Chapter 69: The Savior - The Next Day

The next day, we all gathered in front of that park—the place where Kim Chaerin had vanished. Our group consisted of me, Han Yuseol, Ryu Sea-ah, and Jeong Yujin. Among us, Ryu Sea-ah, who had finished preparing first, looked at me and nodded solemnly.

"We're ready. Please, Hayang."

"Got it."

Our plan was simple. First, I'd use my skill to send Ryu Sea-ah to the side of her missing guild members. Once she rescued them, I'd immediately head into the gate with Jeong Yujin. Meanwhile, Han Yuseol would join the on-site investigation team and, following my instructions, capture that bastard Bae Deokjun. Straightforward, but efficient.

"Well, just in case the skill doesn't activate... don't be too disappointed, okay?"

"Don't worry. I'd be bummed, sure, but right now, all I care about is saving as many comrades as possible."

"Phew."

The skill hadn't activated. That would mean the three who entered the gate were dead. Knowing that, I'd warned her in advance. Fortunately, Ryu Sea-ah seemed mentally prepared, showing no signs of panic, so I let out a relieved sigh. Then, picturing the face of the guild member who'd been kidnapped into the gate first—the one whose photo Ryu Sea-ah had shown me yesterday—I opened my mouth.

"Full troop teleport."

"Kim Chaerin."

As I spoke the name, a familiar woman's face appeared in my mind, and it prompted me for confirmation again.

"Ah...! Y-Yeah! N-No, not me, someone else..."

Could it be? My voice rose with excitement, but I forced it down and answered as firmly as I could, only to belatedly add a dumb explanation. Then, as if responding to my words, a small portal ripped open beside me with a low hum.

"Hayang, is this...?"

"Yes! It's a portal. Looks like Chaerin is still alive. Hurry and go, Sea-ah."

"Ah!"

Her guild member was alive. Spotting that hope, joy lit up Ryu Sea-ah's eyes, which had been anxious just moments ago.

"Thank you! Hayang. Even if it's just to repay this favor, I'll definitely bring our guild member back."

"Yes! Come back together—both of you!"

She bowed at a perfect ninety degrees toward me, then stepped into the portal without a second's hesitation. Her pitch-black silhouette from behind felt so bright and full of hope. Watching her, my own hands clenched tight with determination.

Smooth strokes—then I felt a hand gently petting my head. I turned in a daze to find Han Yuseol looking down at me with a kind smile. Jeong Yujin stood beside her.

"Don't worry too much, Master. She's not quite on my level, but she's still an exceptional hunter. She'll definitely rescue her comrade and return."

"Yeah. An erosion-grade gate is a piece of cake for her. She might clear it in ten minutes flat."

"R-Really? Hehe..."

Yeah, she'll come back for sure. She has to.

"Haa, haa...!"

Deep inside a gloomy cave, a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠woman with brown bobbed hair gasped for breath. Her name was Kim Chaerin, a fairly seasoned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠B-grade hunter with the Black Rose Guild.

One day, she'd opened her eyes to find herself thrown into a gate empty-handed. She had a pretty good idea who was behind it. There was only one person capable of such a stunt who held a grudge against her.

Vendetta. And probably Bae Deokjun among them.

"You trash bastard...! You really had to do this even to someone who barely escaped?!"

She'd once been dragged into Vendetta Guild without knowing why. There, she'd been subjected to drug experiments. At first, she hadn't even realized it was drugs. They'd just handed her something they called a "buff potion" before heading into a gate, and she'd taken it like usual. It wasn't completely ineffective, either. If it had been straight poison, she would've noticed right away.

The problem started after she began taking it. Little by little, her body started feeling off. She'd reported it to the guild, but they'd played dumb, of course. She hadn't suspected the guild back then. But once Vendetta's infamy spread and the illegal awakening drugs surfaced publicly, she'd taken action.

More precisely, they had. Her two younger sisters in the guild, Kim Hyewon and Baek Seunga—they'd been in it together.

Pretending to be ordinary guild members on the surface, the three had secretly investigated from within, unearthing their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠secrets. The info and evidence they'd gathered became the key to dismantling Vendetta. For that merit, they'd caught Ryu Sea-ah's eye and joined Black Rose.

'Ha, thinking back on the old days means this is it, huh.'

Kim Chaerin gave a bitter smile as she scanned the dim cave. It had been nearly a month. With no items or gear, she'd sharpened nearby stones into weapons and lured monsters one by one to bash them to death, surviving this long. Drinking tree sap, tearing flesh from monster corpses, even eating raw fish caught by the water because there was no time to build a fire—it was all firsts for her.

But she was reaching her limit. Wounds from battles with monsters weren't healing easily. The blood dripping from her head wouldn't stop. Worst of all, her body, addicted to the illegal awakening drug, was falling apart without the periodic treatments from Black Rose. She could barely hold herself together.

She'd endured this far on sheer willpower alone. The burning desire to return to her guild family and shove it in that rotten bastard's face.

