SWNOVELXO Chapter 140: Kagoshima Dragon Raid (3)
“I’m just so happy to be cooperating with the Korean folks.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
As I readily accepted the greeting, Ito smiled and continued his hospitality.
“Was the journey tough? Are you satisfied with the airport in Japan?”
After a few more polite remarks, Ito graciously guided us to our destination.
Our goal was a lodging in Kagoshima Prefecture.
It was a historic Royal Hotel with a breathtaking view of the seaside.
*
Thud!
Upon arriving at the hotel, Kang Chang-ho and I encountered the remaining S-Class hunters from Japan.
Yet something feels off right from the start.
Kang Chang-ho, standing around 190cm tall, bumped his head against the doorframe as he entered the room.
The hunter on the opposite side froze in surprise as he attempted to greet us.
“Ah, ah, hello… By the way, are you alright?!”
Since S-Class hunters colliding with concrete generally means the latter gets damaged, there seemed to be no cause for concern.
“Hello, I’m Kim Gi-ryeo.”
I noticed the doorframe was intact and extended my hand for a handshake.
In this room, all the hunters present were owners of monstrous awakening levels.
From the right: S-Class, S-Class, A-Class, S-Class….
A team of ten, all at least A-Class or above. This must be Japan’s prepared dragon hunters.
‘The A-Class ones are usually support roles like buffers or healers.’
I scanned the hunters around me. Then, from across the room came a bright voice.
“By the way, I’m really moved that the Korean team has come! Thank you for cooperating with the raid!”
“Not at all.”
“Indeed, just like the land of Jeong Ha-seong, the Korean hunters have a strong sense of justice!”
Oh right. Thinking back, I learned after entering the country that Jeong Ha-seong is surprisingly famous in Japan.
“I’m a fan of Jeong Ha-seong~”
“Really? Then you must feel disappointed that someone like me came instead of him.”
“Huh! No, no, that’s not what I meant!”
The hunter, introducing herself as Iori, widened her eyes and continued.
“Besides, on second thought, it’s probably for the best that Ha-seong isn’t here! It would have just been noisy if he came.”
There was one reason for his negative reaction.
Coincidentally, the top hunter in Japan was also a fire attribute awakened like ours.
‘It’s not statistically impossible that fire attribute would be the most prevalent on this planet.’
As you know, Jeong Ha-seong is a natural fire mage with a mana capacity 1.5 times the S-Class average.
Not to mention the sheer magic power he had.
Ha-seong had once been called a machine for clearing dungeons, and his achievements were truly extraordinary.
‘Was that person who welcomed us at the airport Japan’s fire mage?’
Because of this, some hunters constantly found themselves being compared to Jeong Ha-seong.
With an overwhelming champion present, the unfortunate second place faced unwanted difficulties.
“Mr. Kim Hunter, just in case, please don’t mention Jeong Ha-seong in front of our guild master.”
“Understood…”
I nodded to the advice of the Japanese hunter.
Just then, as the saying goes, “speak of the devil.” The guild master from Imabari entered our room.
“I apologize for being late. I’ve brought the rest of the members as well.”
Following Ito’s guidance, four more Japanese hunters entered.
This was the entirety of the participants in the upcoming Dragon Raid.
And the reason we gathered like this was…
“Thank you all for coming. As mentioned earlier, please sign these documents.”
The Knight’s Pact was presented shortly after.
I aimed to finalize the compensation beforehand before entering the gate.
I didn’t want to find myself caught with nothing after receiving help.
—————=
Contract Details
1. Upon the completion of the raid, Kim Gi-ryeo shall,
from the monsters dropped at the so-called [Kagoshima Gate],
select one item of his choosing and receive it.
2. To accurately assess the dropped items,
all participants of the raid must disclose their acquired rewards to Kim Gi-ryeo.
(Within three days after the boss’s death.)
—————=
I would claim one item obtained from the dungeon.
“Hopefully, if we get lucky and the Dragon’s Heart drops, that would be quite something~”
“Akada, stop joking around, we have important guests here.”
