The Coexistence Festival at Guji Peak
A few days passed.
The royal castle had been diligently constructing defensive positions in Sinal Port, while the hunters, artisans, and farmers carved out paths leading toward the forest.
And Kim Hwang-je received a reply from Jo Chun-ki.
We thank Kim Hwang-je for his friendship in participating in our Coexistence Festival. We would be grateful if you could come to the coordinates listed below.
— Jo Chun-ki
“That’s it?”
What the hell? What kind of friendship is he talking about? When did we ever become friends?
“It’s cleaner than I expected. I thought he’d at least send a curse that would kill me on contact.”
Kim Hwang-je had even gone so far as to purify the letter with magic, just in case it was coated in poison.
In truth, Kim Hwang-je’s raiding team had been sprinting toward the finish line because of this very Coexistence Festival. Once the festival began, it would become much harder to carry out raids while avoiding civilian casualties.
Thanks to their efforts, they had accumulated a considerable amount of Grim. Just a little more and they would be able to instantly construct the Magic Tower.
“I personally supervise all the reports Jo Jong-hyun submits.”
Seo Jun-seo took a sip of vanilla-scented black tea.
“There is still a high chance that Jo Chun-ki remains deceived by Jo Jong-hyun. He still believes his team is performing well in their hunts.”
“That’s kind of funny. I suppose he thinks I’m working with them too?”
“Yes. He added that a desperate, blood-drying contest of checks and balances is unfolding inside the dungeon.”
“Can we trust Jo Jong-hyun’s espionage?”
Those created through genetic engineering.
Legally they were Jo Chun-ki’s grandchildren, but in reality they were nothing more than his tools. While alive, they were forced to donate blood regularly. When they died, their organs were harvested as spares.
I wouldn’t want to live like that.
Kim Hwang-je’s body shuddered.
“Yes. While complying with control measures, he displays open hatred and resentment toward Jo Chun-ki. In truth, he has no other path to survival besides us.”
“You never know. If he’s decided to die, there’s no telling what he might do.”
Kim Hwang-je continued.
“Double-check the background investigation. Find out if he has any family or lovers he feels he must protect. There’s no way that old bastard Jo Chun-ki would trust him so easily.”
“...Understood, sir. I’ve already looked into it, but I will examine it two more times.”
Even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after three years, the saying went. At some point, Kim Hwang-je had grown accustomed to giving orders.
“Well, if I land a critical hit this time and make it look like an ‘accident,’ I won’t need to worry about it anymore. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just summon all my subordinates at once, so don’t worry too much.”
If monsters poured out and Jo Chun-ki ended up injured, who would hold Kim Hwang-je responsible?
Kim Hwang-je planned to create a monster incident and use this opportunity to eliminate Jo Chun-ki for good.
“Understood, sir.”
And so Kim Hwang-je headed to the appointed location.
The sky was clear, blue, and refreshingly cool.
People had gathered on the wide, open athletic field, gazing up at the crisp autumn sky.
“It’s nice to see the factory wrecked...”
The beautiful sky almost made him want to summon that ‘environmentalist tin can Yangcheol’ again.
But now was not the time to focus on such things.
A large crowd had assembled like it was a company sports festival, buzzing with chatter.
And many eyes were boring into Kim Hwang-je, studying him intently.
“It’s teleportation!”
“Look at that robe. How much do you think it’s worth?”
“The rumors say it’s legendary-grade.”
“But why did he apply for this kind of field trip anyway?”
The murmuring crowd looked utterly ordinary.
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a protruding belly.
Judging by his build, he was a tank.
A scrawny man holding a sword. At a glance, he looked like a close-range dealer.
There was even a young girl with a bow.
Kim Hwang-je knew all too well what it meant to enter the workforce without finishing high school, but still...
This was dangerous work.
“...”
The throat was a government office, as the saying went. In reality, people forced themselves to go to companies they hated for money. So it only made sense that people would roll into dungeons for money too.
Tsk. The situation has changed from what I expected, though.
Originally, he had planned to clash with Jo Chun-ki’s forces inside this dungeon.
Had Jo Chun-ki not considered handling it alone? Or was he truly just inviting him to participate in the festival and leave?
In this case, releasing monsters would be difficult.
Still, there are plenty of things I can deal with.
