Chapter 32. Crispy outside, soft inside.
Chapter 32. Crispy outside, soft inside.
"You're here again?"
"Am I not allowed to come?"
"That's not it. It doesn't matter if anyone with a Hunter license enters. It's just that they have to take responsibility for themselves."
What a shitty thing to say right off the bat.
I grumbled to myself while looking at the Association employee waiting in front of the Yaksu-teo Gate. This guy is always here whenever I come. Don't they have shifts or something? I don't care what he looks like, but wouldn't it be so much better if it were a woman? Like, someone who would shout, "Do your best!" from behind every time I go in. Wouldn't that be great?
I felt that would be better than a guy who talks about life and death without any emotion.
The Association employee checked my license just like last time and nodded as if to say I could go in.
"You may enter. The check is complete."
"Yes. Thank you."
"Nothing to thank me for, but you must come back out."
"Excuse me?"
"If there are people who go in and don't come out, it's more stressful than you'd think."
"Ah. Right."
It seemed the Association employee was just as stressed as the hunters.
The inside of the Gate was the same as when I came last time. A forest. A vast forest. Well, it hadn't even been a week, so there was no reason for anything to have changed.
It seemed best to check my equipment first. I was only planning to dig for herbs and head back, but if goblins appeared and I couldn't run, I'd have to fight.
...The urge to just go home was already welling up.
I shook my head to clear my mind of the urge that was creeping up. No. Let's get stronger, Byeong-jin. I need to get used to the Gate. Since I'm going to seduce Lim Seo-yoon and the number of women around me is going to increase, following them into Gates is a must of all musts.
It was highly likely that I was this nervous just because I hadn't been in a Gate many times. First, it was important to get used to it so I wouldn't be so tense.
Now, shall I look for some herbs?
ㅡ
"The things we've prepared are this way. Please follow me."
Lee Si-woo turned his body to guide Choi Yeon-ju. Choi Yeon-ju, who had only exchanged a few words with Seong Ha-na, also took a look at the other three women around Lee Si-woo.
There was a cold beauty with black hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a sharp women's suit. There was a voluptuous, gentle beauty with white hair cascading down to her waist and droopy eyes, wearing a pleasant smile. And there was a short, red-haired girl who looked like a tomboy.
They were all beauties without exception.
I couldn't help but be curious.
"What are everyone's abilities? Ah. I know Seong Ha-na-ssi's well, so that's fine."
As she walked, Choi Yeon-ju asked. The three women who were following Lee Si-woo tried to open their mouths at Choi Yeon-ju's question, but they all shut them because Lee Si-woo cut in first. Even though she hadn't asked him, Lee Si-woo started answering Choi Yeon-ju's question with a smile.
Seeing that, Choi Yeon-ju scoffed inwardly.
'Looks like he's trying to build rapport by increasing the number of conversations somehow.'
That was undoubtedly correct.
"This person is Jeong Mi-na. Her ability is Detection. She can detect within a 50M radius. She's the scout."
The cold beauty in the suit was Jeong Mi-na. Choi Yeon-ju nodded. Just by looking at her outfit, it was the kind that would make you think she'd have it easy if she went into a Gate. She was someone who didn't fight but only kept watch.
Still, a 50M radius detection ability was quite an impressive range. Inside a Gate, a distance of 50M was a significant range, unless it was open terrain—in a forest, it was a huge range. It was an ability that shined in places with a lot of cover.
The same went for caves. Being able to detect 50M ahead in a place where you couldn't see an inch in front of you would dramatically reduce the gap with monsters accustomed to caves.
However, in Choi Yeon-ju's personal assessment, it was ambiguous.
'Fail.'
That woman wasn't enough to become Seong Byeong-jin's sow slave.
Even though the person in question wasn't even thinking about it, Choi Yeon-ju was busy grading the women around Lee Si-woo on her own.
"This person is Han Hye-mi. She is a Physical Enhancement Ability User. She is in charge of the vanguard."
