Chapter 433: Don't Adjust Your Shoes In A lon Field, Don't Fix Your Hat Under A Plum Tree (4)
Anyway, he only knows how to use a telephoto cara. 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 ti here... it would be like trying to catch a horse with no legs. Hearing that people had gathered, Jeong Seo-ha 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 ergency situations.
Even if we waste ti here... it would be like trying to catch a horse with no legs. Hearing that people had gathered, Jeong Seo-ha 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 ergency situations.
"That dam 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 deanor, it was clear he had no intention of going to the scene.
"That guy just makes a ss 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 ca 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 ss. 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 mont in thought.
"I'd forgotten, since we haven't had to deal with monsters for a while, but as expected, Dungeon Shocks co 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 phenonon that typically erupts only in the early stages of a Dungeon Shock. So, in the perception of others, it had long been cented as a rare disease one would scarcely encounter in a lifeti. 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 inford over the phone.
"Ah! There you are. You've co."
"Excuse . Does a black, crawling monster co out of this gate?"
"Our guild heard all about this! But really, so 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 at all 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 rely 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 eting held by the Hunter Association hadn't spread at all.
"We just ca to check out the news that the [Elixir] had appeared, and well, it seems the Awakened were already blocking the way, so they got very surprised and pushed back."
By the way, there's a saying that if you just stay in your room surfing the internet, you beco an adult child younger than your actual age. Surprisingly, social skills can return quickly with so 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 beco a public asset proudly belonging to the Republic of Korea, okay?"
"A public asset?"
"Are you saying you're going to release hunters into the plans like you do at Gate 0?"
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 on that post 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 phenona unique to gates."
"Wait a mont, Hunter Esther. But the thing is, the current market trend..."
Whether the photographer had leaked the information to every dia outlet remained uncertain. Fortunately, only a few here had doubts. The hunters on site were from a 15-tier guild, following in the footsteps of the Korean Magic Tower and Neo Sisters.
"This... gate, I don't know if it's so sort of divine punishnt 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 beco 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 beco so rare recently, don't you?"
However, how to reach an agreent moving forward remains sowhat daunting.
"In Europe and elsewhere, monsters nicknad 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, it is 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, I believe 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 right is 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 in according to rank."
For reference, if the lottery-like chances were distributed this way, even the Hunters whose minds were starting to waver 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 co!"
The capital is a city where gates appear frequently. However, most of Seoul's pri 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 argunt was simple.
So, they're whining that if assets are distributed by rank, the share for them, ranked third in the tropolitan area, is it too small?
At this point, Seo Esther felt a strong sense of doubt.
"But even if the gate's owner were chosen by so other thod, there's no way they'd end up right, 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. In short, it could be assud 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 sa 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 ho. 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 mont? 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 agreent 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 dicine 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 assu it's natural for S-rank Hunters to get special privileges? Huh?"
Questions followed in quick succession, asking, "Are you only the heroes of the nation?"
"At this rate, every ti a national treasure appears it'll 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 mont, Seo Esther muttered her dissatisfaction inwardly.
"What is wrong with everyone's heads? If they adopt ti-dragging asures like votes or lotteries, just think how much it will be siphoned off into defense costs while that drags on. We'll have headaches from all the shady sches pouring in from every direction."
On this side was an S-rank Hunter who had earned countless rankings 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 argunt. But now that it was on the verge of being overturned, a sense of emptiness rose within her.
"What a sha. The chance to surpass the hall 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 onto their gaze.
"Honestly, I don't even know if those people understand the concept of capitalism or competition."
Though she seed 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 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, dicine in this world isn't free, is it?"
"Huh?"
"Everyone takes a good ga 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 pitable, 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 soone has worked themselves to the bone and lived diligently, it's finally their turn to receive the benefits... so why now... of all tis, why now, of all tis?"
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 in really a hurry."
Moreover, within a few seconds, the situation beca 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 impatience 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 sa, unless we're talking about so 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 treatnt 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 sohow obtained the right to defeat this dungeon's boss. Otherwise I'll go crazy. I think I'd try—even if it ans telling the governnt 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 ca from abroad. Yet the national hero, who seed destined to stay in Korea forever, suddenly played an unexpected card.
"But if you all can restrain your protests—I an, if you don't oppose too strongly—I'll personally guarantee the rewards from the gate's ordinary monsters in compensation. So please..."
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