Chapter 58

“What if that’s not the case?”

“No, I checked that day. No matter how well she does, she’s only about S-grade C-rank. I’ve been a Guild Master for years, I know that much.”

The car soon stopped in front of a C-Rank dungeon located in Gangbyeon District. It was originally a dungeon that a mid-size guild should have owned, but it had come to Hwayeon after that mid-size guild went bankrupt recently. What was the name of that guild? Hansan, Hanshin. I think it was something like that.

“Ahahahah!”

At that moment, laughter was heard from above. When Gihyeon Park frowned and looked up at the sky, he saw Cho-i Hyeon holding Taehyeok Sa’s waist. Taehyeok Sa descended lightly to the ground with Cho-i Hyeon tucked under his arm. Seeing this, Gihyeon Park sneered.

“Are you two always together now? I thought you got dumped.”

“He’s the hottest hunter these days, so I can carry him around. That’s separate from me being dumped.”

“You’re not just trying to fulfill your own desires, are you?”

“I’ve never seen anyone become a Guild Master to fulfill their own desires as much as you do.”

A tense stare-down began between the two. Or so I’d like to say, but only Gihyeon Park was growling unilaterally, and Taehyeok Sa was responding to him with an indifferent expression, as if annoyed. Just then, Cho-i Hyeon, who had landed on the ground and was stretching, interjected between them.

“So, when are we going in?”

“We should go in now.”

“Wait.”

“Why?”

When Gihyeon Park asked, Taehyeok Sa, who was looking down at his wristwatch, replied.

“It’s about time for them to arrive.”

And as soon as he finished speaking, a car was seen speeding towards them like crazy. The car screeched to a halt with a sudden brake, and as soon as it stopped, someone got out of the car and began to gag on the ground.

“I, I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Swallow it.”

It was Dongju Kim who got out of the driver’s seat, and none other than Ganansu who got out of the passenger seat.

“You arrived just in time.”

“Are you going to keep calling me for things like this?”

“Think of it as making up for the trouble you caused.”

“If you say it like that, I have nothing to say.”

Dongju Kim walked with a swagger and stood next to Cho-i Hyeon. Ganansu stumbled to her feet and stood next to Taehyeok Sa.

“This is Ms. Ganansu, who will be in charge of recording today. You should say hello?”

“Oh.”

Gihyeon Park whistled.

“Are you the one with that amazing ability?”

“Ah. Yes? Yes? I, I don’t have any amazing abilities?”

“She doesn’t know anything. Do you know how amazing your ability is? No one has ever transmitted video from inside a dungeon to the outside until now. Paehyeok must have made a good deal to contract with you, but I’ll offer you more. Would you like to come over here?”

Then Taehyeok Sa stepped between the two. Ganansu covered her mouth with one hand, as if touched that Taehyeok Sa was blocking her, as if protecting her.

“Stop bothering our hunter. Anyone would think you’re a hungry animal that hasn’t eaten in days.”

Then Gihyeon Park laughed ferociously, baring his teeth.

“Who are you calling an animal?”

“The animal showing his teeth right now. You.”

“Hahaha. Damn it. You and your hunter affiliation are really good at getting on people’s nerves.”

“I’m learning these days.”

Then Cho-i, who was standing slightly behind, made a V-sign with her fingers. Dongju Kim folded them down for her.

“Let’s just go in.”

“Agreed.”

Cho-i, whose fingers were obediently folded, said. Gihyeon Park was the first to rush into the dungeon. He hadn’t even properly checked his condition yet. Taehyeok Sa shook his head and tucked Ganansu under his arm, then jumped in, and Ganansu was dragged along, his face flushed.

“Even in this situation, he has the presence of mind to brighten Taehyeok Sa’s face.”

Cho-i chuckled and followed with Dongju Kim. And when she endured a slight dizziness and opened her eyes inside the dungeon…

“Whoa, what in the world is this?”

The inside of the dungeon, which was set up as a forest, was completely burned down in those few seconds. The monsters were roasted whole, and Gihyeon Park could be seen far ahead.

“Well, if he’s going to use up his own strength, I welcome it.”

“I don’t know, he’s not the type to lose strength from just that.”

A little distance away, Taehyeok Sa was watching Gihyeon Park’s back. He narrowed his eyes, as if gauging his limits.

“He seems a little stronger than when I saw him last time.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

Cho-i asked.

“About a year ago.”

“If it was a year ago, wouldn’t he naturally have gotten stronger?”

The saying that mountains and rivers change in ten years is an old saying. Nowadays, they change in a year. Do you know how fast hunters are these days? Cheolsu next door has already surpassed A-Rank, and I wonder what our son is doing. Sigh. Private education is also a problem for hunters. In fact, there were many fake academies that claimed to make people hunters.

“Let’s see.”

Cho-i scurried after Gihyeon Park, regardless of his rampage. She had something to check. Of course, it wouldn’t still be there. She looked around, following the path Gihyeon Park had swept with fire. Everything was burned down, so inspecting for letters seemed impossible.

