The Lizardman's Swamp (1)

"How about we try tackling a D-rank gate soon?"

"Huh?"

At Shin Jiyeon's serious suggestion, Park Jihun tilted his head in confusion.

"Already D-rank? Isn't that rushing things?"

Park Jihun remained somewhat skeptical. Of course, D-rank was definitely within reach. Even if the opponents were all male and he only received the 1.55x effect from his skill, his stats would still hover around D-rank level. With his Stun and Shrink abilities, combat would be far easier for him than for others. Besides, he wasn't going in alone. He had the reliable familiars Briana and Kar, plus Shin Jiyeon as his ultimate backup who would step in during truly dangerous moments. After all, Briana had just ranked up to D and evolved into a Hobgoblin.

Even so, leaping straight into a D-rank gate came with a few problems.

"People might just assume I'm riding the bus in a D-rank gate, but..."

They would need to fill a six-person party for D-rank, but the two missing slots could be loosely filled with members from Another Guild. With Shin Jiyeon present and the guild members having decent ranks, everyone would simply think the F-rank Park Jihun was just along for the ride. No one would start suspecting that he might actually be strong or that his rank was higher than F.

But the real issue came after that.

"A D-rank gate might spawn a beautiful female orc or a female lizardman, you know."

If Park Jihun tamed even a single D-rank familiar, the narrative would shift completely. It was common knowledge that lizardmen and orcs were D-rank or higher monsters. If he brought one out as a familiar?

"An insane tamer who can subdue even higher-ranking monsters. Or maybe the guy is actually D-rank himself. People would assume one or the other."

Exactly. They had gone through all the trouble of cooperating with the Association to cement the image that 'Park Jihun is just an F-rank no matter how you look at it.' All of that could crumble in an instant. His entire plan to hide his power, endure until he was strong enough to fight back against those targeting him, would turn to dust.

"Come on, we can just go in secret," Shin Jiyeon said with a casual shrug, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"You think that's easy?"

Park Jihun let out a heavy sigh and glanced out the office window. Down below the building, a swarm of obvious reporters clutching cameras and microphones buzzed around like flies.

There had been just as many camped out in front of Shin Jiyeon's house. They had called the Hunter Association beforehand to clear them out before leaving.

"Reporters follow me everywhere. The second we enter a D-rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gate and come back out, they'll know."

As Park Jihun said, trying to do anything secretly was impossible with the press tailing them. He, his familiars Kar and Briana, and even Shin Jiyeon had become full-blown celebrities after the department store incident.

"Come on, we have an amazing collaborator on our side," Shin Jiyeon said, tapping her phone pointedly.

"Ah!"

Park Jihun snapped his fingers, a bright idea clearly hitting him.

"Ah, yes. Branch manager, it's me, Park Jihun."

He immediately dialed the Hunter Association.

The Hunter Association had leaked the schedule ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon's party. The destination was an E-rank gate located ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠somewhere in Uijeongbu. It seemed their target this time was the 'kobolds' that mainly appeared in mine-type fields.

Because Uijeongbu was a bit of a drive, people might normally wonder why Another Guild, which was based in Bucheon, would bother going all the way there. But the moment the rumor spread that Park Jihun was going to tame another familiar, the reporters got excited and raced toward Uijeongbu.

Rather than following his party from the guild office, it was far more important to wait at the gate closest to the location and be the first to capture footage of Park Jihun emerging with a new familiar.

"...Looks like they're all gone."

Park Jihun, who had been watching the scene downstairs from the office, let out a small chuckle.

"As expected of the Association's information network. Their work is flawless."

The leak of his party's schedule had been intentionally requested by Park Jihun himself. Naturally, the information was completely fake. The gate his group had actually reserved through the Association was a D-rank gate in Incheon, not Uijeongbu. They had planted the false information specifically to shake off the reporters.

The journalists, who couldn't even imagine that the Association would leak fake data at Park Jihun's request, all rushed to Uijeongbu. Everything had gone exactly as Park Jihun and Shin Jiyeon planned.

"Thank you. I'll leave the paperwork to you as well, branch manager."

Park Jihun had called Lee Hyeondong, the Bupyeong branch manager, to express his gratitude. The 'paperwork' referred to adding two extra names to the official party roster so that four people entering a D-rank gate wouldn't spark any controversy about special treatment.

