CHAPTER 46
Poaching team members.
It was something that happened from time to time among pioneers, but it was considered good manners to avoid it if possible.
Pioneering was a rough profession.
If a problem arose between them, there was a high probability it would be settled with knives nine times out of ten.
So, for each other's sake, they generally didn't poach team members.
Or, at the very least, they did it secretly behind the scenes.
Doing it so openly like this was practically unheard of.
Unless, of course, you were a foolish Transferee who had just arrived in this world.
I casually pulled out a chair and sat down.
I was curious to see what kind of bullshit that Japanese bastard would spew.
"Sir Holy Mage, isn't that your team over there?"
A pioneer who recognized me struck up a conversation.
My team members, excluding me, were incredibly conspicuous.
So, there were several pioneers who remembered me as well.
"That's right."
"But is it okay to just watch like this? He's trying to poach your members."
"Yes, that's why I'm waiting to see what he says."
"Hah, you've got a nasty personality."
"I just trust my teammates."
There was no way my team would ever leave for another.
This wasn't some baseless confidence in myself.
It was a well-founded confidence in my Resurrection magic.
A Holy Mage equipped with Resurrection.
The level of safety I provided was incomparable to anything else.
And besides, my teammates' personalities were anything but ordinary.
That's why I was curious.
With what kind of confidence was that Japanese punk making his offer?
"Who is that guy?"
"Ah, he's a guy who showed up about a week ago."
A week ago was right when we had just gone to Nox.
"I doubt he's only done this to our team. He's probably tried it all over the place, so why is everyone letting him be?"
"He's a No-Named. His Ability is dangerous."
I knew it.
Acting so high and mighty was a classic trait of a newly-minted No-Named.
They'd just been transported to this world, awakened their Ability, and now they acted like they owned the place.
Anyway, because of guys like this, decent No-Nameds like me suffer.
They needed to get their start in a damn cult to learn some humility.
These No-Nameds these days have no fundamentals.
"So, what is his Ability?"
A guy like that had surely bragged about his Ability all over the place.
"Summoning."
"Summoning?"
"They say he summons monsters no one's ever seen before and commands them at will. A Silver Pioneer stepped in when he saw him trying to poach his team members and got taken down without being able to do a thing."
Damn it all.
Some people get Resurrection magic, and this guy gets auto-battle.
My blood was boiling.
A sense of injustice welled up from deep within my lungs.
But a veteran Silver Pioneer had been defeated.
At that point, the guy's strength was proven.
"Has he actually done any pioneering work?"
"He has. On his first day, he caught a Green-grade Fantasy Species."
Green-grade.
A level of Fantasy Species that Gold-grade pioneers hunt.
The Jeseung Snake that Bulldog and I had fought tooth and nail to catch was only slightly higher in magic purity than a Blue-grade.
And this guy had caught a Green-grade.
Judging by the reaction, it didn't seem like it was very difficult for him either.
"That's why even the Gold Pioneers are keeping their distance and not bothering him."
"Nothing good comes from getting involved with a No-Named."
An opponent that even a Gold Pioneer couldn't guarantee victory against.
That was the kind of guy who was now hitting on my teammates.
"I'm pretty strong, you know. If you join my team, you'll rack up achievements and raise your pioneer rank in no time."
He spoke with an air of extreme self-importance.
Judging by his lecherous expression, it was obvious to anyone that he wasn't looking for capable pioneers, but for pretty women.
Aranseol wasn't even giving him the time of day.
Although she had softened up a lot since meeting me, she still felt uneasy around Transferees.
Her expression said she didn't want to exchange a single word with him.
Horizon didn't even open her mouth.
Naturally timid, she was reluctant to speak with strangers.
Finally, Babiyen.
"How much will you pay?"
She demanded money first with a bored expression.
Baby Babiyen has been corrupted.
"I'll make it so you can live the rest of your life without having to work."
The Japanese kid spat out what he thought was a cool line.
"No. I'm not asking about that. I'm asking how much you'll give me right now."
"Well, I'm currently in a state of investment, so…"
"Ha, you think you can just run your mouth without a penny to your name? The world isn't that easy."
I was reminded of just how venomous Babiyen could be.

