Chapter:26
Deal Yoo Jin-ho made a frowned face.
“Brother, already?”
“I do not hear the end, I know.”
Jinwu said firmly.
It was not that I did not hate Yu Jinho.
He seemed to be a little strange but he seemed to be attentive and patient.
It was different from the chaebols we saw in the media.
But I did not want to match the Hunter play of the rich man.
“What if I do not say anything more?”
“Tongue, brother!”
Yu Jin-ho caught up with Jin-woo trying to stand up.
“Brother, just 20 times! No, just go 19 times! ”
“Where? Dungeons? ”
“Yeah! I’ll give you a lot of money. ”
Yoo Jin-ho’s voice was eager.
Jin woke to his head.
There are two main reasons for doing Hunter work.
Money and commitment.
Yu Jin-ho was not included either.
Perhaps I think Hunter’s work is a little more dangerous than extreme sports.
Jinwoo had been guessing so far.
It was quite surprising that I was going to make a raid on the dungeon after such an accident.
‘There are so many people in the world.’
It was not strange that one of the wealthy patrons was caught in safety frustration.
However, Yu Jin – ho ‘s eyes shone with delight to think so simply.
‘Do you have any intention?’
Raid ’19 ‘which attracted more attention than’ conservative ‘which I will give a lot of attention attracted more.
Jin-woo’s head started spinning fast.
‘wait… If the last time you call it the first raid and you need to add 19 raids in the future … ‘
Do not tell me.
It did not take much time to reach a conclusion.
Jinwoo has a look of no expression.
“Do you think a daughter’s license is a guild master?”
“Yes, brother!”
I was fortunate not to have coffee.
If I had been drinking, I would have blown away from this place now.
“Are you going to be a guild master?”
“It’s a little complicated, Brother.”
Yu Jin-ho said his face blushed more severely than before.
“Please tell me your story, brother.”
“…”Jinwoo, who was worried about what to do, sat down again without winning curiosity.
“Yes, let’s hear it.”
I have not finished an hour yet.
The story can be heard.
Yoo Jin-ho also fastened his butt to the chair opposite.
“As you said, I want to get a guild master license.”
It was not hard for Hunter to get a guild master license.
It must be Hunter more than 20 raid experience. If you have this minimum requirement, you can obtain a license through a simple written exam.
Of course, no one will enter the guild that Hunter made without a skill, and if the guild does not maintain the minimum number of guilds, the guild itself disappears.
Yoo Jin-ho continued to speak.
“The story is not yet known outside, but in fact my father is trying to make a guild.”
“Eugene Construction Guild?”
“Yeah.”
Eugene Construction was one of the leading construction companies in Korea.
In addition to construction, the company has been expanding its business into many fields, and I have been told that I have made big money for Hunter related business recently.
‘Do you make your own guild in such places?’
When Jinwoo showed interest, Yoo Jin-ho added a comment.
“I want to hire strong hunters, grow them into large guilds, and put the hunter-related businesses under them.”
It was necessary for the company to cooperate with the guild for the Hunter business.
The power of large guilds is necessary to collect treasures such as marbles, dead bodies, and mana stones from the A and B class gates.
“I’ll be self-sufficient from now on, this is it.”
“Exactly, Brother!”
It is not a problem to make a guild if Eugene E & C has enough funds.
The problem is who runs the guild. “My father is going to hire a S-class Hunter to build a master and put my brother into a master and run the guild as a corporation …”
Jinwoo noticed what he wanted to do.
That would create an element of anxiety.
It was because the power of the master in the guild was so powerful.
If there is a friction between the two, even if the master is hired by the master, there is a possibility that the master will dominate the guild itself.
If so, one way.
You can leave the guild to the master who will never betray his employer.
For example, a brother or son.
There was a famous eugen son Yoo Jin-ho.
“But I do not have a great career to get a master position. It is a multi-purpose idea that I have gained tremendous profits by engaging in business related to Hunter. ”
He was already a competent entrepreneur at the age of 31.
By comparison, his brother was only a 22-year-old college student.
Although there is an unusual history of D class awakening.
The president was planning to leave the guild to his eldest son.
The eldest son can not be a master but a hunter, but he has a great track record of knowing the Hunter business.
Even if there is a risk, it means that I will take it.
“Do you want to convince your father to sit in the master’s seat?”
“Yes, yes, brother.”
Jinwoo noticed why Yu Jin-ho desperately wanted to attract himself.
Given the high grade Hunter licensed Guild license, it is only a license from the money.
But if you take a minor hunter like yourself and make 20 raids and get a license?
I can move my father’s heart.
You just have to admit that you can lead the hunters.
That was Yu Jin-ho’s calculation.
When Yoo Jin-ho becomes a guild master, you can place a S-class Hunter on the deputy master and scoop up a competent Hunter.
One of the two master masters and secondary masters must be filled with a talented hunter, so the other hunter comes with peace of mind.
I needed 20 raids to do that.
“Brother, help me! Only you! ”
Yujin bowed his head.
Without Jinwoo, he would have lost his first raid.
Once for a spider, once for a chalice. Two times in a row.
I needed a reliable and reliable ally.
‘You can believe.’
A cold-blooded person who can kill an enemy without blinking an eye, but a fair man who does not take the life of a weak person and does not take advantage of unjust gain.
Jinwoo was qualified.
But Jinwoo did not need Yu Jin-ho.
So Jin asked.
“What is the price to return to me?”
I pulled out the paper envelope I had prepared with the face of Yoo Jin-ho with his head.
What came out of it was the bird’s eye view.
Jinwoo accepted it.
“It is a building built to be used as a guild office. The expected market price is about 30 billion, but it will go up. ”
There is always the possibility that the monsters will pop out of the dungeon though they are managed by the association.
So the land prices around the association branch or large guild were running.
There is no wealth more precious than life.
If a small guild is nearby, safety is guaranteed.
What if a building with large guilds is inhabited?
I did not have to say.
“If I become a master, I will only write for one year until my guild is in place and change my name to my brother. Of course, I will make the notary public so that it will not come out later. ”
It’s a 30-billion-year-old building in class-19 raid …
Jinwoo laughed.
“If you can become a master, are you still staying?”
“Yes, brother.”
Yoo Jin-ho learned that no matter what happens in the dungeon that day, it is not strange.
You can lose your life if you use a sloppy Hunter.
If you use the famous Hunter, you have no reason to persuade your father.
But Jinwoo is different.
E-class Hunter, C-grade boss, and C-class Hunter alone without any hurt.
‘Brother at least B grade … Or more than that. ‘
If you hold on to Jinwoo, there will be no problem about 19th grade raid.
If I could become a master, I would have been worth about 30 billion won.
Only Jinwoo’s consent is left.
‘Do not you think you have not kicked this offer?’
Yujin looked angrily at Jinwoo’s eyes.
how will we do it?
Jinwoo was troubled.
30 billion.
It is a tremendous amount.
Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery Lottery
It even climbs its value.
