Kim In-ho subtly shifted the direction of the conversation, a timely move since the topic of Kang Dong-hyun had come up.
“Do you still feel the same way about Kang Dong-hyun?”
“Of course. He must die. How could I live comfortably without avenging my mother?”
“Shall we investigate further?”
“No need. He definitely did it. He killed her because she wasn’t his birth mother. He probably had an inferiority complex about being an illegitimate son.”
“Don’t bring up Dong-hyun unless I do. I’ll handle family matters myself.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Kang Taeyang, feeling unsettled, lit a cigar he hadn’t smoked in a long time.
Kim In-ho saw Kang Dong-hyun’s image overlapping with Kang Taeyang’s profile.They resembled each other so much that it was hard to believe they had different mothers.
Yet they both denied being real brothers.
Moreover, each claimed the other was the one who killed their birth mother.
Kim In-ho didn’t want to meddle in family affairs, but he regretted the strained relationship between Kang Taeyang and Kang Dong-hyun.
If only they could merge the Eclipse organization with Taeyang’s organization, their influence would become overwhelmingly powerful.
After all, both were based in Daejeon and Jeonju and had nationwide networks.
Kim In-ho believed the synergy would be tremendous.
However, the grudge between the two brothers seemed too deep.
Around noon.
Kang-ho met with representatives from the Rikou Guild for a briefing on the dungeon they were about to attack.
Since his drink with Ayane was scheduled for the evening, he had plenty of time. He also had skill demonstrations in mind.
The first person to greet Kang-ho, as always, was An Yeong-ho, and there were two other people at the meeting who were new to him.
Fumiya wasn’t there.
The dungeon raid wasn’t appropriate for his level, and he was currently on a tour of cities under the guild’s jurisdiction.
Since the all-out war with the Toushi Guild showed no signs of abating, they were focusing on strengthening their internal unity.
“Hello? I’m Shiraishi Miyuki, the team leader of Special Strategy Team 3.”
“I’m Hayashi Eto. My position is the ‘bagman’ for Team 3. I handle all sorts of odd jobs.”
The two newcomers introduced themselves first, and Kang-ho formally introduced himself as well.
“I’m Shin Kang-ho. Nice to meet you.”
“Don’t mind what Eto said. He’s our main tank in the team’s structure.”
“I see. By the way, I heard the Special Strategy Team of the Rikou Guild only takes on very difficult missions.”
“That’s right. It’s also a reflection of the dungeon we’re about to enter. However, it’s not extremely difficult, so I’m here as the Team 3 leader. Otherwise, it would have been handled by Team 1 or 2.” ŗ
Eto’s slender build didn’t quite match the symbolic role of a main tank.
However, the large shield he carried appeared to be the key item that allowed him to function as a tank.
Miyuki, even while standing still, emitted heat from her entire body.
‘Is she a fire mage?’
As expected.
While moving to the meeting room for the briefing, Kang-ho learned about the classes of the others, confirming his assumptions.
Miyuki was a fire mage specializing in single-target burst damage, and Eto was a defense-focused swordsman. An Yeong-ho participated as a healer.
All of them, including Kang-ho, were below level 400, and there was a reason for that.
“The dungeon we’re entering is a special reinforcement dungeon. There’s no limit to the number of people allowed, but…”
“If certain conditions such as the number of participants or level thresholds are met, the difficulty and internal structure change drastically.”
Before Miyuki could finish her explanation, Kang-ho provided the information he knew. These were the settings from the original story.
In Korea, special reinforcement dungeons only existed in North Korea, but Japan had quite a few of them across the country.
In China, there were even cities filled exclusively with special reinforcement dungeons. It was as if it was all intentionally designed that way.
Miyuki continued.
“As you know, the role we’re asking Shin Kang-ho to play is maintaining sustained bleeding. It’s definitely not easy.”
“I’m prepared for it.”
Kang-ho nodded.
Once a dungeon was labeled as a “special reinforcement dungeon,” the chances of clearing it easily vanished.
If the Rikou Guild, the top guild in the Kansai region, had to request external help from someone like Kang-ho…
It meant that their internal assassins and berserkers couldn’t solve the problem on their own.
“However, before entering the dungeon, you’ll have the chance to face the monsters recreated in 3D modeling in our training facility.”
“That sounds good.”
Kang-ho thought it might be the strength of being the top guild in the Kansai region. Of course, just because a guild held hegemonic power didn’t mean its facilities were always top-notch.
Many guilds focused on quantitative expansion, neglecting qualitative improvement.
A typical example was the Toushi Guild, which opposed the Rikou Guild.
That guild prioritized numbers, making minimal investments in training and safety facilities.
“So, after the internal briefing, we’ll move to the training grounds. But before that, shall we discuss rewards?”
“Settling unpleasant topics early isn’t a bad idea.”
Rewards were always an issue.
If the tug-of-war or power struggle over rewards dragged on, negotiations could take days.
It would be fortunate if a deal was reached, but many cases ended in failure due to greed.
“Would you prefer to take everything except for the boss? Or take all the boss loot?”
Miyuki presented a simple choice.
It wasn’t an unexpected scenario, but since this was an official guild request, Kang-ho had expected more detail.
However, the options were straightforward and easy to understand.
