LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 2 - Unwanted Opportunity
Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: KYSOIWDI
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[ Chapter 2: Unwanted Opportunity (1) ]
19 years later.
Third floor, Meeting Room 2, Ability Management Bureau, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
A screen covering one side of the wall displayed a map of Seoul. A man in a perfectly neat suit stood in front of it and spoke.
“Yeongdeungpo’s Second Dungeon and Inwangsan’s First Dungeon have both risen to danger level 2 at 9:42 AM and 10:17 AM respectively.”
Though his voice was monotonous, he spoke softly.
Hunters, who had already been briefed about the dungeon raids, listened to the man’s explanation in a laid-back manner.
The man frowned.
“Are you not listening properly? Even if they’re classified as B and C-grade dungeons, the interiors become unstable once the danger level rises. Stay alert. Don’t fumble when you get inside.”
Only then did the hunters straighten their postures. Still dissatisfied, the man continued his explanation while looking at them.
“Team 2 will handle the B2-level Yeongdeungpo Dungeon. Team 2, any changes?”
“Nope.”
A woman sitting at the very back of the meeting room answered indifferently. The man ignored her attitude.
“Team 1 has gone to the Taean Dungeon, and Teams 3 and 4 are resting after just coming out of a dungeon. The Inwangsan Dungeon will be handled by an external guild.”
This information had already been conveyed.
“Supplies have been prepared. Team 2 leader, check once more to ensure nothing is missing. Dungeon entry is scheduled for 2 PM.”
The man glanced at the time. It was just about lunchtime.
The man, still looking displeased, asked the hunters.
“Any other questions?”
“…”
“Didn’t think so. Then have your meal, and Team 2, review the dungeon information and stand by. The operations room will cover for me while I’m gone. Dismissed.”
The man unilaterally ended the meeting. Since it was merely a dungeon raid briefing, no one raised any objections.
After the hunters had all left, only the man and the woman who had been sitting at the back remained in the meeting room.
The man frowned at the woman, but soon relaxed his expression and smiled brightly.
“What is it, Hunter Yoo Ji-eun?”
“What about the dungeon I mentioned?”
“Dungeon?”
The man tilted his head to the side and then slowly acknowledged her as if he remembered.
“Oh, the Bangi-dong Dungeon? Upon checking, it turned out to be just a D-grade dungeon.”
Yoo Ji-eun frowned.
“Dungeon grade and danger level are separate issues. It needs to be raided.”
“The danger level is 6, though. Dungeon raids start at danger level 2 and above. Remember? Given your experience, you should know this, Hunter Yoo Ji-eun.”
“I have a bad feeling about it.”
The man openly sighed.
“It’s difficult to justify raiding a D6 dungeon just because of a bad feeling. Do you know what resources come out of the Bangi-dong Dungeon? Magic stones. If we close it recklessly, who knows what kind of weird name we might get in the news.”
“Hey.”
“No matter how much of an S-grade hunter you are, you can’t ignore procedures. Do you know what they call that? Abuse of power.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing, parachute boy.”
(E/N: Parachute is slang for someone who reached their position through nepotism)
The man’s eyes widened.
“Have you ever seen such a capable parachute?”
“If you were incompetent, I would have stabbed you long ago.”
“If a hunter attacks a public official, it won’t end with just simple assault.”
Gathering the briefing materials, the man passed by the woman as if he would listen no more.
The woman hesitated and then spoke.
“…I really have a bad feeling about it.”
“So, if you want to raid it, come with proper evidence. There’s nothing more unreliable than a hunter’s intuition.”
“You have a hunter’s license too, don’t you?”
“Which is exactly why I don’t trust it.”
The man looked at the woman and then smiled gently.
“If it were me, I’d spend my time preparing for the raid instead of making unnecessary suggestions. Ah, well….”
But that smile soon turned into an annoying smirk as one corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
“Given that you’re Hunter Yoo Ji-eun, I’m sure you’ll handle it well. Feel free to waste as many support items as you want in my absence.”
“What the… Are you really leaving before a raid? Aren’t you working?”
