The newly arrived goblins adapted to Asvillam quickly. There were no complaints about uncomfortable beds or lackluster meals. Not a single goblin refused to mine crystals. Whatever Byeonggap said, they simply answered with a deferential “Yes, yes” and obeyed.

The title of Goblin Lord—whose true nature he still didn’t fully understand—was that convenient. It was a different league from having things handed to you on a silver platter.

Byeonggap’s main job now was just making sure the goblins had meals. With ninety mouths to feed, the consumption was heavy enough that he had to enter a rift every two days. But since he had to hunt to earn money anyway, it wasn’t really extra trouble. In fact, the work had gotten much easier.

E- to F-rank rifts could be cleared quickly with just a few goblins in tow.

Today, Byeonggap took twenty goblins along and found an E-rank rift. The monster that emerged was an F-rank horned wolf.

Horned wolves were threatening monsters with their swift movements. Their teeth were shaped like harpoons, so once they bit, they didn’t let go easily.

«Be careful not to get bitten. If you do, don’t try to pry it off—stab it in the nose. It’ll let go on its own.»

«Understood!»

«And for god’s sake, don’t get hurt. Potions cost a fortune.»

«Yes!»

The hob goblins brandished their crude weapons and clashed with the horned wolves. Yelps and howls rang out from every direction.

‘They fight well.’

Goblins might not look dependable, but they were surprisingly tough monsters.

They were also one of the few humanoid monsters found in the lower ranks. The strength of humanoid monsters lay not in individual combat prowess—which was average at best—but in the fear they inspired when they ganged up. And while they had no outstanding specialty, their overall balance was solid.

The hob goblins covered for each other, forming a tight defensive formation. They shot down distant enemies with arrows and spears, and bashed in the heads of any that got close with their clubs.

Trak, the giant goblin—a D-rank monster with a hide that could shrug off bullets. The horned wolves’ fangs barely scratched his leathery skin.

And Kiriyan, the C-rank. No need to say more. Under the hob goblins’ cover, he rained down lethal attacks. His toughness was average, but as a dealer, his potential was top-tier.

The thirty-odd horned wolves were dealt with in minutes. The only injuries were minor cuts and scrapes.

‘Fast, alright. If I’d been alone, it’d take an hour at best. Though I’d probably shave that down now.’

Taking on thirty horned wolves with a single rifle would’ve been a headache. You’d have to weave and dodge, find good positions. Let one through, and you’d be down half a potion.

«Alright! Let’s gather the magic stones and pack the meat.»

«Yes!» came the chorus.

The goblins moved with drill-like precision. They tore into the horned wolves’ chests, pulling out the clotted blue stones. The carcasses were hauled back to Asvillam.

Kill monsters, clean up, kill more monsters—the cycle repeated. All Byeonggap had to do was lead the goblins around and fire a few shots from the rear.

An hour and twenty minutes into the hidden world. The boss monster, a claw wolf, stepped onto the field.

An E-rank monster, a full one-and-a-half times larger than the biggest living wolf, the Arctic wolf. Its strength, size, and speed were threatening enough, but the twin blades on its forked tail were what truly struck fear.

‘Still just a low-grade monster.’

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Byeonggap always handled the boss monster himself. No particular reason—he just wanted to.

The claw wolf died without putting up any real fight, perforated by eight bullets. Byeonggap severed its tail and pocketed it. A trophy that’d fetch him some pocket money at auction.

«Good work. Everyone head back to Asvillam. Heal up any wounded. You know where I left the potions, right?»

«Yes. We. Know.»

«Good. You’re off duty for today. Rest.»

The goblins chorused their agreement and vanished into Asvillam. Byeonggap gathered the spoils and magic stones and slipped out.

It was already dark outside. Partly because he’d started late, partly because he’d cleared two rifts.

He hurried back to Seoul.

He headed straight for the Association. He needed to cash in the magic stones and put the trophy up for auction.

He took a number and waited for his turn. Even at this hour, the waiting list was long.

A man dropped into the seat beside Go Byeonggap. When Byeonggap had noted the rancid smell, it was because the guy was caked in blood and filth from head to toe.

‘Great. No manners at all.’

Fighting monsters inevitably got you dirty. The dirt and dust from the hidden world vanished the moment you stepped out of a rift, but blood and grime stayed. That was just how it worked.

Basic etiquette was to wash up before coming to the Association. If you didn’t have time for that, you at least changed your clothes. Byeonggap always kept a spare set in his car.

Still, every now and then, someone showed up at the Association without bothering to clean off the gore.

Byeonggap frowned and slid one seat over. The other people waiting edged away from the man too.

