Chapter 319

Sent by Nangnang, the message was simple, informative, and elegant. At the end of it was a name, Alice Ho Lactea. Chi-Woo carefully read over the message and rested his chin on his clasped fingers. He was organizing his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. Soon, the door opened, and Eval walked in.

“Boss. Just now—”

“Is it a guest?”

Eval looked taken aback by Chi-Woo’s response.

“What? Did you already know one was coming?”

“I just received a message.” Chi-Woo showed Eval the message he received. “Ho Lactea requested help.”

Eval quickly scanned the message, and his eyes narrowed.

“Seems like our troublemaker stirred up something in the end.”

“By ‘troublemaker’, do you mean Yunael Tania?”

“Yes. I thought it was strange that Ho Lactea was going on an important expedition and leaving Yunael. It seems Yunael had gone on a separate expedition with their own party.”

As expected of Eval, he knew everything that was going on. Eval continued, “Anyways, a guest came as you said, but they aren’t from Ho Lactea. She was one of the members who went on a separate expedition with Yunael.”

“…What?” Chi-Woo thought he heard wrong. Did Eval say their guest was a member of Yunael’s expedition team?

“Did Yunael Tania go on another expedition before?” Chi-Woo asked.

“No. I think the most recent expedition is their first official one. It happened around seven or eight days ago,” Eval answered.

Chi-Woo looked even more startled after hearing this news. Then it meant this guest used to be a member of the expedition that was causing a stir right now. There were three possible reasons this guest was now coming to talk to him alone: first, it could be that the rest of the expedition team had died, and she was the only survivor. Second, she could’ve escaped in secret. Lastly, she could’ve gotten separated from the team in the middle of the expedition for some unknown reason. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good news.

“Why don’t you meet her and hear her out first?” Eval suggested, and Chi-Woo got up from his seat. Their guest was waiting for him in the sitting room. Chi-Woo opened the door and went inside. He flinched when he saw the woman with hair curled into drills tied into twintails. The woman felt his presence and glanced back toward the door. And seeing her sharp demeanor, Chi-Woo became more certain of who she was. Chi-Woo tilted his head and furrowed his brows slightly.

“Ms. Dulia…from the fifth recruits…?”

“You have a good memory,” Dulia replied coldly. She glanced around the well-decorated surroundings and said in a low voice, “As the head of Seven Stars, an organization competing for ranks with Ho Lactea, with a subordinate like Ru Amuh, I thought you would quickly forget about a n.o.body like me.”

Though Dulia sounded slightly p.r.i.c.kly, Chi-Woo responded amiably, “How could I forget? We risked our lives together when we went to save the eighth recruits. Ah, you may sit.”

Dulia had gotten up from her seat out of politeness and sat back down again. Eventually, she crossed her legs and arms and let out a deep sigh. “…Okay. I’m a bit grateful that you remembered me and didn’t reprimand me for my tone unlike somebody else. It’s literally making me teary. I’m not lying. It’s true.”

It appeared that rather than having ill feelings for Chi-Woo, Dulia was in a very tense and sensitive state. It was easy to tell this just by the condition she was in: even though she had tidied up her hair a bit, her shoes and leather clothes were torn all over. Furthermore, there were still reddish-black marks and dirt on her face and other areas where her skin showed.

“It looks like it hasn’t been long since you returned from the expedition,” Chi-Woo remarked.

“Yes, it probably hasn’t even been thirty minutes.”

“That must mean you came immediately without taking a rest.”

“It’s nothing. Whatever happened, I came to at least do my part—not because of that b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I simply don’t want to be left with any sense of discomfort in my heart,” Dulia said and continued, “So I came to at least tell Ho Lactea what happened, but there was no one there. That was why I sent Nangnang a message. And he told me to come to this place,” Dulia explained.

“Then, may I ask you to explain what happened?” Chi-Woo asked.

“First of all, I was the expedition team’s head.”

“What? You were the head?” Chi-Woo said in surprise. Then Yunael’s expedition team currently had no head. This indicated that even if the team hadn’t been wiped out, there was a 90% chance they had died already. That was how important the role of a head was.

“I should tell you before I go further that I didn’t run away, nor did I call it quits,” Dulia seemed to have sensed the speculations being formed in the room and said with sharpened eyes, “Instead, I did everything they wanted me to do! Especially for our oh-so-great and holy team captain!” It seemed just the thought of Yunael enraged Dulia, and Dulia gritted her teeth and growled.

