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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Mana Stone Hunter
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I had no idea exactly how Kang Hana's Precision Search worked, but if it could do what I was imagining, we could be fantastic business partners.
"So... you're saying you want me to tell you which monsters have mana stones right before the hunt ends? And then you'll go snag them?"
"Spot on."
"...Do you even know what happens if you get caught?"
"I won't."
"You've already done it?"
Of course, convincing my partner was my job.
As expected, making big money meant taking big risks.
"You think there's such a thing as easy money in this world?"
"..."
Kang Hana glared at me with half-lidded eyes, as if she'd seen through the world's harsh truths.
"It's ridiculous hearing that from you, of all people."
"What is?"
"You've been lazing around in your room, mooching off your little sister for easy cash, and now you're talking about money like it's hard-earned?"
"I don't remember that."
"Unbelievable."
Her words, arms crossed and all, left me no room to argue.
But the past was the past.
"The A-rank mana stone you ate? That was stolen too."
"...What?"
You couldn't spit out something you'd already swallowed.
Even if I hadn't known at the time.
"It's not really stealing anyway. From the guild's perspective, it'll just be treated as a mana stone that never dropped in the first place. Who could accuse anyone of stealing a mana stone that didn't fall out? And inspections? They'll never catch it. No one checks Hyeji's bags, and even if they did, I've got inventory."
I casually slipped my hand in and pulled out a mana stone, making her sigh.
"Is it okay to drag Hyeji into this? She has nothing to do with it."
"Why not? She's an accomplice."
"Hehe..."
The B-rank mana stone Im Hyeji ate first? She "found" it(?). So by that logic, she was an accomplice too.
Kang Hana had eaten an A-rank one, making her an even bigger accomplice.
"Ugh."
Realizing there was no escape, she clawed at her hair and sighed.
"If it looks like we're being tailed, I'm out."
"Obviously. I won't get greedy anyway. Just grabbing a few small ones."
She still eyed me suspiciously after the A-rank theft, but...
"...What do I need to do?"
In the end, after checking her skill, she gave in.
The Mana Stone Thieves had been formed.
@
Inside the Mars dungeon, searches and hunts were divided into three main directions.
East, west, north.
Whenever an S-rank monster or A-rank monster was spotted, at least SS-rank hunters or higher would join the hunt. That's why the SSS-rank hunter Hong Si-jun rarely participated in battles under normal circumstances.
It was to conserve combat power, and as the party leader, he had to issue orders based on reports coming in from all three areas.
In truth, SSS-rank hunters were deployed to dungeons like Mars to serve as commanders, not as expendable slaves to be worked to death.
Even in decisive moments against S-rank monsters, Hong Si-jun's close-combat specialization meant he led from the front, but the standard was to stay protected and minimize injuries.
As such, in minor skirmishes, S-rank hunters were usually the highest grade involved.
The kind of hunts where Kang Hana didn't need to issue direct combat orders.
That's where she operated.
"Left monster. Mana stone near the heart."
This hunt's main goal wasn't monster extermination but exploration—more like an expedition team.
Not a key spot, so monsters were sparse. The party was scouting uncharted areas, taking down minor monsters along the way.
Not just a few scouts, but a full party of about ten—some hunting, others harvesting.
And Im Hyeji was included as the healer.
Of course, that meant it couldn't be dangerous.
Im Hyeji was one of the key hunters.
"Okay. Got it."
Collecting the mana stones was a breeze.
Low-rank minor monsters didn't drop them often anyway.
Snagging from one or two kills was tricky, but after battling packs drawn by the noise, then more drawn by that noise, and harvesting amid the chaos—or during the lull before the next— it was easy to slip in.
With navigation voices in my ear, no time wasted.
Which monsters had them, which didn't.
No rummaging suspiciously; knowing the spots let me extract them cleanly, without a trace.
Of course, I didn't get cocky and take them all.
Just one or two at a time.
Not a huge haul—you'd wonder if it was worth it—but pennies make pounds, and we'd amassed plenty from B-rank dungeons that way.
Including an A-rank mana stone.
"We'll handle the collection!"
By the time the post-battle scans ended and voices called out, I'd dropped stealth and returned to Im Hyeji's side.
While they finished butchering and collecting, I rested. Kang Hana used her new skill to scan surroundings and map them out.
I wondered what it looked like.
According to her, terrain unfolded as a 3D hologram before her eyes. She could zoom into areas, circle obstacles 360 degrees.
Right now, I followed her directions for mana stones, but once Precision Search hit level 5 and I could use it too, the thrill of silently sweeping every last one hit hard.
"...The tragedy of a trash ability."
Here I was with an SSS-rank skill, impregnating women, reduced to stealth + search for petty mana stone theft.
Depressing, but hey, starting from the bottom.
Before Mars was cleared, once the remaining S-rank monsters fell, I hoped to snag at least one more A-rank mana stone.
"Prepare to withdraw!"
Today's mission was done.
Three mana stones secured.
Better than rolling around the tent all morning. Following missions let me do my own thing, time flew till sunset. I should tag along more often.
"Huh?"
Kang Hana, scanning around, tilted her head.
She gestured in the air, then stared southwest with a stiff expression.
"What is it...?"
"Something's off. That way."
"Isn't that the no-go zone? Central Park complex."
We were west of Namyang High School, in a wooded area with no city or anything.
Monsters could swarm here, but the dungeon's origin—Central Park at the southwest end—was last to enter, so no issue.
Far enough that it was just at the edge of Kang Hana's scan range.
"Yeah. It's the origin, so lots of monsters makes sense, but..."
She paused, double-checked by moving.
About 100m further.
Her face hardened as she looked at me.
"...There are people. Among the monsters. About 40..."
"...Huh?"
It was the moment our cozy mana stone heist rom-com in a peaceful dungeon switched to horror.
@
We wrapped up and returned.
Kang Hana reported to Hong Si-jun, and a meeting was called.
I waited in the tent, of course. Im Hyeji and Kang Hana returned with the results.
"Full forces mobilizing in two days to seal the dungeon gate."
"So the clear's imminent?"
"Yeah..."
No cell service meant no sense of time. Hard to tell days passed.
A bit over a week, maybe.
We'd braced for two weeks to a month, but ending early felt great.
Staying longer was like camping, daily pay of 2 million won just for breathing tempted me to linger, but I couldn't survive forever on tablet dramas and movies.
Boring.
Tiresome.
Kang Hana, Im Hyeji, Lee Soo-ah.
Without rotating sex with them, I'd have bolted ages ago.
Mixed bittersweet feelings, but freedom outweighed it.
After sealing the overflow gate, that is.
"What about the people?"
Kang Hana didn't know either.
"Definitely people. Alive. Skill level dropped, so not crystal clear, but... how are people there? At the gate."
The most dangerous spot in an overflow dungeon was always around the gate monsters spilled from.
Scans covered the whole area, but highest odds were strong monsters nearby or hordes there.
Probably the mana leaking from the gate.
People there?
Not impossible to enter controlled dungeons, but surviving with over ten known S-rank monsters?
"This reeks of trouble. Shouldn't we call for backup? All SSS-rank hunters."
"...You think SSS-ranks are like 911? Hong Si-jun and Gyeo Yeon-soo cleared schedules with huge effort."
Whatever it was, it wasn't normal.
Especially for a shut-in novel/movie fantasist like me—this sparked excitement too.
"Guess I should prepare too."
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