The First Deal (1)
The High Priest questioned him with a hardened expression.
Its nervousness was visible in its eyes.
“… A job?”
It was scared.
“The pioneering army you sent, although at this point they’re completely out of Earth, you’ve looted a lot of things and piled it up in your dimension before then, right?”
Before the giant worms broke down all the invasion site buildings, changed the land, and they could start farming, the Botarch’s pioneering army, consisted of Awakened beings, swept and robbed the foreign dimension cities like a swarm of locusts. That was due to their culture wherein such actions were considered very honorable.
“Indeed. That’s a proud achievement for our warriors.”
The High Priest nodded shamelessly.
‘Yeah, I knew it.’
I unleashed magic.
Both of my hands started to flash.
“Squeeeal!”
As if it thought that I was attacking it, the High Priest hurriedly shriveled and shrunk.
“What a wuss… Don’t be anxious. I’m not going to kill you.”
“… I-I was only a bit startled.”
In front of the High Priest, whose voice was extremely shaken, the light started to take shape.
Illusion magic.
“… This is?”
I made an image using the glitzy brilliance.
“Now, look. Do you have this among the looted items?”
I showed H-beams used for construction, rebars, railway rails, automobile bodies, fire hydrants, etc… The Botarchs would have commonly seen it while they destroyed and looted downtown Beijing.
Most of them were colloids of 2 or more metals, but the common factor was that ‘iron’ was the main material.
The High Priest quickly understood my intention.
“You mean the things made out of those metals.”
In some dimensions, it was often difficult to find minerals that were abundant in other dimensions.
For Botarchs, iron was an unfamiliar mineral, and there were other metals in their society that replaced its function.
The High Priest continued.
“It seems to be a mineral that your kind frequently use in construction or manufacturing, but it was of little use to us. The atmospheric composition must be incompatible with this world since it corrodes too fast.”
An expensive animal oil had to be applied to prevent its corrosion by the atmosphere’s gas, but the unit price was not suitable for industrial use.
“So, did you throw them all away?”
The High Priest shook its head.
“It became quite popular among the upper classes as they found the color and gloss pretty. They made small accessories and decorated themselves.”
“And each of those that returned from invading the Earth had a piece with them?”
“That is right.”
“And those would be on a break now, right?”
“… Yes. At least until a new viable location appears.”
Botarchs had no choice but to continue to invade dimensions to secure agricultural land.
At that moment, they might be searching for other dimensions that they could invade next to Earth.
“Then…”
I changed the shape of the illusion.
A detailed map of the Botarch dimension appeared in front of the large cow’s head who was staring at it.
The High Priest’s face was stained with bafflement.
“How can such detailed…”
I had just projected what I saw while traveling through the [Door of Hope] and remembered it as if I was taking a picture with [The Successor’s Eyes], but…
The High Priest distorted face told me it had concluded something else.
“Who the hell did you conspire with?! I can’t believe one of them is selling this elaborate map to an alien; they’re selling the country and the world while they’re blinded by power!”
“Stop misunderstanding me. My sources aren’t the Botarchs.”
“Bullshit!”
“Shut up and listen to what I’m saying. I’m not done yet.”
When I changed my voice to a threatening tone because it didn’t seem to grasp the atmosphere, the High Priest looked sullen as if it was reminded of its situation.
I pointed to a corner of the map.
“The Gate here is just left unattended right now, right?”
It nodded in affirmation.
Fortunately, it wasn’t closed.
If I crossed the boundary through the Gate’s dungeon, I could go to a third dimension, not Botarch or Earth.
“I was thinking of sending some Botarch scouts over there to scout the dimension beyond the boundaries.”
The High Priest frowned when it finally realized what I meant.
“That place was judged to be less productive for agricultural purposes, so we have already abandoned the invasion.”
“That means that the soil isn’t actually the problem, does it?”
As if it was feeling ashamed, The High Priest’s facial muscles twitched as it spoke in a discouraging manner.
“… We attempted a massive invasion in the past, but our pioneering army was completely wiped out.”
It murmured a few more words as if it was making excuses.
“We left the gate open so that we could attempt to invade again when we needed it, but at this point, we put it on hold because we believe it consumes a lot more military resources than our rate of productivity!”
It talked in a way that seemed to say that they could win if they wanted to.
I clicked my tongue internally.
‘That’s such a bad bluff.’
The residents of the third dimension connected to Botarchs weren’t known for their weak abilities.
If someone were to reach out to them with a peaceful hand, they would smile and gladly hold it.
But like those cow heads, if they attempted to invade while spouting ridiculous nonsense like ‘behead the pagans!’ they were skilled and determined enough to cut the hands that held the weapons of their enemies cold-bloodedly.
I planned to offer them a deal and an alliance.
‘But there’s no immediate passage to the Earth. It’s also a waste of time for me to keep crossing through the [Door of Hope].”
