Coronation of the Gallery Lord
Galju's Coronation. The special evolved form of the Goblin Lord, equipped with a skill that lets it recover damage by eating gold. Golden Goblin Lord.
Its defining trait—and the scariest part—is that skill where it heals by chowing down on gold.
It was on the brink of death after picking up just a few gold coins, but then it came charging at me. That says it all.
Of course, gold is rare as hell, so normally you wouldn't even bother with it... but in the previous loop, Kim Minho screwed things up again. 'He fed it gold on purpose for extra rewards, right?'
The info on Kim Minho's extra reward condition? The more gold you fed the boss monster, the better the rewards.
But he overdid it, draining the raid team's stamina first... and in the end, I landed the killing blow.
Best case would be stopping the Goblin Lord's special evolution altogether, but I had no grounds or way to block Dan-gun Guild from killing the cultists. Pass.
So the optimal play was killing the Goblin Lord quick, before Kim Minho could pull his bullshit.
"Nothing's impossible." To make it happen, I drew up a plan based on the Association's intel from the previous loop and my own firsthand experience.
"Raid leader, this path is blocked by trees."
"What?! Why the fuck is every damn path like this?!"
Dan-gun Guild—after killing the cultists and using their corpses as sacrifices to evolve the boss monster—left every return route to the goblin lair in shambles to slow their own way back.
"Ambush!!" Bang!
"Kweeeek!!"
Meanwhile, I'd gotten to the goblin lair first and planted a bullet right in the evolved golgoli's chest.
Obviously, one ambush shot wasn't gonna take it down...
The bastard charged at me in a rage from the sudden bullet, but hey, I'm a regressor—what kind of idiot wouldn't see this coming?
"Here, eat up."
"Ku, kuwek?"
I tossed prepped gold ingots on the floor, and its eyes lit up like a pure baby's.
Its hands, aimed to rip me apart, veered straight for the shiny loot on the ground instead.
"Kuruung! Kururung!"
It shoved the grabbed gold into its mouth to heal its wounds.
My attack hadn't killed it, sure, but the damage was real.
"Gonna cause trouble if you keep picking up floor snacks."
"Kuheuk!?"
And just like that, the Goblin Lord happily scarfed gold—until it suddenly hacked up blood.
The reason? Obviously me. I'd rigged the gold with explosion magic, and it blew up in its gut.
"Kweeeek...!"
Still, it kept grabbing more gold.
Simple-ass thought process.
Injured → Eat gold. That's the loop it was stuck in.
Goblins that dumb? Folks get the wrong idea from manga where they mindfuck elves into submission, but goblins are straight-up retarded by nature.
"Kuruk, kuruek...."
"That's it, good eater."
Every time it scarfed about five ingots, I'd detonate one.
It'd heal, grab more gold—boom again, more gold in the yap.
"Kuruuu...."
Now bawling its eyes out nonstop while stuffing its face. Before long, it'd devoured every last bit.
Damn, it almost looked a little pitiful like this.
"Sion, what the...?"
I'd dragged it out a bit long, so Dan-gun Guild showed up—but boom! I detonated the stockpile in its belly at once, clearing the dungeon.
"...."
"Shoulda come sooner."
The boss was dead, so the dungeon crumbled, the cave scenery fading. Kim Minho's dumbfounded face flashed by in the chaos.
Sucks to be you—hurry up next time.
Dungeon clears come with rewards, obviously.
Maybe a killer skill, or some handy artifact.
Rewards vary wildly by difficulty and type, but one thing's certain.
They're doled out based on contribution to the clear—higher contrib, fatter slice.
So what'd I get?
Checking raider's contribution...
Clear Contribution: 62%
Rewards enhanced!
What else? Obviously top-tier.
Excluding Hyeji sunbae, who was off soloing cultists in some distant city, my contrib was damn near 100%.
Dan-gun Guild snagged some cultists too, but soloing the boss? Not even close.
Translation: sweet rewards incoming.
A new skill popped into my status window, and a gleaming golden sword materialized in midair before me.
Probably 'cause the boss was gold-themed—the skill and gear were both gold-related.
C-Rank skill and B-Rank weapon. Insanely strong for a low-rank dungeon.
And rewards that weren't even mine originally.
"...What the hell is this?"
Kim Minho, who'd snuck up on me, glared without even trying to hide his rage.
Natural reaction. I'd basically jacked their dungeon clear rewards.
