Everyone could feel the tense atmosphere .

  Sungyoon raised his hand .

  “I already have a healing magic Gem . As long as I get my share of the cut, I don’t care what measures you take . ”


  He didn’t want to unnecessarily get in the middle of the fight between the party members, so he quickly drew his line in the sand .

  When he gave up his rights to the Gem, everyone looked at Sungyoon with favorable eyes, especially Wonho . He looked at Sungyoon as if Sungyoon were was his savior . This was a complicated situation, and Sungyoon had voluntarily chosen to pull himself out of it .

  “I don’t need it either . ”


  Hweeyae also spoke up, and the competitors decreased to three . Wonho let out a sigh as he spoke .

  “I’m fine too . ”


  Wonho really wanted the healing magic Gem, but he thought the situation would be unmanageable if he got into the fray .

  All the other party members had given up on it, and only two competitors were left . But even if the number of competitors had lessened, it didn’t mean the tense atmosphere went away . No, the true competition was about to start right now . Soochan and Mina glared at each other .

  “I’ll take it . ”


  Mina spoke .

  “I’ll give you a good price . I’ll pay 1 . 2 times the market price . ”


  “What the hell are you talking about?”


  As expected, Soochan butted in .

  “Why are you talking as if it is already yours?”


  “I said it at the inception of this party . I told everyone if the gem drops, I want to purchase it . Moreover, I’m doubling down on that sentiment after someone almost got me killed . ”


  Her sarcastic remarks worsened the mood, and Soochan’s face scrunched up . He looked like an evil spirit .

  “You aren’t the only one in need of that Gem . Moreover, it was your fault that you almost died, and now you are blaming your own mistake on me, using it as a pretense to take the Gem . Can you even think in a logical manner?”


  “You almost got your comrade killed, yet you shamelessly deny any responsibility . Do you really think logic would work on someone like that? It seems you’ve lived your life for nothing . Whenever you are born again, why don’t you put logic back into that inflated head of yours!”


  “You almost died, because of your actions, you empty-headed bitch!”


  “You should open your eyes a little bit more, you son of a bitch!”


  The fight exploded once more between the two of them . The other three looked frustrated by it, but they didn’t dare to get in between . This fight had been building since the inception of this party, and Mina’s near-death experience was like pouring gas on a fire . It was a clash of negative emotions .

  Sungyoon and Hweeyae kept eyeing Wonho . They wanted him to act .

  In the end, the leader had to stop the fight . Wonho massaged his temples as he once again got in between the fight .

  ‘I see . ’


  A profound realization appeared within Sungyoon’s eyes .

  ‘This is what the president was talking about . This is the reality of a Connector party . ’


  It was as Jimin had intended . Sungyoon had clearly realized the bitter reality .

  * * *

  By the time the party exited the labyrinth, it was very late . In the end, it couldn’t be decided as to who would get the healing Gem, and everyone decided to return to Armstrong . The two would try to outbid each other .

  They immediately went to sleep, and on the next day, the five Moon Surface Vehicles headed towards Armstrong . The dust spreading into the air from the front cars was annoying, but it was possible to drive through it .

  They drove six days straight to arrive at Armstrong .

  Armstrong remained unchanged . It was still a city full of desire and pleasure . It had been a while since they were able to enjoy the benefits of civilization . They all gathered on the road .

  “Thank you for all your hard work . ”


  Wonho spoke as he smiled . His smile looked different from the smile Sungyoon had seen from before . Wonho probably felt as if a rotten tooth had been extracted .

  “I’ll hand over the gathered moonstones to a professional company . That company will equally divide it into five portions and sell it . The money received will be directly deposited into your bank account . ”


  This was a normal method used when Connectors from different companies teamed up . This method was more expensive than the Connector companies doing their own auction, and the profits would decrease a bit thanks to all the fees . But, the method would minimize the worry about a company secretly funneling money away .

  “About the Gem . . . . ”


  Wonho’s eyes headed towards Soochan and Mina .

