Chapter 9: Adaptation (3)
‘If I were him, I would be trembling in fear.’
A-Class Hunters are considered quite monstrous among Earth’s sorcerers.
Yet, to think that such a sorcerer would belittle someone in a formal manner.
From the unknown Hunter’s perspective, it must feel like a scene straight out of a horror film.
‘Hmph.’
As much as I want to laugh at that trembling Hunter, I’m still quite clumsy with controlling my facial expressions…
“No, I came alone.”
I happily ignored the man beside me and talked to Ahn Yoon-seung.
“I don’t think I introduced myself last time. I’m Ahn Yoon-seung. If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask… your name?”
“Kim Gi-ryeo.”
“Aha! Yes! But do you have a moment?”
“I’m not busy. Why?”
“I have something to discuss…”
*
Moments later, in a nearby park.
‘What could he possibly want to talk about?’
I agreed to his suggestion to move to a quieter place, and finding my legs aching, I sat on a bench. However, what I expected to be a lengthy conversation surprisingly wrapped up quite succinctly.
“So what you’re saying is…”
“Even though you might not be keen on it, is there any way we could make this work?”
After exchanging names, Ahn Yoon-seung’s offer could be summarized in just one sentence.
‘He says he wants to repay me?’
As I fell silent for a moment, Ahn Yoon-seung spoke hurriedly.
“Ever since you disappeared, it’s been weighing on my mind! You saved my life, and I should have at least treated you to a proper meal or something…”
“Do you know a good place?”
“But food alone is just not enough!”
Actually, I like food just fine.
“Isn’t there anything I can do to repay you?”
After all, Ahn Yoon-seung seems rather upset that his lifesaver vanished without a word.
That’s why he’s kept insisting on repaying me. But…
“Hmm.”
In fact, Ahn Yoon-seung and I didn’t have different intentions.
He had simply run away back then to avoid getting caught by the police, and he wasn’t the type to refuse compensation anyway. There was no reason to turn down the proposal.
“Actually, I do have something you could help me with.”
“Really?”
I said that while pulling out my cellphone from my pocket.
Preparing the materials didn’t take long.
“So, could you possibly join me for a trip to a Gate?”
Tap, tap, tap. The sound of my nails hitting the phone echoed.
Ahn Yoon-seung, observing me intently without criticizing my actions, nodded vigorously.
“Of course! Where to?”
“Well, a C-Class Gate?”
“Are you gathering materials? If so, I can go and bring them back…!”
“Not quite. I just want to check out something. I’m going to take down the monsters myself.”
After hearing my explanation, Ahn Yoon-seung’s face lit up with eagerness.
“Regardless, I have no reason to refuse. It’s an honor to team up with someone like you, even if it’s temporary.”
“……”
“I’ll learn a lot from you! Hyung-nim!”
Sorry, but I don’t think it’s going to be what you imagine.
“Hmm, Yoon-seung. I have to clarify something because I think you might be misunderstanding.”
“Yes?”
“I’m an F-Class Hunter.”
It would be problematic if there were unnecessary misunderstandings before we even started working. So, I decided to be honest.
“Look, it’s printed on my Hunter ID. So don’t have high expectations. In fact, I may need to learn from you.”
Now I could proudly present my Hunter ID.
With half a smug feeling, I showed my newly issued card and promptly put it back in my wallet.
Upon seeing that, Yoon-seung stood there in shock for a moment.
If it were before, I could have used magic to peek into his serious thoughts behind that face.
“Ah…”
After a while, Yoon-seung cautiously asked.
“I understand now. You registered as an F-Class. But doesn’t that mean you can’t enter a C-Class Gate?”
That was a valid question. Someone must have once pondered the same issue.
But I was already in a state of having an idea to solve that problem. The solution was…
“That’s true. An F-Class Hunter can’t enter that Gate. But…”
I raised the cellphone screen that I had been staring at the whole time to show him.
The screen displayed a page from a PDF document distributed by some government agency.
Specifically, it was the Hunter Association’s regulations.
“I read the Association’s regulations, and there’s no mention of gate entry restrictions for transporters.”
Humans have only two arms.
They can’t carry bags with six tentacles, so there’s a significant weight limit, and naturally, the amount of materials they can bring back from a dungeon is also limited.
So, Hunters have wondered: how can we move more items?
The result of that contemplation was the profession of transporter.
“Porters have a high ratio of non-awakened, and the regulations are quite lax.”
In industry terms, they call them porters.
“Normally, Hunters would clear out the monsters first and then bring the transporters into the Gate. So, it wouldn’t have been a big issue.”
Click!
After pressing the lock button, I turned my phone screen off and met Yoon-seung’s gaze.
“Anyway… the point is that it’s not that we’re forming a team as Hunters to enter the Gate together.”
My request was singular.
“I want you, an A-Class Hunter, to employ me as your transporter.”
You’re the team leader.
And I’m the transporter.
With that clear emphasis, Yoon-seung couldn’t find the words.
*
Kim Gi-ryeo being an F-Class?
What nonsense is this? That was the first thought that crossed Yoon-seung’s mind upon seeing Gi-ryeo’s ID.
‘Did the measuring device malfunction? But it doesn’t seem like he raised any objections…’
His second thought marched along a similar line.
‘He’s hiding his awakening level.’
Yoon-seung soon became convinced.
Kim Gi-ryeo was intentionally maintaining a false grade.
In an industry where just one rank up could make a huge leap in income, it wasn’t a common practice. But…
‘Mid-level and higher Awakened are generally required to respond to Dungeon Breaks, so I’ve heard of people adjusting their awakening levels to avoid the Association’s control.’
Yoon-seung tried to guess his counterpart’s circumstances.
Living as an F-Class Hunter to avoid the Association’s interference seems plausible for Kim Gi-ryeo, who gives off a vibe of being detached from the world.
