Chapter 433. Don’t Adjust Your Shoes in a Melon Field, Don’t Fix Your Hat Under a Plum Tree (4)
Chapter 433. Don’t Adjust Your Shoes in a Melon Field, Don’t Fix Your Hat Under a Plum Tree (4)
Anyway, he only knows how to use a telephoto camera. Artifacts can’t be held in your hand, and a civilian paparazzo—who can’t attempt dungeon raids—apparently pretended to be crazy and sold the information. So the executives gathered there made a quick decision.
“First, let’s go to the site. There could be hunters sneaking into the passage, taking advantage of the chaos.”
Even if we waste time here… it would be like trying to catch a horse with no legs. Hearing that people had gathered, Jeong Ha-seong was the first to stand up. The red-haired esper also moved relatively quickly. After all, they were all S-rank hunters who frequently respond to emergency situations.
Even if we waste time here… It would be like trying to catch a horse with no legs. Hearing that people had gathered, Jeong Ha-seong was the first to get up. The superpowered individual with reddish hair also moved relatively quickly. After all, they were all S-ranks who often responded to emergency situations.
“That darn Elixir. I was thinking I’d take a look at the real thing with my own eyes...”
But even amid this confusion, there were those who maintained their own pace.
Kang Changho.
The third S-rank Hunter of Korea hardly moved. Instead, he just watched the others. Judging by his demeanor, it was clear he had no intention of going to the scene.
‘That guy just makes a mess and then disappears.’
This was a choice he could make, since there were still plenty of ways to verify the actual Elixir. Moreover, the head of the Association similarly had little necessity to go to the scene. Except for a few individuals, almost everyone soon headed outside.
-Um, Mr. Kang. I’m just asking to be safe, but if those people go out now, would they end up encountering the security team that collapsed in the hallway?
-Oh, no, that’s not going to happen.
-Then, you didn’t knock out the guards?
-We came in properly without any violence. All we did was show our S-rank Hunter IDs and explain that we, too, had been summoned.
-....
-Of course, the fact that it was a lie is a bit of a problem.
-The newly hired security team’s training is a mess. Don’t they even double-check this?
-Isn’t that proof that the Hunter Association hasn’t faced much hardship lately? Complacency. Ah, though, it’s not entirely a bad thing either.
As can be inferred from overhearing this conversation, there hasn’t been a single injury so far. But the elixir has reappeared. Word of this spread quietly among the public, and no one could guarantee what would happen next.
‘Phew.’
Anyway, this world really does have a lot to worry about. Esther, who was surveying the situation as a whole, paused for a moment in thought.
‘I’d forgotten, since we haven’t had to deal with monsters for a while, but as expected, Dungeon Shocks come with way too many things to worry about.’
Yet there is likely no one here more bewildered than that young man. [Magic Addiction] is a phenomenon that typically erupts only in the early stages of a Dungeon Shock. So, in the perception of others, it had long been cemented as a rare disease one would scarcely encounter in a lifetime. Yet, this sudden, catastrophic event—one that should have existed only in distant footage—has struck none other than Korea’s representative Hunter…
***
A little later, Jung Haseong arrived at the familiar location, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.
A blue glow. Alien mana lingering in the surroundings. Before him lay a gate—now so common that even explaining it felt like a bother.
‘Oh my goodness!’
However, the scene was exactly as he had been informed over the phone.
“Ah! There you are. You’ve come.”
“Excuse me. Does a black, crawling monster come out of this gate?”
“Our guild heard all about this! But really, some worthless folks think they can just snatch this up just because their rank is high.”
“Neo and the Magic Tower actually went out of their way to set up guards, huh?”
Fine, let’s say the Elixir has appeared. But why on earth did those people get angry all on their own?
“Phew, everyone. Hello.”
“You can’t say hello!”
“Sir, blocking newly discovered gates is a procedure that existed even five years ago, and on our large guild’s side, we’ve merely dispatched personnel.”
“But, the thing is….”
“Let’s calm down a bit first.”
