Haroon Volume 3 Chapter 10

《Playing in a party with users》

 The KO-1 Top party excitedly entered the dungeon.

[You have found an unregistered dungeon! Each and every member has gained 50 fame as a reward of pioneering the discovery. Only a small party can enter this dungeon. If you register this dungeon, each and every member will gain an additional 30 fame. Would you like to register the dungeon?]

"Nope."

 The party could hear Maron refusing to register the dungeon.

[This dungeon has a difficulty of C, and is the habitat of Cave Goblins. The rulers of the cave are Hobgoblins and Goblin mages. The objective is to slay every boss monster in the dungeon. If you are the first party to clear this dungeon, every member will gain 50 fame and 30 S.P. May luck be with you, KO-1 Top]

 They liked the reward of clearing the dungeon. Although there was no merit of gaining fame, 30 S.P. was the minimum requirement to learn a new skill. Moreover, they would surely gain some levels while exploring the dungeon.

 But it was questionable whether cave goblins are similar to normal goblins, which people roughly estimated to be the equivalent to level 8~12. It wouldn't matter if they could fight with them one by one, but now they were forced to fight multiple enemies in an enclosed area, and no one seemed to have any experience with that.

 Moreover, since they had no intel on the strength of the boss monsters, they got nervous.

 "It won't be easy, but how hard could it be?"

 "Don't jinx it. None of us have fought a boss monster yet."

 At Rumm's baseless, overconfident words, the cautious Tess provoked everyone's attention.

 "We may not know the details of the Boss monsters, but we have Lace who has lots of experience in party play, so it'll be alright. If we try our best, it should be enough to clear the dungeon." Maron gave some words of inspiration.

 "Yeah. We can do this!"

 "Go, Go! Let's go! EXP awaits us!"

 A pontiff can heal and sustain the party's health, so Lace was the most important person in the party. Also, since Lace was an experienced player, they were able to rely on her and trust her ability. Br.i.m.m.i.n.g with fighting spirit, they entered the cave.

 The inner part of the cave was quite large compared to how it looked from the outside. The party made their way through stalact.i.tes and stone pillars that connected the ceiling and the ground, with Mentosa leading the way.

 'It'd be better if the a.s.sa.s.sin, Dasom takes the lead…….' Haroon thought to himself.

 According to what he learned in the mercenary academy, the party needed to send a member as a scout when they were exploring a new place. In that way, the party would be able to prepare for what they would have to face.

 This party was too well acquainted with normal game patterns. But Haroon didn't dare to give his opinion. His concern was realized soon, when they were pa.s.sing a stalact.i.te that was forming a stone pillar.

 "It's poison darts!"

 Mentosa suddenly cried, and at the same time, he and Minerva stumbled, falling down on the ground. With a quick reaction, Yeo'meong drew his sword and quickly wielded it. Several poison darts fell to the ground. They were illuminating with gloomy azure light, which was the unique property of goblin poisons.

 "Barrier!"

 "Barrier!"

 The magicians casted the Barrier skill that they'd chanted prior. A giant barrier covered the entire party, and it earned them enough time to find out where the goblins were hiding. They were hiding behind the pillars and covers next to the wall of the cave.

 "We gotta lure them out or snipe them."

 But their archeress Minerva was down, ambushed by the goblins after relying too much on Mentosa. It was a dangerous situation where everyone could have been a.s.sa.s.sinated by the poison darts, but Lace's command was quick and bold.

 "Tess, deactivate your barrier and cast AoE¹ combat magic."

 "Workin' on it, sis." Tess replied

 As the layer of barrier disappeared from the top, the sound of poison darts. .h.i.tting the barrier could be heard louder than before.

 "Fire wall!"

 At the same moment, a wall made out of flame arose from the ground. Thin darts couldn't penetrate the wall, and even if some of them did, the poison was already burnt and wasn't effective enough to damage people.

 "Dasom, flank them!"

 a.s.sa.s.sin Dasom took a few steps, and vanished into thin air. She used 'invisibility cloak'. The party could hear small noises from a side of the cave, which meant Dasom was moving near the cave wall to move around the wall of flame.

 A few loathsome screams of Goblins echoed in the cave, and at the same time, Tess's wall of flame slowly collapsed. Rumm and Yeo'meong charged through the flames, which were weak enough to go through. The scene that came into their eyes were of about 40~50 goblin warriors with shoddy spears surrounding Dasom. She couldn't find a chance to return to stealth, and was barely surviving in the rain of spears.

 "YOU b.a.s.t.a.r.dS!" Rumm shouted.

 Rumm, enraged, swung his greatsword at the goblin that was blocking his way. Yeo'meong followed with his sharpened saber. Goblins died in vain. But some attacked back, and it slowed down the attacks of the two.The goblins' long spears were limiting their movement.

 "What should we do now? They are more intelligent than we a.s.sumed. They know how to fight as a group!"

 Lace stamped her feet out of frustration. Dasom was. .h.i.t several times, and was barely surviving. The two swordsmen were too busy parrying the goblin attacks, it seemed impossible to press the attack.

 The magicians couldn't dare to make any moves as the combat was way too chaotic. Lace who needed to command orders had to detox Minerva as well, but she didn't even have time to use any holy magic.

