Chapter 8
When he opened the door and stepped inside, darkness spread out beneath a faint wash of light.
“Is no one here?”
It was different from what he had expected, and before he knew it, the thought had slipped out of his mouth.
“I’m behind you.”
He jerked at the oily voice that slid into his ear and turned around. There, a handsome young man with black hair stood dressed in the formal robes of a medieval nobleman.
“Welcome. My name is Hashashin. I have been watching you.”
His voice was dark, but calm.
“First, let’s have you clap.”
And then, out of nowhere, he began applauding for a full minute. When Hyun-jun sent him a questioning look, Hashashin let a thin smile curl at his lips and spoke.
“You could have died.”
“I know.”
Hye-jin had already hinted, through more than one of her actions, that she might have killed Hyun-jun. Even while stopping Sang-cheol, she had said he must not be killed here, and when she found the trap, she had even tried to shove Hyun-jun into it.
After being pierced thousands of times by Carthago’s spear and knocked down hundreds of times by trolls, what had grown in him was not simply combat skill.
“Kukuk! Kwa-ha-ha-ha!”
“What’s so funny?”
“This is truly extraordinary! I understand now why Carthago and Sidenmiller praised you so highly!”
Hashashin seemed delighted.
“This incarnation is truly superb. You’re overflowing with talent. It was worth cutting in line ahead of Sidenmiller.”
“Cutting in line?”
“Yes. I bent the rules a little because I wanted to meet you first. But rest assured! To deal with the danger that’s coming soon, I’ll be more helpful than Sidenmiller.”
“Danger?”
Hyun-jun repeated the word. He had lived in poverty at the very bottom of hunter society, but he could swear he had never done anything that would make someone bear a grudge against him this badly. But Hashashin seemed to think otherwise.
“In the near future, someone will come for your life. I’d bet on it.”
With a cold chuckle, Hashashin finished speaking.
“No way…”
“I’ve always liked the saying that disbelief gets people killed.”
“I’m the only dungeon survivor, but surely that alone wouldn’t make them come after me…”
“It’s enough to kill you. Of course, at first they’ll try to talk. But they won’t be polite about it. I can promise you that. I’d bet on it.”
Hashashin was certain. He was a specialist in the dirty underworld of assassination, kidnapping, and the like, and the title Shadow Behind You suited him perfectly. He knew their psychology well.
“She clearly said when she broke up with you that the man she was seeing now was an A-Class hunter. In a Bronze-tier guild, an A-Class hunter’s position is high. He’s definitely tied to either the guild master or the executive director. And if the executive division moves, I think you, Kang Hyun-jun, know better than anyone what happens next.”
The executive division.
It was the department in a guild that handled the filthiest, most covert jobs. It left no evidence behind, and because it was often connected to powerful figures, even the state could not easily lay a hand on it.
“Would the executive division really move just to take care of me?”
“Rage clouds judgment. And an A-Class hunter has power. But rest assured, I’ll make you stronger. Strong enough to survive whatever threatens your life.”
Hashashin walked into the darkness.
“We have plenty of time.”
Before long, a dagger gleamed in each of his hands.
“You’d better take a dagger.”
Hyun-jun pulled out the dagger planted in front of him.
“No shield?”
Thanks to Carthago, having a shield always made him feel more confident.
“A shield? Did you just say shield?”
Hashashin laughed as though the idea was amusing.
“Assassins aren’t considerate enough to ambush you when you’re at your best. An assassin always aims for your heart when you’re least prepared.”
“Understood.”
Hyun-jun nodded, accepting the explanation. He raised the dagger and settled into his own combat stance.
“Hah… the way you’re holding the dagger is terribly inefficient. We’ll start with my method.”
Shaking his head, Hashashin approached again.
“Hold the dagger like this.”
“That’s different from Carthago.”
“Is it? I’m the considerate one.”
As he answered, Hashashin adjusted Hyun-jun’s stance.
“There’s actually a reason Carthago didn’t teach you the fundamentals properly.”
“Because real combat is the fastest teacher?”
