Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Mountain Fairy Tale Dungeon
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We participated in the mining dungeon auction once again.
It was the same auction house and the same auction hall as last time.
But there were differences too.
"Justice Guild showed up again?"
"What the hell? I thought they'd switched entirely to guerrilla dungeon raids?"
"Can't blame them if they need to make a living."
We were drawing even more attention than before.
"Why are they here again instead of just running guerrilla ops?"
"Ugh, Justice Guild is so annoying."
There were plenty of reactions laced with envy and jealousy.
While fewer people were openly mocking us like before, some things had gotten worse.
"Since when did Justice Guild start strutting around with their heads held high? No shame at all?"
"Who caused the fifth dungeon break, huh?"
"Exactly. So many people died because of it, and now Justice Guild dares to act like a guild again?"
"Justice Guild in name only. No sense of embarrassment."
"If I don't wanna see their faces, I guess I should quit this scene altogether. Ptooey!"
Some guys were starting to cross the line.
I could understand their feelings, though.
The plight of the awakeners gathered here for mining was probably no different from what Justice Guild had been through before.
Their ranks were low, and they had to provide their own expensive mining gear.
On top of that, they weren't even treated like proper hunters since they weren't one.
Compared to high-rank hunters raking in hundreds of billions in salary, their pockets were naturally light.
So seeing Justice Guild—who'd been in the same boat until recently—now in the spotlight and heading somewhere they'd never reach fueled their jealousy.
It was pathetic, but also kind of pitiful.
Still, there were limits.
A bit worried, I turned to look at Justice Guild members following behind me.
Sure enough, the twins looked pretty deflated.
I should say something encouraging.
Or maybe drag out that guy who just yapped about the dungeon break and beat some sense into him.
That's when it happened.
"Chin up."
For a second, I thought I'd said it.
But the words came from Kang Han.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Spot on, a hundred—no, a thousand times over.
Even setting aside that they didn't know the truth about the fifth dungeon break yet, none of the Justice Guild members here had anything to do with that incident.
The raid team people held "responsible" had all died inside the dungeon.
Plus, Kang Han himself had liquidated not just Justice Guild assets but his family's too—solely because he was Hunter Kang Young-won's son—to compensate every civilian casualty and all material damage around it.
Even though the law said no one was liable for gate-related damages.
'Yeah, hold it together. Just endure.'
I knew the truth.
But I had to hold back.
The truth about Hunter Kang Young-won and the fifth dungeon break couldn't be revealed yet.
It was one of those things that had to come out naturally when the time was right.
Society wasn't ready for the reality barreling toward it.
"Walk tall."
Even Kang Han, saying that...
The list of mining dungeons up for auction was flashier than last time.
"So that's why there are so many people."
I spotted a few groups aiming to bid on large-scale dungeons, like the staffing office where Kang Han had worked.
"Hmm, what's a good one?"
This time, I didn't have a specific dungeon in mind like before.
We really needed cash for the guild, so it was purely for mining.
That wasn't all, though.
"Money's money, but we should try out some dungeons in different environments too."
"Huh?"
Jang Su-ho and Lee Yu-eul both made weird noises from beside me.
I turned to see them with wide eyes—one picking his ear, the other pressing a hand to my forehead.
"You feeling okay?"
"What kinda dog ate grass and barked nonsense?"
You eat grass pretty well yourself.
"No, but seriously, you saying something like 'money's money, but' doesn't sound like you at all."
"This punk."
...Okay, fair point.
But after the last few experiences, I knew what mattered more than money in dungeon raids.
'Turns out hints of the impending apocalypse are hidden earlier than I thought, in all sorts of places.'
Like that question-mark-riddled chalice from killing the Crocodile King last time.
"How about that one?"
Kang Han pointed to a fairy tale dungeon early on the list.
Fairy tale dungeons mimicked the surrounding environment where the gate spawned.
Vicious ones designed to delay detection and boost break chances.
But we had the great Jeong Je-hwa's gate prediction system, so once we cleared the monsters inside, they were basically left abandoned.
Especially underwater ones with entrances in the sea or river—awakeners only used those for fishing or scuba trips occasionally.
"Chungcheong mountains would be perfect for camping."
"Idiot, we're going to mine."
"Why not pick herbs while we're at it? Since we're making the trip anyway, might as well camp out during downtime."
The twins had a point.
Summer was almost here too.
"Shall we go blow off some steam?"
"...Sounds good."
This guy loves camping, huh.
Justice Guild wasn't a mega-corp yet, but we could swing perks like this.
Plus, a mountain fairy tale dungeon might have some decent stuff to pick.
With a light heart, I bid on the unpopular fairy tale dungeon.
"What, a fairy tale dungeon?"
"Guess they're off to forage wild greens or something."
"Pffft!"
Laughter and jeers followed us out of the auction hall, but I was too busy pinpointing the exact location of our won dungeon.
