Chapter 27. Reorganization (2)
‘Screw whatever you can out of Uldran. As much as possible.’
Leaving that single note at Philip's house, Jeonghyeon headed straight for the field porters' dormitory.
A guy who was deeply connected to him in various ways—and, in any case, surprisingly useful for all sorts of things.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Hwang Dooman.
Jeonghyeon had come to his office to see Hwang Dooman.
"Got something I need."
Jeonghyeon plopped down naturally on the guest sofa.
For your average porter, stepping into this office usually meant getting chewed out hard—but Jeonghyeon sat there like he owned the place, casually pulling a mana stone from his inventory and sliding it over. Handing over a mana stone, which was basically another form of currency, was a clear signal that he was here to make a deal.
But Dooman didn't change expression as he took his seat. Hell, he didn't even glance at the mana stone.
"I asked why you're here. What are you trying to squeeze out of me this time?"
He just brewed some instant coffee from the stuff on the table with his usual stony face and set it down in front of Jeonghyeon.
"Plenty I wanna squeeze. But just one thing today."
Dooman crossed his arms, looking down at him with a reluctant expression, as if to say let's hear it. Jeonghyeon had once thought the guy was pretty built, but after seeing Philip bulk up like an orc day by day, Dooman actually seemed kinda scrawny in comparison.
"Give me some raid intel."
"What? How the hell would I know about that?"
Hwang Dooman played dumb. Jeonghyeon snorted and continued.
"I already know you do. Just looking at dungeon trends near the fields tells you where raid-level ones are gonna pop up, right? That's why porters swarm the place before the hunters even gather for the raid."
Every word out of his mouth spilled top-secret info that only a tiny fraction of porter supervisors knew. Dooman couldn't help but sneak a glance out the door to make sure no one was passing by.
"...Where'd you hear that bullshit rumor?"
Where else? Past life, you bastard.
It made perfect sense when he thought about it. Just like Jeonghyeon said, wherever hunters gathered for raids, porters—several times their number—would buzz around like they'd been waiting. Hunters were too busy diving in for a big score to care or even notice.
If they hadn't hoarded info on valuable raid items like it was gold, humanity wouldn't have been so defenseless during the big wave.
Jeonghyeon grimaced bitterly, reminded once again that humanity's defeat wasn't from a single lost battle, but from ignoring looming threats for short-term gains over the long haul.
And this time, Jeonghyeon had no intention of losing like that.
"This is just a down payment. Even if you skim some profits from sending porters out, it won't change your life much, right?"
"..."
Dooman stared at Jeonghyeon silently. Screw where he got the high-level intel—the look in his eyes asked what Jeonghyeon really wanted.
"Let's make a deal. Feed me raid info."
"And what's in it for me?"
Dooman shot back, sipping his instant coffee. The cheap sweetness hit his tongue.
"We'll clear dungeons, join raids, use the profits to strengthen the union, and train specialized porter crews. Hunters'll be there too."
"What?"
"If we get high-quality mana stones, we'll push even further. Clearing the tower's upper floors won't be an issue. You handle personnel management there."
"Do I look like some power-hungry type? What good would that do me?"
"You wanna keep defending against invading monsters forever? We're hitting them first. Wiping them out, not leaving a single one."
It was a proposal sweeter than any cheap coffee.
Not some vague hope for a future Jeonghyeon would reshape—it hit right at Hwang Dooman's personal history.
"Damn it. Shouldn't have gotten drunk and spilled my old stories to you."
Dooman clicked his tongue.
"You think I'll fall for some long-winded pipe dream? You really think handing me one mana stone makes it all good?"
"If you didn't have a goal to wipe out monsters, would you have gathered detailed dungeon spawn info that other supervisors don't even know?"
Jeonghyeon sipped the instant coffee in front of him.
A cold silence settled between them.
"You little shit."
Dooman pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket, scribbled something roughly with a ballpoint pen, and tossed it at Jeonghyeon.
"Keep it secret. And pretend you didn't hear that earlier talk. This ain't me backing your plan—it's just favoritism for a kid who's been grinding in the fields since he was a snot-nosed brat."
Jeonghyeon took the note without a word.
Guys with rough faces always got a soft spot.
He left Dooman behind and walked out of the office.
After Jeonghyeon was gone, Dooman picked up the picture frame on the corner of his desk.
A photo of his son, who at a young age had vanished into the fields chasing the heroic dream of fighting monsters to protect people—back when Dooman was just a desk jockey far from the front lines.
"Little shit. Knows right where to poke a sore spot."
Dooman was a strict, violent-looking supervisor.
But the porters under him never faced discrimination beyond the bare minimum.
He was hypersensitive to the prejudice they endured and fought their battles quietly behind the scenes.
To him, every porter was like his own son, regardless of age or gender.
Even though his real son was gone, his fate unknown.
If I'd known my kid would become a hunter...
