Chapter 275: An Unexpected Proposal (2)
One hour later.
As soon as Lars arrived, Kang-hoo handed over the essence and settled the six orange mana stones he had obtained earlier.
Carrying them around was cumbersome, and usually, the client who requested the task would handle this kind of work as well.
Kang-hoo and Ayane each received 30 billion won as their share from selling the orange mana stones.
Additionally, Lars paid them another 5 billion won each because Kang-hoo had brought an ample supply of essence.
His balance had surged. His total assets now stood at 251 billion won, welcoming him warmly.
Although the money would disappear quickly after purchasing a few items, having a large sum always felt good.
Suddenly, he recalled his past life as an author.
Back then, he felt like he owned the world whenever he received a manuscript payment of just 2.5 million won.
Now, tens of billions of won were exchanged so easily that those past figures felt almost laughable.Would he want to go back to his old life?
It was a meaningless question.
Could he even do it?
He was certain he couldn’t. It seemed impossible to experience any life other than ‘Shin Kang-hoo’s.’
Meanwhile, after settling everything, Lars once again expressed his gratitude to Kang-hoo and Ayane.
“Among all the mercenaries who have completed our guild’s requests, I’ve never seen one handled this quickly and cleanly.”
“That’s great. Feel free to call on us again. As long as our needs align, we can always work together.”
“This is my business card. If you don’t mind, may I have both of your contact details personally?”
Kang-hoo wasn’t the type to easily share his number with just anyone, but Lars Abel was a different story.
After receiving his business card, Kang-hoo and Ayane registered his German contact number and his Huntergram ID.
Then, after sending him a message, they had naturally left a trace with Lars.
“Thank you. I believe I’ll be reaching out to you soon. There are quite a few unresolved requests.”
Seeing Lars scratch the back of his head, it seemed there were several troublesome requests, just like the Schafrichter request.
It was surprising to think that Stark Guild, a well-established guild in Germany, also had dungeons that gave them trouble.
Of course, being successful didn’t mean they could handle everything perfectly. There were bound to be gaps somewhere.
“Then, can I move to the promised dungeon now? I’d like to start my raid right away.”
Kang-hoo broke the silence.
At that moment, Ayane, who had been standing beside him, spoke first.
“Kang-hoo, I’m going to go on a city tour for a bit. This dungeon is a personal task, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll book a place to stay in the meantime, so contact me when you’re done, alright? I’ll leave the address.”
“That’d be great. Thanks.”
Kang-hoo nodded.
Lars immediately stepped in to guide him.
Apparently, the extra safety limousine he had brought along was meant for Kang-hoo.
“Both of you, please get in. Miss Ayane, I’ll drop you off in the city first, and then I’ll escort Mr. Kang-hoo.”
“Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
“I just need to confirm the dungeon details once more. The dungeon you requested is Dungeon 13, near Zwinger Palace in Dresden, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Just to confirm, the dungeon is owned by Kampf Guild. The internal details remain unchanged from what was previously shared.”
“That matches my information. Please lead the way.”
“Understood. Let’s go!”
Kang-hoo boarded the safety limousine and immediately set off for the dungeon.
Along the way, he exchanged a brief farewell with Ayane before she got off in the city, and then he continued the journey.
To put it simply, Dungeon 13 had a boss monster that he couldn’t possibly defeat.
The dungeon’s level was simply too high.
According to the shared intel, the boss monster had a staggering level rating of 700.
Even with a team, it would be questionable whether they could clear it—defeating a level 700 monster alone? Impossible.
Even the monsters he needed to hunt for his breastplate were no joke.
There was a reason why Dungeon 13 had a recommended level of 550.
The monsters Kang-hoo had to hunt were as strong as middle-boss monsters, making victory uncertain.
Kang-hoo could sense that Lars, despite not saying it outright, was curious about why he was attempting this dungeon.
It was only natural.
A level 300-ish assassin hunter attempting a level 550 dungeon—alone?
Anyone would think it was impossible. Or that he was insane.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter either way.’
It didn’t matter what Lars or the Kampf Guild, who rented out the dungeon license, thought.
Unless they came inside to witness things firsthand, they couldn’t even guess his true objective.
【Pride of the Warrior – Breastplate】
Rank: Grade 2.
Agility: +350.
Magic Resistance: +50.
Durability: +50.
Guardian Ability: Prevents one fatal attack that would result in instant death. (This ability is consumed after activation.)
Kang-hoo checked the details of his current breastplate.
The Corruption Series breastplate he aimed to acquire surpassed it in every aspect, so he didn’t have to worry about stat reduction.
However, one thing still bothered him—the Guardian ability.
‘Changing my breastplate just to keep the Guardian ability would be strange.’
Once he wore the Corruption Series breastplate, there would be no reason to keep the Pride of the Warrior equipped.
Yet, selling it without using the Guardian ability felt wasteful.
While it would fetch a good price due to its special attribute, Kang-hoo was after something more than money.
‘Even if I can’t take on the main boss, maybe I can at least deal with the middle boss. With Guardian, I can survive at least one fatal hit.’
