Oryukdo Gate
“Are you trying to check Kalid’s nostril with your skeleton soldiers?”
In truth, Kalid never struck first at humans. But the moment anything so much as twitched in front of him, he slaughtered without mercy. Checking Kalid’s nostril was no different from poking a sleeping tiger’s whiskers. It was downright dangerous.
- Yeah. That’s right.
“And what if Kalid suddenly goes berserk? The Great Cataclysm will begin. The calm of Oryukdo Gate will shatter. There are already hundreds of hunters at the gate entrance alone. Even if we all pool our strength, it won’t be enough. What if the raid fails? It will trigger a Gate Break. If Kalid rampages outside, Busan as a city might become a wasteland before the day is even over. It’s terrifying. Hundreds of casualties? No, tens of thousands. Kalid is merciful only because he’s an A-class boss monster. He’s the kind of creature that deserves the label of apocalypse-level threat.
- I’m only going to check the nostril.
“And then what? If Bae Hyeongsin is hiding in Kalid’s nostril, what are you going to do? You’re going to catch him, right? How do you plan to get him out?
- I’ll figure something out.
The risk is too great.
Would you burn down three thatched huts just to catch one flea?
“I’m not doing it. If something goes wrong, it’s my responsibility.
- I’ll give you five hundred million won in reward money for catching Bae Hyeongsin.
“Enough. Even if the bounty is fifty billion, who would take that risk?
- If you won’t, I will.
A burning, obsessive light flickered in his eyes.
“Why are you willing to risk everything like that?
- Five years ago my wife was killed by his terror. I’m taking revenge for my family.
The usually sly Kim Taesu looked up at the sky.
My heart dropped. The endless despair and guilt his mother must have felt when she passed away seemed to come through in his expression. Her death had been an accident. But if she had been murdered like his wife… I would have sought revenge too.
The refusal came easily. I felt like an idiot for suggesting Kalid might be hiding in the nostril. By now Kim Taesu was completely hooked on the idea and had convinced himself it was true. Someone who had chased shadows for years carried an iron resolve.
“Then there’s one condition.
- Anything. If you help me find Bae Hyeongsin, I’ll grant you any wish.
I stated my terms.
“My original goal was to summon three skeleton soldiers. If the Fibonacci sequence skill applies, my skill level needs to be four. If you help, I’d appreciate it. And for the skeleton soldiers to grow stronger, I need to grow stronger myself… so please let me level up too.
- You’re asking me to help you pick fleas?
“Yes. Even if it looks insignificant, for us low-tier newbies it’s not easy to level up. The skeleton soldiers fake death, but I can’t even reach this place. I’d get eaten by a frog on the way.
- Hmm… fine, that’s fair.
* * *
The next day, at the appointed hour.
Taesu was waiting at Oryukdo Gate. Unlike yesterday, he carried a large backpack. He had clearly stockpiled supplies to last several days.
“Tess-hyung.”
“Yo, never thought we’d meet like this.”
He offered me a handshake. His height matched mine, but his shoulders were at least a hand broader. If we hadn’t shared a little trust beforehand, I doubt we would have even crossed eyes.
I removed my helmet and shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you, niak!”
“You annoying little brat.”
“Uwa, it hurts! Does the police get to use violence against citizens like this?!”
“I lured you in and played dead? Didn’t I kick you awake a few times last night?”
A gut-punch?!
Damn it, was all this groundwork for a beating?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please forgive me!”
Taesu laughed and let go of my hand. The pain was bone-crushing, but he was holding back. The agony faded quickly.
“This is the police? A thug!”
“What, can’t say a word to hyung?”
“Hyung’s a total fake. I’m the one who would snap his little brother’s bones the moment they meet.”
“Hehe, exaggerating? Did it hurt?”
“How could it not hurt! Just wait. When I get stronger, I’ll beat you up first.”
He was still seething about the dead-fake-death strategy Hansik had used on him and kept kicking the blanket, but I was already imagining a billion skeleton soldiers in my head and drifting off to sleep without a care. If the Fibonacci sequence applied to my skill, at level forty my skeleton soldier count would exceed one billion. Who could stop me then?
“What? You’re gonna beat me up? What the hell…”
“Uwaaaaak!”
He playfully wrapped me in a headlock.
Anyway, as strangers we entered the gate together.
Oryukdo Gate
“Ooh.”
It felt like logging into an online game for the first time. Hunters walked around carrying weapons and gear like game items.
“Yo, Tess-hyung. Business not good lately? You looked like you came in yesterday too.”
Then a middle-aged man approached familiarly, offered a handshake. It was different from the one Taesu and I had shared. Several blue checks were tucked between our clasped hands.
‘Bribe?’
“Cheolgeun-hyung, how’s business lately?”
