Chapter 44
Episode 5: Bonus Time (2)
[Third Key Fragment]
[Grade: Common]
[Description: The third key fragment.]
[Effect: Gather all the key fragments to receive a reward (3/5).]
The golden key fragment lay in the palm of his hand.
It was the only item obtained after defeating the monster Hong Jin-sung.
Nothing else appeared.
Considering it was a reward for defeating an SS-rank monster, it seemed rather underwhelming.
But there was no reason to be disappointed.
“It’s starting to take shape.”
[Third Key Fragment]
[Fourth Key Fragment]
[Fifth Key Fragment]
He had already collected three key fragments, which promised a good reward once fully assembled.
Additionally, he had received various rewards through this incident, including items from the desert dungeon, a level boost, and the summoning of a third character.
He also received his next achievement.
[Fifth Achievement Unlocked]
[The sixth achievement will unlock once the prerequisite is met.]
[Prerequisite – Reach Level 100 (96/100)]
[Hidden Quest: Lord’s Achievement (5/10)]
[Complete all achievements to receive a hidden reward.]
Like the previous ones, the sixth achievement also required reaching level 100 as a prerequisite.
However, the difficulty wasn’t too high.
After facing the Luminous Hunters, he was already at level 96.
Only four levels remained.
Judging by his current pace, he could reach level 100 by soloing a C-rank or higher dungeon two or three more times.
Since he could achieve it quickly, it was okay to take a break now.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve rested, so let’s not worry about this for now.’
After storing the key fragment in his inventory, he returned to the mattress to rest.
With everything settled, he intended to take a proper break.
However, aside from dungeon raids and the game, there wasn’t much else to do.
Out of desperation, he tried browsing video sites, web novels, and webtoons, but nothing caught his interest.
‘In the end, gaming is the only thing I’m interested in.’
Just as a seasoned eater craves more food, even during his rest, his thoughts naturally drifted back to gaming.
‘Let’s level up the blacksmith. And maybe upgrade some Darkshadow items.’
Resigned to his interest, he sat at his desk and turned on the computer.
Since he was at home, it was more comfortable and enjoyable to log into HIRE on a PC than on a phone.
But as soon as he logged into HIRE on his computer—
[Congratulations!]
[Character Development Quest Completed]
[Blacksmith Level 100 Achieved]
[As a reward, one of your real-world items has become upgradeable.]
A sudden message appeared on the monitor.
“What is this? An upgrade?”
It was a phrase he had never seen before.
He had never heard of such a quest for the blacksmith character.
Moreover, it mentioned that one of his real-world items had become upgradeable.
Since he didn’t fully understand what it meant, he decided to log into HIRE as the blacksmith character to investigate.
[Skill: Advancement Condition Met!]
[The blacksmith can use his abilities to upgrade the items received as the Lord’s reward.]
[Advancement Quest]
[Gather the necessary materials to upgrade the item.]
[Highest-grade Iron Ore (0/20)]
[Crystal of Binding (0/5)]
[Gem of Dawn (0/1)]
‘Advancement? Does this mean I can upgrade an item?’
It was a skill he had never seen before.
And it mentioned that he could upgrade items obtained as the Lord’s reward.
Although he wasn’t entirely sure what it referred to, he decided to proceed with the quest to find out.
In HIRE, he played as the blacksmith, mining iron ore and converting Binding Powder from minor monsters into crystals.
Finally, he defeated a boss monster, challenging for his current level of 100, to obtain the Gem of Dawn.
Then—
[All materials in HIRE have been gathered.]
[Now, acquire the required material for the item upgrade in reality.]
[Purification Spring Water (0/1)]
A linked quest appeared.
Unusually, the next material was required to be obtained in reality, so he immediately began searching for it.
Purification Spring Water.
It was an item typically obtained in dungeons where water elementals appeared. These dungeons were also popular photo spots among hunters due to their beautiful scenery.
Most of these dungeons were C-rank, and in Korea, they were mainly found in coastal areas like Busan and Yeosu.
Commonly referred to as Water Dungeons.
‘That’s far….’
There were none in Seoul, and the nearest one in Incheon was fully booked for the next week, likely due to its popularity.
There was a way to enter sooner.
[The auction for Dungeon No. 389 in Busan has been completed.]
Out of habit, while searching, he noticed a canceled ticket for the Water Dungeon in Busan, and he managed to secure an entry bid.
Now, all he had to do was head down there, but the thought of traveling to the southern region without a car felt burdensome.
