Chapter 150: Already Finished? (1)

[Translator - Prøks][Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 150: Already Finished? (1)

"Cut it out, Zion."

I took Zion, who was trying to strike up a conversation with Chano, and exited the barrier.

Immediately, we ran into the person in charge of Section 37, who was loitering in front of the temporary branch office.

He looked at us with a puzzled expression and asked,

"Didn't you hear a noise from inside just now? No, wait. Why didn't you enter the Demon Realm? Did you give up?"

I wordlessly pointed inside the barrier.

Following my finger, the person in charge gasped.

"Huh?!"

He looked at us, then back at the barrier, then frowned at his watch, and finally stared at the dumbfounded Chano with wide eyes.

"A-already finished?"

He then shouted and dashed into the branch office.

"Survey team!"

Chano still hadn't come to his senses.

"Y-you guys..."

"Haha, Chano-hyung. As the Business Manager, I'd like to make you a good offer."

Zion grinned and tried to approach Chano, but I stopped him again.

Leaving the dazed Chano behind, I led my subordinates back to the official Magic Tower Alliance branch.

"What the heck, Commander? Why did you stop me? You just kicked away a golden opportunity."

Zion grumbled with a frustrated expression as we walked.

"I missed the chance to show the true face of the Business Manager."

"Just drop it."

Suddenly, Zion looked at me and said,

"As the Business Manager, there's something I don't understand. Why did you stop me from talking to Chano? It was a perfect opportunity to expand our Samael Clan's business."

"It was obvious he was trying to scam us."

"Ugh, seriously?"

Zion, shedding his Business Manager persona, glared at me.

"Are we really going to do this to each other? Have you forgotten that we used to sell our precious 'assets' together?"

I glanced towards the source of a commotion.

As we entered Section 10, a scene no different from a lawless zone unfolded once again.

It seemed a Demon Realm had just opened.

In the crowd gathered on one side, people were shouting and pointing fingers, and there were traces of a scuffle.

Ignoring them, I looked at Zion.

"Chano risked his neck trying to help us."

Zion replied with an incredulous look.

"It was just pointless meddling. He was acting like a fool."

"You're right."

"Then why did you stop me?"

"Just because."

"This damn commander."

Anticipating a forehead flick, Zion shielded his forehead.

"..."

"What? Why aren't you hitting me?"

I didn't feel like hitting him. Because I also thought Zion was right.

I simply said what I had to say.

"It was foolish, but well-intentioned. It doesn't really mean anything, so just let it go."

Even though I thought my words sounded strange, I didn't bother correcting myself.

Zion looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"Commander, did you eat something weird?"

"Why?"

"You're saying such strange things."

I couldn't think of anything to say in response.

As the official branch building came into view, I said to my subordinates,

"Wait here."

I entered the building and headed straight to the second floor.

I looked around for the staff member who had guided me earlier, but he had disappeared.

As I wandered around, observing the workspace, I noticed that this place was also quite crowded.

"There he is."

The newbie staff member, who was working at his desk, spotted me and tilted his head.

"Huh?"

As I approached, he asked,

"Why are you back?"

"I want to enter the Demon Realm."

"Ah, I see you didn't go to Section 37. Well, that section is a bit iffy."

"I already cleared it."

"Excuse me?"

"I cleared it."

The staff member tilted his head, momentarily confused.

"What do you mean you cleared it?"

"Exactly that. It was too easy. I didn't even get to see a single monster."

"There were no monsters?"

"Don't ask me, go and check for yourself."

"Um... just a moment."

The newbie staff member returned to his seat and went through some verification procedures, then suddenly jumped to his feet.

"You finished it in 7 minutes?"

His loud voice drew the attention of the surrounding crowd.

I said to the staff member,

"Is it confirmed?"

"Ah, yes."

"Good. Which Demon Realm is opening next? I'd prefer something a little less boring."

The staff member gulped and replied,

"You can go to Section 25 of the eastern barrier. However, it's already full..."

"That's fine. How long is the wait there?"

"Three hours should be enough."

I was about to get up when I said,

"Oh, where can I see the contribution points?"

"You can check them on the third floor."

"Thank you."

I went up to the third floor, and a large circular space appeared.

In the center, just like in the Administration office, a large magical ranking board displayed the rankings.

Several figures, exuding a sharp aura, were closely watching the board.

After observing their actions for a moment, I wrote my name on an empty space on the ranking board with my finger.

The board glowed with mana, and the following text appeared.

[Samael Clan's Crazy Mage Squad, 225 points, No Ranking]

I let out a hollow laugh when I saw the contribution points.

225 points...

Hmm...

It seems I'll have to put the Crazy Mage Squad to work.

* * *

"Bao!"

Startled by the deep voice, Bao looked to his right.

His superior, the mid-level manager Porter, was beckoning him from his office.

"You called for me, Mr. Porter?"

"Do you remember what I said during the orientation?"

Bao froze.

He was surely about to be reprimanded for raising his voice earlier.

"I apologize."

"Tell me what you did wrong."

"...I raised my voice. I apologize."

"Be careful. There won't be a second time."

Bao breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

In front of Porter, it was always better to admit fault than to make excuses, no matter what.

Bao had learned this well, even though he hadn't been with the Alliance for long.

"But why did you raise your voice?"

Bao froze again.

Wasn't the scolding over yet?

He gauged his superior's mood and said,

"A Demon Realm was cleared in 7 minutes."

"Oh? What level?"

"Level 4."

Porter, who had momentarily raised his eyebrows, muttered with a disinterested look,

"That's to be expected for Level 4."