 A sharp noise of something cutting the air was heard in everyone's ears.

 Haroon was out of the barrier, throwing something. Then they could see the throwing knives he was holding between his fingers. The goblins screamed. A few goblins that were putting Dasom in danger fell to the ground, losing their breath.

 A few knives cut the air once again. Like an illusion, they curved their way through the air and stabbed the nape of the necks of the goblins that were attacking Dasom with spears. They could hear the sound of spears being dropped on the floor, and the goblins that were hit were holding their necks, falling on the ground. Dasom, bleeding, hastened her way to Rumm and Yeo'meong. Seeing that, the swordsmen tried their best to open a way for Dasom. Dasom was able to make her way to the swordsmen, and it came as a great relief.

 They were now out of the worst case scenario, but not danger. The number of goblins that were surrounding the three were still many. Moreover, there were still more goblins who were shooting darts, hiding behind pillars and walls, looking for their chances. Thanks to that, the Magicians were busy casting barriers alternatively, not having enough of a window to help the three.

 "I'll cover the retreat, so heal Minerva!"

 At Haroon's shout, Lace started healing Minerva. Her lips were already dyed purple, and her body was as cold as ice. If Lace hesitated for a second, Minerva would die from poisoning.

 "Purification!"

 She cast purification magic. She still had to cast detoxifying magic as it wasn't enough.

 "Anti-poison!"

 A few arcs of light sprouted from her hands, and covered Minerva's body, and some entered through the skin. Lace gathered her hands and closed her eyes. Some holy energy flew out from her body. It was proof that she's reached a high-level of holiness.

 Haroon was out of throwing knives. Numerous goblins were lying on the ground, and most of them were goblins that were using poison darts. As Haroon had experienced several battles, it was impossible for the Goblins to avoid Haroon's throwing knives.

 Haroon took out all of his six-bladed shurikens from his inventory. He didn't expect them to be as impactful as throwing knives, since he didn't have enough experience with them. But it wasn't something that he could be picky about, as Dasom and the two swordsmen's conditions seemed fatal.

 "Rumm, I'll cover you with throwing weapons, so slowly retreat and join the party!

 "OK. Then hurry up!"

 Haroon smiled, to signal Rumm to trust him, and started to throw shurikens in series. The throwing speed was so fast that the party could not track the shurikens with their eyes. In the blink of an eye, the goblins that were surrounding the three fell down on the ground. The number of goblins that just fell was, amazingly, seven. All of them had been stabbed by shurikens in their vital points.

 It opened a way for them. Rumm and Yeo'meong helped Dasom by holding her arms, and hurried their way back to the party. The goblins tried to stop them by throwing their spears, but there weren't enough of them to hinder Haroon from preventing them from taking action.

 "Magicians, use your combat magic! Quickly!"

 No one, including Haroon himself, realized that he was now the one commanding. But at his order, the magicians started casting spells, although they were exhausted from casting barriers to block the poison darts.

 Now that there was no barrier to protect the party from the poison darts, they needed to take care of the goblins that shot them.

 Haroon took out the throwing knives that he saved for this moment. He had no more time to waste. He let the party take care of the roughly 20 goblins that were charging at them, and summoned Brat.

 "Summon! Guided knife!"

 With insane speed, Haroon threw all of the 10 knives that he saved for this moment. With Brat's power, they were shot at different targets. As Haroon took out most of the goblins that used poison darts, the tides of battle changed in the blink of an eye. Haroon quickly took an antidote, and withdrew more shurikens.

 "Wall of Flame!"

 "Wind Blades!"

 "Firebolt!"

 It seemed that they used every last bit of their mana, seeing as how their voices broke. But they were able to successfully cast their magic. The goblins that were charging at the party couldn't avoid diving into a wall of flames because of their momentum. The goblins panicked, and the blades of wind mercilessly cut through their skin, followed by 6 bolts of fire that mainly targeted goblin warriors.

 The heat of the battle got way higher, quite literally. Although it wasn't intended, the combination of magics in the fire and wind divisions caused circulation of air in a confined s.p.a.ce, gradually increasing the temperature. It wasn't too bad for humans, but it felt like h.e.l.l for goblins as they're creatures covered in fur.

 As the spells deactivated due to their duration time, the horrible scene of the battle came into their eyes. Only 5 or 6 goblins survived, which were slowly walking backwards with fear in their eyes. The rest were lying down on the ground, or were still being burned alive, rolling around to put out the fire.

 The smell of burning meat, fur, the scent of blood and the screams of goblins. Seeing this h.e.l.l-like scene, some even swore as if they couldn't stand what they were seeing. It was even more horrifying, as it wasn't an open s.p.a.ce like a hunting ground, but a confined s.p.a.ce with less light.

 Something cut the air, and that woke up the paralyzed thoughts of the party. It was a sound of Haroon throwing his shuriken. Another goblin that was screaming, rolling around, suddenly stopped moving.

 "We gotta finish their pain, Rumm."

 "R-right. We should."

 With pale faces, Rumm and Yeo'meong slowly walked toward the goblins, and stabbed their swords into the goblins' necks. Haroon did the same thing, but mainly collecting throwing knives, daggers and shurikens. Their durabilities had dropped quite a bit, and their blades were dulled as he had used them several times.

