Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Centaur Plains
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Chapter 177
Chapter 177
'Centaur Plains'.
The monsters that appeared inside were centaurs, just as the name suggested.
It was a standard gate that had appeared in the heart of Seoul, and it had formed relatively recently.
Because of that, despite its location right in the middle of the city, they hadn't evacuated nearby residents or facilities. Instead, it had simply been designated as a Level 1 managed gate by the Association.
Centaurs were considered tricky monsters because they had decent intelligence and wielded plausible weapons.
But even more than that, the hunting rewards were exceptionally high, so they were pretty popular among hunters.
Of course, since it was a Level 6 gate, "popular" didn't mean it was swarming with people like low-level hotspots or that reservations were impossible.
Jeong-hyeon had leveled up so quickly that he was only now stepping into Level 6 gates.
Considering that Level 7 gates above it were almost always secretly raided under the Association's strict control, Level 6 gates were practically the final destination.
And right now, three men and two women were waiting in front of that gate to enter.
Vroooom—
At that moment, a top-tier foreign sports car slid into the parking lot with a deafening roar.
"Oh. Is that the last one?"
Hunters who frequented Level 6 gates all made plenty of money without envy, but this was a dream car even for car enthusiasts. The waiting hunters eyed it with interest.
It wasn't some limited-edition model that even chaebols couldn't buy, but a custom sports car made from rare gate minerals easily cost over ten billion won.
A tall man smoothly stepped out of the parked car.
'I guess I won't be able to ride anything ordinary anymore...'
Naturally, that man was Jeong-hyeon.
But thanks to recent interviews across numerous media outlets, his face was fairly well-known.
Kim Du-yeol's gang hadn't been in the country long and had been living on the run, so they might not recognize him. Still, to prepare for any possibilities, he'd done a simple disguise that altered his appearance just enough.
As soon as Jeong-hyeon stepped out of the driver's seat, he sharply scanned the people approaching him.
Sure enough, he spotted the three men from the project file.
They had friendly, handsome faces that no one would suspect of heinous crimes.
Their brazen smiling mugs were the same.
He barely suppressed the urge to beat them down on the spot.
Then came the moment that made Jeong-hyeon's heart sink the most.
"Oppa!"
No, could what Jeong-hyeon felt in that instant even be called despair?
Shock. Terror. Chaos.
The one rushing toward him like a loving girlfriend was none other than,
'The kind who says she does it for justice, not money.'
Team Leader Cha Ye-rin.
The plan she'd briefed him on earlier was for Jeong-hyeon and Ye-rin to pretend to be a couple.
She'd done a bit of a disguise herself, but anyone who knew her true identity would recognize her.
That part was fine.
But suddenly calling him "oppa" so sweetly and charging at him?
Jeong-hyeon was horrified by her attitude, which had transformed as if she were a completely different person despite only looking similar.
Stunned into silence by the shock, Jeong-hyeon just stood there blankly. Ye-rin beamed and linked arms with him.
"I've been bragging about you so much while waiting for you, oppa."
'This crazy—'
No matter how much he'd been warned ahead of time, there was such a thing as biological revulsion.
She was two years older than him, yet kept calling him "oppa" in between. Goosebumps erupted all over his body—he felt like he might turn into a chicken.
It was so bad that the system, judging the moment as a crisis on par with combat, activated Thought Acceleration.
If time hadn't suddenly slowed, Jeong-hyeon would have screamed.
In that brief instant, regrets replayed in his mind hundreds, thousands of times.
As expected, nothing ever went right when he got involved with Ye-rin.
But if he slipped up here, the whole operation would be ruined.
Jeong-hyeon forced a smile while mentally writing the character for "endure" three hundred times.
"Ah... Really? I had some business."
"Yeah, I know."
This was the harsh reality of a true professional's world.
Jeong-hyeon maintained an awkward expression somewhere between grimace and smile.
At that moment, one of the three men watching them approached with a smirk.
"Wow, I've heard so much about you from your girlfriend. You really give off that Awakener vibe, just like she said. I'm Kim Han-yeol."
He'd changed his name, but the face was exactly Kim Du-yeol from the project file.
Normally, knowing the trashy true nature hidden behind that handsome facade might have made it hard to control his expression.
But right now, it was no issue for Jeong-hyeon.
If anything, dealing with Ye-rin, who was still clinging to his arm, was more uncomfortable than facing Kim Du-yeol.
It was like how a vaccine hurts more than the actual disease.
Jeong-hyeon flashed a natural smile and shook hands with Kim Du-yeol, who extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Park Jeong-hu."
In this operation, Jeong-hyeon's profile was A-Rank Level 5 Combat Sense hunter Park Jeong-hu.
Ye-rin was B-Rank Level 4 martial arts hunter Kim Ji-a.
The other female hunter was Choi Yun-ji, a healer from the Association's response team.
"I'm jealous. You even have such a beautiful girlfriend."
"You're too kind."
Kim Du-yeol locked eyes with Jeong-hyeon but only talked about Ye-rin in her girlfriend role.
It sounded like praise at first glance, but knowing the full story made the hidden intent obvious.
They were a party gathered for hunting.
