Chapter 198: Breaker Guild (2)
“Sorok, little Sorok, look at me, will you? Hmm?”
The white fawn lying on the floor blinked at me with its big eyes. It wasn’t even lying on its stomach—its legs were stretched out, and it was completely sprawled out.
“You have to get up. You can’t just keep lying here like this.”
Its ears twitched, and its short tail flicked. But that was the end of its movement.
“Sorok…”
I didn’t even make it do anything strenuous. I was just planning to show it the training room, but it ended up like this before we even arrived. Honestly, didn’t Hyunah get scammed? This kid is so lazy! I’d be relieved if it’s just because it’s still young and needs a lot of sleep.
“At this rate, how are you ever going to grow?”
The problem was that I couldn’t even begin training it in this state. While it would still grow if I applied my growth buff, it would take several times longer compared to when it was actively training. And soon I’d have stamina potions, which could make the growth process even faster.
“…I never thought my own stamina wouldn’t be the issue, but the baby monster’s would.”
The other kids were so energetic that they were even more proactive than I was. I hadn’t considered the possibility of a lazy monster. And it’s a deer, not a turtle.
“Come on, get up, okay? Or we can just go back home. This is a hallway, you know.”
I tried lifting it, but it was no use. It was already fairly big and heavy, so even dragging it was too much for me. Maybe I should call someone for help.
I reached out and scratched the soft, white fur where its side and legs met. Stretching as if it felt refreshed, Sorok turned over onto its other side.
“You’re really not planning to get up?”
— Beeeeeh.
Sorok let out a whiny cry, as if complaining. So now I had a nocturnal and low-activity baby monster on my hands. In such cases, you’d typically use something the monster likes as bait to get it to move, but I didn’t know much about Sorok yet. Its food was just ordinary dungeon vegetation, which the Breaker Guild delivered every morning.
Unlike the omnivorous unicorns, Sorok was strictly herbivorous and only ate mana stones as snacks. Instead, it devoured fruits and grass like an elephant. Its body was the size of a grown calf, but it had such a high digestion and absorption rate that it could seemingly eat endlessly.
“Well, if you like it here, let’s just sit here together.”
I sat down next to Sorok, taking a spot on the floor. Sorok lifted its head and plopped it right onto my lap. Its short tail wiggled back and forth.
“It’s okay. There’s no rush. Blue’s almost fully grown anyway. Blue isn’t shy, is friendly with Hyunah, and enjoys dungeon raids, so she can more than make up for it while Sorok grows.”
Even after Sorok fully matured, Hyunah could still take Blue with her into dungeons, depending on the situation. Blue could fly, after all. Hyunah wasn’t particular about elemental resistance either.
“As long as you eat well and stay healthy when you’re young, that’s what matters. Of course, you can’t cause trouble for others, but you’re a good kid, Sorok.”
It’s better to have a monster that’s calm, even if low-energy, rather than one that’s too aggressive to handle. Since Sorok is a mount-type monster, being too docile after maturing might be an issue, but it should be fine. After all, it’s a boss monster—when it counts, it’ll perform well.
“Should I figure out what kind of food you like? Maybe there’s something you’d find interesting. What dungeon did you come from again? Should I read up on Snowfield Reindeer strategy guides?”
Those guides would probably just explain how to hunt them, so they likely wouldn’t be very helpful. Maybe I should hire an animal behavior specialist? Even if it’s a monster, they’d probably understand it better than I do.
As I considered sorting the food into different types to test its preferences, I heard footsteps approaching. It wouldn’t be Yuhyun or Yerim at this hour, so it must be either Moon Hyunah or Kang Soyeong. Turning my head, I saw Moon Hyunah holding a box that looked like it contained a cake.
“Why are you sitting on the floor in the hallway, Director Han?”
“As you can see, Sorok refuses to budge.”
“Looks like the kid just likes to sleep.”
“Well, they say sleeping a lot when you’re young is important for healthy growth.”
When I stood up, Sorok let out another whining cry. Realizing I wasn’t going to sit back down, it struggled to its feet and stood up, only to start nibbling on the hem of my clothes. That was behavior similar to the unicorns.
“Should we go back home?”
I tried coaxing it with a cheerful “Let’s go,” but it wouldn’t move an inch, still clinging to my clothes. I guess it really liked the hallway.
“Here, try this, Director.”
“What is it?”
“Apple pie.”
Moon Hyunah handed me the box of apple pie and effortlessly lifted Sorok into her arms. Despite Sorok squirming, she didn’t even flinch.
— Beeeeh!
“Quite a strong little one, isn’t it?”
Moon Hyunah chuckled as she carried Sorok toward the breeding room. The breeding room hallway had one wall that was completely open, connecting it to an exercise yard. No matter how well-designed the space was, being confined was still suffocating, so we had laid grass and planted trees in the spacious backyard, enclosing it with high walls so the young monsters could run around freely.
