Chapter 111
Chapter 111
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 111
Chapter Title: The Heroine Saves the World
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“Guild Master!”
Jang Su-ho’s face, which had been stiff ever since arriving at Taesan Guild, lit up as bright as if it were on fire.
“Su-ho, long time no see.”
Hunter Yu Jin-rok greeted him, not hiding his own delight.
Jang Su-ho dashed over and pulled Hunter Yu Jin-rok into a hug, then looked up at him with wide eyes.
“When did you get back?”
“Get back? I don’t even enter gates anymore. I’m just here in a consulting role.”
“Still, you could’ve at least let us know...”
Jang Su-ho seemed pretty bummed out that Hunter Yu Jin-rok had started working at Taesan Guild without saying a word.
But then, Gwak Ho-young had to butt into the heartwarming moment.
“Well, it’s been a while for you and me too, but even longer with Yu Jin-rok Hunter, huh? Good to see you, Su-ho.”
“...”
Jang Su-ho ignored Gwak Ho-young’s belated greeting.
He just glared at him with unusually cold eyes.
That must’ve hit Gwak Ho-young’s buttons.
“Keep that up, and I’ll smack you one.”
Gwak Ho-young sneered.
“I’ve told you before—fix that temper, or you’ll regret it.”
He wasn’t talking about right now.
He meant the time Jang Su-ho had lost control in the dungeon.
I could see Jang Su-ho’s fist clenching tight.
But I didn’t step in.
Because I trusted him.
I hadn’t raised him to fall for cheap provocation like that.
And Jang Su-ho rose to the occasion perfectly.
“The one who hasn’t grown is you.”
He landed a solid counter and even smirked.
...Though lifting just one corner of his mouth did make it look a bit like mine.
Anyway, that wasn’t the point.
After giving Gwak Ho-young’s sour face a quick glance, Jang Su-ho turned back to Hunter Yu Jin-rok.
“Guild Master, don’t go anywhere after the meeting, got it?”
He deliberately called Yu Jin-rok “Guild Master” right in front of Gwak Ho-young.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Once he confirmed Yu Jin-rok nodding, Jang Su-ho walked back over to us and plopped down in the seat next to me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Good job.”
You have to praise them when they do well.
That’s what gets them even more fired up.
Besides, I knew how tough this must be for him—coming back to Taesan on his own two feet, stirring up those long-buried memories.
“It’s nothing.”
Jang Su-ho shrugged it off like it was no big deal.
I liked seeing him stand tall no matter where he went.
Liked it, yeah.
“Hey, it’s cramped—can’t you sit somewhere else?”
“Nope.”
This overgrown puppy.
The meeting began.
Gwak Ho-young spoke first.
“Since you came all this way, I take it you’re accepting my proposal?”
“I think it’s a good opportunity for Justice Guild as well.”
Kang Han replied from his seat across from Gwak Ho-young, as the guild master.
It was a very shrewd response.
It acknowledged the opportunity while signaling they’d hear him out first.
Gwak Ho-young seemed to pick up on it, nodding a couple of times before gesturing to the staff waiting by the door.
“Then let’s start with this.”
The lights dimmed, and the projector flicked on.
What appeared on the screen was the list of dungeons up for auction soon.
So that’s why he dragged us all the way out here for a meeting.
Unless an S-grade or super-large gate was opening, this list stayed secret until auction day.
Of course, big guilds securing it early through connections was an open secret.
I hadn’t expected Taesan to have one too.
“Oh, and this list is confidential, of course?”
Gwak Ho-young said with a smug shrug.
His grin screamed, You’ve never seen anything like this before, have you?
I ignored him and turned to Kang Han.
“What do you think?”
“Hmm.”
Kang Han carefully scanned the list.
It featured gates from A-grade down to E-grade, listed with their projected locations.
But it wasn’t just about the grade.
Expected dungeon size, type, difficulty—plenty of factors to weigh.
“In my view...”
Just as Kang Han started to speak.
