The Crazy Five Gathering
Continuing on, he checked Strong, Anti-Fire, Anti-Ice, and the rest one by one.
"…Ever since I got here, it's been like this."
The overall success rate fell short of 50%. At this rate, it was no different from back in Daejeon.
It's a mental block. My mentality's just too weak.
He deliberately took deep breaths to calm himself, even recalling memories of training with Kim Jun, Choi Muhyun, and Yoo Min-jeong. But the results didn't change.
If anything, the success rate plummeted below 40%.
A 90% buff success rate felt like a pipe dream. Like he'd been lost in one very long dream.
Stepping out of the simulator, Yeom Sang-taek pulled out his phone.
He called Kim Jun, but it was still off. What on earth was he doing that he couldn't pick up?
"Nah, maybe this is better. He'd just be disappointed."
He headed down to the cafeteria and ate alone. Lee Su-jin and Jang Geon-ho were nowhere in sight. Most of the raiders had finished their morning training and returned to their guilds.
The noisy mess hall, packed with hundreds of trainees, fell silent in an instant. Everyone was staring at the entrance.
Yang Hee-seon stood there.
People shot to their feet and shouted in unison.
"Good day, Director!"
Yeom Sang-taek jumped up too, caught off guard.
Yang Hee-seon nodded with a smile, and everyone sat back down to resume eating as usual.
Carrying a tray of food, Yang Hee-seon walked straight toward Yeom Sang-taek and sat down across from him.
He could feel the sidelong glances from everyone around.
The spoon in Yeom Sang-taek's hand trembled.
Yang Hee-seon ate leisurely, as if no one else was there. She sampled the bulgogi, kimchi soup, and seasoned crab one by one. Meanwhile, Yeom Sang-taek could barely tell if the rice was going in his mouth or his nose.
As the meal wrapped up, Yang Hee-seon finally spoke.
"I see you're training hard."
"I-I'll do my best."
Yeom Sang-taek blurted it out reflexively.
"There's one thing I want to tell you. I didn't take you on because I lost a bet. I accepted you because you have real talent."
"Director…"
Yeom Sang-taek nearly choked up.
"Become the second Moon of buffers."
"I'll work hard!"
He practically yelled it.
"Good meal. See you at the hotel tonight."
Yang Hee-seon stood up.
* * *
At 6:45 p.m., the taxi pulled up to the hotel entrance.
After paying the fare, Yeom Sang-taek stepped out and felt overwhelmed by the hotel's glittering facade and the canopy of lights flooding the street. He'd never been to a luxury hotel like this.
He glanced down at his clothes. A comfortable ivory round-neck T-shirt, navy chinos, and sneakers. Was this okay to wear inside?
Just then, a sleek sports car pulled up. Jang Geon-ho hopped out and tossed the keys to the valet.
"Geon-ho hyung!"
Yeom Sang-taek called out.
Jang Geon-ho, who had been rushing over, froze in place.
Yeom Sang-taek's eyes widened too. Jang Geon-ho was decked out in a tuxedo.
"What's with the outfit?"
"…Do I have to dress like that?"
"Ah, I forgot to tell you. This is bad. Let's head in first."
Jang Geon-ho dragged Yeom Sang-taek into the hotel lobby and looked around.
Spotting a familiar staff member, he strode right over.
Yeom Sang-taek watched in shock as Jang Geon-ho smacked the man on the back of the head.
The staffer whipped around but recognized Jang Geon-ho and pulled him into a hug. After Jang Geon-ho said something and pointed at Yeom Sang-taek, the staffer grinned and beckoned them with a thumbs-up.
Jang Geon-ho called for Yeom Sang-taek.
He was already heading that way.
"See? This hotel's service is on another level. They even have tuxedos ready for situations like this. Just follow him."
"…Thanks."
"My fault anyway."
Yeom Sang-taek followed the staffer into a room lined with dozens of tuxedos.
The staffer addressed him politely with full honorifics, always calling him "Raider-nim." He tried on five, but the first one fit perfectly.
"How's this?"
"…It looks good."
He'd worn suits a few times, but a tuxedo was a first.
