Ch.101Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.

# 101. 3-2

They say crisis is opportunity.

Sister Yehyun, though not by her own will, nearly had her body completely collapse as the “price for summoning an entity that didn’t match her level.” However, by somehow overcoming that crisis well, it turned into a blessing for us.

The next day.

As the hand-sized water girl circled around the patients including myself at Sister Yehyun’s command, I felt a refreshing coolness, and it seemed like something that had been eating away at my body was being washed away.

It was the manifestation of a healing skill called Pure Healing Water, or PHW for short.

“Sister Yehyun, you’re the best!”

“Wow, the PHW feels amazing. Sis! Just tell me if you need anything!”

“Haha. It’s all thanks to Soyu.”

Sister Yehyun was still sweating from even that brief summoning and skill activation, not having fully recovered yet, but that was enough for us.

Her pure healing output obviously couldn’t compare to an Arc Bishop’s, but she was a versatile Spirit Summoner.

The water droplet’s main attribute was naturally water, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t handle spirits of other attributes.

Now, if Sister Yehyun contracted with a fire attribute spirit and raised it, she could have a mini Eun Subin, and if she contracted with an earth attribute spirit, she could have a mini Seon Seyeon. A wind attribute spirit would be something like a mini Backdoor.

‘Mini Backdoor? That sounds a bit odd. Speaking of Backdoor…’

Watching Sister Yehyun happily looking at the water spirit she summoned, Yuri who was almost fully recovered and bouncing around, and Subin who was busy catching up on unfinished tasks, I sensed that our journey would soon resume and before long, Veritas would once again be complete.

‘Backdoor. I know it’s strange to say this, but I’ll do my best to bring you back as quickly as possible.’

The strongest tank: KillMeIfYouCan.

The strongest melee DPS: NewAxe.

The strongest sorcerer: LawAndOrder.

The strongest spirit summoner: WaterKnowsTheAnswer.

The strongest healer: PhysicalTherapist.

The strongest ranger: SteadfastBackdoor.

Just thinking about it again makes my heart swell with pride. After Perfect Clear, there were actually many other raid leaders who tried to poach the members I had worked so hard to recruit.

The armchair judges and critics said our raid team lacked stability, that our class balance and synergy weren’t good, and that our Perfect Clear was just a fluke. They also spouted nonsense about our raid members.

But the Perfect Clear wasn’t a coincidence, and Veritas maintained the title of the #1 raid team for over a year. All that nonsense disappeared. Our strategies became the standard.

And that wasn’t all. The real people controlling those characters were also excellent.

Honestly, while skill is essential for being good at games, personality isn’t necessarily a requirement. Yet my raid members possessed both excellent character and even outstanding appearances.

Our bonds deepened through various incidents. We understood each other without words, just through glances or abbreviations.

‘So, Backdoor.’

Sister Yehyun said she was most scared when Sister Soyu suddenly disappeared and only the two of them were left. So Backdoor, who was left alone, who always played by himself without belonging anywhere but awkwardly lingered beside someone before disappearing, that loner Backdoor.

‘Don’t worry too much, I hope you’re doing well.’

I won’t leave you alone.

**

Two days later.

Fully recovered, we stood at the entrance of the campsite. I noticed Sister Yehyun, dressed in the spare equipment we bought in Ayord, awkwardly touching her gear here and there.

Before I could signal, Seyeon, who was standing next to her, helped adjust her outfit. Sister Yehyun thanked her with a giggle.

Watching that heartwarming and pretty scene, I opened the conversation.

“We’re now six people.”

This wasn’t a raid briefing or feedback, and I wasn’t planning to do this, but we had been through a lot recently. I thought we needed to regroup before setting out.

“It hasn’t been an absolutely long time, but we’ve experienced a lot and felt a lot. Among those experiences were many things we would never have encountered on Earth. And those experiences were enough to change my values and many other things.”

“Three girlfriends?”

“Y-Yuri! The leader is speaking!”

“Ack!”

I see, I need to finish that discipline I couldn’t complete last time.

Anyway, ignoring the minor commotion, I continued.

“From the moment we decided to be together, we’ve consistently been number one, and we took it for granted. It’s the same here. We’ve continuously received S-rank, and naturally brought back our raid members one by one. At first unintentionally, then out of survival instinct, and then… mixed with the desire to see our complete team.”

I made eye contact with each of them. There wasn’t a single member I wasn’t grateful for.

“With us, we can get an S-rank reward next time too, and then we’ll bring back Backdoor. I still feel guilty. My fundamental nature hasn’t changed. But since things have progressed this far, I’m trying to be a bit more shameless. As Sister Yehyun said, I’ll take all the blame or responsibility later.”