"Hello~"
The voluptuous, gentle beauty with droopy eyes was the Physical Enhancement Ability User. Choi Yeon-ju was a little surprised. She looked like the type of saintly woman who would breastfeed a hero or give him a handjob without a second thought, but she was a Physical Enhancement Ability User and a vanguard.
Choi Yeon-ju fell into confusion.
'Does she block punches with those giant breasts?'
Just looking at those breasts, which were bouncing to a level that would make an E-cup scoff, the thought naturally occurred that she could easily deflect an Orc's punch.
'A woman who carries two punching bags on her chest.'
She was the kind of woman who, if you kept her by your side, would let you practice boxing to your heart's content. Choi Yeon-ju thought so and evaluated Han Hye-mi as well.
'Pending.'
That woman was on hold.
"This child is Kang Ji-hye. She just became an adult. Her ability is so excellent that I couldn't help but scout her."
"Hello!"
"What is your ability?"
The short, red-haired kid called Kang Ji-hye bowed her head with a bright smile. When Choi Yeon-ju, who had received a casual greeting, asked, Lee Si-woo introduced her with a smile.
"She is a Subspace ability user."
'Pass.'
As soon as she heard the ability, Choi Yeon-ju made her assessment. A Subspace ability user? She was an ability user worth bringing in even if she had to pay a thousand pieces of gold. Lee Si-woo's ability was Psychokinesis. It could be called an all-purpose ability, but it didn't have the value of a Subspace ability. It was an ability that couldn't even be compared in the first place.
'This kid is more important than Seong Ha-na.'
She had been wondering how they managed to bring out the Orc corpse, and the person responsible was right next to her.
Choi Yeon-ju praised herself inwardly. If she hadn't been fixated on Seong Ha-na and asked, she would have left without knowing. The other women weren't particularly important, but the whereabouts of Seong Ha-na and the existence of the kid named Kang Ji-hye were huge harvests.
In Choi Yeon-ju's mind, her subsequent plans changed in an instant. She had intended not to join and just cut ties, but this was a different story.
She would cut ties, but she had to poach Seong Ha-na and Kang Ji-hye. If she was short on time, at least Kang Ji-hye.
Thinking that, Choi Yeon-ju looked at Kang Ji-hye. She was very short. She was a petite figure who only came up to the chest of Choi Yeon-ju, who was 166cm tall. With her large eyes and delicate features, she was cute enough to be called a beautiful girl, but her chest was as flat as if a truck had run over it once.
Naturally, the conversation from the morning came to mind.
[Why does that part look like a female switch to me?]
Sigh.
Seong Byeong-jin probably wouldn't care, so it might be fine.
Lee Si-woo, who had no way of knowing Choi Yeon-ju's inner thoughts, just smiled awkwardly and continued speaking.
"There is one more person, but since she is currently in a Gate alone, I cannot introduce her to you."
"There's one more person?"
"Yes. There is one more Physical Enhancement Ability User. She has a personality that can't stay still, so she's probably loosening up in a nearby Gate."
"Are you saying she does solo play to loosen up?"
This time, even Choi Yeon-ju was a little surprised. She knew that even for a Physical Enhancement Ability User, solo play was burdensome. But if it was a Physical Enhancement ability that allowed for solo play just to loosen up, how outstanding must she be?
To Choi Yeon-ju's question, Lee Si-woo quickly answered and cleared up the misunderstanding.
"Ah. It's best not to misunderstand. She does have stronger abilities compared to other ability users, but because her senses are too dulled, she's someone who has trouble with proper fighting. She's probably clearing out goblins around a nearby Gate. Goblins aren't monsters that make much money, so it's literally just loosening up."
"Are you saying she's a meat shield?"
"...Calling a person a meat shield is a bit..."
At Choi Yeon-ju's blunt question, Lee Si-woo smiled awkwardly and scratched his cheek. However, he didn't say it wasn't true. It meant she was indeed a meat shield.
"I see."
Choi Yeon-ju nodded.
ㅡ
"Kieeeek!"
Coming to the Gate might have been a rash decision after all.
Seeing the four goblins chasing me right now, I could realize why Choi Yeon-ju had said things like I didn't need to enter a Gate for a while.
"No wonder my luck was so good!"
