Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: Partnering with Magma Guild
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At my suggestion, Yang Hwa-yeon instantly switched back to her guild master demeanor.
"The next dungeon auction is in a few days, but does the Justice Guild have the funds ready?"
"Luckily, yes. We might struggle with anything A-rank or higher due to the fierce competition, but what about Magma Guild?"
"We've been operating for a few years now."
"Split 50-50. Sound good?"
"Hmm. I'll need to think about that. Justice Guild still lacks experience, don't they?"
Tsk.
I already knew all that, so what was she playing at?
"You just recruited a ton of newbies into Magma Guild. You need a dungeon to grind them in."
Yang Hwa-yeon eyed me like, How does she know that too? before shrugging.
"We can just throw them into guerrilla dungeons."
"Guerrilla dungeons that don't even make money? Teaming up with us for a regular gate raid would be way better—no need for that."
"Well... that's true."
Yang Hwa-yeon finally started pondering seriously.
After stroking Baekho's fur thoughtfully for a moment, she spoke up.
"The auction price might be steep, but it has to be C-rank or higher. That okay?"
"Justice Guild has no intention of going below C-rank either. Perfect."
What we desperately needed right now was experience.
A place to test out Kang Han's new skills, and for the still-young Lee Yu-eul and Lee Yu-chan to face off against various monster types.
But we weren't ready to tackle a regular dungeon solo yet.
Just because your legs are long doesn't mean you skip two or three steps up the stairs without spraining an ankle.
I tossed the final bait to Yang Hwa-yeon, who was practically hooked already.
"Hunter Yang Hwa-yeon, be honest—which guild is more reliable to raid a dungeon with than Justice Guild?"
At my words, Yang Hwa-yeon glanced at Kang Han.
Then at Jang Su-ho and Han Ji-seong chatting happily with her two vice guild masters over meat, plus the three high schoolers.
"...I can't win against you with words, Hunter Nayeo-ju. Fine."
She set little Baekho down and extended a hand to Kang Han.
"Good to team up again after so long, Kang Han."
"Likewise."
My hunch had been spot on.
This joint raid would be a total success—nothing like the disastrous group project that was our last one with Taesan Guild.
The day of the regular dungeon auction.
We arrived at the association.
"Look at all these hunters swarming around."
This was only our second time, but there were way more hunters around the association today.
"They say there's one S-rank and two A-ranks up for auction. Probably why."
Lee Yu-chan checked something on his phone and chimed in.
Three high-rank dungeons opening around the same time.
"Lately, this has been happening more often."
Han Ji-seong tilted his head.
"Having so many high-rank dungeons pop up isn't a good thing."
"The big guilds must be screaming with joy."
Lee Yu-eul muttered sullenly, clearly displeased.
"Lee Yu-eul."
"Yeah, unnie?"
"Here, have one of these."
I pulled a lollipop from my pocket and handed it to Lee Yu-eul.
"Why don't we get any?!"
"Only for good kids."
I let Lee Yu-chan and Im Cheong-su's protests go in one ear and out the other.
In the world inside [Sejong Curtain], gates and raids were treated like a kind of sport.
Hunters were the star players racing across the dungeon field.
But we couldn't forget.
Even now, countless hunters were dying or getting injured inside dungeons. Failed raids meant gates bursting and killing hordes of civilians.
This wasn't a game.
"Shall we head in?"
At Kang Han's words, we entered the auction hall.
And as always, every other hunter's gaze snapped to us instantly.
But something had definitely changed.
"It's Justice Guild."
"They gonna solo this one too?"
"Nah, not ready for that yet."
No more reckless insults or curses like before.
Everyone remembered how Justice Guild had grabbed Taesan by the collar and carried that joint raid.
Then, Yang Hwa-yeon, who was holding court in the prime center seat, shot her hand up and yelled toward us.
"Over here!"
A few nearby hunters nodded approvingly.
"Magma's solid."
"Good pick."
Exactly.
Magma Guild was leagues apart from Taesan in every way.
A reliable mid-sized guild that had built solid foundations without overexpanding, despite only being a few years old.
That was Magma's reputation.
I picked a decent seat and glanced around briefly.
It was a totally casual scan.
Kang Han, who had naturally taken the seat next to me, spoke up.
"Sama Guild won't be attending today, so no worries."
"Why? I figured they'd go for the S-rank no matter what."
Unlike me, who just nodded, Yang Hwa-yeon sounded surprised.
Because Sama Young is too busy purging his guild right now.
Not literal cleaning, of course.
He was culling Sama Jeong's loyalists to fully seize Sama Guild after his S-rank reawakening.
Kang Han shot Yang Hwa-yeon a glance before replying vaguely.
"Ask your vice guild master."
"Can't you just explain?"
"Too annoying."
"How do you even breathe if being secretive is such a hassle?"
"......"
I could see Yang Hwa-yeon glaring at the utterly silent Kang Han before quizzing her own vice guild master on why Sama Guild skipped the auction.
Good listener.
As we bantered, the lights dimmed, and the auction began.
I leaned toward Kang Han and whispered.
"We agreed Justice Guild picks the dungeon today, right?"
Yang Hwa-yeon had dumped the choice on us, having no patience for mind games with other guilds.
"I'll handle it."
A really fun dungeon was up for auction today.
After the auction ended, we parted ways with Magma Guild in front of the association building.
"See you the day after tomorrow!"
"Su-ho hyung! Let's spar for real at training!"
Once the rowdy Magma crew piled into their cars and left, things quieted down.
Not that the association entrance was silent with dozens of hunters streaming out.
Just that Magma Guild was that loud.
"Su-ho's coming. Let's get in ours too."
Han Ji-seong spotted the Justice Guild-marked van approaching from afar.
Time to head home and crash.
Magma Guild must have a strict policy of only recruiting extreme extroverts.
No other explanation for how they drained my energy every single time.
As I trudged along exhausted, Kang Han approached.
"Maze dungeons are stamina drains, so let's start working out together from tomorrow."
The dungeon we'd snagged was a C-rank large maze type.
No competition since it was huge and obviously easy to get lost in, so we got it cheap.
"Ten minutes of cardio's fine."
"Needs to be an hour."
"An hour?! You trying to kill me?"
"You always end up so wiped out."
"Don't care. If I can't walk, you carry me, Guild Master."
"Ah, that works then."
What works?
No way he'd actually carry me.
Mazes did guzzle stamina, sure.
But that's for people who don't know the way.
I'm the possessed reader here.
Oblivious to my scheme, Kang Han called out as I was about to board the van.
"I won't let your feet touch the maze floor, Nayeo-ju-ssi."
"Sure, sure."
I brushed off Kang Han's words and climbed in.
A few days later, I was running the vacuum cleaner.
Even if it was friendly Magma Guild coming over, Han Ji-seong wouldn't tolerate a speck of dirt—cue the cleaning apocalypse.
"Done."
"I saw that corner you missed earlier, Nayeo-ju-ya."
"Magma won't notice. Do we really need to vacuum there?"
"I will."
In the end, after 30 more minutes of scrubbing, cleaning wrapped up.
"Ugh, wiped."
I flopped onto the sofa, full of regret.
Screw the cramped space—just should've suggested training at Magma's place.
Remembering how pointless joint training without proper sim facilities had been with Taesan, my meddling had backfired right onto my own foot.
"Maybe... just close my eyes for a sec then get up."
Vacuuming since morning had worn me out; my eyes were drooping.
That's when it happened.
Ding-dong—
The spacious training hall echoed with Magma Guild's booming voices.