Chapter 174
Afterward.
The Knights Guild sold three mid-level dungeon raid rights to the Woojin Guild for a total of one billion won.
Three mid-level dungeons across the Yeongnam region, including Busan.
The fact that they handed these over for just a billion won was clear evidence of how grateful they were to Suho for what he had done.
They even went so far as to offer unexpected generosity.
“It seems Woojin Guild doesn’t have a healer yet. While you’re active in Busan, we’ll provide you with our best healer from the Knights Guild.”
“A healer? No, that’s not really necessary…”
Im Do-Gyun, buried under the pile of contracts Suho had dumped on him, initially tried to decline Park Jongsoo’s offer.
But Im Taegyu, who was helping with the negotiations, quickly accepted it.
“Wait, by any chance, is that top healer you mentioned Hunter Lee Juhui?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Oh-ho.”
Im Taegyu looked visibly surprised.
Then he leaned in and whispered into Do-Gyun’s ear.
“Accept it, no matter what. Hunter Lee Juhui would be extremely helpful. In many ways.”
“Huh? In many ways…?”
Do-Gyun looked puzzled.
But Im Taegyu didn’t wait for his son’s answer and immediately grabbed Park Jongsoo’s hand with a broad smile.
“Thank you for the consideration. As expected of the prestigious Knights Guild—you’ve even thought of details like this.”
“Oh no, not at all. Hunter Lee Juhui volunteered for this herself.”
“Ahh, as expected of Hunter Lee Juhui.”
“……?”
Do-Gyun was still totally confused by what was happening.
‘So basically, the Knights Guild gave us a huge discount and is even lending us a healer?’
It just went to show how much value the city of Busan placed on Suho’s defense of Haeundae.
And so—
Woojin Guild, under Suho’s leadership, officially began operations in Busan.
……But not every hunter in Busan was as welcoming as the Knights Guild.
‘Hey, did you hear? The Knights Guild gave Woojin Guild three mid-level dungeons. Practically gave them away.’
‘Then what the hell was all that bidding competition with us for?’
‘I mean, even if they played a big part in Haeundae, this is too much!’
‘If they didn’t have enough manpower to handle the dungeons, they shouldn’t have claimed them in the first place. Or at least offered us first dibs, right?’
‘And let’s be honest, if the Knights Guild had handled Haeundae properly, they wouldn’t have needed to call in outside mercs in the first place.’
‘Ugh. Big guilds are all talk. No substance.’
Complaints started bubbling up from the smaller and mid-tier guilds in Busan who had always been overshadowed by the city’s biggest guild, the Knights.
It was a classic case of territorial resentment.
But their complaints weren’t entirely baseless.
The Haeundae crisis resolved by Woojin Guild—
Many people had witnessed it firsthand, but most hunters from other guilds had been busy raiding other dungeons at the time.
They only heard about it later through news reports.
And watching a disaster on screen never has the same impact as seeing it unfold in front of you.
So when news broke that even the mayor of Busan had presented an official plaque of appreciation to Woojin Guild, it became too much for them to bear.
‘Seriously, who the hell is Woojin Guild and why are they getting all this hype?’
‘I heard they’re a brand-new guild with only three members?’
‘Pfft. Their guild master is C-rank, and the vice is E-rank? Give me a break.’
‘So what exactly did they even do?’
‘I guess that foreigner Esil found the gate at the end of the video?’
‘They say Sung Suho defeated the boss monster, but there’s no footage of how he did it.’
Because most of the actual battle took place inside Harmakan’s instance dungeon, these doubts and frustrations continued to fester.
And finally—
“Hold up.”
As Woojin Guild approached the gate to begin their raid on one of the mid-level dungeons they had legally acquired, they were blocked.
‘Hm?’
Suho looked curiously at the group standing in their way.
Unfamiliar faces.
“Suho—no, Guild Master.”
Next to him, Im Do-Gyun quickly leaned in and whispered.
“They’re well-known hunters in Busan. Their names are…”
“What brings you here?” Suho asked, turning to them while listening to Do-Gyun’s explanation.
A large, imposing hunter stepped forward from the group, baring his teeth as he glared at Suho.
“Hey…”
“W-Wait a minute! Hunter Noh Joon-Gi! You can’t do this! This dungeon belongs to Woojin Guild!”
Staff from the Busan Branch of the Hunter Association rushed in, trying to block the sudden intruders.
Noh Joon-Gi, the burly hunter, gave them an irritated glare.
“I know. I can read Korean, you know.”
He motioned toward the nearby sign.
[Gwangalli Gate]
※Entry restricted to Woojin Guild only
Crack.
He ground his teeth and stepped forward again, unleashing a threatening aura on the staff.
“You sure the Association’s okay with this?”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
“I mean, is it really okay for the Association to break its own rules like this?”
Noh Joon-Gi eyed each of Woojin Guild’s members one by one—
Guild Master Sung Suho, Im Do-Gyun, and Esil.
“Hah. This is absurd. Just three of you? Since when was it acceptable to raid a mid-level dungeon with so few people?”
“Exactly. Doesn’t a proper raid team require at least ten members?”
“This is clearly a violation.”
The other hunters Noh Joon-Gi brought with him immediately chimed in, raising their voices.
‘So they’re here to make trouble.’
Suho let out a hollow laugh.
When Hunters staged a protest—it was on a completely different level than civilians.
As the hunters led by Noh Joon-Gi began releasing actual Mana along with their protests, the air around them turned ominously heavy.
“P-Please, everyone, let’s all calm down…”
The problem was that the Hunter Association staff present were all non-awakened, administrative personnel.
