Free Web Novel“...What?”
The dumbfounded looks on their faces almost made me laugh. I’d just said something completely obvious, but they were staring at me like it was unbelievable.
“Of course, right? You kidnapped me, tied me up for hours — naturally I’d hold a grudge.”
“...”
“But I’m a thoroughly good person, so I’m not planning on killing you. Ideally, we clear this quest together and walk out.”
“...”
“They asked for secrets, didn’t they? We barely know each other, so even trivial things count. I already went first — I said I don’t drink. That’s my secret.”
Finally, they seemed to start catching on. One of them opened his mouth.
“My secret is... uh, I can’t drink coffee. That count?”
When I nodded, the others followed.
“I don’t have anything I can’t eat, though...”
“...Pig.”
“It doesn’t have to be food. Just anything works. As long as it’s new info.”
'Too easy.'
With the bar set this low, the first quest passed without a hitch. For the record, Do Yehyun’s secret was about insomnia, and Im Haekyung’s was a food preference.
First quest cleared!
Would you like to view the second quest?
Viewing is automatic acceptance.
Quest opened with approval of 2 party members.
Less than five minutes in, the idiots were already brimming with confidence, eager for the next step.
“Yeah, let’s clear this fast and get out. If we bring something back to {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Seokgyung hyung, we’ll have an excuse ready.”
“Right! How do we open it? Quest open! That work?”
“Quest open!”
'Wow... the stupidity is on another level.'
I’d been planning to move on anyway, but their impatience was almost impressive. Im Haekyung also gave them a strange look, like he was thinking the same thing.
Since they’d been stuck inside, they didn’t know Infinite Guild was already finished outside. Better to let them enjoy their ignorance while it lasted.
Quest opened with approval of 2 party members.
Second Quest.
Congratulations on building trust! Now, select one person to represent your group.
All members must agree. If even one disagrees, the quest fails.
Failure penalty: Random 1 person dies.
So here it was. The representative election.
“Representative?”
Im Haekyung muttered as he read. The Infinite Guild members glanced at him, then at me. I curled my lips into a smile and met their eyes.
“Shall we pick a representative?”
They all stared at me. One of them hesitated, then flicked a glance toward Haekyung.
“...Wouldn’t it be better if it’s Im Haekyung?”
“He’s the Haeseong guild master, after all...”
As expected. But letting him be representative would be a problem. I opened my mouth to stop them — but Haekyung cut in first, declining smoothly.
“Ah... I don’t think I fit the role of representative, so I’ll pass.”
“...Huh?”
They looked at him in confusion. He chuckled lightly into his fist and added,
“Honestly, the role isn’t important here. Same conditions for everyone, right? It’s just quests. Anyone could do it.”
“I guess...”
He held their gazes, then turned his eyes back to me.
“Wouldn’t you agree?”
Seeking confirmation.
Sharp bastard.
Quest dungeons always chained tasks together. If quest one was “build trust,” quest two would test it, and quest three would break it. So what did quest two — “choose a representative” — really mean?
'The next target would almost certainly be the rep.'
No wording in the quest window was meaningless.
For example:
'Failure penalty: Random 1 person dies.'
If it specified random here, then there’d definitely be times it wasn’t random later. And in a scenario where one person could be singled out, who better than the “representative”? ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Obvious trap.
Which was why Haekyung declined — leaving the poisoned seat open, so the fools would take it instead.
Except, they weren’t biting. They kept fidgeting, avoiding eye contact.
'He miscalculated.'
Maybe he thought he could use mind skills to force agreement, but these idiots weren’t reacting to the lack of penalty. What they responded to was...
'Clear reward.'
So I grinned and chimed in,
“Anyone could do it, sure. Then I’ll be the representative!”
The mood dropped instantly. All eyes swung to me — even Haekyung looked taken aback.
“Hy-hyung...”
Do Yehyun sounded rattled too. Perfect. I leaned toward him, pretending to whisper but loud enough for the others to hear.
“It’s better if I take it. Notice how the quests keep saying we all have to agree? What do you think that means?”
“...What does it mean?”
“Doesn’t it sound like next time, we’ll have to follow the representative’s choice?”
“...What?”
Yeah, disbelief written all over his face. His brain worked too well at times like this. I kept whispering.
“A title here will definitely carry weight. They wouldn’t create a representative just to do nothing. So better if it’s me...”
Before I could finish, one of the Infinite Guild idiots cut in.
“Wait! Hold on.”
“...Yes?”
I gave him a bored look. Veins bulged on his forehead. Good — that meant he was taking the bait.
Sure enough, he blurted,
“Let’s vote. We’ll vote on who should be the representative!”
“...Huh?”
“Yeah! Let’s vote! But whoever loses, no whining — we all back the winner, deal?”
“...”
And just like that, we were holding an impromptu class president election.
He and I stood side by side, each pitching ourselves. He went first.
“I’ve always managed people in Infinite Guild. Seokgyung hyung trusted me with jobs, I gave orders, kept things running—”
Oh, wow. Bravo. I barely held back from heckling. He went on for three more minutes.
“...Anyway, that’s why I should be rep.”
Then it was my turn. The others watched me nervously, except Haekyung, who looked entertained. I didn’t hesitate.
“What’s the most important quality in a leader? Goodness. A leader should be virtuous. On that point, I’m perfect.”
“...”
“...”
The vote result? All but one picked me.
“Ahem. Well, since I’m rep now, I’ll keep an eye on things, make sure to look out for Haekyung-ssi and the rest of you too.”
For the record, the sole person who voted for me was Im Haekyung himself. Who knew he had such a clear sense of morality.
Second quest cleared!
Would you like to view the third quest?
Viewing is automatic acceptance.
Quest opened with approval of 3 party members.
“Come on, let’s keep going!”
“Yeah, open it!”
“We approved already, so open it!”
Now that they’d “elected” a representative, their confidence was through the roof. First some secrets, then a vote. Easy so far, right? Except quests never stayed that easy.
They always got nastier with each round.
And right on cue, the third quest appeared.
Third Quest.
Congratulations on choosing a representative!
Now, decide whether to recruit an additional member... or expel one.
All members must agree. If even one disagrees, the quest fails.
Failure penalty: Specific 1 person dies.
Time limit: 60 minutes.
There it was. Recruitment or expulsion.
'Cute little trap.'
I looked over at Haekyung. He was staring back, not with amusement this time but a slightly hardened face.
'He gets it too.'
“Recruit? Expel? Who gets expelled? If we expel, does that mean they leave the dungeon?”
“Hell no. They’d die, obviously.”
'Just as expected.'
Then Do Yehyun tugged my sleeve and whispered,
“Hyung... how can we recruit someone when we’re already inside?”
“Exactly. That’s what’s off about this.”
Expulsion seemed dangerous, but the real threat was recruitment. Why assume recruits had to be human?
Of course, expulsion wasn’t harmless either...
I glanced at the idiots bickering over pros and cons and plastered on another warm smile.
“Remember how I said I wasn’t planning on killing you?”
“...Yeah.”
“Well, guess I’ll have to take that back. Looks like at least one of you has to die.”
“...”
Still, might as well be polite about it.
“So. Any volunteers? First come, first served.”
