“This is…”
After examining Yeti’s Necklace for a long moment, Team Leader Choi’s eyelids began to tremble.
“I’m angry.”
He rarely showed his emotions this openly.
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 supply of this beautiful product is far too limited. That is the greatest problem of all—one that deserves condemnation from people around the world.”
“…Ah.”
“Just look at it. The artistry of this icicle design! The magical properties that preserve the very chill of the snowy plains!”
Like a North Korean TV announcer passionately praising the Supreme Leader—no, the necklace—Team Leader Choi whipped his head toward me.
“What do you think, Mr. Jin Taekyung?”
“Me?”
Where should I start? How should I put it? What was I even supposed to say?
My hesitation was brief. A voice came from my mouth, calm and gentle enough to surprise even me.
“I’m angry too.”
“…”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Team Leader Choi gave me a strange look before continuing.
“You just seem a little… unfamiliar somehow.”
“Do I?”
I rubbed my chin. The stubble beginning to poke through felt rough against my fingers. Even the sensation felt unfamiliar, almost like touching someone else’s skin.
“Is it because I haven’t shaved?”
“Mr. Jin Taekyung, could it be…”
Just as Team Leader Choi was about to say something, Won Myunghoon approached with a genial smile.
“Wow, that was incredible. Taekyung, you really can fight.”
“…You think so?”
“Your spearmanship was completely different from 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 was way beyond anything you could pick up casually. At this rate, you might catch up to me in a few years. Haha.”
I silently raised the corners of my mouth.
When nobody joined in, his laughter slowly died away. It should have been awkward, but Won Myunghoon changed the subject without missing a beat.
The entire sequence was polished and seamless, like a scene from a TV drama.
“So, what were you doing?”
His mouth was asking the question, but his eyes were already busy taking stock of the situation. His gaze flicked across Yeti’s Necklace in Team Leader Choi’s hand.
“We were looking at the necklace you lent me. Team Leader Choi is really interested in this kind of thing.”
“Team Leader Choi is? Well, 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.
Everything he wore was still expensive, but how should I put it? Refined and understated. Either way, anyone who saw how he normally dressed could tell he had an eye for such things.
But Won Myunghoon’s attention lay elsewhere.
“So, what did you think after seeing it in person?”
“It’s much better in person. If you ever decide to sell it, please contact me.”
“I’m afraid that won’t happen. I treasure it a great deal.”
Something he treasures…
I mulled over his words, then abruptly spoke.
“It must be important.”
“Of course. Very important.”
“I see.”
I held Yeti’s Necklace out to Won Myunghoon.
“I’ll give it back now.”
“Hm?”
“You said it was important to you, hyung.1 And judging by what Team Leader Choi said, it sounds extremely expensive too.”
“…”
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
The necklace swayed in my hand with a metallic clatter.
A brief silence passed. Won Myunghoon gazed at me, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Taekyung.”
“Yes.”
“Your hyung1 values the bonds between people more than material things.”
“The bonds between people.”
“That’s right. The same goes for the Guild members who came with us today. They stayed by my side through 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 thought suddenly occurred to me.
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 hyung1 to you.”
Every time Won Myunghoon leaned closer, the strong scent of his cologne washed over me.
“So don’t give it to anyone else. Got it?”
“…”
“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 the wind of the snowfield wrapped 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 Yeti warrior may possess. In truth, however, it is a shackle proving that its wearer was once enslaved by the dragonkin and raised as livestock for food. Anyone who possesses this item becomes a target of dragonkin monsters, regardless of species.
Effect: Wind of the Snowfield effect activated.
So I’m a target.
It was hardly a pleasant word.
In more ways than one.
Time passed slowly inside the Gate.
After half a day of travel, we finally left the jungle and entered the wasteland. Yet the only monsters we had encountered so far were the Green Wyvern that had appeared at the beginning, the pack of Orcs I had dealt with, and the Trolls the others were fighting now.
—Gwoooor!
The Troll stood about a head taller than an adult man and had an abnormally large head.
Trolls were monsters with extraordinary regenerative abilities. That was also why they cropped up everywhere as the main ingredient in healing potions.
They could regrow severed arms and legs in a matter of seconds, which naturally made them difficult opponents.
But the Star Guild members were seasoned veterans in their own right.
“The head! Aim for the head!”
“Fire magic!”
Sshhk! Fwoooosh!
In the early days of the Great Cataclysm, Trolls had earned a fearsome reputation as immortal monsters, but their weaknesses had soon been exposed.
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 truly immortal.
Freeze them with ice or sear them with flames before they could regenerate, and there was little they could do.
“Damage dealers, get in there and carve it up!”
“Mages, stand by!”
Sshh-shh-shhk! Thwack!
—Graaaar!
The Troll toppled backward after losing an arm and a leg.
A moment later, the keen axe blade of a halberd cleaved through the thick fat and muscle of its neck.
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!
Bone-chilling cold and skin-scorching flames struck the body.
Unable to regenerate, the Troll shuddered violently once, then fell still.
“Unit Three clear!”
“Help over here! This one’s regenerating!”
With three Hunters assigned to each Troll, the battle ended quickly.
Amid the stench of burning flesh and fat, Won Myunghoon watched from a dozen or so meters2 away and muttered under his breath.
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.
“Idiots had to stink up the place. I told them to freeze them whenever possible.”
“Hah.”
I barely managed to suppress the hollow laugh trying to escape.
Someone once said that life was a tragedy up close and a comedy from a distance.
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 lying behind a folding screen, smelling your own funeral incense.
But to Won Myunghoon, it was someone else’s problem.
He was frowning and cursing under his breath when he suddenly sensed my gaze and turned 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 only made it feel even more unnatural.
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
For some reason, it sounded like he was really asking, Did you hear everything I said?
I kept my face blank and answered casually.
“Yes.”
“Really? What is it?”
“I feel a little nauseous. I was fine at first, but… I’ve felt strange ever since we entered the Gate. I even tried healing magic, but it didn’t help much.”
“Ah. That.”
Won Myunghoon let out a quiet laugh.
“It’s because this is your first A-Rank Gate. The amount of magical power 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.1”
“Well, I don’t know when I’ll have time. My schedule is packed.”
“You don’t even have time for raids?”
“You may not know this yet, Taekyung, but Guild Masters like me are always busy. We have to coordinate the entire Guild.”
“Ah.”
“It’s the difference between a musician and a conductor. You know what a maestro is, right?”
As Won Myunghoon mimed waving a conductor’s baton, I abruptly asked, “Then did you go to the department store for a Guild-related meeting?”
“Hm?”
“I saw an article about it online. 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 Sweeps Up Luxury Goods.”
“Was there an article like that?”
“It was on a Hunter community site for a little while. It got deleted after five minutes.”
“R-really? Are you sure you didn’t misread it?”
“Yes. There’s a Rice Weevil3 who doesn’t study these days and does nothing but scour the Internet. He lets me know the moment an article appears.”
A deep dimple formed in Won Myunghoon’s handsome face. But this wasn’t the bright smile I remembered seeing on television.
“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 up dirt on 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 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.1 Maestro.”
“…Yes, Maestro.”
I vigorously mimed waving a conductor’s baton while Won Myunghoon stared at me with dry eyes.
That was when—
“Hyung!1 No, CEO!”
The shout rang out across the endless wasteland of dirt, sand, and winding rocky hills. It had come from Star Guild’s Team Leader 1.
He had gone scouting in search of the Wyvern that had been nowhere in sight, and now he was back.
But unlike when he had set out at a leisurely pace, he was sprinting toward us like a madman, his face deathly pale.
“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. Spit it out!”
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…”
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