Team 3 Reorganized
At that moment, Team Leader Jang Tae-wook walked over from the front. In his hand was a staff gleaming with a reddish reflection. It was the equipment the Orc Shaman had been using.
“This,” Jang Tae-wook said, pulling out a small appraisal report along with the staff. “I remembered it during the last settlement and set it aside. Investigation Team 3 has a lot of nature-attribute ability users, so I figured this kind of equipment would suit you better.”
He handed the staff to Team Leader Yoo Mira. When she gripped it and channeled her mana, a faint breeze stirred at the tip. The supply team from Hyunmu Team 3 had extracted the mana stone from the chieftain’s body. The dungeon core embedded at the very bottom glowed softly, as though stirred by the wind. The core and the highest-grade mana stone were placed in a case and passed to the team leaders.
Jang Tae-wook glanced around, confirmed the site had been cleared, and spoke to Yoo Mira. “We’re finished cleaning up. Let’s withdraw.”
“The loot will be split fifty-fifty between the investigation team and the hunter team.”
We reorganized the equipment loaded onto the bikes and moved toward the gate. After exiting, we made a final check of the mana stones, materials, staff, and remaining items. Hyunmu Team 3 turned their vehicles around and left first. We stayed until the dungeon core’s stabilization readings were complete, confirmed the gate’s disappearance, and only then headed out.
By the time we reached the underground parking lot, it was quite late. After the bike engines shut off one by one, Yoo Mira removed her helmet and spoke. “We’ll sort out the report tomorrow morning. Everyone, go inside and rest today.”
The remaining members tidied the equipment, placing the case containing the Orc Shaman’s staff in the center. Yoo Mira unfolded the appraisal report. Her voice remained calm as she read.
“Hmm… the attribute coefficient is quite strong. Mana amplification 50%, agility 30%, wind-attribute coefficient increased by 50%… The efficiency is excellent.”
Sorin’s eyes widened slightly as she watched from the side. Yoo Mira smiled faintly. “This equipment suits Sorin best. Don’t feel burdened—just take it.”
“Is it really okay for me to accept this?”
“Sorin, don’t overthink it. Take it! You’re the one it fits best, and no one else here can even use it!”
“Jihoon’s right. I’d feel weird using it, and it wouldn’t suit Dayun either!”
“Then… I’ll exclude my share of the mana stones from this distribution.”
“Understood. I’ll note it that way. I’ll also exclude myself from the distribution, including the previous item. The reward last time felt too small compared to the item, so this will put my mind at ease as well.”
When the case opened, neatly arranged C-rank mana stones in a reddish-yellow hue were revealed.
“Three people can each take twenty-five. Good work today, everyone.”
“Whoa—twenty-five each? That’s over thirty million won, right?”
“With this much, I could buy another elixir before the promotion exam.”
“I need to upgrade my equipment.”
“I’m torn between buying an elixir or upgrading my gear.”
We each pocketed our mana stones while happily imagining what we’d do with them. Sorin clutched the staff, practically bouncing with joy. After a moment to compose ourselves, we finished organizing the equipment, and final farewells followed.
“Everyone worked hard. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes! Good work.”
Everyone except me got into their cars and left the parking lot. I walked out of the branch building, leaving the darkened lot behind. After dropping my equipment off at a nearby repair shop, I headed home with a light heart.
Stepping inside, I finally felt the long day come to an end. After a shower, I lay on the bed with only the room light on and called out, thinking of Arin.
“Arin.”
A brief flash of light bloomed in the air, and Arin quietly appeared.
“Jihoon, your face looks… tired.”
“Today was busy. Lots of fighting. Still, we got a lot out of it, so… I’m fine. Ah, I should’ve summoned you in the dungeon today, but I forgot. It was a grassland area, so I didn’t think about spirit stones.”
“It’s okay~ Spirit stones aren’t just lying around everywhere! Especially since I’m a fire spirit—if there were fire spirit stones in a grassland… it’d turn into a sea of fire! Next time we go to a dungeon with strong fire energy, make sure to call me.”
“Yeah, I will. I won’t forget next time.”
Arin perched beside me and looked down at my lying form.
“Jihoon, even if you’re tired, don’t just sleep. You have to circulate the Omega Circle before bed.”
