Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Daboseok
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"Daboseok."
Daboseok. The unreleased world of Daboseok.
Han Su-hwan immediately logged into the community and dove into research.
The number of posts popping up under the keyword "Daboseok" was surprisingly low.
'What the hell? Why is there no info on Daboseok? Oh, right—Deletion Manager. If I want to plant fantasies about Daboseok in the community, should I contact Deletion Manager first?'
For now, it was crucial to make Nipin users aware that the Daboseok world existed and fill their heads with wild dreams about it.
But at the moment, there just wasn't enough floating info to spark any fantasies about Daboseok.
'First, I need to target people whose concept of money is totally different from regular folks.'
The kind who could drop tens of millions on a hobby without batting an eye.
He opened KakaoTalk and scrolled through his contacts: 'Golf Club,' 'Healthy Mountaineers,' 'Europe Travel Group,' and so on—reminiscing about his network.
He jotted down the wealthy Ninapinta users separately on a notepad.
Just like when he was grinding for the SAT, he had to move with precision.
He had one week and five days left. A total of twelve days.
'An NPC that leads to an unreleased world—Dun!'
His heart raced. It had to work. He absolutely had to become Dun's auction manager.
Han Su-hwan had always harbored a massive curiosity and longing for new cultures and worlds, so that glimpse of the mysterious realm had him hooked beyond belief.
Among all the tourist spots, landmarks, and Ninapinta regions he'd seen, Daboseok boasted the most stunning vistas.
Argh! His heart was pounding so hard from excitement that his head started to ache.
Having witnessed that dreamlike world, his emotions swelled to the point where he felt like he could burst into tears.
He had to take charge of Dun, no matter what it took.
Sure, he'd been kicked out due to a connection error, but if he stuck around as the manager, wouldn't he get more chances to explore that world?
Han Su-hwan bolted out of his gaming room and into the study.
He elbowed away the travel plans scribbled on the whiteboard and drew twelve blocks.
Five of the twelve days would focus on building hype around Daboseok. It might be a good time to reach out to Deletion Manager then.
Two days inside the game to nail down a convincing auction house setup and packaging.
Mochibol could help with that.
As an earth mage, Mochibol could whip up basic building forms in no time.
'Wait a sec. Is Mochibol too busy gate-clearing?'
Ever since being assigned as an A-rank Hunter, Mochibol hadn't set foot in Ninapinta.
He was swamped with gate duties.
Mochibol would've been perfect—did he need to scout another mage?
Putting Mochibol on hold for now, Han Su-hwan clicked his tongue and finished jotting down the plan.
The remaining four days for beefing up security so no one could barge in.
And on the final day, rehearse a script right up until the auction kicked off.
With the big plan laid out, Han Su-hwan grabbed his phone and slid into a one-on-one chat with the group admin.
Parkkas500: Uploaded the footage recorded with Shared Vision as unlisted here: https://youtu.be/NCH4ejnzGfU!
First things first, he needed Deletion Manager's permission to spill Dun info without leaks.
* * *
Rat-tat-tat-!
Seol Do-yoon gripped the mana rifle developed by the Association and picked off the charging monsters' heads one by one.
The beasts dropped dead in sequence. He calmly assessed the situation while pulling a mana-enhanced grenade from his pouch.
"Joo-ho Hunter, put up an earth shield."
"Uwaaaah! Uwaaaah!"
Panicking Joo-ho—Mochibol—unleashed 'Rock Shower' mercilessly at the enemies barreling toward him.
Rocks rained from the sky toward the monsters, but they dodged by a hair.
The Association had mixed teams from their in-house trainees and top-performing Ninapinta game users.
Joo-ho was a fresh addition to A-Class via the Hunter Capsule.
He'd always been faint-hearted and never dreamed of becoming a hunter, but the promise of full sensory immersion in the game through a Hunter Capsule lured him into the Association.
Big mistake.
Why'd his rank have to shoot up to A-grade?
In an instant, he was thrust into the spotlight as a hero with everyone's expectations. Then came the second awakening right after.
His subscriber count for hunter content exploded by 500,000 overnight, and before he knew it, he was the face of the Hunter Association.
Too much responsibility now to back out. Joo-ho just wanted to cry.
If it'd ended at first awakening, he could've skimped on training. But no—a second awakening into an A-rank mid-to-long-range mage meant mandatory gate runs.
That's why he couldn't even enter Ninapinta anymore. He missed the game so much.
Dun, his guildmates, the friendly NPCs—everything.
He wouldn't even mind ditching the game altogether.
He just wanted out of this gate nightmare.
He longed to rewind to the early days, messing around with friends and filming dumb YouTube vids.
Click.
Suddenly, a gun barrel pressed against his head.
"Is this the part of your brain that does the daydreaming?"
A ridiculously handsome kid flashed a grin while threatening him.
Seol Do-yoon, judging by the necklace. That's right—the one who'd asked for the earth shield earlier finally clicked.
"Got it. Sorry! Earth Barrier!"
As Joo-ho's spell erected an earthen wall, Seol Do-yoon let out a loud whistle.
The Abyss young hunters, who'd been blasting the monsters relentlessly, spotted it and ducked behind Joo-ho's shield.
"Secondary bombardment incoming—if you stand there like that, heads will roll. Wanna duck?"
Seol Do-yoon tossed a word at Joo-ho, who stood blankly staring at the monsters after raising the barrier. He pulled the pin on a mana-reinforced grenade.
Before the monsters' focused fire hit, Joo-ho ducked his head.
Terrified, he clutched it and squeezed his eyes shut. If he hadn't, his head really would've been gone.
