The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C43
$43
“I see.”
I wanted to say something, but felt any words might sound rude. As if sensing my thoughts, Halo cheerfully changed the subject to me.
“So I wanted to say you don’t need to pretend to make a phone call.”
As soon as Halo finished speaking, an alarm went off. It was an alarm I had set to ring 5 minutes before my skill deactivated.
“Lee-han-ssi won’t be back for another 15 minutes because there’s nothing to drink nearby, and no one will come here. Don’t worry.”
This person knows everything.
“Let’s keep each other’s secrets.”
And he assured me he wouldn’t tell anyone. The man who had seemed so uncomfortable until just now was now reassuring me.
“Halo-ssi.”
“Yes?”
I wasn’t sure if I should say this, but I didn’t want to turn away from the glimpse of his pain I had seen.
“Whatever the result of your action to change one person’s future, the fact that you saved that person remains unchanged. Of course, I don’t know about others, but at least that’s what I think.”
For the first time, a crack appeared in his cheerful expression.
“Oh my.”
His lips tightened and he quickly turned his eyes away.
“Prophecies are so tricky. They never show the most important things.”
With those final words, the pain hit. However, unlike usual, I wasn’t anxious about someone seeing.
[Due to decreased body durability, all skills will be deactivated for one minute.]
***
When the pain passed and my body returned to normal, nothing had changed.
Halo, knowing I had returned to normal, deliberately didn’t take any different action. He just waited for me to stabilize. Just as I had completely caught my breath, I saw Lee-han’s figure running towards us carrying lots of bags.
“There’s Lee-han coming.”
“Hmm… Yes. Actually, I wanted to let you rest more comfortably. I’m sorry, Woo-hyun.”
“For what?”
A loud alarm sounded from the wrists of me, Halo, and Lee-han, who had instantly closed the distance to us.
[Danger alert: A small-scale dungeon gate has opened in the city center.]
“It was a bit tight, but this time was the best.”
So Halo had made his own schedule to ensure we would be at this place at this time. At first I thought he was a whimsical man, but there were reasons behind all his actions.
“Yes. I’m ready.”
Enough time had passed for me to come to my senses. The lethargy in my body was improving with a little rest, and considering the travel distance to the dungeon, I would be fully recovered by the time we arrived.
“You knew everything?”
Lee-han glared at Halo, but he just gave a subtle expression without giving any particular answer.
“Let’s move.”
[Dungeon gate fully open, a small but B-rank dungeon is forming. All civilians in Seoul C-8, Area A please move to safe zones or nearby shelters. Police are currently guiding, so if you calmly follow, you will be safe. Once again…]
I pushed away the loudly ringing alarm with my finger and contacted the disaster management department for that area. Recognizing our guild’s number, the call connected before even one ring.
[Yes, Seoul C-Area Disaster Management Department.]
The voice of the man who answered was trembling. Although it was the disaster management department, this was an area where gates rarely opened, so they seemed to be in confusion and fear.
“This is S-rank hunter Baek Woo-hyun from Ihwa Guild. A-rank hunter Shin Lee-han and dispatched A-rank hunter can enter C-8, Area A within 5 minutes. No backup needed.”
I deliberately spoke in an even colder voice. Emphasizing that no backup was needed, the other party seemed relieved as their trembling voice stabilized somewhat.
[Confirmed response from Ihwa Guild communication device. Thank you for the quick response, I will relay the situation.]
Soon, the alert continued saying hunters had been dispatched so evacuate safely. The guidance and response weren’t excellent, but they weren’t bad either.
The three of us headed towards the dungeon following the guidance. It was quite close, so running at full speed took less than 10 minutes.
“It’s here.”
As Lee-han said, the mark of a dungeon opening was floating right above in the sky, and a dungeon was forming in the distorted space. Fortunately, in that area only a few hunter police finishing up were visible. They weren’t high enough rank to counter a B-rank dungeon, but they were bravely evacuating citizens and guarding the place.
“We’ll be entering. You may leave.”
