Chapter 16

While the stone shone erratically on the floor, Soram and Ayoung were more tense than ever. Even Soram, who had been smiling pleasantly throughout the dungeon, gulped nervously.

"Slowly, come this way."

Tae-un's toes, which had touched the stone, carefully lifted off. Overwhelmed by their momentum, Tae-un quietly moved to the side.

Soram and Ayoung clenched their fists in front of their faces.

"...You know? It's a one-shot deal."

"Of course."

After a tense sigh passed...

"If you don't put it out, you forfeit. Rock, paper, scissors!"

The result of their loud shout was Soram's rock, Ayoung's rock... and Tae-un didn't put out anything. Soram and Ayoung turned to Tae-un simultaneously.

"Hey, why didn't you put anything out?"

"What are you doing? All of a sudden."

"...Huh? You don't know what this is? We learned about it in training today."

"There was nothing related to that, though..."

Soram and Ayoung exchanged glances. Then, after sending silent signals to each other with their eyes, they eventually shrugged their shoulders.

"Han Tae-un ssi."

Soram picked up the stone that had been rolling on the floor a moment ago and placed it in Tae-un's hand. He didn't forget to make Tae-un grip it tightly by bending his fingers.

"Keep it as an incentive for your first day at work."

Leaving Tae-un with a puzzled expression, Soram grinned.

"This is called a gangseok, and it appears with a rare probability at the site of a cleared dungeon. It's okay to take a little extra from a 4th-grade dungeon."

"Is it like a jewel?"

"No, it's not like that. It's more like a magic stone...? The gangseok that comes out of each type of dungeon is different, and the one that comes from a mimicry dungeon..."

Soram took Tae-un's hand holding the gangseok and placed it on his own forehead.

[It allows you to read other people's thoughts.]

Even though Soram didn't open his mouth, a voice flowed out. No, it was more accurate to say that it was directly transmitted into Tae-un's mind. As Soram removed the gangseok from his forehead, a few crumbs fell from it.

"Useful, right? And it seems like there would be many people who want to use it for something shady, right? So let's keep it as an emergency fund."

"No, I..."

"Keep it. Keep it."

"It's really okay, but..."

"Geez."

Soram approached Tae-un closely and whispered like a broker selling contraband.

"This size is worth about 500 million won each. Hide it in your pocket before we change our minds."

"Then I will submit it to the headquarters."

However, the diligent Tae-un had an expression that said, 'Even if you tell me to just take it, I'll refuse, let alone 500 million won?' 

My goodness, have you ever seen such an upright... no, honest public servant? Soram firmly pressed the hand that was trying to return the gangseok to him.

"Sometimes, a hero who stands in front of the public can't always be righteous. Sometimes, you need to be able to read other people's thoughts and outsmart them, and occasionally, when an unintended accident occurs, you need a slush fund to cover it up."

Especially since the stoic and unyielding hunter Han Tae-un might experience a few more things like that.

"..."

After hearing those words, Tae-un stared at the gangseok for a moment and eventually accepted it.

"Instead, if you, Jin Soram ssi, or Ayoung need this for something, please take it anytime."

"Okay, okay."

With that, the flight team's first dungeon ended. They slowly descended the stairs together, which they had climbed up in a hurry. Soram, once again, stood slightly behind the two and took in the sight of their backs. It was a strange day where his mind had no time to claim drowsiness.

The three of them descended the last flight of stairs to the first floor. And the moment they stepped through the central door of the school...

"They're out!"

About a dozen cameras surrounded them, pointing at them like guns.

"Chief Jin, what grade was the dungeon?"

"What was the cause of the dungeon occurring within the school? Is prevention possible?"

"..."

Jin Soram, Lee Ayoung. Since well-known 1st-grade hunters had appeared, they had expected a crowd of reporters. But to think they would be encircling them right in front of the school building that had been within the dungeon's range until just a moment ago? Soram looked at the reconnaissance team members and police who had not controlled the situation. A reconnaissance team member spoke.

"We tried to stop them from entering through the main gate, but the chairman..."

"In particular, we heard that Lee Ayoung, as a fellow student, rushed here out of great concern for the situation."

"What? Me?"

At that, the cameras that had been dispersed among the three of them all turned towards Ayoung at once. The reporter who had shifted the topic to Ayoung continued with a loud question.

