Morning Disturbance
I felt like something noisy was happening outside. When I opened my eyes, I saw Jiyoon and Sieun lying on either side of me, nestled against my body.
“Uhh… how long was I out?”
At my words, Jiyoon looked up at me and answered.
“You slept for quite a while. You fell asleep in the early evening, and now it’s already morning.”
I slept that long? Ah, what a waste. I’d gone to bed without checking the shop last night. I’d completely wasted the whole night. Jun must have been waiting for me… Well, nothing I can do about it now. I’ll just have to go today.
“You’ve been short on sleep lately, so the fatigue must have built up.”
“Guess so. Still, I feel pretty refreshed after sleeping so deeply.”
I’d spent the last several nights dealing with the women until dawn, then sleeping a bit before waking up and repeating the cycle. No wonder I’d been running on a sleep deficit. But after getting proper rest, I really did feel refreshed.
The event dungeon would open after just one more day here. I needed to rest as much as possible until tomorrow and get my body in peak condition.
“By the way, what’s going on outside? It sounds pretty chaotic out there.”
“Looks like someone from the clan came by. They seem to be talking with Daejang-ajeossi.”
Hmm, I wonder who it is. I was curious. I tore open a bottle of water, splashed some on my face, and stepped outside.
Dongseok was standing in front of the Gate of Rest with a dazed look in his eyes. He must have been standing guard here all night. My eyes, which had grown used to the lantern light inside the dark massage parlor, stung when they met the bright daylight. I frowned and walked over to the two people talking at the entrance.
It was Daejang-ajeossi and Yena, the woman who had guided us here yesterday.
“...Are you really saying nothing happened?”
“That’s what I keep telling you. We just went up and came right back down.”
“Hmm…”
When I approached, Daejang-ajeossi saw me and greeted me warmly.
“Ah, did you rest well, Min-gu? Good morning.”
This guy doesn’t even sleep, and he’s wishing me a good morning? Still, there was no need to nitpick first thing in the morning.
“Yes, good morning. What’s going on?”
“Well, it’s…”
As Daejang-ajeossi tried to explain, Yena spoke to me first.
“Do you happen to know anything about this? I’m talking about our clan leader oppa.”
Hmm, so that’s what this was about. I put on an innocent face that said I knew absolutely nothing and asked her back.
“Clan leader oppa? You mean that tall guy from yesterday? What about him?”
“He went up yesterday to meet with your group, but when he came back down… his condition has been terrible ever since. He doesn’t answer when we call him, and he just stares blankly like his soul left his body…”
It must have been quite the shock. He’d witnessed the raw, explicit sex scene of the woman he thought was his potential girlfriend, after all. It was completely understandable. I tilted my head and asked Yena.
“Oh, the clan leader came up to meet us? I had no idea.”
“Huh? But this uncle said he met the clan leader… Why don’t you know that he came?”
When Yena looked at me with questioning eyes, Daejang-ajeossi stepped in.
“Ah, Min-gu and Jisu weren’t there when the clan leader came up yesterday. They were upstairs.”
“They were somewhere else? Just the two of them? Why?”
Yena asked with a slightly flustered expression. I answered calmly.
“We just had something to take care of. Why are you so curious about that?”
“No, it’s just… that Jisu person… she and our clan leader…”
“Oh, now that you mention it, Jisu did say something like that. That she knew your clan leader.”
“Just… knew him? That’s it?”
“Yes, they’re just acquaintances. What more would there be?”
“Then what is your relationship with that Jisu woman?”
“Why do you want to know?”
Yena hesitated at my question. Even she must have realized she was prying too much into other people’s business.
“I-I just… could you please tell me? I don’t understand why our clan leader oppa is acting like this…”
“Hmm… Well, it’s not difficult to explain. Jisu is my woman. Does that answer your question?”
“Ah…”
Yena’s eyes widened into perfect circles. Then she nodded with an expression of sudden understanding. She probably thought the clan leader had seen me and Jisu being lovey-dovey, and that shock had put him in that state. Of course, what he’d actually seen was far more shocking than that. Anyway, it seemed like she understood now. The rest was up to the clan members who loved their leader to take care of him.
