Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Tone Suddenly Shifts (2)
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“Uwaaaah, home sweet home—!”
The moment they cleared the C-rank gate, Kang Ji-ye burst through the door with a joyful scream, kicking off her shoes as if she’d been waiting her whole life for this.
Kang Sa-hu had watched her tirelessly running around and healing injured hunters while the others battled orcs and got hurt. He fully understood how exhausted she must be.
“Go wash up and get some sleep first.”
“Yeah... Ah, I just wanna crash as is.”
“Wash up first, then sleep.”
“Okay, okay~”
Kang Ji-ye, who had depleted nearly all her stamina and mana rushing to the wounded and treating them for hours, trudged toward the bathroom.
While she showered, Kang Sa-hu turned toward the entrance, intending to check the orc soul cores they’d harvested.
-Is this the right place?
-No doubt about it. We’ve been tailing them from the gate.
-Who wants to ring the doorbell?
Kang Sa-hu’s eyes flashed with sharp light as he overheard the whispers.
“So it’s come to this.”
Letting out a small sigh, he quickly chanted a spell under his breath.
He cast the familiar ‘Fear Imprint’ spell as weakly as possible on the front door. Moments later, a commotion erupted outside.
-H-Hic!
-Wh-What’s that? Why am I getting chills...?
-Sh-Should we come back later?
The ‘Fear Imprint’ on the door prevented them from boldly pressing the doorbell or knocking.
That’s when the security guard arrived after Kang Sa-hu called via intercom.
-Hey, who are you people?! What do you think you’re doing here without permission!
-Ah, we’re reporters, reporters! Here for an interview!
-Interview my foot! You can’t just loiter in the apartment entrance like this! Get out!
-W-Wait a sec...!
Soon, sounds of scuffling and people being shoved out echoed from outside, and the hallway fell silent.
Kang Sa-hu, listening quietly from his room, wore a weary expression.
He had anticipated this ever since deciding to work as a hunter.
That’s why, during his deals with Director Lee Jae-man and Center Head Han Sung-hoon, he had emphasized protecting his and Kang Ji-ye’s personal information.
In fact, because they had kept it under wraps so well, the attention was only now pouring in belatedly.
Guess we need to move.
The problem was, they weren’t in a position to relocate right now.
He had to head to the Necromancer Society soon, and it didn’t make sense to leave Kang Ji-ye to find a place alone.
But delaying it meant she’d be hounded by all sorts while he was away, so he needed a solution.
Of course, he’d mulled over this plenty, so he had several immediate options.
Opting for the most reliable one that wouldn’t burden others too much, he pulled out his phone.
Pressing the shortcut key sent the signal, and the call connected almost instantly, as if they’d been waiting.
[Hello? Guild Master?]
Kim Ho-myeong’s surprised voice came through the speaker.
The C-rank gate clear in Korea rocked the world.
Naturally, the most intense reactions came from countries that had experienced C-rank gates firsthand.
BAM!
A man puffing a cigar slammed his fist on the desk, shattering the thick solid marble into pieces.
“G-Guild Master? Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Stay out.”
In the U.S., where a huge population meant hunters popping up everywhere and guilds sprouting and vanishing like weeds.
Bennett, guild master of Guardians Guild—one of the top two vying for the number one spot alongside Avengers Guild—took a deep breath and scowled.
Known for his quiet demeanor, speaking only when necessary and staying calm, his outburst stemmed from a call with the government.
‘A divided country—the world’s only one—and smaller than one of our states, yet their hunters cleared a C-rank gate with zero casualties. What have you lot been doing?’
“...Hah. Damn it all.”
Stepping over the wreckage of his desk, he rose and walked to the window, gazing out with a troubled expression.
From his high-rise office, nighttime cars looked like tiny specks racing along roads in the dark. He stared down, letting his boiling anger subside.
...This isn’t the time to rage like an idiot.
Fixing his eyes on the cityscape from his favorite office view, Bennett cooled his head.
‘America’s hunters outnumber everyone else on average, and we manage Awakener ranks meticulously—the best in the world.’
Since Awakeners appeared.
America topped the list of destinations for illegal immigrants worldwide, so they’d rolled out aggressive Awakener immigration policies.
Unsurprisingly, preferential treatment for Awakeners.
B-rank and above could immigrate without points if they pledged loyalty and served as national hunters. A-ranks skipped conditions entirely.
S-ranks even got tax exemptions.
Leveraging immigration desires worked wonders, drawing Awakeners from every corner of the globe.
