Dungeon Predator (WN)

Jae Woo sifted through the documents for his new house.

'It's not being used as collateral, and the property hasn't been seized either. No one has leased it before either. It's completely clean.'

There were no issues with it.

For two weeks, Jae Woo would visit the house for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Of course, he hadn't come with the real estate agent, so he couldn't go inside.

But it didn't matter, since he hadn't come to see the house.

Jae Woo surveyed the neighborhood and the surrounding area.

'The train station's a little bit more than a 15 minute walk away.'

With the station this close, the area could be considered a station district.

However...

'Hmm. It could be a bit hard for my sisters to get to school.'

If they moved here, then they would be even farther from their school, so they'd have to commute to school via bus.

Once the sun had set, Jae Woo walked through the nearby roads and alleyways.

'It's quiet at night, and there's no adult entertainment district nearby. But it's a bit dim. That streetlight is not working. I should file a civil complaint.'

He'd gone through the process of buying a house before, so he knew exactly what to look for.

"Alright."

Jae Woo, who'd finished checking everything, was sure that this house was the best they could do for the time being.

Then, he accessed Arth.

He'd obtained 1,000 gold from the Stone Golem, and another 3,300 from the hidden oasis.

Also, he'd gotten some more from the Celtuses, putting his total gold at 5,000 (includes gold prior to the trip).

He went to the Currency Exchange Office and converted the 5,000 gold into won.

Then, he called his real estate agent and made an appointment to sign the formal contract.

* * *

Jae Woo left the real estate agency.

He'd just finished signing a monthly rent contract.

A middle-aged estate agent with swept back hair, glasses, and a suit followed him out.

It was the owner of the house!

"It was nice meeting you."

Jae Woo bowed his head.

"Yes. I hope there won’t be any issues between us," the man said politely.

What were Jae Woo's first impressions of the man? He seemed like someone who'd been rich his entire life.

But during their negotiations, the man hadn't ignored him due to his age, nor had he abused his power over him.

'Well, I can't be sure just yet.'

At the very least, he didn't seem like one of those scumbag landlords that appeared in dramas.

"Yes, I hope so too," Jae Woo said.

"Then."

"Take care."

Jae Woo and the landlord parted ways.

As he walked, he took out his phone.

He messaged his family via group chat that he'd signed the contract and that everything had gone smoothly.

His sisters replied with various emoticons that expressed their joy.

"Let's go back and make some money."

Jae Woo placed his phone back in his pocket and headed home.

* * *

Kang Oh came to the Jurento Bar.

'It's as old and rundown as ever.'

He entered the bar and spotted old man Tino.

Tino was sipping on some cheap wine.

Kang Oh sat across from Tino.

"Mm? You're..."

Tino looked his face over.

"Honey water, seafood soup, 10 gold," Kang Oh said; they were everything he'd given Tino in the past.

"Ah, you're the one I wrote that introduction letter for. What was your name again?"

"Kang Oh."

"Oh, so your name is Kang Oh. Want a drink?"

Tino passed him the cup he'd drank out from.

Kang Oh shook his head.

"Really? Then I'll drink it."

Tino lifted the cup and gulped the rest down.

Kang Oh took out a piece of paper from his breast pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Tino.

"What is this?" Tino asked.

"They're the names of dungeons," Kang Oh said.

There were more than 10 names listed on that piece of paper.

Tino blankly looked at the paper.

"And?"

"Look through those names, and give me any information or anything you've heard regarding those dungeons," Kang Oh said.

"For free?"

Tino's eyes gleamed.

"Do you actually have any information for me?"

"Hmm."

Tino began sifting through the names of the dungeons.

"I can tell you about three of these dungeons."

"10 gold for each."

Kang Oh took out 30 gold from his breast pocket and placed it on the table.

"Could you start now?"

Tino nodded his head and began, "First, I've heard that there's a mysterious being that lives within the Grancia Forest."

A Grancia was a tree-shaped monster, and the Grancia Forest was where many of these monsters were found.

"A mysterious being?"

"Animals don't live in the Grancia Forest, but there's supposedly a living being that resides there."

'Is this mysterious being the boss monster?'

There was no set boss monster within the Grancia Forest. Thus, there was a chance that this living organism could be the boss monster.

"What about the other dungeons?" Kang Oh asked.

"I've heard rumors that there's a secret area within Kudal's Laboratory."

"A secret area..." Kang Oh muttered.

Was that secret area a hidden dungeon?

'I have to go there.'

"Finally, the Batiyu Ruins. They say that on the night of a full moon, a secret society comes to the ruins and conducts some strange ritual," Tino said.

[You have received information on the secret ritual held at the Batiyu Ruins. If you obtain additional information or clues, then a quest will be created.]

'This has nothing to do with a hidden dungeon.'

If Kang Oh were a normal player, then he'd do his damndest to obtain quests that no other player had.

That was because these quests would allow them to experience an adventure that no one else could.

However, Kang Oh had no reason to focus entirely on these quests. For the greedy Kang Oh, though, it would be a different story if it was a quest like Eder's, where the reward was 5,000 gold.

"Is that everything?" Kang Oh asked.

"That's everything."

