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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: A Custom Weapon and a Promise
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“And so, this is Kang Ha-ra, who will be joining our team for the time being.”

Team K was composed of twelve members, including Kwon Wook. As everyone in the conference room turned to look at me, I felt both awkward and a little shy.

“Weren’t we gathered here today to discuss the Sangam Dungeon raid?”

A woman in a pink beanie raised her hand and asked. Kwon Wook grinned.

“About that, we’re taking a break for a while. We have a broadcast filming scheduled.”

“Ah, again?”

“Geez. We just shot a promo video not too long ago.”

“Well, whatever, I’m happy. At least we don’t have to go to that damn Sangam Dungeon for a while.”

A variety of reactions erupted, but most were pleased. It was understandable. Team K had been struggling with the Sangam District Dungeon raid recently.

In the old days, an S-grade gate opening was considered a catastrophe. Everyone would pour all their efforts into closing it as quickly as possible.

But things are different now. It’s because of dungeon byproducts.

The byproducts that come from dungeons sell for high prices. From magic stones, which have become a daily necessity, to all sorts of other materials, they’re used to produce goods for Hunters.

The higher the dungeon’s grade, the higher the grade of the byproducts that drop, so an S-grade dungeon was a treasure trove.

As a result, to gather as many byproducts as possible, the government was now leading dungeon raids to proceed as slowly as possible.

All sorts of new technologies played a part in this.

Normally, once you entered a dungeon gate, you couldn’t come back out until the raid was complete. But about ten years ago, a technology emerged that could forcibly keep a dungeon gate open.

It required magic stones of the same grade as the dungeon, so it couldn't be used often. However, the government had allocated S-grade magic stones to the unprecedentedly massive Sangam District Dungeon to keep its gate open.

As an aside, that technology was a dazzling achievement that the Korean Hunter Bureau prided itself on. It was now even being exported overseas. To be precise, the team with that technology traveled abroad for work.

There was also a running joke about its origin: that it was developed by a public service worker in the Hunter Bureau’s special operations team who was desperate for a 9-to-6 workday. Some even claimed, upon seeing the technology, that “the crazy government must have abducted an alien.”

But the alien abduction theory soon lost its steam, because the development of that very technology pushed the 6 PM clock-out time even further away.

In any case, Team K’s reaction was one of welcome. Even with the gate held open, there was no way they could have a 9-to-6 schedule with an S-grade dungeon. Once they went in, they had to toil away for a solid two weeks.

“Ms. Kang Ha-ra is someone who was caught up in the recent Yeouido Dungeon incident and made it out.”

“Did you have a second awakening?”

The woman in the beanie asked again. Ha-ra recognized her face as well.

She was Lee Rae-young, an A-grade Hunter who was popular in Team K, along with Kwon Wook. She had awakened as an A-grade at eighteen and was deployed into the field before even graduating high school. Her unique name, cute face, and difficult past made her well-known.

“The exact details are classified, so I can’t say. You all know how it is, right?”

“Ah, come on. It’s easier for everyone if you tell us what you can.”

Kwon Wook hummed and glanced at Ha-ra. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke.

“I just got a few new skills…”

“Just skills? That’s strange.”

“She has a flight skill, so if Ha-ra were to officially join our team, she’d be a fantastic member. Please treat her well, everyone.”

Kwon Wook finished the introduction with a friendly smile.

Though they had called it ‘strange,’ no one seemed inclined to press for more details. After years of running dungeons, they’d seen all sorts of bizarre things, so they were more inclined to just accept it with an ‘I see.’

Besides, it wasn't the first or second time this godforsaken government had silenced people.

“First, we’ve decided to go to a D-grade dungeon in Eonyang as a trial run. We’ll take the opportunity to film that documentary the broadcast station has been pestering us about.”

Kwon Wook smiled and called out five names.

“Rae-young, Bok-hee, Ms. Seon-ju, Min-ho, and Mr. Hyeon-deok, I’d like you to join me on the Eonyang trip.”

Those whose names were called nodded. Since they were used to running S-grade dungeons, a D-grade was nothing to them.

The members who weren’t called were delighted at the prospect of some rare time off.

“Oh, man. My daughter’s been begging to go to Jeju Island. Thanks to this, I can finally take her this weekend.”

One man said as he immediately started booking plane tickets on his phone.

“We’ll go to Eonyang next week. Those who are going, please be at the office by 6 AM next Monday. That’s all. Dismissed. And Bok-hee, I need to see you for a moment.”

“Yeah, sure.”

A lanky boy who had been slouching at the far end of the table nodded. He was incredibly tall and thin.

Ha-ra recognized his face, too.

He was a production-class A-grade Hunter who always wore sunglasses. His real name was so old-fashioned that he usually went by the nickname ‘Bok-hee.’

People often teased him, saying the name Bok-hee was just as old-fashioned, but he was famous for appearing in YouTube comments to protest, “It’s the name of a Chinese god, okay?!”

“Hello.”

As soon as they sat down in Kwon Wook’s private office, Ha-ra greeted Bok-hee again. She had actually met him before, on her first day visiting the Team K office.

