X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server#12
“There’s a specific Gate I’m looking for; please find it for me. And the hunters you send into that Gate…”
“One per Gate. Any more than that, and I’ll have to cross blades with you.”
“No, well… there’s no need, really… hah.”
Dokyeom’s gaze darted around before he finally sighed, resigning himself to the situation as he stared at some indiscernible point in the air. After a moment of biting his tongue and scowling, he ultimately decided to go along with Taeseongyeon’s scheme.
“Alright.”
Dokyeom snatched the teacup Taeseongyeon had set down and once again chugged the remaining tea. As before, he wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth and spoke with a combat-ready resolve.
“Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s go eat quickly.”
****
The actions taken to create a ‘pretext’ had, as it turned out, yielded the most fruitful results imaginable. Of that, he was certain.
His resolve to engage in an all-out war felt utterly meaningless when the guild representative not only laid out a welcome mat but even courteously handed him money.
He wondered why someone would so readily hand over money and offer employment after only a few encounters. To an outsider, it might even seem like an act of immense generosity.
Consequently, Dokyeom was utterly exasperated these days. It felt as though Taeseongyeon had hired him with the sole intention of thinking, ‘Alright, let’s see how you like this.’
“Hey, I’m genuinely curious… why is an E-rank even here?”
“If everyone knew that, would they be walking around with such wide eyes? They’re all dumbfounded, wondering what’s going on.”
“Wasn’t it because they received some kind of ‘Stability’ skill?”
“That’s utter bewilderment, not a skill’s doing. This guy clearly has eyes but isn’t using them.”
“Then why was the skill even cast on them?”
‘I can hear everything. Everything.’
Dokyeom swallowed a sigh, pushing through the misty swamp. A few steps ahead, groups of hunters, glancing back nervously, trampled through the mud in neat rows.
It had been like this continuously. Amidst the quiet, whispers would suddenly emerge, and eighty percent of them were questions concerning Dokyeom.
Having donned the military boots provided by the guild, the trainees had just crossed the Gate and entered the dungeon’s periphery. The dungeon itself was a desolate, misty swamp, with skeletal branches stretching out like thorns.
It was a perilous place, where a single misstep could lead to being swallowed by the toxic marsh. Yet, Dokyeom walked three steps ahead and behind, respectfully escorted by the A-rank hunters.
It was no wonder the training team’s hunters found it incredibly strange. This had been his predicament for days.
The whispers among themselves were so loud, it was as if they intended Dokyeom to hear every word. They tossed around ‘E-rank, E-rank’ like a common dog’s name, and after hearing it until his ears were calloused, he no longer even bothered to feign ignorance.
[The demon Orias of ‘Lemegeton’ picks at their ear, claiming they have nothing else to do.]
A week had passed since Dokyeom began traversing Gates with the trainees. The whereabouts of the Gate he sought remained shrouded in mystery.
He had been waiting for what felt like an eternity, constantly feeling ‘it’s coming soon,’ to the point where he wondered if his memory was becoming muddled. In that time, the sheer number of glares he’d received could fill an entire diary.
Talk of him being a parachute recruit, a distant cousin, or even the guild leader’s lover was rampant, making the whole situation feel like torture. ‘Lover,’ he scoffed. They were worse than sworn enemies.
“Hunter Han Dokyeom, that’s a swamp there. Step beside it to move.”
A dry voice cut through the air from his side. Dokyeom paused, his foot frozen mid-step. Beneath him, bubbles expanded, emitting a foul, gassy odor.
He glanced sideways, meeting a gaze as murky as the swamp itself. The displeasure within those eyes pierced his skin like an icicle. ‘He’s at it again,’ Dokyeom thought.
It was Nam Yuseong, an A-rank hunter who had been with him consistently since their first Gate entry. He also served as an instructor for the ‘Sahyeon Guild,’ responsible for training B-rank hunters for Gate expeditions.
Dokyeom suspected that of everyone present, Nam Yuseong was probably the one who disliked him the most. He still remembered the slight frown Nam Yuseong had given him the moment they exchanged names during their first Gate raid.
Since then, Nam Yuseong had stalked around Dokyeom, his claws half-hidden. He carried out orders from above, but that was the extent of it.
His face was so openly filled with displeasure that anyone could easily discern his feelings. His inner thoughts were obvious, even without needing to look.
After all, this was a place that selected only B-rank hunters at minimum, so the appearance of an E-rank hunter, who seemed nothing more than a parachute recruit, was hardly cause for joy.
“Yes, thank you.”
Dokyeom bowed his head and stepped onto the muddy ground, avoiding the swamp. The squishy mud underfoot felt like walking on tidal flats.
‘Nam Yuseong.’
He was certain he had seen the name somewhere before, yet he couldn’t recall where this man had come from. He was indeed a character from the original work, but his origin was excessively vague.
