Chapter 179 – Business at Dawn

It was just past midnight.

Yet the area around Exit 10 of Gangnam Station was bustling with people.

This was natural for such a popular commercial district, especially on a burning Friday night.

It was also a gathering place for energetic twenty-somethings looking to stay up all night.

“Hey, we’re going all night today, right?”

“Hehe, of course.”

“If you know any girls, invite them. Let’s drink together.”

“Come on, where would I find girls?”

“Hey, hey, look over there.”

The young men’s gazes turned toward a woman standing in front of the station.

“She’s so damn pretty, right?”

“Oh, really. Totally my type.”

“Should we ask her to drink with us?”

“Looks like she’s waiting for someone.”

“Who cares? A man needs courage.”

The young men, having decided to try their luck, approached the woman confidently.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

“Are you free right now?”

The woman looked confused, not understanding their intention.

“If you’re okay with it, would you like to go for a drink with us? We’ll pay.”

“Ah, no. I’m waiting for someone right now…”

“Is it your boyfriend?”

The woman’s face turned red at that question.

“N-no, it’s not…”

“Then there’s no reason we can’t hang out together.”

“That’s right. Just cancel your plans and come have fun with us.”

“Ah…”

While she was struggling to firmly reject them without being rude, the man she was waiting for appeared.

“D-Do-jun.”

Min Do-jun gave Hong Se-yeon a nod before scanning the young men.

He had overheard enough of the conversation while approaching to understand the situation.

“Who are you guys?”

“Who are you to speak informally to us…!”

The young men started off boldly, but that didn’t last long.

“Leave.”

When they met Min Do-jun’s eyes filled with killing intent, they quickly tucked their tails and turned away.

‘He’s a hunter.’

There was no way for ordinary people to identify hunters, but they could sense it.

‘If we mess with him, we could die.’

They instinctively recognized that the man before them was an apex predator in this world of survival of the fittest.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“You should apologize before leaving.”

“We-we’re sorry.”

“Not to me, to the lady here.”

The young men bowed their heads to Hong Se-yeon in unison.

“We’re sorry for bothering you.”

“We’re sorry.”

“Now get lost.”

After the young men disappeared, Min Do-jun sighed and looked at Hong Se-yeon.

“Guild Master. If you don’t like it, just say so. Why couldn’t you say anything?”

“Ah, you’re right. How foolish of me… I was just too surprised, I guess.”

“You weren’t planning to go drink with them, were you?”

“Of course not. I was rushing to meet you, so I dressed up and…”

Realizing what she had said, Hong Se-yeon quickly closed her mouth, embarrassed.

Min Do-jun, on the other hand, didn’t seem to pay much attention.

“Let’s not stand here. Let’s go somewhere quiet to talk.”

“Do you like sashimi?”

“Sashimi? Sure.”

“I made a quick reservation at a place. Follow me.”

Following Hong Se-yeon through the restaurant district, they arrived at a Japanese-style pub.

“Here it is.”

The two entered and took seats in a reserved room.

“What would you like to eat? Since I’m treating, order whatever you want.”

When Hong Se-yeon offered the menu, Min Do-jun ordered a set meal with sashimi and fried dishes without much deliberation.

Only afterward did he notice that the set included alcohol.

“Oh? This comes with alcohol too, I see.”

“You didn’t know when you ordered it?”

“No. I wasn’t really planning to drink…”

“I’ll tell them to cancel it.”

As Hong Se-yeon started to get up, Min Do-jun stopped her.

“It’s fine. I’ll have a drink for once.”

“Do hunters get drunk too?”

Min Do-jun smiled at Hong Se-yeon’s question.

She must have been curious as an ordinary person.

“Of course. Hunters aren’t immune to alcohol. Unless they have an alcohol detoxification characteristic.”

“Is there such a characteristic?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve never heard of one.”

He pretended not to know, but in fact, one of Min Do-jun’s characteristics was alcohol detoxification.

[Characteristic – Detoxification]

-Grade: B

-Description: Detoxifies all poisonous substances that enter the body.

‘So I can’t get drunk even if I want to?’

It was one of the characteristics he had obtained from killing a Black Sea Guild member.

“Thank you for earlier, Do-jun.”

“It was nothing.”

“Come to think of it, I have a lot to thank you for.”

“How many could there be?”

“Plenty. You saved our guild members in the past, and thanks to you, our male-hating image has somewhat improved… Though now it’s all been ruined because of Hunter Lee Min-ji.”

Lee Min-ji had been the backbone of the Baekryeon Guild as Korea’s only S-rank supporter.

Her grotesque crimes had dragged the guild, which was just beginning to emerge from its male-hating image, back to rock bottom.

‘The guild is suffering because of Lee Min-ji.’

Of course, if Min Do-jun hadn’t intervened, the incident would never have come to light, but…

‘Fundamentally, it’s Lee Min-ji’s fault, right?’

Even though he tried to think that way, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat sorry since it had happened due to his intervention.

‘Since I feel bad, I should help improve their image again sometime.’

Shortly after, their ordered food and drinks arrived, and the two clinked glasses.

[Harmful substance detected.]

[Automatically detoxifying.]

As Min Do-jun drank the sake, he inwardly shook his head, realizing he definitely wouldn’t be getting drunk.

“Ugh, it’s bitter.”

Hong Se-yeon put down her glass as soon as she tasted the alcohol and quickly grabbed some food.

“Guild Master.”

