Chapter 249
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 249
Chapter Title: Daegu Liberation Operation
[Delicious Meat!]
The Renaissance Clan's A-4 difficulty dungeon, home to the "Stinking Butcher."
This dungeon had once been a headache for the clan due to the named boss known for being trickier to clear than others of the same difficulty. But recently, it had become one of the most cleared dungeons in South Korea.
All because Rose Shield's GGW raid team had obtained the combination formula for the legendary healer class "Dawn Saintess" while tackling this very dungeon. Clans had flooded them with inquiries, even offering up various interests in exchange for raid slots...
But the current situation wasn't looking so great.
"Inquiries for raid teams seeking the A-4 difficulty dungeon have dropped off sharply lately. In the past three days, not a single clan has reached out."
In a room filled with numerous beautiful women lounging freely, a handsome man with deep blue-dyed hair pointed at a graph on the wall with a laser pointer as he spoke.
He had the kind of striking looks that would make most women glance back over their shoulders. His identity was Yu Seung-cheol, one of the Renaissance Clan's pride and joys—and its most popular male hero.
"And why is that?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's because the GGW kids wrecked the Chilbo Mountain Twin Valleys dungeon. Even if you get the formula, you can't find a Dawn Knight in Korea. And going overseas is too much hassle, so everyone's bailing early."
The one responding to Raid Leader Cha Eun-bi's question was a woman with yellow-dyed hair.
She was Ban Seol-hee, a dealer in the first raid team and Cha Eun-bi's classmate. Cha Eun-bi pouted as she alternated glances between Ban Seol-hee and Yu Seung-cheol.
"You're taking your boyfriend's side..."
And Ban Seol-hee was none other than the girlfriend of Yu Seung-cheol, the male hero currently giving the presentation and the team's support manager.
"Anyway, does that mean we have to start tackling the Butcher dungeon ourselves from now on?"
"We're fine for the moment. There are still a few raid teams lined up. But starting three weeks from now, there are zero bookings for the Butcher dungeon. In summary, unless new teams start requesting it, we'll have to clear it ourselves in about a month."
"Ugh. That guy's a real pain to deal with..."
Cha Eun-bi recalled the gruesome appearance of the "Stinking Butcher."
The thing had absurdly high attack power—one try and your whole body would ache. Plus, being humanoid-shaped, it would shove its grotesque form right in the heroes' faces to pressure them.
But there was no choice.
The A-4 difficulty dungeon with the Butcher was under the Renaissance Clan's management. If anything went wrong there, the clan would bear full responsibility.
And the careers of all the heroes in the Renaissance Clan would be over.
"Alright, let's wrap that up. How's the sale of loot from the recent A-5 difficulty dungeon going?"
The meeting continued.
Most of it covered dungeon raid schedules, sales revenue, and profit distribution to the heroes.
Once everything was done, Yu Seung-cheol flipped through the last of the documents, spotted the final line, clamped his mouth shut, sighed, and spoke up.
"And day after tomorrow, we have a meeting with the R's clan."
"R's clan?!"
"Oh?!"
The conference room buzzed the moment Yu Seung-cheol finished speaking.
Not just Raid Leader Cha Eun-bi, but even his girlfriend Ban Seol-hee shot to her feet. Yu Seung-cheol clenched his fist at the sight.
Ban Seol-hee quietly sat back down, sensing her boyfriend's ominous vibe... but the other women, who had no connection to him, were making a huge fuss over the mention of R's clan.
"Who's coming to the meeting? Is this on our turf?"
"Is Hero Han Minguk coming? If he is, I'll head out of the clan house that day. I could practice in the training room and pretend to bump into him like it's a coincidence."
"Who went to the last meeting? Was it you, Eun-bi?"
"Ah, sis, don't get your hopes up. Clan Leader Oh Hyun-jung came last time."
The purpose of the meeting was dungeon raids.
The Renaissance Clan, rated on par with Rose Shield, managed the A-4 Butcher dungeon alongside an A-3 difficulty dungeon that their first raid team cleared once every three weeks.
It was located at Cheonan's Gokgyo Stream and contained two rank-8 special entities. Rose Shield wanted to run both the Butcher dungeon and the Gokgyo Stream dungeon once each.
"By the way, what dungeons are the GGW kids tackling so freely?"
"I heard from a contact that under Han Minguk's lead, they're rotating through various dungeons to build combat experience against the darkness monsters."
"...Why? Is that really necessary?"
"Apparently, Raid Leader Han Minguk had some realization after tackling Garai alongside the Imperial Guard during the dungeon break."
"Well, yeah..."
A few women nodded knowingly.
Minguk was the raid leader who had synced perfectly with a world-class team to take down one of the Twelve Calamities' lieutenants. A genius like that wouldn't be satisfied with his current GGW raid team's performance.
"Man, I'm jealous... Sure, it's selfish, but the GGW kids are leveling up their experience just by following Raid Leader Han Minguk."
"Their spec growth is insane, right? Not all of them are veterans. Who do you think that's thanks to?"
"Anyway, raiding with a male raid leader must come with lots of flirty moments, huh?"
"What about his engagement to Hyun-ah? Bet one or two GGW girls get engaged to Raid Leader Han Minguk soon. I'll stake my boobs on it."
"...You? With boobs? You're an A-cup."
