Chapter 270

Ding.

System

• Logout complete.

My eyes flew open with the familiar System notification.

The moment my gaze met the two pairs of eyes staring down at me instead of the familiar ceiling—

“Eek!”

“Oh, my God!”

The two of them let out shrieks that could split eardrums and fell backward onto their butts.

I yawned as if I had just woken up and looked at my mother and Hayeon.

“What are you so surprised about?”

“Gasp… Haaah…”

“Huuh… Huuuuu…”

They looked as though they had seen a ghost. Still sitting on the floor and catching their breath, they shouted at the same time.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“You little bastard! You little bastard!”

Smack! Smack!

Hayeon’s eyes blazed, while Mom charged in and mercilessly pounded my back.

Somehow, the palm of a woman in her fifties hurt more than the fist of an average martial artist.

Was this some kind of Inner-Family Heavy Hand?

The Mother’s Palm Strike, remembered by both body and soul.

It was only after I had taken a great many more blows that the palm-storm finally stopped.

Of course, being hit a few times didn’t solve all my problems.

“Son.”

I swallowed hard at the weight in Mom’s voice. As expected, the atmosphere was anything but good.

“Yes, yes, Mother.”

“Do you know you’ve been sleeping for two whole days?”

Hayeon added,

“Forty-two hours, to be exact.”

“That’s right. You wouldn’t wake up, so we almost called an ambulance.”

Forty-two hours.

I’d slept quite a while. I had spent more than a year in Murim, after all, so it made sense that this much time had passed.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected it to take this long, either.

“Do you have narcolepsy or something? How can you sleep that long? You didn’t even react when we shook you.”

Hayeon asked with a thoroughly exasperated expression, and I casually piled lie upon lie.

“What are you talking about? I woke up once or twice in the middle.”

“You didn’t. Every time Mom and I checked, you were sleeping…”

“I woke up around dawn each day. How could you have seen me?”

“Huh?”

“Every time I opened my eyes, it was around dawn. I was tired, so I just kept sleeping.”

“No, but even so, can a person really do that?”

Of course not.

But I had long since mastered the art of dealing with this distrustful little menace of a sister.

“Hey, Jin Hayeon.”

I deliberately hardened my expression as I called her by her full name, and Hayeon flinched.

“Y-Yeah?”

“Don’t you know what I was like in high school?”

“I-I don’t.”

“I slept straight through seven periods without even eating, then slept again during evening self-study.”

“…”

“You think that’s all?”

“There’s more?”

“After sleeping at school, what do you think I did at home?”

“Could it be…”

“That’s right. I went home after school and slept again. That’s the kind of person I am.”

“That’s incredible.”

Hayeon nodded solemnly. Mom, who had been listening quietly, looked utterly crushed as she spoke.

“Son, that’s not something to brag about…”

Sorry, Mom.

But something similar might happen again in the future, so it seemed better to establish that precedent now.

The problem was that I was driving another nail into my mother’s heart.

I’m building up my unfilial-son score again.

I quietly avoided Mom’s gaze. It wasn’t as though my poor academic performance was anything new. Thankfully, the whole narcolepsy business disappeared from the conversation.

Before Hayeon could say anything else, I changed the subject.

“Oh, right. The massage chair. Weren’t we going to buy one?”

Hayeon answered with a look of utter contempt.

“We already bought one, you idiot.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I picked the most expensive one. It was worth every penny. I lay down for a minute and nearly went straight to heaven.”

“You’re taking the express train to hell when you die. Where did you get the money?”

“What do you mean, where? It was all your money. Here. I used the card properly.”

“…Right. Good job.”

When had she taken my card?

But I had my own crimes to answer for, so I couldn’t say anything.

How much did the most expensive one cost, anyway? I should have kept more of the money from selling the raid monster last time.

I was thinking about this and that as I took back the card when—

Ding-dong.

Mom and Hayeon’s ears perked up at the doorbell.

“Could that be them?”

“They’re here!”

What was here?

I asked with a bewildered expression.

“Is someone coming?”

“Of course. The delivery driver.”

Hayeon answered excitedly and dashed out of the room.

But a moment later, the voice that came with the sound of the front door opening did not belong to the delivery driver Hayeon had been waiting for.

“Excuse me. Is Jin Taekyung here?”

“Who…? Are you perhaps a reporter?”

“No.”

