Chapter 73
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Man in the Black Helmet
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Murmurs filled the air.
The day appointed by Black Bears for the labyrinth raid had finally arrived. The area in front of the labyrinth gate was packed with crowds of people.
Most had gathered just to catch a glimpse of the many Rank-3 Hunters participating.
Everyone's faces were bright. No one doubted for a second that Black Bears would fail.
'Protecting those smiles is a hunter's calling.'
Black Bears' Park Byung-su branch chief gripped his trident tightly as he watched the people's cheerful grins.
For their sake, this raid absolutely could not fail. No matter what.
"Whoa! Look over there! It's Raven Guild! The guild master and all the executives are here!"
"Behemoth Guild's here too. Whoa! Check out that weapon—it's huge!"
Cheers erupted as Raven's guild master, wielder of twin daggers, and Behemoth's guild master, carrying a massive war hammer, made their entrance.
Both were Rank-4 Hunters. And those following behind were all Rank-3s closing in on Rank-4.
Park Byung-su felt a sense of calm wash over him as he watched them.
'Yeah. We don't even need help from the top five guilds. Each one of these guys is on par with a branch chief from one of them, after all.'
The murmurs grew a bit louder then. Curious, Park Byung-su glanced over and tilted his head at the sight of a man in a black helmet and armor.
'Who the hell is that guy? Is there a Rank-3 Hunter with that kind of look?'
His eyes then caught the galleon emblem etched on the armor.
A carrack, built for sailing the high seas.
Only one group used that symbol.
'Santa Maria! So that's the Lizardman Hunter.'
His gear was a bit unusual, though. Word was he mainly used axes, but for some reason, he was holding a spear that looked like a stinger.
'He must've gotten intel on Minos. Makes sense—a short throwing axe wouldn't cut it against Minos. But that spearhead looks kinda familiar...'
It vaguely resembled a Minos horn, but he shook his head to dismiss the thought.
Minos horns could only be obtained inside the labyrinth. No outsider would have one.
'Yeah, not like Minos are the only things with horns. Probably just made from some similar material.'
With the Lizardman Hunter's arrival, more than twenty people had now gathered and were waiting.
But Black Bears' executives, including Ban Sung-woon, still hadn't shown up.
"Ban Sung-woon still not here? What's with making everyone wait after calling us out? What country's manners are those?"
Raven's guild master grumbled, and Behemoth's guild master chimed in from beside him.
"That's why I can't trust those Black Bears bastards. They beg for help one minute, then their attitude flips the next."
Murmurs of discontent began bubbling up here and there, starting with those two. Just then, Ban Sung-woon finally made his appearance.
Leading the way was the Rank-5 Hunter Ban Sung-woon, flanked by the Rank-4 sisters Han Se-young and Han Ji-young.
Behind them trailed a long line of branch chiefs and team leaders, all Rank-3s. Their numbers surpassed what you'd get by pooling all the Rank-3s from mid-tier guilds.
It was a scene that showed just how powerful Black Bears was—and why they were called one of the top five.
"Everyone, thank you for coming out to see us off on Black Bears' labyrinth raid."
Woooah!
Cheers poured from the crowd. Ban Sung-woon gave a casual wave, then shouted again.
"We'll take down the Minotaur safe and sound, and make sure no monster waves crash through! So wait here without a worry!"
Park Byung-su thought it might be wise to at least prepare for evacuation, just in case. But he couldn't bring himself to contradict the guild master.
'It'll be fine. Nothing's gonna happen. I won't let it.'
* * *
"About time you showed up. And here we are, twiddling our thumbs while you give speeches to the crowd?"
Ban Sung-woon let out a smirk at Raven guild master's barbed remark.
"We're not here to exchange pleasantries. Skip the fake smiles and let's just get the raid started."
"Tch! Fine. I'd rather dive in than chat with you bastards anyway."
"What? You bastards?"
Ban Sung-woon's expression hardened slightly. Raven guild master just snorted.
"What, you don't like it? If you don't, I'll head home."
"You little..."
As Raven guild master turned like he meant it, Ban Sung-woon ground his teeth but held his tongue.
No matter how strong Black Bears was, they couldn't clear the labyrinth without them.
Starting a fight here could jeopardize the whole raid.
"So, what'll it be? You leaving? Or...?"
"...Let's go in first."
Ban Sung-woon chose to ignore him.
Raven Guild was here for the loot anyway. They'd follow in the end, no matter what they said.
And so, Ban Sung-woon led the way with Han Se-young and Han Ji-young, followed by Black Bears' executives filing into the gate one by one.
Among them was branch chief Park Byung-su, holding his trident with a grave expression.
'Oh? It's Master.'
Cha In-hyeok spotted Park Byung-su and started to raise his hand, then stopped.
He was here as the Lizardman Hunter. No matter how happy he was to see him, he couldn't let on that he knew him.
'Can't let my identity slip. Better keep talk to a minimum, just in case.'
