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The First Deal (3)

At the Gate that opened in Australia’s Lost Land, the dungeon exploration that was underway was facing an unexpected situation.

Greg, the exploration team leader, felt cold sweat running down his back.

The situation was by no means perilous. So far, there had been zero casualties. No matter how many skilled members had gathered, it was difficult to finish their mission without any injuries or casualties in such a dungeon. In that aspect, the progress was highly advantageous. It’s an ideal situation for them.

Nevertheless, Greg was on the verge of losing his mind.

The driving force that led the situation to that point was the three hunters from Korea.

In that dungeon where 50 people entered, all the hunting was done practically by only the trio!

‘Did they say that those three people blocked the A-Class break?’

He recalled his response in the past when he heard the news.

Logically speaking, it was impossible. He laughed at it, considering it fake news to boost their citizens’ morale.

However, he no longer had any other choice but to revise his judgment.

‘It’s possible with those three! They indeed must have stopped it…!’

Watching the performance of the members from Celestial Dragon, a chill overwhelmed him.

Shhhhhhhhhh!

Boo-boo-boo-boom!

Spells that Greg, who was a veteran, had never seen, were fired out indefinitely. Hibiki cast her spells at a speed that was incomparable to other wizards, and they had already noticed. It’s not just a ‘little time difference’ between spells.

Multiple chants were issued simultaneously.

Thanks to that, their hunting speed became inevitably fast, and what was even more phenomenal was that her unique magic all boasted terrifying power.

The wizards’ minds had already been engraved with the speculative keyword of ‘SSS-Rank magic.’

Kwaaaaa!

They had already seen the dragon tormenting the Wyverns in the break before, but most foreign hunters were seeing the monster for the first time because the tapes weren’t released publicly.

The dragon held its position in the air like an aircraft carrier in the sky, burning the approaching flying monsters relentlessly. The flock of Wyverns that went beyond the dragon’s range couldn’t reach the hunters either since Hibiki’s magic swept through them easily.

She deserved to be called someone worth more than a hundred lives.

“Blargh…!”

At the same time, the monsters’ suffering continued on the ground. The Undead Legion attacked the Ogres like a swarm of locusts devouring hectares of crops.

The battle between the undead that knew nothing of fatigue and pain and the frenzied monsters slowly turned toward the undead’s victory. Nate’s subordinates tore through the monsters’ ranks even when their hearts were pierced. They would bite off the enemies’ ankles with their severed heads if they had to.

Their master, Nate, watched the scene from afar in peace. He drank a Mana potion every now and then.

It was as if the duration he could maintain his summons was almost infinite for as long as Mana was supplemented. The hunters felt sick due to its unpredictability and the seeming lack of limits of the fraudulent skill.

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pat!

Greg’s eyes then turned to another person.

‘Didn’t they say he was a close-ranged fighter?!’

Seo Jin-Wook was indeed wielding a sword.

But no close-ranged combatants fought like him.

Paht! Pa-pa-paht!

The sounds that ripped through the air reverberated ceaselessly.

Seo Jin-Wook was cutting through the air with the devil’s sword in his hand. The purple sword energy remained like an afterimage along the trajectory of each swing. It didn’t take long for countless lines to gather to form a wall. He swung so fast that the shape of the sword wall was completed in a few seconds.

At the end of each step, Seo Jin-Wook lightly shook the sword upward.

Then an unexpected scene unfolded before their eyes.

Swish!

At a speed that other hunters couldn’t keep up with, the wall of the sword energy, which condensed the destructive force, thrust and swept through the front.

The effect was the same as a remote world skill. It didn’t even brush the Zombie Corps ahead of them. Instead, it drew smooth curves to avoid allies.

Swerving like a parabola, it hit the Ogres right in the back!

Boo-boo-boo-boom!

There was nothing left in the place where the purple flash passed by. There weren’t even burnt or crushed bodies there.

The reason why Greg, who was looking at Seo Jin-Wook, was shocked once again is-

‘Wait, why isn’t he drinking any potion? He’s pouring that many attacks… How little does it consume his Mana?’

Unlike Hibiki, whose attack was cut off to fill up her Mana occasionally, Seo Jin-Wook didn’t stop conjuring sword energy even for a second since he began the attack.

It’s the same wide-area attack, but it’s finishing off more monsters than Hibiki.

Greg Myers murmured in a voice that seemed like his soul would escape.

“Wait, if this happens…”

It was a situation in which his command became meaningless.

The three of them were doing everything by themselves.

The spells sparsely cast by the wizards were minuscule compared to the Celestial Dragon’s firepower, and the hunting speed was like the ‘tip of the iceberg.’

The situation of the close-ranged battles was no different. It was thanks to the zombies that the monsters were blocked by rushing in like black waves. The swordsmen only struck their blade into the few Ogres that had penetrated the line of defense.

