NOVEL NEXT #017
#017
“An S-grade Red Dungeon is expected to occur.”
“Yes, Center Director.”
From S-grade Red Dungeons and above, the Center Director must participate in the meeting. This is to discuss dungeon conquest strategies in advance and determine which team would be best for the conquest.
“What’s the dungeon’s attribute?”
“Poison and fog.”
“Of all things, we got a tricky one.”
Hyun Dowoon clicked his tongue softly, as if disappointed.
While dungeon environments are diverse, humans find poison and fog terrains the most challenging. To conquer a terrain filled with mists of various unidentified poisons, an Esper with barrier or survival skills is absolutely necessary.
“With poison and fog, it’ll be difficult for Team 3 since they’re mainly water-attribute.”
At Hyun Dowoon’s words, a sigh escaped from one group.
When S-grade Red, White, or Black Dungeons appear, all S-grade teams nationwide attend the meeting. Although managed by the Awakened Management Center, these teams are basically supported by private companies. Of course, since South Korea only has six S-grade Espers, there are only six teams with S-grade members.
From S-grade Red Dungeons and above, the value of by-products is enormous, allowing for massive income. Even after giving a portion to the Awakened Management Center, if an item drops, it’s a huge profit.
While the conquest itself is dangerous, it’s a gold mine that each team wants to bid on.
Team 1, supported by the Haesun Group for their youngest son, also came to bid. Team 1, represented by Esper and guide Shin Haejun and Kim Sehyun, along with their bidding representative, was waiting for Hyun Dowoon to eliminate the peripheral teams.
“Center Director, our Team 2 has recruited an Esper with defensive skills.”
“Our Team 4 couldn’t participate in the last conquest, so we’d like you to consider us for fairness.”
While Team 1 waited patiently, bidding representatives from other teams started appealing to Hyun Dowoon. Meanwhile, the Dungeon Management Support Team Leader beside Hyun Dowoon briefed about the dungeon and coordinated the teams.
Shin Haejun, sitting quietly with his legs crossed, muttered expressionlessly, resting his chin on the table.
“Everyone’s so greedy…”
As Shin Haejun’s relaxed but somewhat unpleasant voice resonated, the noisy conference room quieted down.
“Esper Shin Haejun, what are you trying to say?”
“Shouldn’t the team that can actually conquer enter? Defensive skills and fairness aren’t important…”
“We’re fully capable…!”
As Team 4’s representative retorted angrily, Haejun snickered.
Not all S-grades are the same. There’s a practical hierarchy based on how useful their skills are in combat and the level of those skills.
Currently, Shin Haejun is considered to have the highest combat power among South Korea’s awakened. With the blessing of four constellations, he can use freezing abilities, telekinesis, and fascination abilities, making him the most efficient in eliminating enemies in combat.
“Esper Shin Haejun, are you saying Team 1 can handle everything?”
Hyun Dowoon asked Shin Haejun with a stern face. While Shin Haejun’s arrogance wasn’t new, and he indeed had the ability to match his arrogance, Hyun Dowoon had no intention of tolerating him disrupting the meeting atmosphere.
“There’s no reason we can’t.”
Haejun said in a childish voice. Hyun Dowoon slightly furrowed his brow, receiving somewhat sharp glances.
Although Shin Haejun had a bad personality, he was relatively rational. It was the first time he had belittled other teams in front of everyone or deliberately opposed the Center Director.
“This is an S-grade Red Dungeon. You know that even if Esper Shin Haejun and the Haesun Group want to recover from a dungeon break, it’s impossible, right? And that from Red Dungeons, we must send at least two teams?”
“Even without a pair guide, I fulfilled my role as an S-grade Esper. Now that I have a pair guide, I think we can do the work of two teams. Above all, I can solve the poison issue by changing its molecular structure with my telekinesis.”
Haejun said with challenging eyes. At the mention of a pair guide, Kim Sehyun, sitting next to him, flinched slightly.
“You can do everything alone because you have a pair guide…”
Knowing Kim Sehyun’s situation, Hyun Dowoon smiled lightly.
Without Lee Jaeha, Kim Sehyun can’t guide properly. Therefore, to conquer this dungeon as Shin Haejun says, Lee Jaeha would have to go into the dungeon.
The problem was that Hyun Dowoon had no intention of sending Lee Jaeha into a dungeon where he wasn’t present. Having set his sights on Lee Jaeha as his pair, it was unthinkable to send him somewhere without himself until they became pairs.
Hyun Dowoon stared intently at Kim Sehyun. Kim Sehyun’s complexion was pale.
Shin Haejun’s body was clearly not in perfect condition right now. It was obvious that proper guiding wasn’t happening.
“Not possible. As the Awakened Management Center Director, I can’t just listen to Esper Shin Haejun when I know citizens could be in danger.”
“But…!”
“Assigning teams to dungeons is the center’s job. If you keep interfering, Team 1 might be excluded altogether.”
Although he didn’t know why Shin Haejun was acting so upset, Hyun Dowoon wrapped things up neatly and turned his attention to the Dungeon Management Department Team Leader sitting next to him.
