Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 234

I had a lot to say to the Snow Mage, but I couldn’t afford to delay farming.

I began to lead the Snow Mage into the dungeon while lecturing her.

Of course, I was also drawing in the monsters.

Rushing out from the dungeon entrance, I circled around quickly.

When the monsters got aggro and started following me, I found a suitable spot and raised my shield.

“Snow, even if there’s a hostile guild in the party, it’s not right to just wipe them all out.”

“Huh? Why not? Accepting bad guys into the party means agreeing with their ideals, right? So…”

Boom—!

A massive explosion erupted right in front of me, shaking my shield dramatically.

Surrounding me were stone golems igniting themselves in fiery flames, causing all sorts of mayhem.

To others, it might look like a desperate situation, but not to me.

I was relaxed, knowing I could revive at any time.

The Snow Mage was well aware of this, so she didn’t send any worried glances my way.

We exchanged short eye contact, and I nodded.

Now’s a good time. I raised my sword and unleashed divine power.

Whoosh—!

Boom!

Triggered my skill, resulting in a secondary explosion.

But neither the Snow Mage nor I sustained any damage.

The massive wings of light behind me protected us from everything around.

Indeed, the tank class is stable in every aspect.

If I hadn’t used my rank reset voucher, it would have been hard to survive that blast.

I took a slow breath and slammed my shield into the ground.

“Hyah!”

Thunk—!

The shockwave radiated out, stunning the approaching golems.

I had drawn the mobs in and dealt a wide-area stun.

With all aggro focused on me, it was the dealer’s time to step up.

“Yap!”

The Snow Mage stepped forward, swinging her staff with a light shout.

Swoosh—!

The massive blizzard created from her staff spread out, freezing all the golems ablaze.

Definitely, water attribute attacks are the best against fire-type monsters.

I took a moment to catch my breath and replied to the Snow Mage.

“How could everyone know our circumstances? It’s a fight between guilds, so we shouldn’t harm others.”

“Um…”

“We shouldn’t unnecessarily create enemies, right? There aren’t just Korean players anymore. We need to maintain good relations with international players too.”

“Hm…”

“So please cut out the extreme actions.”

“Got it.”

The Snow Mage easily bent her will without much hesitation.

I was worried she might refuse, so I was relieved.

With a bright smile again, the Snow Mage asked me.

“Until what time are we playing today?”

“Probably until the raid starts?”

“Ugh…”

“Do you not have enough time?”

“No! This is the best!”

I knew it.

I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but the Snow Mage usually logged in for long hours.

So, it was going to be ten hours of nonstop farming from now.

I slowly began to quicken the pace in the dungeon.

Gathering monsters until it was hard to hold them, I set my place while the Snow Mage’s magic rained down.

The giant ice stalagmites and fierce blizzard were highly effective against all monsters in this area.

Failing the dungeon meant retrying, failing the dungeon meant retrying.

This cycle continued.

At first, the Snow Mage was chattering away, but after about an hour of endless farming, she closed her mouth tight.

“Um, Blood Demon King…?”

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t there a break time…?”

Break time?

Why would we need a break while farming?

Looking at the gold and items piling up, fatigue naturally eased away.

Of course, that was just my personal perspective.

I had no intention of imposing my thoughts on others.

I glanced around while my sword was stabbed into the ground.

The golems I had drawn in had all burst apart.

Now that there were no monsters around, it seemed good to take a break here and then set off again.

“Let’s rest here.”

“Here…? Isn’t it better to rest outside the dungeon?”

“If we take a break outside the dungeon, we might get distracted elsewhere. If we lose focus, time passes, and that lost time translates to losses, you know?”

“Oh…”

So we only take breaks inside the dungeon.

I squatted beside my sword protruding from the ground, leaning back.

“Five minutes should be enough, right?”

“Five minutes…”

Five minutes.

That should be adequate for a break.

Knowing the Snow Mage wasn’t a smoker, there was no need to give her a longer break than that.

Glancing around, the Snow Mage switched her character to standby mode with a sulky expression.

She must be heading back to reality for a bathroom break.

Left alone in the dungeon, I let out a deep sigh.

I didn’t show it in front of my guild member, but I was extremely sensitive to heat.

My body felt like it was melting into a puddle of sticky rice cake.

I couldn’t manage my drooping, sweaty body and collapsed onto the ground.

