Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Onlooking and the Hunter Association
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Watching and the Hunter Association
[So what's the deal with this Dragon Rider's identity?][Posted by: RigelGueus]
(Blurry footage of the Dragon Rider)
Foreign hunter for sure, right?
And scanners are all over Seoul—how come they didn't detect the dragon?
Is it because all our guilds are fucking useless?
- Scanners can only detect monsters that come out of gates
ㄴ(OP): What does that have to do with anything?
ㄴYou idiot lololol the dragon didn't come out of a Seoul gate
ㄴ(OP): Oh
ㄴㄹㅇ National humiliation fr
-Yeah, including the Big 5, they're all fucking useless lol
ㄴSpare Baekya at least... guildmaster's hot af
-Foreign hunter makes sense. We don't even have an S-rank beast tamer here
ㄴDoes it have to be S-rank to tame a dragon?
ㄴYeah
ㄴBut if a guy's like that in Korea, shouldn't we know about him?
ㄴAnonymous S-rank probably
ㄴMakes sense
[Is the Hunter Auction System fucking broken?][Posted by: AaaarghGhost]
I get Hwayeon throwing shit, but
Molrangmol jumping in? Can't wrap my head around that.
They were bidding billions like 200 billion—Molrangmol ain't at that level
Shouldn't the Hunter Association step in and block fake bids from broke asses?
Even with penalties, come on;
-Yeah you're a Hwayeon shill, we all know it you fucking dog
ㄴ(OP): ?
ㄴI get Hwayeon throwing shit, but <<< Yeah that tracks af lol
ㄴFr transparent as hell
-Molrangmol didn't go solo, they teamed up with Baekya and JH as affiliates?
ㄴ(Check auction participant list) Look at this
ㄴBaekya + JH beats Hwayeon lol
ㄴThey planned to drag Hwayeon in from the start. With those two, no capital issues.
ㄴDragonRaiserPlz: Fr
ㄴCrazy bastard showing up himself?
ㄴGimme one Molrangtex plz
-Anyway it was a huge gamble. What if Hwayeon didn't buy it?
ㄴThey already sank costs into bridge construction lololol apparently over 50 billion already
ㄴOh yeah lol
ㄴBut they haven't even finished half and it's already 50 billion?
ㄴCan't use Hwayeon porters. So they're hiring expensive freelance porters to speed it up.
ㄴDragonRaiserPlz: Hwayeon's loaded af ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
ㄴLololololololol
The Dragon Rider and auction event had been hot topics these past few days.
Popular enough to knock "Molrangmol"—the perennial top search term on the Hunter Gallery—from its throne. Even with buffs like Molrangtex and Baekya Castle tenancy.
"Fuhuhu…."
After properly enjoying a community browse for the first time in ages, I slipped on my Bluetooth earbuds. Tap tap. Touched the smartphone screen a few times to play my usual news feed.
[The recent Hunter Auction has been all the buzz, right?]
[Yes. Molrangmol, the rising new company, went head-to-head with Hwayeon.]
[And one thing from that auction everyone's curious about: the bypass purchase of the T-4 Gate.]
"Agh…. Can't see shit."
My current spot was a towering observatory on a platform in the sea off Incheon. Brand new, with a full view of the ocean.
It had become a pretty popular tourist spot, but being a weekday morning, no one else was around besides me.
The floor-to-ceiling windows gave an amazing sense of openness, but my target was too far to make out properly.
[No one saw Molrangmol buying the T-4 Gate coming.]
[Right. Being a D-rank gate, only tourism-focused guilds would care.]
[Exactly. Hwayeon probably jumped in after seeing Molrangmol bid, to drive up the price.]
In the end, I stood before one of the provided telescopes.
[10 Minutes: 5,000 Won]
……Is this for real?
What telescope stand costs 5k? Who's running this place!
<Management>
[Primary: Zenith Gate Management Team / Secondary: Zenith Gate Research Team]
…Of course it's Hwayeon.
Truth was, the telescope wasn't the only ripoff.
Entry to this sky-high observatory? A whopping 50k. And surrounding prices were insanely high too.
Reason was simple.
Zenith had poured tons of cash into building a passage to the underwater gate. So they recoup some losses with tourist traps like this.
Still, plenty of hunters flock to the gate. Rare terrain means rare monsters.
And civilians come to see floating monster corpses too. Not many chances to see intact ones otherwise.
Ding!
[Payment complete!]
Still, 5k for 10 minutes is too much.
[In the aftermath, Molrangmol shelled out a whopping 40 billion for a D-rank gate? Must hurt… Why not just bypass via Baekya? Could've snagged it for around 10 billion.]
I'd paid up, so I leaned in to peer through—
"……Why's it so damn high!"
Zero consideration for growing boys and girls. Ruthless.
"Ugh…! Urgh…! Haa……."
Even on tiptoes, my forehead—no, not even my crown—couldn't reach.
