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Chapter 249: All-Star Game
Dragons are extremely rare.
First of all, the number of gates they appear in is very small.
Moreover, they don't appear in a fixed pattern. There was a reason why their corpses were so expensive.
'It definitely said to hunt eight dragons.'
How many dragons had he caught so far?
That depended on how you defined the scope of "dragon".
Simply recalling the dragons he encountered in the Orc Gate was enough.
He caught a Holy Dragon and an Ice Dragon.
He also caught countless baby dragons. If baby dragons were included in the category of "dragons", the number he caught would exceed hundreds.
'Usually, they're also considered dragons.'
That was the case on Earth.
But he didn't know if the Path of Growth followed the same classification.
'It's highly likely that they're not.'
If baby dragons were included in the count, he should have already cleared that condition.
He had already caught hundreds.
But he hadn't cleared it.
In fact, there were eight remaining.
Kim Minwoo thought it was likely because the conditions for being classified as a "dragon" were high.
'Only the Holy Dragon and Ice Dragon are included. That's why I've only caught two so far.'
If that was the case?
There were eight left, and if he caught them all, a total of ten would be filled, and it was highly likely that some unknown condition would be cleared.
In any case.
Dragons were like extremely rare treasure mountains, so the gate that appeared in Korea was nothing short of good news.
Both for Korea and for Kim Minwoo, who needed to hunt dragons.
"Siwoo, there must be a reason you said that, right? There are a few more gates where dragons appear."
"That's right. The Dragon's Tomb, which Master cleared in the shortest time, was also one of those gates. But it's different."
"What's different?"
"This one hasn't been cleared for the first time yet. No, to be precise, no party has even entered yet."
"...It hasn't been cleared for the first time? The guilds left it alone?"
"To be exact, they're in a dogfight. A fight over interests."
"Aha."
Whenever a random gate appeared, all sorts of guilds would flock to it with bloodshot eyes. The reason was simple.
The first clear was that special!
As the difficulty of the gate increased, significantly outstanding rewards were given. The martial arts gate they cleared in the past was a good example.
It was a B-rank gate, but when they entered for the first time, it became A-rank, and they obtained a ring necessary for the Ascension Ritual there.
The 'Ring of Ascension', which he was still using very effectively.
It was an Ancient-rank ring.
The only problem was that the damn Ascension Ritual still hadn't been triggered.
Moreover, it was an S-rank gate.
If they entered for the first clear, the difficulty would increase, and they would receive amazing rewards accordingly.
"It's understandable that they're taking a long time to decide who will enter."
"That's right. And like I said before, several gates appeared. Because of that, the guilds' forces are scattered."
"Ah, because they need to clear them?"
"Yes. If you leave them alone, they'll explode. In that situation, the top guilds are hesitant to enter right away with their limited forces, but they're also reluctant to give it to others... So, it's being dragged out."
"Didn't anything come to our guild?"
"Ah, I did talk to the President."
Of course.
They were practically the number one guild in Korea.
And Park Siwoo was no longer a low-level Awakened.
"And?"
"But... it's a bit tricky. Yerim went to the Heavenly City, and you were busy again this time. That leaves just me and Siah, so..."
"If you're short on people, you can join forces with the Ilsung Guild, right?"
"The Ilsung Guild also went to clear a gate. So their main members are absent."
"Aha."
So Ilsung was also busy because gates were popping up everywhere.
"Anyway, I felt a bit burdened back then. If I went with Siah, it wouldn't just be my life on the line..."
"Why are you so unsure? You're an SSS-rank Awakened."
"Even if my skills are SSS-rank, my level is still quite low. Other guild members are at least level 600 or 700. Anyway, that's why I was waiting for you."
"Hmm..."
Kim Minwoo pondered for a moment.
His current level was 655.
Honestly, he was far past the level of being intimidated by an S-rank gate. Even if it was the first clear.
The only concern was...
"Can we finish it within three weeks?"
"Three weeks? Why?"
"I went to the Demon realm this time."
"Demon realm?"
He briefly explained to the puzzled Siwoo. The process of obtaining Vulcan, the Demon Lord Ranking Battle.
And his participation as a representative.
"So, that trial starts in a month?"
"Yeah. I have to go back before then. Of course, it seems like I can go to the Demon realm even from inside the gate..."
Could he open a gateway to another gate from within a gate?
Setting that issue aside, if clearing the Dragon's Castle took up too much time, there would be countless problems.
What if he went to the Demon realm in the middle of clearing?
Would the next party be allowed to enter, or would the clear remain in its current state?
'If I'm unlucky, the gate might even explode.'
Since the gate explodes if it's not cleared within a certain amount of time.
"Hey, bro. You're thinking too hard."
"Huh?"
"We can just clear it. Aren't you super strong now? You got Vulcan. And I know you have a lot of other items. Plus, you can summon the Bone Dragon, right?"
"That's... true."
