Chapter 42
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: In Search of a Legendary Monster (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Three days after finishing the VIP negotiations with the Heukgyeon Guild.
I checked a new message with a satisfied expression.
[ProspectiveEunuch - The settlement amount has been deposited. We've handled the taxes and fees on our end. Please confirm...]
It was from Ju Jisan.
[2,700,000,000 won has been deposited into Hunter 103's account.]
Since I had hardly given him any of my personal information.
The deposit was made to a Hunter-exclusive virtual account.
Right after transferring the money from the virtual account to my main one.
I nodded, checking the unbelievably swollen balance.
“I should probably stop by home soon.”
I hadn't visited my family home once since linking with the Lord's Castle.
It would be more accurate to say I couldn't.
I'd been swamped these past few weeks.
“Still, things have stabilized a bit now.”
They say humans are creatures of adaptation.
It had only been a month, but I had mostly adapted to my new life.
On top of that, I had started planning for the future.
[Me: Good work. It looks like you've cut off support for the other Hunters, too. A quick decision, I like it. Keep it up.]
[ProspectiveEunuch: k]
[Me: A more sincere answer, please.]
[ProspectiveEunuch: Sorry ^^;;; Thank you, VIP-nim ㅎㅎ]
As expected, Ju Jisan had been quietly muzzled.
This was important.
Ju Jisan and the Heukgyeon Guild were the foundation for my future.
A foundation to move forward as an independent Hunter, without relying on the three major guilds.
I had easily taken that first step forward.
I looked through my other messages.
[Ma Dongpal: Hanul-ssi~^^ The clear,, evening sky is truly,, nice,,, If you're free,,, this weekend,, how about,, a hike together,,,? I know a place with amazing grilled dried pollack...~~!]
[Yoon Suhyeok: When are you gonna stop by our guildㅠ I'm gonna break my neck waiting]
[Jeong Sowon: Hello, Hunter Kim Hanul. This is Jeong Sowon from Sanarae. I'm contacting you on my own initiative, not on behalf of the Guild Master. If you happen to have time this week...]
The three major guilds were still engaged in a fierce war of nerves over me.
This meant one thing.
To them, I was still a ‘recruitment target’.
A super rookie with incredible abilities, but without the strength to stand alone.
However.
If I rashly declared myself an independent freelance Hunter at this point.
‘From that moment on, I wouldn't be a recruitment target, but a competitor.’
All sorts of checks and psychological battles would unfold, and we would all wear each other down.
It would be the same even if I chose to join one of the three major guilds.
The two guilds that weren't chosen.
Would surely, whether openly or secretly, become hostile toward me.
That wasn't what I wanted.
I didn't have time to waste on such ‘external power struggles’.
‘That's why I'm taking an ambiguous position.’
I reveal my abilities little by little, while leaving room for possibilities.
The time I earn by doing so.
I use it to, in Sanarae's words, add a ‘counterweight’ to the scales.
A relationship where, even if I operate independently, we can induce cooperation rather than checks or hostility.
Right now, I was in the process of building that relationship with the three major guilds.
And.
‘Sanarae and Aegis definitely show promise.’
By saving Sancheon from Hong Hansol.
And by warning them of the anomaly in advance during the gate expedition, saving the Aegis Guild members.
I had succeeded in placing a counterweight on the scales for those two guilds.
“All that's left is Pungbaek.”
I checked my message list.
[Yoon Sua: Thank you for replying so late. Please contact me when it's convenient for you :)]
[Yoon Suhyeok: Were my words too harsh last time? If that's why, don't be upset...]
These two weren't the problem.
Yoon Sua was the type to view power struggles that prioritized the guild's reputation negatively.
Yoon Suhyeok wasn't the type to scheme like that.
The problem was someone else.
‘Choi Kangwoo.’
The current Rank 2 Hunter in Korea and the guild master of Pungbaek, said to be the top of the three major guilds.
He was a strong person and not the type to be easily swayed by emotions.
He also had a reputation for being overly rigid.
If I recklessly went independent now, his actions would become a major variable.
But I couldn't just ignore him and trust Ma Dongpal and Sanarae; Choi Kangwoo held too much power.
‘I need to wait and see a little longer.’
The 'super rookie' is bait that could go cold at any moment.
So.
