Chapter 52

She pretended not to notice her party members standing idly behind her and opened the system window.

“System window.”

[Choi Hyeon (S-grade)] Strength 290506 Intelligence 201054 Health 302010 Agility 211674…]

Damn, it went up a lot. No wonder the A-Rank went down in one hit. She smiled awkwardly and looked back. Everyone was staring at her with dumbfounded expressions.

“Ahaha, this one is really, quite weak, isn’t it?”

Behind her, an exit to the outside of the dungeon opened. That blue glowing escape route seemed like the only way out of this situation for Choi.

“No way!”

“What, did you lie about your rank? What is this? What is this?”

“No, well. It’s comfortable… and nice.”

“Right, you got a hidden item, so there’s no way your rank didn’t go up.”

Honestly, it wasn’t because of the hidden item that her rank went up, but she had to say it was because of the hidden item. But Choi, finding it difficult to explain in detail, immediately waved her hand.

“Ahaha, I’m going ahead. It’s time for us to say goodbye, see you next time!”

She was like the wind. Before anyone could say anything, she was outside. With a slight dizziness, she stepped onto the ground outside, and the fresh, no, the acrid air of Seoul greeted her.

“Ah, this air is the best after all.”

She looked at the dungeon management team who were staring at her intently.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?” “No, nothing is wrong.” “You were very active in there…” “Oh, right! They said it was being broadcast live!” “Only the combat scenes, to be exact. Running it 24 hours a day would exceed the magical power limits of the Ganansu hunter.” “Ah, I see.”

Cho-i nodded. She figured there wouldn’t be much to explain away if the combat footage had been broadcast outside anyway.

“Well, I’m super, super tired, so I’m going home now. If anyone asks where I went, please tell them I was taken to the hospital.” “Excuse me?” “I’m leaving. Don’t try to stop me!”

She quickly jumped over the security line and got into a regular taxi. The taxi driver was startled to see her covered in blood, but when she said she was a hunter, he seemed to understand. She also offered to pay for new seat covers.

“Oh dear, you have such a pretty face, but you awakened as a hunter and live such a hard life?” “Can you even see my face in this state? It doesn’t matter what my face looks like, I’m not going to be a celebrity. And I make a lot of money, so it’s fine~” “Even so, back in my day, if people had pretty faces, they’d marry well and live a life of luxury.” “Oh, come on, when was that? That’s so old-fashioned.”

She burst out laughing, heading home, speaking brightly in a tone that made it hard to tell if she was getting along with the taxi driver or mocking him. Cho-i soon got out of the taxi and arrived at her sweet home, heading straight for her bed. She probably would have fallen asleep in that state if Nara Shim hadn’t pulled her out, complaining about blood on the blankets. When she emerged from her shower, still half-asleep, she had a text message from Suui Kim.

[Come out for a bit]

Cho-i quickly replied.

[No.] [I’m in front of your house.]

“Why do these people keep coming to my house like this? I guess I have no choice but to date Dongju Kim,”

Just then, Nara Shim, who was eating corn flakes, stared blankly, milk dripping from her mouth.

“You’re dating Dongju!?” “No, you crazy idiot.”

She slowly changed into her pajamas, put on a cardigan, and went down to the first floor of the apartment. A car was parked in the same spot as last time. Cho-i quickly sat in the passenger seat and leaned back against the seat.

“Why did you come all the way here?” “I thought I’d have something to hear from you.” “I have nothing to say.” “How much has your rank gone up? Or have your stats increased a lot? I need to know that to plan future operations more easily…”

He knew very well that there was a difficult gap to bridge between A-rank and S-rank. Cho-i smirked.

“I wonder. Will we be working together from now on?” “Why?” “I’m S-rank now. You don’t think you’re the only one whose stats have increased a lot, do you?” “…”

Suui Kim rested his chin in his hand, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

“That’s what a hidden item is, isn’t it? Well, I think there might be other reasons for me too.” “What reasons?” “It’s difficult to explain in detail.” “Alright, I won’t ask about that. But there’s a problem with your tanking style. Even if you became S-rank, it’s still a problem. If you tank like that…”

Cho-i leaned back in her seat and pondered for a moment. How could she shake off this meddling? Gently, carefully…

“It’s okay. I’m used to pain.”

“…”

Suui Kim remained silent. The car was quiet for a long time. Cho-i was just a little sleepy. So, without waiting for his serious silence, she yawned and got out of the passenger seat.

“Are you going in?”

“Yes, I’m really sleepy.”

Suui Kim looked at her with a troubled expression and said,

“Don’t be too surprised tomorrow morning.”

“What are you talking about? Is something going on?”

“Something is, yes. I don’t know exactly what will happen, though.”

“Then there’s no need to worry already, is there? Goodbye. Thanks for coming. You were worried about me, weren’t you?”

“…How could I not worry?”

Cho-i giggled at that and closed the car door. Then she went straight up and fell asleep, unaware of what storm might come the next morning.