Bok-hee, who had been shy around Ha-ra, had a complete change of attitude the moment Kwon Wook explained her skill.

“Whoa, no way. I’m so damn jealous. Noona, does that mean you can use a lightsaber?”

“…Uh, yes.”

“Can you please show me just once?”

He had been called in to craft her equipment anyway, so she was going to have to demonstrate.

But Bok-hee clasped his hands together and pleaded earnestly. Then he ran to the storage room and brought out his collection of lightsabers—all five of them.

Kwon Wook looked fed up.

“Hey, you’ve been hoarding five of those?”

“They’re all different, you know? Noona, try this one.”

Ha-ra smiled awkwardly as she took the lightsaber Bok-hee handed her and activated her skill.

Seeing the pillar of light extend suddenly without any warning or sound, Bok-hee clasped his hands together again as if in prayer, murmuring, “Oh my god, holy shit.” He looked at her with the reverence of a disciple seeing a religious leader.

“I will definitely make you a lightsaber, Noona. Ha, my heart hasn't pounded like this in a while.”

Bok-hee was so excited that he didn’t even ask Ha-ra for materials, saying he had plenty of A-grade materials stashed away.

When Ha-ra declined, saying she couldn't accept something so valuable, Bok-hee made it clear it wasn’t just a gift.

“Th-Then?”

“You have to cosplay Star Wars with me for Halloween next year.”

Kwon Wook shook his head, but for an A-grade custom item, a little dress-up seemed like a small price to pay. Ha-ra had nodded, still dazed.

“Noona! I made it super cute. I think you’ll like it too!”

With that, Bok-hee presented a white plastic hilt.

It wasn’t the heavy, cool-looking design from the movies she had seen. If anything, it looked more like a flashlight.

“Your skill is classified, right? That’s why I made it like this.”

“It looks like a toy.”

At Kwon Wook’s blunt remark, Bok-hee became indignant.

“Hyung! Mid-century modern is the trend these days, you know?!”

“What does that have to do with this…”

“Hey, look! It’s clean and cute!”

While Bok-hee bickered with Kwon Wook, Ha-ra picked it up. It was indeed clean and light. She activated her skill as a test, and the blade extended smoothly.

[Badass Storm Sword A (Creator: Bok-hee)]

…

“Um, the name…”

Ha-ra asked cautiously. Kwon Wook glanced at the item’s name and replied, “Just give up. That’s how he always names things,” before showing her his own item.

Seeing the name of the guard Kwon Wook always wore, Ha-ra had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

[The Ultimate Blocker A (Creator: Bok-hee)]

Bonus Effect: Stamina +3

“You can laugh.”

Of course, her flaring nostrils gave her away. Kwon Wook shrugged.

“I don’t particularly want to wear something with a name like this either, but the bonus effect is so ridiculous I don’t have a choice.”

A bonus effect… Come to think of it, Ha-ra’s sword had one too. Agility +3. Even that alone was an incredible effect.

The typical stat limit for Hunters was 99. But even so, there were very few Hunters with stats in the 90s.

The first Hunter in human history, Lanong Utaitanee, was the only one to have reached 99 in Strength, and in his case, he was said to be like a god who had transcended humanity.

The funny thing was, the latest news about Lanong Utaitanee, the man once called a god, was that he was now the leader of a cult. After that, people became reluctant to throw around words like ‘god-tier’ when talking about Hunters.

In any case, even an S-grade Hunter like Kwon Wook had an Agility of 84 and Magic of 88. Considering that stats at that level could make him fast enough to be invisible to a camera, an item that gave a +3 boost was priceless.

“What’s wrong with the name? It’s simple and nice.”

“That’s the problem, it’s too simple. I die of embarrassment every time I have to write the year-end report on Team K’s equipment list.”

Even though Bok-hee made them, all the items ultimately belonged to the government warehouse. They were on permanent loan to Team K, but the government was still the owner.

After a brief grumble, Bok-hee pointed at the lightsaber.

“I filed a fake report for that, so just keep that in mind.”

“A fake report?”

“If it shows up on broadcast, they’ll know it’s my item. I registered it as a C-grade, so just say that.”

“Ah…”

Ha-ra held the item awkwardly. Right. The fact that her existence and skills were classified was proving to be quite a hassle.

“So, should I see you in Eonyang next week, then?”

“What? Of course not.”

Kwon Wook’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“We start special training today.”

A sense of foreboding washed over me.

Bok-hee chimed in from the side.

“I was thinking while making the lightsaber, if I give you a gun, can you shoot a laser beam?”

“…I’m not sure…”

“Ah, well, we’ll know if we try. Noona, I’ll make you a laser gun, so if it works, will you cosplay Overwatch with me too?”

“I’m so excited,” Bok-hee chattered as he dashed out of the office.

Ha-ra looked at Kwon Wook with a bewildered expression. He just shrugged and replied.

“He makes good equipment if you play along, so just go with it.”

“…By any chance, that video from last Halloween where you were cross-dressing…”

Kwon Wook averted his gaze. Everyone has a past they would rather forget. Ha-ra decided to drop the subject and kept her mouth shut.