"M60 Power Machine Gun"

"M60 Power Machine Gun." Having finally snagged a new weapon after a massive 20-level grind, Taejeong opened his inventory with barely contained excitement.

"Oh. Nice." Taejeong flashed a satisfied smile at the weapon's specs. For a firearm, the performance was pretty damn solid.

The mana cost wasn't a huge jump either. At 25 MP per shot, he could fire nearly 200 rounds without recharging, given his current mana pool.

With the description checked, it was time to test the real thing. Taejeong pulled the M60 machine gun from his inventory with both hands.

"Heave-ho. Whoa, this thing's basically a hunk of iron?"

The M60 looked no-nonsense from the start, but its weight was on another level—beyond heavy into "can I even carry this around?" territory. Luckily, the strap let him sling it over his shoulder, lightening the load considerably.

He set off again in that setup. How much time passed? A pack of doruma appeared in his sights.

To play it safe, Taejeong summoned his Exoskeleton Robot Summon legs and charged straight at them.

The distance closed in a flash. Once they were in range, he squeezed the trigger hard.

Tudududu! Tududududu!

A heavy roar erupted as dozens of rounds hammered their bodies mercilessly.

The results were staggering. Monsters that other guns couldn't scratch were getting shredded without a chance to react.

This thing's no joke.

It lived up to its weight. Of course, it wasn't flawless. The recoil was brutal compared to his previous guns, making it buck wildly. But it wasn't enough to throw off his aim—the doruma were huge enough to hit with his eyes closed.

Just like that, he vaporized five or six doruma in seconds and kept the hunt rolling.

...

"Phew, finally made it out."

It was nearly evening by the time Taejeong escaped the dungeon. He sighed, staring back at the gate he'd emerged from. He'd nearly gotten lost for good.

With no sense of time inside, he'd overlooked the sunset. Dungeons had nights too. Realizing it as dusk fell, he'd rushed to wrap up hunting, but he almost lost his way multiple times on the exit path. The corpses had helped him navigate—otherwise, he'd probably still be wandering in there.

"Man, the disconnect is wild."

That mutter came as he gazed at the bustling cars zipping along the elevated highway. After zoning out for a bit, he headed to his car and drove to the Hunter Market.

With 20 levels under his belt, he'd scored a ton of items and was pumped for payout.

The deposit hit 70 million won. Worth the rank-up grind.

"You're really putting in the work. I'll get this ready quick—have a drink while you wait."

After three days of dropping millions on potions, the staff's attitude had warmed up a notch. A single soda can, sure, but it felt like VIP treatment.

Bidding the clerk farewell with his potions in hand, Taejeong drove home.

"What? Still not fixed?"

Taejeong muttered at the radio. Twelve hours later, and the main road into his neighborhood was still under repair. A 25-story building had collapsed onto it, so yeah, that'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take time.

"What kind of monster crashes a whole building ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠onto a road?"

Musing alone, he took a detour home.

After scrubbing off the grime and dust and scarfing a quick dinner, Taejeong booted his computer and hit Korea's top portal site.

A pre-existing M60 popped up first. As expected, a relic from the old world.

"Range of 3,000 meters at 880 m/s."

The listed specs were insane. Max range 3,000m, bullet speed blasting past Mach 2. Effective range around 1,000m, but even that was 50 times better than his current gear.

What if these real-deal guns had survived intact? Most monsters wouldn't stand a chance. No dodging a barrage at over 3,000 km/h.

History backed it up—back when such weapons existed, monsters weren't the apocalypse they became. Now they were museum pieces.

"If only the seal came off, it'd wreck everything."

His version was strong enough, but stacked against the real thing, it fell short. Energy rounds vs. gunpowder were apples and oranges, but raw speed and range? No contest. 3,000 km/h was beyond imagination.

The next day, Taejeong returned to Mia-dong, yesterday's hunting ground. No other hunters today. Unlike before, he had a map—the Asilius Plains one from a convenience store.

That let him roam freely, sweeping monsters everywhere.

"Oh. Sweet. Love these."

Taejeong grinned ear-to-ear at the new passives. Not the weapon upgrade he'd hoped for, but maybe even better—exactly what he needed.

A quick check done, he dove back into hunting.

Tudududu. Tatatang! Bang! Bang!

Boosted speed and power made them drop even easier. Taejeong stuck with the M60 as primary, picking off weaker foes with his right arm's Minigun Vulcan to conserve mana. He also kept firing his left arm's Portable Grenade Launcher steadily.

That practice let him gauge weapon angles decently—out of five grenades, two now hit where he aimed.

Boom!

"Starting to feel the grind."

Post-65, levels slowed. Even top monsters gave just 1% EXP. Normal for here—average hunters were level 60. Starting at 40 made it feel sluggish.

"Time for the next stage?"

Community said stick till 90. Next difficulty spike meant max out here first. But after graduating early twice, it didn't faze Taejeong. A bit more weapon mastery, and he'd be good for the next dungeon.

After intense farming, he hit 67 and bailed. Quick market drop-off, then straight to Yongsan—not home.

Somewhere around here.

He was hunting a real estate office. Not ordinary—specialized for hunters.

The mobile portal mess yesterday had him scouting safe housing.

"That it?"

Parked in the building lot, Taejeong headed in. Already a crowd handling business.

What's with the lineup?

Ticket pulled, seated and waiting, snippets of chatter filtered in.

—Yeah, I'm checking. No, too pricey. Hold on.

—Anything cheaper? It wasn't this much a week ago.

—What the hell, this is highway robbery.

—Find something cheaper. C'mon, you know there are deals.

Sounded like panic house-hunting. His turn came soon enough.

"Hello?"

"Hi. What can I do for you?"

"Looking for protected mansions in Uijeongbu."

"Any grade preference?"

"First time—yesterday's Sinrim-dong incident scale, what's the minimum safe grade?"

"Hmm. At least Grade 3. That's four C-rank hunter squads on 24/7 rotation—about 70 personnel."

"Price?"

"Let's see... Uijeongbu has 17-pyeong, 15-pyeong, 9-pyeong. Cheapest is 22 billion won."

"22 billion!?"

Taejeong's jaw dropped. What house costs that much? The clerk, unfazed by such reactions, continued casually.

"9-pyeong, last one here. Want it?"

"Uh, no... need to think. Is it always this steep?"

"Not usually, but yesterday's chaos had all Seoul guilds collude on prices. As a hunter, you know—protected mansions were a guild cash cow ten years back. Business died lately, then portals pop up, so they jacked prices. Tough spot for us too."

"Sorry, but closest to the new Uijeongbu university?"

"No Grade 3 there. 15 minutes away, Grade 2.5 at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠57 billion—includes safe return option. 35 pyeong, spacious."

"...Got it."

Tongue-tied at the numbers, Taejeong left and pondered. Daily income in the millions, sure—but 22 billion meant a year-plus of grinding. A year was nothing for a house, but who knew what crises awaited?

Just tell So-young to move in? Nah, pointless.

Daily hunts meant no protection at home anyway. Plus, his neighborhood had weaker guild support than hers. Empty house during an incident? Disaster.

After agonizing, he decided.

"Yeah. Watch and wait. Might be a one-off."