‘Should I cancel? Or just go?’
After all the recent hectic events and being involved in a major incident, he really wanted to rest today.
But while he was wavering—
[Advance Quest Completion Reward Preview: The Radiant Sage’s Bracelet will be upgraded to Transcendent Grade.]
This time, unlike before, he could preview the quest completion reward.
‘The Radiant Sage’s Bracelet will be upgraded to Transcendent Grade? That’s quite a significant reward, isn’t it?’
It was the first quest completion reward.
Originally, the Sage’s Bracelet was of high-grade, but with the achievement reward, the descriptor ‘Radiant’ was added, making it rare-grade.
Thanks to this, not only did it allow efficient mana usage, but it also provided magic resistance, which greatly helped in his battle against Hong Jin-sung.
And now, such a great item was going to be upgraded even further.
“I can’t pass up on a Transcendent Grade upgrade.”
After successfully securing the bid for Dungeon No. 389, he grabbed his bag and left the house.
Didn’t he decide to rest?
For him, the best way to relax is by getting loot.
“What happened to the Deputy Chief?”
In the basement of a grand mansion in Seongbuk-dong, Luminous Korea Branch Chief Ma Gang-jin stopped wiping his sweat with a towel and furrowed his brow at the secretary’s report.
He thought he might have misheard.
Having just emerged from intense training, he wondered if something was wrong with his hearing.
But the contents of the secretary’s repeated report did not change.
“The ambush operation led by Han Sang-woo failed. The Deputy Chief, First Operations Team Leader, First Support Team Leader, and 135 regular members—all 138 of them—are dead. There are no injuries. They were completely wiped out.”
The secretary handed over the list of the deceased to the branch chief with a gloomy expression.
Ma Gang-jin scanned the list with a blank expression.
There were many names listed along with photos of the incident site taken from a distance.
The secretary’s report was indeed true.
At that moment, a familiar background in the photos caught Ma Gang-jin’s attention.
“Isn’t this the third lab?”
“Yes, it appears they retreated during the operation and set a trap in the lab, but were instead defeated.”
“How is that possible? Wasn’t that mercenary said to be B-rank?”
“Well… it’s said that the hunter who accompanied Han Sang-woo in the dungeon was Kang Cheolman. The Deputy Chief, upon hearing the report, went out to assist but met his end.”
“Kang Cheolman…?”
“It seems they developed a rapport from a previous incident and teamed up for the raid. Unfortunately, the timing was bad.”
“I don’t understand. Even if it’s Kang Cheolman, he couldn’t have taken down so many people alone.”
Listening to the secretary’s report, Ma Gang-jin scrutinized the photos from the incident site again.
The abandoned factory where the third lab was located had collapsed like a crater, and judging by the state of the debris, it would have taken at least an SS-rank level of power to cause such destruction.
Moreover, the way the debris was crushed suggested it wasn’t done by sword strikes but rather by telekinesis. But Hong Jin-sung, an S-rank, shouldn’t have had the telekinetic power to produce this level of force.
Ma Gang-jin asked as he studied the photos.
“Did the dispatched team carry enhancement potions?”
“Yes, according to protocol, they each carried three. It was deemed safe after testing.”
“That makes it even stranger. Looking at the photos, it seems like Hong Jin-sung drank the enhancement potion to match Kang Cheolman’s SS-rank power, yet they were wiped out….”
“That’s true. I’ll order further investigation.”
“Do that. And what about Kang Cheolman and that mercenary Han Sang-woo?”
“Well… according to the Hunter Bureau’s informant, they were taken to the hospital but only suffered minor injuries.”
“Hah, this is ridiculous.”
They fought so hard, yet they didn’t even manage to inflict serious injuries.
Ma Gang-jin could only let out a bitter laugh.
‘So, Hong Jin-sung, in the end….’
A friend since school days.
But at some point, his friend’s life fell apart, and now he, too, had perished miserably.
He thought, in retrospect, that this was the natural course of things.
After all, Ma Gang-jin was the one who first fed him the enhancement potion.
‘How pathetic.’
As the person who brought in and even created such an SS-rank monster, it was clear the organization’s burden fell on Ma Gang-jin.
Even the higher-ups were likely preparing to hold him responsible.
That’s why he needed to take action quickly.
Because if he stayed passive, there would be no future for him either.
“Bring me the Hunter Bureau informant.”
“Yes, Chief.”
“I need to take matters into my own hands now.”
Unlike his usual self, Ma Gang-jin furrowed his brow deeply as he gave the order.