Back then, that's how it was. Chaotic times. Dragons suddenly bestowed revelations, handing out wealth and fame overnight. Dooman had believed without doubt his son would awaken too. He didn't think dungeon runs were that dangerous. Better to hover near them, preparing for the moment awakening might hit.
Everyone thought that way. He believed his son had what it took to be a hunter.
But Dooman's son never got a single revelation—he was just an ordinary guy. Oblivious, he worked as a porter in the fields. And what would've been sub-F-rank dragged him into a B-rank dungeon. Naturally, no body was ever found.
It wasn't the hunters' fault, or humanity's.
The transition had just begun—no one knew ranks or dungeon info. Dooman's son was just one of countless early sacrifices.
That's why Dooman became a supervisor himself.
To prevent repeats of his son's case. With basic training and some protection, no one would die so pointlessly.
Like Jeonghyeon, he desperately wished for a world without monsters. Maybe that's why Jeonghyeon kept sticking in his craw. Looking at him always reminded Dooman of his boy. Maybe that's why he kept spilling his life story whenever they drank.
"Do whatever the hell you want, you bastard."
The lingering aftertaste of coffee on Dooman's lips was bitterly sharp.
The note from Dooman had only brief info: ‘Seoul East. Golem. 4 days later.’
"East... huh."
Concise, but plenty.
Seoul East meant the raid dungeon spawn zone, and golem was the raid monster type.
Hard to believe humans could predict dungeon sites and monsters, but given the Demon King's habit of dropping hints and baiting counterattacks, it wasn't random chaos.
"Perfect. Close to that guild too."
Five days left on the quest timer. Plenty of time.
Jeonghyeon headed straight for Philip's house.
"You're here! Where've you been?!"
Philip was still pumping iron on the home gym equipment, showing off his monstrous muscles like always.
"Ease up on those gains already. You trying to make yourself a bigger target?"
Jeonghyeon didn't even take off his shoes, just spoke from the entryway.
"Not coming in?"
"Yeah. Time for you to train."
"Pardon...?"
"While looping the field, smash every rock you see. Kill whatever monsters pop out. But don't crush their heads first—cripple the limbs. See you in three days."
Jeonghyeon said his piece crisply, turned on his heel, and left through the door.
He'll get it.
Philip learned through his body—he'd stubbornly grind it out, Jeonghyeon was sure.
Philip to fight at his side in place of him. Hwang Dooman to manage the humans. The Wakin sisters for items. Everyone key to his plan was assembled.
All that remained was tracking down the most crucial 'golden connection' for his scheme.
Seoul East Branch.
A place with almost no civilians—just hunters gathered.
If Seoul North bred and trained newbie hunters from F to C-rank, Seoul East was for the real deal, starting at C-rank minimum.
No shops in sight—just field plazas, fields, and guilds lining the area. That's Seoul East Hunter Branch.
Mountain slopes carved into terrain screamed 'hunter special zone,' packed with guild buildings.
Jeonghyeon stood before the biggest, flashiest one: the Kingdom guild hall.
The person he sought was here.
"Huff... huff. This thing's stupidly tall."
After crossing Seoul all day, Jeonghyeon panted his way into the lobby.
"What's your business?"
Security staff blocked him the second he entered.
"Get me your guild master."
With his greeting, Jeonghyeon threw punches.
Crack! Crunch!
Two hits, and the guards hit the floor.
"Sorry. Most effective way—bear with me."
They were just doing their jobs screening intruders, but Jeonghyeon had no choice.
"Now... time for the guys who'll really hate my guts to show up."
Right on cue, a short alarm blared through the lobby. Hunters passing by turned to stare en masse.
"Don't really wanna fight fellow humans... Sigh. Oh well."
Jeonghyeon let out a weary breath, reached into his inventory, and drew the Blood Dissector.
"...Who the hell are you?"
The nearest tall guy sensed something off when Jeonghyeon pulled a weapon, reaching into empty air as he approached.
Whirr—
Space warped oddly, and an orb appeared in his hand.
Mage, huh. Annoying right off the bat.
"Told you. Who are you?"
Jeonghyeon answered casually, without a hint of tension.
"Me? Uninvited guest."
Then he charged at blinding speed.
Before the guy could reply, Jeonghyeon's blade sliced gracefully through the air, grazing him.
The pricey hunter armor—custom-fit, no doubt—clattered to the floor.
Including his clothes underneath, the man was stripped buck-naked in an instant.
"Gah!"
And where the Blood Dissector had grazed, his skin split shallowly, beads of blood welling up.
"H-he's from Royal Guild! Intruder!"
Ignoring his shame, the hunter yelled at Jeonghyeon and dove behind the pile of clothes on the floor.
"Yeah, yeah. Misunderstand all you want."
Dozens of lobby hunters drew weapons, aiming at Jeonghyeon. He gripped his blade tighter.
Suddenly public enemy number one, Jeonghyeon boldly charged into their midst.
"Serin~!! Show your face!!"
Yelling the name of his final golden connection—the Kingdom guild master, a woman with overwhelming, near-religious support that no one dared utter lightly—Han Serin.