Chapter 31: Discomfort
[Additional Option]
– 75% Earth resistance
– 75% Water resistance
– 75% Fire resistance
– 75% Wind resistance
Finally, all four attribute resistance were raised to the limit. There were so many things to do in the meantime that it took a little bit longer.
‘Can it rise above the resistancelimit?’
There might be some cases where it was only by one, so Do-joon decided to take out one more leather and test it.
[You can copy one of the options from “Elemental Snake’s Leather” to “Kim’ Do-joon”.]
[Copyable option]
- –
*Earth resistance is already at its maximum.
However, as expected, it did not go up any higher. If it had gone up, it would have been ridiculous.
‘Come to think of it, it still doesn't make any sense.’
He has been able to get all four attributes to the max without any cost, others had to shake their pillar roots just to do the same with only one attribute. This alone was enough of an achievement.
Once you have achieved your goal, you should attempt to ascertain it.
So, Do-joon called Lee Ji-ah.
Tuk.
– Oh, Mr. Do-joon. I was just going to call you from my side.
Lee Ji-ah said as soon as she picked up.
"What for?"
Do-joon asked curiously.
– Do-joon, you got promoted to E-rank.. Congrats! The notice will be sent sometime today.
"Really?"
Of course, it was only a matter of time.
He had been constantly running into the dungeons during the cooldown whenever he couldn't enter the labyrinth.
He was still delighted though.
A sense of achievement grew within him.
– You can now enter a C-class party. Well, I'm talking about when they accept it.
"That's good."
F-rank hunters can apply for up to D-class parties, and E-rank hunters can apply for C-class parties.
Thanks to that, if he does well, his promotions could skyrocket from now on. This was due to the difference between C-class dungeons and D-class dungeons in performance points starting from the number of digits.
This is why the industry sometimes refers to an F-rank as an intern.
‘Then, did I pretty much finish my internship and become a full-time employee?’
He suddenly bursted into laughter, he remembered the old days. He was also an ordinary office worker back then, before he obtained his potion production skills.
– By the way, why did you call, Do-joon? Is it because of a dungeon?
"Yes, please set the next dungeon with an elemental affiliation. The grade doesn't matter.”
– Element affiliation? For what purpose?
"I just want to experience various dungeons.”
– Aha.
There were quite many hunters who deliberately went to and from various types of dungeons from the time they were newcomers.
In order to get used to dungeons with a lower difficulty step by step.
As such, Lee Ji-ah did not have any questions.
– I see. I'll look around.
"Thank you as always."
– This is my job, so what are you thankful for?
Ssssg.
At that moment, Siewellin came and pulled Do-joon's sleeve. He turned with a questioning look to see what was wrong. To which, she showed him that the remote wasn't working and the TV wouldn't turn on.
Recently, she has been obsessed with a variety of shows. He glanced over the remote and noticed that the batteries were inserted upside down. It must have fallen out somehow, but inserted the wrong way.
“Ah, this. Wait a minute.”
Do-joon took out the battery and promptly placed it back correctly. So when he went to press the power button, the TV seemed to magically turn on.
Siewellin smiled happily and then quickly settled on the sofa. Do-joon giggled at the sight.
– Is there someone next to you?
Lee Ji-ah asked him over the phone.
Do-joon replied indifferently.
"My nephew has started living with me since last week."
– Oh, really? Huh? I thought you said that you didn’t have any relatives.
"It wasn't that I didn't have any. It was that I actually lost contact…….”
Do-joon repeated the same explanation he had given to Jeong Da-jeong. Similar to before, Lee Ji-ah also seemed to accept the explanation just like Jeong Da-jeong.
After that, the call ended after asking what they had been doing without anything special.
‘Let's see… … .'
After that, there was only free time.
The elemental island had already been visited while the Orc Kingdom cooldown remained. The dungeon has just been applied for matching, and the store was closed until Siewellin could read and write skillfully.
It could be thought of as a long-awaited vacation for the first time, but Do-joon did not intend to relax.
At times like this, it was only training.
Just like the time he spent before the Hunter exam, he spent several days going back and forth between the hospital and the training center.
<NL Tower.>
Located in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam, this was the headquarters of Karma Guild.
Some may ask. Why would an organization created by a few hunters need such a tall skyscraper?
Usually that was a valid question until it became a large guild.
Majority of existing guilds simply refer to a single team of hunters. However, unlike them, larger guilds have several such teams.
In addition, they may have their own manufacturingdivisions, and accordingly, handle much more work than what ordinary people think. Such as storing and researching various corpses of monsters and materials extracted from dungeons.
On top of that, if one was to combine personnel, support, as well as welfare for both hunters and employees, a single building is just not enough.
Somewhere on the enormous NL tower. About halfway up, but not quite on top, was Oh Sang-jin's office.
"F***k!"
Bang!
Oh Sang-jin busted the office door open as if to rip it off its hinge, entered the office with a huff. His face was a boiling red and his snoring was rough.
“F**king hell! Why do you have to give it to me like that? What do you want me to f**cking do, goddamn it!”
He was a person who took his anger out on innocent desks and cupboards. It wasn’t anything unusual. It was always like this after executive meetings.
Thanks to this, it was fairly common for furniture in his office to be replaced day by day.
"Young master!"
Bang!
The door burstedopen once more and a man in a black suit entered the room. Oh Sang-jin shouted with a veins on his neck at the rude visitor as his fever rose even higher.
"Hey, you bast*rd! Come through quietly. Quietly!”
"Don't you often do this, young master?"
“This bastard is always getting bigger in the head. If you're this defiant, you canjust be the young master!"