Chi-Woo quickly calmed and appeased Dulia from acting out further. After she calmed her breath slightly, she began to explain. This was how the story went:

Dulia got swayed by Yunael’s words and joined their expedition team. As part of the fifth recruits, Dulia was a veteran of sorts, who had gone through all sorts of hards.h.i.+ps on Liber and partic.i.p.ated in many brutal events. Thus, Yunael thought of Dulia’s experience highly and placed her as the head of the team. Dulia was happy up to this point, but the problems came later—specifically when they arrived near the vicinity of their destination.

Though Dulia had sensed something was slightly off about Yunael while marching, things took a full turn when they arrived there. To put it simply, Yunael’s self-righteous att.i.tude was the problem. An expedition team’s head had authority comparable to the team’s captain; thus, many problems would arise when the team’s head and captain didn’t see eye-to-eye. One of the most important things to a successful expedition was for the captain to respect the head, or be one themselves.

“But they didn’t even show a s.h.i.+t-worth of respect!” Bam! Dulia struck the table with both hands and shouted. “They didn’t listen to anything I said and only blabbered all they wanted!”

“Calm down,” Chi-Woo said.

“Calm down? Are you kidding me? They even ignored me when I suggested resting after everyone was tired from battle! So I recommended taking the safer route if they insisted—but then they said we didn’t have enough time, so we had to go straight again! You think I can calm down after all that nonsense they pulled?!”

Chi-Woo had to s.h.i.+eld his face with his hands for a bit because Dulia was spitting so much when she yelled.

“And that’s not even the end of it! Even though they were the captain, I thought they were doing the wrong thing and had a private conversation with them, and they gave me such a s.h.i.+tty look! Do you know what they said then?” Dulia exclaimed, “They told me to remember my place, and that I was talking to the team captain! They didn’t like my tone and told me to fix the way I talked! f.u.c.k! Can you believe it? Aren’t they seriously insane?!”

Eval laughed humorlessly. Of course, maintaining authority was important when working in a group setting, but it sounded like Yunael expected too much from an expedition team that had been put together hastily without getting to know any of the members. Moreover, all the heroes on Liber were heroes who had saved at least one world. Thus, it seemed too much for Yunael to expect Dulia to address them strictly as a superior when she hadn’t done anything wrong and had fulfilled all her responsibilities.

“No, are you really talking about that Tania?” Eval asked.

“Yes, I am!” Dulia shouted back.

But what was really funny was that even with such a shaky team dynamic, the expedition still managed to continue. Even when they faced unexpected dangers, Yunael stood in the lead and destroyed them.

“Okay. I do admit that they have skills. But they should’ve done the whole thing themselves then. Why would they ask us to work with them if they were going to treat us like idiots?”

The rest of the expedition team couldn’t keep up with the captain. Though they mostly played the roles of support, things began to take a toll on them, and they were worn out. Yunael couldn’t understand that.

“If we had done what I suggested, we could’ve arrived at our destination in a much better state even if it would be a bit later. Then we could’ve…!”

Yunael grew more obstinate and confident as they led the team. Despite their complaints, the rest of the expedition team had no choice but to follow Yunael’s lead. It was then the incident happened. When the expedition team finally arrived at their destination, they faced great trouble inside.

In that chaotic situation, Dulia still managed to find a way out, and the expedition team was able to escape after many ordeals. Yet they suffered great damage. After running with all their lives on the line, Dulia turned around to see that the five teammates she had started with dwindled down to three. Two were missing. And that wasn’t even the end of it.

“The path…changed then,” Dulia frowned as if she was still uncertain. “I was sure that we entered from the entrance and went out from it, but the environment was completely different. It was as if I was in a constantly moving maze.”

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Two people disappeared, and they lost their path. It was the worst-case scenario. The remaining three discussed what to do from then on, and it was then all the anger that had acc.u.mulated inside Dulia burst out. Dulia’s suggestion was to return first. There was not much they could do in their current situation, so she wanted the team to reprepare themselves at Shalyh and recruit more companions before trying again. However, Yunael disagreed.

Yunael wanted to continue, saying now that they had the experience of failure, they wouldn’t fall for the same tricks again; they also added that they needed to save the two who had disappeared before it was too late. Many opinions were exchanged then. Usually, Dulia would’ve relented to Yunael’s pressure, but it was different this time.

