Questioning the Captain
“You okay now?”
“As you can see.”
Kim Jun flashed a broad grin.
The Ferrari pulled up in front of the hotel where the meeting was underway. After stepping out, Kim Jun glanced at Yoo Min-jeong.
“I’m starving. Let’s grab something after this meeting’s over.”
“Sure.”
“Think about what you wanna eat.”
Kim Jun strode confidently into the hotel.
He felt a twinge of annoyance that no one else knew about the massive incident—except for the master and Choi Min-su sunbaenim—but the fact that he alone held the truth beyond them melted that irritation away.
After parking the Ferrari, Yoo Min-jeong entered the hotel lounge and pulled out her phone. She searched for “memory and inner power.”
Nothing useful came up.
Then she recalled the story of the wax dolls that had rampaged through the Honor Hall.
Thanks to the magic Demoben that perfectly replicated facial expressions, voices, and even fragments of memory, those wax dolls could mimic the dead as if brought back to life.
Yeon Chung-jae had done something similar, imprinting his memories and inner power into the Cheonroegeom. Those precious gifts had been passed to Kim Jun through the sword.
To think such a thing was possible.
The Cheonroegeom that Kim Jun had acquired in the dungeon was already one-of-a-kind. But with a supreme master like Yeon Chung-jae’s memories and inner power thrown in? It was beyond priceless.
Yoo Min-jeong felt a mix of joy and dread.
* * *
An Seong-ho glanced to the side.
The chair was empty.
By now, they’d probably heard about the venue change and were rushing over.
“Isn’t this a bit weak?”
Do Jin-yong whispered.
“I think so too.”
The first time An Seong-ho had attended as a team leader, he’d been put through the wringer. The expedition captain had whipped up the mood, forcing him to sing and dance a cappella in front of all the other leaders. Even now, the memory made his face burn.
An Seong-ho eyed the expedition captain in charge of the Sokcho Dungeon raid.
Jeong Myeong-ho, leader of Brave Guild’s Lincoln Team, was a cold-faced raider with round glasses—a TW4, level 4 water-attribute tanker.
Rumors painted him as extremely self-centered: competent but calculating, with sky-high pride.
How would a guy like that see Kim Jun—a former carrier who’d passed the awakening test to become a raider and rocketed straight to team leader?
Would changing the venue end the initiation ceremony?
Or was that just the beginning?
An Seong-ho figured it was the latter. Jeong Myeong-ho stood, scanning the room.
“Let’s get started.”
The team leaders focused on the captain. Even with one empty seat, no one spoke up.
Jeong Myeong-ho smiled in satisfaction before continuing.
“This raid is very special. Unlike standard raids, monster hunting isn’t the goal.”
A murmur rippled through the room.
An Seong-ho felt the same shock. Wasn’t the point of a raid to kill monsters and secure cores?
Of course, special missions existed: escorting civilian experts to a dungeon objective, or scouting specific areas.
His heart pounded. He’d never done an investigation or exploration raid before.
“The Association recently discovered a relic inside the Sokcho Dungeon.”
An Seong-ho’s jaw dropped.
So did the other leaders’.
Research on dungeons accessible via gates was ongoing, but beyond “another dimension,” little was known.
Clues came mostly from items acquired inside.
Items fell into three categories.
First: those made by makers using cores—Maker’s Items, or MTem, shortened to emtem. Over 90% of items were like this; their creation, materials, and effects were well-understood.
Second: items found in dungeons, with no known maker—and often no clue why they were there. Dubbed Dungeon Items or dungeontem, their power far outstripped emtems.
Most S-ranks fell here. The Cheonroegeom had been found intact in a dungeon. The Yeon Family claimed to have made it, but few raiders bought that.
The top 10 weapons, magic staves, famed swords, famed armors—by any metric, the best items were dungeontem.
These included not just swords, armor, or rings, but martial arts manuals and spellbooks too. All raider techniques traced back to early-found manuals and tomes—the influence of dungeontem was immense.
Third: items found in this world, called o-parts. Similar to dungeontem but discovered outside dungeons. Some scholars claimed it proved Earth was a dungeon, but no one listened.
Among these, dungeontem mostly came from ancient structures called relics.
So if this raid aimed to explore a relic and snag dungeontem, the first to claim one would hit the jackpot.
Strength gleamed in every leader’s eyes, An Seong-ho included.
“The relic in Sokcho Dungeon looks roughly like this.”
Jeong Myeong-ho extended his hand. Water rose from the leaders’ cups, merging in midair to form a Greek-temple-like structure.
An exquisite water creation.
An Seong-ho marveled at the skill.
“We’ll divide the eight participating teams into three groups. Group A: two teams for initial recon and surveillance. Group B, the main force: four teams entering the relic. Group C: rear support.”
Every leader hoped for main force placement. To grab even one dungeontem, you had to go inside.
“Group A first: Gwanpo Guild’s An Seong-ho Team.”
Jeong Myeong-ho eyed him.
An Seong-ho nodded, hiding his disappointment. A third-rate guild’s third-rate team—main force was a pipe dream.
