Episode 12. Raid Failure
Sindae returned to his studio apartment.
He let out a sigh and took the griffin egg out of his bag.
‘What a strange day…’
As if meeting one of Korea’s only five S-Rank Awakened wasn’t enough, he had even received a griffin egg as a gift from her.
Sindae looked the griffin egg, which was as large as an ostrich egg, over from side to side.
Worrying about what to do, he slowly stroked the egg.
‘I should try using the skill first, right?’
Sindae recalled the Tame skill he hadn’t tried yet after breaking the rune stone.
Although it was a 6-Star monster, it was still a baby, so its stats couldn’t be higher than his; he was confident of success.
“Tame.”
When Sindae activated the skill, a brilliant light began to envelop the griffin egg.
‘So this is Taming…’
Sindae felt as if he was forming a connection with the monster inside the griffin egg.
Soon, a new message appeared before his eyes.
[You have succeeded in taming the griffin!]
[The egg is in distress!]
“The egg is in distress?”
At the words that the egg was in distress, Sindae’s eyes widened.
He looked at his room, which was unlike the griffins’ dungeon, and let out a sigh.
‘This won’t do…’
Although it was a monster egg, it was still avian.
Sindae hurriedly accessed Hunter Market and internet shopping malls, placing several items in his cart to successfully hatch the griffin egg.
‘First of all, a nest is probably the most important, right?’
It wasn’t as if Sindae, who would be going outside, could keep holding the griffin egg in his arms forever.
Fortunately, Sindae discovered griffin feathers being sold on Hunter Market.
He confirmed that the seller was the [Ares] Guild and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘If this is how it is, I should have asked for a piece of griffin hide…’
Sindae let out a sigh as he ordered one million won worth of griffin feathers.
After adding a few more items to the order, he looked at the griffin egg in his arms.
“But what should I name it?”
He thought of a few names, but coming up with good names had never been his strong suit, so it was a difficult task.
‘I should have raised a pet from the start…’
The only animals he had ever known were the ones he had seen at the slaughterhouse since childhood, so Sindae’s worries only deepened.
***
The next day, Sindae began installing the delivered items in his studio apartment.
He looked at the griffin nest installed in the middle of his one-room studio and let out a chuckle.
“I really do feel like the guest has overtaken the host here.”
A floor made of griffin feathers and lighting installed above it.
And even a heater installed to maintain a warm temperature.
Sindae placed the griffin egg on the nest and watched over it with anticipation.
‘Please, I hope this goes well…’
Since Sindae had butchered animals but never raised one, he looked on with a mix of anticipation and worry, but only for a moment.
A pleasant message appeared before Sindae, who had been curious about the state of the griffin egg.
[The griffin egg is feeling cozy.]
[Current hatch rate (1%)]
“Great!”
Seeing that a hatch rate, which hadn’t existed until yesterday, had appeared, Sindae could be sure he was doing well.
‘From now on, I should bring back a few hides from collections too.’
If he asked Collection Team 1, they would definitely give him a few hides he could use for the griffin egg, so Sindae looked at the egg and chuckled.
“Hurry up and grow, Kkokko.”
Sindae, who had spent the previous night worrying about what name to give it.
When Sindae, who had decided on the name “Kkokko,” spoke while stroking the griffin egg, he somehow felt the griffin egg wriggling restlessly at his fingertips.
“Heh heh, looks like our Kkokko likes the name!”
At Sindae’s words, the griffin egg thrashed about even more.
***
“Sindae, over here, over here!”
Sindae had come down to Cheongju to work a gig with Collection Team 1.
He spotted Bak Hyeonsik waving at him at the Cheongju bus terminal.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Sindae flashed a grin and nodded at him, who glanced down at his own hand with a worried expression.
“I’m fine now.”
“Yes, yes. You’re someone with a lot ahead of you; you can’t afford to be sick.”
Sindae chuckled at Bak Hyeonsik’s words.
Sindae boarded the van, and the vehicle began speeding toward the 7-Star Dungeon, ‘Yuter Temple Dungeon.’
“Ah, right. Sindae, the Guild Leader said he was sorry about last time and told me to give you this.”
Sindae, who had been looking at the scenery outside through the window.
He looked at the small box Bak Hyeonsik handed him and tilted his head.
‘What’s this?’
Sindae opened the box wrapped in red paper.
When he saw what was inside the box, his eyes went wide.
“Huh? Can I… really take this?”
A sharpness that could be called a famous sword at a glance.
Even the blacksmith’s name, ‘Iasol’, engraved on the handle.
Sindae gazed at the sharp sword in fascination—it was incomparable to the apprentice sword currently in his possession.
‘A work of Iasol… This is a piece that basically goes for over fifty million won…’
Most works by ‘Iasol’, an A-Rank Awakened and blacksmith, exceeded fifty million won, so Sindae looked at the sword in amazement.
“He received it as a gift not long ago but had no use for it, so he’s giving you the one stored in the warehouse—he told me to tell you not to feel too burdened. Keh heh.”
