Chapter 31: The Boss They’re Absolutely Not Ready For

Ju-an swallowed hard and slowly swept his gaze across the four men.

All of them were staring at him expectantly, waiting for what he was about to say.

He had told himself that persuading them and clearing the dungeon was the top priority, but now that he actually had to speak, his throat felt tight.

As Ju-an hesitated, lips parting uselessly, Joo Ji-chan frowned.

“What are you trying to say this time? Why’re you dragging it out?”

Baek Eun-hoo added,

“If you know the dungeon that well, shouldn’t we just clear it already?”

Mo Jun-young, who had been watching with narrowed eyes, spoke in opposition.

“If he says he knows everything, we should hear him out carefully.”

“Yeah! Listen to hyung first. Everyone, shh!”

Since each of them had such different personalities, it would be better to reveal the truth in ways each could understand.

He could use the words and gestures he’d once used as the Creator of Sacrifice.

Ju-an approached Baek Eun-hoo first.

“Baek Eun-hoo. You once said, ‘Who asked for coins? I asked for a contract.’ And in the end… we did sign one.”

“…What?”

The moment Ju-an brought up something only the two of them would recognize, Eun-hoo visibly faltered.

His large blue eyes wavered as they locked onto Ju-an.

Without giving him time to recover, Ju-an turned to the others.

“And Gong Se-yoon, come here. Let me stroke your cheek once.”

“H-hiik.”

Startled, Se-yoon still shuffled forward.

Ju-an gently brushed his cheek and whispered by his ear,

“The words saying no one loves you… were wrong.”

He met Se-yoon’s eyes and ruffled his hair.

“How could anyone not love someone this lovable?”

Se-yoon staggered back, looking like he was about to burst into tears.

Shock, excitement, and a deep ache trembled across his face.

Behind them, the dungeon gate thundered, Boom, boom, as if urging them to enter.

Ju-an spoke quickly.

“Mo Jun-young, the donation money you gave for civilians, is it being put to good use? And Joo Ji-chan, the child you carried to the hospital… he’s growing up healthy now, isn’t he?”

All four pairs of eyes widened.

“I know you’re shocked. I just said things only two people at most should know. But we don’t have time. If we’re entering that dungeon, shouldn’t we ensure zero casualties, and clear it?”

His gaze moved over them one by one.

Baek Eun-hoo, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

Mo Jun-young, suspicion still sharp in his narrowed stare.

Joo Ji-chan, glaring as if he might kill him, yet without killing intent.

Gong Se-yoon, sniffling as he wiped his tears with his sleeve.

In this unfamiliar world where he himself might die, these were the precious comrades who would fight alongside him.

“I know the strategy. If we remember that alone, no matter how much the Constellations interfere, we’ll win.”

Eun-hoo asked quietly,

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. It will require unity. But if we trust each other, we can absolutely win.”

The other three simply nodded.

“Don’t forget, you’ve all signed the contract!”

They had already signed a document carrying terrifying penalties.

If they didn’t want trouble, they had no choice but to follow him.

****

Standing before the gate, Ju-an calculated how long this dungeon would remain here.

It wasn’t meant to appear in this location.

It had originally been designed as a holiday event, an event dungeon that dropped a special card item.

Because of that, it had a time limit.

‘Five hours to clear after entry. However, as a holiday event, the guerrilla dungeon itself would remain accessible for three days. That means we still have time!’

After organizing his thoughts, Ju-an relayed the monster information he had seen in the system window.

The party members wore confident expressions.

Monsters of that rank? They could solo them.

Ju-an immediately warned them.

“No. Absolutely not. Especially the boss, the Werewolf. It’s humanoid and uses hallucination-based skills. Its rank doesn’t matter, you must be cautious. And the A- and B-rank mobs have far larger HP pools than solo dungeons. Listen carefully. I’ll explain the strategy.”

Of course, Ji-chan was the first to object.

“Can’t I just burn them all to a crisp?”

“Yes, you can burn them. But the archers specialize in stealth. You can’t burn what you can’t locate.”

Ji-chan shut his mouth.

“If there are no further objections, I’ll explain. Baek Eun-hoo.”

Eun-hoo nodded seriously.

“You and Mo Jun-young will execute a joint strategy at the entrance.”

“…What? With him?”

For the first time, Eun-hoo’s carefully maintained composure cracked.

“You expect me to fight infantry at the entrance? What do you take me for?”

Ju-an ignored him and turned to Jun-young.

“Use your roar skill to gather monsters. You need to draw out the hidden archers and funnel them toward the entrance. This fight hinges on locating the stealth archers.”

Jun-young frowned.

“Then why must I work with Baek Eun-hoo? Fire or lightning, it’s all the same. I’d rather partner with Ji-chan.”

Explaining further would only drag things out.

Ju-an turned to Se-yoon instead.

“Gong Se-yoon and Joo Ji-chan will go deeper into the dungeon with me.”

“Yaaay!” Se-yoon shouted, raising both hands.

Ji-chan tried to hide it, but the corner of his mouth lifted.

“Don’t celebrate yet. If you’re careless, you’ll fall under the Werewolf’s hallucinations and get trapped inside.”

Eun-hoo suddenly stepped forward and placed a hand on Ju-an’s forehead.

“No fever… Are you completely insane?”

“I’m perfectly sane.”

“A sane person doesn’t bring two DPS without a tank to the boss.”

The others clearly agreed.

But this was an event dungeon.

Unlike normal five-man progression dungeons, this one had a trick, designed specifically so players couldn’t easily claim the special reward card.

A trick devised by none other than Seong Ju-an.

He sighed and explained carefully.

“Baek Eun-hoo is intelligent. High-intellect types are vulnerable to hallucinations. You could say I’m falling victim to my own design. So it’s most efficient for you to remain away from the boss and eliminate the archers threatening us.”

Mo Jun-young added,

“That’s why you’re taking Ji-chan, whose convictions are firm, and Se-yoon, whose abnormal mental state fluctuates wildly.”

Ju-an grinned.

“Exactly.”

“Then Seong Ju-an, doesn’t that put you at risk?”

That was true.

The one variable he knew the least about was himself, the sudden existence of ‘Seong Ju-an, S-rank Buffer.’

Unknown stats.

Unknown mental attributes.

Only support skills.

But without him, the others wouldn’t understand the dungeon’s layout and hidden mechanics.

In the game, death meant retrying at the Village of Wisdom.

Here, death meant the end.

Ju-an smiled confidently.

“I’m the only S-rank Buffer in the country. Don’t worry about me. Just fulfill your roles.”

Eun-hoo spoke first.

“I’m not entirely convinced… but since it’s our Ju-an saying it, I’ll trust you.”

‘Our Ju-an? Where did that come from?’

He swallowed the retort.

If they were willing to trust him, there was no need to provoke them.

The others chimed in.

“Well, we signed the contract.”

“I-I’ll follow whatever our Creator of Sacri- I mean, Seong Ju-an hyung says. Even if I die doing it, I think I’d be happy.”

“Hah! What’s the worst that could happen, death? If I die, don’t look for my body. Escape the dungeon and survive. Save people. The more S-ranks alive, the more lives saved.”

Ju-an looked over the characters he had created and smiled fondly.

They weren’t perfectly united, but this was enough.

They were all S-rank.

Talented.

And instinctively drawn toward him.

Clearing the dungeon was only a matter of time.

Clenching his fist, Ju-an shouted inwardly,

‘Just wait, you Constellation bastards. I’ll have my revenge, and I’ll return to my original world.’