Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 145

145. The Devil Calls (1)

“Huh, Red Butterfly is with the Alliance?”

I could see why Park Hwi-so hesitated to answer with such a subtle expression. Even Hyun-woo had a vague impression of Red Butterfly.

It seemed she had done something in Guillotine Dungeon, but she was only slightly better than Hunter A of the Obsidian Team.

However, he did remember her red hair and the red aura emanating from her hands.

‘Remembering that much is enough.’

Hyun-woo had fought her directly, and judging from her stated stats, she wasn’t particularly strong.

He had heard she was a promising talent, but he never imagined she would be affiliated with the Alliance. And officially at that.

“I’m starting to wonder what criteria the Teacher uses to recruit talent. Did he see some potential in her?”

“As I mentioned before, people with personal connections to the Teacher are the main focus. Red Butterfly is a North Korean defector from Hwanghae Province. She never talks about what she went through there, but I know she received help from the Teacher. He even taught her directly, I heard.”

“Hmm.”

The Teacher taught her directly? That gives off a direct disciple vibe.

She was definitely better than other hunters, but was she so special that the top leader of the mysterious Alliance would personally teach her…? It was ambiguous.

More than anything, Hyun-woo found it strange that she hung out with such a mediocre group like the Red Butterfly Squad.

‘No, let’s not assume there’s always a reason for nurturing someone.’

People sometimes act on coincidence.

He himself didn’t only nurture people who seemed valuable.

You don’t necessarily have to attract strong people; you can nurture them as long as they have some potential and a story.

Of course, the Teacher was moving so carefully that it was hard to imagine him acting so impulsively.

But the way he ran the Alliance, he had surprisingly lax aspects.

‘In Ryu Sua’s case, she had lost her value, so it would have been more rational to just kill her and silence her.’

“Anyway, let’s pay more attention when we meet Red Butterfly next time.”

Park Hwi-so wore a slightly worried expression.

Hyun-woo wondered why Park Hwi-so was making that face, but he quickly realized what he was thinking.

“Old man, when I say I’ll pay attention, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll turn someone into a corpse or a cripple, you know?”

“So you are aware of it.”

Park Hwi-so cleared his throat and continued.

“Red Butterfly has been with the Teacher for a long time. I guess I’m reminded of her when she was younger, so I hope she doesn’t get involved with us. Actually, the Teacher didn’t want her to become a hunter, but you can’t control kids.”

“So she’s an orphan too?”

“There are hardly any families who escaped from North Korea intact after it collapsed.”

Hyun-woo felt like he knew why Red Butterfly had jumped in when Tae-sung announced the Northern Expedition plan.

The Alliance had assigned her to monitor Lee Ji-tae, but Red Butterfly clearly had her own personal goals. Whether it was revenge for her family or finding them, whatever.

“Hmm, if it’s Red Butterfly, we’ll have contact with her after Johann’s situation is resolved anyway. Let’s test the waters then. We can decide whether we need to touch her or not at that time.”

Hyun-woo replayed the names Ryu Sua had mentioned one by one, with Red Butterfly being the last.

“So, none of them are 5-stars?”

“Ryu Sua doesn’t know all the Alliance members.”

“I was hoping at least one would be. I’ll have to bet on that Robert Lee guy. Anyway, until then, I’ll keep working on Johann.”

Soon, Johann would do something close to suicide.

And that would be the perfect opportunity to become Johann’s savior.

Hyun-woo didn’t think that moment would come naturally. He was just waiting.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long.

***

Before winter was even over, people were buzzing with new news.

Since Kang Hyun-woo declared himself a 5-star, people who revealed themselves as 5-stars began to appear in various parts of the world.

China’s top ranker, Xiao Jie, was the first to declare that he had reached the 5-star limit level, followed by announcements from the United States, Russia, and other countries.

Most of them were already on a different level from other 4-star ability users, so there was no big shock.

Kang Hyun-woo’s appearance had already revealed the existence of 5-stars, and related rumors had been spreading secretly. It was good news for the first time since the world’s difficulty had risen to Easy.

The news was also a hot topic in Korea. But people’s attention was focused on one person more than the overseas 5-star ability users.

That was when Lee Ji-tae would announce that he was a 5-star.

“Kang Hyun-woo.”

Hyun-woo turned around. The man who was currently receiving the most attention from Koreans was walking up the snowy slope.

No one doubted that Lee Ji-tae was a 5-star.

He was already incomparable to Oh Dae-sung, who was a 4-star of the same class, so who would doubt it?

