Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 031
Chapter Title: Initiation Ceremony (2)
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A flashy Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses.
A man with tanned skin who looked every bit the tourist stepped into a street food stall.
Assuming he was a foreigner, the stall owner asked in broken speech.
"Tteokbokki? Odeng? Skewers?"
The man, Monjiro, replied.
"One serving of tteoksoon, and just the intestines for the sundae. I can have the odeng broth too, right?"
In fluent Korean.
Embarrassed, the owner muttered, "Go ahead," and handed over the tteokbokki before starting to slice the sundae.
Just as Monjiro picked up a piece of tteokbokki with his chopsticks, a K-pop ringtone blared.
He checked the screen—Isabelle—and pressed the call button.
"Hello..."
—You damn...!
Click. He hung up without hesitation.
The phone rang again.
—You really are dead...!
Click. Monjiro poured some odeng broth into a paper cup, took a sip, and let out a satisfied "Ahh."
Then he leisurely picked up the ringing phone again.
—......
He could hear Isabelle's heavy breathing, but she didn't hurl more abuse this time.
Behind his sunglasses, Monjiro's eyes curved in amusement.
"You done?"
—...Just try coming here.
"I'm too scared to go anywhere near you. So, what's up?"
Normally, she would've given up after a couple tries, but her persistence today suggested something urgent.
And sure enough.
With a small sigh, Isabelle got to the point.
—The boss is coming to check on the newbie, so stand by.
Pffft—!
Monjiro spat out the odeng broth he was sipping.
The stall owner freaked out at the disaster spraying over the tteokbokki like a mist.
"Wh-what the hell! Not on the food!"
"Oh... Sorry about that. I just heard some ridiculous news..."
"Even so, now I have to throw it all out! Did a gate break nearby or something? Ah, what a mess...!"
A gate break?
That would've been preferable.
White Flame meeting the boss would spell an even bigger catastrophe.
Monjiro apologized while pulling six 50,000-won bills from his wallet.
"Ahem, everyone makes mistakes now and then. Eat as much as you want before you go."
The owner cleared his throat and stepped out to clean up the mess.
Monjiro switched to English and resumed the call.
"Why's the boss coming here? Didn't you guys stop him?!"
—Of course we tried. But does he ever listen? That whale-tendon stubbornness of his—who can beat it?
Monjiro grimaced, rubbing his temple like he had a headache.
"The boss doesn't even have disguise skills like me. What if he runs into White Flame..."
—Pfft, White Flame hasn't left a 100km radius of Bukaksan since that day. It'll be fine.
"Sigh, whatever."
—He said he'll hunt with the newbie and check him out personally, so get ready.
"...Fine. What can I do? If he says jump, I jump. Looks like I'll be playing interpreter full-time now."
Monjiro was the only one in Pentagram who spoke Korean.
That was why he'd been dispatched in the first place.
"So, when's he arriving?"
—Already left. Landing at Gimhae Airport tonight.
"Already? That temper of his..."
Monjiro grumbled as he ended the call and left the stall. The owner looked puzzled.
"Hey, already...?"
"Oh, something urgent came up. Thanks for the food."
As Monjiro walked away, the owner muttered, "Thanks for the food, my ass..."
It hadn't even been enough time to finish one serving.
He finished cleaning and returned to the stall.
And then,
"Wh-what the...?"
His jaw dropped.
It was like a swarm of locusts had hit—every scrap of food was gone.
He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, wondering if he was dreaming, but no miracle restored the vanished meal.
Just past midnight.
A lone man remained in the Park Chunduk Academy training room.
"Huff... huff..."
Kim Gunja was sweating profusely, focused on strength training centered on his left arm and right leg.
Thanks to Ma Ilcheon's right arm and Stain's left leg granting him enhanced abilities and a powerful body, but it was also true that his other parts lagged behind.
He could strengthen them later with perks and additional customizing, but he couldn't just twiddle his thumbs until then.
In a hunter's world, anything could happen at any moment.
Like how three lives vanished in an instant.
That was why Kim Gunja kept training even after completing his daily quest.
One drop of sweat today might become tomorrow's lifeline.
Thud.
"Hoo..."
As Kim Gunja lay spread-eagled, catching his breath.
"You're one hell of a weird guy."
A burly man stretched as he approached.
With the sudden influx of students creating extra work, Park Chunduk had just wrapped up academy duties.
"Huh? What?"
Kim Gunja asked without getting up.
"You're a Hero Guild member now."
"For now, yeah."
"Why train here when they have top-tier facilities? Don't they have elite trainers on call 24/7?"
Not wrong.
"Yeah."
"So why?"
Park Chunduk pressed. Kim Gunja stared at the ceiling before answering.
"Feels comfortable."
Plain and simple.
But that one line made Park Chunduk flinch.
He realized what kind of resolve it took for the kid to enter the tiger's den.
"...Alright. Do what suits you. I'm heading out."
"Yeah. Oh, hey—where's Yeji today? Haven't seen her."
