What the heck is this all of a sudden? I had just woken up in the middle of this vast sea to clear that "Elixir" gate, and now a dungeon of the sa type has been discovered right in the middle of South Korea?
"The prophecy book... Did you happen to have, like, twenty of these in the world or sothing?"
Of course, on second thought, the possibility wasn't zero. But the special chanism that forecasts the appearance of future "food boxes"... Even from the Gisimche's perspective, it must have felt like a highly experintal attempt. Honestly, I didn't have the slightest feeling that there would be many copies of the scroll.
"Moreover, it's kind of strange that an item like the Elixir would appear in two separate instances so easily."
At this point, it's fair to say that their (Humankind's) interpretation of "dungeon shock" as a sort of ga wasn't bad. Gisimche, the cosmic creatures, are selective in experiencing pain, and most of the judgnts humans make serve as a warm-up to maximize a being's emotions. Cosmic invaders were never rciful.
The otherworldly materials they toss out one by one are, after all, just bait ant to lure humans. If they gave out too much of this bait and the "fish" grew full and satisfied, it would be a disaster for the cosmic parasites. So, if we describe it like that company Pixy does, the Gisimche did at least pay attention to maintaining balance in everything.
"Sotis they fail at that, which is the problem. But stupidity itself isn't a cri, so let's give them a pass."
In short, the items they've designated as 'rare' follow that principle consistently...
"What on earth is going on?"
Was the gate that appeared in South Korea really a parallel world containing the Elixir?
"Could it be that I'm mistaken?"
Or perhaps the loot currently in my hands is a different product from the one that elderly patients supposedly drank. Anyway, having just acquired the "Incredible Elixir of Health," the ssage before looked ridiculous in more ways than one. Still, this human, Seonwoo Yeon, seed to have plenty more to say. They continued sending new ssages through their phone.
***
About 24 hours before the urgent report from the governnt official. 8:00 a.m.
At that typical weekday hour, perfect for heading to work, soone appeared with a lively expression.
"Good morning, again today."
The guild master had arrived at the Korean Magic Tower.
"All right, first, take this before we start any work."
"Is this a magnet for the fridge?"
"Probably. It's a souvenir I bought during a business trip abroad."
The S-rank hunter nad Esther had arrived in Seoul for the first ti in a while due to her schedule. As a result, she was finally able to et the Chief of the Secretary's Office, who usually stayed at headquarters.
"By the way, do you know what happened to in Switzerland last ti?"
The woman with purple hair started the conversation as if catching up over old tis. She recounted selling the [Hydra] at the auction and nearly dealing with a refund complaint, as well as the commotion with the fiancé she had sohow ended things with. She was sharing all of this with an employee who had been familiar with the previous events for a long ti.
"Anyway, it's a good thing this situation worked out. If it weren't for Kim Giryeo's decisiveness, I would've had a hard ti handling it alone."
"Now that I think about it..."
"Using [Fairy's Promise] isn't exactly an ordinary matter. And on top of that, to involve a third party in the contract like that..."
"It also felt like he had a lot of guts..."
"But I wonder... what would that person have done if I'd been lying the whole ti from start to finish?"
"That must an they trusted you that much, Director."
"No, I thought that for a mont too, but the Kim Giryeo I've known all this ti is far from being innocent."
"Hmm."
"But how on earth could an Awakener like that trust soone else?"
For reference, having your direct superior arrive early at the office isn't exactly welcod by subordinates. And yet, in this case, Esther showed up diligently even before 9 a.m.—what a thing.
"That's just how I see it, but it seems like that awakened one was subtly showing their inherently bulldozer-like personality."
"Bulldozer?"
"It simply ans that it's just the result of pushing things without doubting one's own instincts."
"Ah."
"There are plenty of people with that kind of personality in the world. The problem is, unless they're elites whose skills back them up, they end up being nothing short of an eyesore."
The secretary, who had been dragging their feet getting started on work, nodded with a face that still looked half-asleep.
"Anyway, thanks to you, Hunter Kim Giryeo, it seems your business trip to Switzerland went smoothly."
Seeing the secretary's face, Esther smiled and started brewing the coffee herself.
"Don't even get started. Anyway, if the rumor keeps spreading that I use [Curses] just anywhere and everywhere..."
Shhhhh...
The woman with purple hair scooped the coffee beans into the grinder for the hand-drip coffee.
