Chapter 29: The Grim Reaper (2)

Hunters despised the weak.

They could tolerate people with terrible personalities, but they considered those who lost to monsters utterly useless.

A gate was a symbol of defeat. It meant someone else had to take over the work.
They didn’t appreciate fellow industry workers making mistakes.

In such a situation, they wouldn’t welcome a burden.

“Hey, hurry up.”
“If you get left behind in the gate, that’s natural selection. We’re not responsible.”

Unfortunately, the terrain was rough mountainous.
Like hunters, they didn’t care about those who fell behind. Achilles clicked his tongue.

[Unlike heroes, hunters are hopeless.]
“I don’t think the World Boss who wreaked havoc on Seoul should say that.”

[Isn’t the reason for climbing the tower ultimately to protect the world? From what I see, your hunters have their priorities reversed. The moment conquering the tower became the goal, the things that should be protected were neglected.]

I didn’t know. I didn’t have enough prejudice to blindly hate someone’s behavior.
People are just living their own lives.

“Hmm.”

My hesitation was short.

I just remembered my old self. The warmth of others was often lacking in my life. Why was it so hard to be kind?.
I diligently moved my short legs and approached.
Her face was flushed from drinking. The smell of alcohol wafted.

“Ugh.”
“Are you okay?”

“Ugh. El? Big sis…. No, big bro drank a little too much yesterday. Ugh, my head is pounding.”

It was obvious she had drunk a lot.
Jeong Chaemin staggered and leaned towards me. She was about to lean on me.

Suddenly, I was forced to make a subtle choice.
Should I offer my chest or my shoulder?

‘That’s probably not a good idea.’

I offered my shoulder. This is how scary being drunk is. What was there to lean on in the body of a little girl?.
Even so, Jeong Chaemin put her weight on me and slowly leaned.

“…I feel alive. The height is perfect.”

I felt her body temperature.
Her cheeks, warmed by alcohol, were surprisingly heavy.

“You should have refused some. Why did you drink everything?”
“Sigh… Are you worried about me? But there are things that kids don’t understand, adult things. It’s a kind of social life.”

I was curious about the reason. This woman was dressed as a man.
Why would she drink when she wasn’t going to meet someone of the opposite gender? The life of an insider was still difficult.

“You knew the schedule for entering the gate, and you still drank? I saw the notice on the group chat, you posted it yourself.”
“I’m aiming for the medical department in my second-year specialization. A drinking party happened, and it’s hard to leave in this field because it’s so small. El, don’t drink like your big brother when you grow up.”

“…I don’t think I’ll be such a lightweight.”
“You little! At times like this, just say ‘yes~’ and answer prettily.”

“Yes.”
“Haha! Our El, so admirable. So kind.”

I just let her stroke my head. I could tell from the sound of her laughter.
Even if my hair was messed up in many directions, I was still cute.

Ring.

At that moment, the smartwatch rang.
It was because we were still at the entrance of the gate. The deeper we went, the more electronic devices would stop functioning.

It was a message from an unknown sender.
Five in total.

[Stop showing off^^]
[You little brt, your nice act is fcking insane.]
[Do you think you’ll always be number one? Take care of your own sht.]
[Look at this full-of-herself btch already flirting with guys. Tsk tsk]
[ (ツ)凸 ]

“It’s happening again.”
“El? Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Maybe it was because the midterm exams were getting closer.
The bullying had gotten worse lately. To do this to a kid. How competitive were they?.

One exam, one rank.
Did those trivial numbers change people so much? My head was spinning.

‘Should I open my eyes?’

My eyes acquired all information. Anonymity might be meaningless.
But I soon shook my head.

I always had to be careful when opening my eyes. If I used up all my energy processing visual information, I might faint again. This was a trivial matter for me.

‘If I lose consciousness in the gate, it’s over.’

I was already behind, and I had taken on a hungover person who wasn’t much help.

Regret?
Honestly, there was.

How the knowledge I had only accumulated in theory was used in practice.
I had completely lost the opportunity to observe how to use the body and mana, and broaden my horizons.

Still, a part of me was proud. What was the most precious thing in the world?.
People.

“Hehe. I feel secure with El here.”
“Stop leaning and ride on Hayang’s back.”

“Oh? Is that okay?”
“We need to catch up diligently.”

Achilles didn’t say much either.

[…Only this time.]

The Labrador Retriever, which had become a spiritual creature by swallowing the blue essence.
It grew bigger. It was already several times bigger than me, enough to easily carry an adult woman.

Perhaps, it would grow even bigger.

Jeong Chaemin was just excited. She seemed to be really enjoying the situation.
She spread her arms wide and faced the wind.

“Wow, it’s really big! It’s so fluffy! Hayang is the best!”

Did she know?.
That she was riding not just a pet dog, but a World Boss that once threatened an era.

According to Awakening Studies.
The [System] rated higher the more it corrected the impossible.

A prestigious guild.
The guild master of Taesanbukdu.

Kwon Seong.

The skill given to him?
It was too famous to not know.

An SSS-grade skill.

[Yeokgeungyeong (The Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic)]

It was often considered impossible to reproduce even S-grade skills with modern technology.
Freezing skills fell into this category.

But Kwon Seong?
He analyzed the SSS-grade skill, Yeokgeungyeong, with his own secret method.
He interpreted the secret technique, datafied it, and established the optimal training method.

He didn’t monopolize it either.

He generously shared it with the founding members of the guild according to the company rules.

Thus, the 72 verses were born by tearing apart Yeokgeungyeong with the power of collective intelligence.