If there was no passage, I could just dig a new one.
“I’m not saying to send a large army to eradicate them. Just send scouts that are expendable by your standards. You’re still fighting for power, aren’t you?”
“…”
Then the High Priest nodded as if it had thought of something.
“… Yes, it’s simple to pick out someone whose life doesn’t matter since no one would bat an eye even if they died.”
It was probably thinking about the power of the sixth Bishop or something.
“No, wait a minute. Didn’t you conspire with the sixth bishop? Who the hell did you join hands with to be able to offer this ridiculous proposal…”
“Nevermind that, listen up.”
I made it swallow the nonsensical comments it was spouting before I continued to talk.
“There’s one important condition. You said accessories made out of iron are the current fashion trend these days, right? Make sure they wear it. If you hand it to them, saying that it is a sacred object, they would initially take it with them, right? At least they should because of the eyes that would be watching them. Hmm… That’s right. You can adequately reason out that the prayer of the High Priest had blessed those looted items from Earth.”
“… You really know a lot about all kinds of things.”
“Do you understand? Dispatch them with a proper excuse. You can tell them to check if anything has changed in that dimension in the meantime.”
The High Priest replied without much thought.
“I don’t know what the purpose is, but… No, I don’t want to know. Is that all you want? I can do that without problems.”
It accepted my instructions.
“Good, proceed with it as soon as possible.”
“… By the way, until when will you keep treating me like this?!”
Even before it could finish its words, I had already opened the [Door of Hope] and stepped into it.
“W-wait a minute!”
Leaving behind the hand that desperately called for me, I disappeared into the light.
*
A few days after returning to Earth, I observed something that happened between two dimensions through the [Door of Hope] ‘s remote perspective function.
After confirming that the two tribes there quickly moved as I expected, I contacted the Senator.
“I have a request.”
“What is it?”
I voiced out my thoughts while looking at his face that was floating on the hologram.
“Australia’s black market is also run by the Senator’s people, right?”
“It is altogether managed from the Singapore market to Australia. Why?”
“I think I will need to borrow a hand from there. There is a Gate that needs to be discovered ‘naturally’ inside the Australian territory.”
The Senator slowly nodded, making a monotonous hum.
“Can you even identify the undiscovered Gate’s location? I guess you probably can… But I can’t help but wonder about where the extent of that ability’s limitations would be.”
In reality, it wasn’t a skill but a memory of the past life that helped me find dungeons, but I neither confirmed nor denied his thoughts.
He continued after he seemingly jumped to a conclusion by himself.
“Well, it would look better that way than you suddenly going to Australia and finding the Gate. Alright, I’ll make some arrangements.”
A few days later…
The press around the world largely dealt with the Gate that was discovered in Australia.
– The discovery of this Gate within the ‘Lost Land,’ which was once called the Great Victoria Desert of the Australian continent, was made under extremely fortunate circumstances. Mercenaries hired to control the monster population of the Lost Land found the Gate, which had a level of S-Class, at a ‘very unstable’ status.
Perfect Gate management was impossible on Australia’s continent, where much of it was uncontrolled even before the Cataclysm.
As a result, Australia followed the path that some African countries with desert areas or Russia took.
A certain area within their territory was virtually abandoned.
They had set up tall and formidable barricades only in areas where most people lived together. They also completely blocked land travel in some areas.
Australia’s current territory was an entire continent in geological terms. However, in sociological terms, it was transformed into a land alliance within an island, between tribes that were scattered like dots.
It was a better situation than the state completely collapsing and being ruled by the United Nations like North Korea.
– Most of the time, the gates opened in the Lost Land are left to proceed to break, but the Australian government plans to Clear this dungeon as an exception. This is because they are concerned that the area of the Lost Land would be forcefully expanded if the S-Class dungeon collapses.
Australia, which had a small population compared to its territory, had an even smaller number of hunters.
Since it was impossible to handle it with domestic hunters, they chose to ask for help from other countries across the globe.
It benchmarked the formation of a multinational expedition team when the Korean government Cleared Siheung 8 Dungeon.
– The Australian government has already sent requests for assistance to other governments. However, due to Siheung 8 Dungeon’s precedent, it has been concluded that their response is not good enough. Many countries around the world still remember the tragedy in which Nicole Thompson, a former U.S. SS-Ranked hunter, was dispatched to the S-Class dungeon in Korea. It is inevitable for them to fear that something similar will happen again this time…
As soon as I saw the news, I immediately called the Hunter Management Department.
“Yes, this is Seo Jin-Wook.”
The official in charge of the Hunter Management Department was deeply panicked by my subsequent comments.
Their reaction was understandable.
The Celestial Dragon Guild offered to send three S-Rank or higher hunters to Clear the dungeon found in Australia.
I released that statement in a tone that made it sound like it was a notification rather than an offer. Among the members to be sent, I was included.
