Chapter 369

Moreover, simply checking the records of the hunters who had been caught up in this dungeon was enough to make one gasp at just how difficult that otherworld truly was.

‘Looking at their activity records... this person was practically one of the earliest Awakened from the Dungeon Shock era.’

The S-rank hunter who had been swallowed by Türkiye’s EX-grade dungeon had graduated second in their class from a prestigious university—hardly someone who could be called unintelligent.

But how had such a rare talent ended up on the front line in the first place?

After digging a little deeper through online communities, the alien finally came across a new piece of information.

‘Hmm.’

The unidentified EX-rank gate in question had appeared directly in front of an elementary school in Türkiye.

Anyone could tell that such a location demanded immediate action.

Completely sealing off the entrance by piling up something like a retaining wall was difficult. After all, hunters still needed access to the gate.

But if the authorities left even a small opening and some curious child happened to touch the passage...

The consequences would be disastrous.

‘Just as everyone feared, it looks like a child of around ten has already been caught up in this.’

That was why a hunter who happened to have some free time had taken responsibility and attempted the raid immediately.

For reference, the S-rank hunter had entered the dungeon before the elementary school student was swallowed by it.

There are too many children passing nearby, so it’s dangerous. Even if this gate isn’t something that can be brute-forced, I can’t simply ignore it. Even as an S-rank hunter, I’ll have to keep attempting the EX-rank raid steadily.

But this dutiful superhuman, who had voiced such concerns, was now in a situation so precarious that even the alien could not be certain they were still alive.

‘At that level, they’re basically in the top 0.1% among mammals.’

They had been sucked into a gate with no way back out, and no word had come from them for a full 52 hours.

‘Second in their class academically, unmatched combat ability as an S-rank hunter—and even someone like that failed the raid?’

Recently, otherworldly dungeons on Earth had shown an overall tendency to expand in scale.

Even so, EX-class gates generally did not take long to clear.

Of course, even that category had its share of deadly traps hidden beneath the average.

If nearly three full days had passed without a single sign of the hunter, then it was time to seriously consider the possibility that they had died.

‘Hmm.’

As time went on, however, the situation in Türkiye only grew worse.

With an S-rank hunter now effectively missing, the government began scrambling as though flames were licking at its heels, hurriedly putting together a rescue team.

This gate might create a “happy” situation to lure people in?

On top of that, Türkiye just happened to have an extraordinary treasure-hunting team with a record of 1,000 successful EX-rank gate raids.

I’d welcome something like that a hundred times over compared to traps that simply stab people to death.

So they sent in the next raid team with high hopes, but...

‘Judging from the articles that just came out, that didn’t go well either.’

Well, as you can see.

Even that legendary EX-rank raiding party had long since fallen into the gate’s clutches.

In other words, an unprecedented situation had arisen abroad: not a single elite hunter sent inside had returned.

‘Oh no.’

It was happening in a distant country he had never even visited, and yet the gravity of the situation was palpable enough for him to feel it in his bones.

‘So that’s why an SOS article showed up in the online news I read? Because the situation is really that serious?’

However, contrary to Kim Giryeo’s assumption, there was another reason behind the appeal for help.

‘Hmm?’

[Sunday Morning Daily]

[Parents of a Turkish S-class hunter liquidate all their tangible assets and place an advertisement in a newspaper.]

More precisely, it was the content of the article the alien had just discovered that mattered.

[They have offered 120 million lira as a reward, appealing to the world to save their family. The amount is equivalent to approximately 5 billion Korean won.]

The article had appeared in a certain daily publication.

It was not especially unusual for families affected by a dungeon disaster to try every possible means to resolve the situation.

What was surprising, however, was what came next.

The government itself had permitted extraordinary private rescue efforts, including the posting of a reward in newspapers and the distribution of translated appeals across multiple countries.

‘The Turkish authorities say they’ll continue searching for the S-rank hunter no matter how long it takes, but for now, it’s true that they can’t act recklessly. So until the hunter can be properly rescued through international negotiations, they’re even allowing the couple to conduct their own publicity campaign...?’

Then, in any case, that meant restrictions on foreign superhumans entering the country were going to be relaxed.

“Oho.”

The alien, who had been lazily fiddling with his phone in the empty living room, abruptly rose to his feet.

“A reward worth 5 billion won?”

