Chapter 6
If I had to choose a phrase that suited me right now, it would probably be “A story blinded by curiosity.”
All because I was curious about my awakened ability, I ended up installing an app.
‘But how could I not check this? They said the minimum annual salary is 100 million won! If I had that kind of patience, I would have already entered Korea University as the top student, received a full scholarship, and gotten a job at a major company.’
I clicked on the installed app.
[Looking for members for a B-rank dungeon party.]
[Urgent / Distribution 30%. Supporters preferred +10%]
[Daegu area, recruiting 3 C-rank members]
Potato Market.
It was an anonymous dungeon party recruitment app.
Because it could be used without signing up, there were some safety issues, but people continued to use it.
That was because there were quite a few unaffiliated hunters like me who wanted to hide their names or only clear dungeons temporarily.
And proving that fact, posts continued appearing nonstop on the app’s main screen.
They had various conditions attached, such as rank, location, and abilities.
After thinking for a while, I moved to the detailed search page.
I didn’t want to go too far, so I entered my home area as the location condition.
Fortunately, there were several recently uploaded posts.
[Urgent / Distribution 30%. Supporters preferred +10%]
[D-rank dungeon party (3/5)]
[C-rank dungeon. Beginners X. Damage dealer]
The further down the list I went, the more posts had already been completed.
The only parties I could join right away were about ten recently uploaded ones.
Among them, one title especially caught my attention.
“Since my skill is a supporter skill, this should be fine.”
Strictly speaking, I was a healer who also acted as a supporter.
A D-rank dungeon party with no information or a C-rank dungeon party that didn’t accept beginners seemed difficult to contact.
In the end, I clicked the urgent supporter recruitment at the top.
Hello. I’m contacting you because I’d like to participate as a supporter.
I sent the message and waited for a while.
For some reason, I felt nervous and my palms became sweaty.
Perhaps the other person had also been waiting for messages because a reply came quickly.
Hello. I was worried because it was urgent, but thank you for coming at the perfect time. You’re a supporter, right?
“Gasp!”
Seeing a reply to my message made me strangely embarrassed.
I didn’t know if it was because my skill’s trait was Dark History or because I was nervous about the dungeon.
I rubbed my palm against my pants to calm myself before holding my phone again.
Yes, that’s right.
What type of skill do you have?
What does that mean?
I typed my question directly into the chat.
? What do you mean by what type of skill?
Ah. Are you perhaps a beginner?
The other person’s question reminded me of the C-rank dungeon recruitment post I had seen earlier.
I moved my fingers worriedly and replied.
Yes, I awakened recently. Do you not accept beginners?
That’s not it.
That was the fastest reply so far.
It seemed like they were worried I would misunderstand and leave.
They even added an explanation.
Among attack enhancement / defence enhancement / stat enhancement, which type of supporter are you?
Ah.
So they were asking what kind of support I provided.
I opened my system window for a moment and checked.
Healing and attack/defence enhancement.
As soon as I replied quickly, the other person paused.
Your skill range is very wide. What is your enhancement value?
The expressions hunters used naturally among themselves were unfamiliar to me.
I searched the internet to find out what enhancement value meant.
As if expecting that, the other person sent another message.
Enhancement value means how many percent your skill increases attack power and defence.
I closed the search portal and immediately replied.
50%.
Objectively speaking, was that a high number? Or a low number?
I expected some kind of reaction from the other person, but surprisingly, their response was calm.
Instead, I only received an invitation link to the group chat on the Potato Market app.
Hmm.
Was that calmness actually urgency?
I hoped it meant they didn’t want to lose a valuable person.
We’re entering the dungeon urgently in one hour, so we’ll talk about the rest here. Enter as “Supporter (Healer).”
Yes!
The other person didn’t even check my reply.
They were already waiting in the group chat, so I entered as well.
Besides me, six people were already there.
Party leader, damage dealer 1, damage dealer 2, tank 1, tank 2, and supporter (S).
Six people in total.
Hello. I’m Supporter Heal.
Welcome.
Hello.
Nice to meet you.
The damage dealers and tanks greeted me warmly.
I returned their greetings and waited for the party leader’s announcement.
Then a message from Supporter (S) appeared.
How many dungeon clearing experiences do you have?
The question appeared abruptly without even a greeting, which felt quite rude.
I felt slightly uncomfortable but answered honestly.
Ah. I’m a beginner.
The party leader said it was okay, so it should be fine.
And three seconds later, a reply came that made me regret it.
I understand this is a B-rank dungeon. Are you bringing a beginner?
The group chat fell silent.
It seemed like everyone was unable to even move their fingers.
After barely regaining my senses, I replied.
The party leader said it was okay.
A dungeon is cleared as a party. Is the party leader’s approval alone enough?
What is this attitude?
My words stopped…
No, my fingers stopped.
If you’re a beginner, you should first gain experience in D-rank or lower dungeons. You didn’t even check the dungeon rank?
Because of his continued criticism, the party leader stepped in.
Wait a moment, Supporter. Your skill is a stat enhancement skill, right? We invited you because having healing would be good.
But even in front of the party leader, the other person didn’t back down.
Usually, healing skills have low ranks, so they don’t help with serious injuries. Rather than increasing our burden for no reason, it’s better not to have one. What skill rank are you? Have you even been tested by the association?
I hadn’t.
Because that would mean losing anonymity.
When my reply was delayed, the other person seemed to understand.
I don’t want to clear a dangerous dungeon while protecting a beginner. Exclude the beginner.
He spoke with the confidence of someone who was the party leader himself.
The party leader quickly replied, but the other person remained stubborn.
And I also became upset.
Even if I met him face-to-face, I could already see the future would only be unpleasant.
I pressed my lips together and typed quickly.
While the party leader and Supporter (S) were having a sharp argument, my message appeared between them.
Ah, okay. I didn’t know beginners weren’t allowed. Sorry. Goodbye.
Supporter, wait a moment. We’re really okay with it.
The party leader grabbed me with typing speed much faster than before.
And then Supporter (S) sent a message that was much more irritating than anything before.
You made the right choice. Gain experience in D-rank or lower first.
It felt like my fingers had been blocked.
Eventually, even the party leader stopped typing.
I left the chat without saying anything more.
Messages from the party leader kept coming, but my mind didn’t change.
“What kind of jerk is that? Does he even know my skill?”
He shouldn’t know.
That was what my logic said.
But my emotions disagreed.
I searched through the system window and pouted.
The things I wanted to say but couldn’t in the chat kept circling in my head.
‘My skill actually seems pretty good objectively…’
Since I had no experience, I couldn’t argue back.
To confidently refute someone like that, I needed at least one dungeon experience.
Naturally, my eyes moved toward the next recruitment post.
[D-rank dungeon party (4/5)]
It wasn’t like I was listening to that rude supporter.
No, it wasn’t because of him…
But my hand was already touching the recruitment post.