I lamented while running hard. My luck really was good today. Or maybe it was because I had gotten a little used to the herbs. Since I could find an herb every time I looked around a little, it was natural that I'd get hooked on the fun of collecting even a small amount of money.
With the Hansel and Gretel style of herb distribution—where you find one, then another a little further away, and after picking that, another one a little further away—I felt like I understood why the crows ate all the breadcrumbs they had scattered.
At first, there were two. It was my mistake for being so engrossed in herb picking that I didn't notice them even though they were close. Although, an absurd situation occurred where the goblin bastard didn't see me crouching down either, and we both startled each other when we discovered one another.
I chose to run, and the goblin chose to chase.
Two of the four following me now were ones I encountered while running away. Whether they were connected by school ties, blood ties, or regional ties, they didn't even think about fighting among themselves and immediately formed an alliance to chase me.
The result was this current situation.
A situation where I had to run to the Gate no matter what.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
I rummaged through my pockets while running. I remembered that when Choi Yeon-ju handed me the items needed for the Gate trip, there was something other than the flail.
I found the tool quickly. It was a round, cylindrical flashbang that I could barely hold in one hand. It was definitely something Choi Yeon-ju told me to use when running away.
I quickly removed the safety pin and safety clip as Choi Yeon-ju had taught me, and threw it behind me.
"Die!"
Of course, goblins can't die just because a flashbang goes off. I knew that if it went off nearby, it would hurt, but I didn't throw it expecting that. What I shouted was 30% hope and 70% intimidation. If I just threw it while screaming loudly, wouldn't they be startled?
Indeed, the goblins seemed startled and jumped, stopping their hard running to follow me. The distance, which had been closing little by little, fortunately widened significantly.
But there was one problem.
Why isn't it going off?
I was running at full speed, waiting for the explosion sound from behind. I would have felt relieved if it had gone off. But even after waiting for a long time, it showed no signs of exploding.
Is it defective?
Curious, I glanced back while running away.
Bang!
"Kueeeeeek!"
The self-flash I hadn't expected!
Along with a deafening roar, the world in front of me turned pure white. It hurts like a baseball player threw sand into my eyes at full speed! Even though it was a flashbang that had just gone off, my eyes immediately started tearing up as if they had been waiting for it.
It was a pain that felt like my eyes were burning.
Because it was a pain I couldn't endure, I screamed and fell backward.
The thought that crossed my mind for a moment wasn't that it hurt or that I couldn't see, but that I was fucked.
[They use women for kidnapping and as breeding stock, and tear men to pieces on the spot.]
The explanation Choi Yeon-ju had given me in the past came to mind.
Torn to pieces!
That was when it happened.
"Uryaaaa!"
I felt someone shout loudly and rush past me. Because I was in a situation where tears were streaming down, I couldn't see properly and didn't know who it was, but it was a very hearty, husky voice.
Not long after, the screams of goblins crying out that they were dying rang out.
What is it? What is happening right now?
I didn't know exactly, but it seemed like someone who discovered me was fighting the goblins on my behalf to save me.
If that wasn't the case, I should have died when they rushed past me, so since I was alive, I couldn't be wrong.
Continuing to wipe away the tears that were flowing down, I waited for my vision to recover somehow. If I had just run away, it might not have been that dangerous. It was absurd that I had thrown the flashbang for no reason and caused this mess. Even during that time, the goblins' wailing continued to be heard.
When I finally recovered my vision, it was the sight of a goblin, kicked in the stomach by the violent front kick of the woman who I assumed had shouted, flying in a straight line like a clothesline and hitting a tree to die.
My jaw dropped.
Is that a real Awakened?
It was a completely different combat power from me, who had awakened but became ability-less after Choi Yeon-ju hypnotized me.
The woman who kicked the last goblin to death walked toward me with long strides. Although I still couldn't open my eyes properly because it felt like they were full of sand, this woman was my savior. Even while tears were streaming down, I stared blankly at the woman until she approached.
The woman who came up to me looked down at me and smiled brightly.
"What. You. You okay?"
Heu-eung. Girl crush.
