Chapter 44
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Ambush
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Only after safely repelling the orc invasion could I finally relax and hear Moemoe-chan's report.
"Did you notice anything unusual about Lee Joo-hyuk?"
"Yes. He sometimes clutched his chest in pain, like he had some chronic condition."
Moemoe-chan pushed up her glasses with one hand and conducted her report in the empty air with an imaginary baton in the other.
"Anything you've seen before... Besides that, no signs of plotting or anything?"
"Oh! I saw him secretly meeting with hunters."
"With All-Kill Guild members, I bet."
"No. He only met with unaffiliated freelance hunters, Master."
"Huh? Why?"
"It looked like he was forming a raid party. I saw them all gather and enter a gate together."
The strange part was that he gathered freelance hunters and took them into a gate owned by All-Kill Guild.
It was odd. For a greedy bunch like All-Kill Guild to open their gates to outsiders? Unthinkable.
"Why go into a gate with total strangers instead of his own guild members? And into one owned by the guild, no less? Anything else unusual?"
"Oh! And only Lee Joo-hyuk ever came out."
"What?"
"Ten people went in, and only Lee Joo-hyuk came out every time."
"Why... Those crazy bastards! Did he kill them all?"
"I couldn't confirm that far, Master."
"What the hell are these guys up to?"
I was dying to know, but there was no way to find out without checking it out myself.
'Guess I should keep tabs on All-Kill Guild's movements for a while.'
Conveniently, the investigator from the central office had wrapped up and returned to Seoul. If All-Kill Guild made a move, now was the perfect time.
And my hunch turned out to be spot on.
* * *
While I was fending off the orc invasion in the other world, All-Kill Guild had attacked De Marin and the Merchant Association.
All-Kill Guild must have prepared thoroughly, because the fight ended quickly, and all gates owned by the two guilds fell into their hands.
The problem was the dozens of civilians killed or injured in the process—including someone I knew.
"Huff! Huff!"
I rushed to the hospital as soon as I heard. The ER was packed with people hurt in the fighting.
"Deok-hun!"
"Oh, you came."
O Deok-hun lay there with his head wrapped in bandages. His glasses were gone, leaving his bare face exposed.
"What happened?"
"I was checking out some figures like usual when part of the building collapsed and buried people."
He'd been knocked out by debris to the head and woke up in the ER.
"So your head... They say it's okay?"
"Luckily just a scalp laceration. But they want to observe me a few more hours just in case..."
"That's a relief at least."
As I sighed in relief, a commotion erupted next to us. The man on the stretcher was gasping for air, and doctors and nurses rushed over to treat him.
Only then did I take a closer look around.
"Ugh... It hurts so much."
"Doctor! Please check on my dad!"
"Mom, hang in there just a bit longer. They'll take you for surgery soon."
The ER was pure chaos, like a major disaster had hit. And more victims kept arriving even now.
'All-Kill Guild, you bastards...!'
My hope that they'd quiet down over time was wishful thinking.
All-Kill Guild was a thug guild from the start—they only felt satisfied after killing to make up for any losses.
And sure enough, they bared their ambitions. In the worst possible way.
Now every gate in Yangyang belonged to All-Kill Guild. Meaning they had plenty of places to plunder.
'Alright. Let's do this!'
I headed straight back to the other world and made for the nearest goblin dungeon.
It used to belong to De Marin, but now it was All-Kill Guild's.
'If I wipe out all the gates on Yangyang turf, they'll have no choice but to leave.'
And while I was at it, I could finish collecting goblin essence.
Since it was a surprise dungeon raid like always, I figured I'd snag the dungeon crystal easily, just like before.
That was a massive mistake.
* * *
Crack!
With the sound of breaking neck bones, the 2-star hunter's body went limp.
"That takes care of all the resistors."
Lee Chun-bae dropped the corpse and surveyed the area.
De Marin's Yangyang branch was smashed to pieces. A bunch of 1-stars and three 2-stars couldn't handle him alone and all died.
"Heh. Not bad."
He wasn't some pervert who got off on killing. But seeing the experience points rack up fast made him grin anyway.
"Is this the power of the mana stone?"
Two months ago, during a fight, he'd killed one of De Marin's guild members.
Nothing special about it. Violence and murder were as natural to him as breathing.
But the result was entirely different.
'Experience points came in.'
Surprisingly, his EXP went up. Not from a monster, but from killing a human—an awakener.
'Why?'
As mentioned, murder wasn't anything special to Lee Chun-bae.
Five years ago, after Santa Maria Guild vanished, everyone scrambled for Yangyang, and he seized control.
He'd gotten blood on his hands countless times in the process. Murder? He did it like eating breakfast. But EXP had never come from it once.
The only change was the alien energy pulsing in his chest.
Lee Chun-bae thought of the chest pain that had vanished clean away and let out a wry smile.
'Am I no longer human? Did I turn into a damn monster?'
Half-human, half-demon fit better, probably.
The moment he reached for forbidden surgery, he stopped being a mere hunter. He was closer to a monster now.
'Not bad.'
He should feel disgusted, but instead, a strange elation washed over him. Like when he first awakened.
A sense of superiority.
When he first became an awakener, the elect feeling of being different from ordinary people overwhelmed him.
