SMH 161

Chapter 51 – Attack Dungeon (1)

TL: Boko

Editor: Frost

As a reward for his clear, the Awakening Dungeon raised his synchronization rate to 61%. It seemed like his earring, the ‘Dimensional Magic Collector’, had gathered plenty of magic.

Therefore, Sung Joon happily returned to his residence. As it was dawn, it seemed like everyone was asleep besides the patrolling guards.

“Sir Zelos is awake it seems,” Rishubalt said and Sung Joon nodded his head.

He felt a mana response from Zelo’s underground workshop.

Zelos was definitely in the middle of testing or researching something. He’d set it up so that mana wouldn’t leak from his workshop, but it couldn’t trick Sung Joon’s sharp senses.

“Good. Since I need to give him this.”

Sung Joon pointed to his earring. It was the ‘Dimensional Magic Collector’ that he’d gotten from Zelos.

He’d collected plenty of dimensional magic, so he needed to return it to Zelos. Sung Joon walked towards Zelo’s underground workshop.

“Zelos.”

Despite him deliberately making his presence known, Zelos didn’t notice him, as he was busy researching. It was only after Sung Joon called for him that he reacted and turned his head towards the entrance.

“Ah… you’ve come?”

Zelos was almost done researching. Sung Joon approached him and removed the earring.

“It seems like you’ve collected plenty of dimensional energy.”

Zelos closely observed the ‘Dimensional Magic Collector’. Then, he smiled and spoke. A gentle light was radiating from the earring’s jewel.

“Do you have anything else you need?”

“Not yet, but I may need some more materials as my research progresses. Please help me when the time comes.”

“Alright. Tell me when you need something.”

Zelo’s research was not only helpful for his revenge, but also for making money. If the theory behind his ‘attack dungeon’ was correct, then he wouldn’t have to compete for the sparse S-rank dungeons. He could just open a warp gate within an A-rank dungeon and kill the Species Alliance in the otherworld.

Looting would be a bit of a pain, but the otherworld magic stones were a bit higher quality. It would be difficult to sell them through official channels, but as Jung Chul specialized in dealing with these illegal channels, he had nothing to worry about.

“I understand.”

“How long will it take you to analyze the dimensional magic?”

“One week should be enough,” Zelos replied and Sung Joon nodded his head with a satisfied expression.

It wouldn’t be long before he obtained his revenge.

* * *

The new year was bright.

Early January passed by relaxingly. Shin Chul, Jang Hoon, and the other guild members had conquered an A-rank dungeon just a few days ago, so they were resting inside the mansion. Sung Joon was also resting, sitting atop a bench in the garden.

As he brought a mug filled with warm coffee to his lips, a guard approached.

“You have a visitor, Sir.”

“It’s Mr. Na Joon Yeol, right?”

“How did you know…”

“I have my ways.”

Once he drank all his coffee, he got off the bench. He hadn’t expected him, but he was sure that the mana he felt from the front gate belonged to Joon Yeol. He remembered his specific mana, as he’d fought alongside him before.

“You can open the gate,” Sung Joon said, giving his approval.

Visitors could only come through the main gate with his express approval. When he wasn’t present, Han Seok or Jung Chul would decide in his stead.

Han Seok couldn’t betray him due to the ‘Rune of Loyalty’ and Jung Chul was someone he could trust.

The guard left. Sung Joon went up to the living room and waited for Joon Yeol. He saw a black sedan go through the main gate through a window.

“Please bring some refreshments.”

A worker brought some tea and snacks, and placed them onto the living room table. Then, the door opened and Joon Yeol entered.

Based on his expression, it seemed like he had something important to say, so Sung Joon couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy.

“Mr. Kang Sung Joon. It’s been a long time. Thank you for rescuing me at the Songpa District. I haven’t had the chance to, so I couldn’t thank you before.”

He was talking about how Sung Joon had saved his life during the large-scale raid over Seoul.

Na Joon Yeol had already visited Sung Joon and thanked him after the raid. But it seems like he wasn’t comfortable with just thanking him once.

“Even if I didn’t, another Hunter would’ve come to your aid. Please don’t take it to heart.”

“Do you truly think so? I heard that three of the top tier S-rank Hunters were far from the Songpa District and that the boss was SS-rank. If it weren’t for you, then I and Ms. Baek Ha Yeon would’ve died.”

It was an objective assessment, so Sung Joon could do nothing but nod his head. Joon Yeol paused to take a sip of his tea and then continued.

“You can consider this a ‘debt’. You can pay it back whenever you want.”

“I promise to pay you back.”

“It’s reassuring to hear that from South Korea’s 6th rank S-rank Hunter.”

“I’m rank 5 now. Our rankings changed just a little while ago,” Na Joon Yeol corrected.

It seems as though their rankings had changed due to the recent raid. Han Seok hadn’t said anything, so it seems like his ranking had remained the same.

“You’ve probably noticed by now, but I didn’t come here to relay my thanks or to tell you about my rank change,” Joon Yeol said with a serious expression.

Sung Joon just nodded his head and Joon Yeol continued.