I bowed slightly in respect, and the police officers, seeming to relax, gave awkward smiles and bowed in return.
“Yes, take care.”
With those two people quickly leaving, the evacuation was complete. My tense body also relaxed, and other thoughts came to mind.
A B-rank dungeon…
Such a sudden appearance was extremely rare. This wasn’t near other dungeons or in a danger zone, but a dungeon gate suddenly opening in a city like this. Rare events were overlapping, creating unprecedented situations. Something strange was happening.
“Don’t think too deeply. Let’s focus on what’s in front of us.”
“That’s right. Don’t let your guard down, hyung.”
Sensing my mind wandering elsewhere, they both steadied me. They were right. Even for small fry, even a moment of carelessness wasn’t good.
“Let’s deal with it before the dungeon fully settles.”
Dungeons form starting from the boss monster’s nest. So when forming, monsters spawned outside the dungeon often caused damage to the surroundings. Areas where dungeons frequently appeared had sufficient barriers prepared, but this was the city center. There was no way they had barriers prepared for sudden dungeon appearances.
“Let’s finish them off before the minions come out and damage the city.”
Lee-han also gave instructions as if used to handling his own subordinates.
“We need to enter the boss’s nest within 30 minutes to avoid damage.”
Halo chimed in from the side. Usually there’s about an hour of leeway, but as a prophet, he was more reliable than simple statistics.
“It’s not difficult.”
I smiled slightly.
This level isn’t dangerous or difficult.
As I gently loosened my body that had fully returned to its condition, I gave myself the suggestion to put aside thoughts for now and act as usual.
“Let’s go in.”
The small fry were still clustered in front of the dungeon door, unable to come out without completing their bodies. There was no need to use much force.
[Using A-rank skill, Song of Flames. While the song continues, everything your hands touch will burn.]
Most of the monsters suffered in pain when hit by the fire, and the smallest ones turned to ash and disappeared. Beside me, Lee-han was blowing away monsters with space itself. A force like a small black hole distorted space and sucked in the monsters.
He used to have trouble handling it when young, but now he’s so familiar with it.
Seeing him handle a black hole of that scale without recoil was impressive. I hadn’t really fought together with Lee-han after he had grown up.
Maybe because I had frequent overseas business trips.
“Drones are following.”
Two very small but sturdy models among the drones that rushed in as soon as the alarm sounded were following closely. They were clearly the type used by reporters or broadcasters.
“Let’s ignore them.”
They were incredibly good at smelling combat. Probably hearing that Ihwa had entered, they seemed to have sent replacements with better models. If we destroyed these, we might face all sorts of ridicule about how the guild has grown and doesn’t want to provide information.
It’s a bit concerning that we’re with Halo, but can’t be helped.
Actually, wearing hanbok, even if modernized, was quite worrying too, but it was already too late.
“Run to the left. We need to reach the center within 7 minutes.”
“Let’s speed up.”
[Using B-rank skill, Speed of Wind. A tailwind pushes your back.]
Even with developed physical abilities, using speed-related skills was on a different level from just moving. A warm wind blew from behind, pushing me forward. Perhaps because my basic attribute was fire, sparks always glittered in the wind.
“Are you following?”
When I turned my head, Halo also seemed to have a skill that increased movement speed, as he was following without difficulty. Lee-han was repeatedly deleting and recreating small sections of space. It looked like he was using a kind of teleportation technique.
“From here on, small monsters will appear.”
As Halo said, monsters spawned and emerged from various places. The status window was filled with notifications about C-rank and D-rank monsters.
[Using A-rank skill, Wind of Fire. The wind becomes a huge wall.]
I first raised a wall of fire to prevent monsters from escaping.
“Lee-han!”
[Using A-rank skill, Rain of Fire. The blessing of flames imbues the rain you call forth.]
My flames and Lee-han’s small black holes mixed together, dealing with the monsters that were just appearing.
“This time, go through the center passage.”
While guiding the way, Halo threw weapons into the air. And monsters that appeared exactly in those spots were crushed before even touching the ground. Even for trivial monsters, it was quite a clean technique.