Chapter 444: The First To Cry Will Survive (1)

Regressor Instruction Manual

I was quickly made an outcast. I was sure last night’s incident was the reason behind it.

It was an incident that directly destroyed my prim and proper image, so I was sure that I would have done the same as them if I were in their shoes. After all, this expedition would determine the direction of the clan.

Despite that, I was actually out drinking and playing all night rather than resting and conserving my energy for tomorrow’s expedition. I could understand where their criticism was coming from.

If this situation became worse, then they would immediately vote to kick me out of the party. The incident would also spread like wildfire, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

Of course, there was a small misunderstanding. However, even if the misunderstanding were cleared, it wouldn’t be enough for me to clear my name.

‘Shit…’

However, I didn’t expect that they would actually act on their hostility. They were even mocking me openly. I wasn’t sure what they had in mind, but they looked happy at the thought of screwing me over. I didn’t really like their faces, but Light Ki-Yeon just wasn’t used to people screwing her over.

“Pffft!”

“Heh.”

The way they laughed at me made me feel dizzy.

“Whoo.” I exhaled. I didn’t really want to play along with them, but I was starting to get frustrated.

‘Those bitches…!’

I looked up and saw people chattering from afar.

Max kept on talking as well.

‘He should be able to notice me…’

If he looked at the party members one by one, I was sure that he would notice that I was Lee Ki-Young. After all, he had recognized back then that Kim Hyun-Sung was special and the fact that I had special eyes. Unfortunately, there were so many people that he had no time to look at each and every one of their faces. He was really busy.

‘He sounds like he’s having a lot of fun, too…’

It seemed like he was having fun because the explorers were reacting to his words. There were some who were taking notes as if they were studying, while others started sketching the monsters and the items being displayed in the museum.

This wouldn’t be their only visit, so they were trying to discover more information about this place. Of course, there were also other people who were using different methods to investigate the museum.

However, the majority were looking around as if they were actually visiting a museum.

No dungeon would tell one the rewards ahead of time. One could only deduce what kind of items would drop based on the name and rank of the dungeon, so Rift Museum was unique because the possible dungeon clear rewards were being displayed.

Many explorers were looking around with excitement because they liked how the items were being displayed openly.

“Look at that.”

“That is definitely a rare item…”

“It’s an uncommon type of weapon, but I want to try it. I’m also curious about its special ability…”

“I don’t think it’s going to sell well… Let’s look around more to see if there’s something worth targeting.”

The people around me sounded serious as they discussed the many displayed items among themselves. Max couldn’t stop smiling because of the Rift Museum’s popularity, and honestly, he looked like he was deriving strength from the visitors’ reactions.

It was also a bit funny to see him reacting to the people with reactions that were a bit louder than the others. From the looks of it, it seemed that he was still the Max, whom I was familiar with.

“But… is this all of it?”

- Of course not. These items aren’t the only items in this dungeon. We’re continuously collecting items that are historically valuable. We’re collecting relics all over the continent. If I were to exaggerate a bit, the majority of the items that are worth preserving are being collected and stored in the museum. Of course, you can obtain those items as rewards as well, and I’m sure the other items will surprise you.

“I see…”

- You also don’t have to worry about running out of items because the museum itself will refill the required quantity. Therefore, you really shouldn’t worry about anything else. Anyway, do you have any other questions?

“What’s the exact rate…”

- Even I can’t say for sure what’s the exact rate because the Rift Guardians were the ones who had decided on the drop rate… However, I’d like to tell you that everything is random, and I can also grant you an additional chance if possible. Ah! It’s about time we start exploring the museum. I’d like to look around the museum with you all day, but if we delay anymore, it’ll affect the parties that will enter after you…

- I would like all the explorers in the museum to move based on the golem’s instructions. Please be careful not to lose or mistake your party members for someone else. If you don’t follow the instructions, you will be forcibly removed from this place.

“Miss Ki-Yeon, this way,” Lee Chul-Woo said.

“Okay, Mr. Chul-Woo.”

“Let’s move quickly.”

“Don’t stand in the way! The Legendary-ranked parties will head in first.”

Max’s remark about how people could be forcibly removed from the Rift Museum had to have been impactful because the parties were starting to move in a hurry. I was sure that they didn’t want to get kicked out after spending hundreds of gold.

It was such a ridiculous sight to see players standing in an orderly manner under the guidance of a magic golem. The parties who were in the exhibition halls started to gather in their respective positions.

Of course, our party started moving as well.

Kim Tae-Geon, who were perusing items related to his job from afar, and Gook Minji’s group, who looked like they were planning something, finally went over to where Lee Chul-Woo and I were located.

“Minji, you made an item list, right?” asked Lee Chul-Woo.

“Yeah. I couldn’t record all the items since I didn’t have time, but I checked all the useful ones. However, I don’t think it’ll be useful because the items displayed in the main exhibition hall will be difficult to get, and the same goes for the monsters.”

”I’m worried about encountering legendary-ranked monsters, but I think the chances of encountering them are low,” Gook Minji replied.

“All right, good job,” said Lee Chul-Woo to Gook Minji.

“I’m just doing my job,” she said.

“I don’t think we can do anything else aside from waiting right now. According to Bark Sergei, we should be able to rest in the interim. However, I think it’s best to start preparing for battle while we’re waiting…”

”You can snack on stuff so that you won’t have an upset stomach during the battle. Check your equipment as well. Of course, I’m sure that you’re already done checking your equipment this morning,” said Lee Chul-Woo.

