Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 66

66. Overload (1)

I thought I was finally shaking off Kang Hyun-woo, but he was already far ahead of me.

As if I was nothing to him.

Red Butterfly felt like a firefly trying to show off its light next to the sun in an instant.

Then, Lee Ji-tae put his hand on her shoulder.

“Ms. Red Butterfly.”

Red Butterfly snapped out of her thoughts. Lee Ji-tae was looking at her with warm eyes.

“Ms. Red Butterfly, you are growing fast enough already. You’ve even surpassed my rookie days. The trainers are also expressing their amazement. Growing this fast without any major injuries means you’ve already moved beyond the rookie category.”

“But I…”

“I’m just asking for advice because I don’t know how to process this unusual situation. After all, it seems like you, Ms. Red Butterfly, are the only one who knows the most about Lee Ja right now.”

“But I don’t know either…”

“It doesn’t matter. I didn’t mean to make a comparison, so I hope you don’t get discouraged. Maybe he was hiding his skills from the beginning. Isn’t that much more reasonable than thinking he grew this much in a month?”

Red Butterfly barely nodded, but her expression didn’t ease easily.

Then, something Lee Ji-tae said caught Red Butterfly’s ear.

“Actually, I heard that the next dungeon Ms. Red Butterfly was going to raid was the Guillotine Dungeon.”

Red Butterfly raised her head sharply. Lee Ji-tae continued calmly.

“Of course, that won’t happen now that the Flood has occurred. Ms. Red Butterfly has just stepped into level 20 and doesn’t have much experience with upper-level dungeons, let alone dungeons affected by a Flood. In particular, there is very little information about dungeons where Floods have occurred. So…”

“It doesn’t matter. I really want to go.”

As soon as Lee Ji-tae heard her answer, he nodded as if he had been waiting for it. If he were in Red Butterfly’s shoes, he would have acted like her.

“I knew it. Our Taesung is forming an expedition to completely suppress the Guillotine Dungeon Flood. We plan to concentrate our capabilities on this opportunity to stabilize the Guillotine Dungeon to a fixed type and collect as much information as possible about the dungeons where Floods have occurred, for the conquest of Baekdu Dungeon next year.”

Lee Ji-tae held out his hand.

“It may be a difficult place for Ms. Red Butterfly, but I think you will definitely participate.”

Red Butterfly shook his hand without hesitation.

***

After Red Butterfly left, Lee Ji-tae was disappointed that she didn’t have much information, but he hadn’t expected much in the first place.

What Lee Ji-tae was worried about regarding Kang Hyun-woo was not his growth rate, but the fact that he could hardly find any information about Kang Hyun-woo, even though he mobilized Taesung’s extensive information network.

He found out that he was an orphan, details about his upbringing, his school and friends, his phone number, his blood type, and even his allergies, but he didn’t have any of the information he truly needed.

He even found out about the woman he was living with, but it didn’t help.

One day, he suddenly became an ability user, suddenly leveled up, and suddenly became the manager of a billion-dollar company. Everything was unrealistic and incomprehensible.

‘And even Park Hwi-so.’

Lee Ji-tae knew that Park Hwi-so had a strange relationship with Hyun-woo.

Park Hwi-so didn’t say anything, but Lee Ji-tae wasn’t worried. After all, what Park Hwi-so wants is the same as him. Park Hwi-so will never switch sides.

He was leaving Park Hwi-so as bait to reel in Kang Hyun-woo someday.

‘And this Crystal Moss.’

Lee Ji-tae took out the Crystal Moss from his pocket. The transparent Crystal Moss, boasting a clear purity, was emitting enough mana to fill the car.

He had never seen such Crystal Moss, even in a 5-star dungeon.

‘Where on earth did he get this…’

Lee Ji-tae clenched the Crystal Moss tightly in his hand. At first, he thought that a woman named Yoo-min was a mana scholar, so she developed a way to increase the purity, but that wasn’t the case.

