The ship that had been steadily cutting through the starlit waves finally stopped at the shore.

Rustle.

The moment my foot touched the ground, feeling like gravel beneath it.

「Character has entered a special area.」

「Field effect—Yonggol Mountain—applied.」

The change of entering a new region was felt immediately throughout my body.

「Status abnormality [Dragon’s Curse] applied.」

「Physical resistance reduced by 50%.」

It was like skin once as hard as steel now softening to the toughness of rock.

But that wasn’t all.

「One random essence has been sealed.」

Ugh... stats all dropping at once.

‘Feels like both main stats dropped together...’

Any explorer would understand that deep, hollow feeling.

As I felt and adapted to the new status, Ibaekho gave instructions to everyone.

“Everyone, first check and test! Use each of your essences one by one!”

Following the orders, the party members tested their skills in turn to find which essence was sealed.

But I didn’t need to.

Because I could tell right away on the first try.

‘Storm’s Eye.’

That skill, usable as a grab when combined with [Transcendence], did not activate.

“Oh? Baron, you already checked?”

“Lucky me.”

Though I said that, it was pretty much what I expected.

Among my essences, only ‘Storm Gush’ had both strength and agility attached—the so-called dual stats.

I noticed it as soon as I stepped off the ship.

‘Anyway, this is probably the best outcome.’

Last time, the Bellarios essence was sealed, leaving me defenseless against magic resistance.

But since I took ‘Storm Gush’ with the intention to erase it someday, this time it wouldn’t much affect exploration.

Unlike Ibaekho.

“Ah, damn it...!!!”

“Baekho, what’s wrong?”

“Why of all the essences, did the tier essence get sealed!!!”

In Ibaekho’s case, the essence with the highest value among those held—the tier essence—was sealed.

Since he set other essences as supports for the tier essence, the lost combat power must have been even greater.

“...Ah! That’s a big problem!”

“Maybe we should just return and come back later?”

“Forget it! To reset a sealed essence takes ten days, when would we wait that long? Unless the rest of the gacha is all terrible, it’s inefficient.”

Ibaekho waved his hands like an uncle and then asked everyone in a quiet voice.

“So... how did it go for you all? Did you get a good one?”

“Uh... I’m much better than before. I lost one combat-related essence, but it won’t hinder my role...”

“I’m very satisfied!”

“What about you, Baron?”

“Same here. The least important essence got sealed.”

“Oh, I see...?”

Ibaekho awkwardly smiled, surprised that everyone was satisfied.

Or maybe he thought it was better that way.

“Well then. Since I lost something, others gained. They’ll carry the team from the bottom.”

“Baekho... what’s the bottom...?”

“There is such a thing. It’s the annoying guy who picks up the scraps alone and gets carried by others in every lane.”

“Lane...?”

Hearing the conversation between Ibaekho and Aures, one thing was clear.

‘That bastard is 100% top lane.’

For reference, I was a jungler.

Well, that’s not important now.

“Okay, once you all finish checking, let’s get moving.”

After the preparations, exploration officially began.

Rustle, rustle.

A gray field where small bone fragments piled up like sand grains along the shore.

True to its reputation for numbers, we soon met monsters without walking far.

Step, step.

「Skeleton Kinghelm defeated.」

「Lich defeated.」

「Zombie Lord defeated.」

「Bone Drake defeated.」

「Dark Knight defeated...」

Monsters appearing less than five minutes apart.

That was Yonggol Mountain’s biggest feature.

If specs were lacking, hunting itself was impossible, but the top level was relatively low compared to other fields.

Except one case.

‘Better not even think about that—it’s ominous...’

Anyway, after that, we planned routes focusing on unexplored spots to fill the map’s blanks.

The battles themselves weren’t too difficult, but one drawback was the priest’s class.

If she were an orthodox priest rather than Karui’s priest, she’d be more helpful against undead.

‘Well... considering how much the priest contributes in battle, no complaints.’

Besides, she had one skill useful against undead.

「Jaina Flyer summoned [Undying Lord].」

「Gains control over all undead monsters grade 5 or below within radius.」

Jaina Flyer.

A recent recruit by Ibaekho.

‘She’s quite a wonder.’

Where the hell did such a high-level Karui priest suddenly appear? To raise one that much must have required huge sacrifices.

“Ten minutes break, rest as you wish.”

Taking advantage of the break, I approached Jaina.

“...?”

She frowned as if wondering what I wanted as soon as I came near.

She probably thought I was there for something bad.

“What is it?”

“Nothing serious, just a quick question. Not personal, so don’t worry.”

“Go ahead.”

“That guy... is he quiet?”

I asked carefully; Jaina furrowed her brows.