It was a fascinating story to the ordinary hunter as he pulled out of the paint right away.
But Jinwoo was far from ordinary.
Unique (only one).
It is the only hunter that can grow.
If you repeat the quest and level up this time, someday you could go up to grade S, or more.
‘If it can be above grade S, 30 billion is nothing.’
S-class hunters pay tens of billions of dollars.
No entertainer or sports star could compare ransom with S-class hunters.
An age when the number of higher hunters means national power.
The S-grade treatment was beyond my imagination.
So now the top priority for Jinwoo was growth, not money.
It is easy for me to grow.
‘It’s better to reduce the variable.’
If you hunt together, experience may be reduced, or you may feel uncomfortable because of your eyes.
Yoo Jin-ho had to carry out intimidation in order to make troubles in this dungeon.
It was also a problem to schedule the team.
The efficiency will fall because of this.
‘I can make money next time.’
Unfortunately, the moment I decided to refuse.
‘awhile.’
There has been a recipe for catching two rabbits, money and growth at the same time.
‘If this is the way …’
I looked up and saw Yu Jin-ho, nervous.
Jinwoo slowly opened his mouth.
“There is one condition.”
Yu Jin – ho ‘s face became bright.
“Say anything, Brother!”
But can I laugh when I hear the condition?
Jinwu swallowed a smile and said.
“You and me, you two are going.”
“Yes?”
Yu Jin-ho was surprised.
“tongue… Brother, excuse me, but if I did not get it wrong … You and I both have to clear the class C dungeon, what do you mean? ”
“I understand exactly.”
Yu Jin-ho’s face became speculative.
Chapter 27
Sure, Jin-Woo was able to defeat the spider boss all by himself, so he’d be able to do something similar to other bosses as well.
But, when imagining only the two of them against the horde of monsters, just like back in that dungeon’s entrance with those insects, Yu Jin-Woo suddenly found himself unable to breathe.
“…..”
Yu Jin-Ho became completely speechless, while Jin-Woo formed an expression that said, “I knew it.”
‘However, this is the best way.’
….The best, in order to catch both birds.
It’d be very hard to enter any freelancer-run raid teams as a Hunter ranked E. From the very first day he made up his mind to start making money in this profession, he was constantly reminded of this harsh reality.
Either he had to give up entering dungeons with his qualifications, or he had to create his own raid team. However, this kid was volunteering to form one for him. Wasn’t this a great opportunity, in other words?
“B-b-but, hyung-nim! You need at least ten people if we want to enter a C-ra…..”
“I’m pretty sure you’d find plenty of willing people when you say you’d pay them just for showing up to fill up the head count.”
Time to put to good use what he had learned from Hwang Dong-Seok, then.
If there were Hunters who didn’t want to fight with their lives on the line, but were in urgent need of cash, they would surely jump in with both feet at this golden opportunity.
Yu Jin-Ho’s expression became one of a scared cat, though.
“Wait…. Surely, you are not suggesting that us two will kill every single monster inside a dungeon, all the way up to the boss, are you?”
….In truth, it’d be only one person doing that, though.
“You got it.”
With this arrangement, Jin-Woo would be able to prevent the potential worst-case scenario of someone stealing his experience points, and the only person next to him would be Yu Jin-Ho, so he wouldn’t even need to worry about other people watching him all the time as well.
‘If it’s like that, then I’ll get to enjoy some serious power levelling, won’t I?’
On top of that, after all the raids were done and dusted, he’d get a nice little bonus of a wonderful building rolling right onto his lap. The only thing remaining now was him persuading Yu Jin-Ho.
And as expected, Yu Jin-Ho was very, very scared at the moment.
“Is-isn’t that way too dangerous, hyung-nim?!”
“You’re only looking at it from one way and not the other.”
“Eh?”
Jin-Woo beckoned the kid to come closer, so Yi Jin-Ho leaned forward.
“If no one else participates in hunting besides us, doesn’t that also mean no one will get hurt, as long as we’re okay?”
“O-of course.”
“For the first raid, you were like a third wheel being dragged along, so you couldn’t do anything about the incident that had happened, but think about for the moment the ramifications of your own raid team finishing up all 19 raids without a single casualty.”
Yu Jin-Ho’s eyes shot open right up.
If that’s the case….!!
If that was the case, then persuading his father would become one level easier.
Not only he’d be a D-rank Hunter, but the record of being the leader of a team that successfully performed 19 raids without a single incident would be added on top as well.
It’d be the definite proof of him being qualified to become the Guild Master. Nothing would be a better advertisement for himself than this, wouldn’t it?
Jin-Woo studied Yu Jin-Ho’s expression and smiled in satisfaction.
‘This kid…. He’s convinced now.’
From the word go, the person in need was Yu Jin-Ho.
As for Jin-Woo, he didn’t really need to go on a raid with Yu Jin-Ho, but still could enter dungeons via the Association giving him a call, or through the random boxes.
Yu Jin-Ho’s was thinking now.
Although it was a bit scary, if he succeeded in pulling this off, then just as Jin-Woo had implied, there would be so much he’d get in return.
When recalling the sight of Jin-Woo displaying his absolutely overwhelming might in battles from last time, Yu Jin-Woo realised that maybe, there wasn’t much to fret over at all.
Yu Jin-Ho finally made his mind up, albeit after some serious internal struggle.
“We’ll do it your way, hyung-nim. In that case, I’ll search for suitable teammates.”
“Very good.”
Jin-Woo nodded his head.
They had come to an understanding.
Since he was still in front of Jin-Woo, Yu Jin-Ho stopped feeling nervous and tight-chested, and displayed a bright smile.
‘I’ve managed to finally get hyung-nim on my side.’
For some reason, he was not feeling too scared of the upcoming raids.
A trustworthy comrade named Jin-Woo had joined him, and it’d be a bit easier to form a raid team now, too. As Jin-Woo had said, with the terms on offer, many would queue up in line just for a chance to participate.
‘With this, I’m one step closer to becoming the Master.’
Jin-Woo also smiled brightly as well.
‘Clean up as many C ranked dungeons by myself, and level up as quickly as possible.’
The two men exited the cafe with satisfied expressions.
***
After going their separate ways, Jin-Woo ran back home.
Well, he didn’t know when the Association would give him a call, after all. It had been over ten days since he was discharged from the hospital, so it’d not be so strange to hear about a Gate opening up in the vicinity.
The Association normally summoned Hunters two, three times a month to clear dungeons that appeared within this area.
One of the main reason why he only gave one hour to Yu Jin-Ho was that the call from the Association could come at any time.
‘For the time being, I can’t afford to miss even a rank E dungeon….’
He wanted to kill lots of monsters and raise his levels quickly.
How inconvenient it was not to have his smartphone around. What a relief that the new one should arrive in a few days’ time….
Jin-Woo pushed open the front door and entered.
‘…….’
The apartment was quiet.
It was in the middle of the week, so his little sister was still at school.
