Chapter 13: The Third Red Dungeon Producer

When Hunters obtain a Potion, there’s only one reason they don’t drink it right away.

To sell it to others.

That’s all.

Because a Potion rapidly increases mana, it can be sold at a much higher price than other items of the same grade.

Even the Frost Heart I consumed was only E-grade, but its market price easily exceeded tens of millions of won.

‘Was this guy planning to hand this over to someone else?’

I still didn’t know why Burukan hadn’t eaten the Mandragora and just kept it in his pocket.

But thanks to that, it ended up in my hands.

I checked the Mandragora in my hand.

[Damaged Thousand-Year-Old Mandragora (A)]

-A Mandragora that has lived for a thousand years. It holds a wealth of mana, granting a large amount of mana when consumed.

-To fully absorb its mana, it must be consumed in the correct way.

-Greatly enhances physical abilities.

-Because it is damaged, the mana contained within rapidly dissipates over time.

Seeing its grade, my jaw dropped and wouldn’t close.

An A-grade Potion?

At this level, you could name your price.

Even if you asked for tens of billions, there’d be plenty of buyers.

[Don’t hesitate, just eat it. Anyway, if you wait a little longer, it’ll lose its effects.]

Reading the note written below, I understood.

“What a waste. But is it really okay for me to eat this?”

【Yes. Better for someone to eat it than for it to just disappear.】

“Then I won’t refuse.”

I sat down and put the Thousand-Year-Old Mandragora in my mouth, taking a big bite.

Crunch!

It felt similar to biting into a radish.

It tasted cool and was full of moisture.

That sweet flavor that lingered in between slid down my throat and began to stir up a huge wave inside me.

Wooooong!

A thousand years contained within the Mandragora.

The mana stored over that long span surged into my body as if rampaging.

【Quickly, eat the rest too.】

Snapping out of it at Fryra’s words, I shoved the rest of the Mandragora into my mouth.

Crunch!

Crunch!

After swallowing it all down cleanly,

The Dragon Heart began to absorb the Mandragora’s mana as it flowed into my body.

It was on a completely different level from when I ate the Frost Heart.

Mana, like a raging wave, swept through me.

It surged unrestrained throughout my body, then gathered toward my heart.

The repeated cycles made my mind grow hazy.

Crack!

Craack!

I could hear something snapping and splitting, but couldn’t make out what it was. My eyes saw nothing.

All I could see was a blue light.

The Dragon Heart, alive and breathing, repeatedly absorbed and exhaled mana, slowly making it its own.

And finally, when the blue light faded,

As the Dragon Heart exuded a warm energy, as if satisfied with its meal—

“Keuk!”

I spat out something that had filled my mouth, and my lost senses returned one by one.

“Haa… Haa…”

I gasped for breath.

As my breathing returned, I saw what I’d spit out. A lump of black blood. Along with that, I saw shed skin.

I raised my hands to check.

The clothes I’d been wearing had disappeared. My skin was smooth, and my muscles stood out.

I looked down at my stomach.

Where there should have been just a slight bulge, clear abs were now visible.

[You have consumed the Damaged Thousand-Year-Old Mandragora.]

[The grade of the Dragon Heart has increased by two levels and is now D-grade.]

[Your mana efficiency has greatly improved.]

[Your maximum mana has increased significantly.]

[Due to the effect of Dragon God’s Body, your physical abilities have greatly increased.]

I couldn’t help but marvel at the flood of messages.

“…Wow.”

Not only had my body changed, but the mana I felt from the Dragon Heart had grown immensely.

About the length of a finger joint?

What used to be the size of a grain of sand had grown to about a finger joint. The power of my magic would be that much stronger.

At this rate, I could easily clear a D-grade Dungeon.

“Thank you.”

[No problem.]

“It’s a bit late, but let’s head to the Dryad’s Forest. Maybe someone’s still alive.”

As always, a message appeared today as well.

[A Hunter from Korea has discovered a Hidden Piece.]

[Trial Rewards for Korean Hunters have increased.]

[Dungeon Rewards for Korean Hunters have increased.]

With this, the Republic of Korea now held four Hidden Piece discovery achievements.

With just one more achievement,

The country could become one where a special Dungeon called the Red Dungeon appears.

-Ssssssh! Seeeeeex.

-There’s a rumor that only one person is the Hidden Piece Discoverer. If they’re monopolizing that much alone, just how strong are they?

-Aren’t they about Cheonma level?

-You think Cheonma is a joke? The strongest Hunter currently alive is Cheonma.

-Cheonma is the strongest? You must be Chinese. The strongest is the United States of America’s Colonel Lord.

-Anyone who made it to the Twelve Constellations level is about the same. It’s not like they’ve ever fought each other, so how can you even argue about the strongest?

-Yeah. Cheonma crushed everyone in the Hall of Glory.

-Why are you talking about other countries on the Korean board? Shouldn’t you go back to your own country?

-The fact is, Korea is getting back on track.

-Japan, France, and the United Kingdom must be sweating, thinking Korea will get the Red Dungeon first. Big upvote.

-Big upvote.

-Big upvote.

It wasn’t just the community.

Major media outlets around the world were reporting news about Korea.

It was inevitable.

Currently, only the United States of America and China produced Red Dungeons. If you wanted to use a Red Dungeon, you had to stay on good terms with those two countries.

Japan, France, and the United Kingdom each had four discoverers.

But due to various international and political issues, they couldn’t bring in another Hidden Piece Discoverer.

Then, with Korea suddenly discovering Hidden Pieces in succession, it became the third candidate to produce Red Dungeons.

