Chapter 21

A lavish chandelier. Expensive liquor arranged on the table.

Vice President Lee Minsung was well and truly drunk in a VIP room again today. Normally, the room would have been busy with raucous laughter and intimate touching, but today the atmosphere was somehow different.

CRASH!

"Eek!"

The hostess entertaining him screamed in surprise as the glass he had hurled shattered.

"Oh, dear. Why is my darling in such a bad mood today?"

The madam entered the room a moment later and sat beside him with an elegant smile. At the same time, she signaled with her eyes for all the other staff to leave. The hostesses seized the chance to slip out, and the room fell silent in an instant.

TRICKLE.

The madam poured liquor into a fresh glass, discreetly gauging Lee Minsung's mood. He had been glaring wide-eyed at his phone for some time.

'What's going on?'

She stole a glance at his screen.

'Comments?'

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

-So who's the hunter who wiped out Hyena?

-Same question. Apparently they stormed Gwanaksan alone and rescued everyone?

-That's insane. Who the hell is it?

-FYI: Apparently they wore a mask, so even the survivors didn't see their face.

-What, are they some secret badass? Why hide your face after doing a good deed?

-Isn't it obvious? Rumor has it the Reaper Guild was backing Hyena. Of course they'd hide their identity.

-Exactly. Whoever you are, don't let them find you. Reaper will come straight after you for revenge lol.

The internet was still buzzing about Gwanaksan Field. People were eagerly speculating about the hunter who had supposedly resolved the incident single-handedly, but there was far too little evidence to begin with.

-But seriously, who could it be?

-They soloed the boss, so they must be at least A-rank, right?

-Nope. In theory, a B-rank could do it with the right skills.

-Nope. With the right skills, even a C-rank or D-rank could.

-"Even a D-rank," what a load of bullshit lmao.

-Please keep your fiction in your diary.

Thousands upon tens of thousands of comments wondered who the hunter was. There was plenty of nonsense and joking among them, but public opinion ultimately boiled down to a single word.

-Hero.

As the Hyena Guild's vile deeds came to light one after another, and their image grew ever more demonic, affection for the hunter who had wiped them out alone soared across the nation.

"What, they still haven't found out who it is?"

The instant the madam tossed out that casual remark, Lee Minsung's face twisted into a scowl.

GRIND.

Lee Minsung glared at her, grinding his teeth.

"Are you mocking me?"

"Goodness, mocking you? Of course I'm concerned. How incompetent must our vice president's informants be for him to resort to looking for clues in the comments?"

GRIND.

"You'll damage your teeth doing that. Anyway, you told your informants to visit the survivors, didn't you? What did they say?"

"... They used twin swords."

"And?"

"Apparently they summoned magic beasts."

"Summoned? Oh my."

The madam covered her mouth, looking surprised by his answer.

"How strange. Is there a summoner who could do something like this?"

"No."

"There isn't?"

"Some mere summoner killed Broki? That's absolutely impossible."

Having seen the enormous hyena Broki in person, Lee Minsung could be certain of that.

"That summoning skill must have been some trick to throw us off. It could have been an illusion skill, or perhaps there was more than one of them. A summoner might have been hiding in the back. No, I'm certain of it."

However he considered it, this was absolutely not something a lone individual could have pulled off.

In any case, there was only one truly meaningful fact: Broki had been killed with twin swords.

"By that logic, they could just have been holding the swords, too."

"Exactly. Which means we have no information."

"Oh, come on. How boring."

Looking deflated, the madam picked up a glass of liquor from the table and drained it.

'He was making such a fuss, I thought something serious had happened. Turns out he's just upset. How childish.'

Still, she understood. Lee Minsung had spent his entire life winning. Born into wealth, he had become a Korean Wave star in his youth. Then, when the Cataclysm struck, he had promptly awakened as an A-rank hunter.

His path had been smooth all the way. At this point, it was hardly an exaggeration to say the entire universe revolved around him.

'Then suddenly his chauffeur became an S-rank hunter.'

And of all times, it had happened while the whole world was congratulating Lee Minsung on his awakening. That very evening, his longtime friend and chauffeur Lim Taegyu had abruptly become an S-rank.

At that moment, Lee Minsung had been... blinded by jealousy. The hierarchy he had thought would never change had been overturned in an instant.

'... Well, that's what makes him useful.'

No one was easier to handle than someone with an inferiority complex.

The madam chuckled and refilled his glass.

"Don't fret so much. They'll catch them eventually. More importantly, shall we talk business now?"

"Mm."

At those words, Lee Minsung's expression settled.

"Stardust."

With an utterly alluring smile, the madam asked, "There were some defective ones mixed into this batch of prototypes, weren't there?"

"... There's nothing defective about the product. The people who took it were defective."

"Defective people? Just how defective do you have to be to die from taking a mana amplifier? How can anyone use it when it's so frightening?"

Despite her words, the madam looked anything but frightened.

And Lee Minsung, too...

"Who died, and how many?"

"Hmm. About thirty, just from what I've heard? Strangely enough, though, they were all low-rank hunters. Maybe the people really were defective?"

"Only the low-ranks died... So Stardust is affected by the user's mana constitution after all. Hmm."

Even when told people had died, Lee Minsung showed not a flicker of emotion, focusing only on the prototype's effects.

"So, when will the next batch be ready?"

But the madam went a step further.

"Whatever the case, the people who didn't die are desperate for the next batch."

"Soon."

Lee Minsung's eyes flashed coldly at the madam as she smiled sweetly and pressed him.

