Ch.3011. Request for Cooperation in Conquering an S-Rank Dungeon (2)

Several days had passed since Arin’s graduation ceremony.

Recently, Flame had been quite busy, not just the field team but also the office staff at headquarters.

“S-rank dungeon raid, is the raid team really going to assist?”

“That’s what they say. That’s why the field team people are already extremely busy.”

As I was walking through the corridor on my way to work, I overheard the operations team employees talking. Then, some female employees who recognized me greeted me.

“Hello, Minsu!”

“Good morning! You must be working hard! I heard you were amazing in the recent intern raid?”

“No, it wasn’t much.”

“So modest. I heard from friends in other guilds that Flame’s interns were the only ones who brought back such high rewards. Was it all thanks to you, Minsu? Anyway, have a good day!”

“Ah, yes.”

I simply bowed my head in response. I was still an intern. And they were full-time employees.

Even within Flame, there was a difference in status between the raid team and office workers.

‘The money earned by the raid team is Flame’s main source of revenue after all.’

Of course, the role of office workers is also important for processing and selling the rewards obtained through dungeon raids. Even Guild Master Yuri didn’t discriminate against regular office workers.

But in current society, just as hunters are objects of fear and reverence…

Flame’s office workers viewed the raid team in the same way. The existing raid team was naturally an object of admiration.

And due to our recent achievements, even intern employees were being treated very favorably by the office staff.

‘It’s a bit burdensome.’

Especially the young female employees had been increasingly trying to get to know me lately.

They must have checked the evaluation results and reports of the intern program. Like just now, they would randomly approach me to chat.

‘Well, anyway, the intern program hasn’t been bad lately.’

Starting from the first intern raid business trip. I participated in a total of three intern raids. For the other two times, the results were also overwhelmingly first place, just like the first trip.

Except for interns from major corporate guilds like Mansong, interns from other guilds seemed to participate half-heartedly. But it was important to me.

The evaluation of the intern field program would serve as evidence that an intern could participate in higher-level missions.

And those higher-level missions meant working with Flame’s elite raid party.

‘I thought there would be a raid cooperation request to Flame around this time.’

And that thought wasn’t wrong.

This S-rank raid cooperation request. It was an important event in the original story.

The guild “Justice” formed by Siwoo. And this S-rank dungeon raid was the opportunity for Justice to make its name known.

‘It definitely wasn’t an ordinary dungeon.’

An S-rank gate generated in the northern part of Paju City, Korea. It was an extremely dangerous dungeon created based on that gate.

‘The discovery timing is a bit later than in the original story. But it’s definitely that dungeon.’

It’s rare for an S-rank dungeon to be generated in Korean territory. Usually, the Association discovers and eliminates them before that happens.

But this S-rank dungeon was relatively recently generated and had greatly expanded its influence.

The former North Korean city of Kaesong, now a ghost town. It was a dungeon created when a gate that had been concealed there suddenly exploded with magical energy in a short time.

Unfortunately, its location wasn’t far from the metropolitan city of Seoul. So the Association decided to eliminate the dungeon quickly. As a result, a cooperation request was sent to Flame.

‘In the original story, Siwoo succeeded in the raid. So for Flame too…’

Then this would be a very important turning point for Flame as well. This dungeon wasn’t just an ordinary dungeon, but also an experimental site for the Red Lake.

However, unlike Siwoo, I was still an intern at Flame. There was a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to participate in high-rank dungeon raids like this S-rank one.

‘Not only from the Association’s perspective but also from Flame’s, they might exclude me.’

Yuri probably wouldn’t be able to refuse my request. But Flame isn’t just Yuri’s guild.

If other members of the raid team opposed it, even Yuri couldn’t force it.

‘But I must participate.’

This event is truly important. With the prior information I know, I can lead Flame to achieve the best possible outcome.

And it was also an opportunity to obtain clues related to the Red Lake. Of course, I was already prepared to persuade the elite members of the raid team.

While I was briefly lost in thought, I arrived at the raid team office on the lower floor of the headquarters. Since the raid team had relatively flexible working hours, only the interns were in.

“Hello, Uncle Donghyuk.”

“Oh, yes. Minsu, you’re here.”

And of course, Arin was there too. Arin glanced at me briefly, then quickly turned her head away.

‘She’s still upset.’

Normally, Arin would get over being upset in less than five minutes. But this time it had lasted longer. We still chatted normally through messages.