The commotion gradually subsided. The others might have been startled by the unexpectedly strong presence of the Awakened, but Jung Haseong and Esther ignored that and focused on the conversation first.
“Even though a top-tier guild discovered and blocked this dungeon first, you’re telling us not to get excited?”
“Guild Master Esther. Are you saying only your guild counts as a guild? Even if you’re stuck in third place, we’re contributing just as much to national security.”
Judging by their reaction, it seems the meeting held by the Hunter Association hadn’t spread at all.
‘We just came to check out the news that the [Elixir] had appeared, and well, it seems the Awakened were already blocking the way, so they got surprised and pushed back.’
By the way, there’s a saying that if you just stay in your room surfing the internet, you become an adult child younger than your actual age. Surprisingly, social skills can return quickly with some practice. So Esther leveraged the eloquence she had built up over many years to explain the situation.
“Now, let’s start by organizing the situation. I’ll make this clear from the start: the Elixir Gate is set to become a public asset proudly belonging to the Republic of Korea, okay?”
Whether it’s a medicine limited to the boss or not. Right now, since they don’t know the truth, the obvious strategy is to kill as many minions as possible.
“A public asset?”
“Are you saying you’re going to release hunters into the plains like you do at Gate II?”
A brief question-and-answer exchange followed.
“Not exactly, but I still want to give as many Hunters as possible a chance. Is that such a wrong intention?”
“Didn’t the Association say they would hold an auction?”
“They think similarly to me on that point as well.”
“S, similar? If a public institution has already verified it, then I have nothing to say….”
At this point, what popped up again was a remark about the “peculiar phenomena unique to gates.”
“Wait a moment, Hunter Esther. But the thing is, the current market trend…”
Whether the photographer had leaked the information to every media outlet remained uncertain. Fortunately, only a few here had doubts. The hunters on site were from a 1.5-tier guild, following in the footsteps of the Korean Magic Tower and Neo Sisters.
“This… gate, I don’t know if it’s some sort of divine punishment from the heavens or what. In any case, it seems to strongly oppose Hunters gathering and loafing around in one place.”
“Hmm.”
“That’s why, upon clearing a dungeon, it’s become more common for the gate’s resource laborers to be summoned to the surface.”
“Please continue.”
“Guild Master, you also know why [Knight’s Oath] has become so rare recently, don’t you?”
However, how to reach an agreement moving forward remains somewhat daunting.
“In Europe and elsewhere, monsters nicknamed Tristan are rapidly decreasing in number.”
“….”
“In the past, dungeons were treasure troves that constantly yielded rewards. Now, even ordinary monsters don’t seem to guarantee repeatable hunting.”
“There have been no reported cases of monsters completely disappearing.”
“Still, is it really wrong to make sure everything is settled before breaking ground on a task?”
Seo Esther was a mutant who easily ranked in the top 5% of humanity in terms of money, power, and the sheer force she could exert. Therefore, it was natural for her, holding the reins, to speak as the representative.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it wrong, but then, if I may, I’ll state my position as the one who first discovered the dungeon.”
Even if the monsters in this gate are limited in number, she believed it would be unreasonable for a single person to monopolize the space. Even now, everyone is keeping each other in check and chaos has broken out; if the gate’s rights completely passed to one side, accidents that insurance couldn’t cover could occur. Just as with the [Beast] incident, she suggested that even if a band of thieves appeared, the public would willingly step in—so this treasure gate’s authority should be shared among multiple people.
“If you prefer, we could even pull the monsters out of the gate one by one and bring them outside—then distribute them according to rank.”
For reference, if the lottery-like chances were distributed this way, even the Hunters whose minds were starting to wander would get back to work like oxen. From Esther’s perspective, this was quite rational. Safe. And it was even a noble choice, one that gave up all the advantages of being the S-rank Hunter who first discovered the gate.
“What did you say? By rank?”
“I knew it!”
However, the reactions of the nearby hunters were not favorable.
