Episode 130

[Swordsman: Seonghwi Hyeon]

[Mage: Hyunjun Jo]

[Archer: Songyi Han]

[Priest: Injong Seo]

[Hunter: Taehyun Yoo]

[Shield Bearer: Geonwoo Lee]

[Bounty Hunter: Narae Min]

The party composition was set. Aside from a slight emphasis on ranged classes, it was a balanced team. All that remained was to choose a Raid Captain—the one who held authority over all exclusive items and issued every command. A single order could determine the party's survival or its utter annihilation. They needed to carefully select someone they could trust implicitly.

But every member of the Resistance seemed intensely focused on studying their own feet. Having spent their entire lives defending dungeons, none of them possessed the confidence to lead an assault.

"Is no one going to step up?" Seonghwi asked, his usual cheerfulness strained.

"Why don't you do it, Injong?" Narae shot back. "Honestly, all of us have only ever fought off raid parties. We've never actually been raiders."

"That's exactly why I can't do it," Injong retorted. "Surely some of you managed to recruit a few raiders into your dungeons, right?"

A collective shake of heads answered his question. As masters of A-rank dungeons, they were far more accustomed to torturing or killing intruders than attempting to persuade them. The thought had never even occurred to them. Seonghwi, apparently in the same boat, just grinned and made an 'X' with his hands.

"Well, this is a problem," he chirped. "I've never brought a raider into my service either. This means none of us knows the first thing about being one."

"Oh, for crying out loud," Narae grumbled. "Seonghwi, you're the leader, so you be the Raid Captain."

"Narae, one wrong move and we could all be wiped out before we even set foot in the dungeon," Seonghwi warned, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "You really shouldn't trust me with this."

As the desert wind began to howl, picking up sand, the position of Raid Captain remained agonizingly vacant. Taehyun, sitting off to the side, merely observed.

'What a joke. A-rank Dungeon Masters who haven't even considered recruiting raiders. There's an item literally called a Contract, and they haven't bothered to use it.'

To a Dungeon Master, a raider was an enemy, but a contracted raider could be a powerful asset. They were a source of invaluable information about the continent and the movements of other raid parties. These fools had squandered that opportunity.

Taehyun sighed and continued to watch. Even if he volunteered now, he would not earn their trust. It was the same reason he had refused Seonghwi's recommendation earlier. He was the only B-rank among them and still considered a rookie in the Resistance. Worse, his reputation as the Master of Balak, the dungeon that dominated the West, likely earned him more suspicion than respect. For now, all he could do was wait.

Just then, a faint vibration trembled up from the ground beneath him.

'What was that? Can they not feel it?'

The floor hummed with a subtle tremor. The others, lost in their debate, were completely oblivious. Taehyun pressed his ear to the sandy floor, focusing on the rhythmic pulse.

"What's he doing now?" one of the members muttered. "Guess becoming a Hunter brings out all sorts of weird habits."

"Just leave him," another replied. "He's the rookie who's taking over the entire West. Best not to mess with him."

"...Hmph."

While most of them scoffed, Seonghwi alone watched him, his expression calm and thoughtful.

---

A low rumble confirmed it. The vibration was undeniably coming from deep underground, a subtle warning only a Hunter, with his heightened senses, could perceive.

[Danger Sense has been activated.]

[Unidentified beings are approaching from ahead.]

The system message confirmed his fears. This was serious. Taehyun rose to his feet and activated his skill.

[Hunter's Eye has been activated.]

[Spines protruding from the sand]

[Disturbed sand patterns]

[Vibrations growing stronger]

[Estimated number: eight]

Information flooded his vision. Red-highlighted entities were tunneling toward them. Taehyun's eyes scanned the area, searching for a Familiar Summon.

'There!'

He spotted it hiding behind a cluster of broken wagons. Without a moment's hesitation, he drew his bow, aimed, and released.

The B-rank summon let out a strangled shriek as the arrow found its mark, its long tongue lolling out as it died instantly. Startled by the cry, the rest of the party scrambled into combat stances.

'Finally paying attention.' Things were proceeding exactly as he had planned. Taehyun focused on the spines slicing through the sand ahead.

[Precision Shot has been activated.]

[Your vision is magnified.]

[Your accuracy increases.]

[More precise shots are now possible.]

The distance seemed to collapse. Taehyun fired again, the arrow flying true. It slammed into the hidden body beneath the spines.

A massive Sandworm, writhing in agony, burst from the ground. Only then did his companions fully grasp the threat.

"I thought he was just taking a practice shot! It's a Sandworm!"

"Everyone, prepare for battle! First…" Seonghwi began.

"Shield Bearer to the front!" Taehyun's voice cut through the rising panic, sharp and absolute. "Swordsman and Bounty Hunter, fall in behind him! Ranged classes, target the lead Sandworm and force it completely out of the ground! Shield Bearer, lock it down! With support from the Swordsman and Bounty Hunter, do not let it burrow again!"

His commands sliced through their confusion. They moved instantly, their bodies reacting to the authority in his voice. Geonwoo charged forward, shield raised, with Seonghwi and Narae right behind him. A moment later, a blast of magic from Hyunjun and an arrow from Songyi struck home, and a second Sandworm erupted from the sand.

"Shield Bash! Now!" Taehyun commanded.

"Grah!" Geonwoo roared.

The Sandworm, stunned just as it tried to retreat, was swarmed by Seonghwi and Narae. Under Taehyun's relentless stream of orders, the Sandworms fell one by one until the battle was over.

---

The corpses of nine Sandworms littered the desert floor. Their plan to ambush the party using the summon's shared vision had been completely dismantled by Taehyun's foresight. His companions stared in disbelief, unable to process how easily they had dispatched A-rank monsters.