“Yes?”

“Shall we get to the main point?”

“Ah, yes.”

Hong Se-yeon seemed to have prepared something as she took out a file from a zippered bag she had brought.

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a file I’ve compiled about the dungeon.”

The file contained the location of the dungeon and related news articles that had been clipped.

“There are five Vampire’s Night dungeons around the world, and the one in Russia that you’re planning to enter has had the most incidents and accidents.”

“Incidents and accidents?”

“Yes. As you can see from the clipped articles, unlike dungeons in other countries, only the one in Russia consistently has fatalities. And regularly at that.”

The articles included statistical data comparing it with dungeons in other countries, showing that only the Russian dungeon had a high number of deaths.

“So one person dies for every ten who enter.”

“Yes. Other countries often have everyone survive, but not Russia. Isn’t it strange that the same Vampire’s Night dungeon has such different outcomes depending on the country?”

“It certainly is strange.”

To think that they always manage to prevent a dungeon break but consistently have one death each time.

Anyone would find it suspicious… “The reason hasn’t been discovered, but it’s definitely unsettling. That’s why most S-rank hunters, even if they enter Vampire’s Night, avoid the Russian one. I heard it took a week just to form the current party.”

“Hmm. So that’s why you said I could enter immediately upon accepting.”

“Yes. Unlike other places with waiting lists, Russia has plenty of openings.”

Currently, there are about 500 S-rank hunters worldwide.

Though the number continues to grow, that doesn’t mean the number of applicants for the Russian dungeon has increased.

Even S-rank hunters are human and prefer to avoid dangerous places.

“It must be frustrating for Russia. Their country’s dungeon has gained a reputation for being dangerous among hunters.”

“Hmm.”

“Russia is anxious, fearing a dungeon break might occur at this rate.”

“If it takes this long to form a team, it certainly is dangerous.”

The break time for an S-rank dungeon is 480 hours, or 20 days.

While this might seem like plenty of time, for Russia, which takes a week just to recruit 10 S-rank hunters, it must feel like walking a tightrope.

“Despite the danger, are you still willing to apply?”

“Yes, I’ll do it.”

As Min Do-jun needed to use his S-rank dungeon entry ticket as soon as possible, he wasn’t in a position to be picky.

‘I don’t know why only Russia has fatalities.’

The first time Min Do-jun entered Vampire’s Night in his past life was when he was at level 3,500, about 7 years into his career.

‘The Russian dungeon I entered then had no issues.’

Now he was barely in his second year of his career, so he didn’t know if Russia was in this situation back then.

“Understood. With Do-jun, who has solo-killed an S-rank dungeon boss, I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll text the Russian side right away. It should be early evening there now.”

Hong Se-yeon fiddled with her phone and soon gave an OK sign.

“Is it done?”

“Yes. You can go as soon as you’re ready tomorrow morning.”

“They accepted knowing my level, right?”

“Of course. They know you’re currently at level 2,600 and that you’re entering with an S-rank dungeon entry ticket.”

“I’m surprised they’d accept so readily.”

“They’re not in a position to be picky. Oh, and I’m absolutely not saying you’re a last resort!”

Min Do-jun couldn’t help but smile at Hong Se-yeon’s panic after realizing what she had said.

‘She speaks so well with me, but why couldn’t she say anything to those young men earlier?’

Seeing how she transformed from seemingly careless to professional when discussing dungeons, he realized she wasn’t a guild master for nothing.

“Let’s have another drink.”

Having finished their business, the two ate and drank until 2 AM before getting up to leave.

“I’ll pay for this. Do-jun… oh my!”

Min Do-jun caught Hong Se-yeon as she staggered and frowned.

“How many drinks did you have to get this drunk?”

“Hehe… three glasses?”

Hong Se-yeon’s face was as red as if she had drunk three bottles.

“If you can’t handle alcohol, you should have said so…”

Min Do-jun let out a deep sigh.

“Wait here. I’ll go pay and come back.”

“N-no! I’ll do it!”

Hong Se-yeon urgently blocked Min Do-jun and staggered to the counter, insisting on paying.

“Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”

“Home? Hmm… it’s a shame to part like this… hehe.”

Looking at her grinning without answering, Min Do-jun put his hand to his forehead.

‘Is this because of the alcohol or…’

Min Do-jun asked again.

“Where is your home?”

“I wonder. Hehe.”

“Don’t joke around.”

“Do-jun, hmm. Where is your home?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

“Then where are you going?”

“I wonder.”

“Ah! Do-jun, isn’t your guild office nearby? I’d like to see it.”

“Visit another time.”

“Don’t be like that, let’s go. Please? I’ve been wanting to see it. Do-jun…”

“No, where would you go with a strange man at this hour? Aren’t you scared?”

“Huh? Why? Why should I be scared…?”

Seeing her genuinely confused expression, Min Do-jun gave up explaining and took the lead.

“Let’s go. Come on.”

“Yay! Going to see the Guardian Guild!”

Leaving the excited woman behind, Min Do-jun headed toward his nearby guild.

“C-come with me.”

Unable to ignore her staggering after him, Min Do-jun sighed again and supported her.

‘I guess I’ll have to let her sleep on the office sofa…’

He thought he’d let her sleep and then, when she sobered up in the morning, she might reflect on her behavior.

With that in mind, he took her to the guild office, but…

‘Huh?’

A foreign man in a suit was sitting in front of the door.

“Mr. Min?”