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To avoid Jang Hye-na's glare, Baek Woo-jin volunteered as a wallpaper behind her until the disappeared fairy returned.
Since the party leader position was generally held by a tank-position Hunter unless there was some significant issue, being a wallpaper posed no problem at all.
[Did everyone wait long?]
When the background check on each other was roughly complete, the fairy reappeared with perfect timing, as if it had been watching the entire situation.
[You had enough time, right? Even if you didn't, it can't be helped now! Everyone worked hard in the 2nd stage, and I wish you good results in the final 3rd stage too!!]
The fairy spat out words like a machine gun the moment it appeared.
And the moment the fairy's words ended.
'A ghost, no. Should I say I was possessed by a fairy in this case?'
Once again, without any warning, the scenery before his eyes completely changed.
The 1st stage was a forest.
The 2nd stage was a cave.
The final 3rd stage looked like an ancient temple that could have come out of some movie.
The ceiling was so high that even when he raised his head, all he could see was thick darkness. Unfamiliar people began appearing one by one around them, and sporadically placed torches burning blue drove away the surrounding darkness.
"Right?!"
Jang Hye-na, who had been transported along with the group, flinched her shoulders before turning around at tremendous speed to find Baek Woo-jin, and Baek Woo-jin, who had been surveying the surroundings from behind her, slightly lowered his head and exchanged glances with the visibly tense Jang Hye-na.
"What a relief……."
"They even gave us time to share camaraderie, so I think you're worrying a bit too much."
"Woo-jin ssi. Do you remember what I said before we came in?"
"Too many things to count."
Actually, he didn't not know which part she was talking about.
'Our family pig seems like it would get along well with you.'
However, she was a person with a strange charm that naturally made him want to tease her, as the reactions that came back every time he poked at her were just too entertaining.
"In the Tower?"
"You shouldn't trust anyone."
"While remembering that, you're trusting what the fairy said?"
Looking at Jang Hye-na glaring at him with furrowed brows, for some reason a pouting, growling Chihuahua kept coming to mind.
Of course, unlike a Chihuahua whose bites wouldn't hurt at all, there was the difference that Jang Hye-na's elbows were quite lethal.
"Party──"
[Please pay attention!!]
He was about to suggest they go save some party members, but the fairy in charge of explaining the final test appeared and captured everyone's attention.
[The final test is a boss hunt! When I said 12 o'clock is me, please look at the door at the 3 o'clock position.]
At the very kind explanation, when they looked at where the fairy was pointing, there was an arch-shaped door rivaling the height of a 3rd-floor apartment building exuding presence.
[From now on, you can form parties of up to 6 people. The method of forming a party is simple. If you hold each other's hands when entering that door, you'll be recognized as a party. Simple, right?]
[The boss beyond that door has its difficulty set according to the average of you challengers. So you should form your party carefully, right? Does anyone have any questions?]
It was a concise explanation that would be strange not to understand, but if asked whether there was nothing to question about, that wasn't the case either.
'Since they only mentioned the maximum number, does that mean you can enter alone?'
If he hadn't come with Jang Hye-na, he would have raised his hand and asked that question.
[Yes! The pretty lady over there!]
When someone raised their hand and the fairy pointed them out, he casually shifted his gaze to find a red-haired woman he recognized standing in that direction.
"Is it okay to enter alone?"
[Yes! But I don't really recommend it!! The minimum difficulty of the boss is set, you see!! Any other questions?]
The fairy gave some time to see if there were other questioners, but no one raised their hand after Hong Yeon-ha.
[Then I wish everyone luck!!]
The fairy disappeared abruptly once again, and as soon as it vanished, the quiet surroundings instantly became as noisy as a bustling night market.
"You seemed to be having a lot of conversation earlier. Did you find anyone decent?"
"I did have my eye on about one person……?"
As she spoke and then suddenly trailed off, her eyes widening, Baek Woo-jin also made a puzzled expression.
"Is there some problem?"
"What about the bag?"
"Well, it's on the floor……."
Ah.
It didn't take long to realize that the fairy had only transported the people who were there and the items they were wearing.
"I didn't buy it with money, but it is a bit of a shame."
"It's not just a bit of a shame!"
"Hye-na ssi. As a man, I generally try not to say this, but your fist really hurts."
"That's why I hit you?"
Thank goodness I was born the older brother.
If his younger sister, who would probably be scratching her belly at home right now, had been an older sister instead, she probably would have been the type to throw a punch first whenever she was bored, just like Jang Hye-na standing before him.
"Phew, when I tried it earlier, the effect seemed really good too."
"Let's stop thinking about what's already happened and try to find party members. Or it's fine if just the two of us go."
"…Should we really go just the two of us?"
It wasn't just something he said casually; he was genuinely serious, and Jang Hye-na also seemed to seriously consider it as she stroked her chin in thought.
'At least she has some sense.'
The group that had taken the 2nd stage test together, seeing that this side showed no interest at all, gradually scattered one by one to other sides while gauging the atmosphere.
"No. Still, it would be better to have at least one ranged dealer. It's not that I don't trust Woo-jin ssi, but it's better to be even a little safer, right?"
"That's right."
Honestly, he was confident enough to handle any boss that appeared beyond that door alone.
