Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Nayeo-ju Saves the World
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Jeong Je-hwa had dropped that profoundly meaningful line and was now openly gauging my reaction.
As if he genuinely believed it was true.
"Of course."
Jeong Je-hwa might not know it, but the key to preventing this world from falling apart was Kang Han.
So, for someone like me who wanted him alive and well so I could splurge on my 25 billion lotto winnings in comfort until a ripe old age, the Justice Guild was an absolute necessity.
"...I see."
Jeong Je-hwa reluctantly nodded, his lips twisting into a reluctant smile.
But that expression didn't last long.
Suddenly, he thrust out a large open palm right in front of me.
"Hand it over."
"Hand over what?"
"The reward Nayeo-ju-ssi got from this dungeon."
"Oh!"
I'd completely forgotten about it for a moment.
I rummaged through my sub-space as I spoke.
"Hey, what makes you so sure something good came out?"
"In a flame dungeon, taking down a Magma Golem gives you the highest chance of getting its essence. Even if that's not it, whatever you got will yield the best results once it passes through my hands."
The confidence of a genius.
I pulled out the Golem's essence and placed it on his palm, grumbling inwardly.
But his eyes widened round once he got what he'd wanted.
"...I thought it was a C-rank Golem."
"It was, a C-rank Golem. Why?"
"The size of the essence is usually proportional to the monster's power. This size feels like it should be at least B-rank."
"Oh."
His words made me recall the info window from back then.
[Magma Golem (C+)]
The master of the flame dungeon. It has swallowed powerful forces from within the volcano.
Right.
It had scavenged something and reached 'C+' rank.
But I tilted my head innocently, pretending I had no idea.
"Is that so? I wouldn't know."
"I don't know what happened, but since Nayeo-ju-ssi came out unscathed from facing that thing, let's call it a win."
And with that, the Magma Golem's essence went into Jeong Je-hwa's sub-space.
Watching him, a mischievous impulse suddenly bubbled up.
"By the way, President."
"Yes, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"What if I'd planned to take it to some other creator instead of you?"
He didn't hide his displeasure, snorting through his nose before replying.
"Then I'd just take it back."
This guy.
"Besides, there's no one in this world better at item crafting than me."
Good grief.
Just advertise yourself as the master already.
Kang Han was like that, and now Jeong Je-hwa too.
S-rank hunters were supposed to be more solid than this.
I chuckled and made my request.
"Take good care of it this time too, President."
"That's a given, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Jeong Je-hwa replied with a satisfied smile.
Meanwhile, a rather serious conversation was unfolding in the Justice Guild's underground training hall.
"What if noona decides to leave? What do we do?"
Lee Yu-chan muttered, furrowing his brow.
It was a small voice, but its impact was huge.
Im Cheong-su, who had been excited about entering a flame dungeon for the first time only to hear the bolt-from-the-blue news of some shady guy recruiting Nayeo-ju and burning with rage, shot up from his seat.
"What do you mean leave? She brought me here!"
"M-Me too! Unnie hid me in the Justice Guild..."
Seong Yo-na's face crumpled into a pout.
"Kyao!"
Even Baek-ho chimed in.
Jang Su-ho stroked the head of Baek-ho, who was confidently occupying a spot, and nodded along.
"Yeah, yeah. And soon Guild Leader Yu—no, Senior Yu Jin-rok is joining us too!"
Just like that, the 'Nayeo-ju responsibility theory' caught fire.
"Nayeo-ju going to another guild? That doesn't make sense. Where would she even go?"
Han Ji-seong lowered his eyes, looking pained at the mere thought.
"Unnie has to stay here forever."
Lee Yu-eul chugged her water and said it with an eerie tone.
The guild members' gazes naturally turned to one spot after their outbursts.
It was where Kang Han sat, emanating a cold aura without a word.
He finally spoke, his glare intense enough to incinerate the center of the table with his eyes alone.
"Nayeo-ju-ssi won't go to another guild."
Unlike the others, his words carried a certain conviction.
"As long as her entire fortune is tied up here, and as long as we keep proving our value."
Proving our value?
It was a pretty cold assessment, but recalling Nayeo-ju's pragmatic attitude toward money, the guild members nodded in agreement.
A spark of determination lit up in everyone's eyes.
'Right, we just have to keep showing her we're worth investing in.'
In that instant, the Justice Guild united as one without a single extra word.
"Has everyone finished prepping for mining and taken a break?"
Nayeo-ju entered through the training hall door and asked, seeing the guild members gathered around the round table.
They all jumped up in unison.
"All set!"
"Let's go already! Time to mine!"
"Gotta make that money!"
The Justice Guild's ironclad resolve to uproot every last bit of the flame dungeon today pierced straight through the training hall ceiling.
With a reluctant send-off from Seong Yo-na, who was staying behind as home guard, and Gong-gi, who still couldn't care less about his surroundings, we left Jongno, battled through the capital area's traffic, and safely arrived at the Ansan City dungeon.
"Ugh, this healer's dying."
I should buy a helicopter later.
The big guilds zipped around to dungeons in those things—several at a time, even.
I thumped my sore lower back and added a chopper to my future shopping list.
"Hurry up and go in! Hurry!"
"I've got energy to spare! I wanna dig already!"
What's with these kids today?
I calmed the unusually hyper beagles and said,
"We have to say hi first before going in."
"Oh, right."
The area around the gate we'd cleared was guarded by Association hunters.
To prevent other hunters or civilians from entering a successfully cleared gate.
"Hello. Thanks for your hard work. Justice Guild here to enter."
The Association hunter chatting with a colleague looked us over to verify our identities, then nodded knowingly.
"Got it. Go on in."
If it had been a mining team or outsourced to a contractor, there would've been paperwork and complicated procedures.
But since we—the ones who cleared it—came ourselves, they just waved us through.
"Thanks for your work."
No harm in being polite to public servants.
I bowed one last time and stepped into the gate.
"Ugh, no matter how many times I do this, entering a gate never gets easier."
The sticky sensation of being submerged in liquid hit me, followed by the familiar blast of heat from the flame dungeon against my face.
"The heat has definitely weakened."
Kang Han, entering right behind me, scanned the surroundings and commented.
"For real. Because the boss is dead?"
"Partly that, and dungeons naturally stabilize somewhat over time."
While listening to Kang Han's explanation, the rest of the guild finished entering the gate.
"Ooh, so this is what it looks like up close."
Im Cheong-su, who had only seen the flame dungeon on screens, let out exclamations of wonder nonstop.
I took a deep breath of the steamy air into my lungs.
"Ssssp, haaah."
Perfect. Just right.
This familiar temperature and humidity.
Today, I'm drying up every last mana stone in this dungeon.
"Alright, everyone, pull out your prep stuff. Hoes and shovels!"
Click!
"Mining sacks!"
Click!
The guild members pulled out their prepared gear from sub-spaces in sync with my call and held them up.
"Good, good. And finally. Come out, familiars!"
"Kyaa!"
"Pssht!"
"Chirp!"
The familiars, who had been quietly tucked away in sub-spaces during transit, revealed themselves.
Their owners, including me, watched tensely.
We didn't know how a C-rank flame dungeon's environment would affect the still-young familiars.
But...
"These guys are loving it?"
Jang Su-ho pointed at the familiars and said.