087

"Just quietly strategize and go in. I'll turn a blind eye as long as you handle it properly like now."

With Shin Se-hee's provocation, Joo Tae-rin had no choice but to remain silent and enter the dungeon.

And rightly so…

"Captain, I don't think this is it… We got caught during the deal with Cheonhwa at the trading site before, right?"

Indeed.

They had engaged in illegal transactions of contraband goods at the gates previously. The malfunctioning gates were perfect environments for such covert deals. Making overwhelming profits from a single deal outweighed hunting monsters day and night, so not doing it would have been foolish.

However, the problem was getting caught by Shin Se-hee at that scene.

Moreover, as the deal involved the powder of the Laplace Flower, which was an ingredient for drugs, it was enough to be treated as a serious crime. Cheonhwa used it as leverage to thoroughly pressure Joo Tae-rin and her party members.

"…We should've dealt with Cheonhwa back then."

However, due to Shin Se-hee's background and her own abilities being considerable, they had been cautious, sticking to lower-tier dungeons all this time.

"But if we mess with them, won't Cheonhwa expose it…?"

The dealer, who had suffered from Shin Se-hee's harassment and felt her fear firsthand, spoke with a frightened voice.

Joo Tae-rin was not unaware of that anxiety.

"I've realized something today."

Joo Tae-rin stiffened her expression and spoke.

"…That girl will never let us off, no matter how much we lower our heads."

"So, we're all going to die together…?"

"Does anyone here know about her reputation?"

She had conducted a thorough investigation personally to expose Shin Se-hee's weaknesses.

"Isn't it strange?"

Joo Tae-rin reasoned.

Shin Se-hee had been desperate to prove herself in a different direction after proving herself in combat. But everyone knew that, despite being hailed as a promising next-generation Hunter, she could never surpass her current S-rank Hunter status, Shin Su-yeon.

So, even if she was called a promising Hunter, it didn't mean she could surpass a current S-rank Hunter like Shin Su-yeon. She was just enough to be acknowledged as a Hunter from the prestigious Hunter family.

"So she tried to appeal to them in a different way, not with force."

"And the man who's leading them this time?"

"He's probably an heir from a wealthy family. He may have awakened, but he's a man with meager abilities."

"And making him the party leader…"

"Yeah, they made a deal with him, turning him into a hero. They pretend to be clean, but behind the scenes, they're worse than us."

The party members' eyes lit up with realization. At least, no one here would question that the members of the guild, Darkness, were worse than them.

Suddenly, the dealer shouted with a contemplative look.

"Wait, Captain! Then shouldn't we avoid stirring up more trouble? We're not messing with Shin Se-hee, but with the hunter family Shin!"

"When did I say we're messing with them?"

With those words, she retrieved a vial of shimmering green liquid from her pocket. She had attempted to resume illegal transactions while Cheonhwa was away at the academy. It was a sample from a client.

"Spinster's Fragrance."

It was a potion that seduced monsters and caused them to lose their senses. Of course, it had the disadvantage of quickly sobering up with even a slight stimulus, but it posed no problem now.

The dealer widened his eyes.

"That's the sample the client gave us…!?"

"Yeah, we'll use this to lure monsters into attacking them. And while they're fighting, we'll circle back and conquer our route. After all, delaying tactics during conquests are common, aren't they?"

Ju Tae-rin smirked bitterly.

"And this dungeon expedition's failure will directly be attributed to Shin Se-hee by the Shins."

Sizzle…

Joo Tae-rin lit a flame on the wick protruding from the top of the Spinster's Fragrance vial.

Whoosh…

When she extinguished the flame, wisps of jade-colored smoke began to spread slowly in all directions.

"Special, Wind Magic. Spread it out as wide as possible."

"Uh, okay."

Following her command, the mage standing behind her cast Wind Magic. Gentle breezes began to stir, dispersing the smoke in all directions.

And after a short while…

Thud…

Thud…

From the ground, near the side routes, the sound of movement could be heard. It was the sound of Black Hedgehogs smelling the Spinster's Fragrance and heading towards its source.

Joo Tae-rin stared at the approaching horde of monsters with cold eyes.

Although a Black Hedgehog, the one closest to them seemed to have lost its aggressiveness, its red eyes dull and unfocused.

"As expected, the prototype works as promised… Well then, let's go! A bit faster pace."

Joo Tae-rin led her party, tracking the route towards the destination.

.

.

.

As they walked away while the Spinster's Fragrance burned, the Black Hedgehogs followed them like zombies.

"Is this… all the work of Kang Do-hee…?"

Encountering the first trace left by the Utopia party, Joo Tae-rin couldn't help but stiffen her expression.

Black Hedgehog corpses with bursting torsos were scattered everywhere. And the ground was stained with dried, dark red blood.

Studying the dried blood on the ground, Joo Tae-rin burst into a hollow laugh.

"Well, well. Looks like they weren't just a bunch of posers. Well, they were, but they wanted to show off their skills first, it seems."

"Captain, what do you mean?"

"Cheonhwa chose this place as the first target for a reason."

"What?"

"I figured out why that party leader was chosen to lead us."

"What?"

"That guy has detection as his ability."

"…Detection!?"

Joo Tae-rin nodded.

"First of all, all the Black Hedgehogs above are dead, one by one."

"Uh, okay."

"And this."

She pointed to the bloodstains on the ground.

"If you look here, there are holes where swords have been thrust in."

The party members narrowed their eyes and stared at the traces before them. Indeed, there were visible signs of something deeply pierced.

"Jin Yuha only managed to catch the Black Hedgehogs lying in ambush. While thoroughly protected from behind."

"Ah…"

As the evidence supporting her claim unfolded before the anxious party members, their faces relaxed. The mention of Jin Yuha, the party leader, being stronger than Kang Do-hee in Shin Se-hee's interview had already made them uneasy.

"In other words, Kang Do-hee handles the actual combat power. Jin Yuha is nothing special aside from his detection ability."

"Hehe, so we can really give Cheonhwa a hard time…!?"

Even the dealer, who had been anxious until a moment ago, seemed to express her anticipation at her words.

"Yeah, even though she's a member of the Shin lineage, they're not lenient. Even if she doesn't know the situation, Shin Se-hee won't get off lightly."

.

.

.

Whirrr…

With the scent of Spinster's Fragrance wafting through the air, they had been running for hours. Now, the Black Hedgehogs following them numbered almost a hundred, exerting immense pressure from behind. Jo Tae-rin's pupils quivered.

"…Have they progressed this far already?"

They had been running without any combat so far, and yet Jin Yuha's party was nowhere in sight.

Only the corpses of monsters with their crystals and thorns removed indicated their passage.

"At this rate… it's not good…"

Originally, they planned to throw these monsters at Jin Yuha's party and quickly head back to their original route to avoid suspicion. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to establish an alibi if they went any further.

However, they couldn't afford to stop here.

Joo Tae-rin couldn't help but sweat coldly at the uncertainty of when the Spinster's Fragrance would run out.

"Ca-Captain?"

"Hm?"

"Something's strange here. This should be the route we conquered before, but why does it feel unfamiliar…?"

The dealer's puzzled words made Joo Tae-rin look around.

Realizing that the place she was in was completely unfamiliar, her face stiffened.

"…Did they take the wrong path?"

She said it almost unconsciously.

"No, the path is correct."

Suddenly, someone's voice interjected into her musings.

"…..!?"

Turning her head abruptly, she saw a man standing a short distance away, smiling as if he had been waiting.

"Welcome. Is this your first time in the unknown?"

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