After confirming that there was no one at home, Jin-Woo opened the window displaying the Daily Quest.
‘I should get today’s rewards.’
Before he went out to meet up with Yu Jin-Ho, he had finished the day’s Daily Quest already. But there were too many eyes watching, so he had no choice but to delay receiving his rewards.
Well, he couldn’t really show off the sight of a blue light wrapping around his body as well as a box suddenly popping out from nowhere in the middle of the street, now could he?
Tti-ring!
[Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong]
Press-up, 100 times: complete (100/100)
Sit-up, 100 times: complete (100/100)
Squat, 100 times: complete (100/100)
Running, 10 km: complete (11/10)
[You’ve completed ‘Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong’.]
[Completion rewards have arrived.]
[Would you like to confirm?] (Y/N)
“Yeah…. Oh, hold up. Wait.”
Just like usual, Jin-Woo was about to receive his rewards, only to spot something strange and hurriedly stopped himself. His gaze stopped dead and remained fixed to the column of ‘Running’.
Running, 10 km: complete (11/10)
At first, he thought that he ran one kilometre more than necessary. However, the longer he thought about it, the stranger it seemed to him.
‘I’ve filled up my quota, so why did it keep recording the extra distance?’
Jin-Woo’s gaze became sharper.
Was this really nothing more than coincidence?
Jin-Woo got down to the floor and supported his weight on his arms. And then, his body rose up and down without a break.
However, his sight was fixed to the seemingly-empty air in front.
Tti-ring!
[You’ve completed one press-up.]
[Press-up 100 times: complete (111/100)]
Tti-ring!
[You’ve completed one press-up.]
[Press-up 100 times: complete (112/100)]
‘As I thought….’
‘Running’ wasn’t the only category that reflected the extra number of exercises performed. The count for ‘Press-up’ also kept climbing up.
Suddenly, he became rather curious just how much higher the numbers would count to.
Veins bulged on Jin-Woo’s arms.
Thanks to his enhanced Stats. He couldn’t feel his weight. Actually, his body felt as light as fuzzy hair.
Before long, the number hovering near the hundred mark climbed to 200.
Tti-ring!
[You’ve completed one press-up.]
[Press-up 100 times: complete (200/100)]
Tti-ring!
[You’ve completed one press-up.]
[Press-up 100 times: complete (200/100)]
The count stopped for sure at the 200 mark. He performed a few more press-ups just in case, but it didn’t want to go up any higher.
Both the sit-up and the squat also stopped counting at the 200 mark.
Press-up, 100 times: complete (200/100)
Sit-up, 100 times: complete (200/100)
Squat, 100 times: complete (200/100)
Running, 10 km: complete (11/10)
200, no more and no less.
It wasn’t just climbing up without an end, and no, it wasn’t as if the 100 mark was the end. There definitely was something here. His gut feeling was declaring as such.
What if there was another result waiting for him once he completed all the ‘over-counting’?
‘Let’s make sure.’
With much faster steps than usual, Jin-Woo exited the apartment.
The next 9 kilometres for the ‘Running’ column were filled up really quickly. When Jin-Woo arrived before his home once more, a new message popped up in his view.
Tti-ring!
[You’ve completed ‘Hidden Quest: Preparations to become strong’.]
[Completion rewards have arrived.]
[Would you like to confirm?] (Y/N)
The title of the quest hadn’t changed, but the type of the quest had changed to ‘Hidden Quest’ now.
His suspicion was proved to be correct.
Jin-Woo swallowed his saliva.
‘……Confirm.’
Tti-ring!
[The following rewards are available.]
Reward 1. Full recovery of the current physical condition
Reward 2. All Stats +3
Reward 3.
1) Blessed random box
Or
2) Cursed random box
[Would you like to collect them all?]
‘All Stats raised by 3!!’
His eyes shot open wide.
The rewards from the hidden quest proved to be really exceptional.
With all the Stats getting a three point boost, it was the same thing as his level rising up by three.
No, wait – his Stats might have risen, but since his level stayed the same, he had gained even more. Because, with higher Stats, raising his level would become that much easier.
But at the same time, he felt a bit fearful as well.
On one hand, he couldn’t help but hold a vague hope that, from today onwards, all the Daily Quest coming his way could be converted to Hidden Quests, instead.
‘However, if the rewards are this big….’
Then, the odds of the Daily Quests coming to an end were incredibly high as well.
Also, if the Hidden Quest was something only available for just this once, then that meant he had to be extra careful when choosing the third reward.
Reward 3.
1) Blessed random box
Or
2) Cursed random box
This would be his first time having to choose his reward.
If he chose one, then he’d lose the other one.
‘So, I wouldn’t be able to see one of the two forever, is that about right?’
Just taking a single look at their names, it was rather obvious which one he needed to select, but…
But, this also could be a trap, as well.
“Collect the third reward.”
Tti-ring!
[You must choose between one of the two available random boxes.]
[Blessed random box]
Presents the player with the item he wants.
[Cursed random box]
Presents the player with the item he needs.
[Which one will you choose?]
Their explanations were exceedingly simple. And that made choosing even harder.
If there were no explanations to begin with, he’d have chosen the ‘blessed’ random box in a heartbeat. But now that he had read the dang explanations, it felt like he’d still end up missing out regardless of which one he chose.
‘A thing that I want and a thing that I need….’
Just from those explanations, both of them sounded like a good deal.
‘But, there’s definitely a trap here.’
The thing he ‘wanted’ would be something he wanted because he recognised its usefulness to his current situation.
However, the thing he ‘needed’ might not necessarily be like that. Something that he may need but didn’t want could come out, instead.
For instance, when needing a powerful weapon, he might end up getting a horrifying bomb that could completely blow himself and all his teammates into smithereens in one go.
‘That’s why it’s called the cursed random box, right?’
So, he’d go with the lower risk selection.
In situations where the end results of a choice weren’t known, this would be the wisest way to minimise the amount of regret felt later on.
Jin-Woo finally made his decision after a cool-headed weighing of pros and cons.
“Blessed random box.”
A small box slowly materialised in front of his feet.
Jin-Woo picked it up.
‘Could it be….?’
Chapter 28
His heart began beating faster and faster. Because, the size of the box was rather familiar to him. His hands ripping open the box became far more urgent.
‘As I thought!’
Jin-Woo’s eyes grew wider. There was a golden key inside the box.
Indeed, it was the key to an instant dungeon, the one he’d been anxiously waiting for.
The information on the key appeared soon afterwards.
Tti-ring!
[Item: Key of the Demon’s Castle]
Rarity: S
Category: Key
A key that will let you enter the ‘Dungeon: Demon’s Castle’. Can be used at the Daesung Tower located in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
“It’s an S?”
Jin-Woo raised his voice in surprise.
Of course, there was no guarantee that the rarity ranking had any bearings on the difficulty of the dungeon. But, he couldn’t think of it any other way.
The rarity ‘E’ key opened a dungeon that was on par with a Gate ranked E, after all.