"It really is in the sticks."
And don't underestimate dungeon mountain greens.
They're all potion ingredients—crafting guild folks go nuts for them.
"Baby goats munching grass and playing~♪ With cheerful faces hatching rum~♬"
On the day we headed to the Chungcheong mining dungeon.
The twins were hyped from inside the car.
Even the usually quiet Lee Yu-chan joined in, singing some weird tune.
"Shut up. Keep it up, and you might end up grazing like baby goats for a while."
"Aww, sis, you're excited too! I saw you prepping camping gear yesterday~?"
"I thought we were moving into the dungeon."
"Jang Su-ho, how much longer?"
I turned to Jang Su-ho, who was handling driving duty again today.
"Almost there. About twenty minutes to the spot where the car can go."
"Ooh, changing the subject!"
"Sis, sing with us if you're pumped!"
"No thanks. You're on mandatory veggie diet for a week."
Daring to mock the guild leader's dignity over some camping gear?
I hadn't even bought that much, honestly.
We needed prep for five people, including me, eating and sleeping in the dungeon for about two nights and three days.
So I got tents, sleeping bags, camp beds.
Oh, and a table plus six chairs for meals.
Because if one breaks, someone's eating on the dirt floor.
Spare chairs are a must.
And if it gets cold, we'd crave hot food, so a mana stone kettle and a camping fire pit for bonfires.
Nothing major.
"We're here."
Jang Su-ho said as he turned off the engine.
Makes sense—we couldn't drive any farther.
At least there was a mountain path with trampled grass showing people had passed.
"Mmm, phytoncide scent."
"Feels like my city-rotted body's getting purified."
"Guess we're country folk at heart."
"Weren't you both born and raised in Seoul?"
The two Seoul-bred colts bolted down the path first.
"Nayeo-ju-ya, you sure you're okay?"
Han Ji-seong approached quietly from behind, looking down at me with worried eyes.
"Ah, this is fine. It's just like a backyard hill."
The three guys treated the healer like a fragile fallen leaf, clearly uneasy.
"Tell me if it's tough. I packed plenty of stamina potions."
"Want a piggyback?"
Kang Han upped the ante.
His serious face said he wasn't joking.
All thanks to that damn roulette wheel from the system last time.
I took the lead on the path and yelled.
"I said this is fine!"
Not fine.
"Ugh, I'm dying."
At first, it really was manageable.
I'd awakened and gotten fitter, and the terrain wasn't too rugged.
The problem hit after about an hour, when the path vanished and full-on "mountain climbing" began.
"What the—rocks—everywhere—huff—puff!"
Everywhere! -Everywhere! -Everywhere!
My shout echoed back.
Driving me nuts.
"I can't allow this. Hop on."
Kang Han knelt on one knee, offering his broad back.
Looked comfy just to see.
"Su-ho-ya, how much farther did you say?"
"Uh, not sure. Thing's been dead since earlier."
No cell signal in these mountains, so we'd prepped a gate-tracking item.
Even that crapped out.
That's why you splurge on Maestro gear, no matter the cost.
Cheap crap was a mistake.
"Last check said that way, so probably around that cliff and up."
"Cliff?"
Despair.
Would the Nayeo-ju climbing a cliff become Mountain Nayeo-ju or Dead Nayeo-ju?
"Let's camp here for the night then."
Han Ji-seong suggested.
Tempting, honestly.
We were half-lost anyway, and the sun was nearly down.
Keep going, and we'd wander in pitch black.
Kang Han, Jang Su-ho, and the twins might manage, but not me or Han Ji-seong.
And we couldn't just carry them all and push on.
"Yeah, let's do that. No rush."
Kang Han nodded, scouted around, and found a spot.
"Up there looks good."
Flat ground backed by rocks.
I quickly pulled out the prepped camping gear from my sub-space.
"Listening to Nayeo-ju means rice cakes even in your sleep."
"Without you, we might've just pushed up..."
"Quiet, Baby Goat Number Two. Go pitch the tents."
I pointed at the semi-auto 8-person tent pile and told Lee Yu-chan.
Rustle.
"This should do for now."
Meanwhile, Kang Han gathered dry branches and twigs.
A ton of them.
The piled heap looked eerily like a grave mound.
"Better to light it in the fire pit than straight on the ground for safety."
"Right."
As I nodded and went to hand him the camping fire pit...
Swish.
The grass rustled faintly in the distance.
Justice Guild's mood shifted instantly.
Kang Han's eyes sharpened mid-conversation; he stepped in front of me.
The twins had machetes and bows out, aimed at the rustling grass.
A few seconds later.
"...A person?"
Kang Han muttered softly as someone popped out from the grass.
A boy, maybe fifteen or sixteen now.
In short sleeves and shorts in these mountains, staring at our campsite with a somewhat sullen voice.
"Y'all shouldn't light a fire here."
...A feral child?