“That guy? Karui.”

I added the subject just in case she didn’t get it, but her expression didn’t relax.

“I understood what you meant. I was just wondering why you’d ask that if it’s not personal.”

“Again, it’s not personal. As a teammate, I have to be aware of variables.”

“...So what’s the worry?”

“Exactly that. I’m curious if Karui is quiet. Didn’t we come outside the wall without properly offering ‘sacrifices’?”

‘Sacrifices’ meaning human offerings.

Karui demands sacrifices for power, and priests must periodically enter the labyrinth to kill innocents.

Perhaps she somewhat accepted my concern.

“...You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Can you be more specific? I want to really not worry.”

After repeated asking, Jaina sighed deeply.

“Once outside the wall, Karui’s voice can no longer be heard. Naturally, no need to offer sacrifices.”

“No need or can’t offer?”

“...Can’t offer.”

Oh, I see.

Then she can’t use skills requiring sacrifices.

“By the way, I think the ten minutes are almost up?”

“...Right. Everyone, wake up.”

I wanted to ask more, but unfortunately the break ended, and the exploration resumed as planned.

Outside the walls, sacrifices cannot be made.

Besides that new info, a question came to mind.

‘...Why does the bond with Karui break outside the walls?’

Karui is supposed to be one of the so-called ‘gods,’ so isn’t that strange?

KRAAAAASH!

As a meteor fell, the heaps of bone fragments on the ground scattered like a mountain.

And...

Swoosh.

From the crater formed by the meteor, a huge black form rose.

[Grrrrrrrrrr...]

At a glance, it resembled a skeleton.

But the differences were:

The bones were black.

The thickness and shape of the bones were different.

And...

‘That black iron mace in its hand.’

No. 687 Siege Slayer.

A grade 3 monster known for always appearing with the exact same Numbers item despite being a ‘normal monster.’

“Bandedemon! It’s Bandedemon!”

Bandedemon.

A rare monster appearing only under certain conditions—when meteors fall on Yonggol Mountain during rain.

I never thought I’d face it outside the city walls.

“Prepare for battle—”

Just as we hurried to get into battle stance, the GM waiting behind shouted excitedly.

“Wait! Hold on!”

“...Huh?”

“If three people kill Bandedemon, there is a very reliable info that the essence is guaranteed!”

Uh...

‘Isn’t that the info I once shared at the round table?’

Hearing him talk, it felt like the information really leaked from that round table...

“If battle starts now, no essence will drop, so decide first—”

“What are you talking about?”

“Eh?”

“So you want three people to kill it? Just for one grade 3 essence?”

Ibaekho’s typical cynical criticism was aimed at the GM.

“To get essence here, ‘Distortion’ magic must be cast first. But what if ‘Distortion’ fails?”

“Uh...”

“What kind of short-sighted mage only thinks about showing off knowledge whenever possible?”

“N-not that—I just wanted to suggest some options—”

“No, seriously think about it. Why aim for essence here? Just killing it drops the Numbers item perfectly.”

Actually, I thought the same as Ibaekho, only without the rude attitude.

Usually, Bandedemon is a monster you catch with ‘Distortion.’

The byproduct’s value is high, but if Distortion succeeds, you get the Numbers item.

And...

‘Here outside the walls, which is opposite to the labyrinth.’

In the labyrinth, casting Distortion makes corpses disappear and creates essence drop chances; killing normally keeps corpses intact.

Simply put, here if you just kill it normally, you can loot the Numbers item it carries.

“Beheh—raaaaaaah!!!!”

No room to hesitate which was better; I immediately roared battle cry and charged at Bandedemon.

「Bandedemon casts [Strike of Sorrow].」

The mace swung with a fierce glow that sent chills down the spine just by watching.

I knew that no matter what, getting hit barehanded would break a bone somewhere.

‘Yeah, no wonder they call me the tank.’

Bandedemon’s attacks were slow but each hit was near-instant death level powerful.

Its pure strength rivaled or exceeded that of an ogre...

And on top of that, I had to fight with physical resistance halved by Yonggol Mountain’s field effect.

Because of that, it was standard for agile characters to perform evasion-style tanking like tightrope walking.

Unless the tank was overwhelmingly skilled.

Like this.

「Defense success.」

「Aegis Barrier absorbs all damage.」

No need to bother dodging—just push the shield up to block.

[Gruk...?]

Why the reluctant look?

Didn’t I design my build to keep 5th-grade skill [Gigantify] until the end?

If I combine Aegis Barrier and [Gigantify], I can block attacks normally judged unblockable at normal size.

“What are you doing?! Stop attacking!”

Once aggro was drawn to me, the hunt began in earnest.

