Levelling Up In An Exclusive Dungeon

Chapter 48

Kang Jin-hyuk quickly scanned the documents handed over by Jung Dae-yoon.

The Hunters investigating the backers were all A-rank.

Judging by their levels exceeding 200, as well as their impressive experience and records, they were clearly veterans in this field.

The fact that they could spare such personnel despite their busy schedule was indeed befitting of a guild that competed for the top two spots in the country.

“An archer and a mage, huh…….”

“Each of them is a master of camouflage and camouflage magic. Even if you know their faces, you shouldn’t let your guard down.”

“They generously left behind such high-level personnel. They still have some bite left, even if they’re falling apart.”

Kang Jin-hyuk took only the photos from the documents and held the rest in front of the scented candle on the table.

The paper touched the candle flame, smoked, and quickly burned up.

“Don’t you have any other information besides this?”

“Of course, I do.”

Jung Dae-yoon rolled up his sleeve and showed the bracelet on his left arm.

The bracelet, which looked like a digital watch, was unfamiliar to Kang Jin-hyuk.

“Have you ever heard of a Monster Counter?”

Hearing Jung Dae-yoon’s words, Kang Jin-hyuk recalled the time he cooperated with Titan.

“I’ve seen one that looked like a pocket watch.”

According to his memory, the counter was a device that recorded points based on the number and type of monsters hunted.

Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t understand why Jung Dae-yoon was mentioning such a device at this time.

“Are you trying to promote a new product? I’m not interested in buying anything like that.”

“You’ll be forced to wear it soon, whether you want to buy it or not.”

“What do you mean…….”

Kang Jin-hyuk stopped talking as a thought suddenly struck him like lightning.

What Kang Jin-hyuk remembered was the reason why the Monster Counter was developed.

“An item created to prevent cheating will be forced upon you whether you like it or not. In other words, it’s a shackle.”

“Yes. Right now, it’s only being worn by Tyrant Guild members, but it will soon spread to other Hunters as well.”

It was a policy introduced by the Association to prevent the creation of things like Alraune’s Elixir ever again.

According to Jung Dae-yoon’s explanation, the Association intended to clearly record the Hunters’ growth by inspecting the counter once a week.

If a Hunter’s stats increased significantly but the counter’s numbers were noticeably lower.

They would assume that items like Alraune’s Elixir were used and arrest the Hunter on the spot.

It was an effective method, considering it was introduced by the Association.

“Why would the Association, which usually only cares about the big guilds, come up with such a drastic policy?”

“It seems they don’t want to be targeted by the International Union either.”

“Those guys only work when the fire is at their feet.”

Although the Association had begun to work and abandon its laissez-faire approach, as he had always wished, Kang Jin-hyuk felt uneasy.

‘This could be a problem for hunting in dungeons.’

The more monsters he hunted in the dungeon, the more the counter’s numbers would honestly accumulate, and the Association would obviously question the source of those vast numbers.

The only time he could drastically increase his power was now, before the Association’s policy reached ordinary Hunters like himself.

And besides the dungeon, Kang Jin-hyuk had another reason to hurry.

“This might be presumptuous of me, but if you’re thinking of taking the Elixir, you should hurry.”

Jung Dae-yoon spoke the other reason Kang Jin-hyuk was thinking about.

It was an open secret between the two, so there was no need to hide it any further.

“Considering the effect of the Elixir, I want to take it as late as possible.”

“Because it’s an item that doubles your stats. I understand you want to use it after growing a bit more.”

But time was not on Kang Jin-hyuk’s side.

The Tyrant Guild was searching for the backers, and the Association was trying to shackle the Hunters with a new policy.

In this situation, there was only one thing Kang Jin-hyuk could do.

“Thanks for the tea.”

Kang Jin-hyuk got up from his seat without hesitation.

Jung Dae-yoon, with a surprised expression, also got up to follow him.

“Where are you going?”

“Where else would I be going? To hunt.”

“It will be difficult because of the guilds.”

“Has that ever not been the case?”

“I mean, it’s much worse than usual.”

It was a time when members of large guilds who had been on overseas assignments were returning to Korea one by one.

‘Overseas media outlets are boycotting, feeling that it’s unfair to treat all Korean Hunters as criminals.’

Most large guilds returned to Korea, citing that reason, but it was only a superficial one.

Their real purpose was to seize power from the collapsing Tyrant Guild.

At a time when guilds were fighting over who would be the first to lay their hands on Tyrant’s territory, it was absurd for a Hunter without a guild to go hunting.

However, that was only true for ordinary Hunters.

“It has nothing to do with me.”

Kang Jin-hyuk said with a smirk and immediately opened the door and went out.

The place he was headed was the attic of his house.

It was a dungeon that only he knew about.

◈◈◈◈◈◈

The Dwarf made a complicated expression as he looked at the ore in his hand.

“So, this is what you brought?”

He had sent him to find a mine, but he had been making excuses for over 30 minutes.

And the only thing Kang Jin-hyuk brought back was a fist-sized piece of ore that was now in the Dwarf’s hand.

The Dwarf contemplated whether to smash Kang Jin-hyuk’s head with this ore or with the hammer in his other hand.

“I thought you were dead because there was no news for weeks…….”

Hearing the Dwarf’s muttering, Kang Jin-hyuk felt a pang of guilt.

Kang Jin-hyuk had intentionally avoided coming here because he felt bad about straying from the task of finding the mine.