If anyone had overheard his thoughts, they would have thought he was completely insane.
But at the same time, he didn’t think it was entirely impossible.
In game terms, it was like having an extra life. The Guardian ability prevented fatal damage that would otherwise lead to instant death.
If that was the case, he could make a bold move, using his ‘fake life’ as a safety net.
Whether it was the middle boss or the main boss, suffering a fatal hit meant death all the same. There was no such thing as immortality.
“I can’t resist this.”
There was no need to hesitate—he made up his mind immediately.
Trusting in the Guardian ability, he decided to attempt a raid on the middle boss monster.
If things really got out of hand, he could just run away.
Just once. He wanted to take a daring shot at this. It was high-risk, high-reward.
Of course, he also knew it would be hellishly difficult.
Taking on a level 550-rated dungeon and its middle boss monster wasn’t going to be easy. If it were, it wouldn’t be fun.
“I must be crazy.”
Realizing he was already looking forward to the challenge, he couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
There was no doubt about it—he wasn’t normal.
Meanwhile…
Yu Cheonghwa and Emilia were participating in a video conference organized by Takashi.
Normally, getting all three of them together for a conversation wasn’t easy, but today, they all happened to be free.
If there had been an assault mission from Justice Dimension, they would have been busy.
However, with Jang Si-hwan and Chae Gwanhyeong completely caught up in the Dongducheon battle, their scheduled raid had been indefinitely postponed.
As a result, all three of them, who had set aside time for that event, were left with nothing to do.
Looking over the documents Takashi had sent her in advance, Yu Cheonghwa asked:
“A four-person raid, and we’re guaranteed to have a rough time, but you and your new partner will handle all the grunt work?”
- “Exactly! You guys just need to show up and focus on dealing damage. That’s how we’ve always done it, and that’s how we’ll keep doing it.”
“And who’s this new partner?”
- “It’s faster if I just show you his face. Look!”
Takashi then displayed a picture of Kang-hoo on the screen.
Previously, the only photos of Kang-hoo circulating from Eclipse were from his time at Cheongmyeong Detention Center, where he had looked frail and emaciated.
However, the photo Takashi shared was from a recent incident in Japan, where Kang-hoo had rescued a grandmother and her granddaughter.
With perfect lighting and a picturesque background, he looked like a celebrity in a photo shoot.
“Huh…? Shin Kang-hoo?”
- “Cheonghwa, you recognize him, right? I mentioned him to you a few times before.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.”
Yu Cheonghwa had known that Takashi had some kind of connection with Kang-hoo.
But she hadn’t expected Takashi to trust him enough to consider him a dungeon raid partner.
Takashi was extremely careful when choosing raid partners.
That meant that just by inviting Kang-hoo to this meeting, Takashi was showing a high level of trust in him. It was proof that he was confident in Kang-hoo’s abilities.
Yu Cheonghwa recalled the two times she had met Kang-hoo.
Once at Seoul Station, and once at Seoul Market.
The second time, she had even helped him sell items from the Shinto Guild.
She had always thought he was an exceptional hunter, but now it felt like their connection was growing deeper.
If Takashi thought of him as a partner, then she was bound to see Kang-hoo more often in the future.
- “So? Want to join us?”
“Me? I’m fine with it. But I’m curious about what Emilia thinks. Since it’s a four-person raid, it has to be unanimous, right?”
Yu Cheonghwa passed the final decision over to Emilia.
She had no reason to refuse.
If anything, she had been curious about Kang-hoo for a while, and this was the perfect chance to learn more about him.
It was a good opportunity.
Through Takashi, she could naturally meet him again and build a useful connection.
- “Me?”
At that moment, Emilia, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
The decision was now in her hands.
“I never expected to meet him like this.”
Unlike Yu Cheonghwa, who had already been aware of some connections, Emilia needed a moment to process everything.
The reason she had stayed silent until now was that she was surprised by how unexpectedly their paths had overlapped.
She hadn’t realized that both Yu Cheonghwa and Takashi knew Kang-hoo.
The first time Emilia had met Kang-hoo was at the Hongcheon Liberation Area in Korea.
Back then, he had been using the alias ‘Jung Sun-kyu’.
Her initial interest had been sparked when she realized her mental control abilities had absolutely no effect on him.
Unlike other hunters, who groveled before her, Kang-hoo had remained confident and composed in her presence.
But what had shocked her the most was when her main Constellation, ‘Clairvoyant Eye’, analyzed Kang-hoo.
Clairvoyant Eye was a Constellation that could quantify a person’s potential—even Emilia’s own abilities had been reduced to mere numbers.
But when the Constellation had scanned Kang-hoo…
The result wasn’t a number.
Instead, what she saw was:
[∞]
The infinity symbol.
Even when evaluating Jang Si-hwan, the strongest among them, she had never seen that symbol before.
Back then, she had invited Kang-hoo to Emilia Tower, but he had never responded.
Now, fate had given her another chance.
“This time, I’m going to properly figure him out.”
She had a feeling that she was about to discover something truly interesting.
Her heart was already pounding with excitement.