Chapter 24  

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says you should adjust your martial art level to some extent as well.]

The transcendent-class stage was much higher than Choi Yeonseung thought. Reaching that stage meant one was on the verge of going beyond humanity! If a hunter of such caliber appeared, the constellations would be forced to be vigilant.

-I’m using martial arts, though. Is there a need to do that?

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says with your power, your peak-class stage should be enough to deal with mortals.]

The peak-class stage was equal in rank to an A-grade hunter. The level of concentrated energy he could use would be limited and that amount of internal energy could prove insufficient, but Choi Yeonseung had the ability to make up for that.

-That’s true. I understand and will think about it. I’m worried about the state of Earth, though. I’ve been in the Abyss for too long.

He couldn’t help but be worried that the evil god constellations had already turned Earth into a mess. If this happened, there wouldn’t be anything that Choi Yeonseung could do. How ridiculous would it be if there were only thousands of people left on Earth by the time he returned?

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ is comforting you and saying that it will be okay.]

-Thank you.

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says a race that gave birth to a constellation like you wouldn’t lose so easily.]

-...Why does it feel like you’re insulting me?

[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ says that’s just because of your mood.]

-......

To implement Choi Yeonseung’s ‘he’s a jerk, but he’s the only one I can trust!’ strategy, he had to go back to Earth. However, Choi Yeonseung found himself in the middle of goblins instead.

“I will take you as my master!”

“You said your name is Odaigon, right? I’m sorry, but I am wandering through the Abyss. It will be hard for you to follow as a mortal.”

“... I will follow you even in the Abyss. I, Goblin King?Odaigon, am not like those dwarven bastards who will break their oath just because it’s hard to keep it!”

“You will regret it...”

“I’ll regret it even more if I don’t repay you for saving me and my people!”

“Uhh...” Choi Yeonseung examined?Odaigon. He could feel magic power from him. Not only was the goblin a magician, but he would be one of the strongest on Earth. Choi Yeonseung didn’t know how to use magic.

‘Going around with him would be comfortable in many ways.’

“Please allow me to come with you, Master!”

“... Alright. Don’t regret this later.”

Odaigon prostrated himself with joy. “Thank you! I will serve you with all my heart. What are you all doing? A god of the Abyss has come here himself!”

At Odaigon’s?words, the nearby goblin nobles flocked.

“Undefeated Incarnation of Training! Thank you for saving us!”

“Undefeated Incarnation of Training! I want to dedicate my daughter to you!”

“There is no need.”

“Then I would like to dedicate my son to you!”

“I don’t need it. Odaigon. If you want to serve me, then order these goblins to back down,” Choi Yeonseung said with disgust.

“Yes, Master. Get out of the way now!” Odaigon shouted. The nobles backed off regretfully.

“At least give us a chance to entertain you, Master. We want to repay a bit of your grace for saving us,” Odaigon spoke earnestly, which troubled Choi Yeonseung.

Being homeless and wandering through the Abyss had made him miss his comfy bed. Accepting the goblin kingdom’s hospitality meant he’d be able to rest.

“Then I’ll stay for a bit before I leave.”

“Thank you, Master!” Odaigon exclaimed in an emotional voice.

[The “Cat of Lava and Magma’ is wondering why you agreed to let the goblins entertain you.]

-...

At the time, Choi Yeonseung wasn’t aware that the goblins’ culture was very different yet!

*** Back to the present time…

‘I wouldn’t have stayed if I knew the goblins had a custom of treating people like that...’

He was told to bathe in a bathtub full of thick acid slime, which made him instinctively say, ‘Are you trying to assassinate me?’?Considering the bath alone was that bad, he refused to think about anything else.

“Have you finished eating?”

“Yes. I ate well, Master.”

Choi Yeonseung nodded at Odaigon’s words.

[Org, the Violent Seven-Headed Dragon]

[Bolgan, the Planet-eating Bear]

[Adio, Dimensional Cave’s Master Spider]

They were all valuable monsters, but it was impossible to carry them all. He had no choice but to take only their best parts with him.