Right. Most would think that I’d be taking the Dragon’s Heart.
But what I was really aiming for was something entirely different.
‘The Organs.’
Pointless parts with no special functions often overlooked as trash.
That was precisely what I needed.
‘If I ended up with something silly like a Dragon’s Eye after such a rare chance, I would definitely want to flip the table.’
I glanced fleetingly at where Kang Chang-ho was and then turned my head back to the front.
“Complete disclosure of all items acquired from the dungeon…”
Though the Japanese side wouldn’t be entirely satisfied with all the terms, they surely couldn’t reject it either.
—————=
3. Should Kim Gi-ryeo fail to “completely seal off” the boss monster,
the contract shall be voided.
3-1. Regarding the criteria for complete sealing off… (omitted)
—————=
Because I had clearly spelled out the conditions for when I do fail.
“Completely seal off the boss?”
“What’s that S-Class’s ability attribute?”
“Not really sure.”
If the assistant fails to provide, the contract is rendered null.
I figured this clause would give them enough assurance.
“I think it’s a reasonable condition.”
“Me too.”
“Asking for S-Class’s assistance isn’t too shabby. It’s not costing us anything, right?”
The Japanese hunters pondered for a moment before starting to sign one by one.
Typically, they would have thought longer, but given the current situation in Japan, who knows if they survive?
“Isn’t it a bit cheeky to sit back and claim tips while not even joining the fight?”
Of course, there were some murmurs of discontent, but this resolved itself quietly.
“Hey, think about it. No matter how many dragons are in that dungeon, the Dragon’s Eye or Dragon’s Heart won’t drop easily.”
“Y-Yeah, that’s true…”
“And even if it did drop, if an S-Class can incapacitate the boss, wouldn’t that be worth it? Just like how the Nuckelavee was the biggest problem in Hawaii.”
At this point, even the greed-filled hunters would be able to calculate what was beneficial.
“All done.”
A moment later, I looked over the Knight’s Pact, which contained the signatures of all raiders, with satisfaction.
With the reward determined, now we only need to plan how to hunt the dragon.
“The contract is complete, so how about we have a meal first, and then you can hear our raid plans?”
I accepted Ito’s follow-up suggestion.
*
“The Korean ranker is so arrogant.”
In the hotel restaurant.
Amidst the moderate commotion, a quiet voice spoke Japanese from a distance away from Gi-ryeo’s table.
“Since they appeared at the airport until now, their expression hasn’t changed at all.”
“Really?”
“They’re entering an S-Class gate, aren’t those guys scared at all?”
The Japanese man’s expression was calm, but his tone was sharp.
He wasn’t trying to establish territory, but his annoyance grew seeing the composed demeanor of the ones he found frightening.
“Hmmm.”
Hearing her words, S-Class hunter Iori turned to look back.
The Korean rankers were indeed calmly having their meals even at this moment.
They seemed too relaxed for people about to enter combat…
“Maybe it’s because they’re not directly participating in the battle?”
“That’s exactly what I mean!”
Clunk.
An Imabari guild member put down his bowl irritably.
“If they’re going to help, shouldn’t they help properly? Why just play support? And leaving everything that’s not the main monster to us?”
“Keep it down. Your voice might get picked up by a translator.”
“At first, I was happy to hear that an S-Class from another country was coming, but this is just them trying to show off. It’s despicable!”
The A-Class hunter added a few words with frustration.
“I would have preferred if Jeong Ha-seong had come instead.”
However, even Iori didn’t dare to dismiss that remark outright.
“That’s certainly true…”
The atmosphere of Japan’s hunter industry was quite different from Korea.
For starters, all four S-Class hunters belonged to one guild.
Harmony and collaboration.
The S-Class here chose to wear gear that defended against each other’s attributes, even if their efficiency was slightly hampered, and work together cohesively.
Thus, Imabari Guild had numerous pieces of high-performance fire-resistant equipment.
“We can withstand Ito’s power too. If Jeong Ha-seong had come, we could have definitely taken synergies to the next level.”
