Chapter 148

Chapter 148: One Year Later — The Cartel and Dungeon Sweep Operation
One year later.

The Outpost had undergone tremendous development.

Magical Turrets had been installed extensively on the fortress walls, greatly boosting defensive capabilities.

Buildings within the Outpost township had also been expanded, with stories gradually going higher.

The current population staying at the Outpost totaled two hundred and seventy-five.

That was even more than a year ago.

It was time to begin construction of an inner wall around the perimeter to expand the Outpost.

Additionally, Magical Engineering devices produced through the collaboration of Dr. Jack, Ashley, and Maxim had been deployed, and the kitchen was now equipped with several.

Currently available were a Magical Blender, refrigerator, juicer, oven, and even a pressure rice cooker.

'With all these devices, the kitchen is starting to feel cramped. It is about time to expand the restaurant.'

There was plenty of room for a larger footprint.

I had intentionally reserved generous space for the restaurant when planning the township layout.

The Outpost continued its relentless development.

And over the past year, I had been steadily searching random dungeons.

At last, I found it.

The dungeon where the Heresia Flower grew, the plant known as the Awakened drug.

'It took roughly ten thousand or more random dungeon searches to find.'

That was how countless the dungeons were.

After the discovery, Ria and I entered the dungeon together to verify.

The Heresia Flowers inside, resembling rafflesia, were enormous.

Nearly 1.5 meters in diameter.

At the center of each flower was a fruit, covered in cuts.

'They score the fruit to extract the narcotic sap.'

The sap was dried and distributed.

A method similar to opium production.

Ria and I confirmed this was the Heresia Flower Dungeon connected to northeastern Guatemala, then exited via portal before running into any cartel members.

Then we prepared thoroughly.

'Drying out all the Heresia Flower seeds inside the dungeon would take at least four days, even at the fastest.'

That meant we also needed forces to hold the dungeon entrance against the cartel for four or more days.

The guild's S-Rank Hunter officers and top-tier Hunters would handle that.

Also.

"Daddy, I want to hewp too!"

Rin volunteered.

"Rin, it will take more than four days. Are you sure you will be okay?"

"Yesh! I am happy to hewp Daddy and Mommy! I finished hawvesting the cwops ahead of time."

Normally, I would never take Rin anywhere dangerous.

But this operation required Rin's abilities.

The Dryad power to wither the Heresia Flowers and prevent them from ever growing back.

"Rin, this mission will save a lot of people."

"Yesh! I want to save people."

"What a kind heart. Then I am counting on you."

Not just Rin, but the Adult Dryad Flora also stepped up.

We could not keep calling her "the Adult Dryad" forever, so Ria and I had given her a flower name.

-Flora. Not bad. Name.

The Adult Dryad had been satisfied with the name.

In any case, hearing that her pupil was heading somewhere dangerous, Flora volunteered to join as well.

And.

"Aroo!"

Bell, now grown to the size of a giant wolf, also stepped forward.

Bell would serve as a guide through the dungeon.

To ensure not a single Heresia Flower was left behind in any corner of the dungeon, Bell's help was essential.

While we swept the dungeon, Yeona was entrusted to my mother.

My mother had even used her annual leave to take a full five days off.

'Someone who barely ever took a half-day, taking five whole days......'

Her reason for taking the leave was.

-It is a righteous mission to save many people. What is a few days of leave compared to that? I will take good care of Yeona, so go without worry.

Thanks to my mother, we could depart with peace of mind.

We completed the final headcount.

'The Knight Quartet, the S-Rank Five.'

The S-Rank Five were the Sword Saint elder, Eriksson, Santos, Han Se-a, and Instructor Park, who had recently risen to S-Rank.

Instructor Park had also formed a Sovereign's Bond with me after reaching S-Rank.

'Ji-young had to stay behind to run the restaurant.'

Although her stats were S-Rank level, Ji-young was strictly a non-combatant.

High stats, but absolutely zero combat sense.

Her spear master and now romantic partner Neville had shaken his head, saying Ji-young had no spear talent whatsoever.

Additionally, A-Rank and above guild members and several team members from the Rift Management Bureau joined the operation.

"I am opening the portal. Our priority is to locate and secure the dungeon entrance as quickly as possible."

"Understood!"

I opened the Gate portal to the Heresia Flower Dungeon in northeastern Guatemala.