“I'll have to keep the bait warm and wait.”
In conclusion, I just need to focus on what I have to do and wait for the right time.
And I.
Had plenty of cards to play to keep the ‘super rookie’ bait from growing cold.
***
Prung!
I opened my eyes to a soft, squishy feeling on my cheek.
Morning sunlight was seeping through the curtains.
The pixelated status window before my eyes bobbed up and down in the sunlight.
[Construction of the Half-Dragon and Undead's Evil Eye Towers is complete.]
This was why the Sage had woken me.
“Thanks for the alarm.”
Prung!
I stroked the bouncing Beholder and checked the Lord's Castle.
There were two Evil Eye Towers in total.
One pixel art resembling a telephone pole with a dragon's skull on it, and another of a stick with a human skull.
Both were located on one side of the Audience Chamber.
Next to Iramatus's Torso.
“Oh, right. Affinity.”
[You have stroked Iramatus's Torso with a gentle hand.]
The cooldown was over, so I gave the skull a pat.
Thanks to my consistent efforts, the Lich's affinity had almost reached 80.
Just you wait, I'm going to work you until your skull wears down.
Now, I moved my finger to the undead bone tower next to it.
[Undead's Evil Eye (死眼) Tower]
[Warning - Sounds an alarm when a wave invasion is near.]
I immediately tapped the tower.
[Activating the Undead's Evil Eye Tower.]
The skull at the top of the tower flashed, its eye sockets glowing.
Suddenly, a pixelated window like a red warning light began to blink.
[Warning! 10 days remaining until the 703rd wave.]
So this is how it works.
It seemed the alarm went off around the 10-day mark.
It didn't specify the exact time.
Still, I was satisfied.
Ten days was plenty of time to prepare for something.
“Next up is the wave composition info, then.”
This time, I tapped the tower next to it, the one with the dragon's skull.
[Half-Dragon's Evil Eye (死眼) Tower]
[Activate the Evil Eye Tower to check the next wave's composition info?]
I tapped the pixelated image with a smile.
[Activating the Half-Dragon's Evil Eye Tower.]
“Huh?”
But the moment I saw the next status window.
My expression stiffened on its own.
[The Evil Eye Tower has not been sufficiently upgraded. Only a portion of the wave's monsters can be identified.]
[703rd Wave Information - Akhan of Frost (8-Star, Ice Attribute, Absolute), Ice Harpy (4-Star), other species (異種)]
“Akhan of Frost... This is a bit dangerous.”
A sour taste rose in my throat.
I had never seen a monster like Akhan of Frost before.
However, the problem wasn't its identity, but the trait it possessed.
[Warning: A monster with the Absolute trait has been detected. Station a monster of 8-Star or higher in the Lord's Castle.]
I had thought it might be different from the original MonMonMak.
It was a vain hope.
A monster with the Absolute trait.
It was indeed that ‘Absolute’ trait, the one that meant the Lord's Castle would be destroyed nine times out of ten if it appeared in a wave.
“At least 8-Star or higher. That means I need at least a Drake-class monster.”
A monster with the Absolute trait is immune to all damage from monsters of a lower star grade.
Even if I grind from now on and resurrect Iramatus, he's only 7-Star.
The rest go without saying.
It would be invincible against the monsters currently stationed in my Lord's Castle.
“An item that raises star grade... No. That's too risky.”
It's one thing to hope for a lucky break, but...
Akhan of Frost is 8-Star.
It would be incredibly strong by default.
Even if I could deal damage, it was highly likely my monsters would be annihilated first.
“The conclusion is simple.”
There was only one answer.
Within the next ten days.
I have to send a monster to the Lord's Castle that can face Akhan of Frost.
‘To block it for sure, I have to consider a type disadvantage.’
The natural enemy of the Ice attribute is, of course, Fire.
A Fire-type monster with abilities rivaling an 8-Star.
It wouldn't be easy.
In MonMonMak, an 8-Star is equivalent to a real-world monster with a danger rating of A+ or higher.
I need to find at least an A+-rank, or at most an S-rank monster, within a week.
Prung.
I turned to see the Sage staring at me with worried eyes.
My anxiety must have shown on my face.
[The Sage is cheering for you! ٩(๑`^´๑)۶]
...No, I mean, where did it even learn these emoticons?
