Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 146

146. The Devil Calls (2)

I knew that Kang Hyun-moo’s team mostly consisted of hunters who were at most level 1 or 2.

However, even with a level 30 hunter in front of them, they weren’t intimidated at all; rather, they seemed to be hoping for a fight.

‘What the hell?’

Were they hiding their skills?

No, that’s not it. They are weak.

But if a fight breaks out, even by chance, I’m definitely dead.

The leader of Team 8 felt it instinctively.

If not now, I’ll die even if I go into the dungeon.

Kang Hyun-moo’s entire team was filled with abnormal madness and violence.

They seemed ready to cross the line with just the slightest provocation.

‘They definitely looked like helpless, listless guys earlier.’

But now, they looked like a pack of sharks drawn by the scent of blood, not like people who came to protect their comrades.

“Team Leader, what’s going on?”

“…Nothing. Let’s go.”

The leader of Team 8 retreated without saying anything, even though his team members had arrived. Song Yeo-un felt a slight sense of disappointment as she watched him retreat.

She was puzzled by the fact that she felt disappointed that a fight didn’t break out, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.

Seo Ji-hoo opened his mouth.

“Thank you for your help.”

“It’s nothing. But why did you say that guy only has four months to live?”

“The Northern Expedition is less than 100 days away. He’ll either get fired from Taesung before that, or he’ll die in the North if he doesn’t.”

It was a threat period determined by extremely rational judgment.

Song Yeo-un clicked her tongue but accepted it, saying it was just like Seo Ji-hoo. Then, she felt Taesung glancing at them.

She didn’t know the details, but the atmosphere wasn’t very friendly.

“This feels like this expedition will be a battle of pride between Taesung and Jeonneungryeon.”

Seo Ji-hoo replied indifferently to Song Yeo-un’s jest.

“It was like that from the beginning.”

***

The inside of the Taebaek Dungeon was quite geometric.

“…It’s like a colorblind, talentless modern artist who worships Kandinsky [Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter] and Mondrian [Piet Mondrian, a Dutch painter] chopped things up haphazardly and threw them away.”

A hunter from Taesung, who might have once aspired to be an art student, muttered. It was hard to find someone who agreed, but they could roughly understand what he was saying.

The inside of the dungeon was generally made up of obsidian structures in the form of bland geometric shapes stacked on top of each other.

However, each obsidian structure had no seams or traces of carving, as if they were formed naturally without anyone touching them.

In some ways, it was similar to the Guillotine Dungeon, but it was brighter because of the light seeping in from the outside.

Thanks to this, it looked more like a chessboard with black and white mixed up messily than a failed work by a modern artist.

“As briefed in advance, this is a place where golems appear. Hunters with blunt weapons should take the lead, and slimes will occasionally appear in the gaps, so hunters with bladed weapons should aim for the slime cores.”

Yu Seong-yeon, who was in charge of the Taesung side’s deputy expedition leader for this expedition, explained to the team leaders under his command.

Six teams from Taesung participated. It was a bit much, but those people weren’t all gathered in one place to fight.

“The purpose of this expedition is solely exploration. Each team leader must not overdo it, and the core objective should be left to Team 1. If it becomes difficult to proceed further or if there are any injuries, use the return scroll immediately.”

The team leaders nodded with tense expressions. Most of the team leaders who participated in this expedition were experiencing a 5-star dungeon for the first time.

It was still too much for their skills, but the expedition’s goal was not only exploration but also to gain experience.

They needed to know how dangerous 5-stars were in preparation for the upcoming Pyongyang recovery plan.

On the other hand, there were hunters waiting in a more relaxed atmosphere, unlike that atmosphere. It was the Lapis Lazuli Team, who had already been to the Taebaek Dungeon dozens of times.

Having gained a lot of experience from countless visits and even discovered a return stone, they were waiting without much tension.

And one more team.

Kang Hyun-moo’s team, belonging to Jeonneungryeon, was assessing the surrounding situation. Except for Kang Hyun-moo, they were also showing clear signs of tension.

Compared to Taesung, which had six teams participating, Jeonneungryeon only had two teams.

The hunters of Taesung couldn’t understand them and Kang Hyun-moo.

