Chapter 46
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Strangers' Story (2)
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I slung the fallen man over my shoulder and returned to Eun-young.
She was struggling to break off the bicorn’s horn.
“Han-gyeol, can you help me with this… Oh my.”
I slammed the man onto the ground, then cut off the bicorn’s horn.
“You didn’t kill him, did you?”
I tossed the severed horn to her.
She cradled both horns in her arms, including the one she’d removed earlier.
“I didn’t kill him. There’s still a lot I need to ask.”
“You’re not leaving the dungeon right away?”
“A few more hours should be fine.”
The red-horned bicorn had delayed us a bit, but even so, we had still cleared the dungeon early.
I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Eun-young and I went back down to where we had left our packs.
She put the two bicorn horns into her bag.
After tying the unconscious man’s arms and tossing him aside, we sat on the ground and had a casual lunch.
Lunch was just a calorie bar and a water candy.
‘They really made these well.’
The water candy, about the size of a piece of hard candy, was a miniature version of a water ball.
The difference was that a water ball was a magical item, while the water candy was a product of advanced science.
One water candy provided about a paper cup’s worth of water.
“So, why is this dungeon called Sky Garden?”
Eun-young, having finished her meal first, looked around.
There were ordinary meadows and hills, but nothing that seemed related to the sky.
“This island is a sky island.”
“There’s no such thing as a sky island!”
“What?”
“Just kidding.”
She cleared her throat, looking embarrassed.
“Is it really a sky island?”
I answered her question with a nod.
If you followed the standard clear route, there was no need to go to the edge of the island. But dungeons were unknown worlds, and there were always people who felt the need to do something completely unnecessary.
“It’s about a twenty-minute walk from here. Want to go see?”
“I don’t really…”
“It’s written all over your face that you want to. Besides, I was planning on going anyway.”
I finished my meal, stood up, and looked down at the unconscious man.
I nudged his body with the tip of my boot.
I knew he’d been awake since Eun-young and I started talking about the sky island.
The man hadn't been in the dungeon yesterday.
If he had followed us in, I definitely would have noticed.
Unless it was a special dungeon, guards weren't typically posted at dungeons that Hunters had already entered.
A closed dungeon couldn't be entered by ordinary people, so assigning Hunters to guard it was a waste of manpower.
The only ones who could enter a closed dungeon were Hunters with a Dungeon Open skill.
Commonly known as a Key.
But that was by no means a common skill.
Hiring someone with a Key skill just to spy on me and Eun-young in a mere C+ rank dungeon.
He was obviously no ordinary person.
“We have plenty of time, so let’s hear your story. Slowly.”
As I took a step back, the man flinched.
I had no desire to carry him again. I forced him awake.
“Tell me who’s behind this, and I’ll spare your life.”
“Do you think I’d fall for that twice? Just kill me!”
“Cut the clichéd villain lines. Oh, he’s running.”
The moment I looked away, the man bolted in the direction of the exit gate.
I pointed a finger at the retreating figure.
“Go get him!”
“No.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“What do you take me for?”
Eun-young crossed her arms and turned her head away.
She was pouting.
“Alright, then I’ll split the money from selling the red bicorn horn. 60/40. You get 60.”
“How much is the horn worth?”
“About a billion won?”
“70/30.”
“Deal.”
The word was barely out of my mouth before she vanished.
I wondered why she was so fast, but then I realized she’d used a skill.
Her skill, [Wings of Blessing], included a movement speed boost.
She appeared in front of the fleeing man, blocking his path.
The man struggled to untie his hands. Sorry, but I hadn’t tied them that loosely.
Changing tactics, the man swung his leg at Eun-young.
The next moment, he was on the ground, pinned by her.
She half-dragged the man back to me.
“Damn it.”
“I told you it was useless to run. At your pace, you could run for a lifetime and never outrun my sister.”
I dragged the man toward the edge of the island.
He tried to escape several more times, but each attempt was thwarted.
You only get one free pass.
“Next time you try to run, I won’t care who’s behind you. I’ll just kill you.”
I drew my sword, making sure he saw it.
I wasn’t kidding.
Apparently not wanting to die, the man followed us meekly.
We reached a cliff at the island's edge.
Sensing something was off, Eun-young ran ahead and peered over the edge.
Wasn’t she scared?
Ah, right. She could fly, so it didn’t matter.
Bicorns and unicorns were a type of creature that lived in the sky, not on the ground.
The reason the dungeon was named [Sky Garden] was because the small island they inhabited was a floating island.
I grabbed the man by the collar and pushed him toward the cliff.
“Who sent you?”
I moved closer to the man standing on the precipice.
Since the appearance of dungeons, Hunters had conducted countless studies on their inner workings.
One of the greatest curiosities was what would happen if one went outside the dungeon’s boundaries.
After many attempts, the conclusion was that it was impossible to leave the field created by the dungeon.
Those who entered a dungeon could never step outside its designated field area.
And if you tried to leave the field?
You were sent back to the starting point.
It was common knowledge, a perfectly natural phenomenon.
