The Catastrophic Gate Break and the Guild's Love Calls
I quickly checked the situation online.
Then I called my father.
―If you're healthy, that's all that matters. Don't overdo it.
“Yes. Father.”
―Work hard.
Click. My father hung up after just a few words.
Since I had checked in with both of them, the urgent fires were out.
Most unanswered calls were from unknown numbers, which meant nothing.
I had to read the stacked messages one by one.
“They’re all too many.”
Seriously, 999+ was a bit much.
It looked like every guild in the country had sent me a text.
[How did you get the contact for the young master?]
“I don’t know either.”
Information in our country is half public goods.
I had stopped the gate break yesterday afternoon.
Within a single day, the guilds had sent out love calls I never even imagined.
Boo-woo-woong!
[Seventh Star, the Honorable One]
This guy even called.
Since we knew each other, I pressed the call button.
―You became a star in just one day. Congratulations.
“Star? What do you mean.”
―Honestly, my heart hurts.
If your heart hurts, you should go to the bathroom, why call me?
―Didn’t everyone just realize the value of the hunter I alone knew?
Ehh.
Teacher, you say things that are so embarrassing without any shame.
But strangely, I felt good.
That’s why scoundrels get ahead.
―Have you heard the conditions from other guilds?
“I got plenty of contacts, but I need time to meet.”
―Please meet with the other guilds and take your time to think carefully.
“Normally don’t they ask us to handle it?”
―Because you’re confident.
Pride was clear in his voice.
Now that I thought about it.
This uncle wasn’t an ordinary person either.
I looked him up and saw that he had risen from a regular employee to the youngest executive level.
The Seventh Star Guild was not an ordinary hunter guild.
It was under the Chiseong Group, one of Korea’s top conglomerates.
So that meant this man had risen to the level of a conglomerate executive in his forties with his bare hands.
As a non-awakener and in a hunter guild at that.
―I have taken up too much of your busy time.
“It’s fine. I have no schedule today anyway.”
Freelance hunters have no regular weekends.
Still.
Today I had deliberately left my schedule empty.
It was today because I had told the family I would eat meat to celebrate the promotion.
―Well, you seem very busy today.
“Excuse me?”
―You’ll find out soon.
What the heck.
Don’t suddenly raise flags, old man.
After ending the call with the senior of the Seventh Star Guild, I lightly prepared for an outing.
[Are you going to replenish the knights?]
“There’s a promise. Promise.”
I would just buy some beef and lettuce.
The moment I opened the door without thinking twice.
Clack! Clack!
A deafening shutter sound rang out.
“Park Minho hunter! One line of your impression about stopping the Guro-dong gate break!”
“You use undead. You’re a necromancer, right?”
“You became Korea’s first necromancer!”
“The undead you control…”
A murmuring voice.
Dozens of people were gathered beside the wall.
How many cameras were there?
I looked around dazedly.
Then I suddenly realized.
The meat party for the promotion had failed.
* * *
Unable to accept the sudden change in situation, I chose to run to the main house on the first floor.
“Minho.”
“Yes.”
“Y-you… just congratulations.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“Minho. I heard you got promoted while unmarried. That’s amazing. Congratulations!”
Even the owner’s wife, who was home on the weekend, lightly patted my shoulder.
Hmm.
I was grateful, but…
It was awkward.
“Today’s meat party won’t work out.”
“It’s fine. I don’t even know if what I’m eating now is going into my nose or mouth.”
The owner’s wife laughed lightly.
It was obviously a joke.
Since I couldn’t brush it off lightly, I laughed awkwardly with a haha hahaha.
“Puhot! Uncle, what’s with that face?”
The number-one-ranked daughter-in-law at this house, Yeondu, held out her phone.
Along with an article titled [Casual Appearance of Guro-dong Necromancer].
It was my face as I had just opened the door.
Ten minutes ago.
This…
“You have to make a stern expression. I’m the Guro-dong necromancer right now!”
“Yeondu.”
“Why.”
“You were surprised, right?”
“But you’re proud, right? It’s a hunter who stopped the break incident.”
Hmph.
Hmph.
When someone close said that, my cheeks heated up.
“They contacted me too.”
“What?”
“They asked me to tie up Mr. Dad’s legs from Mir Guild.”
Ah.
Now that I thought about it, she was also one of the domestic top five.
It was her and her parents’ wish that she must graduate from school.
She belonged to Mir Guild but participated in hunter activities and training after school.
Hmph.
Love calls were flying everywhere.
“You’re being too direct.”
“I don’t want to bother Uncle for no reason.”
Oho.
The kid was impressive.
“Let’s meet the day after tomorrow.”
“Eh? For real?”
“I’ll hear out the conditions.”
The Seventh Star Guild had already talked.
The other guilds were preparing conditions, so I could listen.
[Are you trying to join under someone else?]
Maybe.
