Usually, the four of them had to stay alert most of the time, unable to relax even for a moment, so they kept their minds sharp to back each other up, leaving no room for idle thoughts.
Due to the team leader’s extended vacation, they were all doing things they had never experienced before, indulging themselves thoroughly.
“Team leader, how long are you planning to rest like this?”
At that moment, Elaine took advantage of the silence and asked quietly.
Suji smiled while looking at the ceiling, then gazed off into the distance as she answered.
“Just a little longer. I don’t feel like returning yet. You know, lately I’ve been thinking that work shouldn’t be the main focus of my life. Maybe I should live the life I want, with work added in small amounts like seasoning.”
“It’s unfair that spices aren’t allowed but seasoning is, but you’re right!”
“That’s correct.”
As soon as Suji finished speaking, Peace and Saint chimed in agreement.
“Why, feeling uneasy?”
Elaine suddenly glanced at her terminal, as if trying to gauge the date or time. Then she shook her head.
“No. It’s nothing.”
Saint got excited and sat up abruptly. Her short light brown hair fluttered briefly before settling on her shoulders.
“Wow. Elaine gave permission. Let’s play more then.”
Saint, as if she had been waiting for this moment, glanced around slyly before opening her inventory and pulling out a stack of tall boxes all at once.
Boxes with strange names like ‘Puerto Rico’, ‘Me Too? You Too!’, ‘Invaders of the South Sea’, ‘Code Lime’, ‘Terraforming Mars’, ‘Dominion’, ‘Garlean’, and ‘Soldiers’ Homeland’ came tumbling out.
Seeing Saint stack the boxes up to her height in an instant, Suji let out a small exclamation, “Ah!”
“Those are board games, right? I’ve seen them before. In variety shows from over 20 years ago, I think.”
Peace and Elaine nodded as if they knew too.
“Board games?”
“Is it the one where you roll dice?”
It seemed Saint had prepared all of this since Suji had invited them to play.
With a satisfied look, she opened each box one by one, showing the components and cards inside to everyone.
However, these individuals lacked the sensitivity to feel excited about seeing the neatly organized items.
After staring at them for a while, Elaine asked as if genuinely curious.
“Dice games, aren’t we not supposed to play those?”
“Why not?”
“Honestly, we can all make any face we want come up when we roll.”
Saint sighed deeply at those words.
She only relaxed her expression after realizing they could use terminals instead of dice.
Even so, there were still many obstacles.
Some people could easily see through the backs of cards.
It seemed they would have to confiscate all items to minimize their abilities for the games to be somewhat playable.
Saint realized that among the many boxes she had laid out, only a few games could be played properly. She looked a bit dejected but soon cheerfully set up a board game.
“In that case, let’s start with a luck-based game! The Game of Life!”
“What’s a luck-based game?”
“I guess it’s something like seventy percent luck, thirty percent skill.”
“Stop saying weird things and everyone choose your colors quickly!”
The group thought that Saint seemed a bit different from usual, more excited, as they quickly cut down a nearby giant tree to make a suitable table.
The four soon laid out their terminals and started the board game.
The Game of Life was a simple board game where you build hotels on each space.
Faced with the unreasonable situation where monetary benefits and disadvantages were determined by a single dice roll, the four hunters, all ranked within the top 10 in Korea, began to rack their brains.
[This is the timeline separator]Creusa, no, Yeonju was sitting with her arms wrapped around the back of a stingray, sighing deeply.
It was four days ago when she received a call from Seunghwan saying they had caught the culprit who had scammed Suji. And it was this morning when she heard that they had gotten an answer from the culprit.
But the answer they heard from the culprit’s mouth was quite strange.
The word ‘donation’ alone sounded nice, but when digging into the actual situation, it seemed they were trying to raise a large sum of money needed to join a cult-like group called ‘Messiah’ that was currently trending worldwide.
So Yeonju did a little investigation into this ‘Messiah’ group that people wanted to join so badly they would pay such large sums.