A soft yet low voice continued.

“I’m a Team Leader. The Team Leader of the Peace Guild.”

There was only one Peace Guild Team Leader I knew.

When I went into the living room, I saw a man in a black coat over Hayeon’s shoulder.

“Team Leader.”

Team Leader Choi gave a small nod in greeting.

“Have you been resting well?”

“…More or less.”

In truth, the mental exhaustion from struggling in Murim for over a year was no joke.

Even though it had been a while since I’d seen him, unease outweighed happiness. That was because if this man had come all the way to my house, his business was obvious.

“I’m glad to hear you’ve had a good rest.”

“I didn’t say I’d had a good rest—no, but what brings you here? I thought I didn’t have any media schedules for a while.”

“That’s only natural. You aren’t a celebrity, after all.”

“Then?”

“The workshop for our new Guild members is today.”

“A workshop?”

“Yes.”

That was fine. I was curious what the new Guild members were like, and I could go for a little while before coming home and getting some proper rest.

“When does the workshop end?”

“It’s scheduled to last about six nights and seven days.”

“What kind of workshop lasts a whole week? Are we going to Pyeongchang or Gapyeong?¹”

“Think on a larger scale.”

“Then maybe… an overseas resort in Southeast Asia?”

“Hmm.”

“Phuket? It’s Phuket, isn’t it!”

Team Leader Choi smiled brightly.

“We’ve secured an A-rank Gate.”

“Oh.”

“We’ll build team unity while hunting monsters together.”

“…”

A workshop with monsters. Now that was something.

Grroooan. Boom!

The earth shook every time the five-meter-tall creature took a step.

Its entire body, from head to toe, was made of solid rock. Moss clung to it here and there, and the whole thing looked damp with moisture.

A red light flashed from the rock at the very top, where vines hung down like hair.

The monster’s eyes. Someone muttered like a groan at the gaze of the magical creature, which held not even a speck of vitality.

“Golem…”

A bona fide A-rank monster.

The rookie B-rank Hunters who had just graduated from the training center felt their knees weaken at the mere sight of it.

“How are we supposed to take that down…?”

“I feel like one hit would kill me.”

Just as the roughly twenty new Guild members were watching the Stone Golem loitering in the distance and swallowing dryly, someone spoke.

“There’s no need to be afraid. The Stone Golem coming this way has tremendous destructive power and durability, but it does have one weakness: it’s slow.”

At the young Team Leader’s words—he looked as though he had just stepped out of a fashion magazine—the female Hunters nodded with dreamy expressions.

“They say it’s slow.”

“If Team Leader Choi Minwoo says it’s slow, then it’s slow. He’s right.”

At that moment, the Stone Golem’s head slowly turned toward them.

A brief silence passed. Then its rocky legs accelerated. With every stride, it ate up three meters in an instant.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

“…It’s really fast, though.”

“Fuck, I should’ve gone with damage dealer instead of tank.”

“Excuse me. Do you think damage dealers are people who sit around and eat for free?”

“Then hold the shield and tank for me.”

“I’d rather not.”

The dark clouds that had settled over the new Guild members’ faces scattered at the clear voice that rang out next.

“Let the wind take root. Haste!”

“Power that can shatter stone. Strength!”

“Breathe life into your weary bodies. Healing!”

Fwoooosh.

The shouts rang out one after another.

Along with a refreshing breeze, halos of light descended over the new Guild members’ heads.

Those who felt their bodies improve beyond comparison turned around with astonished expressions.

What is this? The difference is incredible.

She’s a B-rank healer like me, but her effect is this strong?

Wow. So she really is from the Ares Guild.

At the gazes directed toward her, Song Song furrowed her flawless brow.

“What are you all doing? Do you want to keep standing there glassy-eyed until you have your workshop in heaven?”

Dazed once by the effect of the buff magic—powerful enough to make them mistake her for an A-rank healer—and a second time by her beauty, the new Guild members finally snapped out of it.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

—Grrrroooar!

The Stone Golem, which had already advanced to within twenty meters, swung its arm.

Whoooosh!

With a tremendous crack of displaced air, a massive tree that had been deeply embedded in the ground only moments before shot toward them like a cannonball.

“S-Shields!”

Clack-clack-clack!

Several tower shields filled with mana rose to block the front amid screams that sounded like cries of terror.

