«Fall back! Changsik, Taesik—stay close to the rear!»

«Yes, sir!»

At Byeonggap’s command, the two beast goblins moved as one, flawless and instant.

«Kiriyan, Dorma. You know the drill—intercept the minions.»

«Understood!»

«No problem at all!»

«Turka, Orka—don’t let your guard down. The boss’s mobility is no joke. Let up for one second and it’ll close the gap.»

«We’ll keep that in mind!»

The raid team re-formed their battle line with practiced speed. The ranged strikers settled into optimal positions; the tanks stood firm, shielding the two dealers.

Changsik and Taesik circled the perimeter, drawing the attention of the lesser monsters.

‘This one’s no pushover either.’

Byeonggap tightened his grip on his sword and steadied his breathing—without once breaking eye contact.

‘A Centauro. I’ve only seen these in the monster encyclopedia. First time in the flesh. They’re supposed to be rare.’

Centauro. A monster that called to mind the centaur of myth—half man, half horse. Its head was encased in an iron helm, and it could morph its hands into any shape at will. Right now, its left hand was a four-foot blade, its right a spiked iron flail.

—Grrroooooo …

The Centauro exhaled a sinister aura. In the same breath, its retinue of about forty monsters scattered in all directions. Their ranks ranged evenly from C to D.

Lesser monsters were beneath Byeonggap’s notice now.

His form blurred for an instant. Byeonggap closed on the Centauro at tremendous speed.

“Kiiieeek!”

“Karrruk!”

Minion monsters threw themselves in his path—but his legs never slowed. He trusted his raid team to have his back.

As if repaying that trust, a bolt of lightning and a sphere of shadow slammed into the obstacles, blasting them apart. Byeonggap vaulted over the collapsing monsters, sword raised.

The blade, saturated with internal energy, fell straight toward the Centauro. A strike fierce enough to split a boulder in a single blow.

“Grrr …”

“Hup!”

The Centauro swung its right arm like a thunderbolt. Sword and flail met, sending a shockwave spraying in all directions. The massive impact traveled up the blade and into his arm. Byeonggap instantly expelled his internal energy to cancel it out—his body didn’t budge an inch.

‘A Centauro’s at least mid-tier among B-ranks. No comparison to the half-baked threats I’ve faced.’

One clash was all it took to know.

‘Still. It never gets old.’

The wall called high rank. Go Byeonggap had crossed it countless times, yet each attempt to do so again felt as daunting as standing at the base of a mountain.

But that’s how everything in the world works — it all comes down to how you frame it in your mind. He drove out every negative emotion from his heart.

Right now, he had to focus solely on the fight.

‘Push the output to max!’

The internal energy in his sword swelled in an instant. He sharpened his mind to its utmost limit, honing that energy into a razor’s edge.

The blade cut into the Centauro, shaving away its Karma Barrier as it dug deeper.

“Kreuk!”

The Centauro didn’t stay idle. It snatched its arm back just before severance and thrust its other sword forward — a motion so fast the eye could barely track it.

Go Byeonggap relied on instinct and footwork to dodge. Even with near-perfect form, his right shoulder was shallowly cut.

In the clamorous hidden world, time seemed to freeze between Go Byeonggap and the Centauro. They stood about five steps apart, exchanging killing intent.

“Ssh!”

Then, behind Go Byeonggap, a beastfolk monster lunged. He’d already sensed its presence. Calmly, he spun his body and swept his sword.

The monster’s limbs scattered like shattered glass.

‘Goddamn. This isn’t good.’

He’d fended off the ambush, but the situation was worse. The Centauro had charged in, exploiting the brief moment his back was turned.

A torrent of thoughts flashed through his mind in that split second.

‘Too late to react. So then—!’

He instantly amplified the circulation of his internal energy. The tissue of his skin and muscles transformed, forming a hardened shield.

It was his own unique technique, mimicking the Karma Barrier of high-rank awakeners.

“Kuh!”

Unfortunately, its performance couldn’t match a true Karma Barrier. A Karma Barrier was a literal protective field that absorbed impacts below a certain threshold. His defense was merely hardened body tissue, which only managed to reduce the force of a blow.