What were those level 20 and 30 guys going to do coming into a dungeon that even level 40 and 50 guys found difficult?

They couldn’t understand why they were trying to push themselves when there was a clear limit to their level.

However, Kang Hyun-moo’s team, like Lee Ji-tae, was a team that participated at the request of the government. They couldn’t openly show their doubts.

They just felt sorry for how many of them would die. One of Taesung’s team leaders approached Yu Seong-yeon.

“Team Leader Yu Seong-yeon, are those guys over there going to be okay? Shouldn’t we support them?”

Yu Seong-yeon’s gaze lingered on Kang Hyun-moo’s team. But he soon shook his head.

“Don’t worry about unnecessary things and take care of your team. It’s rude unless they ask for help first.”

“Well… it doesn’t matter, but.”

The team leader shrugged and stepped back. Within Taesung, there was a coexistence of concern for the deaths of Kang Hyun-moo’s team and a desire for them to have a bitter experience.

Recently, due to the emergence of Kang Hyun-moo, the atmosphere of ‘Who is the best hunter in Korea?’ had spread, and there was talk that the long-standing rankings were slowly changing as Jeonneungryeon conquered even 4-star dungeons.

‘Let’s show them how different Taesung and Jeonneungryeon are on this occasion.’

That was the overall atmosphere of Taesung.

However, some, like the Obsidian Team, knew that it wouldn’t be easy. In particular, Team Leader Yu Seong-yeon was thinking that they might be the ones to have a bitter experience.

‘Since they’re a team that’s growing so fast that it’s hard to gauge their growth rate… they might achieve more than expected.’

Anyway, there are many hunters here who are entering a 5-star dungeon for the first time.

The higher the grade of the dungeon, the more important teamwork becomes than individual skills, so we need to be careful.

At that time, Hyun-moo climbed onto the structure and said to his team members.

“I said it before we came in.”

It wasn’t a very loud voice, so not many hunters were paying attention to Hyun-moo, but Yu Seong-yeon listened carefully to what he was saying.

“Be sure to overdo it.”

What? Yu Seong-yeon wondered if he had misheard.

“Especially those who feel like they have no more potential to grow, overdo it. Keep in mind that you have to crash into it until your whole body is covered in blood to break the wall. I know your skills. Don’t worry about dying like a dog.”

‘Is that a speech? Didn’t he hear that this expedition is for exploration purposes? Is he telling them to go and die?’

“Oh, and as you know, there are no return scrolls. You know you have to take a picture of the return stone to get out of here, right?”

Yu Seong-yeon’s mouth dropped open. He was saying they would clear the first expedition and come out?

Even Lee Ji-tae succeeded in clearing after more than ten explorations and searches to find the return stone. But Hyun-moo was setting an absurd goal.

Yu Seong-yeon examined the atmosphere of Kang Hyun-moo’s team. But far from being frightened, they even had smiles on their faces.

Clearly, before entering the dungeon, there was worry and fear floating around, but now that atmosphere was nowhere to be found.

‘Are they crazy?’

No, it was elation.

They were waiting for the death and desperate struggle that would soon engulf them.

They were waiting for the moment when life and death were mixed up in a chaotic mess, the drug-like pleasure that comes in extreme pain.

***

Kuuuuuuuu!

A giant rock golem, twice the size of an adult man, writhed.

Unlike the smooth dungeon structures made of obsidian, the rock golem was rough and soft, but it was still hard and heavy enough to crush a car in one blow. Hunters were no exception.

“Aim for the ankles, the ankles! We need to lower its head first, you bastards!”

Song Yeo-un shouted loudly and directed the hunters.

Hunters were placed around the golem at regular intervals, driving the golem.

Each placement was appropriate, with each other’s equipment and skills not interfering with others.

If someone seemed to be in danger, someone else would immediately draw aggro, so there were no cases of being in great danger.

“You’ve gotten quite used to it.”

Hyun-moo muttered next to Seo Ji-hoo.

This neat arrangement was a combination of the team’s teamwork and Seo Ji-hoo’s control.

Seo Ji-hoo was now used to controlling up to 10 team members with micro-control. If the placement was good, the team members would take care of the rest.

But the fight was taking too long with just one.

