Chapter 12: The Guide’s Gamble

Shion asked a question.

“Jangcheok, you know that thing, right?”

“What is it?”

“The guide for the ant nest dungeon—who’s taking that role?”

That’s an important issue.

The guide determines the direction of the party’s movement and needs to anticipate threats within the dungeon.

The role of the Dungeon Seeker is always in high demand for this reason.

It would be ideal if a Dungeon Seeker could take the guide role, but if none are available, we can just use someone with a higher education level to take over the map reading.

It won’t perform as well as a Dungeon Seeker, but it’s better than nothing.

Jangcheok looked at me, and Shion turned to look at me too.

They probably inserted me into the party for this kind of task.

“I’ll do it.”

This is exactly why a person with higher education comes in handy.

The guide role.

I’ve never done it before, but it should be fine.

However, Shion didn’t seem to trust me.

“A necromancer as a guide?”

What’s wrong with being a necromancer?

“Really?”

Shion looked around as if to say, “Does this make sense?”

Jangcheok crossed his arms, and Roa lowered her head.

From their perspective, Shion’s question was valid.

They didn’t need to be stuck with a necromancer as a guide.

The rest of the roles could be divided between the other three.

If we replaced the necromancer with a Dungeon Seeker, it wouldn’t be a problem.

But f*ck, that would mean I’m out of the picture.

I got the situation.

There was no one here to defend me.

I was the most expendable person in this group.

But would I just say, “Okay, I’m unnecessary,” and step aside?

No way. I’ve got to fight for my spot.

“Is there a problem?”

I asked, staring directly into Shion’s eyes.

His head was shaved military-style, and his pale skin made him look like some Russian skinhead.

Shion glanced at my expression and grinned.

“No, it’s not a problem.

But come on, right? The ant nest isn’t a small dungeon, and it’d be easier to have a Dungeon Seeker as a guide than a necromancer.”

“Well, we’re going to follow the map anyway.”

“True. But…”

Suddenly, Shion leaned forward and pushed his head closer.

“Why the hell do we have to go into the dungeon with a necromancer? We could just go with an alchemist instead.”

Hah.

Yeah. That’s one way to look at it. The treatment of necromancers could be complete crap.

But this isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with shit like this.

But damn, it still pisses me off.

“Why go into the dungeon with a necromancer?”

If you’re going to talk like that, I’ve got something to say too.

Where did I put it…

Ah, here it is.

I pulled out a bronze token from my pocket and threw it onto the map.

The group’s eyes were drawn to the token.

A bronze token proving my rank as a 4th-grade explorer.

“How many dungeons have you run through before deciding to replace a necromancer as the guide?”

Again, let me remind you, *Dungeon Overseer* is a roguelike game.

In roguelike games, anyone who plans their moves too strictly and knows exactly what to do in every situation never gets past the early stages.

Here is the translation with each line starting a new paragraph:

—

What’s important in dungeons is quick thinking and adaptability.

First and foremost, it’s about using all available means to overcome the immediate crisis.

Building the right setup comes afterward.

The moment Shion said who should take what role, it was almost like proving that he was an explorer with little experience.

Does he go dungeon exploring often?

If he had some experience, he would have just gone with the flow.

If he disliked necromancers, he should have questioned not just the guide role, but the necromancer’s abilities themselves.

That’s what I was aiming for.

“Looking at it, it seems like you’ve never gone into a dungeon with a necromancer. Have you ever let anyone besides a Dungeon Seeker guide you?”

They looked at my rank token.

A bronze rank means I’m not a complete beginner.

The other side stepped back first.

Shion slowly leaned back against the seat and started to look disinterested.

Then he said this:

“Hahaha. No, I just heard rumors about some weird copper rank necromancer.

Rumor has it that they ruin every party they join. Haven’t you heard that? You should know if you’re a necromancer too.

Just wanted to check. A necromancer guide. Sounds nice, right?”

f*ck.

That’s about me.

That guy looks like a white supremacist but his eyes are sharp.

He was just trying to protect the party from a bad luck necromancer.

Yeah, the attempt was good.

But it’s too late.

I used the opportunity when Shion took a step back to move forward.

That guy, Shion, probably has a level 1 or 2.

By rank, he’s a bronze-grade explorer.

Low-level explorers are always filled with anxiety.

They’re weak enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if they died any moment.

Unlike Shion, who didn’t trust me, Jangcheok exuded complete confidence.

That confidence.

It was so enviable.

Arguing with Shion wouldn’t get me anywhere.

I immediately shifted my target to Jangcheok.

“I came because Supervisor Gawin recommended me. But the atmosphere here isn’t great.”

Earlier, Jangcheok asked if I was sent by Gawin.

They must know each other.

When I showed that I was upset, Jangcheok finally spoke up.

“Shion here just joined recently, so he doesn’t know much. He’s only been an explorer for about six months. As a senior, you should be more patient.”

As expected, mentioning Supervisor Gawin immediately got a response.

“Even so, being on the same team as someone who’s never even gone into a dungeon with a necromancer is…”

“Haha. Let’s stop talking about that. You’ve already come with a recommendation letter. Here’s what I’ll ask. Shion, apologize to Hajun.”

