“What on earth are you doing here…?”

“…?”

“…”

The blue light in Kang Yoo-hyun's eyes flashed and then quickly disappeared. His eyes returned to their usual black as he blinked at me, then frowned. Did I finally get caught this time? Just as that thought crossed my mind, Kang Yoo-hyun suddenly turned his head. I stared at him in confusion, then hesitated before slowly getting to my feet.

“Who are you?”

“Ah.”

Joshua Lehmann, the Guild Master of the Ur Guild, was looking at me warily. The other hunters were also staring at me, puzzled by my sudden appearance.

Ahem. I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to speak.

“Well, I think I can be of help with your decision-making.”

“You?”

Joshua Lehmann scanned me with a suspicious look. Right now, I was unaffiliated and just a B-rank member of a collection team. I didn’t think the high-ranking hunters would take my words seriously. I figured that if things went south, I’d just reveal my true identity and keep talking.

"I have an S-grade confession potion. If you use it, no matter how untrustworthy the monster is, it won’t be able to lie."

“An S-grade confession potion…!”

The eyes of the other hunters, including the guildmasters, widened. Potions of such a high grade were incredibly rare—because there was only one person, both domestically and internationally, with the ability to create them.

"A potion master like Lee Chae-jin can make something like that…?"

“Are you sure about that? You weren’t scammed?”

I couldn't quite believe it myself, but I held out the potion to the hunters, who were murmuring in disbelief. I offered it to Kang Yoo-hyun, who likely had the highest item appraisal skill among them.

“…”

“…”

Kang Yoo-hyun calmly looked at the potion. For a moment, the blue light in his eyes shimmered again. It seemed like he was checking the potion’s information. Soon, he nodded with a serious expression.

"It’s real.”

“Gasp.”

When it was revealed that the potion was real, I heard gasps of surprise from the crowd. However, their attention soon shifted from the potion's origin to whether it would actually be used on a monster in this situation. One by one, the hunters who had been fixated on the potion turned to Kang Yoo-hyun.

“Are you really going to use it?”

“Hmm…”

Joshua Lehmann asked in a displeased tone. Kang Yoo-hyun hesitated for a moment before speaking in a composed tone.

“Well, let’s give it a try.”

“But…!”

"If he's giving it without expecting anything in return, there's no reason to refuse, right?"

Kang Yoo-hyun said calmly, looking at me, and I quickly handed him the potion. As I did, our hands briefly touched, and I felt that his hand was slightly warm.

“…”

Kang Yoo-hyun, who had been looking at me with a slightly cold gaze, turned around. He roughly lifted the trembling dwarf's head, still lying face down, and shoved the potion into his mouth. The dwarf made strained sounds—'kuok, kugh'—as he was forced to drink it.

It felt like a waste to see a potion worth millions of won going down someone else’s throat, but I didn’t mind. After all, I had gotten it for free. What surprised me was how Kang Yoo-hyun accepted my words without any doubt.

“Kuheuk…!”

After drinking the entire potion, the dwarf collapsed back to the ground, gagging. However, despite his efforts, the potion, now fully ingested, didn’t come back up. Kang Yoo-hyun glanced down at the dwarf with an indifferent expression.

“Hey.”

“Ugh…!”

“Get up.”

Kang Yoo-hyun, wearing an indifferent expression, gave an order as he watched the suffering dwarf. The dwarf, his eyes dazed, struggled to get up unsteadily.

“Answer truthfully to the questions I ask from now on.”

“Yes.”

Kang Yoo-hyun spoke while looking at the dwarf, who nodded slowly.

“Tell me about the legendary weapon in detail.”

“Yes… I understand.”

The dwarf nodded and spoke without hesitation.

"The boss monster of this dungeon, the evil dragon, is an extremely greedy being. His greed knows no bounds, and he hoards all sorts of treasures and weapons. I know where it is."

“…!”

The dwarf elaborated on his earlier words, adding more details. If what he had said were a lie, he wouldn't have said anything at all. At the very least, the dwarf hadn't lied.

“Is it really there?”

"Given that he said this even after drinking the S-grade confession potion, it seems pretty certain…"

Public opinion started to shift. The dwarf had said the same thing even after drinking Lee Chae-jin’s potion, and as more details came in, it started to seem more believable.

