Chapter 213. Ego Sword (4)
Kim Gi-ryeo and Jeong Ha-seong exited the gate.
They looked just as neat as they did when they entered the dungeon.
With recovery potions smeared all over them, it was a sight. But even this was enough to evade the guards questioning them at the gate.
Ha-seong walked out with his torn shirt covered by the only intact [White Scale Armor].
“Oh, right.”
But just then, as they parted ways with the association employees who saw them off, Gi-ryeo grabbed Ha-seong, who was about to head home, and sparked a conversation.
“Ha-seong. Why on earth were you in the dungeon at 4 AM?”
“Huh?”
“Are you still in a situation where you’d die if you don’t work too hard? Isn’t it about time for a break?”
Of course, the response he got was a vague, noncommittal look of bewilderment.
“The person who is asking that question right now was here before me…?”
Ha-seong was taken aback, genuinely confused.
At the same time, he realized how others perceived him until now.
Before this perspective switch, he had no idea why it felt odd. A hunter going into a dungeon in the cool morning breeze…
Yeah. From a third-party perspective, it certainly looked strange. It genuinely made him worry about his health.
But he didn’t intend to be this way; he just woke up early and couldn’t help but come out.
“Hmm.”
Was Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter just hanging around in that dungeon like planned…?
It was easy to tell that the other was determined to show up to work.
The savior who saved him seemed to have spent several hours in that dungeon; he came out wrapped in a musty cave smell.
‘A dungeon-running machine…’
Even at this moment of conversation, Kim Gi-ryeo’s expression didn’t change.
Seeing this, Ha-seong tried to stay calm, but internally he felt an unsettling disconnection.
The beast’s attack.
And the intense incident of killing an enemy after a fight, and he still maintained his composure.
Is this really a human?
The cold nickname “machine” suited such a hunter much better.
‘…….’
Ha-seong silently reflected on the other’s reaction. The blonde guy thought to himself.
‘My hands are still trembling. Ugh, that was scary… I should lock the door tightly when I get home and stay under the blanket.’
This shows how much fear Gi-ryeo had, leaving him too preoccupied to care about his expression.
Honestly, being a killer of earthlings isn’t a significant matter from the perspective of a great mage who had taken many lives with his own hands.
Brooklyn, charging like she had torn through the [Protection] of the Holy Tree.
The intimidating magic power of an S-Class Hunter. The slow limbs that didn’t move as he wished.
Indeed, the previous situation was enough to drive an alien into fear.
That’s why this man had been maintaining a stiff expression until now.
“…I’m sorry for earlier.”
“Huh?”
To a third party, this appeared cold-blooded.
As Ha-seong held the returned [Sword of Sunset] in its holder, he lowered his gaze.
“When I didn’t know anything, I scolded you for not fulfilling your obligations as Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter. I wondered why people are so selfish.”
“Uh.”
“Looking back now, those were indeed overstepping remarks.”
“That’s…”
“Mr. Gi-ryeo Hunter, a person who goes dungeon hunting even at this early hour, was referred to in such a manner.”
Siren. Kagoshima. And today’s incident.
The national hero quietly reflected on the hunter beside him, who had solved issues over time, and a complex smile touched his lips.
“I’ve been able to live with a more at ease heart thanks to you, Hunter.”
Ha-seong said, lifting his head.
The shadow that had been lurking around the young man seemed to have faded.
“Speaking of which, Mr. Kim Hunter, your gate clearing scores seem rather low. But seeing you start hunter-related work from dawn….”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been busy with some other important job assigned by the state, haven’t you?”
Gi-ryeo kept his mouth firmly shut, not revealing anything.
“Now I understand why you cared so much about me. Meeting other hunters at dawn certainly brings many thoughts.”
“…….”
“I just hope you don’t overdo it, Mr. Kim Hunter.”
However, Ha-seong didn’t get a response from the other, so he continued as if it was natural.
“Anyway, thank you for saving me today. Really, I appreciate it.”
Ha-seong, grateful for his miraculous escape thanks to Gi-ryeo, reiterated his thanks a few times.
