Chapter 18
“That was a special case. They were already waiting in front of the dungeon because they knew it was going to go wild? The moment the rampage alert went off, the Safety Department begged them desperately—what else were they supposed to think? What, are we supposed to force a dungeon rampage ourselves now?”
“And besides, it’s not like we’re obligated to obey whatever the Safety Department tells us!”
The reason why the already–busy executives had gathered in a meeting room was only one:
To decide how to use the dungeon raid permit that had been canceled due to the sudden appearance of the Global Gate.
“This is going nowhere.”
A voice sliced through the chaotic atmosphere like a sharp blade cutting clean through a surface.
Without raising much strength at all, Gyeong Se-ha drew everyone’s attention to herself.
With a soft smile, she asked gently,
“If you don’t mind, may I take a look at the list of dungeons that the Dungeon Safety Department marked as raid-available?”
“Ah—did I not give it to you? Here. Here it is.”
The executives who had been busy growling at each other sat down with awkward faces.
“Team Leader Shin was yelling so loudly that Hunter Gyeong Se-ha didn’t even get to ask for the list. I told you we should’ve just given up early and taken a different dungeon.”
“Director Shin, are you really trying to start a fight with your personal feelings again? If we give up Monaflen, half of our development team’s quarterly project goes down the drain!”
“Right, and that’s why we said we’d find you a replacement! If we get the permit for Monaflen, are you guys going in? No—we’re the ones going in!”
Those twins fought every single time they came here.
Gyeong Se-ha let out a small laugh while looking through the documents stamped by the Awakener Management Agency and the Dungeon Safety Department.
The Shin siblings’ bickering was something she saw every time she came to Golden Scale. At first, she’d been startled and tried to stop them—but that only lasted the first couple of times. Now, she understood.
They weren’t fighting because they hated each other.
They were simply speaking on behalf of the groups they represented.
“Can you two please be quiet? Noona is trying to focus.”
“I should be telling you to be quiet, Guild Master. You dragged someone who was discharged less than a day ago back to the guild—what are you trying to do?”
“Noona was discharged because she wanted to be, and she’s working because she can. That’s all.”
“…You little— No, you beautiful, precious Guild Master. If Hunter Gyeong Se-ha asked me to hand her the guild, I’d give it to her immediately, understood?”
“Noona, do you want to be the Guild Master?”
“…I’m fine.”
Ah. Exhausting.
Gyeong Se-ha stared pitifully at Jung Je-shin, who was getting verbally beaten by a subordinate he himself selected.
Of course, Je-shin didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. When he noticed her gaze, he smiled brightly and silently mouthed:
‘Noona, do you want to have lunch with me later?’
He had been nagging about food since earlier.
He probably didn’t even remember she had already turned him down. Persistent to the end—well, perhaps that kind of personality was why he managed to grow Golden Scale so large at his age.
‘Focus on your own work.’
Gyeong Se-ha buried her head back into the documents.
Before the Global Gate broke out, the dungeon that she and Golden Scale had originally planned to raid was “The Cursed Temple of Monaflen.”
A newly-appeared dungeon with no recorded first-clear achievements, and a notorious danger rating of Level 6.
Perhaps because of that, it had been added to the government’s list of dungeons for which they recommended a raid ban, in order to protect Awakeners and to prepare for any possible future Global Gate occurrences.
‘This won’t be easy.’
If it had been a dungeon someone had cleared even once, there might be room for negotiation—but no one would send Golden Scale’s high-value members into an unverified Level 6 danger zone.
“Hmm…”
Tap, tap.
The light sound of her pen tapping the papers echoed faintly. The executives watched quietly as she thought.
If an outsider had seen this scene, they would have wondered why they were relying so heavily on someone who was practically not even part of the guild.
But for Golden Scale’s leadership, this was completely natural.
The reason was simple:
They trusted Gyeong Se-ha.
‘Honestly, in the beginning, we were just hoping she’d at least make a decent extra pawn.’
Executive Shin Myeong—who led Golden Scale’s combat division—still remembered the first time he met her.
When deep green forests were beginning to turn brown.
Along with the cold autumn wind, a recommendation letter arrived at Golden Scale.
It was from Sasohun, the Guild Master of Seokho Guild—one of the top 10 domestic guilds, known for its overwhelming influence both internally and externally.
Perhaps because of his notorious picky cleanliness… Sasohun was known for barely keeping people around him. So the recommendation letter itself was a message:
If anyone harmed the person named in the letter—or even did anything close to it—Seokho Guild would come collect the debt themselves.
‘Damn… How terrifying. Who in the world is the person this letter is for?’
‘Want to see for yourself, hyung?’
‘Is that allowed?’
‘Based on the contents, it seems so.’
After checking the contents, Je-shin shared it with the other executives, and opinions immediately split into two.
‘So this is why Sasohun was so protective.’
‘I vote yes. They’ll be useful for new dungeon raids.’
‘Not sure… If this letter went to more than just us, is there really a reason for us to jump first? Let’s watch how other guilds move first.’
‘I agree with waiting. If someone with a skill that good hasn’t made even one rumor, there must be a reason.’
‘B-rank, wasn’t it? Maybe they hid it because they were afraid of being kidnapped by the underground market.’
‘Reasonable guess.’
Those who wanted to test her skills,
and those who thought it was too early.
The divided gazes eventually turned toward one person.
Kiiiiing—!
Je-shin, wearing protective gear and cutting through a cylindrical metal pipe, lifted his head as he felt everyone staring.
‘What’s the Guild Master’s opinion?’
‘Hmm.’
Je-shin removed the welding mask—lightweight and made from dungeon by-products.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
‘Do we really have to?’
‘You never know until you actually see it.’
‘Somehow it sounds like you want to watch when they use their skill.’
‘If what’s written is true, being on good terms wouldn’t hurt.’
Whew, it’s hot.
Je-shin wiped his sweat with the back of his hand and tossed his lab coat aside.
The modern-style coat—designed by a former Golden Scale member who had become a famous hunter fashion designer—fell onto the metal dust.
Rather than picking up the coat, Shin Myeong nudged it away with his foot.
‘You’re really going to go in with them?’
‘Yep. If they’re good, we can recruit them.’
‘Ha…’
He’s already made up his mind.
Once Je-shin decided on something, it was almost impossible to change it.
Capricious as he was, he always got what he wanted in the end.
That was the kind of person Jung Je-shin was.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Tell him no, and who knows what he’d try next. He might secretly sign a 1-on-1 contract with this “Gyeong Se-ha” and drag her off to some dungeon hidden in the mountains.
Sighing, Shin Myeong spoke.
‘The development team was just throwing a fit saying we’re out of Lavighios Extract. Our scheduled raid is next week, so let’s try offering that one first. But—if the raid proceeds, the Master cannot accompany it as the Guild Master. Understood?’
Shin Myeong had never seen Gyeong Se-ha in person, but he didn’t have a great impression of her.
‘There were rumors she seduced Sasohun to get into the special raid unit.’
He dismissed it as nonsense at the time, thinking Sasohun wasn’t the kind of man to be swayed by a woman—but now, he wasn’t so sure.
Sasohun had never stepped forward for anyone like this before.
So being cautious wasn’t a bad idea.
