Chapter 34

She looked down at her hands. She clearly had feeling in them. These are my hands. Cho-i flexed her hands a few times, then clenched her fists tightly.

“Let’s get out of here first and then think. We don’t know when the entrance will close either…”

She glanced at the entrance once, then looked at the fallen Taehyeok Sa. A clear red mark, undoubtedly from strangulation, was visible on his neck. She knelt on one knee in front of him.

‘Should I kill him?’

This man who had caused her death over three hundred times on Beondo Island. If it was a grudge, killing him hundreds of times would not be wrong. He was just like her party members. No, he was worse. Because he did it on purpose.

“What reason do I have to save you here?”

Cho-i tightly gripped his unconscious neck. Slowly, very slowly. She squeezed her hand like a snake coiling around a body. The unconscious man couldn’t resist at all. There are plenty of excuses if I kill you here and leave. No one would expect me, a mere A+ Rank, to have killed you. And the situation would become serious. The Paehyeok guild would falter…

“Ah, that would be a problem.”

Recalling her plan to join the Paehyeok guild and enter as many dungeons as possible to find hidden dungeons, Cho-i released her grip.

“No, that won’t do. Paehyeok is important.”

If Taehyeok Sa dies, Paehyeok would falter. Having finished her thoughts, Cho-i, instead of strangling him, grabbed the back of Taehyeok Sa’s neck and began to drag him out.

“Oh, right.”

And she picked up the magic stone and items that came from the boss monster, whose killer was unknown. Perhaps because it was an S-Rank dungeon, the items were quite valuable. But among them, something unusual was mixed in.

[Red Magic Stone (S)]

Magic stones usually emit a blue light. They are not red like this. She put the Entity into her inventory and flung herself towards the exit, which was slowly closing. Of course, she didn’t forget to take care of the esteemed SS-Rank Guild Master. After a moment of dizziness, the outside air filled her lungs.

“Inhale, exhale. The outside truly is better.”

Cho-i said casually, looking at them, who were gaping at her.

“Oh, hello. It’s over now, so you can go inside. No, did we take too long inside?”

“Oh, no. How, what…”

“Are you sick somewhere? Should you take the day off?”

Cho-i dragged Taehyeok over to an employee and placed a hand on his forehead. She heard sounds of people foaming at the mouth and collapsing around them.

“Oh, right. There’s a patient here, take him.”

Hohoho. She literally threw him down and dusted off her hands.

“Tell him to explain the situation when he wakes up.”

It’s us, not you, who need an explanation of the situation! That’s what everyone there thought at once. Cho-i walked with light steps, then suddenly turned back as if something had occurred to her and asked.

“Who will take me to Seoul?”

“Oh, I’ll do it, I will.”

As one of the employees raised their hand, Cho-i gave a charming laugh. She patted their back as if to say thank you. Cho-i got into the employee’s car and sat in the back seat.

“Thank you so much. Originally, the Guild Master should be responsible, but they’re in such a state right now.”

“W-what happened to the Guild Master?”

“I don’t know either. I woke up after fainting, and they were like that.”

“I see.”

The employee soon fell silent. He easily understood. Cho-i must have fainted first, and the boss monster’s level suddenly increased, leading to a big fight. Since there was someone to protect, it must have been difficult. Whatever he was misunderstanding, Cho-i sank deep into the back seat and crossed her arms.

‘The Guild Master’s neck was in my hand, wasn’t it?’

Cho-i recalled the day her body moved on its own.

‘Is it like that today too? But back then, I was conscious.’

Thinking that, she opened her status window. As she scrolled down, she found an unfamiliar skill in the skill tab.

[Skill: Sanity Paralysis (EX)] [Awakens the sanity of the □□□□□ before hatching and lowers the host’s sanity. Duration is until the host’s mind returns.]

‘Sanity Paralysis?’

Goosebumps rose on her skin as her hunch was correct. Then the Guild Master…

‘Fought with something that took over my body while I was unconscious.’

She unconsciously placed her hand on her stomach.

‘This, and… . ‘

She stared at the skill window for a long time, then slowly closed her eyes.

‘First, when the Guild Master regains consciousness, I’ll have to find out. They must have seen it better than me.’

She felt a sudden wave of fatigue and fell asleep. The road to Seoul was peaceful, and she slept soundly until the employee arrived at Paehyeok and woke her up. When she opened her eyes, it was dawn. Looking out the car window, they were already in front of Paehyeok.

“Oh, how long have we been here?”

“Not long.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

Cho-i rubbed her eyes and got out of the car. The weather was quite chilly, probably because it was early morning.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem, Hunter.”

“Are you going home now?”

“Yes.”

Cho-i gave a mischievous glare.

“So there was a reason you offered me a ride?”

“Haha.”

He scratched his head awkwardly. She waved goodbye to him and entered the entrance of Paehyeok. The weather was chilly, and she couldn’t be bothered to hail a taxi outside. There must be a sleeping room in Paehyeok. She entered the Paehyeok building, which was still running until dawn, and got into the elevator.

