Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: How the Rank 1 Hero Protects the World
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“No, seriously.”
I barely snapped out of it before hurling my phone across the room.
Oh, right. I’m broke.
I tucked the phone carefully under my pillow and flopped back onto the bed.
But come on, isn’t that going too far? They’ve got some nerve shortening that.
Wandering Pilgrim? It’s only seven letters! It’s not even that long—why not just use the full thing?
I’d been avoiding the internet because I knew exactly what they’d be saying… but then I popped into a community forum to search for good eats nearby and accidentally saw it.
“Whatever, forget it.”
It was ridiculous, but hey, it was probably their idea of a sneaky nickname.
I had no plans to change my player name anyway, so I decided to just let it slide.
And honestly, that dumb nickname wasn’t even the most concerning thing in the post I glimpsed before it got censored.
A week had passed since the sudden Dungeon Break near Gangnam Station.
What had I been up to in the meantime? Nothing.
Unlike last time, though, it wasn’t because I’d been slacking off and resting. I’d simply woken up to find a whole week gone by.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a six-bed room at a Hunter-exclusive hospital.
At first, I was totally confused and out of it, but the doctor kindly explained everything once I came to.
Apparently, checkout time had come and gone at the hotel, so a staffer checked my room and found me passed out on the bed, covered in blood.
The panicked employee called an ambulance. They started treating me in the ER at a regular hospital, but once my identity came out, they transferred me here to the Hunter hospital.
That’s how I ended up comatose in a Hunter-exclusive hospital, only waking up about a week later.
And the very first thing I saw? Pine Cone the nurse’s beaming face.
It was so eerily similar to what happened two weeks ago that for a split second, I thought everything since returning to Korea had been a dream.
But no—my trash status window was still right there.
Player Name: Wandering Pilgrim
LV. 79
Trait: Piercing Talon
Class: Hero
HP: 40
Strength: 35
Agility: 25
Mana: 750
Skills: Unavailable
Sure, the numbers had crept up a tiny bit—like ant tears—but it didn’t change a thing. Nothing worked.
The more I looked, the more hopeless it seemed.
My level hadn’t reset, either. I’d taken down an S-rank boss monster, the Lich, but I still couldn’t level up.
In other words, my stats were lowbie trash, but the EXP needed for a level-up was endgame high. A terrifying mismatch.
Is it even possible to level like this?
At least the good news was that passing out cold for a full week meant the Cloak Honoring the Hero’s cooldown was almost over.
The problem? The aftereffects were worse than expected. If I had to spend a week bedridden every time I used it, that’d seriously mess up my plans.
I was stewing over my hopeless stats when I heard movement from beyond the curtain strung up for privacy in the six-bed room.
“Ye-na? It’s Pine Cone. Mind if I pull back the curtain?”
What’s this about?
I answered hesitantly.
“Uh, sure. What’s up?”
The curtain parted, and Pine Cone poked her head in. She smiled brightly when she saw my face.
“Phew, glad you’re looking better!”
She wasn’t in her nurse uniform but casual clothes, which made her look even younger—like a college kid wandering the campus, getting pitched TOEIC books.
I’d been prescribed potions and an IV, so I was feeling much improved. I nodded.
“Yeah, I think I could check out right now if I had to.”
“Hehe, awesome!”
She grinned like it was her own discharge. Guess that’s just her personality.
“But no doing a hundred squats or anything. Your attending doc said you should be good to go soon anyway. She’ll tell you all about it during evening rounds later.”
“Oh, thanks.”
It was a nice surprise running into Pine Cone like this. Super convenient having her look out for me.
So, discharge tomorrow? Perfect, since I had a pile of stuff waiting.
“That why you stopped by?”
“You can drop the formal talk, seriously. I’m on day shift today and about to clock out, so I just wanted to say hi before I go. Won’t see you for a while after you leave tomorrow…”
Pine Cone took a deep breath, then asked cautiously.
“Mind if I get your number?”
I’d thought it before, but she had this habit of treating even tiny things super seriously.
I held out my phone.
“Here, punch it in. I’ll call you so you have mine.”
“Whoa, thanks!”
She practically bounced with joy, said her goodbyes, and left—promising to stay in touch.
It wasn’t a big deal giving her my number. Handy to have someone with healing skills on speed dial.
Truth be told, I’d been pretty thrown when I first saw her yesterday.
Just a week ago, she’d been working at a convalescent hospital in Wonju, Gangwon-do. Why was she suddenly in Seoul?
“Hunter hospitals in Seoul are always short-staffed, so they recruit year-round. I had some connections, sure… and I get headhunted sometimes.”
Her answer was straightforward when I asked. I just nodded along, but she added one more thing.
“I wanted to do what I could! Seeing you gave me the push I needed, Ye-na.”
I think I mumbled something like, “Oh… yeah.”
No clue what she meant by me inspiring her… Wait, didn’t I chew her out once for digging in the dirt or something…?