"Seriously, just how much trouble must that have caused? Thinking back on it, I almost died of frustration this ti. I stopped doing those fun little psychic pranks ages ago, you know."
"Yes, well... you said you wanted to prevent the awakened one's perception from deteriorating in advance..."
"You can't abuse your skills. I've grown up enough to know that by now– Especially for us mutants in the minority, living like that will eventually lead to serious trouble in society."
They continued their conversation.
"But, Director, didn't you recently use [Curses] on an ordinary person as well?"
"That was for the sake of maintaining an incorruptible civil service ecosystem..."
"Oh my."
"To be precise, it was just a small act of talent donation for the young people in modern society who work diligently without playing political gas."
"I've heard that there have been so mysterious dismissals happening within the Hunter Association lately."
"They're all just rumors. Pure rumors."
At that mont, Seo Esther cupped both her cheeks in her hands, giving off a slightly coquettish look. Certain psychics tended to make a fuss like this at the drop of a hat. In fact, she really did look quite cute, which made it all the more problematic, a nearby secretary thought. The conversation was peaceful enough that such trivial musings could even cross one's mind.
Beep, beep, beep.
But around this ti, an email arrived on Esther's newest computer.
"What the...? Right as I get to work."
The operator of the Korean Magical Tower was a rare individual who could view dungeon shocks in a positive light. The existence of the existence of psychic powers, one had finally put an end to a long, reclusive lifestyle. She had always been fascinated by all sorts of fantastical settings. Naturally, she beca genuinely interested in the hunting grounds that had recently appeared in modern society, and for the past few years, she had been providing substantial sponsorships to various reports.
"It was an email reporting a Gate"
To be precise, the email that had just arrived was exactly that.
"Hmm?"
However, the mont Esther checked the email on her computer, she was filled with curiosity.
"What is it?"
A report had co in that a monster carrying an [Elixir] had appeared on a hill in South Korea... To put it in terms of the pre-dungeon-shock era, it was like a special bulletin announcing, "Oil gushed up in your backyard." It would have been amazing if it were true, but the potential gain was so enormous that it was hard to believe.
"Is this real?"
"What's going on?"
If that was the case, she couldn't just let her doubts linger. Just ten minutes after swiping her access card and entering the building, Esther had already scheduled a eting.
"I need to step out for a bit. Since investigative skills are required, I think we should bring soone from the appraisal team right away."
"I'll relay the instructions to the departnt."
"But tell them to go by company car. I'll be heading there first in the [White Bird]."
"Yes."
A ans said to get you to your destination at speeds even faster than a supercar, the White Bird. If you carelessly used abroad, you might unexpectedly skim past a military zone, so it's dangerous. But the coordinates just sent in the email were unmistakably within the country's capital.
"Well, at least it's better than winter."
The ti spent enduring the scorching sun was brief. Before long, the S-rank cursed psychic was able to arrive at the newly reported gate.
"A hunting ground for the panacea, and it appears no less than in our country's capital."
But she didn't stop doubting, even as she stepped into the forest.
"Phew, no way."
But soon, upon checking the monster inside the gate firsthand...
"Huh?"
She changed her attitude as if turning over her hand.
"There really is a monster here that's exactly the sa species as the [Elixir] one?"
My goodness. So not a single detail in the gate tipper's email was wrong.
***
The surroundings were pitch-black.
Zzzzzz...
A pure white roller screen descended from one wall. At the sa ti, a common projector on the long table was casting its light.
A body as round as a water balloon. A few floppy legs dragging along the ground like a snail. And spots scattered across it, like a hyena's coat.
The people in this room were all currently sharing the sa image of that beast.
"Huh?"
But the mont the familiar image appeared on the screen in front of them, everyone's mouths dropped open.
"S, so... you're saying that thing is a monster that actually utters 'Is this Alice?'"
"No, it's an [Elixir]. [Elixir]. Depending on the country, it's also called elixir or alchemical potion, but anyway..."
"Confird effects include curing diseases, rejuvenation, and especially treating magical intoxication."
"Exactly as the person ranked number one just said."
Setting aside the complete outsider who didn't even know the item's na despite heading a departnt at the association, the rest of the people in the room included the vice president of Neo Sisters, the guild master of the Korean Magical Tower, and the still-active young Director of Garion, among others. In short, they were all fairly prominent figures in the dostic hunting industry. How could such a group not be interested in an [Elixir]?
"Sothing appeared that is even more precious than a gold mine."
