NOVEL NEXT #014
#014
“You said you liked coffee. I got a new machine.”
Hyun Dowoon appeared from behind the partition, handing over a freshly brewed latte. A coffee machine that wasn’t there before had appeared. It probably wasn’t purchased just for me, though.
I took the coffee cup and quietly stared at my feet before whispering softly.
“I… promised to always be with Sehyun.”
“So you’re saying you’ll keep entering dungeons?”
I couldn’t tell with what intention Hyun Dowoon asked this as I was looking down. However, I guessed it wasn’t with good intentions. He was trying to prevent me from entering dungeons, even considering hiring me as an employee, so he probably wasn’t pleased that I was resisting.
“I’ll be more careful. I can just stay quiet, right?”
“That’s not necessary… Alright. I wanted to give you a chance to avoid danger, but it seems you really want to go to dungeons. Then, shall we evaluate your usefulness?”
My usefulness? I tilted my head blankly. How could an F-class guide like me be of any help to the center director?
“As it happens, I haven’t done my monthly dungeon conquest yet. If we go together, we’ll see how you can help.”
“Just the two of us conquering a dungeon?”
“It’s only an A-class Orange dungeon. Nothing we can’t handle.”
“Don’t we… need another guide?”
A worried voice came out involuntarily. As I asked in surprise, Hyun Dowoon grinned.
“We don’t always need a field guide. For S-class dungeons, we use field guides because the conquest might take longer.”
“Then what am I supposed to do there?”
“Well… Actually, the usefulness evaluation is just an excuse. I just want to go to a dungeon with you, Lee Jaeha.”
Hyun Dowoon’s eyes sparkled. It was as if he had seen something in me.
Could it be that a report about my tent had been submitted?
‘If I can captivate Hyun Dowoon with items, it might be a big help.’
Anyway, my items were all ones that couldn’t be easily unlocked. Suddenly unlocking items never seen before in this world could cause confusion. If I unlock them little by little, focusing on top-tier awakened ones, my situation might improve a bit.
‘There must be limits to what the author can control.’
If the author had omnipotent control over every situation, there should have been comments about my tent. Something like how could a mere F-class guide like Lee Jaeha have such a thing, it’s not plausible.
Due to the nature of writing, they inevitably had to focus on one scene from a specific perspective. While the protagonists were being described in the text, there’s no way they could show what a mere supporting character like me was doing.
Anyway, because of the forced quest that I couldn’t give up, I had to sway back and forth as the author typed.
But for the rest of the time. The time hidden somewhere between the lines, not explicitly appearing in the text, was entirely mine.
‘To live stably, I need to think about how to use that time.’
I clenched my fist and looked at Hyun Dowoon challengingly.
“Let’s do it. Let’s go.”
***
Ding!
: *Cherish your friendship*
Quest Grade: D
You have completed the quest. You will receive a reward!
Reward: 1 Character Setting Viewing Pass
As soon as I got home after agreeing to meet again at the dungeon entrance tomorrow, the first thing I did was check the reward. This time, it was something really unexpected.
Character Setting Viewing Pass? Does this mean I can view any character’s setting once?
I tilted my head and fiddled with the gold card that had fallen onto my hand.
‘What’s the point of viewing a character’s setting at this point?’
Mmm, a groan escaped without restraint. Which character should I use this to check?
From this perspective, it should be Hyun Dowoon. It dropped right after my interaction with him, and I’m meeting him tomorrow. Above all, Hyun Dowoon’s inner thoughts were hard to read, and strangely, I felt disarmed in front of him.
Normally, I would quietly agree, but I found myself snapping back or acting on emotion – it seemed necessary to check for future behavior guidelines.
However….
‘I don’t want to do what the author wants.’
Just because they threw it at me saying, “Here, look at this!” makes me not want to do it even more.
I tore the gold card in half.
: Here is the list of characters you can choose from!
Shin Haejun
Hyun Dowoon
Kim Sehyun
Lee Jaeha
Shin Serim
What… what is this. The list was filled with the names of all the characters I had met so far.
The important thing was that I, Lee Jaeha, could also be viewed. So you can even view the character’s own information….
‘Stingy bastard. If you’re going to give it, why not throw in three or four…’
While I thought it was a good reward compared to the D-grade quest, I still wasn’t satisfied.
I gritted my teeth and selected number 3, Kim Sehyun.
‘I can judge Hyun Dowoon by observing him from the side. Why should I care what that bastard’s skills are.’
But Kim Sehyun was different. I had to check if the emotions he had for me were really those of a friend, or if this was just how he was. No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t seem like he was treating me as a friend, but rather telling me to eat shit.
Kim Sehyun
Age: 23
Occupation: S-class guide
Birthday: March 14
Appearance: 172cm, black hair. Black eyes. Round and sorrowful eyes. Neat face, pure beauty type.
