Chapter 73

Chapter 73

 

Ha-kyung stood still and stared at the TV.

Then a series of ominous reports followed.

―Recently, stories about bandits have been spreading among Awakened exploring the Upper Floors of the Abyss. They are said to occupy major routes and collect tolls, or suddenly launch attacks to extort loot.

It was absurd.

What era were they living in?

Banditry in the Abyss?

Even the Raiders Guild was only called a bandit gang as a nickname.

They did not do things like that.

John, who had been watching TV with him, asked Ha-kyung a question.

“Bro. So foreign Awakened are the ones doing that crap?”

“According to the testimonies, that seems to be the case. Since it’s the Abyss, there probably isn’t any evidence, of course.”

“No, those rotten bastards are ruining the image of all foreign workers.”

John clenched his fists and trembled.

If the foreigners who had committed those robberies were in front of him, he looked ready to beat them to a pulp.

It made sense that he was angry.

There was a high chance John would be lumped in with them and cursed too.

Ha-kyung narrowed his eyes.

‘I hope they try that in front of me.’

Then he could crush them thoroughly enough to prevent any complaints afterward.

But there was a high chance the opportunity would never come to him.

What kind of people were Koreans?

They certainly would not just sit there and take it.

Ha-kyung tried to dismiss the news as nothing important.

But then another interesting report came on.

―Lately, an MZ-generation Awakened showing off his wealth has become popular on social media. He has also been taking steps that seem somewhat unfamiliar from the older generation’s perspective, such as selling goods made from monster loot.

Soon, footage appeared.

And every scene made Ha-kyung frown.

Because the person looked like nothing but a pretentious show-off bragging about money.

Ha-kyung let out a sigh without realizing it.

“Phew!”

“Why are you sighing when you’re MZ too, bro?”

“I don’t do things like that.”

“You should follow trends a little.”

“If I had that kind of money, I’d buy artifacts.”

“Artifacts are incredibly expensive, though. Even with an Unknown Grade artifact, you could probably throw pool parties like that every day for years.”

“Then I’d rather spend it on training expenses.”

“That is true.”

Perhaps John thought the joke had gone too far, because in the end, he agreed.

Ha-kyung turned to Assistant Manager Jeong Tae-won and said,

“I’ll head in first.”

“Yes, Committee Member. I’ll contact you separately if anything special comes up.”

“That bandit gang or whatever too?”

“The Association will probably take some kind of measure soon.”

“Understood, then. I’ll be going.”

Throughout the way home.

Ha-kyung could not shake off the unpleasant feeling.

The first reason was that Rokan had attached himself to him.

Was he not a former noble of the Zardor Empire?

There was no telling if he might scrape up information and deliver it to them.

Of course, it was questionable what he could do now that he had lost all his power.

In any case, there would likely be some movement going forward.

Ha-kyung’s eyes flashed for an instant.

‘Let’s see what he does.’

The second reason was the group of foreign Awakened said to be robbing people in the Abyss.

Perhaps because it was the first time something like this had happened.

He could not even get a sense of what kind of effect it would have.

As his worries deepened.

Ha-kyung quickly shook off his idle thoughts.

‘It’ll work out somehow.’

***

For the next few days, Ha-kyung spent his time only at the Training Ground.

Except for John spouting pointless nonsense, it was an extremely peaceful daily routine.

Rokan, too, only watched from a corner.

Thanks to that, Ha-kyung could focus solely on training.

‘I’ve made all the newly absorbed Abyss Energy mine.’

Whether it was a Dungeon Raid or an exploration of The Void.

It was time to move again.

When he turned on his phone, a flood of messages had arrived.

Most of them were Guest Member inquiries.

But one message stood out.

Ha-kyung unconsciously muttered to himself.

“Recruiting a vigilante group?”

“What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden, bro?”

“They’re forming an organization to subjugate the Abyss bandits.”

“Who is?”

