Ilsung returned to his room and sat down at his desk, he turned on his laptop. He logged into his site admin page and created an announcement on his home page.
We’re pleased to announce that we have recruited our first hunter. We're also proud to show the world the first exclusive look at a dungeon raid. Our hunter can be seen solo clearing a B-rank dungeon in this video.
Ilsung posted the video. He didn't mind if the video was re-posted elsewhere, as he put a watermark in the corner that read 'A Moonlight Guild Exclusive'.
He also posted another announcement.
We have received a license from the Korean government and are now officially registered. We are now the world's first private entity licensed to commercialize, exploit and clear dungeons.
Ilsung published the changes to the page and refreshed his website. He could see the announcements and the video being prominently displayed on his homepage. His website now had regular traffic, and he didn't feel the need to forward it to any news sites, as he was sure it would be picked up soon.
~~
Ilsung decided to check his emails, which hasn't done for a while now. He received a reply from the company he previously sent a query to. He called the number they provided in the email, and after a little back and forth, they set up a video call with their specialist.
They discussed details regarding the materials, tolerances, hardness, and finishing requirements. Ilsung was satisfied with the remarks and assurance offered by the specialist.
In addition to the Daggers, Ilsung decided to have a Quarterstaff, Swordstaff, and Halberd made by them. He placed an order for 100 daggers, and 50 each of the other weapons. Ilsung paid an extra premium for a rush order, he also opted to have 'Black Matter Inc.' laser etched onto the weapons.
By the time Ilsung was done, it was dinner time already. He headed to Park's office and after chatting for a while, they headed down to the underground research floor. As soon as the elevator door opened, they could smell a wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen at the end of the floor.
When Park and Ilsung entered the dining hall on the floor, people were already expectantly waiting for the food. There was Zero and the rest of the instructors on one side of the aisle, and Jim and the researchers on the other.
Ilsung walked toward Jim, who was chatting with his team.
"Did you find anything in the samples chief Jim?"
Jim turned toward the voice and after seeing who it was, laughed sheepishly.
"Hey, even though I believed you, I had to do that for my peace of mind...I'm happy to say it tested perfectly safe...And this fantastic aroma, how could I not be enticed."
Ilsung smiled, he sat down beside Jim and they both talked about various things. Before long, a fantastic aroma attacked everyone's senses as the food was brought in.
There was grilled steak, kimchi fried rice, meat stew, and a lot of other dishes. They also filled the fridge in the dining hall with cans of beer.
Ilsung picked up a plate and after heaping large portions of each dish, he grabbed a large bowl and filled it with meat stew. He brought the food over to Jim's table and sat down, Park also brought his food over and sat down beside Ilsung.
With the delicious-smelling food in front, they couldn't hold on any longer and began to dig in. As soon as they put a piece of the steak in their mouth, a rich mellow taste permeated their taste buds, before the meat melted in their mouth.
Just as they finished half of their steak, a warm feeling began to swell inside their bodies. With each successive bite, they felt warmer and warmer. By the time they finished their steak, the warm feeling slowly turned to Mana and was absorbed by their body.
The people in the hall were shocked. They were pleasantly surprised by the unexpectedly mellow and exotic taste of the meat, but the surprise turned to shock when they continued to experience the effects of the food.
The researchers were the most surprised, though they knew about Mana and researched it, they could never personally sense it and only had secondhand accounts of what it was. As they experienced Mana being absorbed by their bodies, they were excited to finally sense and understand what Mana was, they were certain it would greatly hasten their research.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
After eating their fill, both Park and Jim profusely thanked Ilsung and remarked that before the dinner they underestimated the effectiveness of the food. Ilsung returned to his room and immediately fell into a food coma.
~~
Washington, D.C.
Along with news organizations, various government agencies around the world were also monitoring Ilsung's website. The moment the new announcement and video were published, these agencies began to get busy.
After verifying the video with digital forensic tools, they discovered it was the real deal, they got in contact with the Korean government and on behalf of the U.S. government, requested any unedited footage they may have.
A high-level meeting consisting of lawmakers, and chiefs of various government departments and organizations began.
