Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Earning Our Ramen Money
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“Both of my parents were hunters. Min Jong-hak, Ye Dan-hui. Their names once represented all of Korea.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Well, there’s no need to apologize. In any case, they died during the raid on the first A-rank gate to appear in Korea.”
I remembered hearing a similar story.
Her rapid rise to fame after joining the guild was partly thanks to her parents’ legacy.
The daughter of Korea’s most renowned hunter couple appearing as an A-rank fire mage was a great story.
The Black River Guild used this to their advantage, entrusting her with important raids, and as a result, she became one of Korea’s top hunters. However, what she did during the gap between her parents’ death and her joining the guild was unknown.
Min Ha-na began to speak cautiously.
“I resented the world. People praised my deceased parents as heroes, but I had lost everything. I was lonely and struggling. As I cursed the world for longer and longer, I started to feel empty. I stopped eating and just cried all day, and I could feel my body dying. But I let it happen. It seemed easier that way.”
People who had been close to her parents tried to take care of her, but she couldn’t accept their help at the time.
“They were kind people. Thanks to them not giving up on me, I at least ate something.”
After two years like that, her resentment for the world faded, but her will to live did not return.
“About two months later, a Dungeon Break occurred near my house. There was a huge commotion, people shouting to evacuate, but I just stayed home. My only thought was, ‘Finally, this tedious life is over.’”
The roar of explosions, screams, and the blare of sirens.
“It was all just noise to me. I was just wishing it would end quickly when I heard a voice. It was a child, about ten years old.”
—I’m going to protect my mom!
A voice filled with both fear and determination.
“Those words kept ringing in my ears. They echoed so loudly it gave me a headache, and I felt like I was going crazy. I wondered why I was being subjected to this torment, so I opened the window to at least see the kid’s face…”
Min Ha-na closed her eyes for a moment, as if recalling that day, then added.
“The moment my eyes met the child’s, I awakened.”
That was the moment Min Ha-na was reborn as an A-rank fire mage.
“I thought I had to save the child and his mother, but I had no strength in my body.”
Min Ha-na smiled as she continued.
“I devoured everything in the refrigerator. Then I went to fight the monsters next door.”
She wasn't in a state to judge whether she could win or not. She just blindly jumped over the wall and threw flames at the monsters.
“I think I took care of about five of them. Only then did I see the child, standing there with a wooden sword as long as he was tall. Trembling all over. He looked just like me. Of course, he had conquered himself, while I had been defeated by myself. Do you know what he said to me?”
“He must have thanked you.”
“No. He actually attacked me.”
“Why?”
“I guess I looked like a monster. I was as thin as a skeleton, my hair was a mess, and I hadn’t changed my clothes in so long that I must have smelled terrible.”
This time, Wang-sik chuckled.
“I couldn’t say anything to the child. The monsters charged at us again. As I dealt with the monsters in the yard, the boy tried to fight alongside me. It was absurd. He would have only gotten in the way.”
As if mesmerized, Min Ha-na didn't move a single step, clearing out the monsters in the child's yard.
“After confirming there were no more monsters rushing in, I collapsed.”
When she opened her eyes, she was in a hospital.
Beside her were the kind people who had never given up on her.
Her father’s old friends.
“I don’t know why I cried so much. I just wept for a long time, as if letting out everything I’d held back. After that, I came to my senses.”
Hearing that the child and his mother were safe, her will to live returned.
“The people who came to clean up the situation were from the Black River Guild, and that’s when my life as a guild member began.”
Wang-sik knew the rest of the story.
He felt he now understood why Min Ha-na had thrown herself into raiding gates so relentlessly.
“You’ve lived a truly intense life yourself.”
“Not as intense as yours, Wang-sik.”
“Is there really a difference in the weight of hardship?”
Wang-sik stared at Min Ha-na for a moment before asking.
“So is that why you want to protect the world?”
“It’s nothing so grand. It’s just…”
Min Ha-na thought for a moment before answering.
“I like peace.”
The hot-headed fire mage loved peace. It seemed somewhat unfitting, yet in another way, it suited her better than anyone.
“The peace of ordinary people. I want that to be maintained.”
Wang-sik nodded and said.
“Then let’s go see where you stand.”
Min Ha-na followed Wang-sik down to the second basement floor.
Standing before the gate, she was speechless for a moment in amazement.
“This is the gate I used to escape the Azelan Continent. It’s where I met the Bureau Director.”
As he spoke, Wang-sik handed Min Ha-na some clothes.
“The clothes you’re wearing won’t pass through the gate. You should also organize what’s in your inventory. Items with magic, or pure minerals like gold and silver, can be transported.”
The clothes Min Ha-na was wearing were made of synthetic materials.
Snapping back to her senses, she examined the clothes Wang-sik had given her.
“I don’t think these will fit.”
They were too big for her to wear.
When Wang-sik handed her another set of clothes, Min Ha-na shook her head again.
“These are too small.”
Oh Min-jae’s clothes wouldn’t fit either.
“I’ll just use my armor.”
Not wanting to waste any more time on clothes, Min Ha-na activated her armor instead.
A suit of red leather armor appeared, covering her entire body except for her neck and face.
The thin leather armor, which accentuated her figure, was engraved with an ornate flame pattern that had become her symbol.
“Red is a woman’s color.”
“It’s not my style, but I’m sure the monsters will love it.”
“Is it too conspicuous?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s go.”
Wang-sik entered the gate first. Min Ha-na followed him through.
* * *
Entering the gloomy laboratory, Min Ha-na instinctively scanned her surroundings.
