Chapter 218

“This is…”

After spending a long while examining Yeti’s Necklace once it was handed to him, Team Leader Choi’s eyelids began to tremble.

“I’m angry.”

He was normally not this blatant with his emotions.

Im Kkeokjeong, who had been squatting quietly, asked with intense curiosity,

“Team Leader Choi, what’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“There is. A very serious problem.”

Team Leader Choi bit down hard on his lip and continued.

“The fact that there is such a limited supply of this beautiful product. That is the greatest problem in the world—one that deserves condemnation from everyone on Earth.”

“…Ah.”

“Look at it. The artistic shape that expresses an icicle! The magical function that preserves the chill of a snowy field!”

Like a North Korean TV announcer passionately praising the Supreme Leader—no, the necklace—Team Leader Choi suddenly whipped his head toward me.

“What do you think, Mr. Jin Taekyung?”

“Me?”

Where should I start? How should I explain it? And what was I even supposed to say?

My hesitation was brief. A calm, gentle voice came from my mouth—so calm that even I was surprised.

“I’m angry too.”

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Team Leader Choi stared at me with a strange look before continuing.

“It’s just that you feel a little unfamiliar somehow.”

“Do I?”

I rubbed my chin. The stubble that had begun to show was rough against my fingers. The sensation felt unfamiliar, almost like someone else’s skin.

“Is it because I haven’t shaved?”

“Mr. Jin Taekyung, perhaps…”

Just as Team Leader Choi was about to say something, Won Myunghoon approached with a pleasant smile.

“Wow, that was incredible. Taekyung, you really can fight.”

“…You think so?”

“Your spear technique was completely different from the one in the manual I wrote. Did you learn it at the training center?”

“No. I just picked up a few things here and there.”

“Here and there? That wasn’t a level you could reach from just picking things up. At this rate, I’m worried you’ll catch up to me in a few years. Haha.”

I silently pulled up the corners of my mouth.

When nobody laughed along, his laughter gradually faded. It should have been awkward, but Won Myunghoon smoothly changed the subject.

Everything about him was polished, without a single unnecessary movement—as if I were watching a scene from a television drama.

“So, what were you doing?”

His mouth was asking the question, but his eyes were already busy figuring out what was going on. His gaze briefly passed over Yeti’s Necklace in Team Leader Choi’s hand.

“We were looking at the necklace you lent me. Team Leader Choi is very interested in things like this.”

“Team Leader Choi? I suppose that makes sense. He did seem like the type.”

If Won Myunghoon wrapped himself from head to toe in flashy luxury brands, Team Leader Choi was the exact opposite.

His clothes were still expensive, but how should I put it? They were refined and clean. In any case, anyone who saw what he normally wore would realize that he was very interested in fashion.

But Won Myunghoon’s interest lay elsewhere.

“So, what did you think after looking at it?”

Team Leader Choi answered,

“It’s much better in person. If you ever decide to sell it, please contact me.”

“I’m afraid that won’t happen. It’s something I personally treasure.”

Something he personally treasured…

I mulled over his words before speaking without thinking.

“It must be important.”

“Of course. Very important.”

“I see.”

I held Yeti’s Necklace out toward Won Myunghoon.

“I’ll return it now.”

“Hm?”

“You said it was important to you, hyung. And from what Team Leader Choi said, it sounds like it’s extremely expensive.”

“…”

“Are you not going to take it?”

The necklace swayed in my hand with a light metallic clatter.

A very brief silence passed. Won Myunghoon stared at me, and a faint smile formed around his mouth.

“Taekyung.”

“Yes.”

“Your hyung values the bonds between people more than material things.”

“The bonds between people.”

“Right. The Guild members who came with us today are the same. They’re people who stayed by my side during the hardest time of my life.”

“You mean eight years ago?”

“…Well, yes. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, don’t worry about it too much. What’s so precious about a necklace like that? Right?”

Won Myunghoon patted my shoulder with his broad palm. Unlike mine, his palm was soft, and his fingernails were long.

A strange thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Maybe this person standing in front of me isn’t the person I knew.

“Actually, the necklace is a gift.”

“A gift?”

“Yeah. A gift from your hyung to you.”

