Chapter 8: Bicheon (1)

In that moment…

Thud.

Choi Jinho punched the magic barrier.

Pressing his face against it, he spoke in a voice only I could hear.

“Lee Taejun, let’s not joke around in this situation, alright? The more nonsense you spout, the more embarrassed I feel, as your friend.”

“Choi Jinho.”

“So stop talking bullshit and just tell me. Who the hell are they? Ignis? Hwa-ryeong?”

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I stared at the guild members who were watching me condescendingly from behind.

In a slightly calmer voice, I countered,

“Let me ask you one thing. Are you really my friend if you’re the one who feels more embarrassed in this situation?”

“What?”

“I don’t know. Whether you think of me as a friend or just as a tool to make you look good, like those bastards behind you.”

“What are you talking about—”

I delivered a sharp retort to the twitching eyebrow guy.

“Since when did you become such a self-centered fool, only thinking about yourself?”

“Lee Taejun…!”

Choi Jinho glared at me, his eyes wide.

But before he could reply, his face contorted in fury,

“What the hell is going on here?!”

A furious roar erupted from behind us.

Lieutenant So Yeonwoo, who had briefly left to report to superiors, had returned.

With his helmet and face shield off, his anger was fully exposed.

The lieutenant was a female officer with short, bobbed hair. Her icy features seemed more suited to an intellectual desk job than combat, yet…

“I asked, what the hell is going on here?!”

Standing tall, completely unfazed by the hunters facing her, she was the quintessential soldier in every sense.

Perhaps it was her overwhelming presence that silenced them.

Choi Jinho replied in a slightly subdued voice,

“Ah, we’re members of the Bicheon Guild. We were originally assigned to exterminate this gate.”

“I’ve already been informed of that. What I want to know is, why you’re barging onto the scene and causing a commotion after the monsters have been dealt with?”

“A commotion? We’re just trying to accurately assess the situation before and after…”

So Yeonwoo’s eyes narrowed.

“The situation before and after? That doesn’t sound like something people who arrived an hour after the support request should be saying.”

“W-well, that’s…”

“If the monsters were still active when you arrived, this entire area would have been reduced to ashes long ago. And your guild would have had to take full responsibility for the catastrophe.”

Choi Jinho and the Bicheon Guild members fell silent as if by prearranged signal.

The lieutenant turned to me and continued, “If it weren’t for Hunter Lee Taejun here, that would have happened.”

“Are you saying Hunter Lee Taejun actually kill the Venom Spore Mother alone?”

“That’s right. In exactly 35 minutes.”

Choi Jinho stared back and forth between me and the Venom Spore corpse, a confused expression on his face. Suddenly, one of the guild members shouted in an agitated voice, “No, that’s impossible!”

He was someone I’d dealt with before. A week ago, I’d saved this C-rank newcomer from a Spore Junior’s attack. And the reward I’d received for that was… malicious rumors spread by him, and second-degree burns from the toxin.

“That guy’s just a D-rank porter! There’s no way someone as incompetent as him could seal a third-class gate alone!”

“I just learned that Hunter Lee Taejun is a D-rank holder.”

Lieutenant So Yeonwoo didn’t deny it.

But, looking at me with complete trust in his eyes, he continued, “That makes it even more surprising. The way you entered the barrier without hesitation… you certainly didn’t act like a D-rank Hunter.”

“What the hell are you talking about! That bastard was crippled just a week ago from Spore Junior’s toxin! And all because he was showing off and running his mouth off!”

“Yeongjin, let’s get the facts straight.”

Of course, I wasn’t fool enough to stand there and listen to this bullshit.

“The one who nearly got poisoned and crippled after acting recklessly was you. I know you’re embarrassed about being saved by a porter, but you shouldn’t be going around lying like that.”

“What the hell is this bastard…?!”

Lee Youngjin, a C-rank rookie, glared at me and charged forward, his eyes blazing at my light provocation.

He should have been stopped by the magic barrier I had set up.

“You’re dead today. Can’t see anything from inside that cage, can you?”

As expected of a lively rookie, he was different from the rest.