At the very least, a hunter was guaranteed a minimum payout no matter how poorly a dungeon raid went.

An ordinary S-rank hunter might not have known what to make of such a reward.

But at that moment, Kim Giryeo had a very different thought.

From the perspective of a debtor saddled with hundreds of billions in unpaid taxes, what possible reason was there not to take advantage of an opportunity like this?

***

This happened a few hours later.

‘5 billion won!’

The archmage Kim Giryeo arrived at the Hunter Association.

‘Even after accounting for income tax, this is still a good deal. These days, it’s rare to make that much money from a single dungeon run unless the item drops are exceptionally good.’

The Turkish couple had declared that they would immediately pay 5 billion won to anyone who brought their child back to them—even if all that remained was a corpse.

‘And if I can get a deployment fee from the Turkish government on top of that wealthy couple’s reward... this could be very profitable.’

Hehe.

Kim Giryeo sat on a sofa in the corner of the room and briefly calculated how much it would cost to travel overseas.

Tak.

For reference—and to reiterate—this was a reception room inside the Korean Hunter Association.

However, it was not in Seoul.

After reading the Turkish couple’s appeal on an online news site, he had decided to leave immediately.

But in order to conduct hunting activities abroad, he first had to report his intentions to the domestic association.

So he visited the regional branch near his new home.

Without hesitation, he summoned the highest-ranking official available and had just finished explaining the situation.

‘By the way, just how many minutes is that official planning to spend in the restroom after hearing my story?’

For some reason, the process was beginning to feel painfully slow.

The barley tea that the unfamiliar official had handed him in a paper cup was already cooling when the alien suddenly felt his phone vibrate inside his pocket.

Bzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt.

He reacted to the vibration and pulled out the device.

A very familiar name appeared on the screen.

[Jung Haseong]

This Earthling is... almost top-tier when it comes to never sending personal messages.

Even with acquaintances, the young man was usually reserved.

So what in the world could have prompted him to reach out?

“Hello?”

A few seconds later, the Alphaurin bluntly offered his first word.

Then he paused and listened to the person on the other end.

As expected, the caller opened with the same old predictable line.

Hunter, are you planning to go to a dungeon overseas?

Without even exchanging greetings, the conversation plunged straight into the main topic.

Kim Giryeo tilted his head slightly, even though there was no one there to see it.

It had only been about five minutes since he finished speaking with the association staff about his departure.

And now, hearing the very same subject brought up over the phone, he could not help wondering how information traveled so quickly.

‘Does this damned association not have anything resembling confidentiality?’

But just as he was about to make an offhand comment, Jung Haseong hurriedly began explaining from the other end of the line, his tension obvious even through the speaker.

N, no. I think there’s been some misunderstanding. I, I only happened to learn about this by chance. I never targeted you, Hunter Kim, to obtain the information.

“Is that so?”

By the way, Hunter Kim, I assume you came to the association voluntarily. As for me, I was contacted directly by the Turkish couple who were recently in the news...

“Oh.”

I only recently learned that a special EX-rank gate had appeared in that country, so I was planning to obtain information about the dungeon through the association first.

“But?”

But during that process, someone suddenly expressed willingness to be dispatched to Turkey, so the official told me there was no need for me to decide whether to go or not.

“Could that person be me?”

It was only then that I realized this matter involved you, Hunter Kim. Just now, I spoke with the officer at your branch and said that, for a short while, the people scheduled for dispatch should be allowed to speak directly with one another.

Anyway, on paper there was no difference in their rank, and Jung Haseong was even older than him physically—so why was he acting so frightened?

I... I thought it would be much faster and simpler to speak to you directly than to keep going through an official intermediary, so I tried to settle things beforehand. But if contacting you like this has caused any discomfort, I sincerely apologize.

Kim Giryeo thought for a moment before finally answering.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

It would have been nice if things had ended with that one sentence.

But the extraterrestrial mage eventually gave voice to his curiosity.

“I understand why you contacted me in the first place, but what exactly do we need to talk about that required you to contact me personally?”

Ah, that’s...

Jung Haseong replied in his characteristically timid voice.

Just so you know in advance, I was originally planning to decline the dispatch request.

Kim Giryeo understood that decision perfectly.

The S-rank hunter in Türkiye still had not returned.

Naturally, no hunter from any country would recklessly challenge such a gate.

However, when I heard that Hunter Kim was going, I changed my mind.

