These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me

From the first impression, Seo Ha-joon clearly disliked me. I couldn't help but feel it as he briefed me sarcastically the entire time. He openly expressed his antipathy toward me after he had a tussle with Sung Yoo-bin. Sung Yoo-bin, who was next to me, gritted her teeth when she heard the words, ‘Just an auxiliary skill'.

"Well, I'll let everyone know if we need your help."

"…"

I don't know what I believe in.

Guildmaster Jin Sang Hyun was nowhere to be seen, and the Tyr Guild's main force was in disarray, so the mercenaries filled the void.

The other mercenaries frowned in displeasure, although only Seo Ha-joon seemed to have a problem with me. Most of them had fought together with me in the last dungeon before.

However, I wasn't sure if the strategy would work because things went awry from the start. I was relieved that Freya's guild, led by the Valkyrie combat unit, was so well-coordinated and swift, but I felt uneasy about Tyr's guild before we even entered the gate.

If things go south, I should use my skill on Kang Yoo-hyun and Sung Yoo-bin and tell them to sweep the monsters together. As I thought about it, I looked around.

"But isn't Kang Yoo-hyun too late?"

"You’re right."

"You're not going to wait and enter the dungeon?"

"Um…"

Kang Soo-hyun hesitated and then took out his cell phone. He made a call, probably to Kang Yoo-hyun. However, Kang Soo-hyun hung up the phone as if Kang Yoo-hyun didn’t answer his call.

"Wouldn't it be okay? Even if he enters a bit late, since he's registered as a pair with you, you should be able to find each other."

"Is that so?"

In the original story, Kang Yoo-hyun did not arrive late, and I felt uneasy because the storyline seemed strangely deviated from the original plot.

But there were already too many differences from the original. Han Yi Jin shouldn't be here, nor should Kang Soo Hyun, Eden, or Sung Yoo-bin.

The Muspelheim Dungeon could be said to be Kang Yoo-hyun's solo stage. Anyway, as long as we clear it, everything should be fine. If I could endure until Kang Yoo-hyun arrived, I could get through this episode.

"Don't worry. I'll protect Hunter Han Yi Jin."

Sung Yoo-bin spoke quite seriously. Yong-sik, who was in my arms, also cried loudly.

"Kkyau!"

“Yes, thank you. Really thankful."

Unlike the Sæ dungeon, the Muspelheim dungeon was not divided into zones, but rather a vast desert field. It is said that even those with detection skills can be lost in the desert forever if they cannot navigate well.

However, only the areas with boss monsters were separated, so even if Kang Yoo-hyun joined halfway, he would have no trouble finding us. It's Kang Yoo-hyun we're talking about. I don't trust Tyr's guild at all, but I trust the main character. I clenched my fist with that thought.

"Each team, please enter in order!"

Soon, the gate entry began. At the forefront of the raid party, Kang Soo-hyun, Hae Song-ha, the guide, and Sung Yoo-bin, the ultimate firepower, were among the leading teams in charge of the battle.

I was on the support team again this time and was at the end of the raid party. Yong-sik, Eden, and Guseul were waiting to enter the gate.

"Hello."

"…?"

At that moment, someone spoke from beside me. I turned my gaze to the side.

"You must be Hunter Han Yi Jin, right? Pleased to meet you."

He spoke to me with a smile on his face, and his dark brown hair was tied back, but for a man, his hair was quite long.

"Ah, yes. Hello."

"Haha, it’s an honour to conquer a dungeon with a famous person, I'm Lee Geun-ho."

"I'm not that famous… Pleased to meet you too."

I hesitantly grabbed Lee Geun-ho's outstretched hand. He shook it a few times before letting go of my hand.

"I'm a little nervous. It's my first time at such a large party."

"I see. This is my second time too."

"So the Sæ dungeon was your first party?"

"Well… Yes."

Previously, I had entered a D-rank dungeon that turned into an SS-rank, but it wasn't a raid party. The second dungeon, Sæ, was the first raid party for me and Han Yi Jin.

"You're amazing. Achieving such a significant achievement on your first time."

"Haha…"

I'm a little embarrassed to hear compliments directly from strangers, not from articles or comments. I pretended to be nonchalant and opened my mouth.

“Guildmaster Song Cha-hyun might be exaggerating a bit.”

"Eyy, I don't think she's the type to exaggerate."

