Episode 18
“It had entered my inventory without me even realizing it.”
With those words, Jeong I-heun said that the moment he recognized the item, a system window had appeared.
“It seems we clear the gate if we kill 800 more.”
Irregular gates sometimes had hidden conditions like this.
Relieved, Jeong I-heun let out a breath and patted his chest.
And at the same time, Han Cha-su felt relief for a different reason. ‘Then I can deal with Geum Myeong-gyeol without worry.’ Since the moment of the ambush, Han Cha-su had been waiting for this very moment.
***
The master of Exilis Guild, Geum Myeong-gyeol, had been somewhat cautious since entering the gate.
“Don’t provoke the master of the Cheonryeong Guild. Unless you want to become cursed meat scorched by fire.”
“I got it.”
Perhaps if this were the Banseol Bridge littered with corpses, but this was inside an irregular gate.
He was already on their bad side for touching Jeong I-heun’s guild member.
He had no intention of worsening the situation needlessly and returning as a half-charred corpse.
“You do what I tell you well enough.”
“The problem is you do things I don’t tell you to do as well.”
“Tch, there you go again.”
Even while bickering with his old-man-like secretary, Geum Myeong-gyeol didn’t take his eyes off Han Cha-su.
He had been in the middle of holding onto Jeong I-heun and asking him something.
“By any chance, did something drop after the ‘Unstoppable Ironclad Bull’ died earlier?”
Geum Myeong-gyeol let out an exclamation at the same time as Jeong I-heun. ‘So he really is a researcher. Sharp mind.’ Sure enough, Jeong I-heun soon took something out of his inventory.
“It seems we clear the gate if we kill 800 more.”
So it was that type of gate. Geum Myeong-gyeol nodded and prepared to enter combat again. ‘800 is a piece of cake.’ Then what should I do after killing them all… ‘I should get rid of Jeong I-heun first, shouldn’t I?’ It was the moment when golden eyes beneath black hair gazed at the two with a cold temperature.
“Master of Exilis Guild.”
As if he had been waiting, Han Cha-su approached him.
His conversation with Jeong I-heun seemed to have ended at some point, and he held a potion bottle in his hand.
“I’d prefer if you called me Master.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol blinked quietly, then let out a sly smile.
“In Exilis, we call the guild leader Guild Master, not Guild Leader.”
Despite the teasing tone, Han Cha-su only looked up at him with indifferent eyes.
At his attitude that seemed to ask if he had time for this, Geum Myeong-gyeol’s curiosity was piqued. ‘He really isn’t afraid of me.’ Was he this bold because of his personality, even with his attempted kidnapper before him? Or because Jeong I-heun was with him?
Geum Myeong-gyeol suppressed his curiosity and asked Han Cha-su.
“If ‘Guild Leader’ is what you’re used to, you can call me that. So, did you bring that for me?”
“Yes. It’s a stamina potion I couldn’t use up in the Frost Giant dungeon. I thought it would be good to drink it beforehand.”
Han Cha-su gestured with his chin over his shoulder. Jeong I-heun was drinking the potion he had just received.
“800 monsters are nothing to two S-rankers, but it’s only natural to get tired if this becomes a prolonged battle.”
It was a valid point. Geum Myeong-gyeol nodded and took the potion.
“Please have one too, Secretary. You must be tired from driving.”
“Well, well… Thank you.”
Shortly after, the four finished their preparations and gazed beyond the barrier of fire.
Beyond the flickering red wall, pitch-black shadows were visible. They were monsters that had gathered before anyone knew it. The sound of the secretary exhaling a deep sigh was heard.
“Then let’s return quickly.”
The moment the soft voice fell, flames descended.
Fwoooosh-!
Along with fierce wind, the howls of beast-like monsters struck their ears.
Kuuuuu!
Kieeeek!
“Oho, they’re quite loud.”
Smiling, Geum Myeong-gyeol reached out his hand.
Scorching air that seemed capable of burning skin brushed across the back of his hand.
Swish. Black threads that shot out in an instant pierced through the necks of dozens of monsters at once.
Their heads rolled across the plains the moment Geum Myeong-gyeol withdrew his hand with an indifferent face.
That merciless massacre continued until only a single monster remained.
“This is the last one.”
Jeong I-heun grabbed the scruff of the last remaining monster and ignited flames.
Having surveyed the surroundings and confirmed there were no more monsters, Geum Myeong-gyeol approached him.
“We really caught exactly a thousand cleanly, so no more are coming out. Well, if I had known this would happen, I would have earlier—”
Boom!
“…!”
Along with a flash of flames, Geum Myeong-gyeol was slammed into the ground.
The secretary who had reached out toward his superior was no different.
“Kuhuk…!”
