Chapter 10
“Dojae!”
Eun-hee approached with a bright expression.
Dojae, who had been frowning, also softened his expression and greeted her warmly.
“Hello, Assistant Manager Jung!”
“Fancy seeing you here. What brings you here?”
Dojae chuckled awkwardly at Eun-hee’s question and showed her the stack of papers he was holding.
“Because of this.”
“Oh? Congratulations!”
After checking the writing on the papers, Eun-hee genuinely congratulated him. She was also a bit surprised.
“Thank you.”
His response was somewhat curt. Sensing something, Eun-hee cautiously asked.
“You don’t seem too happy.”
It was a promotion from F-rank to E-rank. Though it wouldn’t bring a drastic change in benefits, the quality of life as a hunter would significantly improve.
Eun-hee observed Dojae’s expression again and, suspecting something, asked.
“By any chance… was your initial evaluation wrong? And this is just now being corrected?”
If that were true, it could become quite complicated. If Dojae were to respond aggressively, it could even lead to a significant legal battle.
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then why… Did something bad happen?”
“No, it’s just… I feel like the rank still came out too low.”
“What?”
Dojae, who had just been promoted to E-rank, now claimed the rank was too low.
Raising one’s rank by even one level is a major achievement, and yet he implied that he could have been ranked higher?
Unless it’s a case of reawakening, such a thing was virtually impossible.
Eun-hee hadn’t even considered the idea of reawakening and thought Dojae was either mistaken or joking.
“I thought I would get at least a C-rank.”
“Hehe, really? Oh, by the way, how’s your brother doing?”
Eun-hee quickly changed the subject. She thought perhaps Dojae was daydreaming or playing a joke.
“He’s doing well. Recently, he started mana treatment, and his condition is steadily improving.”
“That’s great to hear. I was a bit worried after seeing him last time. I’ll be praying for his quick recovery.”
Eun-hee looked at Dojae with admiration. Mana treatment was expensive.
Especially for Dojae’s brother, who had cancer, the treatment required a healer with high-level skills, which meant even more money was needed.
Dojae had been saving money diligently, and now it seemed that the treatment had finally begun.
“Thank you. I can’t wait to bring him to our new place after the move.”
“Wow! You even moved? That’s amazing! A housewarm…”
Eun-hee suddenly stopped herself.
She had almost blurted out that she would visit for a housewarming party, but she managed to hold back.
“Huh? A housewarming?”
“Oh, I meant you need to check out the place thoroughly before moving in. I heard there’s a lot of fraud with rentals these days…”
“Oh, no worries. The place is fine.”
“I see… Well, I’ll be off then.”
Eun-hee hurried to leave, her face feeling hot as if she had been caught in an awkward moment.
“Assistant Manager Jung!”
Dojae called out to Eun-hee, who was walking away quickly.
“Y-Yes?”
Her voice trembled slightly as she replied.
“About the party recruitment that was posted today. Are there any spots available?”
“Oh, yes. You mean the E-rank dungeon raid scheduled for next week? Should I sign you up?”
“Please do.”
Eun-hee nodded in acknowledgment.
‘What was I expecting?’
As Eun-hee walked out of the building, she heard Dojae’s voice again.
“And when the move’s finished, do you want to come to the housewarming party?”
********************************
Crinkle, crinkle-
Whoosh-.
A crumpled paper ball flew quite a distance and landed accurately in the trash can.
‘Should I have mentioned the mana stone?’
He had planned to talk about the mana stone after the scanning was complete but left without saying anything.
He hadn’t expected them to treat the mana stone as a genuine item and give him an E-rank evaluation.
Since the mana stone was now part of his body, all his stats had increased, so he thought he would at least get a C-rank.
“Dimensional Space.”
A list of items in his Dimensional Space appeared before him.
He thought of what he wanted, reached into the space, and pulled out a clear plastic water bottle.
Gulp-
“Phew.”
As the cool water passed down his throat, the feeling of frustration was somewhat washed away.
