Chapter 53
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Misunderstandings Breed Misunderstandings (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It seemed I had found the source of Ji-han’s discomfort.
Ji-han had been able to kill people in the Tower because he subconsciously treated them as outsiders.
In contrast, the people in the lobby weren’t complete strangers to him.
Ji-han felt like he had committed a real murder for the first time.
[That’s enough.]
I had a feeling I knew what kind of dilemma Ji-han was in.
The Central Guild would stop at nothing to gain control.
They routinely threatened, kidnapped, imprisoned, and assaulted new users, and even engaged in contract killings and sexual offenses.
If this were the real world, every single one of them would be a bastard with at least ten prior convictions.
This wasn’t a problem that could be solved by nagging him. He had to realize it for himself.
[You can't be good to everyone; that's impossible. Whether you've killed or robbed, it doesn't matter. Believe in your own justice.]
Here, there were no means to punish someone for murder.
No one would tell you it was wrong. So, in the end, there was no other way but to judge your own justice for yourself.
“I know that! Hah, I don't know why we got sidetracked. What I mean is, there’s a veteran.”
“A veteran?”
“Guys who've cleared the 29th floor but won't enter the 30th.”
The Tower was divided into lower, middle, and upper sections, and each section had its own lobby.
Clearing the 30th floor allows you to ascend to the middle section's lobby.
“I don't know why that guy won't enter the 30th floor, but he's strong.”
I had a rough idea of what Ji-han was going to ask.
Setting aside his complicated feelings, Ji-han simply hated the Central Guild.
“I want to get stronger. Strong enough to kill those damn bastards.”
The way Ji-han bowed his head showed he was sincere.
And I knew of a few pretty good quests on the 4th floor.
[Like I said before, my tuition isn't cheap.]
“You need Contribution Points, don't you?”
He always knew what I was thinking.
The stronger Ji-han became and the more Contribution Points he brought me, the stronger I became as well.
My relationship with Ji-han was like that of a crocodile and a crocodile bird.
* * *
I came to my senses.
Morning sunlight streamed in through a slight gap in the blackout curtains.
A voice came from the phone on speaker.
─ Han-gyeol isn't waking up. What should I do?
─ What the hell does him not waking up have to do with me? Why are you calling me this early in the morning? Just slap him or something!
─ But slapping him seems a bit... Oh my.
As I got out of bed, Eun-young, who was on the phone, jumped in surprise.
But how did she get into my house?
Seeing that I was awake, Eun-young hung up the phone.
I had been worried that Eun-young and Choi Soo-hyun wouldn't get along when I brought her in, but seeing them talking on the phone, it seemed my worries were for nothing.
“So, how exactly did you get in?”
This was clearly breaking and entering.
“How else? I opened the door and came in.”
Eun-young glanced at the door nonchalantly.
These days, even studio apartments came standard with digital door locks.
When I gave her a look of disbelief, Eun-young giggled foolishly.
She had peeked at my passcode the last time she came over.
Still, normal people don't memorize it and just let themselves in.
“I'm calling the cops.”
“Oh, come on. Between us?”
“What 'us' are you talking about?”
“Your one and only colleague? Look, you said Choi Soo-hyun isn't officially on board yet. That just leaves you and me. We need to rely on each other, especially at times like these, right?”
I was dumbfounded by her nonsensical lecture.
I'd felt the same way with Yoo Ji-han in the Tower, but I really don't know why I'm surrounded by such shameless people.
“So, why are you really here?”
“You're asking because you don't know? You were out of contact for over three days. I thought something might have happened to you.”
Eun-young nagged as if the answer should have been obvious.
Wait, three days?
I frantically looked for my phone.
Seeing me searching the floor, Eun-young pulled my phone out from under the sofa.
I checked the date on my phone, its battery about to die.
Just as she'd said, three days had really passed.
My phone was filled with missed calls and messages.
“See? I was right, wasn't I? Choi Soo-hyun just brushed it off like it was nothing to worry about, treating it like a hassle. Is he really joining our side? You sure he's not scamming you?”
“Haha, you know how he is. He'll join.”
“He's such a jerk.”
Eun-young turned her head and pouted.
Eun-young started rummaging through my fridge without asking.