Everyone in the world knew he was a 5-star, so the reason he was hiding it was clear.

A dramatic effect.

Hyun-woo glanced over Lee Ji-tae’s shoulder.

Hunters from Tae-sung and the Omnipotent Church, as well as numerous military and government officials, were gathered and preparing to depart. Johann was also with the Tae-sung team.

Why had the most powerful forces in Korea gathered in this place? But if you thought about where they were standing, it was obvious.

The foothills of Mount Jiri. Korea’s only 5-star dungeon, ‘Taebaek’.

5-star dungeons are treated as national threats rather than regional ones, so they are given symbolic names of the country, regardless of the region.

This was also the reason why the Baekdu Dungeon was named Baekdu even though it was located near Pyongyang.

“Thank you for responding to the request. It was such an urgent matter.”

“No, I’ve wanted to visit Taebaek Dungeon for a while now.”

Lee Ji-tae gave a bitter smile at Hyun-woo’s words, as if he were taking a walk in his backyard.

Hyun-woo looked at the entrance of Taebaek Dungeon.

In the middle of a steep valley, there was a huge black square frame structure made of obsidian.

The only thing connecting the door and the valley was a single log bridge.

The valley was not natural but artificial. What was originally an ordinary slope was dug into this huge valley by mobilizing military units and heavy equipment to prevent monsters from leaking out.

This was a natural measure considering the danger of monsters leaking out of a 5-star dungeon, even by chance.

Hyun-woo recalled the reason why he had received the urgent request.

“There’s something wrong with Taebaek Dungeon?”

“Yes. The observation team reported it, and structural changes have also been confirmed. I’ve been to Taebaek several times, but I’ve never seen this much change.”

“Is it a Flood? But I heard Taebaek is a fixed type.”

“That’s the worst-case scenario… For now, we’re considering the possibility of it changing into a dynamic dungeon. But if it becomes a dynamic dungeon, that’s bad in its own way.”

An independent guard battalion and Tae-sung’s hunter team were stationed around Taebaek Dungeon. Thanks to this, they would have noticed the changes quickly.

“If it becomes dynamic, monsters will leak out more often… I see.”

“So, the first step is to confirm what’s happening, and the second step is to stabilize the dungeon if possible.”

“Lee Ji-tae, didn’t you say you’ve cleared Taebaek Dungeon before? Then it shouldn’t be difficult.”

Lee Ji-tae shook his head as if he was embarrassed.

“I’m ashamed to say that I only took the return stone, which is the first goal of Taebaek Dungeon, and came back. I checked the second goal, but I don’t even know what the third goal is. It’s embarrassing to say I cleared it.”

It was a humble expression. There were only a handful of 5-star dungeons in the world that had been cleared.

“And Taebaek Dungeon is quite large. We expect this expedition to take at least four nights. But with Kang Hyun-woo joining us this time, I think we’ll see some great results.”

Hyun-woo nodded without saying anything.

A strange sign in a 5-star dungeon.

Solving the problem here, at the moment when the public’s attention is at its peak, would be the perfect moment for Lee Ji-tae to announce that he is a 5-star.

‘That’s the dramatic effect Lee Ji-tae wants.’

It was the same as when Kang Hyun-woo waited for the Guillotine Dungeon Flood.

If you’re in business, you should have this much sense.

“Then, please come down when you’re ready.”

Lee Ji-tae turned his back on Hyun-woo and headed back to the entrance where the hunters were waiting.

Hyun-woo stared at his back.

On the surface, Lee Ji-tae just looks like a third-generation chaebol [family-owned conglomerate] with excellent skills and personality.

A polite and cultured person.

Some say that his dignified appearance is the charisma of Korea’s best hunter, but Hyun-woo felt a sense of rejection.

‘He’s a good person. He’s such a good person that I can see why the Alliance chose him as a Great Warrior…’

I don’t know why I feel a sense of rejection.

Maybe it’s because I had a prejudice against him as a lucky rich kid from a chaebol family.

‘Anyway, I don’t like him.’

I don’t want to bring Lee Ji-tae in, but I’m reluctant to antagonize him.

Lee Ji-tae is being friendly to Hyun-woo. He’s not the type to blindly believe in power and try to be friendly, so Hyun-woo’s inner thoughts were bound to become complicated.

‘Forget about Lee Ji-tae and focus on Johann in this expedition.’

Hyun-woo’s gaze turned to Johann. Johann was staring at Taebaek Dungeon with a stiff expression.

The huge black square frame that was the entrance to Taebaek Dungeon looked like his coffin.

