In the Name of God - Chapter 14.1
I quickly scanned Lee Sunho, who was standing in front of me.
Even I, at 180 centimeters, had to slightly tilt my head up to meet his height. Wearing a black long coat, he was a young man with a sculpted, almost statue-like appearance.
By “sculpted,” I did not mean conventionally handsome. He was good-looking, of course.
It was more like someone had taken a hard block of stone and carefully carved a human face from it. There was a strange precision to it.
Maybe I was overly sensitive, because no one else seemed to notice anything unusual. It was probably just my imagination.
‘I think he is the same age as Seong Do‑yoon.’
At 27, he was still young.
I briefly thought about my own age, then quickly erased the thought.
The man extended his hand first for a handshake. I stared at it for a moment before lightly grasping it.
“I am Seong Do‑yoon. I look forward to working with you today.”
I replied casually while focusing my attention on his hand.
‘Nice, calloused hands. Solid grip.’
I glanced at his shoulder. I could see the hilt of a longsword on his back and a red tassel dangling from its end.
‘Looks like he can handle a sword quite well.’
Seong Do‑yoon’s body, which I had taken over, was so weak it was like a greenhouse-grown flower. There were no calluses on my hands, not even rough spots. Compared to my own hands, used to battle as a mercenary, they were soft and clean.
In contrast, Lee Sunho’s hands showed he had been wielding a sword for a long time. From experience, such hands could not be formed in just a year or two.
Even so, I did not plan to rely on him for the fight.
Among the awakened I had met in dungeon raids so far, some had trained in the past, but I could not trust anyone completely to take on monsters and bosses. Training for combat is one thing; facing unpredictable monsters is another.
Moreover, this man was rank 9.
He had only registered as a rank 9 awakened for about a week.
This was his first dungeon raid experience.
‘Well, I did not expect anything anyway.’
I spoke calmly so that the rookie Lee Sunho would not feel burdened.
“I will be the one going crazy in battle, so you just prepare to eat popcorn and cheer.”
I glanced at him to see if he would act arrogantly as a fellow rank 9, but he just smiled and nodded.
‘He is unnecessarily kind.’
Even a rookie awakened might be proud after training this much.
I stared at him, and Lee Sunho smiled gently, which made him look unusually cheerful.
Ah, he must be excited about the rewards.
While I was observing him, the leader of the first party raised his voice.
“Everyone here? I have a few things to say before we enter.”
The first party leader stood in front of the seven members and looked at each one carefully.
“As you know, this dungeon has four bosses. Though it is an F-rank dungeon, the dungeon’s power is dispersed, so each boss is not much stronger than those in an F-minus dungeon, or may even be weaker.”
The Awakened Association’s report had detailed information on the dungeon’s internal layout and monster difficulty.
After entering the dungeon, four branching paths appear along a straight corridor.
Each branch is narrow, so two people entering each path is suitable for combat. After that, the path continues straight without branching, leading to bosses typical of F-rank dungeons.
“All four bosses must be defeated to stop monster production. Only then can we receive our rewards.”
The dungeon had been cleared seven times in the past year.
Since stopped dungeons resume monster production over time, periodic raids were necessary. Reports of the previous seven raids were shared with all current party members.
Experienced rank 8 awakened with some dungeon experience should have no major issues.
‘…And yet look at the first party leader staring at us like that.’
The leader, who had said the recruitment was rank-agnostic, now openly scrutinized our party, which included two rank 9s, with a sharp gaze.
‘Take care of your own business.’
Judging by the sword at his waist, the first party leader seemed to be a swordsman. Yet his hands were too clean. If he had swung the sword often, calluses should have formed, but instead there were only soft blisters. At this rate, a few swings and his hands would hurt badly.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
