Chapter 96 – Cutting Off the Tail

-A Spate of Dungeon Accidents.

-Urgent Call for Hunter Safety Measures.

These were the headlines gracing today’s news.

After the Agency terror incident, Villain activity had become more frequent.

Recently, a hunter was killed by Villains while raiding a dungeon.

It had happened three times.

As a result, ordinary hunters had become hesitant to mine.

With less mining, mana stone production decreased, which directly led to a drop in corporate profits and revenue.

The value of mana stones as a raw material already constituted a significant portion of the economy.

Faced with this situation, the authorities tightened the procedures for entering dungeons.

Of course, that didn’t mean accidents stopped happening.

Money is useless when you’re dead.

People took a break from dungeon mining, while those who valued money more than their lives continued.

“Folks like us can’t get jobs anywhere else anyway. And we’re not cut out for pushing pencils at a desk.”

A man with a rugged appearance muttered to himself.

A large backpack was slung over his back, adorned with so much gear it resembled military combat equipment.

“Still, the pay is better than any other job. And sometimes, you hit the lottery. I once followed the Shinhwa Guild’s raid team, and they gave out ten-million-won bonuses just because a good item dropped. If you get lucky, you strike it rich.”

The veteran, now in his seventh year as a porter, said.

Lately, incidents and accidents had become unusually frequent since the Wizard System disappeared.

So, while many were taking a break, the veteran porter didn’t stop working.

After all, natural disasters strike without warning.

As long as you were careful, you could avoid the dangerous stuff.

“Usually, the top 10 guilds are all well-known, so they’re clean with their payments. The only thing is, the percentage is a lot lower. To get a higher cut, you have to work for smaller guilds, but there are a lot of thugs, and the rate of accidents is higher.”

The veteran porter was sharing his know-how with the rookie porter accompanying him.

It wasn’t much, but as long as you weren’t too greedy, you could hunt safely and return home in one piece.

“The Geumseong Guild is in the top 7, so they have a good reputation and solid finances. There’s no reason for an accident to happen.”

Usually, trustworthy guilds don’t just hire any random person.

“I see.”

The rookie porter nodded at the veteran’s words.

“You’ve got a good build. Did you work out before you awakened?”

The veteran had been in and out of dungeons for more than a day or two.

He had seen many hunters.

In his eyes, this young man’s physique looked quite impressive.

When one first awakens, everyone dreams of becoming a hero from the movies.

Of course, reality is different.

There were young guys who thought that even as a porter, if they went through combat training and learned skills, something might change.

“Being a porter might seem a bit pathetic in other people’s eyes. But someone to carry the gear is essential for a dungeon raid, absolutely essential. Most regular hunters have two or three inventory slots at best. Plenty of them can’t even carry their own equipment properly.”

“Porters are essential to a raid. It’s the same in the actual history of warfare, isn’t it? If you lead an army of a hundred thousand, half of them are actually people carrying supplies or providing combat support.”

“Right. Rear support. That’s important. So don’t you go trying to imitate that S-rank porter fella. Just get the basic evacuation training. I’ve seen a lot of kids die after learning some half-baked combat techniques and rushing in to try them out.”

Lately, because of that S-rank hunter, the Delivery Man, quite a few porters were saying they wanted to switch to a combat role.

That guy was an exception; a normal person could never become like that.

His meddling might have been a bit much, but the rookie porter listened well with a gentle smile.

Liking his attitude, the veteran found himself talking more than he intended.

“What have you been chattering about since earlier? Get over here and extract these mana stones, quickly.”

“Ah, yes. Just a moment, sir!”

The veteran kowtowed to the team leader’s words and pulled the rookie along to extract mana stones from the monster carcasses.

The mana stones were almost always located below the heart. Sometimes their position varied, but most were in a similar spot.

For a rookie, the porter he was with was good at extracting mana stones.

His hand movements were awkward at first, but after a few repetitions, he seemed to get the hang of it quickly.

The Geumseong Guild members hunted at a remarkable pace.