“I’ve already worked more than enough to get sick of it.”
The man turned his back to the woman and headed for the door.
“Coincidentally, I’m on vacation starting at 2 PM. Don’t contact me.”
“Hey! Woo Hee-jae!”
Then, in a disgustingly sweet voice, he added.
“Anyway, once you’re in the dungeon, you can’t contact anyone, right? Perfect timing.”
The woman’s face twisted in anger.
* * *
Two days later, at night.
Busan, South Korea. A high-end bar overlooking the sea.
As soft jazz played in the background, there was a commotion at a window-side table.
“Oh my, so this is the thing that was on the news?”
The man in the elegant suit rolled up his sleeve, revealing a watch with a rugged design that didn’t match his suit.
The man smiled awkwardly and answered, “It’s a joint venture between the government and the Korea Magic Research Institute. It’s still in the testing phase, so there are only two of these in all of South Korea.”
It was a very humble statement. At least, I thought so.
Why, you ask?
Because this prototype wasn’t just one of two in South Korea, but one of only two in the entire world!
“Wow…”
I looked at the women with a proud heart.
Usually, I would be drinking alone while looking at the night view from a skyscraper hotel, but today was my day off. It was nice to talk to civilians instead of the hunters I see every day at work. It was also a chance to gauge the public image of the Management Bureau.
…Oh. Maybe I shouldn’t mention that I work for the Management Bureau.
“Then isn’t it really amazing?”
Yes, it was incredibly amazing.
The hardships we had endured to develop this flashed before my eyes.
“You must be an incredible hunter!”
Even though I was tired of hearing the mindless comments from hunters, the genuine admiration from civilians was soothing.
“I do have a license, but I’m not a hunter.”
“Then…?”
“Didn’t you say you work at the Ability Management Bureau?”
They seemed confused by the idea of having a hunter’s license but not being a hunter. Was it hard for civilians to understand the inner workings of the Bureau? Well, I guess they wouldn’t know unless they were interested.
I smiled kindly.
“Yes. But the Ability Management Bureau doesn’t consist only of hunters.”
The Ability Management Bureau oversees all hunters and dungeons in South Korea. Since modern society couldn’t function properly without hunters and dungeons, the Bureau tends to concentrate a significant amount of social power.
Given its importance, we couldn’t leave such a crucial task entirely to hunters, who might not be the brightest. While hunters lead dungeon raids, others handle all other tasks. I’m one of those others.
Actually, I’m a manager who oversees those people. That’s who I am.
Would an ordinary employee have a prototype that exists only in two units in all of South Korea?
“My role is to support hunters so they can focus on dungeon raids. I report directly to the Director.”
“The Director of the Bureau, isn’t he the top hunter in our country?”
Given his fame, the reactions that were somewhat indifferent turned excited. It was convenient to drop his name at times like this.
I smiled broadly and nodded. I still had more convenient stories to tell at times like this.
“Yes. I’m embarrassed to say, but he’s my father.”
“Your father?”
“Technically, my foster father.”
“Oh…”
The women responded mechanically.
“When I was young, I got caught up in an accident and lost my parents. The Director who saved me adopted and raised me.”
It wasn’t a lie. It was true.
It was true that he saved me and that he adopted me.
“To repay that kindness, I studied hard and now work under my father. Oh, and please don’t misunderstand, it’s not because of any special treatment.”
This was a lie. Actually, it was special treatment.
No, it wasn’t entirely special treatment. I just used the existing system to become a public servant. Like the extra points for having a Hunter license, things like that.
I didn’t create a new system to get in; I just used what was available, so it wasn’t special treatment. Definitely not.
If it were someone as rigid and old-fashioned as Yoo Ji-eun, it might be a different story, but even the Director’s hearing went smoothly without any issues.
The women in front of me thought the same.
“Of course. He’s famous for being fair and just, right?”
“Isn’t it rather impressive that you work together as a father and son?”
Usually, when people hear a tear-jerking success story of an orphan adopted after losing both parents in an accident, that’s the kind of reaction they have.