Kang Hyun-woo was bringing Crystal Moss from a dungeon he didn’t even know where it was, and he got stronger every time.

He was raising Red Butterfly with all his heart and soul, but he felt like something bigger and unknown was raising a monster called Kang Hyun-woo at a terrifying rate. Lee Ji-tae felt impatient, not worried.

‘I want it. I want to keep him by my side.’

If he was by his side, he felt like he would have nothing to fear.

Lee Ji-tae was not a greedy person.

But he liked the treasure called people.

‘Kang Hyun-woo, what should I do to get you?’

He knew that to keep a treasure by his side, he had to become a person who suited the treasure more than anything else.

***

A day later, Taesung Clan suddenly started an announcement.

[We will now begin the press conference of Taesung Clan Leader Lee Ji-tae.]

The announcement was started by Tae Min-soo, the second-in-command of Taesung Clan.

Since it was Taesung’s announcement that was announced immediately after suppressing the Guillotine Dungeon Flood, the content could be guessed.

[Citizens, this is Tae Min-soo, head of the Taesung Clan administrative team. Last week, there was a tragic incident at the Guillotine Mountain sacred site. As a hunter who has a duty to protect the general public against dungeons and monsters, it was a trial that raised awareness and an incident that could have led to a great tragedy.]

As expected, people thought that Taesung was finally going to address the Guillotine Dungeon Flood when they saw him bring up the story of the Guillotine Dungeon from the beginning.

The responsibility for managing the Guillotine Dungeon was with the Jeonneungryeon [All-Powerful Union], but Oh Dae-seong, the leader of the Jeonneungryeon, was still staying in the dungeon.

Above all, it was considered natural for Taesung, who was planning to raid the 5-star dungeon Flood next year, to participate even as a practice.

[However, fate miraculously gave us a gift of a 5-star ability user at the same time as the trial. Taesung Clan has been thinking about the responsibilities of those with power in the face of the power of the amazing realm that has never been discovered before. Without Kang Hyun-woo’s heroic actions, this would have led to great sacrifices.]

However, people were puzzled when Lee Ji-tae praised Kang Hyun-woo.

In addition, there were even views that doubted whether Hyun-woo was really a 5-star, but Taesung Clan completely suppressed even that.

Many people couldn’t understand why he was openly praising Kang Hyun-woo, who didn’t belong to any clan yet, but some could predict what would come next.

[Dungeons are still uncharted territory for mankind, and the 5-star rating is the same. However, the reason why mankind was able to come this far, even though everything was new after the first dungeon was opened, was because it was a path of going together, not going alone. Because humans are beings that can cooperate.]

People couldn’t help but be surprised. Taesung Clan was openly courting Kang Hyun-woo through an official press conference.

To be honest, there was even suspicion that ‘Was it really a crisis?’ because Hyun-woo blocked the Flood so easily. One of the reasons was that the government announced the Flood too late.

Supporters of the government were trying to downplay Hyun-woo’s achievements, saying that the government’s announcement was delayed because the Flood was not serious from the beginning.

But Taesung boldly acknowledged Hyun-woo’s contribution.

Lee Ji-tae couldn’t be said to be representing domestic hunters, but he was, in fact, expressing his gratitude.

[Our Taesung plans to completely suppress the Guillotine Dungeon Flood in order to fulfill our social responsibility, even belatedly. People, the crisis is not over yet, even though the soldiers of the Armed Forces are suppressing the Flood. Taesung will fulfill its responsibility for the safety and peace of the people. Taesung will fully support this expedition and will not charge any costs.]

This was the part that people expected. The support and waiver of claims were surprising.

In the first place, the responsibility for mismanagement was with the Jeonneungryeon, and Taesung was in the mood to fix it instead of the Jeonneungryeon. But smart people thought differently.

As things stand, Taesung will have no choice but to take control of the Guillotine Dungeon raid, and Taesung will also monopolize the items and corpses that come out of it.