At that time, a hunter bit his lip tightly and forcibly dug into the golem’s rear. He was trying to directly target the golem’s core, which was vaguely visible.

But the golems of the 5-star dungeon were not that easy to deal with.

The rock golem’s body momentarily transformed strangely, and it suddenly threw a rock in the direction it thought was ‘behind’.

The hunter who was hit by the large rock fell straight out. The hit hunter’s waist was strangely bent. Song Yeo-un’s eyes flashed.

“Now!”

Thanks to the rock golem’s forced transformation of its body, the weak point called the ‘golem’s core’ was revealed.

The moment the rock golem’s body was about to disappear again as it recovered, the hunters rushed in like ants.

But the only one who was fast enough was Song Yeo-un, who was closest.

“Uwaaaa!”

Song Yeo-un’s whip was useful for blocking the rock golem’s movements, but it couldn’t inflict damage.

So she shoved her hand straight into the golem’s body as it closed. The sound of her hands and arms being crushed resounded within the golem’s rocky body.

Thick blood flowed out through the gaps.

Song Yeo-un let out a sound that was neither a shout nor a scream and poured out her skill ‘Repulsion’.

The golem’s core was forcibly pushed out through the narrow rock crevices of the golem, and it began to crack.

Kuuuuuuuu!

The golem made a strange noise that it was hard to tell where it came from, even though it had no vocal cords.

It was about to slam its fist down on Song Yeo-un’s head, who was clinging to it.

But someone struck the golem’s arm, stopping the movement.

As the golem focused on Song Yeo-un, the other hunters began to pour out their skills like crazy.

“Argh! Just die, you rock bastard!”

Song Yeo-un poured out her skills like crazy and attacked the golem. Even her exoskeleton was broken and dug into her flesh.

Then, at some point, a crisp feeling of cracking was transmitted from her fingertips. The golem staggered and collapsed.

The hunters hurriedly pulled Song Yeo-un out from the collapsed rocks. As Hyun-moo approached, Song Yeo-un groaned and asked.

“How’s my arm?”

“It looks like it’s been squeezed in a juicer.”

Song Yeo-un grinned.

“Last time it was a blender, but if it’s a juicer this time, then 5-stars aren’t a big deal.”

While pouring potions on Song Yeo-un, the hunter who had been hit by the golem and created the opportunity was also being treated.

His waist was twisted, but as long as he didn’t die in one blow, he could solve it with a potion.

Hyun-moo also checked the condition of the hunter whose waist was injured and approached Seo Ji-hoo. And he asked quietly enough that the other hunters couldn’t hear.

“Why did you do that?”

Seo Ji-hoo didn’t ask back what he meant.

“It was taking too long.”

Hyun-moo could immediately understand what he was saying. The hunter whose waist was injured had attacked the golem recklessly, but it wasn’t a self-determined decision.

Seo Ji-hoo had ordered it.

Because it was taking too long, he ordered them to reveal the weakness even if it meant being reckless.

‘We could have caught it safely. But…’

The fight in the dungeon shouldn’t take too long.

The dungeon may start to transform, or more monsters may appear after hearing the commotion. If that happens, the problem becomes much more serious.

Seo Ji-hoo ordered a reckless attack, risking one person being seriously injured rather than taking that risk.

“Do you want to revise the policy?”

Seo Ji-hoo asked. But Hyun-moo smiled instead.

“No. I’m glad I saw the right person.”

This guy is not normal either. If he wasn’t so lazy, he would be a general.

But Hyun-moo was slowly feeling it. The team members and Seo Ji-hoo seemed to be slowly resembling him.

No, in fact, his existence seemed to be drawing out the ‘Kang Hyun-moo’ that was in people’s hearts.

‘Yes. That’s how it should be.’

Hyun-moo was satisfied with that atmosphere.

‘To run wild in hell, you must first become a devil.’

“Branch Manager Kang Hyun-moo.”

At that time, Song Yeo-un called Hyun-moo.

She was making a strange expression.

“Why?”

“Um… I leveled up.”

Hyun-moo thought, so what? It was natural to level up after struggling to catch a high-level monster in a high-grade dungeon.

But Hyun-moo soon realized what he had missed.

Song Yeo-un was already a 2-star limit level achiever.