In front of the Harpy Dungeon Portal in Apgujeong Park, not only was the Director of the Dungeon Management Bureau present, but the Association President had also made an appearance.
“This is driving me crazy. It happened last time, and now again? Why does this happen every time Kim Seong-jun and Karl Buckman enter a dungeon together?”
The last time Seong-jun’s party and Karl had entered a C-rank dungeon together, it had converted into a Closed Dungeon.
Now that it had happened again, the Association President felt like he was losing his mind.
“Since it’s a B-rank dungeon, even if they pick up the pace, I expect it will take three or four days. You shouldn’t wait out here; why don’t you head inside? I’ll contact you immediately if there’s any change,” the Director of the Dungeon Management Bureau said.
The Association President shook his head.
“Do you think I can actually rest if I go back? The Saintess is flying in from Japan tomorrow. What on earth is this mess? Regardless, we need to know the progress of the dungeon raid so we can tell the Japanese side to reschedule her arrival. What’s the clear rate? Is it still the same?”
The reason the Association President was so restless was that the Saintess of Japan, Kato Asumi, was scheduled to arrive in Korea tomorrow specifically to see Seong-jun.
The very person she was coming to meet was currently trapped in a Closed Dungeon with no way out.
If he could at least determine the clear rate, he could estimate how long the raid would take.
He planned to monitor the progress until late tonight before contacting the Japanese Association or the Ookami Guild to adjust the visit schedule.
“Yes! The clear rate is still exactly the same!”
At the employee’s response, the Association President let out a deep sigh.
“Haah, I’m going crazy.”
Watching him, the Director spoke cautiously.
“It seems they are playing it safe since the dungeon has been closed off. According to the entry logs, the only parties inside are Kim Seong-jun’s and Karl Buckman’s. They are likely being more deliberate with their strategy.”
The logs only showed Seong-jun’s and Karl’s parties.
While someone else might have entered afterward, there were no records, and the management staff member on duty was nowhere to be found, making it impossible to verify.
“Tsk. By the way, have you still not found the employee who was managing this site?”
“He isn’t answering his phone, and we can’t confirm his location. We checked the CCTV, but all the cameras in this vicinity are down. Given the timing, something might have happened to him.”
The employee who was supposed to be managing the portal was missing, and the surveillance cameras were conveniently malfunctioning.
Since this was clearly not a normal situation, they couldn’t rule out the possibility that the employee had run into trouble.
“Trouble, huh… For now, focus on finding the missing employee’s whereabouts.”
The dungeon was already closed, and regardless of what was happening inside, there was nothing they could do from the outside.
Finding the missing staff member was the priority.
“Yes. We will coordinate with the relevant departments and find him as quickly as possible.”
Just then.
“Wait! W-what is this!”
The employee checking the clear rate looked flustered.
The Association President asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong?”
“The clear rate suddenly jumped to 87%! Wait! 92%! 95%! The clear rate is skyrocketing!”
The Association President looked dumbfounded.
“What? It hit 95% suddenly? That makes no sense… Wait! Come to think of it, didn’t something similar happen before?”
The clear rate, which had been hovering in the mid-15% range for a while, had suddenly surged to 95%.
Strictly speaking, it hit 87% first and then reached 95% over several increments, but it was still an absurdly short amount of time.
At that moment, the Association President felt a sense of déjà vu.
He was certain he had experienced this exact situation before.
“A similar situation occurred in that C-rank dungeon. At the time, a wave occurred inside the dungeon, and Healer Kim Seong-jun mentioned a strange device as the cause, didn’t he?”
The Association President’s eyes widened as the memory returned.
“That’s right! That’s exactly what happened! Wait! Does that mean the same thing happened this time? Are you saying they wiped out a massive swarm of B-rank Harpies in an instant? Does that even make sense?”
If they were C-rank monsters, he might understand, but they were currently dealing with B-rank Harpies.
Could they really have wiped out thousands of them in a single moment?
No matter how he thought about it, it was illogical.