“Absolutely not! How are we supposed to know when our turn will come!”
The capital is a city where gates appear frequently. However, most of Seoul’s prime hunting grounds are swept up by large guilds with substantial capital.
Therefore, it was only natural that top-ranking hunters were concentrated with the Neo Sisters and the Korean Magic Tower. Moreover, high-ranking A-rank Awakened who occasionally slipped in were often from the provinces, monopolizing certain areas…
‘What exactly is the problem with that last remark?’
Seo Esther shot a glance at the Hunters before her, who had received leaked information.
Anyway, in the end, their argument was simple.
‘So, they’re whining that if assets are distributed by rank, the share for them, ranked third in the metropolitan area, is too small?’
At this point, Seo Esther felt a strong sense of doubt.
‘But even if the gate’s owner were chosen by some other method, there’s no way they’d end up first, right?’
After all, they were individuals lacking money, scale, and even the modern power of supernatural abilities.
This is a trait that’s seen all too often online. In short, it could be assumed that the Hunters in these positions envied and tried to check those who had more resources.
“If gate entry is done by rank, then later you’ll even hand over the right to kill the boss in the same way, won’t you?”
Moreover, Esther was not the only target of their attacks.
“He has contributed the most to the country, and he happened to have a [Magic Addiction] patient at home. Everything will really pass to Jung Haseong in the blink of an eye, won’t it?”
“No, that’s…”
“Since when are incurable or hard-to-treat patients only over there? Everyone here has their own circumstances too!”
What on earth was Jung Haseong thinking at this moment? The capitalists from the third guild soon pointed at the young man in white.
“But now that such an extraordinary treasure gate has appeared, you’re just going to hand all the rights over to one person?”
“There really isn’t a better alternative, is there?”
“No, we can’t. We reached an agreement before coming here, and we absolutely don’t want to set such a precedent.”
What did you say? Truly, it was the kind of sentence that naturally provoked such a question.
“[The Elixir] isn’t just an item that makes its user stronger. It’s a medicine that can save a person’s life!”
“Exactly. But are you saying only the higher-ups get to share the chance to obtain it?”
“If you’re the ones protecting this world, fine, no complaints. But even if just the C-rank Hunters go on strike, let alone A-rank, the country would fall into chaos. So why assume it’s natural for S-rank Hunters to get special privileges? Huh?”
Questions followed in quick succession, asking, “Are you the only heroes of the nation?”
“At this rate, every time a national treasure appears it’ll just be taken away as if that’s only natural. If that’s how it’s going to be, let’s just make it a lottery draw instead!”
“Whether the Elixir Gate gets raided or whatever, let the side that gains ownership deal with that themselves!”
“If not even that, then voting… What about a vote? After all, this is a democratic country.”
At this moment, Seo Esther muttered her dissatisfaction inwardly.
‘What is wrong with everyone’s heads? If they adopt time‑dragging measures like votes or lotteries, just think how much will be siphoned off into defense costs while that drags on. We’ll have headaches from all the shady schemes pouring in from every direction.’
On this side was an S-rank Hunter who had earned countless ranking points and, with a solid track record of regular activity, firmly held the second-place position.
‘And if I happened to obtain the Elixir, I could have even negotiated a private deal with the Neo Sisters’ president.’
Naturally, she had carefully considered her own benefits in making every argument. But now that it was on the verge of being overturned, a sense of emptiness rose within her.
‘What a shame. The chance to surpass the rival guild I’ve been rivaling for years is just slipping away like this?’
Moreover, the curse user smiled amiably, yet a peculiar contempt began to creep into their gaze.
‘Honestly, I don’t even know if those people understand the concept of capitalism or competition.’
Though she seemed genuinely concerned with protecting the weak, she also had a tendency to harbor grudges easily. The person with purple hair had been observing the situation and was about to interject with a remark tinged with irritation.
However, this person spoke a little faster.
A one-handed sword of crimson day. An otherworldly cloak retrieved from the glowing blue corridor. Finally, a well-known figure clad in such items stepped forward.