Kang Oh passed the 30 gold to Tino. He grinned and quickly went to place the 30 gold into his breast pocket.

However!

The owner suddenly came over.

"I'll use this to pay for your tab."

The owner snatched the 30 gold from Tino.

"You can't!"

"Now you have 14 gold on your tab," the bar owner finished and then left.

"L-Look here..."

Tino stared at Kang Oh like a child. He was basically saying, 'Give me some money.'.

Of course, Kang Oh was no philanthropist, so he ignored Tino's gaze and stood up.

"Then, I'll see you later."

Kang Oh left the Jurento Bar.

* * *

Kang Oh arrived at Eder's mansion.

He knocked on the gate, and a short while later it opened. Kang Oh was greeted by a completely ashen face.

It was Eder.

"Mr. Kang Oh!"

"Rest well?"

Kang Oh had spent so much time looking at houses with his family, as well as researching the house itself for two whole weeks, so he hadn't called for Eder.

As a result, Eder was able to relax for two whole weeks.

"Yes, I rested well."

He'd been wondering why Eder's skin had looked so soft and smooth. Of course, this was Eder he was talking about, so that probably wasn't the case.

"Good. It's time to get back to work," Kang Oh said.

"Alright. Please come in."

Eder gestured for him to come inside.

"It's fine. Get your equipment ready and come out."

That was the reason Kang Oh hadn't summoned Eder and had come here in person.

If he summoned Eder all of a sudden, then there was a chance that he, a Curse Knight, would appear unequipped.

Therefore, he had no choice but to come here himself.

'As I thought, I really need a communication device.'

Grano had promised to get him a pair of the communication earrings, so he planned on asking him about it the next time they met.

"Please wait a little bit."

"Sure. I'll give you 3 minutes."

He absolutely hated waiting.

"3 minutes isn't enough time. Please come in and wait comfortably..."

"You're wasting time talking."

"Tch."

Eder rushed into the mansion without closing the door.

Kang Oh looked at the sky.

The white clouds were peacefully flowing through the blue sky.

"It's good weather to go hunting..."

A short while later...

Dash.

Eder appeared, equipped with his Blood Knight armor set, as well as his four-colored skull shield and his mace.

"3 minutes hasn't passed yet, has it?"

"Yeah, probably not."

Kang Oh hadn't had any intention of timing him. He'd just picked three minutes so that he'd hurry up.

"Anyway, let's go."

Kang Oh led.

"Where are we going?" Eder asked.

"Have you heard of Kudal's Laboratory?" Kang Oh asked.

"Kudal? Are you referring to the Alchemist Kudal?"

Kudal was considered a great alchemist. He was the first alchemist to create artificial life.

"Yeah. There's apparently a secret area inside Kudal's Laboratory," Kang Oh said.

"Who said?"

"Old man Tino."

"Then we're heading for Kudal's Laboratory right now?"

"Yeah, but only after we go somewhere else first."

Kang Oh was headed for the Altein Central Library.

In the past, he'd forced Eder to read The Loxia Chronicles in the hopes of finding a new demon sword.

"Why there?"

Eder tilted his head.

Why were they going to a library all of a sudden?

"I want to learn more about Kudal," Kang Oh said.

Kudal was a renowned alchemist. The Altein Central Library was sure to have books regarding him.

Plus, those books might have some clues that would help lead him to the hidden dungeon.

'Like how Mr. Grano led us to the quicksand pit.'

Kang Oh and Eder entered the central library.

The Altein Central Library hadn't changed in the least. Especially the fact that there were way too many books in here.

Kang Oh approached the librarian.

"Hello."

They smiled politely.

"Hello. How may I help you?"

"Do you have any books on Alchemist Kudal?"

"Please follow me."

Kang Oh and Eder followed the librarian and stopped in front of a bookshelf.

"All the books here to the bookshelf two down contain information on the Alchemist Kudal."

"Thank you very much."

Once the librarian left, Kang Oh and Eder began looking through the books.

"There's a book here."

Eder pulled out a book. The book was titled, .

Because Kudal was such a renowned alchemist, he was mentioned in several titles.

"Just look through two or three books. Then we can go to Kudal's Laboratory."

Although he wanted to gather information on Kudal, he wasn't willing to read every single book here that mentioned him.

"So you want me to read everything again?"

In the past, Kang Oh had forced Eder to read The Loxia Chronicles, which was 1,500 pages long.

"What, you want me to do the same thing as last time?'

Kang Oh scowled.

"N-No."

Eder shook his head.

"When I'm being kind, just do as I ask."

At the beginning, Eder had been a slave.

However, as they spent more time with each other, Eder had risen from a slave to a companion-like slave.

Because his status had increased, Kang Oh was treating him better.

"Understood."

Eder nodded his head and pulled out two more books.

Kang Oh also perused the book titles and their table of contents, and pulled out two books of his own.

They placed their respective books on a table and sat down.

Kang Oh picked up a book titled , and opened the book to where Kudal was mentioned in the table of contents.

'Alchemist Kudal was the first alchemist to create artificial life. Following his achievement, countless alchemists studied how to create artificial life using his example...'

Rustle.

Kang Oh turned the page.

The sound of pages softly being turned resounded throughout the library.