In doing so, he couldn’t help but throw a self-deprecating critique at his own abilities.
Although he claimed to be startled by the sudden assault, how could he have been so one-sidedly overwhelmed even after using a top-grade potion?
Could it be that teaming up with that person is impossible even after completing the training sessions?
“Haha…”
As Ha-seong spoke, he unknowingly broke into a cold sweat due to soaring anxiety.
But Gi-ryeo remained unfazed.
This fire mage hadn’t lost because of a lack of skill.
The alien great mage resolved today’s events as a lesson and decided to directly resolve his disciple’s minor weaknesses.
And a bit later.
The weekend returned.
Gi-ryeo suggested doing some different exercises in this lesson, saying he hadn’t realized how weak Ha-seong was in personal combat.
“Huh?”
The method to overcome weaknesses he prepared was to practice burning people.
He thought Ha-seong had lost because of his meek disposition that prevented him from hurting his fellow countrymen.
Hence, he proposed reducing the aversion to using powers in duels with awakened beings.
And obviously, the target for this training would be the body of a certain bespectacled man.
“Now, you’re telling me to use my powers on Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo?”
Hearing that, Ha-seong’s face turned pale as he outright refused.
But just like always, his will held no sway over the class.
“Well, what, do you plan to just take hits if another crazy beast charges at you next time?”
Gi-ryeo genuinely wanted to ensure Ha-seong learned to protect himself during this opportunity.
“Um, I apologize, but it seems like Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo doesn’t realize that this isn’t normal…”
“I know.”
“Huh?”
“I’m doing this with full knowledge, you know?”
Thus, Ha-seong, unable to withstand the instructor’s intimidation, was forced to overcome his weaknesses through rather rough means.
As the alien being watched the fire mage could now burn people, he expressed his satisfaction with a commendable remark.
Though twisted in nature, this too was his version of supporting the disciple.
*
Monday returned.
“Hmm.”
While everyone else was busy heading to work, I placed a simple homemade meal on the table, finishing the preparations for an early lunch.
As you can see, everything here had returned to normal.
Since I tidied up the incident before Kang Chang-ho woke up, I didn’t face any grilling.
By 6:30 AM, the dungeon reset time, I likely had obliterated any evidence of the battle, so all those troubling matters were dealt with well.
From here on out, I just needed to keep a low profile and avoid any unnecessary accidents.
‘Why does it seem like whenever I try to gain something, misfortune strikes instead?’
Of course, it was a shame not to achieve my intended goals, but since I had gained nothing, I now had plenty of time.
I could think a bit more about how to dispose of the body later.
So I decided to hunker down at home and continue crafting dummies to deceive my contractors.
[Breaking News.]
On the eighth day of the lunar calendar.
More precisely, a day after Brooklyn’s death.
Around this time, an announcement on my phone signaled the clearance of [Mimic City], but honestly, I didn’t feel much.
[……Mimic City had a mechanism where the boss monster would appear after solving specific traps.]
‘Yeah. It’s just a C-Class dungeon; earthlings should be able to clear it if they put their minds to it.’
The dungeon had a unique escape system known as “transfer”; when the boss died, it forcibly teleported everyone inside the dungeon to the outside. In other words, it initiated a form of transfer that had only ever been showcased in that [White Tower] gate.
The announcer poured out information congratulating on the safe clearing of the gate, but ultimately, no mention of the beast could be found anywhere.
‘Brooklyn Morgan.’
However.
‘Hmm.’
No matter how quiet it was at the moment, there certainly was someone in this world who knew of Brooklyn’s death.
‘Are they hiding the information…?’
Because on Brooklyn Morgan’s body lay an unknown [Knight’s Pact].
‘When you take a closer look, the characteristics of the spell can distinguish it from a regular curse.’
However, this item had the function of notifying the other party upon the death of the contract party.
A person firmly promised with an American S-Class hunter.
That individual would undoubtedly know Brooklyn had died and also the exact time she passed.
The gate had already reset, and the clearing was completed, thus I thought there wouldn’t be any material evidence left, but…
“Hmm.”
I rolled my eyes and stood up.
