Chapter 76: Red Gate (2)
Huh.
The monster’s speed was beyond imagination.
In the blink of an eye, it was already close.
Oh no!
The situation had escalated so suddenly that I couldn’t react in time.
But then…
Thunk!
The monster in front of me abruptly vanished.
At the same time, a dull explosion sound echoed.
Did it… explode?
I frantically turned my head and caught a glimpse of Kang Chang-ho’s outstretched arm at the edge of my vision.
That S-Class had struck down the charging monster.
Kang Chang-ho was intently staring at the blood splattered from his kill, and then he spoke in a calm voice.
“You aren’t acting even though the enemy is flying toward you… Should I take it as a test of how I’ll respond?”
Honestly, it was ridiculous.
I simply lacked the depth perception to follow its movements.
“No way. That can’t be.”
I immediately denied his words.
Then Kang Chang-ho narrowed his eyes for a moment, flicked his blood-stained hands, and fell silent again.
What’s going on?
Up until then, I was still unsure about the entire situation.
Hiss!
But soon after.
As Ahn Yoon-seung, who had failed to manage his magic power, kept losing track of the monsters, the S-Class beside me began to show his true strength…
Smack!
The second monster went down, then the third.
Smack!
And this time, he took out a monster without even waiting for it to get too close?
Huh?
By the time I came to my senses, C-Class monster corpses were strewn around me.
So, Kang Chang-ho had been thoroughly managing the area all along.
Huh?
I rolled my eyes and cautiously pointed at the remains on the ground.
“Kang Chang-ho, just to be sure, are you going to take those corpses?”
“No.”
“Then can I take some with me?”
“Do as you please.”
With that answer, I felt an inexplicable emotion welling up inside me.
This hunter… is incredibly diligent…?
Is this the essence of being Korean?
*
Clear skies. Lush green grass.
In such vibrant scenery, someone dressed in dark leather stood out sharply.
Huh?
Just a few minutes ago.
Ahn Yoon-seung’s expression hardened as he spotted Kang Chang-ho appearing in the park.
Like most in this industry, the young man didn’t particularly want to encounter that S-Class.
“Why is Kang Chang-ho here…?”
Yoon-seung swallowed hard at the pressure emanating from the high-ranking awakened, and in that moment, the worst happened.
The other party shouted a name suddenly.
“Hey, Kim Gi-ryeo!”
The third S-Class of Korea was known for only being interested in strong individuals.
It was only natural that his attention would now be drawn to that hunter.
Ugh, he’s definitely starting something with Gi-ryeo…!
Yoon-seung cast a worried glance sideways.
But to his surprise, Kang Chang-ho wasn’t just acknowledging someone strong.
“Chang-ho, welcome!”
What was going on?
Kim Gi-ryeo greeted the appearing S-Class naturally, as if he had been expecting him.
Did a friendship form between them…?
He was dying to ask for an explanation, but couldn’t afford to lose focus at the gate.
Yoon-seung forced himself to concentrate on the newly appeared Red Gate.
Get it together. Today is an important moment to show off my skills to my benefactor!
He positioned himself assuming Gi-ryeo was part of his team.
Ugh!
But an offensive hunter on his own wouldn’t yield any results.
A moment later.
A monster managed to slip through to the rear.
Normaly, he would have immediately set up a barrier for his colleague, but…
No need for that now.
Ahn Yoon-seung promptly canceled the skill.
The monster was heading straight for its demise anyway.
Poor thing.
A few seconds later.
He felt curious about the monster’s fate and cast a glance behind him.
What the…?
But the sight that met his eyes almost made him drop his shield.
Thunk!
Is Kang Chang-ho… taking down a C-Class monster?
What’s going on here?
Yoon-seung continued to check the back, but the situation remained unchanged.
This is unbelievable!
The blond hunter was nonchalantly observing as Kang Chang-ho took the initiative to eliminate every monster approaching from behind.
Not just anyone, but ‘that’ Kang Chang-ho?
Kang Chang-ho was a top-tier awakened and a thoroughly self-centered hunter.
He was typically someone who wouldn’t respond to the association’s calls, despite the severe penalties involved.
Using Kang Chang-ho’s strength was something even the government had given up on.
So how was this person so willingly helping others like this?
Is he truly the S-Class I know?
From Ahn Yoon-seung’s perspective, it was impossible to guess that they were tied together by a contract related to the Enhancement Heart.
Thus, he got lost in misunderstandings based solely on the information he had.
W-Wait, did my brother decide to firmly establish his rank here…!?
There’s no way that aggressive S-Class would have let someone like Kim Gi-ryeo off the hook!
Kang Chang-ho definitely provoked Gi-ryeo while everyone’s back was turned.
And perhaps Kim Gi-ryeo had been magnanimous until the moment that the other crossed a line without mercy.
Or perhaps it really was the case that he was treating it as such?
A chasm of difference in strength.
If Kang Chang-ho had to do such menial tasks, it had to require profound secrets.
It really only makes sense this way. Look at that, Kang Chang-ho is silent while sucking up to Gi-ryeo!
Ahn Yoon-seung marveled.
That an S-Class, whom even the huge Hunter Association couldn’t control, had succumbed to someone else’s influence was striking!
Wow, he is truly beyond imagination the more I know him.
Ahn Yoon-seung swallowed hard.
There was a time he thought about teaming up with Kim Gi-ryeo, but with such a gap in levels…
It’s difficult to become a team member.
With a bitter expression, Ahn Yoon-seung took down the last monster.
However, the gloomy atmosphere didn’t last long.
So, how about I become his porter?
The hunter industry had various job types more than he initially thought.