Everyone stepped through. I carried Rin in my arms and entered last.

"Rin, let us go."

"Yes, Daddy."

Rin and I entered the portal and transferred into the dungeon.

"Aroo!"

As soon as everyone had arrived, Bell immediately set the heading.

The grown Bell's Presence Detection had become even sharper.

'The entrance is most likely where we detect the highest concentration of other Awakened presences.'

Bell had sensed that and pointed the way.

We followed Bell as she dashed forward, racing after her.

Speed was the lifeblood of this operation.

'I am starting to sense them too.'

Other Awakened presences registered in my detection.

Bell, at the vanguard, pounced on a cartel member who spotted us.

"GRRRL!"

She lunged and bit into his shoulder in an instant.

I quickly called out to Bell.

"Bell, do not kill!"

"Whine......"

I could not let Bell kill a person in front of Rin.

In cases of fierce resistance, lethal force might be unavoidable.

But this operation would prioritize subdual wherever possible.

I immediately opened a Gate portal and hurled the cartel Awakened that Bell had pinned through it.

The portal led to a holding facility set up at the Rift Management Bureau.

'From there, they will all be transferred to the U.S. high-security Awakened prison.'

This was a joint operation between the Korean and American Rift Management Bureaus.

Bell and the vanguard subdued cartel Awakened they encountered along the way.

I handled cleanup as we advanced.

'The further we go, the more Awakened there are.'

Which meant we were getting closer to the entrance.

After fighting through cartel Awakened, we finally discovered the dungeon entrance leading to northeastern Guatemala.

After subduing the cartel members guarding the entrance.

"Everyone, please step back."

At my word, everyone moved well behind me.

I aimed at the ceiling above the entrance, opened Acresia, and fired two stored Hell Fire spells absorbed through Ashley.

A powerful explosion brought the ceiling crashing down.

Ruina cast a Shield Spell to protect us from flying debris.

The entrance was now sealed.

But it would eventually be re-opened.

We needed forces to defend the entrance against cartel incursions.

"As planned, the Sword Saint elder will lead the Hunters in holding the entrance."

"Understood, Seon-u. We will guard it so thoroughly that not even an ant will get through."

The Sword Saint elder answered with confidence.

With him and the S-Rank Hunters, they could handle even the entire cartel bearing down on them.

"I am counting on you. The rest of us will split into Rin's team and Flora's team and begin the Heresia Flower elimination operation now."

"Understood!"

Rin's team consisted of me, Ria, Rin.

And Bell, making four.

Flora's team included the Knight Quartet and a team leader from the Rift Management Bureau who had a Dungeon Illumination skill.

The Dungeon Illumination skill revealed the dungeon's structure and paths within a five-hundred-meter radius every ten minutes.

'A skill as useful as Bell's Presence Detection.'

The two teams split up and departed down different paths.

We soon discovered the first Heresia Flower colony.

I spoke to Rin, whom I was carrying.

"Rin, you will be withering the flowers. Are you okay with that?"

I asked because it might be painful for a Dryad.

Rin smiled and answered.

"It is okay. Gwown-ups are doing bad things with these flowers, so I want to wither them."

With that, Rin extended her hand and summoned Earth Mana, withering every flower in the colony.

Rin continued.

"I withered them and made sure they cannot take woot again."

"Well done, sweetheart."

"Hehe!"

We moved forward methodically, ensuring every last Heresia Flower seed was destroyed.

Along the way, we subdued cartel Awakened who were wandering around tending the flowers or harvesting sap.

"Who are you people? Why are you doing this to innocent people?"

The subdued cartel members protested their innocence.

Innocent, they said. The trash who had led countless Awakened and civilians to ruin.

"No need to feel that wronged. Consider it your lucky day that you ran into us. If you had met the other team, your heads would have come off without question."

"......"

Flora's team was almost certainly cutting down every cartel member they encountered.

They could not open Gate portals to the Bureau's holding facility like I could.

One day of the operation passed.

We found a fairly spacious hall, pitched a portable tent from Acresia, and rested.

Rin had fallen asleep with her head on Ria's lap.

"Rin must be exhausted."

"She is still a little kid, after all."

Rin was naturally a heavy sleeper.

According to Flora, Dryads typically needed long sleep hours.

Having gone over twenty hours without sleep, she was understandably tired.

"The entrance seems to be holding fine so far."

