Yujun’s eyes widened at Kanghyun’s answer. It was to the point where he could almost see the illusion of drooping puppy ears perking up.
“Really? Really? You’re not going back on your word, right? Kanghyun-ah. Let me record this, say it one more time.”
“What recording? Forget it. Stop making a fuss. I don’t say one thing with my mouth and another.”
Kanghyun waved his hand dismissively as he replied. Then color returned to Yujun’s face. He started chattering excitedly.
“Okay, then I’ll schedule it right away. First, an A-rank Gate is scheduled to open in Gangwon-do the day after tomorrow, and this weekend there’s one B-rank in Jeolla-do…. Ah, right. I need to put together team members to go with you too. I’ll attach the quickest and sharpest kids from our guild’s first team. The healer should obviously be A-rank, and the tank should be a sturdy one—”
Wait. It seemed like he was saying some unnecessary things.
Kanghyun cut off Yujun’s words.
“What team members? Don’t need them.”
“What?”
“It’s much faster if I go alone. I’ve always only done solo clears anyway, you know? If I drag along a bunch of nobodies, I’ll just waste more time taking care of them. Dead weight is a hard pass.”
At the firm refusal, Yujun’s smiling face instantly hardened.
Kanghyun was originally a thorough solo player. Until he was blackmailed by Yujun and forced into companionship, he always entered Gates alone, and because of that, even the Association couldn’t grasp his exact abilities.
Since traveling with Kanghyun, Yujun had come to understand very well why he insisted on solo raids. Because he couldn’t rampage as he pleased if others were around. Because Kanghyun, who would give up an arm or so to take a neck, couldn’t fight efficiently his own way.
That was exactly why Yujun was trying to attach team members. If he sent him alone, he’d obviously use the excuse that it was bothersome to take monster attacks with his body and turn himself into a rag.
‘Without surveillance, it absolutely won’t do.’
Yujun’s eyes instantly calmed down. He opened his mouth in a very gentle and soft voice.
“Kanghyun-ah.”
“What.”
“Yunseul Guild enrollment contract Article 7, Clause 3. Remember?”
At the sudden contract talk, Kanghyun frowned.
“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”
“‘In case of emergency or when special operations are conducted at the Guild Master’s discretion, guild members must absolutely obey the Guild Master’s tactical deployment and orders.'”
“……?”
“And Article 12. ‘Penalty fees incurred for violation of this shall be calculated as ten times the contract fee, and withdrawal from the guild is impossible.'”
The clauses that Yujun recited were accurate without a single particle wrong.
“You signed that clause with your own hand. Don’t you remember?”
There was no way he’d remember in the first place. At that time, Kanghyun didn’t even check whether the paper Yujun held out was a slavery contract or a bodily waiver, and just signed it because he wanted to kick him out quickly.
He’d done so because he trusted Yujun’s character, but to backstab him like this? It was so absurd his mouth wouldn’t close.
“You con artist bastard….”
“Con artist? It’s a legitimate employment contract.”
Yujun started smiling brightly again. Watching Kanghyun’s expression sour the more he spoke was so enjoyable.
“So stop talking and take the kids I’m assigning you. This is a Guild Master’s order. Got it, Member Lee Kanghyun?”
Kanghyun’s lips trembled in frustration, but he had no words to refute. The only thing to blame here was his own stupidity for signing the contract without even reading it.
“Don’t worry. I’ll attach the most energetic and nimble ones from our guild.”
Yujun said confidently.
***
A few days later. Inside the Gate.
Kanghyun plopped down on top of a giant orc’s corpse.
The damp Gate air, the fishy smell of blood, the clingy clothes—everything was irritating. More than anything, because of the fatigue pressing down on his whole body, he wanted to lie down on a bed and pass out right away.
But what was making him struggle more than anything else was something different.
“Wow! Incredible! Did you see that just now? Hunter Lee Kanghyun’s one punch and the orc captain’s head flew off!”
“Crazy, seriously! We should have filmed it! Is this the dignity of S-rank? It’s a different style from the Guild Master!”
“Hunter-nim! Here, drink some water! Or should I massage your shoulders? Should I wipe your sweat?”
Yunseul Guild’s 1st Mobile Strike Team.
These guys that Yujun had carefully selected were definitely skilled, but their mouths didn’t rest. When killing monsters, when moving, even during breaks, they talked to him incessantly without timing.