This was a confidence based on evidence, created by the combination of his experience of fighting the Goblin Warrior, which had the highest difficulty among D-rank bosses, over a hundred times thanks to Schulding, and the practical combat experience he had accumulated.
"Then──"
"Excuse me for a moment."
A red-haired woman who barged in between them, cutting off Jang Hye-na's words that seemed like she was about to suggest they go find a ranged dealer.
Hong Yeon-ha, who had abruptly intruded, flashed her red eyes that matched her hair once and took another step closer to Baek Woo-jin.
"We're acquaintances, right?"
When they ran into each other in the VIP corridor, she seemed to have comfortably dropped honorifics from their very first meeting.
"Uh, uhh, uh?!"
However, looking at Jang Hye-na right next to her with eyes round like a startled rabbit, and through the other surrounding gazes, he could understand the reason.
'Image is important.'
"It's been a few months."
"The last time we met at the Association was a while ago, so it has been a bit."
"So what's your business?"
At Baek Woo-jin's question, Hong Yeon-ha crossed her arms below her chest and made an expression as if to ask why he was stating the obvious.
"I came to form a party, of course?"
"I see."
According to Heo Sang-min's words, he remembered that the day they met in the VIP corridor was the day Hong Yeon-ha came for her first Awakener registration.
While he had been forcibly dragged to the D-rank area by Jang Hye-na, Hong Yeon-ha before him was naturally born as a D-rank.
'She doesn't seem like she was carried.'
If that were the case, Hong Yeon-ha wouldn't have purposely come to form a party. That was because her father or grandfather would absolutely never let her enter the Tower alone.
"I don't mind. But this person here is the leader for now."
"Uh, uh?"
Jang Hye-na, who had been blankly staring at Hong Yeon-ha's face at Baek Woo-jin's action of instantly passing the decision-making power to her, hastily came to her senses.
"I'm Hong Yeon-ha. My specialty is flame magic."
"Uh, t-that, I-I'm Jang Hye-na!"
"You're from Black Bear, right?"
"Gasp?!"
"Ow."
He didn't mind her looking surprised, but why she had to hit his arm at that moment, there were times when women did actions that were completely incomprehensible.
"I remember the promising prospects of each guild. If you don't mind, could you let me join your party?"
"O-o-o-of course!!"
"Thank you."
"I should be the one thanking you!"
What kind of existence was Hong Yeon-ha in Busan?
She was a woman who was perhaps a bit overly active, but was sensible and had clear distinctions between public and private matters. Seeing Jang Hye-na lower her head to an extent that made him wonder if she could really lower it that much when they were clearly in the dominant position, Baek Woo-jin couldn't understand it at all.
"Um……."
Tank, dealer, ranged dealer.
The party composition was complete, so just as Jang Hye-na was about to set off once she calmed down, this time too a familiar woman approached the group.
"Um, c-could I maybe join your party too? M-my, s-skill level is a bit lower, but I can still do my share!"
The woman who had opened the door last in the 2nd stage test, rather than appealing her skills, showed several potions from her embrace and a bracelet embedded with small magic stones.
"Th-the potions are all top-grade, and this ring is a magic tool with built-in protection magic!!"
"…I don't mind."
Hong Yeon-ha, who had been staring intently at the nameless woman for a moment, passed the decision-making power to this side.
"If Hong Yeon-ha ssi doesn't mind, then I don't either, but……."
Jang Hye-na, who had finally come to her senses, trailed off at the end and glanced at Baek Woo-jin.
"Hong Yeon-ha ssi."
"What is it?"
"Do guilds ever give compensation or anything like that?"
"Huh?"
As if wondering what that was about all of a sudden, the angle of Hong Yeon-ha's eyebrows tilted slightly.
"Woo-jin ssi? Don't pay it any mind! Earlier she dragged me away saying she had something really important to tell me, and then she asked if I was wearing makeup!"
At Jang Hye-na's remark added as if defending Baek Woo-jin, Hong Yeon-ha's expression changed slightly.
It was the moment when her assessment of Baek Woo-jin changed to being a bit of a strange person.
"Well, it's not like there aren't such cases at all."
"I see."
What could there be that could be received instead of money?
Blinking his eyes briefly, Baek Woo-jin soon looked at Jang Hye-na and nodded.
"Since we don't know what kind of boss will appear, it would be good to have one person to protect Hong Yeon-ha ssi."
"Ah! Th-thank you!!"
The 4-person party formed like that.
"Wait. When we open the door, Woo-jin ssi stands at the front."
"……?"
He stopped in front of the door and was about to grab Hong Yeon-ha and Jang Hye-na's hands when Jang Hye-na suddenly grabbed Baek Woo-jin's wrist and switched positions with him.
"Opening it?"
With one hand holding the door and Jang Hye-na's hand, he turned his head slightly to ask for their opinion, and the group simply nodded once without answering.
"Then."
Contrary to its grand size, the door was lighter than expected, so with just a slight push, the tightly closed gap easily spread open to both sides.
Opening the door wide enough for two people to comfortably enter, he walked into the darkness thickly laid beyond the door along with the group.
Kung!
When everyone had come inside, the open door closed on its own, and then the darkness that had been encroaching on the surroundings receded, revealing the stage of the final test.
A green giant standing at the end of a vast space made of blue ore.
'……?'
The final gatekeeper of the final test was not just someone familiar, but someone very familiar and welcoming.