CHAPTER 34

It was early morning... Soon I returned home.  The sight of the worn-down apartment came into my view from afar.  I lived on the 9th floor. I passed by the parked cars and headed towards the building, then an aged voice stopped me,

"Young man from unit 902."

It was the elderly guard I wasn't aware of the name nor I had any interest in knowing.  I greeted the guard.

"Have you not come home for the day?"

"Ah, I'm on the night shift today."

"Ah," Jinwoo nodded.

"Here, a package came for you."

"Ah, thank you."

It was from the Association.

'Was it supposed to arrive today?'

The Hunter phone from the Association was supposed to arrive soon.  I took the phone out of the box. It was a sparkling new phone.

Lately, there was much public interest in the Hunters.  I recalled a news segment where an increasing number of people who were not Awakened Beings tried to illicitly buy a Hunter phone.

 After all, this was a very special phone engraved with the latest technology. It would work even in a crisis and that's why they were giving a world filled with monsters a crisis that can occur at any time. So this phone had full access to the internet with a satellite connection. And it can even tap into different frequencies. 

This meant even if I switched to a different earth this baby would still be able to access the internet...

Yes, this was on the level of a military phone, and if I had to say it even higher. 

Of course, it comes with its own flaws, like Association always knows your location. Which could both ways as with this they will be able to dispatch the nearest hunters to gates. 

And this access was also allowed to the big clans. 

But I doubt that it would still work after I throw this in the inventory.

'Forget the buyers, what are the thieves thinking?'

They say it's not that a country doesn't have money, but it has too many thieves.  Whether it was the Association or the military, wherever people gathered produced all kinds of corruption.  Whenever money leaks from such organizations through said corruption, it decreases the ability of the organization to provide support for the people.  And if the support for the people decreases, society suffers. When society suffers, eventually, someone who needs help will be hurt because they cannot get it.

'I was worried about that…'

Thankfully, there appeared to be no flaws with my new phone. Even though it was my first time using it I was using it like a pro. 

While he was waiting for the elevator, he turned on the phone.  It was packed with notifications.

'Sigh, how long will it take to go through all of this?'

Among the missed calls and messages, two numbers kept repeating.  Neither of the numbers seemed familiar to me. One of the numbers had repeatedly called me, the other had repeatedly sent me messages.

'I don't think I know anyone who would contact me this much.'

I looked at the phone with a tilted head, then started checking the messages.

Hi, it's me from that time at the hospit...

Are you free this week by any chan...

Was I being too annoying? I hope...

I remembered who this was.  It was the nurse that had asked for my contact information on the day of his discharge.

'I think her name was Choi Yu or something?'

Her messages were not particularly annoying, but I knew that once I replied, it would get really annoying. Plus there was nothing special about her. 

'I'll pass on this then…'

Next was the number that had repeatedly called him. I had ideas about who it could be. I clicked the call button on the number. The caller's ringtone was a loud pop song that had just come out.  I had a feeling he knew who this would be. The person on the other end picked up quickly.

-"Hello."

As expected,

Having predicted the person, I chuckled and spoke,

"It's me. Call me on this number from now on."

-"Ah! You've received your new phone, Hyungnim!"

It was Yoo Jinho.

I had remembered the young man's number, but not having called me before, it had slipped my mind.  Yoo Jinho spoke with an excited voice,

- "I was actually about to call you. Hyungnim, the raiding party is complete! In fact, I am on my way to pick you up! Are you Randy"

Even just hearing his voice, I could imagine Yoo Jinho's smiling face.  Jinwoo also smiled widely.

"Alrighty, I'll see you soon."

click

Right on time, the elevator arrived and he ended the call.  Finally, the real Raids will begin. My heart beat in anticipation.  

'Time to level up a ton.'

I'll level up, raise my stats and become stronger than anyone else.

Once I became strong, money, fame, and influence, he would be able to obtain it all.

Now would be the first step towards that dream.

....

Mana/ Essence exchange is an amazing feeling!

I never knew things like this would happen but Now I have experienced it I can't get enough of it. 

I do aware that I can't experience this with any girl I fuck it could only be experienced with the selected few who were suitable for me and I am suitable for them. 

