Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

Everyone expressed doubt at the story’s sudden leap from the raid boss Avenger to mermaids.

“Not the Avenger?”

“Mr. Kim, what’s a mermaid? Is it edible?”

“You barbaric bell! That, that can’t be!”

Choi Kwon-young interrupted the comedic dialogue between Lee Kang-to and the goblin.

“Recently, I’ve been traveling all over the World Tower to find clues about conquering the 76th floor.”

While exploring the World Tower and revisiting the 16th floor, Choi Kwon-young accidentally discovered a coastal cave.

“And there were these scales in that cave too.”

Choi Kwon-young didn’t ignore this suspicious coincidence. While searching for information about these scales, he says he felt something was off.

“Isn’t it strange? A mermaid’s scale.”

“Is it? Not particularly…”

“Shella is a port city, right? If there were mermaids, they likely would have had contact with humans. So there should be something related to them, whether it’s fairy tales, songs, or even shop names.”

Now that I heard it, it made sense. Human imagination knows no bounds. They can even create non-existent races, so if it were a race that actually existed, there should normally be stories about it.

Choi Kwon-young continued as he put the scale down on the table.

“But strangely, there was nothing. Even KOD, who occupied the main quest, said they hadn’t heard anything.”

Even the conquest team, who would have been most intimate with the NPCs, didn’t know.

Moreover, this scale came from the raid boss. It meant it was connected to the core of the floor.

There are no contextless events in the World Tower. It was worth investigating.

I was convinced and at the same time, got goosebumps at Choi Kwon-young’s insight. Remembering an F-rank item obtained long ago, and drawing such inferences from it. He’s truly someone I don’t want to get close to.

“So, depart as soon as you’re ready.”

Leaving this short order, Choi Kwon-young soon left the reception room. Looking at the spot where he had suddenly disappeared, I fiddled with the scale.

The port city of Shella, the Avenger, and the mermaid. Will the end indeed be connected to a hidden piece?

I pressed my fist against my chest, where anxiety and expectation were mixed.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Wow, that was amazing!”

Lee Kang-to rushed towards me with shining eyes.

I wish he wouldn’t come close in that outfit. His glittering robe was overwhelmingly distracting.

“It wasn’t black magic, but it was truly beautiful!”

Not just the NPCs, but even the hunters who usually don’t bat an eye at most things were glancing this way.

Despite claiming to dislike strangers looking at him and pulling his hood down deep, the hood’s surface was embroidered with golden thread, making him stand out more than anyone. I heard he was a close-range dealer, so why is he wearing such equipment?

I subtly took a step away from Lee Kang-to.

“I guess even S-ranks have good luck.”

“Most people wouldn’t even dare to try with ordinary courage and wealth. Of course, the result was very, very splendid!”

Lee Kang-to’s artificial tail poked out from under his robe as he shook so vigorously. The goblin on Cha Taeyang’s head jumped up in fright.

“Mr. Kim! Tell him to put away that hideous thing! It brings bad luck.”

“Even if you say that…”

“Hideous? Don’t speak if you don’t know! Look! This perfect curve and sheen, the joints that bend flexibly! The tail tip is sharply trimmed. The Guild Master made it for me personally!”

Lee Kang-to twisted his body and praised the tail.

Lee Kang-to, a self-proclaimed fervent admirer of black magic and aestheticism, despite his extremely shy personality, rushed in with shining eyes when interested in something. White Night must have wrapped him up tightly because of this peculiar habit.

Looking back, I saw Han Cha-hyun following a few steps behind, head down, pretending not to be part of the group. As I tried to slink back towards Han Cha-hyun, Lee Kang-to grabbed my wrist with his tail.

“When the contract ends, please do my weapon too.”

“Hey, don’t cut in line! I asked first!”

“Are you claiming rights without even an official contract?”

“I promised Gaho-unni. You saw it right there!”

“That’s right, Sori is a witness! Black Mr. Kim promised to work on Taeyang’s weapon as soon as she gets her exclusive one!”

Cha Taeyang and Lee Kang-to started growling at each other with me in the middle. When the goblin joined in, taking Cha Taeyang’s side, Lee Kang-to lifted his chin haughtily.

“So, so naive.”

“What did you just say?”

Cha Taeyang gripped the tail wrapped around my wrist tightly. As the tail twisted with a loud creaking sound, Lee Kang-to screeched and pulled it out.

After checking if there was any damage to the tail, Lee Kang-to hugged it and shouted.

“What kind of brutish act is this!”

“Brutish? You’re the brutish one. Why are you grabbing someone else’s wrist without permission? Unni is delicate, you can’t just grab her like that!”

“That, that might be true! Hmph, contracts are essential among hunters. Verbal promises can be easily broken, so if you want to claim rights, bring a contract!”

“Unni, Gaho-unni, you won’t really do that, right? You remember our promise, don’t you?”

“Easily broken,” he said. It wasn’t entirely wrong.

There were plenty of people who changed their words as easily as flipping their palms. There’s a reason why the demand for contract items is sky-high.

Cha Taeyang, raised by the goblin who can’t lie, seemed to find it difficult to understand, but she’ll have to get used to it.

‘Of course, I won’t do that.’

It’s not bad to get into the habit of being careful. When I answered that I would keep my promise, Cha Taeyang’s expression brightened.

Nevertheless, the argument between Cha Taeyang and Lee Kang-to didn’t end.

