Chapter 259

Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 259

Chapter Title: National Hero

"The dungeon's about to collapse...?"

Han Minguk asked again.

If what Ppuu said was true, it meant the end was finally in sight for nearly half a year of dungeon grinding. In fact, aside from mana crystals, even good items from the dungeon couldn't boost their specs at all, so the clears had started feeling a bit tedious bit by bit.

At Ppuu's words, Han Minguk's gaze turned to the dungeon gate.

But no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn't spot any difference between today's gate and yesterday's.

'...How the hell am I supposed to tell?'

In the end, Han Minguk grimaced and shrugged.

If he could sense something like that, he wouldn't need hints from the assistants to predict when a dungeon would collapse.

'Anyway, it's supposed to crumble after just one or two more runs...'

The gate shimmered with violet mana.

It wouldn't be long before they no longer had to look at this gateway to the 【A - 2】 difficulty dungeon.

And once the Daegu City Hall Dungeon—the boss-tier dungeon in the area—collapsed, clearing the polluted lands of Daegu would pick up speed fast.

'The other 【A】 difficulty dungeons will start crumbling one after another...'

They'd all been drained of void mana to restore the named bosses in Daegu City Hall Dungeon. At any rate, that meant they needed to smash this one quickly and move on to the next phase.

"Alright, heading into the dungeon."

As the ten heroes stepped through the dungeon gate, the raid on Daegu City Hall Dungeon began.

Since they'd cleared it dozens of times already, the GGW raid team's heroes handled their roles flawlessly without Han Minguk's instructions.

Even in named boss fights, as long as he pointed out the key moments, they took down the bosses on their own.

"This is a breeze."

"Honestly, using a Revival Stone on something like El Kashak feels... kinda wasteful, right?"

It was right after the dungeon's first named boss, El Kashak, fell and Hyun-ah checked the loot box.

"...Huh?"

"Whoa! Jackpot...! Ant's Flower dropped!"

Following Hyun-ah's gasp, Yuna shouted to the team.

Ant's Flower, an accessory that boosted HP recovery effects by 30%, was one of the most sought-after items for 8-star healers. Its massive demand drove the price sky-high.

Plus, since it bound on equip, even heroes who hadn't raided with them could use it—which meant it could be sold on the auction house. Split ten ways, each member could pocket at least tens of billions.

"Things are off to a great start today."

"Yeah. What if the dungeon collapses right when we finish the clear?"

"Nah, no way."

Han Minguk smirked as he passed Giselle and Kendall mid-conversation.

Kendall was spot on—the odds of the dungeon crumbling at the end of the clear were extremely high.

Anyway, after scoring Ant's Flower from the first named, GGW raid team snagged a Master Ticket for Gear Score 1000-1200 items from the second, and from the third, they got a purple-grade mana crystal along with the priciest item possible from a named loot box: a mana orb.

And that mana orb could be auctioned off too.

"...What is this? Is today my birthday? Did it skip last year and dump all the birthday gifts on me now?"

"Heck yeah! Days like this are what make dungeon raiding fun! Anyway, today's a huge haul—what if we break the distribution record?"

They'd only finished the first district, but auctioning off just what they had so far could buy a building in pricey Seoul.

"This is straight-up money printing!"

"Long live the Cheonho-dong Lucky Girls!"

Even the Budsen sisters, long-term bound to R’s clan due to their legendary class, beamed at the thought of paying off their clan debts. The others were even more thrilled.

'It's not like these are parting gifts or anything...'

Looking at the jackpot items from the loot boxes, the thought crossed Han Minguk's mind for a moment. These felt like the dungeon's final gifts.

Everyone was hyped thinking about the massive payouts after the clear. Even their steps on the dungeon's dreary ground felt light and bouncy.

And so, Han Minguk and the GGW raid team pressed on, tackling the second district's monsters and named bosses 4 and 5. The loot boxes yielded the rarest drops possible from named bosses.

"Isn't this luck a bit too good?"

"It's making me a little uneasy all of a sudden...?"

Tanya said this as she sharpened the tip of her shield against the hard ground while eyeing the loot.

Han Minguk and the team successfully raided up to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fifth named in the second district, grabbing nothing but jackpot items.

They'd smashed named bosses here over sixty times in Daegu City Hall Dungeon clears, but most drops had been junk. Today's results were suspiciously stellar.

"You don't think something's wrong, do you?"

"What am I supposed to do when the one who opened the loot box says that? You're making me nervous...!"

Even Hyun-ah, who'd opened the boxes, tilted her head in confusion.

But Han Minguk just found his teammates' worries endearing. Good loot was pure luck, and the dungeon collapsing without a hitch was practically guaranteed.

