Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Part 2 Chapter 39
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Pyo Sang-hoon awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He'd thought there must be something she wanted from him, but was there really nothing at all?
"Then I guess I won't show up at that spot with the tree mark starting tomorrow."
"Yeah, pretty much."
Dun nodded at Pyo Sang-hoon's words, tinged with subtle regret.
It was about time to head back to his original world. Messages from Rihaowel, Prim, the village kids, Colin, and others piled up, all asking when he'd return.
He'd delayed his departure longer than planned just to help Pyo Sang-hoon.
He'd only come for a quick test run, but he hadn't expected to stay in this world for so long.
"Oh, and here. I handled your electric powers fine, but anyone else would end up as fried chicken. Drink this before using your abilities—it'll help with your skill development."
Dun pulled an item called 'Sage's Spring Water' from his inventory and tossed it to Pyo Sang-hoon.
Pyo Sang-hoon's electricity-based abilities were powerful, but they had the drawback of spreading to unexpected ranges depending on surrounding materials.
The Hysis Gate was one of the underwater gates like the Mermaid Gate, so if left as is, everyone inside could end up barbecued.
"It's not poison, so don't worry. Consider it a completion gift for your training."
"......Thanks."
Pyo Sang-hoon stared at the small glass vial in his hand.
"So what are you gonna do now?"
"Head home. I was just visiting for a bit."
He'd assumed she'd implicitly demand a lot after helping him.
That's why he'd made the contract clear: he'd repay with benefits he could provide once his rank rose.
But from midway through, he'd felt like he owed her so much that he was prepared to grant most of whatever she might want.
Yet here she was, helping him out cleanly without asking for anything.
He wanted to ask her to keep training him, but it felt too selfish to say it out loud, so he clamped his mouth shut.
Showing his disappointment seemed too shameless, and he didn't want to just say thanks and part ways like this.
He didn't even have her contact info, so if they parted now, there'd be no way to reach her.
"......"
Pyo Sang-hoon blinked, then turned his face away and bowed his head deeply for a moment.
'Training's over, so time to head home and study attributes.'
Remembering how he'd frozen up earlier from not knowing much about attributes made him cringe a bit.
With his phobia eased, it was time to develop his abilities. He pulled out his phone from his pocket to check the bus schedule back to his dorm.
The info wouldn't sink in. Idly, he scrolled around his wallpaper, checking what apps he had.
A teardrop fell onto the phone screen. Panicking, Pyo Sang-hoon fumbled to stuff it back in his pocket.
He cleared his throat awkwardly a couple times before finally lifting his head.
"Bank account—your account number?"
His voice came out slightly watery as he asked for it. At least the hastily written contract gave them a connection even after training.
"Forget it, I'm rich. Who needs your 5% cut?"
"Ah, I can raise the percentage."
"Even 100% is pocket lint. You keep it."
Dun smirked.
Selling just one Epic item netted hundreds of millions, so no way he'd drool over a B-rank Hunter's scraps.
Unlike players, NPCs had no accounts, so he couldn't even convert this world's currency.
He might be broke in Korea, but swindling Pyo Sang-hoon's money pricked his conscience oddly.
"More importantly, give me your contact."
Dun rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a brand-new spare phone Lee Yoo-hyun had gotten him.
Helping Pyo Sang-hoon shine in the Hysis Gate was part of the autonomous quest, so training complete didn't mean quest complete.
It'd be good to check in on him each time he visited this world, just to see how he was doing.
Pyo Sang-hoon's furrowed brow smoothed the moment Dun held out the spare phone.
As he took it and entered his number, Pyo Sang-hoon glanced at Dun's face, gauging him. Then, mustering courage, he spoke up belatedly.
"Give me yours too."
Last time he'd asked for her contact and got told she had no phone, which had hurt a little.
This time, she'd offered hers first, so no excuse about not having one.
"Not activated, so no number."
The unexpected reply left him a bit dumbfounded. Was it an excuse? Pyo Sang-hoon frowned subtly, hiding his hurt.
"Why not?"
"No ID yet, so can't activate it."
Until Lee Yoo-hyun set up a temporary ID, he couldn't get a phone line, open a bank account, or exchange Tigo.
"Why no ID?"
"'Cause I'm a non-pin NPC."
"......"
Dun was the type to joke seriously so often that it was hard to tell if this was a gag.
Sometimes he had dumb thoughts, like maybe Dun really was an NPC popped out of a game, like stuff he'd seen online.
But the cosplay Dun before his eyes was someone who'd go to ruthless lengths with her elaborate concept just to fool one person. He had to stay wary.
Believe her, and he'd be the fool.
"You still look skeptical. Fair enough, I'd be too. The Association President knows my situation roughly, so go ask her if you're that doubtful."
