Chapter 83
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Why Are You Doing This to Me! (4)
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“A man doesn’t go back on his word.”
“I just didn't think I’d lose so cleanly.”
“That’s your problem.”
Kang Moon-guk scratched his head.
He looked as if he was thinking, *what kind of guy is this?*
Did he really think I’d give him special treatment just because he’s a guild leader?
Besides, my guild and the Raon Guild were practically enemies in the public eye.
“Can’t be helped. A deal’s a deal. I’ll back down this time. But! Don’t think you’ll be able to beat Jae-hyung next time.”
“Why do you sound like a villain? You got what you wanted, so you can afford to pay 500,000 points, can’t you?”
I glanced at Park Si-woo, who was leaning against the wall, scrolling through his phone.
He didn’t seem to have much interest in the conversation between Kang Moon-guk and me.
It wasn't the first or second time he'd acted like that.
I wasn’t surprised anymore.
I stepped back, putting some distance between myself and Kang Moon-guk.
This left Choi Jae-hyung, who had been hiding behind me, face-to-face with his guild leader.
Of all the places to hide!
“Hahaha, Guild Leader.”
“It’s fine. It was my decision to offer you the points. If this was a good experience for you, then I can consider this a worthy investment.”
“Right?”
“You just have to grind dungeons hard before the raid, so don’t worry.”
In other words, he was going to work him to the bone.
“No… uh… never mind. I’m sorry.”
Choi Jae-hyung hung his head low.
He should have picked his opponent more carefully.
After what he’d put me through for hours, I felt no sympathy for him.
“Well then, we’ll be on our way.”
“You! I won’t let you off next time!”
Choi Jae-hyung clenched his fist as if to say, *just you wait,* and left with Kang Moon-guk.
Silence fell over the training room once the two were gone.
It felt like a typhoon had just passed through.
I trudged over to Choi Soo-hyun and Park Si-woo.
“Good work.”
“It was nothing… actually, no, it was a pain.”
The wound on my neck from Choi Jae-hyung’s sword throbbed.
I had applied a healing ointment right away, but the stinging was unavoidable.
I mumbled, touching my blood-stained neck.
“That was unexpected.”
“What was?”
“Weren’t you on bad terms with the Raon Guild?”
“We’re not on good terms.”
“He’s a bit different from what I imagined.”
As Park Si-woo said, publicly, the Aria Guild and the Raon Guild were not on friendly terms.
“So, it was all for show.”
“I just thought a certain amount of theatrics was necessary.”
Park Si-woo didn’t deny that he had intentionally created the impression that his guild and the Raon Guild were at odds.
“Sometimes, to solve internal problems, you need to divert attention externally.”
“And you colluded with Raon every time that happened?”
Just like today.
For Park Si-woo, the de facto leader of the Aria Guild, and Kang Moon-guk, the leader of the Raon Guild, to meet, they needed a plausible excuse.
And what was the best way to meet secretly and quickly with a good reason?
You make your subordinates fight.
They were guilds that bickered all the time anyway.
If a Raon Guild Hunter and an Aria Guild Hunter fought, most Hunters would just think, *there they go again,* and move on.
On top of that, the Association was a place anyone could enter, regardless of their guild.
It’s like they say, the darkest place is under the candlestick.
From Choi Soo-hyun calling me to come for an aptitude test to Choi Jae-hyung picking a fight, it was all planned.
‘Though it seemed like Choi Jae-hyung didn’t know anything.’
I guess it didn't matter.
Park Si-woo and Kang Moon-guk had met under the pretext of my fight with Choi Jae-hyung.
Choi Soo-hyun’s role was to set the stage.
“Han Jong-ho was part of Jin Sang-hyuk’s faction.”
“Jin Sang-hyuk?”
“He’s the vice-leader of the Raon Guild… practically the second-in-command. It seems he was backing Han Jong-ho.”
“And his relationship with Guild Leader Kang?”