 It was at that moment, when he heard the UI sound.

[You have leveled up by 3!]

 It meant that the battle had finally finished. Though it may be low-level goblins, Haroon had about 20 solo kills on them and it increased Haroon's level by 3. And that wasn't all he got.

[Focus is increased by 1 point]
[Agility is increased by 1 point]
[E.S.P. is increased by 1 point]
[You have gained 30 S.P.]

 If it wasn't for the UI sound that alerted him of his gains, his day could have been ruined, knowing that the horrible scene would be the only thing he would get from the fight. The party needed to get out of this scene as soon as possible to lighten the mood.

 He turned towards the party to suggest moving, but then he realized it would be better if he didn't disturb them. It seemed like everyone else was hearing what their UI sound brought. After a moment, unhideable joy became apparent in their eyes.

 "I've leveled up! Two levels at the same time!"

 "Same! I can't believe what just happened. Think of how hard it was to level up!"

 "Haha! Those goblins must have been of a higher level than we thought."

 "Nah, see what we just did. You can easily tell that we've just slain 60 or even 70 enemies in one fight. It'd be strange if we didn't level up."

 "That was intense though. I've never felt this horrible before."

 As the mood lightened up due to the joy of getting their spoils of victory, looking back at the after-battle scene wasn't as horrible as before.

 "Maron, let's leave this place for now. We have some people injured and it can't be good for them."

 Saying that, Lace stood up. With help from Lace's healing magic, Minerva's face was returning to normal.

 "Good call. Rumm, Yeo'meong, help Dasom. I'll carry Minerva on my back."

 At Maron's order, the party moved with haste. Meanwhile, Haroon wiped the blood from his throwing weapons and stacked them on his belt or stashed them in his bag. While he had time to do so, he took some blowpipes, darts and bottles of poisons. He was taking them, thinking that they'll be of some help later on.

 "Haroon."

 It was Lace. Her face flushed with excitement after seeing someone heroically save the party.

 "Thank you for helping us. To be honest, I underestimated you and I'm really sorry about that. If it wasn't for you, we would have been……."

 Lace s.h.i.+vered with fright.

 "I'm just a party member, so you don't need to say those kinds of words. I should help if I can."

 "That makes me even more embarra.s.sed. I honestly thought it was just like us doing everything for you. Leveling you up, possibly sharing an item with you. I thought you were the one who got lucky, but it was us who were fortunate to have you. If Rumm didn't stop you……."

 "Nah. I'm just glad that I could be of help. I don't think this is a place for that matter though. We can always talk about it after clearing the dungeon."

 "You are right about that. Let's move for now."

 Before they knew, the party drew nearer and was listening to their conversation. Same to Lace's thoughts, they seemed sorry for what they thought about him. Rumm was smiling brightly though.

 "I'll scout ahead."

 Haroon volunteered.

 "You know that kind of thing should be ordered by the party lea-"

 Haroon was already moving when Maron spoke. Irritated, Maron frowned. But the others were nodding. They didn't feel any need of a scout, but soon realized they had the wrong idea.

 It was totally different from how tankers lead the party. At every corner, Haroon climbed walls or looked for a blind spot to scout ahead without making any sound. Sneaking around, he proceeded only when it was safe to move. That caused the entire party to approach more carefully, successfully finding the traces of goblin ambushes three times.

 Preparing to face the ambushes became a great advantage for the party. The goblins couldn't make bold moves like the first time, and dealing with 5 to 10 of them at a time wasn't a hard task.

 "We should have moved like this in the first place……."

 It was what Tess said after defeating the third ambush.

 "If we did so, Minerva and Dasom wouldn't have got hurt."

 Yeo'meong casually replied to Tess. Maron heard it, and his face turned grim and serious. He was the party leader, after all, and Yeo'meong's words would have acted as great criticism to his orders. Moreover, Haroon's heroic save weakened Maron's power in the party, which made him anxious and enraged. His look on Haroon started to get colder and colder.

 "Nah, it is not our fault. I just wanted to say Haroon is an amazing player. If we came here on our own, we would have died to the first ambush."

 Tess couldn't stop complimenting Haroon's performance.

 "I thought the same thing. His level is only 17, and it is just a number for him. His ability isn't limited to his level. Haroon must be a guy who experiences Beyond more than anyone else. Perhaps he died so many times, that he dropped from a high level to lower than us. I didn't expect him to be an ordinary user listening to your sister's words since she is so good at dealing with people, but I'd never have guessed he'd be this good," said Minerva.

 Everyone nodded. Except Maron. Tess seemed happy that Minerva was complimenting Lace.

 "Well, she told me she's been observing that user on the way here, and she said he seem to have stats of all cla.s.ses, adding that he has so much more experience than us. So I guess you’re right."

 Listening to Minerva and Tess's whisper-like conversation, the party looked at Haroon with somewhat respectful eyes. He might be the lowest level of the party, but his ability  was the highest, and they couldn't see his limit.

 Seeing Haroon smoothly slipping around the walls without making any sound, a.s.sa.s.sin Dasom couldn't close her mouth. Not to mention the ability to throw weapons silently. Those concealing, nimble moves were something she's been striving for, and a non-a.s.sa.s.sin, low level user was already executing it.