Personality: Slightly materialistic, craving love. Afraid of losing the attention he’s currently receiving.
Family relations: Orphan, same orphanage as Jaeha
Special skill: 98% matching rate with Haejun
Constellation: Lord of Betrayal and Conspiracy (A)
Special notes: Awakened 3 years ago, upgraded from F-class 2 years ago, Jaeha is essential for his guiding
The character setting didn’t have much. Most of it was what I already knew… but a few things really bothered me.
First, the constellation. Betrayal and conspiracy, not a pleasant connotation. What were they thinking, giving such a constellation to the main protagonist? When I touched the constellation name, a small speech bubble appeared next to it. ‘Engages in betrayal and conspiracy to side with victory’. I guess it means the winner is on my side.
‘The fact that such a constellation appeared means that Kim Sehyun isn’t just a nice guy.’
The next thing that caught my eye was the special notes.
Why am I absolutely necessary for Kim Sehyun’s guiding? Is that why he insisted that I must enter the dungeon with him?
‘Bastard. It’s something he needs, but he acts like it’s for my sake…’
It’s frustrating to be a supporting character even if it sucks. I clenched my fist as I looked at Kim Sehyun’s personality setting.
Somehow, he seemed to get upset if others paid attention to me and he was left out. But I had no intention of coddling Kim Sehyun even when the author wasn’t directing, so it seemed I would continue to be on Kim Sehyun’s radar.
“There’s no one I can trust.”
To survive in this rough world where even dungeons run rampant, I need to be the only smart one. I never knew it would be this frustrating to have no one on my side! Although I never had anyone on my side in the original world either.
‘I don’t know. I should think about how to capture Hyun Dowoon’s heart tomorrow.’
Tomorrow’s dungeon is a desert-type dungeon. I’ve been to desert terrains in games more than once or twice.
‘Let’s see how it feels to be treated like royalty in the desert.’
***
[A-class Orange Dungeon – 2 people entering / Special: Desert / BOSS Glass Spider]
We really entered just the two of us. A vast desert spread out before our eyes.
As soon as we entered, I felt my inventory activate. I stopped Hyun Dowoon as he was fumbling to take out something like a long robe to block the desert sand, saying “Wait a moment!”
“Jaeha, if you don’t wear it quickly, you’ll eat sand.”
Hyun Dowoon warned me. However, I had no intention of changing clothes in the first place.
‘It’s a bit annoying to walk when moving through the desert, after all.’
Not only would sand get into my shoes, but the thought of my feet sinking in made me not want to walk on my own at all.
I took out the ‘Ice Flower Palanquin’ from my inventory. Instantly, a palanquin covered in ice flowers floated in the air in front of me.
“…So this is it. They said you take out interesting things from your inventory. How big is your inventory size and weight limit?”
“My inventory is…”
Hyun Dowoon was waiting for my answer with a serious face.
“Infinite.”
According to the guidebook, the awakened ones in this world also have inventories like me.
But unlike my game inventory, they each have different inventory sizes and weight limits. If you’re unlucky, only one set of clothes might fit, and if you’re lucky, a bookshelf might fit.
In comparison, my inventory was literally unlimited. Unlike the awakened ones’ inventories, my character’s inventory window, plastered with cash items, allowed item stacking and had no weight limit.
If I really set my mind to it, I could easily fit a whole house in here. In fact, I had several houses in my inventory.
“Is it possible for it to be infinite?”
“A house could easily fit in. It’s really spacious. And there’s no weight limit.”
“That’s really…”
Yes, I know. It must seem optimized for collecting dungeon by-products. From the start, it was a possible strategy to put various items in at once when attempting to conquer difficult dungeons.
Of course, it would be troublesome if they only made me collect by-products. I had to prove my worth even more.
“Let’s get on for now. Once we’re inside, we won’t have to worry about sandstorms and such.”
I smiled brightly and held out my hand to Hyun Dowoon. Hyun Dowoon’s expression became very strange. As if he didn’t expect me to offer my hand first.
If it weren’t for the system where you had to ‘invite’ to ride the palanquin together, I wouldn’t have thought about offering my hand.
It was just an unavoidable thing, but Hyun Dowoon smiled smoothly as if I had offered my hand because I really wanted his.
“This is surprising. What’s the principle behind it?”
Hyun Dowoon, who had climbed onto the palanquin, noticed that the cold air circling around the palanquin blocked the desert heat, and the sand was also swept away without being able to invade.
“I don’t know the principle either. Which direction should we conquer first?”
I need to control it in the direction Hyun Dowoon wants to go. I grabbed the control lever in the center of the palanquin tightly and watched the front tensely. It was my first time actually controlling a palanquin, not in a game.