Chapter 20: (1): Season 1 – Preparation
From the perspective of Park Sung-hyung, things became a little awkward.
The guild led by Hyun-seok, “Inha,” was essentially the strongest force Sung-hyung knew. It was clear even just looking at Hyun-seok. However, the problem was that he wasn’t revealing this fact. Sung-hyung had heard from other members that Hyun-seok was hesitant to step up due to a bad experience in elementary school, but he couldn’t be sure of the details.
“What am I supposed to do about this…”
Hyun-seok’s abilities were not completely secret, and no one had forced him to keep them a secret. However, seeing that Union had contacted them like this, Hyun-seok seemed to be keeping his abilities to himself. Interestingly, it wasn’t intentional on his part, but Sung-hyung couldn’t catch on to that. They were both being overly considerate of each other, causing a bit of confusion.
Hyun-seok couldn’t properly express himself because his abilities were like a monster’s, not fitting the easy mode, and he thought that actually stating his abilities would make the situation worse. He would likely hear something like, “Are you kidding me? We look like pushovers!” It was common sense that there couldn’t be a slayer with all stats reaching 100.
“Are they trying to pass this on to us without any explanation?”
Even things that weren’t a big deal originally could become a big deal depending on the other person. Sung-hyung’s head became complicated because Hyun-seok was the other person, and after much consideration, he made a decision.
“If you’re not comfortable with them, please consider changing members.”
In reality, it was a rescue operation that was almost like a rural wedding procession. However, it was pointless to create conflict from the beginning when it could be resolved simply by putting Hyun-seok inside the dungeon. On the other hand, it could also be said that Sung-hyung was considering Hyun-seok’s convenience to that extent.
Sung-hyung spoke up, “However, the Aion Guild will be excluded from the rescue team list. There are many applicants and many people on the waiting list. It’s good that things worked out this way. It would be better to exclude a guild that causes discord from the beginning.”
Kim Mun-yeol, the guild leader of Aion, who received Seong-hyeong’s decision through a contact group, wrinkled his face. After a brief meeting, he contacted Union again. They also knew their own abilities. Among the rescue teams, they were among the weaker ones. Therefore, they wanted to cooperate with stronger guilds.
In other words, it meant that there were plenty of other guilds that could replace them. Kim Mun-yeol knew this well, so he eventually decided to participate in the rescue mission even if it was a bit risky. “Damn it. I only have one life,” Park Dae-young grumbled, but after apologizing to Union and making a promise to do well, they were granted permission again. Hyun-seok was a little impressed as he watched. He knew that Park Dae-young was not a soft person, but he had a certain amount of decisiveness and toughness. He silenced Park Dae-young, who was ready to fly off the handle at any moment.
Another message came from Union.
“The Inha Guild is the strongest force in Union and has not been revealed to the public due to special reasons. We did not attach Inha to Aion just because they were weak.”
Park Dae-young, whose judgment was already clouded, didn’t believe those words. “What a joke. They’re just ignoring people. It’s so unfair.”
Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.Although there were some initial disagreements, Aion and Inha eventually decided to form a cooperative relationship and enter the dungeon that had appeared in Ansan.
[The return scroll cannot be used.][Due to excessively high stats, dungeon difficulty will be increased.][Safe zones and recovery areas within the dungeon will be withdrawn.]
Hyun-seok began to contemplate, appearing to others as if he were deeply absorbed in thought.
‘Should I just take them all out with one hit and clear the dungeon quickly, or should I train Pyeong-hwa and Min-seo slowly…’
The newly appeared dungeon was not significantly difficult, but rather time-consuming. Each room with monsters was allocated a certain amount of time, so it was necessary to wait. (Of course, this was only applicable to top-tier guilds. The monsters that appeared were orcs and twin-headed orcs, among the most powerful monsters that existed.)
He had enough information about the Slayers who had entered the dungeon. A guild at this level should have more than enough food and water. Therefore, there was no need to rush. This rescue mission was also a kind of trick to promote the Korean Union on a large scale.
‘These people are extremely tense.’
It was understandable to be tense. They were entering a dungeon. Even I’UET, which was famous, had two casualties when they first entered the dungeon. Nonetheless, it was better to be tense than to have an unwarranted sense of confidence. Being highly alert is much safer in a dungeon than being overly confident.
“There’s a penalty for the safety zones disappearing because of me… I should move quickly until I find the survivors.”Although he was nervous, Kim Mun-yeol, the guild leader of Aion, took the lead. There was only one path, so they could easily find their way. According to the information distributed by the Korean Union, dungeons typically have about seven rooms, but five of them had been cleared.
“It’s about time… They should be in the sixth or seventh room.”
They probably heard the notification that the safety zones had been withdrawn, and were busy moving around by now. Although it seemed that no monsters were appearing in the passage, there was a significant psychological difference between having a safe zone and not having one.
“I think Sung-hyung showed a lot of consideration…”
If he were to reveal his full strength, it could be seen as disregarding Sung-hyung’s consideration. Although Sung-hyung has complex thoughts about Hyun-seok, Hyun-seok also has his own complex thoughts about Sung-hyung. Especially since he deeply felt the human charm and affection towards Sung-hyung, and treated his seniors quite well, it was inevitable for Hyun-seok to think that way.
” He’s thinking a lot about this. he must have two goals.”
If the only goal was to rescue, then it would suffice to send in only Hyun-seok’s subordinates. However, the fact that they specifically included Aion indicates an intention to disperse attention that would otherwise only be focused on the subordinates, while also securing the safety of the Aion guild. If a guild consisting of only three people succeeds in rescuing, then attention will undoubtedly be drawn to them. Especially if it is a guild with no known name.
Hyun-seok tilted his head.
‘But… in order to receive proper compensation, we have no choice but to go all out…’
As he thought about it, the outline began to take shape. As Hyun-seok walked lost in thought, Park Dae-young muttered from behind.
“Damn it… the guild leader is so tense…”
Although he continued to murmur without a break, Hyun-seok was too lost in thought to hear him. In Park Dae-young’s eyes, it seemed that Hyun-seok was so tense that he couldn’t even hear the sounds around him. As they say, people only show what they know.
Hyun-seok came to his own conclusion.
‘In the end… Sung-hyung formed this team on purpose to show that he cares about me. Well… if I want to clear the dungeon slowly, then I can take my time. In the end, the final decision is up to me, but he wants to show that he is taking care of me.’
Hyun-seok sorted out his thoughts and decided to give it his all. As mentioned earlier, the difficulty of the dungeons that appeared this time was not particularly high. If you’re at the level of a top guild, clearing them is possible. However, the problem is that it takes a long time.
‘But… there’s no need to go the long way when there’s a way to finish quickly.’
Hyun-seok smirked.
‘More than anything, I have work tomorrow!’
He looked back briefly.
‘And Min-seo has to go to school tomorrow too.’
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