“Now, if you’re done being curious—”
Clack clack clack. The sound of someone hurriedly running up the stairs. Soon after, Jinsu—one of Sieun’s obsessed brothers—appeared and shouted at Yena.
“Come down quick! There’s trouble!”
A startled Yena looked at him and asked, “Why? What happened?”
“We got into it with the group that arrived today. There’s a ton of them… Anyway, hurry up!”
Yena muttered with a serious expression, “Aren’t almost all the clan members gone right now?”
“They are. Yoon-sik hyung took almost everyone with him to hunt monsters. The only ones left who can fight are you and me. So come on. Are those Sieun-noona’s companions? We might need your help. If things get ugly, we’d appreciate it if you could lend a hand.”
Jinsu finished speaking and rushed back down. Yena followed right after him.
Daejang-ajeossi, who had been watching the sudden development with a surprised face, turned to me.
“...What do you think is happening?”
“I don’t know either. The event starts tomorrow, so a lot of people will be gathering today. Things like this are bound to happen. Anyway, let’s go see what’s going on.”
I dismissed the Gate of Rest inside the massage parlor, moved over to the window, and summoned it again. When I opened the door and stepped inside, all four women looked shocked. It made sense—the Sanctuary Cradle that had been inside the massage parlor had suddenly moved into empty air.
Since I’d summoned the Gate of Rest near the building’s window, the Sanctuary Cradle was now jutting out from the building and floating in midair. We were on the third floor, so the cradle was hovering at that exact height.
While the other three women looked moderately surprised, Jisu was in a complete panic, trying to get out of the Sanctuary Cradle. Oh right. She had a fear of heights.
A mischievous urge rose in me, and I grabbed Jisu’s hand and pulled her back.
“M-Master, I’ll just wait outside for a bit…”
“Nope. Come with me. I want to stay with you.”
“B-But…”
“You don’t want to?”
When I stared directly at her, Jisu made a helpless face, then lowered her head and whispered.
“I-I’ll go…”
I gave her a wide grin, then pulled her along as I stepped deeper into the Sanctuary Cradle. Jisu kept her eyes tightly shut as she was led by my hand. I could feel her trembling through my grip. Ah, why is teasing her so much fun? I feel like my personality is getting worse and worse.
Once inside the cradle, the outside scenery was completely visible. Even the people gathered at the building entrance below were clearly in view.
Six members of the Hope Clan stood in front of the building entrance, and at their head was Seong-jun, the Hope Clan leader, holding a sword with a hardened expression. They’d said most of them had gone monster hunting, and it really looked like only a few were left.
Surrounding them was a huge crowd of people. Whew, how many is that? Counting them one by one, there looked to be around thirty. Several times more than the Hope Clan members, and every single one of them was a man. Their faces were all rough and vicious-looking.
And the thing their apparent leader was holding was…
“A gun…?”
Daejang-ajeossi, who had been watching beside me, spoke in a surprised voice.
“It looks like one of the guns the police used… I’m curious where they got it. Did they raid a police station?”
Probably. Or maybe the guy used to be a cop. Either way, the man holding the gun pointed it at Seong-jun, the Hope Clan leader, and shouted with a twisted face.
Seong-jun replied coldly to the man’s words.
“No. What reason do we have to trust you and let you inside? Go find somewhere else.”
“Ha, this is fucking bullshit. The world’s gone to shit and you’re still this stingy? We’re all humans, shouldn’t we help each other?”
“There are plenty of much larger and wider buildings nearby. I don’t understand why you’re so fixated on this one.”
The man with the gun sneered at Seong-jun’s response.
“I heard you let some other people into your building yesterday. Why do they get to come in and we don’t, huh? I also heard there’s a crazy hot celebrity in there. Let us see her too. I’m a fan of hers! Si… Hyun? Whatever her name is! You guys aren’t the only ones who get to enjoy her. Let’s share, you bastards!!”
It’s Sieun, you idiot. It looked like someone had seen us moving with the Hope Clan members yesterday and had tipped off this new group. This was exactly why you shouldn’t show kindness to others. The Hope Clan had probably gained a reputation as pushovers who let other groups into their building. These guys had come crawling over hoping to latch onto those suckers.