Which brought us to the matter of the field.
Currently, the field of Sky Garden was limited to this small island.
The area below the cliff where the man stood was outside the field.
Fortunately for me, the man didn't seem to have a flight skill like Eun-young.
Even if he fell off the island, he would just reappear somewhere nearby.
“A few skydiving trips should make you feel like talking.”
The man seemed to know this, as his face went pale.
“W-Wait! I have a fear of heights!”
“And?”
“I’ll talk… Aaaaaah!”
I gave him a light push, sending him over the edge.
His voice faded into the distance.
“Han-gyeol, that’s cruel.”
“He’ll just respawn. Besides, aren’t you surprised?”
“Is there something I should be surprised about?”
Her counter-question left me momentarily speechless.
I guess there wasn’t.
I had no intention of killing him right now, but there was no guarantee things like this wouldn't happen again.
Before I could say anything, she beat me to it.
“Don’t worry about it. I was prepared for this much. Besides, the real world is even nastier than you think. Sometimes, it feels like it would be easier to just kill someone.”
Hearing her say that was actually a relief.
“Gah!”
The man reappeared after falling a fair distance.
As I approached, he dropped to his knees and slammed his head on the ground.
“I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything, so…”
He glanced toward the cliff and shook his head frantically.
Since he feared falling more than dying, he must have a genuine fear of heights.
Well, that was anticlimactic.
I thought he’d hold out for at least a few more drops.
I crouched down to meet his eyes.
The real story was about to begin.
* * *
Park Si-woo’s morning began with a light workout in the guild’s gym.
Stepping off a machine, he took a call. The person on the other end was none other than Choi Soo-hyun.
Wondering what could be so urgent this early, Park Si-woo glanced around before heading into the steam sauna.
As he entered, his assistant blocked the entrance.
The assistant gestured apologetically to another Hunter who was trying to enter.
Fortunately, the Hunter recognized Park Si-woo and turned away.
— Who did you say?
— Yoo Se-yeon.
Wiping sweat from his face with a towel, Park Si-woo exhaled a hot breath.
The Aria Guild was presented as an alliance of three guilds, but there was a slight complication.
There was Park Si-woo, former master of the Saetbyeol Guild; Yoo Se-yeon of the Onnuri Guild; and Seo Ji-hoon of Black Holdings.
The problem was that Black Holdings was an offshoot of the Raon Guild.
This was the reason for the friction between the Aria and Raon Guilds.
Even if Black Holdings had resolved all its issues with the Raon Guild, it was only a superficial peace.
‘But Yoo Se-yeon?’
Her name was completely unexpected.
— Are you sure it was Yoo Se-yeon?
— That’s what Kang Han-gyeol said. He was complaining to me about how I handled things. My job isn’t dungeon management, you know? Hah, it seems they even used a Key Broker.
— I haven’t received any such report.
A few days ago, Han-gyeol and Eun-young had safely cleared a C+ rank dungeon.
Park Si-woo had received Han-gyeol’s dungeon report just last night.
The only noteworthy content was that they had defeated a red-horned bicorn, a rare spawn, and that he wanted to sell its horn. There was nothing else out of the ordinary.
Nowhere in the report was there any mention of a spy.
‘So that’s why the report was submitted so quickly.’
He had deliberately omitted it.
Kang Han-gyeol and Yoo Se-yeon had no connection.
But there was no way Han-gyeol wouldn’t know her name.
By complaining to Choi Soo-hyun, Han-gyeol was staging a silent protest.
— Whether he wrote it in the report or not is none of my business.
— What about the Key Broker?
— I can give you the information if you want. It’s not like the guy is under investigation.
Trespassing in a dungeon during an active expedition was certainly problematic. However, that was only if damages occurred.
This case was rather ambiguous.
There were no real damages, and all the intruder had done was spy on them.
— But making too many enemies can’t be good, can it?
— If it’s for the sake of peace, it must be done.
Park Si-woo replied, his tone suggesting that Choi Soo-hyun was worrying about trivial matters.
— Right, your god was that kind of guy. I’ll send you the data. I have a meeting, so I’m hanging up.
Choi Soo-hyun ended the call.
The phone screen was fogged over, likely from the steam.
Park Si-woo wiped the sweat with the towel on his shoulders and left the sauna.
“Contact Representative Yoo. Tell her I’d like to see her.”
“When should I schedule it for?”
“Within thirty minutes.”
“Understood.”
His assistant gave a slight bow and made a call.
Park Si-woo entered a shower stall. Hot water streamed down over his shoulders.
‘Right. He also said she seemed pretty ticked off.’
That was the last thing Choi Soo-hyun had casually mentioned before hanging up.
Yoo Se-yeon hadn’t shown much interest in the joint expedition with the Raon Guild. Given her usual disposition, Park Si-woo hadn’t paid her much mind.
But regardless of her interest or disposition, Yoo Se-yeon was more than qualified to be involved in this matter.
Overlooking that possibility was a clear mistake on Park Si-woo’s part.
‘I suppose I’ll have to revise the collection list.’
For now, that was all he could do.