Regressor Instruction Manual - Chapter 435. Re: Starting Life in Another World From Zero (4)

“Am I… not enough?” I asked.

“What’s wrong, Minji?”

‘Yeah, what’s wrong? What did I do wrong? Can’t I go on hunts as well? Huh? Can’t I go to dungeons, too?’

“She obviously doesn’t have much experience. Am I wrong?” Minji asked.

‘What kind of bullshit is this? There isn’t another person with as much experience as me.’

Of course, the type of experience was a bit different.

“Your muscles in your arms and legs are average. Your hands are too soft, and your nails are in good shape…”

”No matter how I look at it, you’ve never been on an expedition before. I don’t know how you have been living so far and how you have sourced your personal supplies, but… that bag is Chanelia Hermes, right?”

”It’s a bag from a luxury brand, and it’s just an impractical piece of trash that only looks good,” she continued.

‘What are you talking about? My Hyun-Sung gave this to me as a gift, you bitch! It’s an infinity bag. It’s not a piece of trash. You’ll never be able to own this even if you were to work your entire life.’

“Who in their right mind would carry around a luxury bag like that during an expedition? It looks nice on the outside, but it’s completely useless. You’re not going to a dungeon to seduce guys. You should’ve prepared at least the minimum. You’re a mage, but you shouldn’t rely on others for personal supplies…”

”Am I wrong? We can provide a tent, but it’s good manners to only look for parties once you have prepared the basics necessary for an expedition, Miss Lee Ki-Yeon…”

”Chul-Woo oppa and Tae-Geon oppa are skilled players, and I’m sure you know that as well. I also can’t believe that you put on makeup. I don’t know who you’re trying to impress, but you’re obviously going to be a nuisance here…”

”Who would put on makeup when going on an expedition? Are you going to wake up early every day and put on makeup?” she asked.

‘W-What the hell is wrong with her? She’s crazy! What’s wrong with you? Why are you on edge?’

She wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t nod in agreement.

“I-I didn’t put on makeup. I didn’t put on anything,” I commented.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“What?”

“I didn’t put on makeup. You’ll see if you look closely…” I told them.

“Then, your lips and skin, and the mascara on your lashes…” Minji pointed out.

“I don’t have anything on. You can take a closer look,” I offered.

The infinity bag…

‘I can’t reveal what’s inside the bag…’

“I’m sorry about the bag. I’ve been stuck in the research lab for a long time, so this is the only thing I have to carry around with me. I got rid of all the items I thought were useless before coming out of the lab…”

”I didn’t know that things would turn out this way… I-I’m also going through some stuff,” I explained.

“But still…”

“I don’t have a lot of expedition experience, but I think I can do my best. No, if you trust me, I’ll do my best. I’ll make sure I don’t become a nuisance. Please,” I begged.

“How many times?” she asked.

Light Ki-Young had some muscles, but Lee Ki-Yeon was thin.

Clearing an epic-ranked dungeon was impossible with this body, not to mention a legendary-ranked dungeon. They weren’t going to believe me anyway, so I had no choice but to create a convincing story.

“I’ve been to about three rare-ranked dungeons. I have experience in the field,” I replied.

“Lies. Your body doesn’t scream experience…” she said.

‘You bitch! Is this some kind of public hearing?’

“I can’t do anything if you don’t believe me, but I’m telling the truth. It’s just been a while,” I said.

It really felt like a public hearing, and at this point, people would usually give in, so I had no idea why she was attacking me like this. In addition, who would want to join an expedition party with a party pooper? If both parties weren’t desperate, then we would have long been pulling each other’s hair.

‘Alright, fine. I’ll back down.’

If I were in her position, I wouldn’t want to accept me as a party member either. The ants of Lindel were living more fiercely than I thought, and I could understand it because their lives were at stake. To be honest…

‘It’s my mistake.’

There was a useless misunderstanding in the makeup part, but it was a huge mistake that I wore the infinity bag rather than a backpack.

‘I had no idea… I have been living a really privileged life. Ki-Yeon, you bitch!’

I had never worn a backpack after my very first expedition. I had always been carrying the essentials and basic tools I needed inside the Chanelia Hermes bag.

Before I had acquired the Chanelia Hermes bag, either Park Deok-Gu or a guild staff member would carry my necessities for me.

I couldn’t even remember my rookie days anymore. In addition, my rookie days were vastly different compared to the rookie days of average players. They had to survive in a dungeon with basically nothing, but I started off with decent pay.

Moreover, I was already a veteran in this field, so there was no way I would understand their mindset.

‘Ha… Did I make a mistake? I did.’

I had no other excuses, so I had no choice but to let them decline Lee Ki-Yeon. I wanted to join a different party, if possible, but I had to have gotten here too late because the recruitment market was already about to close.

I looked at Gook Minji and acted pitifully, but her cold look didn’t change.

‘She’s determined not to let me join.’

I was sure that she wouldn’t budge, so I had no other choice but to direct my gaze at someone else.

I stared at Lee Chul-Woo without saying anything. I looked at him as if I was desperate to get accepted, and it seemed that it was working.

‘He was friendly to me right off the bat. Niceeeeeee. Let’s go Ki-Yeon!’

“Stop cornering her like that, Minji. I’m sorry, Miss Lee Ki-Yeon. I’ll apologize in her place,” he said.

“Huh?”

“She’s a nice kid, but she sometimes gets worked up like this. The fact that you aren’t prepared with the basic supplies is kind of surprising to me as well, but… I trust that you have your reasons,” he continued.

‘This is what I’m talking about.’

“Then…”

“You can come with us. What do you think, Tae-Geon?” he asked.

“I agreed from the start. Minji, stop pouting like that. I understand what you’re worried about, but… she has nothing to lose. We should be really thankful about having a mage join us in this expedition,” Kim Tae-Geon said.