"Whoa?! Jackpot!!!"

"Wooooah! Kraks of Despair?! Dagger! It's a dagger...! This one's auctionable!!!"

GGW raid team's luck kept rolling.

Some items were auctionable; others were raid-bound gear usable only by raid members. The latter wouldn't fetch big money, of course. Still, this run's haul was record-breaking for sure.

And then...

The trial against Daegu City Hall Dungeon's final boss, 'Isolated Shiaz,' had begun.

"Right-side creature!"

"I'll handle it!!!"

"Two isolated targets in 10 seconds! Split left and right—don't forget!"

"Got it!"

Nearly 30 minutes of fierce combat ensued, but under Han Minguk's command, GGW raid team took down Isolated Shiaz without a single ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠casualty.

They'd run this trial hundreds of times, so everyone could counter the darkness monster's patterns with their eyes closed.

And Isolated Shiaz dropped a Gear Score 1170 shield item, 'Shiaz's Isolated Shield,' as its loot box. Unfortunately, like Kraks of Despair, it was raid-bound—unusable by outsiders.

"Ugh... What a shield... and it shatters..."

In the end, the GS 1170 shield met its fate, crumbling amid tears from Hyun-ah and Tanya. The fragments were collected in pouches by the other heroes.

No one knew the exact process, but those shattered pieces got special processing at factories and turned into mana energy resources.

While Han Minguk and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heroes pocketed unused items one by one inside the dungeon, total chaos erupted outside.

"T-Team leader...!"

"I see it!"

R’s clan's collection team leader stared at the dungeon gate at his subordinate's words.

The 【A - ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠2】 difficulty Daegu City Hall Dungeon gate was failing to hold its shape—warping and pulsing wildly.

And the collection team leader, a long-time R’s clan veteran, knew exactly what this meant. Everyone here had witnessed it before.

"Th-the dungeon's collapsing!"

"Video! Record it now...!"

This was the collapse of Daegu's boss-tier dungeon, Daegu City Hall. Naturally, the news shot straight to the clan house in Seoul in real time.

News of Daegu City Hall Dungeon's collapse spread nationwide in no time.

The nation went wild, of course.

Daegu City Hall Dungeon, born from a dungeon break, was Korea's most dangerous and expansive polluted-zone creator—a national headache. And now, after relentless raids, it had finally crumbled.

This was a national victory for Korea beyond GGW raid team or R’s clan—a milestone for humanity.

"......"

Back in Seoul after the clear, Han Minguk fell silent under hundreds of staring eyes.

He'd expected backlash from collapsing Daegu City Hall Dungeon. Tapping the table drew gazes like magnets.

'Did Korea have this many reporters?'

The women before him were all journalists—fresh-faced rookies mixed with battle-hardened retirees from the darkness monster frontlines.

Then, someone from the clan's PR team whispered in his ear.

"Raid Leader Han Minguk, ready for interviews?"

"Yeah? Sure, everyone seems set—let's get started."

The interview kicked off with his nod.

And this was a live broadcast watched by millions nationwide—a sign of the massive public interest in Daegu City Hall's fall.

Questions flew from the start.

Han Minguk pointed to a reporter whose eyes met his, granting her the floor. A sharply dressed woman stood, mic in hand.

"First off, thank you to Raid Leader Han Minguk and GGW raid team's heroes for collapsing the 【A - 2】 difficulty Daegu City Hall Dungeon—as one grateful citizen. With this, public expectations are rising for purging Daegu's polluted lands. Your thoughts?"

"Uh, well... First, I'd like to say it wasn't just us—heroes from other clans contributed too. Plenty are still raiding Daegu. I hope their efforts get recognition."

After crediting others, Han Minguk shared his view.

"Daegu City Hall is the boss-tier dungeon over Daegu's polluted lands. With it gone, clearing the rest should be easier than expected."

"And GGW raid team's future plans?"

"Yes, we'll keep targeting Daegu dungeons—mainly higher ones like 【A - 3】 and 【A - 4】."

"What about lower tiers?"

"Korea has plenty of skilled raid teams besides us. We'll lean on them and the Hero Association, naturally."

The opening Q&A stuck to GGW and Daegu City Hall— the hot topic.

But some reporters itched for more, especially on Han Minguk—a rare sight in formal interviews. Many wanted to dish max info to the public.

"The public is dying to know GGW raid team's specs. Repeated 【A - 2】 clears have sparked rumors their skill rivals Memoria clan's first-string team."

"Our exact specs, huh..."

It was a cautious question, but nothing top-secret—no reason to hide it. Han Minguk took the mic.