Chapter 36 - Final Battle (1)
Seo-joon and Man-cheol continued to dismantle the corpse.
Normally, the work would have been completed immediately, but it took a little longer to work on the monster Soyeon raided.
Mancheol stared blankly at the goblin corpse that Soyeon raided, then spat out words.
“Did you put an iron plate on your face? There is no reaction.”
“Four! You expected it to be.”
Seo-joon answers with a squat.
“The plague of being net.”
Mancheol shook his head and asked again.
“What did the organizers say?”
“It’s obvious.”
Seo-jun put the goblin corpses in front of Man-cheol.
Yesterday, when Seoyoon immediately protested to the organizers, she was able to hear the answer the same day.
Contrary to the expectation that it would take about a day, the answer came back quickly, but it seemed that he knew that Seoyoon was the granddaughter of the swordsman.
However, apart from that, the answer from the organizers was not cool.
The organizers were in the position that it was impossible to determine whether the participant instigated it simply by the fact that the surrounding dungeons were booked.
Obvious obvious answer. Seojun wasn't expecting too much anyway.
And to argue with it, there was nothing to say even if it was Seo-joon's speculation.
Of course, anyone other than an idiot could tell that it was not speculation, but it could not be denied that there was no accurate evidence.
It was not because he cheated in the first place, but because he found a loophole in the rules.
“Still, he probably didn’t show the gesture.”
“They said they would give you a warning.”
“Sea Pearl. Didn't they all eat money?”
Of course, it was possible, but there was no way to confirm right now.
Mancheol continued to work with a disapproving expression on his face.
Seo-jun, who quickly disposed of the goblin corpse and made a reservation near the dungeon that So-yeon reserved.
And this time, there was a certain distance, so I didn't face So-yeon like before.
That time when I was processing the dungeon quickly and waiting for the next dungeon.
“hmm? Have these guys given up?”
Suddenly, Mancheol tilted his head and murmured.
Seo-joon asked Man-cheol.
“What do you mean?”
“Look here.”
Mancheol turned the screen of his smartphone and showed it to Seojun.
Then, a list of dungeons that can be reserved appears. Seo-joon could understand Man-cheol's words without having to look carefully.
“You didn’t reserve the surrounding dungeons?”
There were quite a few dungeons available for reservation near the dungeon that Seo-joon booked.
Of course, there were sparsely reserved dungeons, but they were completely different from the last time there were none.
“They seemed to think that their losses were worse because we kept catching up. I guess I gave up because I didn’t want to.”
Mancheol nodded his head in satisfaction and murmured.
But Seo-joon couldn't just think that way.
“Hmm… but don’t you think you give up too soon?”
“That's true, but it could be that you're giving up on winning and aiming for second place.”
“It can be, but...”
Even so, Seo-joon couldn't shake off a feeling of uneasiness.
It wasn't that Man-cheol was wrong, but it was because he wouldn't have done such a trick if he had had such a normal mind in the first place.
Seeing Seo-joon like that, Man-cheol said as if it was a big deal.
“Isn’t it a good thing for us anyway?”
“It does.”
Seo-joon nodded and pushed the rising doubt into a corner.
However, soon after, Seo-joon had to face that doubt once again.
Seo-jun arrives at the next dungeon with Man-cheol.
That time when I was about to push myself right into the crack.
Whoops.
Suddenly, a crack opened and a man I had never seen in the dungeon walked out.
Seojun was momentarily taken aback and asked.
“...Who are you?”
“huh? Who is that?”
Then, the opponent also seemed to be embarrassed.
Looks like another participant in the dungeon clearing contest.
Seojun said to the man.
“This is the dungeon I reserved, but why are you coming out here?”
“what? You reserved this dungeon?”
“yes.”
“No way? Is this the dungeon I reserved?”
For a moment, Seo-joon wondered what the man meant.
Besides, I couldn't understand what the situation was like now.
Seo-joon confirmed to the dungeon supervisor what this was all about.
And the confirmed fact was that the dungeon Seo-joon had reserved was correct.
“Oh no! Wasn't that what I booked? I thought it was the dungeon I booked again.”
Then, the man scratches the back of his head shyly.
The testimony of the man who followed was as follows.
I thought this dungeon was the dungeon he reserved.
So I came to do a raid and arrived, but the supervisor was nowhere to be seen.
