GBAS 22

To see that bastard’s face right before entering, of all times. What a terribly unlucky day it was.

Tsk, JuJuGeneralAssembly clicked his tongue briefly, tilting his head with a fierce glare. Notgeurut gestured with his chin towards his back and spoke. Not only JuJuGeneralAssembly’s gaze but also that of the Yeonswae guild members naturally fell upon the dungeon entrance he pointed at.

[General] Notgeurut : Thought you guys bounced after getting rejected earlier? lol

[General] Notgeurut : Said you weren’t gonna try, but I guess you’re still greedy, huh?

Provoked by the mocking tone, JuJuGeneralAssembly subtly schooled his expression.

‘If I rise to every little jab, he’ll develop a bad habit. Yep, yep.’

How should I mess with him to make it a legendary takedown? Ah, there was something to check before I started plotting. JuJuGeneralAssembly’s fingers, hidden behind his back, moved slightly, and soon after, party chat messages popped up at the bottom of the Yeonswae guild members’ screens.

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Aqua-ya

[Party] Aqua : Yeaah??

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Is the live on

[Party] Aqua : Nah not yet

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : k

Then we’re good.

Having received a satisfactory answer, JuJuGeneralAssembly replied with a much more relaxed-looking face.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : No really

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : We just came to have some fun lol

[General] Notgeurut : For that, you seem to have put in quite a bit of effort heheheh

The gazes of the two, a chilly smile on their lips, locked.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : You’re imagining things ^^

[General] Notgeurut : I don’t think so haha

Sparks flew between their meeting eyes.

At the end of the short staring contest, it was Notgeurut who eventually looked away first. He pointed to each of the people standing behind JuJuGeneralAssembly and said.

[General] Notgeurut : This one here, that one there, that one over there

[General] Notgeurut : And you call this imagining things? lol

They brought every last thing they owned. Notgeurut’s lips twisted as if in disbelief.

He hadn’t heard it directly, but he was sure the Yeonswae guys had said they weren’t interested in clearing this dungeon. The first thought he had upon hearing that news was ‘what a relief’. Those bastards got scared because their guild master wasn’t here. They’re not coming because they’d be embarrassed. He had thought he could proceed more leisurely than usual and had let his guard down. It was all a tactic.

How dare they backstab someone like this?

Fun, my ass. He could tell just how much effort they put into the party composition by looking at the supporters standing firmly behind them. They were fawning over them earlier and then disappeared so quickly, he thought they had given up. This time, they had undoubtedly come fully prepared. If that damn guild master had been in the dealer line, they would have been done for without a fight.

It was then.

A broad smile suddenly spread across JuJuGeneralAssembly’s face as he observed Notgeurut’s ever-changing expression. The guild members who first sensed the ominous aura sent warning signals.

[Party] Aqua : Sir brr

[Party] Jinyoung-kun : Oh no…

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : haha

[General] Notgeurut : ?

Noticing the mischievous look, Notgeurut sensed something was off and twitched his cheek with a displeased face.

[General] Notgeurut : Why are you grinning again lol…

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : k k I get it now

What do you get? Notgeurut’s brow furrowed.

JuJuGeneralAssembly, nodding as if he understood everything, took in the Cheolbapong’s guild master, Red, and their main dealers, who were watching from a short distance away from the people in front of him. Among them, he could recognize four at most.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Just by looking

JuJuGeneralAssembly’s index finger swept across the ragtag group blocking their way, including Notgeurut, before he looked up at the person standing before him. Then, in a tone full of pity, he said.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : You must be having a manpower shortage… right?

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Then I can totally see how you might misunderstand hehe ㅠㅠ

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the Cheolbapong guild members contorted in various ways. Thinking how utterly ridiculous their displeased faces were, JuJuGeneralAssembly struggled to suppress his bursting laughter and continued.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : But you see, unlike some places

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : We’re overflowing with talent of this caliber

[General] Notgeurut : ……What??

JuJuGeneralAssembly brought his hands together at his chest and added, with an even more pitiful expression.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : You’re anxious you might lose to a ‘for fun’ party

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : So you’re acting weird

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Yes yes I get it

Notgeurut’s face, thoroughly provoked, turned bright red.

