Chapter 1951 – 1951. Fiery
I continued to move in the direction the dowsing rod pointed.
Fortunately, it wasn’t across the sea. The direction the dowsing rod indicated was somewhere in Palgong Mountain in Daegu. I had circled around Palgong Mountain, so it was certain.
To get to the exact location of the treasure, I had to get out of the car and move on foot. Driving a supercar around Palgong Mountain was inconvenient in many ways. And the place the dowsing rod was currently pointing to was under control.
Police officers blocked the way to where the dowsing rod was pointing.
“I’m sorry. This area is currently under control. Please turn back.”
“What’s the reason for the control? Did a monster appear or something?”
“Yes. I heard there was a dungeon break nearby. Hunters from the association are currently taking care of it. It will probably be under control until tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’m a hunter too, though.”
“Is that so? If you tell me your name, I’ll contact the association to confirm.”
“A hunter who came to play.”
“……”
I couldn’t act high and mighty or ignore them and go inside. This was reality, and I was just an ordinary hunter. I backed the supercar out. I found a suitable motel nearby and settled in.
“Harin, what do you think?”
I asked Han Harin, who was fiddling with her smartphone. My gut was telling me. This was clearly strange.
“I searched the internet. There are two articles about a dungeon break in Palgong Mountain.”
Dungeon breaks weren’t common.
And this was Daegu. It couldn’t be compared to Seoul, the capital area, but it was a metropolitan city. A city with a population of over 2 million. Even in such a city, there were only two articles about a dungeon break?
“There’s something going on.”
I took out my smartphone and sent a message to Baek Ji-eun. She was an executive at the Korean Hunter Association. She might know something. The reply didn’t take long.
Baek Ji-eun: Palgong Mountain? Hmm. I’m hearing about it for the first time.
Sung Yu-jin: You really don’t know?
Baek Ji-eun: Just because I’m an association executive doesn’t mean I know everything that happens in Korea. Besides, I’m not in charge of Gyeongsang Province.
Sung Yu-jin: Okay.
Baek Ji-eun: Are you in Palgong Mountain now? When are you coming up?
Sung Yu-jin: I’ll contact you later.
I put my smartphone away.
“The most likely scenario is that the association is cracking down on a black guild. Otherwise, there’s no reason for the association to control the area.”
“It’s getting more and more intriguing.”
“…The current situation?”
“No. The treasure.”
Maybe the things happening now were related to the treasure. My curiosity about the treasure grew even more.
Han Harin stared at me. Her gaze was somewhat dissatisfied.
“You’re thinking of sneaking inside, aren’t you?”
“I can’t go back empty-handed after coming all this way. Harin, you stay here.”
“You want me to send you alone? Who knows what kind of trouble you’ll get into? I’m going with you, so keep that in mind.”
“A date in the mountains. Not bad.”
And so, we started moving towards Palgong Mountain. Sneaking inside, avoiding the police, was easy. No matter what, they couldn’t completely surround and control the entire mountain.
I strode forward in the direction the dowsing rod was pointing. In my head, I was thinking about how to take the treasure.
‘Once I get my hands on it, I can go back with a space teleportation scroll.’
I could give a space teleportation scroll to Han Harin too. I knew she was tight-lipped, so she wouldn’t tell anyone.
“……!!”
Our legs, which had been moving forward without hesitation, stopped.
I felt something indescribable. The air, temperature, and humidity hadn’t changed. The only thing that had changed was the mana concentration.
I glanced to the side, and Han Harin’s expression was also stiff. Unlike me, she immediately gave an answer.
“An invasive dungeon.”
Open type, open type. And the most troublesome type of dungeon that had appeared in recent years.
I decided to approach it more seriously. Like exploring a dungeon. From my various experiences, I knew that if I let my guard down, I could get seriously hurt.
Whoosh.
The sound of air flowing hit my ears. I narrowed my eyes at the unnatural flow of air.
The space in front of me distorted. It was like heat haze shimmering.
‘This feeling is similar to when I use a space teleportation scroll.’
I pulled Han Harin, who was right next to me, into an embrace. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden action. Regardless, I held her tightly.
Whoooooosh!
The distortion of space engulfed me and Han Harin.
Han Harin and I appeared in a completely different place.
A tent.
It wasn’t a small camping tent, but a large tent used for rough work. In the center of it, I was holding Han Harin tightly.
“Damn it. What the hell is this all of a sudden?”
A man who had been eating instant noodles cursed. I looked him up and down. He was wearing light armor and had a sword at his waist. He was a hunter.
“Can’t you see the mood, you clueless bastard? Do you have to ruin it like that?”
“What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bastard, suddenly appearing like that!”
