You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

And now, the person curious about Jeong Da-on wasn't just Han Jae-young.

"Hey, hey. Go ask about the incantation magic."

"No, you... you go ask. Why are you making me do it?"

Of course, unlike Han Jae-young, it wasn't about personal matters; they were purely curious about the magic.

The members of the HP Guild, who were famous for not caring about others, were whispering about the rumored Jeong Da-on.

It made sense since the video of Jeong Da-on using magic had recently become a hot topic, not just in the Korean mage community, but globally as well.

Some people, full of jealousy and inferiority, even claimed it was a synthetic AI video.

It was understandable.

Jeong Da-on's appearance and the power of her magic were in direct contradiction to the common knowledge that magicians had built up over time.

The appearance of a true genius who broke all the norms.

With this genius standing right in front of them, it was no wonder that other curious magicians couldn’t stay still.

"Guild Leader, Guild Leader."

One of the magicians, who had been huddled in the back watching, tugged on Han Jae-young's sleeve.

"Could you talk to her? Ask her to demonstrate some incantation magic... No, even if it’s just a low-circle spell, that’s fine."

It was understandable that the guild members were acting like this.

Sure, the fact that she could use incantation magic was astonishing, but what made Jeong Da-on's magic even more amazing was something more fundamental.

"I really want to see how she controls her mana."

Most magicians were amazed when they saw incantation magic, but those who were outstanding enough to be part of the HP Guild paid attention to something else.

For example, if a 1st-circle spell requires 10 mana, most magicians would need to put in around 12 mana due to losses in the mana circuits of their bodies.

But Jeong Da-on was different.

During the Yeongdeungpo Dungeon Break, it was rumored that Jeong Da-on had instantly fixed a healing magic circle on the spot.

It was now an irrefutable fact that Jeong Da-on was a genius, but it was another thing entirely to use healing magic as soon as she awakened.

Healing magic circles are much more difficult to control than offensive ones.

Mana control is usually the result of training, and it is especially difficult for newly awakened magicians.

"Could you ask her how she controls her mana? Please?"

"Well, I don’t think she’ll answer."

"Oh, she’ll definitely answer. We’re guild members now, right?"

"I understand you're curious, but let’s focus on the dungeon conquest in front of us for now."

"Focus? A C-rank dungeon? I could clear this with my eyes closed."

"Well, you never know."

Shin Ji-eum, who had been investigating the garbage heap on her own, approached and started speaking.

At that, the guild member who had been pestering Han Jae-young closed his mouth.

"Look here."

Ignoring him, Shin Ji-eum kicked aside some of the garbage on the ground.

Underneath the garbage, a damp earth surface was revealed.

It seemed it hadn't rained too long ago.

And on the still-moist ground...

"Footprints?"

"These are the tracks of quite a few people. It looks like they hurriedly knocked over the garbage pile to cover up the tracks."

Wiping away traces.

This was getting interesting.

Why would someone wipe away their tracks in a dungeon that was barely used as a trash heap?

"And Guild Leader."

Shin Ji-eum whispered in a low voice.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"I understand."

Seeing her so serious, Han Jae-young nodded.

Shin Ji-eum, with five years of experience, was a seasoned veteran. Her sharp instincts as a swordswoman couldn't be overlooked.

This meant that this dungeon was probably not a normal C-rank dungeon.

Meanwhile, Won Deok-cheol, who hadn’t heard their conversation, waved his hand to the guild members.

"Come on, let’s go this way!"

The direction he gestured toward was the opposite of where the footprints Shin Ji-eum had found led.

"No."

Han Jae-young interrupted with a smile.

"Since we're already here, I’d like to take a better look around."

"What? Why go around in this trash heap?"

"Well, it's up to me, right? We’ve already bought the conquest rights."

"That may be true, but..."

Won Deok-cheol seemed flustered.

"Isn’t there a dungeon safety protocol? We don’t have much time."

"Really? But did you follow that safety protocol?"

"Eh?"

Won Deok-cheol’s eyes widened, clearly confused, as if he’d never heard that before.

While he was frozen, trying to figure things out, Lee Yoon-ho, a hunter who had been silent up until now, folded his arms and stared at Han Jae-young.

"What kind of slander is this?"

"Slander? There’s proof right here."

Saying this, Shin Ji-eum pointed at the rock crab near her, still poking around in the area, and at the same time, kicked aside some more garbage.

Won Deok-cheol was shocked and shouted.

"What are you doing?! Are you threatening me?"

"Threatening? I’m just talking about these footprints here."

"...Huh?"

He didn’t even think someone would move the garbage to find the footprints in such a short time. For a moment, Won Deok-cheol looked stunned.

"Uh, those... are probably the footprints of the hunters who came here before."

"Those are too fresh to be from previous hunters. They look like they were made less than 24 hours ago."

"This is problematic."

Han Jae-young added to Shin Ji-eum's statement.

"We borrowed the conquest rights from HP Guild. If there are other people here, that changes everything."

"What? That’s impossible!"

"Well, I’m not so sure. Perhaps you’ve sold the conquest rights to multiple parties..."

Han Jae-young deliberately trailed off.

"Or maybe you've hidden something in the dungeon."

"Eh?"

Won Deok-cheol gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Guild Leader Han Jae-young, I think there’s some misunderstanding here. Yes, you’re an S-rank Hunter, but our company isn’t big enough to plot such schemes. We don’t even make 10 billion a year in net profit, so what could we possibly..."

