CH 16

April 11th, 2023

To find out the reason why Geum Myeong-yeol smashed Han Cha-soo’s car, we have to go back about three weeks ago.

On that day, Geum Myung-yeol, the guild leader of Exilis, went to work as usual.

He arrived at work at 8pm.

‘I should have bought coffee.’

If the people around him had heard, they would have scolded him, but it was no use.

‘I’m training in my sleep, so I’m losing out by getting up early.’

Everyone has their own way of living.

Why should you have to live according to other people’s daily patterns?

He had his own creed.

Of course, I was nagged like crazy.

Today, Geum Myeong-yeol woke up slowly, ate breakfast, which others called dinner, and was on his way to the guild.

On his way to the Guild Leader’s office. Amidst all the greetings, there was something out of the ordinary…

It was his secretary running towards him.

“Gui, Guild Leader…! Huh, huh, huh.”

“What’s going on, you little slug. What brings you out to greet me?”

Geum Myeong-yeol greeted him with a seemingly cheerful face.

But he couldn’t help the drowsy irritation in his voice.

It was natural that I woke up at 6 o’clock, earlier than I was supposed to get up at 8 o’clock.

“Is it because you’re sorry you woke me up early?”

As if he hadn’t heard the usual complaint, the secretary blurted out the reason he’d rushed out.

“It’s about the Frostgiant Dungeon.”

At the low whispered words, the languid eyes of the golden lord opened.

“Here, I’ve organised it for you.”

He took the tablet the secretary handed him.

“…….”

It had several news clippings.

The headlines were:

[ Runaway! Frostgiant Dungeon, Frightening Residents of Building-00]

[ The Silent Heavenly Spirit Guild… Chaotic internal situation? ]

[ “That person was a hero” Anonymous informant reveals the truth about Frostgiant Dungeon!]

It was the last news item that caught Geum Myeong-yeol’s attention.

An article from a famous online newspaper that had been taken down less than ten minutes after it was posted.

[…The informant also said:

“It was a monster that never appeared in the Frostgiant dungeon. I think it was of the spirit or ghost variety… I think it was a hidden boss that appeared when certain conditions were met.”

I could hear his heavy sigh over the phone.

“If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t even be on the phone.”

The source made a final plea. I hope his achievement are not erased.

This writer agrees with his sentiment.]

“What shall we do, Guild Leader?”

The secretary asked cautiously.

Switching off the tablet, Geum Myeong-yeol ran a hand through his hair and smiled.

“So, what’s his name?”

There wasn’t a trace of sleepiness in those wide-open golden eyes.

There was just one problem.

Contrary to what Geum Myeong-yeol had thought, Han Cha-soo was quite a challenge.

He didn’t wake up.

“…Still haven’t woken up?”

“Yes, he is still in coma.”

“I can’t believe he’s still in that condition after being treated by an S-class healer. How weak he is?”

Even after being treated by Baek-dam.

The secretary shrugged at Geum Myeong-yeol’s disgruntled voice.

“Let’s wait and see. I’ll say something when he wakes up.”

But even after he woke up, he couldn’t find Han Cha-soo.

“He said no this time, too.”

It was because Jung Yiheon, the chieftain, had rejected his request for a visit!

“No, why this time?”

“He’s very mentally unstable.”

“He’s not going to go into shock and die because of a few words with me!”

The secretary averted her gaze without answering.

“Damn….”

But Geum Myeong-yeol didn’t give up.

He managed to bribe someone inside the hospital and finally got a moment with Han Cha-soo.

But just as he was about to do so, Jung Yiheon found himself alone.

Geum Myeong-yeol’s bribe was summarily dismissed.

“Ugh.”

“You can’t collapse here, I’ve just had the carpet cleaned!”

“Don’t fall!”

He groaned, holding onto the back of his neck, his eyes blazing with determination.

Okay, let’s see who wins this one.

With that, Geum Myeong-yeol laid out a dense network of informants outside the hospital instead of inside.

If anything were to happen, they would know immediately.

And so, today.

Finally, Geum Myung-gyeol meets Han Cha-soo, the man he’s been waiting for.

‘Finally!’

Geum Myung-gyeol jumped off the bonnet and boldly made his way to the back seat.

He couldn’t hide his excitement.

I can’t believe I’m finally able to meet the face of a low B-class hunter.

The man’s strong hand tugged at the door handle.

It fell off.

“…….”

“…….”

“Mmm.”

The car door dangled in my thick hands like a toy.

Geum Myung-yeol stared at the car door in his hands, then turned his gaze to Han Cha-soo.

Grey eyes like a wolf’s fur.

