Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Glacier Dungeon Mining
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"Crazy."
"It's huge!"
The twins circled around the van, jumping up and down excitedly.
It was the weekend, so the two high schoolers could join without worry.
"You always have a plan, don't you?"
Jang Su-ho said, his round eyes fixed on me.
I hadn't even shown them my real plans yet.
"Taking the train to Chuncheon and then a taxi to Obong Mountain is such a hassle. We could mine more in that time."
"I knew it from the moment you were throwing around those 25 billion checks."
The affinity-up sounds rang out for the twins and Jang Su-ho.
It was just +1 each, but still.
The slightly delayed one was from Han Ji-seong.
In this salty affinity field, that was a real keeper.
As a bonus service, I flashed Han Ji-seong a smile before asking the guild members.
"Who has a class 1 regular driver's license?"
In the end, Jang Su-ho ended up driving.
Han Ji-seong and Kang Han both had class 1 regular licenses, but even if the sky split open, Korea's Confucian hierarchy settled it by age.
"It's too cold!"
"This won't be easy."
"Average temp is minus 10 degrees, right?!"
Unlike the warm breeze fluttering outside the gate, the glacier-type dungeon inside was bone-chillingly cold, enough to make your head throb.
"Feels like at least minus 15 in here."
Jang Su-ho said, rubbing his hands together.
"You're sharper than I thought."
"What?"
He was right on the money.
When the Association first roughly cleared this dungeon and during the auction, Obong Mountain Dungeon maintained minus 10 degrees.
But in just a few days, it had dropped to minus 18.
No matter how much of an Awakener you were, thin spring clothes couldn't cut it at that temperature.
'That's to our advantage, though.'
I opened my sub-space and distributed the prepared items.
"Here, winter gear."
"Unnie! I love it!"
Lee Yu-eul, who hated the cold as much as I did, hugged me and lifted me right off the ground.
"You're cold, aren't you? Put on the clothes quick."
"Yes!"
The winter padding I'd prepared after checking sizes beforehand fit the guild members perfectly.
I bundled up in my own special B-rank gear.
Ah, now I can live.
Next up were the mining tools.
"Glacier dungeon pickaxes. Should make it a bit easier."
"...How much money did you spend, exactly?"
Han Ji-seong asked worriedly.
"Don't worry. I'll get it all back later."
Unlike Kang Han, whose face darkened a bit, the beagle trio was thrilled silly.
"First C-rank item for me."
Jang Su-ho teared up in感動.
Same for Kang Han, probably.
Any C-rank or higher items he'd scrimped and saved for had all gone to other guild members.
"Too good to use just for mining. Should I switch to this as my weapon?"
Lee Yu-eul was spouting disaster bait.
"Tsk. Cut the nonsense and start mining."
"Something feels off."
Kang Han approached me as I scolded her.
"No monster presence nearby."
His vividly green eyes scanned the surroundings meticulously today, and he tensed up even more.
"It's colder than usual. Probably hibernating."
One reason Obong Mountain Dungeon was a honey pot.
Normally, clearing monsters took a day or two.
But the sudden temp drop let them huddle in warm spots, giving us days of worry-free mining.
"...For now, Deputy Guild Leader and Nayeo-ju-ssi guard the perimeter. The other four mine."
Spot-on choice.
Even as an ice mage, Han Ji-seong had low stamina and wouldn't help much with mining.
No point hurting himself more.
And me?
"Jackpot."
Hated moving in the cold.
Even fully prepared, mining progressed slowly.
"If it were a cave-type, we'd have dug way more by now."
At least it was better than Mansu Mountain last time—the workers, er, guild members were high-rank Hunters.
Especially Kang Han and Jang Su-ho with proper gear were excavator-level.
Thwack! Thud!
Dull thuds echoed with each swing, ice shards flying as glaciers cracked.
"Coming down!"
Jang Su-ho's shout was followed by a massive ice chunk crashing down with a boom that shook the ground.