‘I don’t really want to join Mansung…’
In his wallet, Dojae still had Deokhoon’s business card.
But he wasn’t particularly eager to make contact.
‘Besides, I should stay by my brother’s side.’
Mansung Guild had far more overseas raids compared to other guilds—almost all their operations were abroad.
Once you join, it’s hard to come back frequently, and there was a saying that after joining Mansung, by the time you return, your child might have moved on from middle school to high school.
Even the guild master was rumored to spend most of his time abroad, only returning to Korea a few times a year.
‘Maybe I should buy a dungeon instead?’
He had some spare cash.
The Persephone Ruby had sold for 1.6 billion won. After paying for the house, hospital bills, and other expenses, he had about 500 million won left.
If he wanted, he could easily run a small guild with that money.
‘Well, who cares about the hunter rank? I’ve lived fine as an F-rank. Nothing’s going to change.’
There was no need to be obsessed with the rank.
If no one would take him in, he could just form his own raid party.
Dojae put the half-finished bottle of water back into his Dimensional Space.
Then, he hailed a taxi and said to the driver,
“Please take me to the Seoul branch of the Hunter Association.”
*******************
Seoul Special City, Dongdaemun-gu, Hwigyeong-dong.
Near Hoegi Station.
“Ah, it’s been a while.”
“Hey, we just saw each other a week ago, what’s with ‘been a while’?”
“It feels like it’s been ages since we usually see each other every day, but now it’s been a whole week.”
Kim Jeong-shim and Park Hoo-sik exchange greetings.
The two had been freelancing hunters for a long time and had grown quite close.
“Yeah, it does feel good to see you. What have you been doing for the past week?”
“What else? I’ve just been lazing around. We only work when there’s a raid, right? What about you?”
“Same here. I’ve been stuck at home, and it’s been driving me crazy. Once this raid is over, I’m thinking of going on a trip to the provinces.”
“Take me with you. If you know any good spots, let’s go together.”
“Tch. Trying to get a free ride?”
“Oh, come on. I’ll buy you a drink after the raid. I’ve been itching to do something, anything.”
Park Hoo-sik stretches his shoulders, while Kim Jeong-shim checks the gathering crowd.
“But seriously, who bought up all those dungeons?”
Kim Jeong-shim asks, rotating his knees.
“If I knew, would I be here? I’d have tracked them down already.”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? They specifically bought only the E-rank and D-rank dungeons. These dungeons don’t even make much profit.”
“I don’t know either. Maybe some rich guild is training rookies or something.”
“Either way, we’re the ones losing out.”
“If you’re done stretching, let’s go.”
With only questions left lingering, the two move towards the dungeon, as the raid is about to begin.
“I’ll roll call. Jang Dong-min.”
“Here!”
“Jang Dong-min will be the raid leader. Let’s count on you for this raid, too.”
“Hey.”
“Kim Jeong-shim.”
“Yes!”
“Park Hoo-sik.”
…
Names are called one by one, as the members verify their attendance.
Most of the faces are familiar to each other.
“And lastly, Lee Do-jae.”
“Yes!”
At the sound of Do-jae’s name, everyone’s expressions lightened.
‘It’ll be a bit easier with that guy here.’
‘Might as well give him my bag. He’s going to gather everything anyway.’
‘With Do-jae here, I’ve got nothing to do.’
They all had slightly different thoughts, but they all shared one thing: they saw Do-jae as the group’s pack mule.
However, Do-jae had a very different thought.
‘There’s no need for me to be here in a D-rank dungeon anymore.’
Do-jae had been buying up all the E-rank and D-rank dungeons, living in them to the point of barely sleeping.
Sometimes, he would leave his golems standing guard while he took naps inside the dungeon.
That’s how he raised his level to 30.
