Chapter 98 – Emperor Guild

[Red Shell of Giant Centipede obtained.]

[Rolling roulette automatically according to party rules.]

[Winner is Kim Ji-hoon.]

“Got it!”

The red shell, their clearing objective, dropped with 3 hours remaining on the time limit.

[Dungeon cleared successfully!]

[Dungeon break time reset to 120 hours!]

While avoiding the penalty was joyful, the party members were even happier about being able to see sunlight after leaving the stuffy cave.

No one wanted to stay long in a dungeon where two members had died.

“Hunter, you’re out already?”

Park Dong-yun was the first to greet them as they exited the dungeon.

The other party members didn’t bring managers since they were doing solo activities.

“Huh? Why are there only four of you? The other two…”

“…”

Park Dong-yun closed his mouth seeing the party members’ expressions.

Not coming out of the dungeon could only mean one thing.

Nearby fans noticed the unusual atmosphere and started whispering.

“Why are they like that?”

“Something must have happened.”

“Oh? Two people are missing.”

“There were definitely six when they went in.”

“They didn’t come out?”

“They probably couldn’t come out…”

Not coming out of the dungeon meant death.

The fans seemed to know this as the bustling atmosphere quickly turned solemn.

“Hunters, please wait a moment. I’ll contact the local branch to come quickly.”

When deaths occur in dungeons, statements must be given for reports, and in cases involving multiple guilds, the local center handles it.

“They’ll arrive in 10 minutes.”

Staff from the nearby center arrived after Park Dong-yun’s call.

The party members began giving their statements one by one.

“Those who have finished their statements may leave.”

Kim Ji-hoon, who finished first, shook hands with party members to say goodbye.

“Do-jun, good work.”

“Good work to you too.”

While shaking hands, Kim Ji-hoon asked in a low voice.

“Were you really not hiding your strength?”

“Why would I do that?”

Kim Ji-hoon laughed awkwardly at Min Do-jun’s serious response.

“Haha, right? Anyway, thanks to you catching that unknown monster, we reduced casualties. Thank you. Hope to see you again when there’s a chance.”

“Yes.”

“Well then.”

Kim Ji-hoon turned away without lingering.

Min Do-jun watched him walk toward the parking lot briefly before turning away disinterestedly.

‘He probably won’t pay attention to me anymore.’

But Min Do-jun didn’t know.

That Kim Ji-hoon had stopped and was staring at the back of his head.

‘Still suspicious.’

Kim Ji-hoon hadn’t let go of his doubts.

Min Do-jun’s serious demeanor looked more suspicious than ever.

‘He must be hiding his strength for some reason.’

Kim Ji-hoon headed straight to his guild in his sports car.

* * *

While first and second place might seem close, the Emperor Guild was different.

Among all major guilds, Emperor Guild surpassed them in every aspect.

Just look at their facilities.

The massive facility resembling a university campus was all Emperor Guild property.

They weren’t called Korea’s #1 guild for nothing.

*click*

Kim Ji-hoon entered the main building after getting out of his car.

“How may I… Ah! Hello, Hunter Kim Ji-hoon.”

The female receptionist greeted him familiarly.

Indeed, Kim Ji-hoon was an A-rank hunter among the guild’s top tier.

Plus with his good looks, he was hard to miss.

“Hello, Se-eun.”

“Oh my, you even know my name…”

Ignoring her blushing, Kim Ji-hoon asked:

“Is the Guild Master in?”

“Yes. He’s been here for a while… By the way, coming from hunting? Your clothes are dirty, let me…”

“Sorry, I don’t have time right now.”

Kim Ji-hoon passed her and took the elevator.

As he approached the Guild Master’s office, the secretary bowed in greeting.

“Is the Guild Master in?”

“Yes, one moment please.”

The secretary went inside then came back to open the door.

Inside, a well-built man welcomed him.

It was Kang Hyuk-su, the Guild Master and current #2 ranked hunter.

“Ji-hoon! What brings you here without notice?”

“Hello, Guild Master. I have something important to discuss.”

“What is it? Sit down first.”

Kang Hyuk-su ordered tea from his secretary and sat on the sofa.

The sofa looked small due to his huge frame.

“You didn’t come rushing here to borrow money. What’s the matter?”

“I just came from a dungeon at Namhansanseong, and I met the hunter who’s #1 on our recruitment list.”

“Number one… Min Do-jun?”

The Guild Master would naturally know what even guild members knew.

Especially about a talent ranked first for recruitment.

“You partied with that magic swordsman hunter?”

“Yes.”

“You must have verified his skills. How was he?”

“Ah, about that…”

Kim Ji-hoon spoke honestly.

“At first I thought he was terrible, but then an incident occurred.”

“What incident?”

Just then the secretary brought tea.

“Tell me slowly while drinking.”

“Yes.”

Kim Ji-hoon explained the details just as he had in his statement.

