Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Forming the Raid Party and the Fourth Member of the Sovereign's Bond

My head started spinning.

'My money...!'

I couldn't lose it like this.

Hold on.

'What if—if that dungeon was only just created, I might be able to close it.'

When my Dungeon Creation skill had risen to level three, I'd gained the additional ability to close dungeons.

Dungeons I had created myself could be closed at any time.

And even for dungeons I hadn't created, I could close them after clearing them, as long as they were less than a month old.

'But the standard is ambiguous.'

The description said a month.

A month since the dungeon had formed?

Or a month since the Rift had opened?

According to the TIP message, at any rate, it was a month since the Rift had opened.

"Sir, civilian. I said you need to evacuate."

The SWAT officers were approaching me.

Then, seeing my face, their eyes went wide.

"Are you by any chance...?"

I pulled out my Rift Management Bureau Hunter ID from Acresia and held it out to them.

"Gah! Hunter An Seon-u!"

"No way...!"

I asked the stunned officers,

"Is Director Jeong Jae-yong here, by any chance?"

"Yes, he's here. He's at the temporary command post near the Rift."

"Please take me there."

"Yes, right away!"

I followed the SWAT officers.

When we reached the Sinsu-dong Intersection, a large crowd had gathered.

'My presence sense says they're all Hunters.'

I passed through them and arrived in front of the Rift.

The Rift revealed itself, light-purple smoke billowing.

'This is... the entrance to a Third Floor Rift.'

I had guessed as much from the appearance of Mid-Grade and High-Grade Monsters, but sure enough, it was a Third Floor Rift.

As far as I knew, this was the first time a Third Floor Rift had opened anywhere in the world.

'But why of all places does the world's first Third Floor Rift open right in my front yard?'

What were the odds?

As I stared incredulously at the Rift entrance—

"Huh...? Is that guy Hunter An Seon-u?"

"What? Where?"

"Hey! It really is Hunter An Seon-u!"

"Wow! Hunter An Seon-u is here!"

"Hunter An Seon-u, is it true you beat the WPA's second-in-command, Paul Derel?"

Suddenly, Hunters were crowding around me.

How awkward.

"Haha... Yes, hello, everyone."

I managed a greeting first.

"I'm sorry, I have business to attend to. If you'll excuse me."

I walked on, trying to escape the attention.

The two SWAT officers guiding me cleared a path ahead.

"Coming through. Please step aside. Don't block the way."

"We need to escort him to Director Jeong Jae-yong, so please make way."

Then a Rift Management Bureau official emerged from a tent set up at one side of the intersection.

It was none other than Deputy Director Kim Cheol-su.

He must have stepped out to see what the commotion outside was about.

"What's going on?"

The two SWAT officers approached him and said,

"We've brought a guest affiliated with the Rift Management Bureau."

"A Bureau guest...? Who?"

The Deputy Director's eyes met mine.

Then his mouth fell open.

"Hunter An Seon-u!"

"Deputy Director, hello. It's been a while."

I'd met the Director several times, but I hadn't seen the Deputy Director in a while.

"We tried calling you dozens of times, but when you didn't pick up, we assumed you were inside the Rift."

"Yes, I was inside the Rift, but I came out this morning to run an errand. But..."

"...Ah, your building is nearby, isn't it, Master Seon-u. Are you... all right?"

So the Deputy Director knew.

That the building I had purchased was around here.

"I'm fi—no, I'm not fine."

"...Oh dear. Well, please come inside first. The Director is inside."

"Yes, Deputy Director."

When I entered, there was the Director, along with several senior officials.

And one man, upon seeing me, shot to his feet.

"Oho... Well, well, if it isn't Hunter An Seon-u! A pleasure to meet you. I'm Lee Su-gil, President of the Hunter Association."

"Yes, a pleasure to meet you, President. I'm An Seon-u."

President Lee Su-gil had been the rival of former Vice President Choi Cheol-ho.

He was regarded as the man who had driven out all the corruption-ridden Vice President's faction members and completely reformed the Hunter Association.