Every time Won Myunghoon leaned closer to me, the strong scent of his cologne wafted over.

“So don’t give it to anyone else. Understand?”

“…”

“Taekyung?”

I put the necklace around my neck as I answered.

“Yes. I won’t let anyone else touch it.”

Ding.

System

• You have equipped Yeti’s Necklace.
• The wind of the snowfield flows from the necklace.

As I felt the wind of the snowfield wrap around my entire body, I recalled the Item Window I had seen just five minutes earlier.

System Item Window

Yeti’s Necklace

Type: Accessory
Grade: Peak
Restriction: None

Description: A necklace that only an exceptionally skilled warrior Yeti can possess. In truth, however, it is a shackle marking a yeti as a former slave and food animal of the dragonkin. Anyone who possesses this item becomes a target of dragonkin monsters, regardless of the possessor’s species.

Effect: Wind of the Snowfield effect activated.

So I’m a target.

It was hardly a pleasant word.

In many ways.

Time passed slowly inside the Gate.

After traveling for half a day, we left the jungle and entered the wasteland. But the only monsters we had encountered so far were the Green Wyvern that had appeared at the beginning, the Orcs I had dealt with, and the Troll the others were fighting now.

—Gwoooor!

The Troll was about a head taller than an adult man, with an abnormally large head.

Trolls were monsters with extraordinary regenerative abilities. That was also why they were used as the main ingredient in healing potions, like an indispensable ingredient in every dish.

Even if you cut off their arms and legs, they could regenerate them in just a few seconds. Naturally, they were difficult opponents.

But the Star Guild members were all veterans who were nothing to scoff at.

“The head! Aim for the head!”

“Fire magic!”

Sshhk! Fwoooosh!

At the beginning of the Great Cataclysm, Trolls had earned a notorious reputation as immortal monsters, but their weakness had been discovered soon enough.

The head and the heart. And magic, on top of that.

Unless it was an undead monster, death after the cessation of breathing was only natural.

Trolls possessed enough terrifying regenerative power to restore even their heads and hearts, but that didn’t make them immortal monsters.

If you froze them with ice or seared them with flames before they could regenerate, there was little they could do.

“DPS, get in there and cut it down!”

“Mages, stand by!”

Sshh-shh-shhk! Thwack!

—Graaaar!

The Troll’s body toppled backward after losing one arm and one leg.

A moment later, the sharp axe blade of a halberd cleaved through its neck, which was packed with fat and muscle.

Thud! Sshhk!

The Troll’s body flailed, now empty above the shoulders. Soon, new flesh began to writhe and swell across the cut surface.

In a little over a minute, it would have a new neck.

Of course, the Star Guild members had no intention of waiting that long.

“Burn it!”

Fwoooosh! Ssssss!

Cold that froze to the bone and flames that scorched the skin.

The Troll’s body, which had failed to regenerate, shuddered violently once before becoming motionless again.

“Unit Three cleared!”

“Help over here! This one’s regenerating!”

With three people assigned to each Troll, the situation ended quickly.

Amid the stench of burning flesh and fat, Won Myunghoon, who had been watching the battle from about a dozen meters away, muttered.

His voice was so quiet that nobody could make it out over the noise of battle, but to me, it sounded as clear as if he were speaking right beside me.

“These idiots had to make it smell. I told them to freeze them whenever possible.”

“Hah.”

I barely managed to suppress the hollow laugh trying to escape.

Someone had once said that life was a tragedy up close and a comedy from far away.

But a battle against monsters was a tragedy no matter where you watched it from.

When you could lose your life in an instant, the smell of burning Troll flesh was nothing.

It’s a hundred times better than being the one behind a folding screen, smelling funeral incense burn.

But to Won Myunghoon, it was someone else’s problem.

He frowned and cursed under his breath before suddenly sensing my gaze and turning toward me.

“Oh, Taekyung.”

His voice was warm, and his forehead had smoothed out as if nothing had happened.

Everything about him was natural.

That was why it felt even more abnormal.

“What is it? Do you have something to say?”

For some reason, it sounded to me like he was asking, Did you hear everything I said?

I answered calmly without letting anything show.

“Yes.”