"That's true, but…"

Although Song Cha-hyun exaggerated a bit, she didn't outright lie, so it left me in a bit of a dilemma. My goal is to become famous enough, let the hype die down, and then live comfortably.

Haha, when I laughed awkwardly, Eden who was beside me, who was already wearing a slightly sour expression, frowned and said—

"What are you doing? Why are you acting as if you are close to Yi-jin?"

He wasn't pretending to be friendly; he's just socialising. Eden.

Instead of scolding him, I poked Eden's waist with my elbow and looked at Lee Geun-ho.

"Aigoo, I'm sorry. He's just a little manic."

"It's okay. It could happen to anyone."

"What? You bastard?"

I stared at Eden and whispered in a small voice.

"Can't you be quiet for a moment?"

"No, that jerk keeps…"

“Eden, when will you grow up? Everyone who saw you thought it was a quarrel.”

"Yi-jin, you're always mean to me."

I looked at Eden who was pouting his lips with pitiful eyes. A muffled sound came out of Yong-sik's mouth as his head drooped on my shoulder. He seemed to be laughing at Eden.

"Anyway, I envy Hunter Han Yi-jin. I wish I had at least one special skill."

I nodded silently in response to Lee Geun-ho's lament. Skills and rank were all that mattered. Even in a raid team like this, those with high-grade skills would be favoured.

"Isn't Hunter Lee Geun-ho skilled enough to come here?"

"Haha, me?"

Lee Geun-ho smiled awkwardly at my question. He scratched the back of his head with his hand and answered.

"Actually, I'm an independent, and I'm an all-rounder, so I don't have any particularly high-grade skills."

"You're an all-rounder?"

“Yes, I have every skill except for detection skill.”

"Isn't that great?"

"It is. Even though they're all B-grade."

"Ah…"

An all-rounder was someone who possessed at least three of the XX skills that the raid party had divided into categories for easy classification. In Lee Geun-ho's case, it means he had combat, auxiliary, and mental skills.

That's impressive. However, as he mentioned, it was a bit ambiguous if all of his skills were at B-grade. If one of them was A-grade, his ranking would likely be higher.

"So, I'm mostly the backup. If they need another combat skill hunter at the front or another hunter to provide shields, they'll call me right away."

Lee Geun-ho muttered with a self-deprecating smile. While being an all-rounder makes him efficient and in demand, the fact that he is unaffiliated may limit the number of calls he receives.

“You will have good opportunities in the future.”

"Haha, thank you."

Lee Geun-ho smiled broadly at my words of comfort.

Soon, it was our turn. I looked at the shimmering blue gate and took a step forward.

"The location got cut off here."

Yoon Eun-ho muttered as he touched the ground. It's strange for him with his A-grade detection skills to struggle this much.

“You mean he fabricated the contract?”

"No way…"

Yoon Eun-ho, who withdrew his hand and stood up, then frowned. Kang Yoo-hyun, who was standing next to him, looked around with an expressionless face.

They were secretly pursuing the Loki Guild’s hunters. After Jang Tae-san was arrested and the corruption within the Loki Guild was exposed to the world, what the Laufey Guild did was cut off its tail.

Raisu shamelessly turned a blind eye to the Loki Guild, which he treated like a tool and acted as if it had nothing to do with him. It didn't take long for Jang Tae-san's trust in him to crumble.

After Jang Tae-san was captured, most of the hunters affiliated with the Loki Guild were tracked down and caught by the Association. However, some of them were still hiding. In particular, Baek Si-hoo, the highest-ranked member of the guild. His whereabouts were completely hidden.

At first, the Association had tracked down the Loki Guild's hunters on their own. For some reason, the contracts of the high-level hunters that Jang Tae-san kept separately disappeared without a trace, making it impossible to release their contracts and trace them back.

Instead, they found a copy of their contract and tracked them down. Recently, the Association requested assistance from the Odin Guild due to a shortage of personnel.

Yoon Eun-ho glanced at Kang Yoo-hyun who was standing next to him. His friend whom he reunited with after five years had changed in many ways. His personality, his moods, his behaviour.

However, he still had the habit of biting his lip when he felt anxious. Yoon Eun-ho shrugged his shoulders and said—

"By the way, I didn't expect you to be so passionate about this job."

"…"

“Could it be… because of Hunter Han Yi-jin?”