“Sleeping room, sleeping room. There it is.”

The 56th floor was the sleeping room for employees. She pressed the button and headed to the sleeping room. The sleeping room was dark. Cho-i hopped onto any bed.

“Ugh!”

She thought no one was there until she heard someone scream from under her bottom.

“Oh my goodness. Who are you?”

“Then who are you?”

“I’m Cho-i Hyeon?”

“Who is Cho-i Hyeon?”

“It’s me?”

“No, you, never mind.”

The man, his hair disheveled as if he’d been sleeping, scratched his head vigorously and pointed to another bed.

“Anyway, this is my spot, so go sleep somewhere else.”

“Alright. Are you a regular researcher? Seeing as you’re sleeping here?”

Cho-i asked, immediately lying down on another bed. He straightened his shoulders, looking dumbfounded, and replied,

“I’m Yeonwoo Han.”

“Who is Yeonwoo Han?”

“You… don’t know me?”

“How would I know you?”

“No, how could you not know?”

“You didn’t know me either.”

“How are you and I the same?”

“What’s different?”

“Ah, is it because the room is dark?”

He said that and stood up from his spot. Then, he flicked the light on. He ran his hand through his messy hair and brought his face close.

“Now you know who I am, right?”

Cho-i said indifferently.

“I don’t know?”

“Wow, how could you not know? Have you been living in the mountains or something?”

“No. I live in a two-room apartment.”

“Rent?”

“Jeonse (lump-sum deposit).”

“Then you’re not a hunter.”

“I am a hunter?”

“No, what kind of hunter lives on jeonse? You should buy a house.”

“What are you talking about, are you going to buy it for me?”

“Why would I buy your house?”

“Then don’t comment.”

“Huh, seriously.”

The man let out a disbelieving laugh. Cho-i, ignoring him, rolled over, curled up, and pulled the blanket over herself.

“Let’s be quiet and sleep. I’m sleepy.”

The man saw Cho-i close her eyes, then went back to his bed and turned over. After about ten seconds, the man asked again.

“You really don’t know me?”

“You’re persistent. Are you a celebrity or something?”

“Not a celebrity, but…”

“Then why do you keep asking?”

“I’m practically a celebrity.”

“What is that?”

“Damn it, my face is in Paehyeok’s recruitment ads, big corporate ads, fashion magazines, everything.”

“Oh~”

“You remember now, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ugh!”

Cho-i, with her eyes closed, recalled his face. Yes, he was quite good-looking. Each guild would put forth their strongest guild member, the Guild Master, to establish prestige, but what kind of animal is a human? An animal weak to beauty.

So, they would put forward handsome and well-built guild members for external activities. He was probably Paehyeok’s poster boy.

“I know you’re a Paehyeok model. But I’m not really into TV or the internet. I’ll pretend to know you if I see you later.”

“This is a first.”

“First or not, let me sleep.”

“What’s your rank that you’re so arrogant? You don’t seem like a high-ranked hunter if you’re sleeping here.”

“A+ Rank.”

“No, why is an A+ Rank doing this here?”

“It’s my business. Now, please!”

Cho-i abruptly stood up from her seat. It was her fault for speaking first.

“What’s your rank that you’re so talkative?”

Then the man turned his body to face Cho-i.

“I’m an A-Rank healer.”

“Why is an A-Rank healer doing this here?”

“Because I’m on standby.”

“But why are you here?”

“It’s called standby, but we take turns being on duty. Dungeons don’t stop appearing just because it’s early morning.”

“So Paehyeok Hunters do things like this too.”

“Other top guilds probably do too, right?”

“Ah, I hope I don’t have to.”

“Besides me, there are two dealers and one tank on standby. There aren’t many buffers, so sometimes there are, sometimes there aren’t.”

“Do S-Ranks do that too?”

“Nah, why would S-Ranks do something like this?”

“What about A-plus?”

“They barely don’t.”

“Yes!”

“You’re too happy.”

Cho-i heard the answer she wanted and shut her mouth. I’m going to sleep like this. I’m going to sleep. But the other person didn’t let her go.

“The others are probably drinking coffee at the cafe upstairs. Want to say hello? You look like a new face, so you must be new, right?”

“…”

“Aw, don’t be like that. It’s good to get to know each other, right?”

“…”

“Or should I bring them over here…?”

“Hey!”

“Ah, damn it, you scared me!”

“Let me sleep!”

“I can’t sleep, that’s why!”

“If you can’t sleep, why did you come to the sleeping room?”

“Just to close my eyes!”

“Oh, you’re so great!”

“My face is great, isn’t it!”

“My face is better than yours, you know?”

“What kind of…”

The man, Yeonwoo Han, was about to retort but fell silent for a moment after looking at Cho-i’s face.

“Looks like the female model is changing this time, huh?”