From the Rikou Guild’s perspective, no matter what Kang-ho chose, the total expected benefit would be the same.
The value assessment of loot typically worked that way. The average of statistical data doesn’t lie.
For Kang-ho, though, taking all the boss loot was the obvious choice.
There was a chance of getting high-grade items, and he was much more eager for high-level gear at the moment.
Kang-ho replied briefly.
“I’ll take all the boss loot.”
Thus, the negotiations ended quickly.
Afterward.
After a 2-hour and 30-minute deep briefing session, they moved to the Rikou Guild’s exclusive training facility.
Even though there was no particular danger, they traveled in a secure limousine as a gesture of respect toward Kang-ho.
On the other hand, it seemed like they were worried, albeit a low chance, about the possible appearance of Kenji or Yuuji.
The special training facility was located on the outskirts of Osaka.
Though described as being on the outskirts, the security inside and outside the facility was so tight that it resembled a fortress.
In fact, the Rikou Tower itself seemed less secure by comparison.
“This is the place where Yuuji once came to play and got repelled. The security systems here are really top-notch.”
An Yeong-ho said proudly, his chest puffed up with pride.
It was worth being proud of. Even Kang-ho admired the security, which was superior to the First Research Lab’s.
But soon, An Yeong-ho’s expression changed, as another thought crossed his mind.
“Hyung, I’m sorry. Not just about this, but I should’ve always ensured your safety…”
“I told you it’s fine. It’s all going as expected. I’m fine since I managed well on my own.”
“Still…”
“If we had involved your guild unnecessarily, I would have lost out on item sales. Don’t worry about it. I’m satisfied.”
“Understood, hyung.”
Miyuki and Eto watched Kang-ho and An Yeong-ho’s conversation with content expressions.
It seemed they were touched by the mutual care they showed for each other.
Although Kang-ho spoke in a detached manner, it was clear he was concerned about An Yeong-ho.
Miyuki, who valued An Yeong-ho as both a brother and a promising talent, appreciated this side of Kang-ho.
She added to the conversation.
“I was shocked when I received information about the battle. How did you fight so perfectly?”
“There was sniper support.”
“That doesn’t even count as a variable! Even though you took out one with sniper support, you still had to face three in the end, didn’t you?”
Any hunter who had heard about Cha So-hyuk’s death would have shared Miyuki’s thoughts.
Assassins specialize in one-on-one combat.
That’s not a bias; it’s just how the class is structured, just like how mages specialize in long-range attacks.
Yet, Kang-ho didn’t just defeat one opponent but several, and they were a combination of swordsman, black mage, and assassin.
Logically, it’s hard to believe.
The enemy team had no weak links—tank, damage, and rear attack were all solid. It was a nightmare to deal with.
And yet, Kang-ho finished the battle with only minor injuries, which was astonishing.
Even more surprising was that all four opponents, including the dead archer, were at least 100 levels higher than Kang-ho.
“If you let your guard down, you die. And if you don’t want to die, you have to fight fiercely until the end.”
Kang-ho spoke calmly.
The more indifferent he sounded, the more extraordinary he appeared to those listening.
An Yeong-ho emphasized his point.
“Our hyung always exceeds any expectation! Even other guilds in Japan are already showing tremendous interest in him!”
Despite being in Japan, it felt like Park Dong-jae was standing next to him.
Was it just a feeling?
After arriving at the training ground.
Kang-ho entered the virtual training simulation, where he faced monsters recreated from the dungeon.
The facilities were far better than what Kang-ho had anticipated.
The virtual monsters, rendered in 3D, moved almost as fast as their real-life counterparts.
In poorly designed training facilities, it’s common for the movement of virtual creatures to feel out of sync to the person training.
Sometimes, a monster said to be fast would move slower than expected.
There were even cases where, despite hitting or cutting a virtual monster, the hit detection was unresponsive.
You might wonder, what’s the big deal? But in a dungeon where life is on the line, it makes all the difference.
The role of a bleeding damage dealer requires adapting quickly to unknown dungeons, relying on instincts honed during training.
After all, in order to inflict the ‘bleeding’ effect on a monster, you have no choice but to engage in close combat.
A special reinforcement dungeon is a high-level dungeon.
Entering with a mindset of “This should be good enough” could easily lead to danger.
Afterward.
A secret training session was held, with no one allowed to observe except An Yeong-ho, Miyuki, and Eto.
All CCTV, recording, and audio equipment inside the training ground were turned off, and smartphone filming was also banned.
The three held their breath, focusing on Kang-ho’s every movement. It was a personal request from Fumiya.
Moving silently, Kang-ho struck multiple active targets, triggering virtual bleeding effects.
The three of them were astonished by how Kang-ho utilized his Shadow Step skill.
The ability to instantly switch positions using various shadows!
In a short time, Kang-ho caused bleeding on six widely separated targets. As long as there was a shadow nearby, he could strike.
In that moment, countless bleeding damage dealers who had systematically tackled targets one by one seemed foolish in comparison.
An Yeong-ho’s bold claims that Kang-ho would exceed expectations were not just empty words.
Was that why?
At some point, the three forgot to even speak and merely watched Kang-ho’s training in a daze.
There was no room for criticism.
It was a perfect spectacle where all they could do was silently observe.