Kanghyun dry-washed his face and hung his head. He felt like his ears would bleed. He wished his eardrums would just burst so he couldn’t hear any sound.
He wondered why on earth these people were friendly toward him.
The world was clamoring that Kanghyun was a murderer, but looking at their reactions alone, it was as if Kanghyun was some kind of national hero.
‘Ha… I want to go home.’
Kanghyun stared blankly into space and recalled the trigger that started this hellish march.
When a Gate occurs, the Association starts an ‘open bidding’ after completing various inspections such as the Gate’s rank and expected monster appearances. The guild that writes the highest amount in the open bidding takes ownership and conducts the subjugation. In short, it was an auction system.
The higher the rank of the Gate, the higher the value of Magic Stones and byproducts, but the risk was proportionally greater too. If the expected profit of one Gate was 1 billion won, the bid would be in the 700 to 800 million won range. That way it would still be profitable after subtracting labor costs and equipment repair costs.
Gates that didn’t sell because the expected profit margin wasn’t high were handled by the Hunter Association. The Gates that Kanghyun was handling for alternative service were mainly that type.
But this rule was currently devastated because of one ecosystem-disrupting species.
Yujun bid 1 billion won for a Gate with an expected profit of 1 billion won. All deficits incurred from this were covered by Yujun out of his own pocket.
Then the other guilds gave up on bidding. Of course they did. Everyone was risking their lives entering Gates to make money. There was no human who would pay money to enter a Gate instead of receiving it.
[Why is Yunseul doing that? Money laundering?]
[Is Kang Yujun crazy?]
On community sites, dozens of posts a day went up asking why on earth Yunseul Guild was doing that. Though the person in question didn’t even care.
There was only one reason Yujun was doing this. To find the ‘Fragment of Truth’ that could clear Kanghyun’s false accusation.
‘Crazy bastard.’
The more Kanghyun thought about it, the more absurd it was and he could only let out hollow laughs. With that money, wouldn’t it be faster to bribe judges and put together a super luxurious legal team to get acquitted?
But instead of such shortcuts, Yujun chose the most foolish, certain, and most expensive legal path. Solely to perfectly prove Kanghyun’s innocence.
It was appreciated, but….
“Hunter Lee Kanghyun! Shall we depart now? We’re all recovered!”
“We can make it to the next area in 10 minutes!”
“I’ll run at the front!”
Appreciation was one thing, but this was too tiring.
Kanghyun let out a deep sigh looking at the three people staring at him with sparkling eyes.
To endure that tension for a month. Fighting a horde of orcs with bare fists would probably be better for his mental health.
“…Yeah. Let’s go, go.”
Kanghyun sluggishly got up.
Ah, I don’t want to go.
“Yes! Hyung-nim, we’ll escort you!”
No, I told you not to call me Hyung-nim.
He wanted to sit down right then and there. He couldn’t stand this excessive attention.
“Hunter Lee Kanghyun! Trap reaction detected ahead!”
While passing through a narrow passage, the team member at the front shouted dramatically.
“I’ll block it with my body and disarm it! Hunter-nim, please wait comfortably in the back!”
“……?”
As soon as he finished speaking, he threw his body toward the floor presumed to be a trap. Kanghyun was horrified and hurriedly grabbed the back of his neck.
“Are you crazy? Why would you block that with your body? Just throw a stone to check.”
When Kanghyun picked up a stone rolling on the floor and tossed it, sharp spikes shot up from the floor and then retracted.
The team members’ eyes widened.
“Wow… as expected of S-rank insight!”
The team member who had escaped the crisis of being stabbed by spikes covered his mouth in admiration.
What was with this excessive reaction again? Kanghyun stared at him with his mouth slightly open in disbelief.
“To neutralize a trap with just one stone! A divine move that secured cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and safety all at once! Truly respectable!”
“No, this is just basic common sense though….”
Even the other team member next to him pulled out a notebook with sparkling eyes.
Why on earth would you carry a notebook into a Gate?
“Note… trap… with stone…. As expected, field tips are different! Hunter-nim, do you also have any know-how on the angle or force control when throwing stones?”
“There’s nothing like that. Just throw it.”
He pressed hard on his throbbing temples. These humans were starting to become scarier than monsters.
That bastard Yujun, did he do this to screw me over?
Kanghyun was certain. No matter how he thought about it, Yujun had definitely composed the team like this to torment him.