But it seemed the world had despairs you couldn't overcome, no matter how hard you clung to hope.

"This is bad... My eyes... are closing..."

Blink, blink—her eyelids fluttered slower and slower. A ringing filled her head. Probably the aftermath of jumping from a high spot while fleeing a monster moments ago.

"What do I do... Master must be so worried..."

She'd be sad. More than anyone, she cherished and loved her guild members—no, her family. If Chaerin didn't return, that person would hurt.

That's why she wanted to go back. Not for her own worthless life, but because she couldn't bear to see her savior grieve.

"Sorry, Master..."

But regretfully, it was time for goodbyes. She wouldn't be able to wipe away the tears from those eyes.

'It's warm.'

The cave's chill air had felt so biting until moments ago, but now it was strangely gentle, lulling her to sleep. Death was this peaceful, huh. With that thought, she tried to let go of the stone spear in her hand.

"Damn it! Chaerin!"

"Ah...?"

A sudden voice made her head tilt up slightly. Through the hazy light at the cave entrance, something—no, someone—was rushing toward her.

A monster? Even a peaceful death wasn't allowed? Huh, but she looked familiar...

Shaking off the fog in her mind, she focused her blurring vision. And then—

Grab—!

"Chaerin! Are you conscious?!"

"Ma...ster...?"

It wasn't the tempting warmth that had lured her to the afterlife. This was real warmth, pulling her back to the living world.

Ryu Sea-ah. The face Kim Chaerin had been thinking of so desperately was standing there, proud and tall.

"Ugh... She should be out by now..."

"It's not even been an hour yet, Master. Please calm down and wait patiently."

"Yeees."

Han Yuseol handed me a chocolate latte she'd bought from a nearby café. I slurped it up—sluuuurp—but it didn't give me my usual energy boost or mood lift. Still, chocolate lattes are tasty. If the situation weren't so tense, I'd have savored it more.

"She'll come out with her for sure. She's ranked 7th for a reason—a powerhouse on par with our Master."

"Wait, she's that strong?"

"Yup."

I blinked in surprise at Jeong Yujin's words. I knew Choi Geonwoo was S-grade number 3. Someone comparable to him? I glanced at Han Yuseol, tilting my head questioningly, and she nodded while wiping whipped cream from my mouth.

"It's true. Rankings are based on cumulative gate exploration data, not pure strength. From what I know, after founding Black Rose, Ryu Sea-ah focused more on guild management."

"So she cherishes her guild that much?"

"That could be one way to interpret it."

Seeing Han Yuseol's gentle smile finally eased my mind. Yeah, she seemed like a really good person. She must treat her guild members like family.

"But I'm curious—who's S-grade number 1?"

"Number 1... You mean the Demon God? Well, I don't know the details myself."

The Demon God, huh. Sounds super impressive. Has "god" right in the name, so they must be crazy strong.

"No idea here either. I even asked Master once out of curiosity, but even she didn't know much."

"Shrouded in mystery, huh?"

"It's veil, Master."

"Ahem!"

V-Veil or veil, same difference. English pronunciation trips me up sometimes.

"So that person's the strongest in Korea?"

"Yes, not just in Korea—they reign as the world's top hunter. Rumor has it they solo-cleared erosion-grade gates back when they were B-grade."

"Eek...!"

Whoa, that's insane! But Han Yuseol was the first to solo-clear a collapse-grade gate.

"Who'd win between you and her, Yuseol?"

"Hehe, hard to say. In the past, I'd have admitted defeat outright, but with Master's blessing now, I can't say for sure. I have no intention of losing, at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠least."

"Wooow!"

As expected of Han Yuseol! Back then, she didn't even have her unique skill. If they fought now, she might even be stronger. Yup, yup—Master of our guild! And I'm the grand master above her!

"Hayang, feeling less tense now?"

"Huh? Oh..."

"...Sorry. Guess you just forgot for a sec. My bad for bringing it up."

"Ugh, no."

Right. We were waiting for Ryu Sea-ah. My shoulders slumped again. Almost an hour had passed. Han Yuseol said we could wait up to three hours easily, but with lives on the line, how could I not worry?

"H-Hey, what if she exits somewhere else? Maybe we came to the wrong spot..."

I couldn't hold back my anxiety and blurted it out. This was definitely the gate where Kim Chaerin vanished, but you never know—maybe the exit spawned elsewhere.

"If so, they'd have contacted us."

"R-Right... yeah."

But Han Yuseol snuffed out my flicker of hope instantly. I pouted, deflated, when—

Ziiing—a rift suddenly tore open in the air. The exact same type of crack caught on CCTV when Kim Chaerin disappeared.

Eh? My eyes widened, and that's when...

"...We're back. Sorry if I kept you waiting. Didn't mean to worry you."

Ryu Sea-ah emerged from the gate, carrying a woman on her back, and waved at us cheerfully.