He rammed into the barrier, simultaneously enveloping his body in mana.

Shush.

Detecting a hunter’s mana, the barrier absorbed him and let him through naturally.

In an instant, Lee Youngjin passed through the artificial wall and stepped onto the other side—not into the area near me where I had finished detoxing, but into a zone saturated with poison spores emitted by the Venom Spores.

“Wait, Lee Youngjin…!”

Choi Jinho, realizing the situation, hastily called out to him, but Lee Youngjin shouted back with unwavering confidence:

“Don’t worry, Team Leader! That Venom Spore is a mutant—a non-toxic one. That’s why this bastard’s still alive in there… cough?”

Naturally, he didn’t finish his sentence.

The moment he inhaled the dust-like Poison Spores, his face began to turn a sickly, greenish-blue.

“Huuuck, huuck!”

Lee Youngjin immediately clutched his throat, dropped to his knees, and began retching violently.

Of course, this only meant he was inhaling an even more concentrated dose of the drug spore espresso.

I stared blankly at Lee Youngjin, who was writhing in agony, tears and snot streaming down his face.

“S-save me…”

As Lee Youngjin, who had willingly stepped into this toxic hell, reached out his trembling hands, tears streaming down his face, I replied with a bright smile:

“It’s okay. You won’t die.”

Whether it was fortunate or not, the Poison Spores released by the Venom Spore weakened to about one-tenth of their original potency once the host plant withered.

Awakened beings are immune to death by the toxins of withered Venom Spores.

However, this immunity only addresses the mortality rate; the pain remains unchanged.

In other words,

Lee Youngjin was now trapped in a training ground filled with the equivalent of a hundred tear gas canisters,

all without a gas mask.

“Ugh, damn, that must be rough. Why don’t you belt out a military song, like in the old Hunters Den days? If you can’t avoid it, might as well enjoy it.”

“Gck… ghk…”

Lee Youngjin began rolling around, now accompanied by silent screams.

With a bored expression, I brushed off my clothes with a Detoxing brush and said,

“Oh, and one more thing.”

I tossed the words to the dazed members of the Bicheon Guild:

“I’m not going to get him out of there. You’ll have to figure it out yourselves.”

“Kaiser, that idiot Lee Youngjin ended up being rushed to the hospital. I heard he even got a ticket on the spot for illegally trespassing at the scene.”

“That’s correct.”

“Ha! That son of a bitch really screwed things up.”

“But he’s not in critical condition, so he’ll be able to rejoin the expedition in a week.”

“We don’t need him. Just cut him loose. I can’t stand even looking at that half-wit who can’t even grasp the situation.”

”…Understood.”

Top floor of the Bicheon Guild Headquarters, in the CEO’s office.

Kim Kyungtae, Guild Leader of Bicheon, sighed, smoothing the deep wrinkles on his forehead. He waved his hand at Choi Jinho, who had just finished reporting the series of incidents.

“Jinhyuk, you can leave for now. Lee Taejun, you stay behind.”

“I apologize. I should have kept him under better control…”

“Get out of here, now!”

Choi Jinho glared at me briefly before turning and storming out of the CEO’s office.

Now, only Kim Kyungtae and I remained in the lavishly furnished room, filled with antique furniture.

“Lee Taejun, would you like some tea?”

“No, thank you.”

“Alright. Sit down and make yourself comfortable.”

My gaze followed Kim Kyungtae’s gesture to a reception sofa tucked into a corner of the CEO’s office—a seat I had never occupied since joining the guild.

As I sat down, Kim Kyungtae settled into the opposite end of the table.

“Lee Taejun, I heard from the Hunters Federation that you took care of the Venom Spore Mother single-handedly. Is that true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Really?”

“The Hunters Federation has no reason to lie.”

Kim Kyungtae awkwardly smoothed the few strands of hair remaining on the crown of his head. Then, in a casual voice, he asked, “How did you do it?”

“I just got lucky.”

“Did you acquire a new skill? And Poison Resistance at that?”

Of course, Kim Kyungtae wasn’t buying the vague response. Though he looked like the typical balding supply sergeant you’d find in any military unit, he was actually a first-generation A-rank Hunter and the head of a fairly large guild—a seasoned veteran who’d seen combat on land, sea, and in the air.

