Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Strongest Bodyguard in History [Item: Traces of the Ancient Desert]
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[Rank: B]
[Type: Medium]
[Description: A key that can uncover the secrets of a hidden ruin.]
[Effect 1: You can open the dungeon, ‘Ancient Desert.’]
[Effect 2: This item is bound to Hunter, ‘Ju Dong-hoon.’]
“Hmm?”
I clamped my mouth shut and read the item description over and over.
Four words stood out.
Medium, key, Ancient Desert, and bound.
From the rough context.
‘Linked dungeon…… something like that?’
Truth be told, I had no idea what it really was.
It wouldn’t even make the news.
No guild sensitive to information would release something that reeked of ‘hidden’ to the public.
‘Ha.’
Being solo sure sucks.
Having to unravel all this info bit by bit.
‘If only someone could just tell me about this stuff.’
I needed a senior.
Someone who’d gone through the whole process, like a ranker?
“Hmm?”
That’s when it happened.
As if heaven had answered my burning desire, someone appeared before me.
Sss!
Hair fluttering in the wind, carrying a sweet peony scent.
And a familiar aura of death.
“Dark Emperor?”
My eyes went wide.
Why was Gi So-yul here?
Holy crap, so the Shadow Squad wasn’t hallucinating.
She had actually come?
“Ahem, long time no see.”
Our eyes met squarely.
In that instant, a shiver ran through me.
‘Yeah, she’s definitely different.’
You see as much as you know.
She seemed even more colossal now that I knew she’d grown a bit stronger.
A powerhouse that dozens of A-rank hunters couldn’t touch.
Her name? A ranker!
“I said I’d give you some time to sort things out and explain, right? You’ve been hitting dungeons and seem to have things wrapped up, so I came. Figured you’d never come find me otherwise.”
“Y-Yeah.”
I felt a pang of guilt and nodded awkwardly.
What do I do?
Truth was, I hadn’t decided anything yet.
Should I tell her straight up, or fudge it a little?
And if I fudged it, how much?
‘No?’
A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘Do I even need to lie?’
Gi So-yul was one of the top 1,000 strongest hunters in the world.
A ranker.
Whether a hunter like me got a ‘stroke of luck’ or not.
She could crush me with a single finger.
‘If I lie to her and she finds out?’
My body shuddered.
She was the Dark Emperor.
Queen of assassins.
I could get kidnapped and tortured all night somewhere.
Or my throat could be slit in my sleep without a sound.
“…….”
And look at that expression.
Stone-cold, and pretty damn menacing!
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that again? You did it last time too.”
Her brows furrowed.
“Huh? What’s my face like?”
Sweat beading on my forehead, I asked back, and she answered instantly.
“No idea what it is, but it looks seriously impure. Whatever you’re thinking…… better judge wisely.”
Something.
Her half-threat of a reply made my shoulders twitch.
She let out a faint sigh at my reaction and parted her lips.
“Phew, they say life is a journey that starts with connections and ends with them. The quality of your life probably depends on what bonds you build.”
It was clear she meant: she, a ranker, was respecting a scrub like me.
So judge well when I treat you right.
Depending on my answer.
My life could turn even more positive.
Of course, it could go negative too.
“I’ve only watched you for a short time, but I remember you weren’t an idiot. My instincts are right, yeah?”
“Yes?”
“Simply put, I hope you make a wise choice.”
“…….”
As expected.
Ranker vibes don’t fade.
Threats this classy.
Gulp.
I swallowed and made up my mind.
‘Just be honest. That’ll benefit me more.’
Right now, in the hunter world, I was a scrub among scrubs.
Clueless.
A chick that dies if you brush it wrong.
If a chance like this came to build ranker connections?
‘I have to grab it.’
My instincts screamed yes.
Gi So-yul was a tenacious hunter.
If there was an unsolved puzzle, she’d crack it somehow.
If there was a chance to grow stronger, she’d cling to it harder than anyone.
If she knew the Thousand Skill Elder was by my side.
She’d stick with me no matter what.
“Phew, alright, Dark Emperor.”
I nodded and opened my mouth.
“You asked how I cleared that dungeon. And what the reward was?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll tell you everything.”
“Good choice. Glad you’re quick on the uptake.”
She looked satisfied.
I shrugged.
“But.”
“But?”
“I have a condition.”
“……?”
The corner of Gi So-yul’s upturned mouth drooped again.
But I didn’t flinch.
Thinking about it, no need to be scared.
At least until I spilled the ‘stroke of luck’ info from my mouth, she wouldn’t kill me.
“First, protect me until I grow stronger.”
“Protect? What, you owe someone a debt?”
“No, just some harassers.”
The A-rank Shadow Squad had fled.
Criminals like them wouldn’t let me go easy.
“…….”
Gi So-yul fell silent for a moment.
“……And then? You said ‘first,’ so there’s more.”
“Hmm.”
“I can’t commit until I hear it all. I don’t make a habit of breaking promises.”
I nodded slightly.