“It is an impossible situation, but… the clear rate wouldn’t be wrong, would it? Should we swap to a different monitor?”
Dungeon portals had a function that allowed real-time monitoring of internal progress, which was displayed as a clear rate.
Unless the device itself was malfunctioning, the rate should be accurate.
Suddenly, the employee’s urgent voice rang out again.
“Clear rate is 97%! 98%! Whoa! 99%! Virtually every monster except for the boss has been eliminated!”
The clear rate, which had been stuck in the mid-tens, had reached 99% in just about ten minutes.
It was a truly nonsensical turn of events.
“C-crazy! The monitor! Swap it out and check again!”
Fearing the device was broken, the President hurriedly ordered a replacement.
“Y-yes, sir!”
The employee brought another device and checked again.
However, nothing changed.
“It’s still 99%! It’s the same on the new monitor!”
“This is madness. What on earth is happening in there?”
The Association President felt like his head was going to explode from the sheer frustration of facing a situation that defied all common sense.
***
In the end, the Harpy Queen collapsed under the relentless barrage of attacks.
The A-rank Artifact that dropped as a reward was distributed on the spot, while Seong-jun decided to take the boss’s corpse.
Just in case, he planned to bring the corpse and the Mana Stone to Seon-hwa as experimental materials.
“Under normal circumstances, we might have faced death, but thanks to you, Seong-jun, we were able to settle the situation cleanly in one go. About that S-rank equipment we distributed earlier… you said you’d check the market price and give us half for the extra piece, but we’ve decided not to accept that. I’ve already discussed it with the team, so just keep it.”
An S-rank piece of equipment would be worth at least 100 billion won, and potentially over 200 billion.
Giving up half of that meant walking away from tens of billions of won.
“What? Are you sure?”
“As I said before, we would have died here if not for you. The Ruin is the same. Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to bring anything out of there in the first place. We’ve gained more than enough just from that.”
Since Karl hadn’t decided this alone and had consulted his team, Seong-jun saw no reason to refuse.
There was no point in declining such a generous offer.
“Haha, if you put it that way, I understand. Regardless, let’s head out now.”
As much as he wanted to put the boss’s corpse and the Mana Stone into his Subspace, there were too many witnesses.
Furthermore, it wouldn’t make sense if a dungeon was cleared and the boss’s corpse went missing, so he planned to transport them through normal means.
As they began to walk toward the exit, Gwang-taek approached him.
“By the way, Seong-jun. What are you going to do about that device?”
“The device? I should keep it for now. The Holy Emperor’s side said they’d contact me if they find anything out. That’s why I went through the trouble of securing it.”
Seong-jun had been gathering information on Closed Dungeons through the Association specifically to get his hands on these devices.
Therefore, he had no intention of handing this one over to anyone else.
Even if they couldn’t figure anything out, it could serve as a clue to find the organization that created it.
“I figured. I just thought you might hand it over to the Association. You said last time that you’d give the next one you found to them.”
Gwang-taek was referring to what Seong-jun had told the Association President when he handed the previous device over to the Holy Emperor.
“Ah, that? I only said that. How was I supposed to know when I’d get another one?”
“Right? Anyway, it would be amazing if we could get that device working again. We could gather everything like we did this time and wipe them out in one shot.”
If they could reactivate it, future hunting would become incredibly easy.
They might not be able to use it publicly, but it would be perfect for the dungeons he summoned at his hideout.
He could clear a dungeon in an hour or two every day.
“That would be great. But for that to happen, we need to understand the device first. Fortunately, we have Sister Seon-hwa. If the Holy Emperor finds something and shares the info, we can use that as a basis for her research.”
Though it wasn’t her primary field, Seon-hwa had far more knowledge in such areas than anyone else.
It was much more likely for her to succeed than for Seong-jun or the others to bang their heads against the wall trying to figure it out.
“True. Seon-hwa really is helpful in many ways. Combat, research—there’s nothing she can’t do.”