“Ah, it should be around here.”

But rocks don’t burn. Cho-i found the rock that was next to her when she first found the door with Hyeonchan An’s group. But, of course, there was no door there. She placed her hand on the warm rock and felt around. As expected, there was no groove.

“What are you doing?”

Dongju Kim, who was following her, asked.

“It’s nothing.”

Cho-i headed to where the final boss monster was. Gihyeon Park planned to use the dungeon itself as a ring after pushing away the regular monsters without defeating the boss monster. Cho-i Hyeon also thought that was a good idea. If two S-Ranks fought outside, there’s no telling what would be destroyed. Then each guild would be stuck with a huge repair bill.

“Is everything sorted out now?”

Gihyeon Park stretched. Cho-i Hyeon waved her hand at the Deer Knuckle visible in the distance.

“Hey, long time no see!”

“Are you an idiot? Do you expect a greeting back?”

Dongju Kim said. And at that moment, the Deer Knuckle bowed its head once and then raised it. Both of them paused.

“Did it just respond?”

“No way… it must be a coincidence.”

While the two were talking, Gihyeon Park, already eager, shouted at her.

“Are you not ready to die yet?”

“Said the one who’s about to die.”

Cho-i gave a gentle eye-smile and walked briskly, like a deer. She stood at a distance from Gihyeon Park and looked around. Everything was burned down, and the forest barely retained its form.

“To burn down this green forest like this, I will not forgive you in the name of justice.”

Taehyeok Sa said.

“It’s being recorded.”

At that, Cho-i struck a Sailor Moon pose and looked at Ganansu. Ganansu shot her a ‘so what’ look, but she steadfastly maintained the pose and said to Gihyeon Park,

“The first move is…”

“You go first? You’re full of confidence.”

“I won’t yield!”

Cho-i Hyeon immediately kicked off the ground. Gihyeon Park, with a look of disbelief, instantly conjured flames from his hands. He’d seen that somewhere before. Wasn’t it in some game? There was something about shooting fire from both hands. Cho-i, lost in thought, kicked off the ground and rushed towards Gihyeon Park. Then, flames erupted from the ground.

“Ah, damn it! That’s hot!”

She said, taking a large step back, and from beyond the flames, Gihyeon Park, who had kicked off the ground and closed in on Cho-i, said,

“Did you think the world would be yours just because you became an S-Rank?”

He was right in front of Cho-i’s face. Cho-i’s eyes widened. Gihyeon Park threw a punch at Cho-i’s face. In the meantime, Cho-i smiled and blocked his flaming fist with her bare hand.

“No?”

Even as the skin on her hand was burning and melting, she grinned and met his gaze.

“The world has never once been on my side.”

Then, she kicked him hard in the lower abdomen with her foot. Bang! With a loud sound, Gihyeon Park was sent flying and crashed into a rock on the opposite side. No, he regained his balance in mid-air, stepped off the side of the rock, and leaped forward again. Cho-i instantly changed direction and fled, and Gihyeon Park’s fist slammed directly into the spot where she had been. Boom! Another explosion erupted. The ground where she had been standing was charred black and deeply indented.

“Wow, if that had hit, I would have been screwed.”

Cho-i saw Gihyeon Park chasing her, his eyes bloodshot, and twisted her lips. She recalled the advice Taehyeok Sa had given her. What was it he said?

“Don’t try to go for a foolish one-on-one melee combat like you usually do. Not only will your secret be exposed, but you’ll also have no chance of winning. Do you think it’s easy to fight while enduring burning pain? At first, always run away. While running, use those Black Hands to immobilize his feet, then attack. That’s the easiest way.”

Wow, that was quite a long piece of advice. He must not want me to lose either. Cho-i looked back at Gihyeon Park, who was relentlessly pursuing her. He was almost right behind her now. Being a natural S-Rank is really good. He’s incredibly fast compared to me. Cho-i immediately opened her mouth.

“Devil’s Hand, could you come out for a bit?”

At her call, black hands instantly began to shoot up from the ground.

“What?!”

Naturally, Paehyeok had edited out what happened inside the hidden dungeon. This meant that Gihyeon Park knew nothing about Cho-i’s ability. As soon as his ankle was caught, Cho-i immediately turned around and kicked him hard in the face with her foot. Wham! But his hand grabbed Cho-i’s leg. Sizzle- The smell of burning leather pants and flesh filled the air. Cho-i gritted her teeth against the pain. She swiftly lifted her other foot and kicked his shoulder. Thud! With the sound of impact, he stepped back, and Cho-i’s leg was freed from his grip. Cho-i didn’t stop there and lunged into his embrace. Then, she punched him in the lower abdomen. Thud! Another strong impact sound was heard. But it didn’t feel like a vital hit had landed. In fact, Gihyeon Park, with wide, piercing eyes, brought his fist down from above. Bang! Another loud explosion was heard.