Chapter 55: CH 52

Chapter 52
 
     Wait, ‘reward’ was also invoked in this way?
     I hurried to him in embarrassment and shouted, “That’s not what I meant!”
     Kim Sangyoon, after hearing my hasty voice, scratched his head and said, “I know!” He turned away from me.
     But, why do you keep moving away if you ‘know‘…..? It makes it feel like I’m somehow sexually harassing Kim Sangyoon! Seo Dawon was busy laughing at my embarrassed and frustrated expression.
     Unfair!
     See, that’s why you keep getting bitten by Lackey…!
     Thankfully, as time passed, Kim Sangyoon seemed to calm down and his rosy complexion returned as he rubbed his back. However, he stiffened when he saw me move. Therefore, I maintained a certain distance from him as we stumbled out of the alley.
     I walked in front of Kim Sangyoon; when someone poked me in the back, I turned around in surprise.
     It was Seo Dawon. “Just listen to me.”
     “…..”
     When I suddenly looked back, Kim Sangyoon simultaneously stopped his steps–faster than a bolt of lightning. I shrugged to indicate that there was nothing important and turned my head away.
     Seo Dawon, who quietly floated behind me, continued, “The boss is too much for you at your standard.”
     Finally, he’s explaining why we escaped the Dungeon without finishing the boss battle…I was briefly furious at the words “your standard,” but, when I recalled the battle situation, I couldn’t refute that blunt assessment. I closed my mouth and nodded.
     Honestly, we struggled to defeat the named monster, the goose. Without Seo Dawon, Kim Sangyoon or I may have been seriously injured or killed.
     “How regretful. If we had gotten to the reward room, we could have summoned Garam-ie today……It can’t be helped. Tomorrow, we’re going to go through the same motions and not defeat the boss again. You should explain the plan to Kim Sangyoon.” Seo Dawon pointed at the Warrior with his chin.
     I scratched my cheek a little and called to him, “Sangyoon-ssi…”
     “Yes?”
     “Tomorrow, we’re going to proceed with the raid in the same exact way. We’re going to skip the boss as well.”
     “Tomorrow? We’re not going to rest and go right away?” Kim Sangyoon’s teary eyes widened.
     Dungeons are places where Users gain rewards and level-ups by killing monsters. On average, Users took at least one day off after each trip.
     Since one’s life depended on their condition, it was common to not overdo it and strain themselves. However, Seo Dawon snorted at Kim Sangyoon’s argument, tone dripping with sarcasm, “He wants to rest at his level?”
     I let Seo Dawon words flow from my ears through my mouth. “Since we’re not catching the boss and following the same path…It’ll probably be easier than today,” I replied.
     “If we don’t defeat the boss…aren’t we at a loss?” Kim Sangyoon replied with a glum voice.
     Most Users enter Dungeons because of the end of raid rewards. If you give up on the boss and only receive experience from the monsters, the User will sustain massive losses. Potion prices…Fixing the durability of weapons and armors for Warriors–the repair costs alone may stack up to at least 1 million won…
     “….Well, I think the boss might be too much for the two of us,” I explained the situation, paraphrasing Seo Dawon’s words.
     Kim Sangyoon must have also agreed. “Ah….” he said, in downtrodden acceptance.
     Kim Sangyoon lowered his volume and asked, “Excuse me, but that person…Isn’t he going to join us? Seo…That person could easily handle the boss if he comes with us…Wouldn’t it be better to clear the whole raid with his help?”
     He couldn’t utter Seo Dawon’s name, wary of his surroundings. In summary, he was asking if Seo Dawon could ‘carry’ us.
     Of course, I also felt the same, but that situation was impossible. I wouldn’t be able to level up since Seo Dawon and I didn’t share experience pools.
     Since the summoning time was restricted to 30 minutes, Lackey and I could be left alone, stranded without any help…Of course, Kim Sangyoon had no knowledge of any of these extenuating circumstances.
     At my hesitation, Seo Dawon suggested, “Say that I’m busy.”
     “…Seo Dawon-ssi has other things to do. For the time being, he won’t be able to accompany us to the Dungeons.”
     “…I understand.”
     After agreeing to meet each other at the same time and in front of the same Dungeon, we separated to return to our own accommodations.

