Dungeon & Commander (69)
Arriving on foot at where Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek waited, An Seong-ho could hardly believe his eyes.
'Blue Lightning team. All of them caught. Do Jin-yong... dead? No, knocked out. What the hell happened? And where's that carrier?'
The Blue Lightning Raiders, bound by Absorption Trees, stared at the approaching An Seong-ho team in stunned silence. If even An Seong-ho's team had fallen, North Face wouldn't stand a chance no matter what.
Yoo Min-jeong walked up to Choi Muhyun and Yeom Sang-taek. Her radiant smile was impossible to hide.
"They're alive."
"...How do you know?"
Yeom Sang-taek asked.
"They saw it."
"For real?"
Choi Muhyun sounded shocked.
"Even more surprising—they said Kim Jun was riding a Haren Saurus."
"That make any sense?"
"He tamed it. No doubt about it."
Yoo Min-jeong beamed with pride.
After hearing the story, Choi Muhyun ran over to An Seong-ho to confirm it again. Not because he doubted Yoo Min-jeong, but because he wanted to hear it one more time.
When he returned, his face bloomed into a grin just like hers.
"That guy's full of surprises, never know what he'll pull next."
"Tell me about it."
Yoo Min-jeong figured even if she got praised herself, it wouldn't feel this good.
"So we just wait for him to get back?"
Yeom Sang-taek suggested.
"Nah. We're gonna snag Im Seung-hyeon's North Face team first. Before Kim Jun returns."
Choi Muhyun whispered conspiratorially.
"Love it."
Yoo Min-jeong agreed instantly. If Kim Jun, delayed taming the Haren Saurus, came back to find Im Seung-hyeon tied up—how shocked would he be?
She had to see that face.
Plip-plip-plop.
Rain hammered the umbrella in a relentless roar.
Go Cheolmin stared at the gate, still glowing under the lights even at dawn. He desperately wanted to charge inside, but he knew better than anyone that he couldn't—and shouldn't.
He checked his watch.
4 a.m.
Already ten hours gone. Raids could stretch past a day depending on the dungeon or objective. But lingering ten hours in a mere F-rank? Unheard of.
Even stuffed to the brim with cores in their storebacks, two or three hours was the norm.
The gate entrance stood eerily empty.
Reporters who'd shown up for the scoop were hunkered down in their cars or the cramped press room at the Dungeon Management Office, waiting for news. They were on high alert, sensing something off from the usual, praying for a breaking story.
His phone buzzed.
Go Cheolmin fumbled it from his pocket. It slipped, but he snatched it before it hit a muddy puddle.
Skyla.
"...It's me."
―Still no word?
"Yeah."
―I heard something from a contact.
Skyla's voice carried a strange tension over the line.
"Heard what?"
―You know Cheonroe Guild's master?
"Who doesn't."
Go Cheolmin bit back the curses.
That slimy bastard Song Si-heon had pulled shit last year too. He got slapped by the Dungeon Association, but it didn't shake Cheonroe to its roots.
―Word among reporters is Cheonroe's absorbing Uramata.
"What?"
―No such plans, right?
Skyla sounded cautious.
"Bullshit. If we're handing over to scum like that, I'd shut Uramata down myself first."
―It's spreading from multiple spots—someone's pushing it deliberately. I'll dig more. And... call me the second you hear about the dungeon.
"Got it."
Go Cheolmin frowned.
No matter how bad Uramata's shape, Cheonroe wasn't fit to touch it. Who the hell was spreading this crap?
He turned and headed into the Dungeon Management Office.
The situation room buzzed with fluorescent lights and scurrying Association staff. But the front screen showed all four teams still inside.
'Why hasn't a single one come out?'
The nagging question wouldn't budge.
Then someone approached. A familiar face.
"Long time, senior."
"Yeah, Jong-wook."
"Master wants a word."
"..."
Go Cheolmin eyed Shin Jong-wook. Level 6 tanker from Cheonroe, known as Song Si-heon's right-hand man.
"Senior?"
"Lead the way."
Go Cheolmin followed, figuring he'd hear him out first.
Shin Jong-wook stopped at a small meeting room tucked in a corner.
Go Cheolmin pushed the door open and stepped in.
"Master Go! Come on in, been waiting."
Song Si-heon called him "Master Go" like a boss summoning a subordinate.
Go Cheolmin had hated the nickname since day one, but he reminded himself why he was here.
"What do you want?"
He sat across from Song Si-heon.
"Looks like Master Go's got no real friends. No one's clued you in on how the game's turning? Last year was a misunderstanding, but now? Listen to me, and you'll know who's truly on your side."
"Spit it out."
"Guild's hurting, huh? You've gotten real calm. Good for you—personality-wise, I mean. Don't take it wrong."
"Won't."
Talking to Song Si-heon made his fists clench on instinct. If he didn't hold back, he might swing first and realize it after.
"Over ten hours already. Since the kids went in."
"Yeah."
"You know what that means, Master Go. Gate closes in an hour or two. Those brave, cocky kids... tragic, but they'll be listed missing."
"...And?"
Go Cheolmin reminded himself Song Si-heon had sent a team in too. That smug, oily tone made it sound like someone else's problem.
"Hanmudan, Gwanpo, Cheonroe—we'll hurt today, but not enough to crumble. Uramata? Different story. Right?"
"Keep going."
Go Cheolmin realized Skyla's tip was spot on.
"That's why I'm saying—how about Uramata and Cheonroe merge? Your thoughts?"
"Gotta hear the terms first."
Go Cheolmin reined in his patience.
"Hahaha, I misjudged you, Master Go. Thought you were all brawn, no brains. My bad."