Of course, fierce competition among hunters and clashing cultures bred problems.
But those predated Awakeners, and now S-rank hunters kept things stable enough.
By sheer numbers and power, America seemed the unrivaled hunter superpower.
Even they had faced C-rank gates before.
But their method? Promise low-rank hunters insurance payouts, use them as shields, and let main attackers hunt monsters.
It only worked because of America’s scale—not for cramped, hunter-short Korea.
So how did they clear a C-rank gate—unprecedented worldwide—in a record 13 hours, without a single casualty?
No matter how he racked his brain, no plausible explanation emerged.
Weapons?
America’s vast land generated double-digit gates daily, triple some weeks.
That yielded heaps of resources; the government armed hunters generously with priority buys.
Awakener ranks?
No need to consider. Time had passed since gates and Awakeners emerged, and dream-chasers flocked here, giving America the highest-grade hunters anywhere.
As he organized his thoughts and scanned the Korean C-rank gate report from the government, something odd caught his eye.
“Kang Sa-hu... EX-rank hunter?”
Scoffing at the EX rank—unheard of in America.
“World Hunter Association isn’t fully operational yet, so standards are a total mess.”
America respected individuality, breeding all sorts of eccentrics.
Some claimed SSS-rank and ran wild; back when Awakener ranks were new, confusion reigned without verification.
Eventually, Monolith testing revealed such claimants as overconfident C-ranks, chalked up to farce.
Bennett tossed the report aside like trash, his eyes darkening heavily.
“Then there’s only one possibility.”
The world’s sole divided nation, home to the unique class Awakener: Korea.
Among them, Bennett eyed the prime suspect for their flawless clear.
“Prophet.”
The world’s only one of his kind, foretelling gate locations, times—even monsters inside.
He’d predicted gates and Awakeners from the start.
That alone proved immense power, but Bennett focused on him being an Awakener too.
One who levels up by hunting gate monsters, honing abilities.
Then...
‘What if the Prophet’s power has grown? What if he can now predict monster positions, weapon forms, even weaknesses?’
Following the chain of logic, Bennett shivered down his spine.
“...If so.”
His eyes gleamed coldly as he finished the thought.
“We need to bring him here.”
No matter the cost.
Bennett’s blue eyes fixed on the Prophet’s photo like a beast eyeing prey.
After successfully clearing the C-rank gate.
Supreme Guild finally held a long-overdue guild gathering to celebrate.
“Who are we?!”
“The Supreme Guild, Supreme Guild!”
“Wahahahaha!”
When they’d been asked to join the C-rank gate and he, as vice guild master, agreed.
The vice guild master, who’d faced backlash and resignation letters from members, now smiled brightly for the first time since surviving the B-rank gate.
But stepping out for a smoke, his face turned gloomy and fatigued again.
“Haa. How long do I have to hold out?”
He rubbed his dry face and sighed deeply.
“You’re the one who has to do this stuff.”
His guild master hadn’t shown his face since surviving the trolls.
Recalling that face brought back memories of his college junior, arriving with just a laptop.
-Hyung! Trust me and join up. It’s fate, I tell you!
-What fate looks so unpromising? Pass.
-Come on! Who else can I trust if not you? We need you to start the guild!
-Never had a dongsaeng like you.
-Hyung!
Choi Kyung-min, his high school junior for seven years, clung persistently, boasting his S-rank awakening and begging to form a guild.
Simple-minded in actions and thoughts, yet responsible and capable, he’d grown the guild as promised, securing funds via TV appearances.
Smooth sailing brought fulfillment and bright hopes for the future.
Until the B-rank gate shattered it all. Now, barely preventing implosion was his limit.
“Is this why you dragged me in, you punk?”
He chuckled bitterly, muttering blame, but knew better.
Survivors from that gate still wrestled with PTSD.
And for someone brimming with S-rank pride, the shock must’ve been devastating.
Maybe...
He can’t overcome it.
As that thought crossed his mind and he exhaled his last smoke-laden sigh.
His eyes met a hesitant figure staring from afar.
“......”
“...Hyung.”
A freshly washed face.
Clean clothes as always.
But cowed, shrunken posture.
Gazing at Choi Kyung-min, who looked like his old guild master self yet quivered like the freshman they’d first met in high school.
What to say?
So many words, curses, wishes.
But first.
“...Why’d it take you so long?”
“Welcome back, our Supreme Guild Master.”
His pathetic yet proud junior, who’d thrown down the gauntlet to build the strongest guild.
The vice guild master smiled quietly at Choi Kyung-min.