As a result, the Korean Hunter Association also became busier.

“President, why don’t you take a short break?”

Lee Changgeon took the coffee offered by his secretary and sighed as he asked,

“There’s no end to the work. No end at all.”

“Still, you look quite happy for someone so busy.”

“It’s hard not to smile, seeing those who used to ignore us now crawling and begging.”

The humiliation they’d suffered until now.

Those who lowballed Dungeon prices.

Export and import restrictions.

Losing promising talents, and so on.

Even with unfair contracts, there were times they had to sign just to get Dungeons.

“Now, it’s the other way around.”

If the Hidden Piece Discoverer found one more tomorrow, the entire relationship would be reversed.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

As Lee Changgeon enjoyed his coffee, a strange voice rang in his ear.

【Can you hear me?】

[I can hear you.]

【I want to make a deal. I’ve got three C-grade Potions and about fifty F-grade Mana Stones.】

Lee Changgeon spat out the coffee in his mouth.

Pfft!

“President?”

“Ah… I’m fine. Just startled for a second.”

Lee Changgeon wiped the coffee from his lips.

[Three C-grade Potions?]

[Yes.]

【I’ll pay ten billion for each. How do you want to handle the transaction? If you have an idea, let me know.】

[I’ll leave the items at a place of my choosing. You pick them up and leave the cash there.]

[Understood. Let’s do it that way. Oh, and are you planning to find another Hidden Piece tomorrow?]

[Probably.]

【Then what about the Red Dungeon? By default, every time a Red Dungeon appears, the discovery fee is paid to the Hidden Piece Discoverer.】

[How much is that?】

[Five hundred million per Dungeon.]

[Let’s do it that way. Also, if there’s a Dungeon I want, can you set it aside for me?]

[Of course. Just let me know.]

【I’ll give you the address, so let’s meet for the transaction at 11 p.m. the day after tomorrow.】

Lee Changgeon memorized the address given by the Hidden Piece Discoverer and ended the conversation.

“How’s the Red Dungeon management department coming along?”

“We’ve assembled a team from the Dungeon Management Department for now, but we’re severely understaffed.”

“It’s going to get even busier, so reinforce the staff however you can.”

“Excuse me?”

Ding-ling-ling!

I woke up to the sound of my alarm.

“Haaah.”

Today was the day to enter the D-grade Dungeon that Jikwon-hyung had arranged. I’d set my alarm so I wouldn’t be late.

“0000”

Stretching, I got out of bed.

I took out some convenience store food from the fridge for breakfast, packed up the rest, and headed to the Dragon Lair.

[You are entering the Dragon Lair.]

When I exited the Lair, a small cabin stood to the left.

The new home of the Dryad Tribe.

I had found surviving Dryads in the forest that Burukan had ravaged.

Fryra decided to stay with them there. In exchange, they’d cultivate Potions. That’s why a field had been made in front of the cabin.

‘It’s gotten a little bigger since yesterday.’

Potion cultivation takes quite a bit of time.

So we decided to grow various elemental plants as well.

“Nice.”

The Goblins go exploring.

The Orcs handle combat.

The Dryads grow crops.

And if I assign a Golem as a Guardian to the mine, Mana Stones will steadily pile up in the Lair.

Until now, I hadn’t really saved up much money.

But from now on, I’d be able to accumulate quite a lot.

Above all, I’d secured thirty billion by selling the Potion I got from the Dryad’s Forest to the Association.

‘I’ll think about how to use it later.’

I called over the Orcs and Goblins and handed them the food I’d brought.

“Let’s have something tasty for dinner tonight.”

【Yes!】

【Thank you!】

Returning to reality, I changed my clothes.

I went outside, took a bus, and headed to the Association.

The meeting was at 1 o’clock.

Before that, I planned to clear a Labyrinth and finish a Main Quest. I couldn’t help but feel excited, wondering what the reward would be this time.

Arriving at the Association, I headed straight to the Labyrinth entrance.

There were still a lot of people around the Association and on the first floor.

But the strict monitoring by Association staff at the Labyrinth entrance was gone. Now, except for an ID check when entering, no one cared when you left.

“Cheon Yongje-nim, you’re all set.”

I threw myself toward the entrance of the Labyrinth.

[You are entering the Labyrinth of Bahart.]

[Trial of the Labyrinth 5th Floor]

-Deal with the gatekeeper guarding the path to the 6th floor.

-Giant Blue Rabbit King 0/1

-Time limit: 3 hours.

I summoned an Orc and had him take the lead.

Gripping Burukan’s axe, he charged forward and split the Giant Blue Rabbit King in half in one blow.

Slaaash!

[You have completed the Trial of the Labyrinth 5th Floor.]

[As a Trial Reward, you have obtained five Mana Stone (F).]

[With the success of the Labyrinth Trial, the domain of the Dragon Lair expands.]

[The Golden Dragon Eye has discovered something.]

This time, I just grabbed the Hidden Piece.

[You have discovered a Hidden Piece.]

[You have received the Hidden Piece Discovery Achievement Reward.]

[The Dungeon Clear Rewards of the discoverer’s country have increased.] [The Trial Success Rewards of the discoverer’s country have increased.]

[You have accumulated five Hidden Piece Achievements.]

[A Red Dungeon will appear in your country.]

Grin.

So now, five hundred million gets deposited every time a Red Dungeon appears?

[You have completed Main Quest 9.]

[You have obtained the Blessing of Magic.]

[To proceed to the next quest, you must view the Memory Fragment Left by the Dragon. Would you like to view the memory?]

Of course I would.

“View.”