It had just been moments ago that they miraculously escaped the latest danger. It seemed clear that they would die if they went back, and she resisted. As the two were unwilling to compromise with each other, Yunael threatened Dulia.

“They said if I wouldn’t listen to them, I should keep my mouth shut and f.u.c.k off. Well, I did exactly that.”

Crunch-! There was an audible sound as Dulia clenched her teeth tightly. After listening to her explanation, Chi-Woo looked back at Eval with a stunned expression. How should he describe it? It felt as if he was hearing about the worst expedition team in existence. As Chi-Woo had only partic.i.p.ated in impressive expedition teams before such as the one for the Narsha Haram, it was hard for Chi-Woo to fully wrap his head around this story.

“Though it seems like an especially serious case, it’s not completely unheard of. It’s pretty common for fights between team members to break out during an expedition,” Eval said and smiled dryly.

Anyways, Chi-Woo had heard the situation. Now he needed to decide whether he would help Ho Lactea and save Yunael, or refuse their request. But of course, the answer was long decided. There was no reason for Chi-Woo to not go. The person they were asked to save was someone they had already been eyeing, Yunael, and simultaneously Ho Lactea, would be indebted to them after this incident. There was one problem though.

Seven Stars’ main force, the first team, was currently absent. Noticing Chi-Woo’s concern, Eval got a map and spread it out on the table.

“Where is the general location of that place?” Eval asked Dulia.

“…Here.” Dulia pointed at one part of the map, and Eval clicked his tongue. It was the complete opposite direction to where Seven Stars’ first team was.

“How long did it take you to get there?”

“Four days.”

“What about when you came back?”

“Four days. If the paths hadn’t changed, I could’ve arrived a day faster.”

The location was farther than they expected. Eval fell into deep thought. If it had been even a bit closer to where the first team was, they could’ve moved first and met up with the first team along the way.

“Boss, you need to call them as soon as possible if you are going to do this. Even though it has only been a day and a half since they left, you have to think about Ru Amuh’s marching speed. Furthermore, since they have been moving through a safe area, they probably traveled through the night too.”

It was better and safer to go with Ru Amuh’s team, but Chi-Woo wasn’t pleased by the idea. This meant they would have to wait at least a day for Ru Amuh’s team to come back, and he had a feeling that he would be too late then. Perhaps he would barely make it even if they set out right now. He didn’t have time to ponder long about this matter.

“Mr. Eval, please prepare for an expedition.”

“Yes, boss.”

Eval ran off like he had been waiting for Chi-Woo to give this command. Then Chi-Woo quickly said while writing a message, “Ms. Dulia, I need a head who can guide our rescue team.”

There would be no better guide than someone who had already been at the location, and it seemed Dulia was skilled.

“Ah, please.” Dulia frowned, but there wasn’t much heat in her voice. It seemed she had also been a bit concerned about the matter. Though she hadn’t escaped, she wouldn’t be able to escape rumors accusing her of being irresponsible. Furthermore, she had to consider that Yunael was part of Ho Lactea, and Ho Lactea would probably take things to the worst direction if they heard what happened. But if she brought them up to speed as soon as she returned and partic.i.p.ated in the rescue effort, people would say that she had tried her best.

“…It’s not that I don’t trust you, but we aren’t the only ones going, are we?”

“Of course not.”

“It sounds like you hardly have any members left in your group though… Well, I’m sure it’s fine. If the rumors are accurate, you must know some trustworthy heroes,” Dulia said.

As if to prove this point, three heroes arrived at the sitting room not much later.

“Hey!” A man with slick hair tied into a top knot waved in excitement. It was Jin-Cheon.

“It’s been a while~” Following him, Abis and a young man entered shyly.

“You are…” Dulia looked a bit surprised to see them. It seemed that she hadn’t expected them at all.

“Oh, who’s this? Isn’t it Ms. Dulia?” Likewise, Jin-Cheon looked surprised to see Dulia.

“Just call me Dulia,” Dulia retorted instantly and asked. “Why are you here?”

“I came cause Teacher called me,” Jin-Cheon answered and slumped down next to Chi-Woo.

“Do you all know each other?” Chi-Woo asked.