"Most of that is government funding for waste disposal, right? I know."

Han Jae-young cut him off with a smile.

Given that there was no mana flow when he shook hands, it was clear he was close to being a normal person.

"Anyway, since we bought the conquest rights, it’s up to us where we go in here. We’re going over there."

With that, he nodded at his guild members, who had been standing quietly, not participating in the conversation. One of them pulled out an item from their inventory.

Thud.

Two off-road vehicles emerged.

Seeing them, Won Deok-cheol was horrified.

"No, no. You can’t just bring cars without agreement!"

Normally, ordinary items couldn’t be stored in an inventory, but dungeon materials could be itemized and stored there.

Though, these vehicles were more than ten times more expensive than a regular car.

"So, you came prepared, huh?"

Lee Yoon-ho, the hunter who had been silent, finally spoke.

"Is it acceptable for a small company to act this way? This will definitely be made public."

"Sure, go ahead."

Han Jae-young said with a calm expression, and Lee Yoon-ho hesitated at the indifferent attitude.

"What did you say?"

"Go ahead and make it public. I’m just investigating a company that seems to have violated safety protocols. It’s a duty as a citizen."

"Still slandering...!"

"Well, there’s no need to convince you. Since we have the permit, let’s go. Everyone, get in the car."

As soon as Han Jae-young finished speaking.

Whoosh!

Someone kicked off the ground and rushed at them.

Han Jae-young, who had been focused on Lee Yoon-ho, reacted too slowly.

However, there was someone in this situation who could respond faster than Han Jae-young.

Clang!

A small spike was blocked by a longsword and flew far away, burying itself in the trash pile.

"Ugh!"

Won Deok-cheol’s face turned bright red as he charged at the vehicle’s tires with the spike.

"What do you think you're doing in front of me?"

Shin Ji-eum glared at him, unimpressed.

"Do you think you can stop me by popping a tire?"

"The ownership of this dungeon belongs to Light Descendants! We must follow the contract terms! I’ll sue, yes, I’ll sue!"

His face flushed red as he yelled.

Anyone could see he was caught hiding something.

The HP Guild members, who had been watching from a distance, murmured to each other.

"I thought our Guild Leader was just being capricious... but maybe there’s something to it."

"Could there really be something in this trash heap...?"

"Wh-what’s going on?"

"Why?"

One of the guild members started twisting their body and gagging, with white foam starting to form at their mouth.

"Hey, hey! Minji, wake up!"

"There’s no monster... why is this happening all of a sudden...?"

"They’ve been poisoned."

The voice of the one who said that quieted the surroundings.

Everyone turned to look at the one who spoke.

Lee Yoon-ho.

"Relying only on magic... This is what happens."

He shook a pouch that had been hidden in his sleeve.

"I’ve poisoned them. It’s a special poison I made. Don’t even try healing it, as most healing magic will make it worse."

His confident attitude suggested he had done this more than once.

As soon as they saw him, the magicians, who had been quiet, began cursing.

"Ah, damn! Isn’t that alchemy!"

"These guys always cause trouble. Stop messing around and give us the antidote!"

Alchemy.

In the system, it wasn't a formally registered class.

It was just a term commonly used.

In the past, it referred to those who made gold, but now it referred to those who used dungeon byproducts to craft items.

Unlike item-making magicians, alchemists had no ability to control mana.

This was why there was often a deep divide between item-making magicians and alchemists.

Magicians thought the items alchemists made were like children's toys.

Alchemists, on the other hand, claimed that magicians discriminated against them by not acknowledging their work.

Because of this, the HP Guild, known for its magic item-making, was often the target of animosity from alchemists.

‘Light Descendants didn’t have alchemists registered.’

Did they intentionally add alchemists, targeting them from the start?

If so, things were about to get more complicated than expected.

"Why couldn't you stop this poisoning?"

At Han Jae-young’s words, Shin Ji-eum responded irritably.

"Why are you asking me? Didn’t you see me break Won Deok-cheol’s wrist just now? My body isn’t in two pieces. And Guild Leader, why did you miss that they had alchemists in Light Descendants while investigating them?"

Shin Ji-eum glared at Lee Yoon-ho, still holding her sword.

"Don’t worry. If we keep beating him up, he won’t be able to hold onto the antidote."

"No need."

"I’ll be very careful... Huh?"

Han Jae-young and Shin Ji-eum turned their heads simultaneously.

Jeong Da-on had placed her hand on the fallen mage’s neck.

"Wait a second!"@@novelbin@@

Was she about to use a healing magic circle?

It was the kind of thing a confident magician would do, but I had to stop her.

Han Jae-young approached to stop Jeong Da-on.

"You shouldn’t underestimate an alchemist’s poison. If you’re not careful, it could worsen..."

Whoosh!

A gust of wind.

No, it wasn’t wind—it was the flow of mana.

The mana that had been swirling around the area gathered toward Jeong Da-on’s fingertips like it was attracted to a magnet, and in an instant, a small magic circle was drawn.

The glowing mana danced like musical notes, weaving complex formulas in the air.

As everyone stood in stunned silence, forgetting the situation, Jeong Da-on spoke quietly.

"Looks like I have one more thing to find in this dungeon."

Her eyes burned with a dark flame as she said it.

"Where did you learn to make this poison?"