“Master. Are you throwing away the leftover meat?” Odaigon asked Choi Yeonseung out of curiosity as the latter used his orichalcum kitchen knife to cut the meat into large pieces. He then deposited them one by one into the Space Pocket Necklace.

“I can’t take them all with me. They don’t fit in the space pocket.”

“... I know how to use space magic too, thought…”

“... Why are you just saying that now?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Take as many as you can. If I knew you could use space magic, I would’ve brought something from the goblin kingdom with us...”

“Ah. Did you need any items from my kingdom?”

“No. I meant the meat of the wolf I killed.”

“Ah. Yes.”

In fact, Acafenrir’s bones, leather, and core were more valuable than his meat. The skin, bones, and core of a monster that size could be used to make unimaginable artifacts. However, Choi Yeonseung preferred meat. He couldn’t eat bones or leather!

‘It isn’t like I can use them to make artifacts.’

Using a powerful sword made from Acafenrir’s bones wouldn’t make Choi Yeonseung any stronger. Choi Yeonseung was so strong one or two artifacts wouldn’t be able to make him any more powerful. It was like pouring a drop of water into the sea! On the other hand, meat could be cooked in a variety of ways.

“The raw meat dish made?by Master?was really delicious.”

“Wasn’t the gukbap without rice good?”

“It was a bit bad.”

“......”

Choi Yeonseung became sullen. The nightmare demons loved it! Goblins truly had a very different culture. They were disgusted by the hot soup.

-Constellation-nim! If Constellation-nim orders me to eat it, then I will... Kuock! Hot! It’s hot!

-Sob sob. Since Constellation-nim has asked me to eat poison, then... I’ll take some... ack it’s hot!

Goblins ate cold food. He made gukbap since the nightmare demons loved it, but the goblins saw it as a huge failure. The goblins gulped down the soup as if they were taking poison. In the end, Choi Yeonseung gave up and changed his strategy.

“Master.”

“?”

“I can feel strong magic power over there. It’s probably a magical storm, so you should avoid it.”

“Ah. I was waiting for that.”

“? ?”

Odaigon doubted his ears.

“Uh... Aren’t we supposed to avoid it?”

Magical storms—a phenomenon where the magic power flowing in the Abyss would gather and form a massive storm. Even constellations and monsters were afraid of it, considering it could shake even the planets outside the Abyss once it hit.

“We can go pretty far if we ride a magical storm, right?”

“Ah... No. You’re right, but...”

That was no different from saying, ‘You can move faster when a typhoon hits since the winds are stronger.’

If another goblin had said this, Odaigon would’ve said, ‘What an optimistic guy.’ They should avoid a typhoon if it?hit. Why try to ride it?

However, his master thought otherwise.

“I understand, Master. ?I, Odaigon, will follow you wherever you go!”

Determined to die, Odaigon decided to attempt riding it!

However, they didn’t get to do so. The magical storm started to crack, deforming its appearance.

“... I survived! I thought this was going to be my death!”

“Odaigon?”

“Ah. That.”

The magical storm that had been gathering in the distance started to grow smaller and smaller. Seeing the surrounding space curl up and melt away felt surreal.

“That...”

“It looks like a dungeon is being created, Master!”

The possibilities in the Abyss were endless. After all, it was full of magic power. Magical storms could suddenly sweep through it, gates connected to worlds beyond the Abyss could appear, and entire areas could just be expelled from its infinitely vast expanse.

Lastly, it could create dungeons—a phenomenon where the monsters and spaces in the Abyss formed rules and appeared elsewhere!

“We should leave, Master. Getting caught up in a dungeon can be a pain.”

It would be troublesome, regardless of whether they flew into or out of the Abyss. However, Choi Yeonseung shook his head.

“No. This is an opportunity. Let’s check where it goes.”

“... I understand. I’ll follow you!”