What would he do if the difficulty of the instant dungeon turned out to be ‘S’, then?
Even with a raid team consisting solely of S-ranked Hunters, there was no definite guarantee that such a dungeon would be cleared.
The odds were around 50:50?
The difficulty of a Gate exploded upwards past the rank B, and even when looking through the entire world, there had been too few cases of S-rank Gates opening up in the world.
‘One of them appeared on Jeju Island, though.’
Afterwards, the island of Jeju became an abandoned hellhole where no humans could exist.
Jin-Woo stared at the key in his hand for a long while.
‘This is what I really wanted?’
If there was one silver lining to be found here, then that would be the explanation saying he’d be able to ‘enter’ the dungeon with this key, unlike the previous one which said he’d be ‘transferred’ instead.
The implication being that he could escape at any time if he felt like it.
Even if the key suddenly vanished from him, he still had the return stone from the last dungeon waiting to be used inside his Inventory as well. He was no longer worried about getting trapped behind an invisible wall like the last time.
‘I’ve worked hard to earn this chance, so I can’t throw it away like that now, can I?’
He simply had to confirm right away with his own two eyes whether this was what he really wanted or not.
Part 2. Demon’s Castle
In front of the Daesung Tower.
A super-tall skyscraper over a hundred floors tall was standing straight as if to pierce the heavens above. Indeed, this was what the modern skyscraper should look like. Just looking up at it made him feel extremely dizzy.
There were only a few people walking around as it was already late evening now. The streets with not one soul on it gave off an eerie vibe.
‘Still, I can’t be sure, so….’
Jin-Woo took a good look around him, before pulling up the hood attached to his top to hide his face.
If someone saw a person disappearing and appearing again in thin air without a Gate around, that might cause a bit of ruckus. Not only that, there were several CCTV cameras installed here and there in the near vicinity, so it wasn’t such a bad idea to avoid being too conspicuous.
….Actually, there was someone busy eyeing Jin-Woo right at that moment.
‘Who could that kid be?’
To think, there would be a straggler wearing a hoodie busy loitering around the building at this time of the night….
The security guard watching on from inside the building found Jin-Woo’s behaviour rather suspicious and stood up from his chair.
However, as this guard walked towards the door, he couldn’t help but come to an abrupt stop and his eyes opened up real wider.
“Wha-what the heck?!”
The security guard gasped out in a surprise and hurriedly ran outside.
The man was definitely walking towards here, yet he had vanished from the view, just like that. Utterly without a trace.
The security guard searched around his vicinity, but he couldn’t even spot an ant here.
He tilted his head this way and that, before turning around.
“Well, I’ll be…. What a baffling thing that was.”
The security guard was about to go back inside the building, but then, caught something in the corner of his eyes, and turned his head to see what it could be without thinking.
“U-uwaaahhk?!”
He cried out in shock as he fell hard on his butt.
“What, what, what the heck is going on here?!”
The security guard cried out with a pale face.
A person’s disembodied hand floating in the air then vanished once more.
*
Jin-Woo retracted his hand.
‘It’s connected to the outside world.’
Unlike the last time, there was no invisible wall blocking his exit. The key also didn’t disappear and remained tucked inside his pocket. If he wanted to, he could get out of here at any time, in other words.
‘Now that I’m finished with confirming the escape route…’
Since he didn’t know whether the rarity of the key equated to the difficulty of the dungeon, he was far more cautious than usual.
Jin-Woo pulled the hood back and took a look behind him.
“…”
It was a sight shocking enough to make him groan. Just now, when he was taking a few steps towards the Daesung Tower, the world in front of his eyes transformed in an instant.
Could this place even be called a dungeon anymore?
A completely different world was waiting for him.
Instead of the vanished Daesung Tower, a massive tower-like structure stood there.
‘Wait, is that really a tower, or should I call it a castle, instead?’
A tower rising up high into the air without an end, wrapped in reddish black flames. It was as if the tower wasn’t burning, but it was spewing out billowing flames, instead.
“A burning tower, huh.”
Rather than the name of ‘Demon’s Castle’, maybe that nickname suited it better. Jin-Woo slowly walked towards this burning tower.
Crackle! Pop!
The closer he got, the louder the noises of flames rampaging around grew.
‘Can I even enter this thing in the first place?’
However, even if he did, there was yet another problem to consider.
Just like the last instant dungeon that was based off on the subway station, there was a good chance that, since this dungeon was based off on the Daesung Tower, he’d have to climb up 100 floors to clear it completely.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine just how long that would take.
‘Mm?’
Jin-Woo’s steps came to a halt. He sensed a strong aura near the entrance.
He slowly surveyed the surroundings and spotted a black lifeform the size of a bull huddled in slumber right in front of the doorway.
Jin-Woo carefully summoned the Poison Fang of Kasaka.
Tti-ring.
[Item: Poison Fang of Kasaka]
Rarity: C
Type: Dagger
Attack +25
A dagger fashioned from the poison fang of the Kasaka. There are traces of the Kasaka’s poison on it, so when attacking, it will cause Paralysis and Bleeding status effects. Can be stored in the Inventory, or can be sold at the Store.
Status effect ‘Paralysis’: the target will be unable to move. Success rate is fixed.
Status effect ‘Bleeding’: the target’s stamina will be reduced by 1% per second.
Its attack power wasn’t all that high, but the greatness of its added effects was proven in real battles time and time again.
‘It’d be nice if the Paralysis works and I get to kill it easily.’
Jin-Woo walked as quietly as possible while approaching that creature. However, it was impossible to fool the olfactory senses of a monster. Soon enough, the creature sniffed the air and raised its body up.
‘Che.’
Jin-Woo clicked his tongue.
The creature stood up completely and all three of its heads turned in Jin-Woo’s direction.
[Hell’s Gatekeeper, Cerberus]
It was a huge dog possessing three heads. The name written in red letters floating on top of its heads immediately drew his attention. It was proof that the monster’s ‘level’ was very high.
‘Since it’s red, does that mean it’s around the same level as those centipedes from the penalty zone?’
Back then, he managed to barely run away from the centipedes. Well, he was only a level 1 back then, so it couldn’t be helped.
‘But, it’s different this time.’
He had grown stronger quite quickly during the short space of time.
Without a doubt, that black creature was strong, but still, it didn’t come across as truly overwhelming. His enhanced, alert Perception was telling him that he could do this.
It wasn’t for nothing that he raised his Perception Stat. He kept on investing points to this Stat so he could easily tell whether he should fight or take flight in cases like this.
“Growl!”
The Cerberus sensed the enemy and bared its fangs to threaten him.’
Jin-Woo’s gaze then wandered off to the creature’s tail. It kind of resembled a whip, and its end was enveloped in flames as well.
Jin-Woo’s eyes sharpened in an instant.
‘Fangs and a tail. At the bare minimum, two methods of attack, huh.’
Jin-Woo swallowed his dry saliva.
