Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Aw, Too Bad
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“What the hell!”
Kim Joon-soo bolted toward the gate. The void boundary was closing in fast. He’d have to sprint at full speed just to barely make it out in time.
Escaping itself wasn’t the issue. It was what came after.
‘Is he okay? What if he blames me for this?’
Still, it was better than last time. Back then, he hadn’t even known the reason.
This time, though, he knew who was behind it. He’d gotten a good look at the guy’s face and confirmed his abilities. With any luck, they might let it slide.
With those thoughts racing through his mind, Kim Joon-soo burst out of the gate—and came face-to-face with Lee Chun-bae, whose face was flushed red with rage.
“……You again?”
“B-Bro! It’s not like that. I’ll explain everything. Just calm down…….”
“Shut up and take your beating first.”
“Argh!”
Lee Chun-bae was the type to let emotions override reason, fists override words. Thanks to that, Kim Joon-soo spent a good while getting pummeled before he could finally report what he’d seen.
“So…… there was a mental magic user?”
“Yeah. The bastard tricked me completely—I had no choice.”
“But these guys here say no one came out before you?”
Lee Chun-bae pointed at the guards stationed by the gate and shot back. Ever since the recent incidents with the gates, they’d doubled the guard from one to two, but neither had spotted anything suspicious.
“He must’ve fooled them with mental magic. Those illusions were so damn realistic…… You have to experience it yourself to understand. I got totally duped.”
“That’s ’cause your intelligence stat is pathetically low, you idiot.”
“W-Well…… anyway, if he got me, he could’ve fooled these guys easy.”
“Hmm. If we go with your story, we’re talking a 3-star hunter with mental magic…… No way it’s that guy from school, right?”
The mention of mental magic jogged Lee Chun-bae’s memory of an incident a few months back. Goblins slaughtering each other, a hobgoblin falling off the roof to its death.
He’d told his men to hunt down the mental magic user, but so much time had passed that it had slipped his mind. And now the guy was back. As an enemy.
“Looks like he’s no rookie. Clearing a 1-star dungeon solo…… Gotta be at least 3-star.”
If so, he was probably already with some group. High chance it was a rival guild. Like ‘The Marine,’ for instance.
‘The Marine’ was a nationwide guild. Their forces were spread thin across regions, but combine all their branches and they rivaled top-tier guilds. If the Yangyang branch had called for backup from the capital area, a 3-star hunter showing up wasn’t out of the question.
“Double the guards starting now. Have the executives patrol the dungeon interiors in pairs. And Deok-hoon, Jin-tae, Seok-jin—put some tails on The Marine. Looks like those bastards are up to something.”
“You think it’s them?”
“Doesn’t matter if it is or not. We’ve lost two gates. To make up for it, we’ll have to snatch some from the others.”
Lee Chun-bae had already made up his mind. War was inevitable anyway. Might as well think of it as starting a little early.
“Get ready, everyone. We’ll be cutting their throats soon.”
The pebble Cha In-hyeok had tossed was starting to send massive ripples across Yangyang’s delicate power balance.
* * *
“Phew. That was close.”
I wiped away cold sweat as I slipped out of the goblin village. I’d nearly gotten myself in deep trouble.
Of all the luck, running into an All-Kill Guild member right after a grueling fight left me battered and exhausted. And that guy was the one who’d led the raid team last time.
He looked no pushover. He’d held back for some reason, and my illusions worked better than expected—otherwise, a straight fight would’ve been dicey.
“Good, doesn’t seem like he’s following.”
Only after walking a good distance could I finally breathe easy. I chewed on some nearby Madecassia grass and sank into thought.
‘If it’d gone to close quarters, I’d have lost for sure.’
Unlike Instructor Song, he wouldn’t hold back. Plus, his stats looked high, and he had a shield.
In melee, a shield was overwhelmingly dominant. Without shattering it, winning was near impossible.
And the bastard had a steel shield, no less. Even my tomahawk probably couldn’t scratch it.
Throwing weapons were an option, but most of mine were standard trainee gear. If he traced them back, he might suspect me—or worse, pin it on poor Instructor Song.
To use throws, I’d have to go for the kill without hesitation. But I had a strong aversion to murder, no confidence I’d win, and the gate was closing fast anyway. No reason to fight.
“Gotta be careful for a while.”
Clashing head-on with All-Kill Guild meant they’d be on high alert. Rush into a gate carelessly, and I might run into their members.
One wrong move, and it could turn into a kill-or-be-killed fight.
I pulled out the map I’d made myself. It marked the Demon King’s Castle, surrounding terrain, goblin villages, and gate locations.
Look closely, and you’d see initials by each gate: ‘A.K.’ for All-Kill, ‘T.M.’ for The Marine, ‘H.A.’ for Hunter Academy. Gate owners.
“I took one more from All-Kill, so they’ve got three left? The Marine and Academy have two each, Merchant Association one…… Eight total. Swipe ’em all, and I can complete the Goblin Essence.”