I quickly stopped her.
“Let's order in.”
There weren't really any side dishes in the fridge anyway, but the urge to prevent Eun-young from cooking was stronger.
I wasn't joking; she might not even grasp the concept of seasoning.
It was to the point where you'd wonder how a person could be like that.
My near-desperate pleading made her close the fridge.
“Fine.”
While Eun-young ordered food on her phone, I went into the bathroom.
I washed my face lightly and looked in the mirror.
“Huh?”
Something was dangling from my neck.
I could swear I didn't own a necklace like this.
A single key hung from the end of a leather cord.
‘Could it be...’
This had to be the ‘Silver Key’ I received from Nodens.
Which means…
I rushed out of the bathroom.
Just then, Eun-young picked up a sword lying on the floor and leaned it against the wall.
It was a sword with a design I'd never seen before.
Its appearance was ordinary, though it looked slightly thinner and more slender compared to other swords.
I drew the sword slightly to check the blade.
The bluish hue of the blade was incredibly beautiful.
“Oh. It's beautiful.”
Eun-young, watching from the side, stared in fascination.
‘The Sword that Cleaves Heaven and Earth.’
I knew it was an incredibly arrogant name, but this sword was definitely worthy of it.
It was a shame I couldn't try it out right away.
*Ding-dong.* The doorbell rang, signaling the food delivery.
Eun-young and I placed the food on the small, low table and ate lunch.
‘To think I didn't wake up for three days.’
Fortunately, time in the Tower flowed a bit slower than in reality.
I'd certainly stayed for a while this time, but I had no idea the difference would be this great.
Eun-young didn't ask where I'd been for the past three days.
I was a little grateful to her for simply worrying about me.
After finishing the meal, Eun-young prepared to leave.
A bit of a contrast to when she just barged in.
“Leaving already?”
“I think I have a dungeon raid tonight. We were actually supposed to meet a little earlier for a briefing, but I told them I probably couldn't make it.”
Now that she knew I was safe, she intended to attend the briefing.
“Will you be okay?”
Sky Garden was a dungeon we entered together, but I wouldn't be there this time.
Even though I knew I couldn't help her forever, I was still worried.
Eun-young replied as if telling me not to worry.
“You've already helped me more than enough. I can't rely on your help forever.”
She said she had already cleared a D-rank dungeon while I was in the Tower.
Knowing she had already cleared a dungeon with other Hunters, I felt a wave of relief.
“Oh, right, Han-gyeol. How do I make a sponsorship?”
Eun-young, who was putting on her shoes, suddenly asked as if she'd forgotten.
“Go to your status window. It should be in the bottom right corner.”
“Found it. Thanks. I'll call you again after the dungeon.”
“Alright.”
After she left, I unplugged my charging phone and called Park Si-woo.
─ You picked up fast.
─ You caught me when I was free. Good timing.
Eun-young wasn't the only one who had tried to contact me during my three-day disappearance.
Park Si-woo had also left a message asking me to call when I had time.
─ Oh? That's good.
─ Except for the fact that I left that message 37 hours ago.
─ Did you really have to say that yourself?
Something I'd noticed while talking with Park Si-woo was that, contrary to his appearance, he was quite petty.
Should I say he gets fixated on strange things? Anyway, this guy wasn't exactly normal either.
Then again, that's probably why he's friends with someone like Choi Soo-hyun.
It seemed he had a lot to say, as he kept talking.
─ There will be an internal Aria Guild dungeon briefing tonight before the team-up with Raon. Make sure you attend.
─ What about the joint briefing with the Raon Guild?
─ Seeing as there's been no word, it seems it'll proceed as scheduled... but I wouldn't get your hopes up.
From what Park Si-woo was saying, it sounded like there were already signs of division before the dungeon even started.
─ Once we enter the dungeon, information sharing has to be transparent.
─ I don't think you're one to talk.
─ Just attend.
Park Si-woo ignored my complaint and stubbornly stuck to his point.
Right.
As an employee, I have to do what I'm told.
Even though Park Si-woo was looking out for me, our relationship was still fundamentally that of an employer and an employee.
─ I heard you asked Choi Soo-hyun about Seo Ji-hoon.
I was actually planning to call Choi Soo-hyun after I was done with Park Si-woo.