Shion scratched his head, and Jangcheok cleared his throat.

When his face, like a neighborhood lazy uncle, turned serious, it was a little scary.

He looked like a neighborhood criminal uncle.

“Think about it.

Would Supervisor Gawin really recommend a necromancer who kills all his teammates and returns alone, bringing bad luck and misfortune, to be on the same team?

Hajun isn’t like that filthy necromancer at all!

Do you know what that guy’s nickname is? The Necromancer Who Brings Death! The Necromancer Who Brings Death!”

Jangcheok, imagining the Necromancer Who Brings Death, trembled and shuddered on his own.

Good grief.

A guy with such bad luck is an explorer?

At Jangcheok’s strong reaction, Shion no longer doubted me.

He must have been worried about the anxiety of being in the same party with a necromancer.

Shion laughed sheepishly and apologized to me.

“I overreacted. I went too far with my words. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Right. It’s fine as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up now.

But there’s one mistake.
…

It’s not an unnecessary worry.

That unlucky necromancer is me.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

“So there’s no problem, right?”

As for me, I just want to make money.

Jangcheok, no longer wanting to argue, threatened to call the supervisor and slap fines on us if we kept going back and forth.

I didn’t have any desire to keep arguing.

Once the conversation ended, Jangcheok divided up the general tasks.

“Alright, then.”

First, someone needs to navigate the inside of the ant hole using a map.

That guide is me.

“Hajun, you’ll have to be the guide. You can do that, right?”

“Of course.”

Heh. In the end, this sweet spot is mine.

Guide.

If you think about how Somi did it last time, you’d know how easy this position is.

Let the people who like to fight handle the fighting.

I’ll just do what I’m good at.

“Just in case, let’s also do some ruins investigation.”

“Ruins?”

“Yeah. It’s an assignment from the Dungeon Seeker Guild.

According to their investigation, the ant hole is built over the ruins of an ancient kingdom.

It’s buried underground, and it seems the ants dug tunnels to make it their home. We just need to submit the evidence listed, and we’ll get paid.

Doesn’t sound bad.”

Hmm. Ruins investigation.

Like last time, there’s a side quest too.

I’ll probably have to take that on as well.

“I’ll take care of that.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

To summarize, the main task is to find the lost gem.

It can be found in a cart buried inside the dungeon.

If we have extra time, we’ll investigate the ruins.

What we’ll need is obvious, so let’s get ready to collect stone fragments or something.

“Then the rest…”

Jangcheok gave more instructions to Shion and Roa.

Most of it was about how to handle supplies and things to watch out for inside the ant hole.

It’s probably all from the supervisor’s orders.

“We’ll need to bring more food than that, right?”

“Huh?”

“There’s a chance the path will get twisted, so we’ll probably have to go back and forth often. Let’s bring an extra three days’ worth of food.”

“Bring more food? But then the budget…”

“Let’s reduce the number of torches. Once we enter the dungeon, we won’t be able to use them often since we’ll have to be cautious of the ants.

Let’s leave out the rope too. We’re not climbing, are we?”

“You said there were ruins, right? We might need to go up.”

“Better to take Wildfire Potions.”

“Those expensive things?”

“I’m betting that if things go wrong, we’ll need to start a fire and run. Or we’ll need to dig through something.”

Jangcheok probably thought this advice was unnecessary, but I had reasons for what I was saying.

From my experience so far, the information from the game didn’t always match perfectly, but the general structure was mostly accurate.

For example, in the goblin nests, there’s never anything useful, just garbage.

The scout teams take turns, for example.

Jangcheok listened to my advice and then started thinking with a confused expression.

“Have you ever been into an ant hole before?”

“And you, Jangcheok?”

“This is my first time. Explorers usually rush into whatever comes up. I just took the job because I wasn’t doing anything else.”

I’ve spent over 1000 hours playing the game, and I’ve killed over 200 queen ants.

But I can’t explain that.

“I just heard about it.”

Jangcheok took the revised budget plan and went to find the supervisor.

The supervisor was Gawin.

Without much difficulty, the budget plan was changed.

Looking at the revised budget, Jangcheok was stunned.

“They asked if it was your skill,” the supervisor said.

“That?

Yeah.”

“Right. This is much better, they said…”

It’s always best when things go well.

Jangcheok didn’t fully understand how things were working, but in any case, he congratulated me, patting me on the shoulder.

“Heh. As expected, someone with experience really stands out. It seems like the supervisor really cares about you. A very good friend, heh.”

What should I say to that?

“This expedition… let’s make sure it’s a success.”

The reason Jangcheok liked this was probably because as the party leader, his burden had significantly decreased.

Now he could approach things with a better plan from the start.

As a party leader, as long as the mission succeeds, their evaluation goes up.

Success always means good things.

Unless you’re like me, messing up most of the time and only leveling up through sheer luck…

Once the expedition plan was finished, we gathered on the scheduled date to depart.

The destination was the Ant Hole dungeon.

This time, I prayed desperately that nothing would go wrong.