But then that blood-soaked guy turned his head and started staring straight at Byeonggap. Not wanting to meet his eyes, Byeonggap fixed his gaze stubbornly ahead.

‘Why the hell is he staring at me like that?’

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the man spoke.

“Uh… hyung¹, Byeonggap hyung? Is that you?”

“Hm?”

“Hyung, don’t you recognize me? It’s me, Hyeongcheol. Park Hyeongcheol.”

“Park… Hyeongcheol?”

“Come on. We worked together for a while back when you were on Kim Ajin’s team. You don’t remember?”

“Ah….”

Byeonggap fished the man’s face out of his memory.

About a year and a half ago. When Byeonggap was working under that thug Kim Ajin, this guy had been on the team with him. Well, with him was a strong word—they’d only been together for about two months before Byeonggap quit. They weren’t exactly close.

On top of that, pretty much everything connected to Kim Ajin’s team left a bad taste in his mouth. Even seeing Park Hyeongcheol didn’t spark any real warmth.

“Oh, I remember now. …Yeah. You doing okay?”

He kept it to a formal greeting.

“Getting by, you know. Have you been doing well, hyung?”

“Same here. Just living day to day.”

“Ah. I see.”

An awkward silence settled between them. That was how conversations went between people who weren’t really friends. Maybe it would’ve been a little better if the other person had been a woman.

“Hyung. Have you heard the news?”

“What news?”

“Ah, nothing big, just that Kim Ajin….”

The moment Byeonggap heard the name Kim Ajin, he reacted sharply.

“I don’t really feel like hearing anything about that bastard.”

“Ah… then I won’t say anything.”

Park Hyeongcheol shut his mouth immediately.

Byeonggap let out a deep sigh.

“Just tell me. What’s the news?”

When Byeonggap asked, Hyeongcheol answered as if he’d been waiting for it.

“Kim Ajin’s team disbanded. Ajin hyung died three months ago.”

“What? That bastard died?”

“From your reaction, looks like you didn’t know.”

Byeonggap’s face showed he couldn’t believe it.

That sorry bastard I figured would live until he painted the walls with shit—dead?

“How? What happened?”

“He walked into a mutant rift. Figured it was C-rank, but it turned out B-rank. Ajin hyung and the seven guys who went in with him all bought it. It was on the news—you didn’t see it?”

“No. I don’t really watch the news. …Huijin noona²—was she—?”

“No. She wasn’t there that day.”

Go Byeonggap let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Go Huijin was Kim Ajin’s girlfriend. A woman way too good for a thug like that. Byeonggap had never understood what she saw in a bastard like Kim Ajin.

Looking back, every girlfriend of every thug he’d ever known had been decent people. What the hell. Was there some kind of goddamn law about it?

“Haah.”

The sigh came on its own. He’d always figured he’d pop a drink when Kim Ajin died—but hearing the actual news left a foul taste in his mouth.

‘Kim Ajin.’

Kim Ajin. A C-rank hunter who ran a small-scale hunter training institute.

There were hundreds of those academies around, but only a handful in the whole country were legit. The rest were just snake-oil outfits.

Byeonggap had met Kim Ajin when he was shopping around for a place to get his hunter license after awakening.

Falling for that “no tuition, crash course to certification” line had been a mistake.

Looking back, it didn’t make any goddamn sense. What kind of charity was he running, offering classes for free?

If he’d kept a cool head, he might’ve realized nothing in this world comes free. But back then, Byeonggap hadn’t been able to.

Because he’d been so broke worrying about his mother’s hospital bills his head felt like it was about to split open.

Kim Ajin had hooked him with sweet talk: “Hey hey, forget that ‘Director’ crap—call me Hyung. I consider everyone who joins this place family. You said you needed money, right? Trust me and follow along. Tough it out under me for three years learning the trade, and you’ll be rich.”

And then he’d used the free classes as bait to get Byeonggap to sign some contract. A straight-up slavery agreement.

“Tuition’s free, but you’ve gotta pay for equipment usage.”

A classic trick. The funny thing was, he wasn’t the only one who fell for it.

‘By the time I became a hunter, I had tens of millions in debt to my name. That son of a bitch billed me some insane amount for equipment rental…’

The equipment Kim Ajin had provided was all junk, yet priced through the roof. Naturally, it came from some scummy outfit in cahoots with him.

“Don’t worry, man. Do I look like I’m gonna hound you for money? I’ll set you up with rift jobs, build you a team—you pay me back while you work. That’s how you build your career, see. Where else you gonna find a hyung who looks out for you like this?”

Working on the team Kim Ajin had put together meant at least the jobs never dried up. His ability to broker rifts was honestly impressive—twenty out of thirty days in a month, Byeonggap was out on a subjugation.