Someone Director Jeong Jae-yong also trusted to a certain degree.

"Haha! To lose such a precious talent to the Rift Management Bureau because of that bastard Choi Cheol-ho and his lackey—they're worse than monsters!"

He had quite the mouth.

But I couldn't deny that former Vice President Choi Cheol-ho and his lackey, Team Leader Shin, were worse than monsters.

The Director then said to me,

"Master Seon-u, please bear with him. The gentleman has a rather salty tongue."

"It's fine. It doesn't sound coarse at all to me."

The restaurant industry was full of foul-mouthed people, so I was used to it.

Soon I took a seat as well, and we put our heads together to discuss a solution.

An unprecedented Third Floor Rift.

If even a Highest-Grade Monster came out of that Rift, it would be a catastrophe of epic proportions.

A Highest-Grade Monster was something even an S-Rank Hunter couldn't guarantee victory against, even fighting for their life.

That said, keeping an S-Rank Hunter stationed here constantly as a precaution wasn't feasible either.

"What about assembling teams of four A-Rank Hunters capable of facing Highest-Grade Monsters, and stationing them here in rotation?"

"I wonder. Would A-Rank Hunters actually submit to being managed like that?"

"We have no authority to force them."

"Alternatively, we could rotate top-ranked guilds through here on set schedules. That would require a significant budget for hiring them, though."

"Hmm... a difficult problem."

No matter how much we pooled our minds, no ideal answer emerged.

Only second-best solutions.

From my standpoint, second-best was out of the question.

I could not afford to throw away twenty-four billion won of my own money.

"Let me try clearing it."

At that, every gaze turned to me in surprise.

"Pardon...? You'll clear the Third Floor?"

"Even if you succeed, would it accomplish anything?"

The Director and President looked at me, puzzled.

"There's something I'd like to try after clearing it. From your standpoints, having that Rift disappear would be a good thing, wouldn't it?"

"Absolutely! A Third Floor Rift is a disaster in its own right."

"Of course. According to the news, the damages from this Rift incident already total tens of trillions of won, and will double as time passes. For the sake of national security and the economy, it's better gone."

And one of those damaged property owners was me!

"Then let me give it a try."

The Director then asked me hesitantly,

"But with whom do you plan to clear it...? Your wife, Lady Emeria, is currently pregnant. And the nation's top guild, Emperor Guild, left a few days ago for the Fourth Floor of the Rift, so forming a suitable raid party will be difficult."

"There are others, aren't there—very strong Hunters. The very ones who broke through the Third Floor of the Rift and opened the way to the Fourth."

Still, only one Third Floor had ever been cleared.

Only the one cleared by that S-Rank party.

"Ah. You mean the Sword Saint and his companions."

"That's right. I'll clear this one with their help as well."

"Oh...! With those three and yourself, Master Seon-u, it might be possible."

Just then, a sound of someone approaching came from outside.

"Coming in."

Another of the country's S-Rank Hunters appeared.

It was none other than former Frost Flower Guild Master Han Se-a.

Not long ago, the Frost Flower Guild had dissolved—no, split in two.

Into a faction opposing the guild merger and a faction in favor of it.

Han Se-a had left the Frost Flower Guild along with those in favor.

'I hadn't even said I'd accept her into my guild, but she moved on her own first.'

A woman with terrifying drive.

She bowed her head to me.

"Guild Master, I'm here."

Out of nowhere, she was calling me Guild Master.

"Pardon...? Hunter Han Se-a, why am I the Guild Master?"

"Since you'll end up being one anyway, I'll call you that from now. I hope you'll understand."

She was unstoppable.

My head started to ache a little.

Director Jeong Jae-yong, on the other hand, welcomed her.

"Oh, Hunter Han Se-a, are you joining the raid party?"

"Yes. I want to earn some points to join Master Seon-u's guild."

Declaring right out in the open that it was to get into the guild—she was honest to a fault.

To be fair, having Han Se-a join would be a huge boost to our strength.

No downside there.

The more strong Hunters, the better.

And her straightforwardness was actually charming, in a way.

