Dungeon & Commander (198) - Mission: New Guild Master
The patter of rain tapping against the tiled roof was utterly soothing.
Yoo Wan-seop slowly opened his eyes. He knew right away where he was.
The gentle curve of the eaves.
'It's been a while.'
This was where he'd clashed with Choi Min-su in a fierce battle. The hermitage had been shattered in the fight, earning them both a stern scolding from the head monk. For an entire month, the two had pooled their strength to rebuild it—sturdier and cozier than before.
That month had transformed bitter rivals into something resembling friends.
"Ugh."
A heavy ache stabbed his chest, revealing just how badly his meridians were damaged.
He'd gotten cocky against the Phantom Knights' main force and pushed too far, unleashing his earth veins. Surviving without falling into qi deviation was a miracle in itself.
Thanks to his friend.
If Choi Min-su hadn't forced his inner energy in to calm the raging blood and qi, if he hadn't stayed by his side through the night, tending to every crisis, recovery would have taken far longer.
'I might not have come down from this mountain until next spring. Even that would have been lucky.'
Yoo Wan-seop clenched his fist.
A thrilling rush spread from his hand through his body.
The sensation of swinging Cheongmyeonggeom against the Phantom Knights' main force, the way it enveloped him—it had been intoxicating. Living alone on Jirisan, he'd thirsted for battle without realizing how deeply until now.
"Awake?"
A gruff voice.
Yoo Wan-seop sniffed the air and sat up at once. Pain raked his shoulders, chest, and ribs, but he brushed it off.
Choi Min-su opened the door, and Go Cheolmin followed, carrying a low table topped with a large pot.
The aroma that had nearly driven Yoo Wan-seop mad wafted from it.
"Told you, right?"
Choi Min-su glanced at Go Cheolmin.
Go Cheolmin set the table down, pulled a bill from his pocket, and handed it to Choi Min-su.
Whatever bet they'd made was obvious, but Yoo Wan-seop ignored it, focusing on the scent. Life on Jirisan had taught him to endure most things... but this temptation was overwhelming.
He could get it easily at a rest stop midway up the mountain. The problem was that even such a small indulgence could shatter his focus. He'd forbidden himself that weakness. But the more you suppress a craving, the fiercer it grows.
Yoo Wan-seop knelt properly before the table.
He waited reverently, tamping down his impatience. Go Cheolmin's deliberate scooping of noodles felt eternal.
Steam rose invitingly from the bowl of ramen before him.
Yoo Wan-seop gazed at it with a blissful smile. He reached for his chopsticks slowly... but his fingers trembled, his thumb refusing to grip.
Damn it!
He glared at Choi Min-su.
Choi Min-su looked at Go Cheolmin.
Go Cheolmin sighed and stepped to Yoo Wan-seop's side to "serve" him.
It was awkward compared to feeding himself, but better than starving. Go Cheolmin watched his cues and did his best, letting Yoo Wan-seop savor the ramen bit by bit.
Yoo Wan-seop eyed the kimchi.
Go Cheolmin's chopsticks picked some up.
He kept staring until Go Cheolmin grabbed exactly the amount he wanted.
The noodles vanished too quickly. Go Cheolmin barely ate. The culprit? Choi Min-su.
Fortunately, there was plenty of cold rice.
Stuffed, Yoo Wan-seop turned to Choi Min-su. Choi Min-su looked at Go Cheolmin, who sighed and headed out to brew coffee.
"Why'd you bring him?"
"Guess."
Choi Min-su grinned at him, brimming with the confidence of a child posing an unsolvable riddle.
Yoo Wan-seop leaned against the earthen wall. Its musty scent filled his nostrils. The rain sounded pleasant.
Ma Jung-hyeon had led the Phantom Knights' main force to eliminate Korea's strongest raider, formerly of Ju Shin—even attacking the Jeong Sang-mok shelter, risking massive backlash if exposed.
All to draw Yoo Wan-seop out. They couldn't afford to miss the timing.
The same day, Choi Min-su had arrived with Go Cheolmin.
Thanks to them, Yoo Wan-seop avoided holing up in a cave to endure his pain alone.
Ma Jung-hyeon and Choi Min-su showing up the same day—coincidence?
No chance.
Why bring Go Cheolmin? As an errand boy?
Unlikely.
Ju Shin had stayed quiet while Yoo Wan-seop was away. Something big had changed recently.
He bit his lip slightly.
Not directly about him, but now they had reason to kill him.
High chance it involved Choi Min-su.
Even higher: Go Cheolmin too.
Go Cheolmin was Uramata Guild's master. And Min-jeong had joined as a dealer.
No way?
Yoo Wan-seop's eyes widened as he stared at Choi Min-su.
Choi Min-su gazed idly at the raindrops falling from the eaves, looking as content as Yoo Wan-seop felt.
'If something happened to Min-jeong, he wouldn't be this relaxed. So it's not about her. Tricky. Too few clues.'
Choi Min-su turned, grinned at his friend.
"Something unimaginable happened."
He stopped there.
Spit it out. Yoo Wan-seop nearly laughed at the childishness.
"Something with Ju Shin?"
"Spot on."
Choi Min-su nodded.
"And Uramata."
"Knew it."
The real question followed.
What could link a third-rate guild like Uramata—which could vanish any day—with Korea's top guild? One Ju Shin team could crush Uramata effortlessly.
'Most likely... a Ju Shin raider messed with Uramata, and Yoo Wan-seop's daughter got hurt in the process.'
If true, Ju Shin knew his vengeful nature and sent the Phantom Knights preemptively.
"No idea, huh?"
"Yeah. Explain."
"Kuhahaha! Hahaha! Even the great Yoo Wan-seop doesn't know everything! Haha!"