Song Si-heon slid a prepped contract across.
Go Cheolmin willed his hands steady as he scanned it.
It was less a contract, more Cheonroe devouring Uramata whole. Scream and storm out? Or hear more?
"Made a 'sub-master' spot for you. Rare perk in a merger—you know that. Five hundred million won salary, fat incentives off team performance. Thoughts?"
Go Cheolmin stared him down.
"Ten hours! No team in this dungeon's history lasted that long without returning!"
Song Si-heon yelled like Go Cheolmin should know better as a master.
"Exceptions happen."
"If you're betting on lottery odds, fine. But once closure hits, no reason to offer this. Uramata folds anyway—I'll just auction it via Association. Offering now? Solely 'cause I value your instructor talent."
Sub-master, now instructor talent. Go Cheolmin nearly laughed.
He rose slowly, looming over the toad-like Song Si-heon.
"The kids are coming back."
As Go Cheolmin turned for the door, Song Si-heon chuckled.
"They absolutely won't."
That certainty spun him around.
"...Absolutely?"
"No real friends around you, huh, Master Go? Sit. That's how you hear the truth."
"..."
Go Cheolmin sat, glaring like a bear eyeing prey.
"Hanmudan's North Face, Cheonroe's Blue Lightning, Gwanpo's An Seong-ho team—they might return. But not Uramata's Pink. Even if they do, Uramata crumbles."
"Cocky."
"Naturally. Three guilds united."
Go Cheolmin's jaw tightened.
United? Three guilds?
That meant North Face, Blue Lightning, and An Seong-ho targeting Pink inside.
"Pink's got who? Yoo Wan-seop's daughter? Choi Min-su's son? Crazy Buffer's client? Three big names. Oh, and that carrier from the papers. Four, say. Us? Numbers don't matter much. Six tanks, three dealers, three buffers. You know dungeons, Master Go. Yoo Min-jeong's talent shines, but against three united teams? Obvious outcome."
Go Cheolmin's fist smashed the table. It splintered like lightning, halves toppling.
"...I won't stand for this. Suing the Association now."
Song Si-heon studied his face, then burst into manic laughter, tears welling.
"Why unite three masters with clashing interests? To swallow Uramata? That all?"
"What the hell are you saying?"
"You dense bastard!"
Song Si-heon's face shed its sly mask, twisting into a feral beast.
Go Cheolmin knew: that was his true face.
"Think we'd pull this without Association's tacit approval? Hell, they set it up—gathered us three."
"N-no way."
"You borrowed from the Association too, right? Twenty billion?"
"...Fifteen."
"Uramata's fate was sealed then. Fail this raid, your lender shows up. Excuses galore, but goal's merger. I just wanna wrap clean before that filth. Plus, I covet your talent."
Machine-gun words.
Go Cheolmin felt gut-shot, strength draining.
The Association plotting this?
"Why'd that article drop raid day? How'd Association test footage hit Daily Raiders? What're you keeping that head for?"
Song Si-heon barked.
Go Cheolmin flushed—not rage, shame. Guild master... blind to this, shoving kids to death.
No true friends? Lone wolf too long—makes sense no one tipped him.
Song Si-heon proffered the contract again.
"I'm saving you. Your team too. Can't just take Association's boot forever. Join Cheonroe, build power. Show 'em."
The terms looked different now. Harsh, sloppy... but Song Si-heon's mercy?
"Sign. Cheonroe—I—will fix this."
He handed over a fountain pen.
As Go Cheolmin poised to sign, his phone buzzed. He sighed, checked.
Skyla.
"It's me."
―Don't sign.
Skyla whispered low.
"How'd you...?"
―Reporters everywhere. Anyway, just learned Song Si-heon's plan—meant to approach post-raid. But ten hours, no one out? They're panicking too. Think: three teams unite, take Pink—they'd be out by now.
Go Cheolmin felt whacked upside the head.
Obvious logic. Sleepless worry, shocking truths—judgment slipped.
"That call now—real friend to Master Go? Or Association ploy to shake you?"
Song Si-heon smirked, arms crossed, mask back on.
―Those kids? They'll make it. You know 'em.
"Yeah. Thanks."
Hanging up, Go Cheolmin stood firm.
In this weary dawn of doubt and fatigue, he admired Song Si-heon's cunning summons.
"Where do I sign?"
"Haha, wise choice. There at the bottom—I'll shield you from Association."
"Nice feel on this pen."
"Sharp eye, Master Go. Custom Swiss, over twenty million each. Not just buyable—backlog's six months, a year sometimes. Like it? I'll order one as gift. Worth the wait."
Then the pen snapped in Go Cheolmin's fingers, in two.
"Oops. What now?"
"...Fine."
Song Si-heon's cheek twitched, but he offered another.
It shattered in three. He glared at Go Cheolmin's grinning face.
"What the—?"
"Must be nerves. Didn't know I'd grip that hard. Sleepless tension, I guess. Contract at dawn. Later."
Go Cheolmin bowed politely and exited.
Rage-filled yells erupted behind. His smile deepened.
Huddled in the dark, quiet apartment stairwell, Skyla whispered into her phone.
"That's why I'm asking so nicely, Reporter Park. I fetched those magpies for you. Helped when you chugged that hangover brew. Oh, really? Wanna go strangers from now? You don't. Gimme a source. Keep stonewalling, I'll tell all my contacts—no deals with Park. I gave my heart, but whatever. Hanging up. Blocking you—don't call again."
She hung up, counting silently. At four-to-five, her phone vibrated.
Park.
'Everyone cracks eventually. Why hold out?'
Skyla got the latest on Hanmudan master Gong Gi-yeong from him.