Fair enough.
Her firm resolve to only say what she could keep actually felt good.
It meant she was trustworthy.
“Since I’m a newbie. When I don’t know something, explain it without going too far. Like this, for example.”
I dangled the golden key I’d gotten earlier, ‘Traces of the Ancient Desert.’
For the first time, her eyes widened.
Her gaze shook; she seemed a bit rattled.
“No way, a medium?”
“Oh, you know it?”
A ranker rattled?
I got a little excited.
Does this thing really have something special?
“You got this from a dungeon?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
Gi So-yul rubbed her chin and hummed.
She pondered briefly, then spoke.
“Phew, you’re incredibly lucky.”
“Lucky?”
“Yeah. The odds of getting a medium from a regular dungeon…… practically zero. Fewer than 100 are known worldwide. And since it’s bound, no trading either.”
“…….”
So.
What is this thing?
“Phew, a medium is a stroke of luck in itself. Dig into it, and linked quests pop up.”
Gi So-yul kept muttering ‘unbelievable’ as she explained.
“And those linked quests keep ranking up, eventually hitting S-grade or higher. Every medium I know did that.”
“……S-grade?”
“It’s what rankers like me hunt for with fire in our eyes.”
“Whoa.”
I was impressed.
No wonder.
For a dungeon that sacrifices someone, the rewards seemed stingy.
Turns out it was dangling something like this.
As my jaw dropped, Gi So-yul nodded.
“Alright, I accept your condition. But I have one too.”
Condition.
“What is it?”
I instinctively pocketed the key.
Bound anyway, so no issue, but still.
Hearing it was precious made me want to.
Gi So-yul stared at me steadily and spoke.
“……Let me monitor your training.”
Her voice was clear.
As if she knew something.
“Monitor?”
“What? To protect you, don’t I have to stick by your side anyway?”
“Hmm, is that how it works?”
“Truth is, I’ve been tracking your energy since before. From after you cleared that deep elder stage until now…… you’ve been growing exponentially. Even today. That’s what intrigues me most. How do you get that strong so fast?”
Her eyes held a mix of longing and obsession.
Interest in the ‘elder’ who’d crushed her so badly?
Or.
Are all rankers like this?
“In return, like I said, I’m willing to introduce you to key connections. Ones that could directly change your life.”
That life-is-connections thing?
Ranker connections did tempt me.
“…….”
I thought for a bit and said.
“To build ties with a ranker over one stroke of luck. I’m honored.”
“Deal then?”
“Yeah, deal.”
That day.
I gained the strongest bodyguard in history.
* * *
Night had fallen before I knew it, growing dim.
Beep beep!
I punched in the code and unlocked the door.
A dingy, cramped semi-basement room came into view.
For some reason, I entered more cautiously than usual.
Because.
I had an unfamiliar guest beside me.
A noble one that didn’t fit this place at all.
“……You’ve been living in a place like this?”
Gi So-yul’s voice from the side.
I swallowed hard.
The atmosphere felt awkward.
“It’s pretty shabby, right? Told you there was no need to follow…….”
“No, I can’t do that. A promise is a promise.”
“Ah, y-yeah…….”
Her cold gaze swept over my room.
Scattered ramen cups and tangled blankets made me cringe.
Ugh, should’ve cleaned up.
Wait.
No!
Who asked her to follow me here?
I have the right to trash my own place.
As I nodded vigorously.
“Phew, no surveillance gear or skills. No D-rank or higher hunters around the building. You’re safe for now.”
“……You checked all that?”
“Of course?”
“No, I mean. You’re amazing.”
Clap clap!
I clapped wildly in my mind.
Fitting for the strongest bodyguard.
“Anyway, residence checked. I’ll stay on the building rooftop for a while. So. Let me know when you head to training tomorrow.”
I’d already explained the whole ‘stroke of luck’ to her.
From the elder’s existence.
To what kind of training I was doing.
Her interest piqued hard; she had no plans to leave my side.
Wanted to watch every bit of my training?
No, anyway.
“Wait. The rooftop? You’re staying there?”
“Yeah, guarding a single building is child’s play for me.”
“No…… well, you’re a ranker, so I guess.”
This woman.
Why so by-the-book?
So during protection, she’s sleeping rough on the roof.
“But that makes me uncomfortable?”
“If I’m fine, it’s fine. Good night.”
Sss!
She vanished in a blink.
Whoa.
My temples throbbed.
A ranker going this far.
Too burdensome.
If her brother Ki Pa-rang found out, wouldn’t he try to kill me?
“Phew.”
Whatever.
What’s it to me?
I didn’t tell her to rough it.
One thing matters.
My shaky safety is now nearly perfect.
‘Shadow Squad…….’
Of course, no plans to leave them be.
‘I’ll pay back what I got.’
My standard doesn’t care about their strength.
The moment my bones can tangle with a ranker.
‘They all die.’
That’ll probably be the Shadow Squad’s official disbandment day.
My vow coiled like a snake deep in my chest.