 Moreover, the quick wits, sense of occasion and appropriate commands he showed on emergent situations, was something that couldn't be executed by ordinary players. His true ident.i.ty was suspicious, but since Lace told the party that he's trustable, that wasn't something she needed to be concerned about.

 "But haven't we been in the cave for quite a long time? When are we fighting the boss?" Said Tess, in a joking manner.

 Haroon suddenly stopped. Haroon sent a signal to halt, and the whole party went silent.

 There was a wall in front of them. It was an intersection that lead to two different ways.

 With a small noise, Haroon's body was shot to the ceiling that was about 4 meters high. Like a bat, he grabbed stalact.i.tes and crawled over it to the right path.The party could barely hide their astonishment. It didn't take long for him to come back. With another small noise, Haroon landed on the ground, and signaled to retreat for a bit, but silently.

 "So Haroon, what was that about?"

 Rumm asked with great expectations shown on his face.

 "That was the boss room."

 "The boss? Really?"

 Rumm rejoiced. They were finally facing the boss they longed for. They couldn't be more excited as they were just one step away from getting some items.

 "There are two magicians, about 30 warriors, and a Hobgoblin with a crown on its head. They are still eating their meal, though."

 The party could feel the tension rising in the atmosphere.

 "So what should we do, Haroon?" Tess asked.

 "ME? Why would you ask me that?" Haroon replied, confused.

 Haroon couldn't understand why Tess would ask him when the party had a leader. He was just scouting, after all. Then Haroon could see Maron's arrogant face had a cold, set expression.

 "Yeah, tell us your opinion on this," Lace added.

 "Huh? Lace, you too?"

 Lace's face was full of trust while looking at Haroon.

 "Of course, that's 'cause you're the most experienced player of us all. Isn't that obvious? Maron was leading us only because we didn't know your true skills. Things are different now."

 "She is right. It's not about who has the right to command. We sincerely need guidance from an experienced player."

 Dasom and Yeo'meong joined them as well. After seeing how he made whole party level up by 2, they had to admit that Haroon's ability easily surpa.s.sed their own.

 At last, Haroon realized the party wanted him to lead them. Of course, excluding one of them. He couldn't understand why, but that wasn't important. The first thing they needed to do was to clear the dungeon.

 "Alright, then we should take care of the magicians first, since we don't know what kind of magic they can cast. I'll mark one, and Minerva, you'll be marking the other one. Lace, standby and prepare just in case one of us fails to kill the magicians. Magicians, you'll need to cast the most effective magics you've ever learned, at the same time. You could use fire and wind magics like the last time, but since I'm not an expert on that, I'll leave that up to you. Try to come up with the combination that would be most effective in a enclosed area like this."

 The people who got called nodded without answering.

 "Dasom, when things get chaotic from the magic attacks, move around to the back side and flank them. There should be a good chance for you. Swordsmen, when most of the goblin warriors are taken care of after the two combined magic attacks, you'll be charging at the Hobgoblin in a straight line."

 The swordsmen grabbed their weapons firmly.

 "Magicians, after casting magic, retreat into different directions, then look for a place to regain mana so you can attack the Hobgoblin, a.s.sisting the swordsmen. I, too, will join the fight after taking care of the rest of the goblin warriors with throwing weapons.

 It was an impeccable plan. As the brief was told, Haroon started explaining the plan in details, drawing a small map on the ground, and marking where each member should be positioned.

 He picked up these kinds of strategies in the Mercenary camp, but the others were believing that Haroon had lots of experience with dungeons. Otherwise, it would be impossible for someone to come up with such an advanced strategy in such a short time.

 Seeing how the others looked at Haroon, he knew they were misunderstanding something, but he didn't bother to explain it in detail. There was no time and no reason to. Perhaps, the plan would work better if they believed that Haroon has great experience in sketching plans. If the members cannot trust the leader, they would not be able to execute the plan.

 "Then, Lace, We need your blessings."

 Upon his words, Lace started chanting the incantation with a language they couldn't understand. Holy words, presumably.

 "Bless!"

[You are now blessed. Every ability is enhanced by 10% for 5 minutes]

 The members dropped their jaws, seeing a single spell boosting their abilities by 10%. But there was no time to waste. With Haroon leading in the front, the party tried their best not to make any sounds when moving to the boss room, pa.s.sing the corner, taking the right path. Soon, they entered a room that was as large as the place where they first got ambushed.

 The goblins were eating something piled up in the center, which looked like fresh corpses of bats. The Hobgoblin, which had a smaller body than the goblin warriors, and the goblin magicians which seemed quite old were sitting at the innermost area. As befits its name, elite monsters, the hobgoblin and goblin magicians were having their meal at leisure with their portion separated. Meanwhile, the goblin warriors were eating as fast as they could to eat at least one more than the others.

 Haroon and Minerva got in position near the entrance of the room. Minerva slowly pulled out an arrow and loaded it, staring at the goblin magician on the left. Haroon took a knife out and threw it, giving a signal to Minerva at the same time. There was no need to summon Brat for this round.

 Two objects were shot. Two screams were heard. One was short, and one was still ongoing. Minerva's arrow hit the magician's shoulder, which wasn't enough to kill it. It was fortunate at least that Haroon's knife hit the head as it killed the goblin instantly.

 "The magicians!"

