"What are you going to do? I have no idea what you did."

"I know."

[You... have a plan, right?]

"Where's a 100% plan? I'm just going to go for it."

[If that's what you were thinking, why did you go there in the first place?]

"Because I need a defensive position too."

[Defensive position? What are you talking about?]

"That's beside the point. You have good connections in the black market, right? How much demand is there for S-rank equipment and weapons there?"

[Whew... Okay. You're my friend, but you're also my client. Please don't do anything dangerous, okay?]

"I can't promise."

[The demand for S-rank equipment and weapons is huge. There's no reason for S-rank artisans to work underground. The demand from the legitimate market is hard to keep up with. S-rank hunters don't have a reason to buy it from the black market for a higher price.]

"But why is the demand so huge?"

[You don't have to be S-rank to use S-rank equipment and weapons. Villains don't care about the law anyway. They tend to prioritize equipment. As you know, there are many ways to enhance your physical abilities illegally. In an over-spec state, you can handle most S-rank equipment and weapons. It means that there are a lot of crazy people out there.]

"So you're saying I can sell it for a lot of money?"

[If you have the goods, selling them is no problem. The demand is huge, not only in domestic distribution, but also in Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa.]

"Okay, good."

[You were going to buy S-rank equipment and weapons. You suddenly changed your mind, and that's related to this conversation, right?]

"Yeah, I got the S-rank Artisan ability."

[What?]

"Let's talk slowly. You're a rational and logical person. It will be a burden to accept things you don't understand. Well, seeing is believing."

[Haaaah... Let me ask one more question before I hang up. Kim Somi's name was mentioned in the Park Seokcheol death case, did you meet that woman?"]

"We're living together."

[What?]

.

"What is this..."

Kim Yeonsu was shocked after watching the video that came into her phone.She was an A-rank hunter, and like many other students, she was currently resting in her room because she wasn't feeling well. Although she didn't say anything, the academy seemed unable to figure out why the students were all sick.

While passing the time, a large amount of videos and pictures were sent to her phone. She was going to delete them, thinking they were spam, but after seeing one of the videos, she couldn't do it.

In the video, a suspicious man was coming out of the female student's locker room. He was holding underwear in his hand, it was unclear whose they were. The things sticking out of his pockets were also underwear, also likely from the female students.

He stood in the dark hallway with a sinister look, and he brought the underwear he was holding to his face.

"Sss-uuup-"

He inhaled the smell of the underwear with all his might. Suddenly, he looked up, and his face was clearly visible in the camera.

A familiar face. It was Kim Hogun, a professor at this academy.

The other videos were similar or even worse. And the folder sent was organized by student name. Kim Yeonsu saw the familiar folder names and shivered. One of the folders was named after her. When she opened the folder, it was full of pictures and videos.

She trembled, then threw her phone away as if it were a disgusting bug.

At that moment, someone opened the door without knocking.

"Yeonsu! Did you hear?"

The one who came into the room was Cha Eunhee, her classmate, who lived in the dorm room next door.

"What... what did you hear...?"

"The Chairman is dead! Professor Kim Hogun is dead too! The whole place is in an uproar!"

"Ah..."

Kim Yeonsu's gaze went to her phone, which she had thrown on the bed.

.

The next day. When I came out of my room, I could already smell a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. A strong coffee scent. And the smell of sizzling bacon and fried eggs.

"You're awake?"

Kim Somi, wearing casual clothes, turned her head. Seeing her like this, I thought I wouldn't be able to say anything if she misconstrued our relationship. Kim Mincheol was shocked when he heard that I was living with Kim Somi. He asked me when the two of us became that close. Of course, it wasn't the kind of relationship that would lead to such misunderstanding, so I just laughed it off.

'It's not always what it seems.'

Considering Kim Somi's affinity for me, and the fact that she's completely on my side, I wouldn't be able to say anything if she was called my wife.

"Hmm, you woke up early."

"Because I went to bed early yesterday. I heard a lot of clattering last night, did you make something else?"

"I realized that S-rank equipment and weapons are big money. Why waste time."

"Where are you going to sell them?"

Hunter equipment and weapons traded on the legitimate market naturally require permits and proper distribution channels. Looking at the current situation, I couldn't register as an S-rank artisan or sell the things I made.

"I'm going to sell them on the black market."

"Ah~"

Kim Somi didn't say anything. Seeing that she understood and agreed, I realized that she, who had worked on the legitimate side, didn't have any resistance to the black market.

"What are you going to do today? Keep making equipment?"

"I'm out of materials. I've ordered them, but I don't have much to do until they arrive."

"Did you see the news? They're treating the suicide note we made Kim Hogun write as if it didn't exist. Everyone who knows we're the culprits already knows. They won't just sit idly by."

"They probably won't attack right away."

"Why?"

"Because they'll be in turmoil. It was a good thing that you had Somi send the stuff on Kim Hogun's phone to the students. It's not just that I've cleared my name, all those kids know the truth. There will be a reaction to that soon."

"Oh, I see."

Kim Somi understood what I was saying right away.

"That guy's going to suffer for having a son like that. Well, it's like father, like son, so I can't complain."

. . .

Kim Byungsu, Kim Hogun's father, who was a former congressman, turned off his phone, unable to take the constant calls.

"Damn it..."

He knew his son had a perverted streak, one that went too far. He had been in trouble for the same thing countless times since he was young. But this time, it was difficult to clean up. What is Alpha Academy? It was a gathering place for the best young hunter talents in the country and abroad. The students and parents of those students all knew what his son had done.