At least it seemed more credible than him being truly an F-Class.
‘Is it a secret? Should I be careful when talking about Gi-ryeo’s awakening grade in the future?’
Yoon-seung pondered with a serious expression.
Just then, the leading Gi-ryeo looked back at him.
“What’s up? You’ve had that sour face since a while ago.”
Oh, right, this is not the time to be lost in thought.
Yoon-seung shook his head, quickly snapping out of his deep reflection.
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
They stood before a C-Class Gate that exists in Seoul.
They had already begun executing the conversation they shared four hours prior.
Ahn Yoon-seung had gotten permission to enter the C-Class Gate from the Hunter Association and had brought along Kim Gi-ryeo as his transporter.
“You don’t have to be nervous. I’m not going to ask you to catch any monsters.”
To think a Hunter of this caliber would actually be treated as a porter…
Ahn Yoon-seung thought it was quite extraordinary as he silently entered the Gate.
Then, he saw the interior design of the dungeon chosen by Kim Gi-ryeo.
“A forest?”
Black trees, starkly stretched branches, and a musty smell wafting in from somewhere.
“I feel like I’ve been here before… Ah! I just remembered.”
“Really?”
“The Flame-bat! This is where that monster appears, right? The Gate is still here.”
Flame-bat?
Gi-ryeo looked puzzled as if he had never heard the term before, and Ahn Yoon-seung smiled as he explained.
“When this place first appeared, the monsters living here were originally discovered first in Ohio.”
“So?”
“Since it’s a bat that travels engulfed in flames, it was registered as Fire-bat in Pixie, but when checked with the Analyzer in Korea, it ended up having a translation error…”
For a while, the monster’s name appeared strangely in Pixie Glass.
That amusing incident led to the nickname Flame-bat. With that, Yoon-seung finished his explanation.
“You sure know a lot.”
However, Gi-ryeo’s reaction was rather flat.
His expression was void of laughter, and his commendation felt quite standard.
Maybe it was because he had a sharp demeanor; Gi-ryeo’s silence made him appear cold.
‘Whoa.’
Ahn Yoon-seung was surprisingly impressed by such a demeanor from his counterpart.
‘So calm and collected.’
Composure is an essential element for a Hunter.
Given the myriad of bizarre phenomena occurring in Gates, Hunters are always at risk of panicking.
Being a Hunter requires significant mental fortitude.
‘Hoo… some people are still flustered by just one Golem.’
In that sense, Kim Gi-ryeo could be considered an ideal Hunter.
Those guts that wouldn’t flinch even if a dragon suddenly appeared!
Moreover, the ease with which he carries himself, never running even in a Gate!
Yoon-seung felt a strange charisma emanating from Kim Gi-ryeo.
‘Will I be able to become like that as I gain more experience?’
With that striking image etched into his mind, he was subconsciously inflating his impression of his counterpart.
“Ah! There’s a monster over there. It looks just like the picture I found online.”
Unaware of the sudden shift in thought, Gi-ryeo focused on his own work with a blank expression.
Chiiieek!
Soon, a small monster appeared before them.
[Flame Bat]
A cyclopean creature engulfed in flames.
Small in size and brightly blazing, it resembled a will-o’-the-wisp from a distance.
‘Well, this is something Gi-ryeo-hyung can take care of easily.’
Ahn Yoon-seung gazed at the monster as if watching a campfire.
But just then, a rustling sound came from Gi-ryeo’s direction.
“Hyung, I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s in that bag you brought?”
“Oh, this?”
Sometimes, actions speak louder than a hundred words. Gi-ryeo didn’t take long to explain his intentions.
“This is for situations like this.”
Fwoosh!
Swish! He grasped something from the bag he brought and threw it at the monster.
“Kyyaaa!”
The monster let out a horrific scream and perished in mere seconds.
“Huh!”
The Flame Bat is a troublesome monster as just touching it could ignite a fire. To take it down so easily? Did he use an item? But that sand he threw looked like, well, just sand.
“Whoa, it goes down easily~”
Chiiieeek!
Like sprinkling salt on a ghost, Gi-ryeo dispatched the monster without breaking a sweat.
If I check with my Pixie Watch, I might find out what that sand is called.
But Ahn Yoon-seung had a different question on his mind.
“Um, hyung. I’m sorry to interrupt while you’re busy hunting, but…”
“Huh? No, I’m listening, so go ahead.”
“Why do you use an item like that?”
Kim Gi-ryeo paused his action and quietly turned his head at his question.
“Aren’t you able to handle a C-Class monster with your bare hands?”
*
Does this guy think he can read my Hunter ID with his feet…?
That was the first thought that popped into my mind upon hearing Ahn Yoon-seung’s question.
‘Being at the top of the Hunter pyramid does he not understand the ecosystem of low-ranking Awakened?’
That was my next thought.
Though momentarily taken aback, my emotions twisted rapidly. I realized that the Earthling’s ignorance might actually work to my benefit.
‘Well, there’s no reason to expose my weaknesses, right?’
Earth is a dangerous planet.
The disposition of its people doesn’t seem very good either. So in a situation like this, would it be beneficial to reveal that I’m utterly useless in magic?
“Ahn Yoon-seung, have you ever thought about awakening in this way?”
Thus, I laid down my stone face and began weaving lies.
It was a form of survival skill.
“Lifting a one-ton truck, filling vacant land with water, and having such convenient abilities feels like we didn’t earn them.”
“……”
“It just happened one day. We became Awakened.”
“That’s true.”
“I find this power uncomfortable. Since it came without reason, I believe it can just disappear without reason.”
“Ah.”
“So…”
Just as a side note, these words were all improvised nonsense.
“I don’t usually rely much on my awakening ability.”