“Ooh… I’m jealous, Mr. Bak.”
“How about Mr. Bak treats us to dinner today?”
The other temporary workers in the van were also looking at Sindae enviously.
Sindae looked at the certificate of authenticity Bak Hyeonsik had handed him and could barely hold back a laugh that threatened to burst out.
[The 155th Sword of Iasol]
[Durability 40/40]
[Attack Power 100]
[A sturdy sword made from a proper mixture of various minerals.]
‘To think its attack power is higher than the longsword I got from the dungeon…’
It was a situation proving that she wasn’t called a famous blacksmith for nothing—the attack power was higher than the longsword Sindae had acquired.
But he looked at the sword before him with a bitter expression.
‘If I accept this, I’ll become indebted to the Osiris Guild, won’t I?’
No matter how well-known the Osiris Guild was for recording hundreds of billions in annual revenue, would they really just give Sindae a gift worth fifty million won?
Their intention to recruit him into the guild was obvious.
‘Whew… I’ll have to refuse this…’
Just as Sindae, who still had no intention of joining a guild, was about to refuse, Bak Hyeonsik continued.
“Ah, right, Sindae. And don’t feel too burdened. You know our boss’s nickname, don’t you?”
The nickname of Choe Cheolmin, Guild Leader of the Osiris Guild, was the Lion King.
It was a nickname derived from his hearty personality and his combat style.
“So you don’t need to feel burdened. He even gave two billion won in condolence money to the family of that Kim who died last time… We’ve received similar gifts too.”
Sindae nodded as he looked at Bak Hyeonsik, who spoke of the previous incident with a bitter expression.
“If that’s the case…”
“Yes, yes, well done! You shouldn’t refuse incoming fortune!”
“That’s right! I’m counting on you today too, Mr. Bak.”
The others looked on with satisfaction as Sindae stowed Iasol’s sword away, but only for a moment.
The van had already arrived in front of the 7-Star dungeon.
“Alright, let’s get to work, everyone!”
***
Since dungeons above 5-Star were roughly the size of a decent city, the 7-Star Dungeon ‘Yuter Dungeon’ was also estimated to be about the size of Seoul.
For that reason, even now, the collection method was to follow behind the attack teams that hunted monsters somewhere.
Sindae looked at the massive golem he was seeing for the first time and licked his lips.
‘Can I eat this?’
Sindae, who was butchering the golem, frowned at the fact that, true to its name, it contained nothing but stone and magic stones.
‘It’s useless if it can’t raise my stats…’
Sindae sighed in disappointment.
However, he soon spotted small bits of flesh in the golem’s core and let out a chuckle.
“Of course, of course it should be there…”
The fact that his mouth was watering made it clear that this was meat that would raise his stats.
After deftly butchering the flesh, Sindae looked fondly at Iasol’s sword in his right hand.
‘This was a collection that would have been impossible with the apprentice knife I used before.’
It was clear that an ordinary kitchen knife definitely wouldn’t have been able to pierce the thick hide of the golem.
However, Iasol’s sword cut through the golems’ hide as easily as slicing tofu.
“Everyone, move to the next location!”
They repeatedly moved after the team that had already finished collecting the golems around them.
Sindae was beginning to find the 7-Star dungeon, where different monsters kept appearing, more and more lovely.
‘Good Lord, how many types are these things?!’
There were already four types of 7-Star monsters he had encountered so far.
Having consumed the meat of four types, Sindae smiled as his Strength stat had risen by a total of 28.
“Team Leader, are there usually this many monster types?”
When Sindae asked Bak Hyeonsik beside him with anticipation, Bak chuckled.
“Fortunately, only the four types of monsters we collected appear in Yupir Dungeon, so you don’t have to worry anymore.”
“Ah…”
Bak Hyeonsik had thought Sindae was worried about many types of monsters appearing and told him not to worry, causing Sindae to let out a sigh of disappointment.
‘No, no… Still, if I consume the boss monster’s meat too, I’ll get over 40 stats in total…’
Since he could obtain over 40 stats if he gained another 17 from the boss on top of the 28 he already had, he decided not to be impatient.
‘I might reach total stats of 300 faster than I thought?’
His next goal was total stats of 300.
A state of total stats 300 meant level 87 if raised by level alone.
‘If that happens, I can challenge it…’
In a situation where level 80 and above was known as the realm of Rankers, having specs around 87 would certainly meet the goal Sindae was aiming for.
“Come on, come on, let’s hurry!”
Sindae was walking behind Bak Hyeonsik while lost in various thoughts.
Just then, he saw an Osiris Guild member running urgently toward the collection team.
‘Huh, why is that person covered in blood like that?’
A hunter came running with injuries.
At such a sight, a sense of unease briefly sprouted in Collection Team 1, but before long, shocking words spilled from the mouth of the urgently running hunter.
“R-Run…! R-Raid failure!”