The group of ordinary people behind Juyoung Hong and the Borneche Expedition behind them.

Even though the Borneche Expedetion were behind the ordinary people, they were not stupid enough to not have noticed Juyoung defeating the Minotauros, the gatekeeper of the 4th gate, easily.

"…"

"…"

"…"

None of them could open their mouths in astonishment.

Moreover, they had experience confronting the Minotauros while moving to the 5th gate.

In their eyes, the Minotauros was not supposed to collapse so quickly and easily.

What's more, Juyoung Hong confronted the monster alone, unlike them who faced it as a group.

Shocked by what they witnessed, they just remained silent for quite a long time while the ordinary people laid down comfortably and cheered.

A little later, the members of the Borneche Expedition began to whisper among themselves.

"By the way, I heard they were roots."

"Yep."

"I wonder if that is a part of his skills."

"Well, I guess so."

"Hey! I don't think it's a typical skill. Most likely it's a limited skill or trait."

"That's right. By the way, don't you think this is a scam? Damn it! I've never seen such a huge number of roots soaring from the ground and creating a wall …"

One of them shuddered while recalling the power of the roots.

But another man said as if to sneer at him, "What's surprising about that?"

"Well, the roots didn't only create a wall. I think you saw the monsters approaching the ordinary people at dawn, right?"

When he said that, they recalled what had happened in the morning.

Shuuuuuuuung! Puck!

Shuuuuuuuung! Puck!

The roots formed a living wall that remained inanimate unless attacking approaching monsters.

Witnessing something like a perfect living fortress, all of the Borneche Expedition members couldn't help but gape at the shocking scenes because each of the roots was more powerful than any strong user.

As a result, they kept discussing Juyoung Hong's great performance and the power of the roots that played the role of hundreds of players while they were taking a three-hour break in front of the 4th gate.

While they were so enthusiastic about extolling Juyoung Hong, one man let out a sigh of relief quietly. He was Andrei.

'Shit! It's good I just stayed put. If I had been greedy…'

He found himself shuddering with the mere thought of a possible confrontation with Juyoung Hong.

Exactly three hours later.

I shouted, "Let's move to the 5th stage!"

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

After the three-hour break, we moved to the 5th stage through the 4th gate that was opened widely when its gatekeeper, the Minotauros, was killed.

And the same thing happened as before. We moved safely as if taking a walk, completely protected by the roots.

However, there was one change this time.

Andrei said, "If you want us to do something for you, please feel free to do so."

Obviously, he was very greedy a little while ago, but he was not rude to me nor did he treat me badly. Obviously, being greedy and treating me badly were completely different.

Andrei, who was already polite to me, became even more polite. So did the entire members of the Borneche Expedition.

Of course, I knew why. There were many ways to subdue one's opponent, but the most effective way was to show one's superiority in power. So much so that the opponent could not even think of challenging it.

That's why I did not sneer at him or the Borneche Expedition members who changed their attitude overnight. Of course, I had no intention of sharing the ordinary people with them.

Anyway, we moved to the 5th stage with an atmosphere more relaxed than before, and finally reached the 5th gate even though it took us 15 days like before.

In the meantime, Andrei told me about the gatekeeper of the 5th gate while we traveled there.

To be honest, what he told me was not necessary, but being briefed about the gatekeeper was definitely valuable, and helped me defeat the monster more easily.

Then a message rang immediately.

[Congratulations! You have successfully explored the new continent.

-You can escape from the new continent using the 5th gate.

-When you use the 5th gate, the following rewards are given differentially in the order of your escape.

: The first escapee receives:.

-1000 coins, 100 remaining stat points.

: The second escapee receives:.

-999 coins, 99 remaining stat points.

: The third escapee receives".

-998 coins, 98 remaining stat points.

:

:]

As soon as I read the message, I couldn't help but burst out laughing, for the reward was really small. Especially for those who would escape after the first 100 would only receive 1 remaining stat point.

Besides, there were not many coins.

When I heard an additional message after that, I seemed to understand why they returned instead of escaping through the wide open 5th gate.

[The 5th gate will issue additional rewards when you travel with ordinary people.

- The following rewards are given for each ordinary person you travel with.

: 3 million golden rings.

: A small amount of EXP.

: 5 coins.

: 1 remaining stat point.]

"Oh my…"

The reward was not big when examined individually. But there were as many as 10,000 people here. Combined together, the reward was definitely huge.

Especially a small amount of EXP and remaining stat points caught my eye.

It was very clear that a small amount of EXP would be big when that of 10,000 was combined, and the remaining stat points would eventually be 10,000.

Given my Mutual Growth trait, 10,000 would be 25,000. In other words, it was tremendous.

At that moment, another message rang.

[There is a hidden reward in this quest.

-When one person travels with 1,000 ordinary people.

: Additional 2000 remaining stat points.

-When one person travels with 5,000 ordinary people.

: Additional 20,000 coins.

-When one person travels with 10,000 ordinary people.

: Additional treasure chest.]

[Current number of ordinary people right now.

-10,563 / 10,563]

"Hahahaha!"

I could not help but laugh in satisfaction before I knew it.

I first laughed bitterly because the reward was so small, but this time I laughed heartily because I was really happy about the reward.

So, I opened my mouth to Andrei and the Borneche Expedition.

"You go first. Let me move with the ordinary people later."

"…"

"…"

"…"

I was generous enough to let him be the first to pass the 5th gate.

As if they were moved by my words, Andrei and the Borneche Expedition members could not even say 'Thank you' to me.

So I laughed once again and said, "Haha! I am very sorry, but you don't have to be touched by my considerations."

They might take my words as a joke, but I really regretted giving up first place because I had to give up 1000 coins and 100 remaining stat points.

However, the moment I stepped through the 5th gate, I would be left with zero reward if they put all the ordinary people under their control while pretending to act crazy.

Of course, such a probability was less than 0.00001%, but I knew I could obtain a huge reward that could not be compared with leaving 1st, so I yielded 1st place to them.

It took a little while, but at my demands, Andrei and the Borneche Expedition started to cross the 5th gate bitterly, and when they finally crossed the gate, I moved with all the ordinary people numbering 10,563.

While moving, I thought deep down that one should live a kind life.

But soon I changed my thinking.

'Nope. Living a kind life is not the correct answer.'

I didn't save the ordinary people just because I wanted to live such a life.

I questioned why the ordinary people were forced to come here.

Of course, the fact that my brother-in-law's father and mother were here made me question it deeply. While I was thinking about it, a twinkling light enveloped the entire crowd, including me.

I immediately felt like I was being dragged somewhere.