[I’ve released 10 free chapters today to push the plot along to the next arc! Premium is nearing Chapter 600!]

Chapter 448: Friendship Clan’s Friendship-Breaking Sound (3)

“Cheol-woo, I trusted you, but no buff came.”

Although it was a trivial line, all problems had begun to start with that small mistake.

Many already knew this, if they were an adventurer from Korea, they would’ve already known the meaning of those words.

In fact, I knew he didn’t mean what he had said. He just said it out of frustration.

It became difficult to judge whether or not it was possible to evade responsibility when I saw him muttering like a grunt. The reason behind his regretful remark was certainly clear to me.

‘He must feel embarrassed.’

He had just been talking to excuse his poor performance.

Even at that moment, Kim Daegun, who was blushing, seemed to think that the way he presented himself was unbecoming of him.

Thinking about his disgraceful behavior, I couldn’t help but blush, considering the fact that he couldn’t even face the monster moving clumsily. This was not a heroic-grade warrior’s behavior.

It was worse than the trolling Park Deokgu from the first round did in the dungeon.

I didn’t even have to think about how ashamed he, who had been making a living through his sword for years, would be. He would want to sink through the floor.

As he glanced at me even after he finished talking, it seemed that it partly was because he wanted to look good in front of me.

‘It’s not his fault, huh? These kinds of guys are usually the ones who harbor the fault.’

Lee Cheol-woo also seemed confused. He was obviously not expecting this, either.

“I’m sorry. I decided to invest a little more in the close-up damage assassin… Kiyeon also said that…”

Lee Cheol-woo’s gaze turned to where the assassin was located.

He said he was sorry, but his skill in avoiding responsibility was as good as a politician.

“Eun-hye got too close to the monster. It became difficult to get its attention.”

“I just did… as Kiyeon unnie said. I moved, risking my life. I was prepared to be seriously injured. Wording it like that makes me feel bad.”

“You have to do all that while looking at the situation. It’s not just getting close, right?”

“No, the problems came when an arrow pierced Kasarak’s eye. It got twisted from there.”

‘It was twisted from the beginning. Bastards. ‘

However, some of them seemed to agree with that opinion.

In fact, if I had to pick the best scene, the attack that ravaged the monster deserved to be in the best three.

Kook Minji was in the lead to be blamed.

It was quite interesting to watch the responsibility for the poor battle results be passed around as if it were a bomb. Kook Minji also flexibly escaped the situation after realizing she was about to be labeled the weakest link.

“The arrow hit him because the rotation speed made it move. I couldn’t help it.”

In that case, Kim Daegun and the sub-tank had become the primary focus of the conversation.

They couldn’t deny the existence of a problem in the rotation.

Any one of them could’ve been labeled as the troll in that fight, and it wouldn’t feel doubtful.

They passed the blame around, making me feel like I was watching the Crack Museum’s spinning wheel.

“You can’t say that, Minji. Ha… it’s so burdensome swapping without a backup…”

So far, everyone’s attitude had been lukewarm and very passive.

Of course, they had to be. From the first time I saw them, they seemed to have a pretty good relationship with one another to the point where they couldn’t openly criticize the members.

An answer could be formulated just by looking at Lee Cheol-woo, who just laughed at the four members’ finger-pointing, including Kook Minji, several times.

Of course, it didn’t mean that no friction had been created from this event. Perhaps I was the catalyst for this, after all. I had created a crack in their relationship.

In the hearts of the female party members, there was a lot of disappointment towards male party members.

Even at that moment, the faces of those looking at Lee Cheol-woo seemed to be looking for trouble. Lee Cheol-woo’s admirer, Kook Minji, remained favorable towards him, but the others were clearly dissatisfied.

The problem was that they weren’t the only people who were dissatisfied with the Clan Master.

There was no way he wouldn’t notice the subtle emotions in Kim Daegun’s eyes, looking at his best friend.

‘This bastard is jealous.’

It was obvious envy.

He wasn’t revealing his inner self like Jung Hayan looking at Cha Hee-ra, but he certainly had jealousy in his gaze. Perhaps I was the cause of that as well.

The first reason was from when I acted cute in Lee Cheol-woo’s arms. The second reason was that I had put more devotion to the Clan Master.

‘Did I talk in a way that made it sound like he was doing well during the briefing?’

I didn’t remember it well, but I remembered saying things carefully to prevent the Clan Master from losing face.

If I had walked over him in front of the clan members, his authority could get damaged.

Perhaps this had stimulated Kim Daegun.

He looked as if he didn’t like the fact that Lee Cheol-woo was considered a more competent and capable man than him. Additionally, his embarrassment must’ve doubled due to the scene he made and the scene of him screwing up as a tank.

In such a case, those who had a position akin to a supporter were definitely advantageous.

The attention of everyone wasn’t as focused on them when in battle.

Regardless, it was safe to assume that the cause of the current conflict was male jealousy.

For the Friendship Clan members, whose voices became louder and louder, the action I had to take was simple.

I had to end the fight and save Kim Daegun’s spirit, who thought he had been defeated.