The Cerberus slowly closed the distance before stopping right in front of him and began studying him for some reason.
‘Is it… looking for an opening?’
Just as he thought that….
The monster attacked him.
“Rowr!!”
Jin-Woo’s eyes opened much, much wider.
‘Too fast!!’
Jin-Woo barely evaded the Cerberus’s fangs by sliding underneath the leaping monster.
The Cerberus landed back on the ground and spun around, before began biting at him with its three heads.
“Woof!! Bark!! Rowr!!”
The sharp fangs gleamed coldly in between the biting snouts.
Tti-ring!
[‘Title: Slaughterer of Wolves’ buff effect has activated.]
[Title: Slaughterer of Wolves]
A Title given to a hunter skilled in hunting wolves. When facing animal-type monsters, all of your Stats will increase by 40%. (TL: Again, the ‘hunter’ is a lower case here, because it literally means someone who hunts, while the ‘Hunters’ up until now had been written in English and is a specific job title of those who hunt monsters from dungeons.)
He sensed his body getting lighter.
‘Nice!’
Jin-Woo quickly retreated and wielded his dagger at the Cerberus as it continued to stick close to him.
Swish!! Swish, swish, swish!!
Clang!! Cling, clang!! Claaang!!
The dagger collided with the fangs and issued loud noises.
The blade moved at a blinding pace, yet all he could do at the moment was to deflect the Cerberus’s attacks and nothing else.
‘Even after I buffed up, it’s still this strong?!’
The Cerberus’s Agility had easily exceeded his imaginations.
In order to overturn this situation, Jin-Woo activated his ‘Intimidation’ skill.
[‘Skill: Intimidation’ has been activated.]
[The effect has been cancelled due to the high resistance of the target.]
Jin-Woo’s eyes widened.
‘It didn’t work?!’
It was at that moment that the long tail of Cerberus flew in like a whip.
Whoooosh-!!
Jin-Woo reflexively ducked his head lower and evaded the tail. But that caused his legs to stop moving for a second. And the monster didn’t miss this opportunity.
One of its heads powerfully bit into Jin-Woo’s left shoulder.
“Uwaaahck!!”
Jin-Woo summoned all of his strength and stabbed the dagger into the middle of the biting head.
STAB!!
[‘Effect: Paralysis’ has been activated.]
[The effect has been cancelled due to the high resistance of the target.]
[‘Effect: Bleeding’ has been activated.]
[The effect has been cancelled due to the high resistance of the target.]
“Whimper!!”
The Cerberus cried out and let go of him.
Thankfully, he was able to minimise the damage done before other heads had the chance to join in on the attack, but his left shoulder was now in tatters.
What a scary biting power that was.
He tried to move his left arm, but it didn’t want to budge. Jin-Woo’s expression crumpled unsightly.
He managed to wound the Cerberus, but when comparing the severity of their injuries, then it was clear that he came off far worse in that exchange.
‘If either of Paralysis or Bleeding worked, the situation would’ve been different by now….’
Jin-Woo glared at the Cerberus and clicked his tongue.
Then, something else happened.
‘Huh?’
The eyes of the Cerberus were being dyed in a crimson colour all of a sudden.
“Grooowwl.”
Inexplicably, Jin-Woo sensed something ominous was about to happen.
‘What could it be?’
[Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus is using ‘Skill: Rage’.]
[Its state of rage will persist for the next three minutes.]
[All of Cerberus’s Stats will be increased by 100%.]
[Cerberus will no longer feel pain.]
Jin-Woo cried out.
“What did you just say?!”
A monster just used a skill!!
In that instant, the Cerberus leaped off the ground.
‘F*ck!!’
Even before he could react, the Cerberus appeared right before his eyes. He hurriedly swung his dagger, but it only managed to graze the side of one of its heads.
And all three heads bit into Jin-Woo simultaneously.
Kwajeek!!
“Euheuheuhk!!”
Jin-Woo gritted his teeth. His neck, waist and thigh all got bitten.
The Cerberus ran at its top speed and slammed Jin-Woo against the castle’s gate.
SLAM!!
Jin-Woo’s HP hit the rock bottom in an instant.
“Keo-heok!!”
[HP: 411/3,602]
Tti-ring!
[Your HP has decreased below 30% and ‘Skill: Tenacity’ has been activated.]
[All damage received will be reduced by 50%.]
Thanks to the damage reduction and the Tenacity passive, he was able to avoid getting killed in one hit.
“Keuh….”
Jin-Woo’s eyebrows shot up in anger.
Chapter 29
It’d be easy to go mad from pain and wildly thrash about, but he’d lose this great opportunity, which would most likely never happen again. Losing his consciousness now would mean his end.
‘….178, 179, 180!’
Jin-Woo had been bitterly waiting for the end of the three-minute duration and finally, revealed his hidden trump card.
‘The first reward, give it to me now!’
He immediately collected the first reward from the Daily Quest he had saved up until now.
[‘Reward 1: Full recovery of the current physical condition’ has been applied.]
Suwhhooosh!
A blue light enveloped him and all depleted health reverted back to full.
[HP: 3,602/3,602]
Even his tattered left arm was healed as good as new in the blink of an eye.
‘This is my chance!’
Jin-Woo’s eyes gleamed coldly. In such close proximity, no matter how agile this monster was, it’d not be able to dodge his attacks.
Jin-Woo rapidly caught one of Cerberus’s necks with his left arm, and stabbed the ‘Poison Fang of Kasaka’ in the middle of that neck.
Stab! Stab! Stab!!
The rage state had ended by now, and the Cerberus began to violently thrash about trying to escape from Jin-Woo’s embrace.
“Whimper!!Whine!”
However, Jin-Woo did not let go and held on with his powerful arms. The harder the Cerberus struggled, the stronger he gripped the neck of the monster.
In the meantime, his dagger continued to stab into the creature’s neck.
Stab, stab, stab!!
“Whimper-!!”
The Cerberus bit into Jin-Woo as it struggled to the bitter end, but the battle had already been decided by then.
Stab! Stab!!
“Whimper…! Whine…”
The Poison Fang of Kasaka now travelled lower down from the neck and stabbed the Cerberus’s chest.
Stab! Stab! Stab!!
Soon enough, the monster’s resistance became noticeably weaker and weaker.
“Whimper….”
In the end, the heads of the Cerberus fell to the side, lifeless.
Tti-ring!
[You have defeated ‘Hell’s Gatekeeper, Cerberus’.]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
In one breath, his level rose up by 4. That was how difficult this battle was.
Jin-Woo only let go of the Cerberus’s neck after confirming its body going limp with his own eyes. The heavy body sprawled to the floor without any resistance whatsoever.
Plop.
Jin-Woo rested his hands on his knees.
“Ha-ah….”
Only now could he breathe a sigh of relief.
A monster that could use a skill – if he didn’t prepare a hidden trump card, then he’d have been killed for sure. A chill crawled down his spine just from thinking about it.
