Chapter 63: Preparing for the Raid (2)

“Raise your head, Cool Beauty Chic Pink Justice.”

Olivier, her face hidden behind her hands and her head bowed, said nothing.

Wasn’t she embarrassed?

Back when I had no choice—absolutely no choice—but to wear Justice Red, she teased me endlessly.

“Pink!”

“Shut up!”

Olivier reacted violently.

“Guess after strutting around in nothing but fishnet clothes in that other world, tights probably don’t even make you blush.”

“You jerk!”

In the end, unable to endure her embarrassment, Olivier bolted out of the office.

But the ones left behind seemed perfectly calm, as if they had no sense of shame at all.

“Mister. Let’s practice the fusion move. I’ve been thinking about a pose… How about this?”

Karin, her helmet removed, struck a pose.

How should I put it? She looked incredibly full of herself. Did I raise her wrong?

Princess Maker is every man’s dream, but somehow, I think I made a mistake.

“Stylish.”

The Demon King’s eyes sparkled as he looked at Karin. It was the look of someone who’d been searching far and wide for talent and had finally discovered the genius he was looking for.

What a nutcase.

“Hey, didn’t you say you were going out for fun? Why are you here?”

“If you’re Red, I have to be Yellow. The heroine is always Yellow, you know.”

She’s putting on a show.

“If a Healer wears Costume Armor, their survival rate goes up. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Well, true.

I’ve worn the Justice Armor—no, the Costume Armor—a few times myself, so I get it now.

I don’t know how to pilot something like a helicopter. But with Costume Armor, I can fly one.

All it takes is installing the piloting skills.

Not only that, but the suit provides decent defense and comes with all kinds of built-in survival support features.

“Best of all, the Costume Armor can cover your face, so it guarantees anonymity.”

The Priest Power Karin possesses is impressive. Normally, modern Healers only refill shield energy and handle Condition Recovery.

Of course, a few Healers really do have genuine Healing Power. But it’s always just a faint amount.

The Healing Power Karin wields is miraculous. She could even bring the dead back to life.

If that kind of power got out, she’d become prey for greedy eyes.

It might get revealed someday anyway, but since Karin will eventually return to the other world, I’d prefer she avoids unnecessary trouble.

‘I’ve found the Key Point for Dimensional Travel, too.’

According to Seohyeonji, the leader of the moderate Villains has the ability to cross dimensions.

If I can get that ability, I can send Karin back home whenever I want.

“Time to go show off my costume, hehe.”

Karin happily scurried off to the 3rd Team’s training room.

“I designed it myself, but I have to admit, it suits her.”

The Demon King really wastes his effort on the strangest things.

A man who once plunged a continent into terror is doing this kind of silly stuff now.

“What about the thing we talked about?”

“It’s ready.”

Im Jaejoon, changing into his costume suit, slid a file across the desk toward me.

Seol Jihoon’s Investigation Report.

The title on the file stood out boldly in my vision.

“You can watch the video on the laptop over there.”

At the Demon King’s words—he was buttoning his shirt and fixing his tie—I opened the laptop. There, a video played of Seol Jihoon subduing a Villain.

Seol Jihoon.

A tank lauded as the nation’s mightiest shield, and a Dual Awakening.

‘And a likely Villain.’

Those who have experienced two dimensions awaken with two Status Windows.

The conditions depend on Synchronization Rate, just like mine.

Seol Jihoon looks like a male idol. Aside from the nickname Holy Knight, he’s also called a “face genius.”

He has that princely aura you’d expect from a novel or manga protagonist brought to life.

I heard he grew up struggling in a terribly difficult family situation.

A mother suffering from the rare Magestone Disease caused by Dungeon radiation, her body gradually decaying.

A clueless little sibling.

He risked his life as an E-rank Hunter to support his family, going in and out of Dungeons.

After surviving countless brushes with death, he underwent a second Awakening and became the S-rank Hunter known as the Holy Knight. That’s the story everyone knows.