Of course, it didn't last. Even as an awakener, he was just a 1-star. Stronger ones were still legion above him.
He worked tirelessly to close the gap, but it only widened with the elites day by day.
In the end, he turned to forbidden magic. To devour not just little Yangyang, but all of Gangwon Province.
'It's almost here.'
Stuck at level 30 for three years already, after the mana stone transplant, his EXP shot up fast—now in the high 90s.
The dreaded 3-star level cap.
Breaking through was just around the corner.
Once he hit 4-star, he'd truly be one of the top five hunters in the province.
Then he'd expand to Sokcho, Gangneung, and beyond.
Grow his forces bit by bit until he swallowed the province's premier guild, 'Black Bears.'
"Oh, right. How's the internship going?"
Lee Chun-bae asked, and Lee Joo-hyuk bowed his head in reply.
"Almost got them all, bro."
Internship.
Luring academy trainees and sneaking them into gates. That was Lee Joo-hyuk's recent assignment.
"Good. Make sure there are no hiccups."
"Uh... bro. It's getting hard to pull more from the academy. If numbers drop too much, the instructor will notice for sure."
Lee Joo-hyuk had already delivered over twenty trainees. Any more vanishing would tip off the instructor for an investigation.
"I see. Fine. Those small fry weren't even scratching anyway, with their low levels."
Lee Chun-bae glanced at Kim Jun-su, whose left hand now had only three fingers.
"Spread rumors we're recruiting 2-star hunters. Poach from De Marin and the Merchant Association if you can, and drop hints to the academy assistants too."
"Y-Yes? But bro, if the instructor catches wind..."
"No worries. One or two more 'hunts' and I'll level up."
Then no instructor or Hunter Management Division would scare him.
"And keep a close eye out for that damn Dungeon Closer. Everyone got their ghillie suits?"
"Yes, bro. We'll take turns ambushing starting today."
"Bring him alive if possible. I want to kill him with my own hands."
Kim Jun-su answered "Yes" while shuddering. For a split second, Lee Chun-bae's pupils had turned into reptilian slits.
* * *
"Hm? Boss room's not that big? Respawn not finished yet?"
About fifty goblins filled the boss room. Atop them sat one goblin shaman and two hobgoblins, huddled together.
"Hup!"
I took a deep breath and hurled Gentle Breeze with all my might.
It snuffed out the goblin shaman and hobgoblins in one go, then embedded in the pyramid's top layer.
"No need for retrieval even?"
I walked slowly toward the pyramid. Goblins charged along the way, but a casual swing took out two or three each time.
'If things go well, I could close two today?'
That's when I neared the pyramid. Suddenly, a rustle from the side.
"Hm?"
"Danger, Master!"
Wondering what it was, I turned casually—then an arrow whistled through the air.
Ping-!
"Wh-what?"
Moemoe-chan's warning let me dodge. But not fully—a trickle of blood ran down my cheek.
'I almost died!'
A split-second slower reaction, and it'd be a head hole.
I whipped around toward the arrow's origin. Nothing there but dew-kissed grass glinting...
Pee-ing!
Another arrow flew. Tense as I was, I calmly blocked it with my axe this time.
'Idiot! Dungeons don't get dew!'
Now I saw—the "dew" was arrowheads.
'Damn, it's an ambush?'
Chills ran down my spine knowing someone was lying in wait.
"Quick one, huh? Isn't he a mage?"
"Slippery last time too. Watch out—he might cast mind magic anytime."
"That crap only works on idiots like you."
Two men rose from the brush. So perfectly camouflaged, it looked like the terrain came alive.
One had a bow, the other the idiot from the previous dungeon—the defensive spear guy.
Both looked no pushovers. If I guessed right, at least 2-star hunters.
'An ambush? Did they read my mind?'
Nah, didn't seem so. Their ragged, hobo-like state screamed they'd waited ages for me.
'What now? Fight? Or run?'
Leaving meant abandoning the dungeon crystal staring me down; fighting risked my life win or lose.
Lose, and I'm dead. Win, and I'd have to kill—couldn't risk waking the left side for that.
'Guess I run...'
Then the bowman nocked an arrow and called out.
"Who the hell are you? What side you from? You even human?"
'Oh crap! They saw me come from the other world!'
My heart sank. They suspected my identity.
'M-Mask!'
I patted my head. Good, still on.
The grazing arrow had torn off the hood over my mouth, but eyes were covered.
'Phew. Dodged that.'
But the situation sucked. They were my level, maybe better, and two on one.
No, probably better— their no-hesitation shots screamed combat experience.
'Run.'
But I couldn't let them know I freely traversed the other world. Or kill them.
Everything was a headache. Meanwhile, All-Kill Guild started their assault.
Ping-
A surprise arrow shot.
Whoosh-
A spear slashing wide through space.
Thrusts and slashes meshed perfectly.
Dodge the arrow, get sliced by spear. Block spear, arrow aims for vitals.
'Damn, they're tricky.'
I retreated wildly, blocking and dodging, soon backed into a corner.
No escape. Their PvP experience was clearly superior.
'But they didn't account for this.'
Cornered, Gentle Breeze, me, and foes lined up perfectly. Prime boomerang axe chance.
'Retrieve!'