But when we met face to face like this, she tried not to talk to me.

‘Should I start coaxing her?’

On the day of the graduation ceremony, when I said I’d treat her to a meal, she suggested going to her apartment to eat.

‘Ramen? Is that enough?’

‘Yes. I want you to cook it for me, senior.’

I cooked ramen for her as she asked. But I knew that wasn’t her real intention. That day, Arin seemed to have made up her mind about something, as her eyes looked different.

‘That night was difficult for me too…’

A young man and woman alone in an apartment late at night. Maybe because Arin had just finished her graduation ceremony, she was closing the distance between us more than usual.

That day was really dangerous, but I held back. I desperately held back. I had already decided not to cross the line.

It might have been Arin’s desperate attempt at seduction, but she seemed to have been a bit hurt emotionally. That’s why she had been upset for several days.

“Senior~. Good morning.”

But now she seemed to have calmed down a bit. After turning on the office computer and organizing some documents for a while, Arin approached me.

“Senior, do you want something to drink? Should I get you something?”

“Ah, anything is fine…”

Just as Arin was smiling and asking me, she noticed the document I was working on and looked puzzled.

“What’s this?”

“This? I have a report… no, a proposal for the Guild Master.”

“A proposal? Don’t tell me directly? No, right? You’ll submit it through Team Leader Seo Duho, right?”

Of course, since I was an intern, it would be proper for the report to go up to Yuri through middle managers like Team Leader Seo or Soso.

“That’s true, but ultimately the Guild Master will see the document.”

“Hmm. Is that so? Well, I guess it’s just submitting a report? Surely the Guild Master won’t call you to her office or anything…”

Arin looked at me with an expression that clearly showed she disliked that idea.

‘I’m sorry to Arin, but probably…’

Sure enough, a few hours after submitting that report, Yuri did indeed call me directly to the Guild Master’s office.

***

Yuri had been busy with meetings since morning.

A cooperation request from the Hunter Association. S-rank dungeon Paju A. Since the dungeon boss’s name hadn’t been confirmed yet, it didn’t have an official dungeon name.

‘Because it was a new type of monster that deviated from the existing monster system.’

And regarding that matter, all the field team leaders of Flame gathered for a meeting.

Of course, it was decided to participate in the cooperation.

Currently, Soso’s limit line had risen to 75. Father Stefano and Maria didn’t have limit line issues to begin with.

So it was a time when all of Flame’s elites could be deployed. There was no reason not to participate in the S-rank dungeon raid, which would be of great benefit to Flame.

‘Of course, I don’t know what role we’ll play there.’

This wasn’t an A+ or AA-rank dungeon. It was an S-rank dungeon discovered in Korea for the first time in three years. Given its proximity to Seoul, Korea’s capital, the Association was being extremely cautious.

‘For the boss raid, only the Association’s direct units and the participating guilds’ elite raid teams will be deployed.’

And since it was an S-rank dungeon, it was also manifested in reality. The Association had sent cooperation requests to certified guilds to handle the subsidiary dungeons and mid-bosses.

It was dangerous, but participating in this mission would definitely bring significant benefits.

However, as the meeting was coming to an end, Team Leader Seo Duho brought up an unexpected agenda.

‘For this cooperation, how about having the interns participate as well?’

It was a suggestion Yuri hadn’t even considered.

Of course, all the current interns were planned to become official raid party members of Flame, but participating in an S-rank dungeon was a different matter.

But Team Leader Seo Duho wasn’t someone who spoke without reason.

To the puzzled Yuri, Maria, and Father Stefano, Team Leader Seo Duho said:

‘Would you like to look at this report together?’

And his explanation continued. Yuri was momentarily surprised when she saw the report, as its author was Minsu.

By the time Team Leader Seo’s explanation was over, there had been considerable debate.

Common sense dictated that involving intern employees in such an important mission was absurd.

But according to the report written by Minsu himself, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable. So the field team’s opinions were split evenly.

Maria and Father Stefano were against it. Soso and Team Leader Seo Duho were in favor. As a result, Yuri’s choice became crucial.

After all, Yuri was the final decision-maker for Flame.

‘Then let’s end the meeting here. I’ll listen to Intern Lee Minsu’s explanation directly.’

With that, Yuri concluded the meeting. After returning to her office, she called for Minsu directly. And before he arrived:

Yuri let out a brief sigh.

