Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Dungeon Conquest Begins
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Inside a circular barricade, each person had about four or five attendants catering to them. It felt like watching a gathering of famous actors on a movie set. In fact, they were people I’d often seen in photos on the Awakening Gallery.
‘Wow, that person.’
There were even people who always appeared in Hunter combat montages on YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels. Truly, a massive gathering of Korea’s famous Hunters. And...
“Eve, the check-up is complete. Your heart rate... oxygen saturation is fine, and your respiration rate is steady. Your blood pressure is a little low, but it’s within a safe range.”
“Ah, thank you...!”
Since I was here with the Nova Guild, their dedicated medical team gave me a thorough check-up before we entered the dungeon structure. It felt like a condition check. My heart was pounding like crazy; was that really okay?
“You seem a little nervous. Shall we take a deep breath?”
“Hoo, hooo...”
As I took deep breaths and looked around, I saw that so many people were here. There were even blacksmiths tuning up the Hunters’ custom weapons, and in one corner, a giant mount familiar was devouring its feed with incredible ferocity.
A Giant Rune Boar, a boar monster about the size of a rhinoceros. It was the monster tamed by Jang Hyeong-jun, the A-rank Hunter who was always teased on the Awakening Gallery for being a "Hog Rider."
It opened its mouth wide, shattering the wooden feed trough as it ate, digging a deep hole in the ground.
ㅡBeep!! Bee-beep!!!
“Huh? What is it, Doggo?”
ㅡBeep!
Doggo, who had been watching beside me, must have felt a sense of rivalry with the Giant Rune Boar. It kept scratching at the grassy ground with its tiny hands... but given its size, it only managed to dig a small hole about half the size of a baseball.
“Hey, what are you doing? Stop bothering the dirt and come here. You’ll get your feet dirty.”
ㅡBeep...
So competitive for such a small body. What a cute little thing.
Chae-rin was talking to so many people it was practically a fan meeting. Her conversation partners were all famous, so every time she made eye contact with someone, reporters’ cameras would flash like crazy.
“Princess.”
“Ah, yes! Ophelia. What is it?”
“In this battle, I will be moving proactively to escort you, Princess. Please understand that the available forces will be limited to Suri, Minium, and Doggo.”
Ophelia wouldn’t be fighting from a distance like a normal summon; she planned to stay by my side and focus on protecting me. For a summoner, the master’s safety is paramount, so it couldn’t be helped. But that was fine!
“Minium, how are you feeling?”
ㅡClank!
As always, Minium nodded and gave a sharp thumbs-up. Today’s Minium would be able to show power on a whole different level.
“Want to try using that?”
ㅡNod, nod.
Minium nodded and clenched its fists. With a mechanical sound, metal wings made of rare metal shot out from its back. They weren’t like Suri’s real bird-like wings, but more like oars designed to change the direction of thrust.
ㅡWhirrrr...!!
“Whoa...!”
The real reason today’s Minium was different! With the support of the Ohsung Group, which had connections in the defense industry, we had acquired an engine—an older model, but one used in a fighter jet!
Instantly, Minium’s body, spewing blue flames from its back, floated about a meter into the air.
We barely managed to get it thanks to Ophelia’s stock market profits and Chae-rin’s influence. A knight equipped with a fighter jet engine? That’s something you’d only expect from an SSSSS-rank, it's just unheard of.
In fact, we had attached the engine to Minium near the end of the first week of training, and after that, it started destroying all the training machines in the A-rank training room. We had to hurriedly change all our reservations for the A-rank training room.
And now, for the most important part!
“Heehee, Minium. Aren’t you excited?!”
ㅡWhirrr!
“I’m excited too! What’s going to happen?!”
A whopping 400 grams of high-grade magic stones and 10 kilograms of rare metal had arrived for Minium. With this, I would upgrade Minium into an ultra-powerful knight, and it would perform spectacularly.
To celebrate its upcoming upgrade, Minium performed a windmill, spinning about 1.5 times faster than Mr. Min-ho.
“Heehee. Let’s do it quickly.”
ㅡClank!
“Ophelia, but... there are so many people. Is it okay to do it now?”
Ophelia slowly nodded in response to my question. Last time, when I created Ophelia, I felt like it had to be a secret, so I even made my bodyguard wait outside.
“It is fine. In fact, by demonstrating your abilities, it is possible to prove your worth, Princess.”
“Hmm, I see. Okay!”
The magic stones and 10kg of rare metal, brought by the Nova Guild staff, were rolled over to me on a handcart. Everyone else was busy preparing their weapons to enter the gate, so the sudden appearance of a solid block of metal drew some attention.
“Huh, what are they doing over there?”
“Just start recording. It’s something the Nova Guild is doing.”
“Yes, sir.”
The telephoto lenses of a few reporters standing near the access control line turned towards us. All that was left was for me to do what I do best...