They swept through the dungeon without any trouble, and the battle with the boss guarding the dungeon began.

The veteran porter grabbed the rookie, who was staring blankly, and pulled him to hide in a safe corner.

“Don’t get caught in the crossfire. Just stay hidden, got it?”

“Yes.”

“And be careful, the boss sometimes has more than one mana stone.”

“Yes.”

Looking at the obedient rookie, the veteran porter thought it would be fine to work with him in the future.

He might not have experience as a porter yet, but he seemed like he would do well with a bit of teaching.

His stamina also looked quite good.

“Dammit, heal! Can’t you see the shield is down? Are you trying to get someone crippled?”

“You think heals work like pressing a button? The skill’s on cooldown, so fall back! If you can’t tank, that is.”

Though harsh words were exchanged during the dangerous battle with the boss, the hunt ended safely.

Seeing this, the veteran porter let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, a lot of items dropped, huh?”

The veteran hunter watched as the system’s rewards materialized from the fallen boss.

There were at least a dozen or more red items. Seeing this, the party members also looked pleased.

“Wow, you’re really lucky, you know? You said today was your first day, right? You might get a bonus on your very first day.”

According to the contract, the more rewards there were, the more the porters received, about 3% to 5%.

Judging by the number of items that dropped, it looked to be worth at least 500 million to over a billion won at a glance.

“You’ve all worked hard. We’ll extract the mana stones and sort the items.”

The veteran porter took the rookie to extract the mana stones.

Two mana stones, firmly lodged below the heart.

It must have been a boss that had accumulated a lot of mana, as every reward it dropped was generous.

“My, my, congratulations. The mana stones are huge, too. They must be worth quite a bit.”

“How much would that be, with the current market rates?”

“Since there are two of the same size… I’d say about 500 million won?”

It was a literal jackpot.

Excluding the items, the mana stones alone were worth over 500 million.

As he grinned, thinking about the bonus that would fall to him, the veteran porter felt a sudden chill.

It was a kind of ‘gut feeling’ he had developed from working in this field for a long time.

‘Huh?’

The atmosphere among the hunters who had finished the hunt was strange.

“Today’s profit is no joke.”

“Haha, this is the first time I’ve seen such a haul while working as a porter.”

Was he mistaken?

The atmosphere quickly lightened up.

“By the way, what percentage does the contract give the porters?”

“Ah, I get 3%. This friend gets 1%, so that’s 4% combined. An incentive of about 70 million…”

The veteran trailed off and shut his mouth.

“That’s a damn big cut.”

A cold, dry voice.

The veteran porter read the party leader’s mood.

His eyes seemed to look at him not as a person, but as a monster.

“W-Well, it was set according to the standard contract rates…”

“We’re the ones who fought and nearly died.”

Was it because they hit a jackpot of over 1.5 billion?

Greed begot even greater greed.

The veteran porter felt his hands and feet tremble. But he had to pull himself together.

He squeezed the rookie porter’s shoulder firmly, as if giving a signal.

If things went south, they had to run. They just had to get out of here, no matter what.

Hunters in an excited state after a hunt were dangerous.

“Sir, if you’re not happy with the bonus, I’m more than willing to lower it a bit. The main party members worked so hard today…”

“How about 0%?”

Seeing the playful glint in his eyes, the veteran hunter shouted.

“Run!”

He pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket.

It was an item he had prepared in case something like this happened.

The Geumseong party members flinched at the sudden flash and rising smoke.

The veteran ran without looking back.

But the porter who was with him didn’t follow.

He had to run without looking back. But he did.

“Wow, fuck. If you had something like this, you should’ve used it sooner.”

“Trying to abandon your colleague and run away?”

The rookie had already been caught by the hunters, who had turned into thugs.

Seeing this, the veteran’s pupils shook violently.

“What’re you gonna do, go out and say we killed you? You got any proof? We can just treat you like a crazy person, and that’ll be the end of it.”

The veteran porter couldn’t say anything in response to the cackling hunter.

He had to escape from here now. But his feet wouldn’t move.

