Chapter 217

Bean sprout soup might not look like much, but more ingredients went into it than people expected.

In that sense, The Black Wyvern’s Nest was like bean sprout soup.

This expansive A-Rank Gate contained more than just Wyverns. There were several different species of monsters, just like the ingredients in bean sprout soup.

—Kweeeek!

At the faint sound of a pig squealing in the distance, I muttered,

“…Does bean sprout soup have pork in it?”

Won Myunghoon, who was walking beside me, turned and asked,

“Hm? Where did pork come from all of a sudden?”

“Nothing. I thought there might be a monster nearby.”

“A monster?”

Won Myunghoon stopped and listened for a moment before speaking.

“I don’t hear anything.”

“Uh, well…”

How was I supposed to explain this? While I was thinking, Won Myunghoon smiled and opened his mouth.

“Haha, you seem tense. Don’t get scared just because this is an A-Rank Gate. Relax.”

“I definitely heard it…”

“You must have imagined it. If there had been a sound like that, I would’ve noticed it first.”

Faced with his confident tone and smile, I closed my mouth.

Won Myunghoon was a famous star, but his reputation as a Hunter was considerable as well.

Being a ranker meant being among the top one hundred out of the tens of thousands of Hunters in Korea.

Compared to him, I was still nothing more than a rookie who had only just begun to stand out.

On the surface, that is.

There probably wasn’t anyone in the entire world with as many secrets as I had.

But people only saw what was visible and heard what they wanted to hear.

I swallowed the words that had risen to my throat and nodded.

“I guess I imagined it.”

“That happens. Being cautious is good, but don’t worry too much. We’re using detection magic as we move, anyway.”

“…”

I stared blankly at Won Myunghoon as he lightly patted my shoulder, as if he knew everything.

Ever since I had started watching him, I had felt… how should I put it? A complicated feeling in one corner of my heart.

Was this all there was to him?

A few hours earlier, while watching Won Myunghoon face the Green Wyvern, I had realized two things.

First, Wyverns weren’t as strong as I had expected. And second—

Hyung isn’t either.

He was strong. There was no doubt about that. He could use Aura, and he had once been skilled enough to rank among the top one hundred.

By Murim standards, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to call him a Peak master.

But that was all. No—if what Won Myunghoon had shown was everything he could do, he was actually inferior to a Peak master of the Murim.

He doesn’t know how to wield his strength properly.

Was it because the environments were different?

Unlike the modern world, the Murim was a brutal place where people had to survive with nothing but a single weapon.

It was a world where swords were closer than laws, so martial arts had inevitably developed to an extreme degree.

Modern Hunters, on the other hand, focus on raids, and magic exists.

Martial artists who constantly honed themselves within the vast framework of martial arts, and Hunters who divided up their roles and pursued maximum efficiency within them.

It wasn’t a question of right or wrong, but one thing was certain.

If you compared individual martial strength, Hunters couldn’t stand against martial artists.

If everything he had shown so far was all he could do, Won Myunghoon was no exception.

Even if he could use Aura, it made no difference.

I really have grown stronger.

Only a few months had passed.

I had grown enough to assess an A-Rank Hunter who had been my idol for years.

It made me happy, but it also left a bitter taste.

That was when I was immersed in these strange thoughts about Won Myunghoon.

—Kweeeek!

—Kweeh!

The second monster cry was louder and clearer than the first.

Won Myunghoon finally noticed it too. He turned and began searching for the source of the sound.

“Where in the world did that just come from…?”

I pulled the spear shaft from my back and answered,

“Five o’clock. About thirty jang away—or rather, a hundred meters.”

“Huh?”

“There are quite a few of them. You should start preparing for the raid.”

“P-Preparing?”

“Yes. It sounds like about forty or fifty.”

“What are you—”

Won Myunghoon couldn’t finish.

We had spotted a group of more than forty Orcs approaching through the dense undergrowth.

“There are forty-seven. Should I just take care of them?”

“…”

“Hyung?”

At my call, Won Myunghoon jolted as if waking from sleep.

“Uh, huh?”

“Should I take care of them?”

“…By yourself?”

“Yes. I haven’t warmed up yet.”

“R-right. Do whatever you want.”

“If any of them try to run, please take care of them.”

I finished speaking, swung the spear shaft around a few times, and walked toward them.

It was an ordinary iron spear, the kind that could be found anywhere, with no magic cast on it.

If I use enchanted Equipment for no reason, I’ll have trouble adapting in the Murim.

Magic was an astonishingly convenient and useful ability.

But while it might be a positive factor for now, it would become a negative one in the long term.

I needed to build up my fundamental abilities rather than rely on Equipment if I wanted to deal with any crisis.

If I take down all of them, maybe I’ll level up once.