  “Let’s do the auction when the broker gets here . It’ll be dangerous if this becomes a fight between two egos . You’ll only get one chance . Both of you will write down a figure, and the person with the larger amount of money will get to buy the Gem at that price . Do you agree?”


  The two of them nodded . Wonho looked towards the other party members .

  “We’ll split the profit from the auction among the remaining four . I’ll send the Gem when the money from the successful bid comes in . ”


  The rest of the party also nodded .

  Finally, everything was over . Wonho looked relieved as if a large rock had been lifted off his back . The auction was still left, but a broker would be involved . He would have way less to worry about now .

  First, they went to a moonstone transport company and met up with a sales representative . Wonho let them take care of everything . Then they watched the auction between Soochan and Mina . In the end, Mina won the rights to the Gem . Her triumphant appearance was contrasted by Soochan’s crumpled expression .

  “I’ll dissolve the party now . ”


  After everything was resolved, Wonho gave the declaration .

  Everyone left without saying anything . Sungyoon gave a slight bow to Wonho as he left the party .

  ‘In some ways, this was the worst experience . ’


  Clearing a labyrinth was always hard . There were many life-harrowing experiences when one cleared a labyrinth, but this party life had been difficult in other ways .

  Sungyoon sighed from all the stress he had received .

  * * *

  “How was it?”


  In some ways, this was the most mentally exhausting experience in his career . After taking a week’s break after returning to Earth, Sungyoon visited Jimin at her company . This was Jimin’s first question to Sungyoon .

  The man wondered what he should say . He thought for a moment . All kinds of words and phrases appeared in his head, trying to form a coherent sentence before disappearing . This process kept repeating .

  In the end, Sungyoon just shook his head . Then he asked the question .

  “Is that really the reality of the 1st Gen Connectors?”


  “Since you are asking that question, it seems you must have had quite the experience . ”


  “Yes . It almost makes me not want to join a party ever again . ”


  Sungyoon gave a full account of his experience . Jimin had a cold expression on her face, but she was very entertained as she listened to his words .

  “That is a little bit worse than I thought it would be . ”


  “A little bit?”


  Sungyoon sounded dejected as he asked the question .

  “Most Connectors are rough around the edges, because they put their lives on the line for this line of work . Connectors like the Ross siblings, whom you partied with last time, are extremely rare . When put in that context, you were very lucky . Well, the Ross siblings were also lucky for meeting you . ”


  In truth, Sungyoon felt very thankful to the Bigfoot, who had allowed him to meet the Ross siblings .

  “Most small companies form temporary parties until they can find a party with a fixed roster . However, there is no way you can find party members you like in a short amount of time . This is why you have to go through dozens upon dozens of temporary parties in order to find party members that you like . This is the method used by Connectors who have a Personal Labyrinth but don’t have a party . In that light, everyone in your party seems to really like you, Mr . Sungyoon . ”


  Jimin typed something into her computer and turned her monitor toward him .

  “You partied with four people, and all of them would like to party with you in the future . They all contacted me . ”


  He wasn’t surprised about the others, but Soochan had tried to pick a fight with Sungyoon . This was why he was surprised to hear that Soochan wanted to party up with him again .

  “As the president of a small company, it makes a girl feel really flattered . ”


  Jimin spoke . However, she spoke this with her patented cold face, and her words didn’t really land .

  “So, I just have to contact anyone that I want to party with?”


  “Do you have someone you liked?”


  “There was one . ”


  Sungyoon thought about Wonho . As a leader, he was able to control his own greed, and he had worked very hard to keep the party intact . If it were someone like him, Sungyoon thought it would be ok to party with him .

  “I won’t go against your judgment . However, are you sure about this? The difference between both of your abilities will be stark . ”


  This was true . Even if Wonho were a good Connector, there would be a difference in ability between the two of them . At the very least, Wonho wouldn’t be able to hunt the same level of monsters as of right now .

  “It won’t work . ”


  He wasn’t really in a hurry, so he quickly gave up on that idea .