"I'll hurry the demons along."

* * *

Meanwhile, Suho faced an important decision.

[You must choose one of the two Random Boxes.]

[Blessed Random Box]

Provides the Player with an item they want.

[Cursed Random Box]

Provides the Player with an item they need.

[Which will you choose?]

"Something I want versus something I need? What kind of word game is this?"

[The two choices for this hidden reward may seem like wordplay, but there is a clear distinction.]

Beru, who had been watching beside him, offered an explanation.

[Once you receive something you want, you may find you do not need it. Conversely, something you need may turn out to be something you do not want.]

"That would explain why it's called a Cursed Random Box."

[Indeed. For example, when you need a powerful weapon, you might receive a terrible bomb that blows up the entire area, yourself included...!]

"Would that really happen? This is the system Dad passed down to me, after all. It wouldn't put me in danger with a quest reward, would it?"

[Keheh. You have a point.]

Suho had nothing more to deliberate over.

"Cursed Random Box."

[Oh! That one? How bold of you!]

"Maybe it's because my level is still low, but I don't really know what I want specifically yet. There are plenty of things I need, though."

He didn't even know what items the system had to offer in the first place, leaving the range of possibilities he could imagine far too vague.

Suho grinned as he selected his reward.

"Besides, Dad's always known what I needed better than I did."

[This reward comes from the system, not my liege...]

"Same difference."

With that reply, Suho held out his hand. A small box appeared above it, wrapped in plain paper and tied with a ribbon. He carefully opened it.

DING!

[You have acquired Item: Vulcan's Horn.]

At that moment, the box vanished, and a sword appeared in Suho's hand in its place.

"What's this?"

[Item: Vulcan's Horn]

Acquisition Difficulty: ??

Type: Sword

Attack +40

A sword made from the horn of Vulcan, the Greedy Demon.

Imbued with Vulcan's power, it deals additional damage.

-Effect, "Destructive Urge": Increases physical damage by [30%].

-Effect, "Demon Devourer": Vulcan's power grows stronger with each demon soul devoured.

[Demon Souls Devoured: 0]

Suho's eyes widened as he read the item description.

"It's an item that grows!"

[Kieeek!]

That line about "increases physical damage by [30%]" surely meant the bonus would keep rising as he hunted demons!

And its base attack alone was a full ten points higher than Rakan’s Fang!

-Ahem. But I have the Contempt for the Weak and Critical Wound effects, so when you really compare us, I'm a little more...

Rakan’s Fang was muttering something beside them, but no one was listening.

"This is amazing. It really gave me exactly what I needed."

Smiling with satisfaction, Suho lifted Vulcan's Horn in one hand.

WHOOSH!

He gave it a vigorous spin, and the sound of it slicing through the air like a windmill was deeply intimidating.

The sword was a little heavy, though. Suho immediately invested all the stat points from his daily quest reward in Strength, making it considerably easier to handle.

"I really like this. Now all I need are some demons."

But he hadn't heard of any dungeons with demon-type monsters lately.

'I think those were cleared out ages ago.'

Perhaps he should go out and search online. Suho immediately took out the Key to the Shadow Dungeon.

WHOOOOSH!

[You have left the Shadow Dungeon.]

Once outside, however, he found no fewer than five missed calls on his phone. The caller was Teaching Assistant Im.

"Why would he be calling?"

Puzzled, Suho called him back right away and received an unexpected offer.

-Suho, want a part-time job?

"Out of the blue?"

-Yeah. A few collectors who were supposed to come suddenly went off the radar.

* * *

"Thanks so much for coming, Suho! You're a lifesaver!"

When Suho arrived at the appointed time, Teaching Assistant Im looked ready to bow down before him.

"Seriously, this hardly ever happens, but several of them went off the radar at once today."

"Even after signing contracts?"

"Exactly! That's what I'm saying!"

His fists trembled as he thought of the hunters who had gone silent without a word.

"Those bastards must have gone drinking together somewhere and passed the hell out."

His anger was justified. Collectors and miners generally worked in teams, so in cases like this, the entire team was fined for breach of contract.

But there was no need to worry now. Suho had come!

Teaching Assistant Im planted both hands on Suho's shoulders and spoke earnestly.

"Suho, I really need you to do the work of a hundred men today. I'm counting on you."

What he was counting on was none other than Suho's summoning skill. Hadn't his summons done incredible work on their last mining job?

"Since I called you in at such short notice, I'll give you quadruple pay."

[You'll give him?]

Beru suddenly appeared and glared at Teaching Assistant Im, his eyes bulging. Im gave a startled hiccup and hastily corrected himself.

"I-I shall humbly present it to you. No, offer it in tribute."

[That's better. You have invited a most esteemed personage to this humble place, so maintain that attitude.]

Beru glared at him with an expression that said, Or I'll chew your entire head off...

Meanwhile, Suho turned his head slightly to look at the dungeon they would be entering today.

[Seoul Station Field]

※ Danger Zone

Blue mist crept up from the subway entrance. Seoul Station Field had been left untouched for a year now because its underground levels ran too deep and its layout was too complicated.

Looking at it, a thought suddenly occurred to Suho.

The Cursed Random Box, which promised an item he needed. And Vulcan's Horn, which had come out of it.

Had that demon-devouring sword come into his hands simply because he needed twin swords?

Or... was it because he would soon have to face demons?

"So, Teaching Assistant Im, what are we hunting here today?"

Suho asked with a grin.