-I need you to stay by the phone and contact me immediately if anything comes up." "Understood, Section Chief."
Ahn Sang-Min hung up with an urgent reminder. Once he did, hunger suddenly hit him. *Gurgle.*
*'I've been too focused on this...'*
It was already well past lunch, and he hadn't eaten yet while waiting for Sung Jin-Woo. He couldn't leave his post since Yoo Jin-Ho's team could show up at any time. Now that he finally had a moment of breathing room, Ahn Sang-Min looked around for somewhere nearby to eat and stepped into a convenience store.
*'I'm not trying to save money on food...'*
It wasn't that anyone was judging him, but there was something awkward about walking into a restaurant alone. So after much deliberation, he settled on a convenience store cup noodle. He poured in the hot water, waited three minutes, and was just tearing open the wooden chopsticks when the phone rang. *Brr-brr.*
"Tch! Who calls right when I'm eating? How annoying."
He glanced at the screen and saw a familiar name.
*Right Arm.*
*'Hyun Gi-Cheol, you bastard...'*
Ahn Sang-Min picked up the call, irritation clear in his voice.
"You couldn't last five minutes before calling?" "Section Chief, it's not what you think—" "Not what I think? If you're calling about something trivial, your lunch for the next week is frozen at convenience store cup noodles." "No, it's not that, Section Chief! Two people just came out!"
Ahn Sang-Min's hand, which had been about to lift noodles to his mouth, froze like a paused video.
"What?" "Yoo Jin-Ho and Sung Jin-Woo just stepped out, and the strike team is preparing to leave! He hadn't misheard. Ahn Sang-Min hurriedly checked the time.
"It's only been thirty minutes? Did they give up on the raid halfway through?" "No. The Gate is shaking."
How was that even possible! No matter how much difficulty varied between C-rank Dungeons, a C-rank Dungeon meant to take thirty minutes on a solo run shouldn't be finishing this fast.
"Check again! Is the Gate really closing?" "Yes, it is. Want me to take a video and send it to you?" "...No, forget it."
Ahn Sang-Min hung up and stared blankly ahead. An A-rank Hunter typically needed two hours to clear a C-rank Dungeon, and this one was done in thirty minutes? B-rank or above. Even the most conservative estimate based on objective data pointed to that.
"Rank A or above..."
It was a jackpot he'd never even imagined.
***
"Hyung-nim. Are you busy with something today?" "No. Why?" "It's the first time I've seen you hunt this fast."
Yoo Jin-Ho clicked his tongue in awe. He'd known Jin-Woo was strong, but today was on another level entirely. It was only natural. Jin-Woo stifled a laugh inside.
*'Because the monsters in the Dungeon were werewolves.'*
[Title: Werewolf Slayer] A title granted to a Hunter skilled at hunting wolves. All stats increase by 40% when fighting beast-type monsters.
The "Werewolf Slayer" buff naturally applied against werewolves as well. His level was already high enough, and now with the buff on top—what chance did C-rank monsters stand?
*"Grrrrk!"* *"Yip!"* *"Kee-eee!"*
Thanks to that, Yoo Jin-Ho was so busy mining mana crystals from the carcasses of fallen monsters that he could have used ten pairs of hands. He'd chugged five bottles of healing potions inside alone. His stomach was so full from the potions that he shook his head repeatedly, saying he probably didn't need to eat.
*'That aside...'*
Jin-Woo lifted his head. He'd been sensing someone's gaze from somewhere for a while now.
*'Since I can't feel any mana, they're probably not a Hunter.'*
He scanned the surroundings but didn't spot anyone suspicious. If he made up his mind to find them, it wasn't impossible, but with no killing intent or hostility felt, tracking them down would take considerable time.
*'...'*
Maybe it was nothing at all. And sure enough, the gaze soon vanished.
"Hyung-nim, what's wrong?" "...Nothing. Let's head out."
Time was limited. There was none to waste. Jin-Woo took one more look around and climbed into the passenger seat of the van. At the second Gate, he felt no gaze whatsoever—neither going in nor coming out.
*'Was I being too sensitive?'*
At least it was a relief to know nothing was going on. Yoo Jin-Ho had already approached and bowed his head.
"Hyung-nim, I'm sorry. These Gates are all I have for today. The others are too far away." "It's nothing you need to apologize for."
Though the sun was still high, the two of them had exhausted all nearby Gates, so today's schedule ended here.
"Great work today." "The real work was done by the raid leader." "See you again tomorrow." "Good work."
After dismissing the members, the two climbed into the front seats of the van side by side.
"I'll take you home, Hyung-nim."
Yoo Jin-Ho had somehow become a loyal chauffeur. He looked completely natural behind the wheel. Jin-Woo gazed at him with a look of pity.
*'He wants to be a guild master so badly that the young master of a wealthy family ends up playing chauffeur...'*
Yoo Jin-Ho, cheerfully stepping on the gas, noticed Jin-Woo's stare and asked in a bright voice.
"Huh? Is there something on my face, Hyung-nim?" "...No."
Jin-Woo feigned ignorance, but then something occurred to him, and he pulled out his phone to check the time.
*'It's 4:46.'*
It was definitely too early to just go home. Fortunately, he happened to have something to do.