I can't wait to see how it will feel with Cha Hae-In as I and her are nearly best for each other at least this body is...

Feeling my mind is still lingering on sex I shocked my head to get rid of these useless thoughts. 

"Ring Ring Ring"

"Again a new disturbance"

I picked up the phone and saw it was Yoo Jinho.

He said outside he was waiting for me 

And because I was refreshed myself and went outside. I was greeted by a large van out in front.

"...?"

The driver seat window rolled down.  The owner of the smiling face was… Yoo Jinho.

"Hyungnim! Get in!"

Yoo Jinho slapped the side of the car.  Hearing that Yoo Jinho was coming to pick him up personally, I had expected a Benz… Anyway, I looked at it, this was an ordinary van.  Well, it was a bit larger.

"Aren't you a second-generation chaebol?"

"Well, I felt like if I brought my car, we'd get noticed a bit. I bought this one to use in our Raids."

I did realize the car was clean and sparkling.

'He must've bought it pretty recently.'

The young man diligently came to pick him up early in the morning and had even bought a new car so they would not be noticed.  Yoo Jinho's preparations were thorough. His expectations of this arrangement were that high. Yoo Jinho mistook me for looking over the new car for something else,

"Is this not satisfactory to you, Hyungnim?"

"No, it's good. It's just a car and I like the idea of not bringing expensive cars"

He cut him off and got in the passenger seat.

"Aa thanks, We're off, Hyungnim."

Excited by getting praise and the official start of their Raids, Yoo Jinho hummed happily as he drove.  After some time, they arrived at a vacant lot.

 .....

screech-

"Hyungnim, this is it."

There were 8 Hunters waiting in the promised location. 

The Gate that stood behind them was big even for a C-rank Gate. Which meant it was a C+ rank gate.  The waiting Hunters approached me and Yoo Jinho who got out of his van.  None of them were… normal.

Some of them appeared to have trouble moving, others looked like patients, and some even gave off the impression of an alcoholic.  There was even an underage girl, whose age would mean that she would not be accepted by the Association or the Guilds; she appeared to be a high school student.  

And I was sure she was the friend of Jinnah, 

"Is it okay to bring that one?"

"I went ahead and got some legal counsel. There isn't any legal reason why she can't join us. It's just going to be a big problem if she gets hurt."

I nodded. 'That should be alright, then.'

As the only ones entering the gate would be me and Yoo Jinho, there was no chance that she would get hurt.  All that the gathered Hunters would be used for is to fill the minimum headcount to enter the Gate. The other Hunters were well aware of this.  Although they had their Hunter licenses, they could not work as Hunters due to various reasons. Having lived an ordinary life because of those reasons, they readily agreed to be recruited as just filler members.

Yoo Jinho stepped forward,

"My name is Yoo Jinho. I will be this Raid's leader. And this person is our big gun or should I say nuke, Hunter Sung Jinwoo-nim. He's the only other person who will enter the Dungeon with me. The rest of you can just wait near the Gate until we return."

One of the Hunters cautiously raised a hand,

"Er… So if we just wait out here, you'll pay us three million?"

There was no need for the rest of them to hunt.  There wasn't even a need for them to enter the Dungeon.  Yet they would be paid 3 million per Raid. For just filling the headcount for the Association's records, this was an incredible compensation.  But because of the large reward for doing so little, many of the Hunters were cautious.

"Yes, that is the promise."

Yoo Jinho gathered strength in his lungs; his eyes became serious.

"There is one condition. You must not speak of what you see here to anyone. There will be a non-disclosure clause attached to your contracts. Upon breaking that contract, you will be required to pay ten times your pay as a penalty."

The Hunters whispered among themselves.  Just what did these two plan to do in the Dungeon that they would offer such a contract? They were curious, but they could not ask any questions. That was also part of the non-disclosure clause.

["No questions on what's going to happen in the Dungeon."]

I wanted to keep my special circumstances secret, while Yoo Jinho wanted to keep his plans to become a Guildmaster secret.  As such, they thoroughly planned to maintain the silence of their filler teammates.

"…"

Instead of asking the duo questions, the Hunters just whispered among themselves about the situation.