Seeing the silly status window made me laugh a little.
Right.
I need to act instead of worrying.
Fortunately, I had just acquired an informant who would be useful in this situation.
***
[ProspectiveEunuch - You want me to compile a list of all dungeons with Fire-type monsters and send it to you? Well, if other guilds own those dungeons, just getting the information will cost...]
[ProspectiveEunuch - ...No, it's not that I won't do it. I'll look into it right away, VIP-nim. Loyalty, loyalty (^^)>]
[ProspectiveEunuch - This is the information I've gathered so far. I've excluded places that are currently being cleared by others or where the information is uncertain.]
Ju Jisan was pretty quick with his work.
When I woke up, new information was already popping up on my smartphone.
“Lava Cave, Seething Flame Mountain, Fire Spirit's Rest... Hmm.”
Most of these were dungeons I already knew about.
And they were also candidates I had already ruled out.
‘They're all C-rank dungeons or lower, or the Fire-type monsters that appear are just B-rank.’
To be honest, I didn't expect to find one easily.
The Fire-type monster I needed was at least a danger rating A+ to S-rank.
Naturally, monsters of this level were rare.
If an S-rank monster were to pop out of a gate, it would be a national disaster level event, requiring the three major guild masters to be summoned.
There was still time.
I could take a little more time to look...
“Hm?”
Just then, a strange dungeon caught my eye.
[Ogre's Sanctuary]
Ogre's Sanctuary?
Why is this dungeon on the list?
I picked up the smartphone reserved for Heukgyeon business and contacted Ju Jisan.
- Yes, VIP-nim.
“I have a question. The Ogre's Sanctuary, is that the one in the center of Hwaseong New City?”
- Yes, yes, that's the one.
“You're saying a Fire-type monster appears in this dungeon?”
Ogre's Sanctuary.
A dungeon located right next to the subway station in Hwaseong New City.
‘This place is a super unpopular dungeon.’
The only monsters that appeared were C-rank Ogres.
However, their valuable byproducts, the main draw of Ogres, were hard to obtain due to the nature of it being a dungeon.
And the only other items you could get were junk like Dungeon Grass.
And it should go without saying.
Ogres are not Fire-type monsters.
- Ah, about that... I added it to the list, but it's not confirmed.
“...”
When I didn't respond, Ju Jisan, as if feeling guilty, quickly continued.
- No, I definitely didn't just do a sloppy search! This information came from the Allied Dungeon Management Bureau!
“Hmm, but why isn't it confirmed?”
- Well... there are occasional reports of sightings of that monster, but no one has ever caught it.
“People have seen it, but no one's caught it?”
It's not some legendary Pokémon, what's that supposed to mean?
- Yes, so it's not the boss monster. That's why I said it's not confirmed. Some think it might not be a monster at all, but one of the dungeon's background objects. The management staff seemed to think so too. If it does exist, it's not at a level you'd expect to see here.
“What is this monster?”
- According to witnesses...
And the moment I heard Ju Jisan's next words.
I couldn't help but widen my eyes.
If it was true.
I had to make this monster mine, no matter what.
“The Ogre's Sanctuary, is it available for an expedition right away?”
- That place? Ah, from what I've gathered, I'm not sure. It's been in an uproar recently for a different reason... Sorry.
“What do you mean?”
- Actually, the Ogre's Sanctuary was designated a Special Management Zone a few days ago, and I hear the guild that owns the dungeon is having a hard time. They've tried clearing it in different ways each time, but they can't resolve the abnormal phenomenon.
Special Management Zone.
The management headquarters observed an anomaly within the dungeon.
To be precise, it meant they had confirmed signs of a ‘dungeon overflow’.
In cases like this, one must aim for a full clear with the goal of annihilating the dungeon.
“If the Ogre's Sanctuary has been designated a Special Management Zone, the guild must have a real headache on their hands.”
- Exactly. If a dungeon overflow occurs, the owning guild will have to take all the blame. On top of that, given who the owning guild is, the damage to their image will be no joke.
Especially since the Ogre's Sanctuary is located in the middle of a new city.
A dungeon overflow would cause significant human and financial damage.
Naturally, the guild that owns the dungeon would also take a huge hit.
“So, which guild is it?”
And at the answer that followed, I once again couldn't believe my ears.