Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

‘Knock, knock.’

At the sound of the knock on the door, Kyung Tae Oh, the supervisor of the Shadow Guild Headquarters, looked up as he closed the file he had been reading.

“Ah! Come on in.”

When the supervisor invited his guest in, a giant, massively muscular man walked into the office.

‘Lv301 Yang Bong Koo: The Machete of Blood and Iron.’

Walking up to the supervisor, Yang Bong greeted him with a brief bow. Looking at the man, Kyung Tae smiled and said, “Been a while, Mr. Koo.”

“…”

“Still a man of few words, I see.”

“Give me an order.”

“Getting right to the brass tacks, huh? All right, then. There’s a person I need you to look into. His name is Min Sung Kang, and we’re assuming him to be around level 50.”

At the description of the champion, Yang Bong raised his eyebrow and asked, “Did you just say level 50?”

“Yes, you heard me right. His power seems to be growing at an exponential rate, and we’re suspecting that he might be either a semi-master or a master grade hunter,” Kyung Tae replied, winking while pushing his glasses up. Then, seeing as Yang Bong’s expression started to harden after the second description of the champion, the supervisor added in a hurry, “Don’t let that startle you, though. Even if he’s a master, he couldn’t possibly stand a chance against a level 301. This should be a walk in the park.”

“…”

“Hell, who am I even talking to? At any rate, would you look into the guy? Make sure nobody knows that you’re part of the Shadow Guild. As for compensation, I’ll pay you five kilos of gold if you succeed. Of course, I won’t ask for a deposit, either. What do you say? Are you up for this?”

Yang Bong nodded willingly.

“All right, then. We’ll give you more details in the near future. Please be on standby.”

After bowing to the supervisor, Yang Bong exited the office. Looking in the direction in which the hunter had gone out, Kyung Tae shook his head, clicking his tongue, and said, “I swear… He’s just way too serious.” With that, the supervisor resumed his work.

—

[199th Floor Cleared!]

[A Battle with the Final Boss Awaits You.]

[Moving Up to the Top Floor.]

‘Am I at the end?’ Min Sung asked himself. By the time he had filled two-thirds of his inventory with rare and unique items, the champion arrived at the top floor of the dungeon. With loud rumbles, the surroundings grew darker and darker. At that moment, small beams of light started to shine through the darkness. The light grew larger, and eventually, the surroundings became bright enough for Min Sung to be able to see within a five-meter radius. Then, a massive velvet door with monsters sculpted on it appeared before the champion’s eyes. It was the door that led to the end of the Grayed Dungeon, where one had to face the final boss. Min Sung had long lost track of time killing monsters, and now, he was at the very last area of the dungeon. Breathing short breaths, the champion pushed the double-doors open slowly. With a loud rumble, the doors opened to either side, and the voice Min Sung was well acquainted with by that point echoed through the room.

[This is the Top Floor of Grayed Dungeon.]

[Welcome to the 200th Floor!]

[Entering the Room of the Sphinx, the Final Boss of the Dungeon.]

After looking around the room with marble floors, the champion walked toward the center of the room, where a series of therianthropic statues were lined up like on a chess board.

“Anytime now…” Min Sung said to himself, furrowing his brow. Then, just as he was starting to get annoyed, the floor started to quake with a thunderous roar. However, the champion remained unfazed, resting both of his hands on his sides, waiting impatiently for the so-called final boss to show up. The floor kept rumbling, which gave him the illusion that the entire room was distorting. Then, what looked like smog started to appear from the floor. Still unfazed, Min Sung waited for the monster to appear, scratching his head, dying of boredom. At that moment, an enormous monster that had to be at least twenty meters tall appeared. It was the Sphinx, the last boss of the dungeon. Its eyes were burning bright red, and yellow smoke billowed out through its set of yellow, sparse teeth, through which drool that seemed like acid seeped out.

[You dare tread on my sacred ground, human?]

Looking up at the Sphinx, Min Sung smiled bitterly and said, “You’re drooling.”

[You will know fear when I’m done with you. I’ll teach you what eternal suffering looks like.]

Then, the Sphinx slammed the staff in its hand on the floor, and with a loud boom, a magic circle appeared around it. The circle spewed flames that burned everything else around it in no time.

‘This place isn’t nearly as practical as it looks,’ Min Sung thought, walking toward the flames and the monster leisurely. While the unsuspecting Sphinx raised its staff in order to strike the champion, Min Sung took a small dagger out of his inventory. Due to the monster’s drool, using his bare hands was simply less appealing to the champion. Taking the rusty dagger, he swung it with force. At which point, with a thunderous roar, the monster’s body started to crack, and the Sphinx exploded into pieces shortly after. As pieces of the monster’s flesh and bones fell from above like rain, Min Sung dusted them off himself with the dagger in his hand.