‘Oh, I almost forgot…. Items.’
Would there be as many rewards befitting his life-or-death struggle to bring down this monster?
After calming himself down, Jin-Woo reached out towards the Cerberus.
Tti-ring!
[You have discovered ‘Item: Gatekeeper’s Necklace’. Take it?]
[You have discovered ‘Item: Key to the Castle’s Gate’. Take it?]
[You have discovered ‘Item: Cerberus’s Molar, x3’. Take it?]
‘Take them all.’
A steel necklace originally found around one of the Cerberus’s necks, a grey key, and three molars of a monster appeared in his hand.
[Item: Gatekeeper’s Necklace]
Rarity: A
Type: Necklace
Agility +20, Perception +20
[Item: Key to the Castle’s Gate]
Rarity: A
Type: Key
The key to unlock the gates of the Demon’s Castle. Can only be acquired after killing the Gatekeeper.
[Item: Cerberus’s Molar]
Rarity: None
Type: Miscellaneous
“Ohh.”
Jin-Woo’s eyes went round.
‘This necklace can boost both my Agility and Perception by 20 points?’
A necklace with eye-spinningly good options came out. Its rarity was also ranked A. Out of all the items he’d seen so far, this one featured the highest rarity ranking yet.
‘Well, I had to go through so much to kill it, so….’
Indeed, there was no way that its rarity would be low.
However, when it came to actually putting the necklace on, he couldn’t help but to hesitate big time.
The thing was, it was shaped like a roundish metallic choker with spikes spouting out in regular intervals, so no matter what it said on the cover, it was undoubtedly… a dog collar.
“Mm…”
Jin-Woo closed his eyes and deliberated on his choices for a long time, before deciding to try it on at least once, and brought the necklace closer to his neck.
Then, a message popped up.
Tti-ring!
[Will you wear ‘Item: Gatekeeper’s Necklace?]
Jin-Woo fell into yet another bout of dilemma for a second, before helplessly muttering out his answer.
“…..Sure thing.”
It was then, the necklace slowly disappeared from his view.
[You’re now wearing ‘Item: Gatekeeper’s Necklace.]
“Huh?”
Jin-Woo hurriedly summoned his Status Window.
[Stats]
Strength: 60
Stamina: 39
Agility: 80
Intelligence: 37
Perception: 67
(Available points to distribute: 0)
Reduction in physical damage: 20%
“Holy sh*t!”
Both his Agility and Perception were increased by 20 for real. The option was now in effect, in other words.
It seemed like that he didn’t have to worry about walking around displaying the ‘items’ he wore. The fact that he didn’t have to be seen with a dog collar on his neck brought him a huge sense of relief.
‘Next up are the molars.’
Jin-Woo summoned the Store next.
He sold the japtem ‘Cerberus’s Molar’ and got 150 thousand Gold for each. He sold all three off right away.
Soon, 450 thousand Gold entered his hands.
[Current Gold: 562,362]
‘What kind of japtem is this expensive??’
It was a rather nice baseline to judge the overall difficulty of this dungeon. In other words, the difficulty of clearing the Demon’s Castle would be incredibly high.
However, it wasn’t all necessarily bad news.
He only hunted a single monster, yet he got to earn over four times the amount of Gold compared to the whole day spent inside the Hapjeong station’s instant dungeon.
If he saved up Gold in this fashion, it wouldn’t be too far from now when he’d get to purchase all those items that cost millions upon millions in the Store.
‘That is, as long as I get to clear this dungeon….’
Jin-Woo stared up at the burning tower.
Crackle! Pop!
The very top of the structure was completely shrouded in some kind of blurry fog. He had to actually enter the tower if he wanted to see what was going on inside.
But, Jin-Woo shook his head.
‘Now’s not the time.’
He only barely managed to hunt down a single sentry standing guard by the door, even with his Title buffing him up and resorting to using up the quest reward, too.
He couldn’t even guess just what kind of danger would be waiting for him beyond that gate. So, now was the time for him to back off.
Still, he was certain of one thing.
Just as the explanation said, this key to the Demon’s Castle was indeed something he wanted. The name ‘Blessed random box’ wasn’t wrong.
Levelling up quickly, valuable items, and plenty of Gold, too. This place had it all.
And one day, he’d get to claim them all as his.
Only that, today wasn’t that day.
Although he was slightly unwilling, he stored the grey key inside his Inventory.
‘I’ll return.’
Definitely, very soon.
Jin-Woo smiled as he turned around to leave.
Part 3. Coincidence
A few days went by without any incident.
Yu Jin-Ho called Jin-Woo almost daily and reported on the progress. From the day after their meeting, he had called Jin-Woo precisely three times.
– “Hyung-nim!! It’s me, Yu Jin-Ho.”
“Details only.”
– “Yes, hyung-nim.”
It seemed that the job of finding other teammates was going rather smoothly. Yu Jin-Ho repeatedly emphasized that the formation of the raid team would end soon, and that Jin-Woo should wait just a little while longer.
‘Looks like he’s really scared of me dropping out, huh.’
However, Jin-Woo couldn’t just wait and do nothing while waiting for the team to form. So, he accessed the website for Hunters today as well.
He asked around all the time for the past few days, but no freelancer-run raid teams wanted to work together with an E-rank Hunter.
He simply had gotten lucky on that day. Sure, Hwang Dong-Seok had been scheming some nefarious things, but in any case, Jin-Woo still ended up being a part of a raid team, didn’t he?
‘Thanks to that, I made lots of money, my levels went up, and even got me a new skill, too.’
Should he feel grateful to Hwang Dong-Seok, in that case?
Jin-Woo let off a smirk.
Well, as he was now, he wouldn’t mind meeting up with other selfish Hunters acting like geckos at the moment.
No raid teams wanted him, the Association wasn’t calling him, and keys to instant dungeons didn’t want to show up, too.
Basically, he was doing nothing but suck on his fingers for the past couple of days.
*SFX for an empty stomach rumbling*
‘Is it time to eat already?’
Jin-Woo felt hungry as he spent hours roaming the online job postings, so he headed to the kitchen.
But, when he opened the fridge’s door, it was completely empty inside.
‘……..’
This was the inevitable result of not going shopping for the past few days. His excuse being that his mind had been preoccupied with several urgent matters until now.
‘Should I go shopping, then?’
Jin-Woo yawned out slightly and closed the fridge’s door.
*
One of the few advantages the apartment he was living in had, was its close proximity to a large supermarket.
Wearing simple, easy-to-move clothes, Jin-Woo left his home. A ten-minute walk later, he had arrived at his destination already.
As soon as he stepped in through the door, the wide-open expense of the supermarket’s interior entered his view. Maybe because there wasn’t some sort of promotion going on, it was quieter than usual in the aisles.
Jin-Woo picked up a basket and slowly walked around.
Ever since his mother was confined to the hospital, Jin-Woo had been acting as the head of the family, and now, he grew to be more or less familiar with chores of the household, such as shopping for groceries.
