Hoarding in Hell Novel

Chapter 1 Difficulty: Hell

Someone just cut it and drew a line.

You said that you can only go this far, and that you can’t go any further.

Even though dungeons were created in the world, talented people were awakened, and all kinds of transcendent beings appeared in the world, that was the only thing I was presented with.

Your limits are here. I can’t go any further.

[0-star incompetent public.]

There is no possibility of becoming a talented person in the future.

That was my judgment.

It was useless to ask why I couldn’t go because there were so many people ahead of me everywhere, and if I had to stay in this mud alone.

While they enjoyed the warmth and riches of the world in a bright place, I had to pick up crumbs from under my feet. Some have crossed that line with money, and some have been pulled up into a network.

It was no use begging me for a fair way to compete, for a chance, with a wounded hand. This reality was strictly determined, the limit of my possibilities.

No matter how hard I tried, it didn’t change.

A twenty-nine-year-old who is forced to see reality. I had no choice but to agree.

Until you go to hell.

***

Mars Mana Specialized Industrial District.

It was an area where the largest mana-related industrial plants in Korea were concentrated.

It is no exaggeration to say that crystal moss collected in Korea is gathered here.

The mana-related business extracted from the crystal moss after the occurrence of the dungeon was a business that led the future. Of course, all the people working here were working with pride.

Kang Hyunmoo was also working in this industrial district.

However, he works underground, not above ground.

It was in the sewer where the waste of the Mana Specialized Industrial District was pouring out.

sway.

Hyunmoo’s hand ran through the dark inside of the old mansion. Something gripped his rubber gloved fingertips.

When I crushed the black mass with my fingertips, a fine purple powder-like thing spread out from the inside. Hyunmoo dumped it into a colander with a filter.

There were dozens of people like Hyunmoo who repeatedly dig through the sewers.

It was the people who collected the crystal moss residue from the wastes of the specialized industrial district, the miners.

Industrial waste as well as residues of crystal moss are very dangerous to the human body of the general public, not the skilled person.

When the crystal moss residue comes into contact with the skin, it causes the symptoms of paralysis of the body due to mana poisoning. It was like digging for gold in a toxic substance.

However, due to the huge price of crystal moss, the collectors did not stop. Since the company can purchase crystal moss at a low price without consuming manpower, they tend to leave the harvesters alone.

The darkest shade of this era, which enjoys its golden age.

It was like a modern-day dungeon.

“Mr. Hyunmoo. He said he took a break.”

An unfamiliar, refreshing voice could be heard from within the dreary drainage ditch filled with black and white.

A woman with a pale complexion behind her back was holding Hyunmoo’s sleeve. I hadn’t finished the work enough yet, but it seemed like it would be a mess if I did more.

“okay.”

After two hours, I heard a popping sound when I straightened my back properly. With a pale expression on his face, Yumin sat down next to the drain.There wasn’t much crystal moss residue in her colander. It’s not that the miners aren’t without women, but Yu-min, who is two years younger than Hyunmoo in the first place, wasn’t the right person for this job.

“Is it worth it?”

She said, “I thought it would get better in a week or so… but it’s still hard.”

Yumin said she was a research assistant at some university. For one reason or another, she needed crystal moss and its remnants, but she was unable to secure research funds, so she came.

“But I’m glad that Hyunmoo is here.”

Words that might make you flutter are going to cool down when you say them through the gas filter with a dying face.

Of course, it wasn’t just kindness. Hyunmoo helped her when her Yu-min was fooling around near her drain, and in exchange for her help, she took a little bit of her money.

Yu-min looked at the remnants of her crystal moss in her own colander and said with her grungy look on her face.

“But it’s really cool.”

“Everyone says that these days.”

1 and 2 star dungeons that could be safely harvested were cleaned up, and dungeons beyond that were dangerous.

It takes time for crystal moss to grow, but when it is dug before it grows even a little, both quality and quantity have deteriorated.

Naturally, as the supply of crystal moss decreased, the price soared, and more and more people came in as miners.

“There was talk of controlling the crystal moss price to increase in the top clans.”

Yumin contorted her face.

“There are too many bad boys among the Hunters. In the end, it all has to do with their equipment upgrades, and they don’t even know how to see far. They’re narrow-minded kids.”

Apparently, even among people with long bag straps, there seems to be some dissatisfaction. It seems like a more complicated problem than simply reducing the amount of crystal moss, like we gatherers.

“It was said that 30 years ago, everyone worked hard and held hands and had an amazing atmosphere.”

then what… … It was natural when the dungeon was just created.

