abcnovels
Chapter 86
Chapter 86
Chapter 86
Roxanne’s bad temper was famous within the clan. Carlton was a rough person in his own right, but even he was terrified enough to dress neatly in front of Roxanne.
How dare this person say such a thing in front of Roxanne?
‘??, is he trying to drag me to death with him?’
Carlton trembled, afraid that he would die with this person. He was the one who let Choi Yeonseung in, after all. However, Choi Yeonseung didn’t even blink. Rather, his composure actually calmed Roxanne.
Roxanne broke the pen in her hand and threw it aside. This person was from Dragon Hwang’s Icarus clan, but...
Choi Yeonseung’s confidence made her endure it. She thought that with this much courage, he likely had something to believe in. Hunters were still humans. Some of them had courage, some didn’t. Roxanne preferred the former. “Tell me what you mean. You think we can’t kill it?”
“I hope you aren’t too offended.” Choi Yeonseung pulled out a chair and sat down. Carlton thought from behind him, ‘He’s insane! He dared say that and tell us not to take offense...’
Right now, Black Cactus was in charge of Las Vegas’ monsters and dungeons. Coming to such a clan and saying, ‘I’m here to help you because you can’t kill the monsters’ was no different from starting a fight!
“It’s a long story, but... Have you recently discovered a dungeon above B-grade?”
“Why should I answer you?”
“I guess you really don’t have to. A dungeon that’s rated B at the very least in this area will soon explode.”
Failure to clear a dungeon on Earth within its time limit would cause whatever it hosted within to spill out to Earth. That phenomenon was called a dungeon explosion. It didn’t explode with a bang like a bomb. However, considering the monsters inside, it was far worse. The creatures it would release were natural disasters in themselves.
“Have you found a dungeon we don’t know about?”
“Yes. I used Dragon Industry’s latest magic.”
Choi Yeonseung confidently lied. They wouldn’t believe it if he said he saw it using Future Sight, and there was no reason for him to tell them either. Hwang Gyeongryong’s giant corporate group, Dragon Industry, was at the forefront of the raid era. This included magic engineering, monster biotechnology, and the engineering of new monster materials. He had over a dozen research institutes that conducted all types of raid-related research, so it wouldn’t be surprising for him to have dozens of mysterious magic, skills, and artifacts that others didn’t know about.
“......”
Roxanne remained silent. It seemed Choi Yeonseung’s lie had worked. Detecting a dungeon in someone else’s territory was truly terrifying technology.
‘Fuck... I can’t believe there is such a difference in magic.’
Roxanne inwardly cursed. If Roxanne compared her forces with Hwang Gyeongryong’s, it would be like comparing ants to dinosaurs. No matter how well Roxanne led her hunters in combat, she wouldn’t be able to defeat Hwang Gyeongryong, who had a huge capital and corporation. However, that didn’t mean she could back down.
“So the Icarus clan is going to ignore our clan’s rights and clear the dungeon?” Roxanne’s voice was full of killing intent. Even a weak beast fought to protect its territory when another beast entered it. It was the same for hunters. No matter how good Hwang Gyeongryong was, she didn’t intend to let him do as he wanted.
“No. I have no intention of that.”
“......?”
Roxanne cocked her head at Choi Yeonseung’s words. Helping out was just an excuse to eat all of the dungeon’s profits, but he suddenly claimed to have different intents in mind.
“The dungeon’s in your area, so I don’t plan on getting to it ahead of you all. I will completely follow your decision.”
“......??”
Roxanne became even more confused.
“However, I want you to let me watch you clear the dungeon from the outside. That way, I can step in immediately if you fail to clear the dungeon or the dungeon explodes.”
“......”
Choi Yeonseung’s condition was so modest that it was unbelievable!
‘What? Is the Icarus clan planning on playing tricks while watching us clear the dungeon? No. A faction like theirs has no reason to do that. If they’re better at raiding dungeons than my clan, it would be better for them to do so... They wouldn’t get that much information from watching it from the outside either...’
Roxanne frowned. No matter how she looked at it, the Icarus clan had nothing to gain from this. There was no reason for them to spy on her since they wouldn’t get anything from it. Could it be that he really just came to provide genuine help? Did that make sense?
Waiting, Choi Yeonseung yawned as if he was bored. ‘She’s taking her time thinking about it.’
“Hey. I don’t know what futile thoughts you’re currently having, but I came here purely out of my desire to help. If the dungeon explodes and monsters emerge, a lot of people will die or get hurt.”
“It’ll explode in Las Vegas, so it won’t hurt LA, would it? Why did you have to come here?”
“... Are you kidding me? I just said that a lot of people will die or get hurt.”
Choi Yeonseung criticized Roxanne, seemingly finding it ridiculous. Las Vegas wasn’t on the other side of the world. She could easily and immediately reach it if she wanted. Hence, it didn’t make sense for her to do nothing in a situation where monsters could invade Earth.
“This bastard... Watch your mouth in front of the clan leader!” Carlton urgently shouted to reprimand his attitude.
“Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Who is talking nonsense now?”
Choi Yeonseung was in the middle of Black Cactus territory. If a fight broke out, it would be difficult for Choi Yeonseung to survive even if he belonged to the Icarus clan. Nevertheless, he showed no fear. This confidence was fresh to Roxanne. It was amazing!
“Clan leader. Maybe it’s because he’s been in the Abyss for over 30 years, but he’s a bit weird. He didn’t say it with bad intentions, so please forgive him...”
