Chapter 47: The Elder of the Dwarf Race

To ascend to the 21st floor, I had to finish the research first. I used one material selection box I had on hand.

[Acquired Thunder Heart (S).]

With a clank, the box opened, revealing its contents.

Kwah-ga-ga-gang!

A blue stone that echoed the sound of thunder appeared. There was no need to check it with the Golden Dragon Eye. I immediately registered it at the Golden Tower.

[Registering material.]

[Resuming level 5 research.]

Whether it was because I sped up the research with points or because Yoo Seolha’s talent was exceptional, I wasn’t sure.

The estimated research time was five hours.

After coming back from the Labyrinth and resting a bit, I would be able to understand what kind of magic this was.

“Shall I make a quick run?”

Since I had to climb the 20th floor before ascending the 21st tomorrow, I used the Rift Pass to enter the Labyrinth.

[Entering Labyrinth of Bahart.]

The dazzling white light vanished, revealing a barren land. Not a single patch of green grass could be seen, and the ground was cracked open.

No other Hunters had arrived yet; I was alone.

‘At least four people, right?’

To challenge the 20th floor, four Hunters were required.

Usually, there was a 30-minute waiting period to enter.

If no new Hunters joined within that time, one could either attempt solo or get another chance to re-enter.

As you descended deeper, the number of Hunters would decrease, leading to many re-entries or abandoned raids.

Up to the 30th floor, that wasn’t much of a concern.

Shwaaak!

With a burst of white light, three Hunters appeared.

“Korea?”

“They’re Korean.”

“Wow. Damn. What luck to meet Koreans here.”

The Chinese Hunters smirked, drawing their swords.

Srrrring!

Three sharp blades pointed directly at me.

“How dare Koreans think they can control China?”

“We’ll show you the gap between China and Korea.”

“Blame your Association President and the Dokkaebi for this.”

I wondered why they were so gleeful to see me, then it hit me—they had decided to control the 11th floor of the Labyrinth starting today.

Heh.

“Look at that bastard grinning. Let’s see if you can keep smiling with a knife in your gut.”

“Looks like you’re doing a good job controlling things.”

“You son of a—!”

The Chinese Hunters lost their temper and charged at me.

Their movements were painfully slow.

“The difference in skill is obvious.”

There was no need to use the Golden Dragon Eye.

No grand magic was necessary.

I simply conjured a basic Fireball spell. Three fiery orbs appeared in the air, flying straight toward them.

Pewong!

Pewooong!

Flames erupted, burning the Chinese Hunters’ heads.

“Argh!”

“Aaah!”

Screaming in pain, they vanished from the Labyrinth.

Alone, the trial of the Labyrinth was given.

[Trial of Labyrinth 20th Floor]

• Defeat the four boss monsters located at the East, West, South, and North temples, then activate the central altar to reveal the path to the 21st floor.
• East Temple 0/1
• South Temple 0/1
• West Temple 0/1
• North Temple 0/1
• Time limit: 5 hours.

I decided to head north first.

“Fly.”

Using magic, I comfortably flew through the air. A cool breeze blew as snowy ground appeared beneath me.

Sitting atop the snow was a white-furred gorilla.

As I approached, it opened its eyes and exhaled sharply, pushing off the ground to leap.

The gorilla jumped to an incredible height and raised its fist above its head.

“Uoooooooh!”

I distanced myself with Fly magic and used Ice Spear.

A pristine ice spear shot toward the gorilla.

Kakang!

The Ice Spear shattered against its white fur without penetrating. This magic, at least A-rank level power, had no effect.

‘It really doesn’t work.’

I had heard that attribute bosses on the 20th floor possessed skills that nullified damage when attacked with the same attribute.

This was why melee fighters were okay, but mages of the same attribute often gave up the trial and waited for the next day.

The reason bosses like these appeared on the 20th floor was that descending beyond here meant facing monsters with various attributes one after another.

‘Using attribute countering as a combat strategy.’

This was one of the concepts I would need from now on. I recalled the attribute countering principle and prepared my magic accordingly.

Done.

“Fireball.”

I used Fly to keep my distance and prepared Fireball.

Hundreds of flames appeared in the air.

At my gesture, the hundreds of flames flew toward the white-furred gorilla.

Pewoooooong!

Red flames and black smoke soared as the scorched gorilla collapsed onto the ground.

“Next, let’s go west.”

[You have discovered a Hidden Piece.]

[Hidden Piece achievement reward granted.]

[Dungeon raid rewards for the discoverer’s country increased.]

[Trial success rewards for the discoverer’s country increased.]

[Twenty-one Hidden Piece achievements accumulated.]

[The chance of Level Stones dropping in Red Dungeons has increased by 1%.]

Lee Changgeon lowered the pan he had been holding, glancing at the visible messages.

“So, it’s tomorrow now.”

Having cleared the 20th floor today, the 21st floor would be the next challenge tomorrow.

I wasn’t sure how things would go, but since Hidden Pieces had been found on every floor, obtaining challenge rights wouldn’t be difficult.

‘At this rate, Korea will soon surpass China’s Hidden Piece achievements.’

China currently held 22 Hidden Piece discovery achievements.

The United States had 27.

In just two days, Korea would catch up with China, and within a week, it would catch up with the United States.

‘I’m curious.’

‘What will appear when 30 or 35 achievements accumulate?’

‘What will Korea look like then?’

Knock, knock!

“President.”

“Come in.”

The door opened, and the secretary entered.

Walking in, she handed Lee Changgeon a file she was holding.

“We’ve selected a company to build the building beside the Golden Tower. They’re starting tomorrow and expect to finish in about a week.”

