CHAPTER 159

"What does that mean?"

I asked anxiously, looking at Liam White.

“What do you mean? Are you saying the Baldur Guild knew something?”

“Hmm.”

Liam White’s face gave nothing away. Revealing the guild’s secrets was difficult, even for him. Still, after a moment, he nodded and opened his mouth to speak again.

“Well, it should be fine. After all, it’s Hunter Han Yi-jin—not just anyone.”

“Haha…”

For some reason, it felt really overwhelming to hear the secret, but I told myself it was just my imagination. I muttered quietly, trying to convince myself.

“I didn’t expect things to get this bad, but the Ur Guild hasn’t been cooperative with the Alliance for a while now. They’ve pretended to follow the rules on the surface, but behind the scenes, they’ve been involved in a lot of shady dealings.”

“Aha.”

Since the novel mainly focused on Korea, there wasn’t much mention of events happening abroad. So that explains it. No wonder Joshua Lehmann and Liam White didn’t get along well.

“We didn’t have any proof before, so we just watched and waited. But now, that’s no longer necessary. We can use this as grounds to thoroughly investigate the Ur Guild.”

“Ha-haha…”

Seeing Liam White’s broad smile, as if he’d been anticipating this moment all along, made me uneasy. If the Baldur Guild leads the charge in ousting the Ur Guild from the Alliance, the Ur Guild will not only face pressure from the Odin Guild but also end up isolated worldwide.

It looks like the EU will bear the brunt of the fallout, which is unfortunate. This could trigger an unexpected escalation in the power struggles among the major nations. Thanks to Kang Yoo-hyun, Korea will now draw more attention, but I can already foresee a challenging path ahead.

Whatever happens, hang in there, protagonist—I’m rooting for you. Though I tried to act indifferent, I couldn’t help but quietly sympathize with Kang Yoo-hyun.

“I’ll personally report him to the Association and the Alliance.”

“All right, please do.”

And just like that, I handed Joshua Lehmann over to Liam White. With this, I solved one problem without having to deal with the hassle myself. It was like getting something done without lifting a finger. Leaving annoying tasks to others really is the best. I smiled contentedly and nodded.

“Is anyone hurt?”

“No, we’re all fine… ah!”

“What’s wrong?”

As I examined myself and the others who had fallen into Fafnir’s domain, something suddenly occurred to me. Now that I think about it, there was one more important issue left unresolved.

“Where is that dwarf?”

“Hmm.”

I looked around the exploration team and asked, but the dwarf who had been guiding us was nowhere to be seen. Liam White groaned in distress at my question.

“He disappeared.”

“He disappeared?”

“Yes.”

According to Liam White, after Joshua Lehmann and I fell during the earthquake, the dwarf suddenly vanished as well. Maybe he got caught up in the quake, or perhaps he took advantage of the chaos to escape.

Either way, that suspicious dwarf disappeared. There was only so much we could do to search for him inside the dungeon. Unlike us, he seemed very familiar with the dungeon’s pathways and knew all the hidden shortcuts.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. Looks like we’ll be heading back without any legendary weapons.”

“Yeah, looks like it.”

We’d formed this entire exploration team just to search for legendary weapons, and now we had to return empty-handed. Discovering which guild was behind the betrayal was a big win, but still… not getting our hands on any legendary weapons was a real disappointment.

I kept feeling that, unlike in the original story, finding those weapons might actually be the key to clearing the final dungeon. I let out a deep sigh without even realizing it.

“Sigh.”

“Um…”

“Hm?”

Do-gyul, who had been standing nearby, hesitantly raised his hand. Liam White and I both turned to look at him.

“Do-gyul-ah, what’s up?”

“Um, it’s just…”

After hesitating for a moment, Do-gyul carefully spoke up.

“I found it.”

“Found what?”

“A legendary weapon.”

“…What?”

He found it? I stared at Do-gyul in surprise. Then he pulled something out of his temporary inventory.

“Here.”

“Whoa…!”

The sword was so large and heavy that it was almost too much for Do-gyul to hold. When he stumbled, I quickly stepped in and took it from him. The moment I felt the enormous weight of the sword, I nearly dropped it.

“Uagh!”

“Yi-jin-ah, be careful!”

“Yeah, thanks.”

It was only after Eden caught me that I managed to regain my balance. That’s when I was able to check the sword’s details.

