Chapter 126
Chapter 126
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 126
Chapter Title: Recollections of Fenglin Huashan
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In the car heading back to the clan after gathering information from the Hunter Association.
Now I remember.
Leaning back in the rear seat, Shin Yu-hyun closed his eyes and gradually recalled memories from his past life that he had forgotten.
Excluding the invasion of the Getia, this was around the time he had faced his most grueling period.
It hadn't been long since he'd been placed under house arrest by the clan and then kicked out.
With no clear path ahead on how to survive.
That's when Lee Kang-hoon, the 3rd team leader of Fenglin Huashan Guild, approached him.
Why don't you join Fenglin Huashan Guild?
With nowhere else to turn, Shin Yu-hyun had grabbed the hand Lee Kang-hoon extended.
I never should have.
Shin Yu-hyun made a bitter face inwardly.
But back then, he had been thrilled.
He thought Lee Kang-hoon actually recognized his worth.
And so, Shin Yu-hyun was assigned to Team 3 under Lee Kang-hoon.
But as a half-baked superhuman who couldn't even open his gates, he started as an intern.
From that point on, he was saddled with every grueling, menial task imaginable.
Still, he clung to a dream.
The dream that one day he could open his gates and become a hunter.
But reality was cruel.
There was no way the Fenglin Huashan Guild members would look kindly on someone who couldn't open his gates.
They didn't just scorn him with their eyes—they berated him for botching even simple tasks.
Only then did he realize it.
The clan had actually treated him far better than most.
Most clan members had simply ignored him, while Shin Cheol-jin and Shin Cheol-ho had hurled insults and mockery—that was the extent of it.
But the Fenglin Huashan Guild was different.
For the crime of being a superhuman without opened gates, and as an intern, he endured all sorts of harassment.
He even brought it up to Lee Kang-hoon once, but the response was ice-cold.
"That's just how guild life is. Don't even think about quitting. You know how much money we've invested in you, right? If you wanna leave, pay it all back first. I'm sure Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan will cough up a nice sum."
Hearing those words, Shin Yu-hyun realized the truth.
Lee Kang-hoon hadn't reached out because he recognized him.
He'd approached him to prey on the clan's wealth.
To save even a little money back then, Shin Yu-hyun had endured the discomfort of living in the guild dorms.
The artifacts and gear they'd given him, the meal allowances, the Fenglin Huashan uniforms—things that regular guild members received as standard perks were dangled over him as an intern, not truly free.
Lee Kang-hoon called it an "investment."
I'd forgotten because of the Getia, but looking back now... what utter scum.
Shin Yu-hyun grimaced inwardly.
Truth be told, his memories of Fenglin Huashan Guild were hazy.
It was right after being expelled from the clan, a time he didn't particularly want to dwell on.
Plus, the guild disbanded just a few months after he joined.
For the next few years, he scraped by as a low-rank hunter until the Getia invasion hit, burying those memories entirely.
The horrors of the Getia—torturing, mutilating, and massacring humans—dwarfed the petty pains of Fenglin Huashan.
Especially that 3rd team leader, Lee Kang-hoon.
Fresh memories of the suffering he caused bubbled up.
No proper treatment, endless rotations through 1-star and 2-star dungeons, group bullying disguised as "discipline" from the guild members.
But not anymore.
I'll repay that debt someday.
He'd lived ten years in his previous life, gaining experience through all sorts of trials.
Come to think of it, Jin-seong hyung was there too.
Suddenly, Shin Yu-hyun let out a wry chuckle inwardly.
Choi Jin-seong, the lowest 4-star archer in Fenglin Huashan Guild's Team 3.
He was in a similar boat—indebted to the guild, shunned after his ability's fatal flaw came to light late, despite his decent superhuman rank.
For whatever reason, Choi Jin-seong had encouraged him: Let's tough it out together. That kept Shin Yu-hyun going in the guild.
The problem is he doesn't make it back from this raid.
Rank 5 Raid Dungeon: Fallen Chaos Monolith.
Fenglin Huashan Guild's raid party failed.
Shin Yu-hyun hadn't been able to join back then, lacking even gate opening for a Rank 5 raid.
But Choi Jin-seong, as a 4-star superhuman, got drafted into the assault team.
Thirty members total.
Usually four parties of six, but they added an extra party for thirty.
The result? Catastrophic failure.
Twenty didn't return, and a dungeon stampede erupted.
Even now, it strikes me as odd.
Fenglin Huashan had sent mostly 4-star hunters, led by their 1st team leader, Lee Sang-beom—a Rank 5 B-class hunter.
No obvious reason for failure.
So why the wipeout, followed immediately by a stampede?