‘If Minsu wants it… I want to grant everything.’

Her feelings hadn’t changed for this matter either. But the opposing views of Maria and Father Stefano also had valid grounds.

Above all, it had only been about a month since he joined.

Considering the purpose for which the Association created the intern program, there was a good chance the Association would oppose interns’ participation.

However, the fact that Team Leader Seo and Soso advocated for the interns’ participation indicated that Flame was short on manpower and, more importantly, that the interns’ abilities were quite good.

‘Those two were responsible for most of the intern program after all.’

And Yuri was well aware of the interns’ evaluation scores through their reports.

‘720p, 780p, 850p.’

Scores far higher than those of interns from other guilds. And those scores were all thanks to Minsu’s performance.

Yuri was extremely proud and happy about the results Minsu had achieved since returning to the hunter world. She had read that report so many times that she even memorized the scores.

So the final decision was to hear Minsu’s opinion directly, the author of the report. Minsu would surely have solid grounds.

‘And for this matter, rather than the interns… or the raid team employees, I might be the problem…’

Despite facing such an important task, Yuri lacked confidence due to her recently lowered limit line.

In fact, she was having trouble maintaining her composure due to that anxiety. The thought of having an opportunity to be alone with Minsu was unconsciously taking precedence over her current busy schedule.

‘No. What am I thinking again…’

But it had been quite some time since she had spoken with Minsu. And since Minsu had fainted on the day they arrested Rex, she was very worried about his physical condition.

While she was unable to calm her complicated and racing heart, someone knocked on the office door.

“Guild Master, Intern Lee Minsu is here.”

***

I entered Yuri’s office.

Inside, it was as cold as the late winter outside. When I entered, Yuri was startled.

“My… my goodness. Are you c-cold?”

“No, it’s fine. I actually prefer it cooler.”

Although I had somewhat recovered thanks to Yeon Munwoo’s secret technique, the fire energy from Hong-ok was always boiling in my mana load.

So it really wasn’t bad, but Yuri hurriedly closed the window and turned on the heating. Then she cleared her throat and continued.

“Um, Mr. Lee Minsu. Do you know why I called you?”

“Yes, regarding the S-rank dungeon cooperation request…”

“That’s right. I received a report from Team Leader Seo Duho that there’s an opinion that intern employees also want to participate in that cooperation request.”

Yuri was correct. There would be no reason for her to call me to her office privately except for that matter.

And the fact that Yuri had called me meant that opinions were divided among the field team. Yuri also told me that fact.

“But the fact that you conveyed your intention like this means you’re confident you can persuade the raid members who opposed it, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. As attached to the report, the scores of our employees in this intern program field trip were…”

“720p, 780p, 850p.”

“You know it well. But how do you know it in such detail…”

I didn’t expect Yuri to have memorized those scores. Seeing my puzzlement, Yuri became flustered.

“Th-that’s because it’s written here in the report.”

Clearly, just a moment ago, Yuri had been looking at me, not the monitor screen, but I didn’t point it out. Instead, I continued.

“As you can see, the scores our intern employees achieved in the field trips were much higher than the guild’s intern program target scores. So regarding this dispatch, Team Leader Seo Duho separately inquired with the Association, and the result is in that report…”

As I said, according to the intern program regulations, early completion of the intern program is possible if certain achievement scores are exceeded.

“In the intern field mission a few days later, we’ll try to exceed that score. Then there should be no problem at least from the Association’s perspective.”

And if we bring such noticeable results, the other members of the raid team won’t be able to oppose either.

Using that reasoning, I explained the contents of the report at length. Yuri seemed to understand.

“I see. I understand on what grounds you submitted this report, Mr. Lee Minsu. Your explanation was sufficient.”

“Yes. Thank you for understanding, Guild Master.”

That was when the business for which Yuri had called me was concluding. And at that moment, I sensed something odd in the flow of mana through the office.

‘What’s this feeling?’

The sensation of cold-attribute mana flowing behind me. Of course, the presence was so subtle that even an awakened person might not notice it.

But with my senses that had become more sensitive after releasing the first-stage seal, and knowing very well the spells Yuri used, I quickly interpreted the meaning of that flow.

‘Why on earth?’

It definitely felt similar to when one of Yuri’s spells, either a barrier or sealing spell, was activated.

It seemed that Yuri had locked the office door.