Chapter 201: 201

Act 2

France, China, Brazil, Australia, the United States of America, Egypt, and Korea—the seven dungeons had appeared in these seven countries at the same time . They were the indigo- or blue-colored dungeons, which were of very high levels .

The first indigo-colored dungeon appeared at the Namsan Tower . Even after the raid was over, people still did not return to visit the place . The Myeong-dong streets, which were usually full of locals and foreign tourists, were also quiet .

“A lot of things have changed because of one dungeon,” reporter Hwang Seung-han said in a calm voice while taking photographs of the streets of Myeong-dong with his camera .

He saw the empty streets of Myeong-dong, the Namsan Mountain, and the tower on top of it . All of this happened just because of a dungeon, even though the dungeon raid was already over .

“That’s how much fear has grown for dungeons . It is also shocking that blue dungeons can appear at the same time as this . ”

“Is that so?”

Hwang Seung-han paused, taking pictures for a while at the word of the senior reporter named Song Jin-young . Song Jin-young lit a cigarette and looked around the empty streets .

“But our country is in a better situation . Paris is still in a panic, so is Florida . At least, nobody died here,” he said .

“Yes, that’s right . ”

“Thanks to someone,” Song Jin-yeong took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled, “we have to get used to it . These dungeons will continue to appear in the future . I’m glad people like Kim Su-hyeun are in Korea . ”

“Wow . What caused you to say such positive stuff?”

“Why? Is it weird that I say something positive?”

“Yeah . Were you not a fan of eschatology? Even now, I thought you would say, ‘Told you . I knew it’s going to happen,’ or something like that . ”

“What? Do you think I am a melancholiac?” Song Jin-young put the cigarette back in his mouth, frowning . “Anyway . We better write hopeful and bright news articles, especially in these times . Isn’t that our job?”

“Is there any good news?”

“Yes, there is . ” Song Jin-young grinned .

Hwang Seung-han could sense that there would be some exclusive news from that grinning . “What is it?”

“I snooped around and heard from a foreign reporter…” Song Jin-young dropped the cigarette on the ground and whispered to Hwang Seung-han’s ear . “Geneva is coming to Korea . ”

“Really? Geneva?” Hwang Seung-han stared in wonder .

Geneva is known as the world’s best Ether stone blacksmith . He is considered one of the 100 most influential people in the world . He is famous for not traveling around the world . Therefore, it is big news that he would come to Korea . People said wearing Geneva’s equipment from head to toe would even raise one’s rank by a level .

“But why?” Hwang Seung-han asked .

“Can’t you guess why? You are a reporter . Use your brain, man . ”

“Hmm…”

“I will give you a hint . Who is the most famous person in Korea right now? If you don’t get it, you are really not qualified to be a reporter . ”

That was a definite hint .

Hwang Seung-han answered the one name that popped into his head . “Kim Su-hyeun?”

At Incheon International Airport, Hak-joon and Thomas, who returned to Korea by plane, were being hounded by the crowd . Thomas waved his hand with a bright face as the people welcomed him, but Hak-joon lowered his head in embarrassment .

“Oh, this is driving me crazy,” Hak-joon muttered .

Hak-joon and Thomas had just returned after finishing the raid in Australia . The two joined the Australian raid team and were able to attack the dungeon successfully .

“How the hell did people know we were coming today?”

“There are a lot of people! Yay!”

Hak-joon sighed, looking at Thomas, who jumped with a flushed face next to him . He found Su-hyeun, who was sitting far away .

“Thomas . Be careful not to fall . ”

“Huh?” Thomas looked at Hak-joon .

Hak-joon suddenly grabbed Thomas by the nape .

Swish—

Hak-joon and Thomas disappeared from the crowd . The reporters and onlookers who were taking pictures of the two or continued to cover them were puzzled . Hak-joon landed near a bench in the airport, set Thomas down on the floor, and walked toward Su-hyeun .

“You did a good job,” Su-hyeun said .

“I thought I was dying of frustration . How did everyone know we were coming here today? It wasn’t even a scheduled flight . We used our private plane!”

“Maybe it’s not because of you . ”

Hak-joon looked puzzled at Lee Ju-ho’s word, who was standing next to Su-hyeun .

“Then?”

“It’s probably because of Geneva . He is supposed to arrive today as well . ”

“Geneva?” Hak-joon eyes widened .

Thomas, on the other hand, had no idea who Geneva was . “Who is that?” he asked .

“He is the world’s best Ether stone blacksmith . ”

Geneva Ricklas . Many reporters have caught wind of him visiting Korea . As expected, reporters came for coverage . Even famous foreign awakeners visited Korea to meet him . Su-hyeun also knew quite a lot about him . He heard lots of rumors, to say the least . His work is usually worth billions, and his expensive equipment is worth hundreds of billions of dollars . It is said even an S-Rank awakener would have a difficult time getting Geneva’s stuff .

“Would you like to meet him?” Lee Ju-ho asked Su-hyeun as they covered their faces and headed out of the airport . Of course, he meant Geneva . “If you want to meet him, you totally should . ”

“No, I am okay . ”

“Why? Aren’t you curious?”

“Meh . I am not curious at all . I know somebody way better than him . ”

“You mean Mr . Dae-ho?”

“Yes,” Su-hyeun answered without hesitation and looked back at Hak-joon . “Now that you mention it, let’s go to see him . ”

“Me? Where?”

