Chapter 152

 

Tae Jae-heon’s gaze was fixed directly on me. Without thinking, I reached toward my waist. Just as my fingers touched the handle of my dagger, Seong San-ha stepped in front of me. My view of Tae Jae-heon was blocked, and Lim Dan spoke with a voice full of rage.

“You, stay back with the kids. How dare you come here of all places…”

Taking a step back, I stood beside Cheong and Zero, eyeing the Nox guys that Tae Jae-heon had brought with suspicion.

‘Why the hell is that bastard here?’

After revealing myself as Kang Eui-jin, I’d received public protection from the government and S-class hunters because of the Constellations I possessed. I thought I might be ambushed, but never expected to face him so openly… Even though Tae Jae-heon was known for not giving a damn about others, there was no way he would cause trouble here with multiple S-class hunters present… or would he?

“…You’ve come a long way. What brings you here?”

I had been focusing all my attention on trying to guess Tae Jae-heon’s intentions, so I was startled by Seong San-ha’s voice and looked at him. His tone was as leisurely as usual, but I could feel the unmistakable anger that couldn’t be hidden between his words. I had some idea about the cause.

‘Is it because of the orphanage incident?’

“For the same reason as Cheon Rang—I’ve come personally to protect the Constellation.”

“Ha! Bullshit. Since when have you cared about such things?”

Lim Dan openly mocked him. Knowing that he wasn’t the type to tolerate disrespect, I tensed up and watched carefully, but strangely, Tae Jae-heon didn’t seem bothered at all. 

The reason for this became clear from Zero, who was standing next to me and observing the same scene.

“Hmm. Of all the companions I expected, this is the worst.”

“What companion? Don’t say such unlucky things.”

Words can become reality. I shuddered at the terrible thought, but Zero just shrugged.

“You know how it is. If they claim rights under the pretext of an S-class quest, there’s no proper way to stop them.”

“But it’s Nox! Why should we allow them such rights?”

“Because that’s the law?”

“Damn it, Tae Jae-heon doesn’t care about laws…!”

Feeling wronged and frustrated, I stomped my foot hard.

The other guilds surrounded Nox in a confrontational stance. As the dungeon entry was delayed due to this standoff, complaints erupted among the gathered hunters. One by one, they began drawing weapons or activating skills, making the atmosphere increasingly tense.

“If you have no objections, I’ll go in first.”

Tae Jae-heon led his Nox members past Seong San-ha. Seeing that San-ha could only clench his fists without stopping him, it seemed that, as Zero had said, there was no legitimate way to block them.

Tae Jae-heon’s gaze fell on me. His eyes silently scanned me before moving on, leaving me frozen in place.

After Nox disappeared into the tower, the remaining hunters looked at each other cautiously. Then suddenly, hundreds of hunters rushed toward the gate all at once. The administrator tried to block their entry, but handling the excited crowd wasn’t easy.

“Please wait! You shouldn’t enter the tower yet!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Nox already went in!”

“Are you trying to monopolize the dungeon? Move aside!”

Leaving the collapsed order behind, Seong San-ha and Lim Dan returned to me.

“That bastard definitely came knowing everything.”

As Lim Dan glanced back at the gate, Cheong gripped his sword firmly with a determined expression.

“We absolutely shouldn’t go in with them. We don’t know what they might do to the boss.”

“Certainly, in a dungeon, anything could happen. We need to consider the possibility of kidnapping.”

“It wouldn’t just be kidnapping, would it? If they’ve joined hands with those cultists, they’ll try to kill Kang Eui-jin.”

While I quietly listened to everyone’s comments, Seong San-ha asked me,

“What do you think?”

“I…”

In the midst of the confusion, only Cheon Rang and their allied guilds remained standing still.

“There’s no need to go in today. We could observe the situation at Namsan or other countries a bit longer.”

“…The 20th floor is blocked, right?”

Looking at the gate where hunters were crowding, I raised my gaze to stare at the massive black pillar stretching up to the sky.

As someone who possesses a Constellation, I would have to enter eventually. Besides, if the opponent is Tae Jae-heon…

“There’s no need to avoid it. Let’s go in.”

“What? Are you in your right mind? It’s clearly a trap when they approach like that. You’re walking straight into the tiger’s mouth?”

“I can’t leave the workshop empty for too long.”

Tae Jae-heon showing up like this was a warning that he would hunt me down one way or another. Even if I avoided him today and came back later, we would inevitably face each other. Better to deal with him today.

Lim Dan looked like she couldn’t understand, but Seong San-ha was silent for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. Then we should go in.”

“Are you serious? Even if that kid doesn’t know any better, how can you agree?”

“There are others besides Tae Je-heon who are targeting Kang Ui-jin. Delaying only gives them more opportunities to interfere.”

At Seong San-ha’s command, the hunters quickly reorganized themselves, and the dungeon entry that had been briefly delayed began. The dungeon was just as I had seen on the news before, with celestial bodies mixed in a space-like manner in the clear blue sky. Apart from that, the tower’s ecosystem itself was very similar to the stage-type dungeon I had visited before with Seong San-ha.