‘Just do what I practiced in my special training...!’
Ophelia’s special training included efforts to restore the princess’s dignity. You know, what Suri told me before, about speaking like a princess.
“Ahem...! Minium! I hereby appoint you as a formal knight! Receive my command and... uh....”
“Pledge your eternal loyalty to the royal family.”
“Ah, pledge your loyalty to swear eternal to the royal family!”
ㅡThump!
Ophelia facepalmed beside me, but I’d give myself a 95 out of 100. I only mixed up the order of two words. Cut me some slack.
ㅡClank!
Minium knelt before me and nodded, and I approached the materials beside me, placed my hand on them, and spoke.
“Golem Creation, merge into Minium!”
ㅡFwoosh!
The materials were definitely fewer than when I created Ophelia. But I could feel an immense amount of magic draining away rapidly. I hadn’t been idle, though. I could withstand this much.
“Ugh...!”
The massive amount of magic draining away instantly filled the materials with a blue light. Then, as if they had melted, the materials lost their original form and flew towards Minium.
And then...
“Huh...?”
Where was my super-duper ultra-strong knight robot? Just like when I created Ophelia, only Minium’s core was left, floating in mid-air. Ophelia, who was watching from the side, spoke as she looked at it.
“This... is unexpected.”
“What?! You didn’t expect this, Ophelia?!”
Team A is supposed to enter in about 30 minutes. Our team is Team C, so we go in an hour... With two hours left until completion, that means I won’t be able to use Minium for the first hour inside.
If I had known this would happen, I would have made it at home and brought it...!
“Princess, do not be flustered. Many eyes are upon you.”
“Ah, right...!”
If a picture of me looking flustered and confused was taken, all the princessly dignity I’d shown so far would vanish. For now, I had to stay calm....
“S-Suri... what do we do...? Are you going to do everything alone...?”
ㅡKiii...
Suri shook its head. For the first hour after entering the gate, we might have to rely solely on Suri’s combat abilities. Of course, Ophelia would be there, but I’d be watching from the back, and she would be sticking right by my side to protect me....
“It cannot be helped. Until Minium’s creation is complete, it seems I will have to be a bit more active.”
“I-Is that really okay...?”
As an outsider participating in the Nova Guild’s raid party, if I didn’t show some results, it would put Chae-rin, who recommended me, in a difficult position. Ophelia swiftly moved over to Chae-rin, who was preparing for battle, and explained the situation.
Chae-rin, looking a little flustered herself, hurried over to me.
“E-Eve? Is this Minium?”
“Yeees... it ended up like last time....”
“I-I see... Two hours, you said? Hmm....”
Chae-rin stroked her chin and nodded, then came over, took my hand, and smiled.
“Don’t worry, Eve. Then... you can just stick close to me for the first hour. That way, Ophelia can fight, right?”
“Is that really okay...? I feel like I’ll just be a burden....”
“No, it’s fine. I fight from the rear lines too, so it won’t be much different from what we planned.”
“Ugh... I’m sorry....”
Wait, it's a First Mission and they're taking a brand new A-rank?
What's with the maid outfit? Is she cosplaying?
Right? She did something and poof, it's gone.
Still, the GOAT for not touching elementary schoolers...
“Hooo—”
“How is it? Feeling a little calmer?”
“Ah, yes!”
I think I understood why they gathered the Hunters so early, even when they weren’t going in right away. When I first arrived, there were so many people that my head was spinning and I was incredibly nervous.
But as people gradually went inside and it got quieter, I felt a bit restless, like I wanted to get in there and fight. I was warming my chilled body with some cocoa.
They say that when Hunters enter a gate, being more aggressive is much better for survival than being tense and timid.
“Team Leader Yoo! Did you see this? They said Team B just encountered the mid-boss.”
“Really? Let’s watch together. You want to see, Eve?”
“The mid-boss? Y-Yes, I want to see too!”
Watching the team that went in before us achieve victory, I could feel my tension easing and my morale rising.
“Mmm....”
Still, I was anxious because Minium hadn’t returned yet. Couldn’t I just use cash to complete it instantly? I have a lot of Robux....
“Team C, please enter!”
“Ugh, finally.”
This was the temporary break room for the Nova Guild’s raid party. It was created by a device on the back of a massive truck—a container-like thing that expanded sideways to become a room.
When an employee from the Hunter Management Association shouted from outside, the elite members of the Nova Guild’s raid party, who had been lounging in the break room, began to stir with groans.
“Ugh, ugh. Let’s get going already.”
“I was waiting so long I thought I was going home.”
Despite their words, you could see the morale overflowing from them. Just as expected from the elite raid party of the Republic of Korea’s strongest guild.
“Eve, don’t worry. Okay?”
“Hoo... Yes! I understand!”
Of course, right now, I was one of them.
Praise the princess.