[You’ve slain the Sphinx, the Final Boss of the Dungeon!]

[You’ve conquered the Dungeon!]

[Fastest to reach lv 150!]

[Fastest to slay the Final Boss.]

[New Record! X2]

[Achievement unlocked!]

[Advanced Treasure Chest Rewarded.]

[Ultimate Treasure Chest Rewarded for slaying the Sphinx.]

[Glowing Treasure Chest Rewarded for setting new record.]

[Title changed to ‘First’ for setting new record.]

At that moment, a golden light started to shine from all directions, and as the light faded, the surroundings changed to a place that looked like the dungeon’s lobby. At the center of it, which felt slightly empty, there was a white, fluttering light that seemed like an exit. When Min Sung walked into it, the light grazed past the champion and illuminated the floor of the dungeon as it opened up like an elevator door. Much like the way he had entered the dungeon, the champion was lifted off the ground and brought down slowly. After about thirty seconds of levitating…

‘Tap!’

… Min Sung felt his feet touch the ground.

[You’ve successfully conquered the Grayed Dungeon.]

[Wishing you the best of luck, champion.]

After the best wishes from the mechanical voice, the dungeon filled with bright light sealed its entrance with a rumble. When Min Sung looked around, he realized that it was just before dawn. There was not a soul around the dungeon.

‘I’ll just have to ask Ho Sung when the Sun comes up,’ the champion said to himself. Because Item Mania wasn’t open yet, he had no choice but to wait until sunrise to sell his loot.

—

As Min Sung walked away from the dungeon, a certain man took out his phone and made a call as he watched the champion from behind.

“Yes?” the voice on the other end of the line asked.

“Mr. Oh, Min Sung Kang just came out of the dungeon.”

“You’ll hear from the executive team soon. Follow him.”

“Yes, sir.”

After hanging up, the man followed Min Sung hurriedly.

—

Min Sung looked up at the sign, which read Gangnam Sauna

His heart was racing at the thought of bathing. Staring at the sign, Min Sung realized that he was shaking with excitement. Swallowing anxiously, the champion walked slowly toward the counter, which looked nearly identical to his memory of what a sauna looked like in his childhood. Fitting of its dated appearance, the sauna had a rich history behind it. While he was looking around, preoccupied with reminiscing about his childhood, the lady behind the counter looked at him impatiently and puzzled. Then, her impatience and curiosity quickly turned into shock when she noticed the blood on his clothes. The text above a hunter’s head wasn’t visible to those who weren’t hunters, which meant they couldn’t see the hunter’s name, level, or title.

“S-So… are you here for a bath? Haha,” the lady asked in a shaky voice.

Min Sung had twenty thousand won left after dinner, which made him wonder if he could afford bathing at a bathhouse. However, his concern faded away quickly when he looked up at the sign that said:

[Bath: Five Thousand Won.]

It was rather cheap. In fact, it was as cheap as he remembered. Feeling relieved, Min Sung took the money out and said, “One adult man,” which brought back even more childhood memories. He remembered having said the same exact phrase a very long time ago. Looking slightly nervous, the lady at the counter took his money, handed him a ticket and said, “The men’s bath is on the second floor.”

Nodding, Min Sung looked around. There were no elevators. Since the building wasn’t all that high, the only way to move up and down between the floors was through the stairs. With the ticket in his hand, Min Sung walked up the stairs slowly. When he got to the second floor, he saw a sign that read, ‘Men’s Bath’ in large, blue letters. Standing in front of the entrance, Min Sung felt like he was getting even sweatier. It was as though he was nervous. Breathing slowly, he pushed the door, which opened with little resistance. After taking his shoes off, he gave the ticket to an old man at the counter, who, at the very least, appeared to be in his eighties. Upon receiving the key from the old man, a childhood memory of being at a bathhouse flashed in Min Sung’s mind. A subtle smile appeared on his face.

The atmosphere unique to bathhouses seemed to have survived the test of time. After looking around briefly, the champion bought himself a disposable razor blade and a towel. Then, checking the number on his key, he found the locker with the matching number in order to change out of his clothes. Since there were electronic locks installed on all of the lockers, all he needed to do to open his locker was to put the key next to the lock, which was fascinating to Min Sung. After staring at the key briefly, the champion took off his bloodied clothes, revealing his perfect, muscular body, which as also covered in countless scars. There was no fat to be found anywhere. Then, without a single piece of clothing on his body, the champion put all of his clothes in the locker, along with the change of clothes he had brought from home.