Overwhelmed by the oppressive force radiating from the hunters, they were struggling to even breathe.
Just then—
“S-Sorry…! I’m a little late!”
The moment B-rank healer Lee Juhui—dispatched from the Knights Guild—arrived on the scene—
“…Huh?”
The heavy air suddenly lifted, and the oppressive presence from the hunters vanished as if it had never been there.
“Hunter Lee Juhui?”
“Miss Juhui? What brings you here?”
Recognizing her, the hunters’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Ah! It’s been a while. I’m glad to see you all looking well.”
Lee Juhui gave a small bow, and the hunters—now flustered—hurriedly waved their hands.
“Oh no, Miss Juhui! We should be the ones bowing to you!”
“Have you been well?”
“I heard you joined the Knights Guild. But what brings you here?”
“Oh, I heard Woojin Guild didn’t have a healer, so I came to support them for a while.”
“……!”
‘Hmm?’
Suho’s eyes lit up with intrigue.
With Lee Juhui’s sudden appearance, the situation was taking an unexpected turn.
“Guild Master Sung Suho, I apologize for being late.”
Lee Juhui approached Suho and bowed once more in apology.
“No worries. You were only a few minutes late.”
“And actually, I must apologize again. On my way here, I passed a car accident scene. I used up some Mana healing the emergency patients.”
She apologized sincerely.
It was a serious breach for a healer to waste Mana before a dungeon raid.
But since she had done it to save lives—and knowing Lee Juhui’s character—no one who knew her could blame her.
“Still the same as ever, I see.”
“She really is something else…”
“Ahem.”
Especially… for the Busan hunters who had once received her healing for free when they were broke rookies.
Until recently, Lee Juhui had worked as a freelance healer, tending to injured hunters without charge.
It wasn’t for nothing that people called her the “Saint of Busan.”
“Ahem.”
“Khmm.”
The hunters who had stormed in with such bluster now stood awkwardly, fidgeting under Lee Juhui’s gaze.
‘So this is why Dad said she’d be helpful in many ways.’
Im Do-Gyun finally understood his father’s earlier words.
“……S-Still!”
Noh Joon-Gi clenched his eyes shut and spoke up again.
The other hunters, avoiding Juhui’s eyes, forced themselves to re-ignite their aggression.
“A violation is still a violation!”
“The raid minimum is an official Association rule!”
The minimum headcount requirement was a safety standard for hunters.
It was to prevent deaths from underestimating dungeon dangers.
“How could they sell such a dangerous dungeon to a tiny guild like this?!”
“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that.”
“……What?”
Lee Juhui, now fully grasping the situation, smiled sweetly as she silenced their complaints.
“There is a minimum participant rule, yes. But when that rule was created, Chairman Woo Jincheol of the Association added a special exemption.”
“……What exemption?”
The hunters frowned, and Lee Juhui thought to herself—
Chairman Woo Jincheol.
A remarkable figure who had always taken extraordinary actions since the Cataclysm.
Perhaps he had foreseen this exact scenario all along.
“Summoned creatures are also included in the raid headcount.”
As soon as her explanation ended, Suho stepped forward as if he had been waiting.
“Arise.”
……!
In that moment—
Every hunter’s eyes widened in shock.
Countless summoned creatures rose up around Suho in unison!
Shadow soldiers cloaked in black steam burst forth with overwhelming pressure.
Their fierce presence sent Noh Joon-Gi, who stood at the front, stumbling backward in shock.
And then—
Suddenly.
A small ant face—Beru—popped up right in front of Noh Joon-Gi and unleashed a terrifying aura.
[KIEEEEEEEEEEH—!]
“Whuh—!”
Crash!
Noh Joon-Gi fell flat on his backside.
“Well then.”
Suho turned away from the stunned men and gazed at the ominously glowing blue Gate before him with a faint smile.
“Shall we get started?”
* * *
And then—
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
The total time it took Woojin Guild to clear all three mid-level dungeons transferred from the Knights Guild—
Was just three days.
Including mining operations.
“……This is absurd!”
At that astonishing speed, Noh Joon-Gi and all the hunters in Busan could only stare in disbelief.
* * *
Around that time—
In the United States.
“Hm. I should tell Sung Suho about this.”
Thomas Andre, Scavenger Guild Master and America’s strongest S-rank hunter, casually pulled out his phone.
—Thomas?
“Oh, perfect timing.”
Hearing Suho’s voice on the other end, Thomas grinned.
“You’ve been making waves in Korea lately, huh? Let me skip the small talk—we’re both busy men.”
A faint glow shimmered around Thomas Andre as he spoke.
“First off, your mother apparently found something in the Tomb of the Radiant Dragons. She asked me to relay it to you. Laura also got her hands on a high-grade magic stone, so we’re sending it together. Should arrive soon.”
Cha Hae-In had decided to stay longer in the Radiant Dragon’s Tomb, and sent her findings through Scavenger Guild at Passard Island.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Still holding the phone in one hand, Thomas glanced at the corpse he had by the collar.
“I just killed one of Itarim’s apostles.”
……!
The land Thomas stood on resembled a massive crater, as if a meteor had struck.
Crack.
The corpse in his grip crumbled to pieces like ash.
Shhhhhhh.
The ashes turned into particles of light and flowed into Thomas Andre’s body.
—Who was it?
“Just as we suspected.”
Absorbing the power deeply, Thomas looked again at the face of the man he had just slain.
“Christopher Reed.” (T/N: WTF. This was unexpected.)
A man who, in a past life, had been one of America’s national-level hunters.