"Right, no signals from the Magical Bracelet."

The Magical Signal Bracelet, built by Dr. Jack and Ashley.

Even at great distance, it stayed connected as long as they were in the same space.

One signal from the Sword Saint elder meant the sealed entrance had been breached.

Two signals meant combat was underway.

Three signals meant danger and a request for assistance.

These had been coordinated in advance.

But not a single signal had come.

All quiet so far.

I said to Ria.

"You should get some sleep too. I will keep watch."

"No, you sleep first. I will keep watch."

"You first, Ria."

"No, you first, Seon-u."

Unable to watch this any longer, Bell intervened.

"Aroo!"

Roughly meaning, "I am right here, so what are you worrying about?"

In other words, both of us should sleep.

Bell then lay down and closed her eyes too.

"Right, I forgot about Bell."

"Hehe! She is right. I underestimated Bell's detection range."

Bell could sense presences even while sleeping.

Ria and I lay side by side and clasped hands.

Rin was nestled between us.

Despite being in the middle of a dangerous operation, our family was perfectly at peace.

***

The next day, the Magical Bracelet signaled once.

The cartel must have breached the entrance.

"I will go check the entrance real quick."

"All right."

I opened a Gate portal and headed to the entrance.

Sure enough, it was nearly broken through.

"Then I will seal it again."

I fired two more Hell Fires through Ashley at the ceiling near the entrance.

BOOM!

The ceiling collapsed and the entrance was sealed once more.

I could hear cartel Awakened cursing from beyond the rubble.

'Keep digging.'

I asked the Sword Saint elder to hold the entrance again, then returned to Ria.

On the third day, the entrance was breached again.

This time, I did not go back to re-seal it.

The Sword Saint elder would handle it.

'I did not want to waste my stored Hell Fires either.'

Soon two signals came.

And shortly after, one more.

It seemed they had successfully repelled the cartel's entry attempt.

Day four.

We met up with Flora's team.

They reported having thoroughly searched every corner of the dungeon and dried out all the Heresia Flower seeds.

Moving together, we soon reached the boss room.

"The cartel never killed the boss, as expected. They probably left it alive on purpose."

Killing the boss would connect the dungeon to the Second Floor, and they would lose their monopoly.

Then we would take care of it.

The boss turned out to be a giant carnivorous flower monster.

Seeing it, Flora said.

"Carnivorous flower. Caliblom. Good opponent. For Rin."

"You want Rin to fight it alone......?"

"Yes. Good. For Rin's growth."

If it would help Rin grow, then there was no choice.

"Rin, do you want to try?"

"Yesh, I want to twy."

Rin's combat abilities had grown significantly over the past year.

Thanks to Flora's training.

"All right. If it gets dangerous, Mommy and Daddy will help."

"I know!"

I pulled a heap of wood scraps from Acresia.

Rin raised two massive three-meter Wooden Golems from the material.

She then entered the boss room with the Wooden Golems leading the way.

The battle unfolded.

The boss carnivorous flower, Caliblom, appeared to be roughly at the very top tier of High-Grade Monster strength.

'Rin is strong enough.'

She blocked its vine whips with the Wooden Golems or her Dryad-signature dual mana and vine shield.

A Wooden Golem wielding an enormous log battered Caliblom.

Vine spears erupting from the ground pierced the creature.

Just as Rin was clinching the victory.

Caliblom sprayed a large volume of liquid from the flower atop its body, aimed at Rin.

'Is that acid?'

That was dangerous.

Flora, recognizing the threat, stepped in and deployed a wide-area Earth Mana Shield to protect Rin.

HISSS!

Smoke rose from the shield.

If Flora had not intervened, Rin could have been seriously injured.

That attack seemed to be Caliblom's last stand, as it went limp and rapidly withered.

I walked over to Rin and congratulated her.

"Rin, you won. Well done."

"No, if Master had not helped, it would have been dangerous."

Our eldest daughter was a bit deflated.

She had held the advantage against the boss, which was impressive in itself.

Flora also spoke to Rin.

"After second growth. Very strong. Surpass. Your master. Rin will."

"Weally......?"

"Master. Does not. Lie."

"Win wants to gwow up fast!"

Daddy disagrees with that sentiment, Rin.

Please grow slowly.

After clearing the boss room, we dried out the Heresia Flowers in all remaining unexplored areas as well.