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     Honestly, seeing Kim Sangyoon’s back moving further away reminded me of the catastrophe this morning. I briefly wondered if he might betray us again…But, noticing my worries, Seo Dawon assured me, “It’ll be fine.”
     So, I decided to pack away my conflicting thoughts.
 
* * *
 
     After returning home, I washed up and ate a quick dinner.
     While I was eating, Seo Dawon searched “Ahn Joosung ” on my cell phone. He must have found something important because he sent a text to some unknown number.
     Afterwards, he turned towards me–a bystander to his research–and asked a random question. “How was today?”
     “Huh?”
     “This much is doable, right?”
     Looking back on all the events, I pondered on Seo Dawon’s query.
     Was it doable…..
     Honestly, regardless of whether or not something was feasible, I contributed nothing to the raid in the dungeon today–I only moved as Seo Dawon had commanded.
     “If you’re asking me if I’m tired, I’m not…But I really didn’t do much today…”
     Actually, it wasn’t just today…Ever since we met, I felt like every moment I was simply dragged into his pace.
     However, Seo Dawon laughed, “When you get a honeycomb, you should suck all the honey out of it.” 1 He then sobered slightly, “Tomorrow, I won’t intervene too much.”
     “You’re saying I just have to follow along the footsteps you laid today?”
     “Yeah. What I did earlier was the fastest method to neutralize the goose.”
     When I asked what he meant, Seo Dawon explained that a Dungeon may contain countless scenarios. By identifying certain behaviors or patterns, we can manipulate the conditions to call forth scenarios that would be in our favor.
     For example, in the case of [Owl’s Ghost Ship], if a party moved without removing the sparrow from the watchtower, the [clumsy invader] condition would be triggered. That will lead to a more ferocious boss battle than in other scenarios.
     That’s why if a party can find the most efficient scenarios that match their member composition, the time taken to successfully raid the Dungeon can be reduced, and dangerous situations can be controlled.
     “Why don’t I know anything about this?” I felt like a fool while listening to Seo Dawon’s explanation. Like an idiot, I grinded hard at various early Dungeons without knowing the deeper mechanics.
     In fact, when I visited the [Owl’s Ghost Ship] with the other party, I followed the orders of the party leader to the dot, but I had no idea why I was told to act a certain way.
     Of course, I made a lot of mistakes because I simply moved around according to my memorizations instead of a deeper understanding of the party’s plan of action….No, I think I didn’t even wonder about the ‘why’s and ‘how’s behind the intricate strategy…
     “I guess you couldn’t care less because you were in a hurry to survive? I’m not being sarcastic…exploration is only possible to those that can afford it. I haven’t done much research into various ‘scenario calling’ methods either.” Seo Dawon said kindly, as if to not discourage me.
     Then, he explained an organized itinerary of his movements–why he gave such instructions–and described today’s battles, one by one.
     Listening to his explanation made me feel like he was the creator of this Dungeon and its scenarios. “Rankers sure are different,” I said, admiringly. “So to reiterate, you threw all those ropes on the ground to slow down the goose?”
     “Yeah. And there’s a probability that the goose will trip as well. If you don’t untie the ropes, they might also support the perches when they’re supposed to fall down. At that point, it’s a bit of a hassle to cut away at them with a knife.”
     “Ahhh….” I listened quietly before asking, “Can I write this down?”
     Seo Dawon was willing to wait. However, though he never once disdained me while explaining the Dungeon mechanics, when I went around looking for a pen and notepad, he teased, “What are you doing with your cell phone then?” I felt embarrassed and sat down with the phone, transcribing what he had said previously.
     Then, he said, “Now that I’ve explained it to you like this…I’ll curse you if you make a mistake, got it?” He didn’t laugh, but he added, generously, “Although, how could you possibly do well in your first try.” His actions softened the bluntness of his words.
     So, I felt emboldened by his kindness and asked about the things I didn’t quite understand with his first explanation. Seo Dawon indulged me in my curiosity for two or so hours
 
 
TL: Sorry for the fiasco yesterday~
Additionally: If people are interested in being a backup proofreader (PROs – You get to read my large stockpile of chapters and hear me squeal about the novel. CON – you have to hear me squeal about the novel) Give me a DM or @ me in the foxaholic discord!
Footnotes This is essentially, “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Basically, when you receive something good, you should milk it for all its worth. I wanted to keep the original imagery of the words used, so this is a literal translation of an idiom.

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