They met his gaze without hesitation and were as straight as they could be.

As expected, it didn’t feel like an ordinary production hunter.

‘He’s definitely up to something.’

He smirked at his opponent and threw his hand back.

Pung-dung!

Along with the sound of water splashing in the distance, Lee Min-deok cursed.

Or not.

Geum Myeong-yeol, who had buried himself in a freshly plucked cushion, turned his head to the side and asked.

“Do you know how to drive?”

Did the original Han Cha-soo have a licence?

I don’t know.

‘No, apart from that…’

What the hell does this guy have against me?

Han Cha-soo glanced at Geum Myeong-yeol, who was looking at him single-mindedly.

For now, he discarded the theory that Geum Myeong-yeol was trying to kidnap him to blackmail him.

Exilis Guild Leader, Geum Myeong-yeol, was not the kind of slug to get hung up on such trivialities.

He’d rather go for Jung Yiheon’s head outright.

“If you don’t know how to drive, I guess we’ll just have to call one of our own.”

Han Cha-soo pondered for a moment, but Geum Myeong-yeol must have jumped to his own conclusion.

He stretched his arm out to the gaping side and waved.

“Lee Won, come and drive!”

As the man called out, a door opened from a sports car parked nearby.

The bespectacled man walked over and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Excuse me.”

The moment the low voice reached his ears.

Something flashed through Han Cha-soo’s mind.

[The message brought by his assistant, Lee Won, was enough to enrage Geum Myeong-yeol.

“Excuse me.”

“Hmm? What’s that all of a sudden?”

“A message from the leader of the Heavenly Spirit Guild.”

After reading the message, a ferocious aura emanated from Geum Myeong-yeol

“It was that bastard who broke the Reverse God’s earring.”

Han Cha-soo, the lowly squire who had toyed with the Heavenly Spirit Guild, had even tried to take my life.

“I’ll make sure you see hell even after you die.”

A cruel glint flashed in the eyes of the S-ranked Curser Geum Myeong-yeol.]

Geum Myeong-yeol, an S-class Hunter of the Exilis Guild.

He was one of the main characters of the equipment Han Cha-soo had destroyed.

He also contributed to the torture of Han Cha-soo, along with Jung Yiheon and Baek-dam.

‘This is crazy.’

Does this world have a grudge against Han Cha-soo?

All he wanted to do was leave his job and go away in peace…

“This thing won’t start.”

“Then switch it on.”

Han Cha-soo let out a small sigh as he looked at Geum Myeong-yeol’s stern demeanour.

Still, he was relieved that he hadn’t been caught tampering with the equipment yet.

‘If they’d found out, they’d have torn my arm off, not sat next to me.’

His eyes were blurry as he stared at the tattered side of the car.

He must have found himself here for a different purpose.

No, he had to be.

Just then, a muffled voice tickled my ear.

“Ah, so fast.”

Geum Myeong-yeol turned his head and looked behind him.

Han Cha-soo turned to follow him and furrowed his brow.

The thing was running fast towards them, leaving a trail of flames in the distance,

“Jung Yiheon….”

“Lee won, leave quickly!”

Geum Myeong-yeol lightly kicked the front seat. The secretary grumbled but dutifully operated the car.

At this point, Han Cha-soo also roughly understood the atmosphere.

It didn’t seem like they were chasing him for any serious life-and-death reasons.

“Now, I’m going to ask you.”

“What? Wasn’t it because you had a sore throat that you couldn’t speak?”

What a ridiculous misunderstanding.

For some reason, he thought I didn’t say anything.

Han Chasu frowned lightly and was about to tell him to go away.

Chick, chick.

Harsh noises invaded his vision.

Unreal colours flooded reality, blurring the contours of ordinary life.

A messy landscape, like an old film on an information storage device retrieved from the ruins.

As he watched, Han Cha-soo suddenly realised something.

There was only one being in this world that could bring about such a change.

Kiiii-ii-ii-!

A red message window popped up in front of him with a creepy sound.

[ ■■ ■■■’s shard has completed synchronisation with its true nature]

[ Positioning complete ]

[ Zoning in progress…]

[ Zoning complete ]

[ Executing designated zone isolation ]

[ Starting irregular gate generation ]

[ CAUTION! Rash actions during gate creation can cost you your life, always be careful.]

Han Cha-soo closed and opened his eyes slowly as the messages poured in like rain.

Suddenly, the world was tipped on its axis.

“Ha….”

A wide-open plain, two men sitting in a car with a torn door.

With a low sigh, Han Cha-soo ran a hand through his hair.

“It’s rough.”

The man’s swearing flew up with the wind sweeping the meadow.