I hadn’t decided anything for sure.
But I needed a place that would handle the annoying tasks like gate debris processing or tax issues.
When I talked to the senior of Chiseong.
They had mentioned agencies, but the scope of work and expertise was narrower than guilds, so I had also been worried.
After meeting other guilds, I would find my direction.
“Y-you… I’ll go first.”
“You can stay a bit longer, student.”
“Uncle, if I leave now my hair might get torn off.”
Whoa.
It’s not right to say scary things casually.
My hair is precious.
“If I stay home it’s a nuisance.”
I hadn’t noticed at the boarding house.
But when I came downstairs to the first floor it was extremely noisy.
This is it.
I had left no schedule, but this much even without work I had to go out.
“I’ll treat you to meat later.”
“Aw, Minho, whenever you have time just tell me.”
“Tsk. I was starving just to eat a lot today.”
When you say it like that it’s a bit scary.
Yeondu’s appetite was far beyond an adult man.
“Am I thinking of something rude?”
Eek.
Good sense.
“Then I’ll see you later.”
I turned my body.
“Uncle! I have to answer!”
Leave it to your imagination.
The moment I opened the main house door, the shutter storm poured down.
I was already prepared so I didn’t tremble much.
Thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body, I read the journalists’ eyes like a gap and slipped through.
That side looked promising.
“Park Minho hunter!”
“I have a schedule.”
Fluttering, I squeezed through the crowd like a salmon swimming upstream.
Without using excessive strength thanks to the Heavenly Martial Body, I brushed aside the dense journalists and escaped in under ten seconds!
I ran at full speed to avoid being caught by the ankle.
“One line please!!”
“Citizens have a right to know!!”
Didn’t you all already know?
Whoosh, whoosh.
After running at full speed, the chasing journalists disappeared.
It was fortunate there was no ex-hunter among them.
I had escaped well.
But…
Now what do I do?
* * *
I had successfully escaped (with a good momentum) from the boarding house, but with no schedule left there was nothing to do.
[How about going to the gate?]
“If I go in and come out it’ll be the same situation.”
No.
It could be worse.
If guild staff also piled up it would be even more annoying.
[How about making more undead?]
“I don’t have materials.”
To make Armored Zombie Warrior, I needed at least 100kg of main body and hard bones.
I didn’t know if I could get it immediately at the Hunter Market, and calculating travel time would make the work too much.
The analysis of the ‘Evolved Predator Ghoul’ I had put in the Death Space would be done later.
When the Crack Bureau sent ghoul corpses I would do it all at once.
Hmm.
While I was thinking where to go, a good idea came to mind.
“I have to go to the blacksmith’s street.”
[Even though you have a workshop, why there?]
“To swing a hammer seriously I think I should learn.”
Handling bones wasn’t a big problem.
The problem was that I lacked basic knowledge of the structure of each weapon and center of gravity.
If I could make weapons by just looking up diagrams on the internet it would be great.
The blacksmith’s street would have never existed if hammering was that easy.
[I heard artisans are sensitive about technique leaks.]
“It’s fine because there’s a trial course.”
It wasn’t about learning professional blacksmithing.
I could just taste what the feeling was like.
Learning blacksmithing as a trial and then another concept.
It was a daily trial, but swinging a hammer in a forge meant I might get scolded by the artisans.
From the reviews I was worried the star rating was low.
[If you commit a rudeness to the young master, Isra won’t stay quiet!]
[I’ll blow you away.]
Calm down.
It looked like I might kill a few people.
Normally I gave up on using public transportation.
Wouldn’t my whereabouts be completely shared on SNS?
“Boss, take me to the blacksmith’s street.”
I hailed a passing taxi.
At this point I didn’t fear taxi fares anymore because I had earned enough.
Hehehehehe.
“Are you not the Guro-dong necromancer?”
“Ah. Yes.”
“Young people are really great. I’ll cheer for you.”
I didn’t know the taxi driver would recognize me.
At that moment the radio also talked about the gate break incident.
Hmm.
What was this? Was this public numbers play?
[The people praising the young master’s greatness are increasing!]
[Heh heh. Of course.]
[We must work harder until the whole world praises the young master.]
[Mage. Correct mindset.]
Please.
Stop.
Only after sending a painful time in a different meaning did I finally arrive at the blacksmith’s street.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“We always cheer for you, Hunter!”
Hoo.
I wouldn’t have to see embarrassing sights anymore.
Artisans cared only about their own work.
They wouldn’t step forward just because an excellent hunter came.
…That’s what I thought.
“Oi! A precious one has come!”
“Are you Park Minho hunter? We have something good at our forge, come see.”
“Whoa. Elder Jung, keep the order!”
“There is order. Don’t you know there’s no order when going?”
“What the hell?!”
The blacksmiths grabbing my collar and fighting to take me first.
What.
I’m scared.