“Ah, well,” Jin-Cheon replied while resting his arm around the couch, “I met her when I was applying to Yunael’s expedition team, but we knew each other before that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup. Yunael seemed satisfied with us, but Abis suddenly said that she didn’t have a good feeling about it, so we dropped out in the middle…” Jin-Cheon looked back at Dulia. “I thought you said that you were going to play in big waters now. Why are you here?”

“Big waters my a.s.s.” Dulia snorted. “Sounds like Abis has a much better eye than me. I’m the stupid fool who fell for the name of Tania and the idea of going on an expedition.”

She glanced at Abis and shook her head, letting out a sigh.

Jin-Cheon seemed to have guessed the general situation then. He turned back to Chi-Woo with a smirk.

“Teacher, I have a strange sense of déjà vu. Am I right to think that?” he asked.

If Jin-Cheon was thinking about the Zepar expedition, he was exactly right, and Chi-Woo nodded.

“Okay, then let’s go.” Jin-Cheon easily accepted the situation.

“What?” Dulia was more shocked than Chi-Woo. “Really? You guys?” It sounded like Jin-Cheon’s team had made quite a name for themselves among heroes who operated independently.

“Well, I have many debts to repay to Teacher. Why? Are we not good enough?” Jin-Cheon shrugged, and Dulia looked him up and down.

“No, if it’s you guys…” Dulia didn’t seem to have many complaints.

“We will have Dulia as the head.” Chi-Woo made it clear before they even began. It was because they had two archers in the team, and Chi-Woo wanted to avoid any chances of conflict. Abis seemed to accept it naturally, and Dulia smiled, grateful that the captain of the team made their roles clear. This was only the basics of what a captain should do, but after going through the worst, c.r.a.ppiest leaders.h.i.+p, Dulia felt thankful for the littlest things.

“And…” There were five of them now, but Chi-Woo turned on his device again and typed out a message.

“Hm, I think there’s enough of us. Are you planning to call one more person?” Jin-Cheon asked, and Chi-Woo nodded while clicking the send b.u.t.ton.

“Yes…I think the group would be much more stable with one more skilled member,” Chi-Woo replied.

“Certainly. If Mr. Ru Amuh comes, it would be more than perfect!”

“It’s not Mr. Ru Amuh, but—” Before Chi-Woo finished his sentence, there was the sound of thunder.

“Did you call, sir?” A man appeared in front of Chi-Woo. It was a cool-looking young man with a n.o.ble air about him.

“…Mr. Emmanuel?”

Even Chi-Woo was somewhat dazed seeing Emmanuel getting on one knee before him, let alone the rest of the group.

“I came because you called.”

“How? I don’t think it’s even been three seconds,” Chi-Woo said in astonishment.

“I happened to be on my way here,” Emmanuel said.

“For what?”

“To give you my daily greetings.”

“But it’s evening right now.”

“I was taught that daily greetings must be given three times a day—morning, noon, and evening.”

Chi-Woo was taken aback by Emmanuel’s responses. But since the situation was so urgent, he thought he should begin with an explanation.

“Well, I just wanted to ask—”

“Yes, I will do it.”

“?”

“Just give me your command.”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“What do I need to do? Should I call in more people?”

Chi-Woo became speechless. He had been touched when Jin-Cheon said he would go without asking anything. But Emmanuel’s response was…a bit too much. It was scary. Anyways, with this, they had managed to recruit Eust.i.tia"s leader, who was all the hot topic these days. And now they had all they needed for a team.

“…I’m not sure,” Dulia sounded skeptical even though they had already decided to go, “If they are even alive.” Four days had pa.s.sed since Dulia last separated from Yunael’s expedition team, and it would be a wonder if the two remaining members—a number too small to be called an expedition team—were still alive. While that was true, Chi-Woo thought the chance wasn’t zero. There was a concept called Sangsu; according to it, there was fate that couldn’t be changed, and one needed to pay a constant amount for any changed variables.

If Yunael’s fate was to become Chi-Woo’s star as Boboris said, Yunael would survive most variables until they met Chi-Woo. Of course, Chi-Woo couldn’t be hundred percent certain of this. This was Liber, where heroes with main-character qualities died like flies. It was a world without a World, and thus, Chi-Woo needed to hurry before changing variables that could even destroy the concept of Sangsu occurred and cut this fate short.

“I know this is sudden, but considering how urgent the situation is, we will go as soon as we are prepared,” Chi-Woo said and got up from his seat.