“Let’s stop here.”

Although not all party members were celebrities, it wasn’t good to attract attention. Sharing the same thought, Han Cha-hyun intervened between the two.

“We’re about to arrive at the house.”

In some floors, players can own buildings called houses. The process of obtaining one was so complicated that there were almost no individually owned houses, most belonging to guilds. Fortunately, Hwangya owned a house on this floor.

Due to fierce reservation competition, this was my first time actually using one.

When we opened the door of the house, we saw Yun Su-ho, who had departed ahead of the group. His expression was full of dissatisfaction, probably displeased about being sent ahead because he attracted too much attention.

“You’re later than expected.”

“We’re not that late.”

“Weren’t we supposed to arrive at 11:30? You’re 7 minutes late.”

Ignoring Yun Su-ho’s nitpicking lightly, I examined the interior of the house. Although it looked a bit shabby from the outside, the inside was intricately decorated.

Choi Kwon-young wouldn’t care about such details, so this must be Hwang Jae-hee’s handiwork.

Han Cha-hyun, who was in charge of the party, gathered the members.

“As we discussed in the meeting a few days ago, our goal is to find clues to the hidden quest. Finding traces of the mermaid is the first step.”

Han Cha-hyun took out a floor map from his inventory.

“The main quest of the 16th floor revolved around the southern port city of Shella. But we’ll expand our investigation range wider.”

“H-How wide exactly?”

“We’ll split into three parties and move between Ninea, the largest city in this area, the capital Orbice, and Shella. We need to investigate at least that much to get a comprehensive view of the situation.”

Yun Su-ho, who had been silent while stroking his chin, spoke up as if he had been waiting.

“Gaho, you’ll come with me…”

“N-no! I’ll go with Hunter Yun Gaho…!”

As soon as the mention of splitting into teams came up, a struggle to claim me broke out.

‘I don’t like either option…’

One side was overly protective, while the other was excessively clingy.

The 16th floor isn’t that dangerous to go alone. If I had to go with someone, I’d prefer Han Cha-hyun or Cha Taeyang. Han Cha-hyun was undoubtedly a good colleague, and Cha Taeyang was a junior who gave me the satisfaction of teaching.

“Rejected. Yun Su-ho, please move alone as you might attract attention. It would be troublesome if you were seen coming and going from Hwangya’s house, so please stay around the capital or Ninea as much as possible.”

“Then, then I…”

“No. Lee Kang-to, you stand out in a different way, so you’ll accompany me. I didn’t want to do this either, but please move under my supervision.”

Lee Kang-to sat down with a thud, clinging to Han Cha-hyun’s ankle and whining that this couldn’t be. Yun Su-ho also protested, citing my safety as a reason, but Han Cha-hyun was firm.

“Lack of safety awareness? That’s a fresh opinion. Objectively speaking, the only thing that could threaten Yun Gaho on this floor would be the raid boss. But it’s been long since that was subjugated.”

“But…”

“I’m the party leader. Please follow instructions. Cha Taeyang is with them too, isn’t she? While not as much as Yun Su-ho, Cha Taeyang is a hunter with excellent capabilities.”

Unable to argue but also unable to accept it, Yun Su-ho closed his mouth. Han Cha-hyun rubbed his temples.

Although he took on the role of party leader in place of the outsider Yun Su-ho and Lee Kang-to, whose temperament made him difficult to lead, he seemed to be struggling to handle the free-spirited high-ranking hunters.

While feeling sorry for him, I was also relieved that I wasn’t the leader. Just thinking about commanding these members was enough to raise my blood pressure. I doubted whether I could have responded as calmly as Han Cha-hyun.

“I don’t want to force Yun Su-ho. But if this continues, I’ll have no choice but to discuss with the guild about removing Yun Su-ho from the party.”

“…I understand. In that case, let me take Ninea, and Han Cha-hyun’s team can take the capital.”

“Yes. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Yun Gaho, contact me immediately if anything happens.”

I nodded reluctantly.

That bastard, he definitely chose Ninea to be assigned somewhere close to me. Just try contacting me.

Han Cha-hyun’s expression brightened, as if a weight had been lifted, despite still having Lee Kang-to clinging to his ankle. Han Cha-hyun shook his foot vigorously to remove Lee Kang-to, then forcibly stood him up.

“Look at the situation from various angles, and if you find anything suspicious, contact us immediately. Don’t forget to report every evening even if nothing particular happens. Now, Kang-to. Get up. We need to go within the portal usage time.”

The group, except for me and Cha Taeyang, dispersed to their assigned locations.

Despite everything, Shella has the highest probability of having clues. We need to move diligently too.

◆◇◆◇◆

Together with Cha Taeyang, we moved to the harbor where the most people gather in Shella. The smell of the sea stung my nose.

“Where should we go first?”

“Let’s start by gathering rumors. We need to look around as much as possible, so let’s move separately. Is that okay with you?”

“Of course! Um, I’ll look around this area. I can hide secretly among people using my skill.”

“Yes, that’s good. I’ll check the coast and then go to the coastal cave where the Guild Master said he found the scale. It’s bothering me somehow.”

“Mr. Kim, take care!”

Cha Taeyang greeted me and disappeared into the crowd.

I took out the map and checked the location of the cave I had marked in advance. It wasn’t that far from here.

“Well, shall we go take a look?”