CHAPTER 76…………………………………………
After that, I tried several more times to persuade Baek So-hyeok, but every attempt ended in failure. With no progress at all, our conversations kept looping back on themselves.
By the fourth phone call, Baek So-hyeok finally snapped.
“No matter what you say, my decision won’t change, so don’t waste your energy on this. Most of the guild members agree anyway, and we’ll be finishing the faction selection this afternoon.”
Is it really okay to just let a rift this big slide because it can’t be helped?
But no matter how heavy my worries were, time wasn’t going to wait for me, and the things I needed to do were piling up like a mountain. The first thing that came knocking was dungeon entry. The promised time was already less than ten minutes away.
I arrived early at the dungeon entrance Gang Gwon-hu had sent me, and even though I knew it was pointless, I called Baek So-hyeok one last time to try persuading him.
—The person you are calling cannot take your call right now…
Only a cold, automated female voice answered from my phone.
Did he already go into a meeting? Or is he just ignoring my calls? I’ve already called him several times today, so I guess it wouldn’t be strange.
On top of that, I’d said a lot of snippy things along the way because of various status ailments. I knew I didn’t really have the right to complain even if he’d blocked me, but I still couldn’t help feeling resentful.
“So you really won’t even answer.”
I glared at my silent phone, fidgeting with it for no reason.
“Hyung! You’re here already?”
Noticing that Kim Jun had arrived, I hurriedly shoved my phone into my back pocket.
“Yeah. You’re wearing a lot, aren’t you?”
Kim Jun was practically radiating excitement. He was wrapped head to toe in equipment I had no idea where he’d gotten. Rather than looking sturdy or safe, it just looked heavy and cumbersome.
If he trips, will he even be able to get back up?
I wanted to ask if he wasn’t wearing too much, or if it might actually get in the way during combat, but he looked so thrilled that I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
“Yes! I got my hunter license today and went to the hunter-only shop! With this much gear, I should be safe in any dungeon, right? I bought something for you too—want to see?”
“Uh… I think this uniform is enough for me.”
“No way. How are you going to block monster attacks with just that? You should at least wear armor.”
The armor Kim Jun was holding was not only bigger than what he was wearing, but also had spike-like protrusions on the shoulders. I figured I’d be lucky if I didn’t get stabbed just by turning my head.
“With items like these, their actual defense matters more than how they look. Did you check the stats?”
“Uh… they said it was a C-rank item, so it should be good?”
“Let me see.”
[Item Name: Medieval-Style Armor
Rank: C
Description: Defensive gear said to have been commonly worn by soldiers in the medieval era… View details]
I immediately tapped View details.
[A replica inspired by armor commonly worn by medieval soldiers.
Its historical value has been certified, resulting in a higher rank assessment.]
Defense +100
Attack +10
Agility −30
In other words, stat-wise it was D-rank at best, but because it was basically something you’d put in a museum, it had barely scraped by as a C-rank item. The stuff Kim Jun was wearing was probably no different.
Looks like he ran into some shameless sellers who scammed a kid.
Just imagining the seller charging C-rank combat item prices for this made my blood boil. Of all people to trick, they went after a freshly licensed hunter—despicable.
“Jun, this is—”
“Where did you even find this piece of trash?”
Gang Gwon-hu, who had appeared behind us, dumped cold water all over the situation.
“Trash?!”
Even Kim Jun, who usually never talked back to him, protested indignantly.
“I really hope you didn’t bring that thinking of giving it to Woojin. How could anyone walk around wearing something that ridiculous? You’d be safer going around bare-skinned than strapping that on.”
That was basically the same as saying Kim Jun himself looked ridiculous.
“They said it was good! They said it was in such great condition it could be displayed in a museum!”
As his confidence drained away, Kim Jun’s voice grew quieter.
At least the seller must’ve had a shred of conscience left—they didn’t claim it was suitable for combat.
I wasn’t sure whether that was something to be thankful for or not when Gang Gwon-hu snatched the armor away.
“What you’re wearing now—the combat uniform—is better for you, Woojin. We’ll upgrade that later. As for Kim Jun, I’ll have something usable brought over, so just wear that instead.”
Gang Gwon-hu, giving someone an item for free? I glanced between the two of them, briefly hopeful that he’d grown fond of Kim Jun.
“You’re giving me an item?”
“Yes. Just imagining you walking beside me dressed like that is irritating enough to drive me insane.”
So much for that hope. The look in Gang Gwon-hu’s eyes wasn’t warm affection—it was cold disdain, like he couldn’t stand the sight.
“Wow! If you’re giving it to me, I’ll change right now!”
Despite how insulting that sounded, Kim Jun didn’t seem upset at all. If anything, he looked excited at the thought of getting a new item.
“Jun, wait a second.”
Even if Gang Gwon-hu was fast, it would still take time to bring something here. And just handing things to Jun without teaching him anything didn’t sit right with me, so I decided to try something else.
“Huh?”
“Take out the S-rank item box you got from defeating Azazel. And if you have any other item boxes or materials from quests, take those out too.”
“Okay.”
Kim Jun squirmed a bit, then started pulling out items from his inventory. There were a lot of things he’d apparently obtained while I wasn’t around—more than I’d expected.