"Association President Lee Yoo-hyun?"
"Yeah."
Dun chuckled at Pyo Sang-hoon's flustered look.
"I'm heading back to my original world for a bit, so if you miss me that bad, just log into the game."
Dun began gathering mana to use his World Travel skill for the first time in ages.
"But if your skills are the same next time I see you, you're in for a scolding."
With a quick wave goodbye, Dun vanished in an instant. No trace left, just gone from sight.
Dun's sudden disappearance hit Pyo Sang-hoon—he realized too late it was goodbye right now. He shouted urgently.
"Hey, wait!"
But Dun was already gone. Pyo Sang-hoon sat near the gate entrance where they'd wandered earlier, staring blankly at the spot she'd vanished.
She'd said it was for her own satisfaction to raise his rank, and she'd filled that and left.
Objectively, the massive help with no strings attached was a huge win, but it left him oddly empty. Very empty.
'She did say she'd check in now and then to review my abilities.'
It wasn't daily, but not total cutoff either. The thought brought some comfort.
'Does the Association President know something about cosplay Dun?'
He recalled her saying it was fine to ask Lee Yoo-hyun about her.
That sparked the wiki info about the Association President being raised by Dun in-game, sending chills down his spine.
'Then... does that mean she's really a character jumped out of the game?'
At first, even considering it felt pathetic. But as time passed, the idea gained traction, plunging him into confusion.
In a world where monsters popped from thin air, why couldn't a game character?
He usually ignored unknowns, but thinking about Dun just dragged him deeper into the maze, making the truth itchier.
He'd have to meet the Association President later and visit the game as Dun suggested.
But first, build on the ability foundation she'd laid.
Barging in curious without progress would just get him yelled at. She'd warned as much.
Pyo Sang-hoon opened the gate app, planning to solo some easy gates right away.
A few stops away, F-rank gates clustered thick. Perfect starting point.
He stood to head there when the Korean gate app suddenly updated with new gate info.
"B-rank?"
Pyo Sang-hoon whipped around to the gate behind him in shock. It had been C-rank moments ago, now marked B-rank.
Fresh update.
Which meant...
'Someone just died inside the gate.'
Gates grew by absorbing mana from people killed by monsters.
Fresh update meant one of the teammates he'd run into earlier had just died.
With rank up and a casualty, the gate interior was full emergency.
For a base-type B-rank, the Association would dispatch top rankers soon, but more deaths before then could bump the rank higher.
"......"
Pyo Sang-hoon hesitated, then plunged into the B-rank gate he'd just exited.
* * *
Boom!
A faint earthquake rumbled.
A5-rank offensive magic-type mage Choi Su-rin tearfully summoned jagged stone pillars from the ground.
"Please, please!"
Boom! Boom!
The pillars erupted amid the earthquake, sprouting where tongue lizards clustered thick.
But the flashy skill missed the nimble tongue lizards, leaving mere scratches on their bumpy, slick hides.
"Di-did you request additional Association support?"
"The device broke—we couldn't send it!!"
"Huh, Hunter Choi Su-rin! Th-the gate rank just jumped to B-rank!"
"Ha......"
Maybe the E3-rank hunter who'd breezed through front monsters relaxed the team—one snapped a selfie with monster corpses.
'~B4-rank makes C-gates a joke~' he'd bragged.
Starting with him, Choi Su-rin failed to notice the team's focus drifting.
Monster attacks were easy; post-kill silence sparked a couple jokes.
Laughter from jokes prompted a perfunctory 'Focus, please,' but she'd let her guard down unconsciously too.
The close team for this C-rank base gate—all A-to-C mana ranks—figured closing it would be simple.
Predictable tongue lizard strikes fueled overconfidence.
But the board flipped right before boss room entry.
'Ugh, ahhh!!!'
A hunter lagging casually behind got snared by a red rope-like tongue and yanked away.
Seconds later, flesh-tearing screams.
'Ahhk!'
'E-evasion!!!'
Countless red lines shot from the dark simultaneously.
They ended in gaping tongue lizard mouths—realized too late as claws pierced hearts.
In seconds, three rear members dead; floors slick with human red amid monster blue.
Back floor and ceiling stamped with red tongue lizard prints.
Yellow eyes gleamed persistently from afar.
'They sent weak ones on purpose, with strong ones sneaking behind!!!'
Too late—many lives lost by the time she grasped the enemy's ploy, far craftier than the E3 hunter's words.
Without the C3-rank swordsman's whirlwind blade severing returning tongues, half the team would've died.
And now.
Boss room entry meant facing death.
Hidden tongue lizards grew bold.
"My mana... it's almost... gone."
The C3-rank swordsman, who'd led and sliced incoming tongues, panted as he spoke.
