Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 89

89. These Youngsters Nowadays Don’t Even Go to Hell (4)

Song Yeo-un’s stats were low for her level because she tried to use a weapon that didn’t suit her, turning her into a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. She probably only knew how to hunt safely in a party.

She probably had a low rate of directly hunting monsters and had never experienced a life-threatening situation.

Her potential stats were the highest, so she would definitely see the fastest results once she started training.

“Practice wrapping and binding with the whip. Use repulsion to push them away while also grabbing them so they can’t escape. Adding exhaustion to that makes it a perfect debuff set. It’ll be easier to capture monsters too.”

Song Yeo-un thought it sounded plausible. She thought it would be good to use the repulsion skill for long-range attacks, but a whip seemed much more useful than a bow.

“How strong could I become with that?”

“In my opinion, if you work hard, you could easily be on par with a mid-level executive of the Hwanmamama Clan.”

Noh-eul, the supervisor from the Hwanmamama Clan whom he met in the Cheonggye Dungeon, was once again used as a combat power measuring tool.

But Hyun-woo thought that was a good middle ground for measurement.

Song Yeo-un’s face brightened at the thought of being able to compete with Hwanmamama, but soon darkened.

“But where can I get a whip? Whips are hard weapons to use.”

“Use this.”

Hyun-woo took out a rare-grade whip from his inventory.

It was one of the many types of weapons he had prepared before coming to the Gyemyeongsan Dungeon.

[Echoing Whip (Rare)]

[Physical Attack: Low, Magic Attack: Medium, Penetration: Very Low]

[Special Ability: Creates a loud noise that only enemies can hear, causing stiffness.]

[Note: The witches of the swirling valley captured passing winds and enslaved them. The winds became echoes, forever circling the valley, and faithfully carried out their duties as slaves by mercilessly whipping those who approached.]

“A rare weapon…!”

The hunters all opened their eyes wide and raised their heads. Every hunter has the same obsession with better equipment.

Especially for low-level hunters who couldn’t even dream of legendary-grade equipment, rare-grade equipment was truly an object of envy. And now it was right in front of them.

“R-really? You’re really just giving this to me?”

“Who said I was giving it to you?”

Hyun-woo smiled.

“I’m lending it to you at an annual interest rate of 8% based on the market price. However, the interest rate will be fixed at 0% for the duration of your exclusive work under me. I can also give you special deductions when I mobilize you for personal needs. You can do whatever you want with it at other times.”

Song Yeo-un’s expression darkened for a moment at Hyun-woo’s words, which sounded like he was lending out private loans.

And an 8% interest rate, at that.

But it was hard to turn away from the rare weapon in front of her.

Even with a cold calculation, it was right to take it. It’s hard to get a rare weapon that fits your hand even with a loan.

The market price is somewhat fixed, but only things like swords and spears are cheap; weapons like whips go up endlessly when put up for auction.

But if Hyun-woo lends her a rare weapon, it’s easy to make a profit with that weapon.

Besides, he said he’d cut down on the loan if she did a few jobs.

‘Is that all? I’ve learned skills and leveled up in an instant while working with Hunter Kang Hyun-woo. I’m getting potions without worry. This is treatment that only Tae-sung level can give. He’s literally investing in our growth without limit, so it’s foolish to kick that away.’

Song Yeo-un pondered in her head, but in reality, she made a decision very quickly.

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!”

“Okay. I know, so go. Next, Jang Chae-hyun.”

Hyun-woo called out the hunters one by one and advised them on their growth direction, recommended weapons, and skill usage based on Seo Ji-hoo’s report. And he gave them all rare weapons.

Since there were so many rare weapons lying around in Difficulty: Hell, it wasn’t a big deal.

This time, they didn’t awaken their skills and didn’t get any noticeable rewards, but they all got rare weapons as rewards. Although it was a loan.

After all the hunters had left for their homes, Seo Ji-hoo said with a bitter expression.

“That’s too bad.”

“What is?”

“Aren’t you putting them in a debt trap they can’t escape? Once they taste rare weapons, they’ll never be able to handle ordinary weapons, and they’ll be working under Hunter Kang Hyun-woo forever.”