“Are they reliable?”

“Yes.”

Swish!

He signed on the blank space.

The secretary gathered the file and handed over another one.

“This is a report about Imemaengnyang. So far, there have been no problems controlling the Chinese Hunters.”

“When China controlled it, the Labyrinth’s laws were a real pain. But now, it feels solid. People’s hearts are fickle.”

The Labyrinth’s Law.

Among its many rules, one stated that Hunters from the same country could not enter the Labyrinth alone.

At least two different countries’ Hunters had to be mixed.

This was why the Chinese Purification Sect could control Korea, and why Korea’s Imemaengnyang could control China.

Each time the trial on the 11th floor opened, at least one Hunter from each side entered together.

“But since their population is so large, it’s assumed that many Chinese Hunters are slipping down to the next floors uncontrolled.”

“That’s acceptable.”

Perfect control was impossible anyway.

Even when Purification Sect controlled things, some Hunters who didn’t encounter them climbed up by luck.

Others with talent enough to defeat the buffed Purification Sect also advanced.

The opposite could happen anytime as well.

Letting those who were to ascend do so, while strictly controlling the rest to prevent dissatisfaction, was the best approach.

“Let’s continue control as is and increase Imemaengnyang’s personnel.”

“Is that okay? The World Hunter Association—”

Not long after announcing and implementing control, we received a warning from the World Hunter Association.

When China controlled things, they stayed silent.

But as soon as Korea took over, there was a quick response.

“Ignore that. Do we have enough personnel?”

“Yes. The intense attention on this control has increased applicants, so we have enough.”

Done.

China’s control, Red Dungeon raid teams, revitalization of the Hunter industry.

Everything was going smoothly.

There were still diplomatic issues, but those would resolve somewhat when we raided the 21st floor tomorrow.

Countries that had contracted with Italy and the dungeon would switch to contracts with Korea.

If issues still arose,

we could use the cards revealed by the Hidden Piece discoverers.

‘Hidden Piece achievements.’

Using those as leverage, we could seek help from the United Kingdom, France, and Japan.

Now, the only thing to focus on was the soon-to-open Hall of Glory.

“How’s preparation going for the Hall of Glory?”

“Good. We selected the most talented among those qualified to participate. Though, to be honest, if the Dokkaebi participates, the game’s over.”

Not wrong.

Still, participants were selected because

“We’ve achieved a lot relying on the Dokkaebi, but we can’t depend on it forever. To cultivate the Dokkaebi’s sustainability, we need to train skilled individuals starting now.”

“Yes.”

The secretary nodded.

“If there’s nothing else, this concludes the report.”

“Oh, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“The Golden Tower will be offering Enchantment Services.”

“Enchantment? Magic imbuement?”

“Yes.”

Magic that adds special powers to equipment items.

It could be done easily with the right scrolls, but

obtaining the desired scrolls was as hard as plucking stars from the sky.

In practice, the service was almost impossible.

“That’s possible too? What kinds of magic are being imbued?”

“Attribute Resistance and Attribute Infusion.”

“Random, I guess?”

“According to Hunter Yoo Seolha, you can imbue the attribute you want.”

Lee Changgeon’s eyes widened.

From the 21st floor onward, monsters with attributes appeared, so having attribute attacks or attribute resistance gear made raids much easier.

Not only that, but it was also useful in dungeons.

“I should meet and talk about the business.”

After raiding the Labyrinth and returning to the Dragon Lair, the sun was already up.

Seeing everyone wake and get to their tasks, I approached Balak, who was preparing breakfast.

I handed him what I had bought from the mart this morning.

“Here you go.”

“That’s a lot. Thanks. Today I’ll taste and research cooking one by one. You haven’t eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Wait a bit. I’ll make it delicious.”

Done.

Sitting nearby, I put the Dragon Heart Fragment I’d obtained into my mouth.

[Learning the magic contained in the Dragon Heart Fragment.]

[Blink (S)]

Teleport a short distance.

So it comes out here.

I thought of a desired spot and used the mana stored in the Dragon Heart, instantly changing my view.

“Oh…”

I kept testing it to learn more. The maximum distance was about 10 meters, and it could be used up to 20 times.

It could be used while casting other magic.

It was even possible to move together with others.

That required more mana, but mana wasn’t a big issue as time passed.

“Not bad.”

This would be very useful in the battles on the 21st floor.

[Research on Instant Death Dragon God’s Body of Thunder Dragon at Golden Tower completed.]

[Please assign new research.]

Let’s see.

Most of the research items listed had times under one hour.

[Potion Cultivation Time Reduction Stage 1]

[Training Ground Education Reduction Stage 1]

[Dryad Creation Stage 1]

I could research three per day, so I chose these. I had all the necessary materials and registered immediately.

[Starting research on Potion Cultivation Time Reduction Stage 1.]

[Next research will start after completion.]

While making all this possible, ascending the tower steadily and even earning money, I couldn’t help but marvel at Yoo Seolha’s talent.

“This is some crazy power.”

Is this the strength of an SSS-tier talent?

I was starting to feel things really turning around.

“Master, here.”

Praira had come over, carrying a basket full of attribute herbs she had cultivated. Sitting beside me, she took some out one by one.

Done.

“I’ll eat well.”

As if taking medicinal supplements in the morning, I carefully consumed them. Meanwhile, Orcs and Goblins were coming through the portal.

[Master, the Dwarf Elders wish to meet you.]

“Hey, pig! I wanted to talk about the bet.”

Dwarves.

It was about time to prepare the Guardian Equipment as well.

“Where? Show me.”