Chapter 432

The possibility that the all-purpose elixir from another world might be a rare drop obtainable only from the boss monster.

Strangely enough, the question Kang Changho had raised carried an unsettling degree of plausibility.

"For hunters, that's practically common sense."

Let's recall the interview with the awakened person who had first discovered the [Elixir] in Sweden.

That rural resident, who had been caring for sick parents, had been caught up in tremendous chaos during the Dungeon Shock. Not only had they been unable to evacuate properly...

As a result, they had failed to escape the swarm of monsters that poured into the village and were forced to face the danger head-on.

Of course, it was precisely by surviving such an ordeal that they eventually awakened, but still.

"I've read that interview article about the Elixir dozens of times. At this point, I practically have it memorized word for word."

Ultimately, the important point was that even the person who had obtained the legendary elixir didn't know the exact truth.

They couldn't tell which monster had dropped the [Elixir].

Normally, the loot tables inside a gate differed slightly between ordinary monsters and the boss.

More precisely, it was almost a rule beyond those blue corridors that dungeon bosses yielded the better rewards.

"Well, the [Elixir] could very well be an item exclusive to the boss monster..."

Esther thought for a moment.

It wasn't as though she had never considered such an obvious possibility.

They could initially share the dungeon for a certain period of time and observe the results. If the desired item failed to appear, only then would they settle the dungeon's ownership completely.

Esther had originally intended to propose something along those lines, taking a somewhat practical approach.

Since she had been the first to discover the dungeon, she had even considered using that fact as grounds to request the right to hunt the boss—but that had only been a thought.

"Everyone, I sincerely apologize."

At that moment, a voice came from a dark corner of the room beyond the projector's light.

"Then—if the boss monster has to be killed... would you hand the hunting rights over to me?"

For reference, the desperation in his voice was so obvious that no one could possibly ignore it.

"Ah."

"Um... I think I've lived pretty diligently until now."

"Hunter Jung Haseong..."

"To be honest, at this point, I've really worked hard for Korea. Seriously! I've been throwing myself into work every single day like never before in my life."

"Please calm down for a moment. There are ordinary people here who are sensitive to mana..."

"Even this morning, the first thing I thought about after waking up was how to make this country safer."

There was a term in this world: °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° "cold-blooded."

It referred to someone so composed that you might suspect their body and blood were made of cold iron rather than flesh.

Or it was commonly used to describe someone excessively individualistic or selfish.

Cold-blooded.

The hero sitting on the eastern side of the room had once been given that nickname as well, thanks to his uniquely flawless way of handling his duties, but...

"Please."

At this moment, things were different.

Jung Haseong gave the unmistakable impression that warm blood was flowing through his veins as he poured out his circumstances in painstaking detail.

"I have someone at home suffering from mana intoxication..."

He had been a top student back in school.

Moreover, he had awakened at S-rank and lived a life in which he rarely had reason to complain.

He had never imagined that he would end up revealing his personal circumstances in a public setting like this.

Yet Jung Haseong couldn't spare a thought for his pride.

He desperately scrambled to make his plea.

"O-other illnesses can somehow be treated, right? Medical science has advanced a lot...! These days, there are hardly any illnesses left that humans can do absolutely nothing about."

"Haseong-ssi."

"I'll be honest. I... really, desperately need this dungeon. Please. I'm asking you to give me the right to clear it."

His widowed mother, who had raised him with utmost care since childhood, still hadn't opened her eyes.

There was no way he could remain rational in front of an elixir.

On top of that, Jung Haseong had relatively little money even among S-rank hunters.

"Well, if the dungeon entry rights are actually sold at market price, Haseong wouldn't stand much of a chance."

He had been deceived by the former association president's claim that it was "for the safety of the citizens" and had ended up donating several years' worth of items.

"Even thinking about it again makes me want to kill Go Byeongho. Though I kept him alive because making him suffer longer was more satisfying."

As an awakened hunter who had been active for quite a long time, Esther already knew how this would play out.

Eventually, her heart wavered.

By nature, she tended to be rather cold toward other people because of her innate affinity for curse-type skills, but she still possessed a basic sense of compassion.