Sieun, who had been watching the situation outside, spoke to me with a dark expression.
“O-Oppa… those people… it’s because of me…”
“It’s not because of you, so don’t worry about it. Guys like that will pick a fight with anyone over any excuse.”
“That’s right, unnie. Don’t pay them any attention.”
“B-But if a fight breaks out and the clan members get hurt…”
“Don’t worry. Even if a fight starts, I won’t let anyone get hurt.”
When I stroked her head, Sieun seemed to calm down a little. Meanwhile, the situation below was growing even more serious.
The vicious-looking man with the gun shoved the barrel toward Seong-jun and snarled.
“You fucking blind? You don’t see this? This may not work on monsters, but you think it won’t work on you?”
When the opponent actually pointed the gun at him, Seong-jun dropped the polite speech and spoke in an icy voice.
“Then shoot.”
“...What?”
“You’re making all this fuss over one pathetic gun. If you’re so confident, go ahead and shoot.”
Seong-jun was provoking him. Honestly, a gun… It used to be a devastating weapon, but in a world full of ability users, how effective could it be? Leaving Juniel aside, even Jisu, Jiyoon, and Sieun—who had relatively low physical stats—would be able to dodge bullets easily. With my stats, I could avoid them without trouble, and even if I got hit, I probably wouldn’t be seriously injured. My body’s durability had reached an absurd level.
But that was only if you had stats on our level. How strong were the Hope Clan members? Everyone except Seong-jun was staring at the gun with tense expressions. Only Seong-jun stood there holding his sword with calm eyes.
The tense atmosphere stretched between the two groups. Then—
BANG!
Without any warning, flames burst from the man’s gun barrel. What a crazy bastard. He actually shot.
Still, having high stats really made a difference. I could see the bullet flying out of the barrel. It wasn’t quite ‘slow-motion,’ but it was slow enough that I could dodge it if I focused.
And then—
Clang.
Seong-jun, who had been holding his sword in a middle stance, moved it ever so slightly and deflected the incoming bullet. As expected of the clan’s strongest member—his stats and swordsmanship were incredible. Tsk, was this guy really a hero?
After deflecting the bullet, Seong-jun glared at his opponent with furious eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected the man to actually fire. The shooter stared at Seong-jun with a blank face for a moment, as if he didn’t understand what had just happened, then muttered.
“Uh… I definitely… shot…”
Soon his face twisted in rage, and he began firing at Seong-jun in earnest.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Seong-jun calmly moved his sword, deflecting every bullet. The man quickly ran out of ammunition. His face twitching, he growled.
“Ha, you son of a bitch. You’re something else. Fine, let’s see if you can handle a beatdown too! Hey! Get them!”
At his command, all the men behind him raised their weapons. Seven versus thirty. Out of those seven, only three could actually fight. That meant it was essentially three against thirty. No matter how strong the Hope Clan was, with that kind of numerical disadvantage, they were bound to take heavy losses.
I owed this clan a favor, the reason these bastards were causing trouble was because of us, and I felt just a tiny bit sorry for their clan leader. I figured I might as well help them out.
I used the Gate Shift skill to move the Gate of Rest to face the direction we were looking. When I opened it, the spot where the enemies were gathered was visible right below us.
“Sieun, drop a big one right in the middle of those guys.”
“Yes, oppa.”
My sweet Sieun. Even though I’d ordered her to kill, she stepped forward without the slightest hesitation. She opened the Gate of Rest and reached only her hand outside, creating a fireball.
It was a level 7 fireball. On top of that, Sieun’s INT stat was over 70, so the fireball that formed in the air was the size of a human torso. Since we weren’t that high up, the people gathered below felt the heat and looked up at the sky.
“W-What the hell is that…?”
The vicious man who had been shooting, Seong-jun who had been blocking the bullets, and everyone else stared blankly at the fireball floating in the air. At my signal, Sieun flicked her wrist, sending the fireball plummeting straight into the center of the enemy group.
“I-It’s falling!! Run!!!!”
Someone shouted, but like I said, we weren’t that high up. With no time to dodge, the fireball landed right in the middle of the enemies and—
KWAAAAAANG!!
It exploded with a massive roar.