“Where did you get this robe?”
The item in my hand was a blue-tinged C-rank robe.
“I bought that armor yesterday, and they threw this in as a freebie. It didn’t seem like much, so I just shoved it in a corner.”
“Then let’s start by opening the item box. Go on.”
It must have been Kim Jun’s first time using an item box. His fingers hovered awkwardly in the air at first, but soon they moved briskly. Kids really did learn fast.
“An A-rank helmet came out! Oh, this looks cool. Can I wear it with the armor?”
I briefly wondered if Kim Jun secretly wanted to become a medieval knight.
“No. By itself it doesn’t mean much. Gwon-hu, do you happen to have a fusion conversion item?”
An S-rank hunter would probably carry something like that.
“Yes. I keep one on me.”
Gang Gwon-hu handed it over without complaint.
“Instead of fetching something for him, could you give us that? It’ll be faster.”
“Fine.”
Since I’d never needed to swap items before, I hadn’t carried one myself—but maybe I should start.
I should order one online later.
I took the conversion item from Gang Gwon-hu and poured it over the helmet. Just looking at it, I could tell it was a high-grade conversion item, so I wasn’t worried about failure. The solid helmet with massive horns began to melt, turning into something like slime.
“Gasp! Why did you ruin it?!”
“Just watch.”
I poured the melted helmet over the C-rank robe. It seeped into the fabric, and the robe deepened to a darker blue.
[Fusion successful!
The C-rank item Wind Robe has become Wind-Shielded Robe, an A-rank item.]
It was one of the most commonly used items among A-rank hunters.
“Is this really sturdier than armor?”
Kim Jun alternated his gaze between the robe and the armor, still clueless.
“It’s way better than the pile of scrap you’re wearing now, so hurry up and change.”
“Yeah. This will be much better in combat. What you’re wearing now is too heavy—you won’t be able to dodge attacks when it counts. And just because something looks tough doesn’t mean it’s good. I’ll teach you how to do proper item fusion later, so put it on for now.”
I rushed to convince him, hoping he wouldn’t hesitate anymore. Kim Jun, who’d looked doubtful when Gang Gwon-hu spoke, seemed to trust my judgment and obediently took the robe.
“Okay. I’ll change quickly.”
There was no one else around, so he could’ve changed right there, but as a teenage boy he must’ve been shy. He scurried off to a blind spot.
“Weren’t you planning to kick that kid out of the guild? He still hasn’t shaken that rookie vibe.”
Gang Gwon-hu’s eyes and lips were smiling, but his voice was sharp as a blade. He’d seemed genuinely pleased when he first learned of Kim Jun’s abilities, so I didn’t understand why he was suddenly displeased.
“He says he wants to be here. And you acknowledged his abilities too, didn’t you?”
“That’s assuming he grows properly. You dote on him too much just because he’s a kid, Woojin. It’s starting to get on my nerves. I keep worrying he’ll throw himself into danger trying to save someone.”
That was exactly what he would do if things got dangerous.
If I say that out loud, he’d probably toss Jun aside without hesitation.
I subtly glanced up, gauging Gang Gwon-hu’s reaction.
“Come to think of it, he already has a record, doesn’t he? The first time I met him, he charged straight at a heteromorph without thinking.”
“Jun! The robe looks way better on you. How is it?”
I urgently called out to Jun as he came back from the blind spot—partly to avoid Gang Gwon-hu’s piercing stare, and partly to make it clear I had no intention of letting Jun go.
“It’s way lighter, but does it really increase defense by 500? It feels like I’m getting scammed.”
Jun still looked suspicious.
The one who scammed you today was the seller.
I kept that to myself.
“Oh, right—didn’t you get your hunter rank yet?”
“Yeah, but…”
Kim Jun hesitated, then pulled his license out of his pocket.
B-Rank Hunter: Kim Jun
B-rank was by no means low, but he looked dissatisfied.
“I was kind of hoping I’d get A-rank.”
Seeing him so dejected made me feel bad for him.
“Right after awakening, your growth potential is high, so they re-evaluate every quarter. A lot of people rank up then, so don’t worry. B-rank is great—why are you beating yourself up?”
“Then did you get B-rank at first too, hyung?”
Since Baek Woojin was barely A-rank right now, it wouldn’t have been strange if he’d been B-rank at his first evaluation—but I didn’t know for sure. Saying something incorrect and getting caught later would be a headache.
“Well… who knows? Oh—why is Jisu here already?”
I was figuring out how to deploy my specialty—changing the subject—when Ryu Jisu, her clothes smeared with sticky blue monster blood, approached us.
“Gang Gwon-hu picked a fight, asking if I wanted to spend my current skill level doing part-time work, so I hurried up and cleared it out. I filled my quota and came back, and the owner didn’t complain.”
Ryu Jisu shot Gang Gwon-hu an irritated glare, but he didn’t budge.
“Enough chatting. Let’s go in. It’s a dungeon that’s fallen out of favor with hunters these days, so no one will interfere. It’s B-rank, so stay sharp.”
The words Why are you saying that now? rose up to my throat—but the warp had already activated.