Kim Byungsu was worried. The most important thing for him was to return to Congress. Power hunger. No one acknowledges it, but his gaze was on the highest position in South Korea. If you have power, money and connections naturally follow.

After going through hell because of the real estate speculation incident last time, he had intentionally avoided public appearances, waiting for his chance. But with this incident, his ambition had gone to waste.

"No... I can't die like this!"

People from all walks of life were involved in the project centered on Alpha Academy. Key figures from politics and business. And top hunters. Why not? Power in Korea and around the world is centered around hunters. Alpha Academy was a world-renowned hunter training academy. If you could control that, you could gain not only current power but also future power.

He couldn't just let his son's case go. There were quite a few successful people among the parents who sent their children to the academy. Besides, the victims would definitely see him and his son as enemies.

'I have to draw a line.'

He had to sever his relationship with his son. It was likely that public opinion could be overturned if he showed that his son did it alone and that he, as his father, was taking responsibility for his son.

'It's a shame, but...'

His greatest strength was the money he had accumulated through illegitimate means. He had used that money to become a congressman and build his connections. He thought that was the only way to survive this time too. A picture started forming in his mind.

. . .

"Where are you going?"

Kim Somi asked me, seeing that I was about to go out after breakfast.

"The dungeon is calling me."

"What?"

Kim Somi furrowed her brow. An expression as if she had heard something strange. It was only natural. A lifeless dungeon can't call out and beckon people. No hunter, no matter how skilled, could hear the dungeon's voice.

"Just taking a walk."

"Ah~ then let's go together."

Literally taking my words literally would be a bit strange, but I wasn't exaggerating when I said the dungeon was calling me. I had felt a tingling sensation coming from that direction since breakfast. It felt like the dungeon was coming to me, asking me to see it.

"It's a strange feeling."

Kim Somi, who had quickly gotten ready for a simple outing, said.

"Why?"

"We just did something big and I'm here, it feels like another world. No one comes to visit, no one really calls."

"I guess that's the privilege of living in the sticks."

The academy was also a kind of backwater. It was a separate world, disconnected from the outside. But ironically, the more I raised students and the academy's reputation rose, the more that wall crumbled. Even though I was the one who raised the students and made the academy famous, they betrayed me.

'If you're stupid, you pay the price.'

Their scheme would have been successful under normal circumstances. They would have been able to hire famous professors from Korea and abroad and keep up appearances, even if it wasn't as good as when I was there. Alpha Academy would have become a symbol of power.

"You're really going to the dungeon?"

"Yeah."

"The body is there. Corpses decay slowly in abandoned dungeons. Do we really need to see it?"

"I thought so too."

"But why..."

As we were talking, we arrived at the abandoned dungeon. It was the closest one to the house, and it was also the place where Kim Somi had dumped the body, as she said.

'It's also where I saw the message.'

It was where I saw the message about being able to revive the dungeon. If I can revive this dungeon, it's likely that I can do the same with the other two abandoned dungeons. It doesn't seem like my ability is so special that I can revive all abandoned dungeons. This place is different.

"You're really going in?"

Kim Somi seemed reluctant to see the body again, even though she had dumped it herself. It was only natural. The bodies would have decayed quite a bit by now. It would be difficult to deal with a clean corpse versus a decaying one.

"It's fine if you want to stay here."

I didn't care if Kim Somi followed me or not, I went into the dungeon. My goal wasn't to see the bodies that were left there. I wanted to confirm why this dungeon called to me.

As I walked briskly inside, Kim Somi sighed and followed me.

At least in the entrance area of the dungeon, I didn't see the phenomenon I expected. It just felt like a typical abandoned dungeon. A place filled with a creepy, unsettling atmosphere.

But I witnessed a special phenomenon that shouldn't happen inside an abandoned dungeon, before long.

"What is that...?"

Kim Somi exclaimed, surprised.

Inside the dungeon, where there was absolutely no life energy, a few small trees were growing. And beneath each one, there was a half-decayed corpse.

"Ugh!"

Kim Somi frowned at the decaying corpse.

I approached the trees a little closer.

The dungeon must have wanted to show me this new phenomenon.

I reached out towards the trees and a message appeared.

[Mana Berry Tree] : A tree that grows using mana as nutrients. Eating the berries will grant you additional mana. However, berries cannot currently be produced under the current conditions.

"Have you ever heard of a Mana Berry Tree?"

"What? Blueberries?"

"No, Mana Berries."

"What is that?"

Kim Somi, who had been frowning at the corpse connected to the base of the tree, answered.

"Let's go out first."

Once we were outside, Kim Somi asked.

"What was that earlier? It wasn't there when I went in. I've never heard of a tree growing from a corpse."

"Me neither."

"What does it have to do with the Mana Berries you were talking about?"

"Those trees will probably bear fruit. If you eat them, it seems like your mana increases."

"What?!"

Kim Somi's eyes widened. Even if I was the one saying it, it would sound ridiculous. She had been a professor at the academy for years, but she had never heard of anything like this.

'Something is definitely different.'

This land is special. It's safe to say this is proof.

'The fact that the conditions are not met means...'

Maybe it means that when the dungeon is revived, those trees will bear fruit? Mana Berry Tree. No hunter would turn down a Mana Berry, if you could just eat them and increase your mana. It was a cheap piece of land, but it was a gold mine.