Perhaps our Imabari guild would indeed be the best in cooperation at such high levels.
Iori thought this as he licked his lips, feeling slightly regretful about not teaming up with Korea’s number one.
“By the way, did those Korean folks come without resistance gear?”
“They said they’d be fine since both would be staying back.”
“Ugh, so annoying. These gloomy people. Just hope they get a direct hit like a lung from the dungeon rewards.”
But at that moment, no one realized.
The hunter with the three hundred eyes was about to stir a storm in this raid.
*
Moments later.
“……”
“……”
A dragon hunting party composed of Japan’s elite hunters and Korea’s dispatched members stepped into the S-Class Gate.
But this time, the goal was not to clear the gate.
They simply wanted to line up together before the real hunt began.
“Huh?”
The Japanese hunters, wanting to show off their hunting style, decided to practice by capturing a dragon near the entrance.
At that moment, the Korean dispatched hunter spoke.
He wanted to test if his skills were effective too.
And the result of that was right in front of everyone.
Roar!
Boom…
Before them was a giant monster emitting a black wave, roaring loudly.
Yet unlike the absolute image described in mythology, this being was pitifully bound in thick threads of light.
Sssshhh.
Soon, the dragon greatly inflated its lungs. It exhaled a powerful venomous mist.
Humans, beasts, plants.
It seemed ready to bring anything and everything to the brink of death with its fierce poison.
Yet even the dragon’s breath, filled with immense magical power, failed to sever the threads that bound it.
Instead, the reptile’s thrashing resulted in its body tearing, blood gushing out.
Kraaak! Krrrr…
A horrifying end.
The hunters gathered at the gate fell silent, staring at the reptile that had died from excessive blood loss and blankly looked on.
“Going well!”
The atmosphere was shattered by a certain blond man.
‘Just a brief practice, and one power core is gone.’
Eek!
The [Infinite Power Core] was inherently an unsuitable item for hunting.
If mana potions are hamburgers, cores are gasoline.
These were materials meant to supply power to fixed rituals of specific scope, not for human use.
‘If I could cast fireballs with this mana source, I might as well take on Jeong Ha-seong by now.’
However, as always, extremes reveal the path.
The lack of mobility from the core became trivial in front of the Great Mage’s skills.
He utilized this mana source to create binding magic that even suppressed dragons.
“This skill… Could it be [Binding]?”
What he demonstrated was a lower-level binding technique.
Here, it was referred to as binding.
‘In this world, the higher your own mana, the stronger your binding. It shouldn’t be weird for an S-Class hunter to be at this level.’
Unlike other awakened beings here, he was a genuine mage capable of artificially adjusting the intensity of his binding skill.
However, Gi-ryeo simply nodded and chose to remain silent.
If they realized they needed to initiate the binding using their own bodies while he could delegate even that to the core, it wouldn’t simply be a matter of envy.
“Hmm.”
Of course, it wasn’t a method he could use recklessly for other reasons too.
With the one core he just used obliterated, the expense was essentially hundreds of thousands for every second of magic continuity.
“In any case, I’ve shown my strength, so I’ll leave the rest to you. If you escort me to the end of the dungeon, I’ll bind the boss the same way. I’ll make sure to secure its jaw as well. It won’t be able to do anything at all.”
This was the very peak of inefficiency. At this rate, calling it [Binding] wouldn’t even be out of place; it could well be dubbed [Bank Ruin]…
Gi-ryeo silently contemplated.
Yet, for some reason, no answers came back from the opposite side.
“Is that even binding?”
“What a fool…”
“Why is someone like that ranked ninth in Korea?”
Buzzing.
Suddenly, the Japanese hunters began whispering seriously amongst themselves.
“Ito-san, by the way, I heard somewhere that it’s true he has no guild affiliation?”
And with one of the group members bringing it up, the atmosphere shifted.
“No guild?”
“Unaffiliated?”
“Yeah. As far as I could confirm, he’s completely a freelancer.”
“Oh?”
“What?”