As the smoke slowly cleared, the murderers’ voices, sneering with upturned lips, could be heard.

“If you had just run, you would’ve lived.”

The party leader’s face, who was laughing as he said this, suddenly contorted.

*Crack.*

The sound of something breaking was heard, and the party leader let out a pig-like squeal.

“Gaaack, what, aghhh!”

The arm he had been using to hold the hostage was twisted in the opposite direction.

The Geumseong Guild members couldn’t understand what had just happened.

The same went for the veteran porter who had been right in front of them.

The rookie porter set down his bag and took off his hoodie and mask.

“Gentlemen. Money is good, but shouldn’t people come first?”

“Wh-What the hell is this guy?”

“Huh? He looks familiar…”

The first one to recognize him was the veteran porter.

“Lee Hyunbin?”

The strongest supporter. The Delivery Man.

The S-rank hunter with such nicknames had appeared here.

Having confirmed his identity, the Geumseong Guild was in a state of panic.

“H-Hold on a minute. You didn’t take our little joke seriously, did you?”

“Oh, so it was a joke?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

The Geumseong Guild members exchanged quick glances.

There was a time when people looked down on Lee Hyunbin, calling him an S-rank porter.

But not anymore.

“Then I’ll play a little joke of my own now.”

Lee Hyunbin cracked his knuckles and showed a gentle smile.

“That’s okay, right?”

“Fuck it, just get him!”

Four of them rushed at him at once.

***

“If you come to the Agency later, you’ll be able to receive the bonus you were supposed to get today.”

“Y-Yes, th-thank you.”

The man who had come as a porter stuttered as he exited the dungeon, clearly shaken.

He was the one who taught me so much, though.

It felt a little sad that things had suddenly become so awkward.

The frequency of gate appearances was increasing, and the military and hunters were dedicating all their resources to stop them.

As a result, security in the dungeons had naturally weakened over time.

Thanks to this, hunters belonging to guilds sometimes showed their thuggish nature.

The Geumseong Guild hunters I subdued and arrested in my inventory today were already persons of interest.

They had a history of their support members being wiped out while they came back unscathed.

Twice, at that.

Perhaps because their profession involves hunting lives, they don’t understand the value of life?

They weren’t Villains, but seeing hunters who were becoming like Villains, there was only one thing I could do.

To be a check on those with power.

The number of murderers I’ve arrested like this is already in the double digits.

As for Villains, there are already dozens.

The dungeon was about to collapse.

I still hadn’t left.

In truth, I had come here because of a tip from someone.

That the Geumseong Guild hunters would be here.

I was waiting for that informant.

Soon, the sound of footsteps approached.

I could see a smile forming on the lips of the person who entered the dungeon in a tracksuit with a cap pulled low.

“I believe this is the first time we’re meeting like this.”

Even without him taking off his cap, I knew who it was.

A persistent connection.

“Hero.”

Ryu Ji-yeon of the Tushin Guild appeared before me.

This one seemed to have no intention of hiding their identity at all.

“You suddenly changed your gender?”

“It might not be a change, but my original form, don’t you think?”

That sinister smile is physiologically disgusting.

“So, do you like having so many friends in the Tushin Guild?”

“Not particularly. Our ideologies are all different, you see. We may be holding hands for now, but.”

The person, still smiling, continued to speak.

“I will give you information on the Villains, Hero.”

“You’re going to betray your friends?”

“Did I not say it? We only joined hands because our goals aligned.”

“Hey, now. Friends shouldn’t fight. When you get older, there will be times you miss your friends.”

This one is a real piece of work.

“What’s important to me right now is proving my worth.”

Worth? More than enough.

If I gather evidence that this one is a Villain and arrest them, the Tushin Guild will collapse.

“Alright, what’s the price for the information?”

Let’s hear them out, at least.

Why they’re doing something so pathetic.

“The Demon King’s summoning.”

The topic of the Demon King came up.

Siegfried.

The Demon King that left him in a state of neither life nor death.

The Demon King that is in the process of conquering this world.

“I would like you to stop it.”