The Joso Guild Dungeon Trial
I was asleep when Kim Sujeong woke me.
"Hey. Hey. Get up."
"What..."
"We've got a dungeon to get to."
"What dungeon."
"I told you I got you a spot! Get up, you lunatic."
"Oh."
Right. There had been that.
It was the first real sleep I'd had in ages, and dragging myself out of bed sounded miserable. Maybe I just wouldn't go.
"I'm sleeping more."
"Hey, you maniac! I barely managed to scrape that spot together!"
"Ugh."
My insane little sister climbed on top of me and started tormenting me until I had no choice but to get up. Fine. I'd wanted to see a real-world dungeon at least once anyway.
"Haaahm."
The original plan for today had been shopping—things to haul back into the Rift Dimension. Snacks and instant ramen for Ruru, plus whatever from Earth would actually be convenient once I brought it over. I had to stick around until the Recovery Herb payment came in and the auction wrapped up, though, so the shopping could wait until tomorrow.
I gave my face a halfhearted splash in the bathroom, barely enough to rinse the sleep from my eyes, then went over to Dad, who was sitting on the couch watching the news.
"Oh, right. Dad. Sell this for me too. Almost forgot."
"What is this.... Huh? A Glass Stone? Where did you get this?"
"Where do you think. Picked it up in a dungeon."
"...."
"A Glass Stone? A Glass Stooone?"
At the sudden commotion, Kim Sujeong—who'd been in her room packing what she needed—came sprinting out. She snatched the thing from Dad's hand, checked the item, and clapped both hands over her mouth.
"It's a Glass Stone! A Glass Stone!"
"First time seeing one?"
"First time. A Glass Stone.... hah. A Glass Stone!"
She was stamping her feet, her voice climbing, and it was revolting.
"Give it here. You brat."
"Dad. Can't I have this?"
"Your brother gave it to me, so ask your brother."
"....Daaad..."
She clenched her jaw and wheedled at Dad without so much as a glance in my direction. She knew better. She didn't want to beg me, and she already knew exactly how I'd react.
"Want me to give it to you?"
"Oppa!"
Which was why the bait I'd dangled so casually hooked her like a prize fish. She turned those glittering eyes on me and seized both my hands.
"Blech. Have you lost it."
"I'll be good. Where'd you get it? Hm? Please, give it to me. I'm a mage, you know. Oppa. I'll spend my whole life waiting on you."
She didn't seem particularly curious about where I'd actually found it. Fair enough. Play Farming World long enough and one look at a Glass Stone told you the thing was obscenely expensive. That famous a gem. This was a genuine auction-grade item.
"Buy it yourself."
"....You bastard. Dad, please give it to me. Hm? Buy it for me."
"Sujeong."
"Yeah, Dad."
"Dad doesn't have the money."
"Why not? Oppa even invested a hundred million!"
"The company invested that. This is expensive."
"I know..."
Watching her face fall the moment reality caught up, I almost felt sorry for her. The shameless little spitfire who wheedled Dad for anything and everything, catching herself, recognizing the situation, and holding back a turn. Well, it was that expensive a gem. She knew this wasn't something you could nag your way into.
"So how much is it."
I asked, and Dad answered for her.
"The most recent Glass Stone to come up sold at auction for about 9.8 billion won. That one was a twenty-five percent."
"..."
"Shame. If it'd been around ninety-eight million, I might've played the generous brother and given it to you as a gift."
Dad's hands were trembling.
"We'd have to get it appraised, but... I'd say around seven billion, if it's genuine."
Even as he said it, he let out a disbelieving little laugh. Kim Sujeong was already a hunter, and she'd finished checking the item, which meant there was no need to sort real from fake. He looked at me—the one who'd pulled it out of a pocket and handed it over like it was nothing—as if I were insane.
"What on earth have you been doing, running around for a week... you brat..."
"Just doing my duty as the eldest son of the house."
I took the Glass Stone back for now.
"Hmm. I'll watch how you do for a few days and think about it."
"You lunatic. You're not going to give it to me. Stop messing with people."
"Yeah? Suit yourself. Dad, put this one up for auction too."
"...Brother dearest. Why are you taking a crazy woman's words seriously? Hurry and get ready, and let's go. I'll give you a proper dungeon tour today."
"Shall we?"
Seven billion. The number sat so far past reality that it barely registered, and it wasn't as if I particularly needed the money. I hadn't even tapped a 0.0000000001 percent of the Rift Dimension's resources, and this was already what I'd made. Earth money was something I could earn just by breathing and developing the place. If it bought me the sight of the little sister I'd spent twenty-three years at war with acting like this, wasn't that worth more than seven billion?
