Episode 49
When Kang Jin-hyeok parted ways with the dwarf and came down, he saw Lucia waiting at the entrance.
She was leaning against the wall, savoring the taste of candy, and as soon as she saw Kang Jin-hyeok, she immediately asked him a question.
“Did you get what you said?”
Kang Jin-hyeok answered by taking out the key he had received from the dwarf.
Lucia smiled brightly at the sight of the key shining in the light.
“What do you think? Since you did as I said, you’ll hand it over to me, right?”
If you want to make a dwarf who hates curses volunteer to do it, you can provoke his anger.
That was the solution Lucia came up with, and it worked.
Even if the dwarf had realized that all of this was intentional, he would not have been able to ignore Lucia’s provocation, given his pride.
“Do you really have to get it in this deceptive way? Why not just ask?”
“That little brat must have been nice enough to hand me the keys.”
“It’s not you who should be asking, it’s me.”
“What would you say if the little rascal asked you how you knew about the temple key?”
Kang Jin-hyeok kept his mouth shut in response to Lucia’s remark.
If he were a dwarf, he would have immediately realized that Lucia had told him so, and he wouldn’t have readily given him the key.
“And what’s the point of lying? Just think of it as something that just went according to plan.”
“The numbers above your head don’t seem to think so.”
“… … How much did it go up?”
“1.”
Lucia snorted at the one index finger that Kang Jin-hyeok showed.
“It didn’t even go up that much, did it?”
“A little goes a long way.”
“What kind of ridiculous metaphor is that? Even dust is just dust when you gather it together.”
Lucia scolded him, telling him to prepare himself to go to the temple rather than worrying about such trivial things.
“I’m taking you because you insisted on becoming strong in a short period of time. If you don’t want to die, behave yourself.”
Lucia’s appearance as she checked the condition of her sword and bow looked quite serious, unlike usual.
Kang Jin-hyuk suddenly became nervous when he saw her, who seemed like she could easily do anything, making a serious expression.
“Is it that dangerous?”
“Yeah. I almost died because I let my guard down.”
“When did you go there?”
“The wizard who sent this dungeon to this dimension. Once because of his request.”
At that time, I could only go near the entrance because the dwarf wouldn’t give me the key.
But just by reaching the entrance, I was able to fully experience the harshness of the place.
“If it’s that dangerous, then I can’t do anything about it, right?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Kang Jin-hyeok tilted his head in question at Lucia’s ambiguous answer.
“What does that mean?”
“That dungeon, oddly enough, has difficulty levels that vary depending on the visitor’s skill level.”
As she went with a class 8 archmage, Lucia witnessed crazy monsters with dragon-level power.
Lucia felt goosebumps when she recalled the memories from that time.
“So I’ll just help you get to that floor. The rest is up to you.”
“You want me to go in there alone?”
“If I follow you in, you won’t be able to last even a second.”
It was an undeniable statement.
Although I have gained quite a bit of level and experience so far, the gap with Lucia still shows no signs of narrowing.
If you fight head-on, your chances of winning are 0%.
The results were so obvious that one couldn’t even hope for a miracle.
Lucia saw Kang Jinhyuk’s expression darken and slapped him on the back with a bang.
“Don’t be scared. As long as you keep your wits about you, you won’t die.”
“That means the moment you let your guard down, it’ll all be over.”
“Isn’t that what fighting is all about? If you want to become stronger, you have to take that much on.”
Kang Jin-hyeok let out a small sigh.
As she said, she was the first to step forward and say she wanted to become stronger.
It seemed so ugly to come all this way and whine about how hard it would be.
“Yeah, I guess it’s just death.”
Lucia swallowed the words she was about to say as Kang Jin-hyeok steeled his resolve with a gleam in his eyes.
‘I don’t need to tell you that even after death, your soul can be tied up and suffer.’
Because as long as you don’t die, it’s okay.
Lucia thought it was pointless to say anything.
* * *
Seo Sang-ho, who had just stepped onto Korean soil after getting off the plane, stretched with a relieved expression.
I felt like I was flying because I was free from the commission that I didn’t know when it would end.
“Control your facial expressions in front of the camera.”
The secretary who came to pick me up at the airport had bleary eyes, like someone who hadn’t slept properly for several days.
As Seo Sang-ho was returning in a hurry, there were more than one or two issues she had to deal with within the guild.
“You should act like an angry person since you are coming back because the opposing guild has been criticizing Korean hunters too much.”
“That would be an easy thing to do.”
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“That’s good. The next thing I had to give you was a bit difficult.”
The secretary handed over to Seo Sang-ho a stack of papers that she had brought in her briefcase.
Seo Sang-ho’s face turned pale after seeing the thickness close to the dictionary.
“I told you the situation on the plane. You should be able to memorize it quickly, right?”
“Isn’t it too tough as soon as you get here?”
“What can I do given the current situation?”
While Seo Sang-ho was away from Korea, a lot of changes occurred.
Who would have thought that Tyrant, the top tier guild that seemed unbeatable, would be plotting such a reckless act?
Thanks to this, the Altron Guild was enjoying its heyday with its only rival gone.
“I’m concerned that ‘Jo Won-cheol’ is just sitting there… … .”
“According to the information coming in, they are focusing on securing the area.”
“You’re saying you’re going to protect your territory when all the guild members and executives have left?”