The two unicorn foals, basking in the sunlight and playing with each other, perked up when they saw me and came bounding over.
“The foals have grown a lot too. Blue’s up on the rooftop garden right now—do you think it’s okay to let her out?”
“I’ve taught her not to attack anything.”
With Peace’s help, I’d spent over half a day drilling “No” into her.
“Even so, just in case, we have an A-Rank hunter on watch whenever the exercise yard is open.”
As we passed the training yard, I nodded toward the hunter stationed there as a greeting. Even if Blue reached full maturity, an A-Rank defense-oriented hunter could handle her. Plus, she tended to listen well to familiar people, even if they didn’t have her master’s token. Well, it was less about obedience and more like, “Play with me.”
— Neigh!
— Snort.
The black and white unicorns glanced at Moon Hyunah while nudging their heads against my shoulders. Moon Hyunah, who had just placed Sorok inside the pen, turned her gaze to the unicorns.
“Whitey and Blacky, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Though that wasn’t their original names. When I first handed Sorok over, Moon Hyunah suggested I shouldn’t name the baby monsters myself. But isn’t Sorok just as simplistic? It literally means “small deer.” Sure, the Chinese characters might differ, but to the ear, it’s the same.
“You said Blue’s almost fully grown, so these two aren’t far behind, are they?”
“Yes, that’s right…”
I trailed off mid-sentence, and Moon Hyunah smiled knowingly.
“I’ve heard about Haeyeon restructuring its S-Rank raid team around the mounts. I hear your team is going to shrink significantly.”
“The remaining members will join Hunter Kim Seonghan’s team. It’ll become the fastest S-Rank raid team in the world.”
It would be a small team centered around Peace and Yuhyun, with the two unicorns and a handful of team members. Even in an S-Rank dungeon, few monsters could keep up with the unicorns’ speed. The team would exclude attackers and only consist of defenders, supporters, and healers, with a maximum of six members aside from Yuhyun.
Since Kim Seonghan was a defender, funneling all the leftover attackers to his team meant there was no need to recruit or let anyone go. The only issue was the lack of supporters and healers, but those were slated to be brought in from MKC.
“I’m looking forward to it. You broke a record last time with just you and Peace, didn’t you? If it’s a lower-tier S-Rank land dungeon, I wouldn’t be surprised if you clear it in under three days.”
“With enough firepower, it’s definitely possible. The speed will be on another level.”
With buffs applied, they could blitz through, torching everything in their path. Regular monsters could probably be dealt with in no time at all. Peace was also a unicorn subspecies with sprinting skills, so if their running speed matched their clear speed, they might even finish in two days instead of three.
For higher-tier S-Rank dungeons, they’d have to approach things more cautiously, but I expected the strategy to work up to mid-tier.
“Is Comet in the section with the curtains over there? Soyeong’s been bragging about how much she’s grown.”
“She’s about the same size as Blue is now. Once fully grown, she’ll probably be even bigger.”
“One by one, the kids are moving on. We need to start finding A-Rank mounts quickly too. Better work hard, Director.”
Moon Hyunah smiled warmly at Sorok, her expression filled with anticipation. Just as MKC had unexpectedly collapsed far earlier than in the past, Breaker’s trajectory might also change from what I remembered pre-regression. Even having S-Rank mounts was unprecedented before.
“Since you’ve come all the way here, why don’t you stop by my place for a bit? You brought pie, after all, and I can at least serve you some tea.”
“Oh, before I forget, take this.”
Moon Hyunah handed me a miniature portal key and a set of keys.
“You still haven’t replaced your portal key yet, have you?”
“I’ve replaced the inner doors. The association’s being strangely stiff about the portal itself.”
Even Seong Hyunjae said he’d only consider it if the association approved first. Hanshin was the same way.
“It’s probably because the situation’s so complicated these days.”
Moon Hyunah remarked as she walked ahead. Her long legs moved with ease, but her pace wasn’t too fast—it seemed like she was matching it to mine.
“With MKC collapsing, Yeouido’s been left empty. The association is desperate to fill that space right now.”
The MKC Guild had been based in Yeouido. Breaker was near the Blue House, Hanshin was between Seoul Station and City Hall, Haeyeon was between the Hunter Association and the courts in Gangnam, and Sesung was, somewhat oddly, near the National Cemetery.
“They’re suggesting either Haeyeon or the Breeding Facility be moved to Yeouido. Even though it’s not a guild, the Breeding Facility has enough presence. With S-Rank hunters, monsters, and even a significant number of high-rank hunters around, it’s plenty substantial.”
“Team Leader Seok said to ignore it. He claimed they wouldn’t fund the move anyway.”
It wasn’t like building the Breeding Facility or Haeyeon’s base had been cheap. On top of that, Haeyeon had just started an expansion project recently.
“True, but it’s an excuse to hassle us. Just like with the portal key.”