“Really? What is it?”

“I feel a little nauseous. I was fine at first, but… I started feeling strange after we came in here. I even tried healing magic, but it hasn’t helped much.”

“Ah. That.”

Won Myunghoon gave a quiet laugh.

“It’s because this is your first A-Rank Gate. The amount of mana distributed inside a Gate is on an entirely different level.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Beginners are all like that. I’m used to it by now.”

I let out an exclamation as if I were hearing this for the first time, even though I already knew everything.

“So I’ll get used to it next time too, right?”

“Next time?”

The corners of Won Myunghoon’s mouth twitched before he nodded.

“That’s right. You’ll be much more used to it next time.”

“I hope I can come with you again then, hyung.”

“Well, I don’t know when I’ll have time again. I have so many other schedules.”

“You don’t even have time to go on raids?”

“You may not know this yet, Taekyung, but Guild Masters like me are all busy. We have to coordinate the Guild as a whole.”

“Ah.”

“It’s the difference between a musician and a conductor. You know what a maestro is, right?”

As Won Myunghoon pretended to wave a conductor’s baton, I suddenly asked,

“Then did you go to the department store for a Guild-related meeting?”

“Hm?”

“I saw an article about it on the Internet. What was the headline again? Ah, I remember.”

Won Myunghoon suddenly lost his words. Watching him, I continued clearly,

“Something like Rising Star Hunter Won Myunghoon Goes on a Luxury Shopping Spree.”

“…”

“Was there an article like that?”

“It was on a Hunter community site, but only for a very short time. It was deleted after five minutes.”

“R-really? Are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?”

“Yes. There’s a Rice Weevil who doesn’t study these days and does nothing but dig through the Internet. Whenever an article comes out, he tells me immediately.”

A deep dimple appeared in Won Myunghoon’s handsome face. But it wasn’t the bright smile I had seen on television in the past.

“That can’t be right.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Of course not. I do like shopping, but I’m not that bad. At most, I might go once a month.”

“I heard pictures were uploaded too.”

“…”

“You know Dispass, right? The site that specializes in digging into celebrities. They even interviewed someone from the department store. Apparently, you’re a VVIP who visits five times a week.”

“…”

Won Myunghoon licked his dry lips. The dimple that had appeared a moment ago had vanished without a trace.

“Taekyung. You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

“Come on, it must be a rumor sheet. You’re busy coordinating the Guild schedule, hyung. Maestro.”

“…Yes, Maestro.”

Won Myunghoon was staring at me with dry eyes as I enthusiastically mimed swinging a conductor’s baton when—

“Hyung! No, CEO!”

The shout rang across the endless wasteland of dirt, sand, and winding rocky hills. Its owner was Star Guild’s Team Leader 1.

He had gone out to scout for the Wyvern that had been nowhere to be seen since earlier, and had now returned.

But unlike his relaxed departure, his face was deathly pale as he came sprinting toward us like a madman.

“What happened? Where are the others?”

At Won Myunghoon’s question, Team Leader 1 stammered.

“Th-that, th-that…”

I didn’t need to hear the rest.

Seven people had left, but only one had returned. The drops of blood splashed across his face and armor turned my guess into certainty.

“You bastard. Speak clearly!”

Team Leader 1 flinched at the thunderous roar.

“We found the Wyvern. We found it.”

“The Wyvern? How many?”

“O-one.”

“What? One?”

An A-Rank Hunter and six B-Rank Hunters made a formation more than capable of dealing with a single Wyvern.

And yet six people had died, while one had fled back alone.

“Is that supposed to be an explanation? Are you messing with me?”

“They’re all dead. We approached while using concealment magic, but… it noticed us.”

“What kind of bullshit is that? How could a Wyvern see through concealment magic?”

Click. Clack-clack.

His teeth chattering from fear, Team Leader 1 finally forced out a single word.

“A-A Named Monster.”

“…”

“It’s definitely a Named Monster. This place… it’s a Mutated Gate.”

An A-Rank Mutated Gate. And a Named Monster.

There was no one among us who didn’t understand what those two words meant.

Amid the suffocating silence, someone muttered in a voice barely loud enough to hear.

“Fuck…”