Seeing that he was able to do such things against numerous large guilds, he was indeed worthy of being called a renowned S-class hunter.
“The situation must be so dire that that scoundrel can’t even run around for a long time.”
“If you show even the slightest opening, they’ll pounce on you like hyenas.”
“Tsk tsk, you should have used a more elegant symbol.”
I knew from the beginning that Jo Won-cheol was feeling inferior because he was being pushed back by Altron by a hair’s breadth.
However, Seo Sang-ho thought that if Jo Won-cheol was a person who worked as a ‘hunter’, he would at least not cross the line.
But what is this?
He was going so far as to cross the line and was running wild as if he was in my room.
“Alaunerani, you guys are truly terrifying in terms of your ideas.”
Until now, the only countries that have attempted to artificially create such items are human rights-abusing countries like Somalia.
There is no way Cho Won-cheol could have forgotten the incident in Somalia, where the United Nations intervened and responded with devastating measures as soon as it was discovered.
“‘Excessive greed invites trouble.’ You demonstrate that well with your own actions.”
“Guild leader, you must be careful too.”
“Why me? Where is the guild leader who works for the common good as much as I do?”
If the information had been released in the name of Titan in this incident, they could have gained justification to absorb Tyrant’s territory.
Seo Sang-ho announced it anonymously because he thought it might lead to war.
Other guilds would never have taken such action.
Whether the city becomes a battlefield or not.
The current reality of large guilds is that they do anything without hesitation as long as it benefits the guild.
That is why the secretary deeply respected Seo Sang-ho in his heart.
“When is the press conference?”
“How many times have I told you that it will be tomorrow?”
“The schedule is so tight. Can’t we just have the welcoming ceremony today?”
“You’re going to cancel an event like that when public sentiment is already negative?”
If that was the case, they should have told us a few days in advance. It would have been a nuisance to many people to announce the verdict on the day.
Seo Sang-ho also knew this fact in his head, so he groaned.
“You said you were busy and couldn’t participate, so why can’t I?”
“I am the secretary and the guild leader is the main character of the welcoming ceremony. Our positions are different.”
“Ugh. Okay, I lost.”
Attend welcoming ceremonies, prepare for press conferences, and handle pending payments.
As soon as he returned to Korea, a wall of work was built in front of Seo Sang-ho.
But it was much better than facing an onslaught of monsters that might never end in a foreign country.
At least he felt comfortable here, so Seo Sang-ho decided to accept the given duty without complaining.
After sending his secretary to meet the head of the trading company, Seo Sang-ho got into the car that came to pick him up.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Seo Sang-ho smiled faintly at the driver’s cheerful greeting.
“What’s the matter with me? It’s you who have been holding out so well to prevent war from breaking out.”
When other large guilds were looking at this as their opportunity and were looking at it with fire in their eyes.
The policy that Seo Sang-ho gave to the guild was ‘never clash with other guilds’.
There must have been many guild members who were dissatisfied with the thoroughly defensive policy, but Seo Sang-ho was grateful to them for following along obediently.
“We have arrived.”
Seo Sang-ho looked at his destination, the hotel, from inside the stopped car.
“You rented out the entire place that looks so expensive? Isn’t that too much?”
“The guild leader is coming, so wouldn’t it be nice to prepare at least this much?”
“If I save you twice, the guild will go bankrupt.”
The head of the Titan Guild was Han Yeong-seok.
Han Yeong-seok, who had always complained about the guild’s income decreasing, is now doing something so big.
Seo Sang-ho walked into the hotel feeling a sense of alienation.
Seo Sang-ho, who arrived at the venue via the elevator, found a person waiting at the entrance and let out a hollow laugh.
“The nobleman is a bad person.”
Han Yeong-seok approached Seo Sang-ho first and bowed his head.
“Welcome. The welcoming ceremony preparations are almost finished.”
“What’s going on? Usually, it takes me over an hour to get ready when I arrive.”
“Isn’t everything bound to improve over time?”
Han Yeong-seok smiled cheerfully and guided Seo Sang-ho to his seat at the event venue.
And for Seo Sang-ho, who was seated, I poured him a glass of the brand of Anju he usually enjoyed.
“The event will begin soon, so please wait a moment.”
“Okay, don’t rush, take your time.”
Seo Sang-ho couldn’t get used to the person who used to complain so much now acting so well.
‘Have your thoughts changed in the meantime?’
Perhaps he realized that it was better to protect people’s safety than to fight for profit.
Seo Sang-ho, who was drinking with peace of mind, suddenly felt a sense of discomfort as he looked around.
‘Wait a minute, this… … .’
Why were all the people visible in the seats only from the faction centered around Han Yeong-seok?
Was it arranged like that on purpose?
As doubts began to sprout in his mind, Seo Sang-ho felt a strange pain spreading from his throat.
“fu*k!”
When I realized the situation too late and threw the glass away, it was already too late.
The alcohol that Han Yeong-seok had prepared had already gone down his throat, and even if he threw it up now, it would be of no use as the effects had already begun to spread throughout his body.
Seo Sang-ho gritted his teeth as he looked at his hands and feet shaking against his will.
“These fu*king American bastards… … do you know what they’re doing right now!”
“I know.”
Han Yeong-seok, who had left saying that the event was about to begin, returned to the scene leading a group of guild members.
And next to him was another familiar figure, though not a guild member.
“you…….”