The tongues, once slicing clean, toughened with the gate's rank-up.
"Hold on—Association backup's coming soon! Just endure a bit!! I'll manage somehow......"
Choi Su-rin tearfully poured all her mana into her most destructive spell.
"Stone Rush!!!"
Stone winds howled. Whirlwind stones grew spinning, hurtling at monsters.
Sharp stones clashed in the gale, shredding monster flesh.
Extended tongues pulped by stones before reaching the close team.
"Numbers dropping fast!"
"A-rank magic's destructive power is on another level......"
Hope of survival sparked cheers.
As fierce stone winds eased, piled tongue lizard corpses sharpened into view.
Crisis averted, seemingly.
Exhausted, Choi Su-rin slumped, gasping. Mana saved for boss, but emergency demanded it.
"Good work, everyone. Regen to here takes time. Backup arrives before then."
Relief brought joy or tears of survival.
As they caught breaths checking gear, a familiar sound echoed faintly afar.
Then footsteps quickened, grew louder.
Splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash splash.
Glowing yellow eyes reappeared in the dark, one by one.
"Huh, heok!"
"......!!"
Close team hunters gaped at the fully restored monster numbers.
They'd overlooked it.
B-rank regen speed outpaced C-rank vastly.
Overcoming one crisis desperately, only for hope's collapse to bring utter despair.
"......Ahh."
Resignation.
Only resignation left. No fighting like before.
Just hollow futility and inevitable terror of death welled up.
"Get up the pillars quick!!"
A voice shouted from behind.
Fierce slit eyes, buzzed hair.
He parried tongue lizard attacks with crisp moves, advancing nimbly.
"That guy from earlier......"
The E3-rank hunter they'd seen.
"Up the pillars now!!"
Pyo Sang-hoon bellowed, veins bulging on his neck, face twisted. His shout drew all monster eyes.
Solitary Pyo Sang-hoon seemed easier prey—tongues lashed his way.
He read their moves, flattening to the floor. Monsters tangled overhead in mutual strikes.
He glanced back—survivors all atop the dry pillars he'd conjured.
Pyo Sang-hoon gathered mana swiftly as monsters untangled.
'Thunderbolt Net.'
Yellow crossing lines etched the dark gate sky.
Crash!
He slammed mana-charged hand to the pooled water floor. Lightning bolts fell under the net, yellow lines flashing across the area.
The gate interior blazed bright momentarily.
Not just untangling ones—even hidden watchers piled convulsing on the ground.
Dropping the net drained his mana, doubling the backlash.
Shuddering tongue lizards electrocuted continuously by spreading current, charred black and dead.
Musty burnt monster stench tickled his nose.
Pyo Sang-hoon murmured admiration at the slain horde. He'd drunk Dun's 'Sage's Spring Water'—effects stellar.
Ability applications came intuitively; one try yielded multiples of prior output.
Beyond phobia conquered, confidence bloomed.
'Is this the "Dun bus ride" feeling from reviews......'
Reviews from searching Dun auto-flooded his mind, resonating.
Lost in sentiment amid corpses briefly—his phone rang.
Call from Mun Se-rim.
He'd messaged the Association President requesting fast backup; seemed Mun Se-rim dispatched.
-Did you die?
"No, Se-rim hyung-nim. Still alive."
-Thought you shook at monsters and keeled like an idiot. Anyway, status report.
"General monsters cleared except boss. Close team of eleven: six dead, one severe, four minor. Holding at boss room entrance."
-Shelter?
No shelter (Association stealth field item) on him, so Pyo Sang-hoon turned to survivors clinging to pillars.
"Got a gate shelter?"
"The hunter with it died. Chaos running—no idea where the body is......"
Nodding, Pyo Sang-hoon spoke into the phone.
"No."
-B-rank second regen gives more time than first before horde. Inject severe with syringe, bury in monster corpses. Take minors to boss room entrance, hide. Noisy ones? Knock out, bury in corpses or gag with socks.
"Got it."
Hanging up, Pyo Sang-hoon followed orders.
Dragged severe to corpse pile, injected last syringe, buried.
Led rest toward boss area entrance—safest sans shelter, he'd heard.
"He's Abyss origin too, right?"
"Those Abyss kids... E3-ranks are monsters......"
While Pyo Sang-hoon cleaned up, survivors who'd heard 'Se-rim' buzzed in awe.
As he approached, they beamed at their savior.
"Truly thanks! Thought we were goners for real......"
"Sniff, heuk. Thank you for coming back. Really......"
Pyo Sang-hoon watched them weep and laugh gratitude, pondering briefly.
'Too much noisy sentiment.'
Decision made, he raised his hand blade.
Crack crack!
Knocked them all out instantly, buried in monster corpses.