He really does sound like a protagonist.

“His durability is unmatched.”

He just stretches out a hand, and a wall of light appears instantly.

“His pattern timing is quick, too.”

His specialty is summoning multiple shields at once to pressure his enemies.

The shields in the video look extremely sturdy as well.

“He really is the ultimate shield.”

“His power would be more than enough in the world we came from. He’s that strong.”

No argument there.

Having such a powerful shield on your side makes conquering a Dungeon that much easier.

He’s got excellent control and incredible situational awareness in combat.

Definitely worthy of the S-rank title.

Rustle.

I turned the pages of the file.

There’s nothing strange in Seol Jihoon’s history.

But everything about it feels a bit too polished, a bit too manufactured.

“On paper, he’s perfect.”

“Yeah, on paper.”

I’m certain. He’s probably a Villain.

The Villains I know hate Hunters, always scheming up ways to cause trouble. But this guy is working as a Hunter, playing the hero.

He’s been the undisputed favorite among Hunters for ages.

“So, what do you think?”

“About what?”

Im Jaejoon slipped on his jacket and did up the buttons.

“The conquest.”

Worried about his employees, is he? Guess that’s what a boss does.

“Obviously, I’ll win.”

“I know.”

Then why ask?

“I mean your teammates, not you.”

Oh, they’re perfect.

The Double Kims are practically overflowing with potential.

Once they start hunting in this high-rank Dungeon, the rival guilds are going to be stunned.

It’s not that I’ve been torturing them because I’m a sadist.

On top of that, there’s the newly unmasked Seohyeonji, and Karin, our Healing Power vending machine—flawless.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

The Demon King curled his lips into a grin.

Are you excited? Imagining the guild’s ranking shooting up?

Honestly, I’m excited too.

Just thinking about knocking the Fighting God Guild off their high horse.

And most of all, what I’m most curious about is—

‘Let’s see how he reacts.’

How will a Villain who’s burrowed deep into modern society and made himself its center respond?

-Rank: High+

-Name: Jeungpyeong Undead Dungeon

-Boss: Lich ★★★

-Rewards:

-Legendary: Knight’s Oath

-Unique: Death Knight’s Weapon Series

-Rare: Recovery Rate Increase, Magic Nullification

“With so many Hunters gathered, there shouldn’t be any issues with the conquest.”

The Dungeon administrator from the Association projected the Dungeon status message with a beam projector and started explaining the precautions.

“According to the Wizards’ analysis, the entire Dungeon is a castle type occupied by Undead Monsters. Be wary of possible germs or infection, and make sure your status resistance is prepared. The upper-ranked entities, or Boss Monsters, have been confirmed as Liches. As you know, there can be vast differences between individual cases, so please exercise caution…”

Maybe these people don’t know, but I’m thoroughly sick of this information.

After all, I fought these things for ten years in the other world.

A Lich is a former Wizard who becomes a ghost, able to use all the powers he had in life.

Of course, no one but me knows this detail.

So it’s surprising.

What kind of information does this Wizard system with a disaster forecast feature possess to know something like that?

Normally, Dungeons have information because others have raided them before. But this high-rank Dungeon opening now is in uncharted territory.

So how does the Wizard system have this info?

“That concludes the briefing. Hunters, I wish you all a safe hunt.”

The briefing ended, and the operation meeting continued through the morning.

“Of all things, an Undead Dungeon. Our team alone could handle this.”

Kim Shin of the Fighting God Guild grinned.

Can’t blame him.

Seol Jihoon, S-rank of Fighting God, didn’t get the nickname Holy Knight for nothing.

A Knight who wields holy power.

When he casts Turn Undead, all lower-level Undead in the vicinity vanish instantly.

Any evil force cannot even touch a holy person’s body.

This Dungeon might as well have been designed for Holy Knight Seol Jihoon.

“Lee Hyunbin, even among S-ranks, not all S-ranks are equal.”

