Chapter 133

SMH 133

Chapter 44 – Lord (1)

TL: Boko

Editors: Frost, StellarRain

Sung Joon founded his regular assault team, ‘Lord’, once Shin Chul and Jang Hoon decided to join. Since he was South Korea’s first SS-rank Hunter, once rumors spread that he had created a team, all the news channels covered it and several Hunters sent requests, hoping that they’d get accepted into his team.

Sung Joon rejected all of their requests to be a part of his team. Eventually, the ‘Lord’ regular assault team would develop into a guild, which would be comprised of only the best Hunters, and act as a sort of elite guard to fight against the Empire. Therefore, he couldn’t just accept anyone.

The day after Shin Chul and Jang Hoon moved in, Sung Joon travelled to the Blue Dragon Group’s head office to meet Seol Ah.

“I heard that you formed a regular assault team. Congratulations.”

Sung Joon and Seol Ah conversed while drinking tea in her office. She began their conversation by congratulating him on the formation of his regular assault team.

He picked up a snack and spoke.

“It’s not going to end there. I’ll eventually make a guild as well.”

The amount one is taxed while in a regular assault team or a guild is similar. However, a guild provided far more benefits.

“If you’re not taxed, forming a guild is much more beneficial in the long-term than maintaining a regular assault team,” Seol Ah said.  Since he was exempt from taxes, he didn’t need to worry about the disadvantages and could just look at the benefits.

“If you truly plan on forming a guild, we, the Blue Dragon Group, can help with that.”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t really need your help right now,” Sung Joon said firmly. He didn’t need to be patronized when he didn’t even really need the help.

“I’m sorry?”

Unlike him, Seol Ah was flustered. It would be troublesome for her if Sung Joon came out like this. Because Sung Joon was aware of this, he had something ready for her, a ‘carrot’ if you will.

“Instead, I’ll accept your help on other things. And since you’ve helped me out thus far, I can sell you my magic stones, as long as you give me a fair price.”

The rule was that when one was alone, they must sell their magic stones to the Dungeon Bureau; however, when in a ‘guild’ or a ‘regular assault team’, they may sell their magic stones to a corporation instead, so long as they have the permission.

With this method, the major corporations wouldn’t need to use the Dungeon Bureau as an intermediary and would be able to save on a commission charge, while simultaneously enabling the guilds to sell their magic stones at a better price.

“We don’t have anything else to ask for. But you probably have something you want; isn’t that why you’re making the offer?”

Seol Ah, who was only momentarily taken aback, regained her comfortable expression. The Dungeon Bureau demanded a steep commission fee whenever they delivered magic stones to the corporations, so it was a huge advantage to them to monopolize all of a guild’s magic stones.

This was the main reason major corporations would either sponsor or form their own guilds.

“I’d like you to be my manager.”

“I can do that. I don’t need to be involved in matters regarding the company,” Seol Ah enthusiastically approved. She had once considered company matters paramount, but now that she was interested in Sung Joon, everything regarding him took precedence.

“I’ll be in your care once the time comes.”

“That should be my line,” Seol Ah smiled and replied. There was progress, so her grandfather and Chairman of the Blue Dragon Group, Tae Seok, would recognize her achievement. When she thought about that, she felt amazing.

Sung Joon, who thought that their conversation was over, checked his watch and stood up from his seat.

“You’re leaving already?”

Seol Ah’s voice was tinged with disappointment. She wanted to be with him for just a little bit longer. She thought her desire would be transmitted to Sung Joon but Sung Joon merely shook his head.

“Yes. You see, I need to schedule an appointment for a dungeon assault.”

“I’ll see you next time.”

Because there was nothing more important to a Hunter than dungeon assaults, Seol Ah let it go and saw him off from the first floor.

Sung Joon took his car and travelled to the Dungeon Bureau. It was to apply for a dungeon assault.

Han So Eun being his exclusive clerk, as well as having his own counter, eliminated any waiting time. Sung Joon didn’t even need to wait his turn, he just walked over to his exclusive counter.

“Hunter Kang Sung Joon! Hello!”

So Eun greeted him with a radiant expression. Sung Joon felt his own mood brightening, and responded with an enthusiastic voice whilst smiling.

“What can I do for you today?”

“I came to schedule an appointment for a dungeon assault.”

“At what difficulty?”

“S-rank.”

“I understand,” So Eun replied whilst quickly typing on her keyboard and began to go through the procedures.

“Are you going to solo play it this time as well?” So Eun asked. Sung Joon was South Korea’s first and only SS-rank Hunter, so the Dungeon Bureau was well aware of the news that he’d created a regular assault team. However, she had to ask as he’d almost always solo played until now.

“There’ll be three people in total.”

“You don’t need to be matched with anyone else, correct?”

“Yes, it’s unnecessary.”

It was rare for only three people to assault an S-rank dungeon, but he was experienced in soloing S-rank dungeons already, so So Eun wasn’t particularly surprised.

With a calm expression, she opened her mouth.

“You’ve already registered the roster for your regular assault team with the Dungeon Bureau, correct?”

“Yes, I just did,” Sung Joon nodded his head and replied. He’d been able to do that task rather quickly with Hyun Sung’s help.

“Could you please give me the roster of all those participating in the dungeon assault?” So Eun requested, and Sung Joon took out the roster. With that, So Eun registered all the names listed on the roster into the dungeon assault appointment.

“We’ve gone through all the procedures. There happens to be an untouched S-rank dungeon available! Would you like to schedule an appointment immediately?” So Eun asked. Though it wasn’t common for S-rank dungeons to appear, S-rank Hunters tended to be lazy, so if a dungeon appeared while they were resting, the dungeon would be untouched.