 As soon as Haroon and Minerva quickly retreated, the magicians finished chanting their magic. The spells activated as they spoke their incantations.

 "Wall of Flame!"

 "Wind Blowing!"

 "Wind Blowing!"

 It was super effective! It took quite a while for the magicians to come up with this combination, one person setting a wall of flame and the others blowing wind on it spread fire in a large area. This combination of 1 and 2 circle magics were having a similar effect of 'Fire Wave', which is a 3 circle magic, or maybe even to 'Fire Field', which was 4 circle magic.

 As a sudden fire interrupted the happy meal time of the goblins, the goblin warriors panicked and fell back, but half of them were already swept by the flames.

 "Wall of Flame!"

 "Wind Blowing!"

 "Wind Blowing!"

 The first wall of flame was yet to be extinguished, and still the second wave swept the goblins. At this time, the fire wall was cast much further from the party, effectively driving the goblins further back.

 At that moment, Haroon sent a signal to Minerva, thinking it'd be effective if they attacked the goblins at a distance. Although it wasn't discussed during the planning phase, Minerva understood and answered with a smile. To not miss the chance, Minerva quickly shot arrows.

 Haroon threw his shurikens through the wall of flame. Without having visible reference to aim at, it was more practical to attack by numbers. Saving his throwing knives and daggers for the Hobgoblin, he consecutively threw shurikens at a fast rate.

 The goblins' fearful screams leaked through the flames. The flames were already burning their furs from a distance, and they were getting attacked by shurikens and arrows. Attacks from unknown sources made them even more scared.

 At last, the magic was reaching its duration time. They could see the flames getting smaller and smaller.

 "The swordsmen!"

 The swordsmen jumped into the flames that were too weak to hurt them. In front of them, there were goblins s.h.i.+vering from fear, not being able to hold their spears properly. The swordsmen took different directions, cutting hearts and vital points of easy targets. When the flames were entirely extinguished, not even 10 goblins were left.

 "Haha, they are just like rats in a trap!" Mentosa cried happily.

 Laughing broadly, he lifted his greatsword high up in the air. Yeo'meong and Rumm too, wielded their swords covered in green blood, trying to make a fancy finale.

 "Step back!"

 The sudden, sharp cry of Tess filled the cave. They saw the Hobgoblin opening its mouth wide from behind the wall of goblins, but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, the Hobgoblin sprayed poisonous liquid, and it turned into a poison cloud in a cone shape.

 "Kugh!"

 "Ugh! It's poison!"

 Mentosa couldn't avoid it, and careless Rumm was in the area of effect as well. Covering their eyes with their hands, they fell on the ground. Yeo'meong quickly made a roll to the side, covering his face with his arm, but it still got him.

 "Minerva, shoot them! Magicians, cast fire magic!"

 As soon as Haroon shouted, Minerva instinctively loaded arrows and shot them, but the magicians couldn't cast their magic because of the swordsmen rolling on the ground. While the magicians were hesitating to take action, the poison was still getting closer to the rest of the party.

 "Quickly!"

 Haroon pressed them, but instinctive fear overwhelmed their rationality. The magicians slowly fell back.

 Frustrated, Haroon summoned Brat.

 "Summon!"

 As soon as Brat was summoned, Lace quickly cast holy magic.

 "Anti Poison!"

 Seeing the string of light spreading as if it was going to cover the poison cloud, the party was able to feel relieved. But it only lasted for a moment. The poison cloud overwhelmed the light and started spreading further.

 "No way! The poison is way too strong!"

 Lace kept her hands together and remained in praying posture, but the light wasn't able to get out of the poison cloud.

 "Brat, absorb it, quickly!"

 "Yaya~ hehehe, now this, is what I call poison."

 Making sinister laughs, Brat started absorbing the poison cloud.

 "Minerva!" Haroon shouted once again.

 Then she finally realized she wasn't shooting, paralyzed by the sudden changes. Knowing that gazing isn't her job, she drew arrows and shot through the poison cloud that was now too thick to see through. They could hear the arrows dropping on the ground, which meant the Hobgoblin had already moved. Minerva bit her lower lip, then started shooting randomly. It made the poison cloud spread slower, as if the hobgoblin was threatened by Minerva's arrows.

 Brat started to move in earnest, and his absorbing ability was way stronger than what Haroon initially thought. As the Hobgoblin stopped producing the poison cloud to avoid arrow attacks, the poison cloud was getting smaller and smaller. They were now able to see the swordsmen again, who were lying on the ground, poisoned.

 Haroon swallowed the antidote he was holding in his mouth, and unsummoned Brat. He had to move before it became too late. Kicking the ground, Haroon ran to where the swordsmen had fallen.

 "Catch!"

 Haroon THREW Mentosa, Rumm, and Yeo'meong at the party. There was no time for him to carry them.

 "Woah!"

 "Aaah!"

 n.o.body could catch them, but at least, the three swordsmen fell on them. They wouldn't have gotten injured as much as if they fell on the ground.

 Haroon gathered all his attention and looked at the poisonous cloud that was spreading once again. He slowly took some shurikens out, and threw them when the cloud was about to encroach on his arms.

 A short scream came from the goblins that were hiding behind the cloud. He could tell where the goblins were, as they were s.h.i.+vering with fright. Though, he couldn't really tell where the Hobgoblin was.

