Chapter 165: Being A Teacher Is Tough
Chapter 165: Being A Teacher Is Tough
Ji-woo invaded the second tier-3 Portal Gate within two days of the dungeon time. Two hours of outside time. It was the fastest time for him to close the Portal Gates. After all, he intended to fill the Spatial Bag with all the items from those dungeons. Thus, it caused him to spend quite some time searching around.
Dal-soo and Chairman Yu didn't mind that. Because in the end, it was pretty fast, and Ji-woo was doing it alone.
Around 10 p.m., time then passed like that. Ji-woo successfully managed four tier-3 Portal Gates and proved to Chairman Yu that he was an individual with the credibility to close the Portal Gate.
That was convincing enough for Chairman Yu, of course. But, he still gave Ji-woo a statement before making a final decision.
"I don't know how easy it is for you to deal with the Portal Gate creatures in the dungeon. However, seeing as your condition is still perfect. And it only takes an average of 2 hours of each Portal Gate. I'm certain tiers 1 to 4 won't be a problem for you.
"Tiers 5 and 6 are not as easy as the tiers below. Moreover, you are alone with no certainty or clarity as to whether you have a hidden team or not. That makes it difficult for me. Therefore, your privileges will exist but are temporarily limited in tiers 1 to 4 only.
"In the future, those privileges will change as you demonstrate that you are capable of handling tier-5 and tier-6 Portal Gates.
"I'm sorry. I need to make sure everything is in order to avoid anything that we don't expect to happen."
Ji-woo shook his head. He understood Chairman Yu's position and why he still couldn't fully believe it. A leader had a heavy responsibility and should always question anything. Even if it was something he knew and was fully aware of it.
"It's okay. At least, the privileges weren't flatly get denied. Well, I'm sure I'll get permission to have a tier-5 and tier-6 Portal Gate in the future.
"Besides, sorry, we can only manage four tier-3 Portal Gates today. If only I didn't busy looking for items, maybe we could take care of six Portal Gates today."
Dal-soo then chimed in. "It's fine. It is your Portal Gate. You can do as you wish, Ji-woo~si. We're just here to make sure that possession of all ten Portal Gates to you alone isn't a problem."
Ji-woo smiled and turned to Chairman Yu. "Oh, right. For this matter of privilege, what should I do? Do I need to go to the Hunters Association again?"
"You don't need to do anything. We will update the privilege in the Hunters Association's database. So, the card will provide information about it."
Not long after, Dal-soo, Chairman Yu, and Ji-woo parted their ways. The two S-rank hunters also informed Ji-woo that they wouldn't be monitoring his activities, closing the rest of tier-3 Portal Gates anymore.
On the way home, Ji-woo grunted about his loot today wasn't paying off. He didn't get any magic items, only Mana and Sphere items. Currently, he had 57 Magic Crystals, 20 Magic Stones, 4 Obelisk Spheres, 3 Armoire Spheres, and a Rnegyr Sphere in his Spatial Bag. That was not to forget the remaining around 8.2 billion won.
That was Ji-woo's wealth now. It looked like a lot, but it was still a little for his plans.
'Well, money will never be enough until we say it's enough.'
In Ji-woo's room, he used Magic Crystals and Magic Stones for wrists and ankles weights. He spent 52 Magic Crystals and 16 Magic Stones, increasing the weight of the four instruments to a total of 832 kg. It was a very frightening weight. Ji-woo himself had also begun to feel that the movement was a little heavier than usual.
In the middle of the night, Ji-woo texted Dong-hyun and Yu-jin. The message told the two hunters to meet in the morning at the foot of the mountains as usual, with no clarity on why they had to meet.
The next day, Ji-woo left the house and headed to the foot of the mountains. There, Dong-hyun and Yu-jin were already present. Even though they didn't know the agenda of the meeting, they each carried their bags containing the hunting gear.
"Wow, I don't know what possessed you to become quick-witted like this?"
"Hyung, you usually call us here only to practice. Nothing else but that. So, we must have brought our armor and magic weapons."
Ji-woo became speechless at Dong-hyun's words. He also couldn't deny it because it was true. 'This kid sometimes spouts sensible words.'