“Guild Master, please reconsider!”
The Hunter Management Department expressed their deep concern.
Because of the [Aurora of Stability] incident, they had realized the value of my screening quest.
If I died after being dispatched to a foreign country, they knew that it would be an unimaginable loss.
“However, if Korea, which received help from many countries during the Siheung 8 Dungeon, didn’t send hunters this time, there will be criticism flying towards us.”
“Of course, the government didn’t mean to turn a blind eye! We are going to send a team of volunteers, but you don’t necessarily have to be the one to go, Mr. Seo Jin-wook…”
“So, do we have a volunteer right now?”
“…”
Neither the Grand Croix nor the Destruction Blade was in a position to send aid to other countries at that moment.
The GateKeepers would never move their asses because of their specificity.
“In the end, we have no choice but to mobilize the Celestial Dragon. I can’t be left out of the team that the Celestial Dragon composed.”
The government had no choice but to break its will because of my strong stubbornness.
News of the dispatch of the Celestial Dragon Guild’s team quickly stirred up the press.
The members that had been sent were Nate, Hiki, and I. The three of us.
The Australian government quickly welcomed and thanked us, and other countries gradually announced their support plans.
A few days later, the three of us climbed in a chartered plane provided by the Australian government.
*
There was an SSS-Class hunter on the expedition.
“Greg Myers, I’m the captain of the expedition. It’s my first time seeing your face outside of video communication.”
Although the absolute number of hunters involved was small, it was fortunate for Australia that they had Greg, an SSS-Class, among the ranks of volunteers.
“But…”
He greeted us then spoke disapprovingly.
“Is Adam Abrams absent? Well, I guess that’s understandable.”
He sounded like he expected Adam to be present, having said that a person from the Celestial Dragons was dispatched.
However, Adam left his seat and busied himself in finding out more about Mercadius and the additionally dispatched observers.
“One SS-Class and two S-Class, thank you for coming forward for Australia.”
It was nice for him to thank us that way, but…
“All three of you have grown at a tremendous rate. As far as I know, your careers are so short as well. It is difficult to react to dungeons with monsters on a large scale like this unless you are a veteran…”
He clicked his tongue before continuing his little speech.
“You must have never experienced a dungeon like this before, so I hope you don’t panic and tie down the hands and feet of other explorers. The Korean government also used their brains very well since they can show off with the ranks. No matter how that may be, to dispatch first-year Hunters in a place like this…”
Though I had been listening intently, I was also wondering how long he was going to keep going.
“H-hey…. Mr. Myers!”
An Australian government official panicked and stopped him.
Greg Myers still spoke with a fixed face.
“… I misspoke. Anyways, I hope you don’t push yourself too hard in this expedition. Just follow my instructions. If you die here, we’ll be criticized.”
That meant that we should listen carefully to him like a bunch of rookies.
I reminisced about his personality that I had experienced in my previous life.
‘He wasn’t a vicious man, but he was very stubborn. He doesn’t listen to other people’s opinions for as long as what he thinks is right.’
He must’ve heard that the three members of our team stopped an A-Class dungeon break, yet he still showed that attitude.
He didn’t want to admit that he’s wrong unless he had experienced or seen it himself.
It’s just that he jumped to the conclusion that there must have been a lie mixed up or a trick in the process.
“Hmmm… I wish Abrams had come.”
After muttering like that, he didn’t even give us time to speak. He went on to the next person.
Nate approached me and whispered quietly in my ear.
“Should we kill him?”
He was starting to show his previous life’s personality as well.
I smiled and waved my hand dismissively.
“It’s fine.”
We wouldn’t be able to finish the tutorial if we killed all the hunters in the world the moment they went against us.
Hibiki was also staring coldly at Greg’s back. She was probably angry as well.
“…People still don’t know.”
Her eyes glided towards me that time.
I nodded.
“Yes, they don’t know.”
As the formation took shape, Greg barked an order at us.
“Then, we’re entering!”
The moment I approached the Gate, a message came up.
Dungeon Information
Before we jumped into the light, I made eye contact with Hibiki and Nate, one after another.
That was the first time we’d Clear a dungeon with other guild hunters as an invited member.
“Do you remember what I said?”
They nodded their heads.
The situation had changed a lot from the promotion screening when the two first showed their appearance and abilities.
At that time, they didn’t show everything they since we were looking out for the eyes of the other guilds that were on us, but at that moment, they had enough power not to care about such things.
At the same time, the value of Celestial Dragon’s reputation had increased much higher.
‘However, our fame is still limited within our home country.’
We were determined to make our marks using the opportunity before us.
‘We must make sure that the whole world recognizes the strength of the Celestial Dragon.’
That way, the Celestial Dragon’s movements, and my voice would be more powerful in preparation for what would soon happen.
I grinned and spoke to both of them.
“Unleash your power all you want!
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