“Everyone.”
These were Jung Haseong’s first words.
“This is already a well-known story, but I’m in a position where I want to treat my sick mother. And yet, all I’m asking for is just one chance for the effort I’ve put in… Do you really have to oppose me to this extent?”
He didn’t stop there, but added a few more words.
“No, well… we have sick people in our family too. My mother also has a hereditary disease that modern science can’t cure…”
“Still, medicine in this world isn’t free, is it?”
“Huh?”
“Everyone talks a good game about how the lives of the poor are just as precious, but in the end, new drugs with fewer side effects and higher success rates have always been priced beyond the reach of ordinary families…”
Watching the situation, Seo Esther instinctively realized that Jung Haseong was not in a rational state.
“Moreover, even dogs… even those tiny lives called puppies, their surgery costs aren’t covered by insurance, so they’re always at risk of being abandoned.”
“…”
“But just because they’re pitiable, a single veterinarian can’t possibly take in and raise all the stray dogs in the country, right? Realistically, everyone knows that.”
“…”
“This is a world without equality.”
“…”
“But now, after someone has worked themselves to the bone and lived diligently, it’s finally their turn to receive the benefits… so why now… of all times, why now, of all times?”
Since the normally calm Hunter gradually raised his voice, it was easy to discern the desperation of his opponent.
“Ah… please. I don’t even know what to say.”
“H, Hunter-nim.”
“I know this request is half unreasonable! But I’m really in a hurry.”
Moreover, within a few seconds, the situation became so alien it was almost suffocating. Jung Haseong had started his social life young. Because he was often dismissed due to his age, he had deliberately hidden his inexperience until now. But now, unable to control his emotions, he was showing tears in a public setting. From the start, such a reaction couldn’t have been suppressed by individual strength alone.
“Please. I need the [Elixir] more than any other item.”
Who in the world wouldn’t feel sorrow thinking of a sick loved one? Generally, people are much the same, unless we’re talking about some alien occupying a son’s body.
“If this is likely to set a bad precedent, I’ll write a formal pledge. I won’t receive any preferential treatment from the ranking system anymore.”
“Oh my.”
“And I really didn’t want to say this… but no matter how much I think about it, it just won’t work.”
“W, what?”
“I feel like I’d only be at ease if I somehow obtained the right to defeat this dungeon’s boss. Otherwise I’ll go crazy. I think I’d try—even if it means telling the government officials I’m emigrating—just to give it a shot…”
“Gasp!”
“I’m so sorry.”
My goodness. Jung Haseong had turned down all the lavish offers that came from abroad. Yet the national hero, who seemed destined to stay in Korea forever, suddenly played an unexpected card.
“But if you all can restrain your protests—I mean, if you don’t oppose me too strongly—I’ll personally guarantee the rewards from the gate’s ordinary monsters as compensation. So please…”
Emigration. He never thought that word would actually come up.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes?”
“Are you telling me to go mess around with my nationality in front of the officials?”
But that’s how society has always been. As the case with Seo Esther and the European shows, for example. Older people often find it harder to apologize than immature teenagers. Where does the perception come from that lowering one’s head first makes you a loser? And when this tendency evolves into what people call “stubbornness,” it becomes an even bigger headache.
“Have you even been listening to a word we’ve said? I told you—the reason I’m against giving you any special treatment is precisely because you can threaten and manipulate the government whenever you want!”
Sociopath.
Jung Haseong usually thought of such words in front of Kim Giryeo. But the person standing before them—more precisely, the friendly face that looked as if they’d just stepped out for a neighborhood stroll—actually fit that concept far better. Therefore…
“Why act like that just because you awakened as an S-rank without any real effort? And why, on top of that, are you selfishly saying you’ll go to another country and put us in a difficult spot? Yes?”
“D, Director…”
A sociopath of modern society began spewing bitter words, metaphorically with a knife in their mouth. Meanwhile, the subordinates around them glanced nervously, clearly unsettled.