And Shin Haejun, whose logic was blocked by this extremely sensible statement, glared at the desk with a dissatisfied face.
‘It’s not that I want to go to the dungeon.’
He had just made a comment because he was in a bad mood, but with Hyun Dowoon’s participation, he had blurted out everything in his boiling frustration. It wasn’t a particularly wise attitude. However, he truly believed he could handle everything.
Shin Haejun’s gaze briefly turned to Kim Sehyun sitting next to him. Hyun Dowoon had looked at Kim Sehyun for a moment earlier. He must have noticed that Kim Sehyun wasn’t currently guiding properly.
Just the fact that his physical condition had been discovered made his mood plummet even further. Involuntarily, Shin Haejun’s gaze towards Kim Sehyun became colder.
The two became pairs purely based on contract. It wasn’t like those novels or dramas where people become pairs because they’re in love. It was a strictly business relationship, with safety and compensation clauses all attached and even notarized.
But with guiding problems arising not long after pairing with Kim Sehyun, there was no way he could feel good about it.
“Esper, it’s been decided that Teams 1 and 2 will enter together.”
Leaving the enraged Shin Haejun and disheartened Kim Sehyun aside, the bidding representative who entered the competition claimed victory. This was thanks to Team 3’s condition disqualification and Teams 5 and 6’s overseas dispatch overlapping.
“Um, Haejun… I want to bring Jaeha.”
“Why?”
“You saw him in the dungeon last time, right? Jaeha, he’ll be more helpful than you think.”
Kim Sehyun said cautiously, watching Shin Haejun’s reaction. Shin Haejun shook his head immediately without showing any sign of consideration. He was curious about what Lee Jaeha was up to, but he didn’t want to bring him into the dungeon.
“You clearly said that Lee Jaeha keeps following you around, making you uncomfortable, and that’s why guiding is difficult.”
“But, but… it’s okay now! Jaeha is my friend.”
“Why do you want to bring your friend to an S-grade dungeon? Isn’t it normal to tell a precious friend to avoid dungeons that don’t match their grade?”
Shin Haejun suddenly felt a genuine question. He doesn’t want to see Lee Jaeha die in a dungeon. But does Kim Sehyun, while calling him a friend, want to see that happen?
Why? As he thought this, his thoughts suddenly stopped.
***
Something strange happened.
I was lying on a soft sofa, rolling around watching TV after the dungeon conquest. This was because I had confirmed that there were no clauses about furniture or electronic device usage fees in the house contract.
It was a very simple contract, with only clauses stating that I would definitely stay in this house while Kim Sehyun was active as Shin Haejun’s pair guide, and that I could freely use everything in the house during my stay.
“The Awakened Center has announced that an S-grade Red Dungeon will soon occur in Incheon. This is the first Red Dungeon since one opened in Jeju a year ago-“
The news suddenly stopped as if frozen. It felt like the world had come to a halt.
: Error! Error! An urgent and critical error has occurred!
As the world rapidly darkened, my phone alarm started ringing like crazy. It was a sudden vibration as if a war had broken out.
“W-why is this happening all of a sudden?”
Just as I was about to jump up, Nine suddenly displayed a different message.
: A space-time error has occurred! I’ll%show%you%an%important%scene
The letters were crazily broken, but I could roughly see what it meant. It seemed Nine wanted to show me something for my sake.
Has the genre suddenly changed to horror? I reflexively hugged a cushion tightly. And when I nodded, comments appeared before my eyes.
Comments (16)
GG****: Didn’t Sehyun say before that guiding was difficult because Jaeha kept following him around? But thinking about it, why does he want to bring him to the dungeon? Is Sehyun too nice? Author, is this a setting error???
└The author must have something in mind! Won’t it be explained more in the future?
What on earth happened when I wasn’t there?
I tilted my head. Then immediately, a new window popped up.
(Personal) Crazy Nok in deadline @Green_baby02
[Wow, a reader found a major setting error ㅠㅠ
I’m doomed! What should I do?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Suddenly feeling very depressed… Should I replace the file?]
│
(Personal) Crazy Nok in deadline @Green_baby02
[Hng…ㅠㅠ Please ignore the plausibility error a bit…
Ah, it’s not working ㅠㅠ It’s not working ㅠㅠ I’m a dumb idiot..
Sehyun’s character breaks from the beginning ㅠㅠ]
│
(Surveying) NC @NCNC
[Nok, are you okay? ㅠ These things can happen ㅠㅠ]
│
(Personal) Crazy Nok in deadline @Green_baby02
[Yeah NC ㅠㅠ It’s a big problem ㅠㅠ
I crammed it in to practice writing villains, but it caused an error ㅠ]
What is this? The format looks like SNS… The ID seemed familiar from somewhere.
‘Introduction 1!’
I definitely saw it in the… um… ah, in the author’s profile!
‘Is this bastard the author?’
I thought my life was ruined when I got stuck here, but it seems the real-world author is also having some difficulties.
Good, whatever it is, eat shit!