‘Messiah’ appeared at first glance to be just a social club for the privileged class, but their ultimate goal was the immortality of their members.
And the culprit who was caught this time revealed that they were aiming for the reward of in this ‘Messiah’.
It seems that a reason has arisen to absolutely secure the reward of this time.
Although she’s not asking for help right away, she should tell Daphne in advance to prepare for any possible situations.
However, Yeonju’s heart was heavy as she went to find Suji, who had been in seclusion for over a month after ceasing her activities.
Because she understood how Suji felt.
The scam that Team Daphne fell victim to wasn’t just about the scam itself. It was also about the public’s perception of hunters climbing the tower.
Society as a whole was losing its sense of awe for the efforts of hunters.
Perhaps it’s because life had become more comfortable.
‘Really, back in my day, it was everyday life for dozens of people to die when a wave hit. Back then, people appreciated hunters’ efforts that much.’
But now, they treated hunters like some kind of celebrities or influencers.
As much as they promoted a positive image to attract hunters, it seems that many people have started to disrespect hunters’ privacy and use them as they please.
There might also be envy and jealousy towards hunters who earn well.
‘I keep thinking like this and it makes me feel old… but it’s not a profession that should be consumed so easily.’
Even so, to think that a hunter sponsored by Penaeus since childhood would grow up to scam Suji.
How painful must those gazes have been for Suji, who has been living in the tower since a young age.
Moreover, I heard she left her family home on bad terms.
She must be struggling right now.
Suji, who belatedly replied to her contact, readily said she could visit anytime, but she’s probably not in a great mood.
‘…I should recommend her to see a psychiatrist.’
As Yeonju was thinking this while entering the dungeon entrance, she heard boisterous laughter from inside.
“…What’s this?”
In the middle of the wide yard under the darkening sky, there was a table that seemed to be made by cutting a tree trunk whole, with camping chairs neatly arranged around it.
And scattered around were items usually used for dungeon exploration, like , , .
‘To think they’d scatter such precious items on the ground just to light the area.’
Knowing the rarity of these items, Yeonju sighed in dismay.
Surprised once at the sight of rare items of tier 8 or higher being mistreated, and surprised again at realizing that the people around the table were all hunters boasting tremendous abilities, Yeonju’s eyes widened.
‘…Were they not just hiding out, but having some serious meeting?’
There were a few things she could guess.
While she was preparing to come, Seunghwan might have already mentioned about the tower or the cult group.
If not that, could they be having a meeting for the 81st floor conquest? And if not even that… Mental issues? Not just hunters, but anyone can suffer from psychological problems.
So it wouldn’t be strange if such a moment had come for Daphne.
Just as Yeonju approached them with an even heavier heart, Suji waved brightly with a smile.
“Ah, Aunt Yeonju! Come quickly!”
Yeonju stared blankly at Suji.
‘How long has it been? Since Penaeus died, seeing Suji smile this brightly.’
Momentarily at a loss for words, Yeonju looked at each of the four hunters turning towards her. Then she glanced at the table between them.
Fake money, the kind children use in games, was placed in piles in front of each person, and a thick rectangular paper board was spread out in the center.
“…Not a meeting but…”
As Yeonju trailed off, Suji followed her gaze and pointed at the table, smiling sheepishly.
“Ah, we were playing a board game. Now that you’re here, we should stop. Come, sit down.”
“It might be faster if we move to another table and leave this here.”
“Oh, what are you saying? Come on, since the team leader said to put it away, let’s clean up quickly.”
“Peace is just saying that because he’s penniless! He was a beggar without a single hotel!”
In order, starting with Suji as the team leader, followed by Elaine, Peace, and Saint, each made a comment. Do they realize how strange this scene looks?
How beautiful it is to see these young people, who always seemed to carry death on their backs, gathered in one place, fighting over pieces of paper that have no use in the real world…
_____
In This Life I Love You Again (Modern Female-dominant)
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