If that happens, Taesung will have nothing to lose.

But the purpose of Taesung, especially Lee Ji-tae, was not just that.

[And I would like to invite Mr. Kang Hyun-woo, who is at the forefront of human power, to this place.]

Kang Hyun-woo, who was watching TV, raised the corners of his mouth with a smirk.

Taesung dragged Kang Hyun-woo into an unavoidable banquet hall.

If he didn’t attend after being praised so much, he would be in a bad position. But even this was expected. Lee Ji-tae will be greedy for himself.

Hyun-woo’s current position was subtle.

He definitely showed that he was strong, but that strength was a strength with no clear background or basis.

Hyun-woo’s unclear growth process could not help but raise doubts. But being with Lee Ji-tae here was an opportunity to create a clear basis for himself.

He was going to go directly if he wasn’t invited, but he followed as expected.

Hyun-woo already knew that the rankers were coveting his Crystal Moss. Park Hwi-so never said that his Crystal Moss was going to Lee Ji-tae, but he had once forced him to cooperate, so there was no need to ask.

Perhaps Lee Ji-tae was using his Crystal Moss to raise his grade.

‘Come to think of it, have the 5-star ability users who were said to exist in probability really not appeared yet?’

He couldn’t put people who hadn’t even appeared yet into variables. But Hyun-woo thought they would appear soon.

A 5-star ability user has appeared. Once one appears, the second and third are simple. Each country will have to introduce them for the sake of face.

The small wave that Hyun-woo caused was shaking the world and pulling out even the things under the surface.

***

The Taesung Clan headquarters building, built in the heart of Gangnam, Seoul.

The banquet hall on the top floor of this building, which looks down on most buildings, was filled with loud music and flashing lights reminiscent of a club.

An invited entertainer was dancing on the stage, and some were shaking their bodies to the music, but some kept their distance from the noisy atmosphere and chatted while drinking.

Noh Ha-eul of the Howan Mama Clan had a headache from the loud music.

It was partly because her hangover from yesterday hadn’t worn off yet, but she didn’t like loud noises unless it was the roar of a baseball stadium in the first place.

But as the only person in the Howan Mama Clan who had actually seen Kang Hyun-woo, she couldn’t refuse this assignment.

Pre-meeting to raid the Guillotine Dungeon.

It was a gathering created by Taesung Clan, inviting Jeonneungryeon and Howan Mama Clan.

However, unlike Jeonneungryeon, who willingly accepted, Howan Mama dispatched only Noh Ha-eul. It was also to deliver a message.

Noh Ha-eul, who had taken the entire tray full of champagne glasses from the waiter, emptied the glasses at a rate of one glass every 10 seconds.

Then, Noh Ha-eul discovered someone entering the entrance. She quickly entrusted the tray back to the waiter and ran towards him.

“Kang Hyun-woo…ssi?”

Noh Ha-eul hesitated to reach out her hand to Kang Hyun-woo, wondering if he was the person she knew.

Kang Hyun-woo was wearing luxurious clothes that looked expensive at first glance, unlike when she saw him at the Cheonggye Dungeon.

The custom-made suit fit so perfectly that it softly accentuated the curves of his muscles without looking heavy at all. It was hard to estimate how obsessively the tailor had researched to make it.

In addition, the shoes, watch, and even the tie pin were all top-tier brands that ordinary people had never even heard of.

It may seem snobbish, but Noh Ha-eul was unknowingly putting a price on Kang Hyun-woo.

Kang Hyun-woo was already wearing a house [idiom for being wealthy]. If he was just wearing expensive things, she would have thought he was a nouveau riche. In fact, there were plenty of nouveau riches among the hunters.

However, Hyun-woo was perfectly pulling off those luxury goods.

It’s not just about having a good physique and looking good.

It was only possible when dignity, spirit, and confidence all matched.