“So, Hee-Jae, how did you end up in Busan? Business trip?”
“A vacation to celebrate my promotion. I wasn’t planning to come, but I hadn’t taken a single day off since last year, so I was practically kicked out.”
This was a half-truth.
Still, the women burst into laughter at my sly words.
“Ahaha, it’s not good to focus too much on work. You need to take breaks too.”
“So, are you all on vacation too…?”
“Yes, we’re on vacation as well.”
“Oh, I hope I’m not disturbing your break….”
Just like they made meaningless polite remarks to me, I threw some back at them. Isn’t this how trust is built in modern society?
This is how we help each other out.
“Thanks to you, we’re seeing something interesting. Could you show us one more time?”
One of the women pointed at the device on my wrist.
“What was it called? I heard it earlier, but it was too long….”
“It’s a Hunter-exclusive miniature multi-functional communication device. We just call it a Magic Watch for convenience. It has more functions than an ordinary watch.”
It was developed under the government’s supervision, and naturally, it would be distributed to the Ability Management Bureau’s Hunters first. It would take at least another ten years before it was available to the public.
This watch would become central to dungeon strategies in the future….
“It looks just like a regular watch.”
“A rather ugly watch, at that.”
“We’re not saying Hee-jae wears an ugly watch.”
The women exchanged remarks and laughed amongst themselves.
“I’m going to brag about this at work. Hee-jae, is it okay if I take a picture of this?”
I shook my head.
I only wanted to hear genuine admiration after dealing with empty-headed hunters who didn’t know the value of this watch. I wasn’t so out of their mind as to reveal classified information to civilians.
“Sorry. It’s still classified.”
“Wow, classified….”
“It’s information that will be released soon anyway, but we can’t get caught up in unnecessary gossip.”
“Right. Of course.”
This is something that public officials must be most wary of.
Isn’t there an old saying that the pen is mightier than the sword?
It’s a good saying.
Invisible power is more terrifying than the physical force right in front of your eyes.
“But it just looks like a watch, it’s not really a watch, right? How do you use this?”
“By registering a magic pattern, no one other than the owner can use it. Hold on. I’ll make it readable for others.”
He adjusted the settings on the Magic Watch. Since there were only two of these items, not all functions were activated, but the basic functions worked properly.
It was actually useful for my work…. There’s no problem showing it to civilians, but what could look impressive?
Yeah. This is it.
A hologram window appeared above the watch. The window, patterned to be visible only to me, changed with simple manipulation to be readable by people without even a speck of magic power.
“Wow….”
“What’s this? A dungeon… danger level list?”
I glanced at the window and explained.
“It’s the status of all the dungeons nationwide. It’s linked with the magic detectors, so you can check the dungeon status in real-time.”
Seoul Yeongdeungpo 2 Dungeon (B) – Danger Level 2
Seoul Inwangsan 1 Dungeon (C) – Danger Level 2
Chungnam Taean 3 Dungeon (A) – Danger Level 3
…
“It’s sorted by danger level… From level 2 and up, it’s an immediate attack target…. These three dungeons are all currently being tackled.”
“Oh… right. I saw it on the news.”
“They went in the other day, so they should be coming out soon. It’ll probably be on the news as completed around tomorrow.”
The women looked at the hologram window with amazement. I leisurely drank my cocktail.
Sometimes it’s okay to enjoy a vacation, isn’t it?
“Huh?”
“Uh, Hee-jae?”
“Yes?”
“This dungeon, its level is suddenly rising, is it okay?”
“What?”
I urgently checked the information window. Dungeons with rapidly changing danger levels appeared at the top.
One dungeon was blinking and changing its numbers.
Seoul Bangi-dong 1 Dungeon (D) – Danger Level 5
Seoul Bangi-dong 1 Dungeon (D) – Danger Level 3
Seoul Bangi-dong 1 Dungeon (D) – Danger Level 1
“…!”
I jumped up from my seat.
!!Seoul Bangi-dong 1 Dungeon (D) – 00000000000
The dungeon had burst.