer the dungeon. Maybe just explore near the entrance…”
It has already been more than a month since Li Yan’s father disappeared.
The chances of survival are extremely slim.
Even if you can obtain ingredients such as meat by hunting monsters, how can a C-rank adventurer survive in a dungeon where even strangers cannot guarantee their lives?
This information provider is even a member of the Depay Clan who tried to rob Li Yan.
My opinion is that there is no need to risk her life to go to a place that may be a trap.
If it was an innocuous place, I would have tried to find out what they were up to, but this was too risky.
Anyway, let me dissuade you like this,
“Well… Then I’d like to go alone.”
In the end, Li Yan ended up saying that.
Now the choice is mine.
Should I just close my eyes and help Li Yan after Sam loses his life, or should I end my relationship with him here?
“Lee Yan. Anyway, for now…”
It was then.
A woman approached the table where we were sitting, making footsteps sound again and again.
Please note that this is a restaurant, not an adventurer’s guild.
There is no need to let the Depay Clan know that we are having this conversation.
“Let’s go. That dungeon. I’ll join you.”
Her name is Joan.
She is the woman I interviewed just yesterday who deals with shadow magic.
‘But, I didn’t even notice that you were around, so how did you overhear?’