In contrast, at the same moment, JuJuGeneralAssembly’s chat window was flooding with a wave of blue text.

[Party] Jinyoung-kun : Wow~

[Party] poPlatoonLeaderwer : lololol

[Party] FlatDumpling : Amazing hahahah

Of course, there were also messages of restraint, considering the aftermath.

[Party] Aqua : Sirㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Party] Aqua : Enough with the bluffing pls ㅠㅁㅠ

JuJuGeneralAssembly’s gaze briefly touched the noisy chat window and then fell away.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Well anyway

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : We just came to have a good time with our guildies

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : So please, you guys get the first clearㅠㅠ haha

Since there were many eyes watching, he threw out some half-hearted words.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Oh and also

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : I get that you feel threatened but if you keep this up, it’s very tacky ^^ㅠ

He left one last remark.

With a grin, JuJuGeneralAssembly walked past Notgeurut, who was still just gaping, and cut through the ragtag group gathered behind him.

After a few steps, having gotten the unsightly fellow out of his way, JuJuGeneralAssembly’s mind cleared, and he finally took notice of his surroundings.

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : lol guys you’re coming, right? haha

The reply came quickly.

[Party] poPlatoonLeaderwer : Yup lol

Gaining confidence from that, he turned his head and, thankfully, the guild members were following him closely. JuJuGeneralAssembly let out a sigh of relief and continued to pour out messages.

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Guys

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Can’t be helped

[Party] Jinyoung-kun : Yessir?

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : I’m gonna need you to give it some gas lol

[Party] poPlatoonLeaderwer : brrrrr

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : I’m gonna grit my teeth and clear this

[Party] Jinyoung-kun : You said we were playing for funㅠ

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Says who

Not long after, standing before the firmly shut dungeon door and an NPC boy draped in a sleeveless, leafy dress, JuJuGeneralAssembly spoke to him faster than anyone else and purchased a dungeon pass.

[Party] JuJuGeneralAssembly : Ah, let’s just go in and talk lol

Then he inserted the faded green pass into the dungeon entrance, a long vertical crack in the rock.

As the paper slid in, an ear-splitting roar began. The tightly sealed gap between the rocks seemed to widen, and just before the inside became visible, a white light wrapped around the party members’ bodies.

The place where everyone opened their eyes again was inside a cave filled with the sound of dripping water, drip, drip, and faint cries.

[General] poPlatoonLeaderwer : Ooh~

The first-timers looked around the cave’s interior, exclaiming in constant admiration. Ahh, the echo that returned every time they spoke was magnificent.

[General] poPlatoonLeaderwer : The atmosphere is nice, huh?

[General] FlatDumpling : It is

[General] FlatDumpling : Damp and gloomy, looks just like a place where a ghost would appear…

[General] Aqua : As for meee

[General] Aqua : I’ll get my broadcast set up><

As soon as Aqua finished speaking, a black object appeared above each of the party members’ heads. These drone-like things were AI cameras that followed a designated person. One personal cam each, and four full-shot cams. A buzzing sound, like the flapping of an insect’s wings, came from the twelve cameras.

As Aqua manipulated a touch pad visible only to him a few times, the floating drones disappeared in the blink of an eye. He had adjusted their transparency so they wouldn’t interfere with the battle.

[General] JuJuGeneralAssembly : k, check if the chat is blurred out lol

[General] Aqua : Yesss

[General] Camellia : If you’re all ready, let’s register our respawn point here before we go

At Camellia’s call, the party members, who had been scattered, gathered in the center of the hall.

The magic circle engraved on the stone floor was a save zone where they could respawn if they became incapacitated during battle. As the people, standing in a circle around the magic circle that seemed to be about 1 meter in diameter, placed their hands on it one by one, the carved grooves briefly glowed with a red light.

The members who finished registering their respawn point scattered one by one to make their final preparations, and Hyunwoo, who was the last, placed his hand on the magic circle. Like blowing on burnt-out charcoal, a light like a dying ember, briefly flaring up before fading, flickered.