"Hunter Lee Ayoung! Has the dungeon been completely eliminated? The personnel dispatched, including Hunter Jin Soram and Hunter Lee Ayoung, is impressive. Was the dungeon that large? The citizens of Guri City are expressing great concern through SNS."

And it felt like this was leading to a certain answer.

"Ah, no. It was definitely not a large dungeon. It was a 4th-grade dungeon, and as you can see, there were no injuries, and it took less than an hour to completely remove the rift. The reason all three of us came together is due to internal reasons..."

"So you're saying that this incident just happened by chance, and the school can maintain its current system and still be safe in the future."

... Ah, even Ayoung realized it at this point.

"There will be no further damage from this dungeon. But from now on, the school's reconnaissance..."

"What specific mutants appeared inside?"

"... Since it was a mimicry dungeon, the mutants transformed into shapes that reflected the fears of the school members. So..."

"Is the secret to resolving it so quickly thanks to Hunter Lee Ayoung, who is also a student?"

"No."

"Hey! Why have you been the only one asking questions? Can't you see the other people?"

The reporter, who had been speaking loudly, smiled awkwardly.

"Ah, I apologize. Then, other reporters, please ask your questions."

"Hah, really. Then, Hunter Lee Ayoung. In the upcoming regular..."

"Wait a moment."

Soram stepped forward. In other words, they had planted a shill among the reporters to lead them to say, "The school has become completely safe," and they were going to continue avoiding reconnaissance. He had no intention of falling for such an obvious trick.

"Hunter Lee Ayoung's words were cut off earlier. Let's start again from there."

"Chief Jin."

The chairman gestured to Soram. His face was somehow full of spirit. When Soram ignored him with a 'what do you want me to do' face, he forcibly smoothed out his crumpling expression and approached from the side, grabbing Soram's wrist and pulling.

Of course, Soram didn't budge. He just shook off the hand.

"Chief Jin, if you don't come with me now, you'll regret it."

"That's quite a grand dream you have."

Soram had too many regrets built up until his fourth life to be given any more regrets by someone like him over something trivial.

At that, the chairman glared at Soram and grabbed his wrist again. Sigh. Soram finally let out a sigh and walked a few steps into the school with the chairman. It was a place where the reporters couldn't even see the shape of their mouths well. However, it was a position where the two 1st-grade hunters behind them could hear.

"Chief Jin Soram, you seem to misunderstand something. This is a private school, so there are various internal circumstances."

"Yes, you handle that on your own, and just accept the reconnaissance when I'm asking nicely."

"... Hoo... Alright. I'll overlook your slip of the tongue earlier, so let's leave it at that."

"What?"

"The semester has started, and it will only make the students anxious if we make more issues out of this now. You understand that much, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Either my comprehension is lacking, or you're talking nonsense."

The chairman's face boiled with anger, but then he suddenly let out a scornful laugh.

"Earlier, you probably didn't know, but one of our teachers recorded a video. I don't intend to do anything like that, but if that video gets reported or spreads somewhere, won't things get complicated?"

"Video?"

"Saying it's fucking, telling me to shut up, my goodness, saying you'll destroy the school. How can a public official use such vulgar language?!"

"Ah, you recorded all of that..."

Soram smiled brightly at the chairman's sarcastic words.

"You seem to have some misunderstanding about me. I'm not usually the type of person who goes around doing that."

Seeing the change in attitude, the chairman inwardly smiled. Of course. Among the young hunters, some were running a business selling their image along with their activities, and Soram was also someone who had filmed numerous CFs. The more public a figure was, the easier it was to draw criticism from the masses.

"I know why hunters dedicate themselves to the country. It's because you grew up doing tough work and couldn't learn social etiquette. If we end this on a good note, considering your hard work today, I'll erase it."

"Right. A bastard who hasn't learned social etiquette usually has much less restraint in his words. Then you should have been more careful."

What? Leaving the dumbfounded chairman with a stupid expression, Soram walked forward with big strides and stood in front of the reporters.

Among the CFs Soram had filmed, the most famous one was for lipstick, but the one that achieved the highest sales was for bottled water. It was thanks to the bright expression he made while drinking water in the sky against a blue sky background. Soram made the same expression as he did then. As if it were a scene on a stage with refreshing music and blue lighting pouring down.

"Fuck, the chairman of this school exploited a student and didn't accept reconnaissance, so a dungeon broke out."