WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Surviving as a B-Rank Hunter ◈
Chapter 38
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“...”
Dohyeon paused and quietly looked at Jo Gyeongtaek. Jo Gyeongtaek, who had been sitting sloppily, seemed to interpret that look somehow and discreetly lowered his legs, sitting up straight.
The smile on his lips became a little awkward.
“What is it? Didn’t we agree to speak casually now...?”
Dohyeon, who had been silently watching Jo Gyeongtaek, opened his mouth.
“You said you had connections to a major foreign company.”
“Huh? Y-yeah. I...”
“That company was Cartain Energy.”
“...”
Jo Gyeongtaek froze at Dohyeon’s words. But he soon relaxed and laughed.
“That’s right, Dohyeon. I’ve got some connections over there. How’d you find that out?”
“Samgyeong thought I belonged to them.”
“What? Already?”
Jo Gyeongtaek, who had been trying to brush it off with a joke, stiffened in surprise.
“No, these people... They should’ve waited for this to finish cooking before doing anything...”
“Were you a Cartain employee?”
At Dohyeon’s dry question, Jo Gyeongtaek laughed again and rose from his seat.
“What are you talking about, Dohyeon? I run my own business too. I’m not their employee.”
“Then what are you?”
“Uh... You could call me a contractor, I guess...?”
Dohyeon narrowed his eyes and lips suspiciously. Seeing that change in expression, Jo Gyeongtaek brightened instead.
The Kang Dohyeon he had figured out would never show even such a minor shift in expression to someone he considered an enemy.
“Listen, Dohyeon. I’m basically outsourced sales. Cartain is an American company, so it was bound to face all kinds of obstacles entering Korea. There’d be resistance from places like Samgyeong, for one. So they contracted an outside company like mine to handle hiring and managing personnel on the ground.”
“So you came looking for me in that dungeon when we first met?”
“Of course. Isn’t that how sales work? Capitalist contracts aren’t as cold as people think. You need connections and personal ties for everything. So I wanted to build a relationship with you, have meals together, drink together, that sort of thing.”
Dohyeon let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Are you insane? You went into a dungeon just to make a sale?”
“What’s the big deal about entering a dungeon? I got to build a relationship with you.”
“You nearly died this time too.”
“That’s how sales work. You put your life on the line. Anyway, thanks to that, we’ve had a meal together, started speaking casually, and we’re talking like this now, right?”
Jo Gyeongtaek pointed at Dohyeon with both index fingers and made a playful tsk sound. Dohyeon watched him with a bitter smile.
“I don’t think that means I’ll work for Cartain.”
“...Don’t be so certain, Dohyeon. You never know. We’ll be working together today too, yeah? I have to make a living, so please.”
Jo Gyeongtaek put on a pitiful expression. Dohyeon slowly shook his head and asked back.
“What do you mean, we’ll be working together today?”
“Don’t you know? You’re entering the dungeon today, right? I’m going in too.”
“Why?”
“The official reason is that Cartain Energy holds the refining contract for this center. Samgyeong is in a weak position because they’re behind on work they accepted from overseas, so they agreed to let me enter the dungeon too.”
“And the real reasons?”
“Two of them. Gathering information on a dungeon even Samgyeong hasn’t properly identified, and, like last time, sales work to recruit you.”
Was this what Yoon Jiseong had meant by an entry requirement? Normally, Dohyeon worked alone. To begin with, he had no one to enter dungeons with.
It wasn’t as though he had never worked with others during his ten years of dungeon diving, but most of them had died or been injured badly enough to retire.
That was why entering a dungeon with other people felt a little awkward to Dohyeon.
A third person in the meeting room saw his expression and spoke.
“Looks like you don’t like teaming up with others.”
Dohyeon and Jo Gyeongtaek looked over together. The speaker was a tall, sturdy woman leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
A pair of silver bracelets gleamed on her exposed forearms.
Dohyeon gave her a puzzled look. He had never seen her before.
Yet, just as when their eyes had first met earlier, the way she looked at Dohyeon clearly held the warmth of someone seeing an acquaintance.
Dohyeon spoke.
“And you are?”
“Kim Jihwa. Hunter.”
