Chapter 16. To find out why Geum Myeong-gyeol kept ramming Han Chasu’s car, one had to go back roughly three weeks.
That day, Geum Myeong-gyeol, the guildmaster of Exilis, went to work as freely as ever.
Which was to say, he arrived at work at eight in the evening.
‘Maybe I should’ve bought some coffee.’
If the people around him had heard that, they would have nagged him again, but it would have been no use.
‘I train even while I’m asleep, so waking up early is actually a loss for me.’
Everyone had a way of life that suited them.
Why should he force himself to live according to other people’s daily patterns?
That was the creed he proclaimed.
Of course, every time he did, he was nagged half to death.
Today as well, Geum Myeong-gyeol woke up late, ate what others called dinner for breakfast, and was on his way to the guild.
On the way to the guildmaster’s office, amid the people greeting him here and there, the thing different from usual was…
His secretary running toward him.
“G-Guildmaster…! Haa, huff.”
“What’s this, my little grub? What brings you out to greet me?”
Geum Myeong-gyeol welcomed him with a face that, at first glance, looked cheerful.
But there was no helping the sleepy irritation smeared all over his voice.
It was only natural, since he had moved up his intended wake-up time from eight to six.
“Is it because you feel bad for waking me up early?”
Ignoring the familiar grumbling, the secretary cast aside all dignity and stated the reason he had come running.
“It’s about the Frost Giant Dungeon.”
At the low whisper, strength entered Geum Myeong-gyeol’s languid eyes.
“Here. I organized it so it would be easy for you to read.”
He took the tablet the secretary handed him.
“……”
Several news articles had been clipped there.
The headlines were as follows.
[ Rampage! Frost Giant Dungeon Leaves Residents of 00-dong Trembling in Fear ]
[ Silent Cheonryeong Guild… Is Internal Turmoil to Blame? ]
[ “That Person Was a Hero” Anonymous Informant Reveals the Truth of the Frost Giant Dungeon! ]
What Geum Myeong-gyeol focused on was the last news article.
It was an article from a famous online newspaper that had been deleted less than ten minutes after being posted.
[…
The informant also said the following.
“It was a monster that had never appeared in the Frost Giant Dungeon before. I think it was either a mental body or a ghost-type… In my opinion, it was probably a hidden boss that appeared when certain conditions were met.”
His heavy sigh could be felt from beyond the phone.
“If it hadn’t been for that person, I probably wouldn’t even be on this call right now.”
Lastly, the informant made a request. He hoped that person’s achievements would not be erased.
This reporter agrees with his sentiments as well.]
“What should we do, Guildmaster?”
The secretary asked cautiously.
Geum Myeong-gyeol turned off the tablet, swept back his hair, and smiled.
“So, what was this guy’s name again?”
There was not a trace of sleepiness in his deeply curved golden eyes.
***
However, there was one problem.
Contrary to Geum Myeong-gyeol’s expectations, Han Chasu was quite difficult to meet.
First of all, he would not wake up.
“…
He still hasn’t woken up?”
“Yes. They say he’s still in a coma.”
“He’s still like that even after receiving treatment from an S-rank healer? Just how pathetically weak is he?”
To think he was still in that state even after receiving Baekdam’s treatment.
At Geum Myeong-gyeol’s dissatisfied voice, the secretary shrugged.
“Leave him for now. He has to wake up before we can even speak to him.”
But even after he woke up, Geum Myeong-gyeol could not meet Han Chasu.
“They refused again this time.”
Because every single visitation request he submitted was rejected by Jeong Iheun!
“No, why the hell this time?”
“They say his psychological state is highly unstable.”
“It’s not like he’ll go into shock and die just because he exchanges a few words with me!”
The secretary avoided his gaze without answering.
“Damn it…”
But Geum Myeong-gyeol did not give up.
He bribed someone inside the hospital and finally managed to arrange time with Han Chasu.
However, with perfect timing, Jeong Iheun discovered the gu poison right then.
The hospital insider Geum Myeong-gyeol had bribed was promptly dismissed.
“Urgh.”
“You can’t collapse here. The carpet was cleaned not long ago!”
“I’m not collapsing!”
As he groaned while clutching the back of his neck, his eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Fine. If that’s how it is, let’s see who wins.
And so Geum Myeong-gyeol set up a dense network of informants outside the hospital instead of inside it.
So that if anything unusual happened, he would know immediately.
Thus, today.
At long last, Geum Myeong-gyeol finally met the Han Chasu he had been waiting so eagerly for.
‘Finally!’
Geum Myeong-gyeol leaped down from the hood and strode straight toward the back seat.
He could not hide his excitement.
To think he would finally come face-to-face with the B-rank Jeong Iheun had been sheltering so obsessively.
The excited man’s rough hand pulled at the door handle.
Crack.
“……”
“……”
“Mm.”
The car door dangling from his thick-knuckled hand looked just like a toy.
Geum Myeong-gyeol quietly stared at the car door he had ripped off, then turned his gaze to Han Chasu.
Gray eyes like wolf fur.