Those two names belonged to off-duty hunters from Another Guild who had volunteered for exactly this purpose. They had been given a modest fee and hush money. Since they were guild members loyal to Shin Jiyeon and had received payment, she had assured him there was no chance of the information leaking.

"There, problem solved! Let's get going."

"Yeah, yeah."

Park Jihun nodded and stood up.

"What kind of enemies will we be facing this time?" Briana asked politely as she rose as well.

"Grr! Krrrl!"

Kar stood up too, tail wagging.

Recalling what the branch manager had told him earlier, Park Jihun answered, "It's a D-rank gate called Lizardman's Swamp. The monsters that appear are lizardmen. It's a swamp field, so apparently your feet sink into the mud. He said to be careful."

Lizardmen were a demi-human race that looked like a half-reptile, half-human hybrid. And naturally, the higher-ranking variants... were basically just humans with a few scales.

"Haah... haah... Lizardman girls with scales covering only the vital areas...!!"

"Krr... But isn't it hotter when they're wearing armor that only covers their arms and legs? You strip the armor off and suddenly you've got pink nipples...!"

"Huk! As expected of you, Seonbae!! You really get it. Still, we absolutely need to see both the pussy and the nipples, right?!"

The two perverts immediately launched into their usual degenerate conversation, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Lizardmen, huh... Since they could become new comrades, I should look into them a bit."

Briana, completely used to their antics, paid them no mind and began searching for information on lizardmen using Park Jihun's phone. She had become quite skilled with the device at some point.

"Khaaaang~!"

Kar, who had gotten excited thinking they were going to fight, saw the conversation veer off in a weird direction again. With a familiar sigh, she curled her tail over her stomach, leaned back in her chair, and let out a massive yawn.

It was an incredibly peaceful and familiar scene inside the guild master's office at Another Guild.

Chen Mei was giving her report to Heixiaohui's guildmaster, Lung Xiao, via video call. The main point of this report was that because that fool Gu Mansik had thrown around the name of the Black Society, attention had focused on them. For now, they needed to refrain from reckless movements and simply watch how things developed.

"Y-yes, Guildmaster."

Chen Mei's voice trembled faintly. That tone, that manner of speech, it only appeared when Lung Xiao was displeased.

"......"

Gu Mansik had noticed the Black Society's entry and tried to use their name to survive. That was what Chen Mei had reported to Lung Xiao. Yet Lung Xiao spoke as if he already knew the hidden truth, that Chen Mei had actually asked that inferior race for cooperation, and when it failed, she had cut off the tail to save herself.

"...I will be more careful in the future."

Chen Mei apologized in a thin, trembling voice. There was no point in trying to deceive him further when he clearly already knew everything.

He didn't need to say the rest. A second mistake would not be tolerated.

"Yes, I understand, Lord Lung Xiao."

His words meant to stop talking about observing the situation and bring Park Jihun immediately.

"....Yes."

With Chen Mei's reply, the video call ended.

"...Haa."

As soon as the call disconnected, Chen Mei let out a deep sigh. She had already received a warning from Lee Jeonghyeon. On top of that, if the arrested Gu Mansik opened his mouth about the Black Society, Chen Mei would instantly become a target of the Korean Hunter Association and the major guilds, whether his claims were true or false.

In a situation like this, he was telling her not to wait. Wasn't he basically ordering her to charge in headfirst? If she approached carelessly and caused a diplomatic incident, only she would suffer. Not to mention that psychotic Lee Jeonghyeon might hold a grudge and do something terrible to her.

But.

'The guildmaster is far more terrifying.'

More than anything, Chen Mei feared Lung Xiao's rage. Diplomatic issues could be annoying, but they could somehow be talked through. Lee Jeonghyeon wasn't that threatening once she returned to China. After all, he was a hunter with influence only in Korea.

However, the moment Lung Xiao became disappointed and furious with her, she would have nowhere left to stand in this world. The Black Society's retribution would follow her to the ends of the earth.

"...Park Jihun."

With no other choice, Chen Mei decided to meet him in person. She knew full well what kind of consequences this move would bring, but it was still better than being chased forever by the Black Society.

So she headed toward the gate in Uijeongbu where Park Jihun's party was supposedly going.

...Completely unaware that Park Jihun wasn't there at all.