“Since this is Justice Guild’s first time with something like this, let us give our recommendation first.”
Gwak Ho-young again.
“This C-grade volcanic dungeon would be suitable. High difficulty, lots of expected monsters. In short, it’s perfect for racking up merits.”
Then he tacked on:
“High risk, high return.”
High this, high that. It’s not a casino.
I muttered under my breath, and Kang Han shot me a glance with the faintest hint of a smile.
“I understand Taesan Guild Master’s point, but volcanic dungeons carry excessive risks like mid-clear explosions.”
Kang Han was on the same page as me.
But Gwak Ho-young grumbled as if he’d been waiting for it.
“Does Justice Guild even want to ally with us?”
Wow, listen to that sarcasm.
His expression would’ve stripped the arrogance right off any Taesan supporters.
But Kang Han didn’t back down.
“Does Taesan Guild only want to ally for dangerous dungeons?”
“That’s not it.”
“It’s a decision that needs careful thought. If you insist on that dungeon, look for other allies.”
As Kang Han pushed back hard, Gwak Ho-young retreated a little.
“Looks like there was a misunderstanding.”
But only a half-step.
“So what then? The only other suitable gate besides volcanic is the underwater one.”
“Perfect, underwater dungeon.”
This time, I jumped in.
“What?”
“I said underwater’s good. It’s a rare type, so we should request a broadcast from the Association while we’re at it.”
“You serious, Nayeo-ju Hunter?”
Gwak Ho-young double-checked, clearly thinking I was bluffing.
Ugh, making me repeat myself is a pain.
“Yes.”
Call it an alliance all you want.
It’s just a fight over who eats more slices.
So let’s go big—double super supreme seafood gold rich cheese crust pizza showdown.
Break time in the middle of the meeting.
I’d started regretting the alliance because of Gwak Ho-young.
But Taesan was no lightweight guild for nothing—their data on the underwater dungeon made it worthwhile.
Lights came back on, and everyone naturally split into Justice Guild and Taesan Guild halves.
“Breathing’s the top priority in underwater dungeons, so you’d be perfect, So-young. Right?”
All that talk about communication.
And it was just Gwak Ho-young doing the talking over there.
“These snacks are tasty.”
The cookies the staff brought in during break were pretty good.
“Sis, this one’s nutty. Try some.”
Im Cheong-su popped a piece of his macadamia cookie into my mouth from the side.
“Nayeo-ju, you like chocolate, right?”
This time it was Jang Su-ho.
Macadamia or chocolate, both were delicious either way.
Mixing them made it even better.
Then a latte smoothly appeared in front of me.
“It’s decaf.”
Kang Han.
My throat had been feeling parched anyway.
I nodded my thanks to Kang Han and gulped it down.
But I wasn’t just focused on snacks.
My eyes never left the Taesan Guild group on the other side of the room.
More precisely, Hunter Yu Jin-rok, who was standing awkwardly on the outside, unable to fit in.
This isn’t just awkward vibes.
It felt more like the rest of Taesan was outright shunning him.
I strained my ears, and their conversation drifted over.
“I don’t recommend the underwater dungeon.”
Hoo, Hunter Yu Jin-rok was trying to persuade Taesan.
“Taesan specializes in close-combat, and underwater’s a bad matchup for us.”
Solid advice from a veteran hunter.
Unlike our balanced mix of melee, ranged, and mages, they were mostly brawlers using bare hands or short weapons.
There seemed to be one mage in the raid party, but that wouldn’t cut it.
But Gwak Ho-young had no intention of listening.
“Haa.”
He sighed like it was all so frustrating.
“Underwater dungeons aren’t popular with guilds, so the merits are doubled. Forgot that?”
“True, but clearing isn’t just about merits...”
“Yu Jin-rok Hunter.”
No respect in that tone, despite him being the former guild master.
“Taesan’s different now from when you were guild master. We don’t shy away from aggressive picks.”
Gwak Ho-young’s words finally crossed the line.