Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: The Road to Nevada
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"Hey… you stay out of trouble, okay?"
"I know."
"If I call, you teleport over immediately."
"I said I know."
"And stop bothering the kids…"
"Seriously! If you're going to say that, at least raise my allowance before you go! I've already used it all up this month!"
Briareus snapped, clearly irritated.
At that, the nearby new guild members shivered and glanced around nervously.
"I suddenly got the chills..."
"Where is this cold draft coming from..."
Ignoring them, Do-jae glared at Briareus and continued.
"Don't bother them. I told Ji-yoon to keep a close eye on you. I'll consider raising your allowance when I get back."
"Really? You mean it?"
"Yeah... Ugh, I can't tell if you're a dragon or a gaming addict..."
"Yes! Do-jae, don't you worry. Your big bro will have these kids trained up right!"
"No... that's not what I meant..."
"Boss! If you're that worried about Do-jun, why not just take him with you?"
Young-jin appeared, dragging two large suitcases.
And that's not all; he was also wearing a stuffed backpack and a sports crossbody bag.
"You... Are you moving out or something?"
"Hehehe. You're just going to put it all away for me anyway."
"Now that you say that, I don't really feel like it."
"Aw, come on. I packed your stuff too, so please? Huh?"
Young-jin clung to Do-jae, acting cute.
Do-jae reluctantly put Young-jin's luggage into his Subspace.
His eyes met Briareus's, who had been watching intently.
"What?"
"Nothing. Have a good trip, bro!"
Briareus said brightly.
But his eyes clearly showed he was up to something.
"I wonder what he's thinking..."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Nothing. And I'm not taking Do-jun, so go start the car."
"Yes, sir!"
After Young-jin left, Do-jae went to find Eun-hee.
*Clang-!*
*Thwack-!*
*Wham-!*
Eun-hee was sparring with the new guild members.
She was acting as an instructor, using her experience to teach them the ropes of fighting monsters.
"Everyone, take a break."
Eun-hee put down her training sword and approached Do-jae.
Her expression, unlike her blunt past self, had become much softer and gentler.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes. I'm sorry to leave you in charge of everything."
"When have you not? I heard you didn't do much at the guild before, either..."
"Ah... that was part of the initial contract..."
"I'm kidding. Hehe."
Eun-hee covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a fresh laugh.
*Thump-*
"What's wrong, Mr. Do-jae?"
"It's nothing..."
Do-jae replied, lowering his head.
He remembered what Jeong In-gon had said the day he was invited to dinner with Eun-hee's family.
*'So, how far have you two gone?'*
Do-jae clenched his fists and raised his head.
He knew her feelings better than anyone, and he also knew his own heart well.
That's why, right now, he could neither accept her feelings nor give his own.
The members of the Guardian Guild, his brother Do-young, the many hunters he had met, and the ordinary people living their normal lives.
As well as Sarieta, Oson, Tahul, Salreuta, Katania, and the others from the other world.
Until the day countless beings were freed from Gellahan's grasp, Do-jae had decided to close his heart.
"Well, I'll be going now."
Just as Do-jae was about to leave.
Eun-hee stopped him and said.
"Mr. Do-jae! I don't know how you became so strong, what it is you do, or why you're always caught up in such danger... but... please, have a safe trip!"
Eun-hee waved from behind as Do-jae departed.
Even though he's done nothing for her, he always receives her support like this.
Feeling a sense of reassurance in his heart, Do-jae headed for Young-jin's car.
***
"Mmm! This is America! The land of freedom and equality, the USA! Bravo!"
The moment he stepped out of the airport, Young-jin threw his arms wide and took a deep breath.
Do-jae pretended not to know him and walked off, putting some distance between them.
"Hey, brother! We're in America, so first things first, hamburgers... Boss? Boss!"
Young-jin ran after Do-jae, who was already far ahead.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, booooss. Why are you walking off on your own again?"
"I don't know you."
"Hnggg... I'm sorry. I won't act up."
"We have a long way to go, so cut the nonsense and follow me."
"Okay..."
Do-jae and Young-jin headed to a rental agency to pick up a car.
The destination was too far to travel without a car in the vast expanse of America.
With little time to spare, they needed to travel quickly by car.
Do-jae pointed to the SUV he had reserved and spoke with the agency owner.
"Huh? Boss, is this gonna be enough? Wouldn't something bigger, like a truck that can go off-road, be better?"
Young-jin spread his arms wide, trying to stop Do-jae.
Do-jae paid no attention and finished the payment.
All he needed was a car that could handle the roads well.
"Off-road... Don't worry, I have a better mode of transportation for that."
"What? You're not going to say... our legs, are you? That you're going to run all the way there..."
"Tsk. Keep talking back and we really will run."
"Tch. You're so scary I can't even talk to you!"
Do-jae got into the vehicle and started the engine.
*Vrooom-!*
The deep, steady hum of the engine, not at all flimsy, confirmed it's a car capable of long-distance travel.
After getting extra fuel, Do-jae put it in his Subspace and told Young-jin to get in.
"Let's go."
"Right now? What about the hamburgers...?"
