Chapter 118

Cho-i pushed Taehyeok Sa away with her hand and started walking forward. The pristine white hallway seemed to announce, “This is the research lab.” Taehyeok Sa walked a few steps ahead and stopped in front of a door. Cho-i also stood in front of it and slowly read the words on the door.

[Research Lab 23]

Knock-knock- Taehyeok Sa knocked, and the door opened from the inside. A Shaggy-Haired Woman stood there.

“Oh… you’re the Paehyeok Guild member who was scheduled to come today, right?”

“I am the Guild Master.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t have time to watch TV…”

She gestured them inside, and the two followed her in. Click, the door closed.

“Alright, Guild Master and the other person, please come this way…”

“It’s Cho-i Hyeon!”

“Yes, yes. Ms. Cho-i Hyeon, please come this way too.”

Dark circles seemed to extend a full hand’s width beneath her eyes. The place she led them to was another laboratory within the research institute, where Cho-i’s shed skin lay on a large experimental table.

“We’ve checked various things, and it’s really unusual.”

“What do you mean by unusual?”

“It looks like a normal insect’s shed skin, but it’s too hard. It doesn’t burn, it doesn’t get scorched by lasers, and it doesn’t get wet.”

“…The shed skin itself doesn’t feel hard.”

“That’s right. It feels a bit flimsy. It’s hardened now that it’s dry, but even bullets can’t penetrate it. Well, nothing in a dungeon can be penetrated by bullets, but…”

Cho-i Hyeon listened to the researcher and thought, No wonder it was so damn hard to shed. Of course it’s hard to shed something like that.

“So, what’s the conclusion?”

“Just that it’s a monster’s shed skin that’s excessively hard? Even with the help of an A-Rank hunter, we failed to tear or break it.”

Cho-i Hyeon suddenly had a thought and asked Taehyeok Sa,

“How did you get that off?”

“It just tore off.”

At that moment, the researcher interjected.

“That’s because that person is SS-Rank.”

“So it won’t work on an SS-Rank, then.”

“There are only a few people in the world who can be called SS-Rank, so if it works out, it could be a good material.”

“Indeed.”

Taehyeok Sa immediately thought of Zhixuan. Known as an S-Rank, but a man who had already reached SS-Rank.

“Are there any other SS-Ranks besides you two?”

And Cho-i, whom only Zhixuan knew, asked.

“There is. An SS-Rank who doesn’t belong to any guild.”

“There’s a crazy person like that?”

“Everyone calls him crazy.”

“So who is it?”

“Taeyang Kang.”

“What a lame name. In English, it’s ‘Powerful Sun’.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Aw.”

Taehyeok Sa looked at Cho-i Hyeon with narrowed eyes, then sighed.

“Anyway, he’s a guy who travels around the country, not affiliated with any community, and clears dungeons. He usually only enters dungeons of S-Rank or higher.”

“Really? Can’t we bring him over to our side?”

“If we could, other guilds would have taken him long ago. It seems he has a very strong will not to belong anywhere.”

“Hmm, he’s an interesting kid. Should I try too?”

“No. You absolutely need someone to clean up after you, so no.”

“Your evaluation of me is harsh.”

“If you talk any more, I’ll kiss you, so keep that in mind.”

“……”

Cho-i quickly shut her mouth. Taehyeok Sa sighed a second time and looked at the researcher.

“So, is that all you’ve discovered?”

The researcher shrugged and replied.

“You know it’s hard to examine items brought out of a dungeon by Earth’s standards, even if this is a Research Lab, right?”

“That’s true.”

“What’s certain is that it seems like it can be used as a material. More for a shield or something to wear than a weapon?”

Cho-i Hyeon’s eyes sparkled. It seemed her own shield was the first thing she thought of at the mention of a shield. No, since it came from my body in the first place, it’s right for me to use it!

“…Alright, I understand for now. More importantly, I’d like you to investigate this as well.”

“What is it?”

Taehyeok Sa opened his item window and brought out the Former King Mantis Bone he had picked up.

“This also looked quite sturdy, so I kept it as a material.”

“Why didn’t you send this earlier and only bring it out now?”

“I forgot for a moment.”

“Thanks to that, my work will double. It takes at least a week to investigate materials, so if you leave it there, I’ll send it back with the report.”

“Ah, can’t I take that shed skin today?”

“We need to do a few more tests, so I’ll send it with the others.”

“Alright.”

“Then I can’t take that today?”

“That’s right.”

“When that comes back, make me something.”

“What?”

“Anything?”

“……What if I don’t?”

“I’ll lie down here and throw a tantrum until you say yes.”

“……Once the investigation is over, I’ll make you anything, so just be still.”

“Okay~.”

As Cho-i Hyeon giggled, Taehyeok Sa suddenly felt like he had brought his ten-year-old niece to the supermarket. The researcher, who paid no attention to Taehyeok Sa, said,

“Firstly, since an A-Rank couldn’t destroy the shed skin, it’s definitely between A-plus and S-Rank.”

“That’s good news.”

