Chapter 12 – You Told Me to Come Back with a Holy Sword

“Did you escape from inside? What’s the situation in there right now?”

“Did you see the killer? How did you get out?”

When I stepped out of the dungeon, I was bombarded with questions from the crowd.

“The survivors are with me. And I’ve captured the killer.”

The crowd’s expressions soured upon hearing my much-anticipated answer. It was only natural.

After all, I’d walked out of the dungeon alone, not even carrying a single bag.

I felt like the next question would be, “Are you insane?” so I opened my inventory.

“Withdraw.”

I took four people out of my inventory.

Four people emerged from the black subspace that appears when accessing the inventory system.

Blondie, the rookie, the bearded man, the mister, and the mage.

There’s one more who is too seriously injured to be brought out. He looks like he could die at any moment.

Porters basically have Deposit and Withdraw skills. No, every hunter has them as basic skills.

But I’ve never heard of anyone putting people in and out of an inventory. And on top of that, being able to use the skills of the people inside…

Well, the people in front of me will probably clear up my questions soon enough.

Camera flashes went off. It was a situation where even a child could tell I’d done something.

And then, I took out the one these people were most curious about.

“Withdraw.”

The killer who murdered dozens of people.

The villain known as the Company Man. He popped out of the inventory system.

He’d taken a severe beating from me, so his body wasn’t in good shape.

Blinded by the sudden burst of bright light, he squinted, shielding his eyes with his hand.

It seems that when you’re trapped in the inventory, your consciousness stops as well. He flinched upon seeing he was outside the dungeon.

The reporters started frantically flashing their cameras at the Company Man, known as the worst of villains.

The raid party, now with nothing to do, blinked as they stared at the Company Man I’d captured.

The Company Man tried to get up, panting for breath. But I showed him the courtesy of helping him relax.

Thwack!

Struck hard on the back of the head, the Company Man collapsed limply to the ground.

Well, it’s not like I’ll get sued for violating a murderer’s human rights or something. If this guy gets loose again, someone could get hurt.

Immediately, the reporters’ attention turned to me. They snapped photos and hurled questions.

The reporters’ gazes, fixed on me—an unregistered hunter—were as intense as the curiosity one feels for their first love.

I gave them a relaxed smile.

Although I wasn’t thrilled about awakening as a Porter, I’d used it to handle a major incident. And more importantly, I’d confirmed my second awakening.

-Synchronization Rate increases according to Salvation Value.

-Current Synchronization Rate is 3.5%.

Whoa. A status window highlighted in red suddenly popped up in front of me. Still not used to this.

But, salvation?

I’ve saved about twenty people so far. This means the more people I save, the more benefits I get from the system.

I opened the blue status window. The second, previously damaged, entry was slowly being restored, becoming readable.

-Phantom Step has been activated.

It’s been a while, this skill.

Phantom Step is a skill that selects the optimal path during combat.

It’s like it accelerates your consciousness, you could say. Basically, it’s a support skill that helps you fight better. That’s what it is.

With this, the identity of the blue status window became clear.

The blue status window is the system I was connected to in the other world.

Which means all the achievements and abilities I built up in that other world are sealed away in there.

I don’t know why.

Is it because the dimensions are different?

Soon, gaters from the organization cuffed the unconscious Company Man and tied him up securely.

“The injured, this way! And you’re Lee Hyunbin, the one who caught the villain, right? Hey, block them off! Stop taking pictures! Ah, sorry about that.”

A man who looked like a seasoned veteran among the gaters offered me a handshake.

I accepted his handshake with a smile.

“By any chance, how many healers do you have right now? There are too many injured people.”

“Healers? We have two at the moment.”

“Then let’s treat the most critical ones first.”

I took out the people with 1 HP first.

People emerged from the inventory, groaning and struggling to breathe.

Seeing this, the gater team leader’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Healers, over here! And bring every other healer you can summon right now!”

“There are eighteen more left. I think it’d be better to take them out in the infirmary, don’t you?”

“Ah, yes. What? Eighteen more?”

Confirming my abilities is important, but there are more urgent matters right now. I can always check my skills slowly later on.

Thanks to the many people who’ve seen my ability, rumors about me will probably spread like wildfire.

And I might even get a nickname like this.

The Strongest Porter.

