Back in the Association office, Min Ju-ho of the Crisis Management Team had not been able to finish writing his report.
That was because there were suspicious points in the statements given by F-Rank Group 3 after they cleared the Defense Battle.
He was repeatedly recalling the situation when the Defense Battle had been cleared.
Some time earlier.
F-Rank Group 3 and Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon had come out of the Defense Battle.
“I am glad everyone is safe…… Hunter, are you all right as well?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I survived.”
F-Rank Group 3, who had emerged from the Defense Battle, looked clean and uninjured.
Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon, who stood at the very back, had some traces of battle and a few abrasions, but they did not seem to be major injuries.
It was truly a fortunate situation.
Even so, Min Ju-ho could not simply be pleased.
Seeing that they had defeated the boss and come out without a single wound, their ability was as strong as he had thought.
However, if they ignored the rules like this, they would eventually suffer for it, so a sharp warning was necessary.
“By the way, why did you challenge the boss monster? I told you the rules were important.”
“Ah…… That is…….”
When he opened the conversation in order to warn them, the Hunters of F-Rank Group 3 could not answer easily.
‘So they know they did something wrong.’
When people reacted like this, it usually meant they had broken the rules even though the situation had not been unavoidable.
By now, they were probably thinking hard about how to rationalize having broken the rules and challenged the boss.
“The rules do not exist for nothing! All of you need to reflect on this!”
“That is…… We also…….”
The faces of the Group 3 Hunters soon became expressions of injustice.
‘Good grief…… Are they upset because they could not prove how strong they are?’
As the atmosphere became one in which he was scolding them somewhat one-sidedly, tension formed at the scene.
No one from Group 3 could open their mouth, but then an unexpected statement was heard.
“I think the boss was just dealt with on its own.”
It was Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon, who had been fidgeting beside them.
The boss was dealt with on its own?
That explanation made no sense at all.
However, since an outsider was saying it, he could not exactly get angry.
While Min Ju-ho was too dumbfounded to continue speaking, Yoon Du-sik opened his mouth.
“What I mean is, when we entered, it had already…….”
Yoon Du-sik explained everything they had experienced inside the Defense Battle.
Since the Group 3 Hunters were also experiencing a Defense Battle for the first time,
they needed confirmation about the parts that were completely different from what they had been taught.
His explanation proceeded in a direction that was somewhat difficult to understand even for a Hunter who had experienced various dungeons.
First, when Group 3 entered the Gate, the labyrinth had apparently been destroyed in many places.
The boss door had opened as if it had been broken down.
And inside, the boss had already been on the verge of death.
Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon had been caught up in the shock at the scene where the labyrinth had collapsed violently…….
However.
‘What if Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon’s claim is false?’
He was the Hunter who had entered the Defense Battle first.
Judging by the circumstances, Min Ju-ho could not rule out the possibility that he had quickly finished the dungeon and was hiding his ability.
And if he was hiding his ability, it also meant there was a possibility he was a Villain.
However, considering that his physical ability seemed ordinary and he had no equipment at all, that possibility seemed very low.
“I had the same suspicion.”
“Yes?”
While Min Ju-ho was carefully observing Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon, Yoon Du-sik approached and whispered.
“I suspected that Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon had defeated the boss, but when we checked with Mr. Jeong-ho’s [Trace Search], there were no traces near the boss at all.”
“What if it was a long-range skill?”
“On top of that, the traces also confirmed that he had only been going in circles in the same area, very far away from the boss.”
Yoon Du-sik had checked more than Min Ju-ho had expected.
As he said, even long-range skills required the target to be visible in order to be used.
Even if it was a shabby door, one could not defeat an enemy beyond it.
Then the conclusion was……
They had to view it as a dungeon anomaly.
After all, countless varieties of dungeons existed, and instability existed as well.
Various anomalies such as Named transformation and attribute transformation could also occur.
However, one thing weighed on his mind.
An anomaly occurring in an F-Rank Defense Battle?
On top of that,
‘A dungeon that clears itself?’