After listening, Kang Hyuk-su stroked his rough beard.

“A monster like a Grima? In my 10 years as a hunter, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“It’s true. I saw it briefly, and it was incredibly fast.”

“Let’s say such a monster existed. So? Min Do-jun hunter caught it?”

“Yes. He killed it with two strikes. Though I only saw the final strike.”

“Maybe it was just very fast but extremely weak?”

“Even so, Min Do-jun hunter’s movement in that final strike was as fast as a level 2,000.”

“So you’re saying Min Do-jun hunter is deliberately hiding his strength?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“It’s true. While I’m not sure about his strength, his instantaneous sword strikes and combat sense were impressive even to me.”

“But you said he kept missing when hunting centipedes?”

“That’s why I’m saying he’s hiding his skills.”

Kang Hyuk-su slowly shook his head.

“Ji-hoon. As you know, how strict are our guild’s recruitment conditions? Even if you’re my favorite junior, I can’t accept such uncertain verification.”

“But he’s #1 on the recruitment list. I looked into it, and Min Do-jun hunter’s track record is quite impressive.”

“True. He’s made news for soloing bosses and preventing dungeon breaks. His YouTube video from then has 50 million views, and he reached A-rank in under a year when it usually takes at least 3 years. That’s Min Do-jun.”

Kim Ji-hoon was surprised to see Kang Hyuk-su knew even details he didn’t.

“If you know him so well, why haven’t you made a recruitment offer yet?”

The Guild Master’s reason was simple.

“He hasn’t been verified.”

“But… at this level, don’t we not need verification? Just his fast leveling proves he’s strong…”

“That alone isn’t proof. It could be from experience-boosting traits or items. And level alone is useless. Only skill matters in hunting monsters.”

“But he has records of solo killing bosses. Isn’t that enough proof of strength…”

“That’s just rumors, and there’s no actual proof he solo killed them. What do I always say?”

“Don’t believe until you see it yourself…?”

“Right. Rumors are just rumors. You shouldn’t believe anything until you see and verify skills directly.”

Like mystery shoppers who evaluate store service while posing as customers, Emperor Guild prioritized skill verification through guild members.

“Without verification, I absolutely won’t consider recruitment. As I said before, I can’t accept even the skills you briefly saw.”

“What if someone else recruits him while we wait…”

“Who would recruit him? Haven’t you noticed he’s only been working with the Center so far? That guy has no intention of joining a guild. Unless maybe Korea’s best guild like us reaches out.”

“Then why don’t we reach out?”

“Still need verification first. What would we base the contract on?”

“Couldn’t we test his skills in a dungeon before contracting?”

“Is a test the same as real combat? I don’t want a hunter who only does well on mock exams, I want one who does well on real tests. And we can’t make exceptions to our guild’s rules just for Min Do-jun hunter.”

“…”

The Guild Master showed no intention of bending his opinion.

This meant the plan to earn easy money by getting Min Do-jun to join the guild would fail.

‘So we have no choice but to verify him?’

Of course, Kim Ji-hoon had expected this.

“If we verify Min Do-jun hunter’s skills, you’ll recruit him without question?”

“Of course. But is that possible? You said Min Do-jun hides his strength.”

“There are ways. Though we’ll need your help, Guild Master.”

“What way?”

Kim Ji-hoon grinned.

“If he’s hiding his strength, we need to create a situation where he has no choice but to reveal it.”

* * *

Min Do-jun was heading to the Center in Park Dong-yun’s car.

To sell the S-grade Magic Stones.

‘Since Magic Stones are only used as alternative energy, price fluctuations aren’t big. No big loss selling now.’

Better to sell when he had time than keep them as baggage.

‘Should I open the High-grade Random Boxes first?’

He’d been thinking of using them sometime, and now seemed right.

‘With four boxes, at least one should have something useful.’

Though High-grade Random Boxes guaranteed A-grade items, it would be worthless if something unusable came out.

So he wasn’t hoping for good items.

He just wished for something somewhat useful.

Min Do-jun touched the Random Box in his inventory from the back seat.

‘Use.’

With a flash of light, it disappeared and:

[You have used a High-grade Random Box.]

[Obtained Skill Book: Death Strike.]

[Congratulations!]

A skill book he wouldn’t use.

‘A dud.’

Just a 300 million won item.

Considering the box cost 1 billion, he’d lose money selling it.

‘I still have three boxes left.’

He tried again with renewed determination, but:

[Obtained Sun Necklace.]

[Congratulations!]

[Obtained Unknown Archer’s Feather Boots.]

[Congratulations!]

Nothing Min Do-jun could use.

‘Sun Necklace increases health and Feather Boots increase agility when using bows.’

Both items were completely useless to him.

Min Do-jun’s expression darkened.

‘Only one left…’

While he didn’t like gambling due to his consistently bad luck…

‘With the lucky charm, something should work out.’

The charm gave him inexplicable courage.

‘Use.’