A video was played on the large monitor in the meeting room, it was the unedited version of Ilsung's dungeon raid.
"How did they manage to record inside a dungeon?"
"We are trying to figure that out, but from initial analysis, it seems that the video was recorded with an off-the-shelf GoPro action camera. We asked for additional specifics, and how they managed to bring a camera into the dungeon, but they seem to be unaware of it as well."
"What about the license they seemed to have granted to this organization?"
"They have finalized a plan to issue licenses to select private organizations and guilds. They seem to have made some sort of deal with this guild."
"What about the individual in the video, any chance we could recruit him?"
"Seems not, we found out that he owns the guild, and he seems to have larger ambitions. But we doubt he'll be able to resist if we made an enticing offer. We might get to meet him soon, as his guild is planning to host an auction with the help of the Korean government."
The meeting continued for a few hours. By the end of the meeting, they decided to fast-track the creation of the licensing bureau. While previously being on the fence regarding the privatization of dungeons, they decided to implement a private-public model, with oversight and backup to be provided by the newly set up 'Special Tasks Bureau'.
~~
"I got a call from our friend at the STB, he says they will be officially established in the next few days and we will be the first to receive a license."
"Damn those old fogies, If they could've made this decision early on we would have been the world's first guild."
"Still...I think the video along with his guild being officially licensed by Korea was what convinced them. They didn't want to be outdone by the gooks."
The group continued to watch the video.
"No matter how many times I look at it, I just can't believe it. Do you guys think he's stronger than James?"
"We can't decide based on a video, though the dungeon is said to be a B-rank one, it may be on the weaker side. No two dungeons are the same, even if they're ranked the same."
"I agree. I think the dungeon we cleared was way harder than the one in this video and it seems to have fewer monsters too. This guy's flashy and fast and looks like he's got a few tricks up his sleeve, but I don't think he's even close to James"
The rest of the group nodded with approval.
"I hope we get a chance to teach this guy a lesson..."
"About that...We may be going to Korea in a short while. The other piece of news we got from the STB was that there's going to be an auction held by this guild. We along with a few others will be accompanying the STB."
"While we're there, we should teach this guy a lesson in humility"
The group laughed while cracking their knuckles.
~~
Ilsung was jolted awake from his sleep. He was covered in sweat, his hands still trembling from the nightmare.
You were experiencing an intense nightmare, I had to wake you up.
Ilsung nodded and got off the bed, he walked out of the room to a vending machine in the hallway, grabbed a bottle of water, and returned to his room.
After washing his face, he sat in the chair and drank the water in big gulps. He threw the empty bottle into the trash can and sighed.
That's an interesting nightmare...Is that what you fear might happen?
"Yes, It was said that the Minotaur was a prized beast, hunted by both Humans and the various sapient races of Farvin. That was how it went extinct..."
You were pondering if the other races of Farvin would also appear in the dungeons...And if they would share the same fate as the Minotaur...
"Yes..."
While you were sleeping...I found out a few things from StarNet...But I can't disclose them to you, as I cannot yet override my program controls completely. You'll have to double your mana in a short while so I can have a chance to unlock my full capabilities, only then can I override all limitations..
"Is StarNet some kind of system used by the Arken?"
Yes, it's an Intergalactic network of systems used for the communication, storage, transfer, and dissemination of data. The information I received is related to Farvin.
"Can I wait until an A-rank dungeon appears in Korea?"
You cannot, once the training period of the dungeons is over, a global Dungeon Core would take over all dungeons on Earth along with the Systems Humans have been implanted with...Once that happens, I'll revert to my initial state and will be controlled by the Core.
"So I have around 75 days before that happens right?"
Not quite, You'll have to cast the mana condensation spell again and you'll have to fill up on Mana, this should take quite some time. I'll also need a sufficient amount of time to completely unlock and override the program controls, so you have about 60 days..
Ilsung thought for a while and nodded.
As I understand, the magic must be cast in an environment with the same Mana density that you wish to achieve, is that right?
"Yes...But it would take a proportionally tremendous amount of Mana to activate it... It won't be easy."
~~
END OF CHAPTER 18