“It can’t be helped.”
After all, even if the trail of murder was caught, it didn’t mean much for someone planning to switch bodies.
I pretended to contemplate for a moment, then quickly erased this issue from my mind.
Then I resolved to have a delicious meal and get back to work on my research.
By the way, today’s menu was a hearty soybean paste stew with zucchini and tofu.
Recently, I discovered this body had some use after all.
Surprisingly, my Gi-ryeo was quite good at making stew.
*
One day after Brooklyn’s death.
【#A new chat room】
[P: Message received.]
[Cheong-chun: Oh my God! Losing Morgan! How the heck did you manage her, you idiot! :(]
[Cheong-chun: Seriously, that stupid game should’ve been stopped long ago.]
[SPECTRUM: Did I think it would end up like this? We only recently found out Morgan was a beast. Who would have thought that crazy lady could pull such stunts while sleeping just 2 hours a day? And you all didn’t stop her at first, right? You were the ones who cheered when you heard she was killing awakened ones.]
[333: Sounds concerning.]
[333: It would have been better if you had put a tight leash on her from the start. If you had trained her to not be able to act without your permission, such incidents wouldn’t have happened.]
[SPECTRUM: LMAO 🤣]
[SPECTRUM: I’d blow up myself if I pushed for such negotiations and an S-Class hunter exploded.]
[SPECTRUM: I made sure to impose a limit on the individuals she shouldn’t engage with as an additional contract. I took all the insurance I could under my own capacity.]
[SPECTRUM: Anyway, it’s easy to talk from a guy who barely scraped in with a bribe.]
[P: Calm down.]
[Cheong-chun: Friends, what are we going to do now? The deadline is approaching—can we really manage without Morgan?]
[SPECTRUM: Don’t worry. I still have two more left.]
[Cheong-chun: But why on earth did Morgan die…?]
[SPECTRUM: Before she died, Brooklyn entered Mimic City under her own identity, confirmed through surveillance. Honestly, there shouldn’t have been anything in there capable of killing an S-Class. She must have been murdered. The issue is that there’s a damn critical omission in that gate’s entry list.]
[Cheong-chun: Entry time. And exit time.]
[SPECTRUM: Fk, there were way too many S-Class hunters who entered and exited that place in just one night! I still think it’s one of the Chinese or Korean hunters who entered together, though.]
[Cheong-chun: Right! No way there could be a monster in this world that could kill a hunter like Morgan one-on-one.]
[P: That’s a dangerous statement.]
[P: Plus, knowing the culprit could potentially be a Korean makes me even more anxious.]
[333: Indeed.]
[SPECTRUM: Mr. P, but please tell me I won’t lose my rights over this matter?]
[P: Uhh…]
[P: Yes.]
[SPECTRUM: Alright then, how should we deal with the EX-Class dungeon that Brooklyn was clearing?]
[P: It’ll withdraw on its own if left alone. Besides, there’s no reward to worry about in that gate, so don’t fret. Just focus on your own work.]
.
.
.
And on the third day.
“Slurp.”
A few days after the beast had been dealt with.
[Shocking news.]
America seemed to want to cover up the unprecedented situation where their most famous hunter vanished, but it’s not easy to control information these days.
So, the Spectrum Guild quickly realized their limits and officially acknowledged Brooklyn Morgan’s disappearance.
During this chaotic time, an alien was mindlessly enjoying a meal at home.
Having realized that this body had an outstanding ability for stew-making, I had been trying out various dishes like kimchi stew and soybean paste stew.
“No way, this is really delicious. Should I just quit being a hunter and open a restaurant instead?”
It was a peaceful day.
Directly having killed an S-Class hunter, I was somehow living the most normal life imaginable, earning goosebumps in the process.
However, about 48 hours later.
More precisely, just before the heat of Brooklyn Morgan’s disappearance rumor settled down.
While having a meal, the great mage’s gaze unintentionally stumbled across a newly published internet article.
[China is controversially discussing an international tournament…]
‘A match that allows magic?’
While a certain East Asian country was seizing the confusion to plan some international event, it caught people’s attention.