After the barrage, the monsters' shields thinned. Seol Do-yoon lobbed the grenade through the gap.
Boom!
The explosion sent monster chunks flying over the earthen wall. Joo-ho, still clutching his head, gasped for breath.
It was terrifying. Absolutely horrifying.
Greed was a sin. He'd wrap up that Hunter Capsule all pretty and hand it back if they just let him go back to being a regular gamer YouTuber.
He should've researched what hunters actually did, what gate interiors were like, before jumping in.
Joo-ho regretted his impulsive choice.
"I'm screwed... So scary..."
Tears burst out unbidden. He'd held back because of the kids, but fear won.
Seol Do-yoon glanced at Joo-ho, frozen in place, head clutched and sobbing.
If he were a nobody, he'd ditch him. But this was an A-rank mid-to-long-range attacker.
Seol Do-yoon debated dragging the deadweight or leaving him.
Coordinating with a panicker was risky—if his powers fizzled at a crucial moment, it'd hurt bad.
But ditching him meant boss fight worries. His abilities might come in clutch.
Yi Sae-byeok had been a pro at coaxing max output from panickers during gates.
Her snap judgment and action in crises always nailed the right call.
But Yi Sae-byeok wasn't here.
Worried about the Abyss kids getting thrown into gates without her oversight, she'd always corner Seol Do-yoon before runs and threaten him.
'If you survive the gate alone, I'll kill you the second you step out.'
Seol Do-yoon clicked his tongue thinking of Yi Sae-byeok. What a tough bitch.
He tried leading the kids his way, but imitating her had limits.
"Shall we pop a shelter, rest up, then push through? Monsters are pulling back to reinforce boss room defenses—should be safe to deploy one."
"Sorry... I just... can't... too scary..."
"It's fine. Everyone's like that at first."
Seol Do-yoon flashed his usual smile, patted Joo-ho's back, and rounded up the attacking kids.
"Deploying shelter. Everyone, gather up."
He pulled out a Association-made item called 'Shelter' from his pocket.
A small square box with a button.
Seol Do-yoon set it on the ground and stomped the button. A blue, dome-shaped field expanded.
Inside it, monsters couldn't detect you or lost the will to fight.
The downside: prolonged use drained mana badly. But hit the button again to collapse it, and it turned into a dense mana recovery item.
"Sorry, everyone... Because of me again... Ugh, I know I shouldn't... But my body just..."
Joo-ho leaned against the wall, steadying his fear-choked breaths. Pure terror of death.
The other rookie hunters got it, so they patted his back.
But some Abyss hunters eyed him with utter disdain.
It wasn't obvious, but Seol Do-yoon was among them.
Suppressing the urge to ditch the whiners and rush the boss, Seol Do-yoon pulled a black tumbler from his small bag and handed it to Joo-ho.
Warm barley tea inside.
"Here, take a sip. Breathe steady. Boss room's close—just hang in a bit longer, Joo-ho Hunter."
"Yeah, yeah. Hang in there, Joo-ho."
Abyss hunters whispered among themselves while checking gear.
"That hunter's pathetic. They're putting him forward as raid leader for a close gate?"
"Yi Sae-byeok would've been way more useful."
"Miss Yi Sae-byeok."
Feeling utterly pathetic for lagging behind, Joo-ho hung his head and nodded.
He wanted to crawl into a hole. Hating himself for feeling shame amid life-or-death stakes.
Seol Do-yoon peered down at Joo-ho and asked gently, eyes crinkling.
"Joo-ho Hunter, what's a skill you can use freely, no matter your state?"
"Rock Shower, maybe...? Shields need more focus."
"Then forget everything else—think Rock Shower only. In this gate, you're the guy who spams Rock Shower on signal. Got it?"
"Got it."
Joo-ho's role: Rock Shower bot.
With that slotted in his head, Seol Do-yoon pulled out his phone to check gate blueprints from the drone and nanobots, then plotted the dungeon push.
Worst route to avoid first, then optimal route, alt 1, alt 2, alt 3...
While others rested, Seol Do-yoon mapped multiples, then checked his phone for a breather.
A notification preview: message from Parkkas500.
Probably the footage from hanging with Dun.
He went to tap it, but suddenly recalled Yi Sae-byeok grabbing him before the gate.
'No side thoughts or distractions inside, or I'll kill you.'
"..."
Thinking of her halted him, annoyingly enough. And sitting there obeying for no reason.
'Yi Sae-byeok's personal mutt now.'
No. Just conditioned from time together. Logical, so he followed.
Seol Do-yoon locked his phone and stood to close the gate faster.
He wanted out to watch Parkkas500's vid.
* * *
Deletion Manager usually replied quick, but today was dragging.
Deletion Manager: Got it^^ Appreciate you deleting the video. Won't be active for a bit, so feel free to post on community lol
Han Su-hwan checked his phone and deleted the video as requested.
No clue why, but the guy was paranoid about leaks.
Tough to deal with, so he softened his words—but curiosity surged.
Parkkas500: If it's not too rude, mind sharing how you ended up deleting and managing the community?
Deletion Manager: Kinda hard to answer about my work rn ㅠㅠ
Parkkas500: No worries if it's tough!
Deletion Manager: Thanks for understanding *^*
Deletion Manager stonewalled anything personal.
As expected, no gut punch. More pressing: replace Mochibol.
Parkkas500: Trying to set up a temp auction house—any users in your network who job-changed to relevant skills?
Deletion Manager: What about Mochibol?
Parkkas500: He's busy hunter-ing and out of touch...
Five minutes later, a crisp reply.
Deletion Manager: Ah lol Don't worry, you'll hear from him soon.