With that happy thought, I kicked off the ground. The splitting wind shook my hair.

Whoooooosh!

Whoosh! Sslice! Boom-boom-boom!

The spearhead cleanly sliced through an Orc’s throat.

Before the Orc’s knees even touched the ground, the head of another Orc beside it exploded.

Then another, and another two, followed by three…

Every time the silver line traced an arc, blood and death poured forth.

He tore through their ranks unhindered.

“…Wow.”

Team Leader 1 unconsciously let out a gasp of admiration before hurriedly closing his mouth. Won Myunghoon was glaring at him with a murderous look.

“Uh, CEO. That’s not what I—”

“You bastard. Is this the time to stand there and enjoy the show?”

“I’m sorry. It just slipped out.”

Team Leader 1 glanced around cautiously before speaking again.

“No, but he really is good, isn’t he?”

“…What do you mean, good?”

“His movements are on a different level. He isn’t an ordinary A-Rank rookie.”

“…”

“From the looks of it, he isn’t wearing a single piece of magical Equipment, either. You have to give him credit just for having the guts to charge into fifty Orcs alone. If someone told me to do that… honestly, I’m not sure I could.”

Won Myunghoon licked his lips with an irritated expression.

He couldn’t deny anything Team Leader 1 had said. No, every word had been completely accurate.

The longer Won watched Jin Taekyung, the more his bewilderment grew.

What the hell is that guy?

Orcs might be treated like punching bags in fantasy novels, but they were by no means easy monsters.

There were many different Orc species, and dozens of confirmed tribes. Judging by the crude armor they were wearing, the Orcs before them were Orc Warriors belonging to the B-Rank.

And yet Jin Taekyung was overwhelming them.

He’s fighting fifty Orc Warriors alone? A brat who only just awakened as an A-Rank?

Won had already investigated him thoroughly.

Jin Taekyung had been a bottom-tier Hunter branded as defective, someone who had started as an F-Rank and was certain to die as an F-Rank.

How could someone who had only fought goblins in tiny F-Rank Gates do this?

“Guild Master. Guild Master?”

Won Myunghoon came to his senses and answered in a dry voice.

“What?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I’ve been asking you for a while whether you noticed anything suspicious, since you’ve been standing beside him the whole time.”

“Suspicious?”

“Yes. It’s strange. That Jin Taekyung bastard definitely has something going on.”

“…”

After a brief silence, Won Myunghoon gave Team Leader 1 a short explanation of what had just happened.

“He knew the Orcs were coming?”

“Lower your voice. We aren’t the only ones here.”

Team Leader 1 glanced behind him. After checking the Peace Guild members watching the battle with peaceful expressions, as if they had come out for a picnic, he whispered in a voice barely louder than an ant.

“My God. How did that bastard know? Can you think of anything?”

“It must have been detection magic. It has to be detection magic.”

“What if it wasn’t detection magic?”

“What?”

Team Leader 1 swallowed nervously.

“Guild Master, what if—this is really just a one-in-a-million possibility, but…”

“Shut your mouth. I’m not listening to your nonsense.”

“W-we can’t rule it out.”

A strange light flashed in Won Myunghoon’s eyes.

“Fuck… Are you saying that bastard Jin Taekyung is stronger than me? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

Overwhelmed by his murderous momentum, Team Leader 1 hurriedly lowered his head.

But Won’s low, growling voice continued to bore into his ears.

“You think I learned Aura by playing Go-Stop? I took in that bastard when he had nothing and raised him, and now he thinks I’m a joke? Does the title of ranker look like a fucking joke to you?”

“N-no, sir.”

You should at least get your facts straight. When we first met, you and I were about the same. And your ranker status was only the result of the recognition you built in the entertainment industry and an enormous amount of lobbying.

Team Leader 1 swallowed down the words rising in his throat.

They had been together for well over ten years. There were too many things they had gone through together to turn back now.

Sensing that, Won Myunghoon glared at him with the eyes of a venomous snake.

“Our Jonghun’s all grown up.”

Being called by his name instead of his position carried another meaning.

Several Star Guild members sensed the dangerous atmosphere and moved around the two of them with practiced ease, blocking them from outsiders’ view.

“Hey, Kim Jonghun.”

Tap, tap.

Won Myunghoon lightly patted Team Leader 1’s cheek and muttered in a voice drier than sand,

“Get a grip. If you make a mistake here, we’re all fucked.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Send a few agile guys to find the boss monster. If that doesn’t work, drag over a few Wyverns that look strong enough.”

“Understood.”

The moment Team Leader 1 answered with a cowed expression, cheers erupted from somewhere.

A middle-aged man with a bandit’s beard was leaping up and down like a live fish.

