Chapter 30

Jason pretended to think it over, but his mind was already made up.

This kid was perfect for the role they needed—motivated, willing to work, and not a bad person.

No reason to refuse.

“Alright. You’re in.”

“Thanks!”

“No need to thank me. If you don’t pull your weight, I’ll kick you out. But as long as you do your job, I’ll make sure you get your share.”

“Just tell me what to do! I’ll do anything!’

His enthusiasm was promising.

Hopefully, it would last even in the middle of battle.

Suddenly, Jason realized something.

“Come to think of it, I never even asked your name.”

“It’s Nath, It’s Nathan.”

“Alright, Nathan. Welcome to the team. Let’s work hard.”

“Yes!”

The three of them—Jason, Ethan, and Nathan—shook hands in turn.

With that, their rear-guard and magic stone retrieval role was secured.

But the team was still one person short.

‘If we had just one more frontline fighter, we’d be golden.’

Ethan was technically a combatant, but as a healer, he had to be cautious.

Jason was a glass cannon, completely unsuitable for the frontlines.

And Nathan? He had no combat abilities at all and needed to avoid direct fights.

No matter how they looked at it, they needed another tank—someone who could take hits and hold the line.

‘Ideally, they’d be completely specialized in frontline combat, easy to push around, and someone I wouldn’t feel guilty about putting through hell.’

He let out a small chuckle.

As if such a perfect candidate existed.

Maybe they’d been spoiled by how smoothly things had gone so far.

Just as he was chiding himself for being greedy—

“Ahem! Ahem!”

A loud, deliberate cough interrupted his thoughts.

It was impossible to ignore.

He looked up, and there, standing before him, was a familiar face.

“Uh, do you… need a warrior?”

The tattooed man spoke hesitantly, stumbling over his words.

Jason blinked.

“Well, look at that.”

“뭐?”

Ignoring the man’s confused response, Jason gave him a once-over.

A warrior with stats that only allowed him to fight on the frontlines.

A guy they could work to the bone without a shred of guilt.

He was perfect.

Jason smirked.

“Actually, we were looking for a warrior.”

“Oh? That’s great! I was looking for a team, too.”

The tattooed man spoke with ease, as if they were old friends.

He probably assumed they were the ones in need, judging by how casually he spoke.

“Hey, let’s put the past behind us and work together. I mean, I did make a mistake back then, but—”

“Speak formally.”

“… huh?”

“Use formal speech, idiot. Do I look like your friend? The moment we step outside the safe zone, I will blast your head off with magic.”

The tattooed man instantly froze.

Jason offered him a deal instead.

“Listen, I’ll give you a choice. You can be our team’s meat shield, or one day, we’ll run into each other outside and you’ll die.”

The man broke into a cold sweat.

‘This guy really thought he could pull that crap on me?’

In the end, the tattooed man, Derek, accepted the deal.

Maybe it was the failed attempt to assert dominance, but his face was dark with frustration.

“Hey, fix that expression. People are going to think I kidnapped you or something.”

“…”

“Say something. I’m talking to you.”

Still, Derek remained silent.

What, was he seriously choosing to stay quiet rather than speak formally?

Pathetic.

Jason casually lifted a finger, pointing at the man’s head.

“Black Mass—”

“I, I will speak! I will speak!”

The tattooed man practically screamed in panic before the incantation could be completed.

Satisfied, Jason finally nodded.

“That’s right. When someone calls you, you should answer.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll make sure to do that from now on!”

“Good. Don’t take it too personally. I have my reasons for doing this.”

Derek’s face turned bright red.

Reasons? What reasons? He was probably thinking that I was just messing with him.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, his thoughts were practically written all over his face.

Jason decided to correct that misunderstanding.

“You need to keep using formal speech so everyone knows their place. If you stay silent for a while and suddenly slip back into informal speech, it’s going to be a headache. If you start acting like we’re equals, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

“…!”

“So I’m making you use formal speech to prevent that from happening. If you get used to speaking politely early on, you’ll keep doing it. And if you keep doing it, I won’t feel the need to kill you.”

The color drained from Derek’s face.

It wasn’t a joke—Jason made sure he understood that.

Even Ethan and Nathan, who were on his side, looked horrified.

Ethan stepped in, looking concerned.

“Mr. Justin, but we’re on the same team now. Maybe you could… you know… go a little easier on him?”

“Be nice to him? There’s no need for that.”

Jason smirked and gestured at Derek.

“Why do you think this guy came to us? Because no one else would take him.”

Derek had started off ahead of everyone.

But one mistake had ruined everything.

After interfering with other people’s quests, he couldn’t even attempt the rescue quest.

No one wanted to take in someone who had caused them trouble.

And without teammates, every opportunity slipped further from his grasp.

The pioneers were already forming their own tight-knit groups.

“At this point, no matter where he goes, he’s at the bottom. The guy who caused problems early on and now has a low level? How do you think other teams will treat him?”

“Uh… like an outcast? Maybe they’ll just make him do all the grunt work?”

“That would be the best-case scenario. If he’s unlucky, someone who still holds a grudge will just stab him to death.”

Even without revenge as a motive, some might see him as a future threat and decide it’s safer to kill him now.

Derek had already proven he wasn’t someone worth trusting as an ally.

If they saw him as a risk, they might just take care of him before he had a chance to become a problem.