The eyes of the one who met his gaze without hesitation were as straight as his appearance suggested.
As expected, he did not feel like an ordinary production-type.
‘So there really is something about him.’
Geum Myeong-gyeol smiled brightly at him, then flung his hand backward.
Splash!
Along with the sound of water splashing in the distance, Lee Mindeok spat curses.
Not that it mattered.
Geum Myeong-gyeol sank into the plump cushions that looked freshly bought, turned his head to the side, and asked,
“Do you know how to drive?”
***
Did the original Han Chasu have a driver’s license?
He did not know.
‘No, putting that aside…’
What kind of grudge does this bastard have against me to pull this shit?
Han Chasu stared steadily at Geum Myeong-gyeol, who was grinning at him.
For now, he discarded the hypothesis that Geum Myeong-gyeol was trying to kidnap him in order to threaten Jeong Iheun.
Geum Myeong-gyeol, the guildmaster of Exilis, was not the sort of punk to cling to such petty tricks.
If anything, he would openly go to cut off Jeong Iheun’s head.
“You don’t know how to drive? Then I’ll just have to call one of our employees.”
While Han Chasu was lost in thought for a moment, Geum Myeong-gyeol seemed to have reached his own conclusion.
He stretched his arm out through the gaping side of the car and waved.
“Lee Won, come drive!”
When the man shouted, the sound of a door opening came from the sports car parked nearby.
A man wearing glasses silently approached and got into the driver’s seat.
“Excuse me.”
The moment that low voice reached his ear.
Something flashed through Han Chasu’s mind.
[The message Secretary Lee Won brought was more than enough to enrage Geum Myeong-gyeol.
“Excuse me.”
“Mm? What is it all of a sudden?”
“A message has arrived from Jeong Iheun, guildmaster of Cheonryeong Guild.”
A ferocious aura erupted from Geum Myeong-gyeol after he checked the message.
“So that bastard was the one who broke the Earring of the Rebel God.”
Han Chasu, that lowly wretch who had toyed with Cheonryeong Guild, had also laid a hand on his life.
“I’ll make sure he sees hell even after he dies.”
A cruel light settled in the eyes of Geum Myeong-gyeol, the S-rank curse master.]
Geum Myeong-gyeol, an S-rank hunter of Exilis Guild.
He was one of the owners of the equipment Han Chasu had damaged.
And just like Jeong Iheun and Baekdam, he was also someone who had contributed to Han Chasu’s torture.
‘This is driving me insane.’
Did this world have some kind of grudge against Han Chasu?
All he wanted was to resign without incident and disappear peacefully…
“The engine’s dead.”
“Then make it turn on.”
Looking at Geum Myeong-gyeol’s indifferent attitude, Han Chasu let out a small sigh.
Still, the one thing he could take comfort in was that the damage to the equipment likely had not been discovered yet.
‘If he’d found out, he wouldn’t be sitting next to me. He would’ve torn my arms off first.’
His eyes were hazy as he looked at the mangled side of the car.
Geum Myeong-gyeol must have sought him out for some other purpose.
No, he had to have.
Just then, a low voice tickled his ear.
“Ah, honestly, he’s fast.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol was looking back with his head turned.
Han Chasu followed his gaze and furrowed his brows.
What was racing toward them from far away, leaving behind traces like flames, was—
“Jeong Iheun…”
“Lee Won, hurry up and get going!”
Geum Myeong-gyeol lightly kicked the front seat. Though the secretary grumbled, he diligently operated the car.
By this point, Han Chasu had roughly grasped the mood.
It seemed Geum Myeong-gyeol had not chased him for any serious, life-or-death reason.
“I’m asking rather late, but.”
“Hm? So it wasn’t that your throat hurt and you couldn’t speak?”
What an absurd misunderstanding.
No wonder he had not said anything even though Han Chasu had remained silent.
Han Chasu lightly narrowed his eyes and was about to say something to him.
Crackle, crack.
Harsh noise dug into his vision.
Unreal colors crashed over reality, and the outlines of ordinary daily life warped.
Like an old-era film contained in an information storage device brought back from the ruins, it was a grimy scene.
Han Chasu, who had been lost in contemplation, suddenly realized.
There was only one existence in this world that could bring about such a change.
Kiiiiii—!
With a spine-chilling sound, a red message window appeared before his eyes.
[ The fragment of ■■ ■■■ has completed synchronization with the main body. ]
[ Location designation complete. ]
[ Area setup in progress… ]
[ Area setup complete. ]
[ Initiating isolation of designated area. ]
[ Beginning generation of irregular gate. ]
[ Warning! Sudden actions during gate generation may result in death. Please exercise caution at all times. ]
At the procession of messages pouring down like rain, Han Chasu slowly closed and opened his eyes.
And before he knew it, the axis of the world had turned upside down.
“Ha…”
A vast plain, and two men sitting inside a car whose door had been ripped off.
Along with Han Chasu’s low sigh, Geum Myeong-gyeol swept back his hair.
“We’re screwed.”
The man’s curse rose together with the wind sweeping across the grassland.