Chapter 95: The Sealed Reliquary

For two days, I worked tirelessly to clear the labyrinth and raided the Red Dungeon with everything I had.

I used the Fallen Apostle as a sacrifice and activated the Eye of Bluecat.

However, its effectiveness had declined compared to before.

Now, I needed to clear an S Rank Red Dungeon five times just to use the second stage ability once.

‘…The more I use it, the bigger the risk becomes.’

Since the ability was practically overpowered, I had somewhat expected this outcome.

As time went on, the risk would only increase, demanding even greater sacrifices.

But.

It wasn’t a serious problem.

All I had to do was clear more Dungeons.

And I was more than capable of doing that.

The only issue was the limited number of Dungeons.

‘There are still unexplored labyrinth floors left.’

Starting from the 52nd floor, which the United States of America’s vanguard is currently raiding, if I could claim all the floors below, I’d have plenty of Dungeons at my disposal.

I wouldn’t need to worry about running out of sacrifices.

And if push came to shove, I could just travel around the worlds inside the Dragon Lair.

[You have cleared an S Rank Red Dungeon.]

[You offer the Fallen Apostle as a sacrifice.]

[The second stage of the Eye of Bluecat is activated.]

As I watched the messages appear before my eyes, I exited the Red Dungeon.

An Association staff member who had been waiting outside approached me.

“Dokkaebi-nim, the President asked that you contact him as soon as you come out of the Dungeon.”

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m not sure myself.”

“All right.”

I moved to a secluded spot and pulled out my phone to find several missed calls.

Judging by the dozens of calls, it must have been something urgent. I tapped the number to call back immediately.

Not even three seconds passed before I heard the other person’s voice.

-Is this a good time to talk?

I let out a small chuckle at the familiar voice of Lee Changgeon, which I hadn’t heard in a while.

“Yes, I’m available.”

-I have something I want to discuss regarding the SS Rank Red Dungeon. It would be better to talk face to face. Can you come to the Association right now?

Having offered all the sacrifices, there was no need to raid more Dungeons for the moment.

Now, all that remained—

Was to use the Eye of Bluecat to secure the Sacred Relics located in Korea.

Dropping by the Association wouldn’t be a problem.

Besides, I needed to stop by the Potion Shop to supply potions anyway.

“Understood. I’ll come right now.”

-How long do you think it’ll take?

“About five minutes.”

-Good, let’s talk in person. Come to my office.

I hung up and used the mana stored in the Dragon Heart. I pictured the coordinates of the Golden Tower and chanted the Teleportation Magic.

Wooong!

With a flash of light, my surroundings changed in an instant.

The Golden Tower rose high before me.

Next to it was the Potion Shop.

The entrance was packed with Hunters lined up in a long queue. The line was so long that it stretched all the way to the Association.

But the line moved quickly.

The maximum quota of Hunters allowed.

Each person was limited in how many potions they could buy, and since there was only one item being sold, turnover was high.

I passed by the Hunters in line and entered the Potion Shop, where Mages from the Magic Tower were assisting customers.

“Dokkaebi-nim, you’ve arrived.”

“The potion stock is almost gone, right?”

“Yes.”

Nodding, I headed into the warehouse in the back, which had once been filled to the brim with potion crates, now completely empty.

I brought out potions from the Dragon Lair and refilled the warehouse.

Then, I Teleported to the President’s office.

“You’re here.”

Lee Changgeon, who had been sitting in a chair, stood up and gestured toward the sofa.

We sat across from each other on the sofa.

His expression seemed complicated, as if not everything was going well.

“What is it?”

“This morning, as you cleared the labyrinth, the existence of the SS Rank Red Dungeon was revealed to the entire world.”

That was something I already knew.

Whenever a Hidden Piece is acquired, Hunters across the world learn about it.

With thirty achievements gained this time, the existence of the SS Rank Red Dungeon had inevitably been made public.

“Yes. And?”

“It’s causing quite a commotion.”

“I figured there’d be a swarm of flies.”

When rumors of gold and treasures spread, it’s only natural that robbers would gather.

The first SS Rank Dungeon.

Unmatched rewards.

There were bound to be even greater rewards than those found in S Rank Red Dungeons.

Other countries would surely be tempted.

Especially those with members of the Twelve Constellations—they’d be even more desperate.

From their perspective, it’d be well worth attempting the raid.

“The entire world is after the SS Rank Dungeon.”

“Isn’t it mine?”

It was my achievements that brought about its creation.

Naturally, the ownership of the SS Rank Dungeon belonged to me.

“Of course, if you claim ownership, it’s rightfully yours. I doubt anyone will deny that.”

“Then isn’t there no problem? I can clear it on my own. There’s no need for help from other countries.”

“The world doesn’t work that simply. There are always adult matters to consider.”

Lee Changgeon wore a bitter expression.

“There are rules listed in the World Hunter Association. If a new Dungeon is discovered, at least five countries must participate.”

“To prevent monopolies?”

“Exactly. With all the incidents that have happened, if a single country takes everything, there’s nothing stopping that country from dominating the rest. That law was made to prevent such a situation.”

“What happens if I refuse?”

“The whole world will unite to try and take the SS Rank Red Dungeon by force.”

That would mean a head-on clash with the Twelve Constellations.

