Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Hers Guild's Demand
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Yuseong was heading to the dungeon for quests today as well. He hadn’t done the exact calculations, but he figured he could fulfill the conditions to unlock the next quest mentioned in the strategy guide after just one or two more runs through the dungeon.
‘First, I’ll clear all the linked quests, then go hunt the nearby bonus boss.’
After raising his notoriety like that, he’d run unconfirmed dungeons to level up his stats, then focus on quests that gave a lot of money to earn cash.
A perfect plan.
It was while Yuseong was walking along, patting himself on the back.
“Got a moment?”
Someone called out to him.
‘A player NPC, huh.’
He could tell at a glance now. More than anything, the only NPCs who approached him first were player NPCs. Streamer NPCs, specifically, asking to hunt together.
But he didn’t have time for that right now.
“I can’t do any broadcasts.”
He delivered his now-familiar rejection.
“Huh? Oh, you’ve got the wrong idea. I’m not here asking you to appear on a stream. I’m from Hers Guild.”
Hers Guild. He’d heard the name before. They were the ones monopolizing the three bandit hunting grounds.
“What do you want?”
“I’d like to talk for a bit. It won’t take long.”
“I’m busy.”
Any other time, maybe, but right now was the dungeon’s bonus period. And according to the strategy guide, the boss respawn wasn’t far off.
At his current hunting speed, he’d sweep through all the new mobs that had spawned and arrive at the boss room right when it respawned.
He didn’t have the luxury to deal with some no-name NPC he’d never even heard of.
But the other guy didn’t seem inclined to back off easily.
“You sure about that? It wouldn’t be good for you to make an enemy of Hers Guild around here.”
Yuseong’s demeanor shifted just as he was about to step away.
He gave the man a strange look. The NPC’s face lit up with smug satisfaction, thinking his threat had worked.
But Yuseong wasn’t reacting out of fear or outrage.
‘Is this what counts as a threat?’
First that NPC who tried to trap him before, and now one trying to blackmail him.
He felt a spark of curiosity.
‘If I bolt now, I could save some time, right?’
“Since I’m busy, make it quick.”
Yuseong said to the player NPC.
“Alright. How about we grab something at a nearby shop and talk? It’s on me.”
For a split second, Yuseong nearly blurted out that he’d go right now. Free food was tempting, but saving time mattered more at the moment.
“Let’s talk here.”
‘Who’d have thought I’d turn down free food?’
Yuseong felt a quiet sense of pride in his growth(?).
But at least the Hers NPC didn’t seem to share his sentiment. The man’s expression twisted slightly.
Still, Yuseong had no intention of yielding further. The NPC glanced around, checking how many people were nearby, then let out a sigh.
“Fine. It’s not like it’ll be a long talk anyway.”
As if applying pressure, he hardened his face and fired off the question.
“Straight to the point: did you find a new bandit hunting ground?”
“Why do you ask?”
“The bandit hunting grounds near Verhill are monopolized by Hers Guild.”
Yuseong tilted his head.
“Is there a rule like that?”
“There is.”
A posture of utter confidence, without a shred of deceit.
‘Strategy guide. What’s the deal?’
【There’s no game-enforced rule like that. It’s an agreement between Hers Guild and the other major guilds in Verhill. A rule the players made up on their own.】
‘Sounds like I don’t have to follow it.’
【Game-wise, yes. But if you break their rule, Hers Guild will turn hostile. And they’ll use force. So in that sense, it does have coercive power.】
‘I see.’
He needed to probe the guy’s intentions a bit more.
“What do you want?”
“Hand over the hunting ground info to us. We’ll compensate you.”
“Compensate?”
“We’ll give you game money.”
It was tempting to his ears. He was always short on cash. The more, the better. And this dungeon wouldn’t matter once the linked quests were done anyway.
“How much?”
“1,000 gold.”
‘1,000 gold?’
He didn’t know the market rate, but it didn’t sound like much. Honestly, 1,000G was an amount he could farm in a day if he set his mind to it now.
‘Strategy guide. Is that a fair price?’
【Ridiculously low.】
As expected.
“That seems too low.”
“No plans to raise it.”
Arrogant tone. The intent was crystal clear: ‘Like you could hold out without selling.’ It was the kind of attitude that would infuriate most people.
Even Yuseong, who had no social life, felt the off-putting vibe.
But Yuseong ignored the attitude and focused only on the profit.
‘It’s low, but selling wouldn’t hurt, right?’
He’d be done with the dungeon soon anyway. Better to pocket whatever he could.