But that was enough. If it turned a single chance into two, that sufficed.

‘Trade flesh for bone!’

The Centauro’s left hand dug a little into Go Byeonggap’s flank. Swallowing the pain, Go Byeonggap lashed out with his sword. The blade, heavy with internal energy, shot straight toward the Centauro’s neck.

The Centauro hurriedly tried to retreat and dodge, but Go Byeonggap wasn’t soft enough to let it go.

‘Where do you think you’re running!’

He clung on tenaciously. The wound on his flank tore wider, but that was no reason to stop.

“Haaap!”

“Chik!”

A moment later, the blade struck the Centauro’s neck. A blow of pure conviction. The bastard’s neck was half-severed.

“Kuaak!”

A monster is a monster. Even with half its neck torn away, the Centauro staggered and caught its balance. An arm that had somehow shifted into something human clamped down on the wound, stemming the bloodflow.

‘Not letting it heal!’

Byeonggap’s arms moved without pause. Stab and slash, then stab and slash again. A relentless barrage hammered into the Centauro.

“Krrraaah!”

With its neck fatally wounded, the Centauro’s focus fractured, and it couldn’t maintain its Karma Barrier properly.

The creature’s body was torn apart from the inside out. After the storm of the sword had passed, it was in a state that could never be called normal.

“Kkrrr… uuuugh…”

At last, the Centauro collapsed. Blood gushed like a waterfall from its crushed flesh. There was no life-force to be found anywhere.

While Byeonggap took down the boss monster, the rest of the Raid Team had done their part, too. The floor was littered with dead monsters.

Only three of them still drew breath—and even those flickered like candles in the wind.

«Kkreuk!»

Just then, Changsik blew a hole clean through a monster’s skull. At the same moment, a death-cry rang out from another side. A barrage of lightning bolts had charred another one black.

—Crack!

The last was Turka’s share. As if swatting a mosquito, he crushed a monster with his massive shield. Blood bubbled and burst between the pulverized meat.

«Woooaaaagh!»

Turka’s roar signaled the end of the battle.

‘Ah, I’m beat.’

Muttering his complaint, Byeonggap opened the gate to Asvillam. The goblins who’d been waiting in advance darted out and immediately began their work.

«My Lord, are you alright?»

The Raid Team swarmed around Byeonggap. With worried expressions, they examined their Lord’s well-being.

«You’re not badly hurt, are you?»

«It’s fine. Nothing major.»

Byeonggap steadied his breath and entered Breathing Circulation. The gash that had opened in his side quickly closed up.

‘Luckily, the organs aren’t damaged. No need to use a potion.’

[Current Mastery Rate of ‘Ancient Breathing Circulation-Low-Grade’: 94.77%]

The completion of the Ancient Breathing Circulation had also increased significantly. At this point, he could heal almost any injury on his own.

These days, he rarely needed potions.

«Any of you hurt?»

«No need to worry, My Lord.»

«We’re fine too.»

«Well, that’s a relief. I keep saying it, but not getting hurt is the most important thing.»

«Yes, sir!»

Byeonggap checked the Raid Team’s condition. There were minor scratches here and there, but no one required special treatment.

Byeonggap glanced over at the Tiny goblins working to the side and spoke.

«I’m going to be late today. It’s the day I take my mother to the hospital.»

«Ah, is that so? How is the Queen Dowager these days? I hope she recovers quickly.»

Dorma asked in a tone of consolation. Go Byeonggap gave a bitter smile, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and put it between his lips.

«Same as always. …Still, she’s been getting better treatment since a while back, so she should improve gradually.»

«I will pray for the Queen Dowager’s full recovery.»

«Yeah, thanks.»

‘Now even the kids are consoling me.’

Go Byeonggap chuckled to himself. When he’d first met the goblins, there had been nothing but distrust and hostility. Now they’d grown close enough that he shared his personal worries.

“He took a long drag. Whoooosh.”

He blew out a deep plume of smoke and stared blankly at the collapsing hidden world.

‘I’d say a B-rank rift is within the safe zone at this point.’

