Vol 2 Chapter 53

Hyung asked glumly. Those hangers-on were the guild members of Magictopia, whom Kapros had met earlier through a unique connection. Seeing that Arcana wasn't visible among them as they made a fuss recognizing him, it seemed she was also at the staff.

'By the way, they really did participate.'

Although they had hinted at participating, Kapros hadn't thought they would actually do it. He wasn't sure whether to call it brave or reckless.

As Kapros's gaze met theirs, they cheered even more as if a celebrity had looked their way, leaving Kion-hyung and Kran bewildered. The two were curious about what connection existed between Kapros and the Magictopia guild, but it was too long a story to explain here.

Yu-wan, the only one who knew that story, silently looked at Kapros. Feeling that gaze, suddenly another incident from that day popped into Kapros's mind.

He pretended it was nothing, and it almost was, but there was no doubt that he was subtly concerned about it now.

'I was caught off guard.'

And very suddenly at that.

"...They're people from a guild I met by chance yesterday."

Kapros gave a brief answer and quickly turned his head. At the same time, he turned his eyes elsewhere to distract himself from that memory. Yu-wan kept staring at him, but Kapros ignored it.

"Finished registering."

Fortunately, if it hadn't been for Palton returning after finishing his guild war participation declaration, Kapros might have found himself in a more awkward situation. For the first time, Kapros felt a bit grateful for Palton's sly smile and let out a faint sigh.

"Ah, it feels like it's been a long time since I've seen all these faces gathered like this. It hasn't happened since we first met, right?"

Palton said as he reached for the greatsword on his back. It seemed like a meaningless action just to check, but perhaps because of his large build, even that simple motion felt threatening.

"Especially you, Dark. They say you ran away and came back? Hahaha."

Yu-wan and Kapros simultaneously turned their gazes away from Palton coldly.

"What's wrong, pretties? You're too cold. After staying at my guild for days."

Palton, undeterred, threw out what seemed like an upgraded sly comment, earning a punch from Kion-hyung.

"Ugh!"

"Do you always have to act up twice as much on days like this? Remember, Kar came here because I invited him to watch, not to help the guild."

That was true. If Kapros had wanted to participate, he would have put his name on the guild's participant list, but he hadn't done so. Now that he knew he would have to leave soon because of Kran's quest, he felt quite fortunate about that.

"Hehehe. I'm just disappointed. If these pretties were on our side, the staff would be ours right away."

"...How dare you talk about the staff now? Huh? You, who disappear alone in a mass slaughter frenzy as soon as it starts, what? The staff? You've got some nerve!"

By that point, Kapros thought it was about time to mention the purpose of his visit. When he looked at Kran, he saw him nodding with a slightly tense expression. Although Kran had come along with him, it was obvious that he would be sensitive about the success of the quest, given the time limit.

"Hyung."

"Wait, just one more hit. ...Huh?"

Kion-hyung, who had been beating Palton as if it were a usual procedure, turned around at Kapros's call. Kapros opened his mouth with a faint smile.

"Actually, I don't think I'll be able to watch the guild war today."

"Huh? Why?"

Hyung completely stopped even the foot he had been using to twist Palton.

"Did something happen?"

Seeing hyung's worried look, Kapros couldn't help but smile.

"It's not like that. Kran says he's cleared all the quests and finally found out the location of the real quest, so I think we need to go there."

"Aha! Where is it? Is it close to here?"

"Yeah. Talant Cave next to this place."

"...What? Talant?"

At that moment, not only hyung but even Palton, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly looked surprised.

"Why?"

"Damn it. Why Talant of all places? Do you have to go there right now?"

Kion-hyung asked urgently, tearing at his hair. Kapros glanced at Kran and nodded.

"There's not much time left on the time limit."

"Damn it! What kind of time limit!"

Hyung, who had shouted, grabbed Kapros's shoulder tightly.

"Do you know what kind of place that is?"

"I heard it's a passage to the west."

When Kapros relayed what he had heard from Kran, worry appeared on hyung's face.

"Yes, it's a passage. But it's a passage no one enters. You can probably guess why, right?"

Only then did Kapros frown. The reason was obvious. It was the reason they had experienced several times before.

"...How strong are the things inside?"

He asked directly.

"It's tough. It's not just ordinary undead in there. There are high-level monsters like lizardmen or vampires all over the place. Would you believe it if I said most of them are at the sub-boss level? Plus, there are so many that they swarm you like a pack of dogs as soon as you enter."

At those words, Yu-wan and Kran's eyes sank as if sharpened. Kapros calmly assessed their chances of success based on hyung's information.

It would definitely be tough. But...

"It's okay. Just knowing this will be a big help."

Now, not only was Kapros there, but Yu-wan, whose skills had definitely improved, was also present. When Kapros turned to look at Yu-wan, he returned a slightly hardened gaze. However, perhaps because Kapros's tone had sounded too nonchalant, Kion-hyung became even more worried and started pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Ah, really... You should have told me earlier! Then I would have skipped the guild war too. Damn. Hey, Pal-deung. Can I still back out now?"

"..."

Palton, who would normally have said it was impossible, remained silent. Was the Talant Cave such a dangerous place? Kapros clenched his fist.

He knew better than anyone how long those two had been waiting for this guild war. Moreover, he had come because he wanted to tell hyung something.

"Hyung. Just a moment."

"Yeah?"

"About that clue you said was blocked before."