But working himself to the bone like that, the money that actually hit his pocket was a paltry one or two million won a month.

He had debts to repay, and the fees and cuts they skimmed off the top were enormous.

Unable to cover his mother’s hospital bills, Go Byeonggap sold the house. Later, he even resorted to loan sharks. His life had plummeted straight into the abyss.

‘Twenty-nine days of subjugations a month, and I paid off every last won of that bastard Kim Ajin’s debt and got out. Thinking back, it was a genuine hell.’

Even now, just remembering that time made his blood boil in his sleep.

“Anyway, when Kim Ajin’s team disbanded, I got out too. I’ve still got a little debt left, though. I just couldn’t hack it like you did, hyung.”

Park Hyeongcheol grinned, blood still smeared across his face.

“You were really something back then, hyung. People called you a machine because you went on subjugations all month long. Did you know that?”

Go Byeonggap didn’t feel like answering. Just then, the receptionist called his number.

He stood up immediately.

“Yeah. It was good seeing you. Take care of yourself.”

“Ah, Byeonggap hyung. Are you on any team right now? I’m thinking of putting one together this time…”

“Not interested.”

Go Byeonggap cut him off. Before leaving, he added one more thing.

“And you—when your subjugation’s over, wash up once in a while.”

* * *

Walking home, Go Byeonggap’s mind churned with thoughts. Mostly about Kim Ajin.

‘Huijin noona is still alive?’

Thinking of Kim Ajin brought Go Huijin to mind automatically. An incredible woman. Sweet personality, a face and body that were top-notch. Honestly, he’d had a crush on her back then.

The thought of going to find Go Huijin crossed his mind. He discarded it just as quickly.

He didn’t want to get tangled up with past ties again. If he could, he’d erase even the memory of meeting Park Hyeongcheol today.

To push Go Huijin from his head, he forced himself to think of Kim Ajin instead.

“Well, damn. Serves you right, you bastard! Chew people up and spit them out, and you get what’s coming to you.”

Meeting Kim Ajin had been the mistake of a lifetime, but he’d picked up a few lessons from it.

First. Don’t trust people easily.

Second. Nothing in this world is free, and making money is a goddamn grind.

Third. Working alone is the most peaceful way to live.

Fourth. Don’t use people as tools.

‘Don’t use people as tools…’

Go Byeonggap chewed on that line. He kept chewing on it all the way until he reached home.

When he got home, Go Byeonggap didn’t wash or eat—he went straight to Asvillam.

Time in Asvillam was similar to the outside. When the sun set out there, night fell here too.

Despite the dimness, only a few goblins were visible. That was because all of them were inside the cave.

Go Byeonggap started toward the cave, then stopped short. A table stood before him.

He’d found it abandoned and carried it in — a table. On it sat potions, the two bottles he always left out.

Neither had been touched.

The goblins who’d come hunting with him today hadn’t so much as laid a hand on them.

‘I told them to treat their wounds!’

He bit his lip hard and broke into a run toward the cave.

Inside, goblins were sweating and heaving as they mined crystal.

The cave had grown noticeably wider.

«Ah! Lord. You’ve come?»

Gobungi spotted him and bowed. The other goblins paused their pickaxes to greet him too.

A lump rose in Byeonggap’s throat, so he snapped at them instead.

«You stubborn fools! The sun’s down — why are you still swinging picks? Do you even know what time it is?»

«…My Lord?»

«Pack it up and get out!»

«Ah, yes sir!»

The goblins stowed their tools and scrambled outside, breathing hard. The ones resting out there gathered around too.

«From now on, when the sun sets, you stop working and rest. Got it? Rest is the most important thing for labor. Burn yourselves day and night and you’ll wreck your bodies!»

«W-We’re. Fine. For Asvillam’s. Rebuilding. We can endure. Even if it’s hard…»

«Bullshit! No backtalk!»

«Eep! S-Sorry.»

«And you lot who came hunting with me today! You trying to drop dead? Go put on potions and treat your wounds right now!»

«Ah, yes sir!»

The singled-out goblins dashed for the table.

«Anyone else hurting, don’t tough it out — speak up. Hiding it’ll just cost more in the end. Understood?»

«Yes, yessir!»

The goblins answered, tense from Byeonggap’s fury.

At his order(?) to rest, they drifted over to the campfire and sat in a huddle, then sprawled on the dirt floor to lie down.

That rubbed Byeonggap the wrong way too.

‘Tch. No blankets, so the brats just sleep on the ground.’

He resolved to swing by a junkyard or a used-furniture depot tomorrow and bring back some beds.