Kim Shin of Fighting God said it bluntly. The atmosphere in the conference room froze.

He was picking a fight, plain as day.

“Of course, I know that well. Seol Jihoon is…special.”

Very special indeed.

“I was hoping to meet him, personally.”

Seol Jihoon was present in the meeting room.

Even as they talked about him, he looked indifferent.

‘He might really be a Villain.’

Whether he truly is, or is just a lucky man, I’ll find out.

“Let’s hope for a successful raid for everyone.”

“In this Dungeon, the other guilds won’t even have to dirty their hands. You can just walk around picking up magestones, I guarantee it.”

Kim Shin’s words weren’t mere arrogance.

The Fighting God Guild’s lineup was dazzling even at a glance.

Besides Seol Jihoon, four veteran Hunters considered nearly S-rank—A-rank Hunters—were participating.

Currently, the raid participants are 22 from the Fighting God Guild, 12 from Hanul Guild, and 60 from other guilds.

A total of 94 people.

Lunch and maintenance time was given. The Dungeon was set to open at 2 PM, so there was plenty of time to rest and prepare.

“I’ve been so busy I haven’t greeted you yet. I’m Ha Minjong, from Team 2.”

This time, along with our Team 3, Team 2 joined in.

After the old gang got replaced, Ha Minjong became the new Team 2 leader. He was scouted in.

He’s a tank who uses a shield imbued with Ethere and a dagger—a man who’s been around the block in this field.

“Nice to meet you.”

I exchanged greetings with Team 2.

But these people seem more interested in Seohyeonji, who’s next to me, than in me.

“It’s almost time for the raid, everyone, please take a break.”

“Oh, yes, of course? Haha. We’re in the same guild, but this is my first time seeing you, so I couldn’t help myself…”

Is this team leader a Seohyeonji fan?

He’s staring at her pretty openly.

“Ah…!”

A sigh rose from the back. I glanced over and saw members from other guilds in the raid clutching autograph books and pens.

Seriously… You’re about to go to war and you want an autograph?

Seohyeonji flipped her hair aside and snorted arrogantly.

Whatever.

She’s obsessed with autographs.

“I’m still hungry.”

Karin, sucking on her chopsticks, looked at me with a face that said she was starving to death.

Sigh…

Her energy efficiency is a disaster, but her performance is undeniable. Guess there’s no helping it.

“Go ahead and eat. Can’t let your fuel run out in there.”

“No food inside the Dungeon? That won’t do…”

“Stuff yourself now. Eat up.”

Like a squirrel storing up food for winter, Karin started packing her cheeks with food.

She really is a glutton.

Honestly, I expected this and loaded my inventory with snacks.

But there’s no need to tell her that yet. No reason to reveal my hand.

It only means something if you give it when it’s least expected.

I learned how to manipulate people from playing Princess Maker.

After a decent break, everyone lined up in preparation for the main raid.

The sound of shutters echoed here and there.

Some journalists, having gotten permission, frantically snapped photos of the Hunters gathered from the countryside.

In contrast, the old farmers, unfamiliar with Hunters, marveled at the crowd.

“Kim Inho, how are you holding up?”

“Yes.”

Kim Changyeol from the Fighting God Guild greeted Kim Inho, his former guild junior.

“If it weren’t for someone’s meddling, we’d still be on the same team.”

“It’s all right. Hanul suits me better anyway.”

Kim Changyeol, trying to diss me, instantly scowled.

We even interviewed together for the Fighting God Guild, but man, too harsh. He’s not even trying to hide his dislike. Hey, when you’re in society, even if you don’t like someone, you shouldn’t show it, right?

Just then, THUD—a tremor shook the ground.

A thick cloud of dust.

And the massive Dungeon, which had previously appeared as a wireframe, now took on real substance and manifested before us.

“Jeungpyeong Undead Dungeon, raid begins now.”

The Dungeon conquest had begun.