Choi Min-su burst out laughing.
Yoo Wan-seop let him have his fun.
Choi Min-su's talent was unmatched, but his lack of insight cost him in the real world and dungeons alike. Yoo Wan-seop had hurled barbs at him since their youth.
Choi Min-su would bristle with killing intent but endure, knowing the criticism was spot-on.
This laughter was payback.
Finally, it subsided.
Go Cheolmin returned with coffee. The thick instant brew was heavenly.
Yoo Wan-seop eyed Choi Min-su.
"Kim Jun."
Just a name.
"...Kim Jun?"
Yoo Wan-seop tilted his head.
He recalled young talents from Ju Shin, Brave, Miracle, Cheonhondan—the four great guilds. No Kim Jun among the promising, determined fast-risers.
"Kim Jun's a carrier at Uramata."
Choi Min-su said.
Yoo Wan-seop frowned. After all that buildup... a carrier?
Too soon to judge.
He knew Choi Min-su best. Suppressing irritation, he waited.
Korea's top tanker, Cheonhondan's pillar, called it "beyond imagination." It must be.
Yoo Wan-seop endured.
"That kid screwed over Ju Shin."
His patience snapped.
Even without their top raider, Ju Shin was Ju Shin. Not a guild to be toyed with by some no-name carrier from Uramata.
"Cut the crap. Tell me straight."
"Heh heh. Knew you wouldn't believe it. Listen up—here's the full story."
Choi Min-su nodded to Go Cheolmin.
Go Cheolmin swallowed hard, met Yoo Wan-seop's eyes, and began cautiously.
The gravity convinced Yoo Wan-seop it was no joke. Still baffling. How could Uramata's carrier touch Ju Shin?
'Possible?'
A perfect college entrance exam score to become a carrier? Impressive resolve, rare these days.
His first raid last year, tanking aggro in a raider's stead? Yoo Wan-seop cocked his head. Go Cheolmin fetched his phone, showed the footage.
Even checking the Daily Raider article, Yoo Wan-seop was speechless.
Kim Jun's expression reminded him of his friend Jang Won-seop.
That fierce drive in the video was why he'd accept a carrier as a friend—and respect him as a man.
But a carrier embarrassing Ju Shin? The gap between a skilled carrier and the top guild was vaster than the Mariana Trench to Everest's peak.
Go Cheolmin hesitated, then revealed the Devils Day miracle.
Yoo Wan-seop stared silently, then at Choi Min-su.
His friend nodded.
"...So the dungeon exploded with a Nuclataurus, but he survived thanks to a Lyposaurus? And contamination gave him regeneration afterward?"
"Exactly."
Choi Min-su confirmed.
The mental gap narrowed. Still just from trench floor to 5,000 meters deep—but progress.
Anticipation built.
How had Kim Jun climbed?
Yoo Wan-seop guessed: maximizing that rare regeneration from contamination.
No path to Ju Shin's level, though.
"Go on."
He urged Go Cheolmin.
Soon, a familiar name emerged.
Nam Eung-ryeol.
"He learned Moomyeonggong from that elder?"
"Yes."
"...Bone Transformation too?"
"Indeed."
Go Cheolmin replied.
Yoo Wan-seop closed his eyes.
Nam Eung-ryeol was among the best raiders he knew—perhaps the only one to rival Association President Sa Gyeongbaek. He'd been ousted for rejecting Sa's methods.
If Nam had taken him as a disciple, taught Moomyeonggong, achieved Bone Transformation... Kim Jun was no carrier anymore.
From continental shelf to land, the raider world.
Now he could glimpse the cloud-shrouded Everest summit. But as a raider, just starting out.
Yoo Wan-seop felt rare delight. Watching someone seize their dream with everything they had was pure joy.
"And then?"
He pressed Go Cheolmin.
Choi Min-su interjected about the Daily Raider bombshell.
"They meant to kill him. Any sane guild master wouldn't let him raid. But he'd go anyway, stubborn as hell."
Go Cheolmin's eyes widened. Spot on.
Yoo Wan-seop crossed his arms. Never met him, but he liked this Kim Jun. Ju Shin lacked such guts.
Go Cheolmin recounted the dungeon events.
Yoo Wan-seop laughed. Surviving was luck enough—acquiring Cheonroegeom too!
What followed tied to the sword.
Yeon Ga mobilized, as expected.
They'd even kidnapped Choi Min-su's son over it.
"In the end, Kim Jun became joint client of Yeon Ga patriarch Yeon Un-jae and senior Choi Min-su."
Go Cheolmin said.
Yoo Wan-seop glanced at Choi Min-su. Not just rescue. More to it, but no need to pry.
Kim Jun had climbed to a better vantage on the mountain.
But only that.
The tale accelerated.
Awakening test: written, practical, then Awacum. Chaos each time. Yoo Wan-seop fixated on the Awacum scores.
3 to 92 points!
He grew serious. Kim Jun was unprecedented. Impossible to judge by old standards.
Then certainty hit: Ju Shin wouldn't sit idle. They hated the unknown.
"What? Medici Team deployed? To grab Kim Jun?"
Yoo Wan-seop startled.
Villain lockdown shocking enough—Medici leader Kim Se-wi launching Operation Vacuum in West Building basement? Jaw-dropping.
Even wilder: Kim Jun beating Medici dealer Yoo Gwanho.
Thought nothing could top it—wrong.
Kim Jun intervening in Kim Se-wi and Go Cheolmin's inner energy clash, transferring Go's dungeon sickness to Kim Se-wi? Felt like a fool.
Wondered if Choi Min-su and Go Cheolmin were pranking him.
Like a maze: think you've reached the end, another fork appears.