Chapter 110

Chapter 110

“I was definitely… meeting with Jimin and Soyeon… and then I was about to go to the bathroom for a moment……”

Suddenly, Nostalgia had appeared and announced the third tutorial. And at the same time as announcing the third tutorial, unlike before, she said she would start the quest immediately and transferred me and several other people to some unknown place.

“Avan… probably sensed me being moved to a strange place right after it happened, and used the ‘Gardener’s Scissors of Life’ as a medium to move to where I was.”

Originally, when I told everyone I wanted to go meet my acquaintances alone, the minimum condition they all set was that I carry the ‘Gardener’s Scissors of Life.’ I held out the scissors I had in my hand to Avan. Even though it was pitch-black darkness where nothing could be seen, Avan seemed to have already predicted my action and took the scissors right away.

“…It was a last resort, since I didn’t want to drag around an S-Rank hunter under the pretense of ‘protection.’”

The system recognizes the ‘Gardener’s Scissors of Life’ as a medium that summons the ‘item’ Avan Dungardner. This meant it was possible to summon Avan using the Gardener’s Scissors of Life, or conversely, for Avan to move to where the scissors were.

Of course, in this case, I had to carry them on my person instead of putting them in my Inventory, and while I had the scissors, Avan couldn’t use even half of his power. According to him, since his core was the scissors within the system’s recognition range, he couldn’t use that much power without the core.

“Thinking about it now, I’m glad I brought the scissors. …Anyway, how am I supposed to get out of this situation……”

“Ugh.”

Just as I was thinking that far, a sudden headache stabbed at one side of my head. I pressed my forehead with my remaining hand and let out a small groan.

“Master, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

“Ah, no. It was just a very brief headache… It was really just a moment, so I’m fine.”

Maybe I hit something while being moved by Nostalgia. As I told Avan, it was only for a moment, but I felt a stabbing headache. I shook my head to shake off the faint lingering sensation, as if it were a remnant of the headache.

“More importantly… from what Nostalgia said, this situation is part of a ‘tutorial’……”

Nostalgia had mentioned the name of the quest and also talked about its meaning. Recalling that memory, I narrowed my brows slightly.

‘The strong grow weak, and the weak grow strong… that was it. What kind of quest is this—’

Just then, it happened. Thud, thud. Footsteps of another person intruded into the space that was empty and dark. I reflexively tensed my body and gripped Avan’s hand tightly. Avan, too, seemed wary of the sudden arrival of another person and turned his body toward the direction of the sound.

Thud, thud. The dull sound of what seemed like men’s dress shoes continued. If I had to gauge the time, it was about ten seconds. Before long, the footsteps came right up in front of us. How long did we stand facing an unknown person across the darkness where nothing could be seen?

“Who are you?”

Avan asked the identity of the person approaching us in an extremely cold voice.

“If you intend to be hostile, state your name. If you have come for conversation, reveal your identity properly. I will not be responsible for the consequences if you do not comply.”

It was an extremely polite and courteous expression, but one that clearly revealed his willingness to resort to threatening actions if his demand was not followed.

Only then did the footsteps that had been silently approaching us from afar stop. As if in place of them, a light laugh came from beyond. Was it a sneer, or admiration? After the laughter, whose intent was impossible to discern, scattered, a faint light flickered into being beyond the thick darkness.

And so, along with the faint light, the figure of the man who had approached us was revealed.

“It seems I have unintentionally committed a rudeness. I apologize, Hunter Yoon Seohee.”

A low, calm, soft voice that I felt I had heard somewhere before offered an apology. I gripped the hem of Avan’s clothes tightly and tried to recall where I had heard this voice. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to identify the source of the voice. It was because the owner of this voice was quite famous.

‘No way.’

With a mix of doubt and half-certainty, I hesitantly and carefully spoke his name.

“…By any chance, are you… Rank 7… ‘Compass’ Juyun?”

“It seems you know of me.”

An extremely polite voice confirmed my guess. I traced the image of ‘Compass’ Juyun beyond the darkness where nothing could be seen.

Rank 7 S-Rank, ‘Compass’ Juyun, was a hunter shrouded in secrets in many ways. Of course, every S-Rank hunter had their own private, secretive corners they didn’t reveal to the press, but Juyun was a bit more unique among them.