Just as I was thinking “this is nothing special,” my jaw dropped at the array of new ingredients before me that defied my common sense.

“Isn’t that a sleepy eggplant? But why is it glowing?”

“That’s not a sleepy eggplant, it’s a dreaming eggplant. The ecosystem inside the tower is different from outside.”

I rushed over and collected the dreaming eggplant. While I was gathering and appraising it, Zero dealt with the nearby monsters.

‘The effects are completely different from the sleepy eggplant!’

My heart raced with excitement at the thought of what potions I could make with this. I carefully placed it in my inventory and looked up just as a pink wolf flashed by.

“Why is the lycanthrope that color?”

“That’s a lycanacamorph.”

“Claw, just get me one claw!”

Before I could reach for my dagger, Cheong swung his sword. With a thud, the lycanacamorph collapsed to the ground.

“Cheong, thank you!”

I ran over and collected a claw and a handful of fur. When I returned, Lim Dan was watching me with her arms crossed and asked sarcastically:

“Are you planning to run off every time you see something?”

“I’m a Potion Master. Of course I need to collect new ingredients when I see them.”

“Did you come here to collect? Everyone’s waiting.”

“So what if they wait? Without me, they’d be waiting at the 20th floor forever anyway.”

“As always, your rudeness is master-level…”

“Weren’t you in a hurry? Let’s go quickly. Next floor! Next floor!”

Lim Dan threw up her hands with an incredulous expression.

Because of the large number of people who entered simultaneously, the early floors were so crowded that people were stepping on each other. However, hunters with personal objectives like completing quests, hunting monsters, or collecting items gradually left, and only those focused on clearing the dungeon remained.

Although Cheon Rang was at the center of the group, they weren’t giving directions. Various guilds and teams moved independently to hunt monsters, and their speed was remarkably fast since they had already cleared these floors before. The higher they went, the fewer monsters they encountered, as someone had already swept through ahead of them.

Pretending not to notice the familiar traces of skill usage, I gathered all the ingredients I wanted like I was shopping. The A-grade belt with 30 inventory slots that I had splurged on was filled in an instant.

“No, the space…”

“I was wondering when it would fill up. Finally full, huh? Now let’s just go straight ahead without getting distracted.”

We’re only on the 4th floor and already full…! I was so flustered that I couldn’t even pay attention to Lim Dan’s hearty laugh as I fumbled with the items in my hands.

Lim Cheong carefully asked. “I have about 20 slots free, would you like me to hold some?”

“Really? That would be great. I’ll take you up on that offer.”

As I was about to hand the materials to Cheong, something flew toward me. After instinctively catching an old, stained brown pouch, Seong San-ha, who had thrown it, said.

“Use this in the tower.”

“How much can it hold?”

“Unlimited.”

“W-what?”

Unlimited, an unlimited bag item! I’ve never heard or seen such a thing. I opened my eyes wide and hurriedly examined the item. True to its name ‘Unlimited,’ it was indeed an S-class item.

<Cursed Mouth of the Greedy> 

A lord who earned the resentment of his subjects due to his insatiable greed. Eventually, he coveted what should not have been coveted and provoked a demon’s wrath. It is said that after the night of the new moon, only this pouch was found on the lord’s bed instead of a person. It is extremely greedy and devours any item. However, due to the demon’s curse, any item placed inside a second time will be destroyed.

“The variety is unlimited but you can only store one of each item. Moreover, once an item has gone inside, you can’t put it in again. Because of this limitation, it wasn’t useful outside.”

“This is amazing!”

The inability to put in the same item disqualified it as a bag item. After all, I wouldn’t be able to put in potions that need to be taken out and put back in frequently. But in other words, in the tower where new materials were abundant, I could put in anything. The quantity limitation wasn’t a big problem for me who was collecting samples.

“Thank you!”

I heard Lim Dan’s deep sigh next to me.

“To think such an item existed…”

***

The tower’s monsters were much stronger than those in ordinary dungeons. However, they weren’t a major problem for us with several S-class members. 

In just one day, we conquered six floors and paused briefly in front of the warp leading to the next floor, the 7th floor. The group that had numbered over hundreds was now reduced to less than a hundred.

“Good work making it this far. Let’s push on a little more and camp on the next floor.”

“Yes!!”

Leaving Seong San-ha who was handling the hunters, I was organizing my inventory when Cheong was frantically grinding weapons beside me.

“We’re almost done hunting for today, why are you grinding weapons? Why not rest and repair at the campsite?”

“I can’t rest.”

“Huh?”

At the firm reply, I tilted my head in confusion, and Zero who was nearby said with a smile,

“Because there will be a previous guest at the campsite.”

“By previous guest…”

“It’s Tae Jae-heon. He’s probably set up all the traps and is just waiting for you to arrive.”

My face hardened at Lim Dan’s grumbling words.