 A threatening shout came from the Hobgoblin, and echoed in the cave.

[You have been feared by the Hobgoblin.
Your ability is weakened by 10% for 2 minutes]

 The players' movements were slowed. But Haroon wasn't affected that much. He wasn't tired yet, and the fear was only countering Lace's blessing for the moment. Instead, the Hobgoblin only revealed its location to Haroon. Haroon quickly threw three throwing knives, aiming to where the sound came from.

 They could hear a disgusting scream, which was quite different from the common goblin. It was full of anger, pain, and hatred, which was presumably the Hobgoblin's.

[You are poisoned! You are receiving 30 damage per second]

 This was definitely a strong poison. When Brat's poison was only dealing 10 damage per second, the Hobgoblin's venom was three times stronger. But Haroon got used to getting poisoned, so he calmly summoned Brat.

 "Brat, absorb poison!"

 "Hehehe! This is fun, Mas! Summon me as much as you can if it's in a place like this."

 It excitedly went around, absorbing the poison cloud. Soon, the poison cloud slowly vanished, and they could see about 5 goblins crumpled together in one spot. Because of the sudden changes of the situation, no one had noticed that Haroon was summoning and ordering Brat. Unsummoning Brat, Haroon threw shurikens once again. He couldn't miss such a large target.

 The goblins that were surrounding the Hobgoblin had fallen. In the middle of them, the Hobgoblin was slowly dying, with a knife embedded in its head. It must be the one that Haroon threw before Brat absorbed the last poison cloud. It seemed that the Hobgoblin was spreading poison, so it couldn't avoid the knife when Haroon threw it.

[You have cleared the dungeon!
Each and every member of your party will gain 30 S.P. and 50 fame.]

 A joyful sound was heard from Lace, who was still casting anti-poison magic, the magicians, and the others. It made them feel proud, and eased the tension. Haroon had an additional UI sound playing in the background.

[You have leveled up by 2!]
[You have received an item!]
[Focus is increased by 1 point]
[ESP is increased by 1 point]

[You have slain the Hobgoblin single-handedly.
You are rewarded with the t.i.tle 'Hobgoblin Slayer', additional 20 S.P. and fame.
As a reward of getting a t.i.tle, every stat is increased by 1 point.]

 They were exciting rewards. Though he was playing as a party, the result was mostly Haroon's work, and they were rewards that he deserved.

 Checking his H.P. dropping by every second, he quickly took an antidote. He needed some rest. He was suffering from a headache after focusing for such a long period of time.

 The party members were gathering where the Hobgoblin had fallen, antic.i.p.ating some good items. Since Haroon had gotten an item already, he gave up on joining them, and leaned up against the wall on the side to rest, closing his eyes.

 "Wooaah!"

 Tess cried with joy.

 "Four items?!"

 "Haha, that's a jackpot! Four items from a goblin dungeon?"

 They were busy checking the items dropped near the Hobgoblin's corpse. As if they forgot Haroon's existence, who achieved the current outcome, their eyes were burning bright from seeing the info and stats of the items.

 "This is mine!"

 "Nonsense! This is a skill book of the fire division, so I should be the one who's taking it."

 Haroon opened his eyes, hearing Tess and Mir arguing for a skill book.

 Between the ladies, Maron was holding the skill book, looking left and right. His hand was shaking with greed.

 "Ladies, calm down. You should listen to what the party leader says."

 Maron's words caused embarra.s.sment for the two, but they didn't give up.

 "Hey, listen to yourself. If I were you, I wouldn't speak like that because I'd be ashamed by the fact that I have been useless in this dungeon."

 "She is right. Weren't you the one who's been taking the best item every time?"

 Tess, even Mir was taking a strong stand against him.

 Next to them, Rumm, Yeo'meong and Mentosa were drooling over a steel sword.

 "Can I take this steel sword?"

 "Well, I think I'll need it too."

 "Its a high-uncommon item. It's too great to give up, unfortunately."

 The three swordsmen were hoping for the others to give up the item.

 It seemed like some items had already found their owner. Lace was holding a skill book with two hands, with exhaustion reflected on her face. Presumably a skill book of the holy magic division. No one needed to compete with her then.

 The other one was a small bow, held by Minerva. She was looking into thin air, smiling. Probably checking the stats of it. As she was the only archeress in the party, it was easy for her to get the item, just like Lace.

 a.s.sa.s.sin Dasom was inspecting the Hobgoblin's corpse. She must be interested in its poison, since some of the a.s.sa.s.sin's skills must be related to poison.

 'Ha, one man sows and another man reaps, huh.'

 Haroon sighed from looking at them. He had no interest in items as he'd already got one by solo-killing the boss. It was pathetic to see their unscrupulous behaviour. They were fighting over items that they shouldn't have got, nor even survived for,  if it wasn't for him.

 "Oh, Haroon!"

 Seeing Haroon getting up, Lace turned her gaze from the item to Haroon.

 "If it wasn't for you, it would have been a disaster. Thanks."

 "Yeah. It's good to see everyone’s all right."

 Haroon answered it casually. Haroon was upset about the situation. Haroon was pretty sure the others heard Lace, but they were not tearing their eyes off of the items.