"Wow. Did… did we really do all this?"

"We finished that battle so easily, and with zero experience as raiders. We fought like a veteran party."

"That Taehyun Yoo is incredible. He gives orders like he was born to be a raider."

All eyes turned to Taehyun. The man they had pitied for pressing his ear to the ground was now the object of their awe. His flawless command against the Sandworms was nothing short of astonishing.

"See?" Seonghwi said with a triumphant grin. "I told you to trust him."

"When did we ever object?" someone muttered. "Well, if he's this good, he's more than qualified."

"It's only until the mission ends. Let's give him a shot."

A consensus was reached. After witnessing his decisive leadership, no one had any objections.

Meanwhile, on a nearby dune, Taehyun was being cornered by Songyi.

"Taehyun, you broke your promise again," she said, her voice trembling. "You promised you'd call. I waited for so, so long."

Tears welled in her eyes. Normally, she would have been sulking for ages, but the battle seemed to have shocked her out of it and straight into a confrontation. Taehyun felt a fresh wave of cold sweat.

'This crazy little brat. Why couldn't she just stay mad?'

If not for this Faction War, he would have avoided her for the foreseeable future. Now, they were stuck on a mission together, and things were getting complicated. He had to placate her. Any friction within the party had to be eliminated before it became a problem.

"S-Songyi," he stammered. "After this is all over, I'll visit your dungeon. How does that sound? Huh?"

"...Will you stay for a long time?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"Of course. I'll even bring some of my dungeon monsters to play."

"Okay, then."

She nodded at his impromptu offer, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand and breaking into a radiant smile. Taehyun forced a smile in return and patted her head. He immediately regretted it when he saw her cheeks flush a deep red and snatched his hand back.

'What the hell did I just do?!'

That was something he only did with Vera in the Master Room. Force of habit had made him careless with Songyi.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled. "I just… patted your head without thinking."

"...It's okay," she whispered, her voice soft. "If it's you, Taehyun, you can do whatever you want."

She was saying things that could be easily misunderstood. Taehyun looked at her clinging to his arm and let out a hollow laugh.

'Well, whatever happens, happens.'

Giving in to his fate, he began patting her head again.

---

[Raid Captain: Taehyun Yoo]

[Dungeon Master: Naeul Han]

The faction representatives were chosen. The dungeon side selected Naeul, their original leader, while the raid party chose Taehyun over Seonghwi.

"Look. The Raid Captain isn't Seonghwi; it's some other guy."

"Did he give up already? You'd think an S-rank Dungeon Master would know more about raiding."

"Isn't that Taehyun Yoo? The Dungeon Master of Balak, the one who's monopolizing the West?"

At first, the spectating Dungeon Masters were skeptical of Taehyun's appointment, but their opinions shifted dramatically after watching the replay of the Sandworm battle.

'Tehek!'

It began with him being the first to sense the ambush and eliminating the hidden Familiar Summon.

"Shield Bearer to the front. Swordsman and Bounty Hunter behind him. Ranged classes, target the foremost Sandworm to make it crawl out…"

"Start with a Shield Bash!"

The sight of him leading his comrades to a decisive victory with such precise commands drew a round of cheers. It was only their first engagement, but Taehyun's masterful leadership was enough to stun everyone.

"When we were assigned the raider role, I thought it was over, but now… we might actually have a chance."

"It's too early to say. The real fight begins once they're inside the dungeon."

"Still, that rookie is something else. No wonder he's dominating the West."

The downtrodden members of the Resistance watched the screen, a flicker of hope igniting within them.

---

The logs in the campfire crackled and popped, spitting embers into the night. As darkness fell, the desert air turned bitingly cold, forcing the party to huddle around the flames.

'First camp. According to the map, we'll reach Gwadomalla tomorrow.'

Taehyun put the map away and scanned his surroundings.

[Sandstorm]

[Desert Lizard]

[A satisfied girl]

Aside from Songyi, who was practically fused to his side, everything seemed normal. In a situation where he had to conserve his vision-granting items, Hunter's Eye was proving invaluable.

"It's an A-rank dungeon, so nine Sandworms probably barely even registered as a loss of troops for them."

"And didn't they say the dungeon side has seven members, too? Besides the Dungeon Master, the rest must be their core forces."

"Our first goal has to be entering that dungeon without a single casualty."

The party members' gazes all turned to their Raid Captain. Taehyun ignored their expectant stares and reviewed his available items.

[Vision Priority Pass]

[Vision Expansion Pass]

[Radar Detection Net]

[Radar (Large)]

[Position Shift]

[Buff Item]

[Save a Comrade Coin]

[Effect Switch Card]

'No information-gathering items. Does the System expect us to raid with everything already out in the open?'

If hiding information was impossible, the dungeon's primary target was obvious. First priority would be the Priest, followed by the Bounty Hunter. And if they decided to go for the head of the snake, he himself would be in the crosshairs.

'I have to keep the Bounty Hunter alive, no matter what. My options for neutralizing a threat are the Effect Switch Card, Position Shift, and the Save a Comrade Coin. In a situation where I might have to sacrifice one of my exclusive items, she absolutely cannot die.'

During Junhyun's raid, the entire party had collapsed the moment their Bounty Hunter fell. In an A-rank dungeon, her role was even more critical. Taehyun glanced at Narae, his fingers fiddling with the coin in his pocket.

"What are you staring at?" she asked, a challenging glint in her eyes. "Interested in me?"

"No."

"You look interested."

"Not in the slightest."

"What's your problem?" she snapped. "You didn't have to be so blunt!"

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