"Transfer?"

Meanwhile, just as the guild master of the Korean Magic Tower Guild was deep in thought, someone interjected.

"That's a little strange."

She had never imagined there could be someone even more merciless than a curse-type awakener in this world.

"Of course, Hunter Jung Haseong deserves praise for working so hard all this time, but using that as grounds to demand one of the nation's precious gates... well, that seems a little off."

So he really is trying to pick a fight.

That was what Esther thought at that moment.

More precisely, she recalled a certain raid she had witnessed before.

She didn't know the exact mechanism, but Jung Haseong's entire body had transformed into blue flames, scorching everything around him...

Apparently, he had recently awakened that immensely powerful skill.

Anyone who had personally witnessed the growth of a fire-attribute awakened hunter couldn't help reaching the same conclusion.

"With power like that, wouldn't even S-rank hunters be reduced to ashes in no time?"

But what exactly made Kang Changho so confident all the time?

Could it be that he lived without watching the news and had no idea that the hero had grown stronger?

Was that why he behaved with such absurd nonchalance?

"The more I look at him, the more shameless he seems."

He was a relatively rare mixed-race Korean, so his nose was noticeably prominent.

For a moment, Esther imagined smashing Kang Changho's nose, but—

Whatever the case, the low-voiced man soon continued where he had left off.

"You don't get everything just because you've worked hard until now and promise to keep working hard in the future."

"..."

"By that logic, the South Korean government could simply use the [Elixir] to recruit foreign S-rank Hunters."

"You mean by making them swear a Knight's Oath or something similar..."

Kang Changho currently had his hands clasped over his stomach.

He had been sitting comfortably in his chair, slightly reclined, but when Jung Haseong spoke, he finally adjusted his posture.

"To put it plainly, you, the number one ranked hunter, are basically asking to buy the item with sympathy."

Kang Changho rested his chin on one hand.

"Unfortunately, most people in modern society don't like that kind of approach."

Whether he was deliberately trying to provoke pity was unclear.

"No, do you really have to criticize me that harshly?"

Kang Changho's words struck Jung Haseong like a blow to the head.

Since they were, in a sense, a perfectly reasonable criticism of his actions, he couldn't come up with any defense.

In the abrupt silence that followed, the furious Esther spoke up in a sharp, formal tone on someone else's behalf.

"Criticize?"

"How does someone like this even come out of the same South Korean public education system? Ah, right. You studied abroad, didn't you?"

"Hunter Esther. Your tone is getting a little..."

"Ugh, I can't hold back anymore, you damn bastard!"

The vice president of Neo Sisters, who had inadvertently ended up witnessing the argument, tensed up in fear that a fight might break out.

Yet even after hearing everything Esther had said, Kang Changho's expression remained unchanged.

"As expected, things always get complicated whenever I go out into society."

The hunter muttered a few words with a faintly sullen expression.

"Still, being around other people like this is a little less boring than being alone."

Tuk.

Kang Changho shifted his clasped hands slightly to the side.

"All right. Let me make one thing clear. I'm actually completely on the side of the number one ranked hunter over there."

"What?"

It was a statement that naturally drew an immediate objection.

"If a single Elixir can keep the nation's hero alive, that's a small price to pay. Surely our Jung Haseong wouldn't just receive the treatment and then run off overseas with his family, would he?"

"T-that's right."

"The reason I've been nitpicking all this time is that you're trying to decide the boss hunting rights among only the people currently sitting in this conference room..."

"..."

"Because, in several ways, that's not exactly an ideal arrangement."

"From the perspective of those who never even had a chance to express their opinions, it could feel unfair."

"But not every rule in a country is decided by a majority vote of all its citizens."

For reference, the air inside the room was dry because of the air conditioning.

Even so, Kang Changho spoke normally without so much as clearing his throat.

"Anyway, if this gets leaked outside, it'll still become a problem. So now that I've warned you sufficiently about the risks..."

Since his goal had remained the same from beginning to end, saying what came next wasn't difficult.

"What did you say?"