Looking at his status window:
[Information]
Name: Lee Do-jae
Level: 30
Title: Golem Master
Life: 5500 / 860
[Stats]
Strength: 40 / Endurance: 40 / Agility: 70 / Mental: 10 / Resistance: 40
(Points: 0)
[Skills]
Passive: Heart of the Golem Lv. Max / Spatial Storage Lv. Max
Active: Golem Summon Lv. 2 / Golem Armor Lv. 3
He had invested points in every stat except Mental, with Agility raised almost twice as much.
At this level, even D-rank monsters would go down with a single punch from Do-jae.
‘If it weren’t for the quest…’
The only reason he had to participate in the raid was due to a quest that appeared while he was clearing a dungeon yesterday.
[Quest]
Type: Sub
Details: An unrecognized being is seeking something they should not possess. Defeat this being and restore balance. (Location: 30 meters southeast from 196 Hoegi-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, South Korea)
Restriction: Before clearing the dungeon
Reward: 1 Mana Stone
Failure: Dungeon Break
The penalty for failure was a dungeon break, an incredibly dangerous consequence.
Moreover, the location was near a busy urban area, so the resulting damage would be catastrophic.
Regardless of the reward, the failure condition was something he couldn’t ignore.
‘I’m the only one who knows about this.’
He considered revealing everything and evacuating the people in case he failed the quest.
But he quickly gave up on the idea since no one would believe him.
Failing to clear a D-rank dungeon and causing a dungeon break was unthinkable in this day and age.
Still, the presence of the “failure” condition meant that a dungeon break was a real possibility.
‘I’m glad I pre-registered with Eun-hee.’
Do-jae looked over at Eun-hee.
She was busy chatting with the other hunters.
As the leading hunters entered the dungeon, Do-jae followed behind.
************************
‘What exactly is this “unrecognized being”?’
I was wandering inside the dungeon.
I was searching for the unrecognized being and whatever they had taken, as the quest described.
“Kyaaak!”
Thud!
“Urgh.”
A goblin sprang out from somewhere.
It didn’t even get to swing its stone axe properly before it fell to my punch.
‘Jumping out like that to scare people.’
In the past, I would have had an intense battle and then breathed a sigh of relief afterward, but not anymore.
Even without wearing my golem armor, my punches were now strong enough to knock out a goblin in one hit.
‘For a goblin, you’ve got something decent there.’
I picked up the fallen stone axe.
I removed the wooden handle and threw just the stone part into my spatial storage.
Seeing a new mineral added to my storage list made me smile.
Then I resumed wandering through the dungeon.
This wasn’t a goblin dungeon, but rather a “Greydon Dungeon.”
The goblins were just an additional nuisance; the main hunt was for Greydon.
Swoosh—
‘This one’s in good condition!’
Do-jae placed the Greydon hide into his spatial storage.
The tough and durable Greydon hide was frequently used in crafting armor, making it a highly sought-after and valuable material.
‘But after two laps, I still can’t find it.’
I had been scouring the dungeon for nearly three hours, with my eyes peeled for anything unusual, but this dungeon seemed no different from a typical dungeon.
In the meantime, the raid party had reached the boss room, forcing me to return.
“Good job… huh?”
Jang Dong-min paused as he handed me a towel.
Normally, I would be sweating profusely and looking exhausted, but I was far too calm for that.
“Thank you. I’ve already gathered all the loot and placed it near the dungeon entrance.”
“Really? Already? Was there not much loot?”
“There was a bit less than usual.”
“Tch, we got nothing, huh!”
I lied a little.
In truth, there was much more loot.
But because I could transport everything through spatial storage, I did it quickly, and to avoid suspicion, I said there was less.
“Everyone, you heard that? This dungeon’s a bust!”
At Jang Dong-min’s shout, groans came from all around.
“Let’s just kill the boss quickly and go get some soju.”
One by one, the hunters rose to their feet.
None of them looked happy.
At the front, Jang Dong-min reached for the door handle to the boss room.
And then.
Creak—
Pshk!
“Gah!”
Jang Dong-min collapsed.
A large hole was ripped open in his stomach.
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