*'It was around here, right?'*
Assuming his memory served him. Jin-Woo spoke.
"Jin-Ho." "Yes, Hyung-nim."
Yoo Jin-Ho deftly turned the steering wheel as he answered. The car they were in smoothly rounded a curve.
"Let's go to Mirae Department Store." "Mirae Department Store?"
Yoo Jin-Ho looked surprised.
"Yeah." "It's right up ahead, but… is something going on, Hyung-nim? The way you've been hunting today and now this…" "...You know, your mouth's been getting awfully chatty lately?"
At that, Yoo Jin-Ho's head snapped forward as if glued to the road.
"I'll get there at the speed of light, Hyung-nim. Please keep your seatbelt fastened tight."
He instantly changed his attitude and drove like lightning without touching the brake even once. It wasn't far, so they arrived quickly. *Screech.* The car came to a stop in front of its destination. Mirae Department Store, located in central Seoul, was an imposing sight. *Thud.* As Jin-Woo stepped out, Yoo Jin-Ho followed. Yoo Jin-Ho closed the door and walked over to stand beside the motionless Jin-Woo.
"Hyung-nim. Our guild should really get a building like this for the office."
Yoo Jin-Ho looked up at the department store and made a remark that was half-joke, half-serious. But no answer came. Sensing something off, Yoo Jin-Ho quickly turned to look.
"Huh?"
Jin-Woo had already vanished.
"Hyung-nim?"
No matter how carefully he scanned the surroundings, there was no trace of Jin-Woo.
"Hyung-nim?"
***
[The boss has been defeated. The interior of the Dungeon is now reverting to its original state.]
*'Two levels up from the department store instanced Dungeon.'*
On the way home, Jin-Woo's steps were light. It had been a while since he'd gotten a key from a Random Box. It was an instanced Dungeon key usable only at Mirae Department Store. He'd been waiting for the right time to go, and since he had the chance today, he cleared it.
*-Hyung-nim?* The goofy look on Yoo Jin-Ho's face as he searched for his disappeared Hyung-nim was still funny to think about. That was when the phone rang. *Brr-brr.* Out of habit he checked the screen before answering, but it was a number he didn't recognize.
*'Who is it?'*
In high school he'd been busy raising his younger siblings in place of his mother, and after graduating he'd gone straight into Hunter work, so Jin-Woo's circle of contacts was rather narrow.
*'There's no reason for an unknown number to call me...'*
He tilted his head for a moment, then answered.
"Hello." "Hi, is this Sung Jin-Woo?"
A brisk male voice. Jin-Woo hung up the moment he heard it. *Click.*
*'In my experience, ninety-nine percent of calls like this are telemarketing or loan solicitation.'*
Just as he was about to pocket the phone, it rang again. *Brr-brr.* Same number.
*'Huh? Not telemarketing?'*
Random telemarketing calls rarely called back immediately after being hung up on. They knew it was a waste of time.
*'Then he really does have business with me...'*
This time, Jin-Woo properly answered.
"Yes, this is Sung Jin-Woo." "Ah, there you are. The call got cut just now and I thought I'd dialed wrong, haha." "..."
The voice had such a telemarketer vibe that Jin-Woo spent about two seconds debating whether to apologize for hanging up or not, then decided against it.
*'Apologizing would somehow be more rude than not apologizing.'*
After a brief silence, the salesperson—or rather, the man with a salesperson's voice—finally introduced himself.
*-Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ahn Sang-Min, from Baek-Ho Guild.*
Jin-Woo stopped walking.
*'The Baek-Ho Guild is calling me?'*
No matter how he thought about it, there was no reason for the Baek-Ho Guild to contact him. If he had to find a connection, it was only that the Baek-Ho Guild had helped the Hunter's Association during the double Dungeon incident…
*'They're not just going to ask me about work out of the blue, surely.'*
Jin-Woo was the type who couldn't stand not knowing. Before Ahn Sang-Min could speak, Jin-Woo asked first.
"What is the Baek-Ho Guild calling me about?" "It's a bit difficult to discuss over the phone—could I come see you in person?"
He wasn't being asked to go somewhere; if the other guy was offering to come to him, there was no particular reason to refuse. Besides, his schedule happened to be free the day after tomorrow.
*'Wasn't there some big event at Jin-Ho's place?'*
Yoo Jin-Ho had asked for an understanding absence, saying it was a major family gathering that everyone in the household had to attend.
*'A big event...'*
Hearing it was a chaebol family affair, the image of a lavish party in a high-end hotel banquet hall popped into Jin-Woo's head—probably the fault of too many dramas. Either way, setting up a meeting was easy.
"I'm free on Thursday." "Well… could it possibly be right now?"
Right now? Jin-Woo checked the time. The clock on his phone screen read 8:00 PM.
"It's almost eight o'clock." "I'm waiting nearby. If you could spare just a moment." "Nearby?" "There's a cafe close by."
Ahn Sang-Min gave the name of the cafe. It was a familiar one—right in front of Jin-Woo's home, so he passed by often, and he'd even used it as a meeting spot with Yoo Jin-Ho before. Jin-Woo's eyes sharpened.
*'He knows my address.']