Young-jin had been singing the praises of hamburgers ever since the flight.
Do-jae figured Young-jin would genuinely sulk if he didn't even get him a hamburger, so he caved.
"That damn hamburger... Fine, we'll get one to go."
"Heeheeheehee. Roger that!"
At Do-jae's words, Young-jin hopped into the car with a thrilled expression.
For a brief moment, Do-jae regretted bringing Young-jin.
He thought he should have just teleported with Briareus instead.
*'No, if I'd brought that guy, I might have died from stress. Young-jin is better; he might complain, but he listens.'*
The reason Do-jae flew all the way to America.
It was because of a quest.
[Quest]
Category: Sub
Description: An unrecognized being covets that which it should not possess. Defeat this being and restore things to their original state. (Location: Nevada, USA)
Restriction: Before the dungeon is cleared
Reward: 1 Mana Stone
Failure: Dungeon Break
*'It's definitely a new Sealed Memory.'*
The one Mana Stone listed as the quest reward.
As he knew from the previous quest, this referred to a 'Sealed Memory'.
In other words, Do-jae had come all this way to obtain a new Sealed Memory and meet the next Ascetic.
And he brought Young-jin instead of Briareus to get Young-jin to level 80 within the remaining time.
Also, if something were to happen to Young-jin while Do-jae was away, he wouldn't be able to respond immediately, so this was better for Young-jin as well.
"Two cheeseburger combos, please."
Do-jae pulled into a drive-thru and ordered the hamburgers with practiced ease.
The Metallic Hero's favorite food was the cheeseburger.
Remembering that, Do-jae didn't need to consider any other options.
"A classic! Nice choice."
"I am... a little curious."
"Right? You did well listening to me, didn't you? Hehehe, bringing me along was an excellent choice, boss."
"Sure. Let's go with that..."
"By the way, boss. You couldn't speak a lick of Chinese, but your English is amazing. Did you ever live in the States?"
No.
The trip to China was the first time Do-jae had ever been abroad.
All the English he knew was from school, and he'd had no need for it during his life as a hunter.
But after receiving the quest, he had studied English nonstop for three days.
Having raised his Spirit stat to be on par with his others, Do-jae's comprehension and memorization skills had improved to the point where simple conversation was easily possible.
Of course, Young-jin had complained that Do-jae was just watching movies and American TV shows, but he wouldn't have known it was all for pronunciation practice.
"I told you. China was my first time abroad. I started studying English the day before yesterday."
"Whaaaat. So you weren't watching them to kill time, but to study? Boss, you're really something else."
"I'll take that as you calling me a genius."
"Wow... and so shameless..."
Young-jin was dumbfounded.
Leaving the city behind, Do-jae and Young-jin started down a long, seemingly endless road.
***
The car carrying Do-jae and Young-jin drove without stopping.
Aside from a brief bathroom break, they drove for ten hours straight, only stopping after the sun had set and the sky was pitch black.
"Ugh, seriously... Boss, one cigarette can't hurt, right?"
The moment he got out of the car, Young-jin lit a cigarette.
The result of driving straight through without even giving him time for a smoke break was that Young-jin could finally satisfy his pent-up craving.
"I told you to just smoke in the car."
"Hey, there's a non-smoker here! A man's gotta have some decency!"
Do-jae didn't care whether Young-jin smoked or not and had told him to do as he pleased, but Young-jin had insisted on holding out until now.
"Let's go."
"What? Where are we going in the middle of the night...?"
"Where else? The dungeon."
Do-jae stepped off the road and onto a patch of empty land.
He then opened his Subspace and put the entire car inside.
"How are we going to get there from here? There's no road, and we're still a long way from the dungeon."
"Well, this is the plan."
Do-jae took out four golems from his Subspace.
He quickly changed their forms, flattening their bodies and linking the four together to create a simple mode of transport.
It was a kind of vehicle, with no roof or walls, moving on golem legs.
"Get on. While we're moving... you know what to do, right?"
"Here too? Are you serious?"
"Of course. I told you, you have one month to create your own skill."
"Ugh... I'm trying, but...!"
Despite Young-jin's protest, Do-jae placed a hand on his shoulder.
Having done this a few times now, Young-jin naturally got into position.
After another round of replenishing Young-jin's mana, some time passed.
Suddenly, Do-jae looked off into the distance.
He stared in that direction for a while before asking Young-jin.
"Young-jin, what happens if you take a dungeon that another guild is already trying to clear?"
Young-jin, who had been lying down quietly.
The night sky, viewed from the vast, lightless expanse, was breathtakingly beautiful.
He sat up, answering Do-jae's question.
"That's a bit of a gray area. I mean, if a guild has clearly claimed it, there could be legal repercussions, but unless the dungeon is explicitly owned by the guild, it's hard to prove someone 'stole' it. The interpretation also varies depending on the situation."
"Right? It could just be seen as helping out."
"Exactly. The top priority is clearing the dungeon to prevent a break. But why do you ask?"
"Oh, it looks like we might have to help clear a dungeon."
"Huh?"
Young-jin reacted as if Do-jae had started spouting nonsense again.
But once again, Do-jae simply smiled without a word.