‘There isn’t anything catching my eyes today, though…’
While he was deeply staring at the displayed produce, trying to think about what to prepare for dinner….
“Pardon me, young man. I see that you’re feeling much better now.”
A rather friendly voice came from behind him and Jin-Woo turned around to look who it was.
‘Who is he?’
Because of his high Perception Stat, he knew that there was a Hunter nearby. But, this was a supermarket where lots of people came and went, and Hunters also had to go shopping too, so he didn’t dwell on the matter for long.
However, he didn’t expect that Hunter to engage him in conversation.
Not only that, a Hunter he actually knew, too.
“Mister Song ahjussi??”
Jin-Woo’s expression brightened in an instant.
Mister Song – Song Chi-Yeol looked at Seong Jin-Woo with an expression half in disbelief and the other half in delight.
“I did hear the news that you were fine, but I still can’t believe it, even after running into you like this.”
Song Chi-Yeol formed a deeply moved expression next. Jin-Woo felt kinda embarrassed by the emotional eyes of Song Chi-Yeol and sheepishly scratched the side of his temple.
Meanwhile, Song Chi-Yeol continued on.
“I should’ve gone to visit you at the hospital, but for some reason, the folks at the Association all tightly shut their mouths and I couldn’t hear any concrete information on you until now. Did you know that Miss Ju-Hui is also anxiously waiting for your news?”
“Miss Ju-Hui? Really?”
“That’s right. She said that she’d give up being a Hunter, but still, she stopped by at last week’s raid location just to look for you.”
“Last week….?”
After listening to Mister Song’s story, it turned out that, rather coincidentally, there was a raid organised by the Association on the very same day he entered Hwang Dong-Seok’s team.
‘That was why there hadn’t been any word from the Association until now.’
It was not that there hadn’t been any calls from the Association, but more like he missed it when it did come. A small mystery got resolved pretty easily, just like that.
Song Chi-Yeol studied Seong Jin-Woo’s appearance here and there, still mystified by what he was seeing.
‘By the way, was Mister Seong this tall before? And, with his bad leg and all, too….’
Song Chi-Yeol’s gaze naturally headed lower.
And then, his eyes grew extra wide in shock.
“Your…. Your leg?!”
Chapter 30
Jin-Woo calmly made his reply.
“When I came to, my leg had been all healed up. Even I’m not sure what happened to me.”
Song Chi-Yeol nodded his head.
Ever since Gates appeared for the first time ten years ago, many illogical things continued to transpire to this day. The people called Hunters who had ‘Awakened’ their abilities were a prime example of this.
A healer ranked S could reputedly heal a person who was ripped to shreds back to normal, as long as the victim was still alive.
What if, a high-ranking healer healed Jin-Woo’s injuries while he was unconscious? If that was the case, then his severed leg being reattached didn’t even qualify as a miracle.
“It’d do no good to see a young man such as yourself become disabled like that. What a relief this is. What a relief.”
Song Chi-Yeol lightly patted his chest as if a big weight of his had been lifted off his shoulders now.
It was then, Jin-Woo’s gaze drifted towards Song Chi-Yeol’s left arm. The older man’s sleeve was empty.
Song Chi-Yeol chuckled and massaged his left shoulder.
“Don’t you worry about it. A Hunter getting injured during a raid is a normal occurrence, after all. No, I’ve been lucky for not running into an accident until then.”
Song Chi-Yeol spoke as if it wasn’t much to fret over, but the gazes of other people walking by weren’t like that.
“Oh, my gosh, he’s…..”
“What a regrettable thing, that….. Did a monster do that?”
Aunties out shopping and students walking by whispered to each other after spotting Song Chi-Yeol’s empty sleeve. Hell, there was even this one guy who quite openly stared on as well while looking rather mystified and all.
Jin-Woo quickly spoke up.
“Should we go somewhere else?”
There were far too many people walking by here, right by the butchery aisle. Song Chi-Yeol had been feeling uncomfortable by all the stares, so he nodded his head quickly. He still had few more things to say to Jin-Woo, too.
“That would be a good idea.”
The two of them hurriedly walked away in order to find a quiet spot to chat.
But, as they walked, Song Chi-Yeol sensed that something was rather odd here.
‘The sounds of Mister Seong’s steps are….’
Jin-Woo’s steps were just too soft. The youth was walking right beside Song Chi-Yeol, yet it was hard to detect his presence.
Why was that?
The older man even felt that, were they to start fighting here, he’d be unable to even touch a hair on Jin-Woo’s body.
Even though he was rank C, and Jin-Woo was ranked E.
‘Just what am I even thinking about….’
Song Chi-Yeol shook his head. That wasn’t the important thing right now.
There was something he badly wanted to say to Mister Seong. No, he simply had to say it.
Song Chi-Yeol came to a stop where it was quiet and isolated. Jin-Woo also stopped there.
Song Chi-Yeol turned to look at Jin-Woo and before the youth could stop him, bowed his head 90 degrees.
“Mister Seong. Thank you.”
When a man who was old enough to be his dad lowered his head like that, Jin-Woo couldn’t help but feel solemn as well.
Jin-Woo, of course, tried to dissuade Song Chi-Yeol, but the older man didn’t listen and instead, carried on with what he wanted to say.
“If you say 11 people died because of me, then you are responsible for saving six lives that day. My share of the blame in that matter is the biggest, so on the behalf of all the Hunters who were there, let me say thank you.”
Song Chi-Yeol meant every word he spoke. And Jin-Woo could feel the older man’s sincerity as well.
The situation had become somewhat awkward, but it didn’t feel so bad. How should he go about describing it? He was feeling proud?
Of course, that didn’t mean he should let an elder remain in that bowing position.
“Ahjussi, thanks, so please stand back up. Please.”
Just as Jin-Woo tried to persuade Song Chi-Yeol to stand up straight, the latter’s phone went off.
Song Chi-Yeol asked for Jin-Woo’s understanding and pulled out the smartphone tucked inside his inner pocket.
“Hello?”
Song Chi-Yeol’s face gradually hardened as he answered the call.
“I understand. I’ll be there soon.”
Song Chi-Yeol ended the call and spoke to Jin-Woo next.
“Looks like I need to get going.”
He was implying that there was a private matter he had to attend to.
However, Jin-Woo was able to listen in on the contents of the conversation. His hearing had been improved by a great deal after his Perception Stat rose up dramatically.
That call just now was from the Association, asking for a cooperation in clearing a Gate nearby.
Song Chi-Yeol was actually hiding the truth, because he was worried that Jin-Woo would want to tag along, that Jin-Woo might want to participate in the raid even though it hadn’t been long since his discharge from the hospital.
Jin-Woo asked the older man.
“That was from the Association, yes?”
Song Chi-Yeol hesitated slightly, before making his reply.
“That… Did you hear everything?”
When an Association formed a raid team, it’d summon every Hunter affiliated with the organisation who lived in the vicinity. If Song Chi-Yeol received the call, that meant Jin-Woo’s house had been called as well.