“Since it’s a vigilante group, the Association probably isn’t the one in charge. One moment. At the very bottom, it definitely says......”

Ha-kyung, who had been scrolling down, stopped dead.

As if he had frozen solid.

John tilted his head.

“Bro! Why are you suddenly like this? What did you see?”

“It says the Raiders are pushing it forward.”

“Huh? Those bastards? Come on, they must be trying to be funny.”

John also seemed dumbfounded.

The ones who were called a bandit gang were recruiting a vigilante group.

What kind of nonsense was that?

Ha-kyung firmly shook his head.

“It seems obvious that we shouldn’t participate in this.”

“No need to react too sensitively either. Until the Second Generation, the Abyss was full of bastards playing territory-grab.”

“I’ve heard about it from my father. He said it was an age of barbarism.”

“They all disappeared once the Association brought the hammer down, though. Ah! Maybe that’ll happen this time too?”

Originally, the Abyss was a place where backstabbing ran rampant.

Still, since it was a place where people operated, it was difficult to do something truly insane.

There might be no evidence, but testimonies remained.

The bastards committing banditry would pay the price someday.

Ha-kyung began planning his next schedule.

‘Because of Dungeon Keys, hunting small fry is inefficient. The best option is to join as a Guest Member......’

Several guilds had already left messages.

From now on, he intended to skip Unknown Grade dungeons in the Upper Floors.

And participate only in Unfathomable or higher.

But one phrase caught Ha-kyung’s eye.

“A small Extreme Grade? This is good.”

“Oh! Is it in the Upper Floors?”

“No. It’s in The Void.”

“That difficulty is quite high.”

“Maybe that’s why they specifically requested me and John.”

“Who?”

“It says Park Jeong-jin of Stalwart. Apparently, he got my number from Mr. Yoon Chang-ho.”

“Not bad.”

The Guild Master of Stalwart Guild.

Skybolt Park Jeong-jin.

He was someone with quite a good reputation and skill.

Stalwart was not one of the Four Great Guilds, but Ha-kyung knew it was fairly large in its own right.

After thinking for a moment, Ha-kyung picked up his phone.

“I’ll contact him. You’re going, right?”

“I’m always with you on the path you walk, bro. Isn’t that reassuring?”

“Your credibility would have been higher if you hadn’t said that just now.”

“Then I wouldn’t be me.”

“That’s true too.”

John shrugged and spoke shamelessly.

Ha-kyung chuckled and made the call.

Riiing! Click!

―Hello?

“Nice to meet you. This is Lee Ha-kyung, Guild Master Park Jeong-jin.”

―Whoa! Undying One! Ha! I never dreamed you would contact me this quickly.

“Ah, yes.”

Ha-kyung could not help but be flustered by the unexpectedly intense reaction.

His way of speaking was quite frivolous too.

Of course, Ha-kyung quickly regained his composure.

‘There’s no law saying a Guild Master has to be solemn.’

There were also middle-aged men with terrible personalities, like Choi Hyun-ki of the Raiders.

Soon, Ha-kyung got to the point.

“You’re planning a Dungeon Raid in The Void. Is it a small Extreme Grade dungeon?”

―Yes, so I’m trying to recruit only top-tier members for the team. Surprisingly, I’m the only one from our guild who will be participating. Of course, we’ll have a separate Escort Team.

“You’ll be handling command, Guild Master Park. The important part is the Priority Purchase Right.”

―I’m not planning to set that separately either. We’ll go with a true contest in the Internal Auction. What do you think?

Normally, the person who opened the dungeon took the Priority Purchase Right.

Limited to a few categories, that is.

And yet he was giving that up?

That was a considerable concession.

From Ha-kyung’s perspective, there was no reason not to accept.

“Understood. I’ll join.”

―Yes, I’ll send you the schedule separately. See you then!

“Yes.”

Click.

The call ended.

But a slight impression lingered.

It seemed to be because Park Jeong-jin was unusually lively.