It was the foundation of the prestigious family.
Naturally, the goal was to recruit excellent talent.

To further increase the 72 verses.

Although it was still F-grade.
It was the reason why Taesanbukdu embraced Kang Sihoon, who had a serious personality problem.

‘I don’t see that b*tch?’

I looked away for a moment.
The girl I had my eyes on had disappeared at some point. The curse immediately flew out.

“F*ck! Sihoon hyung!!!”

This was the hunter industry.
They tried to hold someone accountable if they didn’t do their part. Blaming others was a daily occurrence.

Looking at his face, he was a guy who couldn’t even talk properly normally. He must have wanted to point it out by taking advantage of the gap.

Kang Sihoon just chuckled. He reached out in an instant.
It was like a flash of light.

Thud!

There was a moderation in the mystery of the attack.
The monster caught in the fist flew away with a heavy sound.

The scenery over his shoulder was truly spectacular. Even if they practiced the same technique, their talents were different.
The hunter who had cursed quickly shut his mouth.

“Do your job properly.”
“Yes!”

Kang Sihoon was enjoying himself. He felt the fun of hunting.

‘That’s why I hate quick-witted brats.’

He had already done more than his share.
He had a reason. He spoke confidently.

“Team leader. I’ll go find the missing kids.”
“You?”

His concerns were clearly visible in his eyes. He was a guy with a really bad reputation.
He didn’t look at people.

Kang Sihoon just wore a sneer.
The team leader, who saw that smile, thought for a moment, then nodded.

He also knew.

How heterogeneous it was for an elementary school student to be included in a prestigious academy.
How many people would think it was a normal situation?.

The all-time difficult entrance exam.
The team leader, who failed to send his child to the academy, would think it was even more strange.

It was easier to think that there was an unfair situation involved.

For example, a parachute.
He thought that the fact that they were lagging behind was proof of that.

“Okay. You bring them back well. Even if the kids who can’t keep up die, it will only damage the academy’s reputation, but you’re willing to take care of them. It’s an opportunity to show the dignity of a prestigious guild.”
“Hehe. Then I’ll be going.”

After Kang Sihoon left, a hunter spoke. He was a new recruit who had recently joined.

“But is that rumor really true?”
“What.”

“They say that guy was originally a trash.”

Look at his language. Is this the MZ(Millennials and Generation Z ) generation?

Tick, tick.

Modern equipment was slowly not working. It was the mystery of the gate.
The team leader, who was flicking the lighter, spat out a short curse and drew a circle in the air.

A small flame sparked and quietly burned. He indifferently brought the cigarette to it.
Cigarette smoke slowly rose.

“Yeah. At that time, a mine once attacked the gate. After that, the trash’s power became stronger. No, to be precise, his talent changed. He was shooting up.”
“What’s the reason?”

“How would I know? Even low-grade hunters have a lifeline to save their lives in a crisis. He probably has something. A secret weapon that he doesn’t want to reveal to others.”

Competition existed even after joining the guild.

Just as students secretly care about their classmates’ grades.
Just as office workers explore their colleagues’ salaries and connections.

Which academy they were from, which department they graduated from.
What skills they used, what their combat style was.
Who was close to the top rankers, what their connections were like.

If he was a newbie, it was a time to be curious.

Whoosh.

The wind hitting my cheeks was strong. It was because Hayang was so dignified.
It was fast and powerful. I didn’t feel comfortable monopolizing it alone.

Jeong Chaemin glanced back. An elementary school student was busily moving her short legs.

Even though one stride of the four-legged beast was three or four steps of the child, she was somehow keeping up.

Jeong Chaemin’s heart tightened slightly. She barely managed to suppress the urge to run and hug her.

‘It seems like she’s growing every time I see her. Is this what genius is?’

It was a talent to be amazed at.
It wasn’t like this at their first meeting.

I didn’t know the details, but Ernian’s light footwork had depth.

There was no other way.
She hasn’t learned anything properly.

She was using a footwork used to measure the distance in a short distance in succession.

The footwork that should originally be limited to one or two steps, where the balance of the whole body, muscle strength, and subtle movement of the air force must be perfectly coordinated.

Apart from the high level, the impossibility was discussed in the first place.

Ernian’s head was tickling. Every time she moved her body, the conviction that there was a better direction did not leave.

Was the current posture the best?
Was the air force provided to the Yongcheon point under my feet enough?.

This incompleteness tormented her.

I needed to broaden my horizons.
The violent flow and madness that the twins of tyranny showed. It was not enough.

Cheonmajiche.
The feeling of completely drawing out the limits of this body was not yet there.

It was then.

“Where are you going? My pretty?”

A man approached with an arrogant attitude.
I was startled and my eyes opened automatically.

The perception that was always spread around.
He suddenly appeared, breaking through that perception.

‘When did he get close?’

In the meantime, there was a movement of reaching out without asking for permission.
The trajectory was impure.

I read and avoided the path of Nahan’s fist with my eyes.
When the scuffle ended, we entered a natural confrontation.

A complex feeling was revealed on the man’s face.

It was an outstretched hand from close proximity without being detected.
It was not a hand gesture that could be avoided at the student level, although he did not put strength or intention, and intentionally simplified the trajectory.

“Huh. You avoided that?”

It was a reaction of surprise.

Rarely.
Ernian’s feelings were the same.
Her eyes were open. Everything about the opponent was visible.

‘The 72 verses. So there’s a way to move like this.’

How did he know what I was aiming for?.
An opportunity to broaden my horizons came on its own.