“Got it. I was just lying down for a bit—I wasn’t planning to skip it.”
Arin gave a small laugh. “Then it’s fine. Take it slow from here. I’ll just match the flow for you today.”
I sat up on the bed, straightened my posture, calmed my breathing, and gathered strength inside my body. As Arin’s gentle flame adjusted the rhythm beside me, the tension in my body gradually released. Once the final circulation ended, my eyelids naturally closed. Arin’s small light faded, and the room grew quiet. I fell asleep just like that.
Over the next three months, I combined the mana stones distributed from the C-rank dungeon with the ones I had quietly saved and bought a used pickup truck. The body was old, but it had a spacious cargo bed and low maintenance costs—perfect for hauling equipment and personal belongings when I moved alone.
With mobility secured, I began targeting only poorly managed D-rank dungeons and unstable D-rank gates. I traveled across the country whenever my schedule allowed, venturing beyond Seoul and Gyeonggi. Most cores were small, but as the absorption accumulated, the flow of my mental technique changed. Sections that had always been blocked opened naturally, and the circulation felt steady and continuous.
During that time, Arin began experiencing modern civilization in earnest. From convenience store ramen to gukbap, chicken, and kimchi jjigae, she tried Korean food one after another, her eyes sparkling whenever she found something she liked. The problem was soju. Out of curiosity she tried a glass, choked at first, then kept asking for more—one glass, then two. She started babbling nonsense, her face turned red, and her speech became a jumbled mess. Moments later she lit fires inside the room and darted around, nearly burning the entire house down. Then she suddenly slapped my cheek with her palm and collapsed on the spot as if fainting. Even as a spirit, she wasn’t exempt from intoxication.
After that I banned soju, but whenever bottles disappeared from the fridge it was obvious she was sneaking drinks. When the beer started vanishing too, it seemed only a matter of time before she demanded chicken and beer together.
The Omega Circle stabilized in the latter half of the second stage, and the direction of mana movement became clearer than before. The problem was… my way of moving had become excessively “irregular.” The moment I saw a dungeon on the map, I would rush over, enter immediately, and head to another region right after exiting. There was no real routine to my life, but at the time I believed it was the fastest way to grow. Looking back now… it was reckless.
A few days ago I even heard rumors from inside the Dungeon Investigation Bureau that “cores have been disappearing frequently from unstable dungeons lately.” Some of the routes matched exactly where I had been, and word was that an internal investigation was underway. My heart pounded and my chest felt hot.
Still, the gains from the dungeons were undeniable. As the absorbed amount piled up, the Omega Circle’s response grew faster. I also spent those three months practicing the swordsmanship manual I had won at auction whenever I had time between dungeons. Its original name was Astra Blade, but I decided to simply call it Flash Sword Art. As my training volume increased, the movements connected more smoothly than before, and the manual’s contents began sticking to my body quickly.
Whenever Arin looked at the manual, she always said the same thing.
“It’s not about imitating the movements. You have to move the mana inside your body and blend it into the motions for power to come out. It’s not copying—it’s adapting it to yourself.”
Only now was I beginning to understand those words little by little.
Externally, I was still D-rank. But internally, my flow already met B-rank standards. I was deliberately suppressing my power with the mental technique to maintain a D-rank appearance. That was my intention. And the evaluation I received now proved that adjustment had worked perfectly.
The team’s overall evaluation rose as well. Our previous assignment—focused on D~C-rank dungeons—was adjusted to support mid-tier C-rank dungeons and, conditionally, even B-rank dungeons. It was clearly stated in the administrative documents.
As operational standards rose, the support system changed accordingly. Our team officially gained new members.
The first to join was Jung Dayun, twenty-five years old. A B-rank recovery-type ability user. Since she was the same age as me, she didn’t feel distant from the start. She wore her black hair in a neat low ponytail. She spoke little and had a calm, even voice, but the recovery mana flowing from her fingertips pressed gently on the surrounding air like a faint warmth. Her frame was small and slender, yet her posture was clean and her movements showed almost no sway. When light hit her skin, it looked slightly translucent, giving her the clear aura typical of recovery-type healers. True to her medical department background, her treatment motions were precise—exactly as much as needed, nothing more.
