Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
(TL: Before we get into the chapter, there are some things that may offend some people, so this is a bit of a disclaimer. I hope everyone can look past them since it's not that overt. And I hope it doesn't affect how much you like the story)
After the Dungeon Gates appeared, all countries in the world had a very rough time, and it was still progressing.
In some cases, the existence of the country was shaken by the level of suffering they had to go through.
This was especially the case for those second and third world countries.
Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South America, Southeast Asia and…
“Where? North Korea?”
Countries like North Korea.
It was impossible for such countries which had both political and national unrest, to properly handle the dungeon gates.
So those countries had two choices, either they let themselves be ruined, or they ask for help from stronger powers.
In the case of North Korea, they chose the latter. They opened their doors and asked the world for help.
Of course, they didn't open that big of a door, basically only a small door was opened.
“Kaesong, North Korea?”
Kaesong Special District was once such small door.
After designing Kaesong as a special area for players, North Korea allowed almost all foreigners to enter freely without imposing any conditions or restrictions on dungeon attacks.
Even in a socialist state, there were no restrictions on economic activity within the designated special districts.
If the players could defeat the dungeon gate, then they would be able to do whatever they wanted in that area, so naturally, after becoming a special district, Kaesong became one of the greediest cities in the world.
“It's practically like Gotham.”
So it was given the nickname Gotham, like the city in the Batman, a comic in the DC series.
“He went there? Is he crazy?”
It was for this reason, that Lee Jin-ah was surprised that Kim Woo-jin went to such a place.
“The crazy one is you who deliberately came during lunch and ate my food. You d.a.m.n insect b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
Lee Jin-ah, who was now putting ramen in his bowl with a pair of chopsticks, made an odd expression as he heard those words and laughed awkwardly.
Oh Se-chan gave him a dirty look before he continued talking.
“Kaesong is not as bad of a city as you think.”
“Does that make sense? That's where all those criminal b.a.s.t.a.r.ds like to gather.”
As Lee Jin-ah said, Kaesong special district was a gathering place for criminals, but not just any criminals, it was for criminal players.
A place for the people who cannot enter or work in normal countries or who simply don't want to live a normal life.
“If there was a wolf in a herd, then it would smell b.l.o.o.d.y and stand out. But if there are only predators gathered, then it's surprisingly peaceful. Think of America. Compared to the number of firearms available, the number of deaths caused by firearms is pretty low isn't it?” (TL: *cringe*)
“That is considered small?”
“Imagine what would happen if they legalized firearms in South Korea. Do you think the number would be as small as theirs?” (TL: *cringe*)
After saying that, Oh Se-chan picked up some noodles with his chopsticks.
“Rather, it's the best place to hunt dungeons. There is no tax, so it's easier to trade goods, which makes the prices of goods cheaper. It's better than here as long as you're able to follow the rules.”
“What are the rules?”
“You just have to leave the dangerous guys alone.”
“I guess there might be some dangerous guys like me there.”
As he heard those words, Oh Se-chan couldn't help but laugh.
“I would've sent you there to take a look, but I keep telling you, you're not that strong.”
Lee Jin-ah grumbled with a sullen look on his face.
“Hyung, can't you give me a little compliment?”
“I'll admit it if you give Kim Woo-jin a nosebleed.”
“Ah, really! That guy is a special kind of monster! You wouldn't understand unless you see him fight in person…”
“There's a monster even stronger than Kim Woo-jin.”
When he heard this, Lee Jin-ah's face became serious.
“Who is it?”
“Suzuki Eiji. He should be around level 50 now, but in standard two floor dungeons, he'd find it hard to find an opponent.”
Lee Jin-ah tilted his head when he heard the name.
“I've never heard of him. Are you just telling me that to mess with me?”
Despite his reaction, Oh Se-chan's expression didn't change.
“Believe it or don't, just don't ever cross the guy with a scar under his right eye.” (TL: A bit of a vague description)
Oh Se-chan paused before adding another bit of information.
“Because he is a hound for the Messiah Guild.”
Lee Jin-ah slowly digested this information.
“But why did that guy Kim Woo-jin go there? Is it dangerous?”
“I don't know.”
“Well maybe he went to catch that scary guy you just talked about?”
At the question, Oh Se-chan let out a laugh.
“Never. In reality, even if you take an army with you, there's no guarantee that you could defeat Suzuki Eiji. Kim Woo-jin would probably know this better than me. Maybe he went to do something else.
