Chapter 20: Red Dungeon Assault Team

The Library was built two days ago.

As soon as it was completed, I used the money I had to level it up.

[Library Lv4]

[The chance of obtaining a C-grade Skillbook increases.]

[Skillbook crafting time decreases.]

[The chance of obtaining an F-grade Skillbook decreases.]

Just like in the game.

The time required to craft a Skillbook was random.

Usually, the longer it took, the higher the chance of getting a high-grade Skillbook.

‘It’s been about two days, right?’

Since this was the first Skillbook obtained after the Library was built, it must have been about that long.

I stood before the stone wall on one side of the Dragon Lair. Placing my palm on the wall, I sent mana flowing into it.

Kugugung!

The stone door slid to one side, revealing the interior.

A small space, about one pyeong.

The stone wall facing me had been carved like a bookshelf, and on the very first shelf sat a Skillbook wrapped in a blue cover.

With trembling hands, I reached out and picked up the Skillbook.

[Hundred Poisons Inner Technique (C)]

• A manual for cultivating internal power using a hundred kinds of poison.
• It also contains comprehensive knowledge on poison making and handling.
• Creator: King of All Poisons

A C-grade Skillbook right from the start.

‘Jackpot.’

And it was exactly the Skillbook I needed at this moment.

A Skillbook related to poison, necessary for raising Goblins.

But the creator’s name seemed familiar.

“King of All Poisons?”

That was the title of the Guardian I raised while playing Dragon Lair. The king of poison who ruled over all poisons, surpassing Immunity to All Poisons.

King of All Poisons, Dang Munhyeok.

As I stared at the creator, a question popped into my mind.

Is this King of All Poisons the one I know?

‘I’ll find out as I go.’

There’s no way for me to solve this mystery right now. The Skillbook only lists the title, not the name, so I can’t be sure.

Even if I were to find out the truth right now,

Nothing would really change.

I took the Skillbook and handed it to the Goblin, who was resting outside.

“Here.”

[What is this?]

“The martial art you’ll have to master from now on. You saw the Orc use it last time, right?”

【…Yes.】

The Goblin’s lips twitched.

【N… Now I can get stronger too! Hey, Pig! Look at this! Huh?】

【Good for you.】

The Orc reacted indifferently.

[Hey, Elixir brat. Look at this! You don’t have anything like this, do you?】

[I’m still a kid.]

Fryra shook her head at the Goblin and then looked at me.

[What about mine?]

Huh?

Korean Hunter Association.

Press conference hall.

A message appeared before Hunter Association President Lee Changgeon, who was waiting in the lounge.

[A Korea-affiliated Hunter has discovered a Hidden Piece.]

[Trial rewards for Korea-affiliated Hunters are enhanced.]

[Dungeon rewards for Korea-affiliated Hunters are enhanced.]

[The chance of a Red Dungeon appearing slightly increases.]

It wasn’t even surprising anymore.

It just felt natural.

“Is this the ninth time today?”

Tomorrow, we’ll get the tenth Hidden Piece, and the chance for a Red Dungeon to appear will increase.

That’s why tomorrow’s Red Dungeon raid is so important.

“President, it’s time.”

“Let’s go.”

As Lee Changgeon rose from his chair, his secretary approached to tidy up his clothes.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“I already took ten calming pills because I was so nervous.”

After the final adjustments, Lee Changgeon walked toward the press conference hall.

The door to the conference room.

As the secretary opened the door, rows of long desks and chairs came into view, and hundreds of reporters were gathered at the front.

Not just domestic media,

but foreign media as well.

And as Lee Changgeon entered,

Click!

Click!

Click!

Hundreds of cameras started snapping photos of Lee Changgeon.

Facing the constant flashes, Lee Changgeon sat in the chair prepared for him.

He tapped the microphone with his finger to check the sound, then slowly began to speak.

“Hello. I’m Lee Changgeon, President of the Korean Hunter Association. Today, I’ll briefly address the topic many of you are curious about.”

Click.

Click.

Click.

“As you all know, Korea now has five Hidden Piece Holders, making us a Red Dungeon-producing nation.”

“Is it really five?”

The secretary answered the sudden question.

“We’ll take questions all at once a bit later.”

Lee Changgeon gave the secretary a slight nod and continued.

“And three days ago, we discovered our first Red Dungeon. The dungeon is B-grade, located in a large amusement park in Yongin. The Red Dungeon Management Department is currently in control, and the raid is scheduled for tomorrow.”

The secretary brought the microphone closer.

“We’ll now begin the Q&A session. If you have a question, please raise your hand, and we’ll give you a turn.”

Hands shot up all over the room.

“Yes, the reporter with red glasses. Please ask your question.”

“I’m Han Gyeongjun from YSS. You just said there are five Hidden Piece Holders. Is that true?”

It’s one person. I should have said five achievements instead. I made a slip of the tongue because I was nervous.

“One person?”

“Just one?”

“One person holds nine achievements? That’s insane.”

Tadadak!

Tadak!

As the sound of typing echoed, other reporters raised their hands.

“Yes, HFS reporter. Please ask your question.”

“I’m Elina from HFS. You said the raid is tomorrow. Can you tell us how the raid party is organized?”

“Since this is the first raid, we’ve received support from the top-ranking guilds in Korea. Thirty Hunters from Bulmyeol, Hwarang, Cheongcheon, and Sword Pavilion will participate.”

“Sorry, just one more question. Has the reward distribution been decided?”

“I’m afraid I can’t discuss that.”

With each question, the sound of typing and camera flashes filled the press conference hall.

