I Became a Disaster-Class Newbie by Stealing Abilities - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 33. Hidden Dungeon (1)
The office of the Jeokheo Guild, located in the Hanam Knowledge Center.
“You’ve become far more famous than I expected. I’d wager there’s hardly a soul left in Hanam who doesn’t know your name. Ha.”
Yang Myeong-ho, master of the Jeokheo Guild, took a sip of green tea.
“I’ve been fortunate, that’s all.”
“Still so humble. That hardly seems the work of luck alone, now does it?”
“You’re making me blush. Let’s leave the flattery where it is. What about the matter I asked you to handle?”
“Ah. Well, I’ve procured the Dungeon Clear Permit you mentioned. The recent prices have spiked rather sharply, so the cost ran a bit higher than anticipated.”
The Empire maintained exclusive ownership of certain dungeons.
Among them were dungeons that, while challenging to clear, held vast rewards—and these could be purchased with Merit Points.
From the Empire’s perspective, it was a way to minimize Merit Point inflation and preserve scarcity.
It also made controlling the guilds and Rankers far more convenient.
“I know you’re formidable, but there are truck-loads of Raid Parties that have tried their luck at that dungeon and failed. On top of that, strange rumors have been circulating lately, and the major guilds have been buying dozens of Permits each.”
In other words, don’t waste Merit Points on this.
Conventionally, Merit Points were meant to be spent on raising one’s Citizen Rank first.
It was sound reasoning.
All of it made sense.
But there were exceptions.
Like this dungeon he’d just purchased.
‘This isn’t the time to hoard Merit Points.’
He’d made that mistake often enough in the past.
Always chasing what lay directly before him, never seeing far enough ahead.
He wouldn’t repeat such foolishness again.
The Hidden Dungeon: Throat of the Demon.
This was a place he had to clear early on—no exceptions.
“And the enhancement?”
“Your Dagger is such a special item that the crafter quoted 1.5 billion won for a single enhancement.”
“That’s steep.”
Ju-sang’s face twisted at Yang Myeong-ho’s words.
1.5 billion won—that was the price of an apartment in Kangdong.
And they wanted it just like that.
‘The billion I got from the merit ceremony won’t cut it. That leaves me with eight hundred million, doesn’t it?’
When the money first arrived, he’d felt like Bill Gates.
He’d thought he could stay in five-star hotels, eat omakase for every meal, and never worry.
But.
He learned just how badly he’d miscalculated—and it didn’t take long.
-Wow. Ju-sang’s loaded?
-Seolgi, can I have some of this?
-Of course. To someone as mighty as Ju-sang, this is nothing. You’re the great man who’ll restore our bloodline to glory!
These creatures had appetites that scaled perfectly with their strength—which is to say, unimaginable.
They weren’t vacuum cleaners, exactly.
But they certainly had a way of sucking up all the most expensive things.
Baek Seolgi especially operated on another level entirely. He’d nearly fainted watching that small frame demolish four large premium-brand pizzas in a single delivery.
Fully loaded toppings, extra cheese crust, hot wings on the side, and pasta for good measure.
She didn’t even bother leaving a review for cash-back promotions.
‘Can’t exactly tell her to just eat Bigyeok Dan instead.’
The need for a stable pipeline of income—before he became a credit default—suddenly felt urgent.
Whether Yang Myeong-ho sensed his deep worry or not, he smiled reassuringly and produced a glass bottle containing Godok and red-spotted flies.
“Consider these my treat. Please accept them.”
The red droplets spattered across their bodies made it clear these were Godok used by the Dang Sect—no question there.
He’d bought them at a premium from the Dongdaemun Goblin Market.
The blood-drinking exotic species, the Hound Tsetse Fly, was also classified as a banned item for trade.
“Are you sure? These are incredibly expensive items.”
“Ha. Please don’t mention it. Thanks to you, our business has at least doubled in size recently. The number of people wanting to join the guild has increased several times over as well.”