“That too, of course. But once the blessing begins, some of our memories are passed on and remain with you, Kang Hyun-jun. That’s why there’s no need to teach you the basics.”
“Then isn’t training like this unnecessary too?”
Hyun-jun asked sharply. To be honest, getting stabbed by a spear hundreds of times, then thousands of times beyond that, had been a horrifying experience. If he could avoid it, he wanted to.
“This is necessary. If you want to call upon our blessing, you need to raise your synchronization with our past lives. It may look like meaningless training, but there are few methods that raise it this well. Now then, take your stance again.”
At Hashashin’s words, Hyun-jun settled back into his combat posture.
“Much better. Then let us begin your first lesson.”
His body melted into the darkness.
“From here on, I’ll be ambushing you. There’s no need to counterattack or block me. If you can merely detect me before the blade pierces your heart, I’ll call that lesson complete.”
At Hashashin’s words, Hyun-jun let out a sigh first. How many times would that dagger be driven into his heart this time? For some reason, he already found himself looking forward to it.
*
“Still no call from Hye-jin…”
Jung Sung-min, Hye-jin’s new boyfriend and an A-Class hunter from the Echo Guild, muttered to himself without taking his eyes off his smartphone. By all rights, he should have heard from her long ago now that the dungeon raid should have been over, but there was nothing. He had called once an hour ago, only to find that her phone was turned off.
It was not a completely baffling situation, since most electronic devices failed to work properly inside dungeons. It was just that the clearing seemed to be taking longer than expected, and that made him uneasy.
“Hyeong-seok.”
He called to the hunter sitting at the desk across from him. Hyeong-seok looked up.
“Yes. What is it?”
“Can you check whether there’s any hunter who survived the dungeon Hye-jin is clearing?”
“Not difficult. I’ll call a friend at the Dungeon Management Bureau right now.”
“Thanks.”
Five minutes later, Hyeong-seok, who had stepped out of the office briefly to make a call, returned with a grave expression.
“A brother I know at the Bureau says there’s one survivor.”
“One survivor? Not a straggler?”
“No. He specifically used the word survivor.”
Sung-min’s voice trembled. As an A-Class hunter, there was no way he did not understand the difference between a survivor and a straggler. And if Hye-jin had survived, there was no reason she would have been unable to contact him.
“Hyeong-seok. Go with the executive division and quietly bring that bastard survivor here.”
“Yes. Understood.”
On the nameplate sitting on Sung-min’s desk was the title Executive Director.
*
The gaze fixed on the darkness had gone cold and dead. He had lost count of how many times a dagger had already been driven into his heart. And yet, sensing Hashashin’s ambush was still not easy.
“Guhk!”
Again! He had failed to notice it once more, and he had to feel the unpleasant sensation of a blade boring deep into his chest all over again.
“You fail again.”
Hashashin spoke in a pitying voice, but Hyun-jun could see hope. Since a little while ago, he had been able to catch the faint murderous intent that leaked out just before the ambush began. The next time it came, he felt certain he could detect it for real.
“Again.”
The moment his wound regenerated, Hashashin vanished into the darkness. Hyun-jun lifted his dagger and took up his fighting stance too. He concentrated his mind on every sense he had.
“Kuh, kuhk!”
Again, the dagger was plunged into his heart. But this time was different. A satisfied smile spread across Hashashin’s lips as he drew the sharp blade back out.
“You pass.”
Unlike before, he had detected the ambush at the last possible moment, just before Hashashin’s dagger was driven into his heart.
“But how did you know I’d noticed?”
“The movement of the muscles is different.”
Hashashin answered. It did not sound like nonsense, so Hyun-jun accepted it.
“The first lesson is over. You may return now.”
“Before I go, may I ask one question?”
Something had been nagging at him. Hashashin nodded readily and spoke.
“Of course. Ask.”
“I won’t be able to see Carthago anymore?”
Carthago’s door had vanished, and Hashashin’s door had taken its place. He still felt there was much more to learn, so the thought that it was already over left him uneasy.
“No. When the time comes, he will come for you again. You still have much to learn.”