Levelling Up In An Exclusive Dungeon

Chapter 49

After Kang Jin-hyuk parted ways with the Dwarf and descended, he saw Lucia waiting at the entrance.

She was leaning against the wall, savoring the taste of a candy, and as soon as she saw Kang Jin-hyuk, she asked a question.

“Did you get what I told you to get?”

Kang Jin-hyuk took out the key he had received from the Dwarf instead of answering.

Seeing the key sparkling in the light, Lucia grinned.

“See? I told you, if you do as I say, he’ll hand it over without a fuss, right?”

To make the Dwarf, who hates curses, willingly lend a hand, you have to provoke his pride.

That was the solution Lucia came up with, and the result was successful.

Even if the Dwarf realized that all of this was intentional, considering his pride, he wouldn’t have been able to ignore Lucia’s provocation.

“Did you really have to trick him like that? Couldn’t you have just asked him?”

“As if that shorty would’ve handed me the key so easily.”

“If I had asked, instead of you, he might have.”

“And what would you say if he asked how you knew about the Temple key?”

Kang Jin-hyuk closed his mouth at Lucia’s point.

If it were the Dwarf, he would have immediately known that Lucia had tipped him off. Then he wouldn’t have given the key so readily.

“And what do you mean trick? Just think of it as everything going according to plan.”

“The number above your head doesn’t seem to think so.”

“……How much did it go up?”

“1.”

Lucia scoffed at the single index finger Kang Jin-hyuk held up.

“That’s barely an increase, what’s the big deal?”

“Every little bit helps.”

“What kind of nonsense analogy is that? Dust is still dust, no matter how much you gather.”

Lucia scolded him, saying he should be preparing himself mentally for the Temple instead of worrying about such trivial numbers.

“I’m taking you there because you insisted on getting stronger quickly. So if you don’t want to die, take care of yourself.”

Lucia, checking the condition of her sword and bow, looked unusually serious.

Kang Jin-hyuk suddenly felt nervous as she, who seemed capable of anything with ease, had a grave expression.

“Is it that dangerous?”

“Yes. I almost died because I let my guard down.”

“When did you go there?”

“Once, because of a request from the mage who blew this dungeon into this dimension.”

At that time, the Dwarf didn’t give her the key, so she could only go near the entrance.

But just reaching the entrance was enough to fully experience the harshness of the place.

“If it’s that dangerous, wouldn’t I be completely useless?”

“No, that’s not entirely true.”

Kang Jin-hyuk tilted his head in question at Lucia’s ambiguous answer.

“What do you mean?”

“That dungeon, uniquely, adjusts its difficulty based on the visitor’s capabilities.”

Because she went with the 8-class Archmage, Lucia had witnessed insane monsters with the power of dragons.

Lucia shuddered involuntarily as she recalled the memory.

“So, I’ll help you get to that level. After that, it’s up to you.”

“You want me to go in there alone?”

“If I follow you in, you won’t last a second.”

It was undeniable.

He had gained quite a bit of levels and experience so far, but the gap between him and Lucia still showed no signs of closing.

If they fought head-on, his chances of winning were 0%.

He could see the clear outcome without even hoping for a miracle.

Seeing Kang Jin-hyuk’s expression darken, Lucia slapped his back with a loud clap.

“Don’t be scared. As long as you keep your wits about you, you won’t die.”

“That means the moment I let my guard down, I’m toast.”

“Isn’t that how fights are? If you want to get stronger, you have to take that risk.”

Kang Jin-hyuk let out a small sigh.

As she said, he was the one who insisted on getting stronger.

Whining about it being too difficult after coming this far would be too pathetic.

“Alright, I’m not going to die anyway.”

Lucia swallowed the words she was about to say as she saw Kang Jin-hyuk’s eyes flash with determination.

‘I guess I don’t need to tell him that his soul could be bound and suffer even after death.’

As long as he doesn’t die, it’s fine.

Lucia thought it would be pointless to say anything more and potentially scare him.

◈◈◈◈◈◈

Seo Sang-ho, stepping off the plane and onto Korean soil after a long time, stretched with a relieved expression.

He felt like he could fly, freed from a request that didn’t seem to have an end in sight.

“Please manage your expression in front of the cameras.”

The secretary, who had come to the airport to pick him up, had hollow eyes as if she hadn’t slept properly for days.

With Seo Sang-ho’s sudden return, she had to deal with countless issues within the guild.

“Officially, you’re returning because the opposing guild made excessive accusations against Korean Hunters, so you need to act like you’re angry.”

“That’s easy.”

“That’s good. The next thing I’m going to tell you is a bit more difficult.”

The secretary handed Seo Sang-ho a thick stack of papers she had brought in her briefcase.

Seo Sang-ho’s face turned pale at the sight of the dictionary-like thickness.

“I briefed you on the situation on the plane, so you should be able to memorize this much quickly, right?”

“Isn’t this a bit too much right after I arrive?”

“What can we do, it’s a matter of national urgency.”

Many changes had occurred while Seo Sang-ho was away from Korea.

To think that Tyrant, the top-ranked guild that seemed untouchable, was plotting such a reckless act.

Thanks to that, the Altron Guild was enjoying its heyday with the disappearance of its only rival.

“The fact that ‘Jo Won-cheol’ is staying quiet bothers me…….”