Regardless, during the western pioneering work heading toward Shirayen Forest, countless monsters had poured out. The lava wasteland was so overrun with creatures just below disaster-grade that you would trip over them. Only after breaking through that near-desert terrain did one reach Shirayen Forest.
If he dragged those things out and made Jo Chun-ki deal with them, it would make things much easier.
Yet for some reason, Jo Chun-ki had not only come himself but had also brought a large group of 3rd Class hunters from somewhere.
“Alright everyone, please form orderly lines. The gate management director will be opening it shortly.”
When the staff shouted from the front, the people shuffled into their respective lines.
“Heh heh, so the rumor that he’s only 3rd Class was true.”
“Hmph. He acted all high and mighty, but it can’t be helped. Still only 3rd Class?”
“They say he’s too precious for that. Claims the test is too annoying to bother with.”
The 1st Class hunters from the Gaya Group sneered at Kim Hwang-je before heading to their own line.
“What’s with those guys?”
The tension seemed completely unraveled. Instead of just going to their spots, they had to circle around once just to mock him.
Had Jo Chun-ki given them separate secret orders? It seemed Jo Jong-hyun had deceived them too well.
At the moment, Kim Hwang-je stood at the very end of the 3rd Class hunter line.
Once the Gaya Group’s 1st Class hunters mocked him and disappeared, the 3rd Class hunters crowded around Kim Hwang-je.
“Um, are you really 3rd Class?”
“Yeah, well.”
Kim Hwang-je took out his license and showed it to them.
Still 3rd Class.
Of course it was. He hadn’t taken any additional tests yet.
“No way! You’re a regular 3rd Class?”
“Whoa... Then where did you get your items? Do you clear dungeons by yourself?”
Well. This is technically my first Earth dungeon.
Kim Hwang-je simply scratched the back of his head.
He couldn’t exactly tell them that he had a kingdom in his stomach and that the kingdom’s archmage kept offering him items. Or that every single one of them was legendary-grade.
That said, it was already impossible to ignore him. Kim Hwang-je was dressed like a veteran among veterans.
The emperor’s robe, the crown, the necklace—everything glittered with gold.
There was simply no way not to draw attention under this clear sunlight.
“Wow... So even 3rd Class hunters can get items like that...”
“Come on. Do you think we’re the same? We can’t get them. This person just doesn’t bother.”
The 3rd Class hunters around him flocked closer to Kim Hwang-je.
From the pot-bellied middle-aged man to the skinny young man and even the female student, all of them gazed at him with envy and admiration.
They had probably awakened but lacked connections or useful traits, leaving them floating awkwardly without a place to belong.
Such people existed from time to time.
If a tank got the Dual-Wield trait or a thief received the Polearm trait, there was simply no answer.
They asked Kim Hwang-je.
“Wow... Why are you still 3rd Class?”
“Right? Didn’t you awaken with the Archmage or Saint trait, Your Majesty? Why haven’t you taken the additional test?”
“Now, now, everyone. Don’t ask too many questions. Everyone has their own circumstances, don’t they?”
“Mister, we might be living bottom-tier lives, but this gentleman is different. If there’s any benefit to staying at 3rd Class, please share some with us too.”
A young man spoke up.
The throat really was a government office.
“There’s no particular benefit. I just have too much work to do, so I haven’t taken the test. Anyway...”
“Please take care of us! We bow deeply! If you have any useless items, please share them with us!”
“Huh?”
“This girl—hey, are you the only one trying to live off scraps? Why are you trying to drool all over him?”
An older girl with fierce eyes scolded the female student, but the girl simply smiled brightly, completely unbothered.
“Big brother! I’m begging you too, please!”
Younger hunters popped up from every direction.
Greed flickered in the 3rd Class hunters’ eyes.
Since none of the items here would satisfy Kim Hwang-je’s standards, simply following him around would let them snatch up every item that dropped.
Hand-me-down life.
Bus riding.
This was the ready-made life. A sad self-portrait. The pitiful existence of these young people.
They had probably come here intending to do exactly this from the start. Low-number hunters rarely accepted them even as supporters.
“No! Your Majesty! Please allow me to ride your bus!”
Kim Hwang-je didn’t even glance at the man.
Thanks to that, he made up his mind.
Maybe these people were all meant to be taken hostage while an attack was launched?
In a situation like this, it was better to quietly withdraw.
Just as he was about to shake his hands clean and leave with that judgment, the director on the platform shouted.