“Please do.”

“When day would you like?”

“Please schedule it as fast as possible.”

So Eun nodded her head and typed on her keyboard. However, she seemed to have found something unusual and opened her mouth while looking at Sung Joon.

“Hunter Kang Sung Joon. It seems that there was an error with our computer network. When I looked into the matter further, it seems like this is actually a failed elite dungeon rather than an untouched dungeon.”

Though an elite dungeon yielded two times the amount of magic stones, the attack difficulty was high. Because there wasn’t much prior investigation regarding them, they were pretty much just traps.

“Do you have any information on the party that failed the attack?”

Sung Joon was well aware that it would be helpful to know at least a little information regarding the party that failed.

“The attackers were Hunter Ahn Joon Seok’s regular assault team ‘Invasion Headquarters’.

Ahn Joon Seok was South Korea’s number two S-rank Mage Hunter. Sung Joon had never met him before, but there was a bit of simple information regarding him on Hunter.com.

‘The ‘Invasion Headquarters’ is also an elite regular assault team comprised of A-rank Hunters and up.’

“How far did they get?”

“I can’t give you a definite answer, but I believe Ahn Joon Seok stated that he got about half way through,” So Eun replied, and Sung Joon organized his thoughts. Although its difficulty should be rather high, as it’s an elite dungeon, it should be doable if Ahn Joon Seok had already cleared half of it.

‘The Boss is the problem though.’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Boss would at least be on the level of a Medusa if it were an elite dungeon. Even if it wasn’t, the road leading up to the Boss would be extremely dangerous.

Thus, it was likely that it was the latter if Joon Seok and the ‘Invasion Headquarters’ had given up half way.

“Did he collect the magic stones?” Sung Joon asked. When someone abandons a dungeon mid way, they lose all rights to the magic stones. Conversely, a successful party has all the rights to the magic stones.

“Yes. He collected all of them. Even just half way through, the amount is staggering, so if you finish the assault, then it should yield about two times more than a similarly ranked dungeon.”

Elite dungeons were renowned for yielding much more magic stones in exchange for its higher difficulty.

“I believe it’s worth going if the reward is two times the norm,” Rishubalt said. Sung Joon didn’t nod his head, but he agreed. Since he’d used money recently, he had to diligently gather up some funds again.

“Please schedule the appointment. As quickly as possible.”

“Is one o’clock in the afternoon in two days alright with you?” So Eun asked, and Sung Joon didn’t object. As soon as So Eun finished scheduling the appointment, Sung Joon returned to his mansion and told Shin Chul and Jang Hoon about the details.

“We’re going through an elite S-rank dungeon in two days at one o’clock in the afternoon.”

“Can we do it with only the three of us?”

“Sung Joon. We might have experience going through an S-rank dungeon, but we don’t have any experience with elite S-rank dungeons.”

Shin Chul looked uneasy. Both Shin Chul and Jang Hoon didn’t have any experience with elite S-rank dungeons.

“I’ll be there, so as long as you don’t die on the spot, you should be fine,” Sung Joon said definitely. That was his confidence as an SS-rank Healer Hunter. So long as your brain and heart were intact, he could restore you to perfect health with his healing power, even if your limbs were cut off.

“Trust me.”

“Of course I trust you!” Jang Hoon responded vigorously, but Shin Chul looked calm. Sung Joon glanced at him and asked.

“Are you worried?”

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. It would be different if it was just an S-rank dungeon, but I believe we need more members for an elite S-rank dungeon.”

“Trust me. I’ve soloed S-rank dungeons before. Nothing will happen.”

Like always, Sung Joon overflowed with confidence. And because he knew that his confidence wasn’t unfounded, Shin Chul was able to smile and nod his head.

“I’ll trust and follow you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon.”

Two days later, near one o’clock in the afternoon, Sung Joon, Shin Chul, and Jang Hoon appeared at the entrance of the dungeon.

The news had spread on Hunter.com that they were assaulting a dungeon that the number two S-rank Hunter, Ahn Joon Seok, as well as his assault team ‘Invasion Headquarters’, had failed to conquer, so there were several bystanders around that didn’t have anything better to do.

“Are you Hunter Kang Sung Joon? I’ll check your license.”

The Dungeon Bureau worker on standby approached and said. Sung Joon willingly took out his Hunter’s license and finished with the simple verification procedure.

Sung Joon, Shin Chul, and Jang Hoon entered the dungeon. Because Joon Seok and the ‘Invasion Headquarters’ had left after going half way through, they didn’t encounter anything, not even the monsters’ shadows.

“We’ve just passed the halfway point that the Dungeon Bureau told us about,” Shin Chul reported. Sung Joon nodded his head. With his excellent senses, he started to sense mana presences springing up one or two at a time.

“They’re coming. Get ready.”

“Shield.”

As soon as Sung Joon warned them, Shin Chul cast protective magic. A red spear came flying towards them, striking the blue ‘tent’ surrounding them.

Kwang! Kwang!

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It felt as though the shock was transferred over to them. Right as Shin Chul deactivated the defensive spell, he swung his staff, sending dozens of Wind Cutters at his enemies.

“He’s double casting. As expected, you weren’t wrong about him my lord,” Rishubalt said.

Double Casting was a technique that could only be used by Mages with a deep understanding of magic. And most Mages with such talent eventually rose to be high-ranked mages, or even Archmages.

‘Yeah. I wasn’t wrong. Yoon Shin Chul is talented enough to become an S-ranked Hunter.’

Sung Joon’s eyes gleamed. If he raised Shin Chul well, Shin Chul would become an excellent leader for his elite guard.