But could they really stop a tree trunk fired at them like a bullet with nothing but this?

Just as everyone gritted their teeth, expecting a violent impact—

“Fire Wall.”

Fwoooosh!

A massive wall of flame surged upward.

The intense heat incinerated the dry branches and leaves. The trunk, blackened all over, crumbled the instant it struck the tower shields.

“Whoa…”

“What is this?”

A deep, mellow voice fit for a coffee commercial rang out above the wide-open mouths of the new Guild members.

“I blocked it once, but there won’t be a second time.”

It was strange. His words and actions were impeccably polite, but the old gentleman’s eyes held the viciousness of the training instructor who had tormented them at the training center until recently.

No, it was even worse.

“Fire Wall.”

With the second incantation, another wall of flame surged upward.

The only difference was that this time, it appeared behind them instead of in front.

“Ah, hot!”

“What the hell is this?”

“Guild Master! Guild Master!”

Kim the Butler blocked off the new Guild members’ rear with a curtain of fire and smiled faintly.

“You cannot grow by receiving nothing but help inside a Gate. Fight as though your lives depend on it.”

“…”

“Mages, find the core with detection magic. Tanks, protect the healers and draw its aggro. Damage dealers… I trust I don’t need to explain any further.”

Swoosh.

Kim the Butler flicked his fingers, and Team Leader Choi and Song Song’s bodies rose into the air.

The abandoned new Guild members were just about to fall into a panic when a shout rang out.

“Tanks, forward!”

Boom!

With a thunderous cry, a massive man in full armor slammed a tower shield into the ground.

Several of the new Guild members frowned when they saw him.

They realized that the first giant to step forward was a middle-aged D-rank Hunter whose only real thing to boast about was twenty years of experience.

“What are you doing? Get your heads in the game!”

But they had no choice. Their bodies, already sensing the threat to their lives, moved toward the front line of their own accord.

“Formation!”

“Formaaation!”

Clack-clack-clack!

With a deafening chorus repeating the command, the tower shields formed a solid wall.

The mages and healers drew up their mana, while the damage dealers prepared the strongest strikes they could unleash.

Im Kkeokjeong, crouched behind the shields, shouted with a grim expression.

“Hold!”

—Grrrroooar!

The Stone Golem charged toward the wall of shields.

Kra-boom!

“Gasp… Haaah…”

“Ugh…”

Heavy breathing and groans rose from every direction.

The tank with a broken arm and the mages and healers who had exhausted all their mana collapsed onto the ground, while the damage dealers lay sprawled across the Stone Golem’s remains.

“Ugh, I’m dying.”

“Did we really take down this Stone Golem?”

The raid had lasted a full five hours. Despite having more than twenty people, the process had been grueling and taken a long time, but the hearts of the rookie Hunters who had only just graduated from the training center swelled with pride.

“I took down an A-rank monster…”

“Let’s take a group picture later. I’m going to frame it and hang it in my living room.”

“Who takes down a Stone Golem for their first raid?”

“Good work, everyone.”

Just as everyone was looking back on their achievement with moved expressions—

—Grrrroooooar!

—Roooooar!

The new Guild members’ faces went stiff when they spotted golems approaching in the distance with roaring cries.

What is that?

There were more than ten of them at a glance, and they looked larger and harder than the Stone Golem. Light flashed every time their massive bodies moved with violent force.

Someone shouted like a scream.

“Iron! Those are Iron Golems!”

“Eeeek!”

The appearance of Iron Golems, among the highest-ranking of all golems, was more than enough to send everyone into a panic.

“W-Why are they here?”

“Aren’t they supposed to be scattered all over the place?”

They had never heard of golems living in tribes.

But the sight of them drawing closer by the second and the ground trembling like an earthquake told them all this was real.

In the end, they had only one lifeline left.

“Please help us! We’ll all die at this rate!”

The cry rose toward the sky. Team Leader Choi, who had been floating in the air and watching the situation from beginning to end, smiled.

“There’s nothing for us to help you with.”

“…What did you say?”

Has that guy gone insane?

Just as everyone began to doubt their own ears—

Whoooosh! Slash!

Along with a red flash, the Iron Golem charging toward them split cleanly in half, from the crown of its head to its crotch.

Crash!

A man emerged between the steel masses collapsing to either side.

“Mob farming is fucking sweet.”

The young man, Jin Taekyung, grinned.