“Will the Hidden Piece Holder be participating in this raid?”

“They will not participate.”

“Now that Korea is a Red Dungeon-producing nation, do you intend to trade Red Dungeons with other countries?”

“Many countries have already made offers. We’re currently reviewing the details and will contract with the country offering the best terms.”

It was almost time to wrap things up.

The secretary announced the final question and pointed to a reporter.

“Last night, the US and China said that it’s too early for Korea to raid a Red Dungeon. That Korea can’t clear it on its own yet and needs their help. What are your thoughts?”

Lee Changgeon suppressed the surge of emotion at the reporter’s question.

The reason Korea was still at this level was because those two countries had exerted so much influence.

Countries that blocked Korea’s progress.

The reason Korea had no data on Red Dungeons was because those two nations had never handed over even a single Red Dungeon to Korea.

They’d kept things under control until now.

And now they say this?

But he couldn’t show emotion here. Lee Changgeon took a light breath to compose himself and answered calmly.

“Korea has no experience raiding Red Dungeons. I suppose that’s why they said that.”

“Then do you believe the raid will succeed?”

“We’ve assembled the most elite team. No matter what happens, I believe they have the experience and skill to overcome it.”

The Q&A continued for two hours.

“That will be the last question. Thank you to all the reporters who attended today’s press conference.”

The secretary wrapped things up, and Lee Changgeon left the press hall with her.

“Did I make any mistakes?”

“Other than correcting yourself on the first question, none.”

“That correction was intentional—to confuse them.”

“Then you made no mistakes.”

Back in the waiting room, Lee Changgeon loosened his tie and asked the secretary,

“Is the raid party ready?”

“Yes.”

“We must succeed. Do whatever it takes to make sure we’re fully prepared for tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Today is finally the day to enter the tenth floor of the Labyrinth, known as the final part of the tutorial.

As I was eating breakfast with the Guardians before entering the Labyrinth, I tried to raise their stats, which I hadn’t done yesterday.

But then, this message appeared.

[Stats cannot be increased.]

[To advance to B-grade, you must clear the Main Quest.]

I had no idea when I’d be able to raise them.

So instead, I leveled up the Library, Elixir Farm, and Mana Stone Mine by one each.

Ten billion won each.

A total of thirty billion spent.

Rather than letting the money sit idle, it’s better to invest it like this to increase the passive rewards I get every day.

“Let’s go.”

As I neared the Association, every display I saw was covering news about the Red Dungeon raid party.

A helicopter showed a view of the Red Dungeon from above.

Around the Red Dungeon were the raid party members preparing for the assault. The best of the best in Korea.

Among them was a familiar face.

Yoo Seolha from Sword Pavilion.

‘…She’s only D-grade, but she managed to join.’

Last time, she urgently bought Thunder Flowers—did she use those to break through a wall or something?

There was still some time before the raid, so I made my way to the underground Labyrinth entrance.

“Cheon Yongje. You’re all checked in. If you clear today, the tutorial is over, right?”

“Yes.”

“Be careful until the end, and good luck.”

“Thank you.”

With the Association staff’s encouragement, I entered the Labyrinth.

[Entering the Labyrinth of Bahart.]

[Trial of the Labyrinth 10th Floor]

• Defeat the gatekeeper to descend to the 11th floor.
• Blue Rabbit King of Steel 0/1
• Time limit: 3 hours.

The Blue Rabbit King of Steel, clad in armor and armed with a sword and shield, stood before the path to the 11th floor.

A trial more straightforward than any before.

No need to summon the Orc or Goblin.

“Gravity Hand.”

The magic activated with the keyword, erasing the Blue Rabbit King of Steel.

Kwaduk!

[You have completed the Trial of the 10th Floor of the Labyrinth.]

[You are awarded ten Mana Stone (F) as a reward.]

[You have completed Main Quest 12.]

[The territory of the Dragon Lair expands. The area you can move in becomes larger.]

[The grade of Blessing of Magic increases.]

[Due to increased understanding of magic, the grade of spells learned through Blessing of Magic will change.]

[The grade of Golem Creation increases.]

[The grade of Ice Spear increases.]

The spells obtained from the Dragon Heart Fragment remained unchanged, but only those obtained through Blessing of Magic changed.

“Nice.”

The other rewards followed.

[You have acquired a Shard of Divinity.]

[A Rift opens.]

[You can check the Rift from the Dragon Lair.]

With one more Shard of Divinity, I could construct another building.

“Rift?”

This is the first time I’ve heard of this.

Let’s check it out.

I created a portal at my location for the Hidden Piece and exited the Labyrinth.

After ordering a cup of coffee at a café, I moved to the Dragon Lair.

[Entering the Dragon Lair.]

To the right of the Library, a purple portal had appeared.

I approached and used Golden Dragon Eyes.

[Rift]

• Use the rift in time and space to move to where God’s Apostle is.
• Defeat God’s Apostle and acquire a Shard of Divinity.
• Usable once per week.

There were so many buildings I wanted to construct.

A forge, a training ground, lodgings, an altar, and so on.

But there was no way to reliably acquire Shards of Divinity. Finding one was like plucking a star from the sky.

But if it’s provided like this—

“This is awesome.”

Just then, the Main Quest arrived.

[Main Quest 13]

• Use the Rift to defeat God’s Apostle and acquire a Shard of Divinity.
• Reward: Dimensional Tavern access

Dimensional Tavern?

In the game, the Dimensional Tavern was where you could summon Guardians. What does it mean to be able to use the Dimensional Tavern?

‘I’m curious.’

Let’s grab the Hidden Piece first and go right away.