I’m not afraid of fighting them right now.

But inevitably, Korea would suffer.

Some would lose their precious families, others their homes.

There’s no need to go so far just to monopolize the SS Rank Dungeon.

Rather, this was a good opportunity to get what I needed.

“How do we select which countries participate?”

“We set our own terms, and the countries willing to accept those conditions will be shortlisted. From there, we select four countries.”

Lee Changgeon spread something across the long table.

“I called you here to discuss this very thing.”

“What’s this?”

“Before we propose our terms, other countries have already sent us lists of what they’re willing to offer.”

Most of the items were unique and hard to obtain.

“I’ve excluded things like Dungeon quotas and business arrangements. Those aren’t urgent for us, nor would they be of any help to you. Take your time and have a look.”

“Thank you.”

Each item came with a photo and a description.

Most were unique items occasionally found in S Rank Dungeons.

As I scrolled through the list, something caught my eye.

[Sealed Sacred Relic Box]

-A box containing a Sacred Relic, sealed because its trial could not be cleared.

-Offer a sacrifice to attempt the trial again.

-However, the trial’s difficulty will increase if you attempt it again.

A Sacred Relic?

I checked which country was offering the item.

‘Japan.’

The one that had allied with the Apostles.

They must have a reason for offering this item.

Something felt off about it.

“If you don’t see what you want here, feel free to let me know.”

“This Sealed Sacred Relic Box. Do any other countries possess them?”

“They probably do. It was an item discovered early on. No one has succeeded in unsealing it yet… but our country has two.”

“Could I see them in person?”

“If you want, of course.”

Lee Changgeon and I stood up and left the office.

We took the President’s private elevator.

-Descending to basement level 10.

-To access basement level 10, fingerprint, iris, and mana authentication are required.

Bzzzz!

Lee Changgeon placed his finger and eye on the scanner and poured in mana to complete authentication.

Wooong!

The elevator descended rapidly.

“You seem interested in Sacred Relics.”

“Yes. I’ve been searching for them. I didn’t expect to find them like this.”

“If you’d said something earlier, I would’ve shown them to you.”

“I only recently learned about Sacred Relics myself. Do you know much about them?”

“It’d be shameful for someone in my position not to. Sacred Relics are special items with options on a completely different level from other items.”

He even knew about the options.

“There are other countries that possess Sacred Relics, aren’t there?”

“In the past, Korea was the first and only country to have one. Now, China and the United States of America each have one.”

“Korea had one too?”

“The one China has originally belonged to us. Yoo Baekjun acquired it, but it was taken from him.”

So China had taken our Sacred Relic.

I’d have to reclaim that soon.

Ding!

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.

A chilling air spread through the once-dark space as lights came on.

Blueish lights flickered, revealing the entire area.

It was a wide space that resembled an exhibition hall.

Within square glass cases, various items were displayed.

But not every case held something. Most of them, except for those near the entrance, were empty.

“Were all of these lost in that incident too?”

Lee Changgeon made a bitter face.

“My own lack of ability, unable to protect my friends’ legacy.”

“……”

I silently walked over to an old box. It looked so worn that it might fall apart with a touch.

“This is the Sealed Sacred Relic Box.”

I used the Golden Dragon Eye to examine the Sacred Relic Box inside the glass case.

[Using the Golden Dragon Eye.]

[Sealed Sacred Relic Box : ???]

-Sealed because its trial could not be cleared.

-Offer a sacrifice to attempt the trial again.

-However, the difficulty increases on retaking the trial.

-If you fail the retake, a Disaster will occur.

-It is a Sacred Relic that was once in the Dragon Lair. If a Dragon attempts the trial, the difficulty does not increase.

-The value of this Sacred Relic is extremely high.

The information matched exactly what was written on the paper Lee Changgeon had shown me.

But there was something I hadn’t seen in the earlier message.

‘A Sacred Relic from the Dragon Lair.’

That meant the difficulty wouldn’t increase if I challenged it as a Dragon, and I could tell just how valuable the relic was.

I checked another box nearby.

It stated that the value of its Sacred Relic was ordinary.

“May I take these two?”

“Are you sure?”

Lee Changgeon looked at me with a strange expression.

It wasn’t the trusting gaze he usually gave me, but a hint of worry.

I knew why he made that face.

The penalty listed on the Sacred Relic Box.

If you failed the retake, a Disaster would occur.

“If you fail the retake, the damage will be enormous.”

“You don’t have to worry. I won’t let Korea be put in danger.”

“All right. I’ll trust you.”

I reached out and transferred both Sealed Sacred Relic Boxes to the Dragon Lair.

If I could unseal just these two—

I’d meet the conditions to participate in the Arena. And I’d be able to save the Eye of Bluecat for later, as I had planned.

‘So I’ve secured six.’

Four Sacred Relics left before I become a True Dragon.

“President.”

I turned and looked at Lee Changgeon.

“For the negotiation terms, let’s include the Sealed Sacred Relic Box and, in addition, demand the return of the items that were once kept here, or things of equal value.”

“…Thank you.”

It was almost time to return.

‘Should I unseal the Sealed Sacred Relic now?’

Before using Teleport, I left Lee Changgeon with a final word.

“Let me know right away if an SS Rank Red Dungeon is discovered.”