Chapter 103
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: World Point (4)
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“Ah, hahaha.”
Park Si-woo sighed as he watched me laugh awkwardly.
Even if it was only a minute, I was still late for the assembly time.
There was still time before the raid started.
*‘This petty guy.’*
Breathing in the mountain air for the first time in a while, I checked the assembled Hunters one by one.
There were those who were clearly from the Raon Guild, Hunters from outside guilds who had obtained tickets, and the Hunters from the Aria Guild, including Park Si-woo and me.
A short distance away stood Yoo Se-yeon with three or four other Hunters. She was talking to a man dressed in what looked like work clothes.
“That person is…”
“That's Seo Ji-hoon.”
I knew it.
This was the first time I had seen Seo Ji-hoon in person.
“I think Park Si-woo is much better looking, though. Ouch! Why'd you step on my foot! It hurts!”
“You deserved it.”
Cho-ah, her nerves on edge, snapped.
Cho-ah had her hair tied up high with a hair tie.
Standing next to her, I could see her face was indeed very small.
*‘To me, she's the one who looks more like a doll.’*
To be honest, no matter how much Lee Eun-hee praised Liz's looks, it didn't really resonate with me.
Don't they say that men and women see the opposite sex differently?
“By the way, Seo Ji-hoon is a Transcendent too, right?”
Cho-ah tilted her head slightly, unable to understand the intent behind my question.
“Shouldn't you be asking if he's an S-rank Hunter?”
“Come on, you know that kind of thing is meaningless.”
Ranks like A or S were nothing more than a metric created by the Association based on dungeon performance and public recognition.
Most S-rank Hunters were Transcendents.
However, not all S-rank Hunters were Transcendents.
*‘Though it's not easy to become an S-rank Hunter without transcending.’*
Likewise, there were also cases of Transcendents who weren't S-rank Hunters.
Jeong Cho-ah was a prime example.
“Seo Ji-hoon became an S-rank Hunter two years ago.”
“Hmm.”
“I know what it was like when he officially became an S-rank Hunter. Si-woo congratulated him to his face, but I heard him muttering behind his back that it was ridiculous.”
“What do you mean, ridiculous?”
“I think it was something like, ‘Seo Ji-hoon can't become an S-rank Hunter.’”
“Why?”
“A matter of talent.”
Talent.
People say there are no limits to what a person can do, but that wasn't true.
If there truly were no limits, and if effort could achieve anything, then ordinary people shouldn't exist in this world.
“I let it go back then, but now I think I understand what Si-woo meant.”
“Really?”
“Just a little.”
Turning slightly, Cho-ah gave a faint smile.
Seo Ji-hoon was currently a follower of the god Veritas.
If you accept more than you can handle, you must pay the price.
I didn't know if Cho-ah was aware of that, but it seemed clear that something was off about Seo Ji-hoon's condition.
When I turned my head again, I saw the Hunters from the Raon Guild.
Choi Jae-hyung, recognizing me, waved his hand excitedly.
“Here for a picnic?”
A man I'd never seen before stood next to Choi Jae-hyung.
Like the other Raon Guild members, he wore a cape, but the rose on his chest was blue.
“The Blue Rose is definitely…”
I knew it was the color that signified a high-ranking member within the Raon Guild.
“Jin Sang-hyuk, the vice-leader of the Raon Guild.”
“Looks like that old man isn't coming?”
“The Aria Guild isn't the only one we need to keep in check.”
“For that to be the case, you guys brought your full force.”
“Si-woo has his own reasons.”
Cho-ah dismissed it, saying it was Park Si-woo's personal matter, not the guild's.
Cho-ah pushed my back, saying it was time.
The other Hunters also began to gather in the center.
I hadn't thought much of it when they were scattered, but seeing them all together, it was truly a strange combination.
Choi Jae-hyung sidled up to me and poked me in the ribs.
“I brought the shield.”
“So what? You want me to ditch the boss fight and spar with you?”
“That's not a bad idea.”
“You have no intention of fighting the boss, do you?”
“Nope.”
Choi Jae-hyung put his arms behind his head and whistled.
Choi Jae-hyung was standing a little apart from the other Raon Guild Hunters with Jin Sang-hyuk.
It seemed that this guy, like Guild Leader Kang Moon-guk, was a square peg in a round hole within the guild.
The problem was that the 'square' part was so big it couldn't be easily shaved off.
Jae-hyung's gaze was fixed on the back of Jin Sang-hyuk's head.
“I only came because the Guild Leader told me to.”
That figures.
Kang Moon-guk owed Park Si-woo an unseen debt.
After all, by killing Han Jong-ho in the Cockatrice Dungeon, I had cut off Jin Sang-hyuk's source of funds.
Officially, his death was ruled as having occurred while fighting a monster in the dungeon, but it wouldn't be hard to find out what really happened just by investigating the few surviving Raon Guild Hunters.
*‘The reason they're not picking a fight with me is probably because of Park Si-woo.’*
Me killing Han Jong-ho wasn't enough of a reason to start a guild war.
Putting ourselves in their shoes, how many Aria Hunters had the Raon Guild killed in dungeons?
If they packaged it as an unfortunate accident, it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
From Park Si-woo's perspective, just having Choi Jae-hyung, who was in Kang Moon-guk's faction, present was enough to keep things in check.
There had been some minor trouble, but the stage was set.
“By the way, I heard the reward for this raid is a Dragon Orb.”
“I heard. They say it grants wishes, right?”
“Don't you want it?”