"What?! Wanna fight?!"
Yu Seung-cheol grimaced at the heroes bickering over Han Minguk, treating him like yesterday's news, as he stared at the paper in his hand.
'Damn it.'
Minguk wasn't even here, yet he had monopolized the clan's heroes' attention. Yu Seung-cheol hated the current situation. All these female heroes should be fawning over him and praising him...
'Doing a few raids makes you that great?'
People—and these female heroes, the power players of this world—all flocked to Han Minguk.
These were heroes who'd spent nearly a year raiding and supporting together in the Renaissance Clan. Yet here they were, chanting Minguk's name instead of his.
That fact grated on Yu Seung-cheol.
Supporting heroes from the backline was crucial too!
As the meeting wrapped up and Yu Seung-cheol left with a curt greeting, one female hero confirmed he was gone and grumbled at Ban Seol-hee.
"Hey, how does he not manage his expressions? Like... we can't even talk about other guys in front of him."
"Right? And he doesn't even put out."
"Don't expect much. I tried him after he bought me an apartment once—meh. Though for a regular guy, he lasted pretty long."
"...You and him did it, sis?"
Ban Seol-hee winced slightly at the healer leader's words.
Two months dating her without even a kiss, but he'd slept with another woman?
"Plus, does he have some inferiority complex toward Hero Han Minguk? His face sours every time his name comes up."
"Ha, haha. I'll warn him about that later."
"Warn him? You? When you're always fawning over him."
Ban Seol-hee scratched the back of her head sheepishly amid her colleagues' jabs.
Truth be told, she always felt uncomfortable in these situations. Sure, Yu Seung-cheol had the looks and skills. But so did every woman here—they were first raid team heroes.
They were top-tier anywhere. Even with the gender imbalance, any decent guy was within reach if they wanted. No matter how capable Yu Seung-cheol was, failing to manage his expressions in a professional setting was on him.
Cha Eun-bi watched her grumbling team before speaking calmly.
"Anyway, for the meeting with Rose Shield, Clan Leader Oh Hyun-jung will probably show, so it'll be me, Ban Seol-hee, and Healer Leader Doo-ri sis."
"What about our clan leader?"
"Europe trip. Something about linking the Butcher and Dawn Knight dungeons to draw in top heroes?"
The team exchanged shrugs at Cha Eun-bi's words.
Even a meeting with Rose Shield didn't warrant dragging her in if it was just the clan leader without Minguk. Better to rest at home ahead of the grueling raid schedule.
However...
"H-H-Han Minguk?!"
Contrary to expectations of Clan Leader Oh Hyun-jung, the Rose Shield group visiting the Renaissance Clan for the meeting consisted of GGW Raid Leader Han Minguk, raid dealer leader Kim So-jeong, and a mysterious civilian woman Minguk had brought along.
'Why the hell am I...'
Lee Da-eun was still dumbfounded about being here.
Just this morning, she'd been handling work at the office.
But as Minguk had mentioned in bed, he'd actually called her to the Renaissance Clan meeting and even sent the hero Kim So-jeong to fetch her. Her company, upon learning this, had shoved her out the door, calling it a business trip.
'The power of Han Minguk...'
Anyway, the Renaissance Clan she arrived at was nothing like she'd imagined. She'd loitered outside before due to an ex, but this was her first time inside.
She'd always pictured hero clans as leisurely places...
"Hey! Where the hell is this going?!"
"Collection team! Take this! It's mixed from teams 2 and 3—don't mix it up!"
"Tell the team tackling the B-6 difficulty dungeon in the Cheonggye area to pick up their Revival Stones!"
The chaotic bustle everywhere looked busier than her own company. As if reading her thoughts, So-jeong chuckled beside her.
"Looks like a marketplace, right? It gets way worse during big incidents like dungeon breaks. You can't even walk around then."
"I thought... you'd handle everything so elegantly."
"No way. Anyway, Raid Leader called you for personal reasons, so take care today. You know my name, right?"
"Yes, Hero Kim So-jeong. But... won't I be a bother?"
"No. The raid leader called you. Anyone else, maybe, but it's fine for him."
"Ah."
Despite meeting today, So-jeong's friendly demeanor let Da-eun relax and take in the clan. As Da-eun headed to the conference room with Minguk and So-jeong...
"...Huh?!"
A man's voice reached Da-eun's ears.
The voice of the man she'd once longed for so desperately. She whipped her head around reflexively, and there was the face that had made her cry every day.
But...
Strangely, there was no old flutter, no heartache, no desperate longing. Instead, her heart pounded harder at Minguk's arm wrapping around her shoulders right on cue.
"Old acquaintances, right? Act casual. Or flash a smile and ignore him."
The problem was Minguk's whisper.
"Hey. Why drag me to a place like this..."
Da-eun blushed in embarrassment. She sneaked a peek at Yu Seung-cheol—his face was rigid, like he'd bitten into stone. That was pure rage.
"You erased the neck tattoo, so what's the big deal?"
Minguk planted a light kiss on her neck. This was definitely intentional.
"Anyway..."
This man had twisted tastes to match his good looks. Still, she didn't hate it.
"......"
And as Minguk had said, Da-eun gave her ex a quick once-over from head to toe before turning away like he was a stranger. Repaying the same treatment she'd endured felt damn good.