That was a phenomenon he had never heard of before.
It was something worthy of research by the dungeon academic world…….
If everything Yoon Du-sik explained was true, then Group 3’s response had been excellent.
They had drawn out the strengths of their skills well, just as they had trained in the simulation.
And Yoon Du-sik’s face as he explained every situation showed no sign of lying.
Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon’s expression still seemed somewhat tense, but since he was an ordinary Hunter, that much was understandable.
Considering every situation, Group 3 had followed the rules well and cleared the Defense Battle.
“Hm…… So there were special circumstances. Your response was very good. I apologize for getting heated right away. For now, you have all worked hard, so return and rest.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Since he had started by pressuring people who had just come out after clearing a Defense Battle, the atmosphere was awkward.
Even as the situation was roughly settled, the expressions of the F-Rank Group 3 Hunters remained dark.
At times like this, there was only one thing that could change the mood.
Min Ju-ho spoke toward the backs of F-Rank Group 3 as they walked away with their shoulders drooping.
“Starting from this Defense Battle, your allowance will be calculated. It is ten million won per F-Rank Defense Battle, so each person will receive two million…… No, including Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon, it will be about 1.6 million won per person.”
At those words, the Hunters looked at one another, and their expressions quickly brightened again.
Was it such a big deal that the distribution amount had decreased? They would continue clearing Defense Battles from now on anyway.
And so, the Group 3 Hunters returned with strength in their steps.
Then Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon followed behind them.
“Excuse me…… Please wait a moment, Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon.”
“Y-Yes? Why?”
There was something he had to process with Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon, so he had to stop him.
They said he had just awakened, and his startled appearance was exactly that of an F-Rank Hunter.
“We need to confirm your identity……. Do you have your Hunter License with you?”
“My Hunter License?”
“Of course, you would not be a Villain, but we always have to confirm identity. It is also necessary for settling the allowance.”
Yoo Seonghyeon’s expression as he held out his Hunter License was uneasy.
It seemed as if there was something bothering him, or perhaps he simply felt offended.
Since Min Ju-ho could not say anything based on expression alone,
he brought the Hunter License to the terminal.
BEEP!
「Hunter (F) Yoo Seonghyeon」
Ranked Match 【2】
Defense Battle 【1】
20XX.XX.XX
Yoo Seonghyeon’s Hunter activity record was simple.
His Hunter registration date had been three days ago, so the number of dungeon entry records matched.
However,
Ranked Match 2 Details -
[Kingdom of the Sticky Queen – 20XX.XX.XX]
[The Witch’s Hut – 20XX.XX.XX]
He had somehow gone through troublesome dungeons.
That part was a little unfortunate…….
Only after checking his Ranked Match records did Min Ju-ho understand.
This Hunter named Yoo Seonghyeon…… was simply someone with incredibly bad luck.
After the identity confirmation ended like that, Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon also left.
‘But…… is that all?’
Min Ju-ho thought while looking at the monitor where the F-Rank Defense Battle clear report was being written.
No matter how much he thought about it, it was strange.
A dungeon that cleared itself?
It was a phenomenon that had never once been observed before, so it felt embarrassing to report it as it was.
‘The most reasonable suspicion I can make for now is…….’
At present, it was this Hunter named “Yoo Seonghyeon,” who had been inside.
Of course, there had been no problem during the Hunter License verification process.
He was definitely not a Villain, but there was one slightly strange point.
Most of the dungeons he had entered were places evaluated as highly difficult.
Moreover, despite that, Korea had taken first place in them.
“…….”
Wait.
All the dungeons where Korea had recently taken first place?
Min Ju-ho hurriedly checked the dungeon observation data.
[T) Goblin Mountain Fortress – 1st Place ‘I Am Meteor’]
[Kingdom of the Sticky Queen – 1st Place ‘I Am Meteor’]
[The Witch’s Hut – 1st Place ‘I Am Meteor’]
And the dungeons he found that had recently been cleared in first place,
all had the Hunter name “I Am Meteor” remaining.