When I casually brought it up, Choi Jae-hyung reacted as if he couldn't understand.
“Not really.”
“Why?”
“There's no way an item like that exists. It's obviously an exaggeration. How many items like that have we heard of?”
“But what if it's real?”
“Why are you so persistent?”
Choi Jae-hyung placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
I scratched my cheek.
“Was I that obvious?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do with my wish, anyway?”
“What do you mean, what am I going to do? I just asked.”
I heard that after that incident, Choi Jae-hyung got chewed out a lot by Guild Leader Kang.
Even with the grudge from our trainee days, I couldn't say I didn't feel sorry for him.
Choi Jae-hyung looked into the distance, took his hand off his sword, and crossed his arms.
“My wish isn't something that can be granted by an item like this.”
Seeing his somewhat lonely-looking back, I didn't ask any more about his wish.
“I'll have another mock battle with you after the raid.”
“Really? You promised! No take-backs later.”
“I don't lie.”
“You don't lie, but you do scam people!”
This guy, contrary to his appearance, was quick to read people.
But he didn't seem like a bad person.
“We'll see about that.”
While I was chatting with Choi Jae-hyung, the boss raid began.
[The 'Boss Raid' will now begin.]
[Host God: Michel]
- Objective: Defeat the Yeongno.
- Difficulty: ★★★★☆
- Reward Contribution Points: 15,000,000 (Cumulative)
- Participant List (1/30)
[The 'Boss Raid' is currently in progress. Would you like to participate? 2/30]
[Only those with a Raid Ticket may participate in the 'Boss Raid'.]
[As a Raid Ticket holder, you may participate in the raid.]
['Park Si-woo (Michel)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
['Jeong Cho-ah (Moros)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
['Kim Kang-woo (Fluffy)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
Before I could even press the join button, participation notifications rang out ceaselessly.
“Kang-woo was here too?”
Looking again, I saw Kim Kang-woo standing diagonally from Park Si-woo.
It seemed they hadn't seen each other because they were busy with other things.
Spotting me, Kim Kang-woo gave a small wave, as if to say it had been a while.
*‘That aside.’*
Fluffy? No matter how you looked at it, that alias was just too lazy.
['Yoo Se-yeon (Pavane)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
['Kang Han-gyeol (Soter)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
I'd never seen Yoo Se-yeon's god before.
I watched for the right moment and pressed the join button somewhere in the middle.
['Choi Jae-hyung (Lux)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
['Jin Sang-hyuk (Lux)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
['Seo Ji-hoon (Veritas)' has joined the Boss Raid.]
[Participation will close in 1 minute.]
As expected, Seo Ji-hoon's god was indeed Veritas.
A few Hunters murmured upon seeing Seo Ji-hoon's god, but the stir didn't last long.
Because the raid had begun.
A large digital clock appeared below the mountain.
For one minute, a heavy silence hung over the summit of Mount Yukbaek.
[Participation in the 'Boss Raid' is now closed.]
[Participants: 54/60]
[The raid will now begin.]
As the second hand of the clock hit zero, a small circle formed around it.
The black circle spread in an instant, swallowing the area around Mount Yukbaek.
“Oh, so this is the ARF I've only heard about.”
It was an augmented reality space that only manifested during specific events, including boss raids.
Augmented Reality Field, or ARF for short.
*‘That's what they call it, but...’*
I'd heard that the actual terrain and the terrain in the ARF had no correlation.
Simply put, the inside of the dome was a kind of real-world dungeon.
A massive palace appeared, looking as if it had been lifted straight out of the Joseon Dynasty.
[You have been invited by 'Kim Kang-woo' to the 'Aria Guild (Black)' communication channel.]
[The invitation will be canceled in 1 minute if there is no response.]
I immediately pressed the accept button.
*‘What's this now?’*
It seemed to be a different feature from the community function the Raon Guild Hunters used in the Cockatrice Dungeon.
It was definitely not a feature I possessed.
— Ah, mic test.
Kim Kang-woo's voice, though he was some distance away, echoed in my head.
Seeing my confusion, Cho-ah raised a finger to her ear.
— This is how we talk.
I couldn't understand what was different, since I could both see Cho-ah's lips moving and hear her voice.
I figured it out after seeing the Hunters around me moving their lips without making a sound.
— Like this? This is amazing.
Cho-ah nodded, confirming I had it right.
I looked at my status window and saw that a 'Communication Channel' had been added.
[Communication Channel]
- Aria Guild (Black)
Participants (4): Kim Kang-woo (Admin), Park Si-woo (Co-admin), Jeong Cho-ah, Kang Han-gyeol
Well now.
Look at this.
With so many Hunters here, how could the communication channel only have this many people?
No matter how I looked at it, it reeked of a secret chat room.
[You have been invited by 'Kim Kang-woo' to the Aria Guild (General) communication channel.]
Sure enough, a few seconds later, an invitation to the general chat room arrived.
The general channel had most of the Hunters in it.
But how do they manage everything like this?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Cho-ah, who was beside me, seemed to notice and added an explanation.
“You can adjust the settings.”
“Oh, there are settings?”
Cho-ah folded and unfolded two fingers, giving me a rough idea.
“You can set it up however you like.”
As soon as I finished adjusting the chat room settings, another notification rang out.
['Choi Jae-hyung' has joined the Aria Guild (Black) communication channel.]
— Hyung, come on, not this guy!
— Quiet. I was just following orders.
Hearing Kim Kang-woo's reply, I looked at Park Si-woo.
What are you thinking? Seriously?