CH 86

It had been two days after entering the gate. I thought I was lucky to have entered the gate.

The incomprehensible behaviour of Cheon Sa-yeon was so frustrating that the desire to grab him by the collar and ask questions immediately arose. Obviously, if it was outside where the electronic devices were working, I would have made a phone call first.

How did you know Ha Tae-heon’s SS-class coat, for what purpose you threatened him, and why did you get the Jayna Guild Gate… There were so many things I wanted to ask.

This situation didn’t fit his personality (이런 상황은 영 성격에 맞지 않는다, not sure how to translate it). Even if it hurt and made me sick, it was much better to bump into each other and talk.

‘Of course, that kid wouldn’t be able to tell me about it in gentle way.’

Every time I looked at him, I thought of Cheon Sa-yeon’s face, who smiled half-heartedly. If I grabbed his collar and asked what the hell were you doing, how would the kid react?

‘I think I have grabbed him by the neck once last time. What did Cheon Sa-yeon say at that time?’

I looked back at my memories while rubbing my forehead. At that time…

“Hmm. What is this posture? You want me to kiss you?” (Chap 26)

Oh, this fucking bastard…

The flow of serious thoughts that had barely continued was cut off. I let out a shaky breath and shook his head. Nothing really worked out.

I thought it would be better to use this gate as an excuse to predict what Cheon Sa-yeon would ask me. Sending me to a very dangerous gate or asking for something that we could do together like the last guild leader meeting.

“Han Yi-gyeol-ssi.”

While struggling for a while, thinking about Cheon Sa-yeon, Woo Seo-hyuk, who had been away for a while, returned. In his hand, there was a drink I had never seen before.

“Eat it.”

Even though it had only been two days since he entered the gate, Woo Seo-hyuk was popular among Jayna guild members. I thought there were a lot of women around Woo Seo-hyuk until just now.

“Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi who got it, is it okay if you give it to me?”

“They gave it to me even if I refused, so I don’t care.”

As expected, he had also a shameless side. It was difficult to refuse, so I smiled slightly and took the bottle of drink. The drink with the orange picture on it tasted sour.

“It’s delicious.”

“It’s good to eat something sweet and sour when you are tired.”

“Surely it is.”

Woo Seo-hyuk, who was sitting on a broken pillar opposite me, pulled something out of his arms and held it out.

“I’ll give you this, too.”

As I casually received it, it was a light blue candy item that I had eaten before, which relieved fatigue. It worked so well that I wanted it.

“Han Yi-gyeol-ssi seemed to never sleep inside the gate. It’s better to eat it.”

“Thank you.”

As I put the candy in my mouth and muttered, my mind quickly cooled like the last time.

“Like Han Yi-gyeol-ssi, I find it difficult to sleep comfortably inside the gate, so I always carry it with me.”

“Aren’t you going to tell me where you get it this time?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Give me a few more…?”

“I’m sorry.”

Alright, whatever. While grumbling inwardly, Woo Seo-hyuk added a word different from the last time.

“Instead, come to me whenever you need it and I’ll give it to you.”

I didn’t really need it unless I was in the gate.

“Can’t you just tell me?”

“As I said back then, there’s a high risk of abuse. If you ask me, I will give you one.”

I thought about it while rolling the candy in my mouth. It’s definitely more effective than regular coffee or drinks…

“Then how about you give me at least two?”

I tried to negotiate, but again, Woo Seo-hyuk was adamant.

“No more than one. There are side effects.”

“What are the side effects?”

“It’s better not to know.”

“……”

I looked at Woo Seo-hyuk with salty cold eyes, but he did not open his mouth. That’s why my heart soars to want to know. Next time, I would hold on to people around me and ask. I thought Min Arin, who was a healer and knew a lot, would answer.

I smiled broadly thinking about something else. When I didn’t insist on him to tell me anymore, Woo Seo-hyuk showed a relieved look. You’re surprisingly naive.

“Hm, hm. Han Yi-gyeol-ssi?”

Then, a familiar voice came from behind. It was Cha Soo-yeon, who had a gloomy expression on her face as if it was awkward to speak formally to me.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay for a second?”

Seeing Cha Soo-yeon, standing crookedly with both hands in the pockets of the leather jacket she was wearing, somehow made me laugh. It was like watching a bad high school student.

“Please tell me.”

“I have to pick five people from my team and go to Area B to inspect, but there’s one guild member who is not in good shape.”

“Aa. I understand.”

I realized what she meant and was about to get up, but Woo Seo-hyuk grabbed my arm and interrupted me.

“I will go.”

“Pardon?”

“Han Yi-gyeol-ssi, please rest. I will go instead.”

Perhaps it was an unexpected development, Cha Soo-yeon glanced at me in a visibly bewildered way. Her appearance somehow reminded me of a cat.

“No. I will go.”

If I continued to watch, I thought that even if Cha Soo-yeon was upset later, she would be stubborn, so I smiled and intervened.

“Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi, you have been dealing with monsters since yesterday. I rested without doing anything.”

“However.”

“I have to do this much so I can see it.”