“The worst. If you look at the Raon Guild alone, Jin Sang-hyuk should be the leader, not Kang Moon-guk.”
“But Kang Moon-guk is the guild leader.”
“Because of the god Lux.”
The Raon Guild was primarily composed of followers who worshiped Lux.
The ranks in the Raon Guild, represented by the roses on their chests, were based on donation order.
Since the hierarchy was so strictly determined by donations, the guild leader was chosen the same way.
Jin Sang-hyuk had used every trick in the book to raise his donation ranking, but he still couldn't beat Kang Moon-guk.
“But that’s strange. Kang Moon-guk is in a power struggle with a young vice-leader? Why?”
Kang Moon-guk was like a seasoned veteran.
He also had a slight dictatorial air about him.
Choi Soo-hyun, who had been listening, chimed in.
“That old man only became a follower of Lux three years ago. From Jin Sang-hyuk’s perspective, who has worshiped Lux his whole life, Kang Moon-guk is just a stone that rolled in.”
I was starting to get a picture of their internal situation.
For Kang Moon-guk, Han Jong-ho, the man Jin Sang-hyuk was backing, dying in a dungeon made things much easier for him.
It was obvious which side Park Si-woo planned to align with.
“Will that Jin Sang-hyuk guy be okay?”
“Jin Sang-hyuk can’t beat Kang Moon-guk. I forgot to mention. That Han Jong-ho punk’s family is rich.”
“Money?”
“To compete with Kang Moon-guk’s Contribution Points, Jin Sang-hyuk has to bring in a massive amount of points himself. I don’t mean to belittle Jin Sang-hyuk, but his opponent was just too much. How much money do you think Jin Sang-hyuk squeezed out of that punk’s family as a price for his support? Han Jong-ho wasn't his only source of money, but he's going to have a hard time for a while.”
“Feels like we just did someone else a favor.”
“Not a chance. We will be compensated.”
Park Si-woo stated firmly, as if telling me not to worry about that part.
That he would be compensated meant he wanted something else in return.
So far, there didn’t seem to be any major issues. It was just that the other party was the Raon Guild that bothered me a little.
“Are you sure about this?”
The Raon Guild had a history of luring Park Si-woo’s former fiancée, Yoo Chae-young, into a trap and getting her killed.
Whatever their relationship had been, that wasn’t the point.
“My sister… no, if you’re talking about Yoo Chae-young’s case, Kang Moon-guk wasn’t the guild leader back then. The leader at the time also died in a dungeon three years ago.”
After he died, the one who took over as leader was Kang Moon-guk.
Park Si-woo spoke calmly, as if telling someone else’s story.
He didn't seem to care much that I knew about Yoo Chae-young and the past incident.
“Still, it was the Raon Guild that did it, right? Even if it was the act of one person, you can’t possibly not hate them. There might still be people involved in that incident within the Raon Guild.”
“Nothing changes even if I get revenge on them. In fact, someone else who hates me will just come after me, and that would be a real pain.”
“Who doesn’t know that, you idiot?”
If everyone practiced what Park Si-woo preached, the world would surely be full of saints.
Throughout our conversation, I couldn’t feel any of Park Si-woo’s personal emotions.
There are so many right answers in the world.
Even when we know the path we should take, we hesitate to walk it.
The closer a choice is to the right answer, the more painful it often is for the individual.
“If you’re planning on lecturing me…”
“Are you the type of person who’d listen to a lecture?”
Choi Soo-hyun, who had been quiet, burst out laughing.
If I, who had only known Park Si-woo for a short time, felt this way, how must his old classmate Choi Soo-hyun have felt?
“I…”
“Think it’s a job someone has to do?”
Park Si-woo’s eyes widened.
He looked at me as if to ask how I knew, and I sighed.
How do I know?
‘Because I’ve thought that way before, too.’
I had no intention of blaming Park Si-woo or nagging him.
“I’m just saying, don’t do something you’ll regret.”
“When that time comes, I can just ask you for help.”