“Group A’s second: Uramata’s Pink Team. But the leader hasn’t arr— ”
Kim Jun pushed open the door.
“Perfect timing. An Seong-ho-ssi, fill him in.”
The other leaders stared at Kim Jun, but Jeong Myeong-ho ignored him.
An Seong-ho beckoned him over.
Kim Jun sat beside him. Only then did eyes shift back to the captain.
“Congrats on team leader.”
“Thanks.”
Utterly nonchalant confidence.
An Seong-ho stifled a laugh.
He’d seen the real deal in the dungeon, so Kim Jun passing awakening was no surprise.
But team leader right away? He’d called Yoo Min-jeong to confirm. If Kim Jun was leader, she’d been demoted to member.
Her words stuck with him.
“Kim Jun suits leader better. More than me. No other reason.”
Cool as ice—from Yoo Wan-seop’s prideful daughter, no less!
“This raid’s special.”
An Seong-ho explained, starting with the relic exploration and dungeontem goal. He expected a reaction—none came.
“That’s it?”
“Nope.”
“Too bad. We’re Group A for recon and surveillance. What a waste. Chances like this don’t come often.”
One dungeontem meant financial freedom. Then An Seong-ho remembered: Kim Jun already had one.
The Cheonroegeom.
It had caused a stir, but now he was the undisputed wielder. Plus, Yeon Ga’s patriarch and Cheonhondan’s pillar were his patrons.
Group C was announced: Cheonroehoe’s Blue Lightning Team and Best Guild’s Medusa Team. Do Jin-yong scowled but couldn’t object.
Jeong Myeong-ho scanned Groups A and C before speaking.
“Now for main force details. Other leaders, you’re dismissed. And…”
He snapped his fingers. USB drives flew to An Seong-ho, Do Jin-yong, Kim Jun, and Medusa’s leader Bang Yun-a.
“Execution plan and training details there. Review and prep. Request map updates from the Association—no exceptions. Once done, simulate the relic raid. See you in Sokcho.”
An Seong-ho pocketed his with a bitter smile and stood. He’d faced this treatment before, but it stung every time.
Do Jin-yong and Bang Yun-a grimaced as they rose—Kim Jun stayed seated.
He raised a hand.
Irritation flickered across Jeong Myeong-ho’s face, then vanished.
“What?”
“First D-rank dungeon raid for me, so I’ve got questions. Only done E- or F-ranks till now.”
“Spit it out.”
Get on with it and leave.
“I hear team leader meetings set core distribution ratios from raids. But Sokcho has no core hunting, right? So how’s revenue generated, and what’s the split?”
Kim Jun, bold as brass.
An Seong-ho was stunned. So were Do Jin-yong and Bang Yun-a.
That was the meeting’s crux—what everyone wanted to ask but couldn’t. Kim Jun nailed it.
Exploration meant no hunting. Groups A and C got zero cores. Bad splits meant running the raid for nothing.
“So you want a cut of potential dungeontem from the main force—shared with recon, surveillance, and support?”
Anger edged Jeong Myeong-ho’s voice.
Main force leaders glared daggers at Kim Jun.
Bang Yun-a stepped in.
“Consider it’s his first time. I’ll explain to Kim Team Leader.”
“Do that.”
Jeong Myeong-ho’s displeasure showed as he stared Kim Jun out the door.
Outside the conference room, Bang Yun-a faced him.
“You. Follow me.”
Kim Jun headed for the emergency stairs.
An Seong-ho and Do Jin-yong crept after, ear to the door. Voices filtered through.
“What the hell were you thinking asking that?”
Bang Yun-a, fuming.
“Just curious.”
“…Curious? Don’t you get what you’ve done? The captain decides the plan. Meaning he can funnel massive gains to favorites—or send them to die. One word from you… and we’re all at risk! Get it now?”
“Captain’s the king, huh.”
“Exactly.”
“So we obey every order like lowly dogs. Guess I’m a mutt—and you, Bang Team Leader, a bitch.”
An Seong-ho and Do Jin-yong burst out laughing, hands over mouths, exchanging looks.
Calling that fearsome Bang Yun-a a bitch!
Kim Jun, what a madlad.
“Wanna die? Passed awakening, got popular, snagged leader on fame—think you’re untouchable?”
Murderous tone.
Then An Seong-ho’s pocket buzzed. He checked his phone and frowned.
Jeong Myeong-ho wasn’t just calculating—he was petty. One question, and this?
One team on recon/surveillance?
If monsters swarmed? Surrounded?
Wipeout.
Bang Yun-a must’ve gotten it too.
“See? He sent it himself. Proof of what you did. Captain’ll probably send Pink Team to the deadliest spot. One word from you, and your team could die there.”
An Seong-ho sighed involuntarily.
He knew why Bang Yun-a said that.
Even she—tougher than most men—had once grilled the captain like Kim Jun. Medusa Team nearly dissolved.
Only the leader and buffer survived. The buffer lost an arm and retired.
“If the captain holds all power, no matter how well we perform or obey, he can end us anytime.”
Kim Jun’s voice stayed even. No hostility toward the scolding Bang Yun-a.
“…That’s reality.”