“Ugh…”

Yeom Jeonghwa, B-rank hunter of the Pros Guild.

Feeling the sunlight slant in through the blinds, she opened her eyes. She rustled upright, and a mild headache bloomed behind her temples.

‘This is… a hospital.’

She swept her gaze around. Bed. IV drip. Hospital gown. Plenty of signs telling her exactly where she was.

It was a private room. She was alone.

‘I’m alive… Does that mean Mr. Byeonggap pulled it off?’

For a moment, she sank into the past.

Monsters pouring out like a broken dam.

A hail of noise.

A massive cocoon.

And the final charge…

She had been inside an A-rank rift before, but this was the first time she had pushed herself to her absolute limit.

One thing was certain—this was the worst subjugation of her entire life.

‘…What in the world was that?’

Yeom Jeonghwa noticed something odd among the fragments of her memories. A scene she had glimpsed hazily while drifting in and out of consciousness.

Three human silhouettes surrounding Go Byeonggap.

They fought alongside him, pooling their strength.

She had only seen it for a fleeting moment, and with her body and mind in ruins, the memory hung like fog—opaque and indistinct.

Had it just been a trick of the light? Or were they the C-rank hunters who had entered the dungeon with him?

—Thud!

Then the door opened and a nurse stepped in.

The nurse’s eyes went wide when she saw Yeom Jeonghwa conscious.

“Oh my. You’re awake?”

“Ah… yes.”

“Hehe. One moment, let me check you over.”

The nurse handled the medical equipment with practiced ease—she wasn’t here for anything urgent, just a routine check.

“How long was I out?”

“Hmm. Not quite a full day? You were brought in around noon yesterday.”

Jeonghwa’s eyes snapped to the wall clock. 11:16 a.m.

“You didn’t have any major injuries. A bit of exhaustion and overwork, sure, but compared to the others who came in with you, you got off easy.”

“What about them? Are they all alive?”

The words tumbled out of her, urgent.

“Don’t you worry—everyone’s out of danger. Though one of them might have to retire… Hey, wait, you can’t do that!”

Jeonghwa ripped the IV needle out of her arm. The nurse flinched, tried to stop her, but it was already out.

“Where are their rooms? Tell me!”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake…”

The nurse gave her the room numbers. Jeonghwa hurried over.

A four-bed ward. She grabbed the door handle, heart pounding.

“Hoo.”

She took a deep breath and pushed the door open. The neat, clean room unfolded before her.

Four beds. But only three people.

“Hm? Oh-ho, the B-rank lady’s awake.”

Park Sutae, standing by the fridge with a drink, gave her a nod. Bandages wrapped around patches of his body. But something about him was off.

He only had one arm.

“S-Su, Mr. Sutae, your arm…?”

“Ah, this?”

Park Sutae shrugged his right shoulder, as if it were nothing.

“Some bastard piece of mongrel trash took it, that’s what. Bad luck, too—if he had to chop one off, why the right one? Fucking hell.”

He took a long gulp of orange juice.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. Lost an arm, kept my life—that’s a damn good trade.”

“Are the others okay?”

Jeonghwa looked at Jo Yeonghun and Choi Minyeong.

Jo Yeonghun had lung damage and would need rehab for a while. Choi Minyeong had severe fractures in his arm and neck, but with treatment, he could recover fully.

And…

“That D-rank guy? He left this morning.”

“He left this morning? He was discharged?”

“That’s right. Weird thing—not a single scratch on him. Clean as a whistle.”

Jeonghwa was speechless.

“From what the guild said, he carried all of us out. A real goblin, that one. A damn goblin.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Huh? Me?”

“To everyone here.”

Three pairs of eyes snapped to Yeom Jeonghwa.

“Were you the ones who took down the boss monster with Mr. Byeonggap?”

Faces wrinkled with confusion.

“What kind of ghost story are you pulling out of a lunchbox?”

“A boss monster? I—I was knocked out before I even saw it…”

“Didn’t that guy take down the dungeon’s boss?”

Park Sutae, Choi Minyeong, and Jo Yeonghun all shook their heads—they had no idea.

Yeom Jeonghwa let out a short sigh before answering.

“I’m not the one who took down the boss monster. I passed out halfway through too.”

“What? Even a B-rank passed out? So that fella took down the boss monster too? Whew. If that ain’t a goblin in disguise, I don’t know what is.”

“Wh-what was he really? Was he actually a D-rank?”

Choi Minyeong shuddered. In his memory, Go Byeonggap was pure terror.

Jo Yeonghun pushed himself upright.

“He must’ve been faking his rank. You all saw it. Was that the strength of a D-rank?”

“But his karma felt similar to ours, didn’t it?”

“He’s probably skilled at concealment. If he were an assassin-type hunter, hiding his karma would be nothing.”

“R-really? Is that it?”

“Makes sense. If he wasn’t faking it, it’d be impossible for a D-rank to have that kind of power. He was almost on par with the B-rank lady.”

Park Sutae nodded in agreement. Choi Minyeong still looked doubtful.

“But why would he fake his rank?”