“According to the information we received, he’s focusing on defending his territory.”

“Defending his territory when his guild members and executives are all but wiped out?”

To be able to do that against numerous large guilds, he was indeed a renowned S-rank Hunter.

“It seems the situation is urgent enough that even that madman can’t afford to go on a rampage.”

“Because the moment he shows any weakness, hyenas will come running from all directions.”

“Tsk tsk, he should have been more virtuous.”

They had known for a long time that Jo Won-cheol harbored an inferiority complex because he was narrowly losing to Altron.

But Seo Sang-ho had thought that if Jo Won-cheol was a ‘Hunter’, he would at least not cross the line.

But what was this?

He had not only crossed the line but was rampaging through it like it was his own backyard.

“Alraune, those bastards are truly terrifying with their ideas.”

Until now, only countries like Somalia, where human rights were nonexistent, had attempted to artificially create such items.

Jo Won-cheol couldn’t have forgotten what happened to Somalia, which was punished to the point of annihilation by the International Union as soon as it was discovered.

“‘Excessive greed invites disaster.’ He’s a perfect example of that.”

“You should also be careful, Guild Leader.”

“Why me? Where else can you find a Guild Leader who works for the public good as much as I do?”

If he had revealed the information under the name of Titan in this incident, he could have gained justification and absorbed Tyrant’s territory.

But Seo Sang-ho announced it anonymously because he thought it might escalate into a war.

Other guilds would never have acted like this.

Whether the city turned into a battlefield or not.

The reality of large guilds was that they would do anything without hesitation as long as it benefited them.

That’s why the secretary deeply respected Seo Sang-ho in her heart.

“When is the press conference?”

“I’ve told you several times, it’s tomorrow.”

“The schedule is too tight. Can’t I just skip the welcome ceremony today?”

“You want to cancel even that event when public sentiment is already bad?”

If he was going to do that, he should have said so in advance, not on the day of the event, which would inconvenience many people.

Seo Sang-ho knew this rationally, so he groaned.

“You’re not participating because you’re busy, but why can’t I?”

“I’m a secretary, and you’re the main character of the welcome ceremony. Our positions are different.”

“Sigh. Alright, I give up.”

Participating in the welcome ceremony, preparing for the press conference, and dealing with backlogged approvals.

As soon as he returned to Korea, Seo Sang-ho was faced with a wall of work.

But it was much better than dealing with the endless onslaught of monsters abroad.

At least his body could rest here, so Seo Sang-ho decided to accept his duties without complaint.

He sent off his secretary, who was going to meet with the CEO of a partner company, and got into the car that had come to pick him up.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Seo Sang-ho smiled lightly at the driver’s warm greeting.

“What hard work? You guys are the ones who worked hard, holding down the fort and preventing a war from breaking out.”

When other large guilds saw this as an opportunity and were eager to pounce.

The policy Seo Sang-ho had set for the guild was ‘Never clash with other guilds’.

Many guild members must have been dissatisfied with the strictly defensive policy. Seo Sang-ho was grateful to them for obediently following it.

“We’ve arrived.”

Seo Sang-ho looked at the hotel, his destination, from inside the stopped car.

“You rented out this entire expensive-looking place? Isn’t this too much?”

“It’s the day the Guild Leader returns, we need to prepare this much to boost morale.”

“If we boost morale twice like this, the guild will go bankrupt.”

The head of accounting for the Titan Guild was Han Young-seok.

For Han Young-seok, who usually whined about the guild’s declining income, to do something so extravagant.

Seo Sang-ho felt a sense of disconnect as he walked into the hotel.

When Seo Sang-ho reached the event hall by elevator, he saw the person waiting at the entrance and let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re not a gentleman, are you?”

Han Young-seok approached Seo Sang-ho first and bowed his head.

“Welcome. We’ve just finished preparing for the welcome ceremony.”

“What’s going on? Usually, you’d still be preparing for over an hour even after I arrived.”

“Everything improves with time, doesn’t it?”

Han Young-seok grinned good-naturedly and guided Seo Sang-ho to his seat in the event hall.

And he poured Seo Sang-ho a glass of Anjou from his favorite brand.

“The event will start soon, so please wait a moment.”

“Alright, don’t rush, take your time.”

Seo Sang-ho couldn’t get used to the fact that the person who had been complaining so much was now acting so calmly.

‘Has he changed his mind?’

Maybe he realized that protecting people’s safety is better than fighting tooth and nail for profit.

Seo Sang-ho, relieved, took a sip of the wine and looked around, suddenly feeling a sense of unease.

‘Wait a minute…….’

Somehow, all the people he saw were from Han Young-seok’s faction.

Was this arrangement intentional?

As suspicion began to sprout in his mind, Seo Sang-ho felt a strange pain spreading from his throat.

“Damn it!”

By the time he realized the situation and threw the glass away, it was already too late.

The wine Han Young-seok had prepared had already gone down his throat, and even if he vomited it up now, it was useless as the effects were already spreading throughout his body.

Seo Sang-ho gritted his teeth as he saw his hands and feet trembling against his will.

“You crazy bastards…… Do you even know what you’re doing?!”

“Of course we do.”

Han Young-seok, who had left saying the event was about to start, reappeared with another group of guild members.

And beside him was another familiar face, although not a guild member.

“You…….”