Translator: Seven

  Editor: Ana_Banana-

  …There are fewer applicants than I expected.

  As Oh Se-chan’s sullen words came over the phone, Kim Woo-jin was measuring a Skeleton Soldier’s shoulders with a tape measure.

  “You thought there would be a lot of applicants?”


  The moment the Japanese Government handed the decision rights over to Isaac Ivanov, Oh Se-chan began working right away.

  After notifying the media about Isaac Ivanov’s attack on the dungeon, he sent recruitment notices to all the well known guilds in order to recruit participants to challenge the dungeon with him.

  Of course, he also added the clause that he would randomly select applicants if there were too many of them.

  This meant that if anyone wanted to pass, they would have to do well on their own.

  However, after the recruitment announcement was made, the number of people who applied was extremely low.

  In fact, this was natural in a way.

  It was true that it was a good thing that Isaac Ivanov’s participation basically guaranteed the success of the dungeon attack, but on the other hand, this also meant that Isaac Ivanov was the only one who would get a chance to hunt the Hatchling.

  “In the end, regardless of what they do, they could only be bridesmaids, never the bride.”


  In other words, the other players would be the bridesmaids.

  From the perspective of those large guilds who already had a large amount of prestige and fame, especially the Five Great Guilds, this was not something that they were fond of doing.

  “They’d be crazy if they paid for that.”
-

  Wasn’t it your idea to charge an admission fee?

  In the first place, it was Kim Woo-jin, not Oh Se-chan, who had brought up the idea of collecting an admission fee.

  “I didn’t say I would receive the admission fee.”
-

  What?

  However, Kim Woo-jin’s intentions weren’t to collect an admission fee.

  “Naturally I told you to set an admission fee. But I never told you to accept it.”
-

  What are you talking about?

  “Set a reasonable admission fee.”
-

  We still don’t have many applicants…


  “After that, contact the guilds that did not apply and ask again. Tell them that the participation of their players is necessary for the clearance of this dungeon and ask them if they would mind if we disclose this information to the media. Of course, you must emphasize the fact that they don’t need to pay the admission fee.”


  In the first place, Kim Woo-jin knew that those large guilds would not want to participate in this dungeon.

  In 3 Floors, there was no one below level 100 who could beat Isaac Ivanov to hunt the Hatchling.

  Kim Woo-jin had obviously created this method with that in mind-

  H, huh?

  “They would then choose to do one of two things. Either they will participate in the dungeon and be bridesmaids, or they will pay a fee higher than the entrance fee and ask to have their names removed from the list?”


  That way, they had no choice but to pay for their absence.

  “The hero who is risking his life to save is asking for their help, if they want to refuse that, then they will need to pay the price.”


  After hearing this method, Oh Se-chan fell silent.

  The silence lasted for a while-

  Wow.

  Then he broke the silence with an exclamation-

  You are a genius.

  Kim Woo-jin laughed at his praise.

  “You can decide on the entrance fee. I can’t measure an amount that is just short of ridiculous. You know that part better than I do, don’t you?”
-

  I will do my best to achieve satisfactory results by all means. Ah!

  Just as the conversation was coming to a close, Oh Se-chan let out a shout as though he had just realized something-

  By the way, how are you going to decide on the members after receiving the absence fee?

  Receiving the fee would mean that they would not receive any help from that guild at all-

  You won’t let a bunch of crazy people join the dungeon just because they pay the admission fee, will you?

  However, it would not be wise to attack the dungeon with everyone who applied.

  This dungeon would be the perfect stage for players who did not want to be helpful but instead wanted to cause trouble.

  In the worst case scenario, there would be space for people aiming to interfere with Kim Woo-jin’s attack as well as people who wanted to commit suicidal terrorism.

  “Well, first we’ll have to check the absence list…most of the large guilds, including the big five, will be absent. The guilds will stop it even if their players want to join.”
-

  Right. If something like Ellis Highton happens again, then they might burst a vein.

  “If we can confirm that there are no special guests then we will make an announcement.”
-

  What?

  This was the reason that Kim Woo-jin had begun preparing for this dungeon so early.

  “We will attack the dungeon with only Isaac Ivanov’s party.”
-

  What?

  He was thinking about clearing the dungeon alone with Lee Jin-ah.

  By doing this, Kim Woo-jin intended to imprint an image into the minds of everyone in the world.

  “We can do what the Savior can’t”


  That Isaac Ivanov wasn’t just a spare part who could replace the Savior-

  Right, you have to come out like that.

  Oh Se-chan, who understood his intentions, smiled-

  Alright, I’ll handle the planning so that you and Lee Jin-ah can enter the dungeon alone-

  W-, wait! Hyung! Hyung!