In a somewhat different way from John.

In any case, the next schedule had been decided.

Ha-kyung chose to take it a little easy.

‘Have I been wandering around too blinded by revenge? I don’t have a single person to contact on my day off.’

From a young age, he had received elite education as an Awakened.

In other words, he had undergone all kinds of training on the premise that he would awaken.

After school, he had always been summoned to the Training Ground.

So he had no friends at all.

It was because of his father, but Ha-kyung did not resent him.

‘Someone had to do it. In the end, my awakening completed Father’s plan.’

Ha-kyung looked around.

The Training Ground where he had spent so much time.

In one corner, John was running around here and there.

And Rokan was devouring a large hamburger.

“What?”

Ha-kyung could not hide his baffled expression.

Putting aside the question of how food that large could fit into such a tiny body.

Where in the world had he gotten a hamburger?

He grabbed Rokan by the scruff of the neck and lifted him.

“Hey, where did you get this?”

―What?

“The hamburger.”

―I went to the kitchen and asked for one, and they made it for me. They even patted my head because I was cute.

“Why are you eating that?”

―What do you mean, why am I eating? I have to eat to live too.

“Aren’t monsters supposed to just crave blood and flesh?”

―How is that any different from a hamburger?

“Oh! You have a point. But it doesn’t make sense.”

―What are you talking about?

“Shouldn’t you at least earn your keep?”

―......

Rokan twisted his expression and clamped his mouth shut.

It seemed he could not find any words to refute that.

Then he soon flapped his adorable wings.

―I had something to tell you anyway!

“What is it?”

―The location of the Gate Break I told you about.

“The report’s been submitted, so the Association will look into it. What about it?”

―You should move quickly. I sensed signs that it will burst soon.

“......”

This time, Ha-kyung was the one left speechless.

Because it was unexpectedly high-grade information.

Rokan placed his front paws on his waist and stood proudly.

―Ahem! Do I earn my keep now?

“Approved.”

―Good! Then I should ask them to make me something else too.

“But I’m not the one paying for that. John...... no, my sister-in-law hired that chef.”

―So?

“I’m saying you should go over there and get permission.”

―Then what have I been doing until now?

“Hmm. Pointless crap?”

―Hey, punk! What kind of scammer bastard are you?

“I’m joking. Who would say anything just because a little mouse eats some food?”

―I’m not a mouse, I’m a wolf!

“Sure you are, looking like that.”

Unable to endure Ha-kyung’s teasing, Rokan charged at him.

Of course, all he could do was cling to Ha-kyung’s pant leg.

After all, Rokan had almost no combat power left now.

Ha-kyung chuckled and detached Rokan from him.

‘Maybe he’s far more harmless than I expected?’

***

A few days later.

Ha-kyung met the team members at the gathering place.

Naturally, there was the organizer Park Jeong-jin, along with Ha-kyung and John.

As for the other two, this was their first meeting.

Unexpectedly, though, they were both familiar faces.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Lee Ha-kyung.”

Ha-kyung recognized the other person by their voice and clothing.

“Nice to see you, Great Sage.”

The person beside the Great Sage, who was smiling brightly, was Yu Se-ha.

Ha-kyung gave a light greeting with his eyes.

Then Yu Se-ha extended a hand.

“I heard someone skilled was coming, but this exceeds my expectations. It’s truly an honor to be able to work with you again.”

“You flatter me. That’s too much praise.”

“You can’t leave the Undying One out when talking about the most up-and-coming Awakened lately. Social media is going wild over you too.”

“Not the AI Raid Community?”

“Yes, I saw it here recently...... Huh?”

Yu Se-ha, who had been showing him the phone screen, suddenly tilted their head.

Because unexpected posts followed one after another.

Ha-kyung read the posts tagged with his name.

‘What should I call this? Selling my name? Sticking a straw into me?’

In any case, something fairly serious was happening online.