Long dungeons might require staying inside the Gate for food and rest. If I learn those skills, it might help my brother someday…
That blond man was a born hunter.
Probably because he was so capable that he felt little need to form a group. He likely wouldn’t easily find teammates in the future.
So Yoon-seung resolved to aim for the role of support rather than a companion this time around.
That approach would give him a better chance of working with Gi-ryeo.
Let’s build my skills! So I’ll better fit as my brother’s porter!
His intentions were pure.
He only wanted to support his life-saving benefactor.
However, due to a significant misunderstanding of the other’s strength, he slightly misaligned his goal…
Right. I’m nowhere near my brother’s level, so training is the only path!
This seemingly pointless effort later put Yoon-seung in a position where he was “a monster rookie who drags dead teams with them.”
*
Day 5 of the Red Gate Raid.
Hwaah!
Boom!
The sharp spikes surrounding the monster collided with the silver shield and shattered mercilessly.
As the shards of spikes flew in every direction.
Ahn Yoon-seung brought his mace down onto the exposed flesh of the monster.
It made a squish! sound as the monster split in half.
That was yet another monster taken down.
Getting better at this!
But it wasn’t really surprising.
After enduring five days of watching Ahn Yoon-seung work tirelessly.
Is this already the fifth Gate?
Originally, we started safely hunting at the C-Class level, but now we were confidently tackling B-Class on our own.
But…
Hiss.
To be honest, I found B-Class to be a bit lacking.
Sinking into the worst difficulty for the best rewards, if I only kept hitting the A-Class gates, making 2.6 billion wouldn’t be a distant dream.
Honestly, even with a jackpot, B-Class won’t yield lotto-like profits.
I glanced at the Red Passage across the street, my mouth watering at the thought of it being an A-Class Gate.
Darn!
While I was at it, another monster had lost its life.
A nearby hunter had kicked the oncoming beast.
That aside, his reaction speed was truly impressive.
I thought he was slacking off, yet he was keeping a sharp watch over a 5m radius like a hawk.
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head and retrieved the monster’s magic stone.
However, Kang Chang-ho didn’t respond but merely shifted his focus back to his work.
That earthling had started bringing a tablet with him at some point.
Web surfing right before the gate?
Usually, that’d be a move for the mentally unstable, but was this guy an average awakened person?
S-Class Hunter Kang Chang-ho had meticulously fulfilled his duties up to that point.
Thanks to him, I could secure high-grade materials from the monsters without a single scratch.
Hehehe.
If I had known this would be the case, I would have signed a contract way earlier!
Honestly, I didn’t expect Kang Chang-ho to prove this helpful.
When he talked about his principles, I thought he was just rambling without substance.
Ahh, I lacked faith…!
That’s why you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance!
Our Chang-ho may have a look that could scare a person, but he truly has a kind heart. Always diligent.
At this rate, I’ll gather a million in the blink of an eye.
I quickly pulled out the item box I’d borrowed from Ahn Yoon-seung and diligently collected monster materials.
As a result, my hands got covered in blood, but that didn’t matter to me.
Counting money often means getting your hands dirty.
“Ahh, all done!”
After a moment, it seemed like Ahn Yoon-seung had successfully dealt with all the monster waves.
Huh! Brother, your hands are covered in blood…
“Oh, this?”
“I’m so sorry! I lost track of too many enemies, so you ended up catching some!”
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s really nothing! You don’t need to hold back to spare me the embarrassment.”
In the midst of our conversation, there was a brief misunderstanding, but whatever.
“Anyway, good job today.”
With a light compliment, we entered the cleanup phase of our hunting.
We had to gather the fallen monsters to make it easier for the cleanup crew.
Heave-ho.
But then.
As I crouched down to lift a monster, a shadow suddenly loomed over me. Kang Chang-ho had approached closely.
“Kim Gi-ryeo.”
It seemed he had something to say.
“Take it easy.”
While I stayed silent, Kang Chang-ho continued.
“Are you by any chance protesting because I haven’t given you money?”
“Huh?”
“You haven’t acted this way normally, yet here you are digging into high-level Red Gates every day. Honestly, that doesn’t sit right.”
He paused, selecting his words carefully.
While he didn’t look angry, S-Class hunters naturally exude pressure even through silence.
“Kim Gi-ryeo, how about taking a break from gate raiding for a few days?”
“Huh?”
“Pushing yourself this hard isn’t good for either of us. As I mentioned before, since we loosely structured our contract, we need to be considerate of each other.”
….
“Of course, the Red Gate is a loophole in the pact, so doing as you like won’t mean death.”
Kang Chang-ho then advised.
“Just keep in mind. I’m not tied down by the pact as much as you are.”
That meant he could attack me whenever he wished, assuming he set his mind to it.
“If you happen to sneak into the Red Gates and get caught… then it will be quite boring for both of us.”
After working me to the bone for five straight days, it seemed he had finally revealed his true colors.
To be fair, overworking is the worst way to make someone irritable.
I was aware.
My life depended entirely on his generosity.
While one weaker individual had made horrific promises regarding their lifespan, he was in a favorable position where minor considerations could be disregarded based on mood.
An imbalanced relationship. Or a tilted scale.
At this point, I was living not as a protector of that S-Class but merely increasing my own limitations.
This won’t do.
But I was very much aware of that matrix from the start…
“I’m sorry. I’ll correct it immediately.”
I organized my thoughts and replied.
But contrary to my meek external reaction, I was formulating a different plan internally.
Making a move on me.
I had a means to prevent Kang Chang-ho from doing so, or at least one or two.
Once today’s accounting is over, I’ll start preparing that. That was my silent vow as I lifted the last corpse.