It was like offering all sorts of credit cards, home loans, and car purchase proposals to a young professional.

If they started spending without knowing, they would quickly become cogs in the machine of society until retirement.

“No, why are you talking about it like it’s a bad thing? The whole society is doing it.”

Hyun-woo protested in disbelief. Then, he suddenly thought of something, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Seo Ji-hoo.

“You son of a b*tch, I get it. You’re just sad because you didn’t get anything?”

“You’re making me out to be such a petty guy.”

“Okay. How about you get a legendary-grade item under the same conditions?”

Seo Ji-hoo paused for a moment.

Even if he didn’t run as a hunter, a legendary item was something anyone would be tempted by.

It was something that would make him similar to an ability user if it weren’t for the mana consumption.

But Seo Ji-hoo unexpectedly scoffed and turned away.

“I refuse. It can’t replace my precious regular salary.”

“Ah, okay. Then never mind…”

“However, if you’re providing equipment to improve my work efficiency, I’m willing to accept it. It’s not like I particularly want it, it’s just for improving my work ability.”

“No. Don’t push yourself. I already feel like I’m exploiting you, so I can’t put any more pressure on you.”

“My working environment is not safe, but it’s at a very exemplary level compared to the industry average, and I think most of the problems would be solved if legendary-grade items were provided…”

“I can’t leave the safety of my employees to their personal burden. I have to work harder. Yeah.”

“Please reconsider for a moment…”

***

Park Hwi-so, who was driving along the mountain road, found a rest stop and stopped.

There was already someone there who had parked his car and was standing, overlooking the Seoul skyline.

It was Lee Ji-tae, whom he had met here before.

“Mr. Lee Ji-tae.”

“It’s been a while, Mr. Park Hwi-so. I thought it would be hard to talk about this over the phone.”

Lee Ji-tae said without turning around. Park Hwi-so knew why Lee Ji-tae had called him.

“You seem to be getting along well with Kang Hyun-woo.”

“I’ve just made a connection.”

“You seem to have decided that he’s more useful than me, right?”

Lee Ji-tae turned his head and glanced at Park Hwi-so’s car.

He also knew how much Park Hwi-so cherished the car he used to drive.

The car he was driving now was a much more luxurious model than before, but it didn’t seem like a small thing.

“Or did you fall for the crystal moss that friend gave you? Your actions are uncharacteristic in many ways. To change your mind after you’ve already made a decision.”

Lee Ji-tae turned his head and looked at Park Hwi-so.

“Or is it something your alliance decided?”

Park Hwi-so did not answer.

Lee Ji-tae had a symbiotic relationship with Park Hwi-so. Park Hwi-so performed the tasks that Lee Ji-tae couldn’t openly do, and Park Hwi-so gained the power of Taesung [a powerful conglomerate].

“I remember when you first proposed a deal to me.”

“Are you talking about six years ago?”

“Yes. At that time, the government was only wary of ability users, not dungeons at all. The Lunatic Tiger Clan, which was the strongest at the time, was busy antagonizing the government, and hunters were about to be designated as anti-government organizations. It was natural because foreign countries were trying to develop hunter abilities even a little, but this country was treating them like quasi-terrorists. So… we split the clan for the future.”

The Lunatic Tiger Clan split into Taesung and Hwanmamama [two powerful hunter clans].

Lee Ji-tae, who was also the third son of the Taesung Group, promoted the Taesung Clan as a pro-business, pro-government group, packaging it as a non-threatening, patriotic group.

Many civilians who were uneasy about ability users welcomed a group of ability users who complied with control.

Conversely, other Hwanmamama clans were packed with isolationist opposition ability users.

“I tried to secure a space for hunters to operate by sticking to the government. But they didn’t stop monitoring me. The stronger I got, the more they tried to keep me in check, so there wasn’t much I could do. From ability user registration to all sorts of tests and restrictions on exploring dungeons by grade. In the meantime, you came. Park Hwi-so.”

“…”

“I just thought you were a necessary evil. It was obvious that the dungeons were getting more dangerous, but the preparations and social remedies for them were too slow. Fortunately, your purpose and my purpose coincided. To prepare for the disasters that will come in the future a little faster and more meticulously.”