The other guilds might be on guard too, not just All-Kill. Two gates vanishing in a row was unprecedented. They were probably sweating, wondering if they were next.
‘Sneaking into dungeons might get tough now. Maybe wait for the guilds to raid, then slip in the next day for the Dungeon Crystal?’
From my observations, 1-star dungeons took about a week to fully respawn. Guilds hunted once a week accordingly.
That’s why I’d gone in on day six today—no one was supposed to be patrolling.
To avoid risks, hit the dungeon right after a guild hunt. Less XP, but easy pickings for the crystal.
Adding a crystal gave 10% XP bonus—not bad. Problem was, closing the gate wrecked the goblin village on the other side.
‘Crystal nets 10% XP, but raiding the village weekly gets 6%. Long-term, better to keep the dungeon open.’
No need to gut the golden goose. Plus, the southern goblin village could get swarmed by orcs anytime—better to keep it defended. Conveniently, both southern gates were Academy-owned.
‘Anyway, I’ll hit it in two months during training. Leave it be till then.’
An uneasy feeling made me glance south. Orc raids had been ramping up lately.
‘Whew. Still a ways to go?’
I checked my status window and sighed.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 10. (61.6%)] [Mana 3/10]
[Strength 30, Agility 28, Vitality 30, Intelligence 28]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 2]
‘Put the free points in Agility, hire two more goblins. Sigh. At this rate, when do I level up?’
Even after bagging tons of goblins and another Goblin Essence shard, promotion was still far off.
I was starting to get why, after 20 years of gates, the top rank capped at 6-star.
‘Guess steady hunting’s the only way.’
For now, skip dungeons, just raid villages. 6% XP weekly—seven weeks to level if all goes smooth.
* * *
About a month of grinding training and hunts later, my schedule suddenly changed.
“Gate entry’s been moved up a bit. Next week, so targets, prep well. Atmosphere’s tense these days—avoid going out on weekends if possible. That’s the orders. Dismissed!”
In that month, things between All-Kill Guild and The Marine had turned ugly.
Minor clashes between members, rumors of All-Kill sharpening their knives—word even reached the Academy. Plus those mystery gate vanishings……
As an instructor, he had no choice but to accelerate.
‘Things are snowballing…….’
Seeing the mess unfold, I started regretting swiping those crystals. If All-Kill and The Marine went at it, it wouldn’t just be hunters getting hurt.
‘If civilians get dragged in…….’
The horrific thought drained the strength from my body. What if Dad got caught up? My heart pounded.
Sweaty palms made the barbell slip. Afraid of an accident, I racked it.
Clang!
[Vitality stat increased by 1.]
Through endless training and combat, I’d steadily boosted my base stats. Lately, to ease my anxiety, I’d pushed even harder.
No anime in the barracks meant more time for workouts, and the results showed.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 10. (92.2%)] [Mana 1/10]
[Strength 32, Agility 32, Vitality 33, Intelligence 28]
Strength and Agility up 2, Vitality 3. Excluding level-up gains, that’s Strength 10, Agility 9, Vitality 9.
‘Pretty much even starting line with everyone else.’
Exercise was visibly toning me up. Balanced stats, more muscle.
Only bummer: height growth slower than hoped. Now 173 cm, up 3 cm from before.
‘Just 3 cm in six months…… Others grow 10 cm a year. Why me?’
Maybe stats and height aren’t linked. Growth plates still open, that’s all……
As I fretted, someone yelled “Wak!” from behind.
“What’re you doing? Gate tomorrow, and you’re still training?”
It was Instructor Song Hye-rin.
“Oh, Instructor Song. My base stamina’s kinda weak, so I was working out.”
“Psh, too modest. From what I’ve seen, your stamina’s top-tier, Mr. Supersteel.”
“Mr. Supersteel……?”
“What? Weird? Kids don’t say it anymore?”
“Not just now—barely anyone says it in real life.”
“R-Really? Didn’t know. Was going for a youthful vibe.”
“That just makes it…….”
“Huh?”
“N-Nothing. Uh, what’s that behind you?”
At my question, Instructor Song blushed faintly and held something out.
What’s with the reaction? No way, a love letter!?
“Th-This is……!?”
“Heard about the gate tomorrow, so I prepped it. Combat vest. Stuffed it with darts—try it on.”
She’d brought a chest vest, packed full of darts as promised.
Pretty heavy. But once on, it hugged my body nicely, more mobile than expected.
Famous brand logo on the chest. No wonder the fit was pro-level—not issue gear, something she bought herself.
“Huh? Darts are all new too? You sure about giving me this many? Must’ve cost a fortune…….”
“Vest was mine, actually. Thought it might fit—just in case. Looks good enough.”
She’d worn it? I couldn’t help sniffing it. She blushed harder, waving me off.
“Wh-What’re you sniffing! I washed it proper!”
“Oh!”
Aw, too bad.