Chapter 126
Chapter 126
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Nayeo-ju Saves the World
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Relay? You mean a Justice Guild relay? Aren't they in the middle of a joint raid with Taesan Guild right now?"
The staff member tilted his head, clearly not understanding.
"Exactly. Their stream's apparently blowing up in the community right now."
"I think I saw the post too, but still..."
An official broadcast relay—especially one by caster Lee Gi-dae—carried significant weight in the industry.
He rarely took on anything less than major guild raids that captured the nation's attention, and when he did pick up a mid- or small-sized guild's relay, it was dubbed the "Lee Gi-dae pick," skyrocketing their recognition overnight.
For him to suddenly show interest in the Justice Guild's relay?
"Even if you call the staff now, they're all out eating or heading home to rest. It'll take some time."
"The Justice Guild folks are eating too, so there's nothing to commentate on yet anyway. Just tell them to come in slowly."
The staffer inwardly sighed at caster Lee Gi-dae's determined attitude.
'Someone, please talk him out of this.'
As if his prayer had been answered, PD Won Jae-ho, the person in charge, opened the waiting room door and walked in.
"Senior, aren't you heading home?"
"Oh, Won PD, perfect timing."
Though there was a big age gap, the two were close as college alumni.
Even so, Won PD shot the staffer a questioning glance at Lee Gi-dae's unusually warm welcome today.
'What's going on?'
But all that came back was caster Lee Gi-dae's excited voice.
"Won PD, take a look at this."
As Lee Gi-dae explained the situation, Won PD quickly caught on.
'Oh no, he's hooked again.'
Knowing Lee Gi-dae's personality—once he latched onto something, he wouldn't let go until he saw it through—Won PD spoke in a half-soothing tone.
"I won't stop you if you're set on it, senior. But isn't this just unnecessary hardship?"
"I'm bored with nothing to do anyway. What's the point of sitting around? Hurry up and get the studio ready."
"Come on, don't do this. Let's hit the sauna together and sweat it out..."
Lee Gi-dae thrust his phone right in front of Won PD's eyes.
"What's this?"
All that was visible was the Hunter Supporters community notice: "This post has been deleted."
"It got deleted right after posting, but I took a screenshot."
The next screen made even Won PD's eyes widen.
"A quest...? Did this really happen?"
A system quest suddenly given to hunters inside a dungeon?
Won PD's eyes lit up at the unprecedented event.
"If this is real, why hasn't it blown up yet?"
"It's the perfect size to suppress. The Association's blocking it—deleting posts, cutting rebroadcasts. I checked with a colleague at a news outlet too."
Caster Lee Gi-dae's voice dropped low.
"It's under embargo right now."
"Embargo, huh."
"Trust me, if you miss this, you'll regret it."
Won PD's mind raced.
If the Association was even silencing the press, they needed to stake a claim, even if small.
Once the embargo lifted and it went viral, views on the Justice Guild raid replay would skyrocket.
Having crunched the numbers, Won PD nodded.
"Let's go live, senior."
And a few hours later.
GBS, the raid relay specialist channel, went live. Caster Lee Gi-dae, sharply dressed in a suit, greeted viewers with a bright voice.
"Hello, viewers! As announced an hour ago, we're starting the relay for the Justice Guild and Taesan Guild joint raid!"
Gazing at the dungeon floor—now cleared of tents, tables, and chairs, back to an open space—I turned to Kang Han one last time.
"You're really ready, right?"
"They've eaten and topped up stamina with potions. They want to challenge the boss an hour earlier, so no reason for us to refuse."
"That's true, but..."
I shook my head, eyeing the Taesan hunters. They looked noticeably better than a few hours ago.
Potions could fix the body, but humans weren't machines—mental fatigue was real.
Just look at the Taesan hunters yawning nonstop and rubbing their dry faces.
"Whatever. They'll handle it."
Honestly, none of my business.
It was a joint raid in name only; really, it was a competition.
The worse off Taesan was, the more chances Justice Guild had to rack up contributions.
Moments later, all the hunters gathered in front of the boss room door.
"It's huge."
I craned my neck to see the top of the door, straining.
My mutter echoed off the open space's walls.
"The door's huge, the monsters we saw were huge, even the dungeon's huge. And this is a small one?"
"Yeah. Mid-sized ones can take a week to clear."
Han Ji-seong answered my question.
"Have you been in one, oppa?"
"I entered once. But couldn't last long and bailed midway."
Fair enough.
With his dark vulnerability, he couldn't endure days inside without me purifying the addiction like now.
"Come to think of it, it's weird. Normally, you'd have headaches and couldn't even open your eyes by now."
Han Ji-seong muttered, feeling unusually light.
"Yeah, it is strange. After the raid, we should run some tests..."
"Isn't it thanks to Cheonsu Tonic? You take it steadily anyway."
"Oh, right?"
"Cheonsu's an S-rank potion master, you know."
Han Ji-seong nodded vigorously at my words.
Good. Just think of it that way.
Luckily, I didn't need to change the subject further.
Kwak Ho-young approached, urging us on.
"If you're ready, let's go in. Don't you see them waiting?"
Irritation plastered on his face ruined his otherwise refined features.
I walked up to Kwak Ho-young and spoke.
"Hey, Guild Master Kwak Ho-young. Don't push too hard."
"What?"
"You know. I won't spell it out one by one, but is it really necessary to go that far?"
I held back 'even accepting Sama Young's shady help' with the cameras around.
But Kwak Ho-young read between the lines, his face hardening.
He turned his back to the camera so no one would see his expression and whispered.
"Guild rankings a joke to you?"
"Never said that."
I whispered back just as softly.
"And why get mad? If you don't want to answer, just ignore it."
"Hah, seriously."
Kwak Ho-young glared sharply at me and the Justice Guild members.
"Flukes like you who lucked into rankings wouldn't get it."
"We are lucky. But there's a difference between working hard for guild honor and doing anything to win."
My warning fell flat; his edge only sharpened.
Figures. If he could be reasoned with, he wouldn't have taken Sama Young's hand.
I shrugged and turned toward the door.
Kang Han, who had been watching us intently from a step away, finally placed his right hand on the boss room door.
Fwaah—!
The system window congratulating quest completion popped up for everyone, judging by the surprised steps backward.
But before we could discuss it, a grinding "grrrk" echoed through the dungeon.
The boss room door began to open.
"Dodge!"
Someone shouted.
Kang Han instantly stretched out his arm, grabbed my waist, and leaped high.
"L-lava?"
Looking down from midair, hair whipping in the wind, red lava poured endlessly from the widening door crack.
"We'll find solid ground inside. Hold tight."
Kang Han said lowly.
His foot kicked off the dungeon wall.
Startled by the gravity-defying wireless move, I clung to his neck briefly—then spotted a tall, basin-shaped rock near the boss room entrance.
"There! That should work!"
Moments later, we landed where I pointed.
Others had found it too, arriving one after another.
I asked the Justice Guild members.
"Everyone okay? No injuries?"
"Yeah. Whew, that was startling. Lava out of nowhere."
"But... where's the boss?"
At Jang Su-ho's words, I scanned around.
"The volcano... summit?"
It was the only way I could describe the bizarre landscape.
A volcano summit.
Freshly erupted, hot lava still flowing, crimson magma visible through cracks below.
We stood atop that land.
And realized it together.
I swallowed hard and asked Kang Han.
"We're surrounded, aren't we?"