The man immediately lowered his practically wagging tail in response to Oh Sang-jin's shout. The man was Jang Dae-hoon, the head of office, who had been serving Oh Sang-jin since old times.
Now that most of the guild executives were serving his older brother Oh Tae-jin. Jang Dae-hoonwas one of the few who remained on Oh Sang-jin's side.
For that reason, he couldn’t afford to let Jang Dae-join go. Oh Sang-jin let out a loud sigh and growled.
"What is it this time? If it's just nothing, I won't let you go without the consequences.”
“Ah, that.”
Jang Dae-hoon shook in fear, before raising his head again and speaking.
"You know Kim Do-joon, the one whom you told me to keep an eye on before. That man was matched to the same party as Kwak Dong-gyu this time.”
"What? Who?"
“That old man during the Hunter exam.”
Oh Sang-jin knocked on the desk with his finger as if he remembered only then.
"Oh~, that herb lover? The one who broke our new 2 billion won bast*rd?”
"Yes."
Oh Sang-jin had nearly forgotten about him. He calmed his nerves and instructed Jang Dae-hoon to keep observing him.
It was even more so because there was no noise related to Kim Do-joon after that.
“Oh right, Isn’t Kwak hyung on vacation?”
"That's right. I heard he was on vacation and enjoying his hobbies."
"Aha."
Oh Sang-jin smiled. It's a hobby, but it had terrible packaging. Well, even if he didn't call it training, it's still a conscientious one.
“Where did that guy say he went off to?”
"Uh, it’s said he didn't go anywhere."
"What? Nowhere? With what guts?
"I'm not sure about that…….”
The guild is not an organization that only supports its hunters from behind. When they are involved in accidents or disputes, they also play a role in protecting their interests and even their personal affairs.
That's why hunters search for guilds. Even if profit suffers a bit than going solo, there is far more to gain than just that.
The fact that Do-joon didn't join the guild means that he must have a back-up support to take care of him.
On top of that, he's in the same party as Kwak Dong-gyu.
"Where's the dungeon?"
"It's a lava cave in Sangam-dong."
Lava Cave. It was the dungeon where Karma took charge for the initial exploration. Oh Sang-Jin still remembered it clearly as it was a very special case.
It just wasn’t the right place.
‘I'm lucky, too.'
Oh Sang-jin smirked. If he didn't make sure to watch Do-joon, he would have never known. He felt uncomfortable hearing about him again. But at the same time, the people and location were perfect.
"Manager Jang, call Kwak".
"Is it okay? It's just that I'm getting nervous… … .”
"Hey, you punk. Do you know how much I clean things up from my brother because of him? I can't sleep whenever I think about him!”
He wished he could just completely forget about it.
Director Jang thought his boss was just ridiculous for a moment, but he quickly managed his expression. Thanks to that, Oh Sang-jin did not find out.
"Okay. What should I say?"
"That dungeon… … .”
He took out a cigarette and promptly stuffed it in his mouth.
“Tell him it’s a single-layered root dungeon that hasn’t been reported yet.”
Dungeon matching usually took a few days. Especially when it comes to conditions such as this one.
Do-joon, who had been going back and forth from home, hospital, and training center for several days, headed to Sangam-dong after receiving a call.
“Are you here?”
In the middle of a park with the beautiful Han River far out in the distance.
Originally, it was a secluded place where only couples would go out on a date, but as always, ugly roots grew.
Barricades, security guards, and parked cars surrounded it.
Exactly six people were gathered on one side.
"I'm Kim Do-joon. I guess I must have been late.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I am Kwak Dong-gyu, I’ll be taking charge this time.”
As Do-joon approached, a man stood up and reached out his hand. Do-joon took his hand and shook it.
At that moment, he noticed another person's gaze staring at him. As if he was closely examining Do-joon.
However, Do-joon passed it lightly at this time. It wasn't strange to observe a colleague who would join them in the dungeon for now.
"Huh? Excuse me?"
Then he heard a voice from the side. When Do-joon turned to him with puzzlement, there was a familiar face.
“Mr. Hwang Hyun-woo?”
"Yes, it's me! Wow, I can’t believe we’re meeting like this here."
Hwang Hyun-woo struggled with saying that the world was so small. Do-joon also shook hands with him with slightly tired eyes. He didn't expect to meet the owner of the store he visited just a few days ago so soon.
"Do you know each other?"
"Not really, I’ve just purchased his items in the past."
"Actually, I'm running a small weapons store. Haha."
Hwang Hyun-woo cheekly laughed. He handed over business cards one by one to his party members. At first glance, his timing seemed like that of a veteran salesperson.
"I see."
Kwak Dong-gyu nodded. At the same time, the gaze that seemed to be observing Do-joon earlier moved to Hwang Hyun-woo. Although he didn’tappear to notice.
‘It must be habit.’
Those who are hunters make a living by beating up monsters. It's not strange at all to have a habit like that.
Do-joon was also fed up with this nonsense, so he secretly used his insight.
[Hwang Hyun-woo]
Fit rate
– 14%
Hwang Hyun-woo's fit rate was 14%. The figure was about the top of the E-class level. Today's dungeon, Lava Cave, was a D-class dungeon. So, at least he would be able to do something with that much.
[Kwak Dong-gyu]
Fit rate
– 48%
When his gaze rested on Kwak Dong-gyu, Do-joon was momentarily surprised.
48% is similar to the named Orcs from the Orc Kingdom, which he recently began to enter. In terms of association standards, he was just in the lower B-class.
The issue that remained was.
‘Did they say he was a D-class when he applied?’
As confirmed by the association, Kwak Dong-gyu was definitely D-class. However, his fit rate was close to level B?
Obviously a strange situation.
Suddenly, he began to feel uncomfortable.