Luckily, she’d been nothing but nice since then—no pushiness, no pressure.
If she’d come on too strong, she’d have gotten a fist to the face. But Pine Cone was harmless as they come.
She’d only visited twice outside of rounds, yesterday and today. And even then, she was busy—usually just a quick chat before dipping.
Her check-ins were always stuff like this:
“Ye-na, you eat yet? Hospital food’s gotta suck. I’ll help you get outta here ASAP…”
My phone buzzed. Who’s this? Oh, Pine Cone.
She’d barely left the room before texting. Nothing major.
Ye-na! It’s Pine Cone ^0^ Take care, and good luck with discharge tomorrow!
Came with a cute puppy emoticon. I started typing a reply, then remembered someone I actually needed to contact.
“Oh, right.”
Lee Woo-yeon.
I’d just remembered from that community post earlier that I needed to hit him up, but Pine Cone popping in had made me forget.
Two reasons to reach out.
First: Dealing with the items I got from beating the Lich.
‘Wraith’s Staff’ and ‘Wraith’s Crown.’
They’d fetch a nice price, but anyone could tell they were drops from whoever carried the raid. Big red flag.
Selling them at the Hunter Store would draw way too much suspicion. So, I figured I’d ask Lee Woo-yeon to handle it.
No idea if he’d agree, but he was the only Hunter who knew my secret and was keeping it. Nothing left to expose, so no harm in asking.
Second: Get the scoop on what happened after the Dungeon Break a week ago.
I’d seen the shattered system message—and Optatio. Optatio might’ve been some System glitch just for me, but that broken message? Lee Woo-yeon probably saw it too.
I had my own takeaways from the System message, sure, but I wanted his take as someone active in Korea. His perspective might differ.
Couldn’t miss even the tiniest clue if I wanted a way back to Tartarus.
I clenched my fist.
If my body had been normal, I’d have called already. Damn this useless hunk of junk.
Mind racing, I hopped out of bed.
To contact Lee Woo-yeon, I needed an item—so off to somewhere quiet.
I headed to the hospital rooftop, a sky garden. Still daytime, but empty—probably the cold.
A chill wind slipped through my thin gown, goosebumping my arms as I pulled out the item. A tiny blue gem earring appeared.
I held it up to the sunlight, and it sparkled.
Hm, looks ordinary. I checked the System details.
- Blue Bond Earrings: When a pair is shared and worn, allows communication with the other wearer. Conversations appear as System messages.
Same deal as the contact items back in Tartarus.
I double-checked for onlookers, then quietly drew the Apex Light Sword.
The blade slid free—pure white and translucent.
Tensing a bit, I touched the earring to the blade. Nothing happened.
“Hm.”
No curse, looks like.
The Apex Light Sword needed class correction to evolve into a holy sword, but even as-is, it could detect basic curses.
No change meant the earring was clean.
A top-tier curse might slip by, but basic checks were a must.
Not that I distrusted Lee Woo-yeon—it was just habit. I put on the earring, and a message popped up.
- You have used the Blue Bond Earrings!
- Confirming other party’s intent…
- Other party’s intent confirmed!
Just like a phone call.
I waited for Lee Woo-yeon’s message. Soon, white text floated in the air.
―Oh, full recovery in a week? Took you long enough.
No voice, no face, but that one line conjured his smug mug.
Ugh, wanna punch him…
Still annoying, but I did owe him.
No mention of “Rank 1” anywhere in the news after the Dungeon Break.
Plenty of witnesses, so rumors were inevitable—but I hadn’t expected him to quash them entirely.
I wasn’t ungrateful, so I went straight.
“Yeah, thanks to you. Checked the news. No word about me. Appreciate it.”
― …I was just ribbing you for going dark so long, but you really took a whole week? What the hell? Where are you?
Huh, didn’t expect that. I froze, silent.
Wait, ribbing?
No idea how he took my pause, but messages flooded in nonstop.
― You looked fine on the outside, and you’ve got your reasons, so I let it slide—but if I’d known, I’d have told you to hold off a bit.
― That serious and you didn’t say? No potions?
― Where are you now? Still recovering?
― If you don’t wanna say where, fine—but at least let me hook you up with potions? I’m worried.
“Hold up. Calm down. I’m fully recovered.”
I panicked, cutting off the barrage. Felt like one slip-up meant a hundred lectures. Before his next message, I rushed in.
“Anyway, got a favor to ask. When you free?”
I expected a quick reply, but nothing for a while.
What, busy? After what felt like five minutes of silence, it finally came.
― Tomorrow, 4 PM?
Perfect timing, intentional or not. Discharge in the morning, official Hunter registration, then meet.
“Cool. Gangnam Station?”
― Fine by me, but it’s too close to guild turf—too many eyes. Better somewhere secluded?
“Yeah, where then?”
― If you’re okay with it, come to my place.
I stared at the message, going quiet.
His place…?