The commonly confirmed anomaly was that there was a brief flash of light, and then a shock wave surged in an instant.
And if the traces in this Defense Battle were also from something colliding, then it became even more plausible.
The same went for the boss that had fallen beyond the closed door.
“Surely…… Hunter Yoo Seonghyeon is that ‘Meteor Lord’?”
Min Ju-ho’s suspicion gradually became certainty.
The timing of his appearance was similar, and there were even traces of him having entered the same dungeons.
The Tutorial Dungeon record could not be confirmed even with a Hunter License, so he could not be absolutely certain.
But many circumstances pointed to Yoo Seonghyeon being Meteor Lord.
The very person the Association was searching for with eyes wide open.
A Hunter powerful enough that Korea could once again leap forward as a strong nation.
After all his suspicions had been perfectly sorted out, Min Ju-ho was able to finish writing the report.
***
F-Rank Defense Battle, Pitch-Black Daedalus Clear Report
『Occurrence Location: Wondan-gu, Ansan City…….』
『Responsible Department: Ansan Branch Crisis Management Team』
『On-Site Officer: Min Ju-ho』
『Dispatched Hunters: F-Rank Yoon Du-sik, F-Rank Jeong Su-hyeon, F-Rank…….』
『Report Contents: On XX/XX/XXXX, a Defense Battle occurred at the location of Wondan-gu, Ansan City…… The incident was received around XX:00…… Immediate…… response…… F-Rank Hunter…… TF formed…… dungeon…… fully cleared.』
『Special Notes: Suspected individual matching Meteor Lord discovered.』
***
However, one final suspicion remained.
‘Then why did he deliberately enter a Defense Battle and reveal himself?’
***
At that time, Yoo Seonghyeon, who had deliberately entered a Defense Battle and suffered for it, turned on his computer with his body full of fatigue.
He had something to do that he had not finished during the day.
「Hunter (F) Yoo Seonghyeon」
【Hunter-to-Hunter Trading】【Official Store Trading】【Auction House Trading】【Magic Stone Exchange】
It was to put the loot he had received from the dungeon up for auction.
When he had heard the explanation at the Association, he had felt as though he might stand out, so he had put only one piece of loot up for auction.
【Inventory】
Low-Grade Magic Stones 3,617
Honed Goblin Dagger 1
Wasp Wax 4
Soul Fragments 7
Mo Enchantress’s Cloak 1
Deathwing Claws 21
Skeleton Bone Fragments 11
Giant Bull Hide 4
But after clearing the Defense Battle and coming out, more loot had been added to his Inventory.
So even though he was tired, the first thing that came to mind was putting them up for auction.
【Auction House Trading】
[Purchase]
[Sell] (!)
[My Bids]
As he was about to register the items for sale,
he saw a glittering mark beside the Sell window.
Wondering whether someone had already placed a bid, he hurriedly entered.
[Sell]
Wasp Wax – 4,200 (Korean Hunter Association) (!)
!!!
The final bid amount for a single Wasp Wax had become four thousand Magic Stones.
In other words, one Wasp Wax was worth forty million won.
And he still had four more in his Inventory.
“……A hundred million?!”
In total, it was two hundred million.
And that was the amount calculated only for the Wasp Wax among the loot in his Inventory.
No more words came out.
There was no time for them to come out. First, he had to list the items.
[Sell]
Wasp Wax (4) -
Soul Fragments (7) -
Giant Bull Hide (4) -
Deathwing Claws (21) -
Skeleton Bone Fragments (11) -
Mo Enchantress’s Cloak -
Thus, with my eyes practically rolling back in my head, I put all the loot in my Inventory up for auction.
Ah, except for the Goblin Dagger.
After carrying it around in the Defense Battle, I had grown a little attached to it.
After listing all the loot, I was curious about [Purchase Items] and [Official Store Trading] as well, but I could not open them.
Because without even having the presence of mind to do that, I collapsed and fell asleep.