It had been two weeks since he’d moved from subjugating only lower rifts to stepping into higher ones. At first, he’d struggled with the exponentially greater numbers and the boss monsters’ strength, but his body had adapted without him noticing.

Just three months ago, he’d only handled the lowest-grade E- and F-rank rifts. His growth rate was unprecedentedly rapid.

‘Of course, A-rank and S-rank are still a long way off.’

From A-rank rifts onward, the difficulty shot up exponentially. Even the subordinate monsters were mostly high-grade.

«Lord! We’re done!»

«Yeah, good work. Everyone head back to Asvillam. You raid team, get some rest—a few hours at least—before you start working.»

«Yes, understood!»

After sending the goblins back to Asvillam, Go Byeonggap exited the collapsing hidden world.

Outside, a pleasantly cool breeze greeted him.

‘It’s already autumn.’

The midsummer heat had vanished without him even noticing. Wasn’t it already September? Soon the leaves would turn red.

Go Byeonggap loaded his gear into the car, went to Asvillam to wash up, then headed back to Seoul.

* * *

“The total settlement comes to 9.96 million won.”

After stopping by his mother’s hospital, he arrived at the Association—and it was already evening. With summer gone, the days were shorter, and outside, it had long since grown dark.

“For the items you put up for auction, once they sell, the amount minus a 10% commission fee will be deposited into your account.”

“Okay, got it. Thanks for your hard work.”

“Take care.”

The clerk Kim Seulgi gave the standard scripted farewell.

She watched Go Byeonggap’s retreating back and fell into thought.

‘What’s that guy’s deal?’

After working as a clerk for a long time, you start to recognize the hunters who frequent your branch.

Go Byeonggap was a regular at the Yeongdeungpo branch where Kim Seulgi worked.

‘That guy’s definitely a D-rank hunter, right? But lately, every magic stone and piece of loot he brings in is mid-grade or higher?’

The Go Byeonggap she remembered was a man who would drag in low-grade magic stones and cash out for 600,000 to 800,000 won. But lately, his profits had skyrocketed exponentially.

Had he joined a good team somewhere? A reasonable suspicion crept in.

“Pfft. What’s it to me anyway. Just hurry up and settle the accounts so I can clock out.”

Her curiosity didn’t last long. Wasn’t this line of work practically a dumping ground for every oddity under the sun?

Around that time, Go Byeonggap was exiting the Association building and heading down the stairs. Just as he thought about grabbing a quick bite before stopping by home, his phone rang.

Vrrr!

‘‘A notification that the deposit went through?’’

Go Byeonggap guessed as much and checked his phone. But his assumption was dead wrong.

-Hello, Hunter Go Byeonggap. This is Choi Jiwon, team leader of the PR department for the guild ‘Illumission.’

A lengthy text message starting with that line.

Go Byeonggap paused on the stairs, quickly scanning it.

It wasn’t hard to grasp the gist of the message.

‘‘A guild recruitment message? For me?’’

The Association shared Hunter information with guilds, so getting a contact from an unfamiliar number wasn’t all that surprising.

But in his three years as a Hunter, not a single guild had ever tried to recruit him.

That was only natural. He almost always worked solo, and when you operate that way, your name naturally fades from the spotlight.

In fact, the very idea of a guild sending a scout message to a low-grade Hunter was suspicious.

Wasn’t the whole thing backwards?

‘‘I’ve seen low-grade Hunters begging guilds to take them on, but this is the first time I’ve seen a guild come begging like this.’’

Go Byeonggap, feeling a pang of awkwardness, read the message again.

‘‘Illumission? What kind of guild is that? Never heard of it in my life.’’

Go Byeonggap knew most of the guilds based in the capital area. There weren’t that many to begin with.

But he’d never once come across a guild called Illumission.

‘‘A guild from another region? Even if it is, there’s no reason to reach out to me. Maybe there’s some kind of mistake?’’

Curious, he searched for Illumission on the internet.

Eyes fixed on his phone, Go Byeonggap slowly descended the stairs.

He stopped again, just a few steps from the bottom.

Frowning at his phone, Go Byeonggap scowled.

“What the hell, why is nothing coming up? … A new guild?”.