“What? No way! How did the conversation get here?”
Do it yourself!
It was already past ten o’clock.
My stomach, which hadn’t had dinner, rumbled.
I held out my hand to Park Si-woo.
“Hand it over.”
“What?”
“What do you think? Your card! Money! Work outside of dungeons means extra pay!”
I had played along with Park Si-woo’s scheme, so it was as good as having worked.
Park Si-woo stared at me blankly, and Choi Soo-hyun burst out laughing again.
Using Park Si-woo’s card, Choi Soo-hyun and I treated ourselves to the highest-grade Korean beef.
* * *
“…Hey.”
“…”
“Hey, woman!”
“…Ugh.”
“If you’re awake, open your eyes.”
A heavy voice echoed in her head, and Eun-young came to her senses.
Drip. Drip.
Water droplets that had collected on the ceiling fell into a puddle below, sending ripples across its surface.
“Where am I…”
Eun-young cautiously opened her eyes.
Standing before her was Ji-han, a blunt expression on his face.
She pressed her throbbing forehead, trying to push herself up from the ground where she had been sitting.
“Ah.”
As her hand touched the floor, Eun-young realized that the floor and walls were slightly different from what she had imagined.
They were soft, like the skin of a living creature.
Ji-han extended a hand to Eun-young, who was stumbling, unable to keep her balance.
*What’s with this guy?*
Having finally managed to stand, Eun-young stared at Ji-han with a bewildered face.
The walls and floor undulated and swayed.
It seemed they weren’t just simple walls.
Ji-han quickly grabbed Eun-young’s wrist as she was about to fall.
“Are you crazy… Let go!”
“And you can barely stand.”
The arm he grabbed throbbed with pain.
It was because of her previous injuries.
A moment too late, Ji-han realized the state of her arm and slightly shifted his grip upward.
‘How long was I unconscious?’
Eun-young tried to recall her memories from before arriving in this unknown space.
The Dungeon Project had ended.
She was attacked by Yoo Ji-han.
Then, some weird eyeball interfered, and she was swept up in something along with Jung Hyun-sung.
Eun-young looked down at her captured arm.
Could she escape?
She had already realized she was no match for Yoo Ji-han.
With her arm caught, at this close a distance, she had no means of dealing with him.
Sensing Eun-young’s killing intent, Ji-han clicked his tongue and muttered.
“You’re deadly.”
“What?”
“I have no intention of just taking a hit, so give it up.”
Eun-young, who had been looking down, quickly turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
The wrist Ji-han held ached.
A small light floated above Ji-han’s shoulder.
In the pitch-black space devoid of any other light, the unidentified ball of light on his shoulder served as the only guide.
“You’re not going to kill me?”
“You want me to?”
Ji-han and Eun-young’s eyes met.
Before they came here, Ji-han had been trying to kill her.
If he genuinely wanted to kill her, there was nothing stopping him now.
Moreover, Eun-young was injured.
This guy was the real deal.
If she told him to kill her, even out of bravado, he would surely do it on the spot.
After a long moment, Eun-young’s trembling lips parted.
“Let me live.”
Her stomach churned.
Of all people, it was the man who had tried to kill her.
She would rather die than beg someone for her life.
And yet, knowing that, she asked him to spare her.
It was a contradiction.
The gap between her and the Ji-han before her was like a vast canyon.
An overwhelming difference.
Beyond his strength, she felt an unidentifiable fear.
The hand that held her felt terribly sinister.
It felt as if her arm could be torn off at any moment.
“I’ll let it slide.”
At those words from Ji-han, Eun-young’s legs gave out, and she collapsed.
Ji-han, still holding her arm, held something out to her.
The light on his shoulder illuminated a bottle in his hand.
The glass bottle, slightly larger than his palm, contained a red liquid.
*Wait, I thought this bastard wasn't going to kill me.*
“Are you telling me to kill myself?”
“It’s not poison!”
Ji-han shouted in frustration.
*What is with this woman?*