Chapter 22

“Suho, you don't have your own protective suit yet, do you? Put this on.”

Outside Seoul Station, Teaching Assistant Im handed Suho a thick garment. Taking it, Suho found it was a pair of one-piece work coveralls.

“Here, these gloves and work boots go with it. Put them on too.”

“Thank you.”

“Nothing to thank me for. I called you out of the blue, so of course you couldn't prepare. Remember this for next time. Protective suits are essential gear for collectors.”

Following his earlier explanation of mining, it was time for season two: Teaching Assistant Im's lecture on collecting.

“Collecting is much more dangerous than mining.”

Barring exceptional cases like the incident at Hankuk University Field, mining was generally a safe profession. All miners had to do was swing their pickaxes in safety at the very rear of a dungeon, where the hunting was already over.

“But collectors are different.”

Collectors worked right between the raid party and the mining team. To retrieve the corpses of the magic beasts the raid party killed, they had to follow close behind. Naturally, that meant they were often attacked by beasts the raid party had missed.

“Of course, it's only ever one or two at most. As long as you're careful when they first jump out, the raid party will rush right over to save you.”

“So the suit is for that one brief moment.”

“Exactly. But it's actually more useful when you're collecting the bodies. If a beast has sharp spines or scales, ordinary clothes get snagged and ruined while you're working.”

“Sir...”

“Oh, no need to be so touched. It's nothing compared to what you've done for me.”

“No, I mean this smells like an unwashed bachelor.”

“... I live alone.”

* * *

A little later, the raid party's hunters arrived. Suho calmly studied them. There were ten in all.

‘Four D-rank mage-type hunters, five D-rank combat types, and one C-rank healer?’

The C-rank male healer seemed to be the raid leader. He strode over toward Suho and immediately glared at Teaching Assistant Im.

“What's this? Why is the collection team so small?”

Looking troubled, Im bowed his head.

“I'm sorry about this. For some reason, a whole group of our collectors have gone off the radar. But this young man here will—”

“What? You think that makes it all right? We signed a contract! How can you be so irresponsible? Do you have any idea how much we'll lose if we fall behind schedule?”

“No, no. There won't be any delays. He's actually a summoner, so the work won't be—”

“What? Are you kidding me? A summoner?”

The longer Im spoke, the fiercer the raid leader's expression became. He whipped his head toward Suho and looked him up and down. Suho simply stood there. Im quickly stepped in front of him, turning on the charm.

“Come on, sir! You really don't have to worry. His summons will make up for the missing people. I specifically brought him in because he's such a good worker.”

The raid leader let out a deep sigh.

“You think saying that makes everything fine? So you're telling me you didn't find replacements because you were counting on this one man? After taking the full day's pay!”

As his voice rose, the other hunters in the raid party gathered around.

“What's going on, boss?”

“What the hell? What's with the size of the collection team?”

“Can they even get the job done like this?”

Surrounded by their cold stares, the collectors could only shrink back. In truth, the raid party had every right to be angry. Fewer collectors meant slower work, forcing the hunters ahead of them to slow down as well. The whole point of hunting was to make money from magic beast corpses. There was no point in leaving the collection team behind and hunting on their own. Worse, Seoul Station Field had no mana stone deposits, so all their earnings had to come from the bodies.

“Boss, let it go. It's not like this is the first time these day laborers have been irresponsible. We can't change today's schedule now. We'll just have to go in and make do.”

“He's right, boss. Let's stop wasting time and get in there.”

At his teammates' urging, the raid leader delivered one final threat to Im.

“Just try falling behind today. I'll file an official complaint with the Association. I'll personally make sure none of you ever work as collectors again.”

“Yes, of course. We'll work hard. Please trust us.”

After all ten members of the raid party had taken turns berating him, Im stood in their midst with his head bowed, looking utterly drained. His side was at fault, so anything he said would only sound like an excuse. Still, he felt wronged.

‘I'm not even the collection team leader. Why am I...?’

The actual team leader was one of the collectors who had disappeared. That left Im, the deputy leader in name only, bowing and scraping in his place as though he were the guilty one. Still, perhaps his well-practiced skill at groveling before professors had helped. The raid leader seemed to have calmed down a little.

“Tsk. Low-rank hunters. What else would you expect?”

Just as the raid leader clicked his tongue and turned away, a voice rang out.

“Arise.”

KEE-HEE-HEE!

“Wh-what the hell!”

Startled by the sinister laughter suddenly echoing through the air, the hunters spun around.

[Krrk, krrk!]

Black magic beasts surged up from the ground! Sinister goblins, black vapor rippling over their bodies, snickered as they stared at the hunters. And they were... far larger than ordinary goblins.

“G-Goblin Decurions? No, there's even a Centurion!”

“Why are there magic beasts outside the field...?”

The raiders hurriedly drew their weapons.

‘Good God! How did they sneak up on us like this?’

“These don't look like ordinary goblins!”

“Everyone, battle stations!”

“Boss! Get back!”

The first rule of any raid party: protect the healer! They quickly took up their positions and fought the goblins—!

