Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Splash!

“Kuh… Nice! What? You already drank it all?”

Jung Hoon-hyun said, looking at the pile of empty bottles.

After a round of water play, the Suho Guild members were having dinner at the barbecue area set up in the pension’s backyard.

“Here you go.”

Do-jae pulled a cold bottle of soju from his sub-space and filled Jung Hoon-hyun’s glass.

Everyone was used to Dojae’s sub-space by now, so no one said anything.

“No. It’s time to take it out now.”

Jung Hoon-hyun downed his glass in one gulp and headed inside the building.

Moments later, an 80cm bottle of distilled liquor was in his hand.

“Where’s the ladle?”

Park Kyung-min brought a new ladle.

He thrust his own cup toward Jung Hoon-hyun first.

“Look at this guy? Even cold water has its hierarchy. Bu-gil-ma! Take a drink.”

Jung Hoon-hyun pushed Park Kyung-min’s cup away and used the ladle to pour the ginseng liquor into Do Jae’s cup until it was full.

“It’s precious. Drink up, drink up.”

Gulp-.

Dojai gulped it down in one hearty gulp, and Jung Hoon-hyun wore a satisfied look.

He immediately poured another cup and then filled the cups of the other guild members one by one.

“Ahem, ahem. Ahem! Now that the mood is right, this old man will say a few words!”

Jeong Hoon-hyun cleared his throat and rose from his seat.

He raised his cup high.

The guild members followed suit, raising their cups.

“Next week, we’ll be working in a bigger, better office! It’s all thanks to you guys. Thank you. I hope you’ll keep working hard from now on. Starting today, when I lead with ‘We’re unstoppable!’, you respond with ‘Ooh-ga!’ Got it?”

Everyone chuckled at Jung Hoon-hyun’s unexpectedly serious expression.

Still, no one dared to object.

“Alright, starting today, we are unstoppable!”

– Ooh-gar!

Jung Hoon-hyun’s toast made the drinking party even livelier.

Being seasoned hunters, the bottles piled up at an alarming rate. Gong So-eun was the first to go down.

“I’ll go put So-eun to bed. Don’t drink all the ginseng wine without me, okay?”

Ji-yoon carried Gong So-eun into the building, leaving only the men behind. That’s when Jung Hoon-hyun launched into his lewd and vulgar dirty jokes.

Jung Hoon-hyun was exceptionally skilled in that department, especially clicking perfectly with Park Kyung-min.

Do-jae thought this atmosphere wasn’t so bad and kept pouring liquor into his mouth without pause.

Then Yeong-jin nudged his glass against Do-jae’s, tapping it lightly.

“Heyyyy, bro. How come you’re not getting drunk at all?”

Young-jin asked with a slightly slurred pronunciation.

Do-jae poured him some more liquor and replied.

“I’m controlling myself.”

“Huh? Then why are you drinking? You drink to get drunk. We made a promise, remember…”

Young-jin clung to Do-jae’s arm, throwing a tantrum.

Truthfully, Dojae wasn’t so much controlling himself as he simply couldn’t get drunk.

Even without the Golem Armor, he had a certain baseline tolerance.

His 80% poison resistance applied to alcohol too, so even after drinking that much, he could only manage to feel a slight buzz.

“Right. I get it. Getting completely drunk for a day probably wouldn’t be so bad.”

That said, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

The resistance ultimately stemmed from the mana flowing through Dojae’s body.

If he deliberately stopped the flow of mana, he was just like any ordinary person.

Swish-swish-swish.

Young-jin grinned foolishly as he poured the whiskey sitting on the side into a new glass.

It was a very high-proof liquor.

“Hehehe, here you go.”

The liquor filled the glass to the brim, threatening to spill over.

Do-jae hesitated, wondering whether to drink it or not. He glared at Young-jin once, then downed it in one gulp.

“Whoa! Our big brother sure can drink!”

“Wow, our Bu-gil-ma is a real man’s man!”

The liquor was so strong it made his head buzz.

His esophagus burned fiercely, and the intoxication hit him instantly, but it wasn’t a bad experience.

“One more round.”

Do-jae, having polished off his glass cleanly, thrust the empty cup toward Young-jin.

Then, toasting with Ji-yoon who had returned, they gradually got drunk.

As time passed, Park Kyung-min and Ha Tae-seong collapsed, and Ji-yoon began to stagger.

Suddenly-!

“Huh? Sis, is it over already? Aren’t you a bit too weak?”

“Come on, let’s have just one more round.”

Do-jae suddenly stood up from his seat.

He turned his head and stared off into the distance.

For a while, he stared with wide eyes, saying nothing.

“Bro?”

“Bugeulma, what’s wrong?”

Young-jin and Jung-hoon-hyun looked flustered.

Do-jae murmurs softly.

“Gelahan…”

Young-jin and Jung-hoon-hyun tilted their heads halfway to listen, straining to hear what Do-jae had said.

But then.

Poo-hwa-kak-!

A massive cloud of steam erupted from Dojae’s body.

“Cough cough.”

“Woo-ooh.”

Steam filled the air like a sauna.

Inside it, Yeong-jin and Jeong Hoon-hyun coughed incessantly, choking on the suffocatingly strong smell of alcohol.

“Refresh.”

Do-jae cast a spell toward Young-jin and Jung-hoon-hyun.

A white light shot from Do-jae’s fingertips and swirled around their heads.

Soon, they awoke from the alcohol haze and stood up in perfect posture.

“Both of you, circulate your mana. You haven’t completely shaken off the effects of the alcohol yet. And don’t go anywhere—stay here and wait.”

Whoosh-!

With those words, Dojae dashed into the mountains in an instant.

He vanished in his slippers and casual clothes, no matter how urgent it was.