"Yeji's out sick... er, regular check-up or something."
"Really? That rascal getting sick. Weird."
Kim Gunja stood to shower.
Park Chunduk spoke up again as he watched.
"You know that?"
"Huh? What?"
"Yeji signed with Hero Guild too."
"Yeji? Why?"
"Why do you think?"
"......?"
"...Never mind. Anyway, heading to Wonju at dawn tomorrow?"
He meant the gate won at auction from the market.
"Yeah. Tomorrow's the C-rank gate from the market, day after's Hero Guild's B-rank pre-briefing."
"And training nonstop? Man, you're the only guy this busy right after getting your license. Aren't you overdoing it?"
Kim Gunja grinned and patted his right arm.
Referring to the Customizing Room.
Park Chunduk shook his head, exasperated.
"Anyway... you're handling it fine, so no complaints from me. I'm off."
"Yeah. I'll lock up."
After Park Chunduk left, Kim Gunja showered and crashed on the lounge sofa.
Then he opened his status window.
Now, even at a glance, his status screamed homunculus—no room for argument.
With the Customizing Room leveled up, he'd splurged points on better materials.
'Cost me most of my points, though.'
But as the saying goes, skimping turns gold to shit—no reason to hold back.
That's why he'd planned optimizations for each gate in advance.
And it had paid off.
Without the [Merman's Gills], he wouldn't have stayed so calm.
One regret: his base stats weren't rising easily.
'Levels are higher now, so progress slows.'
Customizing boosted strength, stamina, reflexes, etc., but not overall levels.
Disappointing, but growth was just beginning.
'Guerrilla hunting with intel from Hero Guild, the market, and Pentagram.'
Kim Gunja's mind mapped his path forward like a go board—neat and orderly.
Mana stones from gates, sync rate and skill gains from back-to-back combats, quest points too.
He gazed at the silver ring on his left hand, then slowly closed his eyes.
For tomorrow's growth.
The next dawn.
Kim Gunja headed to Wonju with Choi Jinseung in tow.
The auctioned gate was a C-rank mountain gate, limited to three people.
As they neared Wonju, Choi Jinseung spoke up.
"Guild called last night."
"Yeah?"
"Said not to miss tomorrow's pre-briefing."
"Of course."
Kim Gunja tilted his head.
"They usually give advance notice for that? 'Absolutely don't miss'?"
"...Not sure."
"Anyway, no plans to skip."
"Got it. I'll relay that."
At the gate entrance, soldiers controlling the perimeter came into view.
After license checks at the checkpoint, they entered.
A familiar face waited inside.
Surprised, Kim Gunja approached.
"Hey. Fancy meeting you here."
The greeting drew gasps.
"......!"
"......!"
Geum Jinung of Geumsan Group and his bodyguard Park Juhwan.
He'd lost interest after the first hunt exam, but they'd passed the hunter test too.
Still, something felt off.
'Someone from Geumsan Group hunting a market gate?'
He figured they had reasons, but wasn't curious.
And since they'd hunt together anyway, no need to stir potential awkwardness.
Park Juhwan greeted first.
"...You've changed a lot. Good to see you."
Ah, right.
Now he got why they were shocked.
But unlike Park Juhwan, Geum Jinung looked sour.
With an uneasy expression, he asked,
"Kim Gunja, right?"
"Yes."
"You've changed a ton. But... not like last time, I hope."
The exam must've scarred him.
Knowing his worry, Kim Gunja reassured him.
"Won't happen. That was a special case."
"Good. Then follow my lead this time?"
"No. That'd be inconvenient. I'll lead."
"Ridiculous! Your leading's a reckless mess!"
"I told you—it's different this time."
"I can't accept that!"
"You have to. You know market rules?"
Geum Jinung flinched at "market rules."
Kim Gunja showed his phone.
Re-awakened to B-rank, with yesterday's elite gate clear logged. Association certified.
"For market gates, lead priority goes by hunter rank and record. You know that, right?"
Geum Jinung gaped in shock.
"N-no way... Re-awakening's insane enough, but a C-rank hard gate already? An elite one?!"
To Geum Jinung—licensed just three days ago, first hunt—he couldn't fathom it.
Kim Gunja as a newbie on a premium gate, and clearing it.
"Per market rules, I'll lead this hunt."
"Damn it, not again... Why does all the luck go to guys like you..."
Kim Gunja stared as Geum Jinung bit his lip.
Luck?
So naive, he thought.
"Geum Jinung."
"Fine! I'll follow Kim Gunja's lead. Happy?"
"No. Apologize for what you just said."
"What...?!"
"I don't know your circumstances or efforts. Don't care to. But one thing's clear."
Kim Gunja locked eyes and spoke.
"No matter your grand sob story, you don't get to dismiss someone else's hard work as 'luck.'"
Geum Jinung couldn't respond amid Kim Gunja's sudden intensity.
To him, Kim Gunja said coldly,
"So, apologize."
To him—and to the comrades who died like true hunters that day in the gate.