Of course, even if what he said was true, it couldn’t be fully trusted. The information we thought was true could still be a trap. But that was something to worry about later. For now, I just needed to make sure Kang Yoo-hyun didn’t kill the dwarf, like in the original story. That was my only concern.

"Wait a minute. Are you really going to believe what a monster says?"

Joshua Lehmann grumbled, pushing aside the hunters blocking his way. In the original story, he had been the first to express his hatred for the dwarf. Even now, his eyes were filled with distrust.

"I think it would be a good idea to at least survey the area."

“Hunter Kang Yoo-hyun!”

“…”

Joshua Lehmann yelled loudly, but Kang Yoo-hyun just stared at him in silence. Overwhelmed by Kang Yoo-hyun’s momentum, Joshua frowned in displeasure.

This dungeon raid was led by the Odin Guild. Even though Kang Yoo-hyun, being an SS-rank, naturally took charge, there were still guild masters from other major guilds around. I wondered if Joshua had a problem with that. But if he did, he would have voiced his dissatisfaction much earlier, yet he hadn’t.

Joshua Lehmann and the other guild masters had surprisingly followed Kang Yoo-hyun’s orders well. They had been impressed by his SS-rank strength when they fought alongside him, just like in the original story. So why was Joshua trying to oppose Kang Yoo-hyun now? Was it really because he couldn’t trust a monster’s words? I didn’t think he was that sensitive.

"It seems there are a few people with complaints, so let's split into teams for a while. One team will follow the monster to explore the treasure, while the other will continue with the raid."

"Huh? What do you mean by that…?"

Joshua Lehmann appeared completely taken aback, and the other hunters looked equally surprised. This suggestion had also come up in the original story. However, it was met with objections, with some arguing that splitting up in S-rank or higher dungeons was suicidal.

The disagreement quickly escalated, and in the end, Kang Yoo-hyun, frustrated, killed the dwarf. But this time, things were a bit different. It seemed they were actually going to move ahead with splitting into teams for the exploration.

"What do you mean by that? Splitting the team based on uncertain information in a dungeon raid, where we need to be cautious?"

"The exploration team won't have much combat strength. Since it seems to be nearby, the main team should be able to hold out until the boss monster appears."

Kang Yoo-hyun said calmly while looking at them.

“You’re all experienced and amazing guild masters, aren’t you?”

“…”

It was a mocking remark, questioning whether they couldn’t handle such a small split. The guild masters fell silent, as if rendered speechless. Then, someone slowly opened their mouth.

“Actually, I do have a plan in mind, but…”

“Guild Master Liu Haoran!”

“Why? If there truly is a legendary weapon, shouldn’t we go after it, even if it’s risky?”

“I agree with that.”

“Kugh…”

Liu Haoran and Anastasia both nodded in agreement, while Joshua Lehmann bit his lip and glared at them. I narrowed my eyes and observed him. Joshua Lehmann was the only one who seemed unsettled by the change in the situation. While the other hunters had accepted the shift, he was the only one resisting so strongly.

Was it just because he was a detail-oriented person? But in the original story, that side of him was never really shown. He didn’t seem like the type to let his hatred get in the way before even going after something that was clearly beneficial. Then… could it be…? Just as my suspicion toward Joshua Lehmann deepened, someone spoke up in a cheerful voice that didn’t fit the current atmosphere.

"So, how should we divide the teams?"

“…”

It was Liam White. Once again, he looked completely out of place in this tense atmosphere. His eyes sparkled with excitement, like a student on a school trip. He still couldn’t read the room. No—at this point, I was starting to wonder if he was doing it on purpose. Either way, thanks to him, Joshua Lehmann was left speechless, and the guildmasters began discussing how to split the teams.

“Ha…”

I let out a sigh of relief, glad I had finally changed things from the original story. Maybe I was making a bigger deal out of this than I should have. I was completely drained. However, the problem wasn’t over yet. Since the story had changed, I’d have to deal with the storm that was sure to follow. I turned my head, my expression tense.

“…!”

“…”

At that moment, my eyes met Joshua Lehmann’s, and he was glaring at me. His look was so intense, it felt like he wanted to kill me, and for a second, I froze, unable to move.