That was all she said before grinning, as though challenging him to guess who she was. Dohyeon looked at her, then turned to meet Jo Gyeongtaek’s eyes.
“Who is she?”
“Huh? I don’t know either.”
“...”
Useless. Jo Gyeongtaek looked troubled when Dohyeon’s gaze turned cold. He seemed to think quickly before speaking as though he had suddenly remembered.
“Ah! She must be a hunter from Samgyeong! They probably want her to team up with us, since they don’t know what might happen in the dungeon if they only send you and me in.”
That was only natural. Samgyeong was not an association of fools. Of course they would send one of their own people inside. What Dohyeon wanted to know was why that woman looked so pleased to see him.
For Dohyeon, who did little except go in and out of dungeons, her look carried an emotion that was far too unfamiliar.
Then he heard the Valkyrie’s whisper.
[It is that warrior from last time.]
Last time? Who from last time? Dohyeon quickly searched his memories again, but he had never met a woman like that.
A tall, sturdy woman like her would be impossible to forget after seeing her once. She was even taller than the Asatru warrior woman with Nordic blood.
[The steel warrior who wore armor with astonishing defensive power. That woman is the one, Helisbyorn. She has merely taken off that armor for now.]
At the Valkyrie’s words, Dohyeon looked at Kim Jihwa with wide eyes.
“White Knight?”
“...!”
This time, Kim Jihwa was the one surprised. She looked blank, as if she had never expected Dohyeon to recognize her. A moment later, she suddenly raised an arm and sniffed herself.
Watching that, Dohyeon heard her ask with a serious expression.
“Do I smell or something?”
“What?”
“How did you recognize me?”
“...What does that have to do with smelling?”
“Didn’t you smell me? I don’t know what kind of artifact you have, but you had dog eyes, didn’t you? So you should have a good sense of smell too.”
Dog Eyes. So she really was Steel Man. That was what she had called him just before they parted.
Only Dohyeon and Steel Man knew about that moment. Come to think of it, she had been the first person to notice Vargband’s side effect, which Dohyeon himself had not yet known about.
“Samgyeong...”
Dohyeon was about to ask if she belonged to Samgyeong, but he stopped. The group that had tried to harm her in the Factory dungeon had been hunters belonging to Ohwa Group.
He still vividly remembered the Ohwa employee who had tied her up cursing at her for working for Samgyeong.
But Kim Jihwa seemed to guess what he had been about to say and answered with a shrug.
“That’s right. I’m contracted with Samgyeong right now. Like that sunglasses old guy over there works with Cartain.”
“What? Old guy?”
“You are an old guy.”
“I am, but this old guy is hurt to hear it...”
Kim Jihwa pushed herself away from the wall and approached Dohyeon. Dohyeon was tall himself, but she was tall enough to meet his eyes.
She held out a hand. It was an offer of a handshake.
Dohyeon quietly looked at her before taking it.
“You’re a little shorter than when you wore the armor.”
“Of course. I’m probably over two meters tall in that thing. It’s perfect for hiding my identity.”
“Kang Dohyeon. Hunter.”
“Kang Do? That means ‘robber.’ Awesome name. Anyway, let’s do a good job this time, Dog Eyes.”
“...”
Even after hearing his name, he was still Dog Eyes. But Dohyeon did not care much. It made little difference what she called him. Once this job was over, they would never see each other again anyway.
Letting go of her hand, Dohyeon spoke.
“So Samgyeong wants the three of us to enter together?”
“More precisely, Samgyeong, Cartain, and several other companies are involved. This refining center belongs to Samgyeong, but the contracts tied to it are rather complicated. There’s also the problem of hunters who went in and never came back out.”
“I checked the information you sent. Honestly, there wasn’t much there. We might as well be going in knowing nothing.”
“I’ll explain that part further.”
Everyone in the meeting room turned toward the entrance. Yoon Jiseong stood there, leaning on a cane.
“Since no hunters have come back out, we do not know exactly what is happening inside, what dungeon pattern it is, or how terrible the Anomaly within has become.”
Leaning on his cane, he entered the meeting room with an unsteady gait.