To be precise, 29 years ago, ‘dungeons’ suddenly opened all over the world, and mana poured in from there.

As mana drenched the world, some people with a constitution sensitive to mana awakened their abilities. People who were able to use mana to strengthen their bodies or use skills were called ‘capable people’.

In addition, numerous items found in the dungeon gave them superhuman abilities. It was a shock in itself, but it was the crystal moss in the dungeon that changed the whole society, not the talented person.

Crystal moss, the medium that made mana usable in everyday life.

Humanity began to enjoy a new golden age as this crystal moss permeated many new businesses and development engines.

The monsters that appeared in the dungeon did not pose a threat to society unless they entered the dungeon. The monsters that often appeared outside the dungeon were usually only stupid and weak ones.

Instead, those who risked their lives to enter the dungeon enjoyed the greatest benefits as they were called hunters.

There were many people who had jobs related to dungeons even if they weren’t capable.

Management that helps hunters take on the chores even if they do not have the ability, explorers who focus on dungeon exploration rather than hunting, porters who enter dungeons with hunters, and miners who dig crystal moss that only inhabit dungeons.

Among them, it was no exaggeration to say that the miner, which Hyunmoo is doing, is the lowest level.

“Actually, most of the breakthroughs were made then. They’re eating away at that legacy now.”

Yumin looked down at the crystal moss remnants inside his colander with his dreamy expression.

“30 years ago, hunters who were less than level 10 trembled and explored the dungeon. Now, regular subjugation of 4-star dungeons and attacking 5-star dungeons seems like a great thing, but in the end, interest groups are controlling it… ”

“You were very interested in that.”

“I really wanted to do something related to the dungeon. I couldn’t become a hunter because I wasn’t a talented person, but I thought I could do anything, but I’m still a student.”

It seems that the pilgrimage to Hunter was also regretful about his unfulfilled dream. Hyunmoo couldn’t be ridiculed for being childish. Because Hyunmoo was also similar to Yumin.

‘If only the ability level was 1 star… … .’

The income of the collectors and hunters is vast.

Hunters can gather large crystal moss that other people cannot touch, and they sell monster corpses and items for hundreds or thousands of dollars.

However, Kang Hyunmoo received a rating of 0 stars.

It means incompetent people. However, of the 7 billion people in the world, 6.93 billion are ordinary people.

There is nothing wrong with being physically healthy and young. After all, the people who move most of the world and important parts are ordinary people. However, Hyunmoo wasn’t the type to be content with what he had.

‘I want to climb too.’

Hyunmoo strongly wished.

Up to this point, Hyunmoo had only scanned his floor and mud. He was accustomed to the smell of dirt thicker than the fresh air in the sky, and the smell of waste from the sewer rather than the fresh wind.

But even though he was dipping his feet in the mud, his hands wanted to grab the stars.

***

Hyunmoo sold the crystal moss residue he had collected all day to a factory worker. Although he spent the whole day wandering through the toxic waste, he earned 97,000 won. Profits were worse than usual.

It’s better than a part-time job, but considering that making a mistake can put your life at risk, it’s an absurdly small amount. However, in an era where even part-time students looked at TOEIC scores, there was not much that Hyunmoo, an orphan, could do.

‘If you’re lucky, you might hit the jackpot.’

If you are lucky enough to pick up a large lump, you can easily receive 300,000 won. Is that all? Among the rumors secretly handed down, there was a story of a miner who made a fortune by picking up the remnants he had accumulated over the years.

If you overdo it a little more, there was a saying that a man from a miner was exposed to high-density mana and awakened his abilities.

‘It’s not impossible.’

If you stay in a room with a high concentration of mana with crystal moss for a long time, even a 0-star incompetent person may awaken to a 1-star.

Because it depends on how sensitive your body is to mana.

No matter how insensitive, it means that if you soak it in a high concentration of mana, you will become a powerful person.

‘Of course, doing that with crystal moss residue is nonsense.’

It was only to the extent that wealthy chaebols did it to satisfy their class consciousness or to maintain their health. Because of this, it was rare for those with some money to not be capable.

Or, in some cases, high-ranking officers of the Hunter Clan mobilize their personal connections to take ordinary people to 4-star dungeons and awaken them.

‘Damn it.’

The line the world has set is clear, but there were many people who jumped over it with money and personal connections. There would be no complaints if it had been a fair line for all. Only to Hyunmoo, that standard seemed high and hard.

It was then. One by one, there was a man watching them closely among the miners passing by.

He was a middle-aged man in a neat suit, with nothing to do with the muddy mud. The moment Hyunmoo was nervous about whether he was a high-ranking factory official, the man’s gaze stopped on Hyunmoo.

