Should I Swear on My Mom?
The second I stepped out of the gate, a barrage of camera flashes hit me square in the face.
It was blinding, sure, but that was about it. I just moved with Kim Dongmin, ducking wherever he went.
We ended up at a tent. A sign outside read that it was a rest area reserved for the hunters who'd cleared the gate.
"People don't come this far, huh?"
"Obviously. It's a restricted zone."
"There was something like that?"
"You didn't know?"
Of course I didn't know. This was my first gate since becoming a hunter.
Thwack!
"You little shit. I told you to find us the second you got out of a gate."
A man who'd somehow appeared behind Kim Dongmin brought a fist down on the top of his head. It was just a noogie, but the sound was impressively loud.
Guess that's a hunter for you. He doesn't even look like it hurt.
"Guild Leader? You're here?"
His voice didn't sound startled so much as resigned — more of a well, here it comes tone. Or was I imagining that?
The man who'd walked into the tent was apparently the guild leader of Eclipse, the guild Kim Dongmin belonged to.
"I told you to contact me before you go into a gate. When did I ever say to send a half-assed consonant text and just dive in?"
"It was a Quick Gate. We were in a hurry."
"I know it was urgent. That's why I gave you a dedicated number. You just call it when something comes up."
"I didn't save it—"
Thwack!
"Save it. I'm checking when we get back."
"…Yes, sir."
Kim Dongmin clutched the crown of his head.
That was weirdly satisfying.
I'd wanted to hit him myself, but he didn't look like the type to just take it. And honestly, beating on each other right after clearing a gate together wouldn't have done either of us any favors.
Coin-sponsored hits were the exception, of course. That was basically my own money doing the work — coins that would've come to me otherwise.
"And hey — if you're going in with another hunter, you look after them. You don't just ditch them and bolt."
"I genuinely almost died. I was out of it."
"Oh, bragging now? A guy who cleared Stage 7 of the Hunter Exam almost died? Try saying something believable."
"I'm serious, I almost died. Should I swear on my mom?"
"…For real?"
"I don't know. I'm exhausted. I'm gonna rest a bit."
"This little—"
Kim Dongmin flopped onto a cot like the world was ending, pulled on earplugs and an eye mask, and was done.
"That one… doesn't sound like a lie."
"No. At least he doesn't lie."
The man standing behind the guild leader answered.
These guys are having fun.
Whatever else was going on, you could tell the people in this guild actually got along.
I was reading the Constellations' chat when I felt eyes on me.
"Ahem. Hello. I understand you entered the gate with Dongmin…"
"Ah, yes. A Quick Gate appeared, so."
"We've more or less pieced together the situation. I'm Kim Hyeoncheol, guild leader of Eclipse."
Kim Hyeoncheol held out a business card.
"Would you mind telling me what happened inside the gate?"
"Well…"
"…And that's how we got out."
I told him everything exactly as it had happened.
"…I see."
Kim Hyeoncheol's expression turned grave as he listened.
"What I'm about to say stays confidential for the time being."
"…?"
What, all of a sudden?
"Just a moment."
He pulled a staff from his inventory — roughly the same size as my club — and tapped it against the floor.
At once, the noise from outside vanished.
"I cast a quick spell. Ah, and the friend behind me is our vice guild leader, so no need to worry."
Behind Kim Hyeoncheol's greasy smile, a woman with a ponytail gave a small nod.
I tipped my head back slightly and looked at him.
So he's a mage.
From looks alone, I'd have sworn he was a blunt-weapon warrior.
This is why you shouldn't judge people at a glance.
No, but he really does look like a warrior.
Why does a mage have scars on his arms?
My eyes met the vice guild leader's again.
She nodded.
"…"
Like she somehow understood exactly what I was thinking, she kept nodding.
I nodded back.
"For some time now, gates have been producing two or more boss monsters at once."
Kim Hyeoncheol's face was deadly serious as he continued.
"The internal environment of the gates has changed. This is the first time something like this has happened since the Great Cataclysm, so there's a lot of talk."
Theories ranged from another upheaval on the scale of the Great Cataclysm to the idea that the gates themselves had evolved — but no one had a clear answer.
"On top of that, the variety of monsters is increasing. Cases of entirely new monster types are starting to turn up."
Kim Hyeoncheol tapped the floor with his staff again, and the noise from outside flooded back in.
"…Well, Hunter Park Sohee, you'd have heard about this soon enough anyway — but for now it's still classified."
"Is it okay to tell me, then?"
Even if the information was going to drop soon, it was still classified. Meaning it wasn't supposed to get out.
The reason was simple enough. There was no point amplifying civilian anxiety for no good reason.
This was a world where hunters kept ordinary people's daily lives intact.
Not every hunter was a saint, but the Constellations' surveillance put serious constraints on them. Maybe that was why you almost never saw hunters go into politics.
"Well, I trust you'll keep the secret."
Kim Hyeoncheol flashed that greasy smile again.
I had no intention of telling anyone. I didn't even have anyone to tell.
The only person in my contacts was Han Nami, and someone at her level would already know. She was with the Hunter Association.
"And you saved Dongmin, didn't you? We ought to repay that."
Kim Hyeoncheol put on the greasy smile once more.
Why does he keep doing that?
I hadn't done it for a reward.
I'd done it because I needed to survive too, and catching that thing had mostly been luck.
"Of course, we'll also adjust the split on the mana stones and items from the clear."
Kim Dongmin was a hunter who'd cleared Stage 7 of the Hunter Exam. I'd only cleared Stage 10.
Naturally, there was a ratio based on that.
"We'll need to cross-check, of course, but if Hunter Park Sohee's account is accurate, a six-four split shouldn't be a problem. You get the six, naturally."
Reading the chat, a question occurred to me.
"But if there's a danger like that, don't the Constellations tell you?"
Constellations ought to know about this kind of thing, right?
Beings above the Constellations.
Apparently they were the ones restricting the information.
"As you can see from the chat, the Constellations aren't omnipotent. They provide enormous help, of course, but…"
"Overcoming crises is humanity's job. I've heard that line so many times I've memorized it."
At some point Kim Dongmin had sat up on the edge of the cot and cut in.
"Hey, why do you get to deliver the cool line?"
"I was trying to sleep and it was too loud."
"What does that have to do with— fine. So how much did you hear?"
Kim Hyeoncheol let out a disbelieving little laugh and asked.
"All of it. You already told me about the monster stuff, and everything that happened inside the gate matches what Hunter Park Sohee said."
Then Kim Dongmin yawned like he was genuinely exhausted.
"I'll report to the Association by phone tomorrow. I need a proper rest tomorrow."
"Alright. Good work."
"I know, right."
GrassTypeOnePiece has been banned.
I banned the guy hogging the chat first.
Talks too damn much.
Kim Dongmin left, and after giving me a quick rundown of the gate clear report, Kim Hyeoncheol got ready to go.
"If you're interested in joining our guild, give me a call. I'll make the contract as favorable to you as possible."
"Yes. Thank you for the help."
"Haha. Hunters look out for each other."
And with that, Kim Hyeoncheol left.
"…Just in case — may I ask one question?"
"Huh? Oh. Of course."
The vice guild leader, whose name I still barely knew, spoke up.
"…Nothing happened with Hunter Kim Dongmin, right?"
"Excuse me?"
What was this?
Why was her face turning red?
"Ah, never mind. I'll be going, then."
She vanished so fast she left an afterimage.
"…"
Did I just…
Get warned off…?