“We’ll have to investigate this thing you just gave me, whether it’s a stone or a bone, further. Oh, and I’ll also contact you about the skin fragment you entrusted to us earlier, as soon as the research is complete.”

The two then listened to a little more explanation before leaving the Research Lab. The fact that both could be used as materials was good news.

“My new clothes.”

“Yes.”

“My new shield.”

“…Yes.”

“Anyway, I got them because of me!”

“Who said I’d give them to someone else? Don’t be anxious.”

“You’re just thinking of exploiting me.”

“Let me rethink that. Who usually gets exploited?”

“Uh… that would be you, right?”

“……”

She knows that, she knows. Taehyeok Sa was about to say something, but then he sighed deeply. It was the third time. As he began to understand her a little, he also seemed to understand why she acted as if she would live and die today. Taehyeok Sa reached out his hand. He had suddenly realized that Cho-i Hyeon was still younger than him. He tried to stroke her head. Thud.

“What, do you want to die?”

He was stopped. He immediately replied.

“Haven’t you died enough?”

“Not yet. Just wait until Nine Lives of Myoyeong comes out, I’ll buy every single one and bring them to you.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I’ll decline.”

“You have to accept everything I give you.”

“How touching.”

“Do you want to die so badly? If so, die one more time right here.”

“I’ll decline.”

“Anyway, you’re good with words.”

Cho-i Hyeon grumbled and walked towards Taehyeok Sa’s car. But at that moment, a sound rang out from both of their smartphones simultaneously. Beep-beep- It was an emergency alert message. Both of them turned on their screens at the same time to check the message.

[Gangnam District dungeon break outbreak, A-Rank expected, please be careful and evacuate from dangerous areas, refrain from going outside, etc.]

Taehyeok Sa and Cho-i Hyeon looked up, their eyes meeting.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay!”

Click! The two immediately got into the car and headed for Gangnam District. Taehyeok Sa started the car and said to Cho-i,

“Call Yeonhan Kim.”

“Just a moment.”

Cho-i called Yeonhan Kim and put him on speakerphone. Yeonhan Kim seemed to have already grasped the situation and immediately began reporting.

-Guild Master? “Yes, have you assessed the situation? Cho-i Hyeon and I are on our way to the scene now.” -The B-Rank dungeon that a mid-size guild in Seoul was operating suddenly rose to A-Rank. It then immediately broke. “The Hunters inside?” -No survivors. “Current situation?” -Civilians are evacuating, but it seems it will take time for everyone to evacuate. “Understood.” -Should we go too? “No, two of us are enough.”

The two immediately headed to Gangnam District. Gangnam, where a dungeon break once occurred a long time ago, causing land prices to plummet absurdly, wasn’t what it used to be, but it was still a place where many people gathered.

“Aaaah!”

“Help me!”

“Someone, someone help!”

When they parked the car near where the dungeon break had occurred, the surroundings were a scene of chaos. All the cars were heading away from the dungeon break, and those without cars ran frantically after them. It seemed that everyone couldn’t easily evacuate because there were so many cars, causing traffic jams.

“Cho-i Hyeon, can you do it?”

“Let me check the numbers first.”

Cho-i pushed off the ground and started running in the opposite direction from where people were fleeing. Taehyeok Sa also floated into the air, following her. A monster was visible in the distance.

“Mom!”

A daughter, who looked like a middle school student, shielded her fallen mother. A lizard-like monster opened its maw wide to devour the two mother and daughter. And then. -!!!! Cho-i Hyeon’s Shout erupted. With a loud roar, the monsters nearby closed their mouths and began to stare at Cho-i Hyeon. And then they immediately rushed towards her. Cho-i calmly drew her shield and sword and swung them at the approaching monsters. Whoosh- Slash! There was no way an A-Rank monster could stop an S-Rank. The monster, instantly cut in two by her sword, scattered its entrails and fell to the ground. In the meantime, Taehyeok Sa used his Shout to lift all the monsters that had gathered around Cho-i into the air. Kirl- Kyao! The roars of the monsters were heard. Taehyeok Sa lifted all the entities high into the air and then slammed them down onto the ground with a bang! Fragments of their broken bodies, tangled together, splattered onto Cho-i.

“Hey! Aim carefully!”

“Now I’m even getting called ‘hey.'”

“Hasn’t it happened more than once or twice?”

Cho-i Hyeon chuckled and ran further ahead. She thought she heard sounds of gratitude from behind, but she had no time to pay attention. She charged forward at an incredible speed, checking the surrounding monsters. -!!! And with a Shout, she drew all the aggro so that the monsters wouldn’t touch the civilians. And after the aggro was drawn, the cleanup was Taehyeok Sa’s responsibility.

“It’s convenient when you take all the aggro.”

“Didn’t I tell you you’d be tired without me? Do you get it now?”

“Hmm.”

Taehyeok Sa couldn’t deny that fact. It seemed that with the aggro focused solely on Cho-i Hyeon, civilian casualties could be minimized.

“But why do they look like that? They’re definitely lizards.”

“Aren’t they more like axolotls than lizards?”

“Left-wing, right-wing?”

“No… never mind.”