“You probably already know, but I’m the leader of ‘White Tiger’ (Baekho). I came over here today as the leader of White Tiger.”

“Is Russia or China spying on us?”

As soon as Joon Yeol was finished, Sung Joon considered the possibilities. Although they’d formed a non-aggression treaty with Russia, they couldn’t completely trust them.

“Yes, someone is indeed spying on us.”

“So it’s not Russia or China?” Sung Joon asked and Joon Yeol nodded his head.

“An unknown (affiliation and nationality) ‘organization’ is following you, Mr. Kang Sung Joon. We ‘stopped’ the ones we could find, but there are probably more of them.”

Sung Joon had an idea as to who these ‘unknown enemies’ were.

‘They’re either from the Empire or the Species Alliance.’

If it’s not China or Russia, then the only two forces that had enough power to take Sung Joon on were the Empire or the Species Alliance.

He thought he’d taken care of all of them, but it seem as though Zelo’s pursuers had left some kind of clue. Sung Joon didn’t know what it was, but it probably didn’t contain any clear information.

‘It seems like the information wasn’t intact.’

If the information was clear, then they would’ve attacked Sung Joon already.

But based on Joon Yeol’s explanation, it seems like they were being careful and spying on him. If they were serious, then ‘White Tiger’ wouldn’t have been able to stop them.

“Do you have any idea who it might be?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not sure ‘yet’.”

Joon Yeol asked sharply. Sung Joon smiled and replied. It was an honest response.

He wasn’t sure whether it was the Empire or the Species Alliance yet. Despite that, he knew that the two factions were Sung Joon’s enemies. Or to be exact, Roukel’s enemies.

“If you have any idea, please let me know.”

“I understand.”

Sung Joon nodded his head, but he thought it wasn’t time yet. Although times had changed due to the appearance of dungeons and raids, it wouldn’t be easy for humanity to accept the existence of another world.

Even if they did, he couldn’t explain why they were hostile to him, especially if he used his ‘past life’ as an excuse.

“Then I’ll get going now.”

“You’re going already?” Sung Joon asked.

Although Joon Yeol was loyal to his country, he was still a skilled Hunter.  Sung Joon knew it would be beneficial to get close to him, so he was always looking for the opportunity.

“A lot of recent events have overlapped. I’ll have to go back today,” Joon Yeol said and Sung Joon could do nothing but nod his head.

After all, it wasn’t easy being an executive of the Armed Policemen while also leading White Tiger.

“Goodbye.”

Joon Yeol took the black Hunter sedan and left Sung Joon’s residence. Sung Joon watched the car leave his residence from the living room’s terrace. Then, he sensed Zelo’s presence and turned his head around.

Zelos opened the door and came inside. He was wearing a white gown.

It was what researchers or doctors often wore, and apparently, Zelos liked the uniqueness of it, so he often wore them.

“Sir Kang Sung Joon. Could you spare me some of your time?”

“Let’s go to the study.”

He definitely wanted to talk about his warp gate research. Sung Joon lead Zelos to the study. They arrived at the third floor study and Sung Joon sat down in a chair. Zelos made sure the door was shut tight and that no one was around. Then, he spoke.

“The theory’s perfect.”

Sung Joon was excited too. He knew that his past self, Roukel, was good friends with Zelos. If he was speaking with this much excitement, then he was sure.

“Explain it in layman’s terms,” Sung Joon said.

Although he had a fundamental knowledge of magic, it became difficult for him to understand when the complex explanations came around.

“If there’s a dimensional fissure, then we can create a warp gate that travels to the other world.”

“Is that it?” Sung Joon asked and Zelos nodded his head.

The explanation was a lot more brief than he had expected, but Zelos had relayed all the important information, so Sung Joon liked it.

“Where can we find dimensional fissures?”

Knowledge regarding to warp gates was considered high rank to even the Magic Scholars, so Sung Joon didn’t know much about them.

“They appear irregularly. When a warp gate is opened, the fissure must be a uniform size. It seems like the Empire or the Species Alliance have created something to expand the size.”

“Probably.”

“That’s correct.”

“Then all we can do is wait?”

“No. The ‘dungeons’ exist on this side. The space is unstable due to the weak link between them and the other world,” Zelos explained and Sung Joon’s eyes shined.

“Then, there’s a high chance that we’ll find a dimensional fissure in them.”

“Most of them are weak, but you should find a fissure in the dungeons. I can create a magical device, or an item, to expand that fissure and create a warp gate.”

Sung Joon nodded his head. It seemed like it shared the same fundamental principle with the Awakening Dungeon.

“The higher the dungeon’s rank, the more likely that it will have a fissure. I believe A-rank dungeons will be enough.”

“How long will it take to make?”

“It won’t take very long. But I don’t have one of the materials,” Zelos said honestly.

He could obtain all the other materials with Sung Joon’s help, but he couldn’t obtain the last, most important material. That’s because it didn’t exist on Earth. He spoke with a calm expression.

“I need a Riodin Crystal.”

It was a rare gem discovered by the Archmage Riodin. That’s what Zelos needed.