The man put his instant noodles on the table and jumped up from his seat. He reached for the sword at his waist, and I stretched my hand into the air and summoned a sword.
Crack!
Suddenly, the man’s body was slammed into the floor. The table and instant noodles were also broken, dirtying the man’s body.
Gravity. It was Han Harin’s power.
“Don’t suddenly hug me like that.”
Han Harin grumbled softly and got out of my arms. She needlessly straightened her hair while looking at the man who was pinned down by gravity and unable to move.
I looked around and was slightly impressed. The applied gravity seemed to be applied only around the man.
‘The ceiling and other furniture didn’t collapse. Harin has improved a lot.’
Before interrogating the man, I took out the dowsing rod to check. The dowsing rod was pointing to the right. I had confirmed the direction of the treasure.
“I have a lot of questions. What kind of guy are you?”
“…Can’t you release this on that woman first before I talk?”
“She’s not just ‘that woman,’ she’s my woman.”
The man looked up at me as if to say, ‘So what?’ I shook the sword in front of his eyes, and he immediately lowered his gaze.
“First, answer my question. Where is this?”
Whether it was someone’s doing or a phenomenon of the invasive dungeon, we had been forcibly teleported. Judging by the fact that the man was speaking Korean, it was definitely Korea.
“So you got caught up in a space distortion too? Damn it. Why did it have to be inside the barracks?”
Thwack!
I stabbed the back of his hand with my sword. The man’s eyes widened as he looked at his pierced right hand.
“I’m not playing around with you right now. Stop talking nonsense and answer my questions. Next time, it won’t end with your hand.”
“……This is Palgong Mountain in Daegu. It’s one of the barracks we use.”
The man’s voice lowered. He seemed to have realized that his life depended on his answers.
I asked the man various questions.
The man’s name was Seo Tae-oh. He was a member of the black guild Opal. I had heard of the black guild Opal. They were a mercenary guild that specialized in dirty work.
“What are you doing here?”
“We’re just staying here as requested. We were preparing to withdraw because we confirmed that the association’s movements were intensifying.”
“You weren’t just staying here, were you?”
“The request was to stay and guard this place. Now that the association has arrived, that request is over. You don’t seem to be affiliated with the association… Let’s end it here. I’ll pretend I don’t know you two, so spare me. Then I’ll tell you how to get out of here safely.”
“Haven’t you grasped the situation yet? It’s you who’s in danger right now.”
“Look around the barracks. There are six beds. Six people stay and live in this barracks alone. There are over 50 of my colleagues here. Can you two handle that? Judging by the power I feel, you seem to be A-rank… and your woman is not quite A-rank, maybe B-rank? Half of my colleagues are A-rank or higher. Can you two handle that?”
I glanced at Han Harin’s mood. I wondered if she might feel sympathy for this guy, but her eyes were much colder than usual. I didn’t feel a shred of mercy towards the man.
Swish!
I swung my sword and cut the man’s arm.
“Ughhh!”
The man desperately held back his scream. If he shouted here, his colleagues might come running, but he understood that his life would be over.
“Who is the client, what kind of monsters come out of this invasive dungeon… Tell me in detail. In detail.”
For 15 minutes, I grilled Seo Tae-oh and found out what I wanted to know.
“…I’ve told you everything I know. I’ll also tell you how to get out of here. So…”
Stab.
Without listening to his words, I plunged my sword into his neck. I had intended to kill him from the beginning. A way out? I had a space teleportation scroll, so it was fine. I took this opportunity to hand a space teleportation scroll to Han Harin, who had a stiff expression.
“Tear the scroll if it gets dangerous.”
Han Harin, who received the space teleportation scroll without a word, spoke after a moment of silence.
“The situation is much more serious. It would be better to get out of here as soon as possible.”
“We have to get the treasure.”
“Didn’t you hear that the client is called Baekrim (White Forest)? Baekrim is behind this situation. Surely you know what Baekrim is?”
“Surely I know what Baekrim is.”
The worst criminal organization operating in Japan. They openly commit violent crimes such as attacking Japanese guild hunters and assassinating politicians. They are the troublemakers of Japan, operating under the banner of changing the current corrupt Japan.
I had been caught up in their terrorist attacks when I went to Japan before.
And those guys are suddenly active in the Korean Peninsula?
‘It’s probably because of the treasure. According to Seo Tae-oh, there’s a Baekrim executive here. If an executive is moving directly…’
The treasure must be something special.
As I felt the rising greed, I saw Han Harin’s body tremble slightly.
Unlike me, who was used to this kind of situation thanks to the game life app, she had no experience at all.
I scratched my head. There was nothing I could do. Giving her clumsy advice would only hurt her pride.
‘She just has to get used to it.’