So.

Once again.

Shamelessly.

“I look forward to working with you all.”

*Clap clap clap clap*

Embarrassingly, they applauded my unremarkable words.

“This kind of reminds me of when our raid leader recruited us one by one back then, doesn’t it?”

“Looking at the results, it’s not that different.”

“Veritavengers assemble!”

“Veritavengers? That sounds terrible.”

And just like that, as if it were nothing, like everyday conversation, they accepted my words.

‘Thank you. Really.’

It must be their own way of showing trust.

“Pfft. So your predatory hands will reach even that cute Backdoor!”

…or not?

“Seyeon.”

“Yes, leader.”

“Beat that girl thoroughly.”

“Yes!”

“Aaaahhhh!”

With Yuri’s exaggerated scream as our BGM, we moved forward vigorously.

**

“Tsk. No easy way out this time.”

“Look on the bright side. Where there’s a mission, there’s a reward.”

“That’s true.”

3-2 wasn’t a transit layer. If we had continued in the reverse direction, we would have had to go beyond the Ansila Mountains toward Puteus Lunar, and if we had gone in the forward direction again, we would have had to leave the mountains toward Ayord, but we were deep in the mountains.

Deep in the Ansila Mountains.

With just this information, we were 90% certain that we had reached the third quest connected to the half-Albs. This was because the Albs had fled here after suffering heavy casualties during the second quest.

“Even though we roughly know the location and have Danya, tracking should be possible, but it’s still too dangerous for just us to go in.”

“What about the Ayords?”

“They may have defeated them thanks to us, but they probably suffered a lot of damage before that. Support would be difficult. Plus, we’ve wasted almost a week, so we might have missed some developments.”

Gathering information was the priority. First, we divided into teams.

It made sense to split the brain roles between me and Subin, the frontline roles between Seyeon and Yuri, and the support roles between Sister Soyu and Sister Yehyun.

So for Team 1, which I would lead, I chose Yuri, whom I wanted to keep an eye on, and Sister Yehyun, who hadn’t yet experienced her first real battle. By the way, I didn’t specifically mention Danya since she’s practically a part of me. She’s been unusually quiet lately, and doesn’t really answer when I ask what’s wrong, but anyway.

“If there’s an emergency, my team will use a flare, and your team should have Subin send a magical signal. If that’s not possible, then use a flare. For either team, the best option is to regroup here. The second-best option is to stall for time and wait for support. Avoid signals unless it’s a real emergency. We don’t know where the Hyeomseong might appear.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll meet back here in two hours. Regardless of what we find.”

“Wait. This side needs someone with good senses too.”

Yuri. Danya. And Sister Yehyun, who gains an advantage in natural fields as a spirit summoner.

I accepted Subin’s opinion.

‘Seyeon needs to guard the other two, Danya can’t be separated from me beyond a certain distance, and I need to keep an eye on Yuri for now.’

So I switched Sister Yehyun with Sister Soyu. Sister Yehyun showed a slightly disappointed expression as she moved to Team 2, but I told her we’d see each other again soon, so she should listen to Subin and come back safely.

When Sister Yehyun giggled at my words, it was like wildflowers blooming—

“Ooooh. Our playboy naturally extending his predatory hands to Sister Yehyun too. Such a player. Ooooh.”

“Shut up. Let’s go. Sister, let’s move.”

“Hmph.”

Thanks to Yuri, I was able to avoid getting too immersed. Sister Yehyun was always pretty, but after that incident a few days ago, she seemed even prettier—

‘Ah, what am I thinking with my girlfriend right next to me.’

I deliberately took a deep breath. The air was good in the forest. The fresh air blew away the stray thoughts in my head, and I asked Danya who was walking ahead.

“Danya. Do you know places around here where the Albs might regroup?”

“Meow. Meooow.”

[Yes. Though it might be different.]

As expected, even though she brushed it off as nothing, Danya didn’t seem to be in a good mood. It didn’t feel right to ask again now, so I decided to spend some time alone with her after we passed through this layer.

Anyway, we freely roamed deep into the mountains following Danya’s guidance. With Yuri, who had good instincts like Danya, I wasn’t particularly scared. I was a bit worried about Team 2, but with three people there, continuing to worry would just be needless anxiety.

We wandered around like that for about an hour. There were no unusual findings, and no signal from Team 2. Considering the distance, we should start heading back soon.

“Let’s regroup with Team 2 and exchange information…”

“Meow!”

[Sunghyun!]

“Oppa!”

No way.

“Meooow.”

[Traces.]

“This looks like something a Hyeomseong left behind?”

As expected, events always happen at the last minute.

The 90% certainty became 100%.