The shoes came with the service too. The heels felt awkward, but they added a good five centimeters to his height, so he wasn't complaining.
"Here, wear this too."
The staffer unclasped his own watch and fastened it on Yeom Sang-taek's wrist.
"Th-that's…"
"Just return it later. No need to feel burdened, Raider-nim. Jang Geon-ho is my benefactor."
"Ah, okay."
It hit him like a bolt from the blue.
The staffer was giving top-tier hotelier service, but there was extra heart in it because of Jang Geon-ho.
It was a glimpse of the hidden side of Jang Geon-ho—the guy with massive ego and a terrible memory.
Guided back to the reception hall by the staffer, he found Jang Geon-ho waiting.
"Whoa, looking sharp."
Jang Geon-ho whistled in approval.
Yeom Sang-taek blushed at the reaction.
"This guy picked it all out."
"No, no, just doing my job. See you later."
The staffer bowed and vanished.
"Let's go in."
Jang Geon-ho led Yeom Sang-taek into a hall filled with dozens of round tables.
A staffer with a guest list escorted them to their assigned seats—right up front, near the stage.
Yeom Sang-taek felt relieved to be next to Jang Geon-ho. Sitting alone might've left him too nervous to speak, wasting the whole time.
About twenty people were already there.
All in tuxedos or dresses, sneaking glances at their table.
"They're all staring at you, hyung."
Yeom Sang-taek whispered.
"Nah, they're staring at you."
"…Why?"
"Heard the old lady ate lunch with you today?"
"Ah, yeah."
He still couldn't get used to calling her "hal-mang-gu." Jang Geon-ho even said it to her face, and amazingly, she never got mad or corrected him.
"That's not normal. She doesn't eat with clients unless it's a big group thing. So they're wondering what kind of guy made her come find him personally for a meal."
A simple lunch had turned into this.
"What do I do?"
"What do you mean? Stare 'em down like you own the place."
Yeom Sang-taek slowly lifted his head, and the stares vanished.
"See? Bunch of cowards. Can't even hold eye contact."
Jang Geon-ho chuckled.
It gave Yeom Sang-taek a burst of courage.
"…What's this gathering about?"
"Haha, forgot that too? Damn my memory—gonna forget who I am next. Everyone here is one of the old lady's clients."
"Really?"
"Just tonight's attendees are around sixty. Total? Easily over a hundred."
"…That many."
"If she took everyone she visits, it'd be thousands."
"Yeah, makes sense."
"We meet once a month or every two. Share training updates, what we've learned. Competitive info swap—all to get into the Crazy Five."
"What's the Crazy Five?"
"You really know nothing, huh."
"…Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry for. Good to ask when you don't know. After presentations end, she picks five. Those clients get to follow her around and learn until the next meet. Huge privilege—might meet Korea's top raiders, learn mid or high-tier magic."
"Ah!"
"So everyone's a rival here. All gunning for those five spots."
That explained the tension filling the hall. Even as they chatted and laughed, there was an undercurrent of awkwardness and unease.
Then a woman in a green-and-blue dress sat across from Jang Geon-ho. Her cleavage-baring gown didn't match her tomboyish demeanor.
"Yeong-ran noona! Long time."
"Oh, Geon-ho."
Jo Yeong-ran gulped down water from her glass and sighed.
"That dress uncomfortable?"
"Why does she keep hosting these? Old lady got dementia or something?"
"Then she'd have had it for twenty years."
"Right, this pain-in-the-ass thing's been going forever. Who's the kid?"
Jo Yeong-ran finally noticed Yeom Sang-taek. Her big eyes were like dark caves.
"Y-Yeom Sang-taek."
"So you're the one who ate lunch with the old lady?"
She'd heard too.
"…Yes."
"Nice to meet you. Jo Yeong-ran, Cheonhondan tanker."
"T-Tanker?"
Yeom Sang-taek was more shocked that this attractive woman was a tanker than her belonging to one of the Big Four guilds.
"Why can't a woman be a tanker?"
"N-No, it's not that… First time seeing one."
