Chapter 93

Park Gihyeon, covered in coffee, sighed. Then, he mumbled, “Whose fault could it be but mine?” and reached out to the secretary. The secretary handed him a handkerchief with a smug look. Park Gihyeon vigorously wiped his face and neck with the handkerchief, then began his story.

“I was about twenty-three, I think.”

“You were young then?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I was young.”

Park Gihyeon recalled that time. Since Park Gihyeon was twenty-nine now, it was six years ago. Back then, Park Gihyeon was also S-Rank, and he had established a guild, but it wasn’t yet as large as Hwayeon, which was among the top three guilds in Korea.

“The hidden dungeon I entered was a Lizard monster dungeon.”

“Lizard?”

“Yeah, Flame Lizard.”

Park Gihyeon said that and took off his wet clothes. His firm body was fully exposed, and Hyeon Cho-i briefly lowered her gaze before raising it again. She didn’t look. Don’t lie. Oh, I said I didn’t look. Park Gihyeon smirked.

“But if it’s a Flame Lizard, isn’t that just a dragon?”

“Yeah, it was pretty big.”

Park Gihyeon reminisced about that time. The hidden dungeon he found halfway through conquering an S-Rank dungeon had a red and blue door like a flame. And when he entered that dungeon, he saw the tiresome Lizards. Park Gihyeon, who had already caught Lizards many times, was quite annoyed at the time.

“It seems like it’s a Flame Lizard dungeon, so Flame Lizards appeared.”

“No, no. That’s not related.”

Hyeon Cho-i interjected.

“What’s not related?”

“My first hidden dungeon was the Deer Knuckle Dungeon. What came out was a Mantis.”

“Then your second dungeon?”

“What was my second dungeon? It was a dungeon called Land of Devils, and it was a hidden dungeon where Angels and demons appeared.”

“The second one isn’t completely unrelated, is it?”

“Is that so?”

Cho-i Hyeon tilted her head as if it was difficult.

“So, do things that speak the same language come out?”

“What’s with the same language? Do you think there’s some kind of rule in the hidden dungeon?”

“To be precise, I want to believe that.”

“Why?”

“Ah, there’s a reason. Don’t ask any more questions. You’ll get hurt.”

Cho-i waved her hand and said,

“So, nothing unusual when you went in?”

“The difficulty was ridiculously high. It was a miracle I came back alive.”

“It was that high?”

Cho-i suddenly thought, “Oh, right.” The two places she had visited were by no means low in difficulty. Especially the Mantis Dungeon she went to alone, and the dungeon from the Land of Devils; if Cho-i Hyeon hadn’t been there, everyone else would have died.

“Why were you able to come back alive?”

“Because it was the same fire attribute?”

“Aha?”

“It was like a power struggle. Everyone else died except me.”

“That must have hurt your heart a little.”

At those words, Gihyeon Park smiled with a grimace.

“Well, Nara is also grateful to have come back alive.”

Cho-i tilted her head. Indeed, it was fortunate that she and her party members came back alive. Cho-i thought, was she taking the hidden dungeon too lightly? But soon,

‘What does it matter? I don’t die anyway.’

She fell into this thought. Then Gihyeon Park asked,

“What exactly do you want to ask about the hidden dungeon?”

“I don’t know either. I don’t know where to start looking. First, what item did you get from there?”

Then Gihyeon Park raised his arm. A red bracelet was on his arm.

“Garvensia’s Bracelet.”

“Garvensia?”

“I’m not sure what it is exactly, but I think it might be the name of a dragon related to fire.”

“Hmm…”

Cho-i pondered a little more and then asked,

“Are there any unusual effects attached to it?”

“For example?”

“Like not dying? Or gaining stats if you kill the same hunter?”

“…There’s no way such a thing exists.”

“I have it.”

“You’re a special case.”

“I saw one other person besides me who had it.”

“Who?”

“The China hunter who came this time.”

“That bastard doesn’t die either?”

“No, no.”

Cho-i Hyeon waved her hand.

“He was a bastard whose stats increased when he drank the blood of other hunters.”

“That bastard must be getting a lot of scrutiny everywhere.”

“Is that so?”

“Right? You can’t trust him. You never know when you might become his prey.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, I was so disoriented at the time that I don’t remember much. I only remember throwing up from catching lizards.”

Cho-i Hyeon nodded, recalling the monsters that always swarmed out.

“Did the lizards swarm out?”

“No, the Entity was like that too. Because I went through similar dungeons all at once. I was probably tired from traveling all over the country back then?”

“Why you specifically?”

“Because our company wasn’t this big back then. I took care of everything I could within my power.”

“I see.”

Cho-i nodded, then tilted her head at a sudden thought.

“You went through similar dungeons all at once?”

“Yeah, I went through the B-Rank Lizard Den, the A-Rank Flame Dungeon, and the S-Rank Fire Lizard Dungeon, all three in a row, didn’t I?”

“Oh?”

Cho-i Hyeon looked up as something suddenly occurred to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I did too.”