When I simply shrugged, Kim Kyungtae burst into a wide grin and slapped the table.

“Ha! I knew it! I always knew you’d succeed, Lee Taejun!”

“Really?”

“Of course! How easy do you think it is to stick around in this business as a porter? How many years have you been with us, Lee Taejun?”

“It’s been seven years.”

“That’s right, seven years! Wow, Taejun’s got some serious tenacity!” Kim Kyungtae burst into another hearty laugh.

But I didn’t laugh.

I knew all too well that his flattery was utterly insincere, a hollow shell devoid of any genuine concern.

If he cared about me even a little, why hadn’t he given me even a single won raise in seven years, sticking me at a fixed monthly salary of 180? Why had he dragged his feet on worker’s compensation after all the injuries I sustained hauling cargo, only to quietly bury the claims? And just a week ago, why was he so desperate to kick me out of the guild, claiming they didn’t need a disabled porter?

None of it made sense.

He was thoroughly calculating, a man who only used his mind to pursue his own gains.

So, the words still linger on my tongue.

“Lee Taejun… you know, the guy from Keser.”

Because his motives were crystal clear.

“Let Choi Jinho have this one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, hand over the Yanghwa Bridge Gate case to Choi Jinho. You know Lee Taejun, right? You know Choi Jinho’s aiming for S-rank.”

In Korea, the highest hunter rank attainable through advancement is A.

From S-rank onwards, licenses are issued by the International Hunter Alliance headquarters after a council meeting.

And the biggest factor in their decision is…

How much you’ve contributed to maintaining social order in your own country.

In that sense, the Yanghwa Bridge Gate incident would be a significant plus factor in Choi Jinho’s S-rank evaluation.

“So, you’re saying I should concede everything? All the records from the Yanghwa Bridge gate extermination, and even the essence stones?”

“Just this once, Ancana. Just this once.”

Kim Kyungtae rolled his eyes and continued.

“Of course, I’m not asking you to give it all away for free. Lee Taejun is waiting for the expedition the day after tomorrow to formally recognize you as a Hunter.”

“A formal Hunter?”

“Yeah! Not just a porter, a full-fledged Hunter! You’ll be working as one now! Imagine—wearing a swanky suit and wielding cool weapons, huh? After the expedition, you can dress up nicely and meet girls!”

As if that wasn’t the end of it, the Guild Master added in a low voice.

“And I’ll make you another promise: after Choi Jinho reaches S-rank, you’re next in line.”

“S-rank?”

“Alright! Choi Jinho said he’d recommend you as the next candidate! If you can handle the Venom Spore Mother without even batting an eye, you’ve definitely got S-rank potential, you know.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Ha, you little bastard! Why’d you ask such an obvious question?”

Only twelve S-rank hunters in all of Korea.

But with my updated Status Window, it might not be impossible.

Yeah, it’s definitely possible.

So I nodded.

The answer had already been decided.

“I’ll do it. Let’s make me an official hunter.”

“Yes, yes! Good thinking! Just as I suspected—Lee Taejun and I have excellent eyes for talent when we recruited you alongside Choi Jinho!” Kim Kyungtae beamed, launching into a tirade of self-praise.

Before him, I took a white envelope from my crossback and tossed it onto the table.

“What’s this?”

What do you think it is?

It’s the very thing you were so desperate for just a week ago.

“It’s my resignation letter.”

”…Huh?”

“I’m going to become a full-fledged hunter.”

I spoke to the Guildmaster, who stood gaping at me like a fool.

“Just as you wished, Guildmaster. I’m quitting this guild.”

“H-huh?”

“A week ago, you promised you’d settle my retirement pay perfectly if I left the guild by the end of the month. You even boasted you’d pay all my back workers’ compensation and dared me to record it, saying you didn’t care.”

Back then, it was just a threat exploiting someone’s desperation.

“So, I’m holding you to your word.”

Kim Kyungtae froze, his face paling.

Making eye contact with him, I said:

“I recorded everything.”