At my words, Woo Seo-hyuk slightly lowered his head. In the meantime, I didn’t know because there was no change in expression, but it seemed that Woo Seo-hyuk had a habit of lowering his head whenever he was worried. His expression was as blunt as it was.

“It’s fine. There will be no danger.”

As I approached Woo Seo-hyuk and whispered, he answered with his upper body slightly tilted forward to match my height.

“…I understand.”

“I will back. Let’s go, Cha Soo-yeon-ssi.”

I followed Cha Soo-yeon, leaving behind Woo Seo-hyuk, who was standing idly with a large body. As I headed to the place where the inspection team members were gathered, Cha Soo-yeon said to me in disdain voice.

“I heard that the Requiem Master put him in, so he definitely cares a lot about you. He said he would go instead of you.”

“Um, he has been ordered…”

I thought it was more because I got hurt and passed out on that day. I couldn’t even say this, so I brushed the end of my words and brushed my cheek awkwardly.

“Well, anyway. We don’t have to go far, we just check nearby, so it will be over quickly.”

After showing her a light shrug to indicate not to worry, I greeted the team members lightly. The place we had to go was Area B, which was about a 15-minute walk northeast.

“There is a big mart at Area B. We have to look around inside the mart… It’s mostly empty, but you still have to be careful. If monsters come, you might be surrounded.”

I moved to my destination while listening to the calm explanation given by Cha Soo-yeon by my side.

* * *

As she said, a large one-story mart appeared. The dark interior of the mart, which could be seen through dozens of broken-down cars and broken windows, gave off an eerie atmosphere.

“Two B-rank people come to the centre, and three A-rank people keep the front, back and sides. It may not be a big deal, but always look around.”

“Yes!”

“Yeah!”

At Cha Soo-yeon’s words, the team members responded with a strong discipline tone.

Oh~ I stood at the back and pretended to be surprised by the appearance, then Cha Soo-yeon opened her sharp eyes and glared at me.

In my eyes, Cha Soo-yeon was as cute as a little sister, but Cha Soo-yeon was a famous and popular A-rank talented person. By the way, didn’t she have a nickname? What was it? Was she the Empress of Red Flames?

At first, the nickname seemed childish, but now I thought it suited her well.

“I will take the lead, so be careful and follow me.”

As a bright red flame burned from Cha Soo-yeon’s hand, the dark inside of the mart brightened up a little.

Jjijik. As I took a step, a piece of glass lying on the floor was trampled on. The guild members who looked around while holding their weapons with tense expressions sighed.

“Fortunately, there seems to be nothing.”

“Be careful. One or two might be hiding. We’ll go in some more.”

I followed the team members. There was a lot of blood on the floor of the mart, and the shelves were empty. As the other team members said, there were no signs of monsters appearing.

While continuing to look inside the mart like that, I found something in a dark corner.

‘…wait, what is that?’

I immediately called Cha Soo-yeon, who was in the lead.

“Cha Soo-yeon-ssi. Wait a minute.”

“Ung?”

Cha Soo-yeon, who approached me, used the fire to reveal where I was pointing. There was a dead zombie with its mouth open and withered.

“This…”

“The body is strange.”

There were traces of rough biting on its neck and limbs. Cha Soo-yeon frowned.

“There’s no one on the team who can kill like this. Why did this body come out?”

When a monster corpse that we didn’t kill came out, it meant that someone other than the team members existed inside the gate. Perhaps she had the same thoughts as me, Cha Soo-yeon’s face became serious.

“Is it possible?”

“No one enters the gate managed by the guild unless they are in the right mind. Because it’s illegal. There are always separate people guarding the gate entrance.”

“You mean it’s possible to get in if you can avoid the guard.”

“That’s right. I have to report it to Master first.”

Cha Soo-yeon, who was bending her knees to examine the body in detail, stretched her body and told the waiting team members.

“It looks like there is nothing more to see, so let’s go back. I’ll report only this monster’s corpse…”

Something gleamed was caught my eyes as I was quietly listening. From the other side, it aimed precisely at Cha Soo-yeon’s forehead, I hurriedly grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the flying object.

“Cha Soo-yeon-ssi!”

“Ugh!”

Chaeaeng!

As Cha Soo-yeon was held in my arms, a sharp bursting sound was heard from the floor. When I quickly checked, I found that the flying object was a long, pointed needle.

“Stand back!”

“Argh!”

Starting with that, several needles flew at high speed from beyond the darkness. One of the team members standing in the front screamed as a needle was stuck in his forearm.

“Han Yi-gyeol!”

Cha Soo-yeon came out of my arms and lit a big fire. Knowing the meaning, I raised my ability and engulfed Cha Soo-yeon’s fire with the wind. My ability and Cha Soo-yeon’s ability were combined to create a huge fire in front of us.

“It obscured the enemy’s sight. Take care of the injured during this time and use the firecrackers to help rescue!”

“Cha Soo-yeon seonbaenim! The monster from behind…!”

Guuu, guook!

Zombie cries came from the mart entrance. Looking back, I saw dozens of zombie monsters running towards us, where they had been hiding until now.