It was the order to mobilise, the one Jin-Woo had been waiting for.
Jin-Woo cut to the chase.
“I’ll go with you.”
“But you, Mister Seong….”
A look of uncertainty floated up on Song Chi-Yeol’s face as he stared at Jin-Woo.
***
The two men arrived at the meeting place.
The Gate had formed in the middle of the road pretty close to residential areas, so the police officers called in to control the access to the location.
However, there were almost no onlookers present here, to begin with.
The majority of Gates the Association took on were those dangerous ones that had been left alone for too long after their initial discovery; besides, even if one were to stick around a Gate, one would still not get to see how Hunters fought, anyway.
It was only a couple of curious, naughty kids loitering around who got chased away by the officers every now and then.
With a thud, the door to the taxi was closed shut.
Jin-Woo and Song Chi-Yeol had exited from the taxi and made their way towards the location where the other Hunters had been gathered, only for the cops to stop them.
“Please show me your IDs.”
Song Chi-Yeol pulled out his wallet and displayed his licence.
“I’m Song Chi-Yeol, a rank C Hunter. This is my colleague, Seong Jin-Woo.”
The cops compared the photo on the licence to Song Chi-Yeol’s face before returning it and parted ways.
“Sorry for the inconvenience, Hunters.”
“Keep up the good work.”
Song Chi-Yeol performed a slight nod to the policemen and continued on. Jin-Woo followed right behind him.
The employee from the Association was waiting in front of the Gate. It was a young woman wearing a round-rimmed pair of glasses.
She approached the two men after spotting them from a distance.
“Song Chi-Yeol Hunter-nim! Uh? How did you get here, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim? You weren’t answering your phone until now.”
Song Chi-Yeol replied instead.
“We were in the same location, and came here together after you guys called me.”
“Ahh, is that so? I thought that Seong Hin-Woo Hunter-nim was avoiding answering our calls again.”
The Association employee chuckled and cracked a joke.
Well, that indeed had been true in the past.
A long time ago, Jin-Woo got injured badly during a raid, and he grew fearful of going to dungeons, which led to him switching off his phone for a while.
In the end, he had to return to raiding dungeons, since not answering the call three times in a row meant he’d be chased out from the Association.
Recalling his past, Jin-Woo could only smile in bitterness.
“Oh, right. Other Hunters are waiting for you. Why don’t you two head over there and greet them?”
There were other Hunters who had arrived earlier where the Association employee was pointing at.
Well, there were only two other Hunters there, however. The number of those willing to come had decreased sharply after that ‘huge incident’. Jin-Woo heard from Song Chi-Yeol on their way here that, besides those who died, many other Hunters decided to quit this life from the shock of that underground temple incident.
‘One of them happens to be Miss Ju-Hui….’
Jin-Woo took a look around, but he couldn’t see her.
When Jin-Woo and Song Chi-Yeol approached closer, the two Hunters awkwardly averted their gazes.
Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes.
‘But, of course.’
These two happened to be Kim Sang-Sik, who ran off trying to save only himself, and the other male Hunter who had discarded the injured Jin-Woo.
Of course, they would find it rather awkward to face him.
“Uhm, excuse me, Mister Seong….”
Kim Sang-Sik was thinking of at least greeting the youth, but when he was subjected to Jin-Woo’s cold glare, he eventually shifted his gaze away.
“….”
Kim Sang-Sik shut his mouth, studied the mood for a bit, before shuffling further away from there. He stopped at a bit of distance away and sneaked a glance at Jin-Woo, before he tilted his head in confusion.
‘Is he really the Seong Jin-Woo that I know? I mean, his eyes are as fierce as a monster, man. Like a real monster….’
Kim Sang-Sik shuddered deeply. As he thought, his arm was covered in goosebumps.
Jin-Woo withdrew his glare filled with hostilities.
Thankfully, quite unlike Yu Jin-Ho, Kim Sang-Sik was quick on the uptake. After locking eyes once, he didn’t even try to come near Jin-Woo’s vicinity.
He sincerely hoped that this arrangement would remain for the rest of the raid.
“Mister Seong.”
Song Chi-Yeol, standing next to Jin-Woo, shifted his gaze in a direction and smiled gently.
“There she is.”
Jin-Woo also turned his head in the direction Song Chi-Yeol was looking at. But, before he had the chance to completely turn around to look….
“Mister Jin-Woo!!”
Something rather soft suddenly hugged him tightly.
“Miss Ju-Hui??”
While Jin-Woo was getting flustered, Ju-Hui was too busy making sure he was fine with a tearful face.
“Are you alright? You are not hurt anywhere, right? Uh, your leg?! Mister Jin-Woo, how come your leg is….?”
Ju-Hui’s eyes went extra round as she alternated her gaze between his face and his leg.
There was a bit of difference in how extreme it was, but nevertheless, her reaction was more or less the same with Song Chi-Yeol’s.
“Oh, that….”
Just as Jin-Woo was about to reply….
“How steamy, eh! It’s steamy, I say!!”
Both the gazes of Jin-Woo and Ju-Hui shifted over in the direction of that voice.
From afar, an unknown man was whistling loudly at them.
More importantly, though, he was wearing the blue-coloured prison overall.
‘Is there a film shoot going on around nearby or something?’
While Jin-Woo was tilting his head in confusion, a man wearing a business suit climbed down from the front seat of a certain minivan.
He then threw out a measured warning at the prison overall guy.
“Shut your mouth.”
The prison overall guy pretended to not know anything by staring at the distance. However, he quickly threw an oily wink at Ju-Hui when the business suit looked back inside the van.
Immediately, Jin-Woo’s expression crumpled.
Two more people climbed out of the van right away.
Both of them were men. And particularly worthy of note was the fact that they all wore prison overalls and had been cuffed as well.
The business suit led the three prison overalls towards the Association’s employee. And she welcomed him with a bright expression.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
“Please forgive us for our tardiness. There was traffic on the road.”
The business suit then proceeded to sign on each of the documents the Association employee presented to him.
In the meantime, the employee called for the Hunters to gather around.
“These folks are the ‘replacement’ convicts who will participate in the raid alongside you, Hunters.”
And so, the expressions of the Hunters hardened considerably.
Kim Sang-Sik was the first to step forward.
“What? ‘Replacement’ convicts?! Are you telling us to go on a raid along with a bunch of criminals?!”
Hunters who had committed crimes had two choices.
Either spend their allotted time behind the bars, or cooperate with the Association and reduce their sentences.
Most chose the latter option, and they were referred to as the ‘replacement’ convicts.
The Association employee repeatedly lowered her head.
“I’m really sorry about this. It’s only because the number of Hunters active in our district has declined so much that the Association has no choice but to do this. However, they will be accompanied by a Hunter from the Monitoring Division, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Kim Sang-Sik asked, still full of suspicion.
“A Hunter from the Monitoring Division, you say?”
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