“Ahem. In that case, I’ll gratefully accept.”
Ju-sang cleared his throat awkwardly and slipped the Godok and Hound Tsetse Fly into his grasp.
He had immediate use for the Godok.
“Now then. Time for us to have a word with our friend.”
Ju-sang’s gaze turned toward the shaggy-haired man.
Python had said he’d repay his debt properly.
He’d actually gotten Hyangpyeong-jak out.
He’d deal with his superiors in due course, or so he claimed.
“Must you go to such lengths? I give you my word. From now on, I’ll obey whatever command you give.”
Sorry, but I don’t trust people on their word alone.
Let’s do this cleanly. One shot.
“Listen. You clearly don’t know me well yet. I don’t yield easily to threats. It would benefit us both if you asked nicely instead.”
“Hmm. Where was it people said was so nice to visit lately? I heard Heilongjiang has quite a reputation for good restaurants.”
Click.
He shook the divining rods over the map.
Sticks full of ill omens tumbled toward the edge of the wooden box.
“Just—just eat it. Eat it!”
Hyangpyeong-jak swallowed the Godok with a grimace, like eating mustard under duress.
Good.
He’d acquired himself a loyal slave.
A seven-star melee damage dealer, no less.
“Your job is to go into Guul and dig up information about the Non-violence practitioner. His background would be nice. Best case, you find out what plans he’s cooking up going forward.”
“If I fail the mission, he won’t let me live. And that suspicious bastard will never believe I got away alone.”
“Don’t worry about that part.”
Why would he carelessly throw away the prize piece he’d just obtained?
He’d already aligned every detail of the breakout with Python.
Even if the Non-violence practitioner investigated, they wouldn’t find a single inconsistency.
Besides.
He’d prepared a gift that would tempt the man.
“Tell him that the ‘Tears of Mermaid’ will be auctioned off at the imperial ball. And slip him a word that there’s definitely a way to secure it.”
“What is the Tears of Mermaid?”
“It’s a thing.”
A Sacred Relic that the Non-violence practitioner had desperately sought back in the community days.
This would be reason enough to keep Hyangpyeong-jak alive.
“Understood. I’ll do as you ask, just don’t touch my hometown.”
The ex-killer had turned into a docile sheep.
Strange. For a moment, his nose stung—as if he’d just gained a wonderful younger brother.
“Oh, wait. Before you go, let’s do one job together.”
Before sending him to Guul, there was something this man could be used for.
* * *
Throat of the Demon.
The dungeon’s greatest feature was the random matching system for raid parties.
Not with teammates you’d coordinated with beforehand, but with strangers.
If you were unlucky, your whole party could end up in the same role, or you could be matched with a raid crawling with trolls.
In the worst case, you could even enter alone without any teammates.
In short: luck-based garbage game.
There was no better way to describe this dungeon.
“This is maddening. Failed again?”
“We barely have enough Merit Points left to even buy a Clear Permit.”
“And we can’t ignore the personnel losses. We’ve already lost two five-person raid parties.”
The entrance to the dungeon was crowded with raid parties from countless guilds.
It was fallout from a strange rumor that had spread recently.
Rumors in this line of work were common enough that people usually dismissed them…
But when the source of a rumor was the great prophet Apostle Prision, everything changed.
A Precognition user of ten-star caliber.
-Whoever first clears the Throat of the Demon shall break through the nine-star wall. Moreover, such a one shall also obtain a treasure that all would covet.
Because of this prophecy, the value of the Throat of the Demon had skyrocketed lately.
Nine-star Rank—that was a level at which even a master of a major guild could aspire.
The prophecy lacked a specific ‘when,’ but regardless. Breaking through the nine-star barrier, even in the distant future, was an extraordinary achievement.
And to obtain a treasure that anyone would covet…
If Prision used language of that caliber, it must be a treasure among treasures.
Of course.
Sweet fruit was never easy to pluck.
“Damn it. Just give me one healer, at least!”