"Alright. That's why I invited you guys to hunt for today at the Portal Gate."
Dong-hyun tilted his head and asked further. "Where to hunt? Does the guild have a new schedule for us?"
Yu-jin opened her mouth and answered Dong-hyun's question calmly. "We will enter Ji-woo's Portal Gate."
Dong-hyun clapped his hands as if he was getting enlightened. "Ah, right! Ji-woo Hyung has a lot of tier-3 Portal Gates!"
"Ji-woo~si, has ownership of the Portal Gate been taken care of? We'll get into trouble with the Hunters Association if we enter the Portal Gate without addressing this matter first." Yu-jin asked.
"No need to worry. The matter of ownership has been taken care of. Today we will be entering some of those Portal Gates. So, prepare your stamina and stay alert, even if it's only tier-3. You don't know what will happen in the dungeon if you take it lightly. It will be a good experience for you."
Yu-jin wanted to ask further but abandoned the idea. She knew managing possession of the Portal Gate for an individual who didn't have a promising organization behind was difficult. It took weeks, and the results were not necessarily satisfying.
"Of course! Ji-woo Hyung, you are the best for this." Dong-hyun didn't bother thinking about it as Yu-jin did. For him, the important thing was to enter the Portal Gate and increase his fighting experience. Moreover, there was Ji-woo. He did not need to worry if an accident in the dungeon occurred.
Ji-woo and Dong-hyun were ready to leave before Yu-jin opened her mouth again. "Ji-woo~si, if we both didn't bring our hunting gear. What would you do? Not going to the Portal Gate? Or telling us to go back to our respective places and get it?"
Ji-woo stopped in his tracks. It was an interesting question for him. "Neither. You will still enter the Portal Gate with minimal equipment. Even if you don't bring anything, then that's how it is."
"Isn't that too dangerous? You could have told us beforehand so we could get prepared."
Dong-hyun felt that the conversation between Yu-jin and Ji-woo was heading towards an argument. He swiftly tried to lighten the mood.
"Yu-jin~si, that's enough. You don't need to get confused. I'm sure Ji-woo Hyung just forgot to tell us because he was tired."
On the other hand, Ji-woo turned around and looked at Yu-jin.
"Look around us. There are many Portal Gates. When they turn into the Red Gate, is there any advance announcement so the hunters can prepare?
"We've been hit by the Red Gate disaster several times, and it all ended badly. Because the hunters didn't get prepared, and even acting fast was still slow.
"Under these circumstances, if you're didn't get prepared for everything. How can you survive?
"You're in a situation where you have to prepare to die even in your sleep. Whether you're wearing hunting gear or not, the circumstances won't fit you. Nor will it wait for you to get ready.
"You either die because you're weak, or you survive because you're strong. There's no such thing as dying because you weren't prepared or living because you got time to prepare. Time waits for no one."
Yu-jin bit her lip. She wanted to apologize if her question offended Ji-woo. But, that got hindered by her pride. She felt her question was not wrong at all. Thus, she decided to shut her mouth.
And it was the same as Ji-woo's way of thinking. He didn't feel offended or angry. He just wanted Dong-hyun and Yu-jin to realize that there would come a time when the two of them would have to fight without their magic items. So, if Yu-jin apologized for that, it wouldn't be necessary.
At the tier-3 Portal Gate, the three of them went straight in without further ado. Ji-woo told Dong-hyun and Yu-jin to do whatever they wanted. Meanwhile, he would explore the entire area of the dungeon. He gave the two hunters advice to do their hunting first to gauge how capable they were fighting against the tier-3 Portal Gate creatures.
If things get tough, Dong-hyun and Yu-jin could think about working together. However, if the combination of the two of them still couldn't solve the problem or defeat the creatures. They were forbidden to seek Ji-woo's help. They were required to keep trying their best and sharpen their brains in a critical state.
Dong-hyun wanted to ask what if they got hurt or almost died. Ji-woo then explained that he would come to them if indeed they were on the verge of death.. But, if he thought they weren't going to die, then he wouldn't intervene at all, even if they had severe injuries or broken bones.