“Always repairing weapons. Who’s this? Hunterpol newbie?”
“No, just a newb and a noob-man.”
“You look fresh off the boat. Here, take my card. If you need weapons or repairs later, come to me. If you mention Tess-hyung, I’ll take good care of you.”
Little brat?
Even calling me a kid was generous. I was only in my late twenties, but in Korean years I was already thirty. I was not the type to be treated like a kid.
“No, I’m not a kid! And my age is now thirty!”
“Then why are you still a newbie?”
“Exactly. In this world, level is everything.”
He handed over the card and left. The card was quite luxurious, with [Breath of Steel] written on it along with his personal information. Name: Kim Cheolgeun. Contact and email. Below that, densely packed lines: custom weapon and armor crafting, magic weapon reinforcement and enchantment, no cash accepted, magic stone transactions.
“Why would a blacksmith give bribes?”
“That guy doesn’t pay taxes. Cash and cards aren’t accepted; he only uses magic stones as currency. When needed, he converts them to cash. Taxes aren’t collected. He’s basically collecting them for the government this way.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“Haha, we can’t touch him. No records. He just says he collected the magic stones himself from hunting. How do you prove otherwise? No evidence. Of course, if you really want to, you can grab a few, but the more you try, the deeper he hides underground.”
This world belonged only to hunters. Magic stones had higher value per unit weight than money, so a natural underground economy had formed.
“Does the government know?”
“They know, but it doesn’t really harm the actual currency economy. After all, magic stones are consumables used by hunters for leveling up. And only hunters can obtain them, so what can be done?”
The main uses of magic stones, which were worth more than gold, fell into three categories. First, crafting magic equipment. Second, reinforcing it. Third, absorbing its power. They were even used like game mana potions for convenience. Advanced technology to convert their stored power into eco-friendly energy was being researched, but supply shortages kept it in the experimental stage.
Plus, the government-run magic stone exchange had a fifteen percent spread when buying or selling, so private hunter transactions were far more active.
“The world has changed, but the government can’t keep up with Awakening.”
Of course, large corporate guilds like Babylon were legally operated, but the government’s reach didn’t touch the little street vendors.
After that, Taesu collected from the small merchants at Oryukdo Gate. Seeing a hundred-thousand-won blue check, I imagined he earned thousands. Making money was too easy. I felt guilty, but what could I do? The Hunterpol agents were few and far between… I just looked away.
“Well, shall we go?”
“Yeah.”
Once had been hard, twice was simple. Kalid was exactly where he had been yesterday. Perilok greeted us without fail. Actually facing Perilok made the hair on my neck stand straight with terror.
Without Taesu, I would have been no match for the average civilian-level Kalid. Of course, paying one B-class hunter as a disposable scout for the low-tier expedition would have worked, but that alone would have cost a million won. I wasn’t used to that kind of money yet.
“Hmm?”
Kalid was poking his head out and scanning the surroundings. His face and body shape were almost identical to the mythical Black Tortoise illustration. Turtle head and body, but neck and tail long like a snake.
“It’s Kalid’s feeding time. Don’t provoke him, just lie down and wait.”
“Yes.”
Kwoong-
In the blink of an eye, Kalid’s massive head lunged somewhere. His throat quivered as he swallowed a monster whole. It was gruesome. Anything that touched him was a fly. Even B-class monsters were nothing more than insects to him. He cleared them away like trash and retreated back into his shell.
“Let’s go.”
Kim Taesu’s forehead was covered in sweat even as he spoke boldly. My conclusion after seeing Kalid in action was simple.
“No matter how you look at it, Bae Hyeongsin probably isn’t in Kalid’s nostril. He’s moving around too violently.”
Now it was obvious.
“You won’t know until you check with your own eyes. And I looked it up online yesterday. The sea turtle’s nasal cavity is pretty spacious. Because of all the sea trash, plastic bottles are filling up the nostril.”
“So what’s different?”
Confirmation bias. Whenever you believe one idea, other information starts looking like it supports it. Taesu was completely under that spell.
“We’re hunting fleas the same way as yesterday, right?”
“Yes. Hansik and I will pick the fleas. You just burn them.”
“You knew this and brought soju and side dishes today.”
“What?”
Taesu grinned and shook the backpack he was carrying. The clinking of metal on metal and the sloshing of liquid were strangely soothing.
“The taste of grilled squid is incredible.”
“Hoo…”
“Why? You’re not eating?”
“No, I brought some too. Rice and lettuce.”
“Hehe.”
A light, cheerful mood from the start.
After climbing onto Kalid’s shell like yesterday, Hansik and I began digging with our shovels.
Clang-!
It wasn’t easy…
Clang-!
But we had to.
It was his honey, after all.