In preparation for any possible situation, Odaigon cast a spell from behind Choi Yeonseung that solidified their defense. The swirling, terrifying magical storm continued to wriggle and clump together. There could be some vicious spaces or monsters lurking in there!

Soon, the moving magical storm swallowed up Choi Yeonseung and?Odaigon?and transported them to a different dimension as if they had used spatial teleportation magic.

***

[Would you like to enter the ‘Dazzling Demon’s Mirror’ dungeon?]

[Rewards: ?, ? ?, ? ?] magic

[Admission limit: 10 people.]

[Time remaining: 2 weeks, 11 hours, and 48 minutes.]

The Dazzling Demon’s Mirror was a dungeon that appeared in the desert of Nevada, USA. Until one had entered the dungeon, its difficulty would remain hidden. However, one could estimate its to a certain extent based on the dungeon’s gate and the magic power it emitted. Usually, the larger the size, the higher the dungeon’s difficulty.

The gate of the Dazzling Demon’s Mirror wasn’t that big. The USA’s Dungeon Analysis Agency estimated it to be around C-grade! That essentially meant a team of C-grade or higher hunters could clear it. The US government didn’t pay much attention to it since it was a C-grade dungeon and there were only two weeks left before it exploded and the monsters inside came out.

Still, C-grade dungeons were popular. B-grade hunters would often try to clear them before C-grade hunters could due to the huge difference in difficulty between C-grade and B-grade dungeons. A lot of hunter teams applied to attack it, but it was the ‘Ganes’ team that won the right to enter first. Their team consisted of eight people and was led by Richard Parker, a B-grade hunter.

“The dungeon can accommodate up to 10 people. Should we invite more to our team or just raid it with our current members?”

“I’ve already added one. Check it out.”

Upon checking the hunter’s ID, the public servant from the government became puzzled. While all of the team’s members were C-grade, the new addition was E-grade. The hunter had such a low rating. It was as if they had just awakened!

“E-grade hunter Cleton? Isn’t their rank too low for a C-grade dungeon?”

“The rest of my members are C-grade, so I don’t think it matters.”

In principle, raiding a C-grade dungeon with hunters ranked lower than it shouldn’t be a problem for as long as the team had at least one C-grade or higher hunter. Still, why bring in an E+ grade hunter? They could only use 1st or 2nd-circle magic, which meant they wouldn’t be able to properly damage the monsters that appeared in a C-grade dungeon.

‘Aha. I get it now.’

The public servant finally understood. There was only one reason to take a lower-grade hunter with them.

‘Their role is to be the team’s porter.’

The moment a team entered a dungeon, they wouldn’t be able to leave until they had cleared it or found an exit.

Until then, hunters could only use the food, clothing, and shelter they brought with them into the dungeon. Since they had to carry those items themselves, that meant that the more they brought, the heavier they were. Carrying too many supplies would be no different from suicide in dungeons where they needed to keep themselves light and agile!

However, bringing a porter would allow them to carry more supplies. Porters didn’t get involved in combat so they could concentrate on carrying and keeping their luggage safe. If the porter was a hunter, they could theoretically carry more luggage. Upon awakening, people fundamentally gained higher physical capabilities than ordinary people. Ordinary people fearlessly volunteered to be porters when the gates opened a few decades ago, but that was no longer possible. Non-hunters couldn’t enter dungeons anymore.

‘Still, don’t you have to give porters loot from the dungeon? Team members would likely object to giving such valuable items away just like that...’

The public servant wasn’t wrong. No hunter would want to hand out dungeon loot worth billions or even hundreds of billions to porters, the only role of whom was to carry supplies. They could live luxuriously in dungeons if there were a lot of supplies, but they’d much rather put up with the alternative than give up on a few hundred million dollars.

“Mr. Parker, please take care of me.”

“Huhu. Yes. Just carry our luggage and follow me.”

“Of course. I trust you.”

That was right. Richard Parker hired the hunter to be their porter at his own expense.