Chapter 19
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 019
Chapter Title: ★Owner of the Dragon Lair★
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First time seeing this kind of sponsorship amount in my life;;;
The sudden sponsorship battle between the Management Bureau and Recruiter123 left the viewers just as baffled.
"...What the hell is this?"
Haegyeom was just as thrown off.
'This is completely different from before, isn't it?'
Of course, sponsorships had been rolling in steadily.
Naturally, there had been plenty of recruitment pitches disguised as pure donations too.
But.
'...This feels way more deliberate.'
Unlike the previous ones that wrapped up as casual shows of support, Recruiter123's donations radiated a fierce determination to steal him away.
'It's like they think having a goalkeeper means the ball can't go in the net?'
His existing contract didn't seem to faze them one bit.
Stop throwing money around!
Shit shit shit shit
The Korean viewers' anxious chats flooded in naturally.
Lmao hell Joseon has no hope, bet the Bureau lowballed Dragon Emperor ㅋㅋ
For real, no wonder we ain't a hunter export powerhouse
...Surprisingly, quite a few pessimistic takes popped up too.
Meanwhile, Haegyeom stayed remarkably calm.
Why?
'Cause I'm not gonna bite on that anyway.'
—In truth, the Management Bureau was already paying him more.
Recruiter123 probably thought they were outbidding with their offer.
But Haegyeom's annual salary was a whopping 200 billion won.
Way more than 100 million dollars.
'Plus, they'll take better care of all the perks too.'
Going overseas through some broker offered zero upsides!
Haegyeom opened his mouth slowly and spoke.
"Everyone, calm down. Thanks for the sponsorships first off. But as I said, I'm already contracted."
Not going abroad.
'Can't exactly disclose my exact salary...'
This much should suffice for now.
—Or so he thought.
['Recruiter123' has sponsored $100,000!]
[Don't worry. I can solve that problem too.]
"......"
Not backing down.
'How loaded is this guy? Dumping 300k dollars already on something that's not even a sure thing...?'
Just from Recruiter123, he'd already racked up over 400 million won in sponsorships.
Haegyeom shook his head and muttered.
'...Or do they think I'm a sure bet to jump ship?'
Anything short of that, and this investment made zero sense.
But then.
['Korea Awakening Management Bureau' has sponsored 50,000,000 won!]
[Keep it up and it'll get boring, Recruiter123.]
Apparently, Recruiter123 wasn't the only one lacking confidence he'd stay in Korea.
"......"
Great that they're giving, but no clue why.
Look at that amount… yikes.
But isn't the Bureau getting outspent now??
They already gave Dragon Emperor something tho right?
Yeah probably... but not 100 mil USD worth... No way our Bureau shells out over 100 bil to a rookie...
ㅠㅠ Dragon Emperor plz stay in Korea even for less money??
Absolute trashㅠㅠㅠㅠ
The viewers were losing it too.
"......Hmm."
Looked like he couldn't smooth this over on stream.
Haegyeom made a snap decision.
Thud.
He pulled the RHK-741 from his inventory and set it up on the ground.
Click.
Chambered a round.
"Drong. Same as last time. Got it?"
Pweh-ha!
Drong proudly raised one front paw like leave it to me.
Seeing that, Haegyeom aimed at the elite orc detachment in the rear.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tang—!
Fired.
At the same instant, Drong's breath slammed into the elite orc detachment.
Kwaaaaaaaaang———————!!!
[You have cleared the 7th floor of Salvation Tower.]
[Attempts: 1]
[Clear time: 0.8 seconds]
[Overall clear grade: SSS+]
[Player has cleared the 7th floor of Korea's Salvation Tower with SSS+ grade!]
SSS+ clear achieved.
He got level up and 154kg of mana stones as rewards, and for the unique ability bonus...
[Inventory weight capacity per slot increased to 30kg.]
Inventory storage limit bumped from 15kg to 30kg per slot.
And so, Haegyeom.
"That's it for today's stream. Exiting Salvation Tower."
Ended the broadcast.
Sure enough, Korea was a hunter export powerhouse.
Haegyeom could feel it viscerally.
"Whew."
Not just that blatant Recruiter123 push on stream—love calls were pouring in from everywhere.
Haegyeom muttered while playing with Drong from his inventory with one hand.