‘Officially classified as “identity unknown”… that’s right, Juyun is…’

Though he now went by the Korean-sounding name ‘Juyun,’ the name he originally used wasn’t Juyun. Of course, no one knew what his original name was. Likewise, no one knew where he came from or where he used to live.

Juyun was in Korea five years ago, during the Dungeon Creation Incident. He awakened as an S-Rank hunter, killed many monsters, and saved many people in the process. As a result, the Korean government granted him official Korean citizenship.

That was all people knew about Juyun. He was clearly different from Jeong Seojin, who deliberately avoided contact with the press, or Guild Master Kang Mujin, who, aside from press contact, strictly guarded his private life. Juyun had no qualms about revealing himself to the media, nor did he particularly hide his personal life.

And yet, people still didn’t know his past.

“You’ll get a headache if you keep worrying about that.”

While I was recalling the information I knew about Juyun, an unfamiliar voice came from behind me. I flinched again and spun around. *Whoosh.* A man standing in a blue flame that shot up like a will-o’-the-wisp in the pitch-black darkness leaped forward and thrust his face close to mine.

The moment I saw the man’s face, wearing a ridiculous half-mask, I reflexively blurted out his alias.

“‘The Taoist’?”

The man grinned, his lips curling up long and wide. Once again, blue flames flared around him. Wreathed in fire, he leaped away from me and stood at a distance. I stared with wide eyes, feeling even more bewildered than when I’d realized the person in front of me was Juyun.

Rank 4 S-Rank, ‘The Taoist’ Jeon Uchi.

If Juyun was a sly figure with an ‘unknown past,’ then the man currently floating that will-o’-the-wisp and grinning was someone whose past, present whereabouts and actions, and even his real name and face, were all completely unknowable.

‘Even the name Jeon Uchi right now… was a nickname the public gave him based on his past deeds.’

He’d appear like a flash in the east, then a flash in the west—clearing dungeons that were about to erupt into Monster Parades, suddenly exposing high-ranking politicians’ corruption, and another day, revealing some businessman’s secret, private, and utterly filthy personal life.

With his truly elusive and unpredictable nature, the public’s first nickname for him was actually Hong Gildong. Of course, right after that, he went around posting manifestos all over Korea saying things like, ‘I am not a man who refuses brotherhood,’ and ‘Hong Gildong is a bit too old-fashioned. Give me a different name.’ That eventually led to him getting the name Jeon Uchi.

I stared at this secretive yet ridiculous man with bewildered eyes. The Taoist, as if finding my expression quite amusing, kept letting out strange giggles as he approached me.

“My, my. I apologize if I startled you as well. But please understand that the situation and my urgency left me no choice.”

Perhaps he wanted to show he had no hostility. The Taoist strode right up to me again, then plopped down on the spot. And Juyun, who had been watching us from afar with his arms crossed, slowly walked over to where he was.

‘Ah.’

Thanks to that, I got to see Juyun’s face directly beyond the blue will-o’-the-wisp.

His hair, tied low in a single bundle, was a shade slightly darker than the clear sky and lighter than the sea, flowing down past his shoulders. His eyes, a similar color to his hair, rippled calmly like ocean waves or ripples on the water’s surface.

He wore a white suit and coat. Normally, white suits and coats are hard to pull off, but that didn’t seem to apply to him. He casually adjusted his stylishly fitting white coat as he stood beside the Taoist.

‘…Reminds me of that one sports drink commercial I saw a while back…’

True to being a man that a certain blue-themed sports drink company had personally sought out to cast in their ad, Juyun exuded a strange, refreshing aura just by existing, without doing anything. I couldn’t hide my dazed expression as I alternated my gaze between the two men.

“You seem quite surprised.”

“Of course I’m surprised… I mean, I lost consciousness, and when I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything…”

“Ah. I apologize for that. If possible, I would have liked to guide Hunter Yoon Seohee to a brighter place out of consideration… but my abilities don’t extend that far.”

“Wanted to guide you,” “my abilities don’t extend that far,” huh?

Listening to what he was saying, it sounded like he was claiming that he, not Nostalgia, had brought me here. I narrowed my eyes and stared at him.

“If I recall the last thing I remember correctly, I was moved by Nostal—no, by the Librarian.”

“What you recall is correct. Only…”

“This guide here quietly twisted your path.”