So it’s just petty obstruction, then. Even though the association had undergone leadership changes, they couldn’t completely ignore external pressure, as evidenced during the recent A-Rank rankings match. That’s probably why they refused my request.
“Maybe we should poke at Sesung instead.”
“If that were possible, Sesung would’ve gone to Yeouido in the first place. There were crazy backdoor negotiations over Sesung’s location back then—politicians, chaebols, you name it. There’s even a rumor that the reason Sesung ended up near the National Cemetery was because they got sick of it all. It was supposedly a response to all those self-proclaimed important people claiming they had to protect someone as significant as him.”
So, basically, if you want to claim you’re worth protecting, you’d better be significant enough to be laid to rest in the National Cemetery? Who knows the real reason, but yeah, Seong Hyunjae didn’t seem like the type to obediently relocate to Yeouido.
“Honestly, there’s no need to demand that guilds with S-Rank hunters relocate. Dungeons can break while the S-Rank hunters are away anyway, and everyone has helicopters these days.”
“Still, we can’t just leave it empty, so I recommended the Woods Guild, which recently merged with Water Spray Guild. But those idiots said they couldn’t trust a female guild leader, never mind the fact that it’s an A-Rank guild. Can you believe it? It’s been three years since the world changed, and those rotten brains are still the same!”
Moon Hyunah scowled deeply as she grumbled. Woods and Water Spray were the guilds led by the first and third place hunters from the last A-Rank rankings match. They had apparently decided to join forces and aim for S-Rank dungeon management rights, resulting in their merger.
“With the first and third place from the rankings match combined, they’d be more reliable than any other A-Rank guild. That’s just an absurd excuse.”
A hunter stationed near the mini-portal greeted Moon Hyunah with a nod as we passed. As we stepped into the house, Peace came bounding up to greet us, wagging his tail enthusiastically.
— Kyaaaow!
“Yeah, yeah, Peace. Where are Chirp and Belare?”
It was suspicious that they didn’t come out to greet me. Peace tilted his head and then trotted ahead, leading the way. He stopped in front of the kitchen door and sat down, looking back at me expectantly.
“Belare!”
The kitchen door’s lock had been melted by poison. There was a fairly large, circular hole where the lock used to be. Judging by the hole, it seemed they had intended to unlock and open the door but gave up and just went through it instead.
“Chirp, did you make Belare do this?”
I threw the door wide open and spotted a small bottle rolling on the dining table. Its cap had also been dissolved by poison, and the bottle was empty. I should’ve known better than to leave a mana stone bottle in the kitchen.
Where are those two troublemakers hiding?
“…Chirp, Dad’s leaving!”
— Chirp!
Chirp floated down from the top of the fridge, landing softly on the dining table. The way he stood there awkwardly, staring at the mana stone bottle, made him look like the guilty party. Then again, lately even Glutton Chirp had been getting smarter, so I couldn’t be sure if this was an act or genuine guilt.
“And where’s Belare?”
— Chirp-chirp.
Chirp pointed one of his small wings at the microwave.
“Good boy. You deserve a reward.”
I smiled brightly as I pulled out a mana stone from my inventory. Chirp chirped happily and ran over to me with excitement. Yep, definitely the guilty one.
“I told you not to go into the kitchen alone, didn’t I?”
— Chirp.
“And I also said poison is dangerous! You’re not supposed to let Belare use poison, understand? Poison is not allowed!”
I picked Chirp up and inspected him carefully to make sure he hadn’t been harmed. Meanwhile, Belare peeked her head out from behind the microwave. When our eyes met, she scuttled out and wagged her tail energetically, a gesture that reminded me of Peace.
“Belare, didn’t I tell you not to use poison without permission?”
— Ssss.
“Come here.”
Hopefully, they hadn’t used poison anywhere else. I wiped down the table and the door with my hands first, then thoroughly cleaned them with wet wipes. Moon Hyunah, watching this scene unfold from beyond the kitchen door, clicked her tongue softly.
“You’ve got your hands full, don’t you, Monster Dad?”
“They’re usually well-behaved, but they just had to get into trouble today.”
I’m serious, so please don’t laugh.
I transferred the apple pie onto plates and brought it out to the living room with some juice. This pie was good. Yerim and Soyeong always managed to find delicious snacks whenever they brought something over.
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me more about Breaker Guild?”
“Our guild?”
“Yes. I’ve heard it’s connected to many places.”
“‘Connected to many places,’ huh.”
Moon Hyunah smiled slyly, tapping the edge of her plate with her fork.
“Want to come and see for yourself?”
“Today?”
“Oh, but some of the facilities are women-only, so you’d have to dress up as a woman to get in.”
“…I’ll pass.”
“Just kidding. Except for the sauna.”
Moon Hyunah popped the last piece of pie into her mouth and stood up.
“I’ll give you a proper tour. Follow me, Director Han.”
–TL Notes–
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