"I said I'm contracted already... Does no one listen?"
Pweh...?
"Eh... It's adult stuff. Don't worry about it, Drong!"
Pweh!
Rub rub.
Drong nuzzling his hand made a warm smile creep onto his face.
Anyway.
Looking at the barrage of "sponsorships" that were really contacts in disguise, Haegyeom thought.
"Gonna go with no response from now on."
No need to pay them much mind.
Far better to focus on climbing the tower and growing.
"At least they haven't started bugging me in real life yet..."
It was kinda weird, now that he thought about it.
Right now, Haegyeom was the world's hottest topic.
Koreans were in full festival mode, and globally, tons of groups were eyeing him.
Yet all of them sticking to clean sponsorship battles?
'They could dig up who I am and reach out directly.'
It didn't add up.
Even with Tower Stream's anonymity mode on, his info should've leaked during the Management Bureau contract process, right?
"Hmm."
Beats him.
"Bureau must've handled something, I guess."
Truth was, that was the only explanation he could think of.
From moving into this super secure place to all the top-tier care—it was obvious they were going all out.
Just look around: bed, sofa, dining table, fridge, washer, dryer—luxury furniture he'd never dreamed of owning filled the place!
"Pretty damn satisfying."
At this point, even if the Bureau was bending over backwards to keep his info sealed, it wouldn't surprise him.
'I'll ask about it later if I remember.'
With his thoughts sorted, Haegyeom.
"Oh... Ooh...!"
Started killing time browsing hunter communities.
The sofa the Bureau got him was insanely comfy.
The next day.
Haegyeom entered the tower.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tang——!!
Kwaaaaaaaaangaaaaa———————!!!
[You have cleared the 8th floor of Salvation Tower.]
[Attempts: 1]
[Clear time: 1.1 seconds]
[Overall clear grade: SSS+]
As expected, 8th floor SSS+ clear.
Clear time ticked over 1 second, but thankfully SSS+ held.
And the day after.
Same method again—
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tang——!!
Kwaaaaaaaaangaaaaa———————!!!
[You have cleared the 9th floor of Salvation Tower.]
[Attempts: 1]
[Clear time: 1.4 seconds]
[Overall clear grade: SSS+]
—Smooth SSS+ on the 9th.
The 'unique ability enhancement' from 100% reward boost expanded inventory capacity and size once each for floors 8 and 9.
Watching Dragon Emperor makes the tower look easy...
Dragon Emperor's just busted ㅋㅋㅋ Ain't no place like this anywhere.
I admit it.
Dragon Emperor is legend!
The chat exploded as always.
And.
"That's it for the stream. Exiting Salvation Tower."
Haegyeom left the tower, ignoring it.
"Hmm."
With Drong parked in the Kids Cafe, he sank into thought.
"Clear times are definitely stretching..."
0.2 or 0.3 seconds each.
Petty but nagging increments.
He could feel why during the clears.
"...Monsters are getting tougher to drop with just the mana rifle."
Floor 6 mobs shredded on a graze.
7 needed direct hits.
8 demanded near-vitals for one-shots.
9 just wouldn't die in one no matter what.
Of course, clearing itself was no issue.
"Remote bombing. If two shots don't cut it, three will. But..."
SSS+ clears.
Longer times might tank it.
Hence the worry.
"Tch. Would be nice if I had mana."
A shame.
The mana rifle RHK-741 scaled with user mana.
If Haegyeom were a 'mana awakened' hunter, no such dilemma.
But.
His unique ability 'Inventory Master'.
—Lacked mana awakening.
"Heard proper skill-awakened hunters have mana, tch."
Of course, Haegyeom had zero complaints about his unique ability now.
It let Drong move in, enabling SSS+ clears.
"Just a shame, that's all."
Haegyeom shook off the lingering regret.
"Can't be helped. Take more time."
SSS+?
Nice if it happens, whatever if not.
No need to obsess.
That was right.
He was doing plenty well already.
—That's when it hit.
'Achievement: Dragon Lair Owner' achieved!
"Huh?"
Achievement unlocked?
"Dragon Lair Owner..."
Wasn't that the one that needed max bond with Drong?
Suddenly complete.
And.
'Title: Owner of the Dragon Lair' acquired.
[- You can now use mana stored in the Dragon Lair as your own.]
He could use mana now.
"?!"