‘Where did I feature him?’ Dokyeom wondered. ‘I wouldn’t have consumed such a well-built character as a fleeting, one-time appearance.’
Yet, considering his track record of killing Taeseongyeon early on, he couldn’t be entirely sure either. What was clear was that Nam Yuseong had been introduced in writing, and the lack of a distinct memory suggested he might not have been a crucial figure.
As he mused idly, a scream suddenly echoed from ahead. The A-rank hunters positioned around Dokyeom swiftly turned to look forward.
“W-what, suddenly…! Ugh!”
“Quick, cut the branches!”
“They’re too tough to cut! Someone, cut these!”
Urgent shouts erupted like thunder from among the trainee hunters walking ahead. Something grotesque writhed within the mist. Dokyeom narrowed his eyes, tracking the coiling, black tendrils that moved like earthworms.
Rotten branches, stretching out like veins, emerged from between grotesquely twisted trees. In an instant, the branches divided into dozens, then hundreds, wrapping around the trainees’ bodies.
That was a Woodia, a tree monster inhabiting the swamp. The stench of rotting corpses mingled with the gas smell.
The moment they confirmed the appearance of the putrid branches, the instructors moved swiftly. “Hunter Han Dokyeom, stay right here and do not move.”
Including Nam Yuseong, the A-rank hunters dashed across the squelching ground, immediately drawing their daggers and severing the rotten branches that ensnared the trainees.
“Everyone, snap out of it! Move to your positions! Hurry!”
“Cut the entangled branches first!”
Under the instructors’ command, the trainees, who had been bewildered and indecisive, belatedly drew their weapons and prepared for battle. Their naive eyes filled with killing intent, and their faces, previously marked by confusion, hardened with fierce determination.
Woodia, the tree monster, was classified as an A-rank monster, but it wasn’t a particularly difficult opponent to subdue. Its nature was to act within designated territories, with the concept of ‘its own territory’ ingrained as deeply as its life, preventing them from encroaching on each other’s spaces.
Therefore, even scouring this vast swamp, one would find very few of these ‘Woodia’ monsters. Their roots were prized ingredients for various potions, making it a universal rule in the hunter world to always dig them up after killing the monster.
Of course, there were exceptions to such creatures’ habits. That was when the monster formed a ‘pair’ – a married couple.
In such cases, well, sheer chaos would erupt. But such instances were extremely rare….
[The demon Orias of ‘Lemegeton’ urgently cries, ‘Behind, behind, look behind you!’]
“Why, what?”
[The demon Orias of ‘Lemegeton’ performs a mouth-covering gesture!]
Dokyeom scratched the back of his neck, indifferently turning his head to look behind him. Only the gloomy swamp stretched endlessly through the smoke-like mist.
Suddenly, however, a black tendril dropped right in front of his eyes. Dokyeom followed it with his gaze. The black branch, as if abruptly severed, writhed like a cut earthworm at Dokyeom’s feet.
“…So.”
Something else abruptly fell. This time, it was even larger. It was as big as a snake, no, a python, twisting and turning on its own, and as Dokyeom watched, the color drained from his face.
‘This isn’t that. That—’
“Hunter Han Dokyeom—!!”
Nam Yuseong’s distant shout echoed like a dying scream. The sound stretched on, as if someone had prolonged time itself. The vivid scene of the swamp was reflected in Nam Yuseong’s wide eyes.
The sight of a thick branch fiercely hurtling towards Dokyeom’s head, appearing as though it would pierce him clean through. It was before the swamp’s scene could turn into a full-blown tragedy.
Some squeezed their eyes shut, others shrieked. There were even those who tried to spring forward and run. Nam Yuseong was one of them. But before his military boot could even touch the squelching ground, the small head that seemed destined for impalement suddenly ducked sharply downwards.
*Swoosh—*
It happened in an instant. Nam Yuseong’s eyes widened in surprise, and the other hunters also stared in astonishment.
‘No, what just happened?!’
Some rubbed their eyes, unable to believe this transcendental situation, while others gulped and blinked with grave expressions. And for good reason…
“No… that, that person… they said he was E-rank…”
Because the person they called an E-rank hunter was perfectly evading every attack, in a way that defied belief.
Of course, there was a separate, plausible reason for it.
[Successfully cast the skill on ‘Nam Yuseong (A)’. (Success rate 59%). Acquired understanding and experience in ‘Evasion’ from the target!]
[Evasion has increased dramatically.]
Added to that was the chaotic whispering of the demon.
[The demon Orias of ‘Lemegeton’ shouts for you to duck your head!]
[The demon Orias of ‘Lemegeton’ cries, ‘Left, left!’]
[The demon Orias of ‘Lemegeton’ frantically opens their writings.]
『Writings Open』
Dokyeom, frantically dodging and rolling, frowned sharply at the words that blazed white before his eyes. Soon, however, a young man’s urgent voice rang out in his ears like a loud shout.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Obey Like A Dog is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : Obey Like A Dog