Porters are usually seen as people who just carry things around, but I took down the Company Man all by myself and rescued many people.

At this rate, numerous guilds will be scrambling to get their hands on me.

* * *

Reporters swarmed me, requesting interviews.

At first, I was happy to get the reporters’ attention and started talking, but there was no end to it.

They frantically snapped photos and only asked the questions they wanted to ask. It was more than just uncomfortable; I felt my fatigue building up.

And what made it even more unpleasant was that they had zero interest in the survivors.

Right now, I have critical patients in my inventory. People who will die if they don’t receive immediate treatment.

Meaning, the majority of them needed to be taken to a hospital right away, treated by a healer to keep them alive, and then rushed into surgery or the emergency room.

But the reporters just blocked my way, asking what my ability was and how I caught the villain.

That’s the kind of crap they were curious about.

So now, I’m inside the Anyang Amusement Park Dungeon Center.

The four people who were with me. Blondie, the rookie, the mister, the man with the mustache, and the mage. The five of them went in for an examination to check for any aftereffects from the battle.

They had been dazed by the surreal reality of having survived that horrific scene, but they seemed to calm down a bit after getting their check-ups at the hospital.

“Wow, Mr. Lee Hyunbin. That was incredible.”

It was the man I’d met before entering the dungeon.

The representative from the Tushin Guild.

He came to see me while I was resting in my hospital room after my examination.

“Twenty people rescued. On top of that, you hunted a villain alone on your first day of awakening. Did you know the Company Man was an A-rank hunter?”

“I didn’t know he was A-rank, but I knew he was worth 300 million.”

Hearing my words, the Tushin Guild representative laughed, tapping his own forehead as if he found it hilarious.

Judging by the way his bulging tadpole belly was actually shaking, he seemed to be genuinely amused.

“It’s chaos out there right now. The person who took down the Company Man alone is a Porter. And on his first day of awakening, no less. Moreover, there are no Porters who can put people in their inventory. As far as anyone knows, only inanimate, non-living objects can be stored.”

“Is that so? I just assumed it was possible since it worked for me.”

“It’s an incredible ability. In this business, nothing gets you better treatment than having a rare skill.”

The middle-aged man pulled a chair from beside the bed and sat down. He continued speaking with a gentle smile.

“You really did come back after raising your value.”

He had offered an unprecedented 2.5 billion for a Porter. But that Porter had walked out, saying his value was higher.

It must have been a first for him as a recruitment manager.

“How about a 3.5 billion signing bonus?”

The man who had offered 2.5 billion was now offering 3.5 billion just a few hours later. This time, even I couldn’t help but flinch.

For an ordinary office worker, earning 100 million is incredibly difficult.

You have to give up eating what you want, wearing what you want. That’s how you manage to save up 100 million.

Usually, a B-rank’s signing bonus is over 100 million.

An A-rank’s signing bonus starts at 1 billion, but the range is extremely wide.

That’s because from A-rank onwards, you can become a franchise player representing the team.

Come to think of it, ‘team’ is a strangely fitting word.

“As you know, our Tushin Guild isn’t just some pushover. We’ve been recruiting hunters who became free agents this year to build up our talent pool, and we’re pushing to become the number one guild in the country within three years.”

The middle-aged man took a gold-trimmed contract from his briefcase, glanced over it, and then held it out to me with a smile.

“We’ll provide you with any equipment you want. You don’t have to participate in anything other than official guild raids. We have plenty of Porters in our guild. That’s how special this offer is.”

I took the contract and skimmed through it. But the 3.5 billion signing bonus wasn’t written down.

“It doesn’t say 3.5 billion here.”

“Are you really only going to take 3.5 billion? When you have a rare ability, you should aim higher. I left it blank on purpose. We give our people the absolute best.”

Somehow, “give our people the absolute best” sounds like a threat.

As in, they treat those who *aren’t* their people the absolute worst.

3.5 billion. It’s a lot of money.

It’s probably an astronomical amount that I would never have been able to touch in my entire life as a trainer.

But I had made up my mind from the beginning.

“I have no intention of signing.”

“……”

Was my response that unexpected?

The Tushin Guild representative seemed at a loss for words for a moment. He probably didn’t expect me to refuse even when he offered to add more on top of the 3.5 billion.

“Why is that?”

“Because I was told not to come back until I summoned a holy sword.”

