Chapter 101
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: EP.101 Luck's on Our Side?
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"Your sister went to the Hero Association? Something must've come up, huh?"
Upon arriving at the clan house, Hyun-ah looked at the staff member from the spoils management division. In her hand was the Class Stone (A) - Focused Healer she'd personally pulled from conquering the Tower of Void. She'd brought the item along to brag to her sister.
The staff member wore a grim expression as they shushed her in response to Hyun-ah's innocent question.
"It's not confirmed yet, but it looks like a dungeon break happened in another country."
"...What? A dungeon exploded?"
Hyun-ah's eyes widened in shock. As someone active as a hero, she knew full well just how horrific and terrifying such an incident could be.
It wasn't even comparable to natural disasters like earthquakes, typhoons, or volcanic eruptions in terms of damage. Hadn't South Korea itself turned Daegu and the Chungcheong provinces into wastelands from a dungeon explosion?
"I-Is that true?!"
"That's what the staff around here are saying. They heard it from a reporter they know, so it seems pretty credible."
Hyun-ah swallowed hard. No wonder the clan house felt so oppressively quiet. While Team GGW had been tackling a dungeon, this disaster had struck.
And soon enough, the news reached Han Minguk's ears as well, right there in Team GGW's meeting room where he was drafting a report.
"Dungeon break?"
Minguk slowly pieced together his memories at Hyun-ah's urgent voice. They were just the original owner's recollections, but recalling what a dungeon break entailed wasn't hard. Moments later, even he had to widen his eyes.
What the hell? Is this for real?
It wasn't his first time hearing about dungeon breaks.
But as the vivid memories from Hero Academy classes resurfaced, Minguk quickly pulled up his Hero Pad to verify against the internet. South Korea in this world had experienced dungeon breaks firsthand, so finding info wasn't difficult.
"...Insane."
The information on his Hero Pad was gruesome and devastating. It might as well have been war.
No, it was war against hordes of darkness monsters. Things were quiet now, but just over a decade ago, countless people had died. And ordinary folk without mana awakening couldn't even be revived with Revival Stones.
So that's why they call it a catastrophe...
Even with limited heroes, they couldn't hold back the endless waves of darkness monsters. Revival Stones had their limits too. And if a nation's government ran out, even heroes couldn't come back.
That was why heroes' primary duty was resetting dungeon timers to prevent explosions. But hero levels varied wildly by country, and low-hero areas didn't always spawn low-danger dungeons.
In the end, disasters like dungeon breaks were inevitable.
"Yeah. Sounds like it's in Southeast Asia... Raids'll probably get called up soon, right?"
Hyun-ah's voice trembled with worry for all the people surely in peril from the break.
"Raids? Oh, because of the spread?"
He hadn't learned it hands-on, but recalling dungeon break memories naturally linked to the rest. Looked like the original owner had paid attention in Hero Academy theory classes.
"Yeah. Should we go too?"
"Who knows."
Minguk rubbed his chin as he replied.
The internet was full of people griping about South Korea's mediocre raid power, but it still ranked in the world top 20.
Naturally, plenty of raids had better records than Team GGW. Any top-30 clan's first-string squad outpowered them, at least.
With those around, what chance did a rookie raid like theirs—not even first-string—have of heading overseas to stop a spread? Especially considering Raid Leader Oh Hyun-jung's doting on Team GGW. It seemed unlikely.
Besides, Korea had tons of its own dungeons. Rose Shield alone managed over ten.
"With all the top raids in South Korea, why would we head abroad?"
Minguk meant it sincerely. Sure, Team GGW was promising, but that was potential talking. He hadn't even cleared an A-rank dungeon yet—only one B-1, the Tower of Void.
The briefing room at the Korean Hero Association was packed with clan leaders summoned by Association Chair Lee Si-yeon. Everyone looked grim after hearing about Vietnam.
Memoria Clan’s leader was outright scowling. The World Hero Association had specifically requested their first-string squad. No way out—they'd have to send their elite forces to Vietnam intact.
"We'll land in Hanoi via air transport under air force protection."
"I heard there are monsters capable of aerial attacks."
"Vietnam and Chinese forces will handle that. Thailand and China's raids already landed safely in Hanoi, so the transport route's secure."