“Beats me. I don’t know… but maybe he did it just for fun.”

“For fun?”

“Wouldn’t it be pretty entertaining to pretend to be low-grade, messing with real low-grades like us?”

“Ah…”

To the three C-ranks, it seemed settled as ‘Go Byeonggap must have faked his rank.’

But.

‘No.’

Yeom Jeonghwa was certain. Go Byeonggap was a D-rank.

Sure, as Jo Yeonghun said, there were hunters skilled at hiding their karma. They could lower their displayed rank all they wanted.

But Yeom Jeonghwa had seen it clearly.

The sky-blue karma Go Byeonggap had wrapped around his blade.

It was unmistakably the color of the ‘low-grade’—pitifully thin. And no matter how skilled an assassin, you can’t hide your karma in the middle of intense combat.

‘He didn’t even use his karma during the fight.’

A mystery.

Go Byeonggap was a complete mystery.

Should she go looking for him? The thought crossed her mind for a moment, but she shook it off.

‘No. If fate ties us together, we’ll meet again.’

“Then rest well. I pray you all make a full recovery.”

“Easy there, B-rank nobleman. Next time we cross paths on the street, let’s at least exchange greetings—we almost crossed the River Styx together, after all.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Yeom Jeonghwa turned and left the hospital room without another word.

Back in her own room, she shook off every stray thought and fell into a deathlike sleep.

* * *

“Mm. Came through properly.”

Go Byeonggap nodded, checking his virtual account.

-Korea Hunter Association

Deposit: ₩4,500,000

Four million five hundred thousand won had landed as the emergency subjugation bounty—three million more than the original one-point-five million they’d promised.

There was no compensation for the Association’s failure to identify the rift as a dungeon, though. They refused to admit it was their mistake.

Their defense: ‘The variant made identification impossible. There was no error in the observational data.’

The Association was tightfisted from the jump.

The forms they made you sign before an emergency subjugation were packed with clauses absolving them of every liability.

‘You bastards! You called it a D-rank rift? That was a goddamn B-rank dungeon!’

Not that yelling would do any good.

It rankled, but he let it slide.

Taking them to court would mean taking on a giant he could never beat anyway, and at the end of the day, he’d come back in one piece. That was what mattered.

“Ahh. One IV and I feel brand new.”

The hospitalization costs were covered by the Pros Guild.

He could’ve stayed a few more days to recuperate, but Go Byeonggap checked out fast. No real reason—the hospital food just didn’t sit right.

The moment he stepped out, he slammed down a steaming bowl of rice soup.

After eating, he chain-smoked in the restaurant’s smoking area. The cigarette tasted like heaven.

“Whew. Time to head back to Seoul.”

He’d met his goal of gathering three hundred goblins, so there was no reason to stay out here.

And the bounty had fattened his wallet. A clean sweep—caught the fish, trapped the crab, saw the auntie, and picked the mulberries too.

Cigarette smoke hazed the air.

Go Byeonggap thought the smoke looked like Queen Anakne.

‘If that monster had been at full strength, I probably couldn’t have beaten it.’

The only reason he’d taken down Queen Anakne was pure luck.

A pile of variables had aligned, and hadn’t the goblins helped too?

He couldn’t afford to get cocky just because he’d scraped a win against a single B-rank.

‘Don’t let your guard down. You’re not at the top yet.’

Go Byeonggap repeated the oath to himself several times.

He headed to where he’d parked the car.

In a corner of the apartment complex sat his beloved ride.

Summer heat had blasted the interior into an oven. Go Byeonggap rolled down all four windows and hit the gas.

The muggy air had a decent flavor to it.

After driving for about two and a half hours, he arrived in Seoul.

His hands were heavy. Ramen, snacks, pork—mountainous loads of it all, bundled in plastic bags.

Every last bit bought for the goblins.

‘Now that we’re past three hundred, I can’t even treat them to group meals as often.’

Back when there were only about a hundred, he could splurge on a whole pork hind leg now and then.

Sure, his wallet felt light the morning after, but it was never anything he couldn’t handle.

But past three hundred? That was a different beast. A single feast cost him a million won.

If he kept the old pace, he’d wind up dead broke in no time.

‘Still… let’s aim for once a month.’

Maybe someday they’d even have a beef barbecue.

Go Byeonggap snorted a small laugh at the thought.

He unpacked his haul, washed the weariness from his body, changed into civilian clothes, then lugged everything armful by armful back into Asvillam.

‘Still peaceful here, huh.’

«Huh? L-Lord? Lord!»

«Lord!»

«What?»

«My Lord!»

The goblins working in the fields spotted Go Byeonggap and came running, puffing and panting. Their voices carried an edge of longing.

«My Lord! Are you—are you all right?»

«Lord! Why! Didn’t! Come! Yesterday!»

«You didn’t come. We worried!»

«No, I was at the hospital yesterday getting an IV…»

«It’s the Lord! The Lord has come!»

Suddenly shouts rang out from the cave side too.

A moment later, goblins poured out in a flood—like a dam had burst.

«My Lord!»

«Hey. Gobung gobung Gobungi. It’s only been a day.»