Division of labor was smooth.
The two powerhouses dug the frozen ground and shattered glaciers, then the twins rushed in to break them smaller and extract the mana stones inside.
"Whoa! Big one here!"
"Here too!"
Lee Yu-eul and Lee Yu-chan, hooked on the thrill of harvest, were ecstatic.
Snotty noses sniffling, cheeks flushed red—they looked like grubby neighborhood kids.
"This one's massive! Yes! A million won!"
"Hey, mine's bigger? At least 2 mil!"
...Was I a bad influence on the kids?
I spaced out, fiddling with the heater I'd brought.
Skimped on money with C-rank, barely staving off frostbite.
"Wish Sama Young were here."
With that fire mage around, it'd be warmer, right?
"Wouldn't help much."
"Huh? Why?"
"Glaciers melt into water. Everything gets muddy and gross."
True, on second thought—Han Ji-seong had a point.
If the melted water soaked our padding...
Ugh, cold and clammy just thinking about it.
"I'm ice affinity, so cold doesn't bother me much. Move the heater closer to Nayeo-ju-ssi."
Such a kind guy.
If only his hands weren't sorting nonstop like a machine.
Clink, clink.
"Hm, this one's about D-rank."
What? Scary.
I could tell with my info window skill, but he was classifying purely by eye.
"How do you know so well?"
"Been making ice constructs forever. Mana stones are similar."
Saying that, he placed one in the E-rank pile.
Already several piles of pale blue mana stones—E, D, C—sat at his feet.
...Was I a bad influence on this guy too?
Then, Han Ji-seong coughed lightly.
"Cough."
Sounded bad.
"I'll heal you."
"...Thanks."
He didn't refuse.
Meant he was that worn out.
"Tell me next time it hurts. Don't hold back."
The skill activated with a draining sensation from my body.
Unpleasant, but his complexion improved noticeably.
To recover the lost stamina, I'd need some rest.
I dusted myself off and stood.
"Let's eat!"
"This is a D-rank dungeon, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then why so many C-rank mana stones?"
After day one's work wrapped up, Jang Su-ho scratched his head as he checked the haul.
Second reason Obong Mountain was a honey pot.
The dungeon had been underrated from the start.
Glacier-type, too cold—Association clerks half-assed it.
Proper eval would've made it C-rank, with bidding wars.
"This one's a different color, though?"
Jang Su-ho picked up a thumb-sized mana stone Han Ji-seong had set aside.
Unlike the pale blue ice mana stones, this one was completely transparent, diamond-like.
"Gonna get that appraised separately."
I already knew what it was but played dumb.
Not percent, just flat number—might seem meh.
But.
'System, switch to numerical units from now on. Items, Awakener status windows too. Except addiction levels!'
Addiction better as percent—near 100% meant berserk risk.
While at it, I peeked at Han Ji-seong's status.
'Just process this right, and equip him—no more keeling over.'
Day two's haul was good too.
Not as many high-grades as day one, but volume made up for it.
And the Obong Mountain jackpot I'd waited for? Kang Han found it.
"Came from the glacier bedrock."
He handed it to me.
Finally.
"I'll hold onto this."
Kang Han nodded silently.
I quickly stashed the flesh-sticking cold thing in my sub-space.
What was a key?
A tool to open locked doors or padlocks.
So something worth locking away was behind it.
Pretending to turn off the heater, I hid my grinning face.
The thing I'd banged my head over watching [Sejong Wall], thinking 'That should've gone to Kang Han!'—now in my hands.
By the time fatigue from hours in the cold eased...
I headed to Jamsil.
Right by Seokchon Lake, "SauX's Eye," "Korea's Tallest Building"—that place with many nicknames.
"Still looks like a flipped mackerel."
Anyway, one guild owned the whole building.
Maestro Guild, the crafting specialists.
My destination: Maestro's item department store... no, the overlooked basement corner shop, Sugar Workshop.