“What we do know is that, even though the dungeon has been open for five months, its gate still shines brightly. Its color has not shown any sign of fading. There are few gates in Korea that have remained open for that long.”
Three people who appeared to be Samgyeong employees followed behind him, each carrying a large bag.
“I do not know whether I understand this correctly, but I have heard that experienced hunters feel some faint scent or strange sensation the moment they stand before a dungeon gate. I also hear that they can sometimes guess the dungeon pattern from that sensation.”
It was true. When Dohyeon bought information from the Observer and entered a newly opened dungeon, he felt such sensations too.
Flower Hill smelled of flowers and grass. A Factory smelled of iron and oil. Chernoblock smelled of concrete, dust, and an unseen desolation.
“I do not know how it will be after you enter, but hunters standing before this dungeon said their mouths became parched, and they felt heat like sunlight beating down on them. So this is what our information response team concluded.”
The employees who had entered behind Yoon Jiseong held the bags out to Dohyeon. Inside were bottles of water and emergency rations.
“Whatever pattern lies inside, we decided to prepare survival kits first. Beyond that? Honestly, we have no choice but to rely on your abilities. Our response team is quite incompetent, aren’t we?”
Was that last remark a joke? It was hard to take it as one when Yoon Jiseong said it without the slightest hint of a smile.
Still, Dohyeon agreed with the response team’s approach. The best thing was always to leave a dungeon quickly, but if they could not leave, they had to survive inside it.
As Dohyeon organized that bag alongside the one he had originally brought, Jo Gyeongtaek raised a hand.
“Excuse me...”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
“We need to adjust the share of whatever we bring out of the dungeon.”
Yoon Jiseong nodded.
“Fifty-fifty, including the dungeon information, would be best.”
“No. You can take the information, but we should keep all dungeon materials we obtain inside.”
“...”
Yoon Jiseong stared blankly at Jo Gyeongtaek. But Jo Gyeongtaek smiled faintly as though he did not mind the gaze.
“Hasn’t far too much time already passed under the refining contract? At this point, you have only two choices. Close the dungeon for good, or completely shut down that line and use it as a new Vanaskelium mine. In that situation, I don’t think the materials from the first expedition are a great loss.”
“And if an artifact comes out?”
“That would be even better. Samgyeong can buy it from us, can’t they?”
Yoon Jiseong raised one eyebrow.
“...Did you not contract with Cartain? They would want an artifact if one appeared.”
“That was not the contract. The contract I made was to investigate and hand over information from inside the dungeon. We were given discretion over the materials. We are the ones risking our lives inside that dungeon. Morally speaking, I think we should receive at least that much for the numbers to add up.”
“...”
Yoon Jiseong rested both hands on his cane and fell into thought. Then he turned to Dohyeon and Kim Jihwa.
“Do you two feel the same?”
“I’m fine with whatever my employer takes care of. The person who picks up materials inside gets them. That’s an unwritten rule among hunters.”
Kim Jihwa raised both hands as she stepped back from the matter. Dohyeon, on the other hand, hoisted his bag with an expressionless face and spoke.
“I agree. We will take all materials found inside.”
Yoon Jiseong looked at Dohyeon and let out a short laugh.
“Very well. Let us do that.”
Perhaps Samgyeong was not a conglomerate for nothing. Not even five minutes after the verbal agreement, employees brought in a contract. Dohyeon carefully read the short document and signed it.
[They twist their words in circles. I cannot understand any of it...]
“...”
Was that really something the Valkyrie should say? Dohyeon paused his pen at the whisper, momentarily dumbfounded.
From their first meeting, it had been the Valkyrie who spouted incomprehensible, pretentious nonsense about Sunyata and absolute beings.
“Is there something bothering you?”
Yoon Jiseong asked when he saw Dohyeon’s pen stop. Dohyeon shook his head and finished signing. Jo Gyeongtaek, signing beside him, grinned and whispered.
“See? Thanks to me, your earnings went up too. Isn’t that excellent sales work?”
“I still won’t work for Cartain.”
“...Like I said before, don’t give a definite answer.”
After signing came the equipment check. Dohyeon carefully checked the bag he had brought, his crossbow, dagger, black sword, coat with chains protecting vital areas, and even the food and water Samgyeong had prepared.