Being outside the walls, aggro occasionally jumped, but it wasn’t dangerous.

In the first place, it didn’t have great mobility.

「Leighton Briot casts [Aim Stance].」

「Next ranged attack gains special effects proportional to aim time.」

Bandedemon couldn’t shake me off with its limited mobility, and eventually collapsed under concentrated fire from the others, unable to reach them.

Boom!

Unlike in the labyrinth, Bandedemon’s corpse didn’t disappear in a flash of light.

“What, Grandpa? Just loot that and stop?”

“Aside from the eyeballs and spine bones, there’s nothing worth extra time.”

“Oh, really?”

After looting byproducts, Ibaekho picked up the iron mace from Bandedemon’s hand with both hands.

“Wow, this is heavy—.”

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? It’s heavy, so I’m putting it into my extra space.”

“Why is it going to your extra space?”

I grabbed Ibaekho’s wrist with one hand and touched the ‘Siege Slayer.’ Ibaekho made a ‘what is this?’ face then chuckled.

“Ahaha, right. Baron, you’re not part of our team, huh?”

“This kind of thing should be clearly arranged.”

“But last time, you gave up the engraving material without a word?”

“That’s why I remember being given the other byproducts afterwards.”

“But if you’re going to be so strict, isn’t the ratio weird? There are five of us and two of you.”

Being fellow explorers, Ibaekho’s voice sharpened as soon as money was mentioned.

But there was nothing awkward about it.

How many years have I been an explorer now?

From the ‘Bloody Fortress’ with the dwarf and Raven, such situations are everyday.

Well, same for him too.

“Splitting teams over loot and wiping out in the labyrinth isn’t a joke anymore. How about deciding this cleanly?”

On the dice quietly held in Grandpa Destruction’s hand, I placed my own.

“...I’m fine with that.”

He agreed it was the fairest way, but Ibaekho looked dissatisfied.

“Hah... do we really have to? Just one concession would’ve been enough.”

“Why bother conceding?”

“No, I’m not going to use it. I thought it’d be good as a swap weapon for our warrior.”

“Oh... Baekho! You were thinking that much about me—”

“Quiet. Don’t interrupt.”

Aures came over with arms spread but awkwardly lowered them again, and uncomfortable silence followed.

“...”

“...”

Ibaekho studied me like reading my mind; I didn’t avoid his gaze and implied I wouldn’t back down.

Maybe that’s why.

“Fine... then let’s roll the dice since it’s been a while. One roll per person? There are five of us, so five rolls; two of you, two rolls. The highest total wins, okay?”

“Let’s do that.”

Just as we were about to finish agreeing, the GM timidly raised a hand.

“Um... can I join? If I win, I take the prize...”

Hah, no one can be trusted.

“That’s for you and the Baron to settle... Shall we start? I’ll roll for you guys.”

“Uh... Baekho? Maybe everyone should roll their own dice?”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“No, it’s not that...”

“Good then.”

Ibaekho dictatorialy ended the debate and started rolling the dice. I swallowed hard and watched the dice results.

And...

‘2’

One new fact learned during the process.

‘3’

What the hell.

‘2’

He rolls worse than me?

‘4.’

Two dice with max six each, and this total was pitifully low.

But quantity is power.

“9...?”

“9, huh...?”

“Doneeeee!!!”

Ibaekho rolled five times and finally got a high total of 9.

“Then... I’ll try once...”

GM also rolled just in case but was disappointed.

“Ah... 8.”

“So only the Baron has to roll now?”

“...”

“Hey, since you rolled, don’t say you’re conceding?”

“...”

“If you’d just given it, I would’ve conceded this much already.”

“Quiet. I’m concentrating.”

I silenced Ibaekho, gently tightening my fist holding the dice.

Then...

The weight and feel of the dice.

The breeze brushing my skin.

Sensing every detail, I knew the moment was ‘now.’

Shwaaaak.

I opened my palm and scattered the dice onto the board.

As always, it took just a moment for the outcome to be decided.

Roll roll roll.

The dice stopped rolling, revealing the result.

“...Huh.”

“...12?”

“Twelve.”

The highest possible total with two dice.

“Damn, that’s annoying. No cheating, right?”

“Baekho, no artificial interference detected.”

“Man, Baron, your luck is unbelievable.”

Accepting the result, Ibaekho turned his back to the ‘Siege Slayer’ lying on the ground and said casually.

“Hah... what are you waiting for? Just take it already.”

“Uh...”

The situation was crystal clear.

Having ‘luckily’ won the dice roll, I obtained the most valuable loot of this exploration.

That was definitely a joyful ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) thing.

But...

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Why?

‘Did I... just win the dice...?’

Why does my heart keep pounding so fast?