Chapter 19

Chapter 19

-Ding!

-Level Up!

-Level Up!

“This is insane... Completely insane...”

After the storm clouds disappeared, only Goblins twitching violently remained inside the Dungeon.

They had been electrocuted and swept away in an instant by the massive lightning strikes.

With a single click and tear of a scroll, he had unleashed an entire barrage of chain lightning.

At full power, no less.

The constant dinging of level-up notifications in his ears sounded like a cheerful fanfare.

“Wow, some of these things are still breathing after taking that?”

Not every Goblin had died.

Their vitality truly was astonishing.

But they were badly wounded, their bodies stiff from electrocution, unable to resist.

Bang-!

Haejin casually finished off the survivors with his gun.

-Ding!

-Level Up!

“Beautiful!”

Another level-up came from the additional experience.

Just collecting the Red Goblin corpses here would net him at least one hundred million won.

Even after subtracting the cost of mana potions and the scroll, there would still be plenty left.

Who knew making money could be this easy?

Mass hunting really was the best.

“But... Hmm.”

Still, not everything was dead.

The Red Goblin Shaman, a mid-boss-class monster.

It was still alive, trembling violently.

It even grabbed its staff with shaking hands and tried to chant another spell.

“Woof!”

Not a chance.

Haejin didn’t even need to act. Pasu darted forward.

He bit down on the Shaman’s neck and shook violently, knocking the staff from its hands.

His sharp canine teeth dug deep.

He stubbornly tore at the flesh and ripped apart its tough hide.

Once even the carotid artery ruptured, the Shaman could no longer endure.

It collapsed onto the ground and stopped breathing.

“Good work, Pasu. Nice assist.”

“Woof woof!”

Pasu trotted back wagging his tail, and Haejin stroked his head.

He had learned something from this.

‘It ended well, but that was actually a little dangerous.’

Haejin had been outside the safe zone.

If the Shaman had secretly finished chanting, he might have been hit by magic.

It had been more dangerous than he realized.

Pasu had been a huge help.

‘I really do need to be careful whenever I leave the property.’

The hunt was over, so now came the looting.

Sweating heavily, Haejin began working with Pasu.

They dragged the scattered Red Goblin corpses toward the camper van one by one.

But they didn’t have much time.

‘Hmm, will this be okay?’

Red Goblins were about the size of middle-school boys.

And since their bodies were packed with muscle, moving even one was hard work.

He had already pulled an absurd amount of aggro with the Light spell and then Chain Lightning.

At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange for another group of Red Goblins to appear at any moment.

‘Let’s just do as much as we can.’

He stuffed every monster corpse he had killed into the camper van.

For now, he planned to hide the corpses, then pretend to be an ordinary stranded civilian once the Dungeon was eventually cleared.

The work was almost finished, and he was about to move the largest corpse, the Shaman, when.

“Wait, Pasu. Shh.”

“Whine.”

Footsteps echoed from beyond the cavern.

They weren’t far.

And they were getting closer as they approached.

‘Damn it. More already?’

Pasu’s fur stood on end as he began barking.

Haejin also raised his sniper rifle and aimed at the flickering shadows on the wall.

Then.

“Huh? People?”

The figures that emerged were humans.

And they were even wearing uniforms bearing the Hunter Association insignia.

“Th-that’s... really a camper van?!”

“No way... How is there one inside a Dungeon?”

“This isn’t the time to question it. Hyeongtae, support Sua. That person must be our savior.”

The man who looked like their team leader hurried over.

Haejin froze at their completely unexpected appearance.

‘I’m screwed.’

His beautiful plan to hide the corpses and pretend to be an innocent survivor shattered instantly.

And since these were government Hunters, it would be difficult to bluff his way out of it.

As the team leader rushed over, Haejin pretended to know nothing.

“Oh, hello. Fancy meeting you here.”

“This camper van. It really...”

“I’m actually just a stranded civilian, you know? I don’t know anything. Nothing whatsoever. You could say I’m an innocent, frail citizen. So maybe you could just keep walking?”

“We’re... saved...”

“H-huh? Hey?!”

What was happening?

Perhaps overwhelmed by relief, the team leader’s legs gave out and he collapsed where he stood.

The other two Hunters who arrived behind him even fainted in front of the camper van.

“There really was a camper van. Headquarters was telling the truth!”

“You know me?”

“And these corpses... You killed all these Red Goblins by yourself. Incredible. Just like headquarters said, you really are an overwhelmingly powerful Hunter. They said at least A-rank, and they were right!”

“M-me? A-rank? Why?!”

What the hell was happening?

Before he could understand, the team leader suddenly dropped to his knees before Haejin.

Bowing his head all the way to the ground, he shouted desperately.

“Please. Would you protect us? Save us, please!”

“Why are you asking me?”

“The Association has already approved it. If you keep us alive, they’ll pay whatever compensation you demand! So please!!”

“...Oh?”

But sometimes.

If the final result was profitable enough, the process hardly mattered.