"We'll see each other plenty. You're a buffer, right?"
"Yes."
"Can tell at a glance."
Jo Yeong-ran smirked.
Another person approached. Yeom Sang-taek recognized him immediately.
Lee Sang-yoon, Brave Guild raider and famous Dungeon Striker dealer!
Lee Sang-yoon smacked Jang Geon-ho on the back of the head and called a staffer over to order wine before even sitting. The staffer looked troubled but couldn't refuse a guest like that.
"Yeong-ran, what's with that outfit? Dress to impress."
"I'd rather change into training clothes. Think the old lady'd let me?"
"True, her temper's no joke. Hey, who's this? Why're you sitting here? Scram."
Lee Sang-yoon glared at Yeom Sang-taek the moment he saw him.
The suave, heroic, wise image of the Dungeon Striker shattered.
Yeom Sang-taek looked helplessly at Jang Geon-ho.
"One of the old lady's new clients from the other day."
"You ate lunch with her today?"
"…Yes."
"Hmm."
Lee Sang-yoon squinted, sizing him up.
Yeom Sang-taek's stomach twisted with anxiety. What would he say? Brave's star raider was right there—it thrilled him, but one wrong word could get him kicked out.
"Never eaten alone with her myself. Yeom Sang-taek, right? Don't recognize the name. Not from Jangyang Academy. Where'd you pop out from?"
"…From Daejeon."
He couldn't admit MJ Buff Academy under Choi Mi-ja.
"Daejeon? That's a wasteland."
"…"
Yeom Sang-taek shut his mouth. Daejeon was a metropolis, but it had never produced any notable raiders.
Another arrival—a stunning beauty with black hair down to her waist—sat next to Yeom Sang-taek.
"You two fought."
Jo Yeong-ran noted.
An Ye-na, Jushin dealer, shot Lee Sang-yoon a glare and said coolly,
"We broke up."
"For real? Guess that opens opportunities for me?"
Jang Geon-ho beamed.
"Sure does."
An Ye-na's bright smile seemed to cool the air.
"Like hell!"
Lee Sang-yoon slammed the table.
"Oh, you're here. When'd you arrive, Lee Sang-yoon-ssi?"
"Lee Sang-yoon-ssi? You just called me 'ssi'?"
Ignoring his agitation, An Ye-na smiled sweetly at Yeom Sang-taek.
"Who's this cutie?"
"Yeom Sang-taek."
Jang Geon-ho answered.
"Ah, the one who lunched with the old lady?"
She knew too.
"Hello. Yeom Sang-taek."
He knew who she was—a Jushin raider dealer prettier than most idols, with a massive fandom.
Sitting at the same table as these people. Yeom Sang-taek pinched his cheek without thinking. It hurt enough to bring tears.
"Haha, he's adorable."
An Ye-na reached out and lightly touched his cheek.
Lee Sang-yoon exploded.
"You bastard! You're dead today! Let's go—you die, I die!"
"Ignore him. He turns into a dog when he's mad."
An Ye-na provoked.
Jo Yeong-ran shook her head; Jang Geon-ho cracked up.
The hall had filled up.
Suddenly, the lights went out, silencing everyone—even rowdy Lee Sang-yoon and An Ye-na.
Spotlights hit the stage.
Yang Hee-seon emerged slowly in elegant hanbok.
Everyone stood and applauded. Yeom Sang-taek clapped until his palms stung.
Yang Hee-seon took the podium; applause faded as people sat.
"Thank you for coming despite your busy schedules. Let's begin tonight's gathering."
Short and sweet.
She sat in the prepared chair at the back, and the MC took over.
The first presenter launched into "Positive Utilization of Contamination Phenomena."
Raiders faced inevitable contamination from close monster contact in dungeons. The talk covered developmental ways to harness it.
The case study featured a Pyro-saurus and a fire-attribute tanker. The key finding: fire resistance boosted 34% after being drenched in Pyro-saurus blood.
Applause followed—not just from Yang Hee-seon, but everyone. The next presenter took the stage.
"This is insane. I wanna bolt."
Lee Sang-yoon muttered.