As he said that, Oh Se-chan's thoughts drifted briefly.
'If Kim Woo-jin really went to hunt Suzuki Eiji…and if he does hunt him, then there's no doubt that he's after the Messiah Guild.'
Oh Se-chan's expression hardened slightly.
'…maybe we need to uncover the Power of the Pharaoh in advance.'
The most central part of Kaesong Special District was the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
Used as a factory in the past, it was now a gathering point for the players who stayed in the Kaesong Special District.
Life in the district was quite different to what people on the outside thought. Rather than a city of lawlessness, it felt much like any other place in the world.
“Selling items!”
“Selling materials!”
The first thing one would notice was the item covered simple shops lining the streets. There, one could see items and materials gathered from monsters.
These sights which were hard for the general public to even see, were laid out plainly like a fish market and the freshness of it all was quite shocking.
There were even shops selling the complete corpses of monsters.
“Werewolf corpse, caught yesterday. I'm selling it whole!”
It was a monster that had escaped from a dungeon gate and been captured.
In other countries, the moment you were caught dealing with monsters in this way, you'd be given a nice iron bracelet, courtesy of the state. But in the Kaesong Special District there was no need for that worry.
“Wow!” (In english)
“Sugoi!” (TL: 'Great' in j.a.panese)
This was why non-player tourists clicked their cameras at the scene.
Of course, it wasn't a good thing to see. Illegal activities were usually done in the dark, hidden places where no one could see them.
“I like the water here. What do you think?”
“Do you mean alcohol?”
“There's also something even better.”
From alcohol, to drug trafficking. The ugliest things that mankind were capable of trading, could be traded here.
“Kill that son of a b.i.t.c.h!”
“Catch that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
To the sights of those under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and those whose morality had already taken large hits, something else appeared before them.
And the sight before them was brutal beyond the point of being just fierce.
The fight between players who had survived the horrors of dungeons was not something that could be compared to those players who did not hunt or ordinary people.
Unlike fighting arenas that had rules, most fights in the Kaesong Special District were fights to the death.
The battles were always extremely b.l.o.o.d.y.
Fights like these, which one would be hard pressed to find anywhere else, was one of the specialties of the Kaesong Special District as they could break out at any moment.
A similar thing was happening in a club located in a corner of the Kaesong Industrial Complex. It was a bar that had a few tables and chairs for the customers to sit.
Clink!
Bottles of alcohol could be heard shattering one after another.
“f.u.c.k!”
“Ack!”
Screams could be heard all over the place.
Between the screams and the club's music, two men stood in front of each out, pointing the broken bottles in their hands.
“What did you just say? Why don't you say it again you motherf.u.c.ker!”
“Are you gonna do something about it you crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d?”
The two drunkards swore at each other.
They both looked like they were more than willing to commit murder which proved that these two were not ordinary.
“It's a player fight!”
“This is crazy, someone stop them!”
“They are both over level 30, do you want to go between them and stop them?”
In fact, the two players were both higher than level 30 and an ordinary person wouldn't be able to stop them even if they had an automatic rifle.
“They were having mulberry juice just a minute ago…”
“Drugs? Oh my G.o.d.” (TL: I'm a.s.suming mulberry juice is the colloquial name for a form of narcotic)
Above all, the two of them didn't simply have alcohol.
It was like two cars without brakes running into each other at top speed.
The onlookers gulped collectively and some of them took a few steps backward.
Suddenly.
Puk!
An arrow flew between the two who had appeared to be isolated from the outside world.
The two then turned their heads at the same time to look at where it came from, their eyes wild like beasts.
In their gaze, they saw a woman sitting at a table, and beside her was a man of small stature looking at them with a cool gaze.
Below his right eye was a rather impressive looking scar.
“Huk.”
“Ugh.”
As soon as they saw this man, the two men who were intoxicated with both alcohol and drugs became a lot more sober.
This happened to practically everyone in the club. As they all became nervous when they noticed the appearance of this man.
Only one person in the entire club was more relaxed than nervous at that moment.
'Suzuki Eiji.'
Kim Woo-jin, disguised as a tanned man with a large mustache sitting at the bar and watching the situation, was observing the man who managed to calm the tense situation in the club with only a glance.
And then a thought came to his mind.
'I didn't think I'd meet you this way.'
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