“Mr. Kang Hyunmoo?”

“Yes?”

Hyunmoo first listened to the alert. There’s no reason for a man in such a neat suit to talk to him.

But the man rummaged through his arms and took out his business card and held it out. The first thing that caught my eye was the word “lawyer” written on the business card rather than the name.

” Kang Hyunmoo, I came here for my father’s business.”

“Father?”

Hyunmoo’s expression hardened. Her mother had heard that she had died shortly after she gave birth to herself, and she grew up without hearing her father’s name.

In an instant, Hyunmoo’s mind began to run in a complicated way. All of a sudden, your father has a lawyer come to visit you? Could it be that there is some kind of drama like being the hidden child of a second-generation chaebol?

“I understand your concerns, but.”

The lawyer gently wrapped Hyunmoo’s hand. Then he spoke with a firm expression on his face.

“First of all, I wish the deceased well.”

The first news about my father I met after 29 years was the news of his death.

***Returning to his cramped gosiwon room, Hyunmoo could not erase his complicated thoughts.

The news of his father’s death for the first time in his life is the news of his death. To be honest, Hyunmoo had a grudge against his father who didn’t even know his name, but his affection was not even the slightest bit.

gave birth to you? The hard work was done by the mother, but honestly, the father only enjoyed it once.

My father was the one who planted a seed and said that he did not know me. He didn’t even want to know.

That was Hyunmoo’s cynical gaze. Besides, her mother even killed her giving birth to herself.

She said, ‘It’s something the deceased left behind.’

What the lawyer handed over to Hyunmoo was a strange piece of stone engraved with a strange pattern. He made a small hole in the top of the stone like a necklace, but no matter how much he looked at it, he couldn’t tell what the material was. The lawyer answered Hyunmoo’s questions.

‘It’s called a hearthstone.’

It’s an item brought from a dungeon, but even the lawyer said he didn’t know what it was. Hyunmoo also did not understand his father, who dared to pass on such things to him.

“Damn it, it just gives me a headache.”

Hyunmoo grumbled and turned on the TV to think about something else. However, he failed to clear the clutter.

Even on TV, he was full of stories about Hunters and dungeons. No matter how many channels were turned, not even the usual celebrity gossip came out. All channels were pouring out similar stories.

[Today’s Taeseong Clan succeeded in capturing the 5-star dungeon, Taebaek! General Manager Lee Ji-tae, who led this expedition, talked about the significance of the expedition’s success… … .][Is it the third time in the world that a 5-star dungeon has been attacked? Leader Lee Ji-tae’s attack on Taebaek dungeon will make Korea’s national power and the status of Hunters clear to the world… … .][If you convert the results obtained through the capture of Taebaek Dungeon into economic value, the economic value of about 400 billion won is… … .][In that it showed Korea’s potential, not just economic value… … .]

Hyunmoo turned off the TV.

5 star dungeon attack. It was newsworthy because it was a high-level dungeon that had never been conquered in Korea, but Hyunmoo didn’t want to see any more news about the dungeon.

I remembered the face of the man who was leading the expedition on TV.

‘Lee Ji-tae.’

From the moment he awakened as the third generation of the Taeseong Group’s chaebol, he was a talented person among the talented with the talent of being a four-star, as well as his popularity, appearance, and talent as a hunter. Among the golden spoons, there is no such golden spoon.

‘On the other hand, I’ve inherited a piece of stone, that’s all.’

He was the opposite of Hyunmoo in every way. At this level of difference, he does not feel inferior. He’s only blaming the world’s absurd standards.

‘If there is a difficulty in life, you’re going to be a tutorial.’

what am i Hyunmoo laughed out loud.

Difficult or very difficult? No, it would be a nightmare or hell.

“Hey, what kind of nonsense thinking while your limbs are intact.”

However, Hyunmoo wasn’t the type of person who thought that he was better than others.

He always had a desire and lack of success. Hyunmoo turned on the TV again. News about Lee Ji-tae’s success in attacking the 5-star dungeon was still coming out and people were discussing it. Using the sound of the TV as a lullaby, Hyunmoo went to sleep.

‘If my life is hell, I hope there is a reward worthy of it.’

want to get up I want to climb even after trampling on it.

I want to check how far my hands can reach. I want to trace the sky and grab the stars.

Hyunmoo grabbed the stone as if it was about to crush it.

And Hyunmoo’s wish was somewhat fulfilled in that moment.

【Difficulty: Hell

Enter the star of the end.]

“……What?”

Hell took precedence over rewards.