“That purpose remains the same.”

“Then please answer me. Mr. Park Hwi-so. As far as I can see, it looks like you’ve switched to Kang Hyun-woo. It’s true that he’s strong, but there are too many secrets that haven’t been proven yet. But is he more trustworthy than me?”

“Our alliance…”

When Park Hwi-so mentioned the alliance, Lee Ji-tae stared at him intently. When Park Hwi-so first approached him, he approached him while mentioning ‘alliance’.

But Lee Ji-tae had not been able to find or see any other members of the alliance other than Park Hwi-so.

He even thought that Hyun-woo might be a member of the alliance, but Park Hwi-so’s attitude toward him didn’t seem to be the case.

“Our alliance does not trust Kang Hyun-woo at all.”

It was an unexpected statement for Lee Ji-tae.

“Then?”

“I’m just unilaterally pushing Kang Hyun-woo. Kang Hyun-woo only asks for my cooperation and has never forced me to investigate or cooperate with the alliance. The alliance is even worried about my actions.”

Lee Ji-tae had a serious expression.

He knew what the alliance meant to Park Hwi-so. Park Hwi-so acted according to the will and opinions of the alliance in all logic, and he forced Lee Ji-tae to follow that policy.

But Park Hwi-so was saying that he was prioritizing cooperation with Hyun-woo over the alliance.

“Is he that great of a person?”

“In terms of personality, he’s a piece of trash. He’s petty, narrow-minded, and doesn’t know shame. He even has power, but instead of wielding it more effectively, he uses it only for his own benefit, so he’s a toxic presence in any group. Not to mention that he doesn’t know how to respect the elderly.”

“…That’s a terrible assessment.”

Lee Ji-tae frowned. The more he heard, the less he could understand why Park Hwi-so was cooperating with him.

Park Hwi-so continued to speak in a voice that seemed to age him more with each word.

“But right now, neither you nor the alliance knows even one-hundredth of the potential that Kang Hyun-woo has.”

Park Hwi-so silently raised his eyes and looked at Lee Ji-tae.

“At one time, I thought you, Mr. Lee Ji-tae, had potential. I thought that your abilities and personality might play a big role in helping humanity gain greater power. But I was wrong. We don’t need humans.”

“…You don’t need humans?”

Park Hwi-so nodded heavily.

“It is said that poison is used to counteract poison. Kang Hyun-woo has a vision to turn the whole world into a pit of poison to stop it, not just because he is strong. Such a highly toxic being is needed in the future. That’s why I’m sending my loyalty to Kang Hyun-woo, not you, Mr. Lee Ji-tae.”

***

“Hyun-woo, Hyun-woo, Kang Hyun-woo! My friend, why are you only coming now?”

“Anyone would think we’re friends of 30 years, Professor.”

Lee Neung Management Department Sejong Research Institute.

Hyun-woo visited the lab after receiving Do Won-kyung’s obsessive text messages after a long time.

Research Director Do Won-kyung smiled coldly instead of answering. Unlike her welcoming voice, her fingers trembled as if she wanted to grab Hyun-woo’s cheeks right away.

The researchers felt a little fear from her and stood a little further away.

“What were the conditions we agreed on? At least once a week, you come to the lab to cooperate with the research, right?”

“Don’t subtly add conditions that you never made. You never said when I had to come. And after the director revealed so much information about me, I can’t trust you.”

Do Won-kyung growled, but had nothing to say.

But the reason why Do Won-kyung had to reveal Hyun-woo’s grade in the first place was because Hyun-woo had shown his skills in the Jeoldu Dungeon Flood.

National interest from all kinds of media, curiosity from the business world pushing with powerful capital, and direct pressure from the political world and the head of administration.

Even Do Won-kyung, who was a character pariah, had no way to endure it.

Rather than revealing information about Hyun-woo to only a few people, it was better to reveal it greatly. But that was that, and it was Do Won-kyung who broke the promise to keep the secret.

“You f*cking bastard. I don’t have time to argue with you. Follow me quickly. There’s something I need to check urgently.”