「Gram, the Sword of Wrath (L)

A legendary sword that once slew an evil dragon. It was broken and reforged, with the scars remaining—curled like a serpent’s coil. Untradeable.」

“It really is a legendary weapon…”

I gaped dumbfoundedly at the radiant legendary weapon. Beside me, Do-gyul—who had been hesitating—finally spoke up.

“When I went to the place the dwarf told me about, it was really there. So I thought it’d be better to lie and say I didn’t steal it earlier…”

Do-gyul trailed off and lowered his head. I looked at him with pride, as if he’d done something truly admirable. Who does this kid take after to be this clever?

"Good job, Do-gyul-ah.”

“Huh?”

“You did very well. As expected of my little brother.”

“Did I do well?”

“Of course!”

“Hehe.”

I reached out and gently stroked Do-gyul’s soft hair. Only then did he finally relax and let out a quiet laugh. Then, looking up at me with innocent eyes, he asked:

“I lied. Is that still a good job?”

“You know, Do-gyul, lying is usually a bad thing.”

“…Yes.”

“But the lie you told earlier was the right thing to do. It helped everyone.”

“…Really?”

“That’s right.”

I couldn’t exactly raise Do-gyul to be a villain like me, so I gave him a gentle scolding—telling him to only lie when it was for a good cause from now on. Anyway, everything was finally falling into place.

I had taken the story in a different direction from the original, caught the traitor that the real Han Yi-jin had warned me about, and—best of all—obtained a legendary weapon that didn’t even appear in the original story. I was perfectly prepared for the final dungeon.

“Oh, so it really exists—the legendary weapon.”

“…”

Ah, I had forgotten. When I turned my head, Liam White’s eyes were shining brightly. I looked at him nervously.

“Hunter Han Yi-jin.”

“…Yes?”

Liam White stepped closer and quietly called my name. I flinched instinctively and looked at him.

“It’s the one and only legendary weapon in the world.”

“Yes… that’s right.”

“A truly valuable weapon. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes… it is.”

Liam White was smiling brightly, as usual. But somehow, I felt uneasy. An unfamiliar sensation prickled through me. It was pressure. Liam White was pressing me with that very smile.

“Hunter Han Yi-jin, who do you think should receive this weapon?”

“Well, obviously…”

I was about to say Kang Yoo-hyun’s name but stopped myself. Naturally, I believed the protagonist, Kang Yoo-hyun, deserved the legendary weapon—but not everyone would agree. Especially the foreign guilds within the Alliance.

There were ongoing power struggles far beyond my understanding. Although for now, everyone cooperated because humanity’s survival depended on clearing the final dungeon, the world had long been tangled in covert conflicts.

In that situation, an SS-rank like Kang Yoo-hyun appeared—and he even had a legendary weapon? That meant Korea would gain power strong enough to rival the great powers. There was no way foreign guilds would just watch quietly. And Liam White was effectively the leader of those foreign guilds. I looked at him warily.

“I know exactly who Hunter Han Yi-jin has in mind.”

“Haha…”

“Honestly, I also believe that if we’re going to clear the final dungeon, we have to support him. That’s what I thought. But…”

“…”

Why did he add that ‘but’ so unsettlingly? I waited anxiously for Liam White to finish his sentence.

“The other guilds won’t give it up so easily. Even if it’s not the right thing to do.”

“…”

Liam White spoke exactly as I had anticipated. This was a complete disaster. If things went on like this, the legendary weapon would not be of any help. In fact, it might ignite a fierce conflict worldwide. That would undoubtedly create major obstacles in clearing the final dungeon.

What should I do? How could I handle this?

I muttered to myself while Liam White then spoke again confidently.

“But if it were me, I could persuade the Alliance to let Kang Yoo-hyun have that legendary weapon.”

“What?”

Liam White? Why?

I looked at him with a puzzled expression. Liam White shrugged and replied in a subtle tone.

“As I said, I also believe Hunter Kang Yoo-hyun should be the one to receive the legendary weapon.”

“Ah, yes…”

“But honestly, I’m a little hesitant to help without some sort of benefit.”

“…”

No, I’m the one who said Kang Yoo-hyun deserves the legendary weapon. So what’s there to hesitate about? I gave Liam White a disapproving look and let out a sigh.

In other words, he wanted to make a deal with me. I looked at Liam White with displeasure and asked:

"What do you want?"