77 A Mission to Infiltrate
[Butterflies of Deceit] . . . Evie rolled the words in her mouth. It was the reason why Black Lion had recruited her among the many applicants they had in raiding Vulcan’s Cave.
And those who performed well in the dungeon would get the chance of a contract with the guild. Evie wanted to take advantage of a guild with pro players as its members to raise her level and gain equipment along the way. Not to mention the monthly allowance, once she proved that she was one of the best amongst the new recruits.
Black Lion was among the crowd’s favorite and one of the top guilds the newcomers eyed to enter because of its roster of pro players and supported by not just one but many large corporations.
Mostly, these large corporations were businesses of some of the players or belonged to their families.
And one of the rich kids was their guild leader, Scar, and their management leader, Invayne. They were a power couple, and both were pro players in games before COVENANT.
There were four vice leaders in the guild, but only Scar led this dungeon raid while the other commanders brought the other new members to a different raid.
It was the only initiation to enter Black Lion. And once your performance was the best amongst your group, then your contract was set in stone.
They were planning on dominating every dungeon early on, and Evie wanted to be a part of it. It was the only way to climb to a position of a core member and get a very good contract.
Earning money just playing a game in her sleep was a good side hassle for her.
“Evie,” Guro called. He was next in position from Scar, and he was the leader of the supporting team.
Their team.
While Scar was the overall commander and leader of the Main attacking unit.
“What is it?” Evie didn’t like the glint in Guro’s eyes behind his faked smile. He was a bitch to her throughout the dungeon just because the men all fawned over her.
He frequently ordered her to check the traps first or enter a secret door head on, and his reasoning didn’t even make sense, saying that she was a Blue Mage and could escape easily.
A Blue Mage AGI wasn’t a priority, so how could she escape with a low AGI and crappy spell list?
The only valuable spell to her at this point was [Butterflies of Deceit]. She didn’t heal because Scar wanted to conserve her mana for the final boss fight.
So she was turned into a cannon fodder. And Guro wouldn’t even order to heal her until her HP was only ten percent.
Evie took a deep breath. She couldn’t do anything about her face, so she sucked it up. Guro’s position was higher than hers, so she had no choice but to take it all in. All for the sake of money.
“I have a job for you. Especially for you.” Guro said meaningfully.
Evie’s brows creased a little. Her face was permanently paralyzed, and everyone said that she had no emotions since her face was always blank no matter the circumstances.
It would take a great deal of confusion to even crack her facade.
“Excuse me?”
Guro led Evie to the side, and after making sure that the others weren’t listening, Guro started.
“Scar told me to investigate the man on the hood in Silvia’s group. You know that pretty blonde bitch over there.”
Evie was about to look at Silvia’s group when Guro stopped her.
“Don’t look. Don’t make it so obvious.” Guro’s eyebrow arched high above his eyes, and his duck lips pouted even more.
Evie’s forehead crumpled a little as she tried her best to direct her line of sight in Silvia’s group. The man on the hood Guro was talking about had a strange pet coiling around his neck.
“The man with a pet? A hunter?” she muttered with her soft, low voice.
“You see him?” Guro’s smile stretched, and his squinty eyes curved upward. “I want you to investigate him.”
“. . .” Evie was stunned. She thought she had misheard him. “What . . . do you mean?”
“Scar said to investigate that man, and if he turned out to be remarkable, we would recruit him into our guild.”
Evie was still lost in her confused state. “I don’t understand. Why me?” she was not a spy. And she didn’t know anything about that department.
Guro chuckled at Evie’s confusion and said with a condescending voice, “What better way to trick a man than a pretty bitch, right?”
“. . .” Evie raised her head, her silver eyes burning with anger, but she kept her mouth shut. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Anyway, I’m not telling you to flirt with him. There are only two women on our team, you and Zevi. And Zevi needed to stay to map the dungeon. SO that only leaves you.”
“. . . You’re . . . kicking me out?” Evie couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Temporarily, dear,” Guro said without care and checked his nails, “everyone had to pull some weight around here. And besides, everyone is weak before a woman’s tear. Just tell them that the team kicks you out ’cause you’re useless or whatever reason and use your charms to infiltrate their group.
“Good thing is, you don’t need to act anymore. You’re already a pro at it, as evident how your charms blinded everyone.” Guro beamed, and the jealousy was thick as his lips.
“You get to acquire their map and also got the chance to observe that guy. Hitting two birdies with one p***.”
He laughed and giggled at his words.
“. . .” Evie had many things she wanted to say, but Guro just barraged her with words. His mouth was like a machine gun.
“Anyway. If you did well, who knows, you might have a permanent spot in the guild.”
“But I don’t think . . .”
Guro held a hand. “Dot worry. A pretty girl like you acting like a damsel in distress. Who wouldn’t fall for it? Everyone had a weak spot for beauty. I mean, more than half of the reason why the others picked you is because of your appearance.”
Guro looked at Evie from toes to hair and batted his eyelids. “And besides, I heard that they’re just noobs. They wouldn’t find it strange that someone was kicked out of a group. It happened all the time during raids.”
“. . .”
“If you succeeded, who knows, you might become the face of our guild?” Guro beamed at Evie, but the latter’s mind was blank.
“Now, let’s go. Scar would fill you in about the specifics.”
Before Evie could say anything, she was dragged by the hand and faced their leader.
—-
Scar had noticed Evie way before the expedition had even begun.
Who wouldn’t?
She stuck out from the rest. She was more than pretty. She was stunning with her white straight hair, silvery eyes, and cold front that seemed like you would turn into ice if you came even a meter near her.
She was a woman that made even him speechless every time their eyes met. And not many could do that to him.
However, regarding her combat abilities, Scar knew nothing about her except that she was usually at the side, checking traps and secret doors.
He specifically picked her because a Blue Mage was rare. They were a supportive class, but their list of spells at the beginning was so poor that they needed to be in a group to level up like a White Mage.
But unlike with a White Mage, where they learned [Cure] early on, a Blue Mage was useless except for their spell [Butterflies of Deceit]. And he planned to use her spell in the Boss fight later on.
Besides that, there was nothing noteworthy about her except her face. However, Scar wasn’t interested in women if they weren’t going to be useful to him. He was more interested in the man with the hood and the map of Vulcan’s cave.
And thus, when Guro presented Evie to her. He had no qualms about sending her off to the opponent’s team. Her [Butterflies of Deceit] was good and all, but he could manage even without it.
After making sure Evie understood her role, Scar decided to move out.
There was still a nagging feeling in his head that wouldn’t go away. Evie was just an outsider, and Scar wasn’t keen on putting so much trust in a person he barely knew.
However, Guro was right. Women were readily pitied upon. And usually, everyone put their guard down if it was a woman they faced. And the only women in his group were Evie and Zevi. It was either of the two of them.
Zevi was part of his core members, so she was out of the question, and that only left the new girl who he promised a spot in their guild once she succeeded in getting information about the hooded man and acquiring the map in Vulcan’s Cave.
Scar rubbed his jaw.
Anyway, her job was simple enough. As long as she managed to infiltrate Silvia’s group, then all was well.
She didn’t even have to do anything but act pitiful.
Scar smirked to himself. Though the idea of her beautiful stone cod face cracked as she acted out was also tempting to see.
Too bad he wouldn’t be able to see it.
Maybe Guro was right. If Evie did become successful at her mission, he might consider putting her as the face of the guild.
Though he had to talk about it with Invayne.
After Scar’s party left, Silvia group followed next, and they pressed further into Vulcan’s Cave, unaware of all the deceit they were about to face.