Truth be told, he didn't need to be that cautious, but he wanted to play the taciturn character at least once.
The cool, chic, cold urban man type. Like Sesshomaru, if he had to compare...
'But what's going on? He looks so down.'
It'd only been about two weeks since they'd last met, but his master looked haggard, like he'd been through hell.
"Let's move in!"
By then, all of Black Bears' members had entered. Raven and Behemoth followed suit.
They seemed to be going in order of guild size. Santa Maria would probably be last.
'Huh? Who are those guys?'
As the crowd thinned, Cha In-hyeok noticed a group.
Nearly twenty people, lugging huge backpacks and pulling carts big enough to haul an ox.
'Porters?'
Lee Jin-hyuk suddenly came to mind—the guy who'd talked about applying as a porter for a labyrinth expedition.
Sure enough, scanning the group, there he was, right in the middle, pulling a cart.
'No way, bro... what are you doing here?'
Cha In-hyeok worried, but there was nothing he could do right now. Placements inside the labyrinth were random.
Even if you entered together, you'd end up scattered everywhere.
'Still, with this many people going in, at least a couple should land together.'
Entry was random, but the number of possible spawn points wasn't infinite.
The more hunters entered, the higher the odds of overlapping placements.
That was why Black Bears had roped in all these mid-tier guilds.
With this many, at least two, maybe three, could team up if they got lucky.
'But if he's unlucky, he could end up alone as a porter.'
That would be the worst. Porters were at best Rank-1 or Rank-2. They couldn't fight a Minos, let alone run from one.
'Hope he sticks with Jin-hyuk bro.'
But the ones he ended up with inside the gate weren't Jin-hyuk.
Instead, it was a sleazy-looking middle-aged guy and a scared-looking woman in her early twenties, both porters.
* * *
'Sigh. What do I do... I shouldn't have signed up. Should've just stuck to Rank-1 gates like a good girl.'
Rank-1 Hunter Ryu Soo-young cursed her past self for getting dollar signs in her eyes and volunteering as a porter.
Why had she done it? This was a Rank-4 dungeon, for crying out loud.
If the hunters she was with got killed by a Minos, she'd be slaughtered without even putting up a fight.
'Crazy. I must be insane. Whew. At least this uncle's from Black Bears—that's a relief. But that guy's got some weird emblem I've never seen. Ugh, so uneasy.'
Now in her second year as a hunter, Ryu Soo-young knew Black Bears but had never heard of Santa Maria. She didn't recognize the emblem either.
The only thing keeping her sane was the Black Bears Hongcheon branch chief.
"Don't shake so much, little miss. I'll protect you. Just make sure to hand potions to that guy over there on time. Dismantle Minos corpses while I'm resting. Got it?"
"Y-Yes? Oh, got it..."
As she sighed in relief mid-reply, she flinched at the feel of a hand brushing her butt.
'No way, must be my imagination. No one would try that in a dungeon.'
But seeing she wasn't saying anything, Hongcheon branch chief pressed closer, more blatantly.
"Speak casually. We're not that far apart in age, right?"
"Uh... r-really?"
"Yeah, yeah. How old are you? You look young. Need money for something? Signing up for something this dangerous."
"Uh? Just... I have some debts..."
"Oh yeah? How much? Big bro'll pay 'em off for you."
"Huh? Why would you..."
"Why? We're gonna have each other's backs from now on. That's nothing."
As he spoke, Hongcheon branch chief subtly gripped her shoulder. Ryu Soo-young shuddered, feeling like a caterpillar was crawling over it.
'What do I do? Should I tell him to stop? But what if that pisses him off and something happens?'
This was a dungeon. Fist and power ruled over law and conscience.
A mere Rank-1 like her couldn't win against a Rank-3 from a famous guild.
"Just trust big bro and..."
Just as Hongcheon branch chief's hand started sliding down her shoulder—
The man in the black helmet, who'd been silent till now, gripped his spear tightly.
Whumm—
The blade hummed faintly, but menacingly.
"W-What?"
Startled, Hongcheon branch chief yanked his hand back.
"It's a Minos."
The cold gaze peering from the black helmet pierced him. Feeling unjustly guilty, Hongcheon branch chief drew his own spear.
"A Minos? I don't see shit."
But before he finished, thudding footsteps announced the Minos's arrival.
"Moooo!"
Bellowing steam from its nostrils, the beast looked exactly like the mythical Minotaur.
"Heh, finally here."
Hongcheon branch chief pointed his flame-wreathed spear at it and yelled to the black-helmet man.
"I'll handle this one. You fall back and guard the porter girl meanwhile."
"Got it."
"Your words are a bit shor—"
Hongcheon branch chief started to complain about the attitude but hastily retreated. The Minos had closed in, swinging its glaive down.
Boom!
The passage shook with the explosion. Ryu Soo-young clutched the cart, stumbling forward.
"Careful."
The one who caught her was the man in the black helmet.