“If they clear it like this, then the system’s calculated contribution will just be for those three…!”

A similar idea passed through everyone’s head.

It was rare for foreign hunters to participate in the expedition with entire goodwill.

It was natural to seek the Clearing reward for the S-Class dungeon.

However…

‘This is hopeless!’

Everyone’s head was filled with a sense of dismay.

As a result, the Clear ended much earlier than expected.

– You’ve met the Clear conditions of the dungeon!

– Clear condition: Monster annihilation in the dungeon.

– Dungeon boundaries are weakened.

That system message would typically be refreshing.

However, at that moment, it resonated in the ears of Hunters with heavy and gloomy echoes.

At the end of the battle, dozens of Awakened were forced to focus their attention on one place.

They gazed upon the three hunters of the Celestial Dragon.

*

I read the message.

– The user’s contribution to the dungeon clear is ranked first (contribution: 52%).

– The item ‘Key of Dungeon’ is awarded to the user recognized as the no.1 contributor.

‘I had barely made it over half. Hibiki will be in second place, and Nate should be in third place.‘

Most of the other hunters were probably empty-handed.

They couldn’t fill even the minimum contribution to receive additional compensation.

Flash!

Along with the flash, an item that looked like a steering wheel appeared in front of me.

[Dungeon Key]

Item description: This item is given when having completed a dungeon Clear. Once used for any purpose, it will disappear to prevent reusability.

1. If you use this key on a Gate, you can close that Gate.
2. If you use this key on a dungeon’s boundaries, you can expand that dungeon’s boundaries.

As customary, I handed it over to the expedition leader, and Greg received it without saying a word.

“…”

Much earlier than initially expected, we cleared the S-Class dungeon without any casualties, but no one cheered.

Everyone looked at the three of us with overwhelmed faces.

“…”

After the attack, there was no exchange of praises and greetings that usually took place.

They just cast their eyes at us as if they were possessed.

The silence continued for a while longer, and eventually, I broke the ice because I couldn’t wait.

“Expedition Leader, can I get the extra compensation now, then?”

It didn’t matter if we were scattered, but if we fought in formations like that, it’s common etiquette to let the expedition captain know ahead of time.

The answer came back a tempo late.

“Yeah, huh?! Yeah, R-reward. You should get the… additional compensation.”

Greg nodded with a dazed face.

– Additional rewards are available according to your contribution. Will you accept it?

“I accept.”

As soon as I delivered my will to the system, the darkness surrounded me.

There was a flash like a group of stars in the night sky.

– Please select a reward.

I focused my attention on the choices one by one.

The unique Mana patterns were hidden behind them and never overlapped.

Looking at each of the dancing patterns in the light, I guessed what item or skill it would be.

And most importantly, the rank as well.

‘There it is!’

After observing, I found the target I wanted.

‘SSS-Class!’

There was only one top-rated item that could come out of the S-Rank dungeon.

‘I was a little nervous because my contribution was barely over 50%.’

If the contribution was low, it might not appear in the option at all.

‘Looking at the pattern, it’s armor. All right.’

I talked to the system.

“I choose that one!”

The luminescence object I designated came close and circled around.

Immediately after that, its brilliance scattered.

And the item that appeared was very familiar to me.

‘Huh? No way…’

*

After receiving the item, I returned to the dungeon.

The scenery changed, and everyone’s gaze could be felt again.

As expected, Hibiki and Nate, who were eligible for additional compensation, returned first. Reading the artifact patterns in their arms, what they got were mediocre rewards. They would have picked whatever they could. There’s no way for them to tell the difference.

‘What a shame. Unfortunately, I can’t come with them.’

“Hmm, hmm.”

Greg, the exploration leader, opened his mouth as he put the dungeon key into his backpack.

It’s a bit awkward.

“… Everyone did a great job. Now let’s head back.”

Since they hadn’t seen any additional compensation, it’s reasonable for voices of dissatisfaction to be raised, but no one made it obvious.

That meant that it was an overwhelming performance that made all of them reluctant to speak up afterward.

‘Huh?’

While everyone was preparing to go back after maintenance, a hunter, who was dispatched from Japan, quietly approached Hibiki.

Hibiki, who rarely showed her expression, made a blatantly dreadful expression.

‘Her purpose is obvious.’

I was about to go to her and drive her away, but then I stopped.

Looking at the timing, it’ll soon…

‘It’s almost time.’

If I wanted to proceed as I planned, I shouldn’t go back to the Gate and close the door.

While I was thinking of that-

‘…!’

The whisper of a strange being penetrated my mind.

– Awakened, can you hear me?

“Hmm!”

The telepathy wasn’t just delivered to me.

The bodies of the explorers, who lowered their guard and were preparing to return, stiffened again.

Many of them instinctively picked up their weapons.

“Is this a system message?”

Naturally, they misunderstood it. Most of them must have never been exposed to that type of telepathy.