"It's the fastest time, though."

"That's meaningless. Anyone with decent skills wouldn't even bother with Level 4."

Sensing a reprimand in his voice, Bao quickly added,

"The contribution points are 225."

"225 points?"

Porter's eyes narrowed again as he pondered something.

"That's unusually high for Level 4."

"Yes. It's high even considering the time. We'll know for sure once the investigation results are out, but there's a high possibility that a mutated monster appeared."

"Which group was it?"

"A group called the Samael Crazy Mage Squad. They registered today."

"Are they here now?"

"They left. They immediately went to find the next Demon Realm."

Porter suddenly frowned.

"Sometimes there are those who deliberately target uncompetitive Demon Realms to monopolize the contribution points. Those who resort to such tricks appear periodically. Where did you send them?"

"Section 25."

"Section 25..."

Porter trailed off, then smiled at Bao for the first time.

"That's a place with some competition. Good work."

"Thank you."

"You can go."

Bao left the office and finally breathed a sigh of relief as the tension left his shoulders.

He hadn't intentionally sent them to Section 25, but at least he had avoided getting on his superior's bad side.

Bao knew very well why his superior had been demoted to this place.

What was the point of volunteering for a hardship post for a promotion if he ended up getting on Porter's bad side?

"Whew."

If he could accumulate enough achievements to get promoted twice...

Even if he couldn't become a mage, it would open the path for him to pursue a scholarly career at the White Magic Tower.

It was the greatest dream that Bao, who had no talent for mana, could chase.

* * *

"I was wondering where you all had gone, and here you are, unable to wait."

I found my subordinates sitting in a tavern near the market town.

Palge, who was about to order food, asked with an incredulous look,

"How did you find us so quickly?"

"It was obvious where you'd go."

Zion asked,

"Did you check the contribution points, Commander?"

I nodded and said,

"Let's go."

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"The Demon Realm."

"...Right now? Let's eat something first."

I looked at my subordinates and said,

"I heard it takes about 10,000 points to enter the High-Rank Demon Realm."

"So?"

"We have 225 points."

"What?"

"We just need to enter 500 more times."

Understanding what I meant, Zion immediately slammed his hand on the table.

"They're giving us measly scraps! Let's just use the boss's pass."

"My pass?"

"You know, the pink one. Can't we use that to enter the High-Rank Demon Realm?"

I shook my head.

"We can't do that. If we want to become famous, we have to build a foundation step by step. Do you understand? No one will acknowledge us if we enter with a recommendation."

"You're only picky at times like this."

"Get up now. Let's go."

As I led my subordinates out of the market town, I confirmed a few facts.

First, most people traveled in groups.

Second, there was an overall atmosphere of tension.

There were many instances where groups seemed to be at odds with each other.

Occasionally, there were individuals or pairs traveling alone, and every one of them exuded an extraordinary aura.

After leaving the market town, I headed towards Section 25 of the eastern barrier with my subordinates.

When we arrived nearby, unlike before, there was quite a crowd gathered.

"Isn't this a Level 4 Demon Realm too?"

"It is."

Zion had a deflated look on his face.

"They'll probably give us another measly amount of contribution points."

"Still, with so much competition, it should be a better Demon Realm than the last one."

Makan, looking at the gathered crowd, said,

"We might not even have a spot."

Sure enough, we saw people trading entry spots for money and others getting into heated arguments.

As I walked towards the temporary branch office for Section 25, someone cautiously approached me.

"Excuse me."

I looked him up and down.

He was a slender man with a gloomy aura.

The gloomy man asked,

"Are you planning to enter?"

"Indeed."

"You're late. It's already full. If you want, I can give you my spot."

It seemed there were scalpers after all.

I observed the man's behavior, his gaze, and the group he was with, and immediately grasped his intentions.

"How much?"

"Three silver coins."

"That's too expensive."

The man shook his head.

"Trying to haggle won't work. I've been waiting here for 12 hours to get this spot. It's not expensive."

"Do you only have one spot?"

The man replied,

"How many do you need? I can get you more if you want."

"Five spots should be enough."

"Oh."

The gloomy man smirked and said,

"Wait here for a moment."

As soon as the man disappeared around the corner, Zion asked,

"Are you really going to pay him?"

"I hate scalpers."

"Then why...?"

"Just wait."

A moment later, the man reappeared and beckoned to me.

"I'll give you five spots. You all have Entry Passes, right?"

"Of course."

"Give me the money, and I'll give you the tickets."

"Tickets?"

"If there's a waiting list because the entry limit has been exceeded, you need an entry ticket to get in."

"I see. Let's go to the temporary branch office first."

I confirmed at the office that the entry limit had indeed been exceeded, then handed the man two gold coins.

Although there were Magic Tower Alliance officials and patrol officers dispatched to the area, they didn't intervene.

It was clear that the Alliance only managed the Demon Realms themselves and didn't care about private transactions like this.

The gloomy man exited the office, gave me a strange smile, and said,

"Heh heh, thank you for this. If you need anything next time, look for the Black Otter in the market town."

As soon as the man left, Zion shook his head.

"That guy's an idiot."

Arin agreed.

"He is. He's throwing away a good opportunity."

I looked at a group approaching from across the street and replied,

"He wouldn't be an idiot if he stopped here, but I doubt he will."

The group, exuding a ferocious aura, passed by us, then abruptly changed direction and stopped in front of me.

A bulky man with an axe scar on his neck grinned at me.

"Do you have any spare spots?"

It was the same guy who had exchanged glances with the gloomy man earlier.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]