  Then a new voice appeared over the line-

  I think I might have heard it incorrectly, but did you say that the two of us are going to clear the Hatchling Dungeon alone? Are you crazy?-

  Hey, shut up! I’m on the phone right now!-

  No, this is serious! It’s a Hatchling! The strongest boss monster that can appear in a 3 Floor dungeon! It’s a monster that even people over level 100 would pee themselves after discovering! A monster that was only even hunted by the Dragon Slayer among all the players under level 100 so far! How could we possibly hunt that monster alone?!-

  So what? Do you want to bet? Whether you and Kim Woo-jin can successfully hunt the Hatchling or not. I’ll bet all the money I have as well as this bowl of jajangmyeon I got for lunch that you can hunt it. What do you want to bet? Do you want to bet the jjamppong(1) you just ordered? Huh? (TL: Lee Jin-ah loses either way…either he dies, or loses money…)-

  …hey, really.

  As he heard the play that was happening on the other hand, Kim Woo-jin gave a slight smile before hanging up.

  He only had one thought as he looked at the Skeleton Soldier before him.

  ‘I will be able to accurately measure my strength in the Hatchling Dungen.’


  …


  The Hatchling Dungeon was a dungeon that had only ever appeared once before and created a legendary player with the title Dragon Slayer with that one appearance.

  [The Japanese Government transfers the decisions for the Hatchling Dungeon to Isaac Ivanov!]

  [Isaac Ivanov holds the casting vote!]

  In such a situation, the entire world was shocked when Isaac Ivanov was given the casting vote for the Hatchling Dungeon-

  Casting vote? Didn’t that appear in 2020?-

  Do you think this is the first time that a player got the casting vote instead of a guild?-

  The Dragon Slayer said that Isaac Ivanov’s participation is a necessity to clear the dungeon. What else can they do?

  Of course, the large guilds were different.

  They paid little attention to this situation.

  “Isaac Ivanov will hunt it anyway, there’s no need to pay and undertake the risk just to become bridesmaids.”


  “There’s no guarantee that they can succeed even if we sent parties in hopes that Isaac Ivanov fails.”


  “It’s a Hatchling. If we create a party with the hope that Isaac Ivanov fails, we will definitely have to send legendary items…and there is no guarantee than an Ellis Highton situation would not recur.

  Those who knew Isaac Ivanov’s history were even less interested in it.

  “I would rather have the Hatchling eat Isaac Ivanov this time.”


  “If Isaac Ivanov dies, all of his legendary items would remain in the dungeon…”


  “It’s much more profitable to prepare for after Isaac Ivanov’s death.”


  Rather, there were some who wished for Isaac Ivanov’s failure.

  “If Isaac Ivanov does not get enough…there will probably be forces who enter the dungeon simply to interfere with his attack.”


  “It’s difficult to clear a dungeon, but it’s easy to make one fail.”


  “Well with the Hatchling, you would only need to throw a few attacks here and there whenever Isaac Ivanov starts fighting.”


  Some even thought about sending suicidal forces into the dungeons simply to force Isaac Ivanov to fail his attack.

  Considering his value, it was not a bad idea.

  It was only the wish of the ordinary people for this game to end because most players did not want their vested interests and newfound influence to disappear.

  Therefore, some of them were willing to pay to prolong it.

  “Isaac Ivanov asked me to participate and asked if he could release the list to the media. What should I do?”


  “What do you mean, it’s obvious that you’d get fucked if you’re on the list, so of course say no. Ask them to take you off the list, even if you have to pay for it!”


  “Then the amount…”


  “There must be an admission fee. Write it based on that.”


  “But that’s the problem…the admission fee is quite high.”


  “Even if it’s expensive…huk.”


  Even if the admission fee was higher than they anticipated, they were willing to pay.

  “…damn, I’ll pay for it.”


  Afterward, those who paid the fee all gathered and began talking.

  “Huh? You paid the absence fee too?”


  “I don’t want to be a bridesmaid.”


  “You too?”


  “Besides being the bridesmaid, it would be insane to go in there when you don’t know what might happen. I heard that none of the top 5 guilds will be present, and all of the guilds in the United States and Europe are staying far away from this.”


  “I also heard that all of the large guilds in Asia also paid their absence fees.”


  “Of course. Who would want to be an extra in a movie where a terrorist hijacks a plane?”


  “Exactly.”


  While having their conversation, they began to wonder.

  “Then who will take part in this dungeon attack? When you pay attention to it, most guilds won’t even touch this with a ten foot pole.”


  “It’s natural for the top 5 guilds to stay away, but is it really true that not a single one of the top 100 guilds are participating?”


  “I’m sure there are some who might join.”


  “Well if it’s like this, then it means that only one or two people here and there would participate, but this dungeon has a maximum capacity of 202. So even if we send 50 players collectively, it would still not be enough.”


  Isaac Ivanov responded to that question.

  [Isaac Ivanov to challenge the Hatchling alone!] (TL: with Lee Jin-ah)

  He intended to write a legend that had never been written before.

  (Note:

  1. Jjamppong is a Korean noodle soup with red, spicy seafood- or pork-based broth flavored with gochugaru. Common ingredients include onions, garlic, Korean zucchini, carrots, cabbages, squid, mussels, and pork.)