In short, he had run away because he was afraid of getting scolded.

Even he thought it was shameless of him.

“It seems like a pretty good material. What do you think?”

Kang Jin-hyuk tried to change the subject and get the Dwarf’s attention.

The Dwarf, looking back and forth between Kang Jin-hyuk and the ore, sighed and gave up on swinging the hammer at Kang Jin-hyuk’s head.

“Well, being stupid isn’t a crime.”

“Excuse me? Stupid?”

“Yes, you idiot. Did you bring this without even knowing what it is?”

The reason the Dwarf was upset wasn’t because Kang Jin-hyuk ignored the request.

It was because the rare ore he had brought was a cursed item filled with numerous grudges.

“What do you want me to make with this cursed ore? Huh? A cursed sword?”

“Curse? Is that true?”

“Yes, you idiot. Didn’t the Elf tell you?”

“She didn’t say anything like that…….”

The Dwarf realized why Lucia had hurried down to the lower floor alone.

“That Elf was planning this from the beginning.”

It was common knowledge in their world that Dwarves were vulnerable to curses.

Because they were realists, there were very few clerics among them, and in past wars, a single curse had wiped out an entire division.

“The thing I hate the most after Elves is this kind of cursed stuff, and you bring me this?”

The Dwarf grumbled with an annoyed face.

“Well…….”

Kang Jin-hyuk was very disappointed.

He had expected a good weapon to come out of the item he got from defeating Alraune.

He never expected the Dwarf to hate it so much.

“Sigh……. A curse. Now I understand why Lucia said it would be too much for you.”

As Kang Jin-hyuk sighed and tried to take the ore back, the Dwarf reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Wait. What did you say?”

The Dwarf glared at Kang Jin-hyuk with fierce eyes.

“W-Well, Lucia said you wouldn’t be able to handle this ore…….”

“That damn Elf.”

The Dwarf gritted his teeth and cursed, then snatched the ore.

“She must have expected me to give up without even trying……. But that can’t happen, no way.”

Normally, the Dwarf wouldn’t even glance at an ore filled with so many grudges.

But the thought that Lucia was trying to make fun of him sparked his competitive spirit.

“Hey, you idiot. If you want me to make something with this, go run an errand for me.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“What else would it be? Purify this ore, of course.”

Hearing the Dwarf’s words, Kang Jin-hyuk waved his hand as if troubled.

“My second job class is a cleric type, but I don’t have any purification abilities.”

“What are you talking about? I wasn’t expecting anything from you in the first place.”

The number of grudges dwelling in the ore was more than he could count on all ten fingers.

To purify a curse of that magnitude, he needed to bring in at least a bishop-level cleric.

It was an impossible task for a human who could only swing a baseball bat.

“Then how can we purify it? Do you have anyone to entrust it to?”

“I don’t have anyone to entrust it to, but I have a place to entrust it to.”

After giving a cryptic answer, the Dwarf threw the ore back to Kang Jin-hyuk.

As Kang Jin-hyuk caught the ore falling in a small arc, another object flew towards him.

“Ouch!”

Kang Jin-hyuk quickly moved his left hand to react to the sudden surprise attack.

He checked the object he barely managed to catch and saw a luxurious key decorated with jewels.

“What is this?”

“What else would it be? It’s a key.”

“No, what I want to ask is, what is this a key for?”

The Dwarf pointed his finger down and said.

“There’s a place called the Dragon’s Temple below this. Put that ore on the altar there.”

“A temple? Are you talking about the one on the 2nd floor?”

“No. That’s just an imitation made by some mage, mimicking a temple.”

The Dwarf concluded by saying that the real temple was located five floors below, at the deepest part.

“You mean it’s below that cliff?”

“Yes. It would be good if you didn’t stray this time and went straight there.”

“Haha……. I have a conscience. I won’t do the same thing twice.”

Even after hearing Kang Jin-hyuk’s words, the Dwarf looked at him with suspicion.

Things in the world are only difficult the first time. They can happen again and again, two or three times.

The Dwarf thought that Kang Jin-hyuk might get distracted and do something stupid again.

The previous request was simply to find a mine, so it didn’t matter much, but the task he was giving him now had a time limit.

“I’m not kidding. If it takes more than three days, it’ll be useless to remove the curse attached to the ore.”

“What? Why?”

“Why else? Because the curse will eat away at the power contained in the ore.”

“So after three days, it will become ordinary iron……. Is that what you mean?”

“You understand well. Now stop dawdling and hurry up.”

As the Dwarf was about to enter the workshop for other work, Kang Jin-hyuk hurriedly stopped him.

“W-Wait a minute. I have one more question.”

“What is it?”

“If I succeed in purifying it in time, what can you make with this ore?”

Kang Jin-hyuk hoped that the reward would be worthwhile, as it was a request that had to be completed within a tight schedule.

The Dwarf, noticing Kang Jin-hyuk’s thoughts, grinned.

“I can make something even more amazing than that lightning-shooting thing.”

The ability he had enchanted with the materials from the new monster, Behemoth, was worth billions.

Even if it was on par with that, it was worth the risk, but the Dwarf said he could make something even better.

Then there was no reason for Kang Jin-hyuk to hesitate any longer.

It just so happened that the inventory he had filled to raid the Tyrant Guild’s branch was still full.

Kang Jin-hyuk decided to leave right away.