“Then why?! Are you telling me you didn’t even know the monster went into a frenzy? This is not your first fight.”

“I already told you that I had to focus on other things. I know what you mean, but it seems a little vague to say that it’s entirely my fault.”

“Right. You always do that.”

I had to intervene at that moment. “No. No. Everyone did well. I think I gave criticisms and suggestions that were too hard from the get-go. Different parties have different ways of hunting, but I think I said too casually. I think it would be better to do it your way.”

‘You damn hopeless morons. The future of the continent is dark. What should I do with you?’

“No. Kiyeon. We’ve always known what you said. Our skill level is definitely insufficient.”

“It’s not. It had a smooth flow during our first battle. It seems that the confusion was only aggravated because of me. Fighting as a group isn’t something you can master within a couple of days. You don’t have to be so stressed, Daegun.”

“…”

“We already know that Daegun is a talented warrior. We can see how much experience you have just by looking at your breathing and how you distance yourself against monsters.”

‘And now you’re grinning from ear to ear, you bastard. There were only two things worth seeing in your performance.”

“I’m just embarrassed… for showing such a disgraceful behavior.”

“No. You showed us everything you could show as a tank. It’s not your fault, so don’t blame yourself. It isn’t easy for other tanks to be able to stand up against a named monster in a frenzied state for a long duration without any buffs.”

I finished this with a refreshing smile.

Only then did he visibly calm down a bit. “Kiyeon is right. If I had a buff, I would have been able to deal with him better.”

‘Why did you have to say that now, you asshole?’

Naturally, I looked at Lee Cheol-woo momentarily due to what Kim Daegun resentfully said.

I felt his eyebrows wriggling, which was out-of-character for such a quiet guy as himself. It was clear that he was getting agitated. His face was slowly reddening.

“As I said, that wasn’t possible, Daegun.”

“I didn’t say anything else. I just said it was regrettable… I was talking to myself, so you don’t have to feel bothered, Cheol-woo.”

“How can I not be bothered? I also have to manage the divine power. If you didn’t charge so ignorantly in the first place…”

“What? Doesn’t that mean that your lack of divine power was due to me running to protect the party members?”

“Ha… That’s not what I meant.”

“That’s not what you mean, my ass. That’s the only meaning your words have.”

‘Stop. You bastards. ‘

At that rate, Lee Cheol-woo was likely to be forced to take the blame.

Even his best friend turned his back on him, and he was generally disliked due to the stance he took during the prior predicament where I was involved.

It was just as expected. All the females but Kook Minji had now started to criticize him one by one.

They weren’t openly dissing. Rather, they were executing proper, subtle maneuvers. I thought they had an edge in that kind of fight, considering the speed at which they switched sides wasn’t a joke, but the way they were biting at him reminded me of a pack of wolves on a hunt.

At that rate, they would be reaching a conclusion in less than ten minutes.

‘I have to stop it.’

In fact, it didn’t matter what happened, but I still couldn’t help but feel a sense of responsibility. The situation became worse because of my goodwill, after all.

I pulled them away from each other’s throats. I could at least sprinkle some antiseptic on the sore wound, right?

“Everyone did a good job. It’s not really anyone’s fault. You don’t have to become heated up. I’m so sorry for this. I guess I shouldn’t have done that… Everyone, loosen up. Adventurers go through this often.”

‘Yes, it’s not really anyone’s fault. All of you are the problem.’

“…”

“…”

“We should continue with the expedition, right?”

“Yes. We do.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

“Come to think of it. We haven’t even checked the compensation.”

The party was already suffering from a big wound.

‘There is still room for a reversal.’

If an item above the heroic-grade came out, it could still lighten up the party members’ mood.

They looked like their hearts were pounding as if they had huge expectations for the contents of a treasure chest.

“It would be better to do that.”

“It would be better to continue, boys.”

“Okay…”

“We got a rare-grade before this. I think it would be okay if we get a heroic-grade. No, it has to be a heroic-grade. It’s uncertain if the second monster can be used as a catalyst…”

“Ugh. It must be limited.”

“We’ll see once we spin it. Let’s begin.”

“Then I will spin it.”

“Benignore, please…”

I could see the women praying. The museum had an unexpected effect that increased the divinity of Benignore.

‘I think this is going to work.’

Although not intended, I thought the museum would greatly help the gods, including Benignore.

Anyway, after a short prayer meeting, the woman boldly spun the wheel.

[The wheel is spinning.]

‘Let’s go!’

“Purple! Purple!!”

[The wheel is spinning.]

“Heroic-grade! Heroic! Or legendary!”

[The wheel is spinning.]

“Please! Please!”

[The spinning wheel has stopped.]

“Heroic-grade! Come out, heroic-grade!”

“Please…”

‘Let’s go! With the power of Benignore!’

Tinkle!

[Common-grade item, the manuscript of ‘The Love of a Genius Swordsman and an Alchemist’ (Uncut version: rated R) was selected.]

“…”

“Huh?”

“… “

Kim Daegun cursed and threw down his shield.

“Fuck!”

This expedition was obviously over.