In terms of combat alone, Seon-hwa was the strongest in the party after Seong-jun.
Considering her scientific expertise as well, recruiting her felt like a stroke of genius.
“She certainly has those strengths. If you overlook the slight lack of humanity, everything else is flawless.”
Even if they were criminals, she was someone who had performed unforgivable experiments on humans.
She had even used her own body as a test subject.
Since she had led the experiments, it wasn’t like she was forced to do it.
Seong-jun judged that anyone capable of such cruelty wasn’t exactly ‘normal.’
“Hey, isn’t saying she lacks humanity a bit much? She seems like a nice person now that we’ve spent time together.”
Looking at Gwang-taek defending Seon-hwa, Seong-jun’s expression turned firm.
“I also want Sister Seon-hwa to move past a simple business relationship and become a close comrade. I think there’s a high chance of that happening. But regardless of that, we need to have an accurate grasp of who she is. That way, we don’t end up having false expectations or misunderstandings. For her, the most important thing is the experiment related to her own body. Nothing else comes before that, and she’s someone who will do anything to achieve it.”
Seon-hwa was different from Gwang-taek, Yuseon, or Chang-su.
While those three were people who could sacrifice much for one another, Seon-hwa was someone who would do whatever it took to get what she wanted.
That was why Seong-jun said what he did.
‘Don’t trust the person; trust the situation.’
He didn’t know what the future would hold, but at this stage, Seon-hwa was not someone to be fully trusted.
However, because her current situation ensured she wouldn’t betray him for a while, he trusted that reality.
“D-did you really have to go that far?”
Seeing Gwang-taek’s reaction, Seong-jun smirked.
“What? Are you interested in her or something?”
When Seong-jun asked jokingly, Gwang-taek’s face turned bright red.
“W-what are you talking about! Interested? No way!”
“What? Is it true? Whoa! Are we about to see the first couple in our party?”
“I told you it’s not like that!”
Gwang-taek shouted and hurried away with a red face.
Seong-jun chuckled as he watched him.
Gwang-taek had been so wary of her at first, but it seemed he had grown fond of her after spending some time together.
***
While they chatted, they arrived at the dungeon entrance.
As expected, the lockdown had been lifted, and they exited through the portal one by one.
*Whoosh!*
As soon as Seong-jun stepped out, the Association officials waiting outside swarmed him.
“Healer Kim Seong-jun! Are you alright?”
At the urgent voice of Association President Jung Tae-hoon, Seong-jun looked confused.
“Hmm? Why are you out here, President?”
It was rare for the Association President to show up personally just because a Closed Dungeon was discovered.
Usually, department staff or a Director would handle it.
“Isn’t it obvious? Kato Asumi is coming from Japan tomorrow, and I couldn’t just sit still knowing Kim Seong-jun, the key person involved, was trapped in a Closed Dungeon. I was checking the clear rate until late, and if it didn’t look good, I was going to contact the Japanese side to reschedule. It’s a huge relief that you’re out.”
The reason Kato Asumi was coming to Korea was entirely to meet Seong-jun.
If he was stuck in a dungeon, her trip would be for nothing.
That was why the President had planned to stay until late, gauging the clear rate to see when Seong-jun would emerge.
“Ah, I see.”
“Indeed. But what on earth happened? I saw the clear rate suddenly jump. What transpired inside?”
When the President asked with intense curiosity, Seong-jun answered with a faint smile.
“That? It was nothing much. Just like last time, a wave occurred in the dungeon, and we were able to round them up and catch them all at once.”
Seong-jun made it sound like nothing, but how could this be ‘nothing’?
“Hah! So you’re saying you wiped out nearly two thousand Harpies in an instant? How is that even possible?”
As the President questioned him in disbelief, Karl walked over.
“Haha, Association President, congratulations. Korea has its third S-rank.”
The Association President looked momentarily dazed by Karl’s words.
“What? What do you mean…?”
Karl pointed at Seong-jun and spoke.