I had no intention of handing it over right away, either. I was at least entertaining the thought of watching what she actually did, then deciding whether to give it to her.
Sujeong knew that. She also couldn't quite let go of the Glass Stone's luster, so she waited on me with everything she had, clinging to a thread of hope.
"Shall we go, brother dearest."
The inescapable fate of a mage. Even if you weren't one, any hunter was better off with at least a single Glass Stone. It was that essential. Work one into an accessory and it wasn't even limited to a single piece—more was simply better. That was why they went at auction for tens of billions apiece. A twenty percent boost to the effect of any skill you used was just another way of saying you got twenty percent stronger.
At least I wouldn't be bored before I went back to the Rift Dimension.
The moment Sujeong headed down, she started the car and drove it right up to the entrance.
"Get in, brother dearest."
"Drop the 'brother dearest.' It's gross."
"Get in, Oppa."
"Oppa is a little gross too."
"Get in... shi—"
"Shi?"
"The time. We might be late, so hurry up and get in."
As if that temper of hers was going anywhere. Nudge her even slightly and the mask started to crack. I left Sujeong forcing a smile and climbed into the back seat, and she swallowed her anger and pulled out.
The dungeon we were headed for today was a fair distance from home. After about an hour we arrived somewhere in Gyeonggi Province, where people were already gathered at the entrance.
"Hello."
The household spitfire vanished the second she stepped out of the car. Watching her hurry over to greet the waiting crowd with perfect manners—how do I put it. As her older brother, something tugged in my chest. Was this what it felt like to see your little sister out in the working world?
"Oh, Sujeong, hi!"
"You're here? Pretty as ever today."
Most of the gathered hunters were men. There were a few women too, though they didn't look like hunters.
Entering a dungeon wasn't like a game, where you shouted anyone for a dungeon~ and piled in on the spot. Dungeons were relatively free to enter, but they were dangerous, so you had to report the date and time, the dungeon type, and the headcount to the Hunter Association in detail. When you went in, an Association employee came out in person to confirm the report matched.
Sure, some hunters said fuck all that and just went in to hunt illegally. But in a country this small they got caught often enough, and once caught your hunter license was stripped on the spot and you spent the rest of your life as an illegal hunter. Unless your life was already a complete wreck, you didn't do it.
So along with the hunters going in, you needed staff to handle the entry. Someone had to prep the supplies required for the run, and once the hunt was over, check and manage the resources inside the dungeon. That was why most modern groups conveniently called guilds were basically companies. They actually registered as businesses and operated that way. If the hunters were the field staff, the ordinary people cleaning up afterward were the office staff. It was also why, of the fifteen or so people gathered here, fewer than half were hunters.
"You said you were bringing your brother today. That him?"
"Ah, yes. This is my brother. Please look after him."
"Ooh. The brother's handsome too? You look alike."
"Thank you."
I got out of the car a beat late and followed Sujeong, and the middle-aged guys—thirties, forties—eyed me while laying it on thick with her. Sujeong, smiling hard and playing along, barely resembled the catlike little spitfire I knew at home. I gave them a rough nod and returned the attention.
"Hello."
"Heard you awakened this time around? Lucky you. A pretty, capable little sister, and a C- rank dungeon right from the start."
"Yes."
Among them, one potbellied middle-aged man with particularly narrow eyes made a show of himself and patted my shoulder. One look at his face told you everything you needed to know, but I had no reason to step in and wreck Sujeong's work life, so I laughed it off.
"Sujeong. Oppa found a great pasta place. Want to go together after the dungeon today?"
"Ah... all of us?"
"No. Just you and Oppa. Hehe."
"...Let's talk again after we're done."
"Sure, sure. You know Oppa really went to bat with the guild master to get your brother into the party this time, right?"
"Yes... thank you."
Eyes smiling, the corners of her mouth dead serious. Ordinary office life, then? It ran a little past disgusting, though. Sujeong was twenty-three, and the middle-aged guy clearly panting after her was mid-forties even if you were generous about the face value.
Was he actually strong? I didn't need to open the Farming Window. The way he talked, and the way everyone treated him, said he was the most powerful person here. And in fact he was a hunter with A- rank tank abilities. The hunters around him matched his mood well enough, killing time on jokes that weren't even funny, and when it came time to enter, the party—about seven of us, including me—went into the dungeon.
"Oppa'll block everything again today, so our Sujeong can deal however she wants. You know Oppa likes it when you go hard, right?"
"..."
I hadn't expected much when I tagged along, but thirty minutes after arriving, I'd changed my mind. This was going to be a lot more fun than shopping.
And ten minutes after we entered the dungeon, that prediction proved correct.