“Taekyung! You bastard! You magnificent bastard!”

The battle was finally over.

It had taken only about fifteen minutes to wipe out around fifty B-Rank monsters—the Orc Warriors.

Amid the dozens of corpses strewn across the area, a young man with sharp, well-defined features was grinning.

“Ah, I’m finally warmed up. Myunghoon hyung, I did well, right?”

“……!”

Won Myunghoon hurriedly turned his head to hide his face, which had become horribly twisted before he knew it.

Goddammit…!

Every time he looked at Jin Taekyung, his head grew hot and his stomach churned.

A guy who had only attracted media attention because of sheer luck. A guy who had received that kind of fortune but didn’t know how to use his fame properly—or even intend to.

In Won Myunghoon’s eyes, all of it was an act, and the source of his disgust.

That bastard is going to spend his whole life running Gates until he drops dead, and he has the nerve to reject my offer without even knowing his place?

If Jin Taekyung had wanted to become a star Hunter under some other major entertainment agency, Won wouldn’t have been this angry.

But Taekyung had rejected him without the slightest hesitation. He had chosen the Peace Guild, which was little more than a mom-and-pop shop.

What a fucking idiot.

He’ll regret it.

Won Myunghoon muttered those words inwardly and signaled Team Leader 1 with his eyes.

“Great job! Great job, you bastard!”

Thump! Thump!

Im Kkeokjeong snorted through his nose as he patted my shoulder.

“Wow! Fifty Orc Warriors! You’re seriously the greatest Hunter!”

“Calm down.”

“Your movements, spear technique, soul… Just as expected of an A-Rank Hunter. You turned the Gate upside down!”

“…”

Why was “soul” in there? And what did he mean, I had turned it upside down?

Unlike me, who was dumbfounded, Im Kkeokjeong’s excitement showed no sign of fading.

“I knew you’d become like this, ahem.”

“…You aren’t crying, are you?”

Unable to continue, Im Kkeokjeong’s lips trembled as he turned his head away.

“Who’s crying? I just, well, I remembered the old days.”

“Uncle.”

“Do you remember that time? Two years ago, when we were attacked in an E-Rank Gate.”

“When… Oh, I remember.”

“Yeah. That bastard who called himself the Team Leader ran away first, and I thought we were all going to die. But you stayed in the rear until the end and protected the injured.”

“Was Uncle one of them?”

Im Kkeokjeong nodded with an emotional expression.

As far as I remembered, I had saved about seven people that day. I only found out today that Im Kkeokjeong had been among them.

Was that why he recommended me to Team Leader Choi?

“You still remember that?”

“I may forget what people do to me, but I never forget a debt until the day I die.”

“Forget it. It was a long time ago.”

“Anyway, I’m really happy that you’re doing well, Taekyung. No matter how hard I try, I’m still only a D-Rank Hunter… but I want you to know that I’m always cheering for you.”

I knew that. Not only Im Kkeokjeong, but the other Guild members always cared about me and thought of me.

I guess I’m lucky when it comes to people.

I looked at the Guild members with warm eyes.

First was Team Leader Choi, our practical source of funding.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung.”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“You truly are remarkable.”

“It was nothing special.”

“Your eye for things is remarkable.”

“…?”

“The look in your eyes just now must mean that you recognized this ‘Frozen Eye’ hanging around my neck.”

Team Leader Choi smiled proudly and pulled off his necklace.

When had he even started wearing that? I’d never seen it before today.

“Russia’s greatest jewelry maker, Vladimir Stalin, designed it…”

“…”

Fuck, give me back my touching moment.

I was sighing at his maddening consistency when—

“Hm?”

Team Leader Choi suddenly paused and pointed at Im Kkeokjeong’s neck.

“Is that perhaps Yeti’s Necklace?”

Im Kkeokjeong was startled by his greedy gaze and nodded.

“Huh? Uh-huh.”

“That’s an item that rarely even appears on secondhand markets… Where did you get it?”

“T-this?”

He looked ready to tear the necklace off along with Im Kkeokjeong’s neck.

Sensing the threat to his life, the middle-aged man hurriedly took off the necklace and handed it to me.

“It’s not mine. Taekyung lent it to me.”

“Mr. Jin Taekyung did?”

I nodded.

“I lent it to him. I borrowed it from Myunghoon hyung, though.”

“I see. If you don’t mind, may I take a look at it?”

“I suppose there’s no harm in looking.”

Just as I was about to hand him Yeti’s Necklace, I suddenly became curious.

Was this item really that expensive?

Come to think of it, I haven’t even had it appraised yet.

It wasn’t particularly useful to me, but there was no harm in finding out exactly what it did.

Without giving it much thought, I muttered inwardly.

Item Appraisal.

Ding.