It was a reserved dungeon anyway, so why not wait? I started the raid right away.
“What are you talking about? I haven't taken one step out of here.”
“Really? It wasn't there when I came... Then I must have looked at it wrong.”
“What is that…”
At the shameless man’s words, the supervisor looked blankly at the man with a bewildered expression.
But what has already happened.
Then he bowed his head to Seo-joon and apologized.
“sorry. I should have made sure.”
Seo-joon couldn't argue with such a supervisor.
Dungeon supervisors were ordinary civil servants in the region.
In a word, ordinary people.
On the other hand, the contestants were Hunter Academy students, and even if they were only students, they were superhuman compared to the general public.
If he made up his mind and acted, the supervisors had no way to do anything.
“This is a clear rule violation. I will disqualify you.”
The only thing that can be done is these follow-up measures.
“I can't help this. It is entirely my mistake and fault, so I will humbly accept it.”
The man replied that the fact that he was disqualified did not matter.
“I'm sorry bro.”
Then, while apologizing to Seo-joon, he left with a heavy heart.
Seo-joon looked at the man blankly and said to the supervisor.
“What will happen if this happens?”
“The dungeon will be invalidated.”
“Invalid? Since this is the dungeon I reserved first, shouldn’t the number of dungeon raids be counted by me?”
“That's... I'm sorry. I can't because of the rules.”
The supervisor's explanation was that there was too much room for cheating.
If that was possible, it would have been enough to make a reservation and instruct someone else to clear the dungeon.
Even so, the number is counted, so it could happen if you just sit still and make a reservation.
No matter how much the purpose of this contest itself is to raid untreated dungeons, since the contest was a contest, there had to be fairness.
“I'm really sorry.”
That's why Seo-joon couldn't just push the supervisor, who apologized over and over again.
And it was unfair, but I can't just sit still and blame what happened.
Even if it's a question later, now was the time to move.
but.
“Oops. This is a big mistake I made.”
Even in the next dungeon.
“huh? Wasn’t that the dungeon I reserved?”
Also in the next dungeon.
“I didn’t know. I'm so sorry about this.”
Also in the next dungeon.
Seo-joon went through the same situation as before.
At this point, I had no idea how things were going.
Day 5 of the contest ended like that.
[1st place: Kim Seo-joon - 89 (+5)]
[2nd place: Lee So-yeon - 87 (+26)]
[3rd place Park Jeong-ju - 41 (+11)]
[4th place: Lee Ha-yeon - 39 (+8) ]
Seojun ended up raiding only 5 dungeons.
Quaang!
“Oh shit! Aren’t you all crazy?!”
Mancheol, unable to bear this fact, let out an angry roar.
“Damn it! How can you be like that everywhere you go! Didn’t all the supervisors eat money for this?”
“This… this isn’t it. I will protest properly even if I borrow my grandfather’s name.”
And this time, it seemed that Seoyoon was also very angry.
At the point where he spoke without hesitation about the act of borrowing the name of the Sword Saint he hated so much.
And if even the name of the swordsman came up, the organizers had to make a clear gesture in some way.
Sure enough, the answer I heard was about the revision of the regulations.
‘If another participant raids a reserved dungeon without permission, the raid count may be transferred at the discretion of the dungeon supervisor.'
The answer came back in less than a day.
I didn't know what kind of protest Seoyoon had made, but I could roughly guess from the quick revision of the regulations.
This wouldn't happen like yesterday, but the problem was that the day had already been blown away.
And besides that, it was also a problem to maliciously reserve all the surrounding dungeons.
However, it was not against the rules, so we couldn't come up with any other countermeasures.
Above all, it was impossible to use it again because many of the participants who were mobilized there were disqualified this time.
Still, there is no way to hinder Seo-joon.
Day 6 of the dungeon clearing contest started like that.
however.
“hey! What are you doing just blocking it! Move!”
“Oh sorry. Contrary to
the thought that there would be no further interruption, in the end, a trick came in to find a way.
They blocked the way of Seo-joon and Man-cheol with really trivial but time-consuming things.
“What about this? I forgot to doze off... Do you have any injuries? Let’s go to the hospital first.”
On the other hand, intentionally making a light contact accident.
“oh! sorry. I couldn’t see the signal because I was looking at my phone.”