“Well, I think there are people who still haven’t checked their equipment because they had no time to do it. This is a great opportunity for us to check our equipment, don’t you think so, Miss Ki-Yeon?” said Gook Minji.

She was clearly targeting me.

‘I didn’t have the time to check my equipment earlier.’

However, I got curious why she said something like that when we were about to enter the museum.

‘Shit… did she…’

Kim Tae-Geon and Lee Chul-Woo still didn’t feel anything strange, but when I looked at the four female members, who were trying to hold in their laughter, I finally had an idea about what they were up to.

‘These insufferable bitches are really trying their best to kick me out. Don’t you guys need a mage?’

Honestly, there was a chance that they were thinking that Light Ki-Yeon was here to get a free ride on the bus. In other words, they were most likely thinking that they wouldn’t need me in the upcoming dungeon conquest.

It was likely that they believed that they could clear the dungeon without me after hearing Bark Sergei’s story last night. Of course, there was also a chance that they were relying on expedition insurance.

They could have just recruited another mage.

Still, if something were to go wrong, I still had people I could rely on.

I was only getting flustered and annoyed because I knew why they were only doing this right now.

‘They want to make me suffer.’

It was probably the reason they didn’t tell Lee Chul-Woo and Kim Tae-Geons about last night’s incident, and I was sure that they wanted to screw me over at the right time.

Those who were skilled in screwing other people over would definitely be able to create such a scheme and think ahead. Of course, what they were doing wasn’t really anything serious, but it soured my mood.

‘And you guys call yourselves human?’

One shouldn’t treat their fellow innocent adventurer like this, especially when the adventurer in question was innocent.

I was about to say something, but Gook Minji interrupted me.

“Hey, oppas, can you smell that?” asked Gook Minji.

“Smell what?” Kim Tae-Geon asked.

“I’m not sure, but I smell something rotting. I can smell a loser who is rotten from the roots, and I can smell her cheapness as well. Am I the only one who can smell that?” Gook Minji asked.

“I can smell it as well.”

“Me, too.”

“Bleh. Bleck…!”

“...”

Kim Tae-Geon and Lee Chul-Woo got worried that the female members ate something bad, but I was sure that they would soon realize what Gook Minji was trying to do.

“Hey, oppas.”

“What? What’s going on?” Kim Tae-Geon asked.

“Well, I think you should ask that woman. I think the smell is coming from her,” said Gook Minji while pointing at me.

“What?”

“Minji, you shouldn’t be talking like that. How many times have I told you not to talk like that!” Lee Chul-Woo yelled.

“I’m saying this for a reason, Chul-Woo oppa… There’s a reason for all this. She has never been an adventurer. She’s just a piece of trash trying to get a free ride…”

”We don’t have to enter the dungeon with her. I do feel kind of sad about how we wasted time trying to recruit her, but I’m sure it’ll be better for us if she’s not with us inside,” she explained.

“Minji!” yelled Lee Chul-Woo.

“In the first place, this woman has never been serious about this expedition. Her goal had always been to seduce you guys so she could acquire a new identity. I don’t think I would want to be in a dungeon with someone who has sold both her body and soul,” Gook Minji continued.

“Apologize to her right now.” Lee Chul-Woo ordered.

“No, I can’t do that. Ask her about what happened last night,” she told him.

“What?”

“Mi-Jung unni said that she saw her last night,” she replied.

“Saw what?” Lee Chul-Woo asked.

“She saw Bark Sergei and Argimo exiting her room last night,” she answered.

“Is that true?” he asked.

“Yes, I saw them with my own eyes, Chul-Woo oppa, Tae-Geon oppa. Our eyes even met,” Mi-Jung replied.

“...”

“...”

“There’s a misunderstanding…” I said.

“I wonder what a man and a woman can do in the middle of the night? You were aware that you had an upcoming expedition, right, Miss Ki-Yeon? Actually, is the expedition even important to you?

”I was going to keep it to myself. The atmosphere of the party was good, and I didn’t want to ruin it like this, but you went overboard…

”I couldn’t take it anymore, so I decided to tell everyone. This dungeon exists for adventurers like us, not for people like you,” said Gook Minji.

“Wait…”

“How should we do this? Do you want to leave the party on your own? Or should we kick you out?” Gook Minji asked.

‘Shit.’

I looked around because I had to see everyone’s reactions. First of all, I looked at Lee Chul-Woo and Kim Tae-Geon’s reactions. These two men were the only ones who could support me, but their expressions were strange. I wasn’t sure about Gook Minji, but this woman named Mi-Jung seemed like she wasn’t the type of person who would lie.

Everyone looked like they were demanding an explanation from me. I had been living a political life all this while, so I was surprised to see someone else using politics to corner me.

Naturally, I had a solution to all this, but before I could organize my thoughts, my eyes made their moves first. Tears welled up so fast in my eyes that I didn’t even notice that I was already crying.

“Hiccup. Heuuuk.”

Obviously, the sobbing sounded strange in my ears, but I knew all too well that in this situation…

‘The first one to cry wins…’

Crocodile tears started rolling down my cheeks not even half a second later since they started welling up in my eyelids.

“Hiccup…!”