“Everyone! Welcome to the Gaya Group’s Coexistence Event. Through this specially prepared dungeon, we hope to cultivate the skills of all you hunters. With effort and passion, we pray for greater productivity and development, the return of the thirty-thousand-dollar national income era, and the boundless advancement of all hunters...”
The crowd lasted exactly twenty-one seconds.
“Let’s go in already!”
“Yeah! Let’s enter!”
The hunters caused a commotion from all sides.
“Hey. Hey. What do you people think you’re doing?”
The director glared at them.
“Since it’s a day of coexistence, please listen carefully. It won’t take long. Okay?”
The hunters seethed but couldn’t quite muster the courage to talk back to someone from the Gaya Group.
“Anyway, this dungeon is known to the general public as just an ordinary one, but in reality it is one of the oldest dungeons in Korea. It is called Guji Peak. Inside, there are enormously large trees and rocky mountains, so please keep that in mind. You’ll need to prepare for hiking, so make sure your shoelaces are tied properly.”
Guji Peak?
They really named it that...
“Ahem. Ahem.”
His train of thought was running wild again.
It sounded familiar. What was it? What could it be?
Kim Hwang-je closed his eyes for a moment, pondering. When he opened them again, a completely naked middle-aged man stood before him.
“Uwaaaaah!”
Eyes from all directions pinned themselves on Kim Hwang-je.
But they only looked at him as if wondering why he was screaming, seemingly unable to see the half-naked man right in front of him.
“...You!”
“Oh ho ho ho!”
It’s fine. It’s not like this is the first time I’ve seen a pervert, and I’m used to nudity!
Kim Hwang-je hurriedly purchased Silence and Illusion spells from the castle walls and wrapped them around himself.
He pretended not to notice the people’s gazes.
“Sleep talking...”
People grumbled, but after seeing Kim Hwang-je’s illusion, they lost interest.
Kim Hwang-je asked the naked fairy.
“You. You’re a fairy, right?”
“Oh ho ho—! That is correct! I am the ancient spirit who danced upon Guji Peak to summon the king of Gaya!”
It looked like several more were about to crawl out, so Kim Hwang-je waved his hands urgently.
“All of you disappear. Only the representative stays.”
“Oh ho ho, that would be me.”
“Ugh, damn it.”
Kim Hwang-je took out a robe and draped it over the middle-aged man.
“...Stay still for a second! You need to wear clothes. Wear them! ...Wait a minute. Guji Peak? You mean the peak where they received the Gujiga?”
According to legend, it was the very peak where Kim Su-ro had descended!
“Correct! Ho ho ho!”
“What are you doing here? Didn’t you all melt into the crown?”
The Emperor’s Crown.
This crown was no longer the Gaya Gold Crown.
In practical terms, it no longer had any connection to Guji Peak.
“The altar is nearby, which is why we can move about so freely. In any case, Your Majesty. That foolish bastard is trying to enslave us again.”
“...”
He had expected as much.
So the man had made preparations after all.
That was why he had called it Guji Peak from the beginning instead of some nameless dungeon.
“I have my own preparations, so I won’t just take it lying down.”
Kim Hwang-je observed Sinal Port using World Observation.
There, infantry armed with rockets and RPG missiles stood alongside knights and mages equipped with swords and magic. Celestial heavy equipment that had been moved in advance for war was lined up in formation.
Both Sinal Port and Adel Castle were treated as castles.
Right now, Kim Hwang-je was a man with two castles.
No matter how many preparations Jo Chun-ki had made, he wouldn’t be able to face him comfortably.
“Since you’ve appeared, I take it you’ll be taking my side?”
“Oh ho ho—! Of course! However, you must be careful. There are those helping Jo Chun-ki. They are the ones who let him dominate the gold crown from the beginning and made him wealthy.”
From the beginning?
“Oh ho ho! They are the demonic creatures who appeared before Jo Chun-ki when he was young and promised him power and authority...!”
The fairy added one more thing.
“They connected the inner world of Guji Peak to another place. That forest is waiting for us! The name of that forest is... Shirayen! It should be a familiar name to you as well, Your Majesty!”
Your Majesty.
Do not worry.
That is not the real Shirayen Forest.
The eunuch spoke plainly.
Kim Hwang-je decided to trust that calm assurance.
“Good. Let’s go take his head.”
Kim Hwang-je said as he gazed at the rotating magic gate.