Finally, I swallowed my manly pride for a sec and dashed to the side for a kids' footstool. No point stubbornly wasting the 10 minutes.
[Likely to secure benefits from participating in the gate auction under the 'Molrangmol' name. Gains beyond just money.]
[Like what?]
[Brand image first off. Hwayeon's crushed mid-to-small guilds with cash forever. But not Molrangmol this time. Sure, Hwayeon inflicted some damage, but winning a bid against them is huge hype among experts.]
[True… Hwayeon never fails a bid they've entered.]
[Yep. They outbid rivals no matter the cost. Their efficiency? Cripple the competition. They'd have chased to 35 billion and meant it.]
[But they bailed midway. Why?]
"Eupcha!"
Grabbed a footstool and stepped up.
………One not enough?
Pride scratched bad, but I sighed and fetched another.
"O!"
Two footstools up, and now I could see the scope. Tiptoes still required, of course.
[Probably eyeing their next auction gate. And couldn't ignore Molrangmol's backers easily.]
[Baekya and JH Bank, right? Baekya's a known partner, but JH's a surprise?]
[Yes. Everyone knew JH and Molrangmol did membership stuff, but this close? No one guessed.]
[So… skipping bypass was strategic?]
[High chance. JH Bank's one of the world's biggest. Publicizing the partnership this way makes sense.]
"……They're building hard, huh."
Through the scope, I took in the distant sea construction site.
Roughly 5km from land, the gate's spawn. Bridge already way advanced. 80%? 90% done easy.
No surprise the workers are using Molrangtoris. Most doubling as porters, probably? Can't all be Hwayeon crew…
They really threw money at it. Explains dropping over 300 billion on a B-rank gate like chumps.
If only I'd snagged the bridge build and had completion chops, I'd have bid and taken it.
Straight hijack. Straight ricebowl steal.
Count your lucky stars, Hwayeon.
[Even showed funds against Hwayeon, mimicking their style.]
[So Molrangmol spent 30 billion extra but got good rep? Hwayeon ate nearly 200 billion loss too.]
[Yes. Post-auction brand rankings: Baekya up 2, JH Bank up 3. Consumer sentiment shifts fast, but big players like them don't budge easy.]
[Molrangmol jumped 50 spots too.]
[Yes. Hit 107 overall. If they profit off T-4 Gate, could be first newbie cracking the 'concrete' top 100. With JH holding 10% ownership, key is how they'll monetize together…]
Beep.
"Good enough."
Teasing telescope time up. Stepped down, pocketed earbuds.
Hoped for fresh news, but same old. Mostly good stuff about me though, so fine.
Ding!
[Doors opening!]
Elevator down from observatory to ground. Gave it 1 star review on the way.
50k entry for basically just a telescope? Way over the line.
[Doors opening!]
"Had fun?"
Stepping out, Jina waved at me. My sole companion today.
"…Not really. Telescope was it. Thought there'd be more."
"Sweet, saved money."
High-fiving her 50k savings, I caught a weird sweet-bitter scent wafting from her.
"……Smoked again, huh?"
"…That obvious?"
"Yeah. Totally."
"Sorry. Habit now, hard to quit. Especially since Hwayeon bastards made 'em—gotta drop it fast."
"Whatever. Smoking's your call anyway."
"Nah. I'll quit. Thanks to you, Dawn's suffering less."
Jina's been steadily chowing Dart horns. Skip even briefly, and info rebound syndrome hits nonstop. Probably lifelong.
"Let's roll. Wrap quick and grab lunch."
Jina hopped in the car. Not Ha-young's—Jina's own.
"…But why no driving till now?"
Just learned today.
She has a license and car. Spotless 5-year no-accident record. Pro driver.
"Ha-young or Seo-jin always did it? Driving's a hassle~ Tiresome~"
Slam!
"Buckle up. We're off."
Her well-kept car smelled sweet-bitter.
Not cigs—fancy air freshener. Molrangmol merch everywhere.
Squeeze.
I hugged a pink Molrang cushion tight. Mmm. Well-made.
Squishy squishy soft soft!
Fruits of researching Molrang fragments, huh? Nailed the recreation.
"Dawn's such a girlie-girl. Loves pink for real?"
"…Y-yeah? No. Just right there…. Not like I love pink or anything…"
"Cute~ So cute~"
Tried rebutting her giggling, but—
Vroom!
Car shot forward, mouth shut.
And Jina drove like a pro.
How good? Lulled me to sleep battling drowsiness.
Passenger duty's keeping driver awake with chat, but nope.
Nod nod. Eyelids drooping. Soft cushion not helping. Seat heater kicking in too.
"Dawn, nap. You grinded hard till yesterday. Ha-young and Seo-jin's got the gate… Rest easy now."
"……Mmkayyy……."
"Takes over an hour to Hunter Association anyway."
"……."
"Sleep deep. Grow taller? No sleep, no growth. Though you're cutest as is."
"……1cm……grew………."
Consciousness cut there.
Car sped on, arriving at Hunter Association.