***

Seo Ji-hoo, the manager of the Omnipotent Church’s Kang Hyun-woo Team, was putting on his gear to enter Taebaek Dungeon.

The hunters of the Kang Hyun-woo Team were looking at Seo Ji-hoo with strange eyes.

Until this morning, the hunters were a little surprised that Hyun-woo was joining them after a long time.

After the Omnipotent Church hunters became somewhat familiar with the dungeon and all reached the limit level, Seo Ji-hoo took over most of the command of the subsequent expeditions.

The hunters were excited to show Hyun-woo their increased skills after a long time, but their morale plummeted the moment they arrived in front of Taebaek Dungeon.

A 5-star dungeon.

None of them are even 3-star ability users. It was already a miracle that they were clearing 4-star dungeons, but 5-star dungeons were completely out of the question.

How could they even try to compete in a dungeon that Lee Ji-tae barely cleared?

But none of the hunters said that out loud.

“Manager Seo Ji-hoo.”

“Yes. What’s wrong?”

Song Yeo-woon, the leader of the Kang Hyun-woo Team, spoke up. Song Yeo-woon was one of the few people who hadn’t lost morale.

It wasn’t so much that he was confident in his skills, but rather a blind faith that ‘Hyun-woo is here, so it’ll work out somehow.’

“Um… are you going in too, Manager Seo Ji-hoo?”

Seo Ji-hoo looked at him as if he had heard a strange question.

“I’m wearing equipment, so of course. Why, do you wish I wasn’t here?”

“Ah, no. It’s just… I thought you were still level 5, Manager Seo Ji-hoo…”

Song Yeo-woon opened his mouth with difficulty.

Level 5 is the level where you’re catching goblins in Cheonggye Dungeon, not Taebaek.

“You don’t have to worry about me. If I was destined to die here, I would have died a long time ago.”

It was a brazen statement, but Song Yeo-woon was speechless. Seo Ji-hoo had been going in and out of dungeons with the team without Hyun-woo and had never been in danger.

He was incredibly good at finding safe places and knew how to use inconspicuous positions and teammates as shields.

Of course, it was possible because he didn’t fight, but it was an absurd survival ability to call it simply luck.

“Oh, who is this!”

It was then. Someone was making a loud noise as they approached.

A hunter with the Tae-sung mark was approaching Seo Ji-hoo. Seo Ji-hoo immediately found the identity of the other person in his head.

“Isn’t that the former pro gamer friend who was kicked out after being an intern? I heard he joined the Omnipotent Church, and I thought he’d be kicked out of there soon too, but he’s still there?”

When Seo Ji-hoo just stared at him without answering, the man snorted.

“What, you were so proud of your smart brain, but you don’t even remember who I am?”

“The leader of Obsidian Team 8. A 3-star, level 32 hunter.”

“Huh, what. You remember well. But you’re not using honorifics? Not even a greeting…”

“You were level 32 six months ago, and you’re still at that level, so it must be true that Team 6 and below are treated as third-tier. The team leader is in that state, so there’s no need to see the team members, and you’re clearly trying to resolve your inferiority complex by picking a fight with a hunter from a different affiliation, let me see. Did Team Leader Yoo Seong-yeon scold you? Why could it be? I didn’t see you at the meeting earlier, so it must be because you were late, and you must have been drinking late last night. You still haven’t solved your alcohol addiction, so you’ll either be fired or die within four months.”

The expression on the Tae-sung team leader’s face changed to bewildered. The team leader’s face, who was flustered by the words that poured out like a waterfall and couldn’t find anything to say, turned red.

When he tried to approach Seo Ji-hoo threateningly, Song Yeo-woon quickly stood in front of him.

“Do Tae-sung hunters just pick fights with anyone?”

“That bastard started it first…”

“Listen, if you don’t want the lifespan that Seo Ji-hoo mentioned to be reduced from four months to five minutes, just step back here.”

The hunters of the Kang Hyun-woo Team, who had gathered in the meantime, were surrounding him. The Tae-sung hunters, who felt the unusual atmosphere, were also rushing over.

The Obsidian Team 8 leader had no choice but to back down. He couldn’t start a brawl between hunters in a place where Lee Ji-tae was present.

He muttered to himself and tried to say something to Seo Ji-hoo.

But he couldn’t move his jaw.

It was because of the overwhelming gazes.

Cold sweat suddenly poured out from the eyes of the Omnipotent Church hunters, which were shining brightly.

‘These bastards, they’re just waiting for me to pick a fight a little more…?’