To be precise, they rejected me at the interview, saying they hoped I’d get my holy sword back soon.

The middle-aged man blinked as if to ask what I was talking about. I’m not doing this because I’m petty.

As I said before, I’m not interested in a guild whose interviewer can only make snide remarks just because he thinks he holds all the cards.

He’s being nice now because he’s desperate to recruit me, but who knows how he’ll change later.

“Because someone gave me that advice during my Tushin Guild interview.”

“I see. I’ll look into it.”

Saying that, the middle-aged man put the contract into its envelope. Then, instead of putting it back in his briefcase, he placed it on the headboard of my bed.

“It seems someone spoke unpleasantly to you. I apologize on their behalf and will reprimand the employee in question. Please don’t let someone’s slip of the tongue cause you to miss out on the best opportunity.”

With those words, the middle-aged man bowed his head.

Revenge. It feels good, but also a little bitter for some reason. Still, it was 3.5 billion.

It’s a huge sum, enough to move out of my monthly rental room right now.

It’s enough money that I wouldn’t have to worry even if Katrinne, glutton that she is, ate nonstop 365 days a year. What a shame.

No, I don’t like the Tushin Guild.

The place that treated me well without looking down on me, even back when I was a trainer, was the Hanul Guild. The former team leader, in particular, was really good to me.

There’s no rush, anyway.

Rumors about me have probably already spread, and other guilds will start contacting me.

It won’t be too late to sign with whoever offers the best conditions then.

It would be foolish to sign a contract right after talking to just one place.

‘First, let’s buy a house once I get the bounty money.’

It’s definitely not because of the freeloader living at my place.

* * *

“Hah, that bastard won’t open his mouth.”

Through the glass wall of the interrogation room, the Company Man could be seen, blindfolded with his arms and legs bound.

Seeing him tied up tightly in a special wheelchair, it was clear that the criminal’s human rights had been completely disregarded.

It was only natural, given that he was a mass murderer who had slaughtered over 70 people.

Forget needing to protect his human rights; it felt like if you gave him even a sliver of freedom, he would kill the person in front of him in an instant.

“You should take a break. The special gaters will be here soon to transport him.”

“What’s a bunch of badge-wearing bastards going to do? Look at him, not saying a damn word. Is he waiting for a lawyer or something? For a piece of scum like him, the death penalty is too good. He should be tortured for the rest of his life.”

“He’ll face the stern judgment of the law soon enough.”

At his junior’s words, the senior gater clicked his tongue and glared at the Company Man.

“I’m going for a smoke. Keep a close eye on him.”

“Yes, sir.”

The junior bowed to his prickly senior’s back.

His smiling face slowly hardened like setting concrete as the door closed.

The eyes that had feigned benevolence turned cold and dry, and the kindness that hung on his lips withered away.

He flipped the switch for the security lock on the door to the room where the Company Man was being held.

Click, thud.

Hearing the door open, the Company Man turned his head.

“You really got done in, huh?”

The Company Man didn’t respond to the mocking tone.

“I’m disappointed, Mr. Ji-tae.”

“…Something unexpected happened.”

“Unexpected? Ah, we didn’t expect it either. To think our very first plan would get tripped up like this.”

The voice, glistening with madness, seemed to freeze the air.

The junior who had been so amiable toward his senior just moments ago was gone.

Then, the Company Man spoke.

“The Hero.”

Hearing his words, the junior furrowed his brow.

“The Hero has appeared.”

“Bullshit. If you’re going to make excuses for your failure, at least make them believable.”

“It’s true.”

The junior swept his bangs back. Annoyance surged through him.

He wanted to behead the defeated dog right then and there. But he couldn’t.

The Company Man was still a necessary asset.

“I see you want to call the guy who caught you a ‘Hero’.”

“That’s right.”

The Company Man recalled the man who had displayed overwhelming combat prowess against him.

Just thinking about it again sent shivers down his spine. The way he completely sealed off his abilities and attacked so recklessly.

He had experienced a sense of hopelessness for the first time.

“That guy awakened as a Porter.”

“…!”

“And he just awakened today, for the first time.”

The Company Man’s face was one of disbelief.

The junior’s lips curled into a smirk as he said in a soft voice,

“Whether you were all talk, or that guy is something special… we’ll find out soon enough.”