The second newcomer was Kang Homin, twenty-six years old. A B-rank physical enhancement-type ability user. He had mainly taken the vanguard tanker position and had joined the Bureau after leaving a guild due to frequent injuries and considering retirement. Since he was the same age as Jaehoon hyung and Dayun hyung, his speech and atmosphere felt familiar from the beginning. He stood in the mid-180cm range with broad shoulders and a high muscle ratio, yet his expression was gentle and his tone soft. When equipped, his muscle lines fit perfectly against the armor, and each step he took gave the impression of a heavy center of gravity planting into the floor. Despite his imposing build, his personality was sincere and composed, so he didn’t overwhelm the air around him.
With the two of them joining, our team now totaled seven members.
Salary negotiations followed. Yoo Mira received an additional command fee, while Jaehoon hyung, Dayun hyung, and Sorin were placed at the upper B-rank standard. Kang Homin and Jung Dayun were also adjusted to B-rank tanker and healer standards. Average pay by rank was roughly set: low 100 million won for C-rank, mid 200 million for B-rank, and low 400 million for A-rank. In this adjustment, we were all set at the “top standard” for our respective ranks.
Finally, I was called. The number printed on the chart showed a significant increase in the performance reflection category—nearly double the previous amount. Equipment allocation changed as well. Our team switched to a system of permanently operating two Cheongryong SUVs and two Hyunmu bikes. It was a measure to match the increased personnel and higher operational standards.
Jaehoon hyung looked up from the documents. “Hey, our team did really well this time. Dayun and Homin too. The team leader’s rate went up as well.”
Dayun hyung chuckled briefly beside him. “Either we got lucky with this year’s evaluation, or we’ve just been running like crazy.”
Sorin crossed her arms and nodded. “Everyone worked hard. We deserve at least this much.”
In that atmosphere, Jaehoon hyung turned toward me. “But Jihoon, you really are fast. There’s almost no one among investigators who climbs this quickly.”
Dayun hyung lightly elbowed him. “So don’t even think about going somewhere else—stick with us. Guilds are nothing but trouble.”
Yoo Mira nodded lightly while organizing the terminal screen. “Everyone worked hard. Congratulations to you too, Jihoon. Things will get busier from now on. Let’s prepare well.”
On one side of the wall, the newly reorganized team roster quietly took its place.
Monday morning. When the meeting room door opened, Yoo Mira was the first to open her terminal. The assignment schedule organized over the weekend appeared on the screen.
“A support request came in from the Gangwon branch. This time it’s the Samcheok C-06 dungeon. It’s fairly large and has been assigned as a joint operation with Cheongryong Guild’s Team 2.”
The meeting room fell briefly silent.
“Samcheok… I guess I’ll finally get to see the sea. It’s quite a distance.”
Jaehoon hyung spoke first. “Hyung, last time we went to Gangneung you said it had been a while since you saw the sea.”
“That was just passing by. This time let’s actually look at it properly.”
“But sightseeing at the sea right in front of a dungeon might be a bit much.”
“Ah, whatever. Can’t we take just one day off after we finish? We’re going all the way to Samcheok—let’s do some fishing, have a proper team dinner. Team Leader, what do you think?”
“Jaehoon, what you’re saying makes sense, but… we’re not going on a trip.”
“Still, we’ve added new members and haven’t had a proper team dinner even once. Since we’re going to Samcheok anyway, let’s make it feel a bit like an MT.”
“If everyone else is fine with it, I’ll consider it. On the condition that Jaehoon covers the expenses.”
“Wait, Team Leader! That should be covered as official expenses!”
“It won’t be processed as expenses. It’s not an official business trip.”
“Tch… Fine. I’ll split it with Dayun and Homin and find a nice place.”
“Hey, Jaehoon. Why are you suddenly dragging us into this? Your salary went up too—why not just treat everyone generously?”
“Let’s do it together, Dayun~ Homin~ I have to send half my paycheck to my parents. I still need to save for elixirs!”
“I’m in favor… Dayun talks like that but he’ll end up joining anyway. Right?”
“…If Homin’s going that far, fine. Okay.”
“Yes! Team Leader, the expense issue is solved, so this time we’re really taking one day off.”
“Sigh… If you’ve prepared this much, I have no choice. Very well. We’ll extend the stay by one day and rest. I’ll submit the report myself.”