The legendary elixir of health had, of all places, reappeared in South Korea. Hearing such an unexpected piece of news, everyone in the room instinctively straightened up in their seats. But to be clear, it wasn't exactly the kind of news they could blindly celebrate.
The days when tribes fought with spears to seize resources were long gone, and today it was nothing more than sophisticated, modern South Korea.
"Anyway, first of all, I'd like to speak about the ownership of this gate..."
Seo Esther. She spoke while looking directly at the new association president.
"Please listen carefully."
Usually, gates with "rare rewards" that hunters tend to avoid are handed by the state, which allocates a budget to deal with them by force if necessary. But when an Eldorado that everyone covers appears, the Hunter Association often takes the lead, pitting people against each other in competition.
[68th Dungeon Auction]
The bids generated through such processes were, of course, used for taxes. In today's world, monsters without even basic liability insurance were constantly smashing everything in sight. As a result, the governnt's spending on national restoration costs was naturally astronomical, so every country tried to plug budget holes as much as possible through the dungeon industry.
But that was all just the story up until now.
"Honestly, if we're being precise, gates don't belong to the state, do they?"
Esther began to make her argunt.
"Even this land wasn't simply owned by the state. The association selling dungeons isn't much different from soone selling water from the Daedong River."
"No, we're not that much of a bunch of swindlers..."
"That's why there's a rule that dungeons above a certain risk level can't be sold to private parties."
"Ahem."
"Gate transactions led by the state are only permitted under the principle of reducing the tax burden on the citizens."
Excluding the representative from the Neo Sisters guild, there were two S-ranks present here representing the state. As a result, a subtle sense of pressure hung in the air.
"So, I'd prefer the association not to get overly involved in this matter. This is a sincere opinion coming from an S-rank hunter."
"The newly appeared monster is C-rank... so technically it can be put up for auction according to regulations, but..."
"If that happened, the already complicated national situation would only get worse. Phew."
Around this ti, an S-rank hunter dressed in a pristine white designer suit let out a sigh.
"Even if the auction were to be held, there's probably no one in this country who could pour more money into a dungeon than I could."
"What about Neo Sisters?"
"Why don't you ask the vice president over there? I actually spoke directly with the Neo Sisters' president, so I know for a fact..."
The one who cut him was an elderly Earthling sitting in a corner of the dimly lit room.
"Ah... we, Neo Sisters, aren't an independent company. We're a fully affiliated guild funded by one of South Korea's leading corporations."
"Is that so?"
"Therefore, it's difficult, due to circumstances, to arbitrarily invest the company's assets solely based on one cure-all drug. Especially if the President were to use that drug by herself, it could even be considered a form of breach of trust..."
"Ah!"
"So, on our side, we'd like to focus as much as possible on the period after the item appears."
"After all, rather than bidding under the guild's na, it would be quieter if the conglorate simply handled the transaction privately."
But Esther regained control of the conversation in just a few seconds.
"Anyway, among for-profit companies that can enter dungeons—that is, at the guild level—there's no one with more money than . Opening an auction would only lead to tedious complications, anyway."
"Hmm."
"Besides, there aren't many people in South Korea who are stronger than either."
"Of course, the governnt wouldn't sell such a gate to a foreign country."
"All of that is true. So, in the end, what's the main point you're trying to make, Hunter?"
They had exchanged quite a few words so far, but in reality, their request was surprisingly simple.
"Let the hunters of South Korea take turns using this gate fairly!"
The new president flinched at the unexpected remark.
"Lately, the hunting industry as a whole seems a bit lax, so I think it would be good to distribute entry to this gate according to ranking!"
Moreover, from a political standpoint, there was no reason to reject such a proposal. Dungeon disaster response capability wasn't just a matter of national pride—it was an enormously important area. And if that idea were actually implented...
In this age of dungeon shocks, we could probably even hold the Olympics safely."
The new association president's eyes sparkled as they envisioned a hopeful future.
Kliek.Bam.
But at that sa mont, a strange noise suddenly pierced the air of the dimly lit room. This [Elixir] eting was supposed to be conducted in utmost secrecy. Moreover, she was certain a few guards had been posted near the hallway—so how could she be hearing the sound of a door...?
"[Treasure of the Dinsion], [Dragon's Nest]."
It was then. The person who appeared through the back door of the conference room calmly spoke the first words.
"Usually, I understand that hunting grounds where hunters gather above a certain level are granted through public auctions as a matter of custom."
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