Si-yeon zoomed in on the screen in response to one leader's question.
Images showed soldiers advancing around Hanoi, plus photos of heroes disembarking from planes flying the Chinese and Thai flags. Proof her words weren't empty.
"The Hero Association wants at least five Korean raids on the spread: three capable of A-rank clears and two for mid-to-late B-rank."
"Specific demands, huh. Bet there'll be hell to pay if we don't send any... How long do we have to commit? What's the expected time to resolve the spread?"
A female leader grumbled roughly. She headed the ranker clan 'Strong Women.' Si-yeon, as if expecting it, replied promptly.
"Planes leave within three days. Six-hour flight to Hanoi, then straight to resolving the spread with the military. The dungeon that broke is logged as A-1, and the current count of temporary dungeons is..."
Si-yeon paused, catching her breath. The paper in her hand bore an unimaginable number.
"Just over a thousand."
"Fuck..."
"Two thousand? For real?"
Murmurs of unease rippled through the room. Far worse than feared.
If they failed to contain the spread here and those temp dungeons broke too? Unthinkable. Vietnam—not to mention Southeast Asia—could turn into a darkness-ravaged wasteland monster den, like North Africa.
Plus, pulling main forces meant domestic dungeons went uncleared, with massive economic hits. Then one leader raised a hand—Memoria's unhappy face.
"World Association singled us out, so our first-string's going. The rest get filled by ranker clan first-strings?"
"If Memoria's going, do other ranker clans really need to? Korea's got plenty of risky timers too."
'Strong Women''s leader shot back, who'd just been complaining. No desire for risky foreign expeditions when Memoria was stepping up. Heroic Age's leader chimed in.
"The two B-rank teams only need mid-to-late clears, right? No need for first-strings then."
World Association wanted five raids, but twenty leaders were here, each running multiple squads. Not every clan had to go.
"World Association's providing unlimited Revival Stones for this crisis. Plus support items for participating raids..."
But it didn't sway the leaders. Priceless as those were, top first-string heroes' value was astronomical.
And the land was still crawling with uncleared monsters. Accidents were anyone's guess.
"Sigh... I get protecting your clan heroes. But someone has to go."
Si-yeon warned the leaders, implying she'd assign clans herself if needed.
The leaders exchanged glances, hesitating, then started murmuring. Memoria was out—top rank meant no choice but to send first-string.
Then, out of nowhere, an arrow flew at quietly sitting Hyun-jung.
"For B-rank clears, how about Rose Shield sends a team? They've got that rising star raid lately."
The shot came from 'Strong Women''s leader—a jab to check R’s, fresh off recruiting world prospects. A friendly leader picked up.
"Oh yeah! GGW's packed with top prospects. They could handle B-rank dungeons easy."
"Right. They cleared the Tower of Void first try."
"Temps need quick clears, don't they?"
Leaders piled on fast. Hyun-jung went quiet momentarily as they treated GGW's dispatch as done deal. Then she addressed 'Strong Women''s leader first.
"Thanks sincerely for the high praise of our raid. Fine by me. Raid Leader Han Minguk sees slaying monsters as his mission—he'd accept a Vietnam expedition."
"Oho!"
"Men heroes are different, huh."
Cheers and claps for her ready agreement. But Hyun-jung wasn't done, eyes still on 'Strong Women''s leader.
"However... GGW's a rookie squad of heroes three years or less in. If you're sending newbies to Vietnam, they need a veteran raid for backup. Top-ranked Memoria's sending first-string—how about rank-2 Strong Women sends theirs too? No, A-rank clears should be ranker clans' job anyway."
Hyun-jung was playing water ghost tactic outright. If R’s went to Vietnam, she'd drag two other top rankers besides Memoria along.
"Ugh..."
'Strong Women''s leader groaned, flustered. It was just a light jab, but the riposte cut deep. Non-ranker clans leaned her way.
This could force them to Vietnam like Memoria. Pride wouldn't let them back a rookie squad with their first-string, though.
Her face soured. Of course, R’s leader Hyun-jung was sweating too.
Crazy bitches! Even if they hate risking their clans, how do they think of sending a one-year rookie-led raid abroad?!
Without ranker pushback, Team GGW might really go. Bad luck—they'd blown up too big.