At that moment, Kim Giryeo guessed what was coming next.

It would probably be the same warning he had heard so many times that the words had practically been burned into his ears.

The EX-rank gate that appeared in Türkiye is extremely dangerous.

Especially with your lung condition, you shouldn’t attempt it.

Something along those lines.

That, after all, was why his dungeon expeditions as an alien were always opposed.

But the words that actually came from Jung Haseong were surprisingly different.

Since repeating the same old argument would accomplish nothing, Jung Haseong did not try to stop the dispatch itself.

Instead, he made a different proposal.

Could I perhaps go to Turkey with you?

For the time being, from Jung Haseong’s point of view, Hunter Kim Giryeo was in such poor condition that it would not have been strange for him to be receiving hospice care.

And yet that supposedly gravely ill man was heading toward a den of monsters that created happiness, without the slightest hesitation...

‘Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this. Whether he clears it or not, the fact that he’s willingly entering that kind of dungeon makes me uneasy.’

The nation’s hero harbored a suspicion no one could have imagined.

And so he suggested they clear it together.

It was a simple test.

‘If you’re heading overseas with no confidence in clearing the labyrinth, then no matter how much the people around you try to protect you, you’d never drag a companion into such a senseless gate, right?’

As Jung Haseong saw him, Kim Giryeo was a responsible hunter.

So the nation’s hero reasoned that if a colleague tried to follow him into a dungeon with uncertain odds of survival, Giryeo would refuse out of concern for that person’s safety.

“What? You’re saying the two of us—Korea’s number one hunter and me—should enter a foreign dungeon together when an S-rank hunter has already gone missing inside?”

For now... yes. That’s what I mean.

Kim Giryeo’s answer sounded negative enough that he even brought up the nation’s most important hunter.

Jung Haseong immediately felt a strong sense of ‘as expected.’

Yet within only a few seconds, that feeling changed.

However, Haseong, if you really want to do it... well...

His voice was hesitant, but Kim Giryeo continued in a tone that somehow suggested the idea might actually be possible.

Huh? Are you saying... I’m allowed to come with you to the dungeon in Turkey?

Jung Haseong fired off several questions in surprise.

And the answers that followed cleared away many of the lingering doubts in the hero’s mind.

You understand that if two S-rank hunters go in together and something happens, the consequences could be disastrous, right?

“Of course.”

Then, Hunter Kim Giryeo, do you know some secret to conquering that labyrinth?

“It’s not perfect, but I know a few tricks that give me a reasonable amount of confidence.”

So there had been no hidden motive after all.

He had simply decided to accept the mission because he genuinely possessed the ability to breach a nest that everyone else considered impregnable.

Jung Haseong’s voice brightened noticeably after confirming that.

But no matter how promising the strategy was, from the alien’s perspective, having the Earthling Jung Haseong accompany him was not particularly welcome.

Traveling with a native mammal meant he would have to be extremely careful about how he used his magic.

At the same time, once inside the dungeon, he would have to watch over his companion’s safety every single second.

‘He’s an acquaintance whose face I know, so at the very least, I can’t just stand by and let him get injured—or worse.’

So why had he accepted the request so readily despite how troublesome it would be?

‘Come to think of it, the time has just about come.’

Kim Giryeo reached a conclusion after a brief moment of thought.

For a rigid scholar of sorcery, it was a surprisingly considerate judgment.

‘It’s about time I kept that boast I’ve been putting off. If his wish is to team up with me, I can at least grant the request of such a selfless soul once, can’t I?’

Still, the thought itself was not particularly strange.

Ever since Kim Giryeo had regained power befitting his official S-rank status, he had believed that teaming up with someone would no longer be impossible.

‘Come to think of it, when did I first tell Jung Haseong I’d team up with him? Uh... last winter...?’

This world had returned two things to the Archmage.

His power.

And the obligation to report to work.

So, since he had to enter the dungeon anyway, Kim Giryeo figured he might as well save one poor victim of his deception along the way.

Thus, he readily accepted Jung Haseong’s request.

‘If it’s really been since last winter, then I guess I kept him waiting longer than I thought.’

A choice befitting someone in the top 0.01% of consciences on Alphauri.

What was more, Kim Giryeo was even planning to keep taking Jung Haseong along for a while after this expedition—but just then, another question from the Earthling cut in.