But only after finishing the quests. If someone else entered, he’d have to share the mobs.
The bandit leader might get snatched, delaying quest completion.
“I’ll think about it. We’ll talk later.”
“No can do.”
The NPC blocked Yuseong as he tried to head back to the dungeon.
“Give us the info here. Now. I’ll pay you on the spot.”
The NPC pulled a bundle from his inventory. But Yuseong didn’t even glance at it, staring straight at the NPC.
“I said we’ll talk later.”
“And I said no.”
The NPC spoke leisurely, dripping with irritating composure.
“Let’s not make this hard. You have no choice but to hand it over to us. Responding now while we’re offering money is the best deal for you. It’s not like you can’t use the hunting ground anymore. Unlike other shady guilds, we don’t block it off completely. 100,000 won a day gets you access.”
The proposal instinctively repulsed Yuseong, since it required paying up front.
And the amount was huge, plus it was in ‘won,’ not gold.
“You only take real money?”
“We don’t accept game money for hunting ground access.”
In other words, Yuseong could never use it.
No point continuing the talk. Yuseong snapped curtly.
“I don’t know about any hunting ground.”
“Ha! After all this talk, you think that excuse will fly?”
“Whether it does or not, I really don’t know.”
“You’ve got some pride, huh.”
To Yuseong, who had rolled in the mud and scraped by on the ground since birth, surviving by any means, the words were absurd. But he didn’t bother correcting the misconception.
“I know you’ve made a name for yourself in this level range. Consecutively taking down bonus bosses is impressive, sure. But you’re just one guy. We’re many. If you think your fancy achievements mean you can take on our guild too, I won’t say more. Rethink it. The world isn’t that kind.”
Yuseong didn’t reply. Lingering here any longer was just wasting time. He turned his back.
“Well, if you don’t want to, nothing I can do. Can’t use force in the city, after all. Hope you don’t regret this choice.”
He ignored the voice from behind.
‘At least give me a choice to agonize over.’
What a ridiculous and annoying event.
But he couldn’t let his guard down completely.
‘Strategy guide. What do you think’ll happen next?’
【They won’t do much in the city. Guards would come running if there’s violence inside.】
‘So they’ll ambush me outside?’
【High chance.】
Then he was safe for now. But he couldn’t stay in Verhill forever.
【But before that, they’ll tail you, I predict. To find the dungeon first.】
‘Right.’
Yuseong glanced back casually.
‘That must be it.’
Shortly after parting from the Hers Guild NPC, a tail latched on.
He was hiding his presence decently well, but he couldn’t fool Yuseong’s sharp eyes, honed from life-or-death games of hide-and-seek with monsters and beasts.
‘Should I shake him?’
At least, letting that guy spot the dungeon location wouldn’t end well.
But the tail’s skill was unknown. Could he lose him?
‘Strategy guide. Any way to ditch that guy?’
【Using the slum’s maze of alleys seems best. I’ll guide you.】
‘Good.’
But he didn’t bolt right away.
‘Even if I shake him now, they won’t just give up.’
They moved in groups, so if he escaped this time, they might send even more next time. That would increase the odds of the dungeon’s location getting exposed.
‘At least until I finish the quests, I need to stay out of their sight.’
The best plan was to minimize time wandering the city where they were.
‘I’ll hole up in the dungeon.’
Yuseong went to a shop and stocked up on bullets and potions. The tail kept following.
Pretending not to notice, he stepped into the slums. Dirty, tangled alleys sprawled out before him.
‘Let’s do this.’
【Dash into the right alley coming up.】
Yuseong suddenly picked up speed from his leisurely pace. He deftly dodged the staggering slum NPCs and entered the right alley as instructed.
“Huh?”
He heard a frantic pursuit from behind.
‘Knew it was one of their watchers.’
And a skilled one too—footsteps closing in bit by bit.
But Yuseong didn’t get caught.
【Second left alley.】
【Right alley coming up.】
【The wall ahead is low. Jump it.】【Enter the building straight ahead and exit through the third window on the right.】Yuseong flawlessly followed the strategy guide’s rapid-fire directions.
The footsteps behind grew distant, then vanished completely after a while.
But just in case, Yuseong didn’t stop. The guide kept navigating.
Bang!
He slammed the door shut. Let out a long breath.
He’d arrived at the building with the dungeon entrance.
‘Shook him, right?’
Honestly, if he hadn’t after all that, there’d be no other way. But luckily, it seemed he had.
‘Then I’ll hole up here for a while.’
Yuseong headed down to the basement where the dungeon was.