Chapter 20
It was an overwhelming cheer for an introvert like me.
I slipped out from the crowd and plopped down on a thick book being used as a cushion.
Aigoo, anemia's kicking in.
And it wasn't just talk—I'd poured out at least a liter of blood. While guiding my brother here, I'd used no less than 0.5 liters pulling out the threads.
And on top of that.
Sticking a straw into Shylock probably took another 0.2 liters.
Going head-to-head with the golden goblin over achievements had been half a gamble.
I'd bet my life as the stake, so of course I'd taken out insurance.
What if Shylock somehow won and tried to tear me apart?
I'd planned to turn the tables on him with the punishment from Eternal Blessing.
That would've left me with way too much explaining to do to all these hunters here.
Just imagining it exhausted me.
At least I avoided dying from blood loss shock.
Thanks to bleeding out bit by bit and stockpiling blood in the red slime.
"You okay?"
As I caught my breath, my brother sat down beside me.
"Not okay."
"If you survived the gate, you're okay."
"That's no comfort. You should be praising me—you can't have too much of that. For clearing your first Abyss Gate like this, don't I at least deserve a cheer?"
I grinned through my haggard appearance.
"Haha, Naeuni said the exact same thing. But even without me doing it..."
My brother pointed over his shoulder with a thumbs-up.
The hunters were gazing at me with eyes full of admiration.
It felt strange.
Even in my past life, I'd frequented Abyss Gates like clockwork, but I'd rarely received such warm looks. Jealousy, contempt—mostly cold emotions.
"They say you did plenty well."
A lot had changed.
Outside the COEX Gate, reporters were in a frenzy. The camped-out journalists thrust their mics aggressively.
"Is it true something unprecedented happened in this gate?!"
"This is Association business! Just one word, please!"
"Hey... agh! Hitting a reporter?!"
The skirmish was fierce. An Association staffer with a grim face approached Team Leader Yuneobyeon.
"Y-yes. We'll confirm somehow."
Team Leader Yuneobyeon's phone was blowing up. Calls flooded in from Association higher-ups and various guilds.
"Team Leader...!"
"I just hung up! What?!"
"The reporters keep demanding an explanation! They thought it was a D-grade gate, but it turned out ∅∅-grade—aren't they saying it's the Association's fault for the faulty measurement...!"
"Hah."
Nothing to say.
Because it was true.
This was the Association staff on-site's screw-up.
Damn it!
The situation was already a disaster. But right now was the lesser evil.
The worst case...
...would be if all the hunters who entered the gate got wiped out...
That would make things grave. And these kinds of errors were usually swept under the rug by pinning it on the team leader. That was Team Leader Yuneobyeon right now.
"We're screwed."
"Pardon?"
"If we want to save face here, what do we do?"
"The hunters inside need to come back alive—as many as possible."
"...Not something we can handle."
"Probably not. Association staff don't exactly rush into gates."
Especially not a ∅∅-grade one. Talking about it would just hurt his mouth.
"Totally screwed."
Team Leader Yuneobyeon rubbed his face vigorously with his palms like he was scrubbing a rag. It burned. His position was at risk, and so was his future.
That was when it happened.
"Team Leader!!"
"What!"
"The hunters are back!"
"What, what?"
"Nearly twenty made it out!"
"Guide them here now!"
Association staff scurried like rats.
Panting heavily.
He came face-to-face with them. The hunters emerging from the emerald haze like they were passing through a triumphal arch.
Team Leader Yuneobyeon bit his lower lip to hold back surging emotions as he ran to the hunters.
"Hunters! How did so many of you... from a ∅∅-grade gate...!"
The hunters shot him sharp glares. But it wasn't Team Leader Yuneobyeon's fault the gate acted up. They responded sourly, all the same.
"Thanks to Seo Hunter."
"Seo Hunter?"
"Yeah. The Seo Hunters."
"Ugh... It was straight-up chills earlier. You saw that guy tell Shylock 'die' and it just died?"
"Wasn't that it? I've seen it in novels. Where if you say 'die,' the beasts split in half and drop dead on their own!!"
"Nah, not that extreme."
"And you're saying that after seeing it?!"
"Wait, hold on."
Team Leader Yuneobyeon scanned their faces.
"Where are these people you're talking about?"
He didn't see the Seo brothers.
"Huh? Good question? But figuring that out is Association business! Not ours—we're just hunters!"
"A-ah, sorry."
I'll have to contact them separately.