It wasn’t the system, but a mental wave delivered by another Awakened.

The origin was over the weakened dungeon boundary after the Clear.

It flowed from a dungeon connected to another dimension’s Gate.

“Did anyone else hear that? No, I don’t have to ask based on the looks on your faces.”

The captain of the expedition bit his lips as if it’s a bad situation.

He was baffled in the face of a phenomenon he had never experienced.

Meanwhile, the telepathic message continued.

– Take it easy. I haven’t stepped into your dungeon yet. I’m in another dungeon that borders that dungeon. Thanks to the weakening of the wall between the two dungeons after having finished the Clear, I was able to deliver telepathic messages.

Someone murmured.

“Aliens?”

They realized that the opponent wasn’t a system but a species of another world.

“Is this the same situation as the cockroach alien from the New York Gate? Wasn’t that incredibly dangerous?”

The fact that the opponent’s response was so fast meant that they were waiting in front of the dungeon boundary for us to finish the Clear.

The commotion was getting louder.

Based on the people of that era’s experience, encountering aliens within dungeons had never turned out well.

“I mean, they did say that they haven’t crossed over to our dungeon yet.”

“How can we believe that?”

As if they had guessed the conversation that was being exchanged, the alien continued to send out psychological waves.

– Don’t worry. Without your consultation and confirmation regarding our entry, we will not cross the dungeon boundary one-sidedly, nor will we force our way into your dimension. The reason why I contacted you today is in hopes of reviewing the relative advantage of resources in both worlds and creating trading opportunities.

I clapped inside.

‘Yeah, this is it! This is how cultured species greet each other.’

They were extremely different from ignorant and primitive beings that penetrated and invaded worlds as soon as the boundaries were weakened, like the Ersmanns and Botarchs.

Instead of just stepping on other people’s land right away, they politely knocked outside the door and asked for their willingness to communicate.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen sensical beings. It was driving me mad.’

In my past life, we didn’t meet their race until a few years later, but I moved the time forward.

In my previous life, the dungeon used as a passage didn’t even exist.

It was common to have more than one passageway, just as there were two countries, the United States and South Korea, connected to the Ersmann dimension.

“Hmm.”

Greg frowned as he focused on telepathy.

In an invisible place for us, the species continued to explain for a few minutes, politely informing us that they wanted to make a deal with Earth.

– So, what do you think about our suggestion?

“…”

– I would be able to hear and understand if you answer by voice.

In that case, it was only proper for the exploration team leader to take the lead.

Supposedly, that should’ve been the case.

But…

“Hey, I’m sorry, but I don’t have the authority to decide that! And our Gate is ‘very unstable.’ My instructions are to take the dungeon key and close this door.”

– Oh. Is that so? I’m sorry to hear that.

Greg, who was uptight, seemed to be really determined to close the Gate.

I couldn’t let that happen.

– If that’s the case, we can’t push it too hard.

The alien responded with a mental wave as if they understood.

‘That reaction means that they’re ignoring us! They already tested our waters.’

There was no longer any need to think about whether people on Earth were on par with them in terms of business and objectives.

Greg’s answer just then became the clear evidence to conclude so.

“Wait a minute!”

Greg’s expression hardened when I suddenly stepped in.

“Hey!”

Was he trying to prove that since he had already been crushed in terms of contributions in the dungeon raid, he wouldn’t allow anyone to violate his command any further? Regardless, I didn’t pay any attention to him.

I quickly spoke with the aliens that I believed were still listening to my voice, completely ignoring his reaction.

“That’s right, this dungeon and our dimensionally connected Gate are in a ‘very unstable’ state. Hence, if you want to make a deal, can you provide us with an Aurora of Stability? We will need it to restore the dungeon state to a ‘slightly unstable’ or ‘normal’ state. That would allow us to keep the Gate open instead of fulfilling our objective of closing it.”

Then a sigh broke out among the hunters.

The item information that covered Korea’s sky had already been identified by every single region through the [Analysis] skill. Even if I uttered its name in front of others, it wouldn’t cause me any problems at all.

– …

The alien delivered an answer after a brief silence.

– Of course. I almost acted rudely.

They accepted my proposal.

In the head of the opponent, who I hadn’t yet seen its face, I could expect the evaluation of us to rise again.

‘Yes, that’s the etiquette of doing business between dimensions. First, the person who proposed the deal first hands an Aurora of Stability so that we can keep the Gate open to be utilized as a tunnel.’

When it heard Greg’s reply, the alien thought we were a race that didn’t even know such things. That led them to the decision of trying to cut us off.

The alien asked through telepathy.

– By any chance, may I ask your name?

“I’m Seo Jin-Wook.”

– My name is ‘Egrasto.’ I’d like to continue discussing with Mr. Seo Jin-Wook. Is that possible?

Greg’s face became even more distorted.