“I’m a late five-star! Why do I keep getting matched with two to three-star nobodies!”
“Any three-star or below trying to enter? I’ll kill you all! Consider yourselves warned!”
Below the three-star rank, there was a special condition: all you needed to pay was fifty Merit Points for entry.
Thanks to this, hopefuls came pouring in, eager to gamble on their chance at a life-changing jackpot.
Some had been coerced.
Others had been cajoled and sweet-talked, though it hadn’t worked.
For those mayflies scraping by day after day, an opportunity to bet on a complete reversal of fortune didn’t come around often.
‘Hm. This place never gets any less vicious.’
Ju-sang, who had arrived at the entrance without noticing, drew in a long breath.
The acrid, biting stench of hatred and rage seeped through his nostrils and settled deep in his lungs.
For the record, he’d sent Baek Seolgi and Baek-gwi elsewhere.
An enormous opportunity to gain a major fortunate encounter had presented itself.
Rather than waste time in this place where clear strategies already existed, it was far more efficient for them to grow elsewhere.
Step.
At the very front, he could see people preparing to enter the dungeon.
The sight of them praying to enter alongside their companions was rather pathetic.
Whoosh!
The moment the entry pass burned away, people vanished from here and there simultaneously.
The Raid Party matching had been completed.
Needless to say, no one had managed to enter with members of their own guild.
And then.
“Hey. Who’s this?”
A familiar voice came from behind him.
At first, he didn’t recognize them—they were wearing sunglasses and a pulled-up hood.
But the sight of those distinctive purple, frizzy strands of hair made it clear who they were.
Bora-doli.
Or rather, Jester.
The Ranker he’d met in a dungeon before had just revealed themselves.
“So where are Tubi and Nana and Ppo? You came alone?”
“Sh-shut up!”
Bora-doli’s face flushed red on the spot.
All things considered, he couldn’t understand how a creature with such a cheat-mode physique could have such a pathetic mentality.
Though that was precisely what made teasing them amusing, so it wasn’t a problem.
-Hey, partner. Don’t stir up needless trouble. Getting tangled up with that one won’t do us any good.
The original personality, Jester, grumbled low.
“Yeah, I know. If that white-haired woman gets involved, it’s not going to be easy.”
The kind of power Baek Seolgi had demonstrated.
Given that, fighting would yield more loss than gain.
She wasn’t visible now, but there was no telling when or where she might pop out.
There was no reason to waste effort on something pointless.
Still, simply backing down wounded pride….
“So you flipped off our Immortal Cult back at Starfield, didn’t you? Apparently the higher-ups are absolutely seething about it.”
Bora-doli was testing the waters with a veiled threat.
The massive force that was the Immortal Cult was sharpening its knives.
Of course.
“Oh no. Would you like some fever medicine? Since everyone up there must be getting on in years, maybe some fermented juice would do the trick?”
Not all targets fell for such threats equally.
“Ha, fine. Let’s not talk about it, yeah?”
“Why not? Come on, play a little longer. You’re just going to leave? I was bored since I didn’t know anyone here.”
“Instead of having the leisure to fool around, you ought to be thinking about how to clear this place. Sounds like you only know the basics about here. If you keep running your mouth with half-baked knowledge, you’ll end up taking a hard fall.”
“Hm. And you’re different how?”
“Obviously. Because I’m the only one who can obtain the real treasure sleeping in this dungeon.”
Bora-doli threw back their shoulders with confidence.
As if the outcome had already been decided.
Of course they were after the Heart of the Volcano.
‘How dare you. Trying to lay hands on something I’ve already marked as mine?’
The convention was to gently stroke overconfident newcomers, but.
This time, he was going to roll them until all the tears and snot squeezed dry.
A strange smile played at the corners of Ju-sang’s lips.
On the surface, the matching system seemed completely random.
But that wasn’t actually true.
If you exploited a particular gimmick, you could pierce the system’s weakness.
‘I’m the only one who can manipulate the matching.’
Now it was time to shake this entire game.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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