Green Devil's Lair was a dungeon Dan-gun Guild straight-up bought the rights to raid.
So yeah, rewards from it belonged to them.
"What?"
"Why'd you clear the dungeon on your own?!"
Mad I cleared it solo? Kinda hilarious reason to flip out.
"Maybe try raiding properly next time."
"What kinda bullshit...?"
"Obviously I'll hand over the rewards."
Taking them outright would spark a guild beef. Not that I'm a thief or anything.
"What?"
"You can have the sword. For the skill, I'll comp you the market value of a similar skillbook."
"No way a C-Rank skillbook's like 300 mil, how the hell you gonna pay that?"
"I'm loaded."
Lotto winnings still sitting in the bank, and the sword? Useless to me anyway.
My goal wasn't the fancy loot to begin with, so handing it to Dan-gun Guild? No issue.
"...For real?"
"Of course."
Planned this from the start. Swallowing the rewards whole would've caused headaches, and the raid grunts—who had zilch to do with it—would suffer too.
"Though whether Kim Minho Hunter actually gets any is TBD."
"What? What the...?"
His confused face hardened as black-suited men closed in, blocking his path.
Before he could even freak, one suit spoke up.
"Kim Minho Hunter. Reports of attempted illicit raid and guild member human rights violations received. Come with us to the Association."
"What?! What kinda nonsense is this? Suspicion off one report?!"
"You've been disciplined multiple times before for similar shit, and the evidence is ironclad."
They spoke in flat, procedural tones—like this was routine. Association inspectors, handling guild friction directly.
Main gig: punishing hunters who break Awakener Law. They piss off hunters constantly, so they're stacked with elites no average hunter can touch.
So who snitched on Kim Minho? Unless you're an infinite regressor white-haired TS beauty, exposing him ain't easy.
"Off to the Association."
"Which fucking rat stabbed me?! I'll kill 'em when I find out!"
...Anonymity's guaranteed, right?
Obviously the tipster was me.
I memorized the Association's prior investigation deets, regressed, and right before entering the dungeon, reported Kim Minho's secret stash hiding his scheme.
Five days to clear meant plenty of time to verify. Heavy discipline incoming for him, guaranteed.
Case closed perfectly.
"Um, Association sir? Our raid leader an illicit raider? What...?"
"Ah, well..."
I turned at the voice interrupting my thoughts. Name tag: C-Rank Hunter Kim Ye-seo. The girl who gave me her tie, lover of a previous loop's casualty.
One reason I even regressed.
"...No clue. I'm not on inspections."
"Oh, right."
"Maybe someone reported him?"
I watched her trudge off, dejected.
Why'd I bother soloing the boss through hell? Wasn't my business. Strangers dying? Whatever. Worst case for me: a slap on the wrist write-up.
Hell, compensating rewards meant I took a loss.
Bottom line: no reason to suffer deaths for it.
"Thanks for the info. I'll ask around."
"Babe! Hurry up!"
"Wait just a sec!"
But now I got it crystal clear.
Her bright smile as she ran to her boyfriend. Him welcoming her back.
I just wanted to see that.
A couple planning tomorrow's date beats a widow mourning any day.
"Safe travels."
I waved farewell, smug inside.
"Oh right, gimme the tie back. That's pricey."
"Huh?"
"And you're comping me for sure, right? Rent's due next month, can't miss that..."
Seen an ungrateful bitch like this before?
Sunlight streamed through the window.
A day after the dungeon clear.
Comp'd the rewards with cash, then crashed hard all day.
"Ah~ Easy money."
Now trading stocks to recoup the skill payout to Dan-gun Guild. Future knowledge? Stock market's a damn money printer.
Vrrr.
"What? Who calls?"
I scowled at the weekend morning ring—high noon, no manners.
"Hello?"
"Sion! Big trouble!!"
Caller: Hyeji sunbae. Fuck, Association making her pick up on weekends? Evil corp.
"Huh? What's up?"
"Everyone's losing it! Especially the gallery! Check now!!"
Gallery? What drama...
"Same old shit."
"Huh? I meant Awakener Gallery."
"Oh, EachGal."
Awakener Gallery, massive hub for hunter chatter.
Never bothered till now—what's the fuss?
"Holy shit."
"Association's dropping a statement and Kim Minho's discipline deets soon, so don't sweat it too much..."
Saved lives and now I'm the villain troll. Great.