But Park Si-woo's tone didn't sound very pleased.
─ At least for Guild-related matters, ask me.
Park Si-woo was openly showing his disappointment.
─ Well, you're his coworker. I didn't want it to seem like I was digging around behind your back.
─ So you see the three of us as mere coworkers?
─ Founding partners? And it's not like I asked anything that serious.
I'd only asked what kind of guy Seo Ji-hoon was. The fact that Soo-hyun had already tattled to Si-woo showed how much he didn't want to talk about it.
─ I hope you understand why Choi Soo-hyun recommended you to me. I'll stop nagging now.
─ Gee, thanks a bunch. I'm tearing up.
Ignoring me, Park Si-woo gave a brief explanation about Seo Ji-hoon.
Black Holdings, led by Seo Ji-hoon, was a splinter guild from the Raon Guild. They had been on bad terms with Raon even before merging with Aria.
The story was that after the merger with the Aria Guild, the issue seemed to have been resolved, at least on the surface.
On the surface, that is.
He drew the line there, saying he would tell me the rest of the details in person.
Since Park Si-woo had explained it, I was saved the trouble of calling Choi Soo-hyun.
─ I keep forgetting to ask, but do you know someone named Kim Yu-han?
─ Who?
─ A member from the Anthill.
Since then, I'd heard news about the others, but strangely, there was no mention of Kim Yu-han.
Park Si-woo told me to wait a moment, and I heard the sound of a keyboard clacking over the phone.
─ A member from the Anthill, you said?
─ Yeah, why?
─ No such person exists.
─ What? What are you talking about? Are you sure you looked properly?
I urged him to check again several times, but all I got back was Park Si-woo's irritation.
He said the name ‘Kim Yu-han’ couldn't be found in any of the guild's reports or rosters.
In Kim Yu-han's place was the name of a Hunter I'd never heard of.
That can't be right.
─ You guys didn't get your servers hacked, did you? Is your security okay?
I said it jokingly, but I was being serious.
I couldn't say I had written down exactly what happened either, but I never thought it would come back to bite me like this.
It was a case of one lie leading to another.
The fortunate thing was that what happened in the dungeon seemed to be something both I and Kim Yu-han wanted to hide.
After Ahn Joo-hye's report, I knew that Min Sung-taek and Kang Hyun-seung had also submitted new reports regarding the Anthill dungeon.
It was just a guild directive to tell the truth since they knew everything, but Park Si-woo hadn't interrogated the two of them in person.
─ It's suspicious, but is there a need to investigate?
─ No, just leave it.
If I had to put it one way, this was my problem.
Thankfully, Park Si-woo didn't press the issue.
Just knowing that Kim Yu-han had become a ghost who didn't show up in the Aria Guild's data server was enough.
─ See you later.
And that was the end of my call with Park Si-woo.
* * *
After cleaning the house and running a few errands, half the day flew by in an instant.
‘I should probably get going.’
It was a little early, but it was better than being late and getting an earful.
Having finished getting ready to leave, I lifted my head toward the firmly shut steel door.
A strange man was standing in front of my door.
A young man's voice drifted through the slightly open window.
“...is the right one, right? Stop with the bullshit and shut up. Or you're dead.”
The man sounded extremely irritated.
The voice was strangely familiar.
Judging by the sound of his footsteps and the approaching voice, I had a feeling he was heading for my place.
First Eun-young, and now this. I don't know why my house is so popular today.
It's not like it's a nice place.
Just in case, I used Mana Detection.
The moment I used Mana Detection, the voice beyond the door fell silent.
‘What's going on?’
I wondered if I'd made a mistake, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Come to think of it, I hadn't used the Mana Detection skill a single time in the Anthill dungeon.
There was no reason to use it on something I could see, so that was natural.
But the situation was a little different now.
Gripping my sword, I focused on the other side of the closed door.
This was absolutely impossible.
‘Yoo Ji-han?’
Why is he out here?
Silence filled the air as I tensed up.
The guy outside the door seemed to have noticed me using Mana Detection.
After a long moment, a voice came from beyond the door.
“I'm not here to fight, so open the door while I'm asking nicely. If you don't want to die.”
How is any part of that asking nicely?