Chapter 98

“H... Huh?”

It was the very picture of profound frustration.

This was hardly the time to condemn the Rakshasa Temple for being insane. Kim Kiryeo himself was devastated by the missing screw.

‘What is going on?’

It made no sense. A criminal bold enough to plot the assassination of an S-Class Hunter had simply fled—and now this man was speaking about Park Juntae’s death in an oddly derisive tone...

Her suspicions mounted by the second.

“Did you really not... You truly didn’t know?”

Esther asked again, bewilderment written across her face.

“So you knew Park Juntae was dangerous, Kiryeo-ssi, and you still didn’t warn me?”

“At the time, I didn’t know exactly what he was planning either.”

“What?”

“I didn’t know you were his target, Esther-ssi.”

Yet his answer only left her more confused. Although Kiryeo remained perfectly sincere, Esther’s misunderstanding continued to deepen.

“I don’t understand... Then explain exactly why Park Juntae ran away.”

“Well, that would be difficult.”

“What?”

“At the time... I didn’t actually do anything. Park Juntae frightened himself for no reason and backed off.”

For the record, the noise caused by an entire flock of dead birds was, in the Archmage’s eyes, tantamount to doing ‘nothing.’

Kiryeo saw no reason to explain such trivial magic in detail, so he left that part out and reduced the whole incident to a few brief words.

“But can we stop talking about a dead man now? It’s a waste of time.”

He had meant it as a courtesy. Knowing how busy the guild leader was, he saw no point in prolonging idle conversation. To Esther, however, it sounded as though he were clumsily evading the question.

‘What in the world is going on?’

In the end, Esther could not shake her unease. The suspicion that the Hunter standing before her might somehow have been involved in Park Juntae’s death weighed heavily on her mind.

“You really are confusing...”

“Yes?”

“Never mind. I misspoke.”

Still, if her suspicions proved true, she might actually find herself liking Hunter Kim Kiryeo even more.

‘If that man did something to Park Jun-tae, I would welcome it.’

A gentle smile touched Esther’s lips.

“Anyway, I’ll make sure your request is fully incorporated into the schedule.”

The S-Class Hunter would wait for the winter monster.

***

Good thing I decided to try asking.

In a sense, I had just ordered a lofty S-Class Hunter around despite being a mere low-rank nobody.

‘Maybe all that shameless flattery finally paid off.’

Well, now that I had secured an S-Class Hunter’s cooperation, it was time to resume the search for the Imoogi.

But hold on. Why had someone supposedly searching for the Imugi suddenly stopped by the association?

‘Just getting the item appraised took quite a while.’

Thanks to the transaction, my bank balance had once again risen substantially. Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to feel particularly pleased about it.

Every won I had earned today was already destined to become another survival expense.

‘If a weakling like me intends to survive a dungeon break, I need to invest in proper equipment.’

No one could remain optimistic all the time.

I had already considered the possibility that I might fail to locate the missing Imoogi before the terrorist attack took place.

In other words, I intended to prepare for the worst while I still had the chance.

“Hmm.”

Not long afterward, I arrived at the Hunter’s Market. I entered the building and lingered near the potion shop until a familiar voice rang out.

“Hyung-nim!”

There he was.

My admission ticket...

No, my precious fellow alien.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“No! Not at all!”

I gave Ahn Yoonseung a small wave as he greeted me with his usual enthusiasm. It had been quite some time since we had last met. In fact, this was our first meeting since the mutation incident.

“Anyway, thanks for making time. You must be busy these days too.”

“Hahaha! Busy? What are you talking about?”

“Hahaha, I’ve had things to do, but rookies like me have plenty of free time compared to you, Hyung-nim!”

I felt a little guilty. It seemed as though I only ever contacted him when I needed something.

The reason I had called the A-Class Hunter here today was simple. I wanted access to the fifth floor of the Hunter’s Market, where items recovered from A-Class gates and above were sold.

Without VIP status, I could not enter. But with a high-ranking Hunter like Ahn Yoonseung beside me, I could at least accompany him as his guest.

“Shall we go up?”

“Um, sure.”

We took the elevator to the fifth floor.

Still, I could not help wondering how moving only a few floors higher could make everything so much more expensive.

‘Oh.’

The difference was apparent the moment we stepped out of the elevator.

A spacious lobby bearing the words VIP Lounge occupied the entrance, and staff members welcomed every visitor personally.

“Welcome.”

Following their guidance, we were quickly shown to a plush sofa.

“Would you care for some warm tea?”

“Do I have to pay for it?”

“No, sir. It’s complimentary.”

“Then I’ll have some.”

Of course, such generosity was usually funded by wealth.

Sure enough, the catalogue placed before me a few moments later contained items whose prices began in the tens of millions of won.

When wealthy customers spent hundreds of millions in a single visit, this level of service was only natural.

‘Aah!’

Two hundred million won for a single potion. Three hundred million for one hat.

Just imagining my hard-earned savings vanishing made me want to cry.

‘My money!’

“The items in the catalogue are only a representative selection. Should you require any other type of equipment, please let us know.”

As the employee had explained, the catalogue did not contain a particularly broad assortment.

Still, the fifth floor lived up to its reputation as a marketplace for top-tier items recovered exclusively from A-Class gates and above. Within minutes, something caught my eye.