 "Well, since we've cleared the dungeon, I'll go now."

 "What do you mean? Since you've carried us you shou-"

 Finally, she realized what was going on, and couldn't finish her sentence. Her face went red out of embarra.s.sment, seeing herself holding an item, and her sister Tess, arguing over another one.

Haroon opened the party window.

[Party member Haroon has quit the Ko-1 Top Party.]

 Seeing the message, Maron dismissed it right away. But for some reason, he came to talk with Haroon, putting the skill book in his bag, and completely ignoring Mir and Tess.

 With an arrogant face and slow steps, Maron was emphasizing that he was a n.o.ble.

 "You've done a lot for us."

 "Don't mention it."

  It was easy to tell that Maron didn't mean it at all, and wasn't appreciating Haroon. Haroon dismissed it shortly. Not caring about Haroon's att.i.tude, Maron opened his mouth.

 "Let me give you an offer. Why don't you keep playing with us?"

 "Hmm?"

 As if he thought Haroon was considering it positively, he continued.

 "I could help you a lot in the real world if it's you. You know, I might have more things in my hand than you could imagine. If you follow me, I can provide you with a good job, a good house, and full support for your whole life."

 Haroon was shocked at his, so-called, 'offer'. He was saying it fully intending to get Haroon as his man, under his family. It was even more appalling that Haroon could easily tell from Maron's face that he was thinking he'd won Haroon already.

 'Hah, should I just beat the s.h.i.+t out of this guy?' He thought to himself.

 He knew his old self would have accepted the offer submissively, but he was different now. He could feel it himself, as he knew his old self would have never thought of such a thing at all. It was also tempting to offend him.

 "Fuhaha! Isn't that surprising to see there is a man who dares to get me as his fam? I only followed this party because I met a friend who was very likeable, and I thought it'd be fun."

 The party was astonished by Haroon's furious laugh and words.

 "W-What in the…….."

 Maron started stuttering.

 "Do I look that easy to you?"

 Haroon stopped laughing. His face had turned into a cold, grim face, staring at Maron with sharp eyes. Some kind of aura was forming from his eyes, to his entire body, and to his surroundings. Like boss monsters, his mana was bursting into the air, which was very hard to resist.

 "Ug-Ugh."

 Maron's face went pale, and he started to step back without even realizing it. Some kind of warlike atmosphere overwhelmed and pressured him. The other's faces were going pale as well. Seeing how the others were reacting, Haroon calmed down his wrath.

 Haroon was surprised to see himself not only being able to fully express his feelings, but he was able to express it through mana. Though he understood it by accident, he was quite proud to think of it. It was possible because he acc.u.mulated some mana, and some basic frame for using it.

 "I'll pretend that I heard nothing of such an arrogant offer for now, since we were in the same party once. I hope you'll never meet me again. I'm the kind of person who does keep things in mind, so it wouldn't be good for you."

 Maron, still pale, couldn't say anything at all. It was the same for the others. Haroon decided to give up on this party. There was nothing to resent, as he's got an item already. Haroon had experienced these kinds of people in the real world. But he decided not to forgive Maron, resoluting that he'll beat the s.h.i.+t out of him if he meets him in real life.

 "Haroon, you can't go like this."

 At least Lace tried to stop him.

 "We'll meet again if fate allows. It was nice to meet you. Then I'll get going."

  Haroon gave a single nod, then left the place.

 "G-guys! Why are you just standing around? Haroon's leaving!"

 Rumm was the only one who reacted to Lace's words. Seeing Haroon leaving the dungeon without any hesitation, he gave up arguing for the sword and followed him out. The others were still stunned by the situation.

 "You, YOU won't get away with this! How, How DARE you!"

 Haroon could hear Maron howling, but his voice was shaking so badly that it didn't scare him at all.

 'I won't get away with this? Let's see who won’t!'

 Haroon would never be forgetting it.

 "Haroon, Wait!"

 Rumm could see that Haroon was still angry, and lowered his head in embarra.s.sment. With a grave face, Haroon patted Rumm's shoulder a few times, and headed to the exit of the cave.

 "Where are you heading? Where can I meet you again?"

 At Rumm's word, Haroon stopped, turned around and stared directly at him. Haroon smiled at his face that was once again innocent, though he was formerly shaken by greed.

 "I'm heading to Count Joren Castle. I'll be there for a while."

 "I'll get to you. I’ll return the favor if I get to see you. Thank you for saving me."

 "Dude, what are friends for?"

 Rumm made a true, innocent smile. Haroon felt much better after seeing that.

 'At least he is a good guy.'

 He finally met someone whom he could consider as a friend. He wanted to get to know him more , but he was going to wait for another time. It was because he saw Lace coming out too.

 'We are bound to meet if fate allows us.'

 Thinking he'll be a good friend, Haroon continued.

 "Take care. I’m running a small mercenary guild named The Gusts of Wind, so you'll be able to meet me if you look for it. Let's have a drink next time."

 "I knew you weren't an ordinary player, but you were already the leader of a guild? Accept me to your guild! It sounds fun."

 "You're always welcome. The Gusts of Wind pursue elitism, so I'll train you well once you get in."

 "Thanks! I'll make sure to get to you. Wait, no, make it 'we', as I'll bring some of my friends as well."