  “First, I would like to get used to my newly acquired Devices and Gems . ”


  “Yes . This time I will try to find party members on your level . ”


  Jimin let out a sigh as she added .

  “However, it’ll take a while . There aren’t that many small companies with Connectors at your level . Most of them are either affiliated with large companies, or they already have a party . ”


  He caught a glimpse of why Connectors wanted to enter into a good company .

  “Ah! Nicholas’ Devices and Gems have arrived . ”


  It was welcoming news . Devices and Gems were important items to Connectors, and he had just witnessed Connectors fight over one Indigo Gem . Maybe, this was why he welcomed the news that much more .

  “It was quite hard . Nicholas’ company stated Nicholas had broken his contract, and he had caused significant damage to the image of their company . This was why they requested his Gems and Devices as recompense . So, I had to fight them . ”


  “Was it the same with Kim Soobin’s Gems and Devices?”


  “No . His crimes were much more severe, and above all else, I think Dongin and Hyunwoo ahjussi also had a hand in the outcome . ”


  He thought about Dongin and Hyunwoo . In the past meeting, they had shown much concern for Jimin . If it were the two of them, they would have readily given up Soobin’s Devices and Jems for Jimin .

  ‘Maybe, I should be surprised . They gave me a White Gem as a token of apology . ’


  “In my opinion, Mr . Sungyoon doesn’t need a couple more low-rank Gems . At the very least, you need one more high-rank Gem . This was why I worked hard to get them . The quantity may be low, but they are all high-rank Gems and Devices . ”


  “Do you know the types?”


  “There are a total of five Gems . I was more focused on the rank of the Gems, so I don’t know the exact details of what they are . I was told three of them were equipment type Gems . There should be one weapon, one shield, and one armor . The other two . . . ”


  For a brief moment, she looked a bit proud of herself .

  “They are magic Gems . One is an attack magic Gem, and the other one is a support Gem . ”


  “ . . . are you for real?”


  “Yes, I’m for real . ”


  Sungyoon thought about Soobin’s gravity magic and Hweeyae’s flame magic . Then he thought about Emily’s strength and agility enhancing magic that she cast on him . He also clearly saw the benefit of having a healing magic Gem . It didn’t matter what kind of Gems they were . He could quickly activate it, so he’d be able to effectively use these Gems .

  The other Gems were good too . His left hand felt empty without a shield, so he was really excited about a new shield . This didn’t mean he wasn’t glad to hear about the other equipment . Even if they turned out to be inferior to the equipment he possessed, Sungyoon could carry around these high-rank Gems as a reserve .

  “Aside from the Devices and Gems, recompense for damages have come in too . Since we took the Devices and Gems, we weren’t able to receive too much . ”


  “I don’t mind . I would rather have Devices and Gems than money right now . ”


  Money could be acquired any time by farming the moonstones . Devices and Gems didn’t drop like clockwork just because one killed the monsters .

  “I put all the money into your bank account . You can check it later . ”


  After Jimin spoke those words, their business for the day was done .

  Sungyoon exited the company and went to the nearest bank to check his bank account . The balance of his account was clearly displayed on the ATM . Sungyoon clicked his tongue when he saw the large figure .

  ‘Jeez!’


  There were close to 7 million dollars in his bank account .

  ‘How long have I been a Connector?’


  He would have to go over the exact dates, but he was sure it hadn’t been a year yet .

  ‘This is considered not too much . . . ’


  Sungyoon became surprised at the difference in perception .

  Most of the 7 million dollars had been given as compensation . Soobin, who was dead, had done everything in his power to acquire high-rank Gems, so he had almost no savings at the end . This was the damages paid to him for Nicholas’ crime . Jimin had fought for Nicholas’ Gems and Devices, so she had to give up on a large part of the money as a consequence .

  Yet, the sum of money he received was still massive .

  Most civilians barely got a couple million dollars even from dying a wrongful death . The difference in money he received compared to the civilians made him accept the fact that he still hadn’t adjusted his perception of being a Connector .