[Hermes’ Shoes]

“Could I see this item in person?”

“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”

The magical item I had found in the catalogue was, in fact, quite impressive.

[Hermes’ Shoes]

[Grade: Unique]

[Description: Shoes imbued with wind-attribute magic. Greatly increases the wearer’s movement speed.]

Until now, I had survived my encounters with high-level monsters by narrowly avoiding their attacks...

Unfortunately, the boss known as the Imoogi was famous for its extraordinary speed even under normal circumstances.

Worse still, according to the reports, the creature attacked from within such deep darkness that its movements were nearly impossible to see.

‘Right. I should take the advice of senior Hunters to heart.’

Run fast.

For an F-Class Hunter desperate to stay alive, no ability could be more valuable.

I purchased [Hermes’ Shoes] on the spot.

And just like that, my bank balance plummeted to one hundred million won...

Well, I could mourn the loss later.

“Thank you for shopping with us!”

The staff smiled brightly as they saw off a valuable customer who had just spent nearly three hundred million won.

Only then did Ahn Yoonseung, who had been watching me in silence, finally speak.

“You came all the way here to buy shoes?”

Apparently, the Earthling had deliberately kept quiet so as not to interrupt my shopping.

“Mhm.”

Come to think of it, the A-Class Hunter beside me probably had no idea why I had brought him here in the first place.

Before I had even been able to explain, he had rushed over, declaring that he would help me with anything as long as it concerned his Hyung-nim.

“Hmm.”

I decided it was time to give him the explanation I had omitted earlier.

“Yoonseung-ah, there’s something I need to tell you...”

His reaction was even worse than I had expected.

“W-What? Terrorism?”

The Rakshasa Temple.

A growing Imoogi.

And Su Yehwi’s twisted plan.

As Ahn Yoonseung listened to one revelation after another, he abruptly sprang to his feet.

“While I was busy worrying about how to make a living, something this serious was happening beneath the surface! As expected, the scale of the matters you deal with is just...!”

“Uhm.”

“So where is the Imoogi now? If a dungeon break like that happens, I’ll definitely help stop it!”

Where was the Imoogi?

Yes, it would have been wonderful if we knew even that much.

Unfortunately, that was precisely the problem.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

I explained the situation to Yoonseung in greater detail.

“I don’t know anything. Not where the boss is hidden, and not when the terrorist attack is supposed to happen.”

“...”

“That’s why I can’t simply go around raising the alarm. It’s difficult to approach the association when we don’t have any concrete information.”

“Ah...”

“If I demanded their help now and caused a commotion over nothing, it would only create more trouble.”

After hearing this, Ahn Yoonseung lowered his head, looking dejected.

However, in Korea, it was customary to hear a person out until the end.

“Still, don’t worry.”

Thud.

I continued speaking as we waited for the elevator.

“I’ll uncover everything soon.”

My certainty filled the corridor.

At those words, Yoonseung turned toward me, his face shining with admiration.

“Hyung-nim...”

Honestly, as an alien, I had no idea what he found so moving about what I had just said.

‘Hmm.’

Well, it was hardly an outrageous claim.

I had not spoken those words lightly.

‘Let’s see which of us wins.’

From this point onward, I intended to use every method at my disposal to determine where the dungeon break would occur.

I had already devised a new way of tracking down that damned closed gate.

Now, it was only a matter of time.

Nothing was impossible for me.

I was a living witness to sixty thousand years of magical history—a wizard who had once stood at the pinnacle of an entire age.

‘I’ll find the missing Imoogi soon.’

Even now, Yoonseung was expressing his respect by maintaining a reverent silence.

I ignored the Earthling’s admiring gaze and continued thinking.

‘And the moment I pinpoint the Imoogi’s location, I’ll buy a train ticket and flee to the farthest corner of the country...!’

That was right.

From the moment I had first learned of this incident, I had been acting entirely for my own sake.

To put it bluntly, I could not have cared less about the fate of a country in which I had lived for only a few months.

The earth could split apart!

The sky could come crashing down!

As long as my own safety was guaranteed, that was all that mattered.

Still, since I knew how dangerous the situation was, running away without warning anyone would feel rather cowardly.

Perhaps I should at least advise him in advance.

“Oh, by the way, Yoonseung. You... said you’d help if the terrorist attack happens, right?”

I made a suggestion to the A-Class Hunter.

“But instead of doing that, why don’t you run away if the boss appears? From what I can tell, a fully grown Imoogi would be dangerous even for you.”

“Run away?”

“Yeah. As soon as I find out where the dungeon break will happen, I’ll tell you. Stay away from the area for a while.”

Ahn Yoonseung immediately began protesting, demanding to know how he could possibly abandon his Hyung-nim.

However, the premise of his argument was completely mistaken.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be running away too.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“What exactly did you think an F-Class Hunter like me would do in that situation?”

Ding.

The elevator arrived.

I stepped inside and spoke lightly.

“Yoonseung-ah, when people of uncertain usefulness remove themselves from the situation in advance, that alone can be helpful.”

“...”

“So stop looking at me like that and worry about yourself first. Understood?”

Ahn Yoonseung gave me a strange look.

Still, he seemed to understand what I meant, because a moment later, he obediently said that he did.