“Seong-jun here has reached S-rank. Thanks to that, we were able to handle over two thousand Harpies in an instant. Once he’s officially registered as an S-rank, he’ll likely be among the world’s top healers, bar any unforeseen circumstances. He’ll easily be in the top ten globally.”
Karl believed that the moment Seong-jun registered as an S-rank healer, he would certainly be ranked among the top ten in the world.
After all, Seong-jun possessed incredible tanking, damage, and buffing capabilities, showing skills that far exceeded a standard S-rank.
“I-is that true? Healer Kim Seong-jun has really reached S-rank? Did you have a Re-awakening?”
In response to the President’s question, Seong-jun shook his head.
“It wasn’t a Re-awakening. We discovered a Temple inside the dungeon, and it turned out to be the Temple of Hemeias, the Goddess of Light and the source of my Divine Power. When I entered, a mysterious power seeped into my body, and I reached S-rank. You could say I was lucky.”
Only Seong-jun had been able to enter the Ruin in front of everyone.
This made such a cover story possible.
Furthermore, whenever he leveled up and his rank increased in the future, he could use this incident as a precedent.
It was a perfect way to justify his growth while keeping his secret safe.
“The source of your Divine Power? Isn’t all Divine Power the same?”
“I thought so too, but it seems that’s not the case. As proof, the healer from the other party was unable to enter the Ruin. It’s likely because she possesses a different type of Divine Power than I do.”
As if to prove Seong-jun’s point, Karl stepped forward.
“Actually, our healer was filming with her bodycam at the time, so the footage should be available.”
The healer on Karl’s team was a popular streamer with a significant number of subscribers.
She frequently uploaded dungeon hunting videos, and her status as a member of the Holy Emperor and her focus on B-rank dungeons earned her a massive following.
Since this Harpy Dungeon raid was also filmed, the scene where everyone except Seong-jun was blocked from the Ruin by a mysterious force was recorded clearly.
“Oh! Is that so? Then, did you happen to catch the battle with the monsters too?”
Karl called his healer over.
“Hey! Caitlin! Come here for a second!”
The healer hurried over.
“Yes, leader. What’s up?”
“Do you have the battle footage from the wave on your bodycam?”
When Karl pointed to the camera, the healer named Caitlin smiled.
“Of course! From the moment we entered the dungeon until we cleared the boss—everything was caught without a single missed moment. Oh! By the way, Seong-jun! Would it be okay if I uploaded this to my channel?”
When Caitlin asked for permission, Seong-jun readily agreed.
“Feel free.”
This video would play a massive role in increasing Seong-jun’s recognition, influence, and market value, so he had no reason to refuse.
Meanwhile, hearing that everything was recorded, the Association President asked cautiously.
“Would it be possible to send the full version of the video to the Association?”
He couldn’t quite wrap his head around what had happened just by hearing it.
He wanted to understand the situation in detail by checking the footage.
“Of course. However, if you’re going to make it public, you have to wait until after I’ve released mine.”
“Haha, don’t worry about that. We have no intention of making it public in the first place. We’ll only use it to analyze the situation.”
“Then I’ll send it over as soon as I get back to the office.”
Since she couldn’t send it right then and there, Caitlin said she would do it from the Holy Emperor branch office.
“Thank you. Regardless, Healer Kim Seong-jun, if it’s true that you’ve reached S-rank, we’ll need to re-evaluate your rank. When would be a good time?”
The emergence of a third S-rank in Korea was a highly encouraging development.
Thus, the Association President wanted to perform the re-evaluation as soon as possible.
Seong-jun smiled and spoke.
“Let’s just go and do it now. Wouldn’t it be better to meet Kato Asumi tomorrow as an S-rank rather than an A-rank?”
Since Kato Asumi was called the Saintess of Japan, Seong-jun, who was called the Saint of Korea, didn’t want to appear inferior in rank.
Since he had already reached S-rank, he intended to complete the re-evaluation today and face her proudly as a fellow S-rank.
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