The important thing was the high survival count. Beyond saving his own skin, each hunter's life was a national asset.
"R-regardless of the situation, we welcome your safe return...!"
I'd started at level 1.
And in just three days, I'd hit double digits.
If I could show my status window to my brother, I'd brag until my mouth went dry. My little secret joy.
And on top of that, special Abyss Gate rewards.
Was my luck really -44? Damn. That minus sign overshadowed everything—I couldn't even enjoy it properly!
"Wonseok, little bro."
Tongs invaded my view.
Uncle Choi looked worried.
"Praying in front of the meat? Should've gone to a head-meat place instead of pork belly."
He placed sizzling pork belly on my side plate. His needless joke drew a laugh from me.
I dismissed the status window amid the smoke and picked up my chopsticks.
"Pork belly seems too modest for all that hard work."
"That's tradition after a raid—grill on-site and eat pork belly. Pig fat cleans the bad vibes from your veins, y'know?"
"Really?"
Then I'd better eat a ton.
I wanted veins worthy of a pretty boy.
"Whoa, slow down. Not gonna steal it from ya."
"Order more if it's not enough."
My brother wet his lips with beer.
"Wonseok, good work. Eat up."
We three had ducked into a pork belly joint near COEX to dodge the reporters. The two in better shape wouldn't let me go alone.
Selfie cam check: my under-eyes were so dark and bruised, I looked undead.
"Kuh. Pork belly in broad daylight—living the dream."
"Uncle, why'd you suddenly become a porter?"
Uncle Choi paused midway shoving a wrap into his cavernous mouth.
"Well... the other day, right? Back in my twenties, I was a hunter hopeful. Then bam, first kid on the way. Blessing, total blessing. Happy enough to ditch the dream... but yeah."
He wore a smile more bitter than the ssam leaf.
"Then smashing goblins with you the other day got my blood pumping again."
"So you're restarting?"
"Yeah. Told the wife yesterday—she said she'd been waiting for me to say it. Lottery's basically won, got some savings too. Starting at Hunter Academy."
I tilted the green bottle toward Uncle Choi's glass.
"Good call."
The clear liquid filled it sparklingly.
"Hahaha! Right! And thanks to you, I even drank with that Seo Boseok hunter! Cheers!"
"Sure, then..."
"Nope."
My brother snatched my soju glass like lightning. I fiddled with my now-empty hand.
"A guy who just cheated death drinking soju? You're anemic. Cut back from now on."
"...So stingy."
"Don't talk like I'm not family."
"What do you mean not family?!"
Uncle Choi bellowed.
"Huh? We're sworn brothers! Peach Garden Oath. Wrong?!"
"Spot on."
I nodded, and my brother looked puzzled.
"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms one?"
"Yup."
"Then lemme join. But Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu? Too cliché."
This guy's a Three Kingdoms nerd.
"...How about."
I pondered briefly before speaking.
"Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Quan. Sound good?"
"Perfect! We'll divide the hunter world three ways, no holds barred! Cheers!"
Three glasses clinked over the grill. Mine was zero-sugar cider.
"Seo lil' bro."
Tipsy and red-faced, Uncle Choi hauled his backpack onto the table. One soju shot in? Guy's a booze monster.
"Hic! I'm... so grateful... hic!"
Clatter.
Purple mana stones rolled between the side dishes.
Bro and uncle cleared another gate together.
They'd diligently collected these on the way to the library, apparently.
"Saved these out special for you? Take 'em?"
"Thanks."
"Hic! Eheh, don't make the giver feel awkward—take it, take... uh?"
"I said thanks."
"Just like that?"
"Yup."
If you're Sun Quan.
I've decided to live as Cao Cao.
Ding.
About time.
Reply to the message I'd sent right after exiting the gate. I set tomorrow's meetup spot, then stuffed the mana stones into the red slime.
The next day.
"What did you say?"
In a large franchise cafe, one of those on every major street.
Gija-ryeong, two minutes late for our appointment, froze on her feet for two full minutes after I spoke.
"I'm going to expose corruption in Korean hunter guilds and a certain broadcaster. That's the deal I mentioned at Hangju Bridge."
"You're serious?"
"You've already verified it, right?"
"..."
I flicked the corner of the small card with my index finger. The rectangle spun like a pinwheel and landed neatly in front of Gija-ryeong.
158-000
Seoul, Dongcheon-gu...
Even as a contract worker, I'd printed these on a whim back in the day.
"I'll be your hotline for that massive corruption scandal."
Time to fasten the first button of revenge.