Thud, thud.
Passing by the secretary who was gasping roughly for breath, Jeong I-heun snapped his fingers.
Roaring, flames covered the deep blue sky like flower blossoms.
“Jeong I-heun, you crazy bastard…”
Geum Myeong-gyeol struggled to get up from his spot, but it was no use.
“What is this, ugh!”
The blood flowing through his veins felt heavy.
His body felt like it no longer belonged to him, and his mind floated. ‘This is…!’ Only then did Geum Myeong-gyeol let out a hollow laugh and throw a sharp gaze toward Han Cha-su.
“Why have you been hitting on someone else’s guild member since earlier, Guild Leader Geum Myeong-gyeol.”
“Ugh!”
“Don’t act disgusting.”
Thud. Jeong I-heun placed one foot on Geum Myeong-gyeol’s back and turned to Han Cha-su with a gentle face.
“Now then, shall we hear the excuses of this shameless attempted kidnapper?”
Han Cha-su, who had been watching the series of violent proceedings calmly, nodded.
At that, a scream burst from beneath Jeong I-heun’s foot.
“Mr. Han Cha-su, I misjudged you. I protected you so diligently, and to think you’d repay kindness with enmity… Ack! Don’t step on my spine!”
He didn’t know where this sense of betrayal came from, but Geum Myeong-gyeol trembled with it.
“I heard your sleep pattern is the opposite of an ordinary person’s, but did you wire your brain backwards too?”
Jeong I-heun clicked his tongue and put more force into the foot stepping on Geum Myeong-gyeol’s back.
For a brief moment, an undignified scream of “Uwaack!” echoed.
“I get it, I get it.”
With a long sigh, Geum Myeong-gyeol finally raised the white flag.
***
“Ouch, so clumsy. If you tie it like this, it only hurts.”
“Please stop saying creepy things.”
The reason Geum Myeong-gyeol had been suppressed by Jeong I-heun without being able to resist was because of the potion he had drunk.
Of course, there had been nothing wrong with the potion given to Jeong I-heun.
Because from the start, it had been a trap to subdue only Geum Myeong-gyeol and his secretary.
“I’ll give them a paralytic agent over there, so subdue them when the time is right.”
This was the best way to subdue Geum Myeong-gyeol without receiving the penalty for a disguised identity.
Without needing to personally move or resort to petty schemes, he made use of the Potion Maker’s characteristic.
“Your body will stiffen around the time you take down the last monster.”
As Han Cha-su spoke, moving only his lips without sound, Jeong I-heun smiled very faintly.
“Understood.”
What a kind pushover.
Jeong I-heun had nodded without even asking him the reason.
He had even apologized, saying he’d forgotten due to the situation, for something he should have mentioned first.
‘He’s so nice that it’s worrying.’
Han Cha-su clicked his tongue, but instead of telling him he didn’t need to apologize, he sent a request.
“This is someone who threatened a B-rank hunter on a main street in broad daylight. Please hold him down properly.”
Jeong I-heun nodded with a reliable smile, and this was the result.
“Ah… Mr. Han Cha-su, I didn’t take you for such a scary person.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol, curled up on the plains, pouted his lips and grumbled.
He was bound with ropes made for subduing hunters.
Beside him, the secretary sighed as if the ground would cave in. Of course, he was in the same state as Geum Myeong-gyeol.
“That’s why I told you not to do it.”
“Who knew an irregular gate would appear there.”
Perhaps because only his mouth was free, Geum Myeong-gyeol kept chattering incessantly.
“Guild Leader Geum Myeong-gyeol.”
“Hmm?”
“You don’t want your mouth paralyzed along with your body, do you?”
Han Cha-su shook a reagent bottle with dry eyes.
Seeing the liquid sloshing slightly, Geum Myeong-gyeol’s lips sealed shut tightly.
“If the Guild Leader of Exilis requests it, I can make a proper paralytic at any time, so just say the word.”
At the flat voice, Geum Myeong-gyeol made a disgusted expression.
For some reason, not a single person in the Cheonryeong Guild was in their right mind despite their good looks.
Sighing, Geum Myeong-gyeol shook his head.
“Forget it, fine. You were going to ask why I ambushed you anyway. Sigh, I was going to talk properly once we got out. Everyone’s just too impatient… Ack!”
Having his back stepped on by Jeong I-heun once more, Geum Myeong-gyeol spat out the main point.
“I did it because of the item Mr. Han Cha-su has!”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m talking about the Specter of the Frost Giant Sorcerer.”
Geum Myeong-gyeol continued.
“If you defeated a hidden boss, you must have obtained an item corresponding to it… I need that.”
I have something like that?
At the gazes focused on him, Han Cha-su furrowed his brows.
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