«Are you—are you okay? We heard you were hurt!»

«I’m fine, you idiots. What, were you worried?»

«Of course! We were!»

«Jesus.»

It felt good.

Having someone worry about you—that was a pretty nice thing.

«My Lord. Your servant Dorma greets you.»

«Oh, Dorma. Sleep well?»

«Yes.»

«Good, good. So how is it, being in Asvillam? No—let’s save that for later. Everyone, listen up! Quiet down!»

In an instant, the bustling Asvillam fell silent.

«Gobung. Have you guys eaten?»

«We haven’t!»

Go Byeonggap broke into a wide grin and shouted.

«Good. Work’s over for today! We’ve got new members, so let’s throw a feast!»

«……»

«Hey, you idiots. This is the part where you’re supposed to cheer, isn’t it? You really stay quiet just because I said quiet?»

«Ahh! We—we didn’t know.»

«You guys have zero sense. Ahem. I’ll do it again, so respond properly this time.»

Go Byeonggap drew a breath and shouted once more.

«We’ve got new members, so let’s throw a feast!»

«Waaaaaaaaah!»

«You little ones, go put water on the pot! Today I’m gonna introduce you to something called MSG.»

«Huh, M-S?» they muttered.

«It’ll blow your minds, probably. Heh heh.»

The goblins dropped their work and began preparing the feast.

Meat was grilled, ramyeon¹ boiled, and snacks and drinks laid out.

It might’ve been a bit meager for a proper feast, but who cared? As long as those who mattered were happy.

«It’s hot, so don’t eat it with your hands.»

«Yes!» they chorused.

«Go on, eat plenty.»

«We’ll eat well!» they called out.

The goblins wolfed down the food in a frenzy.

«This—too! Delicious!» one cried.

«Slurp! This is tasty. What is it?» another asked.

«Cough! It’s, it’s spicy! But tasty!»

«You’ll choke. Slow down and eat,» Byeonggap said.

Go Byeonggap watched them eat with a warm, contented smile.

It wasn’t that just watching them filled his belly—he simply wasn’t very hungry.

He took a sip of his beer and walked over to Dorma.

Soon enough, he plopped down on his rear next to him.

«My Lord. You have come.»

«Enough, enough. Eat your meal.»

«Will you not dine with us?» Dorma asked.

«Nah, I already ate before coming. So, does the food suit your taste?» Byeonggap replied.

«Yes. In all my life, I have never tasted food this good.»

«That’s good to hear.»

Go Byeonggap chugged down his beer in long, greedy gulps.

«Khh… So. Now that you’re in Asvillam, how’s it feel? Can you trust me a bit more now?» he asked.

«…»

Dorma’s face grew somber.

He suddenly bowed his head low.

«I beg you, forgive my past discourtesy!» he pleaded.

«Hey, hey! What’s with you all of a sudden while eating? Lift your head up.»

«I judged wrongly. My Lord is a far greater being than I ever imagined.»

«Well, now. This is like being bowed to while prostrate.»

Embarrassed, Go Byeonggap just kept drinking his beer.

Dorma raised his head. His eyes were brimming with tears, as if he might burst into sobs at any moment.

He swept his gaze over the goblins.

«I never knew my kin could wear such happy expressions,» he said softly.

«…Is that so?» Byeonggap asked.

«Yes. To survive, we always had to be angry. I thought laughter was a luxury.»

«From now on, there’ll be more to smile about,» Byeonggap replied.

He paused for a moment before continuing.

«Hearing you talk, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking too. Me becoming Lord—you guys must’ve been damn confused about that.»

«Please forget those words. They were the foolish words of a lowly one,» Dorma said.

«No. You weren’t wrong.»

«…»

«You’re right. I can’t promise you much, and I can’t give you much. But at least this—I can make sure you don’t starve, don’t get hurt, and can sleep with your backs against something warm. I’ve got plenty of shortcomings, but for now, this is my best.»

«A choked sob caught in his throat. Then another.»

Dorma finally broke, tears spilling over.

Go Byeonggap patted his shoulder. Once, twice.

«What’s a grown man crying for?» he asked.

«I—I’m sorry… Forgive me…» Dorma stammered, mortified.

«Everyone’s working hard. Hard enough that Asvillam will find its old face again. I’ll do more on my end, too.»

«My Lord already loves us more than enough.»

«Enough of that. Flattery just makes my face itch.»

Go Byeonggap drained the last of his beer can. It barely touched the sides.

He’d need soju tonight.

«But still—welcome to Asvillam. You’ve got a lot of work ahead.»

«I will work until my body breaks.»

«Good. For now, eat, drink, and enjoy. Shake off that gloomy past.»

«Yes, My Lord.»

Campfire flames licked the air.

The shifting fire showed a different face with every flicker.

Yes. Life was like flame.

Everyone burned in their own shape, but the end was always ash.

The point wasn’t how beautiful you burned—but how fiercely, how without regret, you consumed yourself.

That day, Go Byeonggap and three hundred twenty-four goblins carved the same vow into their hearts.

They would burn without a shred of regret.