"Anyway, I never intended to seriously compete for ownership of such a valuable gate. Like Director Seo Esther said earlier, I don't actually have enough liquid cash to participate in an auction."

"Huh."

"The part where I said I had plenty of money was obviously just bragging. It was a lie."

Kang Changho continued without hesitation.

"In exchange, I want you to promise me just one thing."

This was the real point he had wanted to make.

"Whether you use the item to help Jung Haseong, save a tuberculosis patient, or divide it among yourselves and boil soup with it, I don't care."

"Huh."

"But if the Elixir really does appear, I'd like you to show me the real thing at least once."

"Why? Planning to snatch it while you're looking at it?"

"If that makes you uncomfortable, that's fine. Just let the appraiser I bring later examine it instead."

"Are you serious?"

"I just want to collect information on rare items. I've always been like that. Besides, in the age of Dungeon Shock, it's not exactly an unusual hobby, is it?"

As he openly admitted, the reason Kang Changho had made the atmosphere so uncomfortable until now was simple.

He could have spread the information at any time and thrown the area surrounding the [Elixir] gate into chaos.

But he hadn't.

Because he intended to use his silence as leverage to make a demand of the people gathered here.

"This is ridiculous."

The proposal Kang Changho had put forward was, in many ways, unpleasant.

Deep down, Esther wanted to tell him to get lost and reject the request outright.

But given the circumstances, that was easier said than done.

"Surely there would be justification for establishing an order through the Association, and even if an auction were held, one of us would probably end up taking the dungeon anyway..."

What if she refused his request and news of the [Elixir] gate truly spread across the world?

How were they supposed to deal with the resulting chaos?

"Perhaps the association president, tempted by the enormous tax revenue, might even be persuaded by someone else's argument."

Ssshk.

Several people quietly pressed their fingers to their foreheads.

After a brief moment of thought, they all arrived at the same conclusion.

"Somehow, we need to solidify the Association's position here. That would be far more advantageous."

In any case, this gate would remain open for another six months or so.

There was no need for anyone to purchase it outright for an astronomical sum from the very beginning.

"If you go through all the trouble of buying it and the item simply doesn't drop, you'll suffer an enormous loss."

Since everyone present shared that opinion, the discussion that followed proceeded smoothly and quickly.

"What should we do?"

"What else can we do..."

"That's just the kind of person he is."

"If things go badly, he'll make a huge fuss and cause trouble without hesitation."

In the end, they reluctantly decided to accept the intruder's request.

For the time being, while the Elixir Gate remained a secret, the people gathered around the table calmly proceeded to settle the remaining matters.

Muttering.

There was no longer any reason to keep the room dark.

By now, the Hunter Association's conference room was brightly illuminated by electric lights.

Just when it seemed the meeting might finally conclude without further incident...

[Ting.]

[Beep.]

It was still too early to properly decide who would claim the right to hunt the boss monster.

Jung Haseong, sweat pouring down his forehead, fumbled for his phone.

But the notification hadn't come from his device.

"Huh? What's this?"

Neo Sisters. Korean Magic Tower.

In short, only the major South Korean guilds that knew about the Elixir Gate received the notification.

"No. What..."

The guards they had stationed in front of the gate were currently surrounded by civilians.

"What about the other hunters?"

"Did Director Seo receive a report too?"

"They're saying another guild has already arrived at the dungeon after hearing the news?"

Had the existence of the legendary alchemical potion already been exposed?

The moment that news reached them, the dry atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

However, the person standing on this side wasn't completely oblivious to what everyone was thinking.

"It wasn't me."

Ssshk.

The awakened hunter, who had remained behind instead of leaving, soon began explaining himself.

He playfully raised both hands as though proclaiming his innocence.

"Ah, it's always sad when people automatically assume you're the culprit just because you have a criminal record."

"Sad? Then say what you have to say instead of spouting nonsense."

"Still, since we're standing in front of young people who protect the country, I'll generously restrain myself. If I may offer one piece of free advice about this situation, you'd be better off suspecting the Gate Investigation Team that first handed over the materials."

"Damn it."

"If you sell the same information to ten people, your earnings per hour go up tenfold."