The first thing she saw was junk scattered everywhere.
Among it all, one particular item was glowing, connected to the gate.
“This is how the gate is maintained. The treasure’s magic keeps it open.”
As Wang-sik explained, he confirmed that the treasure’s power was running low.
“I’ll have to toss in a new treasure soon. There shouldn’t be any monsters, so let’s move.”
“Where is this place?”
“This was a chimera mage’s laboratory. It’s where I was trapped for seven years.”
“What?”
“A creature whose body has been forcibly modified is called a chimera. I was here as one of its components.”
Min Ha-na was so shocked she stopped in her tracks. The content of his words was too stunning for him to say so calmly.
“You told me your secret, so I’m just telling you mine.”
“Are you okay now?”
“As you can see, it’s all in the past now.”
Leaving the gloomy laboratory, a completely different scene unfolded before them.
‘So this is what it looks like beyond the gate.’
Everything was shocking and new to her.
“From now on, you need to focus. You’re about to find out just how much stronger you need to become.”
Less than a minute after they started walking into the forest, an oppressive sound reached them.
“Giant Manticore. You’ve probably seen them often.”
A B-rank monster.
A gate with about thirty of these would be considered B-rank.
“Let’s begin.”
“Are we fighting?”
“It’s already started.”
Dealing with the Giant Manticore wasn’t difficult. But as soon as the battle began, countless other monsters, drawn by the sound and impact, started to swarm toward them.
Min Ha-na responded seriously.
It was partly due to her excellent training, but in truth, it was because she could feel a tangible sense of crisis, different from anything she had experienced before.
‘There’s no end to them.’
B-rank monsters were flocking from all directions.
*Thud!*
Wang-sik stomped his foot hard and stood in front of Min Ha-na. A giant heart materialized in the air, and the monsters began to converge on Wang-sik, finally giving her a little breathing room.
‘If I don’t deal with them quickly, more will come.’
Realizing this, Min Ha-na used a spectacular area-of-effect spell to wipe out the monsters.
As the monsters vanished in an instant, Wang-sik looked around.
Among the ashes of the scattered monster corpses, glowing gems were visible.
Mana Stones.
“Fire mages have it easy. Let’s split today’s haul fifty-fifty.”
Min Ha-na had no time to think about profits.
“Let’s collect the Mana Stones and move on.”
For monsters that hadn't completely turned to ash, they had to cut open the heart to retrieve the Mana Stone. In a gate, monsters turned to ash upon death, but not here.
Seeing Min Ha-na standing there blankly, Wang-sik paused his collection and said.
“This place is called the Decartes Mountains. It’s monster territory. We’re currently at the entrance of the mountain range, which, in terms of difficulty, is about level 3 out of 10.”
His explanation made Min Ha-na feel even more overwhelmed.
“This is only level 3? It feels like we’ve cleared two B-rank gates already.”
They had killed about seventy B-rank monsters, which equated to two B-rank gates. The math was right.
“I told you, didn't I? Those standards are just a game for weaklings. We’re now entering level 4.”
With that, Wang-sik resumed collecting Mana Stones.
“If you don’t remove the Mana Stones, more monsters will be drawn to them.”
Monsters fought amongst themselves, and the victor would extract and absorb the Mana Stone, becoming even stronger.
Min Ha-na had never done this before, but after watching Wang-sik, she picked up a dagger. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling, but she understood it was a necessary task, so she learned quickly.
“You need to be on your guard from now on.”
Before long, the two entered a forest filled with large boulders.
*Swoosh!*
The sound of something tearing through the air grew rapidly closer.
*Clang!*
Wang-sik moved in an instant, raising his shield.
The massive object that had been aimed at Min Ha-na was blocked by the shield and then vanished like the wind. It was a brief moment, but Min Ha-na had clearly seen the monster that hit the shield.
“A Shadow Puma…?”
Before she could be surprised by the sudden appearance of an A-rank monster, the sound of rushing wind began to multiply.
“If you let your guard down for even a second, you’ll die.”
Min Ha-na almost laughed at Wang-sik’s nonchalant words.
Let her guard down? She could barely breathe from the tension, and yet he could say something like that so calmly.
What was most frightening was what was behind them.
In a gate, you move forward strategically, clearing all monsters, so there’s no need to worry about your back. But not here.
A forest full of cover.
It wouldn’t be strange for a monster to pop out from anywhere.
As she focused on the sound of the wind, a sharp presence descended from above.
*Ch-rak!*
Wang-sik’s chain wrapped around the object falling toward Min Ha-na’s head.
It was an insect the size of a five-year-old child, a monster Min Ha-na had never seen before.
Its transparent wings were small for its body, and its tongue, extended between fangs protruding from its lips, was as sharp as a needle.
Strangely, its two eyes glittered as if inlaid with red jewels.
“That’s called a Ruby Bug. Its venom is so potent that even a scratch won’t end with just a little pain.”
Before her cold sweat could dry, more Ruby Bugs swarmed in.
The Shadow Pumas were already a burden, and now Ruby Bugs too.
But that wasn’t the end of it. In the distance, the ground was stirring. It was a phenomenon Min Ha-na had seen before.
The moving trail in the earth was ten meters long.
‘A Giant Worm?’
Another A-rank monster.
“Let’s begin.”
At his words, Min Ha-na snapped to attention.
‘Begin… what?’
Before Min Ha-na could even ask, Wang-sik was raising his shield.
“We have to earn our ramen money.”
Wang-sik grinned and took his stance.