This was exactly such a case.

After quickly thinking it over, Haejin helped the team leader stand and spoke in a benevolent voice.

“Of course I’ll save you. But, how much were you thinking?”

* * *

First, he brought all the team members inside the camper van.

Guardian Oh Hyeongtae and Mage Lee Sua were especially badly injured, so he unfolded the beds and laid them down.

‘Their condition is worse than I thought. The Mage especially was almost dead.’

Even government Hunters were reduced to this state against Red Goblins.

It made Haejin appreciate just how impressive his own effortless kills had actually been.

He was able to hear the full story from the team leader, who was relatively unharmed.

The two lying down were C-rank and B-rank Hunters respectively.

Kim Sangjin himself, the team leader, was apparently an upper-mid B-rank.

“Thank you so much. I thought we were definitely going to die here... You saved us.”

“Don’t mention it. It worked out for both of us.”

“For such an incredible Hunter to have been stranded here with us... from our perspective, it’s practically divine luck.”

Sangjin’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Haejin.

He clearly believed Haejin was at least A-rank, perhaps even higher.

In reality, he was F-rank, the bottom of the absolute bottom.

Naturally, Haejin put on a shameless poker face and said nothing.

“Here, give them these.”

“Th-these are... potions!”

“People come first. They’ll die if you leave them like that. I have extras, so go ahead and use them.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much! You’re even sharing such precious supplies with us!!”

Sangjin bowed over and over.

Of course, Haejin wasn’t an idiot or a pushover.

‘Okay. Three low-grade health potions and one mana potion.’

He was quietly writing down everything he gave them.

Once they escaped, he planned to add a Dungeon premium and charge handsomely for every item.

After drinking the health potion and finally calming down.

Sangjin slowly spoke.

“The Association contacted us beforehand. They said every resource you use from now on will be fully compensated. Including the price of saving our lives.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Apparently, what he had said earlier was true.

As long as Haejin could keep his identity hidden, he might make a tidy fortune from the lives he saved.

Then the question was the price.

“Hunter. I’d like to ask carefully.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Do you perhaps have a price in mind?”

They wanted him to name the price first.

He thought about it briefly.

Maybe he should aim a little high.

“How about two hundred million won?”

“Two hundred million?!”

The team leader’s eyes widened.

Had he asked for too much?

‘Well, two hundred million isn’t exactly pocket change.’

He was willing to lower it.

Within reason.

“Is that too much?”

“N-no. The opposite.”

“...The opposite?”

“Hiring an A-rank Hunter usually starts at five hundred million won.”

“Ah.”

Lower it, my ass.

He should have asked for more.

‘Wait, A-ranks are worth five hundred million? That’s way more than I imagined?!’

Now he understood why Hunters in the top hundred rankings barely bothered hunting and simply lounged around enjoying life.

Sangjin even said the fee for Radiance, who was currently coming to clear this Dungeon, was around eight hundred million won.

And apparently even that was considered cheap because Radiance was such a ‘kind saint.’

‘That’s insane. They’re practically shoveling money into their pockets.’

In that case, this situation was actually even better.

These people already mistook him for at least an A-rank Hunter.

“Ahem, then let’s settle around this much.”

He raised three fingers, then added one more.

Four in total. Four big bills.

“Understood. Yes, that sounds right. If it’s around four hundred million won, the Association should be able to pay immediately after we escape.”

“And the potions and other supplies are.”

“Oh, of course those are separate. You can charge whatever you think is appropriate.”

“Mm-hmm. I like clean business.”

Outwardly, he maintained an extremely dignified expression.

Internally, he was screaming with joy.

‘AAAAAGH, this is a gold mine! A gold mine! I’m stuffed to burstinggggg!!’

Four hundred million just for the rescue.

Add the Goblin corpses, and the total would exceed five hundred million!

“Heh.”

Unable to fully suppress his joy, the corners of Haejin’s mouth curled upward.

Noticing it, Sangjin cautiously averted his gaze.

“We won’t ask anything about your identity. I know there are plenty of A-rank Hunters who quietly operate in the shadows.”

“You have good manners. Let’s keep it that way.”

Another unexpected benefit.

Everything was going beautifully.

Fortunately, no more Red Goblins appeared immediately.

The teammates who had taken potions had also stabilized and fallen asleep.

While waiting for Radiance to arrive, Haejin chatted with the team leader for a while.

As they exchanged trivial conversation.

Beep-beep- Beepbeepbeep---

The pager attached to Sangjin’s waist began beeping.

An expensive piece of equipment issued only to government Hunters.

It allowed limited communication even inside Dungeons.

“Uh...”

“What is it? What does it say?”

His face went deathly pale after checking the pager.

“That is, well.”

“Give it here. Let me see what’s got you like this.”

Haejin snatched the pager from his hand and checked it.

[Emergency. Dungeon Break imminent.]

[88% probability of manifestation within 4 hours.]

“Fuck.”

The curse slipped out naturally.