"So, yeah. Of course, the gate might be designed to take a lot of time, but then other party members besides you can enter. Even if you go to that Demon realm in the middle, there will still be people left, so they can continue trying to clear it."
"That's not wrong. Then..."
He thought about the party composition.
Originally, the maximum number of people allowed in an S-rank gate was 30.
And since it was the first clear, everyone needed to be high level.
The gate's name was Dragon's Castle, so the main monsters were likely to be dragons.
'I need to catch all of them.'
There were eight left, and they would probably require high-level dragons, so he had to take all the sub-bosses and boss-level dragons.
At least until he filled all eight slots.
'But I can't share the rewards either.'
He did all the hunting, but share the rewards?
Unless they were guild members going together like the Money-Throwing Guild, it was an impossible story.
In other words, the people he brought along for the clear were more like reserves, just in case.
"Siwoo."
"Yes?"
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"This is when connections come in handy, right?"
* * *
'It's a mess, a complete mess.'
The Blue House.
President Lee Kanghoon clutched his head.
A series of gate appearances.
Korea had never been this chaotic before.
Gates of A-rank and B-rank were popping up every other day, and now an S-rank gate had even appeared right next to Busan.
The golden time was only two months.
If they couldn't clear it?
Monsters would pour out from Busan. With the name Dragon's Castle, all sorts of dragons would probably come out.
They could somehow manage if B-rank or A-rank gates exploded, but an S-rank gate was a disaster. It was like a time bomb that absolutely couldn't explode.
But...
"Now, other guilds are blocking the Dorim Guild from entering?"
"...Yes. They say they can't trust a mere 7th place guild."
"Don't the other guilds lack manpower right now! They all went to clear gates, didn't they?"
"They can come back soon. They're all asking for a little more time..."
"Crazy bastards!"
Bang!
Lee Kanghoon, his face flushed, slammed the table. The only top guild they managed to recruit was the Dorim Guild.
Perhaps because their power had significantly decreased compared to the past, they hadn't been very active in this recent gate chaos.
In other words, the guild leader and the guild members' strength was intact.
That's why he had hurriedly contacted them and entrusted them with the gate clearing request.
But they were blocking them?
With only two months of golden time?
"Th-that's... Mr. President. Their words aren't entirely unreasonable. The Dorim Guild was excluded from the distribution of highest-rank potions, wasn't it? They didn't receive training from Ilsung either. It's not for nothing that they plummeted from 1st to 7th place."
"Did you take money from them?"
"...Excuse me?"
"I'm asking if you took money! What are they going to do if they block them now? We don't have anyone else to clear it right now!"
"...But wouldn't it be even worse if they enter and fail to clear it?"
"And if we don't even try, will we get an answer?"
"...That's..."
"Sigh. Then, what about forming an alliance?"
"We've sent out notices from the government, but... everyone seems to be against it. Only the Ilsung Guild, which has a relatively good relationship with us, has given a positive response."
"Huh. How greedy can they be? They'll end up tearing their stomachs apart."
Lee Kanghoon sighed.
Since the major members of each guild were largely absent, he had proposed forming an alliance and gathering only the core members, but that suggestion had been rejected long ago.
The guilds' stance was simple.
The gate had just been generated.
There was still time, so why the rush? Just wait a little. The core members would gather soon.
Let's decide who will enter then.
That was roughly their thought process.
It wasn't entirely incomprehensible for them to be greedy, considering the first clear of an S-rank gate was at stake...
"...Have you contacted Sword Saint?"
"Yes. Fortunately, we received a positive response. If a guild isn't formed by one month before the clear deadline, he said he would take action himself."
Perhaps that was why the guilds were being so stubborn.
They had the underlying thought that if things went wrong, the great Sword Saint would take care of it.
Whether this was fortunate or unfortunate.
Lee Kanghoon couldn't tell.
"Of all times, Minwoo is away... Sigh..."
If Kim Minwoo were here?
As the supplier of highest-rank potions, he could easily mediate the conflicts between the top guilds.
And as someone ranked 157th in the world, they could entrust him with the gate clearing without worry.
'Korea still has a long way to go...'
Although they had been growing recently, it had only been a few months.
On the other hand, what about the US, the strongest Awakened nation?
Even with four S-rank gates appearing simultaneously, they were clearing them without much difficulty.
It was probably because they had such a wide pool of talent and a solid foundation.
At that moment,
The chief secretary, who had entered cautiously after knocking, spoke.
"Mr. President. Regarding the Dragon's Castle gate clearing team... It's been resolved!"
"Huh? Resolved?"
"The party has been formed. The members are... Kim Minwoo, Park Siwoo, Han Siah. And... Sword Saint, Divine Spear, Fist King, Poison Demon, and lastly, Sword Demon from Japan. A total of eight. They said they would enter within a week if the government gives permission..."
"...Wait, is this an All-Star game?"
Lee Kanghoon's jaw dropped.
For the first clear of a mere S-rank gate, the party composition was not just luxurious, it was extravagant!
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