“Be quiet.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Carlton was just trying to help Choi Yeonseung, but he was told to shut up instead.
“30 years ago... A 1st generation? You’re a 1st generation hunter, aren’t you?”
“Yes, he is. He’s also a martial artist—”
“Answer questions only when you’re asked, bastard.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
Roxanne looked at Choi Yeonseung in disbelief. This young (he looked younger because he was Asian) hunter was actually so old. No, he would’ve spent a few days in the Abyss at most, so his actual age wouldn’t be much different, but...
Being a 1st generation hunter, she could understand these actions. Movies and dramas often featured 1st generation hunters. Sacrifice, commitment, and...
“Is it because you’re a 1st generation hunter...?”
“What are you talking about?” Choi Yeonseung asked, puzzled upon hearing Roxanne mutter.
Carlton spoke for her. “All 1st generation hunters are heroes.”
“????”
“What? That’s what I saw in a drama. Despite their poor situation where they had no information and few artifacts during dungeon raids, didn’t everyone unite to stop the monsters?”
“What crazy nonsense are you talking about? Hunters fought each other even back then.” Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. No, these crazy people were learning about raids from dramas?
“Uh... Well... I saw it in the drama ‘Good Hunters.’ In it, hunters from eight countries gathered to raid a dungeon that opened in Busan... According to it, everyone got along well...”
“I was the rank and file at the time. We didn’t get along, so we didn’t talk to each other. After clearing the dungeon, there was a fight due to the loot. Two hunters died because of it.”
“H-Huh?? Didn’t you make a heroic sacrifice while clearing the dungeon?!” Carlton was shocked. In the drama, two people obviously saved their colleagues by saying, ‘Go on, go!’
“You seem to have a strange illusion about 1st generation hunters. Not all 1st generation hunters are saints.” Choi Yeonseung sighed. It had already been a while since he came back from the Abyss, but these people made him feel like he wasn’t used to the new age yet.
“I don’t understand why such nonsense would come out when people dying is something that can be prevented.”
‘Isn’t that enough to be a saint?’
‘I think he’s a saint...’
Roxanne and Carlton thought to themselves, contradicting Choi Yeonseung’s words. The current raid business was the essence of capitalism itself. Even if a monster ate people just a kilometer away, clans would normally wait if stopping it didn’t benefit them yet. Roxanne pulled out a cigarette and lit it. She then blew out some smoke and asked, “Are you really just going to watch?”
“If you fail to stop it, then I’ll step in.”
“You seem to be underestimating our clan. We can at least clear a B-grade dungeon.”
Roxanne was confident. Hwang Gyeongryong ignored Black Cactus because he could mobilize A-grade hunters, but she was also confident in herself.
“That’s good, then.”
“... Fine. I’ll trust you, but keep this in mind. I never forgive bastards who deceive me. If you do...” Roxanne pressed her cigarette against the table, causing crackling sounds. Soon, the table was engulfed in fire. “... You’ll suffer the same fate. No matter which clan you belong to, we will definitely hunt you down. Understood?”
“Yes. I understand.” Choi Yeonseung hit the table as he spoke. The flames that covered it were sucked into his hand. It was the principle of absorption. In an instant, the flames entered his hand and disappeared. Carlton’s mouth dropped open.
“Uh... How did you do that?”
“Internal energy... No, I spread mana around and absorbed it.”
“... How do you do that?”
“... What?”
“......”
Carlton looked at him with curiosity.
How did that work? No magic or skills were used...
***
“The others from the Icarus clan aren’t coming?”
“Our clan members act separately apart from regular training.”
Most clans were highly individualistic. However, it was particularly severe with the Icarus clan. It wasn’t created to make money in the first place. It was created to raise aces. It had conducted way more practices or training than actual dungeon raids. Thanks to this, the hunters belonging to the Icarus clan had plenty of free time.
“Wow... I’m really envious.”
Carlton looked at Choi Yeonseung with envy.
The hunters of Black Cactus were pretty busy. Check if dungeons came out, prepare to clear dungeons if they did, patrol around the city when not working, and go and flatter the big shots that came to Las Vegas... Even so, they received much less than the base salary of the Icarus clan’s hunters.
After all, hunters were a type of freelancer. They had to do a lot of raids to make a lot of money.
“Did you want to meet them?”
“They are hunters of a higher rank than me. Isn’t there something to learn?”
Contrary to his rough attitude, Carlton was surprisingly sincere. To survive as a hunter for a long time, he had to keep improving.
“I also want to go to the Icarus clan when my rating goes up. The Icarus clan hunters’ are really flashy, aren’t they? Partying with millions of dollars every day, drinking, taking pills...”
‘I work out, work out, and work out.’
“Your clan leader would love to hear that.”
“Ah... No. Please don’t tell her. I’m begging you.”
Carlton panicked out of sheer fear.
“How do you carry out raids when a dungeon appears here?” Choi Yeonseung asked.
“We first measure its rating, then pick hunters according to that information. Afterward, the clan leader will resolve any disagreements.”
The Black Cactus clan was now searching for the dungeon after listening to Choi Yeonseung’s words. There was at least a B-grade dungeon somewhere! There was a high possibility that it was in a complex underground area or somewhere enclosed.
“If it really is a B-grade dungeon, then its boss monster would have the same rating. I guess the clan leader will join this one. Is your clan leader good?”
“Of course,” Carlton immediately answered. The way he spoke showed he had confidence in their clan leader.
‘She’s a good leader.’