There was rather a lot of food, but if necessary, he could leave it in the dungeon and take materials instead.
Jo Gyeongtaek checked his equipment much the same way. He had a crossbow, daggers hidden around his body, and a hand axe as a close-range weapon.
“...”
Dohyeon looked at the axe somewhat unhappily. Jo Gyeongtaek grinned and spun it around as though showing it off.
“It’s expensive. Lightweight superalloy.”
“I see...”
Unlike the two men, who were preparing all sorts of things, Kim Jihwa neatly packed her bag, placed it on the meeting room table, and suddenly began taking off her clothes.
“Oh...”
As Jo Gyeongtaek lowered even his sunglasses to look at her, Kim Jihwa casually removed her jacket and pants.
Her long limbs, fitting for her height, along with a bra top and short leggings, were revealed.
Of course, what caught Dohyeon’s attention was not that, but the bracelets and greaves gleaming on her forearms and calves.
“...That’s the armor.”
“Sharp eye. That’s right.”
Kim Jihwa picked up only her bag while nearly bare. Jo Gyeongtaek changed his earlier gaze to a puzzled one and asked.
“You’re entering the dungeon dressed like that?”
“I’ll handle my own business, so mind yours, mister.”
It seemed to function properly only inside the dungeon. Thinking that, Dohyeon rubbed his left index finger with his thumb. More specifically, the place where Vargband was engraved.
[Vargband]
Yggdrasil’s message was still visible even outside the dungeon. But it no longer surprised him. Probably because he had transformed into a monster himself and had also met a woman who could transform into a crow.
Once the three were ready, Samgyeong employees guided them out. Yoon Jiseong remained in the meeting room and addressed the departing trio.
“Please return alive. Either close the dungeon or bring back a clue that will let us continue using it. We have agreed to pay handsomely for information as well as materials.”
The three left the meeting room and followed an employee through the center.
They passed through around three doors that required complicated authentication. It seemed only verified employees had normally been able to enter this far.
It made sense. This was a facility refining the most remarkable material sustaining the modern age.
After passing through what had once been a clean room, they entered a dark space with no windows in sight.
The space was enormous. Beneath its high ceiling stood countless machines of unclear purpose, packed tightly together.
Naturally, none of them were operating. The employee led the three through the machines.
“Here it is.”
After passing a pressure tank that could hold several thousand liters of water, the employee stopped and raised a hand. Following the pointing finger, they saw something between the machines that looked like glowing paint brushed over empty air.
The dungeon entrance.
Standing before it, the three each made their final checks in their own way. Before the entrance, Dohyeon looked again at the two people beside him.
Jo Gyeongtaek and Kim Jihwa. Unexpected companions. It had been a very long time since three people had formed a team to enter a dungeon.
Standing before the gate, Dohyeon understood what Yoon Jiseong had meant by dryness and heat.
“...I hate sweating.”
Kim Jihwa muttered beside him. As she said, it was certain they would feel heat one way or another. Perhaps it was a new variation of the Factory pattern.
“All right, let’s go in!”
Jo Gyeongtaek, likely the least experienced hunter among them, spoke and took the lead.
Dohyeon stayed close behind so as not to lose sight of him, and Kim Jihwa followed immediately behind Dohyeon, holding his shoulder.
Light flooded his vision. The air changed. In an instant, it became dry enough to seem as though it were rustling.
Dohyeon swiftly lowered his stance, controlled his breathing, and guarded the area with his crossbow. Jo Gyeongtaek was watching their surroundings in a posture nearly identical to Dohyeon’s.
[Fuck. This is another dungeon I’ve never seen before.]
The buzzing voice made it difficult to tell whether the speaker was male or female. Glancing back, Dohyeon saw Kim Jihwa, now covered head to toe in seamless armor.
Then Dohyeon found himself agreeing with her.
“...A desert? Is this a desert?”
Jo Gyeongtaek, who had been watching the surroundings, lowered his crossbow in surprise.
Amazed by the unobstructed view, he slowly turned in a circle. Nothing blocked the trio’s sight except rolling dunes.
The area was nothing but sand.
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