Even though the signal came in, I deliberately didn't go.
Seo-joon somehow managed to hold on to the road to the dungeon.
And those mobilized like that are ordinary people, not contestants.
This time, it was impossible to challenge anyone.
As a result.
[1st place: Lee So-yeon - 111 (+24)]
[2nd place: Kim Seo-joon - 110 (+21)]
Eventually, the rankings were reversed at the end of the 6th day.
Upon hearing this fact, Seoyoon of course strongly protested to the organizers.
The organizers actively launched an investigation into Seoyoon, who protested by citing the name of the swordsman.
but.
“They are completely denying their relationship with Lee So-yeon.”
They all said it was just a coincidence.
I'm sorry for the damage, but what if the situation was like that?
When they said it like they were hungry, they couldn't take any action.
It was also the fact that they weren't even participants in the first place.
“There won’t be any money eaten. Can’t we investigate the source of the funds?”
“So the head of the dungeon management team said he would investigate directly...”
“It must be that there is no time left. pestilence.”
At Mancheol's words, Seoyoon nodded and said.
“As time goes by, I recognized a person named Lee So-yeon. I heard that the director of the academy is Lee Seok-man.”
“Lee Seok-man?”
When Mancheol tilted his head, Seoyoon immediately continued.
“I’m a retired A-class professional hunter now. He’s one of the few people my grandfather approves of.”
“what? A professional hunter recognized by the swordsman? Are your skills that great?”
Seoyoon shook her head slightly and replied.
“no. They say he has no skills, but his mouth is slick.”
“It's just that your mouth is shiny...?”
“There are a lot of connections here and there.”
“Somehow, I recognized Sea Pearl from the time he started playing tricks like this.”
Mancheol shook his head and shouted.
“So maybe… even if you investigate, it will be hard to find out. Even if it turns out, it will be after quite a long time. If Grandpa stepped in himself, it would be resolved soon...”
Seoyoon seemed to be thinking of doing it if things didn't go well, but Seojun wasn't in a very good position.
Of course, as Seoyoon said, if Geomseong stepped forward, it would be solved quickly, but if that happened, it was no different than having a dinosaur intervene in a children's fight.
Above all, I had to think about the noise that the swordsman would threaten if the swordsman really came forward.
There was a big difference between borrowing a name and stepping out in person.
“It doesn't seem like the swordsman is stepping out on his own.”
“I think so too. More than anything, I can’t even contact my grandfather right now.”
“Then what are you going to do? But you can't miss the championship like this.”
At Mancheol's words, Seojun picked up his smartphone and checked the rankings once again.
[1st place: Lee So-yeon - 111 (+24)]
[2nd place: Kim Seo-joon - 110 (+21)]
Only one difference.
There was absolutely no gap that could not be caught up.
It wasn't just about catching up, but if there were no more hindrances in the future, Seo-joon could have widened the overwhelming gap.
But the problem is, of course, that I won't leave it alone.
Seojun was lost in thought for a moment.
“sorry. Mr. Seojun.”
But Seoyoon's apology came out of nowhere.
“yes? Are you sorry? Why are you sorry, Mr. Seoyoon?”
When Seo-jun asked in bewilderment, Seo-yoon gently lowered her head and said.
“I don’t think… I can be of much help.”
“What are you talking about after you have been helping me? This is because Seoyoon-ssi actively stepped forward. Otherwise, it would have been worse.”
“That's what Seojun said. Seoyoon, you did the best you could. The rest is up to us.”
Then, Mancheol pointed at Seojun with his finger and said.
“Exactly, this guy.”
“But...”
Seoyoon couldn't hide her apologetic expression.
“That’s true.”
Mancheol shook his head and said to Seojun.
“This boy. Can't you see that Seoyoon is worried? So stop babbling and speak quickly. Do you have any ideas?”
“I can't fool you, sir.”
“I have been with you for almost 10 years. I can see what you’re thinking just by looking at your rolling eyes.”
“Ah, isn’t that enough?”
“Fat. It just flows in.”
Seoyoon looked at Seojun with surprised eyes at the conversation between the two.
At Seoyoon's expression, which resembled a crying cat, Seojun laughed for no reason.
Seojun explained to Seoyoon the method he had in mind.
So, the 7th day of the dungeon clearing contest.
The morning of the last day dawned.