No offer would work on Babiyen, who had become a specter of money.
Moreover, the quick-witted Babiyen must have felt it instinctively.
This guy only thinks about himself. All the earnings will go straight into his own pocket.
"We have nothing more to discuss, so please leave."
At Babiyen's icy response, the Japanese kid's eyebrow twitched.
"What are you blabbering on about? I wasn't talking to you, anyway."
His gaze, which had been on Babiyen until just now, snapped away.
"Honestly, the girls who hang around pretty ones always act like they're in the same league. Get out of the way, I have nothing more to say to you."
"W-What did you say?"
Babiyen looked dumbfounded at being treated this way for the first time in her life.
While she might not compare to Aranseol, she too was a woman of exceptional beauty.
But beauty, in the end, was relative.
"The only one I want to talk to is the lady behind you."
The Japanese kid's slimy gaze landed on Aranseol.
Aranseol looked disgusted by the very idea of making eye contact with him.
"Sorry, but could you please not look this way?"
"Why? Are you shy?"
"No. It's just unpleasant."
The Japanese kid flinched at the unexpected answer.
"And Harua, how long are you going to pretend to be a bystander? Get over here and sort this out."
With that, Aranseol shot a sharp glance in my direction.
Busted.
As I slowly walked over, the Japanese kid's eyes fell on me.
It was a look that screamed, And who the hell are you?
"Sorry, our team is full."
And it was a well-balanced team at that.
One where we could all pull our weight, not some Transferee's one-man show.
"And you are?"
"The team leader, for now."
"A Transferee, like me. Are you Korean?"
"Yeah, something like that. Japanese."
Aranseol, wanting to avoid looking at him any longer, subtly used me as a shield.
Horizon joined in as well.
Unfortunately for Horizon, even when hiding behind me, a large part of her… protruded.
Babiyen already looked furious to the point of exploding.
The face of a noble who had received an intolerable insult.
"Ability?"
"Is there any reason I should tell you first? You should be careful, too."
"Ha, that's only when you have a weak Ability. If you declare it openly, people won't dare to touch you."
He had a point.
The problem was that this world wasn't nearly that simple.
"I am the Dimension Eater."
I saw the space next to him distort slightly.
I didn't know what was inside, but I instinctively felt it was dangerous.
I could certainly feel that it was a good Ability.
"If you won't say, then fine. I don't want to get on bad terms with a fellow Transferee."
His tone was incredibly Transferee-supremacist.
He treated the This-worlders as mere spoils of war.
Wait, maybe he's not such a bad guy after all? I agree that This-worlders are savages.
From behind me, Aranseol poked me sharply in the back.
It seemed she had read my thoughts.
"You're lucky you got to them first."
He backed down obediently without arguing further.
It seemed he thought I was the same type of person as him.
Since he had an outstanding Ability, he probably assumed other Transferees did as well.
"Everyone, sorry for the wait. Let's go."
"Cain, am I not enough for you?"
"I can do better."
"Ahaha, of course you're more than enough."
He grinned, with a woman on each arm.
One woman pressed her body against him aggressively, while the other, small and timid, only held onto the hem of his clothes.
"That's Arshel. Looks like she's already caught a big one."
"She's going to bleed him dry."
One of the two women was the infamous Arshel.
A beautiful woman who was a fixture at the Valterion Capital Pioneer Guild Hall, her moniker was the "Little Viper."
She was a woman who would quickly latch onto any capable male pioneer.
The Japanese Transferee punk was grinning from ear to ear, completely oblivious.
In many ways, he was a pitiful guy.
But the fact that Arshel had attached herself to him also meant his Ability was the real deal.
After all, every pioneer she had ever latched onto had achieved at least the rank of Gold Pioneer.
Because of this, Arshel was also a symbolic figure at the Valterion Pioneer Guild Hall.
Any man destined for greatness would inevitably be targeted by Arshel.
It was another way to prove one's worth.
"This girl is truly… ha, it's so ridiculous I can't stop laughing."
Babiyen's body was trembling as she forcefully swallowed her anger.
"Harua, let's go right now. We absolutely have to catch a higher-grade Fantasy Species than that bastard."

Her determination was impressive.
With this much willpower, she'd surely help us catch a high-grade Fantasy Species.
"That's the spirit! Let's take him down a peg!"
I enthusiastically agreed with Babiyen's rage.
"Don't add fuel to the fire," Aranseol chided, but Babiyen was already blazing.
Horizon stared at the Japanese kid's back for a moment, then, when our eyes met, she gave a timid smile.
"G-Good luck!"
Once again, we entered the 2nd World.

We entered the 2nd World once again. The Moss Flower Cave.
Today, not only the entrance but also the area beyond the gate was being inspected by armed Regular Army soldiers. With the recent frequency of incidents, the army was investing an excessive amount of manpower.
There probably wouldn't be a safer time to be in the 2nd World than now.
The exit would surely be heavily armed with soldiers as well.
With Horizon in the lead, we made our way out of the Moss Flower Cave.
As the clerk had told us beforehand, there was nothing left for us in the cave itself.
"I wonder what happened to Arachne."
Babiyen shivered, seemingly recalling Arachne, the symbol of terror from that day.
"I heard a Lieutenant General was dispatched personally."
A Regular Army Lieutenant General, the same rank as Inferno.
I didn't know who was sent, but I imagined they must have had a fierce battle with Arachne.
"With a Vermilion-grade magic stone, you could buy a house at the very least. I'm so jealous."
"The Regular Army is salaried, so it would just be returned to the state. It's probably meaningless for them."
True, Aranseol had a point.
Those poor salarymen.
Still, I hoped they got some kind of performance bonus.

"Ah, we're almost out."
Just then, Horizon announced our exit from the cave.
Following her, I poked my head out and saw a dark night sky.
To be precise, the tree branches rising from the ground were so dense they filled the sky, obscuring it completely.
Faint light filtered through the dense branches.
A place where that light looked like stars.

Outside the Moss Flower Cave lay the Waning Moon Forest.