'I tend to favor honest people.'

That was part of why I liked Director Jeong Jae-yong, too.

Han Se-a was a bit much in how directly she charged forward, but honesty was still a virtue.

Taking her and the Frost Flower Guild members who'd followed her wouldn't be a bad idea.

'That would make us a Quartet of S-Ranks, and merging in the Bamboo Fragrance Guild members and half of the Frost Flower Guild members would make quite a force.'

Counting the Knight Quartet, Ashley, and Fenrir—who weren't Hunters and thus unofficial members.

In any case, to establish the guild, I had to protect the headquarters.

To do that, I needed to clear this dungeon.

"For now, Hunter Han Se-a, let's have you join this raid party too."

"Yes! I'll do my best to support the team."

I rose from my seat and said to the Director and the President,

"Then I'll head back to my building first to prepare for the raid, and return in about an hour."

"Understood."

***

Due to the Rift that had opened nearby, the residential-use conversion on the fifth through seventh floors of my building had been halted.

Entry within a two-hundred-meter radius of the new Rift was restricted, so of course the contractors couldn't come.

Han Se-a followed me into the building.

"Wow... Is this building yours, Master Seon-u?"

"Yes, it is. If that Rift hadn't appeared, it was going to be our guild headquarters."

"I see. It's better than the Frost Flower Guild headquarters. But you just said 'ours,' didn't you?"

"..."

I hadn't meant "ours" in a way that lumped me and Han Se-a together.

I had just referred to my guild as "our guild."

Eh, whatever.

"Let's leave it at that."

"Yes!"

At this rate, I might as well have granted her ninety percent of her guild application.

From inside the building, I returned to the Rift house via Gate Portal.

Gathering Eriksson and the rest at the restaurant outpost, I explained the situation that had arisen outside the Rift.

The prospective guild members were incensed.

"What an absurd situation. And a Third Floor Rift, of all things."

"I've been looking forward so much to the guild being formed, and of all things, a Rift pops up nearby. What are the odds?"

"...This is serious."

I also explained that there was a chance we could close the dungeon using the Dungeon Closure ability from Dungeon Creation level three.

"Well then, we have to try."

"We have to."

"...Let's do it."

The three answered in unison.

Perhaps because these three had spent so much time together, they were of one mind.

"All right, let's do it."

Ria, who had been listening in, rose to her feet.

"I'll get ready too."

At that, the S-Rank Trio and I were horrified.

"Ria, what are you talking about—that's no place for a pregnant woman to go."

"Absolutely not, Lady Ria!"

"Captain, what nonsense is this? Just rest."

"...Out of the question!"

In the end, over our united opposition, Ria was unable to come along.

Instead.

"If you're clearing a dungeon, take Bell with you. She'll help you find the way."

"That's a good idea. Want to come along, Bell?"

"Awoooo!"

Bell expressed a strong willingness to come.

"But you absolutely must not lunge at any monsters. Focus entirely on evading. Got it?"

She'd grown larger than a medium-sized dog and moved nimbly, so she'd be able to dodge most monster attacks well.

"Arf!"

She nodded.

Bell had really grown up.

Enough to bring along into a dungeon.

"Before we go, Hunter Han Se-a."

"Yes?"

"Let's make a contract, you and I."

"Oh, is it a guild contract?"

"Not quite—it's called the Sovereign's Bond."

"Pardon...? That's, um—I'll join the guild, but my body..."

Han Se-a's face grew serious.

She seemed to be misunderstanding something.

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's just a skill. These three have already made it as well."

"...The elder Sword Saint too? Then I understand."

I immediately formed the Sovereign's Bond with her.

And so, Han Se-a became the fourth S-Rank Hunter to bind to the Sovereign's Bond.

"What in the world...!"

She stared at her boosted stats, unable to close her mouth.

I extended my hand toward her.

"I look forward to working with you."

In effect, I had accepted her into the guild.

Han Se-a took my hand and bowed at the waist as she exclaimed,

"Yes, Guild Master. I'll work my bones to dust for you!"