And were they really tackling the Rank 5 Monolith raid at this exact time?
The timing felt off—about two weeks to a month earlier than before.
Probably because Shin Yu-hyun's regression had altered so many things.
In his past life, he'd have been suffering in Fenglin Huashan right around now.
After returning to the past, he'd changed a lot.
That must have pushed up the guild's raid schedule.
I need to hurry too.
Lost in thought, Shin Yu-hyun arrived back at the clan.
Rank 5 Raid Dungeon: Fallen Chaos Monolith.
It was a massive underground ruin with a straightforward layout.
Rooms filled with large and small magic beasts branched off corridors from the main passage.
Occasional open areas along the main path held mid-bosses or packs of waiting beasts.
"To think there's an artificial structure like this underground..."
Lee Kang-hoon, 3rd team leader of Fenglin Huashan Guild, narrowed his slit-like eyes at the walls.
The ruin's interior wasn't rough stone but impossibly smooth metal he'd never seen before.
As if artificially constructed by someone.
"Where the hell is this place?"
Park Jun-seok, Team 3's vice-leader, glanced around at Lee Kang-hoon's mutter.
Normal dungeons mirrored real-world spaces, but raid dungeons or unconfirmed gates were different.
Like another world entirely.
Raid dungeons were especially tricky to clear.
Unlike normal dungeons, where slaying the boss ended it, raids had additional clear conditions beyond the boss.
This Monolith raid was no exception.
"At least it's not Earth."
The sharp-featured Lee Kang-hoon ran his hand along the dungeon wall.
No seams, solid and cold metal.
A faint glow emanated from the walls themselves, illuminating the surroundings without issue.
"Taking a break!"
From the front, the raid party's leader—also Fenglin Huashan 1st team leader Lee Sang-beom—called out.
At the sound, Team 3 at the rear halted.
Raid dungeons were vast, with safe zones along the way.
The party had reached one.
"Hey, Jin-sang. Fetch me some coffee."
Lee Kang-hoon beckoned to Choi Jin-seong, the youngest in Team 3.
"Yes, sir."
Choi Jin-seong wordlessly brought the thermos of coffee.
Inwardly correcting him: It's Jin-seong, not Jin-sang.
"Ugh, this tastes like crap. What's wrong with this coffee?"
Lee Kang-hoon scowled after sipping what Choi Jin-seong handed him.
"Hey, can't you even brew coffee right?"
"I'm sorry."
Choi Jin-seong bowed his head in apology first.
"Hah, you moron. If you can't brew it, go buy it from a cafe like you're supposed to."
Smack, smack.
Lee Kang-hoon cuffed the back of Choi Jin-seong's head with his palm.
Here we go again.
"I'm sorry."
Choi Jin-seong bowed even lower, despite his inner rage.
Truth was, he hadn't brewed it.
Just as ordered, he'd bought it from a cafe.
But saying so was pointless.
Lee would just bitch about buying from a shitty cafe, then accuse him of backtalk and swing a fist.
Boomer asshole.
So he cursed him silently.
"Do better, seriously. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
Choi Jin-seong swallowed his anger and replied. Lee Kang-hoon was the team leader, and he was the runt.
Laughter mocking Choi Jin-seong rose from those around.
How did it come to this?
When he first joined Fenglin Huashan, he was a promising archer star with monstrous mana reserves.
That's why he landed in Team 3 under Lee Kang-hoon—all ranged archers.
Archers' chronic issue was infusing arrows with mana properly.
Normal mana fizzled out before hitting the target.
But Choi Jin-seong's massive mana let him fire devastating shots.
He was pegged as Team 3's next ace.
Until the fatal flaw emerged late.
Who'd have thought his accuracy sucked...
As an archer, it was crippling.
He could unleash powerful arrows but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.
Even accuracy-boosting artifacts failed him.
His arrows always veered off strangely.
From then on, guild members mocked him.
Still, they dragged him on dungeon runs.
Raids lasted long, requiring supplies.
Choi Jin-seong made a perfect porter—4-star superhuman strength.
And in niches, he shone in combat.
Mana-infused arrows packed a punch for preemptive strikes or when allies were scarce.
That's why they brought him on this raid.
"Moving out again."
After a brief rest, the raid party resumed.
As members prepared to advance,
Rumble rumble rumble!
The left and right walls suddenly groaned open.
"What the—?"
"Why are the walls...?"
The raid party tensed, peering into the openings.
Beyond lay pitch darkness—what lurked inside was invisible.
Moments later, eerie shrieks echoed as magic beasts poured out.
Around that time.
"So this is the Monolith Raid Dungeon?"
They were entering the Rank 5 Raid Dungeon: Fallen Chaos Monolith.