[Krrk?]

Fought...

[Krrrk?]

“... Huh?”

Except the goblins had no intention of fighting.

[Krrk, krrk?]

“... Huh?”

The black goblins tilted their heads as if asking why everyone was so angry. Since the creatures weren't attacking, the raiders stood awkwardly with their weapons raised.

“Ahem.”

Clearing his throat, Im stepped between the two groups.

“Well, sir? These are the summons I was telling you about.”

“... Oh.”

Only then did the raiders grasp the situation. Looking around, they found the collectors simply staring at them, apparently having already been told. In the end, the raid party were the only ones who had panicked and made a fuss.

“W-well, uh, yes. I see.”

“There are... quite a few of them.”

“One, two... There are seven.”

“Yes. Twice as many as the missing collectors.”

“Ahem.”

At Im's words, the raiders finally averted their eyes in embarrassment. Seeing their reaction, Im discreetly gave Suho a thumbs-up. Suho smiled back. He had already extracted these seven Shadow Goblins during the daily quest, so there had been no need to go to the trouble of fetching their corpses again.

“Well, shall we head in?”

As Suho started walking, the Shadow Goblins followed in a crowd. Passing the raiders, who were still standing awkwardly in place, he murmured,

“Try not to fall behind.”

“...”

* * *

With that, they finally entered Seoul Station Field. Erosion had already overtaken the station's interior. With the electricity cut off, darkness filled the space, and strange vines and moss covered the walls and floor.

“Watch your step. It's slippery.”

Walking at the front, the raid leader signaled a teammate with his eyes.

“Give us some light.”

FWOOSH!

Fireballs rose simultaneously from the mage-type hunters' hands and circled around them. The light revealed a thin blue mist hanging over their surroundings—and the magic beasts lurking in the darkness.

“Hissss!”

Spiny lizards crawled everywhere across the walls and ceiling!

“Everyone, battle stations!”

At the raid leader's command, the hunters charged forward and began using their skills. Protected at the very rear as their healer, the raid leader turned to the collectors. Some of his earlier embarrassment still lingered on his face.

“Collection team... please follow carefully and get to work. The bodies of these spiny lizards are worth a decent amount if you gather them up.”

‘So they're not demons.’

Suho smacked his lips in disappointment. Apparently, the Cursed Random Box hadn't meant anything beyond providing him with a decent sword for his dual-wielding needs. Still, following Im here had its benefits.

‘I've never watched other hunters fight before.’

As he loaded lizard corpses onto a cart, Suho kept stealing glances at the raid party's battle. Watching several hunters combine their different abilities and skills was certainly entertaining.

‘So this is how a raid party fights. This is useful.’

To command as many as seven shadow soldiers efficiently, he needed to take opportunities like this to learn about group combat. Circumstances had limited him to extracting and using one kind of magic beast at a time so far, but eventually he wanted to command a variety of beasts at once and fight strategically. To do that, he needed to acquire different kinds of corpses in advance and store them in the Shadow Dungeon.

‘That's what joining the collection team is for.’

That was why Suho had so readily accepted Im's offer in the first place. There was no better job for obtaining magic beast corpses than collecting. Besides, the work wasn't remotely difficult for him.

“Pick them up.”

[Krrk!]

“Load them onto the cart.”

[Krrrk!]

At Suho's orders, the Shadow Goblins moved in perfect coordination to collect the dead lizards. All he had to do was follow leisurely behind, as though out for a stroll.

Meanwhile, Beru was quietly slipping a dead lizard or two into the Shadow Dungeon at a time. There were so many that a few missing bodies made no noticeable difference.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

Of course, a few lizards also disappeared into Beru's stomach as snacks along the way.

Then a problem arose. Suho was doing his job too well.

A collector's job was basically just picking up magic beast corpses and loading them onto a cart. Larger beasts, however, had to be cut into pieces with saws or knives and loaded separately. That was actually the hardest, most time-consuming part. Cutting through a magic beast's tough hide and bones was no easy feat with an E-rank hunter's strength.

But to shadow soldiers made from Goblin Decurions and a Centurion, it was nothing.

[Krrk, krrk!]

Thanks to their efforts, the collection team eventually outpaced the raid party's hunting. The collectors had so little to do that they simply stood watching and waiting for the hunters to finish.

“Yaaawn.”

“Urgh.”

Seeing Im stretch out a leisurely yawn behind them, the raiders flushed red as they fought. If only they hadn't warned the collectors not to fall behind, this wouldn't have been so embarrassing.

Then it happened.

“Wait. Stop fighting.”

The raid leader abruptly halted the hunt and strode toward the collection team, his expression grim. He was heading straight for Suho.

‘Wh-what's going on?’

‘What's he going to pick a fight about now?’

The collectors' expressions grew grave at his menacing approach.

THUD.

At last, the raid leader stopped in front of Suho.

“You there.”

Staring intently into Suho's face, he opened his tightly pressed lips.

“Would you be interested in signing a contract with our raid party?”

[Heh.]