Yeongjin and Jeong Hoon-hyun, now completely sober, looked at each other in puzzlement.

“What the hell just happened?”

“I don’t know… Seeing him like that, it seems like something big happened…”

“Just in case, let’s go grab our weapons.”

“Yes!”

***

Dojai, having fully released the mana he’d been holding back, ran without a trace of alcohol left in him.

‘Why do I sense Gelahan’s aura?’

Dojae could sense it because of the keen perception he’d possessed since long ago.

The tingling sensation pulsing at his temples.

Without this sensation, he wouldn’t have noticed Gelahan’s presence.

‘It’s not a dungeon… All Transcendence Stone users are in Hwacheon. Could it be a dungeon break?’

If so, it was serious trouble.

With a densely populated residential area nearby, it could easily lead to a major disaster.

Moreover, the number of monsters I sense feels unusual.

This definitely wasn’t a small-scale dungeon break.

Dojae accelerated further, racing at full speed toward the direction where the energy emanated.

At that moment, the Taebaek Guild’s command center was in a state of frantic activity.

“Emergency request from the Busan Regional Hunter Bureau! Taebaek, deploy hunters immediately!”

The situation leader relayed the order to the hunters on standby.

As the guild representing Yeongnam, Taebaek was a massive guild ranked third nationwide, boasting hundreds of affiliated hunters, many of whom remained stationed within the guild at all times.

This gave them the capability to respond swiftly to such an emergency.

“What’s going on?”

At that moment, a man in a suit, looking ready to burst, entered the situation room.

It was Taebaek’s guildmaster, Kwak Ji-hyeok.

“Representative!”

“Report.”

“Yes! A dungeon break occurred 4km away in the 00 direction of the 00 region. Response level is Stage 3. We’ve received an immediate request for available hunters to support us.”

The situation team leader spoke while looking at the map displayed on the giant monitor.

Kwak Ji-hyuk stroked his unkempt beard, then buttoned up his unfastened dress shirt.

“Level 3 means nearby guilds and extermination forces will be swarming in. Got it. I’m heading out.”

“Huh? You mean you’re going personally, sir?”

“So? Should I call back everyone who’s already clocked out? It’s Friday. I’ll go check the situation myself and report back.”

“Mr. Ji-hyeok…”

The situation commander was moved by Kwak Ji-hyuk’s personal initiative.

He immediately sent a standby message to his hunters while relaying this information to the Busan Regional Hunter Bureau.

Relief could be heard in their voices as well.

– Truly Busan’s hero! We are always grateful for Taebaek’s hard work.

Kwak Ji-hyuk unfolded the folded heel of his shoe, slipped his foot in, and stood before the first-floor elevator.

Moments later, the elevator doors opened, and a large number of hunters poured out.

“Director? Are you leaving too?”

One of the hunters, who had given a light bow and was rushing out, paused to ask.

He was the B-rank hunter on duty, currently the highest-ranked hunter remaining inside the guild.

“Well, I suppose I should be going, shouldn’t I?”

“Understood! I’ll get there as quickly as possible!”

Feeling reassured by Kwak Ji-hyuk’s smile, the hunter swiftly followed the others.

Kwak Ji-hyuk, ranked 5th among hunters, an S-rank hunter.

The strongest man in Taebaek and its spiritual pillar, his mere presence boosted the morale of the guild members.

Beep.

Kwak Ji-hyuk stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the 35th floor, the building’s highest level.

Why was Kwak Ji-hyuk heading to the rooftop while all the other hunters were heading toward the main entrance on the first floor?

Because moving through high places was far more advantageous for him than low ones.

Whoosh-!

Reaching the top floor, Kwak Ji-hyuk headed for the rooftop.

He climbed over the railing.

The waist-high stainless steel fence had a single door for one person. Opening it revealed a long, narrow platform resembling a diving board.

“Let’s see where it is. Over there, right?”

Kwak Ji-hyuk stepped onto the platform.

and jumped straight down toward the ground.

Whoosh-!

Kwak Ji-hyuk plunged toward the ground, meeting a tremendous wind.

In an instant, had he descended halfway down the building?

Whoosh-!

A sudden violent gust of wind swept in and pushed Kwak Ji-hyuk away.

The reason he hadn’t moved from the ground.

Because if this immense whirlwind struck, it could cause damage to the surrounding area.

“I don’t know what kind of arrogant monster you are, but just you wait, I’ll be right there!”

Kwak Ji-hyuk unleashed an even fiercer wind behind him and flew at tremendous speed toward the location of the Dungeon Break.

He returned to the scene of the dungeon break.

‘Damn…’

The neighborhood had been reduced to a desolate ruin.

The ground was churned up as if carpet-bombed, with collapsed buildings and houses visible everywhere.

A 4km radius around the epicenter of the Dungeon Break had been reduced to a wasteland.

‘The damage is too great…’

The site of the Dungeon Break was a complete hellscape, making it impossible to even imagine how many people had perished.

Even though it was a cluster of small, outlying neighborhoods, the damage was catastrophic.

Woooooom-.

Clank- clank-.

Dojae immediately summoned all the golems.

Not only that, he used all the spare low-grade magic stones he had to create more golems.

“Rescue the survivors first!”

Clank-!

Over 200 golems scattered in all directions.

While the hastily assembled hundred golems couldn’t be expected to fight properly, they would have no trouble rescuing people.

Dojae immediately drew his Black Scales.

A dungeon break of this scale would prompt reinforcements from the Association, the Hunter Bureau, and the Extermination Army.

Before that, he had to kill as many monsters as possible to minimize casualties.

Dojae used the golem’s nerves to lift the surrounding boulders into the air and hurled them straight toward the sky.

Whoosh-!

Thud!

“Kee-eek!”