There was no need to keep bringing up someone else's love life.
"This guy wasn't originally in the party, but they were short on people, so he joined last minute."
As the two released their handshake, Ye-rin chimed in.
Jeong-hyeon's eyes sharpened for an instant, unnoticed by anyone.
They were probably using the same method as their first crime.
Du-yeol nodded naturally.
"Ahaha, yeah. I was planning to rest, but my little bros kept begging for help."
"Han-yeol must be pretty skilled too. Looking forward to it."
"Hahaha, not as much as you, Jeong-hu."
Jeong-hyeon gave a faint smile and nod, then walked past Du-yeol to the others.
Ye-rin naturally stuck to his side, and Du-yeol followed behind them.
"I didn't get to hear properly since I rushed here. If it's not too rude, could everyone introduce their traits?"
"I'll start. As I mentioned, I'm Kim Han-yeol, A-Rank Level 6 Strength Enhancement trait."
"I'm Choi Seok-jun. B-Rank Level 5 Swordsmanship trait."
"I'm Kim Jong-han, B-Rank Level 6 Fire Magic trait."
And the last one, as mentioned, was Association healer Choi Yun-ji.
Looking at it this way, the party's balance wasn't great.
Including Jeong-hyeon and Ye-rin, there were four frontliners.
One healer and one mage weren't enough to balance it.
The reason was obvious without asking.
Jeong-hyeon briefly introduced his profile while thinking.
'Excluding Kim Du-yeol, they're all using real names.'
He wondered if they'd even stated their ranks accurately.
The other two were probably similar, maybe differing only slightly in levels, while Kim Du-yeol was completely disguised.
But A-Rank Level 6 seemed legit.
Judging by the trio's vibe, Du-yeol was acting like the typical boss, so he was likely the strongest.
Jeong-hyeon's Combat Sense agreed.
Anyway, with Ye-rin and him handling them together, it shouldn't be too hard.
The real challenge of this operation was the operation itself.
"Alright, let's gear up and head in. You've all faced centaurs before, but they're cunning bastards, so stay sharp."
'Centaurs cunning? Not as much as you scum.'
Brazenly, Du-yeol even lectured the others to be careful.
Jeong-hyeon, knowing the full story, could only scoff inwardly.
"Oppa, you have to protect me well, okay?"
And Ye-rin, as if her soul had fully possessed Kim Ji-a, kept clinging to Jeong-hyeon and saying things like this at every opportunity.
No matter that her acting as a B-Rank Level 4 was marginal for a Level 6 gate—her true self was A-Rank Level 6.
And a particularly strong one among peers, at that.
'Ugh, I feel like puking.'
He wanted to scream at her to shut up and shove her into the gate, but eyes were watching.
Was this really the acting of someone who hated the plan?
Even so, her looks still drew plenty of male attention, slightly altered or not.
And since the three had formed the party with bad intentions from the start, they leered at the pair with impure gazes while pretending not to care.
What could he do?
"Of course. Just trust oppa."
He had no choice but to roll his stubbornly resistant tongue and spout such nonsense.
Ye-rin's act continued even after everyone equipped their gear and gathered at the gate.
'At this point, she's enjoying it since she can't escape. No other explanation.'
Meanwhile, Du-yeol approached Jeong-hyeon, eyes gleaming at his gear.
"Wow, that armor looks insane. No idea what it is, but the sheen is something else."
"Ah, just got lucky and snagged a good one."
'If you wore it, you'd shit blood and die.'
It was a crude thought in anger, but true.
What Jeong-hyeon wore was the Cursed Armor, radiating an ominous aura at a glance.
Thankfully, he'd decided to wear proper defensive gear since magic practice could be risky.
The Cursed Armor had no effect on him thanks to his EX-rank trait, but an A-Rank rubbing against it? Who knew what would happen.
Seeing Du-yeol praise its sheen instead of fearing it confirmed he wasn't normal.
"That mace is unique too. Combat Sense trait, but using a mace?"
"I'll smash your skull with the mace—"
"?"
On one side, the worst villain Kim Du-yeol. On the other, Ye-rin inflicting mental damage equal to or worse than any villain.
Squeezed between them, Jeong-hyeon accidentally let his inner thoughts slip.
Ye-rin's eyes turned murderous.
At the same time, as her grip on his arm tightened viciously, Thought Acceleration activated just like before.
'Thought Acceleration from just a look?!'
Fortunately or unfortunately, it let him recover without much notice.
"...Smashing their heads feels so good. Hahaha. Monsters can't even think straight."
"As expected of a manly guy. No wonder women fall for you."
Jeong-hyeon clearly saw greed fill Du-yeol's eyes as he spoke.
His mind was probably now set on stealing Jeong-hyeon's gear too.
'You'd better not plan on leaving with all your limbs intact.'
Come on in.
Perhaps sensing Jeong-hyeon's emotions, the mace seemed to vibrate lightly in its sheath.
And right now was the perfect time for its attribute-less Harad debut.
It felt wasteful to use such precious material on mere villains, but it should deliver maximum agony without issue.
And so, the two groups harboring wildly different dreams began entering the 'Centaur Plains' gate.