***

[Hey, did you see the Paehyeok promotional video that just came out?]
[Are you serious? No guild has ever gotten dungeon footage before. Am I really watching dungeon footage right now? Holy crap, what’s going on with Hyeon Cho-i? All those jerks who said it was just her face better shut up now.]
└ I saw it too, it’s crazy. I never thought I’d see dungeon footage in my life.
└ Did you see Hyeon Cho-i blocking all those thorns with her whole body?
└ Do tanks usually do that much?
└ No, I’m a small-fry hunter, and our tank doesn’t do that.
└ That’s because you’re a small-fry.
└ What are you talking about? Are you some great hunter then?
└ Shut up and just watch the video.
└ Damn, I just watched it all the way to the end, what’s with the one-shot kill on the boss monster? They said she was A-plus rank.
└ I was surprised by that too. Isn’t she S-Rank?
└ Is Paehyeok, which already has many S-Ranks, getting another S-Rank?
└ Wow, is it a lie that they recruited her as a model?
└ They lied about her being A+ Rank to avoid being targeted? Why would they lie like that?
└ Her rank might have gone up.
└ Do you think a hunter’s rank just goes up if you say “rise”? You idiot.
└ Didn’t they discover a hidden dungeon or something?
└ Is a hidden dungeon in your living room?
└ Ah, I want to see Hyeon Cho-i one-shotting too! I’ll block the thorns for you!!!
└ Oh, this guy again.
[What’s up with Hyeon Cho-i? She just got all her hands and feet pierced, and she’s immediately going into battle?]
[Is the healer who went in with her S-Rank or something?]
└ No, that’s Yeonwoo Han. Paehyeok’s star. A-Rank.
└ Even an A-Rank hunter can heal those injuries instantly?
└ I don’t know, I haven’t received healing from an A-Rank, damn it.
└ ? Hey, didn’t her neck just get pierced?
└ What are you talking about? It must have grazed her. How can a human survive with a pierced neck?
└ That’s insane, her tanking is amazing. If our tank did even a quarter of that, it would be much more stable.
└ Someone who does a quarter of that wouldn’t be running dungeons with you, they’d be in Paehyeok.
[One-shot kill on an A-Rank boss monster?]
[Did you see it, did you see it, did you see it?]
└ You’re the only one who just saw it, everyone else already did.
└ Isn’t that crazy? Does a tank’s attack power even make sense?
└ Isn’t Hyeon Cho-i S-Rank?
└ No matter how I look at it, she’s S-Rank. If not, that can’t be explained.
└ You crazy people, instead of analyzing this, go boost the video’s views.
└ I want to see Hyeon Cho-i!! I want to see her in person!! I want to see her split a boss monster in half too!
└ Oh, this guy’s here too.

And Cho-i noticed this situation only after she woke up, leisurely showered, sat on the veranda floor with a piece of toast, intending to eat brunch in the sunlight, and received a look from Nara Shim that seemed to say, ‘What is that crazy person doing?’ She ignored the unusually large number of accumulated text messages, assuming they were spam, and logged into Huntred.

[No wonder the Paehyeok Guild Master got dumped.]

That post was the first thing that caught Cho-i’s eye. She clicked on it, still holding the toast in her mouth.

[No wonder the Paehyeok Guild Master got dumped.]
[I wondered why I was dumped. A tank of that caliber? The video is out now, and other guilds must be going wild. Paehyeok is now in a battle of whether they lose her to another guild or not.]
└ This is so true, there must be tons of places willing to pay a penalty to get her. The guild that gets Hyeon Cho-i is obviously going to skyrocket.
└ A tank doing that much? She’s a good damage dealer who can also tank. There’s no reason not to send her a love call.
└ Doesn’t the Paehyeok Guild Master have to get on his knees and propose this time? lololololol

Cho-i looked at the post and then went through the messages in her inbox one by one. The messages starting with “Cho-i Hyeon Hunter,” were not spam, but love calls from various guilds. The highest offer for a contract bonus was 65 billion won. Wow, being an internet star is really something. Cho-i chuckled, copied the message, and sent it directly to the Guild Master. A text message immediately arrived. From the bank app. Ding-dong.

[Mr. Taehyeok Sa has deposited 75,000,000,000 won.]

“Oh, that was fast.”

Cho-i giggled, finished her toast, and crawled into bed. Having just returned from a dungeon, she probably wouldn’t have any schedules for a while. She had no intention of moving elsewhere. After all, Paehyeok was currently the world’s number one guild, and Paehyeok’s position was solid. Some might say that the guild failed because some S-Rank healer joined, but as long as the SS-Rank Guild Master was there, Paehyeok would not decline.

‘Would things have been different if I had killed him then?’

You owe me a lot, Taehyeok Sa.

***

After depositing the money, Taehyeok Sa looked at his smartphone and smiled faintly. He then placed it on the desk and looked at Yeonhan Kim and Dongju Kim, who were standing before him with their hands behind their backs.

“Congratulations.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“You wouldn’t say no, even to death.”