“B-But…”

“Apologize to her first,” he told Minji.

The two men looked at the rude bitch without saying anything. In the end, she raised the white flag.

“I’m sorry. I was rude,” Minji said.

“It’s fine. I completely understand. The expedition won’t be long, but I look forward to working with you,” I told her.

“We look forward to working with you as well, Miss Ki-Yeon. What are you doing, Chul-Woo? Give her the temporary party contract,” he said.

“Do I have to sign a contract?” I asked.

“It’s just part of the formal process,” he replied.

‘I’m surprised.’

The clauses involved punishment for trolling, desertion, and a few others things. It also included reward distribution.

I was sure it wouldn’t be that legally binding because events in dungeons were mostly hidden from prying eyes unless we decided to run the goddess’ mirrors around the clock.

I thought it would be safe to assume that the contract was more of a way to make the player aware.

There was a small issue, but I still succeeded. At this point, I was curious about their personal information and details.

“It won’t be just the four of us, right?” I asked.

“Yes, we have three more comrades joining,” Lee Chul-Woo replied.

Perfect…

“They’re probably getting ready to leave from the dorm,” he added.

“I see. Where’s the clan house located? In the western region?” I asked.

It’s… kind of embarrassing, but we don’t have a place we can call a clan house just yet. We thought that buying equipment first is the most important…” he answered.

“Ah…”

“This is embarrassing,” he said.

“No, it was a really good decision because you’re trying to become better. There aren’t many people who would invest in equipment right off the bat, so you made the right choice. So that’s why your equipment is so shiny. Your robe is epic-ranked, right? The quality looks really good…” I complimented him.

“No, it’s rare-ranked,” he answered.

“It probably looks epic-ranked in my eyes because it looks good on you. Hehe,” I giggled.

“B-B-By the way, how long has it been since you arrived, Miss Ki-Yeon?” he asked.

“It hasn’t been that long. About two years… it’ll be three years soon. How about you and Mr. Dae-Geon?” I asked.

“It’s been four years for us,” he replied.

‘It hasn’t been that long… Not bad.’

The fact that they were qualified to challenge an epic-ranked dungeon, even though it was just their fourth year here, meant that they had grown fast. On average, players would need about six to seven years to reach stats similar to the people of this party.

It should be safe to assume that they had a clear vision and goal in mind as they climbed their way up here from the bottom.

I obviously thought that I had picked the right people. I usually wouldn’t have this thought, but I had a feeling that I would see them again in a higher-ranked dungeon after some time. I guess it wouldn’t hurt to remember their faces.

We were members of the same expedition party, so it wasn’t weird for me to chuckle in the most pleasant way possible at their jokes and remarks. The two men had to be used to entertaining people because they knew how to give compliments, and their smiles were bright as well.

Gook Minji still looked satisfied, but I wasn’t really sure why. Fortunately, it seemed that she had significantly calmed down compared to earlier.

“I’ll let you borrow the basic supplies,” Lee Chul-Woo offered.

“Is that okay?” I asked.

“Yes. Our clan always carries around plenty of supplies. We can prepare an additional bag for you,” he replied.

“I’d be thankful if you could do that. I feel like I’ve been in your debt since the beginning, so I feel bad,” I commented.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re a team,” he said.

“You’re so cool and reliable. I feel so safe,” I told him.

It seemed that compliments were always effective. I smiled at him and saw the corner of his lips going up. It seemed that the compliment I used to melt Father Basel seemed like it was still effective.

We walked a bit faster, and we eventually saw a small house. He definitely wasn’t lying when he said that they still didn’t have a clan house because the small house could never be considered a clan house.

It seemed that most of their members spent their time here.

Lee Chul-Woo told me to wait and walked inside. I saw three women nearby.

‘An archer, a melee swordsman, and a fighter.’

I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but they seemed like they didn’t like me very much. I greeted them while showing my special friendly smile, but they simply nodded at me.

They only greeted me when Kim Tae-Geon introduced me to them.

“This is Miss Ki-Yeon, and she’ll be joining us on the upcoming expedition. She’s a summoning mage, has three years’ worth of experience, and has recently become an epic-ranked player.”

“A special job?”

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

“I am looking forward to working with you, Miss Ki-Yeon.”

“I am looking forward to working with you as well,” I said.

“It’s amazing that you already have an epic job despite only having three years’ worth of experience.”

“I was just lucky…” I told them.

They had the same expression as Gook Minji earlier. They were looking down on me—no, they were clearly mocking me.

‘What would a bunch of rookies know? This unni will show you how it’s done later, you bitches. I’ll show you the power of a Semi-Mythic job!’

Once they witnessed and felt the aura of a Semi-Mythic job, I was sure that these bitches would look at me in a new light. However, my determination was quickly destroyed because I made a mistake by looking down on their abilities.

‘Shit… Can’t we just ride a carriage? Why are we walking? You guys have a carriage, so why walk? You don’t have money to afford that?’

“Ah… Ugh…”

‘This is heavy. Really heavy. I don’t think I’ll be able to carry this into the dungeon. I feel like my shoulders… are going to get destroyed. Deok-Gu, carry my stuff for me. Where are you, Deok-Gu? I miss you, Park Deok-Gu!’

“Ha… Ha… Ugh…”

I couldn’t help but keep on groaning. I was doing my best to stop my ragged breaths, but I couldn’t do it.

‘Why the hell aren’t we resting? Let’s take a break, please. Let’s drink some water, you bastards.’

“Haaaaa.”

‘My back. My shoulders! Lee Ki-Yeon is dying, you assholes!’

“Haa… Ah… ahhh!!”

“Do you need help?”

The female clan members started looking at me with contempt once again.