"Wait, could just two people even do anything in a C-rank Dungeon?"

"They don't seem that strong…"

"If they were good enough to clear a C-rank Gate with just the two of them, why wouldn't they be working for a large Guild?"

"Yep, you're right…"

They were all suspicious, but not one of them wanted to back out.  The reason was obvious. The conditions were too good. I had even accepted similar conditions for 2 million before.  Compared to the Hwang Dongseok incident, we decided to add an additional 1 million to the contract for the non-disclosure clause.

We wasted enough time explaining everything.  Looking at the time, I approached Yoo Jinho,

"We should get going."

"Understood, Hyungnim."

Yoo Jinho replied politely, then grabbed everyone's attention with a clap.

"Well, I think we're done explaining the details. We won't be forcing anyone to sign. Is there anyone who wants to back out at this point?"

"…"

"…"

Of course, there was no one who raised their hands.  Now, we could enter the Gate-

"Ah, Hyungnim, one moment."

As if remembering something, Yoo Jinho quickly ran to the van.  He took something out of the car and started putting it on, then slowly lumbered toward me.

"What… are you wearing?"

"It was made by a Craftsmen Guild in Italy. It's a full set of strong armor, Hyungnim. If it's just going to be us two in the Dungeon, I should prepare at least this much, right?"

I facepalmed.

"…"

Covered from the tip of the head to toes in armor, Yoo Jinho looked like a giant walking piece of metal.  Even just looking at him gave off a sense of claustrophobia.

"What's wrong, Hyungnim?"

Unable to take it any longer, I walked over and unsheathe the sword at Yoo Jinho's side and dropped it at his feet.

"W-what?"

Yoo Jinho lost his balance trying to pick up the sword and fell flat onto the ground.

collapse

I held back the rage that was forming inside of e and spoke sternly to the young man,

" You won't be fighting just standing behind me. So I'll say this once. Go take it off."

"…Yes sir…"

Yoo Jinho started getting up and then spoke,

"Hyungnim…"

"What?"

"Could you please help me up?"

I sighed deeply at Yoo Jinho's outstretched hand.

…..

"Is this okay, Hyungnim?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

In the end, we agreed that Yoo Jinho would at least wear the helmet.  The young man entered the Gate with a satisfied expression; I wordlessly followed suit.

 ….

Pov Switch. 

After the pair entered the Gate, the Hunters approached it one by one and stared.  One of them spoke with a worry,

"They didn't exactly inspire confidence…"

"Yeah…"

Their words broke the dam of the silence of the other Hunters.  They all had something they wanted to say.

"What happens if those two just kick it in the Dungeon?"

"Well, we already received the money…"

"Still…"

"Wait, what were their names again?"

"Hmm, it was…"

A man with a cast on one of his legs quickly took out his phone and looked their employers up.

"Yoo Jinho, Sung Jinwoo…"

Whether they were concerned about the man standing up with a crutch or they were curious about what he had found, the other Hunters helped the man stand while looking at his phone.

"What? The Raid leader's a D-rank?"

The Hunters groaned at this news.  The next bit of information surprised them even more.

"And the other one's an E-ranker!"

"Isn't it dangerous for an E-ranker to even enter a C-rank Gate?"

"And why does a D-rank follow him like that?"

"Why is a D-rank called an E-rank a big gun now a nuke." 

"A D-ranker and an E-ranker are going to clear a C-rank Dungeon?"

"Is that possible?"

"Hell, the Raid leader doesn't even have any prior experience!"

"Why would someone so young do this?"

To the other Hunters, Jinwoo and Yoo Jinho's actions were just suicide with extra steps.  There was a reason why the Association placed a restriction of a minimum headcount for C-rank Gates: 10 Hunters, with at least half of them being above C-rank.

"Tsk, tsk."

.........

So Mc currently clearing a labyrinth with treasure, So I was looking for a consumable power up it will come from the heart of the boss monster.

and what I can tell you about the boss monster is that it's a bull monster.

Now what I need to decide is what type of boost it should be giving.

do you have any good ideas if so don't forget to comment

So are you liking the story?

And write some comments, please

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