Sweat dripped off my body, soaking the massive stone floor.

If I reduced sensory synchronization, I wouldn’t feel this heat, but then delicate play like this wouldn’t be possible.

Checking if the Snow Mage hadn’t returned yet, I pulled out some cool water and a towel from my inventory.

If I let the sweat flow for too long, I’d catch a heat-related status ailment.

To farm efficiently, I needed to wipe away the sweat and cool down.

As I gulped down the cool water, the intense heat began to subside.

Riding that momentum, I started to wipe myself down with the towel.

My forehead, neck, and then down to my chest under the armor, and even my armpits.

Every time the fresh towel wiped my body, it instantly became soaked.

[Handkerchief]

This is a disposable handkerchief.

※ It is fully soaked with moisture.

It was nearly impossible to wipe off all the sweat with just one handkerchief.

I pulled out a new one and kept wiping myself down.

The Snow Mage returned right after the five minutes I had mentioned.

With a completely relaxed expression, she tilted her head while looking at me.

Is something wrong?

As if to ask me why I was staring, she cautiously opened her mouth.

“You look a lot drier than before? What were you doing?”

“I wiped off some sweat. You probably don’t feel the heat due to your profession’s passive, but I do.”

“Oh…”

“If I leave sweat flowing for a long time, I’ll catch a heat-related debuff. It’s quite an annoying debuff, so I need to manage it well… Are you listening?”

“Oh… yes!”

I frowned at the Snow Mage’s reply.

She didn’t seem at all focused on what I was saying.

She kept glancing around, looking for something.

“What are you looking for so hard?”

“Oh, I’m not looking for anything!”

No, she was definitely searching for something.

I crossed my arms and watched the Snow Mage carefully.

“Uh, hee… So, when do we start farming again?”

Unable to withstand my gaze, the Snow Mage averted her eyes and hurriedly urged me to resume farming.

That was what I had been waiting for.

I nodded and replied.

“Then, shall I start again?”

“Yes!”

The dungeon farming that resumed continued until the raid began.

*

Nine hours and forty minutes.

The relentless push finally came to a stop.

The ten-hour farming I had initially planned was thrown off course due to the Snow Mage demanding breaks.

“Whoa!”

As soon as the Snow Mage exited the dungeon, she screamed and plopped down on the floor.

This is a person who doesn’t even sleep while killing, yet here she is melting down after just ten hours of dungeon farming.

I stood there with my arms crossed, looking down at the Snow Mage.

She lay there, rubbing her cheek against the stone floor, sporting a blissful smile.

But that freedom would be short-lived.

The raid appointment time was approaching.

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah… But I don’t want to do this too often…”

“Really? But I want to do it again…”

I said that while watching the Snow Mage’s reaction.

Since my job is a tank, I needed to farm with someone.

Doing it alone wouldn’t yield good efficiency.

Of course, that someone couldn’t be an ordinary person.

They had to be capable of keeping up with my playstyle and also have enough time.

Among my acquaintances, the only mage who met those criteria was the Snow Mage.

“Again, again…?”

“Yes. Can we do this together until next month?”

“Uh…”

“It’s good for you too, isn’t it? We made a ton of gold today.”

The Snow Mage pressed her lips together, hesitating at my words.

I was almost there. With some gentle persuasion, I could definitely pull her over.

I carefully sat beside the Snow Mage and opened my mouth.

“I’m a tank now… I can’t farm efficiently alone…”

“Ah…”

“So I need you, Snow…”

Answer me.

I stared into the Snow Mage’s eyes and smiled lightly.

Hadn’t I changed my job just to clear the raid?

How could the party leader show such a sacrifice, and the party member not offer any assistance?

So please, just say yes.

I gently held the Snow Mage’s hand and spoke.

“Join me.”

“Absolutely!!!”

As expected, a hearty answer returned.

The Snow Mage quickly covered her mouth, possibly surprised that she blurted it out, but it was already said.

“Really? Wow! Thank you!”

I smiled brightly and hugged the Snow Mage.

Even if she spoke without thinking, it wouldn’t be easy for her to take it back after showing such delight.

“Eeek… eek…”

The Snow Mage didn’t try to take back her response.

She just looked at me with a weak smile.

Having secured a partner for the next month, it was now time to head to the rendezvous point.

I pulled away from the Snow Mage and raised my hands high.

“Let’s go!!!”