“To Yangpyeong . Mr . Dae-ho told me to bring you with me last time when I talked about you . ”

“Really?”

“Did you think I came here to pick you up because I don’t have anything else to do?”

“Wow . That’s harsh . ”

When Hak-joon made a sad expression, Su-hyeun chuckled and went on, “What’s with the long face?”

“But he’s not a big fan of people, is he? You said he only liked hammering out there in the mountains . ”

“Yeah . I have no idea what changed his mind,” Su-hyeun said, shrugging . “Anyway, let’s go . ”

Two cars arrived at the foot of a small mountain located in Yangpyeong . The high-end sports cars did not quite fit the landscape . Su-hyeun, Hak-joon, Lee Ju-ho, and Thomas got out of the cars . The four climbed the mountain and arrived at Kim Dae-ho’s workshop . The workshop occupied quite a large area . Hak-joon and Thomas only heard the story from Su-hyeun before, and it was their first time to visit the place .

“Huh . Something is strange . ”

At Su-hyeun’s muttering, Hak-joon, who was walking next to him, asked, “Yes? What is?”

“It’s so quiet . ”

“Of course, it’s quiet . We are deep in the mountain . ”

“No, no . I mean hammering sounds . I can’t hear any . ”

Su-hyeun hurried to the door and anxiously knocked .

Knock, knock—!

“Mr . Dae-ho! It’s Su-hyeun . Mr . Dae-ho!”

He called in a loud voice that his shouts even echoed . But there was no answer for quite a long time .

“Mr . Dae-ho!”

“God! You’re so loud!”

It was the voice of Kim Dae-ho . It came from inside the house, not from the workshop . It seemed like he was taking a nap .

“I was asleep! Your shouting woke me up!”

Screech—

Kim Dae-ho trudged toward the door and opened it . Su-hyeun looked at the hunched Kim Dae-ho .

“Sorry . ” Su-hyeun asked, “Were you sleeping?”

“Yes, man . Why did you come so early! I told you to come around the evening . ”

Su-hyeun smiled awkwardly at Kim Dae-ho’s rebuke . He had no idea Kim Dae-ho would fall asleep during the day because he was usually very busy working at his workshop .

“If you’re tired, would you like us to come back later?”

“Hmm… The guy behind you is very polite, unlike someone . ” At Lee Ju-ho’s question, Kim Dae-ho smiled widely and turned . “Just come in . I am totally awake, thanks to this man . ”

“Thank you, sir . ”

“Excuse us . ”

Su-hyeun and the others passed the gate and followed Kim Dae-ho . Kim Dae-ho walked in front of them and headed to his workshop . It was a hot day, and inside of the workshop was even hotter like a steamer .

“Wow . ”

“Oh…”

Hak-joon and Thomas, who visited Kim Dae-ho’s workshop for the first time, looked around with wide eyes . Lee Ju-ho had been there once before . He came to protect Kim Dae-ho from the awakeners of the Hahoetal Guild .

“Why are you so surprised? Those are my failures . ”

“What? Those are failures?” Hak-joon asked, looking at the equipment piled on the floor .

Even at a glance, they could tell those were pretty well-made weapons . Any blacksmith would have to take great care to make this kind of equipment . But he said those were his failures .

“It’s a waste to throw them away, but it’s embarrassing to hang them somewhere . So, I just piled them up here . The really good ones are downstairs . ”

“Then, can you just give me one from here? No, no . Can you sell it to me? Please?” Hak-joon asked .

“Why? Do you need equipment?”

“I have a good sword, but the pieces of armor here look way better than mine . ”

“Well, do whatever you want . You don’t have to pay . Just pick anything . ”

“Really?”

“Yes . But I will only give you one sword and one armor . If you pick one of each, that’s it . ”

At Kim Dae-ho’s firm word, Hak-joon, who seemed excited, stopped laughing . Anybody who had a brain could figure out . Kim Dae-ho invited them to his workshop and told them that he would give them presents although he said that all the equipment there was a failure .

I can’t pick another if I choose now .

Hak-joon’s heart was beating fast . He thought it would be an excellent chance to get new valuable equipment .

“I will think about it first,” said Hak-joon .

“Good . You are not a slow-witted one . ” Kim Dae-ho laughed out loud and quickened his steps again .

The basement of the workshop was a warehouse . Kim Dae-ho entered the darkroom and felt the wall for the light switch .

Click—

The inside of the warehouse was revealed when the light turned on . Various types of equipment were hanging on the wall . There were long swords, spears, knives, gauntlets, iron plate mails, leather armor, and so on . But there were not many of them . Unlike upstairs, where there were stacks of equipment, there were only a few dozen pieces of equipment in the basement .

“Wow . ”

“So awesome . ”

Lee Ju-ho had not entered here last time, so he had felt nothing but surprise to see all the things in here .

I can tell at a glance that they are all of the very high quality .

Lee Ju-ho was a nonexpert about weapons, but even he could tell those were not ordinary equipment .

Those things can compete with Geneva’s work .

He understood why Kim Dae-ho had said the ones upstairs were failures .

What would happen if those items were released on the market? The market would be turned upside down, Lee Ju-ho thought .

An outstanding awakener could save a city . However, hundreds and thousands of pieces of equipment made by outstanding blacksmiths could increase the power of many awakeners . That was why Geneva was treated a lot better than the S-Rank awakeners in this era .

“Let me see . The spear you asked for last time…” First, Kim Dae-ho took the spear for Su-hyeun from one wall . “Here you are . ”