 When Haroon nodded, Lace arrived, catching her breath. She didn't know where to put herself in embarra.s.sment.

 "Haroon, would you forgive us? They are still young, and it was the first time they got any items from a dungeon. They are flipped over the new achievement, but they'll see what they did wrong. And don't mind Maron. You know n.o.bles are like that."

 Lace was still holding the skill book, hesitating to put it into her inventory. She was ashamed of seeing herself valuing the item she got over Haroon, and was sorry about the fact that Haroon got nothing for what he achieved.

 "If you are okay with this……."

 At last, she handed the skill book she was holding to Haroon.

 "Lace, I might be inexperienced with relations.h.i.+ps, but I know what I know. People reveal their true nature when the chips are down. But I think I'd love to meet you again. Then, 'till we meet again, GLHF²."

 Picking those as his last words, he quit the dungeon. Because of the sunlight outside, to Rumm and Lace it seemed like Haroon's silhouette was entering the blazing light.

 Lace sighed deeply, looking back to the deeper parts of the cave, where her younger sister and her sister's friends would still be arguing over the items.

 "We missed a really good man," she added. 'And I'm ending the relations.h.i.+p with Tess's friends. Just like what he said, it's disgusting to see their true nature.'

 She looked back and forth several times, then she followed Rumm out of the cave with determination.

Out of the thornbush forest, Haroon made his way out onto the main road. He hesitated for a moment, then he headed towards the castle. He didn't feel like hunting anymore.

 'I'd rather stay with the NPCs. Of course, not everyone would be like that, but that felt quite bitter. I’m heading back to the guest house.'

 Soon after he headed back to the castle, Rumm came out of the thornbush forest breathlessly, but Haroon was already gone. He sat down heavily and sighed deeply.

 "Rumm, don't be so disappointed."

 He heard Lace, but he didn't look back.

 "I'm not going to see my friends in-game. Not anymore."

 His voice was as dry as fallen leaves, but it was full of determination.

 "But you've been friends with them for years."

 Rumm's bright personality was leading her sister's friends by setting examples, so Lace tried to stop him, diffidently.

 "I'm not just saying it. Even if you don't count Maron as he is a n.o.ble, I've been thinking that my friends are selfish and cunning for a long time. I'm an artificial human, remember? I know I'm not a real friend to them. Some are being nice to me out of sympathy for not having biological parents, some are just taking advantage of my personality of liking people, some are just being friendly as we've known each other for a long time."

 Lace was speechless as his voice sounded too lonely. And she knew Rumm wasn't wrong.

 "I was afraid of being considered as incompetent, and that was why I got along with them……. But I don't care anymore. My existence isn't important to them anyways. I knew the truth was coming, and I didn't want to admit it, but now it feels so much better as I've seen it."

 "But you know Dasom is different."

 Rumm's eyes deepened when he heard the name, but eventually he shook his head.

 "She is a better person than I deserve. If I'm with her, her social cla.s.s will make her unhappy. It'd be so much better for her if I give up my feelings for her."

 Lace couldn't find anything to say. She was surprised to see how depressed Rumm was, as she was quite close to Rumm since she started to hang out with the members of the party.

 'Maybe he is right…….'

 Dasom's father was the minister of the Union Defence. Rumm was incompetent, but with the love and fortune of his parents, he was able to get into a university. With the grades he was achieving, it was not a distant future that he would slowly get further away from the central part of the Union.

 Considering that, it was impossible for Rumm and Dasom to have a good future. There might be a tragedy waiting for them. Like what Rumm said, it might be better for him to give up on his affection for Dasom.

 "At least you're a good friend to me. I really appreciate it."

 "Rumm, it's not good to jump to any conclusions."

 "No, I knew I was going in the wrong direction, and I simply needed to check. I met Haroon today, and he was more honest to me than the 7 friends I've had for years, so I'll go and look for him. I realized that it's not the numbers that is important when it comes to friends. I think it'd be much better if I only have one friend that I can rely on."

 Lace was feeling the same as what Rumm was saying. Though Haroon didn't appear as a friend, it was true that she was feeling something towards him.

 'As a man,' she thought.

 With blushes on her face, Lace asked.

 "Have you heard where he is heading?"

 "It's a secret. I can't tell if Dasom would find out through Tess, so I'll keep it as a secret."

 Lace nodded. She didn't even know herself whether she could manage to not tell if her sister asked stubbornly. And there was a way to find out if she wanted, so there was no reason to be obstinate.

 "And as I know where he is heading, I'll wait for him at his destination even if I cannot find him in Paros Castle. I think I'll be enjoying this world much more if I go with him. Maybe in the hopeless real world as well……."

 Rumm stood up, and made his first bold step towards the castle. His sagging shoulders rose, and his face brightened.

 Seeing Rumm leaving, she sighed. With another long sigh, she sat down at the place she was standing.

Translated by Channy,
Edited by Tom and Kmatt

Footnotes:

¹AOE – Area Of Effect
²GLHF – Good Luck, Have Fun.

Editor's notes:

Channy: Three cheers for another couple breaking up! RISE, SOLOs!

Kmatt: Channy *facepalm* …….SOLOs! (until the right person appears)

Tom: … Is this real… What can I say. Oh heck, GO SOLOs! *facepalm*