“What?”

“When I went to catch the Deer Knuckle, I went through three mantis dungeons in a row.”

At those words, Gihyeon Park frowned.

“Is it that simple a rule?”

“Wait. The next hidden dungeon…”

The Paehyeok entrance trial dungeon where Angels appeared, and the S-Rank dungeon Taehyeok Sa entered, were both called Silence of Angels. And the third dungeon they entered was Land of Devils. Three dungeons that speak the same language. Cho-i’s eyes gleamed.

“I guess this isn’t the only thing. If that’s right, shouldn’t we consider it the minimum condition?”

“Have you talked about this with Taehyeok Sa?”

“Why would I talk to him? He hasn’t even been to a hidden dungeon.”

“Hmm, so this is just between us, then.”

Gihyeon Park smiled contentedly. Cho-i chuckled, amused. She didn’t know what was so good about it that he was smiling. Cho-i stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“Hmm, to prove a theory?”

“You’re going to run a dungeon?”

“Yes.”

“Want to come with me?”

“First.”

“First?”

“I’m going to Taehyeok Sa.”

Then Gihyeon Park made a disappointed face.

“Why?”

“To ask him to buy me a dungeon.”

“Ah.”

***

Cho-i Hyeon immediately rushed to Paehyeok. And she began to urge Taehyeok Sa to contact Zhixuan.

“You got his business card, didn’t you? His business card!”

“What’s the sudden reason for this…”

Taehyeok Sa started calling Zhixuan, and as soon as he answered, Cho-i snatched the smartphone from Taehyeok Sa’s hand and took the call herself.

“Hey!” -What is it? “Before you entered the hidden dungeon, did you go to the same dungeon or similar dungeons multiple times?” -Hmm, now that you mention it.

Zhixuan thought for quite a long time. It seemed it was an old memory, so it was hard to recall. Cho-i Hyeon was about to rush him but then thought that rushing might make him remember even less, so she shut her mouth.

-I think I went to dungeons with Vampire Bats sporadically. “Did you enter any other dungeons in between?” -No. The reason I remember is because of the Entity. I remember not going to any other dungeons in between. “Is that so?” -But why are you suddenly asking…

Click. After hearing only what she wanted to hear, Cho-i Hyeon ruthlessly hung up the phone. The other side would be dumbfounded, but that was none of Cho-i Hyeon’s business. Her manners had long since gone out the window. After hanging up, Cho-i Hyeon immediately spoke to Taehyeok Sa.

“Hey, buy me some dungeons.”

“Why are you spouting such nonsense so confidently? Let’s hear it first. Which dungeons?”

“Mantis Cave, Blade Mantis Forest, and Blade Bug Night. Those three.”

“The reason?”

“I think I’ve found the basic conditions for a hidden dungeon to appear.”

“What?”

Taehyeok Sa, who had been looking down at the documents, raised his head. Cho-i Hyeon grinned, spreading his hands wide.

“It’s not certain, but I want to check.”

“Is that what you talked about with Gihyeon Park?”

“Oh, you heard that news quickly, didn’t you?”

“Do you know how fast S-ranks and S-ranks are these days?”

“I don’t particularly want to know.”

“You should know. Since your face is known, you’ll be an issue wherever you go.”

“It’s exhausting. The life of a celebrity.”

“You’re a hunter.”

“That’s just an expression. So, are you going to buy them?”

Cho-i Hyeon approached Taehyeok Sa’s desk and spoke. Taehyeok Sa sighed and nodded.

“If that’s the reason, it’s not difficult.”

“Good. I’ll take Nara Shim and go around there for a while. Since the rank is low, it won’t take long.”

“It’ll take some time to acquire the dungeons, so wait.”

“Tsk, alright.”

Cho-i Hyeon immediately went to his house and woke up Nara Shim, who was sprawled on the floor.

“Hey!”

“Ah, why are you bothering me as soon as you get here!”

“Let’s go to a dungeon with me.”

“Why would you and I go to a dungeon together?”

Then Cho-i rummaged through his drawer and pulled something out. It was a Red Magic Stone. Seeing it, Nara Shim immediately knelt down and said,

“Oh, if you had that, you should have told me earlier.”

“I forgot about it too. Eat it.”

“But, I remember getting a stomachache after eating that, so let me prepare myself mentally for a moment…”

“Eat it!”

“Kyaaaak!”

Cho-i Hyeon grabbed Nara Shim and shoved two Red Magic Stones into his mouth simultaneously. Nara Shim, who experienced double the stomachache, was exhausted and sprawled on the bed.

“Hehe, A-rank. It’s A-rank…”

Still, he was grinning, so it seemed he was happy to death, which was a relief. Cho-i Hyeon wanted to immediately enter the dungeon and check, but acquiring a dungeon wasn’t something that happened in a day or two, so he had to wait for a while. And exactly one week later, Taehyeok Sa called.

-The acquisition is complete. “It finished faster than I thought?” -Probably because they’re low-rank dungeons. There was no need to add more money.